Dream of the Red Chamber --- Cao Xueqin
The Testaments ---- Margaret Atwood
The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka
Lavender Room
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Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [ironclm]
[ In reply to ]
Dream of the Red Chamber --- Cao Xueqin
The Testaments ---- Margaret Atwood
The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [RandMart]
[ In reply to ]
Started reading the Bourdain book
Listening to Iggy's new release
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
Listening to Iggy's new release
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [RandMart]
[ In reply to ]
Now I'm reading ''Take My Husband Please''. It's staged in my town on Long Island. It opens in the Trader Joe's that I go to, then the wife goes to Plainview Hospital, which is only a couple of blocks from my house.
I once read a book about drugs in Miami where the opening scene was a guy looking out his window, watching me work with my crew on the Miami Metrorail.
Has anyone ever read a book in their home town?
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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law
I once read a book about drugs in Miami where the opening scene was a guy looking out his window, watching me work with my crew on the Miami Metrorail.
Has anyone ever read a book in their home town?
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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Sweeney]
[ In reply to ]
Sweeney wrote:
Now I'm reading ''Take My Husband Please''. It's staged in my town on Long Island. It opens in the Trader Joe's that I go to, then the wife goes to Plainview Hospital, which is only a couple of blocks from my house. I once read a book about drugs in Miami where the opening scene was a guy looking out his window, watching me work with my crew on the Miami Metrorail.
Has anyone ever read a book in their home town?
I read Lonesome Dove as a child and lived right by where Gus is shot up on the Musselshell River.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Sweeney]
[ In reply to ]
Sweeney wrote:
Has anyone ever read a book in their home town?PrairyErth (A Deep Map); William Least Heat-Moon is about Chase County, Kansas, where my mother grew up and where I spent lots of time at my grandparents ranch. My cousins, aunts and uncles still live there and that's where my nephew's lake house is. IIRC, my grandfather is in the book.
In Cold Blood has a short scene where the killers stop at one of the hospitals in my hometown.
In my adopted hometown of San Francisco, the books set there that I've read:
The Joy Luck Club
The Maltese Falcon
Tales of the City
There There (actually more in Oakland)
On the Road
clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [RandMart]
[ In reply to ]
I just finished "Your Table is Ready." Whole front of the house staff drinks heavily, snorts coke, and has sex in the bathroom during service-what kind of job is this?
On to "Force" interesting aspects about gravity, Had to stop reading "The Christie Affair"-people were convinently turning up in places unexpectedly-didn't seem plot was well thought out.
Downloaded the "Peacemaker" about Reagan and the Russian disarmament.
On to "Force" interesting aspects about gravity, Had to stop reading "The Christie Affair"-people were convinently turning up in places unexpectedly-didn't seem plot was well thought out.
Downloaded the "Peacemaker" about Reagan and the Russian disarmament.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [frenchfried]
[ In reply to ]
frenchfried wrote:
I just finished "Your Table is Ready." Whole front of the house staff drinks heavily, snorts coke, and has sex in the bathroom during service-what kind of job is this?That's the first page of Kitchen Confidential
Except, it wasn't staff having sex in the bathroom - it was a soux-chef fucking a bridesmaid [in the ass? maybe?] against a dumpster in an alley at a wedding reception at Les Halles
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [RandMart]
[ In reply to ]
Recently finished "Across the Fence: Secret War in Vietnam" by John Meyer as a follow up from "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot" by Lynn Black. Both are about MACV-SOG and green berets that were dropped in behind the lines with Indig special forces '68-'69. Both are amazing reads.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Jim_Richalds]
[ In reply to ]
Jim_Richalds wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Finished McCarthy's "The Passenger" and now reading part II "Stella Maris". So far I'd say I'm disappointed and bewildered. Sure there's brilliant prose in parts, great dialogue with interesting characters in parts, starts off with a great hook akin to "No Country for Old Men" but then just seemingly abandons that story line, drifts into some weird paranoia and conspiracy theory stuff, and seems too much of McCarthy talking about math, physics and physicists. Some parts are very disjointed, as if a chapter was written a decade ago and included but doesn't fit in with the rest of the book, or just seems largely irrelevant.
Maybe he'll pull it all together by the end of Stella Maris, but so far I feel like I need someone to explain to me what he's trying to accomplish in these books.
My impression is he's spent too much time at the Santa Fe Institute around physicists and such and he'd been better served hanging out with fellow writers.
I finished these a couple weeks ago. Stella Maris fills in many of the gaps and makes the first book make more sense. I think McCarthy is examining our current state of affairs by exploring the nature of reality through a disjointed "story" set in the recent past. I was glad that he didn't actually write a traditional plotline but made you think it was going to be some sort of mystery.
I'm about half-way through Stella Maris and starting to fear the whole book is going to be the psychiatrist talking to the schizophrenic* sister, who seems to be just a little too obviously McCarthy expounding on the nature of reality and such. So far finding this second book to be lacking in the parts that I thought salvaged the first book.
