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What are you reading in 2017?

TransMonk Jan 03 2017 08:05 PM

Somehow, I made it to nearly 42 years old without reading To Kill A Mockingbird, so I'm taking a stab at it this week. Last weekend I devoured Hillbilly Elegy, which is so good that I recommend everyone read it RIGHT NOW!

DocTee Jan 03 2017 08:36 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Definitely on my to-read list. Just started [u:12ftt2fi]Station Eleven: A Novel [/u:12ftt2fi]by Emily St. John Mandel. So far, so good though I'm not usually drawn to fiction, though I'm making a point to try and expand my boundaries.

cooby Jan 03 2017 08:58 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I have just started Vic Sages book and I am also reading Stephen Kings bazaar of bad dreams. Both are outstanding

sharpie Jan 03 2017 10:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

For the third year in a row I started the year off with a volume of Karl Ove Knausgaard's MY STRUGGLE.

Vic Sage Jan 04 2017 04:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

cooby wrote: I have just started Vic Sages book and I am also reading Stephen Kings bazaar of bad dreams. Both are outstanding wow, mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King! Huzzah! Thanks, Coobs. I hope you enjoy it.

Vic Sage Jan 04 2017 04:45 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i just finished this: It fills the long winter nights, waiting for GoT to start up again (either in books or on TV). Other GoT Xmas gifts i've received include: It has some nice art, as well as expanding on the GoT universe. and: i love these pop culture philosophy books (including FIREFLY, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, and BATMAN). They can be dry and academic, but often fascinating. other books in the queue: and: and: still to come:

Fman99 Jan 04 2017 04:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

At the recommendation of a coworker I am reading "The Last Kingdom," by Bernard Cornwell, the first book in the "Saxon Stories," some 9th century-era historical fiction about Danes and Englishmen and what not. It's all right.

Vic Sage Jan 04 2017 04:58 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Fman99 wrote: At the recommendation of a coworker I am reading "The Last Kingdom," by Bernard Cornwell, the first book in the "Saxon Stories," some 9th century-era historical fiction about Danes and Englishmen and what not. It's all right. there was a BBC/Netflix mini-series based on that book, and it was very good, in a GoT way.

cooby Jan 04 2017 05:02 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Fman99 wrote: At the recommendation of a coworker I am reading "The Last Kingdom," by Bernard Cornwell, the first book in the "Saxon Stories," some 9th century-era historical fiction about Danes and Englishmen and what not. It's all right. OMG, my husband lives for Bernard Cornwell books. I've read a few of them myself, very good.

cooby Jan 04 2017 05:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Vic Sage wrote: cooby wrote: I have just started Vic Sages book and I am also reading Stephen Kings bazaar of bad dreams. Both are outstanding wow, mentioned in the same breath as Stephen King! Huzzah! Thanks, Coobs. I hope you enjoy it. I am indeed! I will write a better "book report" after I'm done.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 04 2017 05:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I'm currently reading a book about 1913 called, for some unknown reason, 1913.

TransMonk Jan 05 2017 01:27 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read 1913 a few years back. An interesting look at different regions in the world prior to WWI.

Mets Guy in Michigan Jan 05 2017 01:42 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

For Christmas, my wife gave me Ulysses S. Grant's "Personal Memoirs." I've heard for years that it's really great, but never got around to checking it out. It's never been out of print -- and is really, really long. And he doesn't even get to his presidency. Is it odd that, with rare exceptions, I only read non-fiction?

Frayed Knot Jan 05 2017 01:53 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

DocTee wrote: So far, so good though I'm not usually drawn to fiction, though I'm making a point to try and expand my boundaries. I'm like that with fiction too. Not that I dislike reading it but more that I have trouble picking out what I think I may like - although hit on 4 of the 6 fiction books I read in 2016 so maybe I'm getting better at it. But, am starting 2017 with non-fiction, specifically THE TUNNELS: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films the JFK White House Tried to Kill It's early '60s Berlin, the wall has just gone up, Berliners are trying all sorts of methods to get friends and family out of the east, U.S. TV networks get involved and are skirting the line between covering news and creating it by cooperating with some of the tunnel diggers, and Kennedy's State Department is surprisingly timid about 'making waves' and becomes at times hostile to the whole idea of escapes to the west getting publicized.

Rockin' Doc Jan 05 2017 02:51 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Is it odd that, with rare exceptions, I only read non-fiction? I read non-fiction probably 90% of the time for the past several years. When I do read fiction, I have generally enjoyed the books, but I definitely gravitate to non-fiction.

Mets Guy in Michigan Jan 05 2017 03:35 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Rockin' Doc wrote: Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Is it odd that, with rare exceptions, I only read non-fiction? I read non-fiction probably 90% of the time for the past several years. When I do read fiction, I have generally enjoyed the books, but I definitely gravitate to non-fiction. My boss once said that when he was younger he used to read only non-fiction because he wanted to learn. Then he switched to mostly fiction because he wanted to escape the stress of the working world. Then, when he got involved in politics, he switched back to non-fiction because the stuff he was experiencing was crazier than anything he was reading in fiction.

Fman99 Jan 05 2017 01:25 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read both, probably non-fiction about 60-70% of the time. It's easier for me to find non-fiction that I like or believe I might like. With fiction, I'm more selective on what I enjoy.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 05 2017 01:40 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I find non-fiction more satisfying. It makes up about 80 per cent of the books I read.

sharpie Jan 05 2017 02:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

More fiction than non-fiction. I read plenty of non-fiction via newspapers or magazines but great masterfully-written fiction speaks to me in ways that most non-fiction doesn't. I do love great narrative non-fiction but while facts from those books may stay with me, the greatest moments for me in my reading life are scenes or even lines from literature that return to me at unexpected times.

metsmarathon Jan 05 2017 02:38 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i don't read too much fiction, though when i do i tend to read thriller-y spy stuff, or covert stuff, and what not. the kind of books that movies starring tom cruise or matt damon might get made out of. or star wars books. because i am terribly unsophisticated. and also because i don't really know how to pick good books. i do like non-fiction, though i've got two of them, one in paper form and one on my nook, that i'm hopelessly bogged down in. that's the biggest danger of nonfiction, i think. i really only look for books (for myself) when i'm in an airport, where the selection is typically poor. i should go to bookstores beforehand, and with a list of good books that i should look for. but that requires effort and planning. boo, effort and planning!

RealityChuck Jan 05 2017 02:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Finished book four of Jack Vance's Demon Princes series. The usual Vance magic in cultures and personality, but the books are essentially the same, where Kirth Gerson tracks down one of the princes for revenge, and where the plot depends on the idea that no one knows what they look like. Gerson is also too much the superman who wins every test. Then moved on to some nonfiction.

HahnSolo Jan 05 2017 02:55 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

As usually happens around the holidays or early in the new year, I read the new Michael Connelly novel. This one, The Wrong Side of Goodbye, features Harry Bosch and is pretty good but not his best. Still recommend him though. He's one of the best crime novelists out there today.

seawolf17 Jan 05 2017 03:19 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

That Larson book is FANTASTIC, Chuck. One of my favorites. And I used to really enjoy Harry Bosch; I need to catch up on him. Just finished the first book of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles, The Name of the Wind -- and was enthralled by it. Just grabbed the second one and I'm starting that tonight.

Vic Sage Jan 05 2017 07:28 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i read fiction, and non-fiction ABOUT fiction. I prefer the transcendence of truth to the banality of facts. Although with the hit that facts have taken in recent years, it may be time to stop taking them for granted before they lose all meaning.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 05 2017 09:07 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

When it's not fiction, it's some baseball book filled with stats. Kept seeing this one on all the '2k16 best-of' lists and just started it today. Amazon blurb sez: A mindbending, relentlessly surprising thriller from the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines trilogy."

A Boy Named Seo Jan 06 2017 02:24 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

This ↑↑↑ Dark Matter ↑↑↑ is pretty damn good so far. Next I think is this ----> https://newrepublic.com/article/139550/legacy-altamont

MFS62 Jan 06 2017 02:38 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

After two eye surgeries in the past five four weeks (the second two days ago), I hope to be contributing to this thread in the near future. My eyes have been so bad for the past few years (even with glasses) that I couldn't read for more than minutes at a time. Later

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 06 2017 03:24 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Reading that Tom Petty bio but don't love it so far. Wishing it was a little more journalistic and a little less musician-centric.

batmagadanleadoff Jan 06 2017 10:02 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Mets Guy in Michigan wrote: Is it odd that, with rare exceptions, I only read non-fiction? I read non-fiction probably 90% of the time for the past several years. When I do read fiction, I have generally enjoyed the books, but I definitely gravitate to non-fiction. My boss once said that when he was younger he used to read only non-fiction because he wanted to learn. Then he switched to mostly fiction because he wanted to escape the stress of the working world. Then, when he got involved in politics, he switched back to non-fiction because the stuff he was experiencing was crazier than anything he was reading in fiction. I read mostly fiction. I like it when authors just make shit up to throw out there.

