books: what are you currently reading?

[Gill]

Yes, they were rolls. Not sheets taped together as I had heard and posted above. He used teletype paper which came in rolls.

Your answer prompted me to google JK on Wikipedia, he certainly led an eventful life,thanks for the prompt.

[StringPicker6]

I'm wrapping up Sir Anthony Hopkins' new autobiography. It's a very nice read, and he's very philosophical and introspective. He includes some of his favorite poems at the end, and it gives me new appreciation for poetry. Lots of wisdom in the book, from a life well lived.

[Silence Dogood]

I'm wrapping up Sir Anthony Hopkins' new autobiography. It's a very nice read, and he's very philosophical and introspective. He includes some of his favorite poems at the end, and it gives me new appreciation for poetry. Lots of wisdom in the book, from a life well lived.

I'm not a big movie guy but he has always seemed like a wise man and very intelligent.  I sometimes see things online attributed to him that usually strike me as common sense and not typical Hollywood fluff.  I didn't realize he had written a book.  Glad you enjoyed it.  I love good bios and memoirs. 

And since you mentioned poetry, I've been reading quite a bit from Walter de la Mare and my old favorite Longfellow.  I just ordered a new copy of Longfellow (forget Amazon, buy books on eBay) since my old one from the 1800s is literally falling apart at the seams. 

On audiobook right now for me is a reread of CS Lewis's THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH.  Probably my seventh or so go-round with it.  I cannot express how much I love this novel.

[Silence Dogood]

I just finished up a reread of both WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS by Wilson Rawls and THE LAST BATTLE by CS Lewis. 

[Silence Dogood]

Today I'll be finishing up NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Cormac McCarthy.  Gritty and raw for sure, but also packed with old-timer wisdom. I tend to enjoy good characters more than psychos and he has a bona fide psycho present in this one. But the good guys are my favorite part.  I have enjoyed it a lot and will be reading more of his novels.  The only other one of his I've read is THE ROAD a few years back. 

[teh]

That's a great book and the movie is well done too with an excellent cast. It's hard to believe that the same guy (Javier Bardem) who played hitman Anton Chigurh also played in two kid's movies; Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and The Little Mermaid.

[Silence Dogood]

That's a great book and the movie is well done too with an excellent cast. It's hard to believe that the same guy (Javier Bardem) who played hitman Anton Chigurh also played in two kid's movies; Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile and The Little Mermaid.

I have never seen the movie, but I have seen movie posters and things online about it over the years. Unfortunately, the actor who played the bad guy was stuck in my head the whole entire time. I did not look into the film any further because I did not want to know who played Moss and who played the sheriff. I see now who they were and I might watch the movie.

This was a really, really good novel in my opinion. I jotted down several quotes of wisdom that I will hang onto for years.

I do have to say, though, the story does not resolve like a normal story of good guys and bad guys. I didn't really like the ending, but I could sort of see it coming, and I figured the author was not going to take this down a traditional road.  He did not. 

Here are some quotes that I wrote down:

"You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."

"It's a life's work to see yourself for what you really are, and even then you might be wrong."

On the decline of society, crime, and drug use:
"It starts when you begin to overlook bad manners. Anytime you quit hearing, 'sir' and 'ma'am,' the end is pretty much in sight. It reaches into every strata..."

This book gave me a lot to think about. I'm going to be chewing on it for a good long time. I haven't had a novel hit me like this since Steinbeck.

[StringPicker6]

The movie had an odd ending also that don't really resolve the plot. Great soliloquy from Tommy Lee Jones, but no concrete "good guys win" ending, as I recall. 

[teh]

First of all, the book is a great read which I've read twice and my youngest son and I listened to the audio book on our summer road trip in 2024. My two sons and I are movie nerds and recently had a discussion about the ending of the Coen Brother's film "No Country For Old Men." Here's our consensus.

Throughout the movie, Sheriff Tom Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is always one step behind the killer and Bell always shows up after the crime has occurred. The first example occurs when he and his deputy Wendell show up in the aftermath of the shootout in the desert. Wendell says "They left a hell of a mess here Sheriff" to which Bell replies, "if it ain't, it will do till the mess gets here." In the final scene during breakfast with his wife, Sheriff Bell recounts two dreams he had the night before. In the first dream his dead father, also a retired lawman, passes him in the dark on horseback and looks for a place to build a fire in the dark. In the second dream, he knows his father will be waiting for him with a fire and comfort but Sheriff Bell wakes up before he meets his father, and is left unfulfilled and disillusioned like he was throughout the entire movie. 

