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Post by auntieannie on Jun 15, 2011 22:13:26 GMT
It did take me a little while to get into a son of the circus but it's worth staying with it until the end.
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Post by spindrift on Jun 19, 2011 21:17:02 GMT
I have three books on the go.
1) The Death Zone by Matt Dickinson (about Everest) 2) Red Sky at Night - The Book of Lost Countryside Wisdom by Jane Struthers 3) The Digital Photography Book (Step by Step secrets for how to make your photos look like the pros.) by Scott Kelby.
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Post by bjd on Jun 21, 2011 17:44:33 GMT
I'm reading Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano -- about the Neapolitan Camorra and the huge influence of organized crime on not just the Italian economy and society, but on many other countries.
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Post by fumobici on Jun 21, 2011 18:26:45 GMT
That was the last book I read as well. I couldn't find a new Italian language version from Amazon USA, so I had to buy a used one which I thought strange.
I think the mob's methods are pretty much universal everywhere, they are just more brazen than more mainstream gangsters who operate more or less within the law.
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Post by bjd on Jun 21, 2011 18:51:58 GMT
I think the mob's methods are pretty much universal everywhere, they are just more brazen than more mainstream gangsters who operate more or less within the law. I hope they are not as universal as all that -- dunking people in acid baths! I'm not surprised that Saviano had to go into hiding after the book came out though, given the names and details he provides.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 21, 2011 20:09:47 GMT
What's surprising is that nothing happened to him while researching & writing such a book. I want to strongly recommend two books, both novels, to everyone: Man Walks Into a Room, by Nicole Krauss www.amazon.com/Walks-Into-Room-Nicole-Krauss/dp/0385503997and Away, by Amy Bloom www.amazon.com/Away-Novel-Amy-Bloom/dp/1400063566Note that I have not read the link for Away, as I'm still reading the book & fear spoilers. For me, Man Walks Into a Room is a book to be re-read and savored for the questions about self and consciousness that it raises, the realness of the characters, and the subtle but perfect insights. And all of that is presented in clear, unfussy prose with a great plot! Away is just super -- sort of a picaresque novel, with a reluctantly heroic heroine. She moves like a pawn on a chessboard from one place to another, each rendered with a compelling sense of the era there. Bloom writes beautifully, and can evoke empathy for the most unlikely and peripheral characters. Nothing like a read that can be both a beach book and worthy literature! I reported earlier that I was reading Tinkers, a Pulitzer Prize winner. I had to abandon it. It reminded me of something I read on another forum by a poster looking for book recommendations. He said something like "I've had enough of achingly beautiful writing for a while." Yeah, well, that was Tinkers for me. It moved between two characters, one of whom was interesting & one who was not, to me, anyway. Because of that, I didn't just flow with the book & lost patience when some of the poetic parts went on&on&on&on.
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Post by bjd on Jun 22, 2011 7:43:26 GMT
What's surprising is that nothing happened to him while researching & writing such a book.
I believe Saviano had to go into hiding after the book was published.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 22, 2011 13:25:42 GMT
I am now wanting to read Gomorrah after reading these posts. Thanks guys.
I am reading a recently published book about life on the Mississippi levee,AKA,the batture. Down on the Batture,by Oliver A. Houck,is compilation of about 40 vignettes set in and around life on the mighty Mississippi here in New Orleans. There is nifty factual information,along with tragic,humorous,and oft times very colorful descriptions of all the actors who have played a role on the edge of the river,incorporating plantations,pollution,murder,land grabs,keelboat brawlers,slave rebellions,the Army Corps of Engineers,and the oil industry. A fabulous book.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 23, 2011 15:34:53 GMT
Just started 'The Discovery of France' by Graham Robb after trying several other books - gave up after a few chapters but now unless this one lightens up a bit I'm afraid its going to be a bit too heavy going and complicated for me.
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Post by bjd on Jun 23, 2011 18:32:53 GMT
Oh, I read that not long ago, Tod2. I found it good and really interesting. I just bought another book by Robb which I'll get to after the camorra around Naples.
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Post by Kimby on Jun 25, 2011 22:58:47 GMT
My mother is also reading The Land of Painted Caves. She told me it's to be the last in the series. Interestingly, Jean Auel is apparently respected by archeologists for the research she does and the accurate job of making a popular presentation of the material. My sister & I call Ayla "the girl who invented everything". I assume this book is like the last several in that you can save some time reading it by skipping the sex parts, since they're exactly the same every time & in all of the books.
