What are You Reading?

[+ WilliamM]

"incompatible Grace: JFK the Presidency" by Mark Updegave

Mark is the former executive of the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas

[Danny-Darko]

'Night of the Long Knives: Hitler's excision of Rohm's SA Brownshirts, 30 June - 2 July 1934'

by Phil Carradice 

Edited May 24, 2022 by Danny-Darko

[guy7777]

2 hours ago, Danny-Darko said:

'Night of the Long Knives: Hitler's excision of Rohm's SA Brownshirts, 30 June - 2 July 1934'

by Phil Carradice 

This looks very interesting. I've read a number of articles about "The night of long knives". It's also fascinating how Ernst Rohm was openly homosexual, and the press and public were aware of his sexual orientation. 

If I'm not mistaken, at one time he was also the second highest ranking official in the Nazi party. 

Edited May 24, 2022 by guy7777

[Micheal Wade]

BLOODLANDS: Europe Between Hitler And Stalin, By Timothy Snyder

[+ azdr0710]

I'm not reading it, but just saw this at nbcnews dot com........

Secret City: The Hidden History Of Gay Washington  

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/washington-dcs-hidden-gay-history-uncovered-secret-city-rcna31447

Edited June 2, 2022 by azdr0710

[Danny-Darko]

On 5/22/2022 at 5:03 PM, Charlie said:

Robert Morrison's The Regency Years, about the years in the early 19th century when the future King George IV was ruling as Regent in place of his insane father George III. He divides the book into topics, and one of the longest chapters is Ch. 3, "Sexual Pastimes, Pleasures and Perversities." There is a lot in it about homosexuality, including male brothels, in Merrie Olde England.

Thank you for your recommendation Charlie! My county public library has one in their shared collection and it arrived at my branch today reserved for me. I'll be reading it over the weekend. Thanks again! 👍 

[Alpha714]

I just started the audiobook of this.  Love British history so am looking forward to listening

[+ poolboy48220]

There's a book out by Andy Weir, the author of 'The Martian', about Professor Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes' nemesis), but as far as I can tell it's only an audiobook, no print edition.  If anyone finds otherwise please let me know, I absolutely loved his last book "Project Hail Mary".

[RealAvalon]

On 6/2/2022 at 10:03 AM, azdr0710 said:

I'm not reading it, but just saw this at nbcnews dot com........

Secret City: The Hidden History Of Gay Washington  

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/washington-dcs-hidden-gay-history-uncovered-secret-city-rcna31447

It's on order at our public library, I'm on the waiting list for it 

[KateNickolson]

The topic is as relevant as ever. 
Reading Pride and Prejudice once again, I still worry about whether Lizzie and Mr. Darcy are destined to be together. I definitely recommend the novel for reading.
It should be read thoughtfully, without skipping the dialogues. No, you won't lose the meaning of the narrative, but you will lose something more - versatility and charm.
How well that I read the novel at a conscious age. Otherwise I would never have married and waited for Mr. Darcy. Re-read, revised, and listened to it to bits and pieces.... "Everyone knows that a young man of means should look for a wife."

[+ Lucky]

On 5/23/2022 at 3:16 PM, WilliamM said:

"incompatible Grace: JFK the Presidency" by Mark Updegave

Mark is the former executive of the Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, Texas

It's not incompatible!

[BtmBearDad]

I’m juggling three books right now: 

1.) Shuggie Bain  - Douglas Stuart 
It’s not an easy read, and not for everyone but as I read it, I find it very rewarding. 
2.) Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe
It is a well researched, and well written account of the disappearance, and presumed murder of Jean McConville, a 39 year old mother of 10 in Belfast in 1972. This is *the* crime from The Troubles, with most convinced Gerry Adams gave to order to “disappear” Jean McConville. 
3.) Good Behaviour - Molly Keane
 A nice light, witty, and dry humoured read. She’s a favourite of mine, one of the greats of the Anglo Irish literary genre. 
 

I usually do juggle a few books at the same time - a “heavy” novel, some non-fiction, and something “light”. My previous “trifecta” was Country Girls - Edna O’Brien, The Last Kaiser - Giles McDonogh, and Another World - Pat Barker. 
 

I also do enjoy the “speculative/alternative history” genre. A while ago I read one, with the premise that the Russian Revolution failed, and the monarchy continued. It was a bit heavy on the military facts, (troop numbers, types of arms, class of boats, bombs, etc.), as it went through all the wars but some like that. I tended to skim those pages to be honest. It was a nice escape, with fleshed out characters, realistic historical characters in conversation, etc..

 

BBD

[mike carey]

I must find my copy and read it now I know it's a western!

Yes, I do know what it is really about.

An excellent Twitter thread, including tweeps earnestly saying 'This is not what it's about' and the OP making equally earnest dead-pan replies:

https://twitter.com/dagger0621/status/1548007891373678593?s=20&t=e8TOa58E0l7pkpUnbu7L4Q

[KeepItReal]

The story of how British Imperialism screwed up a country to get to it's riches. And laid the groundwork for what became apartheid South Africa. 

 

[+ Charlie]

I have just finished reading a biography of Owen Wister, a writer most famous as the author of The Virginian, the novel that set the pattern for all the  cowboy stories, movies, TV Westerns and musicals of the past century. I took it out of the library, because the stunningly sexy photo of Wister on the cover fascinated me--it was one he could have used on Rent.men, and would have made me interested in hiring him. Although he fathered six children by a strong woman, my gaydar still tells me that he was a closeted homosexual.

