Rate the last Book you read [Archive] - Page 3

GulfportDoc

02-17-21, 07:56 PM

73371
Weird Scenes Inside The Canyon (2014)

The title and subject matter refer to the famous Laurel Canyon, a large residential canyon on the north side of Hollywood. It's main road is Laurel Canyon Blvd. which leads from Hollywood up over the hills, past Mulholland Dr., and down into Studio City in the L.A. Valley.

Author David McGowan puts forth a theory that most (if not all) of the bands and musicians who lived in Laurel Canyon were somehow connected via their parents to the military industrial complex. To be sure, there are lots of coincidences pointed out in the book regarding pop icons like David Crosby, the Mamas and the Papas, the Doors, Frank Zappa, Buffalo Springfield, the Beach Boys, the Monkees, and many others who resided in the Canyon.

His hinted-at conspiracy theories are fairly silly, but his biographical material on many of the early '60s rock and folk rock celebrities are pretty well researched. There are many behind the scenes revelations. I learned a few things that I didn't know.

It is true that the Canyon was home to scores of famous music artists, but to suggest that they all ended up there for any other reason than it was a hip place to live, is more than a stretch.

He's also left out a bunch of rock stars who resided there. John Mayall, the Animals, Captain Beefheart and others all lived there during the '60s. I also rented a home there from '69-'71.

But if you have a fascination for Laurel Canyon, or are interested in how it was in the '60s/'70s, this is a nice companion book to anything else you may have read about the area.

re93animator

03-02-21, 09:00 AM

https://i.imgur.com/TlAkwrW.jpg?1
Thomas De Quincey: Confessions of an English Opium Eater - 7/10
De Quincey's journal of experiences just before and during years-long opium addiction. His early account of going through Russian-novel level poverty is the most moving part of the book, but doesn't last too long, and the lauded 'hallucinatory' section recounting surrealistic opium dreams only takes up about ten pages at the end. The majority of the book is waxing philosophical about the nature of addiction, age, poverty, etc.

De Quincey's story occasionally makes him unlikable, and is full of endless sentences, but it's also at times poetic & heart-wrenching. I'm interested in reading Suspiria de Profundis eventually.

re93animator

03-04-21, 01:06 PM

https://i.imgur.com/V8HTwkO.jpg?1
Philip K. Dick - Time Out of Joint: 8/10
A man living in a cozy 50s suburb starts finding clues that indicate his surroundings are a facade. An apparent influence on The Truman Show. A good & succinct SF story atop a classic metaphysical query.

PKD was my favorite writer as a teen. His more challenging later work really helped me develop a taste for the bizarre & ambiguous. This is one of his earlier, more accessible books, but still one of the more entertaining I've read.

Shame on Goodreads and some earlier prints for putting a giant spoiler in the plot description.

re93animator

03-12-21, 05:47 PM

https://i.imgur.com/1sYEmnO.jpg?1
Alfred Bester - The Stars My Destination: 7/10
A man sets out for revenge against the spaceship that left him adrift. Dark and morally compromised. Feels very ahead of its time, with a bastard of a main character.

This is heralded as genius by prominent figures on the jacket. I like the writing and the sophisticated pulpy universe it takes place in, but it's harder to get absorbed in a story centered around mostly hateable characters, even with a great climactic transcendental leading arc.

Ultraviolence

04-08-21, 01:33 PM

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51lYzYrvKQL._SX325_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg
rating_4

DC used to rock!

Ultraviolence

04-08-21, 01:43 PM

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61IYxhbHjQL.jpg
rating_4_5
Tactics to combat terrorism and how organized crime in Brazil works just like international terrorism and how this groups are targeting police forces, public transport and innocent civilians. The heads of these terrorist organizations are one of the largest drug traffickers in South America.

Some minorities around here want to legalize drugs, but to legalize drugs is to legalize terrorism.

jiraffejustin

11-01-21, 05:03 PM

Anybody here read any Ryu Murakami? I'm thinking about picking up Audition and In the Miso Soup this weekend. The film adaptation of Audition is what has me curious about it, which is probably the thing that leads most people to Murakami nowadays, I'd imagine. I was hoping to find some Japanese literature that was similar to some of the weirder Japanese films that exist. I just don't really know where to start.

CringeFest

11-01-21, 06:26 PM

1984

5

A great old book, combines romance and political thriller elements, i wish i could write that well.

Stirchley

11-01-21, 06:32 PM

1984

5

A great old book, combines romance and political thriller elements, i wish i could write that well.

Good movie too.

mrblond

06-20-22, 04:24 AM

Is this the MoFo Book thread?
---

Currently, I'm reading Apropos of Nothing by Woody Allen.
Finally, we got his autobiography. Very informative source for variety things.

87613

Stirchley

06-20-22, 02:16 PM

Is this the MoFo Book thread?

It’s not a thread where members read the same book together if that’s what you mean.

The thread is literally the title of the thread.

Stirchley

06-26-23, 01:05 PM

Cannot believe I haven’t read a book since Thanksgiving of 2020. This has been a real sea change for me after literally a lifetime of reading. (First book I read by myself as a child was Alice in Wonderland.)

Gotta get out of the time suck of Twitter. I don’t do social media at weekends, but I spend way too much time on Twitter during the week. That’s gotta change.

Anyway, for the umpteenth time I read this book on Friday, which is my favorite Hemingway book. Just love it.

93305

Stirchley

06-28-23, 02:02 PM

I read another book! A re-read actually. Excellent book.

93338

Stirchley

06-30-23, 02:34 PM

93375

Re-read. Good book. Not for the faint of heart.

Stirchley

07-03-23, 12:57 PM

Re-read. Terrific book.

93455

Austruck

07-03-23, 01:06 PM

You're a reading machine now, Stirchley! Go go go! :)

Stirchley

07-03-23, 01:25 PM

You're a reading machine now, Stirchley! Go go go! :)

I used to be. I might re-read the letters of Sylvia Plath next, which is two volumes. 🙂

Stirchley

07-10-23, 01:05 PM

The book I'm currently reading is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It's entertaining

Never read it, but it is a classic.

Mesmerized

07-10-23, 02:10 PM

Yesterday I started reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Susanne Collins. It's a prequel to her The Hunger Games novels.

Stirchley

07-14-23, 01:01 PM

93729

Re-read.

chawhee

07-14-23, 03:27 PM

Just finished this and loved it...from 2015
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/5WQAAOSwx6pYn46A/s-l300.jpg

Stirchley

07-21-23, 01:28 PM

93841

Re-read. So frickin sad that in the depths of depression & despair she took her own life at age 30.

Stirchley

08-07-23, 01:20 PM

94200

Third re-read. The French parts were easy to find in translation this time so that was good. I’m not an intellectual & I confess I don’t understand at least a quarter of the book. But it’s a lovely book & one of my all-time favorites.

Balor

08-07-23, 01:51 PM

Dazai's No Longer Human: 7/10 overall. I really like the beginning and the end, but the random womanizing, alchohol/drug abuse, etc. made the adult portions of the character's life rather irritating and unsympathetic (i.e. too human).

MonnoM

08-07-23, 11:56 PM

but the random womanizing, alchohol/drug abuse, etc. made the adult portions of the character's life rather irritating and unsympathetic (i.e. too human).

I'm sold.

BenjisDad

08-08-23, 04:32 AM

I really dig non-fiction about the American Old West... and this one, exhaustively detailing the James Brothers' most notorious criminal exploit, is an absolute page-turner.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=94219

Balor

08-08-23, 09:12 PM

I'm sold.

It's a lot less scandalous than it might sound. haha A worthwhile read, though.

Stirchley

08-09-23, 01:15 PM

94242

Re-read. (No clue how many times I’ve read this book.) Read it in one sitting yesterday.

chawhee

08-25-23, 06:52 PM

Seeders (2014)
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/69/c6/b7/69c6b74338d487029dbf2df6b8e522c6.jpg
A couple tropes were unnecessary, but overall good enough that I might check out her other novel.

chawhee

09-04-23, 10:51 AM

Poster Girl (2022)
https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1651755202l/60012296.jpg
From the author of the Divergent series, this was pretty good. It borrows heavily from other ideas many may be familiar with (Black Mirror, even Divergent, etc). Enjoyable read nonetheless, might make an interesting short series/movie in the future (I could picture actors as certain characters in my head haha)

Stirchley

09-08-23, 12:59 PM

94914
94915

Was gifted these American books when I was a little girl. I loved them. Re-read this week & they still hold up.

Torgo

09-20-23, 12:42 PM

The Force by Don Winslow - 4

Very good book about a team of New York City vice cops who have special privileges, which they abuse regularly. Eventually, the FBI finds out and forces their leader, Malone, to rat on his buddies. It sort of plays out like a Prince of the City for the 2010's; after all, the main subplot is about the police killing an unarmed black man. Malone is a classic antihero and total bastard who I especially find interesting for how he's seduced by Manhattan life, which he finds "real" as opposed to his fake, predictable Staten Island family life. James Mangold was going to direct an adaptation, but I'm not sure if it's still in development or not.

EsmagaSapos

10-14-23, 03:26 PM

95644
95645
95646
95647

pahaK

11-10-23, 07:54 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91HTkRaljnL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. There's a bit of repetition at several points, but it's surprisingly readable for such a massive volume.

Act III

11-12-23, 08:31 AM

I read the complete works of Nostradamus after seeing yet another ''nos predicted this political event!" news article. I scoured the entire volume and out of the thousands of predictions he mentions exact dates only about a dozen times. Almost all of the years he mentions are within his own century. A few for the 1700s, one for 1999 and then nothing until the year 6000. So, when these news reporters try to fill page space with these so called accurate prophecies just remember that Nostradamus in fact did not predict anything specific for 2022, 2023, 2024 nor the next 1000 years. Such dates are fabricated and there is nothing at all in the text to indicate any connection to any of the years you and I will ever see. It seems those news reporters that cover him are every bit as phony as he was himself. I cannot believe in this junk and there are almost no parallels with anything specific that could seem viable without a considerable stretch of the imagination, suspension of your scientific skepticism and a willingness to take on a blurry perspective.

As a piece of entertainment it lags far behind the classics of his time as his literary skills are nothing to get excited about. I rate to this volume 5/10

Torgo

11-20-23, 04:42 PM

Goth: A History by Lol Tolhurst - 4

Very enjoyable and informative book about Gothic rock, which the author and drummer for the Cure witnessed and which he helped flourish. A large chunk of it consists of profiles of bands that inspired him and others who started the genre, the most famous bands in it, recent bands who are keeping it alive, etc., but they are not just dry encyclopedia articles. Tolhurst includes his personal experiences with the bands from how they influenced them to his interactions with their members. Other than that, he discusses the dire economic and political situations in the U.K. that led to the creation of Gothic rock, clears up its typical misconceptions and talks about his experiences as a founding member of The Cure. You could say that the structure of the book is also "punk" in that it is a bit haphazardly structured. Even so, it is bound to make you even more of a fan of this kind of music or extremely interested if you do not know much about it.

WHITBISSELL!

11-20-23, 05:24 PM

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick de Witt 8/10

Galactic Traveler

11-22-23, 05:27 PM

'Anathem' by Neal Stephenson. Excellent sci-fi book. 4/5.

WHITBISSELL!

12-04-23, 04:54 PM

In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune 85/100

chawhee

12-28-23, 09:43 AM

Lovely little book 4
https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_5a93da3c-c681-4f2c-9d15-02be37e1caae?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpeg

Sedai

12-28-23, 11:06 AM

'Anathem' by Neal Stephenson. Excellent sci-fi book. 4/5.

Huge fan of Stephenson and this book in particular. An easy 5 for me.

Meanwhile: I have been slacking on reading, what with being busy on multiple fronts in my life, but am diving back in this week.

I read a couple of the Narnia books back in October, and those were both at least 4. The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Currently reading these:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c7/Gulag_Archipelago.jpg

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/71+x+bB1j6L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Occasionally pecking away at the Solzhenitsyn, but it's almost too much to take, so I am rarely in the mood for it. I will finish it, though.

