Finally got around to reading this and your review is spot on, thanks for the recommendation! I now have his book, The Bottoms, on my short list to read next.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
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Finally got around to reading this and your review is spot on, thanks for the recommendation! I now have his book, The Bottoms, on my short list to read next.Quote:
Originally Posted by dookeyXXX
Right on!Quote:
Originally Posted by Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo
If you like hard-boiled noir, I highly recommend his novel More Better Deals.
I read James recently and also enjoyed it. I thought it was good, but not great. I think it's getting more accolades due to the subject matter than the actual writing, but absolutely worth reading. I don't think you need to read Huck Finn first. It stands on its own.
I just read Moby Dick for essentially the first time (I wasn’t paying a lot of attention in High School). I have mixed feelings about it, I definitely wouldn’t call it the Greatest American Novel by any means but its interesting and it’s worth reading, even at [emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]][emoji[emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]][emoji640][emoji6[emoji640][emoji638]]]+ pages.
Dammit I just caught the emoji disease.
It took me two years off and on to read Moby-Dick. I found it to be surprisingly well written if a reader takes his time and savors it. Kind of like you said, it was interesting and better than I expected it to be.
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick is a very worthy follow up if you want to know the true story of the whale ship Essex. It will kind of blow your mind.
https://a.co/d/gD16Kti
What kind of sick fuck would make you read Moby-Dick in high school?
I know, right? The chapters on whale biology almost lost me again this time.
I had to read it in freshman (college) English. Or at least I had to read the cliff notes. ;)
The Women by Kristin Hannah is a good novel about a combat nurse in Vietnam. And her return home. Pretty fucked up but eye opening.
Two must read books are “No, They Can't” by John Stossel and
"Ways to Influence People" by Andy Reven.
John Stossel is a colossal shitbag
Just finished The Last Chairlift by John Irving. Published in 2022 so not a new release. Pretty typical for his style but it has scenes set in Aspen, skiing at Highlands and Ajax, skiing in Bromley and other Vermont resorts. One character is a ski instructor, her lover/wife is a patroller and there are several other skiers and patrollers. Spans the time period from 1940 to 2021. Sad, funny, provocative and enjoyable if you can tolerate Irvings style. Moby Dick plays a role.
I kind of want to read that Last Chairlift but I have problems finishing novels. Maybe I will give it a whirl
Here’s another vote for The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick. So good. I read it a few years ago and then all the other Philbrick books afterwards because it was so good, but I think that was his best.
I went on a Robert Kaplan kick for a bit starting with “Asia’s Cauldron” which is generally about the South China Sea disputed regions. And then I moved onto “Monsoon” also by Kaplan about the Indian Ocean territories. Both good reads and good refreshers on historical and potential geopolitical issues in those regions.
Right now I am reading “Peter the Great” by Robert Massie which has been excellent so far if you are into history. This was a history I wanted to understand better with references to that MF Putin wanting to restore the Russia of Peter the great
Bonus is that it was free with Kindle Unlimited if you subscribe to that
Haven’t read Irving in decades. I might have to give this one a shot just for nostalgia and ski props.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bunion 2020
DittoQuote:
Originally Posted by mcski
The Water Knife.
That “Peter the Great” biography is an incredible story. A thick non fiction tome that has as much suspense as a Game of Thrones novel.
For those that enjoyed “In the Heart of the Sea” and want to read another nautical disaster story check out “The Wager”. Such a crazy story. The forward of the book spoils the ending (same thing as the forward in “Endurance” - why the hell do I want to know how the story ends at the start?) so I would recommend skipping it.
Love me some Teddy. My wife got these for a recent bday. Might take me a minute. River of Doubt is prob my favorite Roosevelt book so far. I'm just fascinated by how multifaceted the man was.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...93a38c1ed0.jpg
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We listened to The Wager on audiobook on a trip last year and it was one of those that was hard to stop listening to at the trailhead so we could go out and ride our bikes [emoji38]Quote:
Originally Posted by bennymac
That is true about Peter the Great too- I keep telling my husband funny anecdotes while reading in bed at night.
His entourage full of dwarves, etc.
I just finished:
ON THE TRAIL OF THE JACKALOPE: HOW A LEGEND CAPTURES THE WORLD’S IMAGINATION AND CURED CANCER
by Michael P. Branch
Branch is a professor at UNR. He delves into the creation of the horned rabbit, examines its origin in global myths, and takes a look at actual horned rabbits, whose affliction has helped create anti-cancer vaccines. An interesting read that attempts to find a connection between myth, kitsch, and real life.
MICKEY7
By Edward Ashton
While I enjoyed the film, MICKEY17, the source novel is vastly different.
The basic story is the same, but here the satire is more droll and the whole affair is much more deadpan. Plus it unfolds like a twisted romance instead of an over-the-top socio-political slapstick (which is what the film is). The characters in the book are mellower and less garish, which I liked. Plus our hero is deceptively smarter than in the film.
This is a breezy read (I ripped through it in a day) and highly entertaining.
I don’t usually go in for series and sequels, but I am intrigued to read Ashton’s follow-up, ANTIMATTER BLUES, as well as delve into some of his standalone work.
Hawaii by James Michener. Published in 1959. Fascinating. Very long, 1,500 pages, took me months to read. I suggest the kindle version. [emoji3]
Just finished DRUNK ON ALL YOUR STRANGE NEW WORDS by Eddie Robson.
