Now reading...

[medjuck]

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugayan. It's a novel that has appearances by Luis Armstrong, Bill Coleman and John Hammond amongst others. Highly acclaimed and best seller in Canada.

Definitely worth reading though I would claim that it takes place in some sort of alternate universe where Louis Armstrong is living in France in 1939 and spends days working on one recording.

[BillF]

The story of Miles told through the records.

Very well researched and fascinating to read when I know so many of the records, but I wish the late Mr Cook hadn't been so judgemental. Everything seems to be seen as either success or failure - not at all the way I feel about the music.

[sidewinder]

The story of Miles told through the records.

Very well researched and fascinating to read when I know so many of the records, but I wish the late Mr Cook hadn't been so judgemental. Everything seems to be seen as either success or failure - not at all the way I feel about the music.

I must admit that I enjoyed that book - the judgemental bits I take with a pinch of salt though (with Miles, one man's 'chalk' always seems to be another man's 'cheese').

Currently reading (when I get chance):

An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too.

..

Edited March 25, 2012 by sidewinder

[Pete C]

When I got my Kindle last year I decided to read the complete works of Balzac in free, public domain editions (I had previously read four novels and several stories). About every third or fourth book I read now is Balzac, in the order he set out as his architecture for the Human Comedy. Right now I'm up to A Daughter of Eve.

[A Lark Ascending]

An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too.

..

Pity about the endorsement on the cover!

I assumed you were talking proportionately but looking it up was staggered to see 28 000 killed. That is horrendous.

I've never spent long enough on the Wars of the Roses to get it straight in my head - read a good overview a couple of summer's back as a result of walking over what little is left of Tewkesbury. But it's now got jumbled again.

[sidewinder]

An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too.

..

Pity about the endorsement on the cover!

I assumed you were talking proportionately but looking it up was staggered to see 28 000 killed. That is horrendous.

I've never spent long enough on the Wars of the Roses to get it straight in my head - read a good overview a couple of summer's back as a result of walking over what little is left of Tewkesbury. But it's now got jumbled again.

Wars of the Roses. The 'Roses' thing came later - not called that at the time, apparently. Nor did they all go around wearing red and white roses. As for causes - looks like the combination of a total incompetent/mad King (Henry VI) making a complete mess of his kingship (having been crowned king at age 9 both of England and -in Paris- of France, thanks to his Dad's legacy ), finally losing the French 'territories' and a whole heap of rivalry for influence that basically resulted in a battle to the death between armies drawn largely from the North (Lancaster) and South (Yorkists) at Towton. Something like 10% of the UK male population fought on that field that day. And Margaret of Anjou's power base was obliterated as a result.

Arguably, we are still living with the consequences of this one! (thanks to the Yorkists winning - close thing, the weather advantage on field of battle swung it). And the recent archeological finds are staggering - evidence of acts not dis-similar to Kosovo and the like.

David Starkey - really knows his stuff. The 'Introduction' he adds to this book helps considerably with regards to background/context.

Edited March 25, 2012 by sidewinder

[jlhoots]

Simon Mawer: The Glass Room

[jazzbo]

Going way back down memory lane

[ejp626]

Robert Kroetsch The Puppeteer. This is a sequel to Alibi and is even more explicitly "pomo," which certainly explains why this book wasn't that well received. Definitely not his strongest novel.

I'm also working my way through Martin Murray's City of Extremes, which is an examination of Johannesburg. I have a few more weeks left before the book review is due!

[Matthew]

Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's.

[Dave James]

[paul secor]

Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's.

I'm sure others have beaten me to it, but welcome back, Matthew.

[Matthew]

Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's.

I'm sure others have beaten me to it, but welcome back, Matthew.

Thanks, I just have had a killer travel schedule for the past eight months.

[alankin]

Jack Vance - "Lyonesse".

Anyone else here like Vance?

[jlhoots]

Katherine Boo: Behind The Beautiful Forevers

(Life, Death & Hope In A Mumbai Undercity)

[Jazzmoose]

Jack Vance - "Lyonesse".

Anyone else here like Vance?

In moderation. I like what I've read, but I rarely look for more. Strange...I just checked my shelves. I have four books by him, none of which I've read. This has all the markings of an author I think I should like, but don't. I know I've read stuff by him that I enjoyed, though; I just don't have them anymore. I'm too lazy to do an internet search, but I remember something about bands or something...

Edited April 2, 2012 by Jazzmoose

[B. Goren.]

[ejp626]

Oops. Wrong thread -- let me fix.

Skimmed some popular non-fiction books to try to get more books out of the house. James Gleick Faster -- basically a look at how accelerated our lives have become. Not nearly as interesting as it could have been -- or maybe I simply didn't learn that much that felt new. Anyway, appropriately enough I did skim this one and only read closely a few of the chapters.

Much better is Po Bronson's The Nudist on the Late Shift, which is an examination of different aspects of Silicon Valley in the mid to late 1990s. Some of Po's pronoucements haven't held up as well, but some of the sketches are pretty interesting. I feel I work in a field that is kitty-korner to programming and I definitely recognize some of the strategies that keep people motivatived (given that huge stock options aren't available in my field ).

Edited April 2, 2012 by ejp626

[alankin]

Robin D.G. Kelley - "Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original"

[BillF]

Still with Le Carré!

[kinuta]

[Jazzmoose]

Okay, I may have to spring for that one...

[sidewinder]

Okay, I may have to spring for that one...

The author was on the TV here the other night - in a 'return to the Falklands' programme, where he was a prominent war reporter for the task force. He had some good insights on the whole thing, amazing to think it was 30 years ago. Must pick up a copy of that '39-45' title myself...

[A Lark Ascending]

Just finished:

No. 8 of the series that I've been working through since Xmas.

Now:

and:

[BruceH]

Jack Vance - "Lyonesse".

Anyone else here like Vance?

Off and on. Seems like for years he was one of those SF authors that I was SUPPOSED to like more than I actually did. I've enjoyed a few of his stories, others not so much, read The Dying Earth when I was a teen and thought it was...okay, but somehow it didn't knock my socks off. Every time I've picked up one of his novels since then I would put it down part way through and never seem to get back to it. Maybe my problem is that his SF has a distinct fantasy flavor. Oh, now that I think of it, I also read Big Planet way back when, and liked it, but never felt like reading it again.