TransMonk Jan 13 2017 09:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I'm a mostly non-fiction guy, but I just finished Zero K by Don DeLillo and it was one of the best pieces of contemporary fiction I've experienced in a while.

MFS62 Jan 13 2017 11:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Just picked up the 2017 Baseball America Almanac today. Later

cooby Jan 16 2017 05:13 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

After my son and his wife heard me lament that my library never seems to have a copy of "In Cold BLood" on hand, they got me my own for Christmas. Enjoying it but sad that it's true.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jan 17 2017 03:26 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I just started that Altamont book Seoy mentioned above. Finished the Petty book which got somewhat better as it went.

Fman99 Jan 17 2017 12:50 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

cooby wrote: After my son and his wife heard me lament that my library never seems to have a copy of "In Cold BLood" on hand, they got me my own for Christmas. Enjoying it but sad that it's true. I read it for the first time just within the last year or two. It's superbly written, but, yeah, it's also quite a bummer.

Frayed Knot May 19 2017 03:52 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017? Edited 3 time(s), most recently on May 19 2017 11:51 PM

This thread gets lots of January action and then again in December but is pretty much ignored in between, so I thought it needed a kick up. Just finished this short little tome. [fimg=150]http://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9781101875681[/fimg] Back in 1986 a 20 y/o man makes a seemingly impulsive decision to drop out of society. Telling no one, not even family (living parents, 4 brothers), he abandons his practically new car in central Maine and, carrying little more than a tent and sleeping bag, walks until he finds a spot he likes. It's in a secluded patch of woods but actually only slightly off the beaten path, as close as a 3 minute walk from a lake around which are seasonal vacation cabins plus a kids camp and some full-year homes not much further off. Not wanting to be found he travels around mostly at night; he also neither hunts nor fishes nor builds any fires -- no, not even in the middle of a Maine winter -- for fear of giving his location away. He survives by pilfering from the nearby cabins, mostly food (real and junk) but also batteries, clothes, bedding, books, magazines, propane tanks, portable radios. Rarely straying more than a mile in any direction, he spends every day and night in his adopted "home" as he manages to go undetected and virtually unseen until finally caught in the midst of one of his cabin burglaries ... 27 years after he first arrived!!

seawolf17 May 19 2017 12:08 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Sounds interesting; will definitely check it out.

metirish May 19 2017 12:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Got a Kindle Paperwhite , loving it

RealityChuck May 19 2017 01:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. One of about three multivolume epic novels* I've ever read. I decided to read it again before my eyes aren't good enough to read the print. *Although it's actually one novel, arbitrarily broken into four pieces by Wolfe due to technological constraints of the time.

Benjamin Grimm May 19 2017 01:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I'm reading The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron. It's the first novel I've read this year, after completing nine non-fiction books. In January, I noticed that the first few books I read this year were read in alphabetical order, with all of the titles from near the beginning of the alphabet. I decided that I would try reading in ABC order throughout 2017, until I didn't want to do so anymore. It's May, and I'm still only in the C's (I had quite a few B and C books on my shelf) but I don't think I'll stick with this experiment (such as it is) much longer. My pace this year has been slower than usual. I don't think it's because of the ABC order thing, but I'm not sure.

metirish May 19 2017 01:53 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

seawolf17 wrote: Sounds interesting; will definitely check it out. Definitely, placed a hold on it

TransMonk May 19 2017 02:30 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Edgy MD May 19 2017 02:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

The Confessions of Nat Turner is something I've tried to read a couple of times, but haven't gotten too far. I'm sure there's a reason for Styron's stilted style, and I'm sure if I get a third of the way in, my ear and my brain will get used to it, but I haven't found the reason and I haven't made it a third of the way in yet. The Confessions of Nat Turner makes me disappointed in myself. Altamont, Shmaltamont. I know it's a second- or third-tier band at a fourth-tier gig, but it's hard to argue against Great White at The Station as rock's darkest day.

sharpie May 19 2017 04:30 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read and liked The Confessions of Nat Turner. I just finished Roberto Bolano's The Savage Detectives which is a pretty remarkable achievement.

Mets Willets Point May 19 2017 04:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read a number of Styron's books, Sophie's Choice is my favorite, but never got around to Nat Turner.

Vic Sage May 19 2017 09:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

RealityChuck wrote: Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun. One of about three multivolume epic novels* I've ever read. I decided to read it again before my eyes aren't good enough to read the print. *Although it's actually one novel, arbitrarily broken into four pieces by Wolfe due to technological constraints of the time. i tried the first one at least twice. I just can't get into it, and its got a great critical rep. I guess it's me.

batmagadanleadoff May 19 2017 11:17 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I'm reading The Confessions of Nat Turner, by William Styron. It's the first novel I've read this year, after completing nine non-fiction books.... . I bought this book a few months ago, in a real powerful mood to read it. I haven't gotten past the first paragraph yet.

DocTee May 20 2017 01:18 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

2017, so far: [u:vmj1yvwr]Station Eleven[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Emily St. John Mandel. [u:vmj1yvwr]The Principals[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Bill James [u:vmj1yvwr]The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China[/u:vmj1yvwr]. David Sibley. [u:vmj1yvwr]The Light Between Oceans.[/u:vmj1yvwr] ML Stedman [u:vmj1yvwr]Napoleon's Last island[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Thomas Kennealy [u:vmj1yvwr]Washington's Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk [/u:vmj1yvwr] John Steele Gordon [u:vmj1yvwr]The Art Forger. [/u:vmj1yvwr] BA Shapiro [u:vmj1yvwr]The Lost City of the Monkey God.[/u:vmj1yvwr] Douglas Preston [u:vmj1yvwr]Upheaval in Charleston: Earthquake and Murder on the Eve of Jim Crow[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Williams and Hoffius. [u:vmj1yvwr]Murder on the Eiffel Tower[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Claude Izner [u:vmj1yvwr]The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Edmund de Waal [u:vmj1yvwr]Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Cathy O'Neill [u:vmj1yvwr]Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Nathaniel Philbrick. [u:vmj1yvwr]Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Justice and Redemption[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton. [u:vmj1yvwr]Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary [/u:vmj1yvwr]Canal. Mary Roach [u:vmj1yvwr]City of Dreams: the 400 year Epic History of Immigrant New York[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Tyler Anbinder [u:vmj1yvwr]March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Will Englund [u:vmj1yvwr]Brooklyn[/u:vmj1yvwr]. Colm Toibin.

Frayed Knot May 20 2017 01:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

DocTee wrote: 2017, so far: City of Dreams: the 400 year Epic History of Immigrant New York. Tyler Anbinder One of the better books I read last year.

DocTee May 20 2017 01:39 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

DocTee wrote: 2017, so far: City of Dreams: the 400 year Epic History of Immigrant New York. Tyler Anbinder One of the better books I read last year. Phenomenal. Anbinder is a solid, solid, historian-- I wish he spent as much time on recent immigration as he did on the earlier periods, but the book was already 700+ pages, and he played to his strength as a specialist in mid-19th century America. Destined to be the standard treatment on this topic for the foreseeable future.

Rockin' Doc May 20 2017 02:59 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Frayed Knot wrote: This thread gets lots of January action and then again in December but is pretty much ignored in between, so I thought it needed a kick up. Just finished this short little tome. [fimg=150]http://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9781101875681[/fimg] Back in 1986 a 20 y/o man makes a seemingly impulsive decision to drop out of society. Telling no one, not even family (living parents, 4 brothers), he abandons his practically new car in central Maine and, carrying little more than a tent and sleeping bag, walks until he finds a spot he likes. It's in a secluded patch of woods but actually only slightly off the beaten path, as close as a 3 minute walk from a lake around which are seasonal vacation cabins plus a kids camp and some full-year homes not much further off. Not wanting to be found he travels around mostly at night; he also neither hunts nor fishes nor builds any fires -- no, not even in the middle of a Maine winter -- for fear of giving his location away. He survives by pilfering from the nearby cabins, mostly food (real and junk) but also batteries, clothes, bedding, books, magazines, propane tanks, portable radios. Rarely straying more than a mile in any direction, he spends every day and night in his adopted "home" as he manages to go undetected and virtually unseen until finally caught in the midst of one of his cabin burglaries ... 27 years after he first arrived!! I read that earlier this sprig. It was a good quick read that I really enjoyed. It is hard to imagine his living undetected for so long. Particularly since the locals eventually knew a "hermit" lived somewhere in the woods and began installing electronic surveillance in hopes of catching him.

Vic Sage May 24 2017 02:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i'm going on vacation next week and i'd like some recommendations for plane reading. Preferably, a lightweight paperback in the SF/Fantasy or pulp noir genres.

Edgy MD May 24 2017 02:59 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Emma Who Saved My Life got me through a long plane ride once. It's neither fantasy nor sci-fi, but it's New York in the late seventies and early eighties, it hits theater culture right between the eyes, and as far as I've sussed out, it's the only good novel that Wilton Barnhart had in him.

