they have words and stuff and communicate language.
did you read any lately?
67 thoughts on “First Monday Book Day: Books.”
A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for the 2,021 word essay, hj!
I slept without my sling last night. Mixed success, as I am simultaneously cutting back on the percocet. Somewhat surprisingly, walking around is easier on my shoulder than lying down.
I am about half-way through Lords of the Realm by John Helyar. Marvin Miller is a fascinating character. The narration is reaching the end of his string (I'm up to the 1981 strike). While by no means a perfect book (Helyar appears to have limited--at best--grasp of evaluative statistics, and a populist attitude toward large contracts for some of the mid-level players), it is a fascinating read.
The baseball industry was filled with uneducated farm boys, paternalistic jerkwad owners, and short-sighted toady management. Bowie Kuhn comes off as a pompous ass, for example. Really a great revision to what I suspect is our collective idealization of the good ol' days.
Read Eragon. Gift from the parents for Christmas. Mom said she asked someone at the store, described my interests, and he recommended this. She must have forgot to include the "he's older than 15" description. The Repository describes the book best:
Common Sense Media called Eragon's dialogue "long-winded" and "clichéd", with a plot "straight out of Star Wars by way of The Lord of the Rings, with bits of other great fantasies thrown in here and there." The website did concede that the book is a notable achievement for such a young author, and that it would be "appreciated" by younger fans.
Ugh. I read it a couple of years ago. "cliched" is a compliment. It was mediocre fan-fiction quality. Unpossibly, the movie was even worse.
I liked it a bit more than that, but had no intention of reading it until receiving it as a gift. I looked up reviews to the sequels and they're even worse. Yep, I'm not reading any further in the series.
I've started The Brothers' K but haven't gotten far because of other projects. That's about it. Weak.
I finally had another work trip, so I was able to jump back into the Wheel of Time with Crossroads of Twilight. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and its holding my attention a lot better than the previous two or three books, although the Egwene stuff is a little too plodding. I can definitely see why Robert Jordan died before he could finish.
Egwene killed Robert Jordan?
Its not impossible.
I polished the last of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict series -- The Devil's Eye, Echo, and Firebird was a very satisfying last book. Looks like he's got a new Academy series book coming out in November, and a new Alex Benedict book next year. The premise for these books is enthralling -- that there is a long history of star travel, and the ruins/relics/stories left behind (some of them human, some alien) set up for interesting mysteries to solve.
Meanwhile, I'm almost done with one of his standalone books, Time Travelers Never Die; entertaining, but nothing special.
That Benedict character seems interesting...may have to look into that series.
McDevitt's books are very Asimovian
Is that a compliment or a criticism?
Yes, yes it is.
Just about done with Founding Brother: The Revolutionary Generation. Two thumbs up - Ellis tells tells the stories in a way that brings these men (and women) and their motivations to life. It's not overly sentimental or sensationalized and nicely incorporates the politics and national character of the 1770-90's into the "big picture". I've developed an even healthier respect for John Adams and a distinct loathing for Jefferson. Dude was a two-faced a**hole...never really appreciated that before.
Edit: Also picked up a copy of Democracy in America from Goodwill for $2. Figured it's something I should read eventually.
Ah yes, I have long disliked Thomas Jefferson. He undermined Washington and Adams at every turn while serving in their administrations while having his lackeys do his bidding (Madison and Monroe, most prominently).
Still, there is something about Ellis's writing-style (I've read Founding Brothers and a couple of his other books) that just annoys me, but I can't put my finger on it.
(Everything I said below should only be given credence once DPWY verifies it.)
DPWY bait - was who I had in mind when I wrote that last sentence...never understood your dislike until now. As for Ellis, I actually like his style; seems more accessible (or less academic) than many of the history/political history books I've attempted.
Oh yeah, Jefferson was a piece of work. Pretty much stole everything he ever wrote. George Mason was the real writer of the Constitution, but didn't sign it because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Jefferson was the vulture who got credit.
umm, who ever said Jefferson wrote the Constitution??? #ithinkyoumeantthedeclaration
Well obviously I'm an idiot.
