Fire and Fury, currently. Talk about tragicomedy.
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Fire and Fury, currently. Talk about tragicomedy.
Listened to Brooklyn the last couple of weeks. The lady who read it has the most beautiful Irish accent and did a wonderful job.
This week I am back to all nonfiction:
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson, not usually my interest but I have been impressed with him when I've seen him on The Bill Maher Show
The Art of Loading Brush by Wendell Berry
Unsafe at Any Meal: What the FDA Does Not Want You to Know About the Foods You Eat
Treating People Well: The Extraordinary Power of Civility at Work and in Life
The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve including how they were viewed in literature
The Archipelago of Hope: Wisdom and Resilience from the Edge of Climate Change
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
Becoming Mrs. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight for Incarcerated Women
Meet the Frugalwoods: achieving financial independence through simple living, by Elizabeth Willard Thames. Just hit the streets today.
Perfect book for this site, I reckon. They also have a blog site called Frugaalwoods: Financial independence and simple living. Heard about it from Cait Flanders book The Year of Less, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
I really like the Frugalwoods' blog and I pre-ordered the book with a gift card a few months ago. I guess I'll be getting it soon!Quote:
Originally Posted by The Storyteller
Yppej: That's quite an impressive list there!
I am on something of a medical kick and this week I got:
The Danger Within: America's Untested, Unregulated Medical Device Industry and One Man's Battle to Survive It
Catching Breath: The Making and Unmaking of Tuberculosis
The Line Becomes a River: Dispatches from the Border
When Air Becomes Breath about a dying doctor
Faithful by Alice Hoffman
Camino Island by John Grisham
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, by Michelle McNamara. I was so happy to find a writer who could match the late Thomas Thompson (Blood and Money) in writing richly-detailed, compelling true crime narratives...and then I found out the poor woman died in her sleep before she could even finish the book...Oh well.
I'm in the middle of "Give Work - Reversing poverty one job at a time" by Leila Janah.
A well-written non-fiction book on practical ideas and solutions for extreme poverty. Janah's non-profit, Samasource, basically teaches digital skills to some of the world's poorest - including some U.S. communities - and provides jobs for them earning a living wage doing basic work for the tech industry. She has a lot of thoughtful and positive ideas aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty at its source. Also dispels the myth of poor being poor because they are lazy or not wanting to work. I believe Janah is on TED talk too if anyone wants to hear her ideas directly.
Hi all:
I have been binge-reading Stephen King -- something I never thought I'd do.
I have been through The Stand, Under the Dome, Desperation, The Regulators, Cell, The Langoliers, and Salem's Lot. I may have forgotten one or two.
I am currently reading Pet Sematary -- though it is my least favorite so far.
I will not be reading Cujo. But next on my list is Roadwork or It.
I tend to think of myself as too high-minded to read Stephen King's books. But after digging into them, I am rethinking my elitism. He is not poetic, but his stories are compelling and written in a very accessible tone and language.
A friend of mine who I only recently found out loves Stephen King said: "Reading one of his books is like hanging out with a good friend who tells really great stories. King is not pretentious!"
I loved The Stand. Lately I have been reading a lot of non-fiction books about both the World WArs.
I am an unapologetic King fan. Pet Sematary was so dark. Wen I read it my Dad was dying of cancer and it had spread to his brain. So the book actually had a useful message for me at that point in time, that sometimes you have to just accept death, there are worse things than death . . .
I was a huge Stephen King fan right up until about Rose Madder when I lost interest, although I still believe The Stand was a brilliant piece of work. I still have the original 1978 hardcover as well as the 1990 updated version. In my opinion, the next best King work was with Peter Straub on The Talisman although it's follow up, Black House, was just so-so. I enjoyed The Gunslinger series as well although it took 20 years or so to finish that series and I was a bit annoyed that King placed himself as a character in the last bit of the story.
I have Under The Dome on my book server, maybe I'll give him another try.
Under the Dome was good, but 11/22/63 was my favorite of his more recent works.
The only character of King's I ever liked was Christine; he has a way of imbuing everything he touches with ugliness, if my memory serves me. I did like one of his short stories-The Mist?
I really liked The Stand. But I will say I liked Under The Dome more -- much more. It was the most gripping book I ever read. The characters -- the whole cast -- are as compelling or even more so than The Stand. Give Under The Dome a chance; you could call it a "return to form" for King.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
Why did you like Christine?Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Also: King can create characters that are utterly evil. But he also creates characters are are so truly good. This is something like like about him.