RealityChuck May 24 2017 07:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Vic Sage wrote: i'm going on vacation next week and i'd like some recommendations for plane reading. Preferably, a lightweight paperback in the SF/Fantasy or pulp noir genres. I'd recommend Charlie Jane Anders's "All the Birds in the Sky." Science fiction AND fantasy, and impossible to put down. It won a well-deserved Nebula Award over the weekend.

HahnSolo May 25 2017 01:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Edgy MD wrote: Emma Who Saved My Life got me through a long plane ride once. It's neither fantasy nor sci-fi, but it's New York in the late seventies and early eighties, it hits theater culture right between the eyes, and as far as I've sussed out, it's the only good novel that Wilton Barnhart had in him. That's one of my all-time faves. In fact, I just ordered a used copy on line so I could re-read it. Back in 1993 I had just started working at St. Martin's Press when Barnhardt's second novel, Gospel, was coming out. The company made a big push on it, I started reading and after about twenty pages I thought "what a pretentious piece of crap, what's the big deal about this guy?" A co-worker told me I had to give Emma a chance. If you remember NYC from that era, it's almost a must-read.

Edgy MD May 25 2017 03:32 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Wow, funny to have similar assessments of Emma and of Barnhart. We've tried two or three of his other books and can hardly believe it's the same guy. Maybe something has come down the pike more recently that I've missed, but some folks only have the one good book in them. God bless Harper Lee for having the sense to realize it.

A Boy Named Seo May 25 2017 05:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Vic Sage wrote: i'm going on vacation next week and i'd like some recommendations for plane reading. Preferably, a lightweight paperback in the SF/Fantasy or pulp noir genres. Got your airplane book right here. Wish I had a quiet plane ride coming up to sit and re-read it. DARK MATTER -> https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Matter-Nove ... 1101904224

cooby May 26 2017 12:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Started reading John Oates' book last night and was delighted that he mentioned Lebanon baloney

HahnSolo May 26 2017 01:07 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Just finished this, a tale of a climate-ravaged future NYC. The writing was good, the science was on point, the knowledge of NYC was top notch, and the story kept me going. The characters were a little cardboard but not enough to deter from the story. I'm not a big SF guy and I've never read Robinson before, though I have heard of him. Recommended.

Mets Willets Point May 26 2017 01:47 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

cooby wrote: Started reading John Oates' book last night and was delighted that he mentioned Lebanon baloney Apparently something that culturally unites Pennsylvanians.

cooby May 26 2017 02:09 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Just thrilled someone as cool as he is knows what it is!

metirish May 31 2017 02:18 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Finally finishing the Smiley/Karla trilogy

cooby Jun 01 2017 10:14 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

What is The Constant Gardener about?

metirish Jun 01 2017 01:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

cooby wrote: What is The Constant Gardener about? Spy stuff......it is not about a gardener constantly gardening :)

cooby Jun 01 2017 04:22 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Heck

Ashie62 Jun 13 2017 07:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Read three music autobios Born to Run-Bruce Sprinsteen. I didn't realize his family was dirt poor and knows how luckY he is.. A Americana- Ray Davies. Two things jumped out. He said the only cities in the U.S. were NY and New Orleans. He also loves all the open space such as in the midwest and north. "When I look at the big sky I know everything will be ok" A Morrissey-Morrissey. He pines for the open spaces in England and mentions cities like Manchester in unfrieldly terms as to what they have become.. Oddly, in the U.S. when he goes into rural areas he is very condescending about how more evolved he is than theses hicks. B

Edgy MD Jun 13 2017 07:36 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I'm surprised that that's all the condescension he could muster. Morrissey can be a vicious Aloysius.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 17 2017 03:44 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I liked the Springsteen autobio a lot but got kinda mad at him at the end when he made a big deal about making pancakes for his kids. I mean, geez, Bruce. You're supposed to be connecting with the working man and he's all about giving his live-in staff a morning off. Working on Carlin's Paul Simon book now. I really didn't know much of Paul's pre-fame life beyond the basics. Like all big stars he is particularly out for himself from the start. Springsteen was the same, deciding at 19 or 20 that the musicians he'd play with would work for him.

Frayed Knot Jul 25 2017 01:08 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017? Edited 2 time(s), most recently on Sep 16 2017 09:29 PM

[fimg=200:3gm2pvl9]https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/33209e9b28ed498595ee4723f7697342fd9797ea/r=180/local/-/media/2017/04/20/USATODAY/USATODAY/636283066661632300-Beartown.jpg[/fimg:3gm2pvl9] Reminiscent of ‘FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS’ in that it’s centered around a town with its better days in the rearview mirror, but despite that, or probably because of it, cares far too much about youth sports than is healthy. The main differences here is that the setting is Sweden and the sport is hockey. Also this one is fiction although it still manages to touch on a lot of the same themes connected to the sport of class, status, education, and even ethnicity as did FNL. I picked this up knowing almost nothing about it based on liking Backman’s last book ‘A MAN CALLED OVE’, a tale about a curmudgeonly Swede whose nuisance neighbors keep interrupting his suicide plans. 'Ove', despite the subject matter, was a comedy or at least a light-hearted drama. This one is much darker although a couple common threads run through both. One is the stoic, Nordic countenance which keeps its people, its men in particular, mostly silent, rarely sharing, and with more than a bit of alcohol within reach to get through the short days and long nights. The other is the changing nature of Swedish society which makes it not nearly as ethnically homogeneous as some of its older characters are accustomed. Backman is a Swedish native who writes in his native tongue with the books then translated into English, so while these traits in Swedish society aren't necessarily harped on as the main point as they'd be a well-known part of the fabric to his primary audience, they none the less weave their way through each book as a condition which often drives the actions of the characters. I recommend both.

Rockin' Doc Jul 25 2017 03:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read A Man Called Ove earlier this year, due on your recommendation in the reading list for 2016. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Backman is a very talented writer. I decided to get Bear Town, due to enjoying Ove so much. Though Bear Town is vastly different from Ove in mood, it contains the same vivid imagery and detailed characters sketches. You almost feel that you know the characters within his stories. I second your endorsement of these two wonderful books from a gifted writer. I plan to read more of his works before the year is out.

Mets Willets Point Jul 25 2017 02:10 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Does Wally Backman have Swedish ancestry?

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jul 25 2017 02:45 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Steve Rushin who happened to be born the same year as me and had a remarkably similar childhood as me, writes a memoir of growing up in the 70s. He's a terrific writer and his culural reflections are right on

Rockin' Doc Jul 26 2017 02:03 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Mets Willets Point wrote: Does Wally Backman have Swedish ancestry? Fredrick Backman writes books. Wally Backman, I suspect, colors books.

Mets Willets Point Jul 26 2017 03:35 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Rockin' Doc wrote: Mets Willets Point wrote: Does Wally Backman have Swedish ancestry? Fredrick Backman writes books. Wally Backman, I suspect, colors books. I realize that, but they have the same surname, which prompted my question.

Frayed Knot Jul 27 2017 01:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

According to Wikipedia (so you know it's true) Backman is listed under the category of 'Swedish surnames' -- as opposed to Bachman(n) which is more German/Swiss -- and most of the famous people listed with that name are Swedish with the occasional Finn thrown in there and those might be ethnic Swedes also since they make up a sizable minority of Finland natives. Oddly, the tally of famous Backmans on that list does not include author Fredrik (even though he does have his own Wiki-page) so, as the great American philosopher Jerry Seinfeld once observed, 'Who knows how official any of these rankings really are'. As for whether that makes our Walter Wayne Backman of Hillsboro, Oregon someone of Swedish descent, I'll go out on a limb and give you a 'definite probable' on that although it should also be noted that Wally himself once claimed to be a member of the 'little redneck' tribe.

Edgy MD Jul 27 2017 01:55 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Lots o' Swedes who joined Pa Ingalls in settling the northern plains of Minnesota and the Dakotas saw greener pastures after a few years and lit out for the newly opened Oregon Territory. [fimg=300:tqjtpov0]http://www.swedishrootsinoregon.org/_images/swedish-roots-oregon-lives-cover.jpg[/fimg:tqjtpov0]

Frayed Knot Jul 27 2017 05:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Edgy MD wrote: Lots o' Swedes who joined Pa Ingalls in settling the northern plains of Minnesota and the Dakotas saw greener pastures after a few years and lit out for the newly opened Oregon Territory. [fimg=300]http://www.swedishrootsinoregon.org/_images/swedish-roots-oregon-lives-cover.jpg[/fimg] Good that you put that up there as I couldn't find my copy.

TransMonk Sep 25 2017 01:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I just wrapped up Hillary's book on why she lost and I'm moving on to Katy Tur's book on her coverage of Trump's victory. [fimg=200:31ckn1ii]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1501171573l/34114362.jpg[/fimg:31ckn1ii] [fimg=200:31ckn1ii]https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1490806565l/34150849.jpg[/fimg:31ckn1ii] This has to be the first time in my life that I am reading the current #1 and #2 NYT best sellers (non-fiction) in the same week.

