What Are You Reading

["Skeet" McD]

I fear that many of the dusty, musty, yellow-paged, frayed-covered old books that we love so dearly will never be on Kindle. I know that's probably the case with many of the books that I like to read.

Dear V.C.: you might be right...but I remember thinking exactly the same thing in the early 80s about CDs...they'd NEVER reissue many of the obscure things I loved so. Well, in amazingly short order...they had released them (with very, very few exceptions) and the market was flooded with even MORE obscure items which never would have seen the light of day except for the change in technology. So, really....who knows?

As an analog...take a look at GoogleBooks. Need to see the full text of a quite rare 1870s professional baker's cookbook published in Chicago, but only have a short quote to find it by? It's there....as are a zillion things which you once would have had to travel the country and/or world to view in scattered libraries. Whether this material will become available on Kindle or not....again: who knows. But that it's liable to become easier and easier to access it by some portable electronic device is, I'd say, almost a certainty.

Having said all that....personally, I can't see my buying or using a Kindle; on the other hand, I never saw myself owning an iPod either...and that changed my life.

Bottom line: at least for those of us who grew up using them, nothing will ever take the place of a book. But, in large measure, this may be because of our personal memories of book usage. As that becomes a smaller and smaller part of "kids today"'s experience...they may feel differently. There will always be some place for books, I think...in the same way that video did not make movie theaters disappear; they're just a different experience.

"Skeet"

 

[Antje]

I recently started, the story of the amulet, by Edith Nesbit

 

[C-dot]

Spellbound by Beauty: Hitchcock and his Leading Ladies by famed biographer Donald Spoto. Excellent book - Very juicy and informative!

 

[WH1]

"Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis

Very interesting work, originally the writings were a series of radio broadcasts he did for the BBC during World War 2.

 

[Harp]

"Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis

Very interesting work...

'Tis heav'n that lyes in ambush there, and breaks
From thence into the wandring reader's brest.

Richard Crashaw, Apologie for The Forgoing Hymne

Todd,

I bought Lewis' Signature Classics collection last summer,
and find his common sense and WWI trench perspective refreshing.

Also, have been nursing a cold with Evan Williams whisky,
an aged sour mash that stands favorably to Maker's Mark
at a third the latter's price.
It ain't that caffeine-free still swil bivouac route march hooch.

 

[Panache]

I just recieved yesterday "The Shadow over Baker Street" from Amazon.com. It is a collection of stories merging the literary worlds of Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. The first story "A Study in Emerald" by Neil Gaiman was wonderful (and apparently a hugo winner). I hope the rest are as good.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[JimWagner]

This has made me curious - I wonder how many of the people reading this thread use a digital book device, or plan to acquire one in the future. As a moderately old geezer (50+), I do not now, nor have any plans to own one. Though I do use this inter-web machine in front of me for certain purposes, I find that for reading, there is nothing like the feel of a real book in my hands.

I have a Kindle and love it.

After living in the same house for more than 30 years there just isn't anywhere to put another book. It kills me to throw away a book, even if I know in my heart I'm not going to reread it.

Kindle solves that particular problem rather handily. Not only do I not need to throw away books from the Kindle, I can find them whenever I want to. They don't deteriorate, get musty, or have pages fall out.

And no matter how many books I have on the Kindle, it takes up no additional living space and is no heavier to carry around with me.

The fact that some older books I've been meaning to read are showing up for free or practically free doesn't hurt either. Not to mention nearly instantaneous delivery pretty much wherever I happen to be.

Maybe not for everyone, but works for me.

 

["Skeet" McD]

And now part of mine....

Finished reading Merry Christmas, Mr. Baxter by Edward Streeter, the same author who brought us Father of the Bride, and Mr. Hobbs' Vaction.

The book is tied very strongly to its time and place, New York City in the mid-1950s. In a sense it is somewhat insular, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Immediately after reading Wally's post...I ordered up a copy and used it as my bedtable reading through the immediate penumbra of Christmas. It is truly a wonderful book: and not at ALL the kind of book I would be likely to have picked up, even at a "$1 for all the books you can fit in this bag" event. More loss to me!

Wally's comment about it being very NYC in the '50s is absolutely true...but, as a child born in the city in 1953....it evoked very very clearly the city I remember, even if mostly from the first half of the '60s. Yes, very much of its time and place: but all the more wonderful for that. For me--and others who inhabited or touched that world--there are many things, half forgotten, so clearly described as to bring a chill of long-forgotten recognition: "I remember the sound those bus doors made when they closed!" But honestly, there's little here that it requires a knowledge of "that" city to enjoy (one of the few I can think of is a description of Grand Central's concourse--it's mentioned that there's a shockingly realistic Vermont snow scene there--unless you remember the HUGE, brilliant yellow KODAK billboard that once loomed over the concourse and showed a changing display of photographs, you won't understand the reference). But with those very few exceptions, the world of the prosperous but middling man of business, his family and associates, thoughts and doings could be from any city in America during the 50s, I think.

Streeter reminds me of Patrick Dennis in many ways; but while Dennis chronicled the bohemia of his day, Streeter illuminates the good, gray, normal world with the same mix of clear-eyed observation tempered with a good deal of affection for humanity.

