Books: What are you reading tonight? - Page 658 - The Lounge Discussion and Review on Literature, Arts, Culture

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Page 658 of 781

First

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Last

07-07-2017 , 02:20 PM

#16426

TheHip41

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 27,049

I wish I lived in a world where I could read that for the first time again.

Quote

07-07-2017 , 06:46 PM

#16427

BertieWooster

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,353

Quote:

Originally Posted by JudgeHoldem

Finished Godforsaken Idaho

A very powerful collection of short stories, I most highly recommend

I'm glad to say this lives up to its wonderful title. A great collection I wouldn't have read without your recommendation, so thanks a lot.

Last edited by BertieWooster; 07-07-2017 at 06:55 PM.

Quote

07-07-2017 , 06:54 PM

#16428

BertieWooster

veteran

Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 3,353

Not much else to add, recently slogged through American Pyscho which I found an utter bore. The 25 years since its publication have eroded away any edginess it may have once had, leaving behind a boorish, boring book.

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07-07-2017 , 11:46 PM

#16429

Baltimore Jones

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 5,835

Quote:

Originally Posted by BertieWooster

I didn't think much of the movie either after seeing it again last week. I liked the loosely connected follow-up Rules of Attraction better, in film form.

Quote

07-08-2017 , 08:35 AM

#16430

kioshk

Nixonian

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 92,966

Just started 1Q84, 10 kinds of awesome. The running book was great too. Unusual fellow, this Murakami guy!

Quote

07-12-2017 , 04:59 AM

#16431

ChaseNutley26

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4,594

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy is a cowboy coming-of-age tale with language as sparse and elemental as the landscape it describes. McCarthy doesn't give away anything in terms of characters' emotions or motivations but instead lets those aspects swelter in the air around a character to an almost stifling degree. His style is very well suited for audio (Frank Muller reads).

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07-12-2017 , 11:25 AM

#16432

Gioco

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,417

Finished Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A cautionary narrative, similar to Gatsby, but more subtle and nuanced with the same finish: The wealthy use up the less wealthy and when the less wealthy are no longer of use, the wealthy cast them aside with little care and let others clean up the detritus (or not). There are editorials on women's rights and equality scattered throughout the book that could have been written today. Easy to see why Fitzgerald considered it his masterpiece. It is much less accessible than Gatsby and the characters in Tender are more developed and complicated.

Still reading Anna Karenina and started Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard.

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07-12-2017 , 12:13 PM

#16433

bob_124

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2,326

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gioco

started Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard.

Solid title.

Quote

07-13-2017 , 12:05 AM

#16434

Gioco

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,417

Quote:

Originally Posted by bob_124

Solid title.

When I practiced law, we had a local judge whose name was, sort of, Robert V. Name and was called, by local attorneys, Robert Vicious Name because of his "max 'em" attitude toward all defendants. He was particularly bad after lunch when he was always alcohol intoxicated. He was mean and vicious and nasty until he was taken off the bench. No one would hire him, he was forced to work as a public defender, in short order, got liver cancer, and died. He could have been, and may have been, the model for Maximum Bob, though every jurisdiction seems to have one of these because it's easier to max every defendant than be accused of being soft on criminals.

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07-13-2017 , 01:14 AM

#16435

Phat Mack

Twat-Waffle

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 12,275

I think the original was "Maximum John" Wood, a federal judge killed in San Antonio by Woody Harrelson's father. Jimmy Chagra was charged with setting it up, but I don't believe he was convicted.

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07-13-2017 , 01:19 AM

#16436

Phat Mack

Twat-Waffle

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 12,275

And since this is the book thread, a great book on the Chagras is "Dirty Dealing" by Gary Cartwright. A lot of the old poker players make an appearance.

Quote

07-13-2017 , 12:30 PM

#16437

kioshk

Nixonian

Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 92,966

All Murakami novels seem to have a fair amount of weird sex, but he really outdoes himself in 1Q84. The perv is palpable throughout, kudos to the master. Halfway home, still loving it. Only 400 pages left!

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07-13-2017 , 04:28 PM

#16438

Gioco

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,417

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phat Mack

I think the original was "Maximum John" Wood, a federal judge killed in San Antonio by Woody Harrelson's father. Jimmy Chagra was charged with setting it up, but I don't believe he was convicted.

I knew judges with a "max 'em whatever" nickname who were on the bench long before John H. Wood, and I'm sure there were others long before I was born.

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07-13-2017 , 09:16 PM

#16439

Enrique

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,883

Halfway through Work Hard, Be Nice about the Knowledge is Power middle school program across the country. Very interesting story. The two main characters are pretty crazy in terms of their work ethic and passion. It's nice to know some people are like that.

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07-15-2017 , 03:32 PM

#16440

PartyGirlUK

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 23,530

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë. Early in, really enjoying it & wondering how good Emiy & Charlotte must have been to be so much better known than Anne. It's written (so far) first person by a male (epistolary) narrator, she does an impressive job of capturing a male voice, especially since it was written when men were men and women were women so to speak.

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07-15-2017 , 04:18 PM

#16441

Gioco

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,417

Finished Maximum Bob. It was good entertainment and reminded me of the craziness that is Florida.

Started Killshot by Elmore Leonard, at about halfway through it, it seems to be as good as any Leonard I've read.

Still reading Anna Karenina.

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07-15-2017 , 06:23 PM

#16442

Phat Mack

Twat-Waffle

Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 12,275

Quote:

Originally Posted by PartyGirlUK

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is my favorite of the three. It's portrayal of an alcoholic is as good as I've ever read, and was way ahead of its time (I assume).

I always thought Wuthering Heights and Jayne Eyre were too sappy.

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07-16-2017 , 08:54 AM

#16443

ChaseNutley26

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 4,594

First thing James Mahaffey does in Atomic Accidents is tell me how safe nuclear power is. Then for fifteen hours he proceeds to scare the living bejesus out of my ass, recounting every kind of meltdown and cluster**** you can imagine. It's truly amazing that we haven't had more disasters. There is a good deal of engineering and procedural talk in the book that I glossed over, but there's no shortage of amazing stuff here, all told.

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07-16-2017 , 11:36 AM

#16444

Mulezen

grinder

Join Date: Oct 2013 Posts: 604

I think Killshot is Elmore's best. The background of the assasin...the sense of uneasiness with himself...and I read it probably ten years ago

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07-16-2017 , 03:52 PM

#16445

kokiri

ffermwr moch

Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 52,228

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaseNutley26

I'm reading Eric Schlosser's Command And Control which is on a similar topic.

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07-16-2017 , 05:41 PM

#16446

Boston Matrix

veteran

Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 2,325

Quote:

Originally Posted by kokiri

I'm reading Eric Schlosser's Command And Control which is on a similar topic.

I'm currently listening to the audiobook of this. Only a couple of hours in but great so far.

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07-18-2017 , 03:32 AM

#16447

Paul Smtih

stranger

Join Date: Jul 2017 Posts: 1

I am reading the “No One's Business: A Migrant's Barefoot Journey to Millions” written by Vadim Turnacu. I purchased this book from Amazon and found it is an awesome book among all the books I have ever read before.

Quote

07-19-2017 , 04:40 PM

#16448

Gioco

veteran

Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2,417

Finished Killshot and Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard; they are his two best novels that I have read. I read Get Shorty years ago, but forgot how good it was.

Still reading Anna Karenina.

Started Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard.