What are you reading?

[+ FreshFluff]

What book are you reading, whether the old fashioned way or on your Kindle/iPad?

 

New on my iPad is The Passage of Power, the fourth book in Robert Caro's multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. The book covers the period between the presidential elections in 1960 and 1964. I like biographies in general, but what makes this one fascinating is, well, I'll let Caro say it:

 

What I'm interested in is using those lives to show how political power works. Not the textbook variety — the textbook things we learn in high school and college — but how power really works, the raw, naked reality of political power.

 

He did a great job on this in Master of the Senate, the previous volume of the LBJ biography.

 

Being the type who skips around when reading, I went straight to the section on the JFK assassination. Caro gives a great account of that day was illuminating, with a lot of details I hadn't heard.

[+ Charlie]

The most eye-opening political biography I ever read was Caro's "The Power Broker," about Robert Moses--and it was used as a textbook, in a graduate course I took on urban politics.

[Daverwr]

Nothing quite as lofty, but Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell about the Navy Seal ill-fated mission to capture or kill al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd. It is captivating, thrilling, heart-wrenching and uplifting all at once. This is my third read. And yes, it was made into a movie, which was equally moving.

[+ Gar1eth]

I'm re-reading Harry Potter. But to some extent I'm skipping around in the books. I don't know if anyone on the Forum has read them or cares about them. But something that may have occurred to me when I read Deathly Hallows when it first came back but definitely occurs to me now. I think Harry ended up giving Snape too much of a pass- naming his son after him and calling him one of the bravest men he ever knew. I'm not denying Snape didn't do some very brave deeds. But he was still hateful to Harry no matter how he felt about Lily.

 

Gman

[+ azdr0710]

"Devil In The White City" by Erik Larson....many of you have heard of it, I'm sure.....novelized version of real-life events at the legendary 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.....while visiting in downtown Chicago a couple years ago, I rented a bike and pedaled down the shore to Jackson Park to check out the exact site of the fair.....except for the Museum of Science and Industry, you'd never know anything ever happened there.....

[+ Gar1eth]

"Devil In The White City" by Erik Larson....many of you have heard of it, I'm sure.....novelized version of real-life events at the legendary 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.....while visiting in downtown Chicago a couple years ago, I rented a bike and pedaled down the shore to Jackson Park to check out the exact site of the fair.....except for the Museum of Science and Industry, you'd never know anything ever happened there.....

 

That is a fascinating book. I've started it so many times, and then something happens and I put it down. I know people are saying 'how can he think it's fascinating if he can't finish it?' The reason is that while I like the book I find it tough going to the subject matter. But it's an unbelievable- fascinating story. Since I s had to get rid of the majority of my books due to my reduced circumstances, I've bought it on my Kindle. So it's waiting for me as long as I have electricity to keep the Kindle charged.

 

I've also read Erik Larson's fascinating 'In The Garden Of The Beast' about the USA's ambassador and his family experiences in Nazi Germany in the years leading up to WW 2.

 

If anyone is interested in the White City- a temporary large exhibit built for the Chicago's 1893 World's Fair, here is a documentary on http://www.amazon.com

 

The documentary is really interesting and you can stream it online to watch it- and if you are an Amazon Prime Member- you can stream it for free.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004S77VGW?cache=24db7d44eafbe95008bca9b391540b9c&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70#ref=mp_s_a_1_6&qid=1393296364&sr=8-6

 

 

The White City was a fascinating place-a fantasy land of new inventions at the time. Here's a Wikipedia description if anyone is interested.

 

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_Columbian_Exposition

 

 

 

Gman

[+ FreshFluff]

Wish I could comment on the fiction books, but I've always been more attracted to non-fiction. A lot of people I know enjoy Harry Potter though.

 

Nothing quite as lofty, but Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell about the Navy Seal ill-fated mission to capture or kill al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd. It is captivating, thrilling, heart-wrenching and uplifting all at once. This is my third read. And yes, it was made into a movie, which was equally moving.

 

Caro's writing is very lucid, so his books--at least the two I've read--are pretty easy to read.

 

Lone Survivor sounds like a great read; another one to put on my list!

 

The most eye-opening political biography I ever read was Caro's "The Power Broker," about Robert Moses--and it was used as a textbook, in a graduate course I took on urban politics.

 

I've heard great things about the Moses book. If only I had unlimited time!

