Now reading...

[jlhoots]

Looking forward to the next Don Winslow: City On Fire - comes out next week, 1st of a trilogy, the other 2 are finished & he says these are his last books. 

[BillF]

[BillF]

[jlhoots]

On 4/24/2022 at 2:31 PM, jlhoots said:

Looking forward to the next Don Winslow: City On Fire - comes out next week, 1st of a trilogy, the other 2 are finished & he says these are his last books. 

Arrived!!

[mjazzg]

"A contemporary Iliad" apparently

[Jim Duckworth]

On 6/9/2020 at 10:46 AM, ghost of miles said:

Damn, this is a good book.  Really seems to capture the vibe of 1969, at least from the vantage point of being on the road with the Stones--a road that's leading to Altamont:

Stanley Booth is a Memphian and, I believe, lives in my neighborhood.  He has a collection about Memphis musicians called Rhythm Oil that I can hardly recommend highly enough.

[ghost of miles]

5 hours ago, Jim Duckworth said:

Stanley Booth is a Memphian and, I believe, lives in my neighborhood.  He has a collection about Memphis musicians called Rhythm Oil that I can hardly recommend highly enough.

Yep, I picked that one up after reading True Adventures, but haven't gotten around to it yet.  Fascinating writer!

[jlhoots]

Justin Fenton: We Own This City

[BillF]

[jlhoots]

Jess Walter: Beautiful Ruins

[Bluesnik]

Otherwise known as L'Etranger. Yes, this one also belonged to my mother. Purchase date Sep. 1961. I believe this is where the idea for The Cure's Killing an arab comes from. I think I already read it, but like 40 years ago. So I'm rereading it.

On 4/24/2022 at 10:31 PM, jlhoots said:

Looking forward to the next Don Winslow: City On Fire - comes out next week

That's one I've ordered from my regular bookshop as well. I'm a big Winslow fan and have read almost anything he's put out. But there's his debut from 1991, I think, which I can't get hold of. And I ordered it but it's OOP. I think it's called something like Underground. If anybody has a clue as to how to find it I'd be very grateful.

Edited May 24, 2022 by Bluesnik

[jazzbo]

I read "L'Etranger" in French and in English when I was a young man. Chilling book, very effective writing.

 

[BillF]

10 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

I read "L'Etranger" in French and in English when I was a young man. Chilling book, very effective writing.

 

I too read it in French back in the day. How on earth did I manage that? 

[jazzbo]

Probably how I did. . . with some French junior high school education and a dictionary. The direct and concise writing was helpful and impactful.

[T.D.]

 

45 minutes ago, jazzbo said:

Probably how I did. . . with some French junior high school education and a dictionary. The direct and concise writing was helpful and impactful.

Agreed. Read it in French as part of a high school course (I forget which year, either soph. or sr.). The simple writing style is probably why it got assigned. But had to rely heavily on a dictionary.

[Bluesnik]

1 hour ago, jazzbo said:

Probably how I did. . . with some French junior high school education and a dictionary.

I had zero education in French. All English. I even had a French girlfriend when I was young and we spoke in English. I sometimes think now what an insult that must have been to her. My father masters French, but not me.

[jazzbo]

I had French when I was in the US State School in Addis Ababa, and at Waterford for a couple years in Swaziland. And I knew a few who spoke French in both countries. So I was pretty okay with it for a while, but have been not speaking or reading for quite a while.

Edited May 25, 2022 by jazzbo

[Gheorghe]

12 hours ago, Bluesnik said:

Otherwise known as L'Etranger. Yes, this one also belonged to my mother. Purchase date Sep. 1961. I believe this is where the idea for The Cure's Killing an arab comes from. I think I already read it, but like 40 years ago. So I'm rereading it.

That's one I've ordered from my regular bookshop as well. I'm a big Winslow fan and have read almost anything he's put out. But there's his debut from 1991, I think, which I can't get hold of. And I ordered it but it's OOP. I think it's called something like Underground. If anybody has a clue as to how to find it I'd be very grateful.

It was standard reading repertory at high school and anyway many of our wild gang nevertheless had a fondness to read, to read good books. I had the same edition "ro ro ro". 

About reading in French : 

I never had French at high school but if you know Romanian language you have a very easy access to at least reading in French. That´s how I managed to read the original French version of Francis Paudras "Le Danse des Infidéles" . 

My wife also reads and understands French well for the same reasons, but though she had French at school, when the "profesoara de limba franceză" came into the classroom she said "anybody can do now what he/she want´s"  (maybe a boycott because  western european languages meant that you might listen to "forbidden" radio stations...., not a single word in french was spoken in the classroom

On the other hand, since my mother in law was transsilvanian-hungarian origine I learned some Hungarian much to here pleasure. I never got perfect and have forgotten a lot, but she gave me  Albert Camus´  "L´Etranger" in Hungarian language, hard to read for one who is happy if he at least can make some very simple hungarian discussion, but since I knew the content of the  book I managed to get thru (the hungarian title is "Közöny" ) 

[Bluesnik]

I understand French so so, and I even have some books in French, but the truth is it's very hard to understand if you've never studied it. Yes with the help of other Roman languages you can manage, but not me. BUT I understand and can read Italian and Portuguese/Brazilian quite well, though I never studied them.

[ghost of miles]

[Brad]

Le Carrie’s one non espionage book, written between A Small Town in Germany and Tinker Tailor. 

[BillF]

1 hour ago, Brad said:

Le Carrie’s one non espionage book, written between A Small Town in Germany and Tinker Tailor. 

You know, I've read just about everything he wrote, but I haven't read that. Do you recommend it?

[Brad]

1 hour ago, BillF said:

You know, I've read just about everything he wrote, but I haven't read that. Do you recommend it?

I’ve only started it so will let you know. The book wasn’t well received by the critics but in the foreword he states that the central theme in this book and the Smiley books are the same: the conflict between “institutional commitment and unattainable hopes,” i.e., dreams vs reality. 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Brad

[ghost of miles]

Just finished this fascinating new biography of director Michael Cimino. Here’s a writeup about it from the New Yorker:

A new biography of Michael Cimino is as fascinating and melancholy as the filmmaker himself

 

[jlhoots]

On 5/24/2022 at 11:50 AM, Bluesnik said:

Otherwise known as L'Etranger. Yes, this one also belonged to my mother. Purchase date Sep. 1961. I believe this is where the idea for The Cure's Killing an arab comes from. I think I already read it, but like 40 years ago. So I'm rereading it.

That's one I've ordered from my regular bookshop as well. I'm a big Winslow fan and have read almost anything he's put out. But there's his debut from 1991, I think, which I can't get hold of. And I ordered it but it's OOP. I think it's called something like Underground. If anybody has a clue as to how to find it I'd be very grateful.

Just heard Winslow speak & read at the Santa Fe literary festival. He was excellent.