Tocqueville gives me hives.
Could hold true for me as well...but I won't know until I try!
The book I just finished is Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. I’d been meaning to read it for a while and then it made a killing at the YMAs in January: a Newbery Honor plus two nonfiction awards. It’s a gripping read that weaves together the story of Oppenheimer and the scientists who created the bomb, the scientists and spies who turned over info to the Soviets, and the Norwegian Resistance. Major league catcher Moe Berg makes a cameo as a spy for the OSS. (He was apparently a better spy than ballplayer, at least according to the book.)
I read parts of The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840 by Jack Larkin. It’s a lot more entertaining than the title (or the cover) would suggest. There are lots of great tidbits about strange and/or disgusting details about daily life during this era. Did you know that it wasn’t generally accepted for American men (apart from Orthodox Jews) to grow out their facial hair until the 1850s?
Otherwise, I’ve been on a short story kick, so I read The Best American Short Stories 2012. The two that have stayed with me are “Tenth of December” by George Saunders and “M&M World” by Kate Walbert. I’ve read a few other Saunders stories (which tend to have surreal elements to them) and always felt I was missing something, but this one is straight-up realism and it blew my mind. “M&M” world focuses on a mother’s relationship with her two daughters as she is processing the end of her marriage--all while making a pilgrimage to the Times Square M&M mecca. (It’s a lot more compelling than my description, I promise.)
Fun! Here's my favorite beard-related bit from the book: “Those few men daring enough to wear beards . . . before their widespread adoption in the 1850s actually suffered abuse and persecution. When Joseph Palmer of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, appeared at church with a beard in 1830, he was denied communion and later assaulted by a group of men armed with soap and razors who tried to shave him forcibly.”
*rubs face* wow, times haven't changed all that much, have they?
With -5.3 rWAR, I hope he was a better spy than catcher.
I have the Saunders' collection on hold at the library (6th in line out of 26! Any day now!) - I've heard a lot of really good things.
Wow, there are currently 423 holds on the book in the Hennepin County library system, so I'll look forward to your review.
I just picked up a copy of the 10th of December. I've been a Saunders fanboy for a long time, and I'm feeling like this is his best work to date.
I received a book about Moe Berg from my brother-in-law a couple weekends ago, and promptly left it at my folks' place. I heard a good bit about him at SABR this summer. I love spy stuff, so I'm eager to get my hands back on it.
Was it The Catcher Was a Spy? I read it last year and found it pretty enjoyable. He was an eccentric and silghtly disturbed man.
That sounds right.
SABR?
Society for American Baseball Research - they put on an annual conference, which was in Minneapolis this past summer.
Speaking of which, I'm about 75% certain to be going to the conference in Philadelphia this summer. Anybody else interested?
I'll add it to the list. I'll make a pilgrimage to Pat's and will probably pick up one of those giant cookies at that place right by the Penn Statute (the terminal?).
Read "M&M World" last night. I thought the main character was done really, really well. Good story, thanks for pointing me in that direction.
You're welcome. I just read "Walnuts" over lunch. I picked it randomly from your list because the title sounded less . . . brutal than some of the other titles. Boy, was I wrong. But I couldn't stop reading--there's a lot going on under the surface in that story.
the title sounded less . . . brutal than some of the other titles.
I didn't think about that, but they did skew that way this month (and if I'm honest, most months).
Yeah, that's one of the big reasons I only read contemporary literary fiction in limited doses. Too much, and everything starts to seem very bleak.
Here we go. I've still got some reading momentum, although I'm guessing that will flag a little bit in March (lots of relatives visiting, holidays, first birthdays to get way too excited about, etc.)
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson - A great, but short, read. It was like an old poet was sitting on a rocking chair telling me a story. The scenes were interesting, the characters were interesting, and I've found myself with a little bit of a soft spot for Western-themed books recently. Maybe the best book I've read this year.
