What Are You Reading Now?

[LiveCoug]

Just finished The Disaster Artist. Written by one of the "stars" of the worst movie ever made, a wonderful masterpiece entitled "The Room". I thought it was pretty hilarious and enjoyable.

For those of you not familiar with The Room, here is a nice sample on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYBPckI2ZMU


The book was also a movie starring the Franco Brothers that came out in 2017. It got great reviews, but I don't remember hearing anything about it. I'm sure some of you guys here saw it...

[Donuthole]

Just finished The Disaster Artist. Written by one of the "stars" of the worst movie ever made, a wonderful masterpiece entitled "The Room". I thought it was pretty hilarious and enjoyable.

For those of you not familiar with The Room, here is a nice sample on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYBPckI2ZMU


The book was also a movie starring the Franco Brothers that came out in 2017. It got great reviews, but I don't remember hearing anything about it. I'm sure some of you guys here saw it...

IMG_9035.jpg

[happyone]

I'm currently reading a newish biography of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Dr. Benjamin Rush, Rush: Revolution, Madness, and the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father by Stephen Fried

I'm about half way through. He was definitely a fascinating man. A proponent of woman's education - he married a 16 yr old when when he was almost 30. He was extremely interested in the causes of "Madness" and its treatment. He was a last minute addition to the Pa delegation to the 2nd Continental Congress that signed the Declaration and when not reappointed, became one of the leading Medicos in the Continental Army. He was later help write the Constitution.

For anyone interested, I finally typed up my thoughts on this one

Great man! was on the forefront of humane treatment of the mentally ill. Extremely brave - was with Washington at the crossing of the Delaware and was one of the few drs who stayed and more importantly kept treating patients in Philly during the yellow fever epidemic of 1793/4 (appox 5000 died of a population of about 30,000) Prolific letter writer -1000's of his letters survive and was instrumental in reconciling John Adams and Thomas Jefferson after their presidencies.

Currently reading a newish biography of Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cromwell: A life

He was the subject of Hilary Mantel historical fiction trilogy and in the 1530s was Henry VIII's chief minister.

For me it was close to a 5 star read. About the only problem I had was that the author did not explain why MD's of that era used bleeding/purging/cupping as a treatment for almost everything.

[BigPiney]

Just finished Red Notice and as the Dude noted, it really is fantastic, and the final couple of pages pack an emotional wallop. It's a case study in how Putin and the oligarchs work, and why the Magnitsky Act is such a big deal. The book caused me to go back and watch the Trump/Putin press conference in Helsinki and at least one of two conclusions is inescapable: Trump is either in the bag with Putin, or he's astonishingly dumb and uninformed as a U.S. President. Perhaps both are true.

Just finished this. Putin is evil. Obama was an idiot, Trump is an idiot and likely corrupt.

Very scary to read.

[Art Vandelay]

Finished two great books in the past week.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao This has been in my to read queue for years. Finally got to and glad I did. Great story primarily about a Dominican family spanning several generations. I learned a lot about the reign of Trujillo. Dude doesn't get nearly the pub of his neighbor Baby Doc, but absolutely should. The book was so well written, I honestly forgot it was fiction, and went to google info about some of the characters. I wish my knowledge of Spanish slang was better, as it is used frequently. For anyone who served their mish in the Caribbean, or really any Latin country, I think you would enjoy this Pulitzer Prize winner. Rating: PG-13 - little sex (especially for Oscar!) and lots of language

The Girl With Seven Names An early contender for my favorite book of 2019. This absolutely falls into truth is stranger than fiction category. It is about a North Korea defector. I've read other books about NK. It is hard to fathom how bat sh** crazy that country is. This is well written, easy to read, and feels like a page-turning mystery, I couldn't put down. This book would be great for anyone, but especially for anyone interested in an amazing female protagonist. Rating: PG

[Applejack]

Finished two great books in the past week.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao This has been in my to read queue for years. Finally got to and glad I did. Great story primarily about a Dominican family spanning several generations. I learned a lot about the reign of Trujillo. Dude doesn't get nearly the pub of his neighbor Baby Doc, but absolutely should. The book was so well written, I honestly forgot it was fiction, and went to google info about some of the characters. I wish my knowledge of Spanish slang was better, as it is used frequently. For anyone who served their mish in the Caribbean, or really any Latin country, I think you would enjoy this Pulitzer Prize winner. Rating: PG-13 - little sex (especially for Oscar!) and lots of language

The Girl With Seven Names An early contender for my favorite book of 2019. This absolutely falls into truth is stranger than fiction category. It is about a North Korea defector. I've read other books about NK. It is hard to fathom how bat sh** crazy that country is. This is well written, easy to read, and feels like a page-turning mystery, I couldn't put down. This book would be great for anyone, but especially for anyone interested in an amazing female protagonist. Rating: PG

I listened to Oscar Wao on audible and HATED it. I can't do audiobooks. I'm sure I would have liked it had I read it instead.

