What Are You Reading Now?

[falafel]

It's a dud.

I'm pushing through it because next on deck is the Godfather audio book!

[Jeff Lebowski]

I'm pushing through it because next on deck is the Godfather audio book!

Oh man. You are going to love it.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Just finished The Force by Don Winslow. Really enjoyed it, deeply developed characters and put together story.

[SteelBlue]

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[Armenag]

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I read Never Let Me Go, which I thought was good but not amazing, and The Buried Giant, which I didn't particularly like. Didn't get great reviews -- he won coming off what I understand most would argue was his weakest. I still need to read Remains of the Day.

[SteelBlue]

I read Never Let Me Go, which I thought was good but not amazing, and The Buried Giant, which I didn't particularly like. Didn't get great reviews -- he won coming off what I understand most would argue was his weakest. I still need to read Remains of the Day.

I’ve only read The Buried Giant and had a similar reaction to yours. I do plan to read Remains of the Day before I die.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Just finished The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner for non-fiction.

This has been in my queue for a long time based on a referral from a friend and I put it off because a book about cancer sounded depressing. I finally decided to give it a shot and I can see why it is so highly rated. The author has a gift for story-telling and explaining difficult concepts. It is a fascinating history of a grand scientific endeavor: to untangle the mystery of cancer and find a cure. Recommended.

Now I am going to read his follow-up book: The Gene - An Intimate History. I believe SU or someone referenced it recently.

[Northwestcoug]

Just finished The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner for non-fiction.

This has been in my queue for a long time based on a referral from a friend and I put it off because a book about cancer sounded depressing. I finally decided to give it a shot and I can see why it is so highly rated. The author has a gift for story-telling and explaining difficult concepts. It is a fascinating history of a grand scientific endeavor: to untangle the mystery of cancer and find a cure. Recommended.

Now I am going to read his follow-up book: The Gene - An Intimate History. I believe SU or someone referenced it recently.

He did a grand rounds at our hospital and I completely spaced it. I'm still bummed that I missed it. I hear good things about the book.

[falafel]

I'm pushing through it because next on deck is the Godfather audio book!

Oh man. You are going to love it.

So I mistakenly downloaded the The Family Corleone instead of the Godfather and didn't realize it until I was already a decent chunk into it. Its a prequel to The Godfather, and is written by Ed Falco, not Mario Puzo. It is based on a screenplay by Puzo, however. The audio book is narrated by Bobby Canavale, and he does a great job with all of the voices. He even does a good, but not over the top, Marlon Brando doing Vito Corleone. Really well done. He reads a little fast in some spots, but I got over it.

The book itself was actually really good. Tells the story of the Corleone family's rise from a smaller family to the most powerful family in New York. Along with Vito, Sonny Corleone is one of the main characters, as he transitions from pulling small heists and robberies with his own crew (unbeknownst to his father, who insists he go in to the car business) to a full member of the cosa nostra. Spoiler alert: he struggles with it.

Another big part of the novel is Luca Brasi, who at this point is not affiliated with Corleone family but instead runs his own group of thugs. He's kind of a fascinating character, and extremely violent. Some really brutal scenes in here.

Now, finally, next up is the Godfather.

[Jeff Lebowski]

So I mistakenly downloaded the The Family Corleone instead of the Godfather and didn't realize it until I was already a decent chunk into it. Its a prequel to The Godfather, and is written by Ed Falco, not Mario Puzo. It is based on a screenplay by Puzo, however. The audio book is narrated by Bobby Canavale, and he does a great job with all of the voices. He even does a good, but not over the top, Marlon Brando doing Vito Corleone. Really well done. He reads a little fast in some spots, but I got over it.

The book itself was actually really good. Tells the story of the Corleone family's rise from a smaller family to the most powerful family in New York. Along with Vito, Sonny Corleone is one of the main characters, as he transitions from pulling small heists and robberies with his own crew (unbeknownst to his father, who insists he go in to the car business) to a full member of the cosa nostra. Spoiler alert: he struggles with it.

Another big part of the novel is Luca Brasi, who at this point is not affiliated with Corleone family but instead runs his own group of thugs. He's kind of a fascinating character, and extremely violent. Some really brutal scenes in here.

Now, finally, next up is the Godfather.

Interesting. The Godfather includes a section describing Vito's evolution into a gangster. I believe this is featured in the GF2 movie. It also described how Luca Brasi became a particularly evil person. I will be interested to see your summary after reading the Godfather. I assume the prequel book just expanded on the story?

After reading the book, I went back and watched the Godfather movie. I was disappointed in the Luca Brasi character. Didn't seem as brooding and evil as the character in the book. But interestingly, I learned through a little internet research that the guy that played Luca Brasi in the movie was a real life gangster! In a strange case of reality mimicking fiction, the producers were somehow forced into giving him a role.

[falafel]

Interesting. The Godfather includes a section describing Vito's evolution into a gangster. I believe this is featured in the GF2 movie. It also described how Luca Brasi became a particularly evil person. I will be interested to see your summary after reading the Godfather. I assume the prequel book just expanded on the story?

After reading the book, I went back and watched the Godfather movie. I was disappointed in the Luca Brasi character. Didn't seem as brooding and evil as the character in the book. But interestingly, I learned through a little internet research that the guy that played Luca Brasi in the movie was a real life gangster! In a strange case of reality mimicking fiction, the producers were somehow forced into giving him a role.

I'll bet that's what happened. I'll let you know. Luca is a pretty big character in this book. They talk about his upbringing, and then there's a particularly brutal section with his girlfriend, an Irish girl. Then it discusses how he becomes what I expect to be somewhat of a dimwit. He was actually very smart in this book.

[happyone]

Just finished The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee. 2011 Pulitzer Prize winner for non-fiction.

This has been in my queue for a long time based on a referral from a friend and I put it off because a book about cancer sounded depressing. I finally decided to give it a shot and I can see why it is so highly rated. The author has a gift for story-telling and explaining difficult concepts. It is a fascinating history of a grand scientific endeavor: to untangle the mystery of cancer and find a cure. Recommended.

Now I am going to read his follow-up book: The Gene - An Intimate History. I believe SU or someone referenced it recently.

Great book - it was a 5 star read for me! I also really need to move the follow up higher on my TBR list

[SteelBlue]

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Somewhere in the mountains, Piney is cursing.

[falafel]

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Somewhere in the mountains, Piney is cursing.

Hmmph. Only 3.9 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

[BigPiney]

Hmmph. Only 3.9 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

It's crap.