Now reading...

[Brad]

1 hour ago, HutchFan said:

Just finished this:

 

Just started this:

 

 

I really enjoyed that one.  I'll pretty much read anything O'Brien writes.

 

Yes, it was a terrific book. 

[Brad]

On 2/28/2023 at 11:19 AM, Brad said:

I read his All for Nothing a few years ago. They both touch on the subject of East Prussia, now part of Poland. 

I finished this earlier this week. Really goes well with his All for Nothing, which touches on German refugees attempting to flee the Russians in the dying days of WW II whereas Bone and Marrow looks at East Prussia before the Wall fell from a West German perspective.

Now reading:

 

[jazzbo]

I finally finished Richard Koloda's bio of Albert Ayler. It was slow going til the final third. And ultimately, it's not Koloda's fault, it's unsatisfying how little is known of Ayler's final months and how much speculation without clear facts there is about his passing.

Next . . . I think I might re-read a B. Cool and Lam novel by A. A. Fair (Erle Stanley Gardner). They're fun. I need fun.

[Niko]

3 hours ago, Brad said:

I finished this earlier this week. Really goes well with his All for Nothing, which touches on German refugees attempting to flee the Russians in the dying days of WW II whereas Bone and Marrow looks at East Prussia before the Wall fell from a West German perspective.

Had completely forgotten about those Kempowski novels, read several as a kid from my mom's bookshelf... Guess they were a big deal in the Germany I grew up in... And i liked them as well even though I just remember a few vignettes now (like how his mom thinks the trash collectors have a new uniform when she first encounters the SS...)

[jlhoots]

Susan Straight: Mecca

[jazzbo]

I've been re-reading the A.A. Fair novels the last few years, up to this one.

"Give 'Em the Ax"

These B. Cool and Lam novels are fun.

[Brad]

On 3/11/2023 at 8:27 AM, Brad said:

Now reading:

 

Almost done with this. Interesting book although not really a spy novel, which is what I expected.

Not sure what to turn to next. May do a re-read of The Honorable Schoolboy or Claude Simon’s The Flanders Road. As I like to read both non fiction and fiction books simultaneously I’m currently focusing on

 

[BillF]

On 3/11/2023 at 1:27 PM, Brad said:

 

 

👍

Now reading:

 

[Son-of-a-Weizen]

 

the ultimate insiders.  They knew everyone & everything. 

[Bluesnik]

I'd had it for a while but decided to pick it up after seeing a report on slavers and the effect their riches had when they came back. I like it very much so far. But I'm just at the beginnings.

Edited March 25, 2023 by Bluesnik

[BillF]

[ejp626]

Read Dangling Man years ago.  It is not a typical Bellow novel for better and worse.  In a month or so, I expect to tackle Augie March for the second time.

Currently about 1/3 into Farrell's The Singapore Grip.  It's a bit of a slow-burner to this point, as the various characters are brought together in Singapore and WWII is looming.  I had absolutely no idea that this was just (2020) adapted into a TV series by ITV.  Reviews have been mixed, and I think I'll pass.  It's less surprising that the BBC turned this into a radio play, and that I might listen to one day.  We'll see...

Also, making my way through Coupland's Hey Nostradamus!

Between these two and Augie March, it will likely be some short story collections.

[Referentzhunter]

The Godfather (Mario Puzzo)

[BillF]

[Brad]

The book club I belong to picked this book this month. It’s a sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (which I did not realize when we voted on it) and that book received a lot of criticism for its simplistic portrayal of the Holocaust. I did not read the first one, thankfully, and this one seems similar and is poorly written. Should make for an interesting meeting. 

I now plan on reading Elizabeth Strout’s Olivia Kittridge or the latest from Magda Szabo, The Fawn. 

[sgcim]

"The World is What it is" by Patrick French

Edited April 10, 2023 by sgcim

[Brad]

Just finished this.

[jlhoots]

Don Winslow: City Of Dreams

[Matthew]

The Glass Menagerie. First time reading it, and it's almost too painful to read...

[rostasi]

[Matthew]

Reporting World War II. I've always wanted to read these two volumes, but kept holding back. Recently, I read a review by Alan Jacobs and it made me finally order it. Just started but the articles are very well written, makes me long for that quality of writing about events today. It'll take probably the rest of the year to finish.

To add: One of the things I've come to realize is how much WWII was in the background and social atmosphere when I grew up (lived in San Diego), and it was the reference for everything. A lot of the, to me, old people I knew were WWII veterans, it was just a part of the culture. Now, it's not. I don't have a nostalgia for the war, but now that the vets are dying out fast, I feel a need to learn about it more than ever. One of the persons I respected the most in my life made the D-Day landing and was wounded about a week after. It all seems so far away now.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Matthew

[Brad]

18 hours ago, Matthew said:

Reporting World War II. I've always wanted to read these two volumes, but kept holding back. Recently, I read a review by Alan Jacobs and it made me finally order it. Just started but the articles are very well written, makes me long for that quality of writing about events today. It'll take probably the rest of the year to finish.

To add: One of the things I've come to realize is how much WWII was in the background and social atmosphere when I grew up (lived in San Diego), and it was the reference for everything. A lot of the, to me, old people I knew were WWII veterans, it was just a part of the culture. Now, it's not. I don't have a nostalgia for the war, but now that the vets are dying out fast, I feel a need to learn about it more than ever. One of the persons I respected the most in my life made the D-Day landing and was wounded about a week after. It all seems so far away now.

I was born five years after WW II ended so in a weird sort of way it has always felt like recent history. Have you considered Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy.  They’re quite good.  If you’re interested in D Day I can make some recommendations. There are a lot of general histories about the war. I like Max Hasting’s books.  Antony Beevor’s books are also terrific. From a visual point of view have you seen HBO’s Band of Brothers. That gives you a great feel. I usually watch it once a year. 

[jlhoots]

Salman Rushdie: Victory City

[Matthew]

On 4/28/2023 at 7:57 AM, Brad said:

I was born five years after WW II ended so in a weird sort of way it has always felt like recent history. Have you considered Rick Atkinson’s Liberation Trilogy.  They’re quite good.  If you’re interested in D Day I can make some recommendations. There are a lot of general histories about the war. I like Max Hasting’s books.  Antony Beevor’s books are also terrific. From a visual point of view have you seen HBO’s Band of Brothers. That gives you a great feel. I usually watch it once a year. 

Thank you for the comments! I've read two of the three Atkinson's, but plan to read all three in the coming months, along with Ambrose's history of WWII. The one area I'm really looking for a recommendation on is the war Pre-Pearl Harbor, I still don't have a really good fix on that era for Europe. If you know of a good book on that topic, I'm all ears and eyes.

[Brad]

3 hours ago, Matthew said:

Thank you for the comments! I've read two of the three Atkinson's, but plan to read all three in the coming months, along with Ambrose's history of WWII. The one area I'm really looking for a recommendation on is the war Pre-Pearl Harbor, I still don't have a really good fix on that era for Europe. If you know of a good book on that topic, I'm all ears and eyes.

I’m not a huge fan of Ambrose. I would go with Hastings’ Inferno. As far as the run up to WWII there is nothing specifically for that comes to mind. From a British perspective I like Lynne Olson’s Troublesome Young Men, about how Churchill came to be selected as PM. There is also Tim Bouverie’s Appeasing Hitler: Chamberlain, Churchill and the Road to War. From a German perspective Richard Evans’ The Coming of the Third Reich is fascinating. Have you read William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Read it years ago. Worth a read. 

Edited April 29, 2023 by Brad