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Post by Cornflake on Aug 23, 2023 9:31:22 GMT -5
I'm looking for ideas.
I just finished one of Louise Penny's novels about Inspector Gamache, All the Devils Are Here. The title comes from a line by Shakespeare, "Hell is empty and all the devils are here." Willie wrote some good lines. This was a terrific novel and I highly recommend the series to anyone who hasn't already read it.
Now I have nothing queued up.
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Post by Marshall on Aug 23, 2023 9:50:57 GMT -5
War and Peace.
I saw a write up of the best Historic Novels, and that was near the top of the list. It was only $.99 on Amazon Kindle, so I said, "What the heck." I have interest in Russia and Napoleon. Maybe this will work out. I only read 1 chapter so far.
Another Histori Novel of note was "Wolf Hall" about Henery the 8th. (She wouldn't have a Willy or a Sam.). I've got that in the que if I don't find anything better.
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Post by james on Aug 23, 2023 10:15:04 GMT -5
'Their Eyes Were Watching God' by Zora Neale Hurston is getting really good now that I'm not stumbling over the dialogue any more.
I found Wolf Hall unexpectedly engrossing.
Just did a re-read of The Summer Book by Tove Jansson. One of of my favourites. A delightful little book filled with humanity and warmth.
P G Wodehouse Blandings books, Summer Lightning and others always a pleasure.
Favourite historical romp that I have been recommending to everyone for years, more than any others - Water Music by T Corraghessan Boyle. Bloody excellent and hugely enjoyable read.
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Post by epaul on Aug 23, 2023 10:20:58 GMT -5
I just finished the last of the Slough House books by Mick Herron. I wish there were more. I hope there will be more. Not your typical sort of spy series but one of the best I've read. Herron can really write. Enjoyable absurdity and bleak, unflinching realism go hand in hand page by page.
His Jackson Lamb character is the most memorable and enjoyable I have run across since Ignatius J. Reilly in A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (I hope I haven't revealed too much of myself). Herron's Jackson Lamb is maybe just a tisch overdone, (ok, a lot), but I didn't care.
There were more lines in those books that I wanted to steal since, wow, since I don't know when. When I re-read the series, it will be with pen and notebook in hand.
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Post by epaul on Aug 23, 2023 10:34:59 GMT -5
War and Peace. I saw a write up of the best Historic Novels, and that was near the top of the list. It was only $.99 on Amazon Kindle, so I said, "What the heck." I have interest in Russia and Napoleon. Maybe this will work out. I only read 1 chapter so far. If you are still trying to read "War and Peace" come I-jam, Todd will personally give you five bucks. If you finish it by Christmas without skipping paragraphs and pages by the dozens and dozens, he will give you another five bucks. If you tap out and try watch the 42 hour PBS version on DVD instead without fast forwarding and naps, he will give you yet another five bucks.
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Post by epaul on Aug 23, 2023 10:46:33 GMT -5
Marshall, because I consider you a friend:
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Post by Marty on Aug 23, 2023 11:08:46 GMT -5
The Soundhole Cafe.
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Post by Russell Letson on Aug 23, 2023 11:21:03 GMT -5
Just finished what I thought was a re-read of Patrick O'Brian's The Ionian Mission. But I discovered that I had no recollection at all of its events, no moment of recognition ("Oh, this is where Character X gets killed"), nothing. And I normally can recall at least outlines and snatches of books I read decades ago, sometimes right down to which side of the page a passage was on. Maybe I only listened to it in the car on one of our cross-country trips--I suspect that audio memory doesn't work exactly the way visual memory does.
Anyhow, it's a terrific book, and it made me want to go back and re-read the whole series in order. Maybe when I retire from reviewing (which I should be doing right now--I'm a tad over deadline for my piece on the two latest Neal Asher books).
