books: what are you currently reading?

[teh]

Enjoy Lonesome Dove, it's a great story.

FWIW, the late, great Robert Duval said in an interview that playing the part of retired Texas Ranger Augustus McCrae was his favorite movie role. He and Tommy Lee Jones had a great onscreen partnership.

[BlueBowman]

Just finished Guns, Germs, and Steel (for second time) and about to start The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins (a weighty tome!!).

[Silence Dogood]

Enjoy Lonesome Dove, it's a great story.

FWIW, the late, great Robert Duval said in an interview that playing the part of retired Texas Ranger Augustus McCrae was his favorite movie role. He and Tommy Lee Jones had a great onscreen partnership.

I'm really enjoying it so far.  I'm up to chapter 12 or so.  For me at least, the story didn't really take off till they dropped down into Mexico to round up (i.e. steal) the horses.  It's not bad till then, but just sort of drags.  Gus is a real character too.  Love him.  I can tell this book will be one that's going to be a lot of fun to journey through.   

Side note: I'm reading this one as part of an online bookclub. First time I've ever done something like that. 

[BlueBowman]

I'm nearly finished with a book that's WAY outside my wheelhouse: The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore. Uh...it's disgusting, but also interesting. The author is a poet by trade, and the prose of the book can get a little "flourish-y" --  works beautifully at times.

The narrative follows a real person from history, Tarare ("The Great Tarare," "The Glutton of Lyon," "The Bottomless Man"), who lived at the time of the French Revolution. Street performer, soldier,... medical "experiment." Much of the book's fictional narrative tracks with the real Tarare's life.

Not sure it's for everyone. If you're looking for something different, this it sure is.   

[Silence Dogood]

I'm nearly finished with a book that's WAY outside my wheelhouse: The Glutton by A.K. Blakemore. Uh...it's disgusting, but also interesting. The author is a poet by trade, and the prose of the book can get a little "flourish-y" --  works beautifully at times.

The narrative follows a real person from history, Tarare ("The Great Tarare," "The Glutton of Lyon," "The Bottomless Man"), who lived at the time of the French Revolution. Street performer, soldier,... medical "experiment." Much of the book's fictional narrative tracks with the real Tarare's life.

Not sure it's for everyone. If you're looking for something different, this it sure is.   

Wow, that sounds pretty wild.  Your post made me curious enough to go Wiki this book and look up some reviews.  Seems like such a strange subject matter! 

I am currently reading a novel I randomly came across called HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY by Richard LLewellyn. 

The book gives a fictional account of life in small South Wales mining town during the Victorian era.  The Welsh phrasing and vernacular take a bit to get used to but it's nice.  The little village doesn't even have a police force -- doesn't need one. 

There isn't a real plot other than just observing life the way it once was.  There is a 1941 film version of this that I'm planning on watching when I'm done with the book. 

Llewellyn's prose and writing style are insanely beautiful, and filled with the old kind of wisdom and insight I enjoy so much.  I so thoroughly enjoy books written by 20th century authors who grew up around 19th century people.  The old ways of talking and thinking carry over, and much of value remains. 

Here is a great line I lifted and wrote down in my Commonplace Book:

"Why is it, I wonder, that people suffer when there is so little need?  When an effort of will and some hard work would bring them from their misery into peace and contentment."

[BlueBowman]

Wow, that sounds pretty wild.  Your post made me curious enough to go Wiki this book and look up some reviews.  Seems like such a strange subject matter! 

I am currently reading a novel I randomly came across called HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY by Richard LLewellyn. 

The book gives a fictional account of life in small South Wales mining town during the Victorian era.  The Welsh phrasing and vernacular take a bit to get used to but it's nice.  The little village doesn't even have a police force -- doesn't need one. 

There isn't a real plot other than just observing life the way it once was.  There is a 1941 film version of this that I'm planning on watching when I'm done with the book. 

Llewellyn's prose and writing style are insanely beautiful, and filled with the old kind of wisdom and insight I enjoy so much.  I so thoroughly enjoy books written by 20th century authors who grew up around 19th century people.  The old ways of talking and thinking carry over, and much of value remains. 

Here is a great line I lifted and wrote down in my Commonplace Book:

"Why is it, I wonder, that people suffer when there is so little need?  When an effort of will and some hard work would bring them from their misery into peace and contentment."

Very cool. Wales is an interesting place that I'd like to learn more about. The extent of my knowledge comes from reading about Edward I's "Ring of Iron" (a series of castles) built to suppress the Welsh uprisings in the 13th century.

I enjoy those Welsh phrases and names, too. A rich history I should learn more about.

[StringPicker6]

I was once told that the Welsh are just Irish people who couldn't swim. I got a kick out of that.