Books Thread
Moderators: Jonicont, mark lynn, Maluca3, Tequila Cowboy, BigTom, CooleyGirl, olwiggum
-
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:49 am
Re: Books Thread
Really surprised by the last page of this book... never thought it would happen to Philip Marlow...
Re: Books Thread
I finished Hillbilly Elegy at the beach and really enjoyed it!
-
- Posts: 21823
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
- Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path
Re: Books Thread
I wouldn't have classified it as beach reading but glad you enjoyed!Beaverdam wrote:I finished Hillbilly Elegy at the beach and really enjoyed it!
All opinions and commentary in my posts are solely my own and are made in my personal capacity.
-
- Posts: 21823
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
- Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path
Re: Books Thread
The Thirst by Jo Nesbo - IMHO one of the best of the Harry Hole mysteries, which is saying a lot. Great character development & exploration and a solid mystery w/ some good twists.
The Assassins trilogy by Robert Ferrigno - I'm not really into the futurist or alternative history genres so I think it says all that needs to be said that after I read the first of these I sought out & read the other 2 as quickly as i could. Not quite "must read" level but typical Ferrigno quality, an interesting premise and good main characters that I enjoyed following through multiple books.
Huck Out West by Robert Coover - A sequel to Huck Finn by the very good novelist, Robert Coover. It was interesting and parts were excellent but the last 50 or so pages really flagged and some of his imagined character developments (especially becky thatcher) didn't resonate for me. The biggest problem that Coover often uses a hammer when a gentle tap would be more than enough as he emphasized the classic distinctions between Tom and Huck and their meaning in the modern world. Worth a read, especially if you're a big Huck Finn fan (and who isn't?) and if you don't expect too much.
The Assassins trilogy by Robert Ferrigno - I'm not really into the futurist or alternative history genres so I think it says all that needs to be said that after I read the first of these I sought out & read the other 2 as quickly as i could. Not quite "must read" level but typical Ferrigno quality, an interesting premise and good main characters that I enjoyed following through multiple books.
Huck Out West by Robert Coover - A sequel to Huck Finn by the very good novelist, Robert Coover. It was interesting and parts were excellent but the last 50 or so pages really flagged and some of his imagined character developments (especially becky thatcher) didn't resonate for me. The biggest problem that Coover often uses a hammer when a gentle tap would be more than enough as he emphasized the classic distinctions between Tom and Huck and their meaning in the modern world. Worth a read, especially if you're a big Huck Finn fan (and who isn't?) and if you don't expect too much.
All opinions and commentary in my posts are solely my own and are made in my personal capacity.
-
- Posts: 2773
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:59 pm
- Location: headed down to Oakie City in a slightly stolen car
Re: Books Thread
Just finished this.
"Guitars talk. If you really want to write a song, ask a guitar." Neil Young
-
- Posts: 2773
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:59 pm
- Location: headed down to Oakie City in a slightly stolen car
Re: Books Thread
Really thought provoking book about how the current shape of economics courses in Universities limits the debate around how we deal with the economy. The authors main point is that by focussing exclusively on the neo-classical view of the economy (perfect markets, optimisation, equilibrium) that economists aren't equipped to deal with real world matters. As someone who studied economics at University back in the 80's i don't actually recognise this as being true but the authors also outline how the expansion in student numbers in the UK has lead to a move away from the classic sceptical liberal education; when I was at University this was just starting happen.
"Guitars talk. If you really want to write a song, ask a guitar." Neil Young
Re: Books Thread
Tequila Cowboy wrote:
I've been working my way through this for several months but couldn't really take more than 100 pages at a time, just too tough a story. One of the absolute saddest tales I've ever heard and when i finished it on a flight last night there were tears in my eyes. I hope no one noticed. That said it was an amazingly researched and beautifully written account of the band and probably the best Rock & Roll biography I've ever read.
Finally finished this after starting and stopping a few times.
It was heartbreaking.
There were a few laugh out loud passages though. Westerberg telling Patti Smith, "Why don't you go write another one of yer fuckin limericks", is priceless.
Re: Books Thread
Beebs is not a ragey man
- Tequila Cowboy
- Site Admin
- Posts: 20230
- Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:12 pm
- Location: The Twilight Zone, along with everyone else
Re: Books Thread
I've never read the Underworld Trilogy. I should probably get back to Ellroy one day. I really loved the L.A. Trilogy but I stopped reading him at a time in my life where his darkness did not jibe with my deep depression. Always loved his writing though, the man's a master.dogstar wrote:Just finished this.