Benjamin Grimm Sep 25 2017 01:56 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

What did you think of Hillary's book?

Frayed Knot Sep 25 2017 02:22 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Sep 25 2017 02:46 PM

These are the two (quite different) books I read on the '16 election cycle: [fimg=200:zjfbbn3k]http://thehill.com/sites/default/files/shatteredbookcover.jpg[/fimg:zjfbbn3k] [fimg=200:zjfbbn3k]https://d1w7fb2mkkr3kw.cloudfront.net/assets/images/book/lrg/9780/8021/9780802126191.jpg[/fimg:zjfbbn3k] ... but I'll probably stop there. I have no interest in Clinton's view of how this was everyone's fault but hers (if I read too much I might find out that I'm partly to blame) and I'm a bit suspicious of reporters writing books right on the heels of large events seeing things through the prism of how it affected them. Maybe I'm too harshly pre-judging in one or both cases but I don't think I'll spend the time to try and find out. SHATTERED involves a couple of political insiders given access to the Clinton campaign from the very start and within that context it covers everything from start to finish. And while it was very good at what it set out to be, my problem is that it's probably a bit too insider-ish for me. I mean, I'm sure insider political geeks salivate over details of the power struggles between her campaign manager and the campaign strategist, or whether the data folks are winning the day vs the 'from the gut' wing of the campaign, but that stuff has limited appeal to me. P. J. O'Rourke naturally takes a more cynical and sarcastic view of things. Written contemporaneously as the primaries and general election unfolded -- as opposed to after it was all over with the wisdom of knowing the results -- it would be a bit like reading our primary and then election threads to see how steps along the way were digested, read, and just as often mis-read as they happened.

TransMonk Sep 25 2017 02:43 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: What did you think of Hillary's book? The first half was surprisingly good with insights into the campaign team and the trail. The chapter on the emails is where it all fell apart for me. She even starts the chapter by stating that some people may want to skip it...I wish I had. FK is not far from the truth in his post above. Hillary says many times that she takes complete responsibility for the loss, but then often interjects "but"s and "however"s into the statement. She spends too much time criticizing Bernie and the New York Times (not quite calling some of their articles "fake news", but questioning sources and reporting on things that damaged her). She hits the Comey letter the hardest, all but saying it was the single reason as to why she lost. IMO, while she talks about Russian meddling, she does not spend enough time there. While the final pages gives broad methods on how Democrats can stay in involved and motivated for 2018 and 2020, the specifics are not there. I wish this book would have been called "What Next" and could have offered insights on how to fight the disinformation being peddled by the Trump administration, the media and the Russians. But overall, after finishing it, it seemed like Hillary still being bitter about losing. I hope the publication is the closing of the 2016 election so that America can move on to the future, which is now more important than ever.

cooby Sep 25 2017 11:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I am presently hooked on MC Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series and also Louise Penny

batmagadanleadoff Sep 27 2017 04:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Just finished this one. [fimg=433:3rs8iuj5]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/dfc57966-1eff-4cf9-84ba-19ba6ff237ed_1.6d65e4d063c7f139b393c7f05f3c9ec9.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/fimg:3rs8iuj5] I typically read more fiction than non-fiction, but not this year. For my next read, I was very tempted to dip into the wave of the recent 2016 Presidential Election books now available. Instead, I finally took the plunge and cracked the spine on this one, on my must read list for years and years. And years. [fimg=404:3rs8iuj5]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/The_Power_Broker_book_cover.jpg[/fimg:3rs8iuj5]

Benjamin Grimm Sep 27 2017 05:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I read The Power Broker in 2003. I liked it a lot, and expect that I'll reread it some day. I'm also looking forward to reading Caro's Lyndon Johnson books, but I don't want to start until he finishes. I don't want to get into a George R.R. Martin situation.

sharpie Sep 27 2017 07:26 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I've read the Johnson books but not The Power Broker. Hard to imagine spending 30 years of your life researching and writing about anyone, let alone Lyndon Johnson. Curious Incident is a fine book.

Mets Willets Point Sep 28 2017 01:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Robert Caro is one dedicated dude. And he's still doing this intense research at 81!

Edgy MD Oct 12 2017 08:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

A really big Mormon guy is struggling growing up. Apart from being abnormally tall, nothing can help him deal with his socially crippling Tourette's except voracious reading and hammering it in the weight room. So he works as a librarian and hits the basement gym during his breaks. Hits it hard, too. Libraries are a free public service. A university for the poor, but also a shelter, a bathroom, and a hookup spot for the poor, so he does a great job describing the characters in his massive library (celebrating some and lamenting others), while wrestling with the knowledge that he's perhaps the biggest character of them all.

Chad Ochoseis Oct 27 2017 02:40 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I borrowed this digitally from my local library...had no idea that was even possible until this evening. I never met the author, but she roomed with my ex-wife's much younger sister at Berkeley, which gives me a minor case of the weirds. Anyway, I've spent a good part of my life listening to people draw bad conclusions from good data. I'm curious to read this take on the subject.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 03 2017 12:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Same guy did that good McCartney book, no bs, based on actual interviews, good perspective, respectful but not always admiring story of a fat bald gay guy who for a short time was the Beatles' successor then lost his way to put it mildly. EJ was such a superstar when I became aware of music I always just assumed he was older and more established than he was actually at that time and all I really knew of his "origin story" was the comic that came with the "Capt. Fantastic" album. The new wave and cocaine turned him into a joke in no time flat.

Mets Willets Point Nov 03 2017 03:39 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Coming out as bisexual in 1976 literally lead to his record sales crashing in the United States. He had to basically put himself back in the closet before scoring big hits again in the 1980s.

41Forever Nov 03 2017 03:41 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Just finished this one. [fimg=433]https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/dfc57966-1eff-4cf9-84ba-19ba6ff237ed_1.6d65e4d063c7f139b393c7f05f3c9ec9.jpeg?odnHeight=450&odnWidth=450&odnBg=FFFFFF[/fimg] I typically read more fiction than non-fiction, but not this year. For my next read, I was very tempted to dip into the wave of the recent 2016 Presidential Election books now available. Instead, I finally took the plunge and cracked the spine on this one, on my must read list for years and years. And years. [fimg=404]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/68/The_Power_Broker_book_cover.jpg[/fimg] These are both great books. I bought The Curious Case for my daughter last year. The Power Broker was actually part of a huge turning point in my life. I wouldn't be here today without it. I met Caro a few years ago and sheepishly put forward my rather banged-up paperback version for him to sign. He looked it kind of funny, and I explained that it had a lot of sentimental value. He was gracious.

Benjamin Grimm Nov 03 2017 03:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

If you see Robert Caro again, ask him when he plans to finish writing his LBJ series. And while you're at it, see if he can step in and finish off A Song of Fire and Ice.

41Forever Nov 03 2017 03:54 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: If you see Robert Caro again, ask him when he plans to finish writing his LBJ series. And while you're at it, see if he can step in and finish off A Song of Fire and Ice. When I saw him, it was at a lecture for The Path to Power, I think. He told some amazing Johnson stories!

batmagadanleadoff Nov 03 2017 05:04 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Mets Willets Point wrote: Coming out as bisexual in 1976 literally lead to his record sales crashing in the United States. He had to basically put himself back in the closet before scoring big hits again in the 1980s. I thought "Philadelphia Freedom" was the turning point. Boy did I think that song sucked. But like JCL said, Elton was Elvis Presley big for a year or two back around 1974-5.

batmagadanleadoff Nov 03 2017 05:08 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: Mets Willets Point wrote: Coming out as bisexual in 1976 literally lead to his record sales crashing in the United States. He had to basically put himself back in the closet before scoring big hits again in the 1980s. I thought "Philadelphia Freedom" was the turning point. Boy did I think that song sucked. But like JCL said, Elton was Elvis Presley big for a year or two back around 1974-5. On second thought, this idea is problematic as Philadelphia was such a big hit. But boy did I hate that song.

Frayed Knot Nov 03 2017 05:33 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Yeah, I'm not buying the sexuality "reveal" as a trigger for the downfall either. The simpler explanation is that he had just peaked by then and, apparently, fucked up a lot by then. Fans who are around from the beginning with a group/artist tend to divide careers into three phases: Phase 1 when they're good but not yet big; Phase 2 when they're both good and big; then Phase 3 when they're big, if not downright huge, just not nearly as good particularly not to those ears who have been with him/them from the beginning. In Elton terms it breaks down to: 1) debut through HONKY CHATEAU, incl. DON'T SHOOT ME, MADMAN, TUMBLEWEED, 2) DON'T SHOOT ME, YELLOW BRICK ROAD - CARIBOU - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, particularly the last three, it was 18 months from the release of YBR thru CBaBDC 3) Everything since. OK, not everything but rather slices of good dropped in amongst inconsistent releases where the artist is struggling to keep up with trends rather than set them. And if he's enjoying the fruits of his success a bit too much (or A LOT too much) then the fall is even harder.

