What are You Reading Now?

[Elric]

Kind of a users manual for life. I've finished six chapters so far and have not been disappointed.

 

[anotherbob]

Anna Karenina

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Anna Karenina

One of my faves

 

[anotherbob]

One of my faves

not far in it but wow. It's a great.

 

[LeafErikson]

My teachers, required reading good books. I wonder if kids get to read these today?



Red Badge of Courage

——

The youth cringed as if discovered in a crime. By heavens, they had won after all! The imbecile line had remained and become victors. He could hear cheering.

He lifted himself upon his toes and looked in the direction of the fight. A yellow fog lay wallowing on the treetops. From beneath it came the clatter of musketry. Hoarse cries told of an advance.

He turned away amazed and angry. He felt that he had been wronged.

He had fled, he told himself, because annihilation approached. He had done a good part in saving himself, who was a little piece of the army. He had considered the time, he said, to be one in which it was the duty of every little piece to rescue itself if possible. Later the officers could fit the little pieces together again, and make a battle front. If none of the little pieces were wise enough to save themselves from the flurry of death at such a time, why, then, where would be the army? It was all plain that he had proceeded according to very correct and commendable rules. His actions had been sagacious things. They had been full of strategy. They were the work of a master's legs.


Thoughts of his comrades came to him. The brittle blue line had withstood the blows and won. He grew bitter over it. It seemed that the blind ignorance and stupidity of those little pieces had betrayed him. He had been overturned and crushed by their lack of sense in holding the position, when intelligent deliberation would have convinced them that it was impossible. He, the enlightened man who looks afar in the dark, had fled because of his superior perceptions and knowledge. He felt a great anger against his comrades. He knew it could be proved that they had been fools.
——

I just got this book used for $1 at a local book store. I’ll be reading it soon

 

[LeafErikson]

not far in it but wow. It's a great.

Def one of the best books I’ve ever read. That whole Russian realist movement spawned some incredible writing. The character have so much depth they feel like real people that you know.

 

[anotherbob]

Def one of the best books I’ve ever read. That whole Russian realist movement spawned some incredible writing. The character have so much depth they feel like real people that you know.

absolutely. I know these types. The last book I read felt the same way Point counter Point by Aldous Huxley

 

[Briar Lee]

The York Patrol by James Carl Nelson



There are many books about the Christian boy who was catapulted to fame for killing a couple of dozen Germans and capturing 132 and becoming America’s most famous soldier of World War One. The unvarnished truth about Alvin York reads like a legend.

This book deals with sixteen others in York’s patrol, as well. It’s a good read.

He saved 132 Germans that day, too, to die another day.

And his best work was using his fame to educate others.

Alvin C. York Institute - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[sablebrush52]

Hollywood: The Oral History by Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson

It’s woven out of some 3000 presentations and lectures hosted by the American Film Institute, beginning in 1969 with Harold Lloyd. All of these were recorded and archived. The contents are organized by subject, with quotations from the different participants assembled into a cohesive narrative that is fascinating.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

Hollywood: The Oral History by Jeanine Basinger and Sam Wasson

It’s woven out of some 3000 presentations and lectures hosted by the American Film Institute, beginning in 1969 with Harold Lloyd. All of these were recorded and archived. The contents are organized by subject, with quotations from the different participants assembled into a cohesive narrative that is fascinating.

Have you read Jeanine Basinger’s The Star Machine from 2007? It’s a terrific book about how stars were made in Hollywood.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I just started Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami. I am exploring Japanese fiction further, and I love the way these stories are told. Very creative and pleasant, even when the subject is disturbing. Love it so far.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Despite the title, this is not, thank goodness, a how to book. It’s more , so far, an essay on the form . Very good so far. he uses many examples from the great novels of the Latin world, both euro and American , and that alone is fresh air

 

[americanom]

I'm cozied up with a cup of tea, revisiting the gripping pages of Game of Thrones. The intricate plotlines, the depth of characters, and the dragons soaring across the skies – it's a world that never gets old.
I first delved into this epic series years ago, and now, it feels like catching up with long-lost friends. Each chapter is a new adventure, and even though I know some twists and turns, it's the journey that counts.
If you're a fan of fantasy, politics, and a touch of magic, give Game of Thrones a shot. And for more fantastic book recommendations, don't forget to explore bookwormera.com – it's a treasure trove for fellow bookworms.

 

[PipePint&Cross]

I kinda feel this book was written exactly for someone like me: someone deeply interested in their faith, a Lord of the Rings nerd, and a former wannabe academic.

 

[DrBryant]

Endymion, third book of Dan Simmons’ Hyperion series. Through the second chapter and the narrator has fought and killed a man over shooting his hunting dog. Oh, and it is a sci-fi. My type of book exactly.

 

[doccaliban]

I just finished First Blood, by David Morrell. I hate spoilers, so I hope nobody mentions any differences between the book and the movie here. I will say that, if you pick up a copy and it has a forward, DO NOT READ IT (or listen to it if an audiobook) It should have been an afterward as it gives away the most important parts! I still enjoyed it, having been 14 when the movie came out.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I just finished First Blood, by David Morrell. I hate spoilers, so I hope nobody mentions any differences between the book and the movie here. I will say that, if you pick up a copy and it has a forward, DO NOT READ IT (or listen to it if an audiobook) It should have been an afterward as it gives away the most important parts! I still enjoyed it, having been 14 when the movie came out.

Thank you. I’ve been wanting to read that one. I’ll follow your advice

 

[brooklynpiper]

Last year, I read a bunch of books. The year prior I managed to return to almost all of my favorite writers and find a bunch of new favorites. In 2023, I wasn't as satisfied with my selection. However I did read some great novels worth highlighting.

In my new-to-me yearly awards for 2023:

Book of the Year: Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers Volume One: The Stories of Jacob

Classic Honorable Mention: John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath

Contemporary Honorable Mention: Joshua Cohen's The Netanyahus and David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress

Foreign Writer Honorable Mention: Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle Volume Two and A Time for Everything.

Honorable Novella Mention: Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time

No short story collection named.

I hope that was satisfactorily official!

 

[doccaliban]

Thank you. I’ve been wanting to read that one. I’ll follow your advice

I actually listened to the auiobook and when the forward started giving things away, I wasn't able to snub the "pause" button fast enough to avoid the end of the book being spoiled. I was gobsmacked, and actually wrote to Morrell about it. He agreed that the publisher should have placed it as an "afterward". Nice guy, BTW.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Last year, I read a bunch of books. The year prior I managed to return to almost all of my favorite writers and find a bunch of new favorites. In 2023, I wasn't as satisfied with my selection. However I did read some great novels worth highlighting.

In my new-to-me yearly awards for 2023:

Book of the Year: Thomas Mann's Joseph and His Brothers Volume One: The Stories of Jacob

Classic Honorable Mention: John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath

Contemporary Honorable Mention: Joshua Cohen's The Netanyahus and David Markson's Wittgenstein's Mistress

Foreign Writer Honorable Mention: Karl Ove Knausgaard's My Struggle Volume Two and A Time for Everything.

Honorable Novella Mention: Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time

No short story collection named.

I hope that was satisfactorily official!

Joseph and His Brothers is in my list now. The Magic Mountain is one of my all time favorites