Brad Posted December 7, 2022 Report Share Posted December 7, 2022 40 minutes ago, HutchFan said: Yes, please. I'd appreciate your recommendations on the Spanish Civil War very much. ... Another period that I'd like to dig more deeply into: The Islamic al-Andalus and the Christian Reconquest (8th–15th centuries). I'm a Hemingway fan, so I've read that one a few times. For Whom the Bell Tolls as well. SCW recommendations. A good one is Hugh Thomas’ book but it’s long Written a long time ago but still holds up well. Ronald Fraser’s Oral History of the Spanish Civil War is incredible but, again, long Adam Hochschild’s Spain in our Hearts is good but more focused on the International Brigades. Hotel Florida by Amanda Vaill isn’t bad. Lastly, Giles Tremlett’s Ghosts of Spain gives you a good look at the country and how it deals with the SCW. Coming to grips with it more than 80 years after it ended is still contentious. Since you are going to be in Madrid, if you have access to a car, I’d recommend going to Sepúlveda for the roast lamb. It literally falls off the bone. It’s north of Madrid, an hour’s drive I think. Also go to Segovia. The Roman aqueduct still works. Meson de Cándido is a good restaurant. A little touristy but the food is good. Avila is a walled city south of Madrid. Worth a visit. Madrid has tons of restaurants. A touristy spot but a very good restaurant is Casa Botín off the Plaza Mayor. I love the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 7, 2022 Report Share Posted December 7, 2022 4 hours ago, HutchFan said: Yes, please. I'd appreciate your recommendations on the Spanish Civil War very much. ... Another period that I'd like to dig more deeply into: The Islamic al-Andalus and the Christian Reconquest (8th–15th centuries). I'm a Hemingway fan, so I've read that one a few times. For Whom the Bell Tolls as well. There’s a book on Islamic Spain that was well received when it came out called Kingdoms of Faith: A New History of Islamic Spain by Brian Catlos. If you like Hemingway you might enjoy the podcast One True Pod. I find it invaluable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluesnik Posted December 9, 2022 Report Share Posted December 9, 2022 On 11/16/2022 at 3:56 AM, ejp626 said: I have this same edition. Been meaning to get to it forever... I also had it since 2004, and only gave it a read now. But it's really good. On 12/5/2022 at 7:53 PM, Bluesnik said: Now I'm with the last novel, Dreams from Bunker Hill Still with that one. And today I read a very hilarious account of a wrestling match between the Duke of Sardinia and something Lionheart. I dropped tears from laughing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 11, 2022 Report Share Posted December 11, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HutchFan Posted December 20, 2022 Report Share Posted December 20, 2022 @Brad, thanks for the recommendation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 21, 2022 Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 12 hours ago, HutchFan said: @Brad, thanks for the recommendation. Glad to help. Just starting this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted December 21, 2022 Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted December 21, 2022 Report Share Posted December 21, 2022 Gary Larson "The Complete Far Side" .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted December 27, 2022 Report Share Posted December 27, 2022 Just starting J.G. Farrell's Troubles, which is the first book in his loosely defined Empire Trilogy. These books have gotten so much praise that it makes me a little leery, but I'm enjoying Troubles so far. It's set in a very run down hotel just outside Dublin and takes place during the "Troubles" of the 1920s. The novel focuses mostly on how the English ruling classes fail to adapt to said "Troubles." I'm seeing some parallels to some of Molly Keane's early novels such as The Rising Tide or Two Days in Aragon. Time After Time is more directly about the decaying English ruling class in Ireland, but was actually written over a decade after Troubles was published, so if anything the influence ran the other way in this case. I'm hoping to get to the rest of the trilogy in Jan. and Feb., though I have a few other novels I'm working my way through, like Knut Hamsun's Hunger and Al-Aswany's The Yacoubian Building. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted December 27, 2022 Report Share Posted December 27, 2022 Gary Larson "The Complete Far Side" .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted December 27, 2022 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted December 27, 2022 Report Share Posted December 27, 2022 Heads up for anyone interested, Barnes & Noble is having their annual 50% off all hardback books sale today (and yesterday). Applies to all brick & mortar locations, not sure about online. Picked up three books, wife picked up four more. Almost grabbed the Bill Frisell Beautiful Dreamer book, but despite loving his music, I'm not sure how interesting a book about him would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HutchFan Posted December 28, 2022 Report Share Posted December 28, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen. Enjoyable read so far, I'm about a quarter of the way through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 T. Jefferson Parker: A Thousand Steps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 Halfway through Farrell's Troubles. Living up to the high praise it received. Will try to get to the rest of the trilogy in Jan/Feb. Also about halfway into Al-Aswany's The Yacoubian Building, which is also entertaining. This reminds me a bit of Mafouz's mid-career novels. Probably will read Knut Hamsun's Hunger after these two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 50 minutes ago, Matthew said: Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen. Enjoyable read so far, I'm about a quarter of the way through. 👍 Now rereading after seeing the recent film: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 3 minutes ago, BillF said: Now rereading after seeing the recent film: I reread this back in 2018, and I enjoyed it but it didn't strike me as quite as amazing as it did in my 20s. I remembered large chunks of it (as I was watching the movie) but actually had forgotten the ending! (I still enjoyed the movie though.) I'm thinking that if I reread it in 2023 (or more likely 2024), it will stick a lot more this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Kart Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 Max Beerbohm "Zuleika Dobson" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted January 1, 2023 Report Share Posted January 1, 2023 2 hours ago, ejp626 said: I reread this back in 2018, and I enjoyed it but it didn't strike me as quite as amazing as it did in my 20s. I remembered large chunks of it (as I was watching the movie) but actually had forgotten the ending! (I still enjoyed the movie though.) I'm thinking that if I reread it in 2023 (or more likely 2024), it will stick a lot more this time around. In a way it's seeming a bit dated during the reread (published 1985.) In a book focussed on on omnipresent things in contemporary American society such as supermarkets and television, the absence of internet technology now seems all too noticeable. An interesting departure from the original text in the 2022 film is that the protagonist's Jewish co-worker is now an African American played by Don Cheadle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 On 1/1/2023 at 2:13 PM, BillF said: In a way it's seeming a bit dated during the reread (published 1985.) In a book focussed on on omnipresent things in contemporary American society such as supermarkets and television, the absence of internet technology now seems all too noticeable. An interesting departure from the original text in the 2022 film is that the protagonist's Jewish co-worker is now an African American played by Don Cheadle. That's an interesting point. There are quite a few novels that just don't make much sense unless you remember the internet and cell phones don't exist for the characters. Perhaps it is the way DeLillo seems to be writing in the eternal present rather than in a specific era. I grabbed Hunger from the library and will try to start it this week, though I have to wrap up Troubles first. Also, will likely be getting to Reuss's Horace Afoot soon. While this was published in 1997 it also seems to be set in a time before the internet (or at least the narrator has rejected the internet (not the same thing of course)). In fact, he spends most of his time dialing strangers on the phone (another thing that is considerably harder in today's era of cell phones screening out and rejecting unknown callers). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted January 4, 2023 Report Share Posted January 4, 2023 I tried reading White Noise once but didn’t find it particularly interesting and I don’t usually give up on fiction. I tried watching the movie (20 minutes) and that too did nothing for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillF Posted January 9, 2023 Report Share Posted January 9, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted January 9, 2023 Report Share Posted January 9, 2023 Susan Straight: Mecca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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