41Forever Nov 03 2017 05:48 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Yeah, I'm not buying the sexuality "reveal" as a trigger for the downfall either. The simpler explanation is that he had just peaked by then and, apparently, fucked up a lot by then. Fans who are around from the beginning with a group/artist tend to divide careers into three phases: Phase 1 when they're good but not yet big; Phase 2 when they're both good and big; then Phase 3 when they're big, if not downright huge, just not nearly as good particularly not to those ears who have been with him/them from the beginning. In Elton terms it breaks down to: 1) debut through HONKY CHATEAU, incl. DON'T SHOOT ME, MADMAN, TUMBLEWEED, 2) DON'T SHOOT ME, YELLOW BRICK ROAD - CARIBOU - CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, particularly the last three, it was 18 months from the release of YBR thru CBaBDC 3) Everything since. OK, not everything but rather slices of good dropped in amongst inconsistent releases where the artist is struggling to keep up with trends rather than set them. And if he's enjoying the fruits of his success a bit too much (or A LOT too much) then the fall is even harder. Think you are spot on. A little over-exposed. A little too much attention on the costumes and a little less on the music. "Blue Moves" being a double album like "Yellow Brick Road" with just one hit -- and a very downbeat one at that. Then it went off the rails. I've seen him twice, both times on the same tour -- "Sleeping With the Past." The first show was great. The second show started late, was very disjointed. He mumbled about not playing anything new because the label wasn't supporting him. Threatened to retire, walked off the stage about two-thirds through and never came back. I don't know how often that kind of thing happened, but it's going to piss off the fans. But even at the bad show, there was a section with just him at the piano playing "Daniel" and several other classics, and it was magic. I did like "Philadelphia Freedom."

John Cougar Lunchbucket Nov 03 2017 08:09 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Doyle advances the homo thing as a reason he fell off in the US quicker than in Europe but it was really coke and the new wave that made him look ancient at like age 27 or 28. Regarding "Philadelphia Freedom" he was always trying different styles of music like Bowie (who he always had a frosty relationship with; called him a "psudointellectual") and PF came along when he exploring soul stuff and he as into tennis and Billie Jean King, in case you didn;t know which way he swung. Taupin wrote the lyrics for him of course but didn;t know anything about pro tennis so just delivered words that he thought related to freedom "whipporwhills" etc. There are at least 3 instances relayed in the book where EJ is in a bad mood and announces his retirement from the stage. He was kinda a jerk that way. Also attempted suicide at least twice, halfheartedly. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" a true story of one attempt triggered by anxiety over an almost-marriage. John Baldry, the famous and very gay Brit blues singer whose band brought along EJ and Rod Stewart as youngsters, is the "Sugarbear" who talks EJ out of the marriage, saying he could tell even then Elton was far more in love with Bernie than his fiancee. (Bernie = not gay; but also a waste case by the end of the 70s and therefore complicit in Elton's fall from the toppermost of the poppermost.

batmagadanleadoff Nov 03 2017 09:06 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

It wasn't just what I perceived to be the suckiness of Philadelphia Freedom, but that it signaled a change in Elton's musical style -- for the worse. Two of Elton's biggest hits during his mid-70s peak were covers of classic rock songs, both of which were singles, and eventually were included on compilation albums but never on an Elton album release of original material. This is a neat way to segue into the point that I'm reading that Cover Me book orignially discussed in the Keith thread. It's a well written and well researched book which I recommend. [fimg=333:2tks0j9b]http://www.covermesongs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/CoverMebookcover.jpg[/fimg:2tks0j9b] I didn't finish the Caro Robert Moses book. Troubles. It was slow going. The book itself reads easy. Caro has this breezy writing style and he packs dense historical info in a smooth way that makes the read feel comfortable. But I had some eye troubles along the way, discovering that I now need reading glasses to read. For about a month, I was squinting and struggling and so the read was slow going. I'm back in that book, but occasionally, I'll dip into the Cover Me book, which is more accessible in that every chapter could be read separately and out of order. And those Elton covers? [youtube:2tks0j9b]iIL3hbF05so[/youtube:2tks0j9b] [youtube:2tks0j9b]DthtDjhqVOU[/youtube:2tks0j9b]

41Forever Nov 03 2017 09:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

This will get me shot, but I like Elton's version of "Lucy" better than the original. That looks like a near book. I'll look for that one.

Fman99 Nov 04 2017 03:26 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I love "Philadelphia Freedom," it's one of my favorites of his. I go pretty deep on his 1970's discography, and for me, the magic runs out after Caribou and Capt Fantastic, somewhere in there. I most prefer the Tumbleweed Connection album, where he (in my opinion, and, also, like a lot of his contemporaries) was most closely channeling the sounds that the Band had made popular on their first two records.

Fman99 Nov 04 2017 03:32 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Fans who are around from the beginning with a group/artist tend to divide careers into three phases: Phase 1 when they're good but not yet big; Phase 2 when they're both good and big; then Phase 3 when they're big, if not downright huge, just not nearly as good particularly not to those ears who have been with him/them from the beginning. This is super interesting to me. I go way back on Lenny Kravitz. His first album came out in 1989, my junior year in high school, and he was clearly channeling all of my favorite 1960s/1970s classic rock artists and bands. And he follows that same pattern, to me. I bought his sixth album the day it came out and was disappointed by it and while each record since then has had a few songs I like, they are all pretty forgettable. Phase 1 (1989-1991): Let Love Rule, Mama Said Phase 2 (1993-1998): Are You Gonna Go My Way, Circus, 5 Phase 3: Everything from Lenny through to the present day Luckily, I was able to see him live on the 5 tour, at the Roseland ballroom in NYC (with tickets I won on the nascent Internet!) in October 1998, and really enjoyed his live show at the time, right when he was to me at his creative peak.

Frayed Knot Nov 04 2017 12:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Yeah, I mean it's just a general theory so it doesn't necessarily work with every band. Nirvana was huge and new practically simultaneously so they wouldn't really fit. Guys with lengthy resumes like Springsteen don't really follow the mold either (although there's probably some Bruce fan somewhere who insists that 'Born to Run' was the beginning of his shark-jump and that everything since has sucked); nor would Dylan with his multiple careers within a career, except maybe to some aging and still-bitter folkies out on some commune somewhere. But I do think that 1-2-3 pattern tends to work with at least a certain percentage of fans who are into a band/artist from the beginning then watch them grow popular outside of their initial following and Elton, with his mega-success following that stretch of 4-5 albums where he was building his base, seems to fit that pattern almost perfectly. REM, with a career which saw them go from college radio darlings to stadium headliners, also comes to mind. It's also a generalization which applies heavily to rock critics who often go out of their way to tell you how much the band you like was great but only right up until the moment you and all your other late-to-the-party friends started liking them at which point they became the worst band ever. But there's a unique kind of obnoxiousness with rock critics who want so desperately to be seen as oh-so ahead of the curve that they'll tend to stake out that position even if they don't really believe it.

cooby Nov 07 2017 05:25 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Doyle advances the homo thing as a reason he fell off in the US quicker than in Europe but it was really coke and the new wave that made him look ancient at like age 27 or 28. Regarding "Philadelphia Freedom" he was always trying different styles of music like Bowie (who he always had a frosty relationship with; called him a "psudointellectual") and PF came along when he exploring soul stuff and he as into tennis and Billie Jean King, in case you didn;t know which way he swung. Taupin wrote the lyrics for him of course but didn;t know anything about pro tennis so just delivered words that he thought related to freedom "whipporwhills" etc. There are at least 3 instances relayed in the book where EJ is in a bad mood and announces his retirement from the stage. He was kinda a jerk that way. Also attempted suicide at least twice, halfheartedly. "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" a true story of one attempt triggered by anxiety over an almost-marriage. John Baldry, the famous and very gay Brit blues singer whose band brought along EJ and Rod Stewart as youngsters, is the "Sugarbear" who talks EJ out of the marriage, saying he could tell even then Elton was far more in love with Bernie than his fiancee. (Bernie = not gay; but also a waste case by the end of the 70s and therefore complicit in Elton's fall from the toppermost of the poppermost. So he really is saying Sugar Bear. Thought I was mishearing. I'm gonna get this book. I loved Philadelphia Freedom. Too bad it's about tennis if that's true. Kinda ruins it for me

Edgy MD Nov 07 2017 05:40 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Edgy MD wrote: A really big Mormon guy is struggling growing up. Apart from being abnormally tall, nothing can help him deal with his socially crippling Tourette's except voracious reading and hammering it in the weight room. So he works as a librarian and hits the basement gym during his breaks. Hits it hard, too. Libraries are a free public service. A university for the poor, but also a shelter, a bathroom, and a hookup spot for the poor, so he does a great job describing the characters in his massive library (celebrating some and lamenting others), while wrestling with the knowledge that he's perhaps the biggest character of them all. This was good, but the last four chapters about searching for an overarching philosophy about physical fitness and reconciling his incertitude in his professed faith with his love for his family and the faith community they're a part of becomes a slog. It's at it's best when telling stories of the public library, denizen of horny teenagers, adults marginalized by mental health problems, and adults with drug or legal problems looking for a way to work their shit out while parking (or even abandoning) their children. Baltimore is just starting to get the clue and channel social assistance resources through the public library. It seems to be a wave of the future.