It is on my list!Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa
I only recently learned about Marjory Stoneman Douglas after the Parkland shooting. She seems like such an indomitable woman, I was compelled to read her autobiography. It's a pretty light read, but she reminds me in a way of my great aunt who was born only 9 years earlier. I'm fascinated with that period of time--the turn of the century through the Depression, and I'm also fascinated with people who stand up for unpopular causes, so this book, Marjory Stoneman Douglas: The Voice of the River, is right up my alley.
I can't really remember the specifics, only that Christine was surprisingly sympathetic, IMO. I never found any of his characters particularly likable, but it's been a long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultralight
This Just In: What I Couldn't Yell You on TV by Bob Schieffer
9 Years Among the Indians 1870-1879 by captive Herman Lehman
But Christine was a car.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Yes, she was.Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa
I just finished Hillbilly Elegy for book club. I was NOT looking forward to reading it and was pleasantly surprised, it flowed well, was hard to put down and no graphic horrors. It helped me understand some of the people around me. I am sorry there is not a good solution, much like the inner cities. My first reaction for a solution is to take all the children away and place them in safe, calm environments, but we know that cannot happen.
I might have to re-read it. It's been a really long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneV2.0
Our local book club read that too. Next up for the club is "Evicted" by Matthew Desmond, non-fiction book on how affordable housing is becoming harder to obtain, and the resulting instability for families and neighborhoods and society is so devastating.Quote:
Originally Posted by nswef
After that we've chosen a Fannie Flagg book - have to get away from the gloom for a while...!
We did A Wrinkle in Time as relief.
I am currently reading It.
Creepy book. I am about 15% into it.
I am starting to worry... what happens when I run out of Stephen King books?!
Move over to Dean Koontz or Peter Straub.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultralight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultralight
It was a great one!
In the back of Danse Macabre, King has a recommended reading list that kept me busy for awhile and introduced me to some other good horror writers. Some of the books were out of print and I could never track down, but that was pre-internet, so hmm, maybe I should revisit that list. I especially liked Michael McDowell, Dan Simmons & Clive Barker. I really liked Anne Rice's early stuff (Interview with the Vampire, Lestat, etc.), but she eventually lost me.
King's wife Tabitha has the same knack with characters, but doesn't do horror. I read Heart-Shaped Box by his son Joe Hill, and it was also good as far as I recall.
Fevre Dream by George RR Martin was one of my favorite vampire novels. I was surprised to find out a couple of years ago that I was probably the only person in the country who would have associated him with that book rather than Game of Thrones. Guess he finally made it to the big time!
Bram Stoker's Dracula was always a favorite as well as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
I am confident you will find lots of good stuff out there. This is all off the top of my head, so I'm sure more authors and titles will come to me.
Also great recommendations!Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
If you like good character development and don't mind the epic fantasy genre, give Robin Hobbs a try. Her Farseer, Tawny Man and Live Ship Traders trilogies are well worth the effort.
You have a long way to go. Check here... also gives other similar authors:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultralight
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/k/stephen-king/
Today I borrowed from the library:
Face the Nation stories by Bob Schieffer
World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech
The Pickup by Nadine Gordimer
Lonely Planet"s New England
The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, a novel
Eyes on the Street: The Life of Jane Jacobs
I've kept up with Steven King for a long time. His masterpiece by my is The Stand, although The Green Mile and the story used for Stand by Me are up there. It seems like his more modern books have lost a little of his writing magic, but are still decent entertainment.
He wrote a book called, On Writing, that is part memoir and is worthwhile for King fans.
Recently finished “A Generation of Sociopaths” by Bruce Gibney. He pretty much blames baby boomers for everything wrong with the world from a social, financial and even a climatic perspective.
Yep, I gave up on him about 20 years ago, but due to this thread I read Under The Dome last week and realized it was probably my 2nd favorite, after The Stand. This week I've started The Green Mile and realized that King's ability to tell a compelling story has only improved over the course of his career. I think I let Rose Madder and Delores Claiborne negatively influence me in the early 90's. Now I think I have some catching up to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rogar
I am glad, though a bit flabbergasted, that you liked Under The Dome. It has a fast current of liberalism running through it. But I have noticed that King does not overdo it when it comes to politics, or his politics. He throws some zingers in but lightly so, very lightly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan
I will also say that I am the reverse: Under The Dome is my favorite of King's work and The Stand is second.
What I really appreciate about King is how he can create characters that are so good or so evil. And then he makes them battle each other.
Was it a fun read?Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
Alan, I really recommend 11/22/63. That was a great read.
Thanks, I read a review of it a few days ago and added it to my catch-up list.Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa