RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (Full Version)

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PinotPhile -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/3/2016 1:02:58 PM)

The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shlaes.

She is an economist, the book is circa 2007-2008. Not exactly enjoyable, but we recently saw the movie "Meet John Doe". I realized I wanted a better understanding of that time period. There are parallels to our Great Recession. It was a decent, informative read.

But now I am reading lighthearted fiction. I alternate the serious stuff with the fun stuff.




Slye -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/3/2016 1:04:58 PM)

Yes, Rhodes book is very well written history. If you like that strong narrative history, I cannot recommend enough Robert Caro's mutli volume biography of Lyndon Johnson. It not only provides fascinating insights into Johnson as a person, but also the times in which he lived and operated. The volume on the Johnson't time as leader of the Senate is one of the best books I have ever read about the Senate as an institution. And of course if you like all of this, you can also read Caro's first book, The Power Broker, which is about Robert Moses and the building of much of the current infrastructure (particularly roads, highways, bridges, and parks) in the NYC area.

I am currently reading a book by a friend, Rosa Brooks, who is a legal academic and human rights activist who worked in the Pentagon during part of the Obama Administration. It is a thoughtful book about the good and the bad of the military, told with refreshing openness and humility. My enjoyment comes in part from getting insight into an important chapter of the life of someone I know, but I think others might find it interesting as well. The title is How Everything Became War and the Military Became Everything: Tales from the Pentagon.



tantotinto -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/4/2016 9:02:14 AM)

I was on a P.G. Wodehouse tear earlier this summer and enjoyed every page. I am now reading "The Dictator", Robert Harris' final book in his Cicero trilogy after reading John Williams' "Augustus" this spring. Historical fiction is a genre that I enjoy and that period in Roman history has always been of interest.



doc2 -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/4/2016 9:37:40 AM)

The wine bible, karen macneil. My brain is exploding.



cookiefiend -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/5/2016 9:23:51 AM)

I also love this thread!

I'm *still* reading Sophie's Choice - I very much like it and would probably be finished if I were reading it at any time except before bed. I keep falling asleep.

I've been joining my youngest son in some of his reading choices - it's great fun to hear what he thinks of these books (I've already read them myself so I'm re-reading them). We've read 'The Stand', 'The Shining', 'Carrie', and now we're starting 'Salem's Lot'.

For book club, we're reading 'The Brutal Telling' by Louise Penny. A mystery set near Montreal, I am enjoying it and I like the characters (and the food they keep talking about!).



mc2 wines -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/6/2016 11:12:13 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: cookiefiend

For book club, we're reading 'The Brutal Telling' by Louise Penny. A mystery set near Montreal, I am enjoying it and I like the characters (and the food they keep talking about!).


I've read most of that series (not the most recent one that came out a week or two ago) - love the descriptions of the food and can be fun in an old fashioned whodunit sortof way. Although there's a point between maybe books 4 and 5 where I was sure I missed something since they reference a large shootout event, but none of the books actually covered it.

Have been reading quite a few books lately. Found myself intrigued by All the Missing Girls. It's one of those easier summer reads although takes you backwards in time to what really happened. The new Harry Potter is also pretty quick (I suppose it has to be to fit into the play format).

Just got A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Liked his first novel quite a bit so looking forward to reading this one.



nyccablover -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/6/2016 11:40:18 AM)

I just read the new Harry Potter - which was fun and quick. Not nearly as enjoyable as the books but for fans of the series - nice to revisit with old friends :-)

I also just finished Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler - a thinly veiled fictional account of her time spent as a backwaiter at Union Square Cafe in NYC. It has a bit of a quirky style - but might be a fun read for all of you foodie/wine lovers. A lot of the prose is about her journey learning to "taste" fine food and wine - as a metaphor for learning to taste life. A fun quick read.



PinotPhile -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/6/2016 11:06:49 PM)

For escapism, after a book on the Great Depression:

Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfield

Modern re-write of Pride & Prejudice. Not the least intellectual, but one needs a brain vacation sometimes. A fun, quick read, especially for Jane Austen fans.




dontime -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/7/2016 12:17:20 AM)

Rereading Never Go Back, a Jack Reacher novel by Lee Child, as the movie will be out soon.



budh -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/7/2016 5:26:25 PM)

Asymmetric Politics. It's a non-judgmental look at our two parties and how differently they operate. While most of us have probably had way more politics than we want over the last year or more, this book offers some interesting insights about why we Americans do the silly political stuff we do. Broadly speaking, republicans/conservatives place a higher value on ideology while democrats/liberals place more value on pragmatism and getting things done. Most people (big generalization...) lean toward a conservative ideology (limited government, individual freedom, respect for religion/authority/tradition) but toward liberal policies ("keep your government hands off my medicare"). I guess it's a better explanation of our current situation than just saying voters are stupid. To me it helps explain why we can favor deficit reduction but not want to cut any programs, why most people can like almost all of the individual pieces of the ACA (Obamacare) but despise the totality of it as a government takeover, why republican primary debates spend so much time talking about who is the most conservative while no such discussion about liberalism happens in democratic primary debates, etc. I can't say it's the easiest read, but it is certainly thought-provoking.



Slye -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (9/7/2016 6:50:57 PM)

Budh -- fascinating issues. I used to think of Republicans/conservatives as being more pragmatic (business, corporate wall street, etc.) and liberals as more ideological (socialism, communism, etc.) While I think that might have been true a while ago, I think you (or the book) are probably right that that has shifted. though as you note these are all gross generalizations and their are multiple exceptions. Thanks for sharing.