We call him Scooby Do, but Scooby doesn’t do. Scooby, is not involved
-
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:49 am
Re: Books Thread
I read this to get some insight into JFK and the White House then and also why some people have affairs with famous people. Its to be expected that there is a fair chance for some negative consequences and fallout in the subsequent years after an affair is revealed. But what surprised me was that a lot of the writer's anger is directed at her husband (whom she met during the time of her affair with JFK - he didn't work at the White House or know that she was having it off with JFK - she continued with JFK during their courtship and after he proposed to her) and subsequently married after JFK's death, and yet to this day she still idolises JFK and no blame for the negative affects of the affair are left at JFK's door.
Last edited by Bon Scott's AC/DC on Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:49 am
Re: Books Thread
So, did Westerberg think Patti Smith was over-rated musically and lyrically?jr29 wrote:Tequila Cowboy wrote:
There were a few laugh out loud passages though. Westerberg telling Patti Smith, "Why don't you go write another one of yer fuckin limericks", is priceless.
-
- Posts: 151
- Joined: Wed Nov 30, 2016 10:49 am
Re: Books Thread
As the Queen of England said to some economists as she was being walked around the London School of Economics in 2009, if this it the biggest financial crisis since 1929, how come the (vast?) majority of Economists never saw it coming?dogstar wrote:
Really thought provoking book about how the current shape of economics courses in Universities limits the debate around how we deal with the economy. The authors main point is that by focussing exclusively on the neo-classical view of the economy (perfect markets, optimisation, equilibrium) that economists aren't equipped to deal with real world matters. As someone who studied economics at University back in the 80's i don't actually recognise this as being true but the authors also outline how the expansion in student numbers in the UK has lead to a move away from the classic sceptical liberal education; when I was at University this was just starting happen.
Re: Books Thread
Probably not. It was an argument over stage time.Bon Scott's AC/DC wrote:So, did Westerberg think Patti Smith was over-rated musically and lyrically?jr29 wrote:Tequila Cowboy wrote:
There were a few laugh out loud passages though. Westerberg telling Patti Smith, "Why don't you go write another one of yer fuckin limericks", is priceless.
Re: Books Thread
Finished up my last round of summer reading before school started back:
-
- Posts: 1284
- Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:46 am
- Location: southeastern PA
Re: Books Thread
Wow, I actually read two of those below. Story of the Band: interesting. Skydog: awesome!
Re: Books Thread
Beebs is not a ragey man
Re: Books Thread
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin comes out tomorrow. It's the last book in her Broken Earth trilogy. The first two books won the 2016 & 2017 Hugo award. She is turning the science fiction world on it's head. A woman and a black girl from Brooklyn. Check it out if this is your genre
Always go to the show
- whatwouldcooleydo?
- Posts: 13693
- Joined: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:44 pm
- Location: Desolation Row
- Contact:
Re: Books Thread
reading this gem again for the first time since 1987.
Wonder if this guy is related to Jason
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harris_Isbell
http://www.levity.com/aciddreams/samples/lexington.html
https://theundergroundmovement.org/tag/harris-isbell/
http://www.alternet.org/drugs/how-cias- ... -brilliant
Son, this ain't a dream no more, it's the real thing
-
- Posts: 21823
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
- Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path
Re: Books Thread
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch: Interesting and well worth reading but to me ultimately disappointing. It starts out as a thriller, morphs into a sort of alternative history/science fiction thing and then resolves the thriller aspect in kind of an anti-climactic way. But the early suspense is riveting and the questions raised by the alternative history/SF aspects are really compelling. Even though I come to a book like this from the thriller side rather than the SF side, I wish the author had gone further in exploring the philosophical questions he raises rather than getting a big bogged down in getting the plot to work. As it is I found his conclusion a little too pat and unexamined to be satisfying. But again, a very good read well worth the time.
Moskva by Jack Grimwood: An inside the Cold War Soviet Union mystery/thriller in the Child 44 or Gorky Park vein. Not quite up to the brilliant standards of those 2 books, but definitely worthy of being considered in that kind of company. I believe this is intended to be the kick-off to a series, which is good news. If you liked those other 2 you should read this one as long as you lower your expectations a notch or 2.
Moskva by Jack Grimwood: An inside the Cold War Soviet Union mystery/thriller in the Child 44 or Gorky Park vein. Not quite up to the brilliant standards of those 2 books, but definitely worthy of being considered in that kind of company. I believe this is intended to be the kick-off to a series, which is good news. If you liked those other 2 you should read this one as long as you lower your expectations a notch or 2.
All opinions and commentary in my posts are solely my own and are made in my personal capacity.
-
- Posts: 2773
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:59 pm
- Location: headed down to Oakie City in a slightly stolen car
Re: Books Thread
I'll add it to the list - thanks for the recommendation.Jonicont wrote:The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin comes out tomorrow. It's the last book in her Broken Earth trilogy. The first two books won the 2016 & 2017 Hugo award. She is turning the science fiction world on it's head. A woman and a black girl from Brooklyn. Check it out if this is your genre
"Guitars talk. If you really want to write a song, ask a guitar." Neil Young
-
- Posts: 3989
- Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:34 pm
Re: Books Thread
I Was Told To Come Alone, My Journey Behind The Lines of Jihad.
Odd that I am reading this while the current discussion in the political thread is going on. This is about recruitment procedures etc in radical Islam but it could be about neo Nazis or antifa.
Odd that I am reading this while the current discussion in the political thread is going on. This is about recruitment procedures etc in radical Islam but it could be about neo Nazis or antifa.
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.
Re: Books Thread
Keep beating that drum, Cole.Cole Younger wrote:Nazis or antifa
Beebs is not a ragey man
-
- Posts: 3989
- Joined: Sat Dec 17, 2011 6:34 pm
Re: Books Thread
Read the book and see for yourself.Beebs wrote:Keep beating that drum, Cole.Cole Younger wrote:Nazis or antifa
A single shot rifle and a one eyed dog.
-
- Posts: 7894
- Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 9:51 am
- Location: Little Rock, Arkansaw
- Contact:
Re: Books Thread
I haven't read the book, but I would be surprised if the means of recruiting young men to a cause varied much by the cause. Nazis, frats, leftists, rightists, Isis, the military: They're all working with the same raw material.Cole Younger wrote:Read the book and see for yourself.Beebs wrote:Keep beating that drum, Cole.Cole Younger wrote:Nazis or antifa
The sooner we put those assholes in the grave&piss on the dirt above it, the better off we'll be
Re: Books Thread
Beebs is not a ragey man
Re: Books Thread
Like one of Patterson's murder ballads come to life.
- Kudzu Guillotine
- Posts: 11761
- Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2010 10:46 am
Re: Books Thread
A few months ago, someone in an 80's New Wave discussion group on FB asked what Suzanne Vega was up to, which led me to discover her latest record, Lover, Beloved, a song cycle of sorts inspired by the life and works of Carson McCullers. Being somewhat enamored of the Southern Gothic, this sent me down the Carson McCullers rabbit hole. I started with The Member of the Wedding then sought out The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. I'd seen this on the shelf of a local bookstore not long ago and could not resist any longer. I'm not quite finished with it but have been reading it most of the summer. Back in July, there was a week long celebration of Carson held in Italy that I would have loved to have attended but it just wasn't possible. A Tree. A Rock. A Cloud., one of the short stories from this book, was recently turned into a movie by Karen Allen of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame. I believe I also read somewhere recently that there's going to be yet another big screen adaption of The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter. I have yet to see any of the movies based on Carson's works. I do know one thing and that's that she has inspired my own writing in ways few other authors have. As part of the centennial celebration of her birth this year, a box set of some of her works was released back in January that is on my wishlist.
-
- Posts: 2773
- Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 4:59 pm
- Location: headed down to Oakie City in a slightly stolen car
Re: Books Thread
"Guitars talk. If you really want to write a song, ask a guitar." Neil Young
Re: Books Thread
Recently finished this... Holy fucking yikes!
Currently enjoying this:
Currently enjoying this:
-
- Posts: 21823
- Joined: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:52 am
- Location: Trying to stay focused on the righteous path
Re: Books Thread
Haven't read the book but am aware of the story in general terms. Holy fucking yikes is right.scotto wrote:Recently finished this... Holy fucking yikes!
All opinions and commentary in my posts are solely my own and are made in my personal capacity.