Vic Sage Nov 29 2017 06:05 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i'm loving the crap out of READY PLAYER ONE. The upcoming Spielberg adaptation got me curious so i picked it up and now can't put it down. With elements of WILLY WONKA, TRON and HUNGER GAMES, playing out in a virtual world of 80s pop culture, it's incredibly readable and right down my alley.

metsmarathon Nov 29 2017 08:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

i'm about halfway through that one, and need to make more time to actually read it. it's really an outstanding read.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 31 2017 02:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

My end-of-year list for 2017: [table:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]1[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Charles Emmerson[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]2[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Between the World and Me[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Ta-Nehisi Coates[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]3[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Bowery Boys, The: Adventures in Old New York[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Greg Young, Tom Meyers[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]4[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Brethren, The: Inside the Supreme Court[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Bob Woodward[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]5[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]But Didn't We Have Fun?: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Peter Morris[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]6[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Robert K. Massie[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]7[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Cezanne: A Life[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Alex Danchev[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]8[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Charles Dickens: A Life[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Claire Tomalin[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]9[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]City of Nets: A Portrait of Hollywood in the 1940's[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Otto Friedrich[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]10[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Confessions of Nat Turner, The[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]William Styron[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]11[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]History of London, A[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Robert Gray[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]12[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]History of Scotland, A[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Neil Oliver[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]13[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Princes in the Tower, The[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Alison Weir[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]14[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Stonehenge: A New Understanding: Solving the Mysteries of the Greatest Stone Age Monument[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Michael Parker Pearson[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]15[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Mark Harris[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]16[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Good Girls Revolt, The: How the Women of Newsweek Sued their Bosses and Changed the Workplace[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Lynne Povich[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]17[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Mark Ribowsky[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]18[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Thin Man, The[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Dashiell Hammett[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]19[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Polio: An American Story[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]David M. Oshinsky[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]20[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Turtle Island: A Journey to the World's Most Remote Island[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Sergio Shione[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]21[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Eight Flavors: The Untold Story of American Cuisine[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Sarah Lohman[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]22[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Thomas Nast: The Father of Modern Political Cartoons[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Fiona Deans Halloran[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]23[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Man in the High Castle, The[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Philip K. Dick[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]24[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Holly Tucker[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]25[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Edward Sorel[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]26[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Lawrence Wright[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]27[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Skeptic, The: A Life of H. L. Mencken[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Terry Teachout[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]28[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Michael Davis[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]29[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Richard Rhodes[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][tr:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]30[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book[/td:1o2wz1ra][td:1o2wz1ra]Gerard Jones[/td:1o2wz1ra][/tr:1o2wz1ra][/table:1o2wz1ra]

DocTee Dec 31 2017 03:25 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 31 2017 10:07 PM

[u:l7eympvk]Station Eleven[/u:l7eympvk]. Emily St. John Mandel. [u:l7eympvk]The Principals[/u:l7eympvk]. Bill James [u:l7eympvk]The Boxer Rebellion and the Great Game in China[/u:l7eympvk]. David Sibley. [u:l7eympvk]The Light Between Oceans[/u:l7eympvk]. ML Stedman [u:l7eympvk]Napoleon's Last Island[/u:l7eympvk]. Thomas Kennealy [u:l7eympvk]Washington's Monument: And the Fascinating History of the Obelisk[/u:l7eympvk]. John Steele Gordon [u:l7eympvk]The Art Forger.[/u:l7eympvk] BA Shapiro [u:l7eympvk]The Lost City of the Monkey God[/u:l7eympvk]. Douglas Preston [u:l7eympvk]Upheaval in Charleston: Earthquake and Murder on the Eve of Jim Crow[/u:l7eympvk]. Williams and Hoffius. [u:l7eympvk]Murder on the Eiffel Tower.[/u:l7eympvk] Claude Izner [u:l7eympvk]The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance[/u:l7eympvk]. Edmund de Waal [u:l7eympvk]Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality[/u:l7eympvk]. Cathy O'Neill [u:l7eympvk]Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution[/u:l7eympvk]. Nathaniel Philbrick. [u:l7eympvk]Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Justice and Redemption[/u:l7eympvk]. Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton. [u:l7eympvk]Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal[/u:l7eympvk]. Mary Roach [u:l7eympvk]City of Dreams: the 400 year Epic History of Immigrant New York[/u:l7eympvk]. Tyler Anbinder [u:l7eympvk]March 1917: On the Brink of War and Revolution[/u:l7eympvk]. Will Englund [u:l7eympvk]Brooklyn[/u:l7eympvk]. Colm Toibin. [u:l7eympvk]The Good Food Revolution: Growing Healthy Food, People, and Communities[/u:l7eympvk]. Will Allen with Charles Wilson. [u:l7eympvk]The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places[/u:l7eympvk]. Eric Weiner. [u:l7eympvk]Havana: A Subtropical Delirium[/u:l7eympvk]. Mark Kurlansky. [u:l7eympvk]Lincoln's Gamble: The Tumultuous Six Months that Gave America the Emancipation Proclamation[/u:l7eympvk]. Todd Brewster. [u:l7eympvk]The Commoner[/u:l7eympvk]. John Buinham Schwartz. [u:l7eympvk]Born to Run[/u:l7eympvk]. Bruce Springsteen. [u:l7eympvk]Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and an American Family.[/u:l7eympvk] Alex Kersham. [u:l7eympvk]Never Caught: The Washington's Relentless Pursuit of their Runaway Slave[/u:l7eympvk]. Erica Dunbar. [u:l7eympvk]The Rules of Civility[/u:l7eympvk]. Amor Towles. [u:l7eympvk]Heart of Darkness.[/u:l7eympvk] Joseph Conrad. [u:l7eympvk]The Audacity of Hope[/u:l7eympvk]. Barack Obama. [u:l7eympvk]1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created[/u:l7eympvk]. Charles Mann. [u:l7eympvk]News of the World[/u:l7eympvk]. Paulette Giles. [u:l7eympvk]The Wilderness of Ruin: A Tale of Madness, Fire, and the Hunt for America's Youngest Serial Killer.[/u:l7eympvk] Roseanne Montillo. [u:l7eympvk]Our Souls at Night[/u:l7eympvk]. Kent Haruf. [u:l7eympvk]The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks[/u:l7eympvk]. Rebecca Skool. [u:l7eympvk]The Ice Palace.[/u:l7eympvk] Tarjei Vesaas. [u:l7eympvk]Slaughterhouse Five[/u:l7eympvk]. Kurt Vonnegut. [u:l7eympvk]The Selling of the Babe: The Deal that Changed Baseball and Created a Legend[/u:l7eympvk]. Glenn Stout. [u:l7eympvk]Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth[/u:l7eympvk]. James Tabor. [u:l7eympvk]Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis.[/u:l7eympvk] JD Vance. [u:l7eympvk]The Lost Cause: The Trials of Frank and Jesse James[/u:l7eympvk]. James Muehlberger. [u:l7eympvk]American War: A Nove[/u:l7eympvk]l. Omar El-Akkad. [u:l7eympvk]The Underground Railroad[/u:l7eympvk]. Colton Whitehead. [u:l7eympvk]The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet[/u:l7eympvk]. Jamie Ford. [u:l7eympvk]The Wright Brothers[/u:l7eympvk]. David McCullough. [u:l7eympvk]1920: The Year that Made the Decade Roar.[/u:l7eympvk] Eric Burns. [u:l7eympvk]The Mold in Dr. Florey's Coat: The Story of the Penicillin Miracle[/u:l7eympvk]. Eric Lax. [u:l7eympvk]City on a Grid: How New York Became New York[/u:l7eympvk]. Gerard Koeppel. [u:l7eympvk]Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose[/u:l7eympvk]. Joe Biden. [u:l7eympvk]The Catcher in the Rye[/u:l7eympvk]. JD Salinger. [u:l7eympvk]The Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War[/u:l7eympvk]. Drew Gilpin Faust. [u:l7eympvk]The Daughter of Time[/u:l7eympvk]. Josephine Tey. [u:l7eympvk]The Fire Next Time[/u:l7eympvk]. James Baldwin. [u:l7eympvk]The Case Against Sugar[/u:l7eympvk]. Gary Taubes. [u:l7eympvk]Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab[/u:l7eympvk]. Steve Inskeep.

