Master Index of Archived Threads


What are you reading in 2011?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 01 2011 05:44 AM

I'm starting the new year with this biography of Edward R. Murrow. I'm only at the beginning of Murrow's broadcasting career, and it looks like a pretty solid book. I think it will probably get better and better as we get into the 1940's and 1950's.

metirish Jan 01 2011 06:38 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I had a very start-stop reading in 2010, I need to do better in 2011.

Fman99 Jan 17 2011 08:07 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Sucked down Jay Winik's "The Great Upheaval" over the last week and today, on a cross country flight, I read (at ABNS' recommendation) Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint." I liked it. Who would have thought I would enjoy a book about a potty mouthed Jewish chronic masturbator? Next up is Langguth's "Union 1812."

Benjamin Grimm Jan 17 2011 08:42 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: Next up is Langguth's "Union 1812." I was terribly disappointed by that book. His Patriots was a great book about the Revolution. His followup was a dud.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 17 2011 08:56 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished this one, a thriller from Wifey Bucket's book club about 4 ordinary women co-workers at a box-lunch factory who get mixed up in a murder. Oughta be a movie.

RealityChuck Jan 18 2011 12:06 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Vanished Smile: the Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa Fun fact: The police thought Pablo Picasso was a prime suspect.

metirish Jan 18 2011 12:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Finished this....Ed Loy PI back in Dublin after twenty years in Los Angeles Hughes is a a playwright and founder of the Rough Magic Theatre Company in Dublin....his writing is great and full of wit and charm http://www.declanhughesbooks.com/index.php Reading this now from American/Irish author Tana French set in Dublin too http://tanafrench.com/pagesus/readmore.htm

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Jan 18 2011 12:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

With a lot of car-dealership sitting-around-time, I'm finally tackling Personal History, the massive Katharine Graham memoir.

Fman99 Jan 30 2011 06:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Next up is Langguth's "Union 1812." I was terribly disappointed by that book. His Patriots was a great book about the Revolution. His followup was a dud. Yep. I actually put it down halfway through, what a poorly written and meandering fail of a book. I'm now reading this which is a really neat little piece of historical writing:

metirish Feb 09 2011 11:44 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Reading this now from American/Irish author Tana French set in Dublin too http://tanafrench.com/pagesus/readmore.htm OMFG am I pissed?....yes I am Regarding the book above , when you read the synopsis wouldn't it be reasonable to believe that the 1984 mystery would be resolved too? A 12-year-old girl is found murdered at an archaeological site at the center of a controversial highway construction project. Katy Devlin was a popular girl who had recently been accepted to the Royal Ballet School; her father is an outspoken opponent of the new roadway. But what haunts Detective Rob Ryan about this case is its location: the quiet town of Knocknaree, Ireland -- in the very woods where he used to play as a child. Twenty years ago, a young Rob and his two best friends went into the woods, chasing each other, playing in a castle of ruins. But they didn't return to their homes at sunset. A search party was dispatched to canvas the woods, finding only a catatonic Rob clawing at a tree, his clothing ripped, his shoes filled with blood. Detective Ryan has always guarded this secret of his past, but the recent murder forces him to reveal it to his new partner, drawing them closer together in the search for the perpetrator. Is there a connection between Rob's childhood trauma and Katy Devlin's murder? And is Detective Ryan prepared to confront the secrets that lie deep in those woods? Suspects abound in this fast-paced mystery -- a stunning debut that examines the complexities of the human mind and the cost of discovering the truth. I feel so cheated with the way it ended.......FU French.

Ceetar Feb 09 2011 11:51 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

final book in Jim Butcher's non-Dresden series.

HahnSolo Feb 10 2011 07:14 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

metirish wrote: metirish wrote: A 12-year-old girl is found murdered at an archaeological site at the center of a controversial highway construction project. Katy Devlin was a popular girl who had recently been accepted to the Royal Ballet School; her father is an outspoken opponent of the new roadway. But what haunts Detective Rob Ryan about this case is its location: the quiet town of Knocknaree, Ireland -- in the very woods where he used to play as a child. Twenty years ago, a young Rob and his two best friends went into the woods, chasing each other, playing in a castle of ruins. But they didn't return to their homes at sunset. A search party was dispatched to canvas the woods, finding only a catatonic Rob clawing at a tree, his clothing ripped, his shoes filled with blood. Detective Ryan has always guarded this secret of his past, but the recent murder forces him to reveal it to his new partner, drawing them closer together in the search for the perpetrator. Is there a connection between Rob's childhood trauma and Katy Devlin's murder? And is Detective Ryan prepared to confront the secrets that lie deep in those woods? Suspects abound in this fast-paced mystery -- a stunning debut that examines the complexities of the human mind and the cost of discovering the truth. I feel so cheated with the way it ended.......FU French. Clearly the perpetrator was his twin brother Rex.

Edgy DC Feb 10 2011 07:25 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

So the complexities of the human mind weren't cleared up for you?

metirish Feb 10 2011 07:35 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Edgy DC wrote: So the complexities of the human mind weren't cleared up for you? No , and I guess I'd need to keep buying her books, no thanks....what pisses me off is that she spends a good portion of the book setting you up for a dual conclusion and then in the last few pages it becomes apparent that is not happening.

Edgy DC Feb 10 2011 07:50 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Serial mysteries tend to be a real a circle jerk.

cooby Feb 18 2011 05:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 18 2011 07:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

A little pre-Baseball Prospectus/AA Annual gift just came in the mail.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 23 2011 12:42 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I don't have my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2011 yet, but I browsed the Mets section today in a book store. Omar Minaya is excoriated. Ollie Perez is the Mets margarita machine. And Ike Davis' average HR traveled 416 feet. (HR champ Jose Bautista's average HR traveled 403 feet last season). My memory is fuzzy on this last one, but PECOTA predicts 19 HR's for Nick Evans. I think.

HahnSolo Feb 23 2011 12:54 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: A little pre-Baseball Prospectus/AA Annual gift just came in the mail. I've had my eye on this one since reading an excerpt in SI about a month or so ago.

batmagadanleadoff Feb 24 2011 11:06 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I don't have my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2011 yet, but I browsed the Mets section today in a book store. Omar Minaya is excoriated. Ollie Perez is the Mets margarita machine. And Ike Davis' average HR traveled 416 feet. (HR champ Jose Bautista's average HR traveled 403 feet last season). My memory is fuzzy on this last one, but PECOTA predicts 19 HR's for Nick Evans. I think. Check out this thread, beginning at the 8:26 PM mark. It's the IGT for Luis Castillo sac bunting against left fielder turned pitcher Joe Mather in last season's 20 inning Card game right after Reyes drew a walk to lead off the top of the 19th (game still scoreless). BP 2011 writes that this play was so dumb and on so many levels, that it considered writing an entire chapter to tell its readers just how dumb it was to sac bunt against a left fielder. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes ... 4170.shtml

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 24 2011 11:40 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Rereading that just gave me JerryRage all over again. BP's in stores? My copy apparently has yet to ship.

TheOldMole Feb 24 2011 01:59 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just started this, and I'm loving it. An epistolary novel, between two brothers, one a married man with a gay lover, the other about to take his final vows as a Hindu monk. It's got characters that matter, and it's about things that matter. I've been reading about the Auden generation, and that got me interested in Isherwood -- and this was the book I chanced upon in a used book store. And glad I did.

RealityChuck Feb 24 2011 05:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I just finished this one: A friend of mine is an Upfield fanatic. His detective was the half-aboriginal detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte. Lots of details about Australia and some decent puzzles. I'm working on this: An aspect of the Civil War that has been ignored.

Edgy DC Feb 26 2011 07:58 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

TheOldMole wrote: Just started this, and I'm loving it. An epistolary novel, between two brothers, one a married man with a gay lover, the other about to take his final vows as a Hindu monk. It's got characters that matter, and it's about things that matter. I've been reading about the Auden generation, and that got me interested in Isherwood -- and this was the book I chanced upon in a used book store. And glad I did. Submit your epistolary novel to the same publisher.

themetfairy Feb 26 2011 08:50 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Feb 26 2011 05:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Rereading that just gave me JerryRage all over again. BP's in stores? My copy apparently has yet to ship. Just got it. Digging in, along with this intriguing argument against Western aid money in its traditional form:

batmagadanleadoff May 03 2011 04:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I don't have my copy of Baseball Prospectus 2011 yet, but I browsed the Mets section today in a book store.... Ike Davis' average HR traveled 416 feet. (HR champ Jose Bautista's average HR traveled 403 feet last season). Today's posts in the Ike thread got me to thinking about the average distance on Ike's HR's. I heard this stat (posted above) quoted during a Met game about two weeks ago, and then realized that the stat is flawed -- skewed in favor of Ike because he plays half his games in a park with dimensions that are deeper than most other parks. For example, if a player played in a stadium where the outfield fence was uniformly 410 feet from home plate all the way around, that player would have to hit the baseball farther than 410 feet to hit a HR. In that park, the average distance of his HR's would be at least something greater than 410 feet. This would be so whether the player is a prolific HR hitter or whether he hits HR's as infrequently as Ruben Tejada. Because the park prevents a hitter from hitting, say, 370 feet HR's, his average HR distance is kept high because of the park dimensions. The best way to measure a player's propensity to hit a baseball for long distances would be to simply review the hit tracker data. A 340 foot fly ball straight down the left field line is a 340 foot fly ball straight down the left field line: whether that particular fly ball is caught at the warning track or lands over the fence on a fly is dependent on the dimensions of the playing field, once hit.

Fman99 May 03 2011 07:59 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Reading "Live from New York," a look back at the first thirty years of Saturday Night Live as told from the perspective of the cast and crew. Interesting stuff.

