the books we read

[mahg33ta]

I'm finding The Other Wes Moore worthwhile (disclaimer: not done yet)

BTW I saw this old thread pop up with my post and can say that I definitely recommend this book as an interesting read.

[br00ke]

just bought Blood Meridian (i've read most of his books but for some reason never that one) and ...

Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, The Torments of Low Thread Count, The Never- Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems

[woodnymph]

Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir

[TheBigChicken]

Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir

One of my most FAVORITE places in the world is Muir Woods outside SanFran... :-*Got a coffee mug with Muir Woods on it and drink from it every am

[pennylane]

i think my post dissappeared but:

Keith Richards: Life (spectacular)
Nick Hornby: Juliet: Naked (just so so)

currently reading: The Power of Now (Eckart Tolles)

[wolof7]

Just started Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo. It's my 3rd book by him (Empire Falls, Straight Man) and already it seems like it will be my favorite. Anyone see the movie with Paul Newman? I wouldn't picture anyone else playing Sully.

Russo is the king of capturing small town intricacies and the nuances of personal relationships. I certainly recommend him for anyone from a small town and wants a read centered around eccentric but personable characters. Subjects generally gravitate around middle aged men.

[ALady]

Just finished Madame Bovary this week.  I loved the translation, I thought it flowed beautifully and conveyed the humor and descriptives much better than I imagined it might.  The overall tone was also much less judgy than I expected.

[kydiddle]

Just started Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo. It's my 3rd book by him (Empire Falls, Straight Man) and already it seems like it will be my favorite. Anyone see the movie with Paul Newman? I wouldn't picture anyone else playing Sully.

Russo is the king of capturing small town intricacies and the nuances of personal relationships. I certainly recommend him for anyone from a small town and wants a read centered around eccentric but personable characters. Subjects generally gravitate around middle aged men.

He spoke at my local library last year. Such an interesting guy! Most of the authors that come through are kind of sulky and take themselves very seriously. He talked a lot about his writing process and read a hilarious piece about a headstone and a urinal in his backyard. Ha.

[pennylane]

Just finished Madame Bovary this week.  I loved the translation, I thought it flowed beautifully and conveyed the humor and descriptives much better than I imagined it might.  The overall tone was also much less judgy than I expected.

i love that book---i remember having to do a paper on it..

[woodnymph]

Diggin' around the Emerson / Thoreau / John Muir pages here and there, as winter always makes me want for a little solitude in a cabin far out somewhere....... someday!!

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
John Muir

One of my most FAVORITE places in the world is Muir Woods outside SanFran... :-*Got a coffee mug with Muir Woods on it and drink from it every am

What a great way to start each day!!!!  8)

I didn't spend as much time as I'd like to have spent,  but I believe I headed around-about the Muir Woods in my Outside Lands explorations last August! We roamed all around Golden Gate Park area (confusedly, mind you) but I remember just huuuuge trees and some reeeally gorgeous areas around what I thought was the Golden Gate Park area..... definitely a place I want to dedicate more time to in the future! In any case, I did hop on a tiny portion of the John Muir Trail in Yosemite on my way back east! Love his writings.....

"One is constantly reminded of the infinite lavishness and fertility of Nature-- inexhaustible abundance amid what seems enormous waste. And yet when we look into any of her operations that lie within reach of our minds, we learn that no particle of her material is wasted or worn out. It is eternally flowing from use to use, beauty to yet higher beauty; and we soon cease to lament waste and death, and rather rejoice and exult in the imperishable, unspendable wealth of the universe, and faithfully watch and wait the reappearance of everything that melts and fades and dies about us, feeling sure that its next appearance will be better and more beautiful than the last.
*excerpt taken from chapter 1, "The Tuolumne Camp," from Mountaineering Essays
*accompanied by Eddie Vedder's tune "Tuolumne," on the Into the Wild soundtrack (at least in my mind  :P)

[weeniebeenie]

Reading The Eye of the World. The first book in the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan.
Seems interesting enough so far. My dad swore by them so I thought I'd give it a go.