 

 

 

I've heard great things

[Epigonos]

Having been a history major a thousand years ago and still a major history buff I seldom read fiction. I am currently reading:

 

The General: Charles De Gaulle and the France He Saved by Jonathan Fenby

&

Queen Ann: The Politics of Passion by Anne Somerset

 

I just finished reading:

 

Explorers of the Nile:The Triumph and Tragedy of a Great Victorian Adventure by Tim Jeal

[+ Cash4Trash]

Just finished a book I thoroughly enjoyed - One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson.

[+ Gar1eth]

Just finished a book I thoroughly enjoyed - One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson.

 

I love Bryson's books. But I'm not sure I'd want to meet him. I get the impression he might be a lot like Andy Rooney- an amusing thoughtful guy. But probably better when strained through the medium of a book.

 

Gman

[Juan Vancouver]

I just finished "The Humans" by Matt Haigh. Incredibly funny, intelligent and gives a very fresh insightful view into what it means being a human.

 

http://books.google.ca/books/about/The_Humans.html?id=4mZ1XoSpR9UC&redir_esc=y

 

I am so sad that it is over but it was so good that I almost read it in one sitting.

 

The one before that was also really interesting and very well written. "Daring Greatly" by Brené Brown. A fascinating study on how vulnerability is the cornerstone of living a wholehearted, fulfilling life.

 

http://books.google.ca/books/about/Daring_Greatly.html?id=3rF7vvXa_yIC&redir_esc=y

[gallahadesquire]

After watching I, Claudius for the third time - once, on broadcast TV; once, on LaserDisc, and once, on DVD: Re-reading I, Claudius and Claudius, the God. Great BBC adaptation! But the books were, IMHO, better.

[TruHart1]

I must admit to being an aficionado of fiction, often fiction with a supernatural element. I purchased all the Potter books when the seventh came out and read the entire series through in order. J.K. Rowling really grew as a writer over those seven books. Reading her latest last year, which she originally released under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith (who knows why) titled The Cuckoo’s Calling, a very well written murder mystery with a memorable main character, I believe she has really come into her own as a writer.

 

I just finished a book by one of my favorite fiction authors: Dan Simmons. He enjoys writing historical fiction with many actual facts he has exhaustingly researched about a subject, often adding supernatural elements. This latest volume was The Abominable, and although many of his fans were disappointed that the plot, about an Everest climbing expedition, did a sort of bait and switch and did not have any real Abominable Snowmen, his attention to detail concerning how a summit attempt on Mt. Everest in 1925 was planned and attempted was fascinating to me.

 

His best historical novel for me was entitled Drood, about the final years of Charles Dickens life, which did have quite a bit of the supernatural but which stayed quite factual as to Dickens life in his final years. He also wrote The Terror, about the actual lost British expedition of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to the Arctic attempting to force the Northwest Passage in 1845–1848.

 

The Abominable was such a detailed, multi-layered novel, what I call a “dense” read, as I have found most of Simmons to be, that I am going to read some mindless fiction by the James Patterson book factory next for relaxation. Mistress. Yes, I do enjoy my trash mystery fast read novels too. They are a very guilty pleasure for me and help me recoup from more serious, better written books!

 

TruHart1

[wisconsinguy]

Slowly getting through, "The Best American Short Stories." Many of the authors I am first becoming acquainted with. Rand

[+ poolboy48220]

I read "Devil in the White City" a few years ago, I liked it so much I bought a couple copies for friends. I didn't like "In the Garden of Beasts" nearly as much - it had potential to be fascinating, but the US Ambassador was such an uninvolved participant during the time dulled it for me.

 

I finished "The Secret Garden" a few months ago and am dreading telling my sister-in-law that I didn't love it as much as she did. I thought it started out wonderful, but kind of petered out in the end. After that was "American Savage" by Dan Savage. Not one of his better books - I enjoy him more when he's got an actual story to tell, as in "The Kid" and "The Commitment", rather than just groupings of views on different topics.

 

I'm reading "The Days of Anna Madrigal", the (final?) book in the "Tales of the City" series, and I'm loving it.

[bigvalboy]

I'm half way through; Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth" ...It had gotten misplaced in the move and suddenly reappeared. I read it years and years ago, but always wanted to tackle it when I was older and had a different perspective on life. And "Drift" by Rachel Maddow. "Drift" came highly recommended, so I am anticipating a good read.