Fman99 May 03 2011 08:02 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Whoops, wrong thread.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 03 2011 09:18 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

NY Times food writer follows America's attempt to join the elite culinary nations by profiling a year in the preparation for the prestigious Bocuse d'Or competition, the Olympics of serious cheffery. I admired Freidman's devotion to his subject and he really admires how hard they work but it's a lot of inside baseball and the climax is kinda lacking. working on John Thorn's BASEBALL IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN NOW, quite good so far.

Willets Point May 04 2011 07:40 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Reading "Live from New York," a look back at the first thirty years of Saturday Night Live as told from the perspective of the cast and crew. Interesting stuff. Also known as:

seawolf17 May 04 2011 08:02 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Thanks for reminding me I wanted to read that SNL book. Requested.

batmagadanleadoff May 04 2011 10:43 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on May 04 2011 07:05 PM

And aping the "Covering Lolita" page: French 1st ed. movie posters

Benjamin Grimm May 04 2011 11:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

This is the copy I have, and have had since I was a kid. I found it recently, and plan to reread it some day. I can tell how old it is because I stuck an Iron Man "FOOM" sticker on the inside front cover.

soupcan May 11 2011 07:46 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

After soliciting suggestions via Facebook, I had three different friends unrelated to one another enthusiastically suggest this book: I'm halfway through and it is amazing. A true story of an Olympic distance runner/ WWII Airman and his incredible - INCREDIBLE! - experiences in the South Pacific during the war. A true page-turner. If you're looking for someting to read, pick it up, you will not be disappointed.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 11 2011 07:59 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

On the list, thanks, Soupy.

Rockin' Doc May 11 2011 07:44 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Unbroken is next up on my list. I was going to download it to my Nook, but during a meeting this past Monday, I saw that our church library has a new copy on the shelves. I plan to check it out after services this Sunday.

Edgy DC May 27 2011 09:55 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Kaboom. Hopefully arriving in time for my road trip to Pittsburgh and Chicago.

Edgy DC May 27 2011 10:04 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Making meaning of Jimmy Feldman. Josh Wilker, please write my obituary.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 27 2011 10:18 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

What a great cover, looks like a whole series that way. I do not share JW's affection for BNBiBT but will read the shit out of that book anyway.

HahnSolo May 27 2011 12:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Would love to see this back-jacket blurb: "Let the kids play."-- Bob Watson

Edgy DC May 27 2011 12:30 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Yeah, thank Heavens for Watson. It's always hard for William Devane to get a chant going on his own. [youtube:alyzirz2]GOV2GcEYFDk[/youtube:alyzirz2]

Fman99 May 27 2011 02:54 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Despite my own desire to not like them, I am knee deep and invested in the Harry Potter books at the recommendation of Fdad, himself a voracious reader.

soupcan May 27 2011 06:57 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: Despite my own desire to not like them, I am knee deep and invested in the Harry Potter books at the recommendation of Fdad, himself a voracious reader. I read every word of every one of them out loud to my boys. When they were little, I'd read a chapter a night when I put them to bed. They loved it (so did I).

seawolf17 May 27 2011 08:38 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Harry Potter is brilliant. Just read Unbroken on y'all's recommendation: stunning.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 27 2011 09:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Harry Potter is brilliant. Just read Unbroken on y'all's recommendation: stunning. I went to get a copy at my local store but couldn;t part with $29, will put in a request with the library. Finished off this book recently. Like most baseball fans I know the Doubleday-invented-baseball story is a myth but until this book I never even thought to consider why: Turns out a new-age religious cult was influential, not to mention political pressure. Interesting. Also blows some holes in the Alexander Cartwright myth. It drags in places, makes certain points too often, and doesn't really answer "who created baseball" in that it's a question without a simple answer but plots the need to embrace baseball as an American trait to its longstanding roots and will probably show you what you know about baseball's birth isn't enough.

Rockin' Doc May 28 2011 03:19 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

seawolf17 wrote: Just read Unbroken on y'all's recommendation: stunning. Fascinating look at the brutality that man is capable of as well as the perseverance and resilience of the human spirit. A great book that was hard to put down.

batmagadanleadoff May 30 2011 07:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

You won't be able to read this one until November. Product Description This book tells the complete, unvarnished story of the great Tom Seaver, that rarest of all American heroes, the New York Sports Icon. In a city that produces not mere mortals but sports gods, Seaver represented the last of a breed and he stayed at the top for twenty years. Here is Tom Terrific of the Amazin' Mets, worthy of a place alongside DiMaggio, Ruth, Mantle, and Namath in the pantheon of New York idols. About the Author Steven Travers is a USC graduate and ex-professional baseball player. He is the author of the best-selling Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman, nominated for a Casey Award (best baseball book of 2002). He is also the author of The USC Trojans: College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty and One Night, Two Teams: Alabama vs. USC and the Game that Changed the Nation. He lives in San Anselmo, California.

Edgy DC May 31 2011 07:18 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Rockin' Doc wrote: Just read Unbroken on y'all's recommendation: stunning. Fascinating look at the brutality that man is capable of as well as the perseverance and resilience of the human spirit. A great book that was hard to put down. I'm enjoying this as well and am sharing it with the missus. Gotta say, that seems an awfully cliched cover that doesn't really capture the spirit of the book.

seawolf17 May 31 2011 10:15 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Not at all, but they're trying to sell it on the "Seabiscuit" name. Speaking of which, is that worth reading? No interest in horse racing at all.

Fman99 Jun 06 2011 03:40 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished Mario Puzo's "Fools Die." Really enjoyed it, a nice little character piece.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 07 2011 07:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I'm 80th on the waiting list to get one of the 50 copies of that Hillenbrand book circulating in the Brooklyn library system. Any of you librarians out there want to do the math and tell me when I get a copy?

themetfairy Jun 07 2011 07:36 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

A month-ish?

Ceetar Jun 07 2011 07:51 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Game of Thrones. Just got it in from the library, I put in the request two days before the series started on HBO. I'm 15 pages in so far.

Willets Point Jun 07 2011 05:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

80 out of 50 is pretty good. I'd go with 3-4 weeks. You might want to have Batmags run the odds though.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 07 2011 09:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Thanks guys.

soupcan Jun 08 2011 02:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Can't say enough about 'Unbroken'. I loved it and was just stunned by Zamparini and his story. I'm glad everyone else seems to agree. On irish's recommendation I've just flown through the first two of these and am happily whipping through the third. The character in all 3 (and something like a dozen more in the series) is Jack Reacher. 6'5" 250 lb ex-Army MP who somehow seems to keep finding himself in situations that are just perfect for a guy with his skills and demeanor. Evil doers fear him, chicks dig him and guys want to be him. Lots of suspenseful, action-packed fun.

The Second Spitter Jun 08 2011 07:20 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Willets Point wrote: 80 out of 50 is pretty good. I'd go with 3-4 weeks. You might want to have Batmags run the odds though. Followed by a 200,000 word doctoral dissertation.

seawolf17 Jun 09 2011 11:39 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

soupcan wrote: The character in all 3 (and something like a dozen more in the series) is Jack Reacher. 6'5" 250 lb ex-Army MP who somehow seems to keep finding himself in situations that are just perfect for a guy with his skills and demeanor. Evil doers fear him, chicks dig him and guys want to be him. Lots of suspenseful, action-packed fun. I really enjoy the Reacher series, although he's completely unbelievable as a character.

soupcan Jun 21 2011 12:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

With Philippe Petit’s breathless 1974 tightrope walk between the uncompleted WTC towers at its axis, Colum McCann offers us a lyrical cycloramic high-low portrait of New York City in its days of burning; Park Avenue matrons, Bronx junkies, Center Street judges, downtown artists and their uptown subway-tagging brethren, street priests, weary cops, wearier hookers, grieving mothers of an Asian war freshly put to bed; a masterful chorus of voices all obliviously connected by the most ephemeral vision; a pin-dot of a man walking on air 110 stories above their heads.”–Richard Price, author of Lush Life I'm about 75% of the way through this and, as a person who grew up in NYC in the '70's, am very much enjoying the characters and the pictures painted within.

Edgy DC Jun 21 2011 12:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I used to know Colum --- a tortured writer fully capable of throwing 200 pages on the fire in frustration. Unbroken is killing me.

Frayed Knot Jun 21 2011 02:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Haven't gotten around to 'Unbroken' yet but, having enjoyed previous historical pieces* by author Hampton Sides, I picked up his 'Ghost Soldiers' (2001) which involves danger and survival under horrid conditions in the south pacific during WWII, specifically the mission to rescue the POWs/survivors of the Bataan death march. * 'Blood and Thunder' - the adventures and myths of "Indian Fighter" Kit Carson * 'Hellhound on his Trail' - the manhunt for MLK-killer James Earl Ray

metirish Jun 21 2011 04:25 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

After soliciting suggestions via Facebook, I had three different friends unrelated to one another enthusiastically suggest this book: I'm halfway through and it is amazing. A true story of an Olympic distance runner/ WWII Airman and his incredible - INCREDIBLE! - experiences in the South Pacific during the war. A true page-turner. If you're looking for someting to read, pick it up, you will not be disappointed. my first purchase on the Kindle , can't wait to read it. picked this up as a free book

Fman99 Jun 21 2011 07:02 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I think metfairy or some other runner mentioned Cnristopher McDougall's "Born to Run" in this thread or it's predecessor within the last few years. It was loaned to me and I plowed through it over the weekend. Good read, though I think the non-running crowd might not get the same out of it as I did.

soupcan Jun 22 2011 08:16 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Edgy DC wrote: I used to know Colum --- a tortured writer fully capable of throwing 200 pages on the fire in frustration. I'm not surprised reading that - a lot of the writing seems like just free flowing-thought. I can imagine him just continously writing for hours straight as the thoughts just come to him and he spits them right out. A lot of it works, some of it doesn't. I can definitely see the writer reading through those pages and thinking 'wtf did I just write...?' Fortunately though, these pages weren't burned because it is a very good book.

metirish Jun 27 2011 05:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished "Unbroken", couldn't put the kindle down , what a life. One thing that bothers me a lot though and there is no spoiler here...as the three of them were adrift in the pacific and the Japanese bomber came upon them around day 40 it made seven passes over them raining down bullets but never hit any of them, although we learn later that they were nearly fifty bullet holes in the still in tact lifeboat, and we knew from an earlier description of the boats they were only about two feet wide inside....all those bullets , it defies logic to me that none of the three were hit. Mini Spoiler that is where you are supposed to believe that a higher power helped them?

soupcan Jun 27 2011 07:54 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I didn't make that connection Irish and now I'm thinking maybe I should have given Zamparini's spiritual awakening at the end of the book. At that point in the book (when the Japanese fighter was straffing the boat) I think I was still in awe of just everything that was happening to them. Sure I found everything about their continued survival unbelievable but I just chalked it up to incredible luck. I'm now wondering if there was a message in the story - especially that part of it - that I just plain missed.