I'm half way thru Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America. Scary read given the current state of politics. Uncle Ted would HATE it!

[SeattleUte]

I listened to Oscar Wao on audible and HATED it. I can't do audiobooks. I'm sure I would have liked it had I read it instead.

I'm half way thru Phillip Roth's The Plot Against America. Scary read given the current state of politics. Uncle Ted would HATE it!

You need to read This is How You Lose Her.

[SeattleUte]

A great non-fiction book I finished this year:

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11056.html

One of my favorites ever. War and Peace of Bolshevism/through the Great terror and finally the fall of Communism; it's non-fiction but has many qualities of great fiction; indeed, there are extensive quotations from novels and diaries.

To balance it out, I'm now reading this.

https://books.wwnorton.com/books/These-Truths/

Of course, I revel in Communism's misdeeds. I have said that I regard our winning the Cold War a signal accomplishment of our nation. But wow, we have done some evil stuff too. And it's important to be reminded of it and remember it.

I have a particular fondness for sweeping histories that cover a lot of ground. I'm less interested in what Washington read while he was on the can, Hamilton's marriage, etc.

[creekster]

A great non-fiction book I finished this year:

https://press.princeton.edu/titles/11056.html

One of my favorites ever. War and Peace of Bolshevism/through the Great terror and finally the fall of Communism; it's non-fiction but has many qualities of great fiction; indeed, there are extensive quotations from novels and diaries.

To balance it out, I'm now reading this.

https://books.wwnorton.com/books/These-Truths/

Of course, I revel in Communism's misdeeds. I have said that I regard our winning the Cold War a signal accomplishment of our nation. But wow, we have done some evil stuff too. And it's important to be reminded of it and remember it.

I have a particular fondness for sweeping histories that cover a lot of ground. I'm less interested in what Washington read while he was on the can, Hamilton's marriage, etc.

All ruling organizations do evil things. It is the nature of seeking, obtaining and possessing power. The remarkable thing about the US is that it hasn't done more evil in the world or among its own citizens considering the immense power available to it. Like the debate around Trump these days, we often seem unable to hold both good and evil in our minds at the same time when considering the nation's history.

[SeattleUte]

All ruling organizations do evil things. It is the nature of seeking, obtaining and possessing power. The remarkable thing about the US is that it hasn't done more evil in the world or among its own citizens considering the immense power available to it. Like the debate around Trump these days, we often seem unable to hold both good and evil in our minds at the same time when considering the nation's history.

Like.

[Applejack]

You need to read This is How You Lose Her.

My wife has said as much.

[Sullyute]

The remarkable thing about the US is that it hasn't done more evil in the world or among its own citizens considering the immense power available to it.

I am sure there are a lot of people/nations that would disagree with that statement.

[creekster]

I am sure there are a lot of people/nations that would disagree with that statement.

probably. So what?

[ScoopJahoop]

All ruling organizations do evil things. It is the nature of seeking, obtaining and possessing power. The remarkable thing about the US is that it hasn't done more evil in the world or among its own citizens considering the immense power available to it. Like the debate around Trump these days, we often seem unable to hold both good and evil in our minds at the same time when considering the nation's history.

Maybe thinking that someday your first sentence might not be correct is naive. But shouldn’t we try for it? The US has been remarkably benevolent as a world power. And we’ve done some seriously horrible things.

[creekster]

Maybe thinking that someday your first sentence might not be correct is naive. But shouldn’t we try for it? The US has been remarkably benevolent as a world power. And we’ve done some seriously horrible things.

Yes, we should strive to be less evil. Of course. But it should also not be surprising that we have done incorrect and sometimes evil things. The fact is that we are benevolent and we do offer a moral counterpoint to much of the evil in the world. And we should not forget the latter when recognizing the former.