What Are You Reading Now?

[Topper]

Thanks happy one.

A fun series is the Jonathan Quinn series by Brett Battles.

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[SteelBlue]

Pulitzer Prizes will be awarded today at 3pm EDT. For some reason, they don't announce the 3 finalists prior to awarding the prize, so there's no good way to guess a winner. I'm really curious to see who gets the prize for fiction. I'm rooting for George Saunders and his Tenth of December and James Mc Bride's The Good Lord Bird. Hoping at least one of the two is on the list.

Other reads I really liked this year that I wouldn't mind seeing on the list:

The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
The Son, Philipp Meyer

Currently reading The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner and wouldn't be surprised to see it as a finalist.

[Donuthole]

Pulitzer Prizes will be awarded today at 3pm EDT. For some reason, they don't announce the 3 finalists prior to awarding the prize, so there's no good way to guess a winner. I'm really curious to see who gets the prize for fiction. I'm rooting for George Saunders and his Tenth of December and James Mc Bride's The Good Lord Bird. Hoping at least one of the two is on the list.

I devoured the former, but I've struggled to get into the latter for some reason. I keep interrupting it to read other books.

[SteelBlue]

I devoured the former, but I've struggled to get into the latter for some reason. I keep interrupting it to read other books.

That was the first I'd read of Saunders, and I'm hooked. I've been reading anything by him that I can get my hands on. I hope you're able to get into The Good Lord Bird eventually, but I have to admit that I loved it from the get go, and I remember thinking the first half was its strongest. Maybe it got over hyped for you?

[SteelBlue]

Here are the Pulitzer winning books and finalists by category:

Fiction: Winner: The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

Finalists: The Son, Philipp Meyer
The Woman Who Lost Her Soul, Bob Sacochis

History: Winner: The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832, by Alan Taylor

Finalists: A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama's America, by Jacqueline Jones
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlosser

Biography or Autobiography: Winner: Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, by Megan Marshall

Finalists: Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World, by Leo Damrosch
Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life, by Jonathan Sperber

General Non-Fiction: Winner: Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, by Dan Fagin

Finalists: The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide," by Gary J. Bass
The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, by Fred Kaplan

[Topper]

Here are the Pulitzer winning books and finalists by category:

Fiction: Winner: The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt

Finalists: The Son, Philipp Meyer
The Woman Who Lost Her Soul, Bob Sacochis

History: Winner: The Internal Enemy: Slavery and War in Virginia, 1772-1832, by Alan Taylor

Finalists: A Dreadful Deceit: The Myth of Race from the Colonial Era to Obama's America, by Jacqueline Jones
Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident and the Illusion of Safety, by Eric Schlosser

Biography or Autobiography: Winner: Margaret Fuller: A New American Life, by Megan Marshall

Finalists: Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World, by Leo Damrosch
Karl Marx: A Nineteenth-Century Life, by Jonathan Sperber

General Non-Fiction: Winner: Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, by Dan Fagin

Finalists: The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger and a Forgotten Genocide," by Gary J. Bass
The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War, by Fred Kaplan

How many have you read? The Gold Finch is one you recommended.

[SteelBlue]

How many have you read? The Gold Finch is one you recommended.

I'm almost exclusively reading fiction right now, and I had read 2 of the 3 finalists. The Woman Who Lost Her Soul wasn't even on my radar. There's been a lot of discussion here about The Goldfinch, but The Son was also a great read. I mentioned having read it back in February and I'll link the NYT review again now that it's picked up some new credibility. I think a lot of people here would like it. Texas, guns, more Texas...

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/bo...ipp-meyer.html

Meyer's first novel, American Rust, is also a good read. Has a Steinbeck feel to it.

[Topper]

Thanks.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

Recently read The Warmth of Other Sons. Pulitzer prize winning book about the migration of blacks from the south to the north due to Jim Crow. Outstanding book. It is incredible how evil the south was during this era. I was stunned to learn how common lynchings were. My only complaint is that the book could have easily been 200 pages shorter.



Also read Tulia about a small town in the Texas panhandle where they arrested and jailed 40+ poor blacks based on the work of one white undercover cop. Turns out the cop lied about every case. There was no incriminating evidence other than the cop's word and lots of problems were raised during the case but the prosecutors, judge, and juries just kept plugging away. Totally outrageous. The writing in the book is fantastic. Outstanding legal thriller.