Also wanted to get back into Wolfe, as I really enjoyed Look Homeward, Angel.

WHITBISSELL!

12-28-23, 11:46 AM

Dead Mountain by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child. 75/100

Austruck

12-28-23, 01:05 PM

I'm rereading The Lord of the Rings, after having reread The Hobbit last month. I'm taking my good ol' time, because I can, and it's been fun rediscovering this book I haven't read for probably twenty years!

I have a whole bunch of the other LOTR books Tolkien wrote over the years, and I hope to delve into those after I finish LOTR.

My other current read (nonfiction) is Pilgrim Theology by Michael Horton. So far, it's fantastic: easy, clear reading that I can stop and start in snippets if it's a busy day.

96795

Stirchley

12-29-23, 01:42 PM

Austruck

12-29-23, 03:44 PM

I’ve never read any Tolkein or seen anything of his on-screen. He lived in my hometown for a very long time.

Wow! That surprises me (the first parts).

Stirchley

12-29-23, 04:22 PM

Wow! That surprises me (the first parts).

I just don’t feel inclined. No idea why. 😎

Galactic Traveler

12-31-23, 11:48 PM

'Frank Sinatra in a Blender' by Matthew McBride. It's a great neo-pulp fiction novel for those of you who appreciate the genre.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/51M6WYqqroL.jpg

WHITBISSELL!

01-02-24, 08:22 PM

The Golem of Brooklyn: A Novel by Adam Mansbach

90/100

laxel

01-04-24, 06:02 AM

The Snowman by Jo Nesbo. Great detective story.

hacxx

01-04-24, 02:20 PM

Not joking...

5/5

How to obtain results with Microsoft Office 97.

Jeff

01-11-24, 04:20 AM

My 1st Nordic Noir book ... best read on a kindle in the dark on bitterly cold January nights.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41qQkxcHYAL._SY445_SX342_.jpg

Rhys

01-11-24, 03:53 PM

I have just finished reading The Road. I really enjoyed the writing style of Cormac McCarthy and I hope to read some more of his work. I have also yet to see the film adaptation.

4/5

Stirchley

01-12-24, 12:59 PM

I have just finished reading The Road. I really enjoyed the writing style of Cormac McCarthy and I hope to read some more of his work. I have also yet to see the film adaptation.

4/5

Very good book. I read it twice. Movie not as good, but good enough IMO.

Jeff

01-13-24, 09:05 AM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51VpMcYscuL._SY445_SX342_.jpg

The beginning of nordic noir, love it, helps me appreciate true detective work.

ActionRocks

01-15-24, 09:08 PM

The 13 Storey Treehouse: Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton.

Another classic silly comedy book by the book publishing duo of the upside down land!

9/10

Balor

01-16-24, 01:46 AM

The Marbled Swarm by Dennis Cooper. 7/10---not his best, but still very interesting,

Jeff

01-16-24, 05:17 PM

The Bat by Jo Nesbo -- pretty good!! From what i hear the Harry Hole books get better.

This will be my last activity here, i've decided to read full time, i have thousands of books i want to get to, and life is short. Wishing all here to have many many joy inducing times with their favorite medium whether it's films, shows or books or whatever.

crumbsroom

01-16-24, 05:43 PM

Dracula (Stoker) - 4/10

Post Office (Bukowski) - 6/10

Member of the Wedding (McCullers) (reread) - 9/10

Takoma11

01-16-24, 06:12 PM

Dracula (Stoker) - 4/10

Whaaaattttt? Dracula is a great read.

Balor

01-16-24, 06:41 PM

I really disliked Dracula, but it has been some years now.

crumbsroom

01-16-24, 07:31 PM

Whaaaattttt? Dracula is a great read.

Until they get to England? Yeah.

After that, the only thing I liked was Lucy's conversation with the old man by the cliffs (I think that's who and where it was). And maybe a few moments regarding Renfield.

I hated how the rest of it played....the characters....the dialogue...the writing...the endless transfusions...the terrible Van Helsing dialect....the romance....the labourer logic....hated!

It took me a year to get through the last 200 pages.

Takoma11

01-16-24, 08:08 PM

I really disliked Dracula, but it has been some years now.

Until they get to England? Yeah.

After that, the only thing I liked was Lucy's conversation with the old man by the cliffs (I think that's who and where it was). And maybe a few moments regarding Renfield.

I hated how the rest of it played....the characters....the dialogue...the writing...the endless transfusions...the terrible Van Helsing dialect....the romance....the labourer logic....hated!

It took me a year to get through the last 200 pages.

Madness!

I found it to be a pretty breezy read.

I really like the Demeter sequence, and also appreciated that the guys deciding to exclude Mina by sort of shutting her out of the investigation was obviously really stupid instead of being written as some noble act of chivalry.

Balor

01-16-24, 08:29 PM

Madness!

I found it to be a pretty breezy read.

I really like the Demeter sequence, and also appreciated that the guys deciding to exclude Mina by sort of shutting her out of the investigation was obviously really stupid instead of being written as some noble act of chivalry.

I probably should read it again, as it's a classic obviously, but I just could not get past how dumb and/or helpless some of the characters were! And I like horror in general too!

Takoma11

01-16-24, 08:38 PM

I probably should read it again, as it's a classic obviously, but I just could not get past how dumb and/or helpless some of the characters were! And I like horror in general too!

I mean, that's fair. I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel.

Have you read Arthur Machen's The White People and Other Weird Stories? That's some late 1890s goodness with some genuinely creepy moments. (Plus short stories, so good for before-bed reading!)

Balor

01-16-24, 09:18 PM

I mean, that's fair. I'm a sucker for an epistolary novel.

Have you read Arthur Machen's The White People and Other Weird Stories? That's some late 1890s goodness with some genuinely creepy moments. (Plus short stories, so good for before-bed reading!)

No I have not, but looking it up now it sounds like some exciting proto-folk horror!

crumbsroom

01-17-24, 11:50 PM

I found it to be a pretty breezy read.

Ah! And here we have located what I maybe hated. I'm not very good with breezy.

Now, in fairness, I started reading it maybe looking for something easy to flip through. A classic I could finish and probably forget I ever read it at all. After all, during the pandemic, all I did was start one ponderous monster after another, thinking I now had the time to finish them all. Ulysses. Mason/Dixon. Master and Margarita. Some other stuff I never made it past a hundred pages of.

But then I found a copy of Dracula. Hey, that's horror stuff! Let's do it!

But I think I forgot, that for me, books are predominantly language based. Or at least idea based. Or at the very, very least, some kind of emotional valve for the writer. And what I quickly realized with Dracula (after the opening with Jonathan captive in Dracula's castle and the Demeter, which are both great), is that this was just a story, and this was just going to be me reading about how they try and kill Dracula for 400 pages, plus lots of blood transfusions. And nothing could have possibly interested me less than that.

Takoma11

01-17-24, 11:55 PM

Ooh, Master and Margarita is also really good.

crumbsroom

01-18-24, 12:13 AM

Ooh, Master and Margarita is also really good.

I didn't so much find that one ponderous, as put it down after ten minutes, and forgot I ever started it.

I plan on going back to it though.

Also the other two, which I know I will definitely give up on again.

Rhys

01-25-24, 11:54 PM

Austruck

01-26-24, 12:01 AM

I picked up a used, beaten up copy of The Hobbit a couple of weeks ago while I was staying in Toh Tao, Thailand, and I finished reading it today. Admittedly although I have seen the first Hobbit film, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I have never fully paid attention to them and therefore, I still feel like I haven't experienced them properly. I enjoyed the book very much and I plan to eventually read the Lord of the Rings series and give the films a proper viewing too.

https://i.ibb.co/YPTKK2k/download.jpg

5/5

I just finished a belated re-reading of The Hobbit myself a month or two ago. I'm now wading through The Lord of the Rings (also a re-read from decades ago). Enjoying it more than I would have expected, having now seen the movies many times in the interim since my first reading. :)

WHITBISSELL!

01-26-24, 12:40 AM

L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais - an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novel (reread)

85/100

chawhee

01-26-24, 08:40 AM

KeyserCorleone

01-27-24, 09:11 PM

Right now I'm getting through American Gods. I have another $50 Barnes and Noble card via my brother's birthday gift, and I want to pick up another Neil Gaiman book, as well as Murtagh so I can complete the Inheritance collection and maybe sell it once I'm done with Murtagh.

Also, it's the one-year anniversary of my debut novel. But Reddit's given me slack with some weird-ass bug designating my post on my profile as NSFW. And since the book has two bird alien teenagers on the cover, I can't have people thinking it's underage furry porn. Honestly, I'm just kinda pissed right now.

Balor

01-27-24, 09:57 PM

chawhee

01-28-24, 10:58 AM

I'm going to be reading some of this in a few weeks for a seminar that I am in---it sounds like it's worth checking out?

It depends on your previous knowledge of the subject, I would say. If you are going to a seminar, I imagine you have pretty good depth then haha

It took a bit for me to recognize the style of the book, which doesn't present as many original ideas as much as it analyzes pessimism through history. It starts with Pierre Bayle (what is evil, how does evil compare to good, can God explain evil), and eventually moves through time with how philosophers responded to Bayle's claims (we see familiar names like Hume and Kant eventually).

It definitely hit some unfamiliar notes in me mentally, which caused me to strike up some unusual conversations with friends. As a result, I recommend (I'll warn that it does take a deep look into justifying suicide which can eat away at some people, as it ate away at some of the philosophers here when analyzing it).

Balor

01-28-24, 03:05 PM

It depends on your previous knowledge of the subject, I would say. If you are going to a seminar, I imagine you have pretty good depth then haha

It took a bit for me to recognize the style of the book, which doesn't present as many original ideas as much as it analyzes pessimism through history. It starts with Pierre Bayle (what is evil, how does evil compare to good, can God explain evil), and eventually moves through time with how philosophers responded to Bayle's claims (we see familiar names like Hume and Kant eventually).

It definitely hit some unfamiliar notes in me mentally, which caused me to strike up some unusual conversations with friends. As a result, I recommend (I'll warn that it does take a deep look into justifying suicide which can eat away at some people, as it ate away at some of the philosophers here when analyzing it).

That sounds very interesting---especially in the context of the seminar (which is pretty much about tracing the development of the concept of "pain" through the Enlightenment so as to see how it laid the groundwork for conversations like the one in that book to be possible.

I have read some Benatar in the past, so I think I will go in prepared!

WHITBISSELL!

02-25-24, 04:17 PM

The Secret by Lee Child and Andrew Grant

65/100

pahaK

03-07-24, 12:08 AM

I haven't posted on this thread in ages, but the last book I read was The Uriel Ventris Chronicles: Volume One, a collection of three novels and three short stories set in the Warhammer 40k universe. It is most definitely not high literature, but rather entertaining nonetheless. I've always liked the Warhammer worlds (meaning the fantasy and 40k variants), and even though they've changed slightly for the worse with the years, they still retain much of their magic.

Maybe something like 6, or even 7, out of 10. At least it made me walk to a local gaming store and buy a bagful of other 40k books :)

Act III

03-07-24, 04:33 AM

I love reading but dont have the right environment or time to read. I will resume reading in the future.

Crusadia

03-13-24, 04:53 PM

Unruly by David Mitchell. A British comedians summary on the Kings & Queens of England. 8/10

ingridguerci94

03-29-24, 12:03 AM

Confessions of a Mask, by Yukio Mishima.

The everyday story of a young Japanese guy whose creepy controlling grandmother gets a weird fixation on him and makes him live with her, in preference to his mother, and rub her feet. (This bit is autobiographical.)
Watch Prison Battleship (Kangoku Senkan) 4 on https://phimhentaiz.org/ (https://phimhentaiz.org/)
He then discovers that he’s turned on by images of handsome unclothed young men getting stabbed or otherwise impaled, as in St. Sebastian. (This bit is also autobiographical.)

