jazzbo Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 Yes, it's not typical Himes. I've read a handful of novels, and a biography. Quite a character! Should revisit his work soon. I've read a lot of Amis, mainly in the 'eighties. Not sure if I've read The Rachel Papers. Sounds like I should check it out one of these days. I like his earlier stuff. Quote
ejp626 Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 Yes, it's not typical Himes. I've read a handful of novels, and a biography. Quite a character! Should revisit his work soon. I've read a lot of Amis, mainly in the 'eighties. Not sure if I've read The Rachel Papers. Sounds like I should check it out one of these days. I like his earlier stuff. Worth reading once, I'd say. I think my favorite Amis remains London Fields, though I probably ought to give Money another spin. Quote
BillF Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 Yes, it's not typical Himes. I've read a handful of novels, and a biography. Quite a character! Should revisit his work soon. I've read a lot of Amis, mainly in the 'eighties. Not sure if I've read The Rachel Papers. Sounds like I should check it out one of these days. I like his earlier stuff. Never got anywhere with the younger Amis, as opposed to his Dad, Kingsley Amis. Amis père's reputation has sunk in these times of political correctness, but for me the author of Lucky Jim remains really something. Quote
AfricaBrass Posted March 15, 2012 Report Posted March 15, 2012 I've been reading an interesting biography of Jack Parsons. Quote
medjuck Posted March 19, 2012 Report Posted March 19, 2012 Just finished two very different books about music: "Down that Lonesome Road" Mark Miller's book about Lonnie Johnsons's years in Toronto and Tommy James' "Me and the Mob and the Music". Both highly recommended. The main jazz connection in the James book is that Morris Levy, owner of Birdland and Roulette Records, is a major character in it. It's a great book for anyone interested in Rock even if they're not a fan of The Shondells Quote
Dave James Posted March 19, 2012 Report Posted March 19, 2012 (edited) Newly released James Brown bio by R.J. Smith: Edited March 19, 2012 by Dave James Quote
BillF Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Superb recent American novel with a college baseball theme. The fact that I knew nothing about baseball and yet found it unputdownable speaks volumes, if you'll excuse the pun. Quote
ejp626 Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Superb recent American novel with a college baseball theme. The fact that I knew nothing about baseball and yet found it unputdownable speaks volumes, if you'll excuse the pun. You might be the target audience in fact, i.e. people of a literary bent with limited practical knowledge of baseball. Many reviewers who are versed in the sport are quite offended by some of the contrivances, like people in the dugout who simply wouldn't be there during a game and so on. I think it is a genuinely difficult question about how "accurate" one must be in fiction. I suppose one can do whatever one pleases (it is fiction after all), but then be prepared for blowback from those who say X or Y simply couldn't happen because everybody knows about rule Z which prohibits this action. I like my fiction to be fairly plausible but it doesn't have to be nigglingly accurate. My basic impression is that this book wouldn't make it up to my standards. However, I won't read this because I don't read books about sports, full stop. Quote
medjuck Posted March 22, 2012 Report Posted March 22, 2012 Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugayan. It's a novel that has appearances by Luis Armstrong, Bill Coleman and John Hammond amongst others. Highly acclaimed and best seller in Canada. Definitely worth reading though I would claim that it takes place in some sort of alternate universe where Louis Armstrong is living in France in 1939 and spends days working on one recording. Quote
BillF Posted March 25, 2012 Report Posted March 25, 2012 The story of Miles told through the records. Very well researched and fascinating to read when I know so many of the records, but I wish the late Mr Cook hadn't been so judgemental. Everything seems to be seen as either success or failure - not at all the way I feel about the music. Quote
sidewinder Posted March 25, 2012 Report Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) The story of Miles told through the records. Very well researched and fascinating to read when I know so many of the records, but I wish the late Mr Cook hadn't been so judgemental. Everything seems to be seen as either success or failure - not at all the way I feel about the music. I must admit that I enjoyed that book - the judgemental bits I take with a pinch of salt though (with Miles, one man's 'chalk' always seems to be another man's 'cheese'). Currently reading (when I get chance): An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too. .. Edited March 25, 2012 by sidewinder Quote
Pete C Posted March 25, 2012 Report Posted March 25, 2012 When I got my Kindle last year I decided to read the complete works of Balzac in free, public domain editions (I had previously read four novels and several stories). About every third or fourth book I read now is Balzac, in the order he set out as his architecture for the Human Comedy. Right now I'm up to A Daughter of Eve. Quote
A Lark Ascending Posted March 25, 2012 Report Posted March 25, 2012 An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too. .. Pity about the endorsement on the cover! I assumed you were talking proportionately but looking it up was staggered to see 28 000 killed. That is horrendous. I've never spent long enough on the Wars of the Roses to get it straight in my head - read a good overview a couple of summer's back as a result of walking over what little is left of Tewkesbury. But it's now got jumbled again. Quote
sidewinder Posted March 25, 2012 Report Posted March 25, 2012 (edited) An excellent read. Anyone who has been to this site (between Leeds and York) in-person can't fail to sense that some seriously nasty **** happened here. More men died there in 1 day than on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. In the middle of an Easter snow-storm too. .. Pity about the endorsement on the cover! I assumed you were talking proportionately but looking it up was staggered to see 28 000 killed. That is horrendous. I've never spent long enough on the Wars of the Roses to get it straight in my head - read a good overview a couple of summer's back as a result of walking over what little is left of Tewkesbury. But it's now got jumbled again. Wars of the Roses. The 'Roses' thing came later - not called that at the time, apparently. Nor did they all go around wearing red and white roses. As for causes - looks like the combination of a total incompetent/mad King (Henry VI) making a complete mess of his kingship (having been crowned king at age 9 both of England and -in Paris- of France, thanks to his Dad's legacy ), finally losing the French 'territories' and a whole heap of rivalry for influence that basically resulted in a battle to the death between armies drawn largely from the North (Lancaster) and South (Yorkists) at Towton. Something like 10% of the UK male population fought on that field that day. And Margaret of Anjou's power base was obliterated as a result. Arguably, we are still living with the consequences of this one! (thanks to the Yorkists winning - close thing, the weather advantage on field of battle swung it). And the recent archeological finds are staggering - evidence of acts not dis-similar to Kosovo and the like. David Starkey - really knows his stuff. The 'Introduction' he adds to this book helps considerably with regards to background/context. Edited March 25, 2012 by sidewinder Quote
ejp626 Posted March 26, 2012 Report Posted March 26, 2012 Robert Kroetsch The Puppeteer. This is a sequel to Alibi and is even more explicitly "pomo," which certainly explains why this book wasn't that well received. Definitely not his strongest novel. I'm also working my way through Martin Murray's City of Extremes, which is an examination of Johannesburg. I have a few more weeks left before the book review is due! Quote
Matthew Posted March 30, 2012 Report Posted March 30, 2012 Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's. Quote
paul secor Posted March 31, 2012 Report Posted March 31, 2012 Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's. I'm sure others have beaten me to it, but welcome back, Matthew. Quote
Matthew Posted March 31, 2012 Report Posted March 31, 2012 Byrds: Requiem For The Timeless by Johnny Rogan. 1,200 pages on everything you ever wanted to know about the Byrds, and some stuff you didn't (I'm looking at you, David Crosby!). Highly recommended if you're interested in the Byrds, the L. A. rock scene, or just the 1960's. I'm sure others have beaten me to it, but welcome back, Matthew. Thanks, I just have had a killer travel schedule for the past eight months. Quote
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