The illustrations deserve a special word: they are so very much of their period and yet are not dated. They describe and illuminate the events of the story with the same light-handed perfection the prose offers. For the New-Yorker (and here again, perhaps, those who don't know the city will lose a bit) tiny fragments of architecture, sketched with a deft hand, immediately identify the location: that's the cab entrance to Grand Central! I know those shops in Rockefeller Center! etc.

I don't even consider myself to like the '50s much; but this book allowed me a good, insider's look at the city my father came to and prospered in, just like Mr. Baxter (although in the odd-ball world of operatic singing, not banking and textile factoring!). I feel I'm better for having read it, and I enjoyed every second of the lesson.

Thank you, Mr. Streeter! Thank you, Wally!

"Skeet"

 

[Zip Gun Aria]

Currently browsing old friends because I have a story due for an anthology:

Ferdydurke, by Witold Gombrowicz
The Secret Life of the Lord of Musashi, by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
The Lime Twig, by John Hawkes (my third favorite stylist)
The Bride's Tragedy, by Thomas Lovell Beddoes

I've got the music of David Goodis with me as well, though it's better remembered than re-experienced (at his worst, he can be sloppy and even unintentionally funny). I've read eight of his novels and that fatalistic flow is now easy access. He's the Billie Holiday of 40s noir, and every ending is Gloomy Sunday: There's a moment in his stories when the characters freeze and fist inward like exposed spiders. All at once, everyone realizes their flurries of ambition and conflict were only violent dreams, and that the entire crew is sinking underwater -- it's as if, in giving up, in letting the plot slide, the novel only becomes more effective. It's talking to you directly now, beyond artifice, one lyrical accordion-fall of failure. And of course, the characters are now revealed as facets of one single skull, one half-drunken head slipping down into the empty pillowcase, its voice dust, its gaze grayed, its one desire expressed as a self-negating wish. There's no better music to fill the almost-empty bar as the last casualty swivels off-counter and it's time for you to pay.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer, just started this one its Nancy Mitford "meets" 84 Charring cross Road"

http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/guernsey//book/

January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.

 

[anon`]

"The Whisperer In Darkness"

Can't wait for the film, either!

 

[Wally_Hood]

I just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I decided I would reread my all time favorite Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie, but I soon realized that I still haven't finished Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. haha I am currently a literary mess.

Barrie and Carroll? You are very welcome, MMR, to this thread!

 

[Wally_Hood]

[QUOTE="Skeet" McD]Immediately after reading Wally's post...I ordered up a copy and used it as my bedtable reading through the immediate penumbra of Christmas. It is truly a wonderful book: and not at ALL the kind of book I would be likely to have picked up, even at a "$1 for all the books you can fit in this bag" event. More loss to me!
... I feel I'm better for having read it, and I enjoyed every second of the lesson.

Thank you, Mr. Streeter! Thank you, Wally!

"Skeet"[/QUOTE]

You a very, very welcome, Skeet! I was happy to read your post and your delight in the book-

 

[Wally_Hood]

"Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis

Very interesting work, originally the writings were a series of radio broadcasts he did for the BBC during World War 2.

I read this in my early spiritual life. A popular, as opposed to scholastic, book. Enjoyed it. You may enjoy Miracles by Lewis if you have the time. Then by all means read The Screwtape Letters.

 

[Wally_Hood]

Originally posted by Harp...


Also, have been nursing a cold with Evan Williams whisky,
an aged sour mash that stands favorably to Maker's Mark
at a third the latter's price.
It ain't that caffeine-free still swil bivouac route march hooch.

Harp, are these the lyrics to an as-yet-unreleased song of yours?

 

[Maguire]

I just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I decided I would reread my all time favorite Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie, but I soon realized that I still haven't finished Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. haha I am currently a literary mess.

I read Things Fall Apart and actually enjoyed it. (SPOILERS)While its obviously sympathetic to the natives and anti imperialist, it doesn't compromise in showing some of their less admirable practices. The main character is admirable despite this, merely because he refuses to compromise, and like all characters who refuse to compromise, it ruins him. Rare to see tragic heroes in such contexts, but certainly a welcome change.

 

[Maguire]

Currently reading Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). Brain-eating serpents sprouting out of shoulders? These crazy Persians have me hooked.

!!! I've been trying to get ahold of this one for awhile, is this an english translation, or an abridged copy, or whatnot? (apologies for the double post.)

 

[Widebrim]

I just finished Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. I decided I would reread my all time favorite Peter Pan by J.M.Barrie, but I soon realized that I still haven't finished Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. haha I am currently a literary mess.

And I am just starting The Annotated Alice, with notes by Martin Gardner.

 

[Ethan Bentley]

"Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis

Very interesting work, originally the writings were a series of radio broadcasts he did for the BBC during World War 2.

An excellent little book, I quite enjoyed CS Lewis' musing in "The Four Loves" recently. He covers many thoughts similar to my own, I just didn't know hoe to express them as eloquently.

 

[drafttek]

Just finished 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and have started The Early History of the Airplane by Wilbur and Orville Wright. I read them on my Blackberry courtesy of Gutenberg.org. Nice to have some reading handy on the go. I'm also reading Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris while at home.