sharpie Dec 31 2017 08:19 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

MY STRUGGLE: BOOK FOUR -- Karl Ove Knausgaard THE SON -- Jo Nesbo EMINENT HIPSTERS -- Donald Fagen MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN -- Salman Rushdie NUTSHELL -- Ian McEwan MEXICO -- Josh Barkan THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD -- Colson Whitehead THE VISITING PRIVILEGE - Joy Williams HITLER: ASCENT -- Volker Ullrich HERE I AM -- Jonathan Safran Foer GEORGE MILLS -- Stanley Elkin CITY OF SECRETS -- Stewart O'Nan DARK MONEY -- Jane Mayer LINCOLN IN THE BARDO -- George Saunders EXIT WEST -- Mohsin Hamid DARK STAR SAFARI -- Paul Theroux MISSOULA -- Jon Krakauer KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST -- Adam Hochschild THE SAVAGE DETECTIVES -- Roberto Bolano EARLY WARNING -- Jane Smiley THE GRIND -- Barry Svrluga EVICTED -- Matthew Desmond ZERO K -- Don DeLillo VALIANT GENTLEMEN -- Sabina Murray FACTORY MAN -- Beth Macy BLOOD, BONES AND BUTTER -- Gabrielle Hamilton IN THEIR LIVES -- Andrew Blauner THE NIX -- Nathan Hill FOR THE SOUL OF FRANCE -- Frederick Brown BENEDICTION -- Kent Haruf THE GIRL FROM THE METROPOL HOTEL -- Ludmila Petrushevskaya ABROAD -- Paul Fussell THE VEGETARIAN -- Han Kang THE HARDER THEY COME -- T.C. Boyle JOYLAND -- Stephen King KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON -- David Grann OUR MAN IN HAVANA -- Graham Greene SOUTH AND WEST -- Joan Didion HUNTERS IN THE DARK -- Lawrence Osborne THE SENSE OF AN ENDING -- Julian Barnes AMSTERDAM -- Russell Shorto THE TWELVE LIVES OF SAMUEL HAWLEY -- Hannah Tinti COMPOSED -- Roseanne Cash ANDREW'S BRAIN -- E.L. Doctorow THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL -- Anne Frank THE VANISHING -- Tim Krabbe THE DISCOVERY OF HEAVEN -- Harry Mulisch DEAR MR. M -- Herman Koch WHITE TRASH -- Nancy Isenberg THE HEMINGWAY BOOK CLUB OF KOSOVO -- Paula Huntley SPEAK, MEMORY -- Vladimir Nabokov ANTARCTICA -- Claire Keegan I PITY THE POOR IMMIGRANT -- Zachary Lazar REPUTATIONS -- Juan Gabriel Vasquez BEATLEBONE -- Kevin Barry THE WORLD TO COME -- Jim Shepard THE IMPRESSIONIST -- Hari Kunzru ALL THE LITTLE LIVING THINGS -- Wallace Stegner

Frayed Knot Dec 31 2017 10:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017? Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Dec 31 2017 11:47 PM

FICTION BEARTOWN: A Novel — Fredrick Backman (2017) **** A ’Friday Night Lights’ type of look at a small town on the ropes which compensates by putting far too much emphasis on youth sports. The difference from FNL is that this is fiction, the setting is Sweden, the sport is hockey … and it’s considerably darker. SINCE WE FELL — Dennis Lehane (2017) ***-1/2 A young woman meets a private investigator after the sudden death of her mother sends her in search of the one secret kept from her: the identity of her father. No way anything bad could ever come from that … certainly not in a Dennis Lehane story. A STORM OF SWORDS — George R. R. Martin *** Third book in the series, not sure that I’ll go any further now that the show has out-paced the writing. THE MANDIBLES: A Family, 2029-2047 — Lionel Shriver (2016) ***-1/2 The trials and tribulations of a once comfortable extended family after the U.S. defaults (in the 2030s) on its debt, an act which upends both the economy and society as a whole. THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN — Paula Hawkins (2015) *** Nice little trashy whodunit thriller which somehow got turned into a not so good film. STAR ISLAND — Carl Hiaasen (2010) *** My first go at a Hiaasen book, this one full of boozed-out starlets, crooked land deals, crazy ex-politicians, and sleazy paparazzi … in other words: South Florida DRAGON TEETH: A Novel — Michael Crichton (2017) *** A found manuscript published nine years after Crichton’s death where he combines historical and scientific facts with fictional characters to create a story of paleontology digs in the days of the wild west. A LONG WAY DOWN — Nick Hornby (2005) *** Four people meet when they all arrive on the roof of a building on New Years Eve with the intention of jumping off. Hijinx ensues. This is my second (semi-) lighthearted book about suicide in two years … totally a coincidence I assure you. ARTEMIS: A Novel — Andy Weir (2017) **-1/2 Weir’s follow-up to ‘THE MARTIAN’ again has his protagonist dealing with the problems of zero-air & low-gravity. And although both are quite obviously fiction, this one, involving a crime caper on a future lunar colony, doesn’t ring as true as did his wildly successful debut. —————————————————————————————————————- NON-FICTION THE TUNNELS: Escapes Under the Berlin Wall and the Historic Films the JFK White House Tried to Kill — Greg Mitchell (2016) *** Young Berliners dig escape tunnels under the newly built wall with U.S. TV networks along for the ride. But the JFK White House is surprisingly unhappy about it all. A SPACE TRAVELER’S GUIDE TO THE SOLAR SYSTEM — Mark Thompson (2016) *** Checking out the sights and the science as you makes various stops in the solar system via your imaginary spaceship. PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY: Ten Maps that Explain Everything About the World — Tim Marshall (2015) *** A look at how the natural geographic features of a country or region determine their history and the political/military policies they pursue. THE SILENCING: How the Left is Killing Free Speech — Kirsten Powers (2015) *** Mostly familiar arguments, but coming here from a self-identified liberal. THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary — Simon Winchester (1998) ***-1/2 How the massive, 70-year long project of creating the OED was helped by major contributions from an American military officer permanently confined to a home for the criminally insane. SEVEN BRIEF LESSONS ON PHYSICS — Carlo Rovelli (2015) *** Very brief as it turns out, although even this basic approach leaves me with only a vague understanding of concepts such as relativity & quantum mechanics. ASTROPHYSICS FOR PEOPLE IN A HURRY — Neil DeGrasse Tyson (2017) *** More science/space stuff simplified for us regular folk. AMERICAN LION: Andrew Jackson in the White House — Jon Meacham (2008) *** Author makes the argument that A.J. changed the Presidency from what it was under his ‘Original Six’ predecessors who tended to be more elitist in upbringing and temperament yet also more differential to Congress. THE FATAL SHORE: The Epic of Australia’s Founding — Robert Hughes (1986) *** Lots of details about the first few decades of the prison culture that began the English presence on Australia as well as the people and motives behind it. THE 37th PARALLEL: The Secret Truth Behind America’s UFO Highway — Ben Mezrich (2016) *-1/2 I don’t believe a word of this UFO shit but have an odd fascination with those who do. That said, this book does nothing to get at any “secret truth” even if you fully swallow all the unsubstantiated finds by the oddball protagonist around whom the book is based. STONEWALLED: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington — Sharyl Attkinson (2014) **** As much an indictment of the timidity and complacency of news organizations as it is about dealing with the (not so much) “most transparent administration in history”. I’M FASCINATED BY SACRIFICE FLIES: Inside the Game We All Love — Tim Kurkjian (2016) *** Kurkjian going full Kurkjian as he geeks out on baseball. BEATLES ’66: The Revolutionary Year — Steve Turner (2017) ***-1/2 Longtime Beatles chronicler concentrates on a year in the transformative life of the band — REVOLVER, “bigger than God”, end of touring, etc. — as the lads were growing up but also starting to grow apart. THE STRANGER IN THE WOODS: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit — Michael Finkel (2017) **** A 20 y/o man drops out of society to live only slightly off the beaten path in the Maine woods where he survives by pilfering from nearby cabins and yet manages to remain undetected and virtually unseen … for twenty-seven years! THE HIDDEN LIFE OF TREES: What They Feel, How They Communicate - Discoveries from a Secret World — Peter Wohlleben (2016) ** Learned a few things about our woody friends, but not the most exciting writing ever. BEYOND EARTH: Our Path to a New Home in the Planets — Charles Wohlforth, Amanda Hendrix (2016) ***-1/2 If we were forced to leave this planet, where would we go and how might it happen? KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI — David Grann (2017) ***-1/2 Thanks to oil money, there was a brief period when the Osage Indian reservation had the highest per capita wealth in the nation … and then many of them began dying. HILLBILLY ELEGY: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis — J.D. Vance (2016) ***-1/2 Yale law school grad looks at the struggles of the white working class ‘Hillbilly’ culture through his own family history. SHATTERED: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign — Jonathan Allen, Amie Parnes (2017) **-1/2 A lot of inside information although maybe a bit too insider-ish for me. I’m sure political types geek out over all the dirt but I was less interested in knowing about all the infighting amongst behind the scene players. THE PERFECT STORM: A True Story of Men Against the Sea — Sebastian Junger (1997) ***-1/2 Two decades late on this one (hadn’t seen the movie either) but it turned up in the local library’s $1 bin, so why not. Overall a well-done re-creation of the events as much as they could be known and of the tremendous hazards of commercial fishing in general. WHERE THE WATER GOES: Life and Death Along the Colorado River — David Owen (2017) *** The history and particularly all the legal machinations that go into governing water from the river without which most western cities in this country don’t exist. WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE CASABLANCA: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie — Noah Isenberg (2017) **** The background, the making, and basically the enduring legacy of the now 75 y/o flick. Basically if you’re a fan of the movie … HOW THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?: The Election of 2016 — P. J. O’Rourke (2017) *** Written as the campaign unfolded — as opposed to looking back only after knowing the final result — this is a decidedly sarcastic look at the 2016 election circus. SPAIN IN OUR HEARTS: Americans in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 — Adam Hochchild (2016) *** Focusing on the foreign, and particularly American, involvement in Spain during that dress rehearsal for WWII and why that conflict had such a emotional and lasting appeal to many of those on the political left who volunteered. BORN TO RUN — Bruce Springsteen (2016) ***-1/2 He lays it on a bit thick at times (that’s just Bruce) but, assuming one is interested in the subject matter in the first place, it’s a reasonably well written and organized portrait of a life and career (despite it being unknowable how much of this HE actually wrote). APOLLO 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon — Jeffrey Kluger (2017) *** The pressure to put up a win during the cold war and to honor Kennedy’s ‘end of the decade’ deadline had major effects on the timeline of the first manned mission to orbit the moon. AMERICAN ECLIPSE: A Nation’s Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World — David Baron (2017) ** No, not this recent one, the one back in 1878 which, the author claims, helped ramp up this country’s status on the world’s science stage. Not quite sure he makes his case. THOMAS JEFFERSON: The Art of Power — Jon Meacham (2012) **** The man, the politician, the scholar, the contradictions. Alla that stuff. THE FIRST TOUR DE FRANCE: Sixty Cyclists and Nineteen Days of Daring on the Road to Paris — Peter Cossins (2017) *** A 1903 idea to sell newspapers, promote the newly ‘liberating’ sport of cycling, and restore vigor to the French nation. And it all worked so well they kept doing it. AMERICAN WOLF: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West — Nate Blakeslee (2017) *** The politics and passionate arguments that sprang up following the reintroduction of wolves to the west and particularly to Yellowstone. WILD HORSE COUNTRY: The History, Myth, and Future of the Mustang — David Phillips (2017) ***-1/2 You might figure that wild horses in western states couldn’t possibly stir up as much pro and con passion as does the wolf, or that the government agency managing them wouldn’t make matters considerably worse in a haze of overruns and corruption, but you’d be wrong. HOW THE RIGHT LOST ITS MIND — Charles J. Sykes (2017) **** A conservative former radio talk-show host examines how the right of W.F. Buckley and Reagan lost its way on the road to the age of Trump.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Dec 31 2017 11:22 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

You guys are making me look bad. ALTAMONT, Joel Selvin --not bad. 2.5* RED, Sammy Hagar -- decent hate-read. 3* NOT DEAD YET, Phil Collins -- Funny but a bit exhausting 3.5* RED SNIPER, David Healey -- My old roommate writes historical fiction, WWIi sniper series, 3.5* THE GAME, Ken Dryden -- Thinking man's hockey book,a little dated 4* BEAR TOWN, Fredrik Backman -- Very good, 4.5* A MAN CALLED OVE, Fredrik Backman -- Charming, 4* STING-RAY AFTERNOONS, Steve Rushin --Funny, accurate account of 70s pop culture through a boy's eyes. Excellent. 5* PETTY, Warren Zane --Got better as it went. Knowing music bio 4* HOMEWARD BOUND, Peter Ames Carlin -- Interesting bio of a great artist, not a great guy, 4* THE BEST GAME YOU CAN NAME, Dave Bidini --Freewheeling 'Glory of their Times' of 70s hockey, extra stuff not so necessary 4* CHANGE OF SEASONS, John Oates --First half really interesting, second half kinda boring, 3.5* THE CAKE AND THE RAIN, Jimmy Webb -- Loaded with great stories about figures in music world, odd time-traveling device, kinda lengthy, 4* CAPTAIN FANTASTIC, Tom Doyle --Loved it, 4.5" AMAZIN AGAIN, Greg W. Prince Amazin' stuff, 4.5* BORN TO RUN, B. Springsteen --I hated that he congratulated himself for giving his housekeeper the morning off and taught himself how to make pancakes like it was some kind of accomplishment. Rest of the book was pretty good. Reserach related THE RANK AND FILE OF 19TH CENTURY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL, David Nemec NINETEENTH CENTURY STARS, Robert Tiemann BASE BALL PIONEERS, Peter Morris

Zvon Jan 01 2018 04:39 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I'm reading the 9/11 Commission Report (for the 2nd time). It really reads like a book for the most part, and fascinating how things led up to the attack. And our intelligence agencies knew something was about to happen, and knew that it involved planes, but never considered the possibility of "suicide hijackers". But then again.....who would have before that happened? (actually, one person did. Read it) Wow. I think this might be the very first graphic work I ever did.

Frayed Knot Jan 02 2018 12:13 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

So what's the word on Thomas Nast book (BG) and on the 'Selling of the Babe' (DT)?

Rockin' Doc Jan 02 2018 04:13 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

1. Norman Mailer: A Double Life by J. Michael Lennon 2. The Burning of the White House by Jane Hampton Cook 3. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines - Fiction 4. American Heiress by Jeffey Toobin 5. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston 6. The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution by John Oiler 7. No Wall Too High: One Man’s Daring Escape From Mao’s Darkest Prison by Erling Hoh & Xu Hongci 8. Sea of Glory: America’s Voyage of Discovery – The U.S. Exploring Expedition by Nathaniel Philbrick 9. The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman 10. The Girls of Atomic City by Denise Keirnan 11. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Bakman - Fiction 12. The Stranger In the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel 13. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones & the People’s Temple by Jeff Guinn 14. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders & the Birth of the FBI by David Grann 15. The Final Season: Fathers, Sons and One Last Season in aClassic American Ballpark by Tom Stanton 16. My Thoughts Be Bloody: The Bitter Rivalry Between Edwin and John Wilkes Boothe by Nora Titone 17. Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Pearsall Story by Al Hirshberg & Jim Pearsall 18. How We Got To Now: Six Innovations that Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson 19.Duel With the Devil by Paul Collins 20. And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman - Fiction 21. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson 22. When To Rob a Bank by Steven B. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner 23. No Surrender: My Thirty Year War by Hiroo Onoda 24. Where They Stand by Robert W. Merry 25. The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown 26. Beartown by Fredrik Backman - Fiction 27. Finding Gobi: A Little Dog with a Very Big Heart by Dion Leonard 28. Valient Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick 29. Chaplain: A Life by Stephen Weissman 30. Pirate Hunters by Robert Kurson 31. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly 32. The Lion in the Living Room by Abigail Tucker 33. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 34. Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson 35. Ghost of the Innocent Man by Benjamin Rachlin 36. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by Bryn Mealer & William Kmkwamba 37. Make Your Bed: Little things that Can Change Your Life by William H. McRaven 38. In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson 39. The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie 40. Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson 41. Spare Parts by Joshua Davis 42. Autobiography of Santa by Jeff Guinn - Fiction 43. A Speck In the Sea by John Aldridge and Anthony Sosinski 44. The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom - Fiction Bolded my favorites. All are non-fiction (unless otherwise noted). Must say, Dr. Jeckyll and Hyde was biggest disappointment, I expected it to be much more interesting.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 02 2018 04:02 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Frayed Knot wrote: So what's the word on Thomas Nast book (BG) and on the 'Selling of the Babe' (DT)? The Thomas Nast book was somewhat interesting, but ultimately disappointing. It read more like the biography of a political commentator, and the fact that he was a cartoonist was almost incidental. We're told that he was groundbreaking and innovative, but we don't get much sense, and no examples, of what the state of political cartooning was before he came along, so it's hard to really understand how he innovated. And I would have wanted more discussion and critique of his actual artwork, in a visual sense, in addition to an examination of the message that the cartoons conveyed. I may, a few years down the road, try to find another biography of Nast that's more to my liking.

DocTee Jan 02 2018 08:46 PM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

I really, really enjoyed "The Selling of the Babe." I ran into my local library late on the Friday before a holiday weekend (Labor Day) desperate for something to read while in the gym-- I anticipated a retelling of the old "Babe was sold to finance a Broadway play" but got something a lot better, and a lot more enjoyable. it painted a picture of the game from the perspective of many of the pivotal folks of the time--Comiskey, Rupert, etc. The book also relates how the HR and YS1 were made for each other-- the sale was a perfect storm on some points. SABR agrees, since Stout won an award for best deadball era book this year. I was pleasantly surprised and recommend.

Rockin' Doc Jan 03 2018 02:01 AM Re: What are you reading in 2017?

Selling of the Babe sounds interesting. Sounds like a good book for spring training time.