The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman - This one was not as engrossing as the first book in this series (The Half-Made World), it got away from the central conflict of the world in order to tell the story of one man who starts on the periphery then finds himself fleetingly in the middle of it. It wasn't a bad book, and I will keep an eye out for any more books in the series, it just wasn't as great as the first.
Sky Saw by Blake Butler - Really disappointed in this one. I have loved a lot of Butler's other stuff, but this one just seemed... empty. It was grotesque but not disturbing, and visual without any real impact.
81 Austerities by Sam Riviere - Light, often amusing poems. Most of them got me to smile, or chuckle, or nod along with them. I didn't read these as close as I sometimes read poetry, but the style encourages that. One of my favorite lines:
you do not need to shout / a poem that is pretty much / the definition of a poem
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - It ended up being a rah-rah book about how great introverts are, which I found myself uninterested in reading after a while. There were some good sections, but overall, I think I would have preferred a more even-handed, scientific approach to the topic.
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall - Interesting, although not a lot here that was surprising. Mostly, it was nice to have these thoughts about stories, dreams, fiction, and memory in one place and think about them for a while.
My Eventual Bloodless Coup by Ofelia Hunt - Available online. A short collection of stories. To me there wasn't a standout story, but all of them worked together really well to create a mood. It felt like the same narrator for each story, one who refuses to engage with the real world, instead choosing fantasies and compulsive lies as her way of interacting with the world and people in it.
I Am an Executioner: Love Stories by Rajesh Parameswaran - There were some good stories in there, but a couple that I ended up rolling my eyes at. I would probably read other things by this author, but I'd be surprised if this ends up being his best work.
I thought I'd really like Quiet, but I got it from the library and just couldn't get into it. The first part seemed really obvious. I have a coworker who thought it was fantastic, though that may be because personality type (think Myers-Briggs) is a major interest of hers.
Just started Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. 25 pages in. Sloooowww going. Many words.
First off, talk to meat's wife.
Second, yay! Pynchon!
Ha!. Dr. Chop does love that book indeed. Her suggestion is to read it one episode at a time.
Just finished Ron Roll's Going Ultra. Mixed reviews. - 3 on 14 pt NBB scale. But interesting ideas on protein, Ph balance, and endurance. I might buy a blender we'll see.
And recently bought Ron Rush short stories collection - Gold Will Not Stay.
Quite good writing if not Appalachian Bummer. The Trusty my favorite so far.
Added to my list. Thanks!
(although a short note to others who may search for it - the title is Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash)
I'm about halfway through American Rust by Philipp Meyer. I think it's his first novel. Pretty good so far, set in a once thriving but now struggling steel town in Pennsylvania. Before I picked that up the last book I read was Art in America by Ron McLarty, which I really enjoyed. Next on my reading list is Benediction, the newest novel from Kent Haruf, who previously wrote Plainsong and Eventide, both of which I recommend pretty highly. I love his understated but lyrical style, and having lived in eastern Colorado where all three of these books are set I feel a certain affinity for the setting and familiarity with the characters, who are very much products of their place.
Oh, the wife and I started watching Game of Thrones a couple of weeks ago and I'll be picking that up to read soon. And a few weeks ago I was feeling bored so I picked up Foucault's Pendulum. I read it when the English translation came out around '88 or '89, but this time the first two chapters just exhausted my brain and I gave up.
the wife and I started watching Game of Thrones a couple of weeks ago and I'll be picking that up to read soon.
told ya.
Season 3 starts March 31! HBO subscription: check.
Heh, I just checked the wikipedia page for The Winds of Winter, which still shows an April 2013 publication date. I..... don't think it will make that.
Goodreads lists 2015 as the estimated publication date. It also has 353 ratings.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks for the 2,021 word essay, hj!
I slept without my sling last night. Mixed success, as I am simultaneously cutting back on the percocet. Somewhat surprisingly, walking around is easier on my shoulder than lying down.
I am about half-way through Lords of the Realm by John Helyar. Marvin Miller is a fascinating character. The narration is reaching the end of his string (I'm up to the 1981 strike). While by no means a perfect book (Helyar appears to have limited--at best--grasp of evaluative statistics, and a populist attitude toward large contracts for some of the mid-level players), it is a fascinating read.
