The Many Lives of Mama Love about a woman incarcerated for her heroin addiction
Homegrown about Timothy McVeigh
I started Once We Were Slaves but didn't get into it.
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The Many Lives of Mama Love about a woman incarcerated for her heroin addiction
Homegrown about Timothy McVeigh
I started Once We Were Slaves but didn't get into it.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It is about Korean immigrants to Japan. I had never known the history and now a lot of things make sense to me.
All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley. Deep thoughts of a museum guard at the Met Museum of Art about art, grief, people and other topics.
The Family Roe about the plaintiff in the Roe v. Wade case.
On my recent trip to MN, my SIL said she thought of me while reading "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett, so I'm about to read that.
I'm 80% through "Japanese Philosophy," by Blocker and Starling, a short, but very dense, history of Japanese thought from Jomon times through Buddhism and Confucianism entering via China, to confrontations with "Western" thought to the modern "post war" era. The book doesn't shy away from the ultra-nationalist era, either, and the aftermath after Japan's defeat in WWII. It's been an enlightening, challenging, and perspective-altering read so far. It covers an entire philosophical tradition I have not explored before, so very eye-opening.
Thirst for Salt
I don't usually read romances, but this one was not formulaic and I liked it.
Ultra-Processed People about all the processed crap we are eating and how it is creating disease - especially the meteoric rise of gut ailments and diabetes. Written by a medical doctor and microbiologist. I became a crazy label reader after realizing that all the inorganic phosphates added to cat food most definitely contributed to his and many older cat's kidney disease. Guess what? The same krap is in Cheerios and a host of other cereals and snack foods. A very interesting read that might make you re-think what you are eating.
Charlaine Harris - All the Dead Shall Weep. I do love a good trash magical novel!
The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
Amity Schlaes is terrific. I really liked her Coolidge biography.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
I will have to look that up over the winter when I’m feeling the need for something new.Quote:
Originally Posted by LDAHL
Her new history of the Great Society is on my list for the near future.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tradd
I believe that many of the industrial food practices have sabotaged our health. I am not a scientist or a microbiologist, but I have done quite a bit of reading and reflecting on the question, why have the rates of obesity skyrocketed since the second half of the last century? Why are we LESS healthy now than we were before? The processed foods not only mess with the gut biota but also with insulin resistance and other systems in the body.Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkytoe
I also enjoy Food Babe who many mainstream "experts" pan as a charlatan, but who has been successful in her activism to ban chemicals from many foodstuffs. Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma was the first book that turned me on to how messed up industrial food production is , and he definitely changed the way I eat as a result.
(Here is where I miss Jane's perspective)
I may be just as opinionated as Jane about food. There is another book about processed food called Eat Everything: How to Ditch Additives and Emulsifiers that explains their effects. I tried to buy cream cheese today and every brand was loaded with gums. Ice cream too.
I keep seeing on packages “bioengineered …”. I put those back the shelf. No wonder we are all sick… FAKE FOOD!
Also in the genre which I've read: "The Dorrito Effect" and "The End of Craving: Recovering the Lost Wisdom of Eating Well" by Mark Schatzker. The 2nd of those books talks about fake fats, which are apparently in foods hiding under names like "milk protein" and 'whey protein". It also blames obesity on fortified flour, um ok, well it's an interesting hypothesis (I am not terribly convinced).
I'm about half through with Stephen King's "Holly". For me, the King page turners are always good and it's just a matter of degree. I'd say an average King (so far). Some of the online criticisms are around his political comments, which I didn't find significant. Some light Trump bashing.
How to Say Babylon by a woman raised a Rastafarian who left the sect, non-fiction
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yannos. Very well reviewed and I finished it quickly. Downloaded the Kindle version late yesterday afternoon, read all evening, and finished it this afternoon. It’s fantasy with dragons! It is very violent, with explicit sex and much foul language. Someone on a Dragonriders of Pern/Anne McCaffrey fan group on FB recommended it yesterday. She commented that Pern is a nicer place to live than the world in Fourth Wing, which made me laugh. Pern isn’t an easy place to live, except during the intervals between Thread falling. Another comment is that Anne McCaffrey spoiled us with her dragons. Boy, did she. But this book is very different, but it grabs you. The second book in the series comes out Tuesday, Iron Flame. I’ve already downloaded it.
"Other Birds," by Sarah Addison Allen. Haven't decided whether I like it yet or not. It's a bit mystical. But I like the off-kilter characters.
Forcing myself off my Elizabeth Berg jag.
I haven't updated on this thread since August, so playing catch-up:
The Narcissism of Small Differences by Michael Zadoorian - OK story about a couple and their struggles. There were some good lines but nothing to rave about.
Missoula by Jon Krakauer - (NF) - really good if disturbing read about the prevalence of rape on college campuses and the lack of support for the victims from the justice system.
Swamp Story by Dave Barry - a silly romp in the swamp if you will by one of my favorite humor writers. I wasn't crazy about it.
Fairy Tale by Stephen King - if you like SK, you would probably like it. I enjoyed it, although it was a bit long.
I'll be Seeing You by Elizabeth Berg (NF) - I've read and enjoyed a lot of her fiction. This was a really good memoir about her aging parents, Dad with Alzheimer's, and the family's efforts to support them through their declining years.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - good read about a family who moves from the dust bowl to CA during the Great Depression. Very reminiscent of The Grapes of Wrath.
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese - I didn't love this one as much as I hoped. I really like the beginning and I did love the ending, but that leaves about 400 pages in the middle that felt like a slog at times. It got rave reviews though, so not everyone feels the same.
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain - this author is beloved by many on my FB book group, but I was not totally wowed. The characters were a little two-dimensional, and there was a lot of repetition. On the plus side, there was time-travel (which I love) and a few cool little plot surprises at the end that were enjoyable.
The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni - a good read about a man drafted to Vietnam at 18, who tells his stories to a young HS grad he works construction with in 1979. The chapters alternate between the vet's coming of age in Vietnam in 1968 and the coming of age of the 1979 graduate. I really liked the structure and how it contrasts those two very different life's experiences.
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx - I bumped into this by accident at the library. It's a short story that for some reason was bound as a stand-alone book. Being probably one of the only people in the country who hasn't seen the movie, I read and really liked the story (although a very sad one). I think she is one of my favorite writers.
The Cellar by Minette Walters - I think this was classified as horror, about a young girl enslaved by a family, and then the tables get turned and she had her revenge. I thought it was a waste of time and I would not recommend. At least it was short.
Annie Proulx’ book was termed a “novella” when it was issued separate from the book of short stories where it originally appeared.
Brokeback Mountain is in my top 5 favorite films of all times.
I set out to read 12 books this year, yes the entire year. Not a very ambitious program! But my count is 14 so far. So at least I met that goal.
I like Krakauer.
Am now reading Straw Dogs of the Universe a novel about Chinese immigrants to the US.
Jeppy: Krakauer is one of my favorite non-fiction writers. Into Thin Air is probably my favorite NF book of all time.
IL: I was at Savers with my sister on Sunday, and I picked up a copy of the movie. I hope I like it as much as you did. I was pleasantly surprised that my husband read it too. He isn't much of a reader anymore, and I think a lot of straight guys would shy away from it. Now if I can get him to watch the movie with me.
I'm at 50 books so far. Last year, I made it to 68, so it doesn't look like I'll even come close this year. I guess it's OK since I've only added 46 books to my TBR list this year. I like to feel like I'm gaining ground, lol, although it's silly because I don't really expect or even hope to ever say, "there now, I've read all the good books and now I am ready to die."
Omg the final scene with the shirt is so so sad.Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa
Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa
Three responses to this:
1. Krakauer is awesome. I read Into Thin Air and Into the Woods, and both affected me deeply.
2. Why would straight guys shy away from Into Thin Air?
3. "I don't really expect or even hope to ever say, 'there now, I've read all the good books and now I am ready to die.'" If you were at that point, what books would be on your list?
So far, my top-of-mind responses would be:
Grapes of Wrath
Gone with the Wind
The Invisible Man
Seven Habits of Highly Influential People
Walden
The Good Life
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
We Were the Mulvaneys
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Diary of Anne Frank
Endgame I and II
The Bible
I'm sure this is not a comprehensive list.
I like Krakauer and have read both of those books. I still dip into lore about Chris McCandless and theories about his death including now one about some sort of bacteria in the food he ate? Or some such thing. They have removed the bus from the site where he died because it was such a pilgrimage point and people were causing problems for the flora and fauna there.
Yes, I heard about all that. He would/could have died from anything at that point--starvation, inadvertent poisoning, bacterial infections--anything. It was a great book and also a very good movie.Quote:
Originally Posted by iris lilies
Rosa, I've never seen Brokeback Mountain, either, but I would like to read the novella.
I too, liked Into Thin Air, but it's been a long time since reading it.
Right now I'm reading "The Salt Path," by Raynor Winn. I couldn't get through "Other Birds."
The Salt Path is about a Welsh couple who, upon losing their farm and the husband getting an ugly terminal diagnosis, decide to embark on a 600+ mile walk around the South West Coast of Britain.
Catherine: I was referring to Brokeback Mountain as the story/movie that straight guys would most likely shy away from, although not being a straight guy myself, I could certainly be wrong.
It's hard to say what books would be on my greatest of all times list, and I think recency bias would be a big factor, so the list might not be all that valid. Off the top of my head, I know I would include Into Thin Air, A Gentleman in Moscow, The Shipping News, Dracula, and The Secret Garden.
"A World on the Wind" by Scott Weidensaul. Scott is pretty much the recognized authority of bird migration writing. It was a NYT best seller at one time and not a difficult read. It discusses recent advances in explaining many of the mysteries around bird migration.
now THAT is an eclectic list worthy of you Rosa.Quote:
Originally Posted by rosarugosa
A Gentleman in Moscow is one of those serious books like All the Light I Cannot See that is on my short list of books to read because I’m pretty sure I would like them once I get into them. I don’t know why I cannot get started on these books!
Flee North biography of a male precursor to Harriet Tubman, Thomas Smallwood
I just read 3 great reads in a row!
Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez (NF) - fascinating if disheartening read about how so much data used to drive the world's decision-making doesn't include women. If we are considered at all, it is often assumed that we are just smaller versions of men, or atypical variants of men. Very readable for non-fiction, and there is a lot of food for thought here.
The Maid by Nita Prose - I just loved this novel about a neurodiverse housekeeper at a grand hotel. She is such a loveable character, and she gets caught up in nefarious goings-on and a bit of a mystery story. It delighted me in a way that was reminiscent of Remarkably Bright Creatures.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins - this was fast-paced and hard to put down, about a woman being chased by a notorious drug cartel leader and her flight from Mexico to "el Norte" with her small son. This book received so much negative press and controversy, but I personally found it to be a really compelling read.
Just finished Blue Wren--really riveting about a spy, Ana Montes, an American who spied for Cuba. She is a year younger than me, so it was fun to read about what she was doing when we were the same age--living through the same eras and the same influences.
Just finished George: A Magpie Memoir. The author is the daughter of the poet, Sylvia Plath. Story of how the author, daughter of poet, Sylvia Plath, took in a baby magpie and raised it to maturity. Odd little book but kind of interesting.
This is prime reading season. I have 11 books checked out and the ones that are most promising are:
Two Roads Home: Hitler, Stalin and the Miraculous Survival of My Familyby Finkelstein
Waiting to Be Arrested at Night: A Uyghur Poet’s Memoir of China’s Genocide by Izqil
Just finished A Budding Scientist in a Fantasy World by Acaswell. It's an isekai novel where 15 year old Alice, a bright STEM oriented high school student goes to bed in her suburban home and wakes up in a forest with now idea how she got there. She applies logic to her situation and concludes she is in another world where magic is common, and decides to study it using the scientific process and maybe find a way home.