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I just finished up Rocket Man, a bio of Elton John by Mark Bego.
He was more of a shopaholic than Imelda Marcos. 10,000 pair of shoes, and thousand pairs of eyeglasses, a million CD's, a dozen luxury cars, he couldn't stop shopping.
He did marry once for 3 years and she walked away with a $45 million settlement plus a luxury car and house. Not bad pay for 3 years "work".
I have no idea how a rock star like Elton John can continually perform, year after year, given all the energy he puts into his performances.
Mark Bego is an awesome biographer and I just ordered 5 more books that he has written.
While the title and the alleged subject is a man-eating Amur (Siberian) Tiger that was terrorizing a far Eastern village, the real subject is Russia, through the lens of this story. A personal note; much of my ancestry is from Czarist Russia, and what I read, both here and elsewhere, makes me glad that I'm here, not there. An excerpt that should not be a spoiler:
John Valliant skillfully uses three villagers as foils for the history and sociology of Russia. Two of these were killed by this tiger and one of whom had a major role in killing the tiger.
This book can be read on many levels, that of a nature lover, history buff or as a cultural study. Or all three levels. If the book were only about the tigers hunting villagers, and the tiger hunt,it would have merited about forty pages. The book was gripping and interesting all the way through. I highly recommend this book.
I'm glad you liked it! I agree that the tiger incident is a great story on it's own but what I really enjoyed was the Russian history in general and the Primorye Territory in particular. I didn't know anything about this area before reading the book and the descriptions of the flora and fauna, current and past living conditions, the interconnections between Russia, China and Korea were quite interesting. Primorye is far more than just a frozen wasteland.
You're right-living in Russia at any time must have been extremely tough and I'm also glad I'm here and not there.
A study of how & where a number of common preservatives and food additives are manufactured and originated from. I skipped a lot of chapters, because I didn't want to be grossed out, or become paranoid about what I eat.
I was mainly interested in chapters 6 & 7, regarding the rise of (high fructose) corn syrup. I believe that corn syrup bears a unique responsibility in America's obesity epidemic. And because corn is relatively cheap & domestic in America it has dislodged healthier sweeteners/sugars.
Just finished Wally Lamb's "I know This Much is True." 900 pages. A really well constructed story, at times difficult, at times funny, at times heartbreaking, and at the end, human - deeply human. I'd recommend this book. Even at 900 pages, it really holds my interest.
My book club met last week and we chose "Snow in August" by Pete Hamill. Will review when I finish it.
Brooklyn, 1947. The war veterans have come home. Jackie Robinson is about to become a Dodger. And in one close-knit working-class neighborhood, an eleven-year-old Irish Catholic boy named Michael Devlin has just made friends with a lonely rabbi from Prague. Snow in August is the story of that unlikely friendship -- and of how the neighborhood reacts to it. For Michael, the rabbi opens a window to ancient learning and lore that rival anything in Captain Marvel. For the rabbi, Michael illuminates the everyday mysteries of America, including the strange language of baseball. But like their hero Jackie Robinson, neither can entirely escape from the swirling prejudices of the time. Terrorized by a local gang of anti-Semitic Irish toughs, Michael and the rabbi are caught in an escalating spiral of hate for which there's only one way out -- a miracle....
Well I did finish Shipping News but really did not care for it. It was ok, but as happens most of the time with me and Pulitzer winners, it was not for me.
I then tried Pale Fire for book club, and was optimistic about it. It is by Nabakov, and under 300 pages so I thought it would be a good one to try. I did try and it was just too hard for me to get into. I am usually able to plod along but this one was beyond me. I may try it again sometime, but it was too out there for me. I kept trying, read about 20 pages, kept trying to read something that would get me attached but no go.
For another book club, I read Take My Hand. It was surprisingly good and a very engrossing read. It is historical fiction , civil rights, Montgomery Alabama etc. It was very well done. I give it 4.5 stars.
I am now reading The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot . This is just for me. I am only at the beginning but it is a very good read and I think I'll probably be really drawn into it.
I thought I remembered reading Snow in August but according to goodreads, I didn't. I have to look into that because it does sound so familiar.
Status:
"I have read 24 books this year!!!"
(set 4 days ago)
438 posts, read 195,880 times
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I learned this book would be published around February or March 2023, I've craved this experience. Worth the wait!!! I am relishing this book. Anyone struggling with growth I encourage to read it.
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