Here's another quote from the Sheriff describing Chigurh's relentless demeanor. "He's got some mighty hard bark on him."

P.S. If you haven't read "True Grit" by Charles Portis and seen the Coen Brothers movie with Jeff Bridges as Marshall Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger pursuing Tom Cheyney, you're missing one of the best westerns ever.

[Silence Dogood]

First of all, the book is a great read which I've read twice and my youngest son and I listened to the audio book on our summer road trip in 2024. My two sons and I are movie nerds and recently had a discussion about the ending of the Coen Brother's film "No Country For Old Men." Here's our consensus.

Throughout the movie, Sheriff Tom Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is always one step behind the killer and Bell always shows up after the crime has occurred. The first example occurs when he and his deputy Wendell show up in the aftermath of the shootout in the desert. Wendell says "They left a hell of a mess here Sheriff" to which Bell replies, "if it ain't, it will do till the mess gets here." In the final scene during breakfast with his wife, Sheriff Bell recounts two dreams he had the night before. In the first dream his dead father, also a retired lawman, passes him in the dark on horseback and looks for a place to build a fire in the dark. In the second dream, he knows his father will be waiting for him with a fire and comfort but Sheriff Bell wakes up before he meets his father, and is left unfulfilled and disillusioned like he was throughout the entire movie. 

Here's another quote from the Sheriff describing Chigurh's relentless demeanor. "He's got some mighty hard bark on him."

P.S. If you haven't read "True Grit" by Charles Portis and seen the Coen Brothers movie with Jeff Bridges as Marshall Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon as the Texas Ranger pursuing Tom Cheyney, you're missing one of the best westerns ever.

Excellent post.  I think I might have to watch this film at some point.  Having said that, I'm so glad I didn't know Tommy Lee Jones played Bell because I'd have had him stuck in my head the whole time. I really enjoy making my own mental characters rather than taking them from movies. 

True Grit was the first book I ever read.  I was 14 and had failed grade 9 and got assigned the book in summer school. It's the only way I was able to go on to grade 10.  I reread it years later (when I finally became a reader) and loved it.  Great film too with Jeff Bridges, et al.  Super raw and gritty.  If memory serves, the dialogue was so interesting and strange.  It seems like the characters (or at least Rooster) never used a contraction in speech (e.g. don't for do not, can't for cannot, etc).  Rooster was almost like something out a  Shakespeare play in a Western setting.  A really great film. 

A couple days ago I started BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy.  Damn, what a book.  It's weighty, super raw, unbelievably violent and graphic, but a brilliant piece of literature.  I'm doing the audiobook narrated by Richard Poe.  He also read EAST OF EDEN by Steinbeck, one that's meant a lot to me over the years. 

I will probably end up exploring most of McCarthy's body of work this year.  I completely enjoy his writing style and story-telling flavor.  There are writers who tell a great story, and then there are the ones who tell a great story but also describe everything along the way in unbelievable detail.  McCarthy is one of the latter.  His knowledge of pretty much everything from plants to stars to horse-tack to guns and ammo is just staggering.  And then there is his dialogue.  He creates characters that are so far apart in kind that it seems hard to imagine them coming from the same mind. 

Many readers just love stories.  I love stories too, but I also love and have a deep appreciation for the craft of writing and worthsmithing.  McCarthy is one of the best I've ever come across. 

[teh]

After I posted my comments yesterday, I began watching "No country for old men" again. It's interesting to note that the movie opens and closes with a detailed narration from Sheriff Tom Ed Bell. These two scenes really set the tone for the story and outline the background for the Sheriff's character. The movie also deleted almost all of the story line where Llewelyn Moss picks up the young female hitchhiker. The Coen Brothers revised and shortened that relationship to a woman drinking beer by the motel pool and hitting on Moss who turns down her advances. That scene reinforces his commitment and loyalty to the relationship he has with his wife Carla Jean.

Another great book to read is "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher. Published in 1965, this book was the basis for the 1972 movie Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford and Will Geer, aka Grandpa Walton from the TV series "The Waltons". The screenplay was written by screenwriter John Milius who also wrote screenplays for the first two Dirty Harry movies, Apocalypse Now and others. The dialogue between characters in Jeremiah Johnson makes it one of my favorite films.

