What are you reading 2018?

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Originally Posted by KayLR

You shoulda been in Yakima....

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I think I remember video of people driving in the middle of the day with their lights on. And a lot of ash.

I just finished what was probably my most delightful read in 2018 (and since I am retired, I'm at 26 and counting!)
I'm speaking of Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. (If there are any Phish fans here, you will understand that it was the title that caught my attention).
It was a thoroughly quirky coming-of-age novel about a Mexican-American young man in contemporary USA. It was irreverent, insightful and profound while being completely entertaining. Michael Munoz has won a place in my heart as one of my favorite characters of fiction.

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Originally Posted by Williamsmith

And interestingly enough, that the 3/5 count of slaves was not a comment on the valuelessness of a single slave but a recognition that the southern states had a great population of slaves and because of this it was a distinct advantage for over representation in the form of government adopted.

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“A blackman in a free State is worth just two-fifths more than a black man in a slaveState, as a basis of political power under the Constitution.Therefore, instead of encouragingslavery, the Constitution encourages freedom by giving an increase of‘two-fifths’ of political power to free over slave States . . . taking it atits worst, it still leans to freedom, not to slavery,” ~ Frederick Douglass, 1860 Speech

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Originally Posted by Alan

Yes, although the focus is much broader. I very much enjoyed Pillars of the Earth and World Without End (haven't gotten around to A Column of Fire yet), so far, I'd rank The Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion and The System of the World) at a similarly high level of enjoyment.

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I'm about half way through Column of Fire. So far it is in the 1500's England with the conflicts between France, England and Spain and mostly about the powers of the Catholic church and the rise of protestant "radicals". I don't think it is quite as enjoyable as the other books in the series, but still good and an easy way to pick up a little bit of interesting history.

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Originally Posted by rosarugosa

I just finished what was probably my most delightful read in 2018 (and since I am retired, I'm at 26 and counting!)
I'm speaking of Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. (If there are any Phish fans here, you will understand that it was the title that caught my attention).
It was a thoroughly quirky coming-of-age novel about a Mexican-American young man in contemporary USA. It was irreverent, insightful and profound while being completely entertaining. Michael Munoz has won a place in my heart as one of my favorite characters of fiction.

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Rosa rosa rosa, I cant keep up with your recomendations. i am far behind. I have to actually READ a novel soon, not just skim non fiction.

Tjis ne sounds very good!

I am reading Dianne Fanning book about Michael Peterson case, since I just watched the Staircase on Netflix, which was really interesting, btw.
The Fanning book makes him sound quite guilty.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

I am reading Dianne Fanning book about Michael Peterson case, since I just watched the Staircase on Netflix, which was really interesting, btw.
The Fanning book makes him sound quite guilty.

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I saw that documentary. Really, what are the odds that two wives die in similar situations?

still, it is always possible.

I just can't figure out how you could fall down the stairs and get broken larynx cartilage (usually result of strangulation) and seven blows on the back of the head.

And all that blood--my God. And presence of red neurons, which show long period of de-oxygenated dying. And the blood being dried. And fact they owed all that money, and she was insured. And according to the book, he stole money from their friends--stole a female friend's atm card and stole a thousand dollars, years earlier in Germany. And he lied about war injuries--the documentary really tried to make him look good, but the blood at the scene, the way the body was, all the stuff left out of the documentary about the circumstances of the death, the fact the blood was dried when he made the 911 call--he seems a lot guiltier in the book, but even the documentary had a hard time explaining the scene that greeted the EMT's.

The woman who died in first stairway, mother of the two adopted girls--was a family friend and not his wife. She left him money, too. She also had head wounds when they dug her up and did an autopsy, all those years later.

I thought a couple of things with the kids in the movie were very disquieting--when the one son said h e used to bang their heads together as punishment--that is so abnormal for a parent to do that; kids' heads are fragile, you spend your life protecting them from head injury. did you notice that?

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Originally Posted by Tybee

I just can't figure out how you could fall down the stairs and get broken larynx cartilage (usually result of strangulation) and seven blows on the back of the head.

And all that blood--my God. And presence of red neurons, which show long period of de-oxygenated dying. And the blood being dried. And fact they owed all that money, and she was insured. And according to the book, he stole money from their friends--stole a female friend's atm card and stole a thousand dollars, years earlier in Germany. And he lied about war injuries--the documentary really tried to make him look good, but the blood at the scene, the way the body was, all the stuff left out of the documentary about the circumstances of the death, the fact the blood was dried when he made the 911 call--he seems a lot guiltier in the book, but even the documentary had a hard time explaining the scene that greeted the EMT's.