Edgy DC Jun 28 2011 08:28 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

She doesn't hardsell it, and I guess it's there if you're willing to take it. It would be fair to the subject to take his awakening out of it.

metirish Jun 28 2011 09:19 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Doesn't hardsell it but it was a big selling point when he encountered BG and nearly walked out on him. From the moment I read those passages in the book I was bothered , that and the great white jumping into the boat to grab them was to me a bit much and asking me to suspend logic beyond reason IMO. I hesitate to question the account of Zamperini and in the book Phil IIRC never corroborates the bomber doing seven fly overs, in fact the author recounts later in the book that Phil basically didn't talk about his experience until he was honored later in life. I guess I am saying I find that part of the book unbelievable.

soupcan Jul 01 2011 08:20 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Jul 01 2011 08:33 AM

Trying this one on for size now... I so enjoyed the HBO Series that I decided to delve in.

Edgy DC Jul 01 2011 08:27 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

metirish wrote: Doesn't hardsell it but it was a big selling point when he encountered BG and nearly walked out on him. From the moment I read those passages in the book I was bothered , that and the great white jumping into the boat to grab them was to me a bit much and asking me to suspend logic beyond reason IMO. I hesitate to question the account of Zamperini and in the book Phil IIRC never corroborates the bomber doing seven fly overs, in fact the author recounts later in the book that Phil basically didn't talk about his experience until he was honored later in life. I guess I am saying I find that part of the book unbelievable. It's not just the account of Zamperini. If you read her postscript, the amount of work she did to corroberate his story is impressive. I don't have the book here to reference, but I feel pretty certain that Phil corroberated the strafing and the shark attack. (You really think he disputed that? I have to check.) I understand your guard going up when you see an evangelist walk into the room, but Billy Graham ain't Jim Baker. (Franklin Graham is another matter.) But it's still Louie's story, and 98% takes place really before Jesus enters the picture.

metirish Jul 01 2011 09:27 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

The boat thing is my main issue , what I wrote above I did right after reading the book, perhaps I am wrong about Phil but I am not up to checking. I loved the book and if Louie never did anything else in life except escape his ruffian childhood to run in Berlin, go to war and come right home then it was already a remarkable story. The movie is coming apparently....who to play Louie?

Edgy DC Jul 01 2011 09:29 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

José Reyes.

metirish Jul 01 2011 09:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Edgy DC wrote: José Reyes. the way he's hitting he could, certainly the shark scenes.

soupcan Aug 02 2011 10:04 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Book One done. Book Two in progress.

Ceetar Aug 02 2011 10:39 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

soupcan wrote: Book One done. Book Two in progress. this is what I'm doing. I just bought a fresh copy of the books, and the binding and pages are falling apart. I'm halfway through the book and the second half is in my car and the first half is at home on my headboard now.

themetfairy Aug 02 2011 10:45 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 07 2011 08:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

metirish wrote: Doesn't hardsell it but it was a big selling point when he encountered BG and nearly walked out on him. From the moment I read those passages in the book I was bothered , that and the great white jumping into the boat to grab them was to me a bit much and asking me to suspend logic beyond reason IMO. I hesitate to question the account of Zamperini and in the book Phil IIRC never corroborates the bomber doing seven fly overs, in fact the author recounts later in the book that Phil basically didn't talk about his experience until he was honored later in life. I guess I am saying I find that part of the book unbelievable. Finally got to 'Unbroken' this weekend myself. Started it Friday night before going to bed and finished it this morning. That's like a record for me. She had all kinds of accounts to recreate the stuff before and after the crash and she obviously hit all of that out of the park, but that said I also found myself wondering how she wrung so much detail out of all that time at sea being precise with the day this happened or that did etc etc. I also couldn't believe the 'Bird' murder plots came so late in the game, relatively speaking. Great read though, my eyes were opened once again to all these guys endured. So many had only a few moments of actual combat vs. years of captivity.

Edgy DC Aug 07 2011 08:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I've been reading The Polysyllabic Spree --- a collection of Nick Hornby's columns reviewing literature you're never going to find the time to read (unless you're sharpie, and then only maybe). But if I'm lucky, I get a dose of his perspective and honesty that'll last me until I do some vigorous reading of my own. Here's his five-tool take on Moneyball: I was in the U.S. for the two epic playoff series, between the Cubs and the Marlins, and the Red Sox and the Yankees, and I became temporarily fixated with baseball. And I'd read something about Moneyball somwhere, and it was a staff pick at Book Soup, and when, finally, No Name* lay vanquished and lifeless at my feet, it was Lewis's book I turned to: it seemed a better fit. Moneyball is a rotten title**, I think. You expect a subtitle something along the lines of How Greed Killed America's National Pastime, but actually the book isn't like that at all---it's the story of how Billy Beane, the GM of the Oakland A's, worked out how to buck the system and win lots of games despite being hampered by one of the smaller payrolls in baseball. He did this by recognizing (a) that the stats traditionally used to judge players are almost entirely worthless, and (b) that many good players are being discarded by the major leagues simply because they don't look like good players. The latter discovery in particular struck a chord with me, because my football career has been blighted by exactly this sort of prejudice. English scouts visiting my Friday morning five-a-side game have (presumably) discounted me on peripheral grounds of age, weight, speed, amount of time spent lying on the ground weeping with exhaustion, etc.; what they're not looking at is performance, which is of course the only thing that counts. They'd have made a film called Head It Like Hornby by now if Billy Beane were working over here. (And if I were any good at heading, another overrated and peripheral skill.) Anyway, I understood about one word in every four in Moneyball, and it's still the best and most engrossing sports book I've read in years. If you know anything about baseball, you will enjoy it four times as much as I did, which means that you might explode. * Wilkie Collins novel. He loves half of it and hates half of it. ** Always felt this way myself.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 08 2011 10:38 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I should say in the in between I finally got to ROME 1960 by Davis Maraniss, which some of you have already read I'm sure but I thought was great, lots of good stories about the amazin competitors there (Rudolph, Clay, etc), the Cold War stuff emerging between US/Russia, East/West Germany etc., the hypocrisy and racism of the organizers, and the birth/emergence of black athletes, east African distance runners, shoe contracts, steroids etc etc etc. that made it all seem to me very contemporary to look back on. In the middle there's a chapter on an American high-jumper who finished in the back of the pack at the Games but is caught up to Maraniss nearly 50 years later that's practically worth reading the other 385 pages alone. Top notch!

Rockin' Doc Aug 08 2011 11:06 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I read "Rome 1960" several years ago on Frayed Knot's recommendation. Was a very good book. Currently reading "Secretariat" by Willaim Nack. Still early in the book, but I have a mixed reaction to it thus far. I find the book pretty interesting when it focuses focuses on Secretariat, but it really bogs down (at least for me) when the book spends extended periods tracing horse lineages for generations. I truthfully don't pay much attention to horse racing and don't care which horse sired the most successful foals in , 1919, 1929, 1954, or any other year for that matter. However, there was something special about Secretariat. He was so dominant during his reign. He didn't simply win races, he annihilated the opposition and in the process captured my interest as an adolescent and made me take notice.

Centerfield Aug 08 2011 03:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Ceetar wrote: soupcan wrote: Book One done. Book Two in progress. this is what I'm doing. I just bought a fresh copy of the books, and the binding and pages are falling apart. I'm halfway through the book and the second half is in my car and the first half is at home on my headboard now. I'm on board. Just started book one. Good writing. Fewer nude scenes, which is a bit disappointing.

RealityChuck Aug 08 2011 04:42 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Sandman. The entire run. (Pic from one of the top ten single issues).

Frayed Knot Aug 08 2011 07:59 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Rockin' Doc wrote: I'd be a bit leery of that one too. Like you, I'm not interested in horse racing. But also, Nack is such a racing geek in general and a Secretariat geek in particular that I'm afraid I'd be reading the equivalent of a Michael Kay bio on Jeter. In particular, Nack was always big on attributing human qualities to Secretariat. He would write (he worked at SI for years) or talk (was the go-to guy for just about every TV piece on racing) about how the horse knew it was a big star and enjoyed all the perks associated with that like he was some modern-day wide receiver. I always thought he was pushing that point just a bit too much.

Fman99 Aug 08 2011 08:29 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Loved "Rome 1960." Currently wrapped up in "In the Garden of Beasts," the story of William Dodd's experience as the US ambassador to Germany in the early Hitler years. Fascinating stuff.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 08 2011 11:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

RealityChuck wrote: Sandman. The entire run. (Pic from one of the top ten single issues). Sweet choice. I still have occasional nightmares featuring imagery from "24 Hours."

Rockin' Doc Aug 09 2011 08:57 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Loved "Rome 1960." Currently wrapped up in "In the Garden of Beasts," the story of William Dodd's experience as the US ambassador to Germany in the early Hitler years. Fascinating stuff. Read In the Garden of the Beast last month. Not as gripping as The Devil In the White City, but still a pretty interesting look at the early rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany. I followed it up with Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. The first book actually laid a nice frame work for the events that unfurled in the second book. I preferred the Bonhoeffer book, because I found Dietrich Bonhoeffer to be a far more fascinating character than either Ambassador Dodd or his promiscuous daughter.

