Books What Are You Reading or Listening To?

[Nokra]

11 hours ago, gamer.tv said:

 

and I have a Richard Dawkins book as well. 

Which one? Besides "The God Delusion", I really enjoyed "Unweaving the Rainbow" and I've purchased but have not yet read "The Greatest Show on Earth". 

[gamer.tv]

3 hours ago, Nokra said:

Which one? Besides "The God Delusion", I really enjoyed "Unweaving the Rainbow" and I've purchased but have not yet read "The Greatest Show on Earth". 

The Ancestor’s tale - I think 

[thewhyteboar]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:26 AM, thewhyteboar said:

Forgot to update. This was the first in a series, pretty good mystery. I got the second one but instead I decided to read a Western, The Shopkeeper by James D. Best. That was also the first in a series, but it was nothing special so I doubt I’ll track them down. The main character was too much like a superhero—rich, clever, and an amazing shot? Lame. 
 

Started The Diary of a Country Priest, by Georges Bernanos. 

 I forgot to update (again). I wasn't clicking with that book, so I dropped it and started The Virginian, by Owen Wister.

[Nokra]

20 hours ago, gamer.tv said:

The Ancestor’s tale - I think 

Ah nice, I own that one too but haven't read it yet. It's a beast of a book! Good luck! 

[EternallDarkness]

Finished up The Deadlands: Trapped the second book in the series. It's about a dinosaur series, think more serious/mature Land Before Time. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Now onto Saving Emma by Allen Eskens. I've read all this guy's books in the last year and this one released yesterday.

[EternallDarkness]

didn't end up starting Holly and instead started The Dead Take the A Train, quite twisted 

[EternallDarkness]

finished up Jo Nesbo's upcoming The Night House and have to say it's quite trippy. Of course when a book starts with a kid getting eaten by a phone you're pretty much guaranteed it's a crazy story.  

[CastlevaniaNut18]

13 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

finished up Jo Nesbo's upcoming The Night House and have to say it's quite trippy. Of course when a book starts with a kid getting eaten by a phone you're pretty much guaranteed it's a crazy story.  

I got that preordered for Kindle. Was thinking about reading it on vacation.

[best3444]

12 hours ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

I got that preordered for Kindle. Was thinking about reading it on vacation.

 

Where are you going on vacation?

 

Spoiler

 

[EternallDarkness]

1 minute ago, best3444 said:

 

Where are you going on vacation?

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

she's headed to Japan if I am not mistaken  

[best3444]

Just now, EternallDarkness said:

she's headed to Japan if I am not mistaken

 

Lol I know I was being sarcastic hence the emoji. She's mentioned it several times and I'm just teasing her. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Just now, EternallDarkness said:

she's headed to Japan if I am not mistaken

He knows, he's just making fun of me for being super excited.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Just now, best3444 said:

 

Lol I know I was being sarcastic hence the emoji. She's mentioned it several times and I'm just teasing her. 

I'm going to the FOOKIN' KIRBY CAFE, BITCH.

 

Oh yeah, his friend also made us reservations for the FF14 cafe. I might be more excited if there's other FF merch there.

[EternallDarkness]

Yeah I know. We all know you're headed for Japan....and many of us are jealous (at least I am  ) 

[best3444]

31 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

Yeah I know. We all know you're headed for Japan....and many of us are jealous (at least I am  ) 

 

I'm definitely jealous. 😩 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Started Lone Women by Victor Lavelle. I think I just have 2 more stories to go in Just After Sunset.

[gamer.tv]

So, I’ve (finally) finished Wuthering Heights. It’ll go in that list of books where I can’t quite understand why anyone likes any of the characters as my impression of the various Heathcliff’s and Cathy’s was a cycle of

emotional/physical abuse. Maybe that was the point but as a book for leisure, I could do without it.

 

I’m now reading the Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading for work and The World According to Garp for pleasure. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

Got my copy of The Armor of Light by Ken Follett today and I started on it at work tonight. Kingsbridge series is probably my favorite of all time and I was really hyped for this. Hoping I can finish it before we fly next Saturday because I really don’t wanna take this data’s book in my carry-on. 

[thewhyteboar]

5 hours ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Got my copy of The Armor of Light by Ken Follett today and I started on it at work tonight. Kingsbridge series is probably my favorite of all time and I was really hyped for this. Hoping I can finish it before we fly next Saturday because I really don’t wanna take this data’s book in my carry-on. 

I think I've read two in that series. I enjoyed both of them, just never caught up with the others.

[CastlevaniaNut18]

9 hours ago, thewhyteboar said:

I think I've read two in that series. I enjoyed both of them, just never caught up with the others.

I love huge, historical epics like this. Follett has plucky heroes you want to root for and the worst villains you love to hate. My favorite so far has been the first, Pillars of the Earth, but I've loved them all and this one is shaping it to be great.

 

I also discovered an older book called Trinity: A Novel of Ireland by Leon Uris and I look forward to starting it in the near future.

[thewhyteboar]

On 9/19/2023 at 11:20 AM, thewhyteboar said:

 I forgot to update (again). I wasn't clicking with that book, so I dropped it and started The Virginian, by Owen Wister.

That was rather beautifully written. You can see how many Western tropes originated with this book. 
 

Now reading If They Move…Kill ‘Em! A biography on Sam Peckinpah. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I finished the Follett book in 4 days. Enjoyed it. Probably my least favorite of the series, but it was still quite good, considering how much a love the others. 
 

Read The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa Matlin in one shift, it was short and quick. Now reading All Hallows by Christopher Golden. Spooky season and all. 
 