[teh]

I recently ordered and received a hardcover book from The Fretboard Journal called "The Luthier's Tool Box" that includes a foreword by Dan Erlewine, who joined Stew-Mac in 1986 and retired about four years ago. This book is a great addition to any guitar player's library. 

This book features the favorite tools that luthier's keep on their workbench or in their shop and the why and how for using it. Contributors include Dick Boak, Dana Bougeous, Richard Hoover, Grit Laskin Linda Manzer and Andy Powers to name a few. While I'm glad to see a couple of luthiers mentored by Jean Larrivee featured, I'm sorry that Jean or one of his family members weren't included since my tour of the Larrivee factory at Oxnard blew my mind.

P.S. This was a limited initial printing of 1,000 copies but is well edited, with detailed photos and an easy read. I just received my new issue of the Fretboard Journal magazine, which is the only publication I read from cover to cover.

[Silence Dogood]

After I posted my comments yesterday, I began watching "No country for old men" again. It's interesting to note that the movie opens and closes with a detailed narration from Sheriff Tom Ed Bell. These two scenes really set the tone for the story and outline the background for the Sheriff's character. The movie also deleted almost all of the story line where Llewelyn Moss picks up the young female hitchhiker. The Coen Brothers revised and shortened that relationship to a woman drinking beer by the motel pool and hitting on Moss who turns down her advances. That scene reinforces his commitment and loyalty to the relationship he has with his wife Carla Jean.

Another great book to read is "Mountain Man" by Vardis Fisher. Published in 1965, this book was the basis for the 1972 movie Jeremiah Johnson starring Robert Redford and Will Geer, aka Grandpa Walton from the TV series "The Waltons". The screenplay was written by screenwriter John Milius who also wrote screenplays for the first two Dirty Harry movies, Apocalypse Now and others. The dialogue between characters in Jeremiah Johnson makes it one of my favorite films.

I thought about watching the movie version of No Country, but as the experience of reading the book fades, I'll probably skip it.  I am still a bit frustrated with that story and how McCarthy let it all play out.  The ending was just too unsatisfying.  I liked the character of Moss too much to have him vaguely shot down like that, and by whom?  We don't even know for sure.  I know in "real life" the bad guys sometimes get away, and the good cops retire and move on with life.  But I really wanted to see Chigurh get his in the end. 

True story about Jeremiah Johnson.  My mother was in the hospital trying hard to get me out into the world but I wasn't cooperating. Back in those days the dads stayed outside in the waiting room.  My dad was bored and went to the movies down the block and saw Jeremiah Johnson.  When he came back to the hospital it was time for me to make my appearance.  He told my mother he'd just heard a nice name in the movie, so they named me Caleb. 

[StringPicker6]

For any John Prine fans, I just finished the fairly new book Living in the Present with John Prine by Tom Piazza. Fantastic small book, I didn't want it to end.

[BlueBowman]

I finished reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse recently, and then promptly gave it to a friend in need of its philosophy. I re-read it every year. It's a short read filled with some healthy life guidance, even though it's a work of fiction.

"I can think, I can wait [patience], I can fast [self-control]."

[BlueBowman]

A couple days ago I started BLOOD MERIDIAN by Cormac McCarthy.  Damn, what a book.  It's weighty, super raw, unbelievably violent and graphic, but a brilliant piece of literature.  I'm doing the audiobook narrated by Richard Poe.  He also read EAST OF EDEN by Steinbeck, one that's meant a lot to me over the years. 

I've been meaning to get to Blood Meridian for the longest time. It might be time to start!

[StringPicker6]

I finished reading Siddhartha by Herman Hesse recently, and then promptly gave it to a friend in need of its philosophy. I re-read it every year. It's a short read filled with some healthy life guidance, even though it's a work of fiction.

"I can think, I can wait [patience], I can fast [self-control]."

That's a great book. It's based on the life of Buddha if I'm not mistaken?

[BlueBowman]

That's a great book. It's based on the life of Buddha if I'm not mistaken?

No, not really. The Buddha makes a short appearance in the story, but he's not the sole focus of the book. Far from it, actually. The story follows Siddhartha, a wealthy Brahmin's son, in his search of meaning in his life. While the book definitely touches on Buddhist themes, I don't really see it as a religious work. Readers from any religion (or no religion) can enjoy it, IMO. I'm not a Buddhist.  The central philosophy in the book can be applied to the human experience -- again, IMO.