I haven't read many books that I genuinely disliked, but Moby Dick was one.
I haven't read many books that I genuinely disliked, but Moby Dick was one.
Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club
jpx7 (02-25-2018)
Did you ever get around to this book? Herman Melville plays a prominent role in the story.
FFF - BB, BB, 2B, HR, 2B, HR, 1B, BB, BB, 1B, BB, BB, HR
I loved All Quiet On the Western Front, Old Man and the Sea, Tom Sawyer, Gatsby, I even enjoyed The Scarlet Letter. But I felt like Moby Dick often had too many words saying too little.
Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club
Last edited by jpx7; 02-25-2018 at 02:44 AM.
"For all his tattooings he was on the whole a clean, comely looking cannibal."
Jaw (02-26-2018)
Jaw (02-26-2018)
I am lazily going through some of the old Louis L'Amour pulp Westerns. These are the books that originally hooked me into reading. He recycles plots a lot, and his protagonists are all basically a super human avatar of himself, but he does a good job of being both historically and geographically accurate, and his descriptions allow the reader to picture the western landscape perfectly. My latest reread was of Comstock Lode, set mainly in the mining boom town of Virginia City. Virginia City is still maintained as a tourist attraction, so photos of the town are readily available on the web (unlike when I first read the book around age 10.) I was startled at how well the actual town matched the mental image I had formed from reading the book.
You will not often be in suspense about any facets of the story or it's outcome, and you will likely shake your head a few times at how well things turn out for the main character. These are not challenging books, but they are enjoyable books.
Go get him!
Founding member of the Whiny Little Bitches and Pricks Club
jpx7 (03-05-2018)
This may be one of the times where the movie is better than the book. I found this to be a long, slow slog of a thriller that didn't thrill, didn't even try to. The writing itself was okay, if a little monotonous, but the narrative arch could use some help.
Each chapter ended with the recipe of some dish which may or may not have found its way into the plot. I usually enjoy these little artsy additions to a story but not this time. I couldn't find a connection. For me all they did was slow the pace and dissolve any built up suspense.
I enjoyed the story itself but the presentation could've used a wiser and more helpful editor, imo. Perhaps when the movie rights are sure to be quickly sold, there's less concern with the book presentation.
FFF - BB, BB, 2B, HR, 2B, HR, 1B, BB, BB, 1B, BB, BB, HR
Just finished Dan Rather's What Unites Us. It's a 270-page essay that reads like a 1950's civics book. Some very good points and is more balanced (although definitely leans left) than I thought it would. Some very good reminders for people of all political stripes on how civil society should work.
Jaw (05-21-2018)
I've been reading this lately
On another non-traditional path, I got Marvel Unlimited and it's pretty great. I think everything is 6 or 7 months or more old, but it's let me read a ton of stuff I wouldn't have otherwise because I don't want to spend 3 dollars or more per comic.
Stockholm, more densely populated than NYC - sturg
Yeah, I have something to read.
HBO is having Farenheit 451 and I heard some people won't like it. The concept kind of expands on Ray Bradbury hit but for the life of me it seems to be a Equilibrium lite.
I would love to see Jay Bennett books turn into movies because they can be done in a timely manner and probably keep you on the edge of your seat, especially "Say Hello to the Hit Man".
Agreed, Guns of August is a history book that reads like a novel. One of my faves. For anyone who likes videos about WW1, and there aren't all that many good ones, I would suggest Apocalypse WW1. It has more actual video and back stories about the countries, people, battles, causes and motivations than you'll see just about anywhere else.
For anyone who is into 9/11, our early battles with radical Islam, etc., I would highly recommend this book:
The man who wrote this book, Lebanese born FBI agent Ali Soufan, the man who gave us most of the first serious information we knew about bin Laden, 9/11, and that time period was part of the recently released flick with Jeff Daniels,
This centers more around Soufan's FBI supervisor but it's still good stuff, IF you really want to know how our government (both parties) mis-handled this threat to our national security.
Jaw (07-02-2018)
John Sandford's Lucas Davenport series is excellent. Sandford won a Pulitzer Prize for journalism before he got into fiction. His prose is good and he knows his material.
FFF - BB, BB, 2B, HR, 2B, HR, 1B, BB, BB, 1B, BB, BB, HR