Interesting and powerful book. I find Mishima’s fetishization of violent death to be more than a bit icky but nobody can say he didn’t live the dream—he committed seppuku after a failed coup attempt in 1970. I read it mainly because I find his writing interesting, and it’s considered to be his most essential book.

WHITBISSELL!

03-29-24, 01:38 AM

The Ascent by Adam Plantinga 85/100

Balor

03-29-24, 09:56 PM

Dark Matters - Pessimism and the Problem of Suffering
by Mara Van Der Lugt

My first dive back into philosophy in awhile with this, a counter to my natural optimism. Heavy reading where some material certainly went over my head, but it did change a lot of my perspectives on how to look at the evil in life.

So I did actually read several chapters of this for the seminar that I mentioned on the last page---it's a great, readable (and that's important!) history of medicine, pain, and the philosophy surrounding it.

This might also be of interest to those into this stuff: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-story-of-pain-9780199689422?cc=us&lang=en&

Be warned, though, that one is DENSE!

Balor

03-29-24, 09:57 PM

Recent for me were:
-My Loose Thread by Dennis Cooper---6/10
/-I Wished by Dennis Cooper---10/10

Balor

03-30-24, 01:22 PM

Confessions of a Mask, by Yukio Mishima.

The everyday story of a young Japanese guy whose creepy controlling grandmother gets a weird fixation on him and makes him live with her, in preference to his mother, and rub her feet. (This bit is autobiographical.)

He then discovers that he’s turned on by images of handsome unclothed young men getting stabbed or otherwise impaled, as in St. Sebastian. (This bit is also autobiographical.)

Interesting and powerful book. I find Mishima’s fetishization of violent death to be more than a bit icky but nobody can say he didn’t live the dream—he committed seppuku after a failed coup attempt in 1970. I read it mainly because I find his writing interesting, and it’s considered to be his most essential book.

Confessions of a Mask is definitely one of Mishima's most essential books---not to mention one of his best. It's amazing, really, how much of his life course is traced out in that book.

KeyserCorleone

03-30-24, 02:17 PM

My step-grandma just got me three more books. I have to get through more of these books more often, so right now I'm going through one of the new ones. I spent the last 45 minutes getting through 110 pages of Dan Simmons' Song of Kali. It's pretty effing good. It's highly detailed and combines the aesthetic of Indian religion with the mystique of H.P. Lovecraft.

AgrippinaX

03-30-24, 03:08 PM

- Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ — technically rereading it, but it’s been a while. 10/10. Rather, ahem, apt for our times.
- Eric Kaufmann’s ‘Whiteshift’ — sounded rather incendiary, to put it mildly, but turned out to be pretty astute sociopolitical analysis. Was hooked. 9/10.
- ‘Don Quixote’ — 6/10, fascinating as the first modern novel and all, but I expected way more explicit metafiction. Must have been irreversibly corrupted by ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman’ way back in the day.

Gwildor

03-30-24, 03:57 PM

The Castel (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Castle_(novel)) - Franz Kafka 9/10.
The Spy - A Espia (original title) (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30686326-the-spy) - Paulo Coelho - a story about Mata Hari - based on real facts, but the author invented a few dialogues, inversed some events - 7/10.
I do not like all of his novels. I liked The Alchemist and one more book, but I don't like everything he wrote.

Balor

03-30-24, 09:42 PM

chawhee

03-31-24, 09:57 AM

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a3/d6/39/a3d6398dd10463685c388e73f64a36e3.png
4
The writing style is a bit amateurish at times, but the stories and science are magnificent.

Gwildor

03-31-24, 11:03 AM

Only 9/10 for Kafka? I hope that's only because 9/10 of the novel was actually finished!
Actually 9 is quite close to 10. Love his books. Also read The Trial, Amerika and he also wrote a shorter story called The Metamorphosis (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/485894) - about a guy who morphs into an insect.
Great novels. His protagonists are dealing with bizarre bureaucratic institutions and people. Interesting to read.

Balor

03-31-24, 09:51 PM

Actually 9 is quite close to 10. Love his books. Also read The Process, Amerika and he also wrote a shorter story called The Metamorphosis (https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/485894) - about a guy who morphs into an insect.
Great novels. His protagonists are dealing with bizarre bureaucratic institutions and people. Interesting to read.

I have yet to get to Amerika (though I have read the short version, "The Stoker"), but I have read the others that you mention! My favorite Kafka overall, however, are the fragments. The letter to his father is also very interesting and worth checking out.

crumbsroom

03-31-24, 11:14 PM

crumbsroom

03-31-24, 11:15 PM

I have yet to get to Amerika

I think this is the only thing of his I haven't read.

I worry I'm past my Kafka phase and might now never.

Gwildor

04-01-24, 05:12 AM

The Trial is easily my favorite Kafka novel. But, when it comes to his short works, The Hunger Artist is about as good as it gets.

I know I read The Castle, and I liked it a lot, but it was far from a favorite.

That's my favorite too, But I liked "The Castle" as well.
Love his bizarre books. Wants to point out bureaucracy but he exaggerates that to the limit.

Balor

04-01-24, 03:10 PM

I think this is the only thing of his I haven't read.

I worry I'm past my Kafka phase and might now never.

I think I will get to it eventually, but it will be a while.

I am going to try and do Robbe-Grillet next.

chawhee

04-02-24, 09:05 AM

Bringing Down the House
https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_f9dcb498-60ad-4cc3-9cd4-ce6a38e559c3?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpeg
4
Surprised it took so long for me to get to this, based on the true story that was eventually made into a movie. It does a reasonably good job explaining the math, as advantages can still be had today but it certainly isn't easy or a guarantee.

KeyserCorleone

04-10-24, 12:42 AM

I just sped-read Carrie in a single sitting. OK, I admit that most of the characters are Nickelodeon cartoon tropes with some teenage sexual dialogue in between.

Having said that, what in every **** imaginable. The writing tricks that King pulls off in this novel are incredible. And of course, there's the power of the message that's intact. Thankfully the movie kept that level of meat, but the book's making me re-evaluate my rating of the movie. I think I need to lower it a little due to more awareness of the lacking development for Tommy, even though I can safely say that the improved development for Sue and Chris maybe place the movie above the book. Yeah, I'm going with that. In fact, I might even say Tommy's lacking character development might've been the only flaw in the movie, and the flaw was more present in the book, even though King's writing helps make up for that.

9.5

pahaK

04-10-24, 05:43 PM

I just sped-read Carrie in a single sitting.

A slightly off-topic question from someone who can't speed read at all; can you appreciate the quality of prose while speed reading? As far as I know, speed reading requires silencing your inner voice, and it's hard for me to imagine how that wouldn't lessen the impact of prose.

KeyserCorleone

04-10-24, 06:04 PM

A slightly off-topic question from someone who can't speed read at all; can you appreciate the quality of prose while speed reading? As far as I know, speed reading requires silencing your inner voice, and it's hard for me to imagine how that wouldn't lessen the impact of prose.

It takes practice, I admit. But I kinda taught myself speed-reading at an early age. When every other student was listening to the teacher read a lesson out loud, I in my impatience would challenge myself to read the whole page twice while listening to the teacher before the teacher ever finish. This REALLY helped my grades. I'm always careful not to go TOO fast, though.

KeyserCorleone

04-12-24, 11:28 AM

Got through the Shining again, but last year I was reading it in parts overtime just to say I got through it and it ended up jumbled, but this time...

I got through all 660 pages in one day. Likely the best book I've ever read and the new standard for which I'll attribute my own writing.

KeyserCorleone

04-13-24, 05:19 PM

IT (Halfway mark)

Never read this before. I'm going on a 125 page a day rule so that I can finish it in 9 days. On day four, I read ahead enough to be halfway through, being on page 562 of 1124. I might even go to page 626 by the end of the day and be a whole day ahead of schedule.

It's obvious to me what King is doing. The vast majority of characters have a deep development that is largely either dialogue-driven or thought-driven. The decision to put both halves of childhoos and adulthood 27 years apart into the same novel is completely necessary as they compliment the idea of growing up, but what King's really doing is using both the rational and irrational forms of fear to go over the pains of life and the entire human condition in a single novel. Thick character development is absolutely necessary here. And when I think about the freaky imagery that's been used for the scares (his true testament to his own imagination), it suprises me that I haven't even gotten to the really weird stuff yet, you know, the stuff they cut out of the movie, like the whole world turtle thing?

I don't know whether or not to say this thing IS too long or not. It doesn't have that on-point pace that covers 13 years in War and Peace. It doubles that time while cutting the pacing in half in order to develop characters and build scares. So is it safe to say that this novel masters the art of slower pacing?

In short, I've never read something like this before. I'll get back to you on this in four days max, because I need to be absolutely certain I'm comfortable with the rating I give it.

pahaK

04-14-24, 12:23 PM

IT is my favorite King book, though I haven't read that many.

KeyserCorleone

04-15-24, 06:39 PM

IT is my favorite King book, though I haven't read that many.

So far my only problem is that in this 1100 page book, Stan and the turtle aren't getting enough mentions. I feel like he could've added a little to the mysticism while cutting out the least necessary character development shpeels. Otherwise, the development is phenomenal, the dialogue is realistic and I'm getting some serious effing chills here. So I'm thinking of maybe giving it a 98/100 at the very least. I haven't gotten to the... controversial bit, yet, so I'll see where that goes.

KeyserCorleone

04-16-24, 10:58 PM

OK... It...

I... cannot honestly... believe what I just read...

What a monolith. I have spent my entire life practicing writing, going over terrible notes from my past and improvements I made over time, making sure I adopt my own style and never to flat-out copy anyone else. There have been times I've taken scenes and totally rewrote them based on the characters I'm using as well as changing the setting, but I am intimidated by the power that is It.

I once compared lacking character development and mentioned how multiple characters can have one or two sides each and act as a collective of a theme, using Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's four antagonists as the example. Here it's the seven protagonists that interpret various childhood issues, may they be something like being made fun of for weight, being psychologically tricked into thinking your always sick, just being annoying or even having a physically abuse parent-child relationship, as uses charisma to bounce all of these struggles onto each other, creating a connection that everyone with either struggles or friends or both can relate to. In fact, the decision to include both stories of past and present in one was the best decision he couldv'e made. In fact, even when Bill's going on about stories he was told in interludes, there's usually a twist at the end that makes it all totally relevant. This is a book that you DO NOT SPEED READ AS MUCH AS YOU ABSORB. I slowed down a little so I can really grasp it all, and it was still a mistake to do it all in a week.

The 2017 film is what inspired me to go with weird imagery in horror. This was a pivotal level of influence when I was writing Wings of Nialoca, but I haven't even touched up on the weirdness of the book. The movie even makes some totally unscary monsters from cheesy movies seem like absolute freakin' nightmares (although I have to say I kinda liked The Crawling Eye. Amazing effects for its time and an OK plot). But it's really Pennywise when he's in character where it gets really disturbing. His dialogue is just so wrong on so many levels, and thanks to the visual aspects of Stephen King's prose, it gets difficult not to even picture this and be even more frightened (although I visualize practically everything I hear, so I'm just guessing). The novel lives up to a great deal of what the movies have attempted to replicate ever since The Shining. My mother has mentioned a million times that when she read the book she knew a movie at the time couldn't do it justice. In fact, she saw the Tim Curry miniseries from 1990 and was disappointed. That's the kind of writing I want to achieve.

And now to attack that which has been a controversy since its inception: the most controversial scene in the book.

First, it must be said that Stephen King could've totally written a different scene. However, I think this is more from a moral perspective, which is truthfully more important in the long run of life, but there's also the thematic perspective to take into account. This novel is about a bunch of screwed up people screwing up their kids, then a screwed up villain comes along and screws everything even worse. You just don't go into a novel that's about extreme levels of trauma and suffering, and NOT expect something ****ed up to happen. I am in no way surprised that Beverly opens herself up that way (don't make a joke about that).