The woman who died in first stairway, mother of the two adopted girls--was a family friend and not his wife. She left him money, too. She also had head wounds when they dug her up and did an autopsy, all those years later.

I thought a couple of things with the kids in the movie were very disquieting--when the one son said h e used to bang their heads together as punishment--that is so abnormal for a parent to do that; kids' heads are fragile, you spend your life protecting them from head injury. did you notice that?

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I dont remember that, the head banging.
Look, I think he is guilty. He is a weird, unreliable dude. I dont have much doubt based on the evidence presented in the documentary.
But I keep in mind that we didnt see the court presented evidence, we saw a film with a decided point of view to show him as guilty.

Peterson was said to have done something heinous to one of the family dogs--resulting in death, I believe--mercifully, I don't remember the details. That would have been enough for me. The owl theory is ludicrous. The cheerful male prostitute who stood him up was the star of the trial, which I watched. Of course he did it.

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Originally Posted by JaneV2.0

Peterson was said to have done something heinous to one of the family dogs--resulting in death, I believe--mercifully, I don't remember the details. That would have been enough for me. The owl theory is ludicrous. The cheerful male prostitute who stood him up was the star of the trial, which I watched. Of course he did it.

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yes, to one of the family bulldogs

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Originally Posted by Tybee

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The woman who died in first stairway, mother of the two adopted girls--was a family friend and not his wife. She left him money, too. She also had head wounds when they dug her up and did an autopsy, all those years later.

I thought a couple of things with the kids in the movie were very disquieting--when the one son said h e used to bang their heads together as punishment--that is so abnormal for a parent to do that; kids' heads are fragile, you spend your life protecting them from head injury. did you notice that?

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Wow--killer owls everywhere! At least one of the sons comes across as creepy as his father.

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Originally Posted by Tybee

yes, to one of the family bulldogs

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Bulldog. That is probably why I pushed that right out of my mind.

Alan - I loved the baroque cycle, and it took me a year to read them all. that’s very unusual for me - normally I’d read a trilogy like that in 2 months or less. I think it was such dense reading with so many interconnecting but very disparate threads - I could only read it a little at a time.

"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles. What I'd call historical fiction depicting the time period 1922 to 1954 Moscow, Russia. From the book jacket: "..in 1922 the thirty-year-old Count Rostov is deemed an 'unrepentant aristocrat' by a Bolshevik tribunal and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin."
It's 462 pages but is a masterwork, really wonderful. The author is American but depicts real-life events and cultural human behaviors so well that it's effortless to read. If you want to dive into something for the summer, this is it.

I went to the library to get his first novel, "Rules of Civility" because I liked this one so much.

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Originally Posted by Tammy

Alan - I loved the baroque cycle, and it took me a year to read them all. that’s very unusual for me - normally I’d read a trilogy like that in 2 months or less. I think it was such dense reading with so many interconnecting but very disparate threads - I could only read it a little at a time.

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I breezed through the first book and after starting the second, became busy with life. I'm retiring August 1st and just a few weeks ago began training my replacement, which turns out to be an all consuming task. I usually read before bed but lately I can only do a few pages before the words begin to get blurry. I'm hoping to push through and finish the second before retirement and then breeze through the third.

I picked up The Fire and the Fury at a local yard sale. It's actually quite good. Reading it feels like sitting with a ball of tangled yarn or fishing line and working through it to figure it out--the "it" being how and why he wound up where he is and how and why he has managed to keep it going despite unbelievable challenges, such as absolutely NO experience, NO sense of decorum or diplomacy, NO interest in anyone but himself, NO knowledge of policy or historical patterns that have shaped the country, NO knowledge of the Constitution. Fascinating analysis of all the players and how they fit into the puzzle that is Trump.

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Originally Posted by Lainey

"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles. What I'd call historical fiction depicting the time period 1922 to 1954 Moscow, Russia. From the book jacket: "..in 1922 the thirty-year-old Count Rostov is deemed an 'unrepentant aristocrat' by a Bolshevik tribunal and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin."
It's 462 pages but is a masterwork, really wonderful. The author is American but depicts real-life events and cultural human behaviors so well that it's effortless to read. If you want to dive into something for the summer, this is it.

I went to the library to get his first novel, "Rules of Civility" because I liked this one so much.

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I read Rules of Civility first, then A Gentleman in Moscow. Enjoyed both of them very much! I hope Amor Towles keeps writing.

Has anyone read anything by Jonathan Franzen? There was a feature on him in the NYT Magazine yesterday and I wondered if any of his books are worth a read.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Has anyone read anything by Jonathan Franzen? There was a feature on him in the NYT Magazine yesterday and I wondered if any of his books are worth a read.