Breezy locked-room murder mystery with slight cyberpunk trappings and an alien fueled conspiracy running underneath.
The mystery was pretty labyrinthine, but the ending wrapped things up a bit quick leaving some loose ends (though this might have been intentional to keep things open for a sequel…).
Still it was a fast paced romp with interesting characters and some cool sci-fi elements.
SOUTH OF THE PUMPHOUSE - Les Claypool
I am what you would call a part-time Primus fan. Seen ‘em live perhaps a half-dozen times and have seen a few of Les’s side projects, as well.
This 191-page tome has been gathering dust on my various bookshelves since its initial publication in 2006.
I finally cracked it open and dove into it last month.
It’s an interesting rural suburbia slice-of-life quasi noir.
It helps if you are from the Oakland East Bay Area region as that’s where the story takes place.
Claypool’s writing style is pretty straight forward—dare I say “bare bones”?—and can be dry and a little clunky sometimes, but his characters are well fleshed out and the overall story is engaging.
Plus it’s got one of those endings that I didn’t see coming and ends up making the whole novel shine.
It would actually make a great film if in the right directorial hands.
BIG TIME - Ben H. Winters
While not as immediately immersive as some of Winter’s previous efforts (the insanely stellar UNERGROUND AIRLINES or THE GOLDEN STATE), this is still an engaging, albeit slow-burn, sci-fi mystery. For some reason it reminded me of Jonathan Letham’s early dabbling in sci-fi, specifically AS SHE CLIMBED ACROSS THE TABLE.
By no means essential Winters (I’d start with the two aforementioned titles first), it’s still incredibly engaging and presents a new angle on time travel.
<p>
Infinite Jest</p>
<p>
-David Foster Wallace</p>
<p>
This will be the second time reading this incredible book.</p>
<p>
It took 8 months the first time and was fully worth it.</p>
<p>
-note, I have only met one other person who has actually completed this book.<br />
You can spend a day rereading and contemplating a single paragraph, journeying into the mind of an actual genius, so rich with vocabulary and concepts.</p>
I just ripped through BAD MONKEY by Carl Hiassen.
Pretty standard Carl fare, which means crazy and cool characters and a detailed mystery plot augmented by lots of sly humor.
I also whipped through ANTIMATTER BLUES by Edward Ashton.
It’s the sequel to MICKEY7.
It’s a much more Old School sci-fi adventure than the previous novel. Ashton knows how to spin a cool yarn, that’s for sure.
Didn’t realize Bad Monkey was by Carl. A truly under appreciated and prolific writer.
I just finished a Bill Bryson book I hadn't read before: "The Road to Little Dribbling." It's sort of a newer take on his "Notes From a Small Island," written 20 years later (published in 2015). He basically travels around England, Wales and Scotland with his usual knack for interesting facts mixed with humor. This is one of his later books, and as such he ups his normal level of crotchetiness. He more or less goes on rants every few pages. I find the rants hilarious, but I could see how some people might find them a bit off-putting. I think he's a true gem, personally. I find myself highlighting more passages from his books on my Kindle than any other author.
<p>
apparently Apple+ made a series with Vince Vaughn. I have no plans to watch it though as the last TV series based on a book series I attempted to watch (HAP AND LEONARD) was gawdawful and did not do the Joe R. Lansdale source material proper justice imho. I am about to dive into RAZOR GIRL, the "sequel" to BAD MONKEY, although Hiassen does not so much do sequels as he just uses established characters in new stories.</p>Quote:
Originally Posted by mcski
The Wide Wide Sea, by Hampton Sides, is absolutely fascinating if you are interested in the history of Hawaii and the Pacific. Subtitle: Imperial Ambition, First Contact, and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook.
Cook was very different from a lot of so called explorers and "conquerers."
What turned me on to this book was that I recently finished Hawaii by James Michener. Even though published in 1959 it remains a great story about the history of Hawaii from the ancient Polynesian wayfarers who sailed there in canoes to World War 2. However, one aspect it does not address is the fatal "first contact" with Cook that forever changed the islands, so I wanted to learn more about that.
CAT CHASER - Elmore Leonard
This is an homage to classic noir, pretty straightforward and gritty. Takes a little while for it to get rolling and it hinged on an aspect of American history that I was hithertofore unfamiliar with (US intervention in the Dominican Republic). But it ends up being a nicely hardboiled crime caper with interesting characters.
ARGYLLE - Elly Conway
So, this novel is a tie-in to the box office flop film of the same name, but isn’t anything like the film (which I actually enjoyed, fwiw).
“Ghostwritten” by screenwriter/novelist Terry Hayes and author Tammy Cohen, it’s the best assimilation of a James Bond novel I’ve read in years (and I have read all the Fleming books and all but 3 of the various post-Fleming novels).
Besides Bond, this endeavor owes no small debt to the likes of Indiana Jones and National Treasure.
In short it’s a snappy, fast paced spy yarn with interesting locales and Nazis or, more to the point, a classic summer read.
I'd like to try something else by Elmore Leonard. Sorry to say I was completely underwhelmed by James.
I like Leonard.
I always lump him in with Hiaasen, but generally find him to be more serious and hardboiled in his style where Hiaasen leans more into goofy satire and comedic hijinx.
One of my good buddies always felt that Hiaasen was riffing on Leonard, but I never have felt that way.
There is a brief period where Leonard wrote novels which took place in Florida which always made me feel like he was riffing on Hiaasen, especially since that period of Leonard was much more lighthearted and aloof…