I have to say this: it's literally 4 pages out of 1124. When I was hearing about the so-called "orgy scene," people made it (although it's still bad) sound way worse than it actually was. I was told that "King went into exact sizes during the sex" and stuff like that. I figured it was at least twenty pages. All it was was four pages of a few quick thoughts on how the kids were struggling with the concept of sex itself, but felt like they were closer to each other in the end without any dialogue actually pertaining to horniness. I've read freakin' Ron Dee and Neil Gaiman. I know the difference. So while I wish King didn't put this scene in from the moral perspective, it certainly feels like something a bunch of screwed up kids would do in the sewers after having to deal with all that craziness. So it's certainly a moral flaw, but not a thematic one. It's one of those "every pro has a con" moments. But this isn't exactly the kind of thing I want to achieve (again, don't say anything. Not kidding).

To be honest, it's difficult to find any "technical flaws" in this book. It's a monolith that is trying to attack the entire concept of human struggling in one novel, nothing to go into childhood and adulthood with it. Since Leo Tolstoy, the idea of the 1000-page fiction work has been justified, so an extra 100 pages won't hurt. It might be a bit advanced and complicated for a book, but The Godfather is that way for movies. I'm seriously considering the idea that this is the most well-written novel I've ever read.

And now, it's comparison to the movies.

This may be a difficult thing to compare for some people, considering the layout of the two movies... unless somebody gave both movies the Godfather Epic treatment and edited both movies into one, which I would definitely buy. But I've come to a decision. By focusing only on the past, the movie's able to improve on the characters' sides and make a more convincing level of charisma while keeping the themes intact. For example,. Ritchie's an actually funny comedian instead of a kid who wants to be the next Mel Blanc, which was fairly entertaining in the book but almost hilarious in the movie (if not occasionally dumb). And with Skarsgard as Pennywise making the most out of the character's motions, we get a Pennywise just as frightening as he was in the book. So even though the movie doesn't have that same organized chaos that proved technically proficient, it's a perfectly operable movie and a proper adaptation.

It Chapter 2 is about the adults, and throws in a lot of new scenes to help expand on how the characters grew up, and relies more on CGI. So while it's trying hard to balance out the proper themes and the horror, it's also a little distracting, despite how thrilling and well-acted it is.

So I'm giving both the book and the first movie five-stars, while the second gets either a four or four-and-a-half, although while the 2017 movie isn't the best movie I've ever seen, the book is probably the best I've ever read, currently making King the writer of the top two novels in my chart.

KeyserCorleone

04-19-24, 05:32 PM

Currently speed reading another Ron Dee trash novel to make a list of the worst books ever. It's difficult finding out which really are considering that the average ratings aren't that diversified and the "worst ever lists" there have a bad habit of placing Twilight at the number one, despite the fact that, as lacking as Twilight can be, is nowhere near as bad as any Ron Dee book I've read. Anyway, this one's called Blood Lust, and it's one of his earlier vampire novels. The prose is actually quite pretty sometimes and he's at least focusing on a plot instead of just more sex scenes, but it still follows a lot of the base vampire tropes. But I'm about halfway through on a one-hour speed read, and I gotta say I'm actually having an OK time with this one.

Btw, if anyone knows of any other novels people think are absolutely horrible, preferably by novelists who typically put out horrible novels, please let me know. And don't say Stephenie Meyer. I've already read her.

chawhee

04-21-24, 09:22 AM

https://pup-assets.imgix.net/onix/images/9780691160887.jpg?w=640
4.5
A brilliant collection of all of the statistical modeling, behavioral analysis, machine design, etc that goes into making slot machines addictive. I do not have addictive tendencies by nature, fortunately, but frequenting casinos enough has definitely made me curious about the darker stories behind slot machines. This really made me think deeper about how all things can be addictive and/or detrimental to someone.

chawhee

05-28-24, 08:42 AM

Come and Get It (2024)
https://nationalbookswap.com/pbs/xl/00/8200/9780593328200.jpg
I'm actually not going to be able to finish this one due it to it being a limited checkout time from my library, and I'm fine with not reading the last 100 pages or so. Nothing interesting is really happening here in the first 200 pages....

WHITBISSELL!

05-31-24, 01:44 AM

Extinction: A Novel by Douglas Preston. Like most of his books (and the ones he co-authors with Lincoln Child) it's a quick read.

80/100

https://images.booksense.com/images/704/317/9780765317704.jpg

chawhee

06-09-24, 09:36 AM

I Will Show You How It Was (2024)
https://target.scene7.com/is/image/Target/GUEST_57b2c4d1-78d7-4810-9f48-9f8a30b1360f?wid=488&hei=488&fmt=pjpeg
5
Firsthand account of the war in Ukraine, including how things were before Russia's invasion. In the beginning of the book, it leans a bit heavily on how worldly and magnificent Ukraine is (which is probably to be expected given the author being born there, gaining sympathy from the reader, etc). I learned a lot here, and I would recommend it to all.

WHITBISSELL!

06-14-24, 07:14 PM

Think Larry McMurtry if he had decided to dip his toe in the supernatural genre. Or maybe Charles Portis. Either way it's an impressive novel. I really hope they adapt it to the big screen or maybe a limited series. 90/100

https://prodimage.images-bn.com/lf?set=key%5Bresolve.pixelRatio%5D,value%5B1%5D&set=key%5Bresolve.width%5D,value%5B600%5D&set=key%5Bresolve.height%5D,value%5B10000%5D&set=key%5Bresolve.imageFit%5D,value%5Bcontainerwidth%5D&set=key%5Bresolve.allowImageUpscaling%5D,value%5B0%5D&set=key%5Bresolve.format%5D,value%5Bwebp%5D&source=url%5Bhttps://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/9781250874689_p0_v2_s600x595.jpg%5D&scale=options%5Blimit%5D,size%5B600x10000%5D&sink=format%5Bwebp%5D

Stirchley

06-17-24, 12:40 PM

99126

British author, set in England. Good book. The food writing is surely influenced by the food writing of the late Julie Powell (of Julie & Julia fame).

chawhee

06-22-24, 12:04 PM

War in Ukraine
https://peacenews.info/sites/default/files/war_in_ukraine.jpg
4
My second book about the war in Ukraine this month, and this is a thorough analysis from many angles of this war. I don't agree with some stances it tries to argue (the West provoking Russia via NATO, the Iraq and Afghanistan war being comparable to this one), but it tries to balance those viewpoints by showing both sides. I think I have one more book on this subject I plan on checking out soon.

chawhee

07-07-24, 12:41 PM

The War Came To Us (2023)
https://mrtns.sk/tovar/_l/1909/l1909011.jpg?v=16812979322
5
3rd Ukraine book in about a month, and this is probably the best account of Ukraine's past 20 years that I have read so far. Brilliant, raw, and real.

Stirchley

07-10-24, 01:03 PM

I started reading Frank kafka's Metamorphosis after hearing lot of appreciations about it from various sources. It increased my expectations towards the book. I ordered it in Amazon and couldn't wait for the delivery.

You know you can read it online with kindle?

WHITBISSELL!

07-10-24, 03:23 PM

Fourth in Wambaugh's Hollywood Station series. From 2010 I'm pretty sure I read it years and years ago. Maybe that's why it comes off as somewhat dated. It was a freebie though so I'll find room on my bookshelves.

60/100

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Aau-cC7cL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

chawhee

07-19-24, 09:55 AM

How Infrastructure Works (2023)
https://cdn2.penguin.com.au/covers/400/9781911709558.jpg
3
Not bad, but it reads at something like a high school level. Broad assessments of what infrastructure is, without much in-depth detail or real world examples explaining how it works.

Sedai

07-19-24, 12:03 PM

Pushing Ice
Alastair Reynolds

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61BQ73xCoAL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg

Was doing some cleaning in the basement, and ran across this book kicking around in a box. No idea where I got it, but I grabbed it and took it to the beach. Glad I did, because this book is awesome. A truly epic in every sense of the overused word sci-fi adventure that spans time and space, with excellent characters and concepts. This was my second Reynolds book, and I will most certainly be tracking more of his stuff down in the near future.

pahaK

07-20-24, 05:05 AM

This was my second Reynolds book, and I will most certainly be tracking more of his stuff down in the near future.

I've also read two books by Reynolds and honestly, I haven't been too impressed. To my surprise, Revenger was full YA and I had been under the impression that he writes HC sci-fi. Then I was assured that the Revenger series is an exception in his work, and everything else is that HC sci-fi for adults.

I suppose that House of Suns is closer to what I expected from him, but the characters still felt very YA to me even there. The scope here is massive and the world-building is fine, but the story isn't anything special.

I've rated these 2/5 and 3/5. I will probably pick up the Revelation Space if it appears to the antiquarian nearby, but Reynolds hasn't lived up to the hype for me.

EDIT: Lo and behold, I stopped by the antiquarian while doing groceries and now I have Revelation Space, so I'll be reading at least one more Reynolds at some point.

Sedai

07-20-24, 10:16 AM

I suppose that House of Suns is closer to what I expected from him, but the characters still felt very YA to me even there. The scope here is massive and the world-building is fine, but the story isn't anything special.

Agree that his characters tend into space opera territory, and I think Pushing Ice is no exception. I like space opera, so I was fine with it. Neither of the Reynolds books I have read seemed like hard sci fi to me.

FilmBuff

07-20-24, 10:53 AM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71L8gNUr2hL._SL1500_.jpg

When the Clock Broke
John Ganz
5

This book is a masterful analysis.

Stirchley

07-31-24, 03:49 PM

One of the saddest books I’ve ever read & enjoyed.

100134

(Citizen, thanks.)

Stirchley

08-02-24, 12:15 PM

Please Amazon kindle can I get my $15 back. Good review in The NY Times (wouldn’t have bought it otherwise), but I found it to be meh.
100170

exiler96

08-02-24, 12:42 PM

If we're counting audiobooks: The Unbearable Lightness of Being... 7.5.

If it has to be physical copy: The Madness of King George... 7.

Stirchley

08-02-24, 12:44 PM

If we're counting audiobooks: The Unbearable Lightness of Being... 7.5.

If it has to be physical copy: The Madness of King George... 7.

Lightness is very good & the movie is excellent.

exiler96

08-02-24, 06:02 PM

Lightness is very good & the movie is excellent.I low-key liked the film better, even though it removes one of my favorite happenings (Tomas' reunion with his son).

AgrippinaX

08-04-24, 05:08 PM

Stirchley

08-05-24, 12:01 PM

I’m reading Melville’s short stories. Love Moby Dick, and some of these are remarkable, but overall it feels dated. Maybe it’s me. I really need to read more. But over the last few years, I’m mainly drawn to non-fiction. Might go back to that.

Not to be snarky, but wouldn’t any novel written in 1851 feel “dated”?

I cannot for the life of me read Moby Dick & I have tried somewhat.

AgrippinaX

08-05-24, 12:29 PM

Not to be snarky, but wouldn’t any novel written in 1851 feel “dated”?

I cannot for the life of me read Moby Dick & I have tried somewhat.

Oh I’m all for snark. That’s the thing though, to me it’s nowhere near ‘every novel’. I mostly read/reread old stuff/classics (since the pandemic anyway) with the occasional non-fiction book thrown in. Many of them don’t feel all that dated. I just finished an Edith Grossman translation of Don Quixote earlier this year (which, you know, the first ‘modern’ novel). That didn’t feel dated to me at all (though I appreciate it’s the translation which was modern, even so, its entire style, narrative — none of that felt dated). I’m planning to read Emily Wilson’s new translation of The Iliad (though The Atlantic, which I love and trust, somewhat trashed it :lol:) next. My point being, for whatever reason, Melville feels more dated to me than this other stuff.

I enjoyed Moby Dick a lot. But then I do love relatively dreary, long meandering books :)

Moby Dick has got nothing on Dos Passos’ U.S.A. trilogy in this regard.

exiler96

08-05-24, 05:59 PM

I’m mainly drawn to non-fiction. Might go back to that.Which non-fictions are your favorite? and what are some you'd recommend everyone to read?