*It's also odd that other than her rather florid hallucinations she doesn't seem like a person with schizophrenia. Writing a more realistic person with schizophrenia would probably have made for a better read.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [RandMart]
[ In reply to ]
New Iggy is always interesting. I’m not a fan of all his music, but he’s one of those artists that is worth your time.
Still reading “The World Played Chess.” It was a recommendation from a friend who has a lot in common with the story.
“Ways Away - Torch Songs” it’s been in heavy rotation recently.
Still reading “The World Played Chess.” It was a recommendation from a friend who has a lot in common with the story.
“Ways Away - Torch Songs” it’s been in heavy rotation recently.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Sweeney]
[ In reply to ]
Sweeney wrote:
Has anyone ever read a book in their home town?When I was a kid in Wethersfield [CT], The Witch of Blackbird Pond was practically required reading
https://en.wikipedia.org/...ch_of_Blackbird_Pond
A couple years ago, I read a collection of stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates titled New Jersey Noir. One of the stories, "Kettle Run," is about a drug deal gone wrong on a road near us where we frequently ride
In his memoir, Born To Run, Bruce tells the story of how the photoshoot for Darkness came about in my hometown of Haddonfield
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [BongChamp]
[ In reply to ]
BongChamp wrote:
New Iggy is always interesting. I’m not a fan of all his music, but he’s one of those artists that is worth your time.For Post Pop Depression, he used Josh Homme and QOTSA for his backing band; this time he has Duff McKagan, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer, plus producer/guitarist Andrew Watt
Taylor Hawkins co-wrote two tracks and plays on one, as well
Yeah, I have one of these; are you surprised?
"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [ThisIsIt]
[ In reply to ]
ThisIsIt wrote:
Jim_Richalds wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Finished McCarthy's "The Passenger" and now reading part II "Stella Maris". So far I'd say I'm disappointed and bewildered. Sure there's brilliant prose in parts, great dialogue with interesting characters in parts, starts off with a great hook akin to "No Country for Old Men" but then just seemingly abandons that story line, drifts into some weird paranoia and conspiracy theory stuff, and seems too much of McCarthy talking about math, physics and physicists. Some parts are very disjointed, as if a chapter was written a decade ago and included but doesn't fit in with the rest of the book, or just seems largely irrelevant.
Maybe he'll pull it all together by the end of Stella Maris, but so far I feel like I need someone to explain to me what he's trying to accomplish in these books.
My impression is he's spent too much time at the Santa Fe Institute around physicists and such and he'd been better served hanging out with fellow writers.
I finished these a couple weeks ago. Stella Maris fills in many of the gaps and makes the first book make more sense. I think McCarthy is examining our current state of affairs by exploring the nature of reality through a disjointed "story" set in the recent past. I was glad that he didn't actually write a traditional plotline but made you think it was going to be some sort of mystery.
I'm about half-way through Stella Maris and starting to fear the whole book is going to be the psychiatrist talking to the schizophrenic* sister, who seems to be just a little too obviously McCarthy expounding on the nature of reality and such. So far finding this second book to be lacking in the parts that I thought salvaged the first book.
*It's also odd that other than her rather florid hallucinations she doesn't seem like a person with schizophrenia. Writing a more realistic person with schizophrenia would probably have made for a better read.
Spoiler. All of Stella maris is dialogue. No descriptive writing at all.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [fulla]
[ In reply to ]
Since Xmas I ve read the Passenger and Stella Maris. Also read Slow Horses and reading Dead Lions by Mick Herron right now. The tv show changed a few things slightly.
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [fulla]
[ In reply to ]
fulla wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Jim_Richalds wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Finished McCarthy's "The Passenger" and now reading part II "Stella Maris". So far I'd say I'm disappointed and bewildered. Sure there's brilliant prose in parts, great dialogue with interesting characters in parts, starts off with a great hook akin to "No Country for Old Men" but then just seemingly abandons that story line, drifts into some weird paranoia and conspiracy theory stuff, and seems too much of McCarthy talking about math, physics and physicists. Some parts are very disjointed, as if a chapter was written a decade ago and included but doesn't fit in with the rest of the book, or just seems largely irrelevant.
Maybe he'll pull it all together by the end of Stella Maris, but so far I feel like I need someone to explain to me what he's trying to accomplish in these books.
My impression is he's spent too much time at the Santa Fe Institute around physicists and such and he'd been better served hanging out with fellow writers.
I finished these a couple weeks ago. Stella Maris fills in many of the gaps and makes the first book make more sense. I think McCarthy is examining our current state of affairs by exploring the nature of reality through a disjointed "story" set in the recent past. I was glad that he didn't actually write a traditional plotline but made you think it was going to be some sort of mystery.
I'm about half-way through Stella Maris and starting to fear the whole book is going to be the psychiatrist talking to the schizophrenic* sister, who seems to be just a little too obviously McCarthy expounding on the nature of reality and such. So far finding this second book to be lacking in the parts that I thought salvaged the first book.
