Re: Books Thread
Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 5:37 am
Real good so far. I got my goddaughter the first book in the series for Xmas & she was quite happy to get it.
The place for all things HeAthens
http://www.threedimesdown.com/forum/
Try this:Shakespeare wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 12:42 pm
Was really curious about this, as it's regarded as one of the first jazz novel. Published in 1938, so not quite the infancy of jazz, but early enough I wondered what type of story it could tell without the pop culture footprint available for a bebop type character. Answer was a pretty good, if basic one. It is a jazz novel but not necessarily a novel for jazzheads only. She writes about the music of course, but not academically. The only thing I'd say kept this from being more than just a jazz story is the story itself, which was a pretty standard rise and fall type tale. It's jazz setting was the hook, so it's audience felt limited right off the bat. Bit of a shame
I thought it did some interesting things racially, even if like almost any Woke Book from the time it had plenty of language that did not age well. The main character is a white trumpeter (inspired by but not really based on bix Beiderbecke) with some questionable, if mostly passive, views early on, but he falls (platonically) for a black drummer and that becomes the emotional core of the book. He still says and thinks some clunky things after that point, but he's embraced by the black jazz community, while baker (who was white) seems to somewhat deliberately cast the other white characters as either entirely ignorant of the race of the musicians they tried to copy, or outwardly racist in their aim to ride the black musicians' wave to bigger success. I wouldn't say it totally stuck the landing on all this, but points for at least trying to say something about the questionable racial politics behind some of Jazz's biggest pop stars then and since
So I liked it overall. Would have appreciated more length given to the downfall portion (there really wasn't a ton there. Some booze but not really a drug and scandal type downfall. Dude just muffed a solo in a sideman gig and took it hard) but even that had some interesting layers to it (everyone in studio noticed it, but only one guy recognized it as a physically impossible note to hit). Mostly a neat time capsule but plenty of solid writing overall
I feel you Kudzu. The last five years have really changed my reading habits. Historically, I read anywhere from a book a month to a book a week, but something has changed. Pandemic, family, stressful politics, I don't know. I too plowed through the first few chapters of Deusner's book and was excited to continue, but it's mixed in a stack of 10+ other partially read books on my nightstand. Like many, I'd expect, I read a LOT more news than I used to, but sure seems like there is a lot more to pay attention to these days.Kudzu Guillotine wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:57 amI can't remember the last time I read a book or magazine or the last time I put pen to paper. It is not been until just recently that I even listened to an album in its entirety. I've been told by others that this is somehow tied to the pandemic. I bought Stephen Deusner's Where the Devil Don't Stay when it was first published hoping that would help break the spell but it's still sitting there collecting dust. The last reading spurt I had was a big and significant one. I was in the middle of reading Peter Guralnick's Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock n' Roll when something led me to Carson McCullers. During that same time frame I had been digging into other Southern writers such as Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty so exploring that path is likely where Carson's name came up. At any rate, I immediately sought out The Member of the Wedding, which I couldn't put down. When I tried returning to Guralnick's book I was unsuccessful. I then proceeded to seek out every book by Carson that I could find. I feel she also had an impact on my writing. Perhaps this voraciousness for reading will return at some point, as well as my desire to write, paint, and draw.
I'd love to answer in the affirmative but it's doubtful that's going to happen. I've even purchased a few magazines in hopes they would help break the spell, especially Oxford American's annual Southern music issue. At least the CD that came with it became the first full length album I'd listened to in two years which, in turn, led to more. I also recently attended my first live show (Lilly Hiatt) in over two years which was also therapeutic. Not just the show but seeing friends and returning to Raleigh for the first time since I left nearly two years ago. One step at a time but I'm sure I'll get there slowly but surely.
It was ok but I wasn't overly impressed. Too much stuff about the author, not enough about the band especially some periods.Kudzu Guillotine wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:57 amI can't remember the last time I read a book or magazine or the last time I put pen to paper. It is not been until just recently that I even listened to an album in its entirety. I've been told by others that this is somehow tied to the pandemic. I bought Stephen Deusner's Where the Devil Don't Stay when it was first published hoping that would help break the spell but it's still sitting there collecting dust. The last reading spurt I had was a big and significant one. I was in the middle of reading Peter Guralnick's Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock n' Roll when something led me to Carson McCullers. During that same time frame I had been digging into other Southern writers such as Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty so exploring that path is likely where Carson's name came up. At any rate, I immediately sought out The Member of the Wedding, which I couldn't put down. When I tried returning to Guralnick's book I was unsuccessful. I then proceeded to seek out every book by Carson that I could find. I feel she also had an impact on my writing. Perhaps this voraciousness for reading will return at some point, as well as my desire to write, paint, and draw.
I very much enjoyed it as well, though not as much as All the Light... I initially found the time shifts disconcerting but it worked well once I got into the rhythm of it. Corralling all the various strands into a single whole is an impressive tour de force of writing skill and imagination.Flea wrote: ↑Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:39 pmbeantownbubba wrote: ↑Wed Nov 17, 2021 11:45 pmThis is his new one, right? I loved All the Light... and am eager to check this one out. What do ya think?
I very much enjoyed it. It takes place in 3 times/locations: Middle Ages Constantinople, modern Idaho, and on a spaceship in the future traveling to a distant star system. To say more would be an injustice. Thought it would be a sci-fi novel, but I was wrong; it's quite good.
Yet another book aimed directly at my nostalgic Brooklyn heart.beantownbubba wrote: ↑Tue Apr 12, 2022 12:53 pmI normally don't post about books until I finish them, but I'm really enjoying the early pages of Xochitl Gonzalez's Olga Dies Dreaming. And then there's this:
"He fucked with his socks on, yet it surprised Olga how little she cared." Loses a little out of context, but still...
From p. 382: "Damn near taking Gina piece by piece until there was barely nothing left." Remind anyone of anything?beantownbubba wrote: ↑Sun May 29, 2022 2:41 pmCurrently reading The Heathens by Ace Atkins. Just sayin'. So far no references to or quotes from the song even though a couple of the charaacters would fit quite comfortably in it.