I saved time by skimming the cave visits, too, which were boring beyond belief, though the author tried hard to build anticipation for a climax that never came. (Unlike the sex scenes.)
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Post by imec on Jun 28, 2011 2:21:30 GMT
The Age of Persuasion: How Marketing Ate Our Culture (Terry O'Reilly and Mike Tennant) A fascinating look at the impact advertising has on our lives. It's sort of a companion piece to a program on CBC Radio which has been airing since 2006. Here's the link to its website with podcasts for anyone interested.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2011 20:29:58 GMT
I just finished Arthur Nersesian's The Fuck-Up. At first it was just the darkly amusing story of a young NYC slacker in the late 1980's. But the last part was extremely grim and disturbing, since most slackers don't exactly succeed in life, and this guy goes lower than low.
Very well written, however, and one thing I liked was how it leaves lots of loose ends (Whatever happened to the Mercedes? What happened to the other guy who was skimming the money from the porn cinema?), just like in real life.
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Post by auntieannie on Jul 8, 2011 20:35:09 GMT
I am forced to re-read part of "The tortura" i.e. "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology" by Tortora & Derrickson. It is a marmite book. I hate it.
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Post by lola on Jul 10, 2011 19:56:13 GMT
I picked up Jonathan Coe's The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim at the library, based on favorable jacket blurbs from such as The Guardian. It's an entertaining satire about loneliness in modern life and the way technology isolates us.
At one point Sim poses as a woman on a social site where his exwife posts and befriends her so he can hear about how she and their daughter are doing. As SouthCoastLizzie he forms a much closer emotional bond in a short time than they'd had in their marriage.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 11, 2011 19:18:59 GMT
I picked up one of bixa's good reads at a yard sale yesterday for $1 in hardcover: The House on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, about the Japanese internment during WWII.
Haven't started it, though, as I also picked up a bad case of food poisoning yesterday and am barely able to sit up and type, and will soon go for a nap.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2011 19:54:26 GMT
Sitting on the toilet has a time-honored reputation as a perfect place to read.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 12, 2011 16:44:21 GMT
Mine was the upchuck variety, thank you! And I wouldn't want to splatter on the pages of a "new" book, even if it cost only a buck.
Much better today.
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Post by bjd on Jul 17, 2011 19:35:41 GMT
I just finished C.J. Sansom's Revelation, a mystery/historical fiction set in 1543 in England, just after Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries. Well written. I have read others by the same author.
Also a book about the Parisians by Graham Robb, but written as a set of anecdotes that take place in various historical periods.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 17, 2011 23:56:54 GMT
Hmm, history is in the air. Right now I'm at the final pages of Henry and Clara, about the couple who shared the president's box when Lincoln was shot. The front cover quotes John Updike: "...one of the most interesting American novelists at work." There were times when it lagged for me, but overall it's absorbing with its various character studies and insights into political history. I'm also reading -- and loving -- The Snow Fox. The author, Susan Fomberg Schaeffer, breathes life into a tale about Japan a thousand years ago. She completely avoids falling into the trap of fake-sounding antique speech, while managing to make us believe that this might have been written by the principals ten centuries ago. "Critically praised for her remarkable capacity to evoke time and place in her gorgeous novels..., Schaeffer here transports the reader to medieval Japan in a haunting tale of thwarted love and unsolved mysteries." Do click on the link to see the rest of that review, plus what others have written. Highly recommended! I also recently read Sara Paretsky's Body Work. Paretsky is not my favorite mystery writer, but she usually delivers a good read. She does seem to be foisting her character's young cousin on us, though, an annoying Skipper to V.I.'s astringent Barbie. There was also a plot hole in the book you could drive a Buick through. Before that I read True Story, by Michael Finkel. A major problem I've found with true crime stories is that so often they're written by terrible writers. Not so in this case. Michael Finkel is a real writer who was involved with the crime he covers in a bizarre way -- the accused, whom he didn't know, had stolen Finkel's identity. I couldn't put this book down. I bought two books yesterday to read on my trip: The Last Wife of Henry VIII, by Carolly Erickson and Natives and Exotics, by Jane Alison. They're both novels. Has anyone read them?
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Post by bjd on Jul 18, 2011 8:07:26 GMT
I haven't read them, but Catherine Parr is one of the characters in the book I just read.
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Post by joanne28 on Jul 18, 2011 18:19:02 GMT
Bixa, I have a few of Carolly Erickson's history works and very much enjoyed them so I would think her historical fiction would be well-researched and interesting.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 18, 2011 22:45:11 GMT
Thanks, Joanne! I knew she wrote one about Marie Antoinette, which I believe was well received. I have read bits about Catherine Parr in biographies & such. What sticks in my mind about her was that she supposedly had a warm relationship with Henry VIII's children.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 23, 2011 3:29:03 GMT
Finished Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (and recommended it to Mr. Kimby who enjoyed Water for Elephants and I find these two books have similar structure and interest). Now I'll start Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson (Three Cups of Tea). Even though it may not truly be nonfiction...
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Post by hwinpp on Jul 23, 2011 4:08:58 GMT
I got two new books (from my nephew)! Yay!
The Three Musketeers and The Godfather! I'll have to limit myself to a chapter a day so that they last.
;D ;D ;D
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Post by tod2 on Jul 26, 2011 8:24:23 GMT
Another book sale down at our largest shopping mall caught my attention (and my credit card).
I was more strict with my buying this time around but found a coffee table book which is titled "Handwriting of The Famous and Infamous" by Sheila Lowe.
I think it caught my eye as I have several autographs of famous people, sporting teams, and important callers on the Prime Minister of the time in South Africa. They are pages removed from the visitors book at Groote Schuur - ( Prime Ministers residence even today) except we call them Presidents now.
First example of very neat handwriting in this book was from English Novelist, Jane Austen. A handwriting expert has given a "Between The Lines" comment and an insight into her personality, as he has done with all the writings in this book. In Jane's case her handwriting reveals a busy person with "A long lower zone" .
Ludwig van Beethoven's "hooks and tics" handwriting revealed impatience, tenacity, and emotional insecurity.
Ted Bundy on the other hand revealed a quarrelsome contentious person who sees himself as a victim of exploitation and resentment. And in his case, anger which started in early childhood.
A letter written by Winston Churchill from Moscow tells a great deal about the writer's approach to life. Churchill's well-organized handwriting is symbolic of one who is able to set priorities and pursue his objectives effectively. But, other factors in the writing reveal a writer who has a disorderly mind!
Napoleon Bonaparte's handwriting says this: Knots and ties are strokes that loop around acting as a literal knot or bow tie. These forms can be seen on earlier samples of Napoleon's script and are made by stubborn, persistent individuals who have a hard time of letting go of anything. In some cases they may be a sign of extreme secretiveness. Often, knots and ties are seen as double-looped ovals, where they relate to closed communication.
Others in this book are: Thomas Jefferson, Galileo Galilei, James Dean, Abe Lincoln, Amelia Earhart, Virginia Woolf, John Lennon, Charles Dickens and Lady Diana , to name but a few.
If you are interested in anyone, just say the word and I will see if they are in this book!
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Post by bjd on Jul 26, 2011 11:33:47 GMT
What does "a long lower zone" mean?
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Post by tod2 on Jul 26, 2011 14:26:10 GMT
Hi Bjd - The author, Sheila Lowe is a distinguished graphologist and says that handwriting is so fascinating because of it's revealing qualities in say, a scribbled note, a carefully composed letter, a signature at the bottom of a treaty - HOW they are written is more revealing than the words themselves!
I found this statement by her quite amazing - "Research tells us that every experience we ever have is stored in the brain. When one begins to write, the unconscious reactions to those experiences is left in the trail of ink. Thus handwriting can properly be termed brainwriting" She adds an important note: "Just as someones personality may change over time, so too can their handwriting. Other affects to changed handwriting can be a death in the family, health problems, separation and divorce, job change or some kind of physical trauma.
Now to answer your question Bjd - The lower Zone encompasses the area below the baseline,( I guess that means the line one is using to guide the words?) including lower loops and any part of letters that fall into that area. It is in this zone that the instinctual, biological urges reside, and it reflects the strength of the writer's need and desire for food, sex, money, and material goods. In other words the survival instincts. When the lower zone is abruptly curtailed with a sharp tic , as it is in George Bush Snr., it suggests irritability and frustration in the most basic of drives.
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Post by lola on Jul 26, 2011 19:25:30 GMT
Tod, George Washington? He is considered enigmatic by the biographers I think.
On the opposite end from enigma is out-there Klaus Kinski, the German actor whose biography I picked up the other day. I don't think he was attractive, which would set me apart, according to him, from all the women and most of the men in the world, whose main preoccupation was having him in the sack, elevator, alley...
His style is interesting, fevered, pornographic.
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Post by bjd on Jul 26, 2011 19:40:24 GMT
Well, he looked sort of okay young but when I saw him in Aguirre, the Wrath of God, he looked like a complete lunatic. Grant you, he was acting, but still looked totally mad.
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