AgrippinaX

08-05-24, 06:27 PM

Which non-fictions are your favorite? and what are some you'd recommend everyone to read?

I mean, I read (and think, and do, and listen to) very weird things, so I don’t know if I’d really ‘recommend’ these, but the last non-fiction book to really blow my mind was Whiteshift by Eric Kaufman. It sounds incendiary, but it’s really incredibly insightful sociological analysis. The kind of data he had and the way he interpreted it was fascinating, reminded me of almost going to study social anthropology.

Made me want to read everything of Kaufman’s, including the book about Christian fundamentalism, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century.

I’ve also always enjoyed everything by Richard Dawkins, but that’s popular science mixed with some other genre, not sure what.

Next up for me and my bestie is Yanis Varoufakis‘ Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. I read his interview in The Telegraph about the book and knew I had to read this, though I am likely to disagree with his take and his politics (judging by that interview, at least).

chawhee

08-06-24, 08:53 AM

Deep Medicine by Eric Topol
https://58b04f5940c1474e557e363a.redesign.static-01.com/m/images/bcde569de1640eb78acdf800f826275f02f95a6b.png
5
A brilliant look into AI in the healthcare industry. Already a bit outdated since it was written in 2019, but there is a lot of interesting stuff in here.

Stirchley

08-07-24, 12:14 PM

I mean, I read (and think, and do, and listen to) very weird things, so I don’t know if I’d really ‘recommend’ these, but the last non-fiction book to really blow my mind was Whiteshift by Eric Kaufman. It sounds incendiary, but it’s really incredibly insightful sociological analysis. The kind of data he had and the way he interpreted it was fascinating, reminded me of almost going to study social anthropology.

Made me want to read everything of Kaufman’s, including the book about Christian fundamentalism, Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth? Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century.

I’ve also always enjoyed everything by Richard Dawkins, but that’s popular science mixed with some other genre, not sure what.

Next up for me and my bestie is Yanis Varoufakis‘ Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. I read his interview in The Telegraph about the book and knew I had to read this, though I am likely to disagree with his take and his politics (judging by that interview, at least).

I’m gonna read a Noddy book next. Unless in my absence Noddy has been emasculated.

AgrippinaX

08-07-24, 12:22 PM

I’m gonna read a Noddy book next. Unless in my absence Noddy has been emasculated.

Heh, I wouldn’t be surprised. Let’s hope not.

WHITBISSELL!

08-10-24, 01:13 AM

I think Tremblay ultimately accomplishes what he sets to out to do. I just don't have that firm a grasp as to what that was. 75/100

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41IKIkE91aL.jpg

Hey Fredrick

08-16-24, 10:55 AM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fnetgalley-covers.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fcover282489-medium.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=e183be00ac9b1cadc4c993282b2a569d03cde12016b60d55654315fbb5585820&ipo=images

Can't say it was great but it's short and only took about two days to get through it. While there are things about it that annoyed me it kept me wanting to know what happens next. Not sure about that ending.

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I didn't know they made this into a movie. Finished it last weekend and it has a good premise but just misses the mark occasionally.

Both of these are very easy reads and keep the pages turning even if they aren't great.

chawhee

08-20-24, 10:36 AM

Man's Search For Meaning
by Viktor Frankl
https://dauntbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/9781846046384.jpg
4
A good read written by a Holocaust survivor decades ago. I don't agree with some of the philosophical approaches proposed (meaning is derived from work, life, and/or suffering), but there is a lot of thoughtful analysis.

hownos

08-20-24, 07:29 PM

This book on George Harrison. Ignore all that nonsense about peace and love, The guy had demons. Sex, drugs and rock and is all laid out in this book

100527

Stirchley

08-21-24, 12:30 PM

This book on George Harrison. Ignore all that nonsense about peace and love, The guy had demons. Sex, drugs and rock and is all laid out in this book

100527

Doesn’t make it true just because this guy wrote a book.

hownos

08-21-24, 05:22 PM

Doesn’t make it true just because this guy wrote a book.

No one questioned it. Our idols are human.

Stirchley

08-21-24, 05:44 PM

No one questioned it. Our idols are human.

How do you know “no one questioned it”? George is no longer with us so, strictly speaking, he’s not a human.

hownos

08-21-24, 05:46 PM

How do you know “no one questioned it”? George is no longer with us so, strictly speaking, he’s not a human.

He had an affair with Ringo's wife. Ringo is still alive and hasn't said anything.

Stirchley

08-21-24, 05:54 PM

He had an affair with Ringo's wife. Ringo is still alive and hasn't said anything.

Ringo’s wife who died or his current wife? Why would he say anything?

hownos

08-21-24, 05:57 PM

Ringo’s wife who died or his current wife? Why would he say anything?

Maureen. You're the one questioning the book.

Deadpan

08-22-24, 10:57 PM

Children of the Neon Bamboo- 10/10

KeyserCorleone

08-25-24, 07:43 PM

I am SO happy right now. I had a great day. We finally got around to the Barnes and Noble again after I got another $50 gift card from my brother. There was one specific book that I was interested in getting...

Years ago I was at the library, and even though a publication wouldn't want me saying this, heh heh, I literally PRAYED TO GOD that I would find something in the cyberpunk vein, because I was running out of time. I finally came across this one cyberpunk-looking book called Three Days in April. It was a cyberpunk comedy as stated on the back, and I checked it out. Hilarious book with a uniquely obnoxious take on internet culture in a cyberpunk world. I was curious about the dude other books, especially his biggest (though moderate) hit.

Wikipedia: "A film adaptation directed by Bong Joon-Ho is scheduled to be released in 2025."

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81WDoZkIWgL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

Hearing who the director was made me SO happy for him that I gave him major congrats on his Goodreads account and asked him how he scored one of the best directors in the world. He told me that he and Bong both like using humor as a way to tackle serious real-world topics.

At Barnes and Noble, I picked up Mickey7, its follow-up Antimatter Blues and Good Omens. My brother picked up a couple Dune books and a Hitchhiker's comp. I'm back on reading.

FilmBuff

08-25-24, 11:55 PM

https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/580203/20240208/123546/styles/patch_image/public/tinseltown-gangsters-cover___08123446877.jpg?width=1200

Not the kind of book you'd recommend to the faint of heart, but an entertaining one, nonetheless.

Forget everything you ever thought you knew about the secret workings of Hollywood and the mob, this book will set the record straight on all the crooked stuff.

Nausicaä

08-26-24, 02:35 PM

At Barnes and Noble, I picked up Mickey7, its follow-up Antimatter Blues and Good Omens.

I've got the first book in my book pile waiting to be read, going to try and read it before the film comes out. :)

Hey Fredrick

08-27-24, 12:14 PM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftheloon.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F04%2FCapture.png&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=eca243d9af81b7d39611882079d1c69179678562b3e7bc88878d989d88f6e5c2&ipo=images

Kind of any easy read about an FBI agent (Tori Hunter) returning to her hometown (Manchester Bay, Minn.) to assist in a missing women case that may be related to her twin sister, who went missing 20 years ago. A page turner for sure but a little predictable. Tori Hunter....twins...Minnesota...wonder who the authors fav baseball player/team is?

StuSmallz

08-28-24, 02:51 AM

Just finished reading Corpses, Fools, And Monsters, a book co-written by Willow Catelyn Maclay (the work of whom some of you may already be familiar with), which comes highly recommended for anyone looking for a good book on the history of the portrayals of transpeople in film, or just a good book on film in general:

https://i.ibb.co/0jhB0Q1/20240710-132005.jpg (https://ibb.co/Y7pD5bJ)

chawhee

09-01-24, 11:23 AM

The Colony (2012)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61SLnu-EccL.jpg
3
Not as good as Colucci's other novel Seeders but its still a fun ride describing an ant species that is genetically engineered by a party of evildoers to be indestructible and menacing to humans. Some over-the-top moments that would be great B-movie material, and it definitely made me think of ants differently.

KeyserCorleone

09-02-24, 06:53 PM

Going through a lot of speed reading. I'm also getting through shorter bad novels to fill up a worst novels ever list, but it's been difficult finding good recs because on Goodreads, the raters are mostly those who finish the books, and since books take so long, you don't finish a book unless you like it.

I found a few key authors to help, though: Penny Jordan / Penelope Halsall of Harlequin, Margaret Carr and Victor Bertolaccini. And apparently, I am so not into John Updike. I've read several of his books already. Also, I'm trying to read at least 100 pages of the final Twilight book a day for a week. So I have a lot to do, especially since I picked up three more good books I can't get to until I get my charts evened out.

Hey Fredrick

09-03-24, 09:51 AM

Man's Search For Meaning
by Viktor Frankl
https://dauntbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/9781846046384.jpg
rating_4
A good read written by a Holocaust survivor decades ago. I don't agree with some of the philosophical approaches proposed (meaning is derived from work, life, and/or suffering), but there is a lot of thoughtful analysis.

We had to read this in high school, part of junior or senior year Theology, but I barely remember it. I remember it being kind of a short book and since I never get rid of books I should hunt it down and give it another go. Maybe an older me might get more out of it.

Torgo

09-06-24, 04:19 PM

The Last Town on Earth - 4

This is a very good historical fiction novel set during the flu epidemic of the 1910s about a tiny Washington state town trying to protect itself from it. Despite being written in 2006, it's amazing how well it captures the anxieties and xenophobic feelings we are still coping with from the COVID pandemic. While this may sound like "eat your vegetables" material, it's definitely not: there's genuine moments of romance as well as tension and thrills that made me forget to breathe. I also like how it weaves in other historical milestones like World War I - specifically the draft and those who objected to it - and the Everett massacre without seeming overstuffed.

With this book and the very good Darktown novels, which are about what happened when Atlanta added black men to its police force in the 1940s, Thomas Mullen has become one of the best historical fiction writers working today.

KeyserCorleone

09-06-24, 06:41 PM

Mickey7 - Edward Ashton

Years ago I was still going to the library when I could, and I was desperately in a cyberpunk mood but had difficulty finding a cyberpunk book. Some might not want to read this next part, but I literally prayed that I could find one before it was time to go. Well, whether or not you believe in God doesn't change the fact that I found that book: Three Days in April by Edward Ashton. Its warning sign cover screamed “maybe cyberpunk” to me, and sure enough, the back of the book didn't just confirm that genre, but the comedy genre as well. Borrowed it, almost loved it. Easy 9/10 for me. But I had difficulty finding his other books.

Years later, I look through a list of upcoming movies and find one called “Mickey 17.” The name was familiar, and I was already famiiar with the director attached to it: South Korean genius Bong-Joon Ho of Parasite fame. But when I clicked the article, the name “Edward Ashton” was all it took for me to want to get to a book store. And this was just after I already used up a fifty dollar gift card for Barnes and Noble on two Stephen Kings and one Gaiman (and a pistachio latte). But I got another birthday gift card, and my family finally had the opportunity to reach a Barnes & Noble. I got Mickey7 and its sequel, Antimatter Blues. After getting through some older goals and cataloguing them here, I finally got around to Mickey7.

I finished the entire thing in one day. Lightly speedreading it, I was able to get through 30 pages in ten minutes and finished the book in roughly two hours while listening to some new albums released in the last two weeks. My final consensus is simple: as much as I like Three Days in April, this book blew it out of the water in all respects.

This is a story about an Expendable named Mickey working on colonizing a dead planet, and gaining a new cloned body every time he dies. Except, this time, he was only presumed dead before a new Mickey was created. Both Mickey's operate as separate characters very well, and perfectly natural within the context of how two clones would act if they were used to the very idea as "perfectly plausible" and "part of normal life." Ashton captures the idea of bouncing characters beautifully, especially in the context of worrying about discovery. In fact, for a while the leading threat is his strict and religious boss, who largely does things by the book but can't deny that his religious beliefs play a part in his decisions. Watching Mickey dodge his antics and screw him over is a real treat, one that makes you wanna hi-five Mickey right in the soul.

