books: what are you currently reading?

Started by Caleb, June 21, 2006, 11:58:08 PM

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Quote from: ryler on April 14, 2011, 08:51:04 AM
I read a lot of that book a few years ago.  The one by Col. David Hackworth.  My husband saw him speak and brought home the book for me.  It was a fascinating read.  Funny, after the last one you read I was going to post a recommendation of Hackworth's to you, Danny, but didn't.  It is long, that's for sure, but very worthwhile. 

Creature, I've been picking up Louis L'Amour books (on your recommnedation) for my husband to listen to in the car and he's hooked.

I am reading Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.  So far, tepid.  I'm wondering if I'll sense an overall point to it beyond quotidian description and banter.  I love a good description of the everyday goings on, but it has to be part of a larger context--that's what I can't yet discern.
It is by Col. David Hackworth. This was recommended to be by a friend who is a Vietnam Vet and retired military. He said if you want the truth (Vietnam) it's in this book.

ryler: That's cool that you all have been turned on to L'Amour.  His real strength is the characters he created.  I just started his 'Flint' a couple days ago after finishing a volume of his shorts.  'Flint' has the rawness of his earlier writing, some of his later work lacks a bit of that, in my view. 

I read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader yesterday (for the umpeenth time) and bought the movie and watched it last night.  That was a great experience because the book, though much different from the film, was so fresh on my mind.  I like how they kept Aslan's lines, many of them anyway, the same as the book.  The spirit of those stories hit me like hardly anything else. 

I just finished TINKERS by Paul Harding. The language in this book is so good that it is lyrical. His phrases just hang in the air for a while after you read them.
this from amazon.com:
Harding's outstanding debut unfurls the history and final thoughts of a dying grandfather surrounded by his family in his New England home. George Washington Crosby repairs clocks for a living and on his deathbed revisits his turbulent childhood as the oldest son of an epileptic smalltime traveling salesman. The descriptions of the father's epilepsy and the cold halo of chemical electricity that encircled him immediately before he was struck by a full seizure are stunning, and the household's sadness permeates the narrative as George returns to more melancholy scenes. The real star is Harding's language, which dazzles whether he's describing the workings of clocks, sensory images of nature, the many engaging side characters who populate the book, or even a short passage on how to build a bird nest. This is an especially gorgeous example of novelistic craftsmanship.

Rain Gods - James Lee Burke. Riveting crime drama.  Hey, I had to spend fours in the Winnipeg airport last night on the way home. Good read. Time went fast. Flight flew by too. Ha ha. Anyway, much better than the average page turner. This guy can really write.   

Not to bring up my husband for a second time in two posts, but he is a huge fan of James Lee Burke.  I've never read the guy, but now I think I ought to try.

Quote from: ryler on April 14, 2011, 07:33:01 PM
Not to bring up my husband for a second time in two posts, but he is a huge fan of James Lee Burke.  I've never read the guy, but now I think I ought to try.

He's very good if you like gritty, cop and crime dramas. Most of his novels have New Orleans detective Dave Robichaux as the protagonist. In Rain Gods, he moves west to Texas with a lawman by the name of Hackberry Holland. He creates some pretty memorable characters. It's not Proust but I think your husband's on to something. Who the heck can read Proust, anway?  :winkin:      

Quote from: ducktrapper on April 15, 2011, 05:58:54 AM
He's very good if you like gritty, cop and crime dramas. Most of his novels have New Orleans detective Dave Robichaux as the protagonist. In Rain Gods, he moves west to Texas with a lawman by the name of Hackleberry Holland. He creates some pretty memorable characters. It's not Proust but I think your husband's on to something. Who the heck can read Proust, anway?  :winkin:      

Duck,  I tried Proust and got half way through it, appreciated the lyricism of his work--or of the translation, and then realized I was bored off my arse.  So much for my cultured side.

Quote from: ryler on April 15, 2011, 08:28:08 AM
Duck,  I tried Proust and got half way through it, appreciated the lyricism of his work--or of the translation, and then realized I was bored off my arse.  So much for my cultured side.

You did better than I did. I read the first 100 pages or so and he still hadn't gotten out of bed. I realized I got what Proust was up to but didn't actually have to read the whole thing to appreciate the search for lost time. I have my own past. I think Burke may be more relevant these days.   

With the sea of good books we have access to, life's just too short to read something boring. 

Reading LEEPIKE RIDGE by N.D. Wilson.  This is a Goonies-type treasure story.  I'm about half-way through it.  I went to the library hoping to get his 100 CUPBOARDS but it was checked out.  Maybe I can score it next time.  As someone who is interested in writing stories like this, I find it the best kind of education to read stuff along these lines. 

Now i am reading in how to educate my child when he is so young.

And Also i prepare the syllabus of grade 5 and 6 in primary school to teach them.

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WaiTiNg FoR ThE MoSt BeAuTiFul EvEnT In My LiFe

  I finally made it to "Part II" of About Face.   Tedious at times, but the history buff in me is persevering.

It's Not About the Bike-- Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins-- It's Not About the Bike

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

      Both are very good especially in terms of overcoming major life challenges.

      DAVE
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-Taylor 455ce L7
-Guild D40 (donated to science due to terminal      Onthevergeofimplosionitis)
-Brian Fry Custim 000 in the works

If I Was a Highway by Michael Ventura with photos by Butch Hancock

A West Texas gem
This ain't quite heaven and it ain't quite hell
ain't no angels playin harps
ain't no devils with tails

Larrivee OO-03R
Martin D-18

Quote from: Yusuf_Mohammed on April 30, 2011, 01:28:06 PM
Now i am reading in how to educate my child when he is so young.

And Also i prepare the syllabus of grade 5 and 6 in primary school to teach them.
Is this about your blessed event? If so, Congratulations!
Chris
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Goya (Levin) '58 G-30
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'11 McSpadden

At The Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
Silas Marner by George Eliot 

I'm also learning Latin via a book.  Fun stuff. 

   Finally finished  "About Face" by Colonel David Hackworth. A long intense book that makes you very sad about the state of the U.S. Government and Army during the Vietnam War.
   I don't think I'll ever read another book on Vietnam, this one tells it all.

Fortunately about the first half of the book is about other engagements and experiences. I didn't care for his very rough stile of writing, but I realize he was trying to make it all so "real".

  Started "WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS". It is much better than the movie and refreshing after the heavy meal of reality from the last book.

Excellent book.  On the reread list.  Interesting enough, there is a festival in Oklahoma in April called the Rest Fern Festival.  Celebrates all things Red Fern.  Google and see.  I plan on going next year. 

Quote from: the creature on May 20, 2011, 10:24:22 PM
Excellent book.  On the reread list.  Interesting enough, there is a festival in Oklahoma in April called the Rest Fern Festival.  Celebrates all things Red Fern.  Google and see.  I plan on going next year. 
I think you suggested for me to read this in the good movie thread after I posted about the movie. You said the book is better and it is by a LONG shot. Just started chapter seven, it's very hard to put it down.

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