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Post by RickW on Aug 23, 2023 12:37:05 GMT -5
I generally read a lot of fantasy books, (who’d a thunk it.) But Susan and I are going on a cruise in April next year, from Bergen Norway, down around Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, ending up in London. Viking Cruises has reading recommendations to cover the history of the places we’re going. Most of this I’ve read about before, but it doesn’t hurt to refresh, and I’m really enjoying these books.
The Hanseatic League - A History of the Rise and Fall of the Hansa Towns by Helen Zimmern. This was written at the end of the 19th century, and is surprisingly modern. I hadn’t read a lot about the Hansa before, so this was interesting, learning how they cornered the trade market on the Baltic. Interesting tidbit, the Protestant Reformation was a major blow to them, as two of the staples they controlled were herring and beeswax from Russia, and with much of Europe not needing to eat fish on Fridays, and not having to burn so many candles, they lost some bucks. Anyhow, very straightforward history.
The Edge Of The World: How the North Sea Made Us Who We Are by Michael Pye. Interesting look at how the peoples around the North Sea grew and interacted through the centuries. Interesting thoughts on how much of what happened was actual invasions, and how much was more migrations, and how everyone adapted.
And I’m currently reading A Short History of England, by Simon Jenkins. Also an enjoyable read. Pretty much all the kings, queens, wars, plagues, changes in law and society, condensed. The font is tiny, which is very annoying, and it’s super glossy paper, and weighs a ton. That being said, also enjoying it quite a bit.
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Post by Cornflake on Aug 23, 2023 13:27:12 GMT -5
I enjoyed War and Peace. As I recall, the beginning is confusing because it's hard to keep the characters straight. After that it's very readable and very good until Tolstoy decides to give us all a lecture at the end.
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Post by majorminor on Aug 23, 2023 13:54:08 GMT -5
Just because it's an older off the radar book I highly recommend this for a great read and some interesting history. One of those true story presented as fiction ones.
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Post by dradtke on Aug 23, 2023 14:13:59 GMT -5
Oh, let's see. I tend to skip around a lot. Another Vera Stanhope mystery (the differences between the book Vera and the TV Vera are interesting. Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad (we just visited his house in Hartford.) A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan, about the KKK in Indiana. Evangeline by Henry Wadsworh Longfellow (as overwrought as I remember.) Some fantasy trilogy by some guy in Canada. Murder on the Red River, a Cash Blackbear mystery by Marcie Rendon (young indigenous female protagonist, a very good read.) Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell, starring Will's little brother Richard Shakespeare. Great fun. Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt (a comparison of how what happens in Shakespeare's life shows up in his plays.) The Price of Peace, a biography of John Maynard Keynes, by Zachary Carter. The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve, by Stephen Greenblatt. Fascinating. Coming up soon: more Louise Penny and Gamache, Craig Johnson and Longmire, Gardner and Perry Mason, Krueger and Cork O'Connor, and another Stephen Greenblatt.
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Post by david on Aug 23, 2023 14:27:16 GMT -5
The most recent satisfying audio reads:
"The Lincoln Highway" by Amor Towles "Mind Bullet" by Jeremy Robinson "A Gift of Time" by Jerry Merritt
Good audio reads in the last 10 years: "Saturn Run" by John Sandford and Ctein "The Martian" by Andy Weir "Odd Billy Todd" by N. C. Reed
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Post by Marshall on Aug 23, 2023 14:38:12 GMT -5
War and Peace. I saw a write up of the best Historic Novels, and that was near the top of the list. It was only $.99 on Amazon Kindle, so I said, "What the heck." I have interest in Russia and Napoleon. Maybe this will work out. I only read 1 chapter so far. If you are still trying to read "War and Peace" come I-jam, Todd will personally give you five bucks. If you finish it by Christmas without skipping paragraphs and pages by the dozens and dozens, he will give you another five bucks. If you tap out and try watch the 42 hour PBS version on DVD instead without fast forwarding and naps, he will give you yet another five bucks. I'm not making I-Jam this year. So, does next year still count?
