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Masters of Atlantis - Charles Portis
A droll satire of secret societies, cults, and political witch hunts, this novel from the author best known for True Grit, unveils a rambling odyssey about family and belonging, albeit in the most untraditional of definitions.
Cool op-ed/review of the novel here:
[article does contain some plot spoilers]
https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/ma...comedians.html
Just amazing readingQuote:
Originally Posted by tgapp
Just finished Cormac McCarthy's new two novel set The Passenger and Stella Maris. Both are interesting and compelling reads that fit in thematically, if not structurally, with the rest of his body of work. Don't go into them expecting a shoot em up Western - these books are very different than All The Pretty Horses or Blood Meridian - but they both represent an incredible exploration of love, grief, philosophy, and math. Highly recommend if you're a fan of the author.
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“The Artisans” by Shen Fuyu. A collection of little village vignettes over a hundred years, as told to Mr Shen by his father and grandfather, as the village gets swallowed by change.
I just finished rereading “the cunning man” by Robertson Davies. The guy is way overlooked; brilliant, subtle and deft writing mostly about in this case the spectra between formal religion and faith untethered by doctrine , an access to beauty and solace absent dogma.
I'm reading through Jeff Guinn's Waco; David Koresh, the Branch Davidian's and a Legacy of Rage.
I've been sort of fascinated with this, ruby ridge, the bundy's lately...to a point at least.
Also picked up Virga and Bone from Craig Childs. Only skimmed a few pages at the library but it showed promise of some great desert writing so looking forward to this one
Probably been mentioned before but „ The Worst Hard Time“ by Timothy Egan was pretty hard to put down.
Yeah I've liked all the Timothy Egan books I've read. That one, big burn, lasso the wind, and just finished breaking blue.
Just started red notice that I think I found recommended in here a few pages back. barely into it and holy shit.
I’m enjoying this more than I imagined I might:
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The writing is a little breathless at times, but it’s very engaging.
Stone Desert by Craig Childs is another great desert read.
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This one is hard to put down. I started it about two days ago and I'm almost finished. The story follows a black teenager named Elwood who gets thrown into the Nickel Academy (a juvenile reform camp) in the '60s. The story alternates between his life at the school and the present day. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2020.
I just got this beautiful beast in the mail. (Not my photo).
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I really enjoyed The Silk Roads. This is a broader synthesis of human and ecological history set against climate. He packed a lot (too much?) into the first 2 chapters but I think once he settled down into more recent millennia with better archaeological and written records it’ll hit a better pace.
The Underground Railroad (same author) was great as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
Yes, I've read that one. I think I'm giving the edge to Nickel Boys at this point.Quote:
Originally Posted by teledad
I'd give the edge to Harlem Shuffle.Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
Sweet, I'll add that one to the list.Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahman
About 75 pages into “A Forest Journey - The Role of Trees in The Fate of Civilization” by John Perkins. Well researched, thought provoking and incredibly informative. I’ll never think about trees the same way again. Apologies if it has been mentioned before.
Just finished this based on your recommendation. Fantastic read. One of those books where you feel like you can picture the characters with ease and the story was both predictable yet shocking at the same time.Quote:
Originally Posted by The AD
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As a McCarthy fan (ATPH is probably my "favorite" piece of fiction), I just couldn't dig the Passenger. It was good, not great. Hard to articulate but with his books, you're either feasting or working. This one felt more like work to me.Quote:
Originally Posted by tgapp
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My wife just picked this up for me:
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I have some reading to finish before I get to it. Grann’s writing is excellent, so I’m looking forward to diving in.
I just heard a radio interview with David Grann about this book and it sounded excellent
Thank you for this, just added to my reading list.Quote:
Originally Posted by evasive_MT
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I’m usually not one for either non-fiction or memoirs, but I just “stumbled “ upon this excerpt from actor Brian Cox’s Putting the Rabbit in the Hat and I gotta say, I rather enjoyed his easy flowing, no-bullshit, having a pint at the local and shooting the breeze manner.
Might have to snag a copy if I come across one at the local bookstore…
https://www.gq.com/story/brian-cox-memoir-excerpt
Glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, I agree. I think it spoke to Whitehead's skill as a writer.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater
I really like your “feasting” or “working” analogies. Great, simple, and spot-on terms for not only reading, but also in regards to film and music.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Reverend Floater
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Who made "greed good, workers powerless, and the market all-powerful while weaponizing nostalgia, lifting up an oligarchy that [serves] only its own interests, and [left] the huge majority of Americans with dwindling economic prospects and hope."
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Written by the sister of the brother who kidnapped Freddy Heineken
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Laughs on every page and guaranteed to piss off the partisan right
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Captivating essays culled from The New Yorker
THE GETAWAY - Jim Thompson
Knocked this pulp classic out in a day.
It’s an interesting chase/pursuit yarn with a lot of psychological underpinnings and a strange shift in themes and tone during the third act.
I subsequently watched both the 1972 and 1994 film adaptations after finishing the book. Not sure what screenwriter Walter Hill was thinking or what kind of pressure he was given by the producers, but the films toss away all the tension and weird subtext of the source material, dumbed down and drastically changed key characters, and then added in all kinds of unnecessary action sequences. I found both films underwhelming, however, they actually made me like the novel much more in retrospect.
If you dig a good, pulpy action story with noir sensibilities and interesting philosophical undertones, this is a good one.
I don't know, I absolutely loved McCarthy's latest. I would characterize it as haunting in the best way possible. More a meditation on grief than anything else.
Reading Calvino's Invisible Cities right now, and it's an absolute treat.
"Marco Polo describes a bridge, stone by stone.
'But which is the stone that supports the bridge?' Kublai Khan asks.
'The bridge is not supported by one stone or another,' Marco answers, 'but by the line of the arch that they form.'
Kublai Khan remains silent, reflecting. Then he adds: 'Why do you speak to me of the stones? It is only the arch that matters to me.'
Polo answers: 'Without stones there is no arch.'"
Blurs the line between philosophy, prose, and poetry.
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I’ll have to check out Passenger. Is it a good narrative or hard to get into?
The Road was one of my absolute favorite reads along with the border trilogy. I crushed the road during a big coastal storm one day.
Just finished reading this 6-issue series (also collected as a TPB “graphic novel”).
Imagine Doc Savage-meets-Baron von Munchausen with heavy doses of zombie ninjas, werewolves, and psychedelic phallic jellyfish. Crazy art and vivid coloring add to the gonzo storytelling.
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This two volume collection delivers a whip cracking yarn about hobos, Satan, and the titular mythical mountain.
In addition to the engaging story ( which is the dog’s nuts) there are cool auxiliary essays about hobo life, the origin of the modern depiction of Satan, and other related historical footnotes. You’ll also pick up plenty of cool 1940s-era slang, too!
All of it is delivered in a wonderfully kinetic cartoon style and a frenzied pace which makes for a super entertaining and visually arresting read.
Highly recommended.
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Wow.
This book is heavy.
I totally understand why the German bureaucracy banned it upon release as it champions free thought and rails against blind nationalism. This is easily the most harrowing coming-of-age-story ever committed to the page.
I have no idea why it took me so long to get around to reading it nor why it wasn’t part of my HS reading curriculum.
Last year I saw the NF produced film version and was stunned. Then I watched the original 1930 Hollywood film. Figured I should finally read the book.
Glad I did, but damn…!
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I’m reading “The Guns of August” right now also about WWI. I feel like we learned a ton about WWII in school but a lot less about the 1st WW.
I’m really liking it and the understanding I have gained of the causes and players of WWI.
I read the “The Proud Tower” which is the first in the series and was tedious. I thought I needed to read that first based on reviews but I believe it is unnecessary. I was hoping The Guns of August would be better and it’s much better.
I’ll do All Quiet next as I usually like to go down the rabbit hole once I start learning about something and of course I have heard it referenced for years so thanks for the reminder and nice to have my next book already lined up
I have the same interest in WWI. It’s entirely glossed over in our narrative. You can see the 19th Century turning into the 20th in photos.Quote:
Originally Posted by babybear
I have a number of good reads on it I’ll post tomorrow.
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I was prompted to snatch up this book after seeing the trailer to the M. Night film adaptation numerous times.
I ripped through it in a day.
I’m not 100% sold on the ending, though my copy contains “liner notes” from the author which explain his choice for the ending and after reading those it sits with me slightly better.
At any rate, Paul Tremblay nicely tweaks a number of horror genres/tropes—“The Cabin in the Woods,” “Home Invasion,” and “Doomsday,” amongst others. There are some clunky moments (a scene involving an SUV) and a few unresolved elements that still nag me post-reading, but they are rather small and insignificant in the grand scheme of the overarching story, plus I feel they are meant to convey a sense of mystery.
Overall, this is a taut and well paced thriller.
RIYL
Vintage (1980s era) Stephen King
Somehow I’m missing my favorite WWI book: Unknown Soldiers by Neil Hanson. I might have loaned it to someone. It’s a REALLY good book that covers a lot of the western front experiences.
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/31/b...e=articleShare
This history focuses just on 1914, but it’s fascinating because that battle was huge and very mobile. And it tends to be overlooked by the later trench warfare.
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I don’t read many novels these days, but these are very affecting.
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Thanks for posting those up Evasive MT.
Funny side note that if you look at the # of forum members that have viewed this thread it is only 78 (although many more views I assume by frequenters to this thread and non registered lurkers)
I know that "reading comprehension" has always been a burn here but it's interesting to see which of our fellow posters don't read books. They should probably read more books
I enjoyed “A Soldier of the Great war” some decent climbing writing. Robert Graves “Goodbye to all that” (nonfiction) is pretty classic, for other insight Siegfried Sassoon or Rupert Brooke (Rupert was a really popular poet) Sassoon’s “memoirs of a fox hunting man” is an insight into Edwardian England and its death. In period “the four horseman of the apocalypse “ was popular.Was there ever a great French novel of WW1?
I've never read it but maybe the novel that kubrick's Paths of Glory is based on.Quote:
Originally Posted by dunfree
Or Les Croix des Bois?
Read that book in freshman year of highschool. Still recall some of it... the gnarly scenes like brutal amputations, never-ending shelling and mustard gas, the horses screaming and tripping over their own guts... nightmare shit.... and also the beautiful descriptions of the seasons changing amidst the fray.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX