How is it? I love Slaughterhouse V. I've read Bluebeard, which was interesting but slow, a couple others, and various short stories of his but never CC. It's been on my to read list for a while, but a little while ago I ended up re-reading Slaughterhouse V instead.
I've got a long journey on Saturday and am looking forward to reading Watership Down.
On the journey down to LA I read Playboy's 30-40 pageinterview with then New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison from 1967. I know it sounds weird because it's Playboy, but it's a fascinating read in which he outlines how he believes John F. Kennedy's assassination was planned, why, and generally by whom. This is before his ideas are tainted by Vietnam, before the film "JFK" in which he and Oliver Stone are convinced Kennedy's assassination was to ensure the war machine, the "Military Industrial Complex," was allowed to continue functioning unthreatened by the "peace monger" Kennedy. While that may have been a factor, it was certainly tertiary to those who hated him for the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.
not sure my brains capable of processing anything these days.
it just seemed a random collection of thoughts, without any real intent.
but don't take my word, as monty python would say "my brain hurts"
I'm re-reading Rob Bowman's exhaustive history of Stax Records. What was weird yesterday was the last quote I read in the book during my lunch break was by Wayne Jackson, a trumpeter in the Stax house band. Got back to find out he'd just died.
'Mr Mercedes' a masterpiece from the absolute master who is back on top form
Just finished the final part of the trilogy, End of Watch. Another great read from Stephen King.
That is on my ever heavier 'to read' shelf .. Steve really is a master of several genre .. how long will it take before he's recognised by the 'intelligentsia mafia' as a GREAT American author .. he's just a s good and more versatile and readable than Bellow, Fitzgerald, Roth, Updike et al
Been binging on books on Russia, as mentioned in the Litvinenko thread. So 'The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin', and 'A Very Expensive Poison; both of which I've nearly finished.
I've now just bought 'Six Months in 1945', about the final stages of WW2 and how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin negotiated the boundaries of post-war Europe - leading to the Cold War.
After that I'm gonna give 'Dear Leader' a crack, I've had it on my bookshelf for a while. It's an account of someone senior in Kim Jong-Il's regime who decided to flee and share his experiences. Looks top notch.
'Damage' by John Lescroart .. another little known US author who is terrific and prolific .. writes about San Francisco .. ostensibly blood soaked cops and robbers but also the legal machinations, the politics, climate, culture and tensions within that strange city
Been binging on books on Russia, as mentioned in the Litvinenko thread. So 'The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin', and 'A Very Expensive Poison; both of which I've nearly finished.
I've now just bought 'Six Months in 1945', about the final stages of WW2 and how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin negotiated the boundaries of post-war Europe - leading to the Cold War.
After that I'm gonna give 'Dear Leader' a crack, I've had it on my bookshelf for a while. It's an account of someone senior in Kim Jong-Il's regime who decided to flee and share his experiences. Looks top notch.
Keep us updated please. I'm focussing on modern Russian history at the moment as my son is doing it for GCSE next year. Just finished Orlando Figes overview of Revolutionary Russia (1890-1990), a well-written summary.
Currently on the last of Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy, excellent as always and Max Hastings' account of Overlord and the battle for Normandy which is very good save that the maps aren't great on a kindle.
Just finished "Want you dead" by Peter James, one of his Roy Grace series, about the hunt for a vicious stalker. Great read. Now on to "A Shroud for a Nightingale" by PD James.
Off to Crete in two weeks, it's either the young Winston Churchill by Boris Johnson, or a book on the Tudors
good read is 'The Hollow Crown' .. Dan Jones ... more about the wars of the roses and the rise of the Tudors than the Tudors per se .. but a really detailed, easy(ish) to digest history
'Wild Olives: Life in Majorca with Robert Graves' by William Graves
In 1944, at the age of five, William Graves moved from England to the mountain village of Deya in Majorca, where his father - the poet Robert Graves - had set up home. A very engaging autobiographical account, which also includes some interesting social history. If you're ever visiting Deya, the old Graves house, which is now a museum, is well worth a visit (the gardener also gave us some of his very tasty homemade liqueur).
'A Spool of Blue Thread' by Anne Tyler
This follows the fortunes of a family over four generations, from the 1920s to the present day. I don't think any author captures the minutiae and sheer ordinariness of life like Anne Tyler. This isn't, in my view, quite up there with her very best work, but it's still a good read.
'The Buried Giant' - Kazuo Ishiguro
A fantasy novel, set in Britain's mythical past, sees an aged husband and wife (suffering an amnesia that has afflicted everyone) set out on a strange journey across the country. An interesting and certainly unusual novel but it didn't really do it for me.
'My Brilliant Friend' by Elena Ferrante
Set in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples and beginning in the 1950s, this tells the story of two young girls and their intense friendship as they grow up through childhood and adolescence. The Neopolitan author (who maintains anonymity) vividly captures the trials, triumphs and angst of the protagonists as they navigate their way through a close-knit, male dominated society. I thought the novel was very good, with real depth. It is the first in a series of four and I intend work my way through them over time.
'Hotel du Lac' by Anita Brookner
A romantic novelist takes a holiday in an end of season Swiss hotel following a romantic indiscretion and finds herself observing, and ultimately engaging with, a number of its diverse and eccentric guests. I found this a quietly engaging and amusing holiday read. At around 180 pages, it's also one you can knock out in a day or so.
This follows the fortunes of a family over four generations, from the 1920s to the present day. I don't think any author captures the minutiae and sheer ordinariness of life like Anne Tyler. This isn't, in my view, quite up there with her very best work, but it's still a good read.
I liked this a lot but have not read anything else by Tyler. What would you say is her best work?
By the way, if you've not come across her before you might like Elizabeth Strout's novels which have a similar way of looking at every day events and showing them in different lights.
Highly recommend "The North Water" by Ian McGuire which has been long listed for the Booker. An excellent thriller set on a whaling ship in the 1860s featuring a genuinely scary villain up there with Hannibal Lector and Judge Holden.
This follows the fortunes of a family over four generations, from the 1920s to the present day. I don't think any author captures the minutiae and sheer ordinariness of life like Anne Tyler. This isn't, in my view, quite up there with her very best work, but it's still a good read.
I liked this a lot but have not read anything else by Tyler. What would you say is her best work?
By the way, if you've not come across her before you might like Elizabeth Strout's novels which have a similar way of looking at every day events and showing them in different lights.
As to Anne Tyler, they're all very good but I particularly liked The Accidental Tourist (made into a film with William Hurt and Geena Davies), Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant and Breathing Lessons. All her novels (she's done about twenty) are set in her home town of Baltimore.
I have just read The Third Sin by Aline Templeton. This afternoon I am going to read the gas meter, I will leave the electric until tomorrow something to look forward to.
Off to Crete in two weeks, it's either the young Winston Churchill by Boris Johnson, or a book on the Tudors
good read is 'The Hollow Crown' .. Dan Jones ... more about the wars of the roses and the rise of the Tudors than the Tudors per se .. but a really detailed, easy(ish) to digest history
I've got a couple of his books on my Kindle yet havent quite got round to them yet (including the Hollow Crown)... His book on the Peasants Revolt also seems a good read as they both almost come across like novels rather than in the dull tone of a non-fiction book that provides the facts and events as they happened.
Is a Non-Fiction book covering the whole of the First World War... Probably one of the best books on the subject and have really struggled to put it down, he really covers everything really well and also provides really good short background chapters on various events / topics
Just finished Val McDermid's The Skeleton Road. Thriller/whodunit set in the present and during the Balkan conflict. Great story, not sure about the ending though.
Comments
it just seemed a random collection of thoughts, without any real intent.
but don't take my word, as monty python would say "my brain hurts"
Not read any before, good reads?
Just finished beneath the surface (Michael Phelps Auto- Biography), detailing in the highs and lows of his career.
Good read
I've now just bought 'Six Months in 1945', about the final stages of WW2 and how Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin negotiated the boundaries of post-war Europe - leading to the Cold War.
After that I'm gonna give 'Dear Leader' a crack, I've had it on my bookshelf for a while. It's an account of someone senior in Kim Jong-Il's regime who decided to flee and share his experiences. Looks top notch.
Enjoyed all of his books so far and this is the best yet.
His father (Stephen King) would be proud of this one.
Currently on the last of Robert Harris' Cicero trilogy, excellent as always and Max Hastings' account of Overlord and the battle for Normandy which is very good save that the maps aren't great on a kindle.
In 1944, at the age of five, William Graves moved from England to the mountain village of Deya in Majorca, where his father - the poet Robert Graves - had set up home. A very engaging autobiographical account, which also includes some interesting social history. If you're ever visiting Deya, the old Graves house, which is now a museum, is well worth a visit (the gardener also gave us some of his very tasty homemade liqueur).
'A Spool of Blue Thread' by Anne Tyler
This follows the fortunes of a family over four generations, from the 1920s to the present day. I don't think any author captures the minutiae and sheer ordinariness of life like Anne Tyler. This isn't, in my view, quite up there with her very best work, but it's still a good read.
'The Buried Giant' - Kazuo Ishiguro
A fantasy novel, set in Britain's mythical past, sees an aged husband and wife (suffering an amnesia that has afflicted everyone) set out on a strange journey across the country. An interesting and certainly unusual novel but it didn't really do it for me.
'My Brilliant Friend' by Elena Ferrante
Set in a poor neighbourhood on the outskirts of Naples and beginning in the 1950s, this tells the story of two young girls and their intense friendship as they grow up through childhood and adolescence. The Neopolitan author (who maintains anonymity) vividly captures the trials, triumphs and angst of the protagonists as they navigate their way through a close-knit, male dominated society. I thought the novel was very good, with real depth. It is the first in a series of four and I intend work my way through them over time.
'Hotel du Lac' by Anita Brookner
A romantic novelist takes a holiday in an end of season Swiss hotel following a romantic indiscretion and finds herself observing, and ultimately engaging with, a number of its diverse and eccentric guests. I found this a quietly engaging and amusing holiday read. At around 180 pages, it's also one you can knock out in a day or so.
By the way, if you've not come across her before you might like Elizabeth Strout's novels which have a similar way of looking at every day events and showing them in different lights.
As to Anne Tyler, they're all very good but I particularly liked The Accidental Tourist (made into a film with William Hurt and Geena Davies), Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant and Breathing Lessons. All her novels (she's done about twenty) are set in her home town of Baltimore.
This afternoon I am going to read the gas meter, I will leave the electric until tomorrow something to look forward to.
Is a Non-Fiction book covering the whole of the First World War... Probably one of the best books on the subject and have really struggled to put it down, he really covers everything really well and also provides really good short background chapters on various events / topics