Texas justice system is horrible. They need to stop electing judges for starters.

[Uncle Ted]

Also read Tulia about a small town in the Texas panhandle where they arrested and jailed 40+ poor blacks based on the work of one white undercover cop. Turns out the cop lied about every case. There was no incriminating evidence other than the cop's word and lots of problems were raised during the case but the prosecutors, judge, and juries just kept plugging away. Totally outrageous. The writing in the book is fantastic. Outstanding legal thriller.



Texas justice system is horrible. They need to stop electing judges for starters.

I like electing judges. That is how we get rid of the bad ones and eliminates all the political "back scratching" that goes on with appointments. Besides, being on their donor list gives me a "get out of jail" card if I ever need it. If it there is some perceived corruption with electing judges the Texas supreme court judges are appointed by the governor and you can count on Rick Perry to shoot straight.

As for the panhandle of Texas I am pretty sure only cattle live there… Therefore, that book you read is most likely a work of fiction.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Texas has to have the worst record in the country in modern times for false convictions. Part of the problem in the Tulia case was that they only give the defense attorneys a few hundred bucks to represent these people. Many of them literally only met with the client one or two times and filed zero pre-trial motions. In some cases it looked like they did nothing but visit the accused once and then show up in court to put in a token appearance. The trials (including sentencing) were typically over in one day and they were getting 25, 50, 90 years or more (one guy got 400+).

[Uncle Ted]

Texas has to have the worst record in the country in modern times for false convictions. Part of the problem in the Tulia case was that they only give the defense attorneys a few hundred bucks to represent these people. Many of them literally only met with the client one or two times and filed zero pre-trial motions. In some cases it looked like they did nothing but visit the accused once and then show up in court to put in a token appearance. The trials (including sentencing) were typically over in one day and they were getting 25, 50, 90 years or more (one guy got 400+).

Chicagoland has more people convicted of a violent crime for the major cities and Illinois has far more (especially if you compute per capita):

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/...l-convictions/

So having a corrupt elected politician appoint the judge that gave him the most during his campaign is going to fix the false conviction rate? How does it work in President Obama's home town? Are the Judges elected or appointed in Chicagoland?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Chicagoland has more people convicted of a violent crime for the major cities and Illinois has far more (especially if you compute per capita):

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/...l-convictions/

So having a corrupt elected politician appoint the judge that gave him the most during his campaign is going to fix the false conviction rate? How does it work in President Obama's home town? Are the Judges elected or appointed in Chicagoland?

Texas is #3. I was very close. And this list only covers violent crime. A drug rap for a few grams will get you a life sentence in Texas.

Eliminating elections for judges is only one part of the problem. I never claimed it was the entire problem. I already described another problem (absurdly low payment for court-appointed counsel) and there are many other problems. Fortunately, a few changes were made after the Tulia scandal.

You should read the book. It is an incredible story.

[Topper]

I like electing judges. That is how we get rid of the bad ones and eliminates all the political "back scratching" that goes on with appointments. Besides, being on their donor list gives me a "get out of jail" card if I ever need it. If it there is some perceived corruption with electing judges the Texas supreme court judges are appointed by the governor and you can count on Rick Perry to shoot straight.

As for the panhandle of Texas I am pretty sure only cattle live there… Therefore, that book you read is most likely a work of fiction.

I am not a big fan of the elections for judges. I'd prefer to see a modified Missouri plan of appointment followed by retention through a public vote.

[All-American]

What Are You Reading Now?

Chicagoland has more people convicted of a violent crime for the major cities and Illinois has far more (especially if you compute per capita):

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/06/...l-convictions/

So having a corrupt elected politician appoint the judge that gave him the most during his campaign is going to fix the false conviction rate? How does it work in President Obama's home town? Are the Judges elected or appointed in Chicagoland?

Elected. And it isn't better. There is a huge list of names on the back if the ballot, and nobody knows who they are or bothers to find out about them. There is a judge who was literally found to be insane and voters retained her anyway.

http://abovethelaw.com/2012/11/legal...on-in-chicago/