ghost of miles Posted September 12, 2008 Author Report Posted September 12, 2008 Rick Perlstein's "Nixonland." Very pertinent to our current electoral dustup. Rick is a very knowledgable jazz fan BTW, as well (so he volunteered a few years back)as an admirer of the work of yours truly, so how bad can he be? Still reading NIXONLAND myself--right now in the midst of the 1972 election. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted September 13, 2008 Report Posted September 13, 2008 Just started Balzac's "La Comédie Humaine," starting with "Le Père Goriot." I've never read Balzac. Heavy stuff! Those who had to study it at my school in the 1950s used to call him "balls ache" The only time I ever wanted to read Balzac was whenever I watched The 400 Blows. I found it easier to just quit watching that movie... Quote
aparxa Posted September 16, 2008 Report Posted September 16, 2008 Analysing analyses : an approach to combining risk and vulnerability analyses. I had more fun reading Tortilla flat the last two nights Quote
Jazzmoose Posted September 21, 2008 Report Posted September 21, 2008 Back to Cordainer Smith for a moment, a strange thing happened today. I walked into one of the used book stores in La Grande (city motto: "if you don't like used books and coffee, don't bother coming by") today and found the previously mentioned Best of and Quest of the Three Worlds. Now I don't know whether to start reading or hold out until I find Instrumentality of Mankind and Norstrilia so I can be ready with the whole shebang... Quote
jazzbo Posted September 21, 2008 Report Posted September 21, 2008 Start Reading! Right now I'm reading Rex Stout, "Black Orchids." Nero Wolfe stories and novels, especially those of the thirties and forties, are particular favorites, like old friends. Quote
BruceH Posted September 21, 2008 Report Posted September 21, 2008 Back to Cordainer Smith for a moment, a strange thing happened today. I walked into one of the used book stores in La Grande (city motto: "if you don't like used books and coffee, don't bother coming by") today and found the previously mentioned Best of and Quest of the Three Worlds. Now I don't know whether to start reading or hold out until I find Instrumentality of Mankind and Norstrilia so I can be ready with the whole shebang... Just get the "Best of-" and start there. If you like it then you can buy the others any time. If not, you can stop there. Quote
sal Posted September 21, 2008 Report Posted September 21, 2008 "The Great War for Civilization" - Robert Fisk Quote
BillF Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 J G Ballard, Super-Cannes. Half-way through this and it's going brilliantly! Looking like a masterpiece! Quote
jazzbo Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Just finished a collection of all the Jirel of Joirey stories by C. L. Moore, called Black God's Kiss, published by the nice new Planet Stories press. Now reading a nice overview collection of essays called "Ancient Egyptian Civilization" edited by Brenda Stalcup for Greenhaven Press. Quote
ejp626 Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 "Midnight's Children" - Salman Rushdie I'm about a quarter of the way through it and still not too sure what I think about it. Has anyone else read any Rushdie novels? I've read nearly all the early ones -- Midnight's Children, Shame, Satanic Verses, Haroun, and the Moor's Last Sigh. I really did like MC and Shame. Satanic Verses was a bit of a chore, and I read it mostly because I was supporting Rushdie against fundamentalists. Don't know what I would think now. Haven't read him in ages, though I think his newest looks kind of entertaining. Quote
ejp626 Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Back to Cordainer Smith for a moment, a strange thing happened today. I walked into one of the used book stores in La Grande (city motto: "if you don't like used books and coffee, don't bother coming by") today and found the previously mentioned Best of and Quest of the Three Worlds. Now I don't know whether to start reading or hold out until I find Instrumentality of Mankind and Norstrilia so I can be ready with the whole shebang... Just get the "Best of-" and start there. If you like it then you can buy the others any time. If not, you can stop there. Was a big, big fan of Cordwainer Smith when I was younger. I'd probably still like the core stories, but I haven't thought about reading him for a while. Quote
ejp626 Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Just finished a boatload of books on China, the most interesting are Concrete Dragon by Capanella and China's Urban Transition by Freidman. After reading 6 or so academic books for various reviews hope to read a few fiction books. Am halfway through To Say Nothing of the Dog, which is a time travel romp by Connie Willis. Will probably next try to read Murakami's After Dark and Jesse Ball's Samedi the Deafness. Quote
jlhoots Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao Quote
AndrewHill Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Picked up a couple of books at Half Price: The House that Trane Built-WW Norton Northern Sun Southern Moon: How Europe Reinvented Jazz-Yale Quote
ejp626 Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao How's this? It's been getting good reviews, and I'm looking around for a good used copy here in Chicago. Quote
BruceH Posted September 28, 2008 Report Posted September 28, 2008 Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao That writer was on Colbert! Seemed like a good guy. Quote
jlhoots Posted September 29, 2008 Report Posted September 29, 2008 Junot Diaz: The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao How's this? It's been getting good reviews, and I'm looking around for a good used copy here in Chicago. I think it's excellent. As you know, it did win the Pulitzer for fiction. Quote
gslade Posted September 29, 2008 Report Posted September 29, 2008 Just finished The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder) Now revisiting some H.P. Lovecraft (read many when I was younger) The Dunwhich Horrors and Others Quote
Jazzmoose Posted September 29, 2008 Report Posted September 29, 2008 Back to Cordainer Smith for a moment, a strange thing happened today. I walked into one of the used book stores in La Grande (city motto: "if you don't like used books and coffee, don't bother coming by") today and found the previously mentioned Best of and Quest of the Three Worlds. Now I don't know whether to start reading or hold out until I find Instrumentality of Mankind and Norstrilia so I can be ready with the whole shebang... Just get the "Best of-" and start there. If you like it then you can buy the others any time. If not, you can stop there. Was a big, big fan of Cordwainer Smith when I was younger. I'd probably still like the core stories, but I haven't thought about reading him for a while. Well, to be honest, from what I've read so far, I think 'younger' could be a key... Quote
jazzbo Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Wow Mark, you sure have been a downer lately! Quote
jazzbo Posted September 30, 2008 Report Posted September 30, 2008 Hey, happens to the best of us! And doesn't last! (fingers crossed). Quote
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