What Are You Reading?

[+ Avalon]

I got three books today

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Aventures_de_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9maque

 

I have been looking forward to this book for awhile.

 

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The second book contains three works - "Utopia" by Thomas More and these two

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atlantis

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isle_of_Pines

 

I was familiar with "Utopia" but not the others.

 

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https://www.cokesbury.com/product/9781621642206/the-eighth-arrow/

 

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I'm expecting one more book. Several plays by Miguel Cervantes. Especially this one

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Siege_of_Numantia

[AshburyGuy]

Just finished my second reading of "Tin Man" by Sarah Winman and am now reading "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer.

[+ Just Sayin]

I really enjoyed "Less"; was not aware of Green until he won the Pulitzer for that book

[+ Avalon]

Just finished my second reading of "Tin Man" by Sarah Winman and am now reading "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer.

 

Looking these two books up "Tin Man" seems to be a gay love story.

[JayCeeKy]

I read biography usually. And mostly what can be found at Costco. Recent books:

 

1) Leonard Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. I have no doubt that Leonardo would belong to this Forum were he alive today - he certainly had an eye for male beauty (his sometime "model" and assistant, Salai ("the little devil") would have made big bucks on Rentmen). BTW, Salai was the model for Leonardo's painting "John the Baptist."

 

2) Grant by Ron Chernow. I have nothing but the highest respect for this totally honest, humble, and patriotic gentleman. He reflects what was totally good about rural America in the 19th Century especially his treatment of African Americans and Native Americans. What a contrast to the immoral, corrupt blob currently residing at 1600 Penn Ave.

 

3) Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. Ike had the good fortune of enjoying the sponsorship of older military men throughout his career. But, he had excellent administrative abilities and his assessment by historians seems to grow every year so that he ranked #7 as far as "best presidents" in a 2015 poll - he was a darn good president.

 

Currently reading about a local celebrity - Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig. For someone whose IQ was tested at 83, was originally rejected by the Army for flunking their intelligence exam, and was barely able to read or do basic math (after one of his fights his manager told him he would earn "half of $35,000" - Ali asked how much that would be - for all of this he was bright, funny, charming, and a damn good boxer. If you ever get to Louisville, drive by Spalding University and you will see a kid's bicycle hanging at the top of the building indicating where Ali's bike was stolen which led him to take up boxing so he could "whoop" the guy who stole his bike.

 

I also read on a Kindle at night in bed (I like that I can make the font huge so I don't have to wear my spectacles). Currently I am reading The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe, which was on sale for $1.99 . Her death was very suspicious - for someone who supposedly swallowed a couple of bottles of barbiturates there was no sign of it in her digestive track at her autopsy leading many to speculate that she had been injected with an overdose. Some think the Kennedy brothers or the Mafia were involved. Interesting reading.

Edited October 4, 2018 by JayCeeKy

[+ Avalon]

I am so old when I hear "Ali" I think of Muhammad's son-in-law

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali

 

And when I hear "Muhammad Ali" I think of the Pasha of Egypt

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Ali_of_Egypt

 

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The book on Leonardo sounds interesting. I may have that one somewhere. Besides Leonardo I have books on Michelangelo and Brunelleschi.

[TruHart1]

I am reading the fourth mystery novel, Lethal White, in the Cormoran Strike detective series, by J.K. Rowling writing under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. It has been a very entertaining read so far: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethal_White_(novel)

 

Review: https://www.dallasnews.com/arts/books/2018/10/02/jk-rowlings-er-robert-galbraiths-lethal-white-crime-novel-worthy-name

 

I am grateful that Rowling continues to write other works besides those set in the Potterverse, although I am looking forward to the release of the film sequel, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, in November!

 

TruHart1

[+ Charlie]

I read biography usually. And mostly what can be found at Costco.

 

1) Leonard Da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. I have no doubt that Leonardo would belong to this Forum were he alive today - he certainly had an eye for male beauty.

 

2) Grant by Ron Chernow. I have nothing but the highest respect for this totally honest, humble, and patriotic gentleman. He reflects what was totally good about rural America in the 19th Century especially his treatment of African Americans and Native Americans. What a contrast to the immoral, corrupt blob currently residing at 1600 Penn Ave.