The baseball industry was filled with uneducated farm boys, paternalistic jerkwad owners, and short-sighted toady management. Bowie Kuhn comes off as a pompous ass, for example. Really a great revision to what I suspect is our collective idealization of the good ol' days.
Read Eragon. Gift from the parents for Christmas. Mom said she asked someone at the store, described my interests, and he recommended this. She must have forgot to include the "he's older than 15" description. The Repository describes the book best:
Ugh. I read it a couple of years ago. "cliched" is a compliment. It was mediocre fan-fiction quality. Unpossibly, the movie was even worse.
I liked it a bit more than that, but had no intention of reading it until receiving it as a gift. I looked up reviews to the sequels and they're even worse. Yep, I'm not reading any further in the series.
I've started The Brothers' K but haven't gotten far because of other projects. That's about it. Weak.
I finally had another work trip, so I was able to jump back into the Wheel of Time with Crossroads of Twilight. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and its holding my attention a lot better than the previous two or three books, although the Egwene stuff is a little too plodding. I can definitely see why Robert Jordan died before he could finish.
Egwene killed Robert Jordan?
Its not impossible.
I polished the last of Jack McDevitt's Alex Benedict series -- The Devil's Eye, Echo, and Firebird was a very satisfying last book. Looks like he's got a new Academy series book coming out in November, and a new Alex Benedict book next year. The premise for these books is enthralling -- that there is a long history of star travel, and the ruins/relics/stories left behind (some of them human, some alien) set up for interesting mysteries to solve.
Meanwhile, I'm almost done with one of his standalone books, Time Travelers Never Die; entertaining, but nothing special.
That Benedict character seems interesting...may have to look into that series.
McDevitt's books are very Asimovian
Is that a compliment or a criticism?
Yes, yes it is.
Just about done with Founding Brother: The Revolutionary Generation. Two thumbs up - Ellis tells tells the stories in a way that brings these men (and women) and their motivations to life. It's not overly sentimental or sensationalized and nicely incorporates the politics and national character of the 1770-90's into the "big picture". I've developed an even healthier respect for John Adams and a distinct loathing for Jefferson. Dude was a two-faced a**hole...never really appreciated that before.
Edit: Also picked up a copy of Democracy in America from Goodwill for $2. Figured it's something I should read eventually.
Ah yes, I have long disliked Thomas Jefferson. He undermined Washington and Adams at every turn while serving in their administrations while having his lackeys do his bidding (Madison and Monroe, most prominently).
Still, there is something about Ellis's writing-style (I've read Founding Brothers and a couple of his other books) that just annoys me, but I can't put my finger on it.
(Everything I said below should only be given credence once DPWY verifies it.)
DPWY bait - was who I had in mind when I wrote that last sentence...never understood your dislike until now. As for Ellis, I actually like his style; seems more accessible (or less academic) than many of the history/political history books I've attempted.
Oh yeah, Jefferson was a piece of work. Pretty much stole everything he ever wrote. George Mason was the real writer of the Constitution, but didn't sign it because it lacked a Bill of Rights. Jefferson was the vulture who got credit.
umm, who ever said Jefferson wrote the Constitution??? #ithinkyoumeantthedeclaration
Well obviously I'm an idiot.
Tocqueville gives me hives.
Could hold true for me as well...but I won't know until I try!
The book I just finished is Bomb: The Race to Build—and Steal—the World’s Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin. I’d been meaning to read it for a while and then it made a killing at the YMAs in January: a Newbery Honor plus two nonfiction awards. It’s a gripping read that weaves together the story of Oppenheimer and the scientists who created the bomb, the scientists and spies who turned over info to the Soviets, and the Norwegian Resistance. Major league catcher Moe Berg makes a cameo as a spy for the OSS. (He was apparently a better spy than ballplayer, at least according to the book.)