And the twists? Well, any real off-world future tale with a hint of dystopia needs that, and we get more than our fair share off these. In fact, the story's strongest aspect is how well Ashton develops his world and narrates it as a perfectly natural world to live on. Every bit of future-world exploration is driven by the kind of "cheap-ass powers above giving you crap to live on" that you'd find in other sci-fi stories, like the ration cards, or even the gruel with more scientific terms like "cycler paste." It might be the future, but there will always be people living in crap just to make a living to begin with. Excellent work there.

I knew I'd like Mickey7 a lot if it was easily better than Three Days in April, I didn't think I'd like Mickey7 this much! It gives me pretty much everything I ask for in a great novel: excellent world-development, twisty plotting, personality and a natural feel. I can honestly day that I consider this a perfect novel. Ashton has proven his genius with this one. Glad I read it all in one day. It was one hell of a ride.

rating_5

hownos

09-06-24, 07:01 PM

I am reading a true crime book. A young female Harvard student was brutally murdered on campus in 1969. There were a number of suspects including students and faculty. No one was ever arrested. 40 years later DNA testing reveals that the killer was a serial killer. The book deals with all the male suspects who lived their lives under a cloud.

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9781538746837/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

Hey Fredrick

09-10-24, 10:44 AM

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Feels like a first time novel. A cannibal family in Maine sets their sights on a group of friends visiting in the off season. Gets a little nasty, which is what I was expecting, but it's also a pretty predictable ride.

chawhee

09-18-24, 09:48 AM

Foreign Agents (2024)
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5
A fantastic account of American lobbyists being influenced by foreign officials, and how they use deceptive tactics to sway public opinion and push legislation. Paul Manafort is quite the character...

WHITBISSELL!

09-30-24, 02:14 PM

Farewell Amethystine by Walter Mosley

The latest Easy Rawlins mystery from Mosley. Most of his Rawlins novels involve missing person cases. But he does so in his own inimitable style with his Los Angeles PI and WWII veteran encountering casually virulent racism on an almost daily basis. This is set in 1970 so that sort of behavior was out in the open, especially among members of the LAPD. But it's not depicted in a heavy handed or simplistic way. Mosley is too good a writer to fall into that trap. Every one of his books features subtle ruminations on not only race but love and family relations as well.

85/100
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Farewell-Amesthystine-HC-official.jpg?w=424

chawhee

10-05-24, 10:15 AM

The Nuclear Express (2009)
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41142Uhj8gL.jpg
4
This book goes deep into details, but it is still very approachable as long as you have reasonable background knowledge in the general history of WWII, Cold War, etc. I did get lost on a couple occasions trying to remember names and/or specific locations when trying to track the authors' message. It also took some time to get my bearings on the format of the book at the beginning, as it weaves the story both chronologically and geographically in a sense. Recommended nonetheless.

KeyserCorleone

10-18-24, 01:44 AM

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/0NgAAOSwOgdYrjmJ/s-l640.jpg

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens (1990)

This is my second venture into Gaiman since last year's American Gods reading, and my first into Terry Pratchett. This is hilarious. It's like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Apocalypse. Second best novel I've ever read.

KeyserCorleone

10-20-24, 12:05 PM

Going through Nicholas Sparks books and am not currently impressed. Read Safe Haven, and I could pull any plot line or character from a tv drama, and I finished A Walk to Remember this morning right before work, and I could pull any cgaracter and most plotlines from an ABC Kids sitcom like Lizzie McGuire. It ended and began well, but so far, not impressed.

hownos

10-20-24, 03:44 PM

Just started this true crime book on the Idaho student murders

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780063349285/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

ueno_station54

10-20-24, 05:04 PM

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don't really know how to rate books and its been awhile since i read this now. rating_3_5 i guess?

WHITBISSELL!

10-20-24, 05:27 PM

The Yard by Alec Grecian. Deals with the formation of Scotland Yard's "Murder Squad", the first homicide division in the nation's history. It takes place shortly after the Jack the Ripper murders and the London populace has lost all confidence in their police force. Now there's someone killing off the detectives themselves. Grecian has written four other Murder Squad novels as well as a short story. This one, being his first, was a little slow moving but still an interesting read. He also wrote the excellent supernatural Western Red Rabbit.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51ON8fiJrGL.jpg

hownos

10-20-24, 07:30 PM

KeyserCorleone

10-22-24, 12:38 AM

The Notebook. Saw the movie, read the book.

Movie: 68/100
Book: 58/100

As a rule of thumb, I watch the movie before reading the book, because the book is usually better. Exceptions are made when a movie is about to come out, such as Mickey 7 and its adaptation, Mickey 17. However, I was aware that many considered the Notebook's film adaptation to be superior, and I chanced it anyway. Comparing the movie to the book confirmed several ideals I have about structuring. The movie took the infodump that lasted a couple chapters and expanded on it, restoring whatever dramatic meat was reduced to mere conversation concerning scenes that should've been flashbacks. The book feels more like mildly sentimental conversations rather than actual romance. And the characters, especially the characters, are cardboard cutouts.

However, the book takes a much better turn once we get to the present day concerning the care home. This is where the dramatic powers that Nicholas failed to bring before take a much more positive light, and there are some mild bursts of decent characterization along the way, so I enjoyed the latter half much more than the first. But when people say that the book was worse than the movie, they weren't kidding. It's also a shame that the movie adaptation is considered the essential Sparks film, because it was only a decent one.

EDIT: My current progress on my Goodreads challenge is 55/75 books. I've been speedreading roughly 400 pages a day, and I'm not even tired. Tomorrow, I'll check out the follow-up to The Notebook: The Wedding, and after that, Dear John.

I_Wear_Pants

10-22-24, 03:58 AM

I am near the end of Return of the King on my first-ever read of Lord of the Rings what started around this time last year. I've been so focused on video games now I've freedom that I haven't read much.

I read Fellowship of the Ring to end last year, and Two Towers to begin this year, and then alternated between Hammer's Slammers and Return of the King this year. Return of the King though went back to the library so I need to get it again and finish it. I don't plan to read Hammer's Slammers again until I finish Return of the King vis I've nearly finished the ringy book.

The Lord of the Rings books are excellent. I've loved all four (I'm counting Hobbit) and am so glad I sat down to read them. I plan to read more vigorously next year when the allure of being able to play any video game whenever I want isn't such a novelty. Long story. And I hate the movies even more now, which I've always hated them and this is the first time I've read the books. Hm dunno.

hownos

10-22-24, 09:24 PM

Just started this true crime book on the Idaho student murders

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780063349285/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

a short but informative book. the fbi really came through in this case. there's no way the local or idaho state police would have made an arrest. the case is built around three technical matters

- touch dna left on a knife sheath at the crime scene
- the pings from the suspect's cell phone
- the video of the white car driving around the house at 4am in the morning

the evidence taken in total would lead one to think that the suspect, bryan kohberger, is the killer but there is room for a doubt and the defense team says there was another scenario involving drugs and the victims. i suspect the victims will be under attack to some degree at the trial.

the suspect is a weird guy from day one. bullied as a kid and a heroin addict in his teens. weird around people and especially girls. more than likely an incel type. his actions after the crime seem like those of a guilty person. even his family and especially his sister (a psychologist) suspected something. it will be interesting to see how they will testify.

then there's the female roommate who saw the killer at 4am and never called the police. she calls a male friend around 11 am who then calls the police. her actions are inexplicable.

the trial doesn't start till august 2025.

AgrippinaX

10-23-24, 12:56 PM

I am reading Das Kapital. Yes, really. I’m strange, antisocial and wanted to compare what Varoufakis made of it to the raw text. Initially meant to be reading some Ayn Rand now, but that’s now next on the agenda. Anyway, one can’t really ‘rate’ Das Kapital, but, psychopathic as that sounds, I’m enjoying it.

Deadpan

10-23-24, 02:41 PM

10/10 Best book i've read in years. If you're into movies and culture, you'll love this book. Won't want to leave the world.

https://www.amazon.com/Children-Neon-Bamboo-Glynn-Kimmey/dp/B0CK55YB1P/ref=rvi_d_sccl_1/136-3704790-4428540?pd_rd_w=wxtYU&content-id=amzn1.sym.f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_p=f5690a4d-f2bb-45d9-9d1b-736fee412437&pf_rd_r=KXYFNHC236E5SBJ1TSNV&pd_rd_wg=5lkpU&pd_rd_r=45f24057-3dda-473d-94bd-be895884f323&pd_rd_i=B0CK55YB1P&psc=1

matt72582

10-23-24, 03:51 PM

"Brothers" by Alex Van Halen
7.5/10

Nausicaä

10-23-24, 08:39 PM

Stay True by Hua Hsu

https://cdn.waterstones.com/bookjackets/large/9781/0350/9781035036370.jpg

4

In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken--with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity--is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to. The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them.

But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life.

A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

KeyserCorleone

10-23-24, 10:30 PM

Under the Dome by Stephen King: 88/100

Super tense, realistic situations for its weird premise, not enough sci-fi or dense characterization, though.

chawhee

10-25-24, 09:09 AM

Martyr! (2024)
https://localist-images.azureedge.net/photos/45190036075201/huge/904047f69bc510876f560786186fde0070bec9d3.jpg
4
Delightfully touching book about an Iranian boy who migrates to America as a child and struggles to find meaning in life. Don't let the title deceive you...it's not a violent book at all.

chawhee

10-27-24, 09:44 AM

When Breath Becomes Air (2016)
https://kitabrekhta.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/3.jpg
5
As the quote on the cover states, a book that is rattling, heartbreaking, and beautiful. We have a surgeon that details his transition from philosophical to medical studies in college, and he eventually deals with his own cancer diagnosis in his 30s. He continued writing material for this book in his final year of life. Relatively quick read and highly recommended.

KeyserCorleone

10-28-24, 08:11 PM

MovieGal

10-28-24, 10:51 PM

Nicholas Sparks - Dear John

rating_3

For the most part it's still a predictable Nick Sparks book. But it had stronger and more thematic character development thasn before, especially where the father was concerned.

I read his The Lucky One because the story took place in 1980s.

I enjoy the films from his books.

KeyserCorleone

10-28-24, 11:49 PM

I read his The Lucky One because the story took place in 1980s.

I enjoy the films from his books.

I've only seen two of his movies: The Best of Me and The Notebook. I haven't read The Best of Me's book, but The Notebook's movie beats the book by half-a-star IMO.

MovieGal

10-28-24, 11:53 PM

I've only seen two of his movies: The Best of Me and The Notebook. I haven't read The Best of Me's book, but The Notebook's movie beats the book by half-a-star IMO.

I enjoy his films and can rewatch at any time.

KeyserCorleone

10-29-24, 12:48 AM

I enjoy his films and can rewatch at any time.

I heard in MOST cases, the books are better, although The Notebook seems to be the exception.

hownos

11-07-24, 09:31 PM

I got this one today on the moon - back to high school science class

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=0593129725/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

Captain Quint

11-08-24, 05:12 PM

This arrived from the library, enjoyable, quick read.

102302

KeyserCorleone

11-08-24, 07:02 PM

Salem's Lot

OK, I adore King, I adore vampire stories. My dad would kick my ass if he heard me say that (well, actually he'd just be severely disappointed and try to ignore it, but hey). I've seen quite a few, read quite a few and am trying to write one. And I have to say, this is overrated. Now the prose is EXCELLENT, in the same way Updike's drawn out prose is. The description of the town and its characters is wonderful, but it drowns out the plot and the thrills, leading the human versus vampire war to feel weak sometimes. So, 7/10.

MovieGal

11-08-24, 09:44 PM

I picked this up today. It's been s long time since I have read one. Usually they are taken from a script of a deceased person, as each book is written for the individual themselves.

102307

WHITBISSELL!

