What book are you reading?

[601halfdozen0theother]

I just re-read a book I found in the family farmhouse years ago, took home, and it has been in a box moving around with me for the past 25 years. It is:

Suds in Your Eye by Mary Lasswell.

It is about 3 old ladies who live in a junkyard during WWII. And drink a lot of beer.

I kept thinking while reading it this time around that it would make such a good tv series! American tv would screw it up, although it's set in San Diego, but BBC would do a good job.

If you want to laugh yourself silly, see if you can find a copy at a nearby library (look on www.worldcat.org) It's been out of print for years.

Boyohboy do I love this book!

[Chicagoland60426]

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

[Cunucu Beach]

American Sniper by Chris Kyle. Chris Kyle holds the record as a military sniper for the most confirmed kills--160, although the actual number is higher. Whether you admire him or condemn him, Chris Kyle is a rarity among men today--he has the soul of a "warrior". The Warrior was much admired in medieval times and plays important roles in folklore and fairy tales today. This book provides a look into the mind of a 21st century warrior and I'm finding it a good read, although I'm not especially interested in the parts where he goes into great detail about the types of guns he used. Gun enthusiasts will love those parts, though.

[Livefan]

Just finished reading Shadow Heir by Richelle Mead. I love all her stuff. So sad this was the last book in the series.

[kevxu]

Macho Camacho's Beat by Luis Rafael Sánchez. This is a wonderful translation by Gregory Rabassa of a Puerto Rican novel. A summary from the back cover: "Infinitely multipled by the blare of radios, TVs ad record players in San Juan, Macho Camacho's guaracha weaves its way across the city and through the lives of one family on a single day: Senator Vincente Reinos, a crooked politician stuck in a gargantuan traffic jam; his neurotic, aristocratic wife..their son Benny...the Senator's mistress...her idiot child...cousins (Hughie, Louie & Dewey) and her friend, Doña Chon."

The language is glorious - puns, plays on words, alliterations galore, and acrobatic leaps - all suggesting the rhythm of the ubiquitous beat and lyrics of the guaracha of the title. It is raucous and raunchy.

[netwit]

I've been reading a couple of Orson Scott Card's books (I needed something light) but now I'm reading Matterhorn, a novel of the Vietnam war, by Karl Marlantes. It came out in 2010 to rave reviews. The author is a Vietnam vet and this book was a 30 year effort on his part, no doubt to help to still the demons that haunt him. I'm not very far in yet, and it is a fairly thick book, but I am liking it so far. I'm guessing, due to the author's own war experience, that it is probably a fair depiction.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by netwit

I've been reading a couple of Orson Scott Card's books (I needed something light) but now I'm reading Matterhorn, a novel of the Vietnam war, by Karl Marlantes. It came out in 2010 to rave reviews. The author is a Vietnam vet and this book was a 30 year effort on his part, no doubt to help to still the demons that haunt him. I'm not very far in yet, and it is a fairly thick book, but I am liking it so far. I'm guessing, due to the author's own war experience, that it is probably a fair depiction.

Blah blah blah... How was The Night Circus? Did you finish it? Did you like it?

[Lamplight]

I finished Cass Timberlane the other night and liked it very, very much. In fact in may now be one of my favorites by Sinclair Lewis. Last night I started The Garden of Eden by Ernest Hemingway and read about fifty pages.

[netwit]

Originally Posted by DandJ

Blah blah blah... How was The Night Circus? Did you finish it? Did you like it?

Oh yeah! Did I not post on that? I did like it - I remember that. But everything else has disappeared into a senior moment. I also read Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx. It's not the book it could have been if she was a little less self-absorbed. She writes about place, and yet she understands nothing essential, it seems to me, about the place where she built her giant house. Unlike hubby, I didn't end up loathing her, but I could certainly see how the book struck the chord of a complaining guest.

I am also in the middle of reading an old book, The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich - an old book, sort of like Annie Dillard's book. This one is set in Wyoming - same place as Proulx's - but what a difference in approach and attitude.

Our weather here got down into the deep freeze one of the few times this winter, and with the wind howling here, and Ehrlich's Wyoming wind howling there, I got goosebumps. She describes winter perfectly. Proulx seemed surprised that winter dared to exist in her presence.

[DawnMTL]

Originally Posted by netwit

Oh yeah! Did I not post on that? I did like it - I remember that. But everything else has disappeared into a senior moment. I also read Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx. It's not the book it could have been if she was a little less self-absorbed. She writes about place, and yet she understands nothing essential, it seems to me, about the place where she built her giant house. Unlike hubby, I didn't end up loathing her, but I could certainly see how the book struck the chord of a complaining guest.

I am also in the middle of reading an old book, The Solace of Open Spaces by Gretel Ehrlich - an old book, sort of like Annie Dillard's book. This one is set in Wyoming - same place as Proulx's - but what a difference in approach and attitude.

Our weather here got down into the deep freeze one of the few times this winter, and with the wind howling here, and Ehrlich's Wyoming wind howling there, I got goosebumps. She describes winter perfectly. Proulx seemed surprised that winter dared to exist in her presence.

If you did post about The Night Circus, I didn't catch it. Sorry 'bout that.

It's getting cold here too, and your talk of howling winds and goosebumps is making me eye the blanket that's on Artie's futon in my office. Nap time!