I read parts of The Reshaping of Everyday Life: 1790-1840 by Jack Larkin. It’s a lot more entertaining than the title (or the cover) would suggest. There are lots of great tidbits about strange and/or disgusting details about daily life during this era. Did you know that it wasn’t generally accepted for American men (apart from Orthodox Jews) to grow out their facial hair until the 1850s?
Otherwise, I’ve been on a short story kick, so I read The Best American Short Stories 2012. The two that have stayed with me are “Tenth of December” by George Saunders and “M&M World” by Kate Walbert. I’ve read a few other Saunders stories (which tend to have surreal elements to them) and always felt I was missing something, but this one is straight-up realism and it blew my mind. “M&M” world focuses on a mother’s relationship with her two daughters as she is processing the end of her marriage--all while making a pilgrimage to the Times Square M&M mecca. (It’s a lot more compelling than my description, I promise.)
cool tidbit on beards, Pepper. Which led me to this New Yorker piece.
Fun! Here's my favorite beard-related bit from the book: “Those few men daring enough to wear beards . . . before their widespread adoption in the 1850s actually suffered abuse and persecution. When Joseph Palmer of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, appeared at church with a beard in 1830, he was denied communion and later assaulted by a group of men armed with soap and razors who tried to shave him forcibly.”
*rubs face* wow, times haven't changed all that much, have they?
With -5.3 rWAR, I hope he was a better spy than catcher.
I have the Saunders' collection on hold at the library (6th in line out of 26! Any day now!) - I've heard a lot of really good things.
Wow, there are currently 423 holds on the book in the Hennepin County library system, so I'll look forward to your review.
I just picked up a copy of the 10th of December. I've been a Saunders fanboy for a long time, and I'm feeling like this is his best work to date.
I received a book about Moe Berg from my brother-in-law a couple weekends ago, and promptly left it at my folks' place. I heard a good bit about him at SABR this summer. I love spy stuff, so I'm eager to get my hands back on it.
Was it The Catcher Was a Spy? I read it last year and found it pretty enjoyable. He was an eccentric and silghtly disturbed man.
That sounds right.
SABR?
Society for American Baseball Research - they put on an annual conference, which was in Minneapolis this past summer.
Speaking of which, I'm about 75% certain to be going to the conference in Philadelphia this summer. Anybody else interested?
You should try to hit my favorite breakfast place - http://www.yelp.com/biz/dutch-eating-place-philadelphia.
I'll add it to the list. I'll make a pilgrimage to Pat's and will probably pick up one of those giant cookies at that place right by the Penn Statute (the terminal?).
Monk's Cafe ftw.
I also very much enjoyed a Burmese place (this one I think) last time I was there (some years ago).
also, I enjoyed the Rodin Museum and Garden if you are into teh Arts.
My father went there back in 2003ish. I was more interested in teh History.
so, Constitution Hall and the statuary exhibit of Founder types.
*cue Randy Newman's Short People*
http://spookymilk.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/play-with-the-prose-4-results-challenge-5/
so, Not Quite Flatland?
Huhwha?
Flatland
I get it now.
Read "M&M World" last night. I thought the main character was done really, really well. Good story, thanks for pointing me in that direction.
You're welcome. I just read "Walnuts" over lunch. I picked it randomly from your list because the title sounded less . . . brutal than some of the other titles. Boy, was I wrong. But I couldn't stop reading--there's a lot going on under the surface in that story.
the title sounded less . . . brutal than some of the other titles.
I didn't think about that, but they did skew that way this month (and if I'm honest, most months).
Yeah, that's one of the big reasons I only read contemporary literary fiction in limited doses. Too much, and everything starts to seem very bleak.
Here we go. I've still got some reading momentum, although I'm guessing that will flag a little bit in March (lots of relatives visiting, holidays, first birthdays to get way too excited about, etc.)
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson - A great, but short, read. It was like an old poet was sitting on a rocking chair telling me a story. The scenes were interesting, the characters were interesting, and I've found myself with a little bit of a soft spot for Western-themed books recently. Maybe the best book I've read this year.