11-15-24, 02:45 AM

The prose got a little purple at the outset but Preston & Child are old hands at storytelling and it quickly settled into one of their patented thrillers. This one wrapped up the Enoch Leng cycle and involved time travel and a cunning serial killer.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/seo/Angel-of-Vengeance-Volume-22-Paperback-9781538768754_be375580-d5dd-4ee8-8509-0778aaad3325.93f9e0cea3631a54ef0ec1c35bb1e1e7.jpeg?odnHeight=768&odnWidth=768&odnBg=FFFFFF

WHITBISSELL!

11-15-24, 03:01 AM

A collection of twenty short stories. None of them involve his best known character. Mostly crime and criminals and people who make their living with guns. There's more than a few dependent on O. Henry type twist endings but it does provide a glimpse into his evolution as a writer.https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81TjauBZTCL._UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

chawhee

11-15-24, 08:51 AM

Our Enemies Will Vanish (2024)
https://cdn.inspireuplift.com/uploads/images/seller_products/33301/iu_1713750967_1.png
4
Very good book about the ongoing war in Ukraine, though not the best I've read on the topic. Here's to hoping their country survives given the incoming US administration...

I_Wear_Pants

11-16-24, 11:22 PM

It took me longer than it probably should have, but I finished Return of the King a few days ago. It's an excellent book. My favorite of the four Lord of the Rings books is probably Two Towers or Return of the King. If I can help it, I will never watch Peter Jackson's movies again. I know they're six of the most popular movies ever. It's just I have never liked them and now I can't fathom doing anything but hating them.

Now I'm resuming Hammer's Slammers Volume 1. I have about 122 pages left, I was reading it back and forth with Return of the King when I needed simpler prose when I'd be worn out, and it's also exceedingly great. Hammer's Slammers is a mite more murky vis it's a conglomeration of other stories strung together. Overall it flows fine, and I love how it's written overall. Also David Drake is a Vietnam War veteran, so he knows a few things about war, and can write a war story with real experience, which I think is cool. His writing is honestly a little shaky in spots because he isn't a schooled writer. At the same time, I think his rough prose is authentic and adds to the flavor. I've loved the book so far. Maybe I'll read some more tomorrow during football.

Nausicaä

11-21-24, 11:35 PM

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/614tmmHD04L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg

3.5

hownos

11-24-24, 12:56 AM

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780374605445/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

If you like modern day political and social history this is a good one. This covers the 1992 election and makes a lot of current day comparisons. So, I won't comment much. All the players are covered here in mini bios and some of them are very funny from Bush, Clinton, Perot, Pat Buchanan, David Duke, Sister Souljah, Rodney King, Randy Weaver, Howard Stern, Rush Limbaugh and many more. Also covers the rise and influence of rap and grunge on the political and social world and various movies like Glengarry Glen Ross.

Hey Fredrick

11-25-24, 10:07 AM

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FI%2F51kblfTPi4L._SY445_SX342_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c62b9283127a6839974349644237589274d8ed1311716c0782ecab94a41228ad&ipo=images

Just finished Pride and Prejudice, a book so out of my comfort zone that I didn't really expect to finish it. Going all the way back to high school, Brit Lit was never something I enjoyed reading but this was definitely better than any of the Dickens stuff we had to read. It took a couple chapters to get used to the olde English and I had to use kindles dictionary more than a few times but it never took away from the enjoyment. In that way it was a little like Moby Dick for me. This book was dense. I don't know If I've ever read a book where so much happens in so few pages, especially towards the beginning. Elizabeth immediately jumps to one of my favorite literary characters of all time. Through all her faults, she was badass.

AgrippinaX

12-01-24, 04:17 PM

Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. I was told last year (tragicomically enough, on Reddit of all places, where I went to vent a little when I was having a tough time) that I ‘sounded like an Ayn Rand character’. That was clearly intended as an insult. I’ve always been aware of her work in the abstract, but now that I’ve read Atlas Shrugged, I can see what that person meant, and it’s true. Every single time a character says something inappropriate or callous, I feel I could have said that if I wasn’t watching myself. And just the general asexuality/pragmatism of the characters is very appealing/familiar to me. It’s not that they’re unemotional, even, it’s that they experience emotion in relation to other things than most people; i.e. business, art; not fellow humans. That’s very much how I’ve felt all my life.

I guess I’m doomed, heh. But I do relate (for once!) to quite a few characters and know I behave just like them very often. How very peculiar. I read the intro collated from Rand’s own diaries and writings, and she said she wrote to create worlds she’d want to live in, perfect worlds that she approved of entirely, which, most people probably wouldn’t want to live in her worlds, but I somewhat do, so again, some shocking psychological insight here from a Reddit stranger.

Also saw Five Easy Pieces and the objectivist gathering there in a new light.

Takoma11

12-01-24, 05:19 PM

Just finished Pride and Prejudice, a book so out of my comfort zone that I didn't really expect to finish it. Going all the way back to high school, Brit Lit was never something I enjoyed reading but this was definitely better than any of the Dickens stuff we had to read. It took a couple chapters to get used to the olde English and I had to use kindles dictionary more than a few times but it never took away from the enjoyment. In that way it was a little like Moby Dick for me. This book was dense. I don't know If I've ever read a book where so much happens in so few pages, especially towards the beginning. Elizabeth immediately jumps to one of my favorite literary characters of all time. Through all her faults, she was badass.

If you liked Pride and Prejudice and aren't averse to another dive into the Austen-verse, I'd highly recommend Persuasion.

hownos

12-01-24, 09:02 PM

I got this one today on the moon - back to high school science class

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=0593129725/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

If you like science and astronomy, this is a great book. Some of it was in the weeds but the author tries to keep it simple. It covers a variety of topics from synesthesia, evolution, moon gods, time keeping, calendars, tides and much more. Quite a few stories about the six Apollo landings and the subsequent scientific research which continues today. A great story about astronaut Michael Collins flying around the far side of the moon (there is no dark side) and just how alone he felt.

The book ends with a debate on whether we should colonize the moon. The Chinese are way ahead most countries on this and the author is not optimistic about what they are up to.

Sort of like a biography of the moon.

chawhee

12-02-24, 09:17 AM

The Price of Justice (2013)
https://dsxuu8etcj8kw.cloudfront.net/7/7/7753/7753-square-400.jpg
5
Unbelievable book about the corruption behind the Massey coal company and it's history of swaying local elections, endangering workers, etc. A bit of a tie-in to court cases like Citizens United as well.

WHITBISSELL!

12-07-24, 05:25 PM

A Mask of Flies by Matthew Lyons. Crime and horror. Not in equal doses but carefully enough blended that you never get the sense of being shortchanged in either regard. There's a bank robbery and double crosses and plenty of gunplay. But there's also a loathsome cult leader and a monstrous sort of Macguffin. And at the heart of it all there's the profoundly broken protagonist, Annie Heller.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81VpjACsX3L._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg

chawhee

12-21-24, 10:40 AM

The Shadow Docket (2023)
https://www.basicbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/9781541602649-1.jpg?fit=435,675
4
Sometimes the pages get bogged down with a bit too much legalese, but I was able to comb through most of it with a good understanding of how the Supreme Court has procedurally changed how many cases are being used to set new precedents (often without arguments or published opinions).

jackkyy

12-22-24, 02:14 PM

American Sniper by Chris Kyle, I like this book

Citizen Rules

12-22-24, 02:19 PM

When was the last book that I read? When was the printing press invented:p

hownos

12-23-24, 09:26 PM

American Sniper by Chris Kyle, I like this book

I read that, the guy had ice in his veins.

KeyserCorleone

12-30-24, 08:06 PM

Mind if I review my second book?

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/0fb29129-5392-43c6-bd56-0a35f4699d2d/div0at9-bd3e8ba6-1113-4cc1-8401-7a5b5664a461.jpg/v1/fill/w_1024,h_1366,q_75,strp/lizards_cover_by_mythbutton_div0at9-fullview.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNh NWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7 InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzBmYjI5MTI5LTUzOTItNDNjNi1iZDU2LTBhMzVmNDY5OWQyZFwvZGl2MGF0OS1iZDNlOGJhNi0xMTEzLTRj YzEtODQwMS03YTViNTY2NGE0NjEuanBnIiwiaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD0xMzY2Iiwid2lkdGgiOiI8PTEwMjQifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJu OnNlcnZpY2U6aW1hZ2Uud2F0ZXJtYXJrIl0sIndtayI6eyJwYXRoIjoiXC93bVwvMGZiMjkxMjktNTM5Mi00M2M2LWJkNTYtMGEz NWY0Njk5ZDJkXC9teXRoYnV0dG9uLTQucG5nIiwib3BhY2l0eSI6OTUsInByb3BvcnRpb25zIjowLjQ1LCJncmF2aXR5IjoiY2Vu dGVyIn19.1QU1FGZ75Ex-iN1gECEXrMwdGKs4KpSNmqTUMhofBTA

This is a book I've been working on for 16 years. It all started as something TOTALLY different. When my dad had a funny idea for a Geico commercial, I decided to try to do ones for a company I though needed more exposure: SoBe. But I had ZERO good ideas. Overtime, I kept the characters, but it went through various changes, largely going into Don Bluth fantasy about lizards. But I didn't even know who I wanted as a villain.

Then at 20, I started watching experimental films, notably Tarkovsky. My first was Stalker. Falling in love with the psychological conversations, I wanted to implement the idea into SOMETHING< so I chose Lizards. The idea was fleshing out, but something was missing.

And then I watched The Thing again, and I knew: body horror. It all took shape from there. It became a story about lizards who are mutated by a liquid that can cause as much devastation as it can bless them. While they have a stable community, they're still learning things about this mutagen after many, many years, and the darker side has already poisoned other places surrounding them.

I wrote an earlier, more wordy and incomplete version years ago, but my brother took too long to read it, and I lost faith in it for years. But with the publication of Wings of Nialoca, I've had more faith in it, went back and edited some things, and now what you see is my freakiest story so far, and probably the freakiest I'll ever write. I worked really hard on making sure everyone in this novel felt alive.

And GOD is this one freaky. I can't honestly believe some of the things I made up in this. I visualized everything before I typed it, and I did everything I could to keep it as clean as possible without loosing touch of the body horror aspects, that way the themes of trauma can be built up. Honestly, I like this one more than I like my debut.

chawhee

01-05-25, 10:33 AM

At The Existentialist Cafe (2016)
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Ex-Cafe_jacket-layout_08-198x300.jpg
3
Difficult to rate this one, since there is a lot of content the author tries to pack in here. It doesn't so much explain existentialism during the 20th century as much as it does try to provide bios of the people behind the movement. That makes for a whirlwind of names and events that made it hard for me to follow at times.

In the end, existentialism is a nice turn away from traditional philosophy, but it doesn't have the required depth for reality sometimes (and many people behind the movement come to realize that a bit as the book explains).

hownos

01-08-25, 09:52 PM

Read a bio on Pete Rose - his rise and fall. Pete cared about four things in life - Baseball, women, gambling and cars. Not sure in what order I would place them but I think baseball would be number one but ganbling would be a close second. The guy would bet on anything. Pete was a great player but a terrible human being. The book goes into detail about the shady characters he called friends who he sold out in a second to save his reputation. Pete spent the last 35 years of his life signing autographs.

His gambling problem was well known in the 60s, 70s and 80s but the press just would not report it. The fall of Rose is as outlined in detail in this book is depressing. The rise of Pete Rose is a great story. The detemination and hard work he put into becoming baseball's all time hit leader was something else. All that extra batting practice often after the game was over and into the morning hours. The guy had a great eye and a mental book on all the pitchers.

One story about the nickname Charlie Hustle. The Reds and Yankees are playing a preseason game in 1963. Pete is a rookie and is going all out - bunting, stealing and sliding head first in a preseason game. Mickey Mantle sees this and says, "Who the f&*k is this Charlie Hustle?". Pete thought it was a compliment and the name stuck.

