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[jlhoots]

Bruce DeSilva: A Scourge Of Vipers

[crisp]

 

Just finished this 1920s mystery. Very good. Pretty easy to work out whodunnit but the howdunnit was complex and cleverly done. I'm surprised Philip MacDonald hasn't been reprinted sooner -- he was an interesting writer (wrote screenplays in Hollywood including Rebecca) and on the strength of this a very good one; deft and readable. One of the best in the new Detective Club series of vintage reprints.

[HutchFan]

I'm reading Edward N. Meyer's biography of Dick Wellstood, Giant Strides. 

Wellstood was an interesting, contradictory man.

[ejp626]

On ‎25‎/‎02‎/‎2016 at 10:38 AM, ejp626 said:

After this Lem's Solaris.  I'm quite interested to see what I make of this.  I've seen the two film versions but know that the book is a bit different.

 

I'm enjoying this, though I am spending a lot of time thinking back to the film versions.  (This probably confirms my general feeling that if you plan to watch the film and read the book, it is better to read the book first.  Not always possible of course.)  The physics, such as they are, seem completely absurd to me.  I don't care how intelligent this Solaris thing is, it can't completely overcome gravity and change the planet's orbit.  It simply wouldn't have the mass to do it.  (A minor point overall.)

After this Johnson's Oxherding Tale

and Brian Moore's The Luck of Ginger Coffey.

Edited February 29, 2016 by ejp626

[jlhoots]

Adam Johnson: Fortune Smiles

[A Lark Ascending]

Excellent book, tracing the endless tension between liberty and security. Focuses on the intelligence role of the FBI rather than crime fighting. Weiner writes in a very plain style - short bullet-like sentences, rather than flowing argument, though by his choice of information you are left in no doubt to his opinion (a fine balance but security has generally won the day). The first half covering the Hoover era with all his underhand wire taps and break ins really made me think about the legislation going on at present in the UK to extend surveillance.

Read his book on the CIA a while back. This is just as good.    

[jazzbo]

Very interesting.

[HutchFan]

On 2/29/2016 at 10:39 AM, ejp626 said:

and Brian Moore's The Luck of Ginger Coffey.

BIG thumbs up for Brian Moore.  

Haven't read that one yet. What do you think?

[ejp626]

21 minutes ago, HutchFan said:

BIG thumbs up for Brian Moore.  

Haven't read that one yet. What do you think?

It looks promising, but I won't start it until next week.  This one is a bit different from his other work as it mostly takes place in Canada.

[Leeway]

PERSUASION - Jane Austen.

Finishing my Jane Austen project, just have Northanger Abbey left. Not as richly developed as Pride and Prejudice, but still enjoyable and with its own interesting tone. 

[Brad]

This is one of those underappreciated works that NYRB Classics has a knack for bringing out of obscurity.

According to the back cover, Gold Medal Books — known for their original crime fiction paperbacks with memorably lurid covers -- introduced authors like Jim Thompson, Chester Himes, and David Goodis to a mass readership eager for stories of lowlife and sordid crime. Today many of these writers are admired members of the literary canon, but one of the finest of them of all, Elliott Chaze, remains unjustly obscure.

The story is two star crossed lovers who have plans to make a big score, with a lot of twists and turns.  The writing is simple but with a lot of great ideas.  Some of the dialogue seems as if it could come out of the mouth of Bogart.  He would have been perfect for this book.

A very enjoyable read.

[jazzbo]

Interesting Brad. I actually have a number of Gold Medal Book originals from Thompson, Goodis et al but have never read any Chaze. Will check it out. Thanks.

Gold Medal cover:

Edited March 4, 2016 by jazzbo

[ejp626]

On 2/29/2016 at 10:39 AM, ejp626 said:

After this Johnson's Oxherding Tale

 

This is a wild book.  It feels to me like Ishmael Reed refracted through Tristram Shandy.  I mean that as a compliment.  There is a philosophical component as the main character is supposed to be arriving at a kind of zen Buddhist enlightenment by the end, but I believe the path is the one with koan-like riddles.  Kind of sorry I didn't discover this in college.