Vic Sage Aug 10 2011 11:32 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011? Edited 3 time(s), most recently on Aug 11 2011 08:23 AM

[on edit: Yea! I did it! Thanks, Batmags!] Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2011: According to Supergods, Superman comics say less about Superman than they do about Clark Kent. Superman was conceived as a symbol of strength and individualism for the Depression-era middle class--perhaps a more compelling portrait of the era than much literature of the time. But this is just one of the many superhero mythologies author Grant Morrison unpacks to give colorful historical and cultural context. Morrison, a prolific comics storyteller with a career spanning 20 years writing for both Marvel and DC Comics, may be the world's most qualified superhero scholar. (Morrison's reinvention of the Man of Steel, the All Star Superman series, is arguably the best comic of the past decade.) But Supergods isn't a book that appeals strictly to fanboys. Like his comics, Morrison's prose is swift yet powerful, and it's the broader strokes of the Supergods narrative that resonate most. The book succeeds at being a great history of comic books over the past century, but it's an even more convincing exploration of humankind as a whole. --Kevin Nguyen

batmagadanleadoff Aug 10 2011 12:15 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

http://jpskillz.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/supergods-cover-wo-bellyband-679x1024.jpg?w=450 - [can someone please explain how to insert an image here?] Here's how I did it -- step by step -- 1) Hover the mouse pointer/arrow on the screen over the desired image. 2) Right click with pointer/arrow over image. 3) A pop-up menu should appear on your screen which includes the following choice (among others) --"Copy Image Location". 4) Select "Copy Image Location" with moise pointer/arrow and left click with your mouse. The link to the desired image now resides in your temp. memory. 5) In the window for composing posts to this forum, insert mouse pointer/arrow and "Paste". 6)The image link is now in the CPF message composing window. Format link as follows: either manually or by selecting your link and once selected, clicking on Img box above message composing window.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 10 2011 12:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Since I'm here, I might as well post. Utter crap. Started this book last week after re-reading one of my faves, Slaughterhouse Five, and then deciding that I could go for some more Vonnegut. After about 200 pages of Cat's Cradle, I was still wondering when the book would start. Lame jokes, bad prose and half-dimensional characters had me contemplating whether this book was one big put-on. Don't ask me how it ends because I'll never find out. Shalom Auslander is, or was, an Orthodox Jew, raised in Monsey, NY who left the tribe and who might now be shunned by his family. I don't know because I'm less than midway through his memoir, Foreskin's Lament , a comical and angry look at the idiosyncracies and hypocricisy of religion. It's somewhat derivative of Portnoy's Complaint, especially in tone, right down to Auslander's own version of Philip Roth's Cunt Crazy chapter.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Aug 10 2011 12:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Cat's Cradle was one of Vonnegut's earliest novels, developed IMO before he perfected the style he'd use for much of his later books. It is a little clunky as I recall. If you wanna see where he could go after S-5 try Bluebeard or Galapagos, I liked them both.

Willets Point Aug 10 2011 12:44 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Slaughterhouse Five is the only Vonnegut I've ever read and that was decades ago and for school. I'm way behind on my Vonnegut. I need to read more.

soupcan Aug 10 2011 05:08 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison Is it any good Vic?

Fman99 Aug 10 2011 07:36 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Willets Point wrote: Slaughterhouse Five is the only Vonnegut I've ever read and that was decades ago and for school. I'm way behind on my Vonnegut. I need to read more. I've read them all, I went through a Vonnegut phase. I would also recommend Galapagos and Bluebeard, and also Breakfast of Champions and Slapstick and God Bless You Mr. Rosewater. Mother Night is also quite good, and has the best movie adaptation IMHO. I even liked Sirens of Titan, though it's some far out science fiction that I didn't get the first time.

Vic Sage Aug 11 2011 11:53 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011? Edited 3 time(s), most recently on Aug 11 2011 12:17 PM

VONNEGUT annotated bibliography: Kurt Vonnegut had more of an impact on my adolescent self than any other writer i can recall. After my HS english teacher had us read CAT'S CRADLE, I ran thru every other word he'd written to that point in a wide-eyed rush of excitement. This 20th century Twain offered a unique blend of satire, cynicism, anti-authoritarianism and a humanism that was sort of ruefully - dare i say - optimistic. And his punchy, pithy style, while structurally and narratively adventurous, was eminently readable, eschewing the kind of tortured or purely aesthetic prose i had no patience for. And to top it off, his stories often took the form of SF and fantasy, which was my preferred genre. It was as if someone had created in a lab a writer to speak directly to me. And he did. By the time i went to college, though, he had "set free" all those continuing characters i had grown to love, in his epic BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS, and his later output seemed like pale, lesser versions of his earlier works, and made no impact on me. After a while, i just avoided them. Movie adaptations of his work, while numerous, have been invariably unsuccessful (to lesser or greater degrees) since his work is so idiosyncratically about his authorial voice and tone, and his imaginitive ideas, and much less about elements of narrative and character on which Hollywood films generally rely. [*]Player Piano (1952) - His 1st novel. i remember it as a somber Orwellian SF book, blending elements of 1984 and BRAVE NEW WORLD in attacking industrialization's effect on humanity. While i liked it, if this had been the first one I'd read, i probably wouldn't have gone on. [*]Sirens Of Titan (1959) [Hugo Award nomination] - a billion ideas float in this sort of rambling, good natured alien invasion story. In retrospect, I can definitely see how a young Douglas Adams might have been influenced by it and become Vonnegut's successor as leading "humanist humorist" of his generation. [*]Canary in a Cathouse (1961) [Short story anthology] - Vonnegut sold a ton of short stories to periodicals in the 1950s and 60s. Most of this collection were later reprinted in the seminal MONKEY HOUSE collection. [*]Mother Night (1962) - This one took me by surprise. It wasn't SF or fantasy; it was his first WWII novel, and a devastating indictment about the nature of guilt (""We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be"). but as much as anything it was a story about storytelling, employing a range of meta-fiction techniques that called attention to the very processes of storytelling. And this was not some arbitrary self-conscious device; it was inherent to Vonnegut's theme of defining oneself thru carefully constructed artifice, and then taking responsibility for that construct. This one just blew me away. The movie adaptation (1996, with Nick Nolte) doesn't really work -- it's tedious and too focused on narrative and character to capture the tone and themes of the book. [*]Cat's Cradle (1963) [Hugo award nominee] - This is where it started for me. I read it in Mr. McCarthy's Sci-Fi lit class in HS and never looked back. Satire, morality, cynicism, religion, SF, meta-fiction... its all there. Theodore Sturgeon described its storyline as "appalling, hilarious, shocking, and infuriating," and concluded that "this is an annoying book and you must read it. And you better take it lightly, because if you don't you'll go off weeping and shoot yourself." While i didn't shoot myself, i didn't take it lightly, either. [*]God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Or Pearls Before Swine (1965) - I found it an endearing little book, perhaps a bit too sentimental, which reverberated throughout his later books, including the presence of KILGORE TROUT, his SF Writer/alter-ego that popped up often as a "fiction suit" that Vonnegut donned to inject himself directly into his work. Noted SF writer Phillip Jose Farmer later wrote a book, VENUS ON THE HALF SHELL, under the pseudonym of "kilgore trout" that hilariously captured the fictional writer's tone, much to Vonnegut's reported consternation. I have a soft spot for this one, though i think it's a minor work. Interestingly, it was adapted as an off-Broadway musical by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken (their first collaboration, before LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS established them). [*]Welcome To The Monkey House (1968) [short story anthology] - This collection includes "Harrison Bergeron", a landmark story of libertarianism. I remember the book as being very hit-and-miss, but "Bergeron" is well worth reading, and was adapted as a Showtime movie in 1995. Also, the story "Who Am I This Time" was filmed in 1982 by Jonathan Demme, with Chris Walken and susan Sarandon, and is worth a look. [*]Slaughterhouse-Five, Or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death (1969) [nominated for Nebula and Hugo Awards] - This was Vonnegut's CATCH-22, an autobiographical account of his WWII POW experiences combined with an SF story about Billy Pilgrim, a man "unstuck" in time. It's his best known, most acclaimed, and most personal work of fiction. It's got all the Vonneguttian elements: meta-fictional devices, crossover characters, SF motifs, political satire, black humor mixed with a rueful almost chekovian fatalisim ("and so it goes"). That schools are still banning it to this day speaks to its ongoing power and truth. The movie (1972, by George Roy Hill) is also probably the best filmed adaptation of his work (which is to damn it with the faintest of praise). [*]Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1970) [Play] - This revision of his 1960 play, Penelope, was adapted as a screenplay for the film version (1971). I never read it or saw the play, but the movie sucks the big one. Ostensibly about pacifism, Rod Steiger sinks it like a stone. [*]Between Time and Timbuktu (1972) - [TV] This adaptation of various Vonnegut works is utterly incomprehensible, and not in a good way. [*]Breakfast Of Champions, Or Goodbye Blue Monday (1973) - Kilgore Trout takes center stage in this sort of "Fin de siècle" book, marking the end of his period of greatest work. At the end, Vonnegut, as narrator, sets Trout and his other ongoing characters "free", though some of them did turn up again in later books. Its a bizarre, funny, profound book that has stayed in my head for 35 years. I was going to read it again, but the 1999 film adaptation (with Bruce Willis and Albert Finney) so damaged my memory of it as to burn away any desire to revisit it. [*]Slapstick, Or Lonesome No More (1976) - Hi Ho. I remember finding it funny but inconsequential, coming on the heels of one of his most monumental works, BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS. But its probably better than i remember. The 1984 film, however, is one of the worst ever. [*]Jailbird (1979) - Sort of a watergate-style fictional memoir. After Slapstick, i had no desire to read it. In Palm Sunday: An Autobiographical Collage (1981), a non-fiction collection, Vonnegut graded his own works up to that point. He states that the grades "do not place me in literary history" and that he is comparing "myself with myself." His grades are as follows (with my own grade in parentheses): [indent][/indent]* Player Piano: B [C+] [indent][/indent]* The Sirens of Titan: A [B+] [indent][/indent]* Mother Night: A [A] [indent][/indent]* Cat's Cradle: A+ [A] [indent][/indent]* God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater: A [B ] [indent][/indent]* Slaughterhouse-Five: A+ [A+] [indent][/indent]* Welcome to the Monkey House: B- [C] [indent][/indent]* Happy Birthday, Wanda June: D [F] [indent][/indent]* Breakfast of Champions: C [B+] [indent][/indent]* Slapstick: D [D] [indent][/indent]* Jailbird: A His subsequent novels include: [*]Deadeye Dick (1982) - I don't think i read it. [*]Galapagos (1985) - I read about half of it before hurling it out a window. [*]Bluebeard, The Autobiography Of Rabo Karabekian (1987) - After my continued dissatisfaction with post-BREAKFAST Vonnegut, i skipped this one, though apparently it was pretty well received. I probably will pick it up some day. [*]Hocus Pocus (1990) - I had a similar experience with GALAPAGOS, getting only part of the way through it before rendering it airborne. [*]Timequake (1997) - his last novel, i sort of liked it. It combines fiction and non-fiction, and is (like his best works) a story about storytelling, and about humor in the face of doomed fatalism. Since then, there were numerous collections of short works published (fiction and non-fiction, reprints and unpublished works), some of which i read, most of which i did not. There have even been some works published after his death in 2007, but i can't face them. And i don't need to. A writer who knocked out a magnificent 7 of Player Piano, The Sirens of Titan, Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, Slaughterhouse-Five, and Breakfast of Champions in a 20 year span doesn't need to have ever written another word. That his subsequent 7 novels over the next 20 years were nowhere near as good does not diminish the accomplishment. And to those who want to pick his bones for later unpublished or reprinted work, have at it. As for me, i am content to have had him at his best when i needed him the most.

Vic Sage Aug 11 2011 11:54 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, and a Sun God from Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human by Grant Morrison Is it any good Vic? i'm halfway thru and loving it. Its a mix of autobiography and cultural history, with Morrison's typical fever dream prose.

Vic Sage Aug 11 2011 02:19 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

RealityChuck wrote: Sandman. The entire run. (Pic from one of the top ten single issues). Are you reading the trades, or the single issues? I've got almost the whole run of issues. But trades are easier to read.

Edgy DC Aug 11 2011 02:35 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Vic Sage wrote: [*]Welcome To The Monkey House (1968) [short story anthology] - This collection includes "Harrison Bergeron", a landmark story of libertarianism. I remember the book as being very hit-and-miss, but "Bergeron" is well worth reading, and was adapted as a Showtime movie in 1995. Also, the story "Who Am I This Time" was filmed in 1982 by Jonathan Demme, with Chris Walken and susan Sarandon, and is worth a look. It may be worth two. Or at least one with liberal use of "rewind," because Walken demands second and third looks. I'm jealous that he's "Chris" to you, while the rest of us are on a "Christopher" basis.

Vic Sage Aug 11 2011 09:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

well, he insists on "chris", ever since that weekend in Tijuana.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 12 2011 01:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Am I the only one here that hated Cat's Cradle?

Vic Sage Aug 12 2011 09:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

i liked it and Vonnegut liked it. So you can kiss our karass.

Fman99 Aug 12 2011 10:18 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Am I the only one here that hated Cat's Cradle? I wouldn't say I hated it. I didn't like it as much as some of his other books though, including the half dozen or so I mentioned earlier.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 12 2011 11:43 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: batmagadanleadoff wrote: Am I the only one here that hated Cat's Cradle? I wouldn't say I hated it. I didn't like it as much as some of his other books though, including the half dozen or so I mentioned earlier. I figured that you loved Cat's Cradle but were being polite about the whole thing because you stayed away from my earlier post panning the book even though there was a Cunt Crazy reference in there.

batmagadanleadoff Aug 16 2011 08:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

From The New Yorker: Fallada wrote this novel in twenty-four days in 1947, the last year of his life; he was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and had just been released from a Nazi insane asylum. The story is based on that of an actual working-class Berlin couple who conducted a three-year resistance campaign against the Nazis, by leaving anonymous postcards at random locations around the city. The book has the suspense of a John le Carré novel, and offers a visceral, chilling portrait of the distrust that permeated everyday German life during the war. Especially interesting are the details that show how Nazi-run charities and labor organizations monitored and made public the degree to which individuals supported or eschewed their cause. The novel shows how acts that at the time might have seemed “ridiculously small,” “discreet,” and “out of the way” could have profound and lasting meaning. To read Every Man Dies Alone, Fallada's testament to the darkest years of the 20th century, is to be accompanied by a wise, somber ghost who grips your shoulder and whispers in your ear: "This is how it was. This is what happened." Liesel Schillinger, The New York Times Book Review Hans Fallada's Every Man Dies Alone is one of the most extraordinary and compelling novels ever written about World War II. Ever. Fallada lived through the Nazi hell so every word rings true - this is who they really were: the Gestapo monsters, the petty informers, the few who dared to resist. Please do not miss this. Alan Furst Stunningly vivid characters... The writing can be not only deadpan but also humorous and wildly dramatic.... Fallada is a writer of observations rather than symbols, of urgency rather than contemplation, of hard-edged honesty rather than lyricism. A revelation. David D'Arcy, The San Francisco Chronicle Every Man Dies Alone [is] one of the most immediate and authentic fictional accounts of life during the long nightmare of Nazi rule. James Martin, The New York Observer

soupcan Aug 24 2011 10:05 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

...and on to Book Three - Book Two (Clash of Kings) was really good. If the second season of the HBO series follows it up as accurately as they did the first book in the first season it's...gonna...be...amazing.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 24 2011 11:09 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Every Man Dies Alone seems f'ing great. After breezing through The Psychopath Test and the latest Sarah Vowell compendium, am making Liar's Poker and the CIA history Legacy of Ashes my alternating late-summer reading. (I'm hoping they'll put this late-season swoon in failure-perspective.)

Benjamin Grimm Aug 24 2011 11:46 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Which Sarah Vowell book was that? The one about Hawaii?

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Aug 24 2011 11:53 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Yep. Near perfect, beautifully pithy nerdery.

Benjamin Grimm Aug 24 2011 11:55 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I'm looking forward to that one. I've read three of her books, and only one disappointed me. (Wordy Shipmates)

soupcan Sep 12 2011 07:24 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Everybody's dead. On to Book IV...

Ceetar Sep 12 2011 07:29 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

soupcan wrote: Everybody's dead. On to Book IV... hah. that's an accurate description. I'm not finding book 4 as good. I'm not as invested in the storylines of some of these other families that they're going on about.

Fman99 Sep 12 2011 07:42 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I'm sucked in to the 2001 series by Arthur C. Clarke. Right now I'm reading the third book, 2061: Odyssey 3. I know I had read the first one after seeing the movie, years ago, but I've never read the sequels until now. Good stuff.

Ceetar Sep 12 2011 07:51 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: I'm sucked in to the 2001 series by Arthur C. Clarke. Right now I'm reading the third book, 2061: Odyssey 3. I know I had read the first one after seeing the movie, years ago, but I've never read the sequels until now. Good stuff. I actually never read 2001, but I was captivated by the other three. good stuff. 3001 especially, with all the crazy futuristic, but believable, stuff. He's got like a billion books, I need to go read some more of him.

Edgy DC Sep 12 2011 08:35 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Books read during jury service: Both were good reads, but have their flaws. In the former, a president frustrated with his Supreme Court nominees being rejected, decides to blow up the process and nominate a popular sassy TV judge. The ensuance of hi-jinx can't be far behind. But the political intriguing stretches credulity at a few points. Considering the real material available to them, political satirists don't really need to challenge your disbelief so. Buckley also bends over backwards to keep from naming which party is which, and it's pointed choice --- too many people only want to see the other side lampooned --- but avoids real challenges. In the latter --- excellent writer Michael Chabon writes what doesn't appear to be a fantasy at first, but by chapter two is revealed to be a full blown fantasy. He avoids his favorite subjects --- Jews, gay rights, Pittsburgh --- and delivers a book that can satisfy young and old readers, but while the pan-mythos that he creates (sort of reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time's) is really satisfying, his prose is less rich than usual. If he spent another year on this, it would be like an all-time great thing. It's a great tale, but not told as great as some of his others. Cool thing is that it all revolves around baseball, where all manner of mythological creatures love to mix it up on the ball field. It's like the one unifying thing in all creation. Gorgeous that.

HahnSolo Sep 12 2011 10:09 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Thanks to daughter Solo's 7th grade honors English class, I'm re-reading The Hobbit. I can help should she struggle with any passages. I think Hound of the Baskervilles in next. I read both of these originally in 9th grade. So she has me beaten by a couple of years. I kinda like doing this. Re-read some classics that I otherwise would not.

soupcan Sep 12 2011 10:42 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

HahnSolo wrote: Thanks to daughter Solo's 7th grade honors English class, I'm re-reading The Hobbit. I can help should she struggle with any passages. I think Hound of the Baskervilles in next. I read both of these originally in 9th grade. So she has me beaten by a couple of years. I kinda like doing this. Re-read some classics that I otherwise would not. I'm doing that as well. I've re-read 'To Kill A Mockingbird' and 'The Pearl'. It's fun.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 12 2011 11:02 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Me too! I reread To Kill a Mockingbird a few months ago, and coming up soon will be The Old Man and the Sea, both because my son is reading them for school.

metirish Sep 12 2011 11:06 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

That's really cool, can't wait until I am doing that. Are you finding any similarities with how your kids feel about these books and with how you did as a teen?, or maybe you can't remember?