*It's also odd that other than her rather florid hallucinations she doesn't seem like a person with schizophrenia. Writing a more realistic person with schizophrenia would probably have made for a better read.
Spoiler. All of Stella maris is dialogue. No descriptive writing at all.
I suspected that was the case just flipping ahead, but didn't want to believe it :)
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Andrewmc]
[ In reply to ]
I'm re-reading the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I can't begin to tell you how much I like this series. Asimov is a genius; waaaayyyy ahead of his time. The Apple TV series "Foundation" is also fantastic. Although the Apple TV series is only loosely based on the books, I thought they did a great job at creating a compelling story. The acting (for the most part) is also very good.
I also just finished reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It was a solid story although a bit slow-moving in the middle. It was very creative and fairly different from most fantasy out there. I will continue the series.
I also started the new book by David Goggins, Never Finished. Gotta love Goggins.
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http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com
I also just finished reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. It was a solid story although a bit slow-moving in the middle. It was very creative and fairly different from most fantasy out there. I will continue the series.
I also started the new book by David Goggins, Never Finished. Gotta love Goggins.
------------------
http://dontletitdefeatyou.blogspot.com
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [Lock_N_Load]
[ In reply to ]
Lock_N_Load wrote:
I'm re-reading the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I can't begin to tell you how much I like this series. Asimov is a genius; waaaayyyy ahead of his time. The Apple TV series "Foundation" is also fantastic. Although the Apple TV series is only loosely based on the books, I thought they did a great job at creating a compelling story. The acting (for the most part) is also very good.Excellent series. Paired with the Robot series, and you get some of the finest science fiction writing ever put to paper.
Slowguy
(insert pithy phrase here...)
Re: What we reading or listening to, it's been a while [ThisIsIt]
[ In reply to ]
ThisIsIt wrote:
fulla wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Jim_Richalds wrote:
ThisIsIt wrote:
Finished McCarthy's "The Passenger" and now reading part II "Stella Maris". So far I'd say I'm disappointed and bewildered. Sure there's brilliant prose in parts, great dialogue with interesting characters in parts, starts off with a great hook akin to "No Country for Old Men" but then just seemingly abandons that story line, drifts into some weird paranoia and conspiracy theory stuff, and seems too much of McCarthy talking about math, physics and physicists. Some parts are very disjointed, as if a chapter was written a decade ago and included but doesn't fit in with the rest of the book, or just seems largely irrelevant.
Maybe he'll pull it all together by the end of Stella Maris, but so far I feel like I need someone to explain to me what he's trying to accomplish in these books.
My impression is he's spent too much time at the Santa Fe Institute around physicists and such and he'd been better served hanging out with fellow writers.
I finished these a couple weeks ago. Stella Maris fills in many of the gaps and makes the first book make more sense. I think McCarthy is examining our current state of affairs by exploring the nature of reality through a disjointed "story" set in the recent past. I was glad that he didn't actually write a traditional plotline but made you think it was going to be some sort of mystery.
I'm about half-way through Stella Maris and starting to fear the whole book is going to be the psychiatrist talking to the schizophrenic* sister, who seems to be just a little too obviously McCarthy expounding on the nature of reality and such. So far finding this second book to be lacking in the parts that I thought salvaged the first book.
*It's also odd that other than her rather florid hallucinations she doesn't seem like a person with schizophrenia. Writing a more realistic person with schizophrenia would probably have made for a better read.
Spoiler. All of Stella maris is dialogue. No descriptive writing at all.
I suspected that was the case just flipping ahead, but didn't want to believe it :)
I finished it, and I will say the ending salvaged it for me, but overall I found the two books disappointing. Not enough of what makes McCarthy great and too much of him dropping names and expounding through the characters, none more so than Alicia.
I went and watched a few reviews on Youtube and this guy seems to have hit on the same issues I had with the books, plus a few more.
Shame if these are his swan songs. Although I thought I saw somewhere that there is another book, unrelated to these, in the works?
trail wrote:
Andrewmc wrote:
Just started The Box by Marc Levinson. It's amazing. The impact of the shipping container might be greater than any other industry wide innovation. It shaped economies, adjusted structural changes in manufacturing supply chains and changed industries and sectors
Though it's interesting in terms of COVID discruptions, that that system is so incredibly efficient and lean that it's taking years to compensate for just a few months of disruptions (maybe a few months is hyperbole given stuff is still going on in China, etc), but I believe most of the disruption was caused by the few months of "hard lockdown" early in the spring of 2020.
I'm reading The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery. Not a new book (1994), but it covers the anthropology (and a good amount of botany, zoology, geology) of the Oceania/Australia area. With the central theme, referenced by the title, being how the humans (aborigines, maoris, et al) destroyed much of the natural habitat that would have been helpful for them to thrive into the future (a thesis contested by other scientists, apparently). It reads a bit like Gun, Germs, and Steel. A bit dry at times, but pretty interesting overall.
Many of the Polynesian islands ended up with overpopulation leading to resource crisis often followed by wars cannibalism etc.
They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot