IGX

Wife had Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter to read for a book club. We listened to it on CD on a car trip. Thought it would be penance for all my past inequities. Incredible, so I read it after I heard it. Great writing and just the kind of cynicism I like.

Discovered Jess Walter got his start as a reporter out west and his first book was "Every Knee Shall Bow" about Ruby Ridge. Now called "Ruby Ridge". Halfway through and excellent. I am no fan of the Feds, and would come down on Weaver's side more than the Feds, but book lays complicated human web that played out. Smarter every time I read it.

Interesting Jack...I may have to read the Ruby Ridge book. That whole scenario has always angered me and that fucking cocksucker Lon Horiuchi I would physically challenge if I ever ran into him.

Shapecharge wrote:Interesting Jack...I may have to read the Ruby Ridge book. That whole scenario has always angered me and that fucking cocksucker Lon Horiuchi I would physically challenge if I ever ran into him.

Yes ol Lon needs a tuning up. West Pointer. F him. But Randy and Vicki were a bit more loony and racist than I thought. Still, as in Waco, poor theology isn't a get out jail free card for shooting dogs, kids, and wives.

I've read every novel Jess Walter has written. They're all wonderful.

Protobuilder wrote:

Bram wrote:Finished book 13 of the Dresden files, one of the few weaker spots in the series. 6/10

Needed for the next turn in the story.

That's good to know.

I've been putting off the last few books, just because I've been enjoying the series so much and don't want to be fully caught up.

Finished the book. Very impressive. Portrays almost everybody straight up based on their actions. FBI was jacked up, Marshalls out of their League and unlucky. The Weavers weirdos. Horiuchi almost undoubtedly lied.

Moral:Don't get in a shooting war with the Feds even with the high ground.

Just finished Cloud Atlas the book, which was pretty amazing writing. Six interwoven stories marching through time, structured different from the movie. The author is a craftsman.

Decided to go on a horror jag. Got Books of Blood by Clive Barker, book of short stories. Good so far.

About to start the expanse series

Just finished "Open" by Andre Agassi. One of the best books I've ever read, and I don't follow or have ever even played tennis. Very honest about his mental state, struggles and triumphs throughout the entirety of his life. Consistently good from the beginning to the end.

new yorker profile of a female new york prosecutor whose parents came here from pakistan. she has been highly successful in prosecuting complex terrorism cases. she's the real deal, the story should undo any simplistic notions one might have about immigrants and fighting the war on terror.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/ ... s-in-court

Hard ass, hard drinking, splenetic, fearless, and a little nutty mofo. A stoic icon - a very confrontational one.
So many of the great Romans play major roles in the book: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Crassus, Pompey, and many others.
Washington was very inspired by him.
Considering all that is going on in the US, it felt contemporary.

Finished, "The Last Cowboys of San Geronimo" yesterday. It's a contemporary Western about two brothers who hate/love each other. I was born in San Geronimo, and the book is set all over the area surrounding my hometown. Very well written by a guy out of Kentucky.

Also:

The Nature Fix - non-fiction on the dramatic effect of nature on our bodies and minds. Showcasing research from across the globe and highlighting different methods of introducing nature into businessmen, PTSD survivors, ADD kids, and normal schmoes. I liked it, though found the message a bit repetitive down the final stretch.

Book 14 of the Dresden Files - I don't care as much for the books set in the Fairie world (think trolls and goblins), it's just so utterly ridiculous. The rest of it is set in Chicago, but these in the series that are so fantastical that it takes me away from getting engaged in the story. Even still, funny and a page-turner.

Designing Your Life - about 75% of the way through. A self-help book, based on a course out of Stanford. It's a lot of projects (write down how energized and engaged things make you feel for 3 weeks: like work, gym, your spouse, paying bills, driving to work, etc.........or write up 3 separate 5-year plans based on current job, if your current job wasn't an option, and a job where money was no object).

I haven't read a self-help book in a long time, but have found this one very useful. In one day of reflecting on energy/engagement, I eliminated an aspect of my personal training business I didn't like.

Empire V by Victor Pelevin. This novel has been translated to English and is a philisophical work conveyed through the story about vampires (in Moscow). A cynical take on modern values, the meaning of life and the sources of suffering. Enjoyable read on many levels.

