jazzbo Posted February 22, 2010 Report Posted February 22, 2010 It is interesting so far. I guess my main concern is "scholarship or crackpot rant"; sounds like it falls into the scholarship camp. I'll definitely have to check it out. Well, the author is not a typical Egyptologist. I don't consider him a "crackpot." He does have an agenda, but most authors and most scholars do. He's not a non-scholar so to speak, he's a civil engineer, and he's studied Egyptology as far as I can tell a lot of his life. He is interviewed briefly here on this page. http://www.egypt-tehuti.org/gadalla.html From the interview: M.G.: I didn't intend to focus on Ancient Egypt, just because I'm Egyptian. It was only after I began reading existing books about the subject, that I discovered how MUCH they knew, and how AWARE they were of the universe, in every action of their daily lives. Yet this information is suppressed in almost all of today's references and textbooks. I have made it my life's mission to get the TRUE image of the ancient Egyptians out to the world, for those who are ready to hear it Quote
medjuck Posted February 22, 2010 Report Posted February 22, 2010 Patti Smith: Just Kids Me too. I'm really enjoying it. Quote
BillF Posted February 22, 2010 Report Posted February 22, 2010 So What: The Life of Miles Davis. John Szwed's biography of Miles Davis, which I will read during my business trip the next ten days. Nothing helps reading like long lay-overs in airports.. Good choice! I found it very readable. Quote
brownie Posted February 24, 2010 Report Posted February 24, 2010 Starting to read 'Charles Delaunay et le Jazz en France dans les Années 30 et 40' by Anne Legrand which came out last week. A well documented book on the fascinating figure that was Delaunay. The book was published after Anne Legrand's thesis that won her a ph.d. at the Sorbonne University. Looks excellent right from the start! Quote
BillF Posted February 25, 2010 Report Posted February 25, 2010 Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked Englishwoman discovers disappeared American rock legend through internet music discussion forum! Quote
paul secor Posted February 25, 2010 Report Posted February 25, 2010 (edited) Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked Englishwoman discovers disappeared American rock legend through internet music discussion forum! Read it a couple of weeks ago. Identified some with the internet bit. Hope I'm not as far gone as the rabid fan in the novel - tho my wife sometimes thinks I am. Different jacket cover for the book here in the States. Edited February 25, 2010 by paul secor Quote
paul secor Posted February 26, 2010 Report Posted February 26, 2010 David Bajo: The 351 Books of Irma Arcuri Quote
jlhoots Posted February 26, 2010 Report Posted February 26, 2010 Robert Utley: Billy The Kid (A Short Violent Life) Quote
aparxa Posted February 26, 2010 Report Posted February 26, 2010 This month: Ken Follett - The Eye of the Needle Michael Connelly - The Overlook Oscar WIlde - Selections from A Laurel Reader (Huge highlights were a Rereading of Savile's Crime and Star-Child) Now: Henry James - The portrait of a Lady ( The narrative is a pure pleasure) Quote
aparxa Posted February 26, 2010 Report Posted February 26, 2010 Michel Folco's latest. Don't know if the fellow has been translated in english, are they frenchies here who are digging his stuff ? Never h(re)ad so far. Historical satyrs ? How do you like it ? Quote
Jazzmoose Posted February 27, 2010 Report Posted February 27, 2010 C.J. Cherryh: Serpent's Reach I'm not sure how I missed her works before, but she writes excellent SF. Quote
Van Basten II Posted March 4, 2010 Report Posted March 4, 2010 (edited) Michel Folco's latest. Don't know if the fellow has been translated in english, are they frenchies here who are digging his stuff ? Never h(re)ad so far. Historical satyrs ? How do you like it ? Liked it a lot, he has a way of writing that is quite Americanized very punchy and despite the lenght of the book not too wordy, the narration is quite ironical but straight forward and the story is quite a wild ride, meeting a young Hitler, Sigmund Freud and a family who has a very special relation with religion, in terms of popular litterature you can do a whole lot worse than him. Will try to pick up his previous books. Now reading this Not exactly great litterature, but books about fighters are rather scarce especially if you take away subjects like Ali otr Tyson. Written by a close friend, it may be too hagiographic for its own good but it still is an entertaining book that tells the story of one of the last TV boxing Star, you know when boxing used to appear on regular networks. Edited March 4, 2010 by Van Basten II Quote
Matthew Posted March 5, 2010 Report Posted March 5, 2010 (edited) So What: The Life of Miles Davis. John Szwed's biography of Miles Davis, which I will read during my business trip the next ten days. Nothing helps reading like long lay-overs in airports.. Good choice! I found it very readable. Got about 2/3 of the way through (have to return it to the library, I'll get it again in a day or so) but it is a very good read. It's interesting how Miles' life has a pronounced mythic component, where reading about his life, it already seems to fall into jazz cliche mode, but yet, it was a real life. One of the interesting points that Szwed makes is that Miles was not a "modern person" of the sixties, but was really a throwback to the 1950's, and makes the caparison that Miles was actually like Elliott Gould's Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye, an outdated character adrift in the modern world, with values and outlooks that are out of sync with what is going on around him. You could write some great articles of some of the off-hand comments that Szwed makes. Edited March 5, 2010 by Matthew Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 and makes the caparison that Miles was actually like Elliott Gould's Philip Marlowe in The Long Goodbye, an outdated character adrift in the modern world, with values and outlooks that are out of sync with what is going on around him. That might explain his dress sense from the late 60s! Quote
BillF Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Re-read Christopher Isherwood's A Single Man after seeing the movie. Interesting differences! He doesn't own a gun in the book! Quote
Matthew Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Rereading The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton by Michael Mott to get in my mind a good overall feel sense Merton's life. Heaven help me, but I'm 99% certain that I am going to blog a commentary on Merton's Journals. Quote
Van Basten II Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Finished it, the main failure of this book is that for a boxing book it talks little of boxing but more of the moral story of Vinny's comeback and never give up attitude. Fights are described in very few details if they are any. . If you wanna read an uplifting story pick it up, if you're an hardcore boxing fan, save your money. Currently reading this Juliette by the Marquis de Sade Doing a Google search to find a proper image using words livre histoire de juliette marquis de sade 10/18, at some point I had a picture of an Hilary Clinton book Quote
paul secor Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Clifford Brown by Nick Catalano - I'd read a lot of negative things about it but decided to give it a shot. Big mistake - one of the most poorly written books I've ever read. It did inspire me to listen to some Clifford Brown, which was a good thing, but I can't imagine ever having a desire to reread it, or even to reread parts of it. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Finished it, the main failure of this book is that for a boxing book it talks little of boxing but more of the moral story of Vinny's comeback and never give up attitude. Fights are described in very few details if they are any. . If you wanna read an uplifting story pick it up, if you're an hardcore boxing fan, save your money. Well, since my image of Paz changed over time from "courageous come back kid" to "whining cheap shot artist", I guess I'll pass... Quote
Matthew Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 (edited) Waterland by Graham Swift. Just got this from the library today, and started reading this for the first time in a long while. First of all, I cannot believe this was published twenty-seven years ago, where does time go? I remember the first time I read this book, when I finished, I went right back to page one, and started all over again. It's still that powerful, what a wonderfully written book, one of the best in the past thirty years. Edited March 6, 2010 by Matthew Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted March 6, 2010 Report Posted March 6, 2010 Waterland by Graham Swift. Just got this from the library today, and started reading this for the first time in a long while. First of all, I cannot believe this was published twenty-seven years ago, where does time go? I remember the first time I read this book, when I finished, I went right back to page one, and started all over again. It's still that powerful, what a wonderfully written book, one of the best in the past thirty years. One of my desert island books! Some wonderful ruminations on history in its pages. Highly evocative of the Fenland region of East Anglia where it is set. And very good on eels too! Quote
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