Now reading...

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We could lose it all’: UK jazz tries to get its groove back after Covid.

[Serioza]

[erwbol]

[jlhoots]

Louise Erdrich: The Night Watchman

[mjazzg]

2 hours ago, jlhoots said:

Louise Erdrich: The Night Watchman

I had forgotten about her. I was knocked out by one of her novels back in the 80s but I can't remember which it was. I should reacquaint myself.

[jlhoots]

14 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

I had forgotten about her. I was knocked out by one of her novels back in the 80s but I can't remember which it was. I should reacquaint myself.

Love Medicine was the first one I read. Have read almost every novel of hers since. This one won the Pulitzer prize.

[erwbol]

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[mjazzg]

Just finished.  Always a joy to read another Barry, here's to the next one.

And now

[jlhoots]

I'm also currently reading Sun Ra's Chicago.

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[ghost of miles]

A new NYRB Classics reprint of this novel by William Gardner Smith, a writer who’s long intrigued me—many years ago I tracked down a copy of his South Street, the only book by him that I’ve read to date. Anybody interested in depictions fictional or otherwise of the mid-20th century Black expatriate community in Paris might want to pick this one up: 

And

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Been doing lots of audio editing this weekend,
so I'm gonna relax and finish up the first book
and start the second book below:

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‘There is no fear’: how a cold-war tour inspired Pakistan’s progressive jazz scene

Why Are Independent Artists and Labels Turning Away From Vinyl?

[jlhoots]

Helene Wecker: The Hidden Palace

[danasgoodstuff]

Merging Lines: American Railroads 1900-1970, by Richard Saunders, Jr..  He does a good job of pulling an interesting narrative out of the sea of detail that is railroading in 20th Century America.  Lots of maps and other facts and figures, but not overwhelmingly so.  Surely the most thoroughly documented industry ever?  Like baseball, it just seems to lend itself to obsessing over details and stats.  My dad loved trains and so do I, so this renewed interest works for me on many levels.

[HutchFan]

[Rabshakeh]

14 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said:

Merging Lines: American Railroads 1900-1970, by Richard Saunders, Jr..  He does a good job of pulling an interesting narrative out of the sea of detail that is railroading in 20th Century America.  Lots of maps and other facts and figures, but not overwhelmingly so.  Surely the most thoroughly documented industry ever?  Like baseball, it just seems to lend itself to obsessing over details and stats.  My dad loved trains and so do I, so this renewed interest works for me on many levels.

It's an interesting topic. The story of how a country was built. 

[mjazzg]

William Langland - Piers Plowman

[Rabshakeh]

4 hours ago, mjazzg said:

William Langland - Piers Plowman

Gosh. Getting stuck in ahead of the inevitable next lockdown?

Edited July 23, 2021 by Rabshakeh

[mjazzg]

9 minutes ago, Rabshakeh said:

Gosh. Getting stuck in ahead of the inevitable next lockdown?

Ha ha! Yes, a light summer read.  The edition I have, Oxford World Classics, is surprisingly readable, so far.

Inspired by R4's 'In Our Time' a few months ago.

Edited July 23, 2021 by mjazzg

[danasgoodstuff]

18 hours ago, Rabshakeh said:

It's an interesting topic. The story of how a country was built. 

And then nearly fell apart in its moment of triumph.  RRs are not just a relic of the past, although they will never be as central as they once were.  But they are very well documented (except maybe 'what were they thinking'), but all that data leaves plenty of room for interpretation.  And they impinge on all other sorts of things.  It's hard to not be nostalgic for a time when jazz was jazz, blues was blues, country was country, and the train went everywhere.  I know better, but it's still hard.  Just the sight or sound of a train makes me happy.

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