Taking off from our famous movie thread … I recently re-read A Confederacy of Dunces (rarely do I do that.) I remember loving it, and laughing a lot, when I was younger. I liked it the second time, but it was more of a slog this time. That said, Ignatius Reilly is one for the ages. I am now reading Sapiens, literally a history of man. Fascinating. We are a destructive species. I also recently finished Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerny. No wonder it was a phenom back in the day. As a writer, he makes me jealous. Great writing. Funny, clever, excellent. Bill Walton's autobiography Back From the Dead was fun (if you are a Walton fan)
The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin. It's got some great science fantasy/dying earth style world building, with a really human story behind it.
2nd Samuel, King David was a bum of a dad and Joab made some shrewd and wise calls that probably saved David's kingdom.
Out West: American Journey along the Lewis and Clark Trail By Dayton Dalton. Dalton travels the L&C trail in a VW bus. He immerses himself into the local towns he visits, and then tells his story blending the local history with the changes made since then. Some of his experiences are funny, some are sad and depressing. Example. He explains how the land was stolen from the Native American Indians displacing them to reservations, and then converting much of their land into homestead farms, especially in the mid-west states. But now many of those homestead farms are being stolen by banks and large corporations due to high taxes and low prices paid for their farm products, displacing the homestead farmers to the cities. It is well written and easy to read. There is very little new information about the L&C expedition, since so much has already been published. But it does offer a new perspective of where our country was 200+ years ago compared to where we are now.
Currently reading biography of Emma Lazarus. Her most famous poem was The New Colossus which I'd bet everyone here knows even if they don't know they do! At the same time reading Bread Illustrated (Cook's Illustrated very comprehensive book on bread baking.) Recently finished William Shrier's The Nightmare Years 1930-1940 (old but still relevant; I read his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich in high school.)
Great novella by Michael Palin..."Hemingway's chair"...set in small southern English town about an old school postal clerk fascinated with Hemingway and resistant to change...second book I've read by Palin...(of Monty Python and film fame)....really enjoyed this read! Highly recommended!
Dune. First time since I was in high school 20 years ago . . . middle-aged me likes it a lot more and can actually appreciate all of the depth.
I picked up a copy of "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Heinlein....haven't read it in 40 years and thought I'd revisit it....see if I Grok anymore or not
Heinlein's stuff has always been hit or miss for me. I really liked: The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Time Enough for Love, but some of his other stuff like Starship Troopers, and The Cat That Walks Through Walls fell flat for me. If you like Sci-Fi give Jack Vance a shot. His Araminta Station, Alastor, and Demon Princes novels (along with what he's best known for, The Dying Earth) are great reads; full of a lot more irony and wit than Heinlein's stuff without getting bogged down in philosophy and personal politics.
"Desperados" non-fiction by Elaine Shannon. A well researched, very detailed report centered on the torture and murder of a DEA agent stationed in Mexico. It details the history and corruption at all levels of Mexico's government, military and enforcement agencies. PS, I read alot of books, every day at least 50 pages. There is a very personal reason for me to talk about this book. It gave me the answer to a 50 year old question. Since the 1970s, I have been dealing with pulmonary fibrosis, scarring of the lungs. Because of my healthy athletic lifestyle at the time. The only cause for my damaged lungs I could guess at was the recreational smoking of marijauna. But for decades, all I heard was marijauna was not harmful, it was good for you. Well... Back in the 1970s, there was a program to spray mj fields in Mexico with paraquat. This was to kill the plants. The problem was, instead of letting the mj die off, it was picked and shipped to the USA, without removing the paraquat. About 1/5 of the mj tested in the USA was found to have harmful amounts of paraquat. When smoked, paraquat causes lung scarring.
Just got my order of 10 books from local bookstore: Bless Me Ultima Ready Player One Things Fall Apart Gilead The Color of Law The Coldest Winter Ever Never Home Alone The Sixth Extinction The Vagina Bible Fire, Ice and Physics
Just don't grok me, at least not until I'm dead. I must have read that book well over 50 years ago. So cool.
I just read The Cat Who Walked Through Walls. Found it at library book sale. Don't normally read science fiction, have to admit the title is what caught my attention.