 

[EternallDarkness]

1 hour ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

I finished the Follett book in 4 days. Enjoyed it. Probably my least favorite of the series, but it was still quite good, considering how much a love the others. 
 

Read The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa Matlin in one shift, it was short and quick. Now reading All Hallows by Christopher Golden. Spooky season and all. 
 

 

 

Read The Stranger Upstairs over the summer, definitely wasn't what I expected. I seem to remember liking All Hallows, though I thought it getting released last year in Jan or Feb was so dang odd for a book centered around Halloween 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

19 minutes ago, EternallDarkness said:

 

Read The Stranger Upstairs over the summer, definitely wasn't what I expected. I seem to remember liking All Hallows, though I thought it getting released last year in Jan or Feb was so dang odd for a book centered around Halloween 

Yeah, that ending was wild. I hated the MC, but it was engaging for a day. 
 

Had All Hallows for a while, but I’ve been saving it for October. 

[EternallDarkness]

12 minutes ago, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Yeah, that ending was wild. I hated the MC, but it was engaging for a day. 
 

 

 

yeah it was odd. I think we were supposed to dislike her. Heck, no one in the book was all that likable. 

[EternallDarkness]

got around to reading the second book in the Creature Feature short stories series Amazon put out the other week. Ankle Snatcher by Grady Hendrix, very cool and creepy tale.

[gamer.tv]

So after Wuthering Heights, I rad the Art and Science of Reading which was cracking (if you’re a person that teaches children). Now reading The World According to Garp which has been good so far, along with a Cognitive Science book called Initium. 

[thewhyteboar]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:59 PM, thewhyteboar said:

That was rather beautifully written. You can see how many Western tropes originated with this book. 
 

Now reading If They Move…Kill ‘Em! A biography on Sam Peckinpah. 

Quite enjoyed that bio. It put a lot of things on my watchlist, gotta see if so can find a copy of Noon Wine. I really have no idea how Peckinpah managed to make any movies with how he treated studios and how they treated him (not to mention his own addiction issues). I know The Wild Bunch is his masterpiece, but I still maintain that Pat Garret and Billy the Kid is truly his best. It is a perfect eulogy and coda to the West, not just the West as a time and place, but also an elegy to the genre. 
 

I started The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, by Michael Ondaatje. 

[CastlevaniaNut18]

I started Black House by Stephen King and Peter Straub,  but that was on the flight and I haven’t read a word since. No time. We’re out all day and when we get back to the Airbnb we’re all just exhausted and shower and fall asleep. 

[thewhyteboar]

On 10/12/2023 at 11:29 AM, thewhyteboar said:

Quite enjoyed that bio. It put a lot of things on my watchlist, gotta see if so can find a copy of Noon Wine. I really have no idea how Peckinpah managed to make any movies with how he treated studios and how they treated him (not to mention his own addiction issues). I know The Wild Bunch is his masterpiece, but I still maintain that Pat Garret and Billy the Kid is truly his best. It is a perfect eulogy and coda to the West, not just the West as a time and place, but also an elegy to the genre. 
 

I started The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, by Michael Ondaatje. 

That is something that’s gonna stay in my guts for awhile. The book is a mix of prose and poetry, telling the story of Billy from his point of view. The violence is deeply visceral—some of the most disturbing passages I’ve ever read—while the moments of calm can be just as neatly serene. I read a Kindle version but I think I’ll need to get a print version someday that I can mark up. 
 

I started Ride the Pink Horse, by Dorothy B. Hughes. It’s supposed to be a classic crime/noir story. 

[thewhyteboar]

On 10/15/2023 at 1:58 PM, thewhyteboar said:

That is something that’s gonna stay in my guts for awhile. The book is a mix of prose and poetry, telling the story of Billy from his point of view. The violence is deeply visceral—some of the most disturbing passages I’ve ever read—while the moments of calm can be just as neatly serene. I read a Kindle version but I think I’ll need to get a print version someday that I can mark up. 
 

I started Ride the Pink Horse, by Dorothy B. Hughes. It’s supposed to be a classic crime/noir story. 

I enjoyed that noir. Had a lively theme of  Catholicism running through, which I always enjoy. I’ll track down something else by the other if I want to go back to the genre. 
 

Time for another Western, Valdez is Coming, by Elmore Leonard. 

[thewhyteboar]

On 10/25/2023 at 10:15 PM, thewhyteboar said:

I enjoyed that noir. Had a lively theme of  Catholicism running through, which I always enjoy. I’ll track down something else by the other if I want to go back to the genre. 
 

Time for another Western, Valdez is Coming, by Elmore Leonard. 

Fantastic Western. I need to see the movie someday. I also read Stoner by John Williams, which definitely lived up to the hype--"The best book you've never read" is the blurb on the cover. I now have read 3 of John Williams' 4 novels. Each of them are wonderful and so different from the other. 

I haven't settle on a new novel yet, but I'm going back and forth between Elmore Leonard short stories, a few chapters of Moby Dick, and a new book on the directing team of Powell and Pressburger.

[rc0101]

Getting hyped for the movie Napoleon in a few weeks and curious what the best reads are on his life?  I’m sure @Commissar SFLUFAN has one or two recommendations? 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

8 minutes ago, rc0101 said:

Getting hyped for the movie Napoleon in a few weeks and curious what the best reads are on his life?  I’m sure @Commissar SFLUFAN has one or two recommendations? 

 

This one is widely-regarded as the definitive biography for Napoleon:

 

Napoleon by Andrew Roberts: 9780143127857 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

WWW.PENGUINRANDOMHOUSE.COM

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The definitive biography of the great soldier-statesman by the acclaimed author of Churchill and The Last King of America—winner of the LA Times Book prize, finalist for the Plutarch prize,...