[el_chode]

I just got me a kindle. Scuse me while I charge the battery on my books.

I never thought I'd want one until I got one.

Anyway, I have a riveting book about FDR's Supreme Court Nominations. The character arcs are fascinating, but I can't wait until the climax during the 4th act.

[tdb810]

Three Cups of Tea
By:
Greg Mortensen & David Oliver Relin.

[woodnymph]

i think my post dissappeared but:

Keith Richards: Life (spectacular)
Nick Hornby: Juliet: Naked (just so so)

currently reading: The Power of Now (Eckart Tolles)

I dig that book a lot, along with "A New Earth" by him.  I think of them as 'reality checks' sometimes, and they put my mind at ease and tame me down sometimes when my head goes reeling.  8)

[Crispy]

Anybody read any Margaret Atwood? Her latest stuff is post-apocalyptic speculative fiction (Oryx & Crake, Year of the Flood) and is tremendous reading. I have been delving into her earlier work, which is apparently feminist, but I find it neither overly disparaging of men or extolling of women as might be expected in that vein -- it's just damn good, ingenious writing. Thought-provoking, entertaining, heart-breaking.

Others of Atwood's I've enjoyed:
The Handmaid's Tale
Cat's Eye
The Robber Bride
The Blind Assassin


In other news, I just finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in Google's eBook app on my droid.

[wolof7]

Any good reads lately?....Recently I have been unable to finish what I start which is becoming a problem and has never happened to me before. I have not had too much time to read but have been unable to finish Good Omens by Neil Gaiman, Horns by Joe Hill and the Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut.

I am currently into 'What's Left of Us' by Richard Farrell. He is the guy who directed the doc about crack addiction in Lowell MA which was in the Fighter. It is a captivating read.

I am thinking next I may dip back into something fantastical as crack addiction is very closely related to my daily life's work (social worker).  I am thinking of restarting either Game of Thrones by George RR Martin (got 100 glorious pages in and had to put on pause) or Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

I may just start Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck....I love his writing style (i know many don't). East of Eden is one of my favorite all time reads.....

For Justified fans I suggest Tishomingo Blues by Elmore Leonard, last great book I finished...very Justified-esqe with good reason as EL created it.

[YouAre_GivenToFly]

I just read a few books by Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods was about his attempt to hike the Appalacian Trail. Neither Here Nor There was an account of his trips through Europe, and a collection of some of his columns about living in the United States. All interesting and very funny.

[wolof7]

I just read a few books by Bill Bryson. A Walk in the Woods was about his attempt to hike the Appalacian Trail. Neither Here Nor There was an account of his trips through Europe, and a collection of some of his columns about living in the United States. All interesting and very funny.

I've been meaning to pick up A Walk in the Wood or Sunburned Country for yrs....maybe I'll do that

[DejaView2011]

Tom,
Bradbury has written some of my favorite stories. You should find "The Fog Horn" (from The Golden Apples of the Sun" and most of "The October Country" is beautiful as well. In fact, the song "RocketMan" is based loosely on one of his stories.

I thought that song was about cocaine. Near the beginning of the song he says he's gonna be "high as a kite by then'". And Elton John admittedly had a drug problem back in them days. Plus what other drug literally makes you feel like a rocket man.

But Elton didn't write those (or any other) lyrics. Bernie Taupin did. I'm sure he was as strung out as Elton was, but I think Space Oddity and the worlds new fascination with space travel influenced Rocket Man (or vice versa). I never got the coke referance in RM. Now, "nights in white satin" and "hotel California "... those are two classic drug metaphor masterpieces.

[buaawwww]

I'll be as about as diverse as it gets.  My last 3 books:

- Stephen King "The Stand" unadbriged vers. - I think I'm the only person on the planet that has not read this book.  Was absolutely incredible.

- Vincent Bugliosi "Helter Skelter" - I have a morbid fascination with the Manson murders and finally read this.  I'm just about done.  One of the scariest things I have ever read, mostly because it's all true.

and next in line...

- Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer - because Joe Strummer is very much missed...