Benjamin Grimm Sep 12 2011 11:16 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I hated The Old Man and the Sea when I had to read it in 8th Grade. (It was boring! Nothing happened!) Before my son started reading it, I told him that I had learned that Hemingway is less about the plot and more about the experience, and not to read it waiting to see what happens next. (I learned to appreciate Hemingway when I read For Whom the Bell Tolls at the age of 36.) I don't know if my warning had any impact, or if it's because I have a kid who's more sophisticated than I was (and I do!) but after finishing the book, he said it wasn't that bad. He's still taking it back and forth to school because they're discussing it, but once he relinquishes it, I'm going to reread it. I did the same, on my own, with Great Expectations a few years ago. The book defeated me in 9th Grade, and I wanted to give it another try. And it was okay. I had a much easier time with it.

HahnSolo Sep 12 2011 11:19 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

metirish wrote: That's really cool, can't wait until I am doing that. Are you finding any similarities with how your kids feel about these books and with how you did as a teen?, or maybe you can't remember? This is her first taste of "real" literature, so she is struggling a bit. But she's starting to get it, and is liking it. I really enjoyed The Hobbit as a 9th grader, and as I recall it took me a while to get into it.

RealityChuck Sep 12 2011 12:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished:

Willets Point Sep 12 2011 12:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I did the same, on my own, with Great Expectations a few years ago. The book defeated me in 9th Grade, and I wanted to give it another try. And it was okay. I had a much easier time with it. Dickens defeated me when I read Great Expectations in 9th grade. He defeated me again when I twice started and was unable to finish Hard Times for two different college courses. And then my book group selected Bleak House and I went down to the canvas again. There's just something about Dickens that I'll read a few pages and realize that I failed to actually cogitate anything I'd "read" (the literary equivalent of "in one ear and out the other"). I have come to accept that I just don't have the mental capacity to read Dickens.

Vic Sage Sep 12 2011 02:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

In the latter --- excellent writer Michael Chabon writes what doesn't appear to be a fantasy at first, but by chapter two is revealed to be a full blown fantasy. He avoids his favorite subjects --- Jews, gay rights, Pittsburgh --- and delivers a book that can satisfy young and old readers, but while the pan-mythos that he creates (sort of reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time's) is really satisfying, his prose is less rich than usual. If he spent another year on this, it would be like an all-time great thing. It's a great tale, but not told as great as some of his others. Cool thing is that it all revolves around baseball, where all manner of mythological creatures love to mix it up on the ball field. It's like the one unifying thing in all creation. Gorgeous that. i should love this book, based on its subject, style, themes and author, all of which are right in my wheelhouse, so to speak. However, i read maybe 50 pages and absolutely could not read another. Maybe i'll try again. I've really liked everything else of Chabon's that i've read. But this one... man. OLD MAN & THE SEA is one of my favorite books ever, but i didn't read it as a kid. I was in college, read it in one shot on a train ride home. I still think about it sometimes, as i struggle to get my own fish to shore only to see it nibbled away by the parasites that surround me. and Dickens... i can honestly say i've never finished a single work by Dickens despite having to read them for countless classes. His ornate writing style is so of its time that i don't think it really translates, though his characters and narratives are clearly timeless.

Edgy DC Sep 12 2011 02:39 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Vic Sage wrote: i should love this book, based on its subject, style, themes and author, all of which are right in my wheelhouse, so to speak. However, i read maybe 50 pages and absolutely could not read another. Maybe i'll try again. I've really liked everything else of Chabon's that i've read. But this one... man. I had the same issue. It does pick up, and I can't put it down now, but again, he's only sporadically delivering his best prose. It also took me about three tries to get started on The Yiddish Policeman's Union. Once I finally made it to chapter three, I couldn't get enough. Dickens works the same with me. I've started Bleak House at least four or five times, getting nowhere, but I know once I get traction, I'll fly.

Vic Sage Sep 12 2011 03:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

The Yiddish Policeman's Union yes, that's the other one i haven't gotten thru yet. Giving it another try will have to wait until i complete the GAME OF THRONES series, though.

sharpie Sep 12 2011 03:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Loved Bleak House. It does take a while to sink into, however. Yes, he overwrote but so would you if you were paid by the word. No one does that big canvas plot-heavy stuff better than old Charlie did. I re-read All Quiet On the Western Front because one of my kids was reading it for school. Also, some Sherman Alexie book. Probably some others. I also hated The Old Man and the Sea on first reading. Later went on to read a whole lotta Hemingway and liked some, not others. Like millions of others before me I read A Moveable Feast while in Paris.

cooby Sep 17 2011 05:29 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

My mom in law and I were not Best Friends. But she did leave to me a love of Joseph Wambaugh: Both goodies.

cooby Sep 17 2011 05:29 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

sharpie wrote: Loved Bleak House. It does take a while to sink into, however. Yes, he overwrote but so would you if you were paid by the word. No one does that big canvas plot-heavy stuff better than old Charlie did. I re-read All Quiet On the Western Front because one of my kids was reading it for school. Also, some Sherman Alexie book. Probably some others. I also hated The Old Man and the Sea on first reading. Later went on to read a whole lotta Hemingway and liked some, not others. Like millions of others before me I read A Moveable Feast while in Paris. BTW I loved Bleak House too

Fman99 Sep 17 2011 07:59 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

This weekend is the local library's annual used book sale. Twelve hardcover books for $18. Between this yearly event and the gift cards I get every year as Hannukah/Xmas gifts (and the 600+ books I downloaded for free via torrents) I am good now for books for a good long while.

soupcan Oct 07 2011 08:32 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Last one....

Vic Sage Oct 07 2011 09:29 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

soupcan wrote: Last one.... i just started Vol3. its amazing how voracious i've become with these 1000 page novels. My family thinks i'm possessed by the spirit of a dead Maester. no they don't, but you know what i mean.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 07 2011 09:31 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

If like me, everything you knew about Al Capone came from watching 'The Untouchables' this was an eye-opening book that not only had a ton of murders, but also provided a great portrait of Herbert Hoover, the politics of prohibition, makes a compelling theory as to the actual triggermen in the 'St. Valentine's Day massacre,' reviews the birth and evolution of ballistics evidence and forensic accounting, crime & punishment etc. etc. Capone is revealed here to be a bad guy for sure but very human, in many ways no worse than the cops and judges who are paid off to allow him to get away with what he did. And when the feds finally get him, they screw him over something awful. Elliot Ness, I didn't know this, was a very minor player in this drama whom Capone probably never even knew. Eig also wrote the great Lou Gehrig bio LUCKIEST MAN and can be a very subtly funny writer.

Rockin' Doc Oct 07 2011 07:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Interesting study of modern man both living in harmony with and competing for survival against one of natures most fearsome predators. This is the story of what happens when man betrays the delicate balance of nature and finds that he is now the chosen prey of a vengeful tiger in a mysterious and remote corner of the world. While reading this one today, it struck me how unexpectedly coincidental the title was following the entertaining events in the Bronx last night.

HahnSolo Oct 14 2011 01:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: (and the 600+ books I downloaded for free via torrents) I am good now for books for a good long while. Hypothetically, you know, if such a thing were legal (wink, wink), where would be a good place for the new owner of a Kindle to start looking for such things?

Fman99 Oct 14 2011 08:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I'll send you a PM with all the sordid details. Again, hypothetically speaking.

metirish Oct 14 2011 09:07 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

i'd like to check that out just so I know , like research.

Ceetar Oct 14 2011 09:54 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

imagine it don't matter for books, but i've got an email in my inbox from Verizon saying HBO was bitchinga bout me torrenting Game of Thrones. (nevermind that I pay Verizon loads of money for HBO anyway..)

Benjamin Grimm Oct 15 2011 03:49 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

What is "torrenting"?

Ceetar Oct 15 2011 08:04 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_(protocol)

sharpie Oct 15 2011 12:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

and torrenting is okay why?

A Boy Named Seo Oct 15 2011 02:57 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

This thread's about to go all Gary Cohen, Jr. [youtube:3icmrdz5]nsdj9NRzqC4[/youtube:3icmrdz5]

Edgy DC Oct 15 2011 03:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Ouch. We got Mickrolled.

metsmarathon Oct 15 2011 09:44 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

i've been reading the hell out of these books. full of humor and hippopotamuses, they're real page turners. they may be a quick read the first time through, sure, but i just can't put them down. at least not without picking up another of them. and i can't help but read them over and over and over and over and over again. you'd think i'd get tired of them, or perhaps be able to recite them from heart without even bothering to open them, but no! i pick them up again and again, day after day.

Fman99 Oct 15 2011 10:15 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

metsmarathon wrote: i've been reading the hell out of these books. full of humor and hippopotamuses, they're real page turners. they may be a quick read the first time through, sure, but i just can't put them down. at least not without picking up another of them. and i can't help but read them over and over and over and over and over again. you'd think i'd get tired of them, or perhaps be able to recite them from heart without even bothering to open them, but no! i pick them up again and again, day after day. We have the two on the right, plus another 6-8 of her books. Our kids loved them since way back when.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Oct 15 2011 11:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

The Dog Train & Philadelphia Chickens CD/books go with us everywhere in the car.

Edgy DC Oct 16 2011 05:53 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Instead of reading, I'm gonna rap to my kids.

seawolf17 Oct 16 2011 07:36 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: The Dog Train & Philadelphia Chickens CD/books go with us everywhere in the car. There are a handful of those songs (Blues Traveler, Weird Al/Kate Winslet, a few others) that have made into my regular rotation without the kids in the car. (Probably worth spinning off to a separate kiddie lit/music thread, but we'll see where it goes.)

TheOldMole Oct 18 2011 01:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

FMan -- another hypothetical PM this way?

TheOldMole Oct 18 2011 01:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

RealityChuck Oct 19 2011 09:20 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I've gotten back into reviewing for TangentOnline. Most recent (and most impressive) was this quarter's issue of Subterranean Online. Mike Resnick's Shaka II is one of the best novellas I've read in years.

seawolf17 Nov 02 2011 12:53 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished this one: A stunning utopian novel; one of the most interesting books I've ever read.