He had a domineering mother, daughter of a famous English actress, and a weak, withdrawn father, a member of a leading Philadelphia family . He lived from 1860 to 1938, so of course he wasn't "out" in our sense, but he had intense friendships with many men of all sorts, from Henry James and Theodore Roosevelt to young men whom he hired to take him on camping and hunting expeditions in the wilds of Wyoming. In his early 20s, he became obsessed by a pair of Harvard undergrads,  whom he described as, "No friends of my youth surpassed, and very few others ever equaled, the wit and humor of that pair of gay seniors." The first time he was approached by a female prostitute, he fled in horror. He didn't seem to have any interest in women younger than his mother until he was 38, when he suddenly decided he needed a wife, and married a  much younger cousin. He frequently left her for extended periods to "recover his health" in the company of rough young ranch hands and military men in the West. Although he was a robust athlete, he often suffered and was treated for obviously psychosomatic illnesses, often triggered by long stretches of heterosexual family life, and he recovered by getting away in exclusively male company. He was also a passionate opera lover and composer, who wrote music and script for Broadway musicals. He loved to dress up in fancy costumes and perform on stage. When he was in prep school, he needed a date for the theater, so he took a younger male classmate, dressed convincingly as a woman.

The biography, by Darwin Payne of Southern Methodist University, was written almost a half century ago, and Payne never touches the question of sexual orientation or activity, but everything in the picture he paints of Wister screams classic gay man to me.

[BtmBearDad]

@Charlie What was the name of the biography? I’ll be needing a non-fiction book for my next trifecta.

I remember many years ago being dragged to a lecture on “Cowboys in Literature” or something like that. I say “dragged” as I was not a fan of Westerns. The speaker offered that cowboys gave the authors a way to explore male same sex relationships that would be socially acceptable. He even argued many of the authors were quite probably closeted gay men - I do remember he cited Owen Wister as one of the Western authors who was probably gay.

I wound up enjoying the lecture, and picked up The Virginian the next day. 
 

BBD 

[+ Charlie]

9 hours ago, BtmBearDad said:

@Charlie What was the name of the biography? I’ll be needing a non-fiction book for my next trifecta.

I remember many years ago being dragged to a lecture on “Cowboys in Literature” or something like that. I say “dragged” as I was not a fan of Westerns. The speaker offered that cowboys gave the authors a way to explore male same sex relationships that would be socially acceptable. He even argued many of the authors were quite probably closeted gay men - I do remember he cited Owen Wister as one of the Western authors who was probably gay.

I wound up enjoying the lecture, and picked up The Virginian the next day. 
 

BBD 

Darwin Payne, Owen Wister: Chronicler of the West, Gentleman of the East. Southern Methodist University Press, 1985.

[+ Lucky]

21 hours ago, Charlie said:

I have just finished reading a biography of Owen Wister, a writer most famous as the author of The Virginian, the novel that set the pattern for all the  cowboy stories, movies, TV Westerns and musicals of the past century. I took it out of the library, because the "stunningly sexy photo of Wister on the cover" fascinated me--it was one he could have used on Rent.men, and would have made me interested in hiring him.

 

This is the stunningly sexy photo @Charliespeaks of:

[+ Charlie]

13 hours ago, Lucky said:

This is the stunningly sexy photo @Charliespeaks of:

That is NOT the photo on the cover of the edition of the book that I have, although it is one of the photos within the book. The photo on the cover of my book is of a tall, athletic-looking, handsome man, probably in his thirties, lounging in a chair with his booted legs crossed, dressed in a rather fancy cowboy outfit, staring boldly at the photographer. The photo above is of Wister as an uneasy young Philadelphia lawyer.

Correction: As I looked later at the photo on my book cover, I realized that he is actually dressed as a dude, but in a wide-brimmed hat, in a photo taken in Wyoming in the early 1890s. He has a dark beard and mustache, and looks very conscious of his hot pose.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Charlie
Correction

[+ Lucky]

Sorry @Charliefor the mistake. I didn't find the cover art that you have.

[+ Charlie]

1 minute ago, Lucky said:

Sorry @Charliefor the mistake. I didn't find the cover art that you have.

I think the cover that you posted is of a later paperback edition. The hardcover edition is available on discount websites.

[Rod Hagen]

Finished and loved Shuggie Bain so very very very much.

 

Now reading....

 

[+ Lucky]

22 minutes ago, Charlie said:

I think the cover that you posted is of a later paperback edition. The hardcover edition is available on discount websites.

This is the best shot I could find.

[+ Charlie]

16 minutes ago, Lucky said:

This is the best shot I could find.

That's the one! That handsome face, the penetrating eyes, the long fingers (he was a talented pianist), the insouciant slouch--sigh. You could take him to the opera or a leather bar, and people would notice him. When he came back from a trip out West, people commented on the loss of the baby fat and pallor of his days in the law office.

[+ WilliamM]

William Barr, "One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs  of An Attorney General

Comments 

His relationship with George H W Bush and later Donald J Trump are interesting. 

His Attack on Lyndon B Johnson's war of poverty including head start are surprising