What Are You Reading

[Touchofevil]

View attachment 33035

Smart choice. Ross MacDonald's "The Doomsters" here.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Upton Sinclair's 1919 novel "Jimmie Higgins," the story of a small-town machinist who becomes involved with the labor movement and ultimately finds his way onto the front lines of the first World War. Jimmie is one of the "little people" in any movement, who does the petition-circulating, the event-organizing, the door-to-door canvassing, and never gets his name in the paper, but without him, no movement could ever grow. To this day in many labor-oriented groups, such small-time community organizing is called "Jimmie Higgins work."

 

[Bushman]

Funny, I'm reading Sinclair's "The Jungle" at the moment. My great grandparents and my grandparents both worked the Yards in Chicago, and my father grew up in the back of the yards for the first 5 years of his life, so it's something that's always interested me.

 

[dh66]

Funny, I'm reading Sinclair's "The Jungle" at the moment. My great grandparents and my grandparents both worked the Yards in Chicago, and my father grew up in the back of the yards for the first 5 years of his life, so it's something that's always interested me.

Just finished that recently. Should be required reading.

 

[1mach1]

V for Vendetta

 

[Harp]

my grandparents both worked the Yards in Chicago, and my father grew up in the back of the yards for the first 5 years of his life, so it's something that's always interested me.

Ditto. The Stockyard Inn served an excellent steak.

 

[Nobert]

Upton Sinclair's 1919 novel "Jimmie Higgins," the story of a small-town machinist who becomes involved with the labor movement and ultimately finds his way onto the front lines of the first World War. Jimmie is one of the "little people" in any movement, who does the petition-circulating, the event-organizing, the door-to-door canvassing, and never gets his name in the paper, but without him, no movement could ever grow. To this day in many labor-oriented groups, such small-time community organizing is called "Jimmie Higgins work."

Odd, a guy I know did a one man show called "Jimmy Higgins," but in this case it was about the son of a printer who became a journalist and got involved in the labor movement. Had no idea of the source material.

 

[cw3pa]

"The House Without a Key" (1925) by Earl Derr Biggers. The first Charlie Chan mystery. A good murder mystery, where Charlie while the main detective does not play a major roll in the mystery.

 

[MisterCairo]

"The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym" by Edgar Allan Poe. So far, a strange (quelle surprise) tale of a young man trapped aboard a mutineered ship.

 

[Touchofevil]

Ross MacDonald's "The Chill."

 

[Bamaboots]

Tim Dorsey's "Shark Skin Suite"

 

[LizzieMaine]

An article entitled "Can Father Coughlin Come Back?" in the March 2, 1937 issue of "New Masses." The author accurately predicts the course the Radio Priest would take over the next three years, and accompanies the article with a startling Art Moderne engraving of a becassocked Coughlin doing a snakedance before a microphone, while wearing a swastika around his neck. Which is pretty much how it actually played out.

There's also a what looks to be fascinating piece in this issue dissecting the political subtext in the pulp detective magazines of the time. Looking forward to tackling that article out on the porch this afternoon.

 

[Fading Fast]

Owing to way, way too many things going on at once in my life, my reading time has suffered the last several weeks, but today I started "Go, Set a Watchman," the just published Harper Lee novel that she wrote back in the 1950s around the time she wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Only a couple of chapters in, but it has the same feel and ease of style that "TKAM" has. This is not a spoiler as it comes out on page one - so far, the narration is done by Scout as a young woman coming back to Macomb to visit.

 

[Bamaboots]

FF, holding off on that one. Let us know what you think as I trust your judgement. Down here in Bama, bookstores are offering refunds.

 

[Fading Fast]

FF, holding off on that one. Let us know what you think as I trust your judgement. Down here in Bama, bookstores are offering refunds.

Wow and holy cow (I think I just said the same thing twice). I know there's been a storm about Atticus (I don't want to say more as I am frustrated that the media brouhaha over it hit my radar because I like to read books first without any outside opinions / impressions), but I had no idea there was that type of response. Of course, you are kind of at the geographic center of the story so maybe that is amplifying the passions.

I will report back my impressions (I am flattered by your comment, thank you) as I get deeper into it.

 

[Bamaboots]

FF, thought you might find this interesting.
Want to buy Harper Lee's father's old law office in ... - AL.com
www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/.../want_to_buy_harper_lees_father.html
1 day ago - Harper Lee's father's law office building for sale. the old bank building that once housed the office of author Harper Lee's father A.C. Lee on the ...

I'm the same as you in regards to criticism of what I want to read or see. Hope I didn't cause any undo influence.

 

[Fading Fast]

FF, thought you might find this interesting.
Want to buy Harper Lee's father's old law office in ... - AL.com
www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/.../want_to_buy_harper_lees_father.html
1 day ago - Harper Lee's father's law office building for sale. the old bank building that once housed the office of author Harper Lee's father A.C. Lee on the ...

I'm the same as you in regards to criticism of what I want to read or see. Hope I didn't cause any undo influence.

Great looking building - shame the interior is gone and it is in bad condition, but still you can feel its history. Thank you for pointing it out.

Absolutely no issue regarding influence - the blowback has been well publicized.

 

[gcsdls]

I'm making my way through Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series again. Excellent character development...very enjoyable reading.

http://www.amazon.com/Patrick-OBrian/e/B002BLL3ZC/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_2?qid=1439155105&sr=8-2

 

[Big J]

The Coldest Winter.
I think I need to learn much more about the Korean War.

 

[DNO]

The Coldest Winter.
I think I need to learn much more about the Korean War.

Like you, I've decided that I should know more about the Korean War. Motivated by the fact that my son is teaching English there, I've been picking up books on the war for the past little while. I have a decent collection now and I'm just waiting for the right mood to dive into them.

Meanwhile, I'm currently reading C. C. Humphreys' The Plague.