What Are You Reading

[imoldfashioned]

I’m just back from vacation where I finally had some time to read. I would recommend Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick (with a name like that he had to write about the Mayflower, eh?). Very readable but detailed account of the first 100 years or so of the Mayflower’s passengers in America—I learned a lot, particularly about King Philip’s War.

I also loved Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea as it details an affair between two men. I loved the sense of place it conjured (Italy in the Summer), the feeling of time passing, the depth of emotion expressed and the lovely writing. I bought the hardcover with the intention of returning it but I liked it so much it’s a keeper—this is the true test for me of whether I liked the book!

I’ve started A.L. Kennedy’s Everything You Need. I’m enjoying it so far—she uses language in such an interesting way—but the novel is huge and quite daunting. I’ll probably be finished with it at the end of the Summer the rate I’m going.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

A Rage in Harlem, by Chester Hines? Himes?

Still pushing through The Bride Wore Black by Woolrich.

And currently rereading a collection of Ray Bradbury shorts. (And watching a lot of Twilight Zone, as of late.)

 

[skwerl-hat]

the best american short stories 1944
i picked this up at a thrift store for two bits

 

[Parallel Guy]

Have been working my way through A Long Way Gone by Ismael Beah. It's a memoir of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone. Only 229 pages, I still can only take it in short bits before it becomes too oppressive. A worthwhile read, well-written, but chilling.

 

[Helen Troy]

"The Lost Musicians" by William Heinesen, 1957. It's about more or less strange people in a small town on the Faroe Islands. Very fun and well written, it reminds me of Steinbecks books about Cannery Row.

 

[jake_fink]

Still pushing through The Bride Wore Black by Woolrich.

Kill Bill without the kung fu.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Kill Bill without the kung fu.

True dat. Reads like short stories so I keep putting the book down for extended periods of time.

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

Right now I'm reading a book about Amos & Andy by our own LizzieMaine.

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

"The Book of the Pommern"

The book I most recently finished reading was "The Book of the Pommern". The Pommern was a tall ship (a 'Cape Horner') that was originally in the 'Flying-P' line of the German shipping house of F. Laeisz (Hamburg).

It was about Pommern's history under both the German flag and then the Finnish flag. The ship now serves as a museum ship in Mariehamn in the Aland Islands.

I like to read about the 'Cape Horners' during the 1920's-1930's.

As for what I'm 'reading' now - I'm reading something you can't really 'read' like a book because it's a manual - "Aromatherapy Practitioners Reference Manual".

Prien

 

[Rosie]

Right now I'm reading a book about Amos & Andy by our own LizzieMaine.

Wow! Really. Lizzie that's great, I'm so proud of you.

I just bought it from Amazon!

 

[Vintage Betty]

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

I'm about half way through and it's EXCELLENT so far.

Here's the synopsis, courtesy of Amazon:

The year is 1866 and revolution is brewing in Spain. The corrupt Bourbon queen, Isabella II, is slowly losing her grip on power as equally corrupt exiled politicians vie to be her successor in a new republic. Against this background of political upheaval, Don Jaime goes about his business, teaching a dying art to a dwindling number of students. This is a man who resists changing times; to a friend he explains, "I have spent my whole life trying to preserve a certain idea of myself, and that is all. You have to cling to a set of values that do not depreciate with time. Everything else is the fashion of the moment, fleeting, mutable. In a word, nonsense." But then Adela de Otero--a woman with a mysterious past and an amazing talent for swordplay--comes into his life, and Don Jaime's world is turned upside down. As always, P?©rez-Reverte offers literary excellence, a thumping good mystery, and fascinating insight into an arcane practice, in this case, fencing. Though the 19th-century politics in the book may resonate more with a Spanish audience than with English readers, the moral at the heart of The Fencing Master is universal: "to be honest, or at least honorable--anything, indeed, that has its roots in the word honor." In this, Don Jaime and Arturo P?©rez-Reverte both succeed

 

[blacklagoon]

bedside regulars

I always have four books by my bedside,which i dip into regularily.they are mostly old books.here is my usual list:

1: bram stoker's dracula.
2: charles dickens - a christmas carol.
3: james malcolm rymer - varney the vampire: or the feast of blood.
4: film fun all star annual 1940 comic book.

The varney the vampire book is a modern printing,and complete.it is the thrift edition,and is massive and really heavy.i have to have a little table on my bed in order to read it.

 

[Martinis at 8]

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

I'm about half way through and it's EXCELLENT so far...

All of his books are great! I've read them in both Spanish and English.

Cheers,

M8

 

[carebear]

The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte

I'm about half way through and it's EXCELLENT so far.

All of his books are great! I've read them in both Spanish and English.

Cheers,

M8

I completely agree.

 

[Martinis at 8]

I've been reading and collecting the old series of pulp fiction novels known as The Saint by Leslie Charteris. These are really cool reads. The old TV series follows the novels fairly closely in most cases.

 

[Sunny]

I've been reading and collecting the old series of pulp fiction novels known as The Saint by Leslie Charteris. These are really cool reads. The old TV series follows the novels fairly closely in most cases.

Huzzah for the Saint! I haven't seen enough of the television show to offer much of an opinion, but there are some points that Roger Moore misses. George Sanders is closer... Enough of that, though - the books are fantastic. Check out the Saint_Fans community for some more discussion, if you want. :eusa_clap

 

[LizzieMaine]

Revisiting another old favorite, "A Confederacy of Dunces," by John Kennedy Toole -- an epic of mid-20th-century New Orleans, stressing the advantages of theology, geometry, and a smoothly-functioning pyloric valve!

 

[Martinis at 8]

Huzzah for the Saint! I haven't seen enough of the television show to offer much of an opinion, but there are some points that Roger Moore misses. George Sanders is closer... Enough of that, though - the books are fantastic. Check out the Saint_Fans community for some more discussion, if you want. :eusa_clap

Hey, thanks for the link.

I recently read The Last Playboy about Porfirio Rubirosa, so what's with Sanders knocking himself off in Barcelona? Sad.

M8

P.S. I'm in Houston.

 

[Vintage Betty]

Matinis and Saint:

What book of his should I read next?

Vintage Betty

 

[Martinis at 8]

Ma[r]tinis and Saint:

What book of his should I read next?

Vintage Betty

Here are the ones I have read over the years. I enjoyed them all, and have been a fan of The Saint since childhood.

Concerning the Saint
Saint Errant
The Saint in Europe
The Saint and Mr. Teal
The Saint and the Hapsburg Necklace*
The Saint and the Templar Treasure
Catch the Saint
Count on the Saint
Vendetta for the Saint.

I am currently reading The Saint to the Rescue. Keep in mind most of these books are compendiums.

I've recently completed all of Ian Fleming's Bond series. These are great also, but I rather prefer the work of Leslie Charteris.

Cheers,

M8

*P.S. Try this one if you have not read it yet.