 

And just to soothe my mind after Campbell's work, and the always intense RM, I am going to lounge my way through a David Hockney retrospective. He is dusted off and ready to go...

[+ imagooddog]

Just finished an interesting book, very good read - "Rivers" by Michael Farris Smith

and

one of the best books I have read in years is "The Signature of All Things" by Elizabeth Gilbert

I highly recommend it.

[gp0560]

Just about to start The Custom of the Country (Edith Wharton), then it's on to Middlemarch (George Eliot).

[+ FreshFluff]

I'm a history buff who's particularly interested in WW2, so I've read The Third Reich at War by Evans; The Devil's Disciples by Read; and Albert Speer: His Battle with the Truth by Sereny. The Devil's Disciples discusses the people around Hitler.

 

What that means is that I have a whole shelf of books with swastikas on the spines. When I brought my organizer in, placed those books them near the floor, so people wouldn't see them.

 

Just about to start The Custom of the Country (Edith Wharton), then it's on to Middlemarch (George Eliot).

 

I've always meant to read some either that or House of Mirth. From what I've heard, her description of NYC's social whirl is still somewhat applicable today.

[dannyboynyc]

I've read different types of books - lots about the Kennedy family, novels, history books. My current book, which I've just started, is "The Days of Anna Madrigal" by Armistead Maupin. This is supposed to be the last book in the Tales of the City series. I've read all the previous books. One reviewer commented on this series - something like, "Reading these books is like reading about old friends." I totally agree. I'm glad I read the series in order - each book builds on the prior books. All the stories tend to have interesting circles - they come to amazing conclusions.

[Epigonos]

Damn gp0560 my hat is off to you. A former colleague of mine, who taught turn of the 20th Century American Literature, absolutely adored Edith Wharton. She never stopped talking about what a wonderful author Wharton was. Then in 2007 Hermione Lee published “Edith Wharton” so I decided to give it a go and see what all the fuss was about. The biography was NOT an easy read, all 700+ pages of it, but it was informative and mildly interesting. I had seen the 1993 film “Age of Innocence” staring Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder and after finishing the Lee book though I would start with it as my first venture into the novels of Wharton. Dear god in heaven that was probably the hardest reads of my life. I finished the damn thing but it ended any interest I had in the works of Edith Wharton.

[Irtwo]

Same as FreshFluff, I like history and especially WWII era books. "Royals and the Reich:The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany" was an interesting read. It's about how various German nobility dealt with Nazi Germany. Also how they are all related (the present Queen's husband had a sister who was married to one of the Nazi-tied royals).

[Kevin Slater]

I'm re-reading Harry Potter. But to some extent I'm skipping around in the books. I don't know if anyone on the Forum has read them or cares about them. But something that may have occurred to me when I read Deathly Hallows when it first came back but definitely occurs to me now. I think Harry ended up giving Snape too much of a pass- naming his son after him and calling him one of the bravest men he ever knew. I'm not denying Snape didn't do some very brave deeds. But he was still hateful to Harry no matter how he felt about Lily.

 

Gman

 

If you pick the series up again, might I suggest listening to the audio version instead? Jim Dale does a superb job reading. It breathes new life for a second or third read.

 

Kevin Slater

[Kevin Slater]

I recently finish McCullough's biography of Truman. Even though it won the Pulitzer, I didn't care for it nearly as much as his biography of John Adams. I was really looking forward to the thought that went into the dropping of the second atomic bomb, and McCullough made such extensive mention of Truman's playing of poker throughout the book that I thought he was going to make some analogy. As it turns out, once the decision to use bombs was made, the when, where and how often apparently became a military matter and in fact Truman was crossing the Atlantic at the time and not part of the immediate go-ahead. I would recommend skipping the first 8,000 pages about farming in western Missouri and picking up directly at Harry's birth.

 

I've just started The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I'm sure it was written for adolescents, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

 

Next up on my iPad is Wolf Hall.

 

Kevin Slater

[Decatur Guy]

After watching I, Claudius for the third time - once, on broadcast TV; once, on LaserDisc, and once, on DVD: Re-reading I, Claudius and Claudius, the God. Great BBC adaptation! But the books were, IMHO, better.

 

I LOVED the late '70s Masterpiece Theatre production.