Ceetar Nov 02 2011 12:58 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

it's James Bond. how could you go wrong?

Ceetar Nov 27 2011 01:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished Ghost Story, the 13th book in the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher. It's really an amazing series. Can't wait for the next one.

Frayed Knot Dec 01 2011 08:15 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson (2010) The under-told story of the 'Great Migration', aka the movement of southern blacks up to the northern & western cities. Starting around the WW1 era and continuing until the mid-1970s, this massive in-country immigration movement is chronicled along with the huge effect it had both the parts of the country they were leaving and the places in which they were arriving, places which often were almost as foreign to southern blacks as they were to the European immigrants who had arrived in the same locales just ahead of them. The book talks of the sociological impact of the movement as a whole, but in particular focuses on three individuals: a Louisiana born doctor with dreams of California; a Mississippi sharecropper's wife who winds up in Chicago; and a Florida orange grove picker bound for Harlem.

HahnSolo Dec 02 2011 06:29 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I finished up 2 books the last couple weeks. 11/22/63 by Stephen King I enjoyed a lot. At its core it's a love story, believe it or not. King does for me a splendid job of re-imagining late 50s/early 60s America. I particularly enjoyed early scenes in Derry, ME, where we were re-introduced to characters from It, and also the idea that if you try to change the past, the past does all it can to stop you. If you like King, you will like this. If you shy away from King because you don't like the scares or the Dark Tower, or whatever, this might be the book of his to try. Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle. Somebody (batmags?) posted images of the many different covers that have graced this book over the years. I happened to see an old copy in my library last week and gave it a shot. It is different from the original movie. The apes were not nearly as menacing to humans as in the movie, there was no Statue of Liberty ending, in fact the book's ending is closer to the end of the Mark Wahlberg sequel that everybody hated. It also had a pretty neat twist at the very end that I wasn't expecting. A quick read, and worth it.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 02 2011 06:52 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I gave up on Stephen King a long time ago. (And I used to LOVE his books. Whenever a new one came out, I wanted it immediately.) In fact, I was surprised to learn that he's still writing books. But the 1963 book sounds intriguing, and I may give it a try when it hits paperback. I read Planet of the Apes when I was a kid, and still have the copy that I read back then. My son recently read it, and I may reread it some time soon.

Fman99 Dec 09 2011 09:18 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished and this is a great book. A real page turner and all true to boot. Overview At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt's harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth. The River of Doubt-it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron. After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil's most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever. Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived.From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt's life, here is Candice Millard's dazzling debut.

Edgy DC Dec 09 2011 10:07 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Seems like a good companion to Fordlandia in the "Nutty, Larger-Than-Life Americans Going Upriver in Brazil Series." On my list.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 10 2011 12:00 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Didn't see it in this thread, but anyone try this one out? On NPR's 'Top 5 Fiction' for the year and now in my queue at the library. Brooklyn-based magazine editor Chad Harbach's delightful first book is a baseball novel — which means that if it's any good it's a novel from which one can extrapolate meaning about every aspect of life. Harbach situates most of the action on the idyllic campus of Westish College, a mid-level private Wisconsin school on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The story gives us a cast of characters so interesting and appealing that, despite the weight of their problems and depth of their desires, you expect them to break out into song and dance at any moment: Dakota-born Henry Skrimshander, a naturally gifted shortstop whom Chicagoan Mike Schwartz, Westish's star catcher, recruits for the team; 60-year-old Guert Affenlight, the literary-minded president of the college; Pella, his attractive daughter, recently separated from her much older husband and newly arrived from San Francisco; Owen, the gay ballplayer in whom Affenlight finds something more than obsession. Will Skrimshander lead the team to its first winning season? Will Schwartz have his hopes fulfilled for a collegiate championship? Baseball matters desperately in this novel. But so does physical affection and, whether felt by a freshman or a college president, the unquenchable desire to know another human being in a deep and important way. In this regard, the novel takes its place among a few charmed works of art that deal with the national pastime in the context of human yearning — books by superb writers such as Bernard Malamud and Philip Roth. It also stands among the best school novels we have, from This Side of Paradise to A Separate Peace.

seawolf17 Dec 10 2011 03:10 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Just finished it, actually. I thought it was extremely well-written and really deep. Great characters.

TheOldMole Dec 11 2011 08:08 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

There's another Michigan baseball novel which is magical and transcendent -- Nancy Willard's Things Invisible To See.

themetfairy Dec 20 2011 04:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

The book that inspired the series.

sharpie Dec 21 2011 01:42 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

"Art of Fielding" -- liked it a lot. Read it while in Culebra.

Chad Ochoseis Dec 21 2011 02:08 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

sharpie wrote: "Art of Fielding" -- liked it a lot. Read it while in Culebra. Got it two weeks ago as a birthday present and I'm about halfway through it. Baseball, Melville references, and bi-curious college presidents. You can't really go wrong with that combination, can you?

A Boy Named Seo Dec 21 2011 05:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

After soliciting suggestions via Facebook, I had three different friends unrelated to one another enthusiastically suggest this book: I'm halfway through and it is amazing. A true story of an Olympic distance runner/ WWII Airman and his incredible - INCREDIBLE! - experiences in the South Pacific during the war. A true page-turner. If you're looking for someting to read, pick it up, you will not be disappointed. Picked this up at the library yesterday and it's fantastic so far. They were holding it for me and when the librarian grabbed it and saw the title, she pulled it close to her and sighed. I shoulda known.

Fman99 Dec 21 2011 06:57 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Continuing my nonfiction kick I just plowed through this. It's a succinct and well written biography of our fifth president.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 29 2011 05:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

After soliciting suggestions via Facebook, I had three different friends unrelated to one another enthusiastically suggest this book: I'm halfway through and it is amazing. A true story of an Olympic distance runner/ WWII Airman and his incredible - INCREDIBLE! - experiences in the South Pacific during the war. A true page-turner. If you're looking for someting to read, pick it up, you will not be disappointed. Picked this up at the library yesterday and it's fantastic so far. They were holding it for me and when the librarian grabbed it and saw the title, she pulled it close to her and sighed. I shoulda known. FYI - this thing was really good.

Fman99 Dec 29 2011 07:19 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

On a serious non-fiction streak these days. Just finished this one, which was terrific. Started this one two nights ago. So far very good.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 29 2011 09:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Fman99 wrote: On a serious non-fiction streak these days. Just finished this one, which was terrific. Sounds alright. Queued.

Mets – Willets Point Dec 30 2011 08:20 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

A murder mystery/thriller by a friend of mine from college. It's pretty good so far.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 31 2011 07:14 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

A Boy Named Seo wrote: Fman99 wrote: On a serious non-fiction streak these days. Just finished this one, which was terrific. Sounds alright. Queued. I only now caught up with wayr in 2007 and finished MANHUNT, the book about the Booth assassination. Wow that was great fun. Now working on THE BIG BURN, regarding wildfire of 1910 and T Roosevelt taking on the 1%.

Rockin' Doc Jan 01 2012 01:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Another years draws to an end. This was my first year with my Nook. I wasn't sure how it would impact my reading habits, but it seems to have actually increased the time I spent reading. As in previous years, most of my reading was of the non-fiction variety. Reading List 2011 1. To Hell and Back by Audie Murphy 2. Brave Companions by David McCullough 3. Flyboys by James Bradley 4. Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E. Ambrose 5. D-Day by Stephen E. Ambrose 6. The Lost City of Z by David Grann 7. Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglas & Abraham Lincoln by John Stauffer 8. A Terrible Glory: Custer and the Little Bighorn by Jmaes Donovan 9. The Devil In the White City by Erik Larson 10. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 11. Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen 12. The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 13. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 14. The Perfect Storm by Sebastion Junger 15. Science Fair Season by Judy Dutton 16. Sleepers by Lorenzo Carcaterra 17. Playing With the Enemy by Gary W. Moore 18. In the Garden of the Beasts by Erik Larson 19. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxa 20. Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalvan 21. Secretariat by William Nicks 22. Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson 23. Dracula by Bram Stoker 24. Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 25. The Tiger: A Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vallaint 26. Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis 27. What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell 28. The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean 29. Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Deciding what book to kick off the 2012 reading season with tonight.

DocTee Jan 01 2012 03:39 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

FMAN et al on the nonfiction kick...check out Destiny of the Republic, a stirring bio of President James Garfield and his assassin, Charles Guiteau with a healthy does of science and medicine kicked in. Really good.

Rockin' Doc Jan 01 2012 04:00 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

DocTee wrote: FMAN et al on the nonfiction kick...check out Destiny of the Republic, a stirring bio of President James Garfield and his assassin, Charles Guiteau with a healthy does of science and medicine kicked in. Really good. My wife gave me a Barnes and Noble Gift card for Christmas. I'm presently deciding what 6-7 eBooks I want to use it for, but Destiny of the Republic is definitely going to be one of them. I've heard good things about it.

DocTee Jan 01 2012 04:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

D of R is very nicely done. Well-written and balanced. I never knew just how accomplished Garfield was, or how bad his treatment post-shooting. highly recommended.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 01 2012 05:39 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I've read a bunch of the books on Rockin' Doc's list. I particularly like these two: 24. Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan 25. The Tiger: A Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vallaint

bmfc1 Jan 02 2012 09:49 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Chad Ochoseis wrote: sharpie wrote: "Art of Fielding" -- liked it a lot. Read it while in Culebra. Got it two weeks ago as a birthday present and I'm about halfway through it. Baseball, Melville references, and bi-curious college presidents. You can't really go wrong with that combination, can you? Also, it had a Mackey Sasser reference. I enjoyed it and quickly finished it but I wanted more of Henry, the main character who has Steve Blass disease, and more of Mike, his mentor, and less of the other three characters. I enjoyed Henry and Mike so much that I couldn't wait for the author to get back to their stories.