The Rise of Ransom City by Felix Gilman - This one was not as engrossing as the first book in this series (The Half-Made World), it got away from the central conflict of the world in order to tell the story of one man who starts on the periphery then finds himself fleetingly in the middle of it. It wasn't a bad book, and I will keep an eye out for any more books in the series, it just wasn't as great as the first.
Sky Saw by Blake Butler - Really disappointed in this one. I have loved a lot of Butler's other stuff, but this one just seemed... empty. It was grotesque but not disturbing, and visual without any real impact.
81 Austerities by Sam Riviere - Light, often amusing poems. Most of them got me to smile, or chuckle, or nod along with them. I didn't read these as close as I sometimes read poetry, but the style encourages that. One of my favorite lines:
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - It ended up being a rah-rah book about how great introverts are, which I found myself uninterested in reading after a while. There were some good sections, but overall, I think I would have preferred a more even-handed, scientific approach to the topic.
The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall - Interesting, although not a lot here that was surprising. Mostly, it was nice to have these thoughts about stories, dreams, fiction, and memory in one place and think about them for a while.
My Eventual Bloodless Coup by Ofelia Hunt - Available online. A short collection of stories. To me there wasn't a standout story, but all of them worked together really well to create a mood. It felt like the same narrator for each story, one who refuses to engage with the real world, instead choosing fantasies and compulsive lies as her way of interacting with the world and people in it.
I Am an Executioner: Love Stories by Rajesh Parameswaran - There were some good stories in there, but a couple that I ended up rolling my eyes at. I would probably read other things by this author, but I'd be surprised if this ends up being his best work.
Best Online Short Stories I read this month:
My Arm and Me by Mathias Svalina
Any Deadly Thing by Roy Kesey
Tributaries by Ramona Ausubel
Bull by Mo Yan (Last year's Nobel-Prize winner)
Walnuts by Jessi Lewis
I thought I'd really like Quiet, but I got it from the library and just couldn't get into it. The first part seemed really obvious. I have a coworker who thought it was fantastic, though that may be because personality type (think Myers-Briggs) is a major interest of hers.
Just started Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. 25 pages in. Sloooowww going. Many words.
First off, talk to meat's wife.
Second, yay! Pynchon!
Ha!. Dr. Chop does love that book indeed. Her suggestion is to read it one episode at a time.
Just finished Ron Roll's Going Ultra. Mixed reviews. - 3 on 14 pt NBB scale. But interesting ideas on protein, Ph balance, and endurance. I might buy a blender we'll see.
And recently bought Ron Rush short stories collection - Gold Will Not Stay.
Quite good writing if not Appalachian Bummer. The Trusty my favorite so far.
Added to my list. Thanks!
(although a short note to others who may search for it - the title is Nothing Gold Can Stay by Ron Rash)
I'm about halfway through American Rust by Philipp Meyer. I think it's his first novel. Pretty good so far, set in a once thriving but now struggling steel town in Pennsylvania. Before I picked that up the last book I read was Art in America by Ron McLarty, which I really enjoyed. Next on my reading list is Benediction, the newest novel from Kent Haruf, who previously wrote Plainsong and Eventide, both of which I recommend pretty highly. I love his understated but lyrical style, and having lived in eastern Colorado where all three of these books are set I feel a certain affinity for the setting and familiarity with the characters, who are very much products of their place.
Oh, the wife and I started watching Game of Thrones a couple of weeks ago and I'll be picking that up to read soon. And a few weeks ago I was feeling bored so I picked up Foucault's Pendulum. I read it when the English translation came out around '88 or '89, but this time the first two chapters just exhausted my brain and I gave up.
the wife and I started watching Game of Thrones a couple of weeks ago and I'll be picking that up to read soon.
told ya.
Season 3 starts March 31! HBO subscription: check.
Heh, I just checked the wikipedia page for The Winds of Winter, which still shows an April 2013 publication date. I..... don't think it will make that.
Goodreads lists 2015 as the estimated publication date. It also has 353 ratings.
So maybe this decade?
it's a possibility.