 

3) Eisenhower in War and Peace by Jean Edward Smith. Ike had the good fortune of enjoying the sponsorship of older military men throughout his career. But, he had excellent administrative abilities and his assessment by historians seems to grow every year so that he now ranks #7 in a 2015 poll - he was a darn good president.

 

Currently reading about a local celebrity - Ali: A Life by Jonathan Eig. For someone whose IQ was tested at 83, was originally rejected by the Army for flunking their intelligence exam, and was barely able to read or do arithmetic (after one of his fights his manager told him he would earn "half of $35,000" - Ali asked how much that would be - for all of this he was bright, funny, charming, and a damn good boxer. If you ever get to Louisville, drive by Spalding University and you will see a kid's bicycle hanging over the building where Ali's bike was stolen which led him to take up boxing so he could "whoop" the guy who stole his bike.

 

I also read on a Kindle at night in bed (I like that I can make the font huge so I don't have to wear my spectacles). Currently I am reading The Last Days of Marilyn Monroe, which was on sale for $1.99 . Her death was very suspicious - for someone who supposedly swallowed a couple of bottles of barbiturates there was no sign of it in her digestive track at her autopsy leading many to speculate that she had been injected with an overdose. Some think the Kennedy brothers or the Mafia were involved. Interesting reading.

Interesting: I have recently read Jean Edward Smith's biography of Grant, which I thought was quite good.

 

I am currently reading a history of the first hundred years of the Rocky Mountain News by Robert L. Perkin, written in 1959, which I bought for $1 at a thrift store. It is 593 pages long, but I bought it only because I was interested in an incident involving my grandfather that was in the Denver news at the turn of the century. To my surprise, the book is a fascinating history not only of the newspaper itself, but also of Denver, Colorado, and the West , and I haven't been able to put it down.

[+ WilliamM]

"President Carter: The White House Years" by Stuart Eizenstat

 

Best book I have read this year. Eizenstat worked for Carter, likes him, but is honest about his virtues and faults

 

Just bought, "Merv Griffin: A life in the Closet." by Darwin Porter

 

Let people know how far I get.

Edited October 5, 2018 by WilliamM

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

'In Cold Blood' -- Truman Capote

 

I read it once a year to remind myself what an incredible talent he was before he became a talkshow couch fixture and 'personality'

[+ Avalon]

When I was a boy there was a family friend who said that he read Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" every year.

 

But since I can read the Roman historians there is no need for Gibbons.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_historiography

[JayCeeKy]

'In Cold Blood' -- Truman Capote

 

In Cold Blood, one of my all-time faves, along with Catcher in the Rye, A Separate Peace (for no other reason than, in high school, I had a huge crush on a school jock and readily empathized with Gene's feelings about Finny), Pride and Prejudice, Moby Dick (like Captain Ahab, I have a monomaniacal focus on Dick), and ANYTHING by John Irving (esp Cider House Rules - the last book that literally brought me to tears). Whenever I get lazy about checking the doors/windows at night, I remind myself of the fate of Herb Clutter and family of Holcomb, Kansas.

[bigvalboy]

Together we rise The Woman's March organizers and Conde Nast

Drift Rachel Maddow

[Rod Hagen]

The iPad killed the days when I read only one book at a time. Currently:

 

Rereading Infinite Jest:

https://www.amazon.com/Infinite-Jest-David-Foster-Wallace/dp/0316066524

 

Reading Blonde:

https://www.amazon.com/Blonde-Novel-Joyce-Carol-Oates/dp/0061774359/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538775752&sr=1-1&keywords=Blonde&dpID=51pxphvWbEL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

 

Reading the second volume of Isherwood's Diaries:

https://www.amazon.com/Sixties-Diaries-1960-1969-Christopher-Isherwood/dp/0061185000/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538775781&sr=1-3&keywords=isherwood+diaries&dpID=51PYiXJzQYL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

 

Reading the Cleopatra biography, finally:

https://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Life-Stacy-Schiff/dp/0316001945/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538775819&sr=1-3&keywords=cleopatra

 

And, someone just gave me Washington Square, so I started that:

https://www.amazon.com/Washington-Square-Henry-James/dp/1720535973/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1538775855&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=washington+square+henry+james&psc=1

[Rod Hagen]

I really enjoyed "Less"; was not aware of Green until he won the Pulitzer for that book

 

If you are in or come to LA I can lend you my copy of this rather magnificent essay he wrote for McSweeneys years ago about his NASCAR weekend. Here's an exceprt, the actual article is about 8000 words. That said it will take me some time to find it, I just did a quick swep and didn't see it. But I'm sure I have it, let me know. Here's the excerpt:

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/gentleman-start-your-engines

[+ Avalon]

Reading the Cleopatra biography, finally:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Cleopatra-Li...UTF8&qid=1538775819&sr=1-3&keywords=cleopatra

 

One of my favorite women!