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Franzen is huge.
wasnt it Fawn who knew him in real life and was a featured character in one of hos books?

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

Franzen is huge.
wasnt it Fawn who knew him in real life and was a featured character in one of hos books?

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Really!? Any suggestions on where to start? I was going to try to see if the library has The Corrections, which seems to be his most acclaimed and best-selling novel.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Really!? Any suggestions on where to start? I was going to try to see if the library has The Corrections, which seems to be his most acclaimed and best-selling novel.

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I have The Corrections and Freedom in my personal e-book library. If you're interested I'll send you a link for download.

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Originally Posted by catherine

Really!? Any suggestions on where to start? I was going to try to see if the library has The Corrections, which seems to be his most acclaimed and best-selling novel.

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I cant reccomend a Franzen book, but maybe you want to start with the one about Fawn, hahah.See post #25 and her posts after that.


http://www.simplelivingforum.net/sho...hlight=Franzen

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Originally Posted by iris lilies

I cant reccomend a Franzen book, but maybe you want to start with the one about Fawn, hahah.See post #25 and her posts after that.


http://www.simplelivingforum.net/sho...hlight=Franzen

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Wow, that's so cool, and amazing that you remembered that factoid AND were able to find the 7-year old thread!!

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Originally Posted by catherine

Wow, that's so cool, and amazing that you remembered that factoid AND were able to find the 7-year old thread!!

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Just part of the service, ma’am.

I remember it because Franzen was huge and I worked with books back in the day, ya know. Kinda like if Mick
Jagger wrote a song about one of us here, wouldnt you remember that?

I miss Fawn and wonder how many things she owns now and is that book one of them?

“educated” caught me and I read it in 2 days. Sad but good.

I'm just finishing White Like Her, by Gail Lukasic--a sort of genealogical family mystery (NF).

Now I'm reading To the Bridge, about a Portland filicide a few years back. It's OK, but not particularly compelling so far.What a sad cast of characters.

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Originally Posted by beckyliz

I read Rules of Civility first, then A Gentleman in Moscow. Enjoyed both of them very much! I hope Amor Towles keeps writing.

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I did it backwards, just finished his first book, Rules of Civility. I enjoyed it, but still like A Gentleman in Moscow better. Agree that as long as Towles keeps writing, I'll keep reading.

Today I got some recommended here, some not:

The Cafe Cook Book
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Lahiri's The Lowlands
Bluebird, Bluebird : A Novel
Genova Every Note Played
Love in a Time of Hate: The Story of Magda and Andre Trocme and the Village That Said No to the Nazis - this was not on my list but caught my eye because of an article in this month's Smithsonian about the tradition of French villagers helping refugees, which continues today

I'm reading Anthony Bourdain's Typhoid Mary, an American Historical. It's well-written, and OK so far.
I have to rummage around in my Kindle and find something more compelling than the last bunch of snoozers...:help:

The Power of Habit. good read.

American Sketches by Walter Isaacson. I'm just 80 pages in but it's a good read. I recommend;)

Calypso by David Sedaris. He cracks me up!

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Originally Posted by rosarugosa

Calypso by David Sedaris. He cracks me up!

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Must be great! I placed a hold request. I'm #15 in line!

God Bless Texas. Some part of me remains eternally homesick and this book nails the Texas mystique.
Squeezed. About how many of the upper middle class is having a hard time maintaining their financial status.

Pinkytoe, is it God Save Texas by Lawrence Wright? I'm looking for something good to read.
My sister in law is from Texas and we used to have wonderful times when I would take the kids and go visit. I loved it. she gave me abumper sticker that said
Don't Mess with Texas Women.
I loved that bumper sticker!

Yep my mistake. It is God Save Texas (song by Marcia Ball) Lawrence Wright. Don't Mess with Texas was a popular anti-litter campaign slogan and Women got tacked on.

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Originally Posted by Gardnr

Must be great! I placed a hold request. I'm #15 in line!

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He cracks me up, too. I've lent his books to friends (and my DH) who have never heard him speak before, though, and they didn't find his books nearly as funny as I did. I wonder if it's because they can't hear his voice in their heads like I do.

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Originally Posted by KayLR

He cracks me up, too. I've lent his books to friends (and my DH) who have never heard him speak before, though, and they didn't find his books nearly as funny as I did. I wonder if it's because they can't hear his voice in their heads like I do.

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DH and I got to see him live during our 25th anniversary trip to the Berkshires. I've also heard the audio of "Holidays on Ice." I definitely found him funny before that though. There's a great chapter in Calypso about his relationship with his Fitbit, and I found the chapter "The Perfect Fit" especially funny.