Now reading...

[A Lark Ascending]

The second Bruno mystery - evokes a nice, fluffy France where devious things go on but the essential goodness of the community makes all right in the end. Has me itching to go to France.

Read on the back of the first Bruno mystery. Wanted to know a bit more about wartime France.

Somewhat timely, given our current woes and the threat of the barbarians taking over again on Friday. A nicely balanced view, showing the 70s not to have been all misery. Amazing what I have forgotten; also useful for putting a jumble of memories into some sort of order.

[sidewinder]

'Gordon Brown' bio by Tom Bower. It's been sitting on my shelves for years but thought it was time to read it. A horror story !

[BillF]

the threat of the barbarians taking over again on Friday

YIKES!!!

[alankin]

Terry Teachout - "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong"

[BillF]

Somewhat timely, given our current woes and the threat of the barbarians taking over again on Friday

This week's reading?

[Shawn]

Cordwainer Smith - Norstrilia

...thanks to Lon for turning me onto this cat, what a joy!

[A Lark Ascending]

Somewhat timely, given our current woes and the threat of the barbarians taking over again on Friday

This week's reading?

I'm thinking of this:

[AllenLowe]

Bev, you really shouldn't be reading that book.

[A Lark Ascending]

Bev, you really shouldn't be reading that book.

I'm not. I'm looking at a internet image of the cover.

[BruceH]

Terry Teachout - "Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong"

I've really got to read this!

[jazzbo]

I got that for Christmas (okay a little late) from one of my friends, but I'm saving the reading of it for a bit.

Right now, this, which is pretty cool.

[BillF]

[jlhoots]

Louise Erdrich: Shadow Tag

[BillF]

The latest by this great short story writer.

[jostber]

Erri De Luca - Three Horses

Great Italian writer.

[jlhoots]

C.J. Box: Below Zero

[paul secor]

Jim Crace's novel, All That Follows

[Matthew]

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. Strangely enough, for the first time ever in my life, I'm becoming interested in Elvis, even going so far as listening to the Elvis station on XM Satellite Radio. This book is turing out to be a good introduction to his early life, stopping at Elvis' induction into the Army. An interesting read on someone I never had any interest in before.

[ejp626]

Slightly more than halfway through Nabokov's The Defense (or The Luzhin Defense). Just not that interesting to me (actually Zweig's The Royal Game covers much the same territory and is marginally more effective). To be honest, I wasn't that gripped by King, Queen, Knave either, though the plot is a little more compelling. If I don't start enjoying these novels more, I am going to scrap my plan to read all his major novels. I don't want this to become a chore.

Because I was traveling, I had a chance to read several shorter works (I didn't bring the Nabokov since it was a library book and sets off most sensors). I finished Transparency: Stories by Frances Hwang, which are interesting set pieces in a melancholy mode. She claims to be inspired most by Russian authors like Dostoevsky and Chekhov, as well as by Alice Munro.

A somewhat more substantial work I started on the journey was Antal Szerb's Journey by Moonlight. This is apparently a very well known Hungarian novel, but only appeared in English translation in 2000. It's good so far with the narrator drawing on childhood, perhaps as a more active, more engaged Proust-like figure.

Coincidentally, a copy of Mahfouz's The Mirage showed up at the library through interlibrary loan, so I'll basically read these together, and this seems a good pairing.

The last thing is I am working my way through Werner Herzog's Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo, which is what is says on the tin. Absolute madness to try to make this film in the jungle. In many ways the back story is just as incredible as the finished film.

[BillF]

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

[A Lark Ascending]

Really enjoying this tale of a divided family in south-east Ireland being forced to rethink their relationships when one member is revealed to be dying from AIDS. Like 'Brooklyn', a very strong sense of place.

[ghost of miles]

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. Strangely enough, for the first time ever in my life, I'm becoming interested in Elvis, even going so far as listening to the Elvis station on XM Satellite Radio. This book is turing out to be a good introduction to his early life, stopping at Elvis' induction into the Army. An interesting read on someone I never had any interest in before.

That's an excellent biography--I was (and am) somewhat the same way about Elvis, Matthew. It's interesting to read Guralnick's book just for the sense of how and why he became so important to American culture in the late 1950s.

[BruceH]

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick. Strangely enough, for the first time ever in my life, I'm becoming interested in Elvis, even going so far as listening to the Elvis station on XM Satellite Radio. This book is turing out to be a good introduction to his early life, stopping at Elvis' induction into the Army. An interesting read on someone I never had any interest in before.

That's an excellent biography--I was (and am) somewhat the same way about Elvis, Matthew. It's interesting to read Guralnick's book just for the sense of how and why he became so important to American culture in the late 1950s.

Guralnick was born to write this book. Although his other music-related books are worth checking out too.

[BruceH]

Isaac Asimov Presents the Best Science Fiction Firsts

Collection of first stories to deal with major science fiction themes. Some very readable stuff here.

What are some of the stories in this anthology? Amazon won't tell me a thing.

[B. Goren.]