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra

[+ Topseed]

“Blockchain Basics”.

 

Character development could be better, but the plot is riveting. Kidding aside, I attended a seminar on this, and I want to learn more. Putting novels aside for a few weeks to dig into technology, which never has been my strong suit.

[Gadfly22]

"War is a Force that Gives us Meaning" - Chris Hedges

 

Like him but this book was a disappointment to me. Weepy anecdotes from his war reporting over the years and very selective moralization of the politics of war. (Not surprisingly) very critical of US policy. Every war we got involved in - from Vietnam onward - was a mistake and the few we stayed out of (more or less) he criticizes us for not getting involved and allowing "senseless slaughter". Like I said before I like him but he's trying to have his cake and eat it too with this one.

[Oscar Not Wilde]

Grant by Chernow.

[+ quoththeraven]

I'm slowly rereading Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (now there's someone who can say #MeToo) and reading A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert.

[+ WilliamM]

Presidents of War by Michael Beschloss

 

Published October 9, 2018

 

Mrs. Johnson would remind Lyndon that the FBI files that so absorbed him "had a lot of unevaluated information in them, accusation and gossip which hadn't been proved" (p. 548)

Edited October 11, 2018 by WilliamM

[+ Axiom2001]

I just finished reading Ms. Omarosa Magifault Newman's UNHINGED: AN INSIDER'S ACCOUNT OF THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE. ...found it to be a good read--feel differently about the author and would recommend.

 

Today I'm posting it to my mother since I purchased it when I was visiting her two months ago and saw that she was interested.

[Rod Hagen]

I'm slowly rereading Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (now there's someone who can say #MeToo) and reading A Girl Like Her by Talia Hibbert.

 

OOO I love Tess D'U. Good for you. I love everything I've read of Hardy. I particularly love his antagonism toward religion. The movie Tess is quite extraordinary. Rewatch it.

[+ quoththeraven]

OOO I love Tess D'U. Good for you. I love everything I've read of Hardy. I particularly love his antagonism toward religion. The movie Tess is quite extraordinary. Rewatch it.

I'm rereading it to see if I still love it 40+ years after I last read it. So far so good.

 

I read Jude the Obscure for the first time a couple of years sgo. I have friends, including an English professor who has taught it, who have issues with it, and I agree that the writing isn't as stellar as Tess, but it's still a powerful piece. Now I understand why Hardy got such pushback for it that he abandoned novel writing for poetry.

 

I saw Polanski's adaptation of Tess when it came out. It was extraordinarily good, but not only is it not on Netflix, which is the only streaming service I have, I am not sure I have the stomach to watch it again considering Polanski's history. On the one hand, if seeing that he pay for drugging and raping a thirteen year old girl is important, the government should have done it long ago. And his victim is opposed to dragging him back to serve his sentence. On the other hand, industry defenses of him because of his artistry are disgusting and tone deaf, particularly now that #MeToo, which was created by a Black woman in 2006, has attained traction.

 

For some reason, that he had drugged his victim wasn't part of the narrative I read until recently. No one focused on it back then.

 

Getting back to the movie itself, when I saw it, someone roughly my age or younger (mid-20s) was openly scoffing at the storyline until I shushed him by telling him premarital sex was a big deal back then. While it's clear in the final version of the novel that Tess was raped, if I remember correctly it's not as clear in the film. That would be another reason not to rewatch Polanski's adaptation. Did he make that choice because of his own experiences?

Edited October 11, 2018 by quoththeraven

[+ bigjoey]

I really enjoyed "Less"; was not aware of Green until he won the Pulitzer for that book

 

Nice, quick read. Loved his descriptions. Perfect for homosexual males of a certain age that will relate easily.