Mets – Willets Point Jan 02 2012 10:55 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

My list. (A) is for audiobook, all others are in print. Tinkers by Paul Harding (A) Revolutionaries by Jack Rakove The Dead Hand by David E. Hoffman (A) The Big Short by Michael Lewis Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen (A) Boilerplate : history’s mechanical marvel by Paul Guinan The Archaeology of Home by Katharine Greider The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón (A) The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer by Fred Kaplan Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (A) The Far Side of the World by Patrick O’Brian (A) One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus Sixty Feet, Six Inches by Bob Gibson & Reggie Jackson Tattoos on the Heart by Gregory Boyle 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang Take Time For Paradise by A. Bartlett Giamatti Ambassadors of Reconciliation by Ched Myers Poverty of Spirit by Johannes B. Metz Why you can disagree– and remain a faithful Catholic by Philip S. Kaufman As It Was In The Beginning by Robert McClory Beastly Fury by Robert Sanders Soccer in a football world : the story of America’s forgotten game by David Wangerin Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics by Jonathan Wilson The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (A) The Whites of Their Eyes by Jill Lepore The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (A) Once in a lifetime : the incredible story of the New York Cosmos by Gavin Newsham Annoying: The Science of What Bugs Us by Joe Palca & Flora Lichtman (A) Soccernomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanksi One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde The Crime of the Century by Stephanie Schorow The Underboss by Gerard Neill Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (A) The Pox and the Covenant by Tony Williams To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: Or On the Segregation of the Queen by Laurie R. King (A) Taking the Field by Howard Megdal The F-Word by Jesse Sheidlower Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (A) Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway by Kirk Johnson Proust Was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer (A) Kate Vaiden by Reynolds Price Selected Shorts: Lots of Laughs! by Symphony Space (A) Dangerously funny by David Bianculli (A) Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion by Johan Harstad Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson (A) Get Out!: 150 Easy Ways for Kids & Grown-Ups to Get Into Nature and Build a Greener Future by Judy Molland The Boneshaker by Kate Milford Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne Boston Riots by Jack Tager At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (A) Consequences by Penelope Lively The Pun Also Rises by John Pollack Triumph of the City by Edward L. Glaeser Bossypants by Tina Fey Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (A) Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of the Great Depression by Morris Dickstein (A) Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg Blackout by Connie Willis All Clear by Connie Willis Maphead by Ken Jennings The Lost Art of Walking by Geoff Nicholson

sharpie Jan 03 2012 10:01 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

My list. 57 titles. ROOM – Emma Donoghue LIFE – Keith Richards & James Fox SONGS FOR THEMISSING – Stewart O’Nan THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE – Stieg Larsson THE POSSESSED – Elif Batuman THE CZAR’S MADMAN – Jaan Kross WHEN RAIN CLOUDS GATHER – Bessie Head LEGEND OF A SUICIDE – David Vann INSECTOPEDIA – Hugh Raffles THE MISSING – Tim Gautreaux OLIVE KITTERIDGE – Elizabeth Strout THE CLOTHES THEY STOOD UP IN – Alan Bennett THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS’ NEST – Stieg Larsson THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER – William Styron THE ANATOMIST – Federico Andahazi GHOST LIGHT – Joseph O’Connor TOWNIE – Andre Dubus III MEDUSA – Michael Dibdin A MOVEABLE FEAST – Ernest Hemingway THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ – F. Scott Fitzgerald APPOINTMENT IN SAMARRA – John O’Hara THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ISLAND – Michel Houellebecq THE NAVIGATOR OF NEW YORK -- Wayne Johnston U AND I – Nicholson Baker THE KING’S LAST SONG – Geoff Ryman THE FIRST PERSON – Ali Smith THE EXTRA 2% -- Johan Keri PRICELESS – Robert K. Wittman and John Shiffman OLD SCHOOL -- Tobias Wolff AT HOME – Bill Bryson HALF THE SKY – Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn CHRISTINA FALLS – Benjamin Black UNDER THE NET – Iris Murdoch THE SILVER SWAN – Benjamin Black HALF A LIFE – Darin Strauss THE LOOMING TOWER – Lawrence Wright A VISIT FROM THE GOON SQUAD – Jennifer Egan BENEATH THE LION’S GAZE – Maaza Mengiste TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG – Peter Carey CITY -- Alessandro Baricco SEEK MY FACE – John Updike THE THOUSAND AUTUMNS OF JACOB DE ZOET – David Mitchell STONE ARABIA – Dana Spiotta YOU SHALL KNOW OUR VELOCITY – Dave Eggers THE ART OF FIELDING – Chad Harbach THE MARRIAGE PLOT – Jeffery Eugenides THE BASEBALL CODES – Jason Turbow and Michael Duca THE AFRICAN QUEEN – C.S. Forester THE ROOTS OF HEAVEN – Romain Gary DONOR BOY – Brendan Halpin THE TIGER’S WIFE – Tia Obreht JUST KIDS – Patti Smith THE COMPANY WE KEEP – Robert Baer and Dayna Baer BOB DYLAN IN AMERICA – Sean Wilentz AT RANDOM – Bennett Cerf C – Tom McCarthy THE ANGEL ESMERALDA – Don DeLillo

Ceetar Jan 03 2012 10:09 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

my goal is to keep a list in 2012. There must be an android app..

Benjamin Grimm Jan 03 2012 11:31 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

My list of 2011 books: 1 Murrow: His Life and Times A.M. Sperber 2 Comedy at the Edge: How Stand-up in the 1970s Changed America Richard Zoglin 3 Lost City of Z, The: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon David Grann 4 Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train Henry W. Thomas 5 This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Drew Gilpin Faust 6 Ghost Train to the Eastern Star Paul Theroux 7 Dexter in the Dark Jeff Lindsay 8 Six Wives of Henry VIII, The Alison Weir 9 Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting Duck Soup, the Greatest War Movie Ever Made Roy Blount, Jr. 10 Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883 Simon Winchester 11 Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of The Berlin Airlift-June 1948-May 1949 Richard Reeves 12 Wordy Shipmates, The Sarah Vowell 13 Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman Bill Zehme 14 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 15 American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies in the Founding of the Republic Joseph J. Ellis 16 Theodore Roosevelt: A Life Nathan Miller 17 My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business: A Memoir Dick Van Dyke 18 Buffalo Book: The Full Saga Of The American Animal David A. Dary 19 Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Jon Krakauer 20 Baseball in the Garden of Eden: The Secret History of the Early Game John Thorn 21 Red Storm Rising Tom Clancy 22 Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen Julie Powell 23 Knife Man, The: Blood, Body Snatching, and the Birth of Modern Surgery Wendy Moore 24 Translator, The: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur Daoud Hari 25 Angels and Ages: Lincoln, Darwin, and the Birth of the Modern Age Adam Gopnik 26 Tiger, The: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival John Vaillant 27 East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart Susan Butler 28 Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe 29 Big Burn, The Timothy Egan 30 Casebook of Victor Frankenstein, The Peter Ackroyd 31 Desert Solitaire Edward Abbey 32 Monster of Florence, The Douglas Preston, Mario Spezi 33 I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and high times in stand-up comedy's golden era William Knoedelseder 34 Hershey: Milton S. Hershey's Extraordinary Life of Wealth, Empire, and Utopian Dreams Michael D'Antonio 35 Good Earth, The Pearl S. Buck 36 Marlene Dietrich Maria Riva My favorites (based on the ratings I gave in Goodreads) were Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, The Tiger, and Knife Man. Least favorites were Red Storm Rising and Wordy Shipmates. Dexter in the Dark was the third book in the Dexter series, and it's the last one I'll read. I really enjoyed the second book, but this third installment was such a dud I don't think I'll be going back. Biggest disappointment: Baseball in the Garden of Eden Mildest disappointment: The Big Burn. (I liked Egan's earlier The Worst Hard Time a lot better.)

Ceetar Jan 03 2012 12:24 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Dexter in the Dark was the third book in the Dexter series, and it's the last one I'll read. I really enjoyed the second book, but this third installment was such a dud I don't think I'll be going back. I didn't even realize there were books until recently. I briefly read the synopsis of this one just now, and although nothing like the series anymore, it did seem intriguing to me.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 03 2012 01:28 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Grimm: What did you think of the "Duck Soup" book?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 03 2012 01:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I liked it! It was kind of quirky but fun, and a quick read. Duck Soup is my favorite of the Marx Brothers movies, and I got a kick out of the book.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 03 2012 04:50 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Duck Soup is my favorite of the Marx Brothers movies. Mine too. I'll try and give Hail, Hail a read in the near future. You probably know this, but in case you don't, Duck Soup, though never specifically identified in dialogue, was an important element in the plot to Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters.

Rockin' Doc Jan 06 2012 08:36 PM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

Angels and Ages was a title I saw this spring and meant to make a mental note of reading later. Unfortunately, I forgot all about the book until seeing it on Grimm's list. The Monster of Florence is another book I always meant to read, but somehow it always got pushed to the back burner for some reason. Ben, are those two titles worth adding to my list for 2012?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 07 2012 05:26 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I liked Angels and Ages, but it's kind of a strange book, built around a shaky premise that two guys born on the same day should be joint subjects of a book. If it piques your interest, give it a try, but I'm reluctant to give it a full recommendation because I'm not sure of how universal its appeal is. I also liked Monster of Florence. It wasn't as much of the true-crime book that I thought it would be; it was just as much a book about how dysfunctional the Italian justice system is. (And it's WAY dysfunctional, as I'm sure Amanda Knox will tell you.) I'd say it's worth reading.

Rockin' Doc Jan 07 2012 05:42 AM Re: What are you reading in 2011?

I appreciate the information. I'll definitely give The Monster of Florence a read before the year is out. I will likely hold off of Angels and Ages until I exhaust the backlog of titles already on my waiting list of books to read.