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Post by Marty on Aug 23, 2023 15:28:55 GMT -5
Just because it's an older off the radar book I highly recommend this for a great read and some interesting history. One of those true story presented as fiction ones. The biggest problem with a find like this is that EVERYBODY that has even the slightest claim to the treasure gets a lawyer. The first in line is the Insurance Co that covered the loss, even if that Co no longer exists. Eric Von Muller, a real treasure hunter and he keeps a low profile for good reason, says if you find gold bars leave them there. By the time all the claims suits are done there will be nothing left anyway. Take the coins and gems and walk away. Gold bars have numbers and owning them must be registered. Even old Spanish gold bars have numbers or marks and Spain will lay claim to them. I think the ship the story is based on was a major court battle for all the newly minted coins on board. Like $B of gold and silver.
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Post by Village Idiot on Aug 23, 2023 18:00:21 GMT -5
I've really enjoyed Innocents Abroad several time. I am looking for a book right now, David's suggestion of i]The Lincoln Highway[/i] by Amor Towles has me intrigued. Thanks!
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Post by t-bob on Aug 23, 2023 18:27:25 GMT -5
I will read soon "Breathe" by James Nestor in my public library - for somebody else My pulmonologist said I should buy/read it
Review: "No matter what you eat, how much you exercise, how skinny or young or wise you are, none of it matters if you're not breathing properly.
There is nothing more essential to our health and well-being than breathing: take air in, let it out, repeat twenty-five thousand times a day. Yet, as a species, humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly, with grave consequences.
Journalist James Nestor travels the world to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The answers aren't found in pulmonology labs, as we might expect, but in the muddy digs of ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, New Jersey choir schools, and the smoggy streets of Sao Paulo. Nestor tracks down men and women exploring the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo and teams up with pulmonary tinkerers to scientifically test long-held beliefs about how we breathe.
Modern research is showing us that making even slight adjustments to the way we inhale and exhale can jump-start athletic performance; rejuvenate internal organs; halt snoring, asthma, and autoimmune disease; and even straighten scoliotic spines. None of this should be possible, and yet it is.
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and recent cutting-edge studies in pulmonology, psychology, biochemistry, and human physiology, Breath turns the conventional wisdom of what we thought we knew about our most basic biological function on its head. You will never breathe the same again." By Good Read
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Post by majorminor on Aug 23, 2023 18:55:52 GMT -5
Just because it's an older off the radar book I highly recommend this for a great read and some interesting history. One of those true story presented as fiction ones. The biggest problem with a find like this is that EVERYBODY that has even the slightest claim to the treasure gets a lawyer. The first in line is the Insurance Co that covered the loss, even if that Co no longer exists. Eric Von Muller, a real treasure hunter and he keeps a low profile for good reason, says if you find gold bars leave them there. By the time all the claims suits are done there will be nothing left anyway. Take the coins and gems and walk away. Gold bars have numbers and owning them must be registered. Even old Spanish gold bars have numbers or marks and Spain will lay claim to them. I think the ship the story is based on was a major court battle for all the newly minted coins on board. Like $B of gold and silver. The book takes you through how the 49r gold rush developed, how gold was transported, the events that lead to the sinking of that ship and the partial rescue of those on board, and a guys story about developing a new type of radar and salvage techniques and raising the venture capital. And yeah I think they put him in jail for contempt of court a few years ago for not turning over a bunch of coins. Like I said a fantastic book. You are entertained and educated.
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Post by epaul on Aug 23, 2023 19:01:16 GMT -5
Ditto the Major.
I read the book three years or so ago per his recommendation. And the book was a gem on several levels, the treasure itself being just one of them.
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Post by howard lee on Aug 23, 2023 20:35:29 GMT -5
I just finished the Sandra Tooze biography of Levon Helm. Good read and I learned a great deal about his life, his devotion to music, and the breakdown of dynamics among the members of The Band.
On to Helm's memoir, "This Wheel's on Fire," when the library gets it in for me to borrow. After that, Robbie Robertson's memoir, "Testimony," for the other side of the story.
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