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780593317372/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

exiler96

01-08-25, 10:10 PM

The Life Before Us by Romain Gary... Took me a rather long while to get used to it, but from middle onward it became increasingly more involving (and heartbreaking). Won't forget the unlikely friendship between MoMo and Rosa for days to come...

https://cdn.sanity.io/images/p34gzxcg/production/bdea44f86b02b108b032c01856497539ef20d99b-1557x2400.jpg?auto=format&w=500&fit=scale

Long_Lankin

01-12-25, 12:07 AM

I just finished Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes today. I didn't hate it, but honestly I wasn't crazy about it. Mostly, I don't think the evil carnival was utilized in enough creative ways. A carousel isn't the most exciting thing to keep going back to. But it was weird and charming, and there were some effectively creepy moments. I'd say 6 1/2 out of 10.

exiler96

01-19-25, 12:42 PM

You'd think you've seen enough portrayals of war and wounded (mentally and physically) soldiers to be done with the descriptions of it's absurdities until you encounter this, which starts by Celine painting the picture from the buttom up and leave you utterly shook.
And that's just the early, battle-field chapters. Once the war is over, it reallly starts.

Good times...

https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/9780811208475-de.jpg

chawhee

01-21-25, 09:15 AM

Mountains Beyond Mountains (2003)
https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516VcqeBFlL._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_.jpg
5
Fantastic book detailing one Dr. Paul Farmer and his groundbreaking work in treating tuberculosis and other diseases primarily in Haiti.

WHITBISSELL!

01-21-25, 07:27 PM

In Too Deep: A Reacher Novel by Andrew Grant & Lee Child - This is the 29th Jack Reacher novel and you can tell the series will be different now that Child's brother Andrew will be taking over the writing duties. That's not necessarily a bad thing. For something as long running as this franchise it will ultimately be good to get a fresh perspective on the character.
https://www.daytondailynews.com/resizer/v2/S74KYVPOYZEERCHKFKWFBHWUAU.jpg?auth=e7bee4c6bc5953dce8f6ebf6e4fad65b0433959177a5772bae9067ea6caf587d&width=1460&height=800&smart=true

exiler96

01-28-25, 07:47 PM

First read. Loved the details of Henry and Catherine's relationship, same for the settings of the story (both the war-time and the escapist times)...and just when I was feeling it's being uneventful for a bit too long, that ending came and knocked me out. That very last line is one of the best I've ever seen.

https://images.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780593688656

I_Wear_Pants

02-05-25, 06:36 AM

I finished Hammer's Slammers tonight. It's a solid book and I enjoyed reading it.

Next up I requested Book Thief from the library. I also want to read Boy Who Saw except the library doesn't have it so I'd need to buy it. Maybe I'll work to get it right before I finish Book Thief. I should check the local book store in March.

hownos

02-05-25, 07:08 PM

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=1476726892/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

Remember that not all psychopaths are killers. Bernie was a classic example of a man with no conscience. The book goes into great detail of his Ponzi scheme that at the end was suppose to be worth $68 billion but only had $350 million in the bank. He was a tad short. It is amazing how his high end clients like Kevin Bacon were willing to accept the monthy statements from Bernie without question. The book also examines the failings of the banks and SEC who just never questioned the rumors on Wall Street around Bernie and his high returns average anywhere from 10-50%. The book looks into his family of grifters and compares them to another New York family who I won't name. Also a good look had some of the high end clients who had to pay back huge amounts of money. This lawsuits go on even today. Bernie died in prison in 2021 a sad and lonely man and was cremated. There was no service and no one wanted one.

chawhee

02-11-25, 10:00 AM

The Myth of American Idealism (2024)
https://audiobooksbee.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/The-Myth-of-American-Idealism-By-Noam-Chomsky-Nathan-J.-Robinson.jpg
5
Giving this a 5 despite me not agreeing with everything presented here, but the level of detail in the writing is impressive. Chomsky has generally been too much of a pacifist for me, and that argument does arise in this book often. However, the patterns and facts brought to the surface with regards to the US approach to democracy in the world definitely flipped around my way of thinking about a lot of things.

KeyserCorleone

02-14-25, 08:20 PM

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1514342815i/9595.jpg

Finished this one in two days because it's so short. I've given Vonnegut, a well-known author responsible for several thematic "comedy classics," chance after chance. But this is easily the worst of the six books of his I've read so far. Once again we get the very random plot being backed up by world-building that's never fully lived up to, especially where "the future" and "Mars" are concerned, and a bunch of intentionally offbeat or awkward jokes which might generate a few smiles but never any die-hard laughs. This had so much potential and it was wasted. Vonnegut himself said that several publications gave this book a negative review, and I wholeheartedly agree.

rating_1_5

WHITBISSELL!

02-15-25, 01:35 AM

https://images.booksense.com/images/825/797/9798885797825.jpg
Lone Wolf by Gregg Hurwitz - The ninth installment in the Orphan X/Nowhere Man series. At the age of 12 Evan Smoak is recruited out of a Baltimore group home into the Orphan Program and trained to be a government sanctioned assassin. The black ops program is eventually shut down and he eventually goes freelance, helping out people with nowhere else to turn. This is a well written series and Hurwitz endeavors to make Evan Smoak a complex, emotionally adrift individual.

85/100

hownos

02-18-25, 12:38 AM

Torgo

02-21-25, 04:28 PM

The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein - 4

A very entertaining stranger than fiction true crime story about Attila Ambrus, a Hungarian hockey goalie who robbed banks throughout the '90s. A better description of the book is part true crime, part history lesson because after reading it, you will have a thorough understanding of the era's tumultuous economic and political situations in Romania, where Ambrus grew up in a Hungarian community, and of course in Hungary, which led Ambrus to take on a life of crime. To elaborate, they're situations that led the public to treat him less like a criminal and more like a folk hero. The book is incredibly detailed and researched: you get descriptions of everything from how he decorated his homes to how he dressed during robberies to the words in his conversations that make you wonder if author Rubenstein was an accomplice. Also, if anything, it will dispel "eat your vegetables" perceptions of non-fiction like this. It reads like a really absorbing suspense story and is thus hard to put down. That applies to everything proceeding the conclusion, however. It may be just as detailed about what happened when Ambrus's luck ran out, but it took me longer to get through than I would have liked. The important thing is that it spoiled me for this genre. Every true crime novel, podcast, etc. should strive to be as colorful as this one.

hownos

02-23-25, 01:00 AM

My brother sent me this JFK conspiracy book. The thing is it has nothing to do with November 22/1963 but with December 11/1960 when some crazy guy planned to kill then President-elect Kennedy. Not sure this incident warrants a full book but I will give it a spin.

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=1250790573/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

A very quick read. Not much known about the attempted assassin, Richard Pavlich, except he was old and angry about everything. He apparently hated Catholics. He followed JFK around after he got elected in November 1960. He had his chance to kill JFK on Dec 11/1960 when he could have driven his car full with dynamite into a car waiting for JFK to go to church in Palm Beach, Florida. The guy was an early suicide bomber but says he changed his mind when he saw that Jackie Kennedy would also be killed. He later approached JFK at church but was stopped by the Secret Service. They take note of his car and license #. He continues to follow JFK planning another attempt but is pulled over by local cops and that ends it. Pavlich is never tried and ends up in psych hospitals and is eventually freed. The thing about these crazy political assassin types is trying to figure out their motives. Whether it is Oswald or the guy who tried to shoot Trump.

The book also deals how JFK and Jackie were so much more difficult to protect than Eisenhower or Truman. The Kennedys were younger with several houses and always on the move. JFK was always campaigning and the Secret Service struggled with it and we know how it ended it November 1963.

WHITBISSELL!

02-23-25, 01:16 AM

hownos

02-24-25, 06:45 PM

chawhee

02-27-25, 09:42 AM

Rough Sleepers (2023)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91TOtw87tnL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg
4
Not as good as the previous book I read by Kidder, but still very good. It is a true story regarding a doctor in Boston who pioneers the best ways to care for the homeless in the area.

exiler96

02-27-25, 10:34 AM

"Rough Sleepers"

Ey when did they publish a book on my people? LOL.

WHITBISSELL!

03-12-25, 01:28 AM

The latest Renee Ballard/Harry Bosch police procedural from Michael Connelly. Harry is in this for the barest of moments. He finds himself drawn into an ever deepening case when Ballard is herself a victim of a crime. Her open/unsolved/cold case unit also tackles a two decade old serial rapist case plus one of the most infamous (if not the most infamous) and gruesome murders to ever occur in Los Angeles. Connelly has been at this for so long that he makes it seem effortless. The result is a quick and enjoyable read.

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/9780316563796.jpg?w=413

chawhee

03-13-25, 09:01 AM

Strength In What Remains (2000)
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ioBdIdldL._SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_.jpg
4
Third book I've read from this author now, and this one is just as good as the others. It's about a young boy who experiences genocidal tragedy in Burundi and miraculously makes it to America to study medicine.

WHITBISSELL!

03-16-25, 07:59 PM

The latest Elvis Cole/Joe Pike PI novel from Robert Crais. He's one of several authors I make a point of being on the lookout for whenever they come out with something new. Lee Child's Reacher novels, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch/Renee Ballard, Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins and Gregg Hurwitz' Orphan X/The Nowhere Man. I used to follow Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee Navajo Tribal Police novels till he passed away and his daughter took the reins. There are others like Stephen Hunter's Bob Lee Swagger books that I took a break from when the authors political views became too blatant to overlook.

This Cole/Pike installment has the PI looking for a man who's been declared legally dead. Crais has always had a keen eye for capturing the dark side of Los Angeles and the combination of Elvis Cole's wisecracking gumshoe and Joe Pike's stoic lethality remains a winning one.

https://images4.penguinrandomhouse.com/cover/9780525535768

Austruck

03-16-25, 10:16 PM

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/proxy/KtqWttwjRbgt4ZaviaRFWvslYL45fYSQzxPxoilCO5YxnP5vNLY1VKgtr02XHtm-ZjgrlYdTTU3SOJ2Bf1c5oDo0-124Wa6gfYTxuBOqDKQOg_WZ9h5YZsR7Xg

Just couldn't vibe with this for some reason. He reads like Stephen King lite.

65/100

Funny you say that. He and King have written a few things together, and his publishing outfit, Cemetery Dance, has put out special editions of some King novels over the years. :)

chawhee

03-25-25, 09:47 AM

Our Own Worst Enemy by Tom Nichols (2021)
https://img1.od-cdn.com/ImageType-100/1294-1/%7B3C7373FD-788B-43E1-A32F-18DA0125AF6E%7DImg100.jpg
4
Good book about how citizens need to be more responsible in their duty to be informed and understanding. Maybe a misstep here or there, but the analysis and discussion was enjoyable to read overall.

hownos

04-06-25, 10:12 PM

https://syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=9780063026391/LC.gif&client=416-978-7639

This book cuts through a lot of the myths around Bogie and Bacall. The marriage wasn't as great as they pretended. Both probably had affairs. Bacall with Adlai Stevenson of all people during the 1952 presidential campaign which the media didn't report back then. Bogart was a high functioning alcoholic for the last 30 years of his life. He finally stopped drinking and smoking in February 1956 when he had surgery to remove his esophagus (cancer). The ending wasn't pretty as the guy basically starved to death and weighed 80 pounds at the time of his death in January 1957.

Bacall wasn't a nice person. She treated the servants and staff like crap which always is a sign of a terrible person. She almost married Frank Sinatra in 1959. I can't imagine that marriage lasting very long. She was also an absentee mother who went on to marry another alcoholic in Jason Robards in what would be another tumultuous marriage. Career wise she aged out quickly in the movie world as many women did back then, She did go on to some success on the stage winning two Tony Awards. She was living at the Dakota when John Lennon was killed in 1980. She was bothered by the publicity and didn't seem to know who he was. She comes across as a miserable person.

The best parts of the book are Bogart's numerous attempts and failures at stardom and the anecdotes about his various movies. He could be a nasty drunk and the guy did like to drink. No sugarcoating in this book for either of the subjects. A great look a the golden age of Hollywood, warts and all.