Just finished Morning Star, the third of a trilogy with the first two being Red Rising and Golden Son. Interplanetary story, Mars rising, brave heroes and heroines, surprising story twists, etc. Highly recommend them.

Finished Alone on the Wall this morning:



I'm not a rock climber, but I've found Alex interesting due to his huge wall climbs with no ropes or safety gear. The book alternates between him describing events and personal history, with the co-author fleshing out details on climbing techniques or history, or rounding out events that Alex might downplay. A lot of the book focuses on his speed ascents, often with partners and safety gear. At the end he seems to be someone with huge self-confidence in his climbing abilities (at one point he's mad because event though he crushes a route rope-less, he got scared on part of it) and an equally huge love of going climbing.

8/10

Bram wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2017 10:05 pmI've found Alex interesting due to his huge wall climbs with no ropes or safety gear. The book alternates between him describing events and personal history, with the co-author fleshing out details on climbing techniques or history

Have you read Eiger Dreams by Krakauer? Collection of essays "on men and mountaineering". Very good.

Plant Paradox by Dr. Gundry

I read his first one a few months ago and my n=1 was incredible. No heartburn, very little hunger, but most of all incredible sleep. Just incredible sleep.

I ordered Eiger Dreams and Plant Paradox from the library, curious about both. Thanks for the suggestion Jim and the rec Benny

A few years ago in rare moments that my car radio was actually tuned to one of the stations I was listening to an interview with Martin Amis. He sounded like a posh Pom, but what he said stuck with me. They asked him, what books would he recommend to young readers. He answered - stick with the classics. Why? Because they withstood the test of time, which is pretty much the only test there is for these kind of things.

The more I look around the more I am convinced that he was right.

Sangoma wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:34 pm A few years ago in rare moments that my car radio was actually tuned to one of the stations I was listening to an interview with Martin Amis. He sounded like a posh Pom, but what he said stuck with me. They asked him, what books would he recommend to young readers. He answered - stick with the classics. Why? Because they withstood the test of time, which is pretty much the only test there is for these kind of things.

The more I look around the more I am convinced that he was right.

They're also cheap as can be on Amazon. Free in lots of cases.

Reading Charlie Stella's Shakedown. If you like Elmore Leonard's crime novels, you'll probably like Stella-- really well done pulp. Amazon has great deals on his older stuff (.99 on Kindle) right now.

Sangoma wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:34 pmThey asked him, what books would he recommend to young readers. He answered - stick with the classics. Why? Because they withstood the test of time, which is pretty much the only test there is for these kind of things.
The more I look around the more I am convinced that he was right.

That seems like good advice to me, too. So, what classics?

My son is 8. I picked up Roger Lancelyn Green's Adventures of Robin Hood (1956), which my dad read to me when I was somewhere around this age, or maybe a year or two older. Dad also read a few Tarzan books to me, and also the first few Barsoom books.

What else?

roald dahl, there's a bunch of 'em
wind in the willows
alice in wonderland
tom sawyer
narnia chronicles
the little prince
wizard of oz
treasure island
wrinkle in time (maybe in a coupla years)
phantom tollbooth (again, a coupla years)
playboy calendar 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 . . .

JimZipCode wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:04 am

Sangoma wrote: ↑Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:34 pmThey asked him, what books would he recommend to young readers. He answered - stick with the classics. Why? Because they withstood the test of time, which is pretty much the only test there is for these kind of things.
The more I look around the more I am convinced that he was right.

That seems like good advice to me, too. So, what classics?

My son is 8. I picked up Roger Lancelyn Green's Adventures of Robin Hood (1956), which my dad read to me when I was somewhere around this age, or maybe a year or two older. Dad also read a few Tarzan books to me, and also the first few Barsoom books.

What else?

I can't give specific advice in regards to children's books, but Uncle Google knows... This is the link to the search for "most significant children's books of the 20th century":

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=most ... e&ie=UTF-8

I am sure some of it is useful.

Off children's theme. Joseph Brodsky scribbled the list of books for his students they should read "in order to be able to have a basic conversation"... Eighty three of them; basic my ass...

http://www.openculture.com/2013/11/jose ... ation.html