jazzbo Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) Boy this is tough going. I've started this one as well for reading at my parents where I can be interrupted at any moment, moment after moment. Edited April 3, 2014 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crisp Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 The last few books I've read: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick: the third of his that I've read. Brilliant and quite cinematic (I haven't seen Blade Runner) Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes: I get chills just typing the title. Very moving and actually quite upsetting. This book meant a lot to me. Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham: flawed construction but the prose is peerless as always. Got me back into Maugham. The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham: now this is more like it. The transformation the main character undertakes is brilliantly done. Now on W. Somerset Maugham's Cakes and Ale: this might be one of his lesser efforts I expect but gorgeous prose as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted April 4, 2014 Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 crisp, glad you dug Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I've read all of Dick's works, most more than twice, and that one is a favorite. I love Maugham! Reminds me that I need to reread some soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted April 4, 2014 Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 Lorrie Moore: Bark How do you like it ? Moore is one of my favorite writer ("Birds of America" was brilliant). I thought the Moore was excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erwbol Posted April 4, 2014 Report Share Posted April 4, 2014 crisp, glad you dug Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? I've read all of Dick's works, most more than twice, and that one is a favorite. I love Maugham! Reminds me that I need to reread some soon. I do like some of Dick's novels, but he is one of these unfortunate SF authors who seemed unable to write in interesting prose for the greatest part of his career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 (edited) I guess "prose that interests you" because I have been interested in his prose since I was 13. Edited April 5, 2014 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medjuck Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Boy this is tough going. I've started this one as well for reading at my parents where I can be interrupted at any moment, moment after moment. How's "Spade and Archer"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 McCorkle: Life After Life (not the Kate Atkinson book of the same title).I've always enjoyed McCorkle's writing. This one does not disappoint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted April 5, 2014 Report Share Posted April 5, 2014 Well written and rather touching, I really enjoyed this. I gues I'll have to read the full trilogy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awesome_welles Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 (edited) After listening to an interview of Norman Finklestein about his book "The Holocaust Industry": (which I haven't read so can't comment on), he mentioned that while there are many historical and academic writings on the holocaust (I think he said that the figure was in the thousands), there is only one (english language) book on the Belgian Congo! "King Leopold's Ghost" by Adam Hochschild: I knew nothing about this period of history (except the horrible figure of 10 million dead) and found this book fascinating and it seems very well researched also. It's a very depressing history but I imagine that it's essential to have a knowledge of this period in order to understand what's going on in the DRC today and why (and of course there are similar stories in many parts of Africa, Asia and South America). I would definitely recommend it. The subject is not only very interesting and little known but it is written in a way that I didn't find at all dry or difficult to get through. Edited April 6, 2014 by awesome_welles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 Boy this is tough going. I've started this one as well for reading at my parents where I can be interrupted at any moment, moment after moment. How's "Spade and Archer"? Haven't gotten that far into it, been a busy week and weekend with my care for my parents. So far it's okay but it sure is NOT Hammett. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted April 6, 2014 Report Share Posted April 6, 2014 (edited) I knew nothing about this period of history (except the horrible figure of 10 million dead) and found this book fascinating and it seems very well researched also. It's a very depressing history but I imagine that it's essential to have a knowledge of this period in order to understand what's going on in the DRC today and why (and of course there are similar stories in many parts of Africa, Asia and South America). I would definitely recommend it. The subject is not only very interesting and little known but it is written in a way that I didn't find at all dry or difficult to get through. Amazing book. I couldn't put it down. Explains Heart of Darkness amongst other things. Try 'In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' by Michela Wrong for an account of more recent horrors (the Mobutu years and after). I read that first and got the recommendation for the King Leopold's Ghost book from there. Edited April 6, 2014 by A Lark Ascending Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_L Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erwbol Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 I knew nothing about this period of history (except the horrible figure of 10 million dead) and found this book fascinating and it seems very well researched also. It's a very depressing history but I imagine that it's essential to have a knowledge of this period in order to understand what's going on in the DRC today and why (and of course there are similar stories in many parts of Africa, Asia and South America). I would definitely recommend it. The subject is not only very interesting and little known but it is written in a way that I didn't find at all dry or difficult to get through. Amazing book. I couldn't put it down. Explains Heart of Darkness amongst other things. Try 'In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz' by Michela Wrong for an account of more recent horrors (the Mobutu years and after). I read that first and got the recommendation for the King Leopold's Ghost book from there. Thank you both for the recommendation. I ordered the book this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted April 7, 2014 Report Share Posted April 7, 2014 Well written and rather touching, I really enjoyed this. I gues I'll have to read the full trilogy now. Hmm, looks interesting, though probably not for this year. I just saw Stoppard's Coast of Utopia (brilliant stuff and I may post on it later). It inspired me to read Turgenev's A Month in the Country, which I saw several years ago, but didn't remember very clearly. You might well not have gotten Chekhov's The Seagull or Uncle Vanya without A Month in the Country. I don't know when I will fit it in, but I'll try to reread Fathers and Sons by the fall. This was a book I read in my teens and I was quite affected by it. I wonder how I will react as a middle-aged man... I should be starting Molly Keane's Two Days in Aragon tonight. I haven't been completely sold on the last couple of her books, so I hope this is a return to form. I have 3 more to go until I get to Good Behaviour, which is generally considered her greatest novel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xybert Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Stephen King - Joyland Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. Goren. Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted April 9, 2014 Report Share Posted April 9, 2014 Simon Winchester: The Professor & The Madman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 So far Two Days in Aragon is pretty good. I think Keane's strength is in her slightly wicked dialogue, as well as her insight into the English landed gentry in Ireland. She has some trouble moving on once the Troubles arrive. Also, some novels feature far too much "telling" not "showing" from the omniscient narrator. So far Two Days is avoiding these problems. The intro claims that this was the first time she took Sinn Fein very seriously, so I don't know how well she navigates that later in the book. I'm reading quite a bit of Canadian poetry as well, mostly Michael Crummey but also Carmelita McGrath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Lark Ascending Posted April 11, 2014 Report Share Posted April 11, 2014 An easy to read summary of the conflicts that surrounded the French/British retreat from empire and the growth of American interventionism. Don't know the writer but he comes across at times as a grumpy old colonel - can't resist taking pot shots at lefty intellectuals bedazzled by Moscow or Beijing. But using the right filters it tells an interesting tale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted April 15, 2014 Report Share Posted April 15, 2014 Just wrapped up Two Days in Aragon. It was good, though a touch melodramatic in places. It really read like a screenplay, and I'm a little surprised it has never been optioned. In her heyday, I could see Meryl Streep playing the part of Nan, the tough governess who basically runs Aragon, the large estate in Ireland, owned by the Foxes. However, the actual ending of the book would probably have to be shot as an alternate ending (for the DVD), as I don't know that it would be considered acceptable by studio heads. Now reading a number of short books, which can be nice. I'm just starting Barbara Comyns' A Touch of Mistletoe, and then after that is Teju Cole's Every Day is for the Thief. This is actually his first novel, but it wasn't translated until the success of Open City. Comyns has such a distinctive voice. It's one that I find a bit grating at times, but it is definitely distinctive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_L Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duaneiac Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted April 17, 2014 Report Share Posted April 17, 2014 Just finishedAnthony Heilbut - The gospel soundHaven't read this since the early nineties, I guess. One of the best books on music I've ever read. It absolutely GETS you!MG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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