[Brad]

14 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Interesting Brad. I actually have a number of Gold Medal Book originals from Thompson, Goodis et al but have never read any Chaze. Will check it out. Thanks.

Gold Medal cover:

Lon, think you'll enjoy it.  The book has a nice little introduction by Barry Gifford who, over the years, tried to get it re-published. He said that Chaze wrote many novels but this and Tiger in the Honeysuckle (a novel about racism) were the only ones worth publishing.  He said there were hopes that the book might be made into a movie; Giffords worked on the screenplay. 

There is some great writing in this book.  A shame to finish it. 

[jazzbo]

Thanks Brad, I'll get to it. I ordered another Chaze found really cheap to go into my pile. .. so many books to read, so little time!

[Brad]

NYRB Classics has a book club. Every month they send you a book they're publishing that month.  This way I read books I might not have otherwise read. 

[Matthew]

Preaching With Sacred Fire: An Anthology Of African American Sermons, 1750 To The Present.

 

Edited March 10, 2016 by Matthew

[jlhoots]

Ayelet Waldman: Love & Treasure

[paul secor]

10 hours ago, Matthew said:

Preaching With Sacred Fire: An Anthology Of African American Sermons, 1750 To The Present.

 

That looks interesting.

[BillF]

Back to Bellow with my old copy, inscribed 1966! A very different sort of novel from the English tradition stuff I usually read. Curiously, the nearest to it (apart from Bellow himself) I've read is L'étranger, which is nearly contemporaneous. I suppose the Bellow does have something of the existential about it.

[Matthew]

7 hours ago, paul secor said:

That looks interesting.

It is an interesting anthology.  It's great to especially hear the voices from the past preaching to the congregation! The book also contains sermons from non-Christians, so it is a good overview of the topic.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Matthew

[jazzbo]

After reading Anne R. Dick's book, I want to re-read several Dick novels, and am starting with this one.

[crisp]

Practically the last of Wodehouse's fiction that I hadn't read. There are a few short books that Everyman has published (I have the whole series apart from two) that aren't on the official checklist I've been using, plus some non-fiction such as Over Seventy. This one read like a patchwork of several short stories; rambling in other words, but easy reading. Archie is like a blend of Bertie Wooster and Monty Bodkin with a touch of Ukridge. I found this one pretty funny and liked the Archie character.

[A Lark Ascending]

Enjoyed this...intriguing historical counterfactual novel with alternative life directions explored. A bit overlong - the (admittedly evocative) Blitz section seemed to make much the same point in several scenarios. 

Wonderful popular history. Tried to read John Julius Norwich's book on Venice 15 years back and had to give up after 1/3 through as I got my doges muddled. This focuses on the seaborne empire from 1204 though to the 16thC. Especially good in the great set pieces - the sack of Constantinople, the rivalry with Genoa, the Cretan revolt, the Battle of Chioggia, the fall of Negroponte and Lepanto. Good lord it was tough living in the Middle Ages (though it's tough living today if you are unfortunate enough to be in Syria or Iraq). All things I either only had a dusting of knowledge of or no knowledge at all. 

Have his book on the Mediterranean clash between the Ottomans and the West leading to the battle of Lepanto heading my way now. 

Also two music books:

The Bartok is an excellent read - polished off in just over a week (just to indicate how compelling it was!) - a clear biography but with extensive commentary on the music (a bit too technical for me, but clear enough to use later when listening). I'm in the middle of the second - a beautiful and very humble book from the first violinist of the Takacs Quartet, tracing his arrival as the 'new boy' in the 90s through to becoming an established member. Explores his musical and human relationships with the other members, getting to know the music ever more deeply and the evolution of the quartets themselves in Beethoven's time. 

[Jazzjet]

2 hours ago, A Lark Ascending said:

Enjoyed this...intriguing historical counterfactual novel with alternative life directions explored. A bit overlong - the (admittedly evocative) Blitz section seemed to make much the same point in several scenarios. 

 

I also enjoyed 'Life After Life' immensely. I'm currently nearing the end of the (sort of) sequel, 'A God In Ruins' which concentrates on Ursula's brother, Teddy. Very enjoyable and a bit more conventional than 'Life After Life'. Next up, I'm starting Kate Atkinson's 'Jackson Brodie' books.