And so I am not accused of not mentioning a book I am reading, I just started reading Churchills memoir that starts with his youth. I read a review of another book that said it was quite fun to read, and funny in parts. I can certainly vouch for that. And British politicians tend to be much better writers than American ones (again a gross generalization with obvious exceptions).



PinotPhile -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (10/28/2016 11:11:08 PM)

Decided to revive this thread. Currently:

Sideways, by Rex Pickett

Had seen the movie, of course. Did not realize he had written another, Vertical, and a third one in the trilogy either recently released or coming soon.

Sideways is very well-written. I usually read the book before seeing the movie, but this is worth my time.



Yossarian -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (10/29/2016 8:38:36 AM)

Some really interesting books here - I'm going to check out the book recommended by Budh, although of course I may have had my fill of politics by next week, especially after the last few months in England.

I've been reading Skyfaring, which is about what it is like to work as a 747 pilot. Some really interesting things in this book - just the banal points are the most fascintating - about what it is like flying across time-zones, how you operate a jumbo jet.




BobMilton -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (10/29/2016 9:12:00 AM)

Just started American Rhone - the story of how Rhone varietals wound up in California and Washington. Looks interesting.



bretrooks -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (10/29/2016 11:28:37 AM)

I'm currently in the middle of Laurus by Eugene Vodolazkin, and I'm enjoying it very much thus far. The novel I finished before that was The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight by Gina Ochsner.



sawtooth -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (10/29/2016 11:30:42 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: charleshoward

The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera. I've probably read it five times but I learn something every time. How this man has never won a Nobel Prize is a travesty. Goes great with a Maury or an Irish Whiskey.


Kundera is one of the top three writers of fiction in the 20th Century. You should also check out Josef Skvorecky (specifically, The Engineer of Human Souls) and Ivan Klima (Love and Garbage). Both Klima and Skvorecky are also Czech. Klima stayed; Skvorecky emigrated to Toronto.

-af



PinotPhile -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (12/15/2016 12:41:33 PM)

Again, reviving this thread for:

Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance.

Really decent non-fiction.



peeks13 -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/14/2017 8:39:51 PM)

Wine related...

Nose by James Conaway. He wrote the two Napa non-fiction books but this is easy-reading thinly-veiled fiction. Chewing gum for the mind but it's all about wine so fun.



Hollowine -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/14/2017 9:02:05 PM)

Just finished "A Man Called Ove"

Great book! Highly recommend it.

Cookie...did you ever read Gerald's Game by King?



jrockman -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/14/2017 9:15:23 PM)

The General vs the President, by H. W. Brands; MacArthur, Truman and the Korean War. A period in US history where my knowledge was rather lacking; informative, rather easy read.

Now starting the newly released Pearl Harbor by Craig Nelson; only 50 pages in, but a much more detailed read, a great deal of evident research.



PinotPhile -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 12:26:58 AM)

Just finished the latest John Grisham. As always, tough to put down, not suitable for me right before bedtime, in case another demise occurs.

The Whistler




Slye -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 9:30:01 AM)

Also just finished A Man Called Ove. Good quick read.

Starting now Grapes of Wrath - I am afraid I never read it. Also may start the new Orhan Pamuk which was given to me as a gift (as well as a recent translation of War and Peace......)



IzeAgeComing -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 9:46:54 AM)

Been jumping all over the map...

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - John le Carre

to

How to Love Wine - Eric Asimov

to

The Fire Next Time - James Baldwin



CranBurgundy -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 11:28:16 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Slye

Starting now Grapes of Wrath - I am afraid I never read it.


No one ever accused Steinbeck of being hard to understand. Nor of writing happy endings.



Slye -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 1:14:52 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: CranBurgundy


quote:

ORIGINAL: Slye

Starting now Grapes of Wrath - I am afraid I never read it.


No one ever accused Steinbeck of being hard to understand. Nor of writing happy endings.


What? It does not end happily??? :-)

I was spurred to read it by an interview I had recently by a filmmaker who was revisiting the areas in Steinbook's novel and who observed that the conditions of many of the workers had not changed that substantially.



wadcorp -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 2:54:03 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: CranBurgundy

No one ever accused Steinbeck of being hard to understand. Nor of writing happy endings.


* * SPOILER ALERT! * *

.



CranBurgundy -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 3:21:47 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: wadcorp


quote:

ORIGINAL: CranBurgundy

No one ever accused Steinbeck of being hard to understand. Nor of writing happy endings.


* * SPOILER ALERT! * *

.



Oh, stop. [sm=lol.gif] My comment on Steinbeck was no more of a spoiler than if I said the next Martin Scorsese movie would be violent.



skifree -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 4:18:18 PM)

Finished Career of Evil by "Robert Galbraith" (JK Rowling). Good yarn, as have been the other two Cormoran Strike novels under the Galbraith name.

Cleaned out half of the built-in bookcases upstairs at HRH's insistence this weekend, "discovered" Lincoln's Admiral The Civil War Campaigns of David Farragut by James Duffy. Farragut already comes across as an impressive guy.



musedir -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 4:41:26 PM)

Love Steinbeck. Also love Charles Dickens' A Man of Two Cities. Also love Stephen King's The Stand and The Green Mile (serialized). David McCullough's John Adams. Robert E. Howard's Conan's Chronicles. The back of Raisin Bran boxes.



Eddie -> RE: NWR: I just read/am reading.... (2/15/2017 4:58:53 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: musedir

Love Steinbeck. Also love Charles Dickens' A Man of Two Cities. Also love Stephen King's The Stand and The Green Mile (serialized). David McCullough's John Adams. Robert E. Howard's Conan's Chronicles. The back of Raisin Bran boxes.


I was an avid (well, fanatic) reader of R. E. Howard as a teenager. (To be supplanted by Castaneda as a collegian...)



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