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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 25, 2021 19:43:00 GMT
In anticipation of the (COVID-cancelled) Peru trip my sister and I were planning for September, I began reading THE GOLD EATERS, a historical fiction about Pizzaro’s conquest of the Incan empire, seen from the viewpoint of a kidnapped young man who is forced into becoming an interpreter for the exploiters who were sacking his world for a yellow metal. www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gold_Eaters/-glfBwAAQBAJ?hl=en Now that we are going to Iceland instead, does anyone have a book recommendation for me? Historical or historical fiction would be nice. Kimby, if you have set The Gold Eaters aside for the moment, you might want to pass it on to your husband to read. I reported on it here, when I was still reading it, but wound up enjoying it thoroughly & even reading more slowly so it would last longer. It's a great read. As far as Iceland reading, coincidentally Joanne reported on that just yesterday -- #s 34 & 35 in Mystery Novels: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/364534/thread and anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/364535/thread
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Post by Kimby on Apr 25, 2021 21:08:00 GMT
Huckle’s 2nd two titles (by Laxness) are available at our library. I’ve put them on hold, and will be notified when they are available for curbside pickup.
Our library STILL hasn’t opened during the pandemic. May 3 is the target reopening date.
Grand opening, actually, as it’s a new library building that was under construction as the virus shut everything down. It’s been finished for months, at least 6 months, but in an (over) abundance of caution they’ve kept their doors firmly closed, except for staff.
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Post by bjd on Apr 29, 2021 18:42:13 GMT
Our library has remained open since its initial closing a year ago. In fact, we have a new, much bigger and better library now. I just finished an Ian Rankin detective story and today finished a book by Jonathan Coe, Mr Wilder and Me. The story of a young Greek-English woman who meets Billy Wilder in California in 1977 and gets a job translating for the film crew when they go to Corfu to film "Fedora". The movie actually exists -- I even looked up some trailers on YouTube after I finished the book. I had never heard of it. A pleasant book which would have been even better in English.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 0:51:46 GMT
I adore Richard Scarry & my son (now 50) had the books when he was little. Looking at the video, it's obvious that it's all still brilliant after all these years. I didn't make the connection with your name, Huckle, but I'm convinced that Richard Scarry is the source of my fondness for crowd photos.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 2:37:11 GMT
I am still reading -- and being blown away by -- Paul Theroux's travel book, Deep South. This book was purchased warily and I began reading it equally warily, beaming the thought, "Don't piss me off, Paul!" at Mr. Theroux. That is because books about the south (and probably other supposedly iconic regions) are often less about the place and more about the author making everything conform either to his/her preconceived notions or to prevalent stereotypes, whether good or bad. So there I was, reading along with slitted eyes just waiting for Paul to make a fatal misstep that would put me off the book. What happened instead was that increasingly I was reading with astonishment and saying to myself, "Jesus Christ -- he gets it! He really nails it!". There were a couple of places where I had tears in my eyes, not because of any specific sentiment the writing called up, but because Theroux had so thoroughly captured an ineffable essence of the south that I was immediately catapulted back to specific places, perceptions, or feelings of my own younger life. Anyport has a large readership beyond the loyal members who comment and contribute here. I'm hoping some of those invisible readers see my remarks and are moved to read the book. As it is, the only anyporter who I think might have the same visceral response to Deep South as I have would be Htmb. I would be keenly interested in her take on the book, as she is more completely a southerner than I. Throughout this work Theroux makes it clear that he is the outsider, the Yankee, visiting and commenting. Even though I am a southerner, I am also not one because of the way I grew up, so I identified with his acknowledgement of being on the outside looking in. One thing in the book is chilling and, as it turned out, prescient. In mulling on a certain sense of aggrievement to be found in some White southerners, Theroux winds up exactly describing the election-deniers and Capitol-stormers right down to their flannel shirts. I'm attaching two reviews and an interview here. One is mostly positive, from the NYTimes. A reviewer at the Washington Post hates the book. Finally, in this interview from the Chicago Tribune you can let Mr. Theroux himself convince you, or not, to read his take on the Deep South.
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Post by htmb on May 12, 2021 3:15:31 GMT
Sounds interesting. I’ll take a look.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 16:07:07 GMT
People either love or hate Theroux & I think the WP reviewer is of the latter persuasion. He got his back up because Theroux dared to write about the south. Whereas I understand that attitude & even went into the book feeling the same way, I reiterate that Theroux absolutely nailed some deep and very hard to pin down essences of the south. Overall, it is an open-minded and insightful book.
Deep South is typical Theroux in that he often mulls out loud in a way that to me, anyway, says he is not making a pronouncement. As for his comments on Faulkner, I felt he talked enough about Faulkner, especially when addressing the grotesqueries in southern literature, that I did not find those comments glib. I also did not find him dismissive of southern literature in general & agree with him about To Kill a Mockingbird.
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Post by bjd on May 12, 2021 16:57:24 GMT
I really liked Theroux's "Dark Star Safari" when I read it years ago, as I did several of his other travel books. There are a bunch of (probably related) Therouxs who write -- some better than others but I no longer go out of my way to read them after some really terrible novels. I must also admit that I disliked reading Faulkner in English class at university. I really, really dislike reading anything written in dialect, where you have to read out loud to figure out what the character is saying, and Faulkner sticks in my mind for that.
I am reading Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record", the memoir about how he started working for the US Intelligence Services, about being a computer nerd and his political development. Slow start but very interesting and a lot to think about, not only about the States but certainly lots of other governments.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 12, 2021 17:55:18 GMT
I've only read one novel by one of the other Therouxs, I think it was Marcel. I was underwhelmed. I am mostly not a big fan of Paul Theroux's novels, either, except for The Family Arsenal, a book I love & re-read.
Thanks for the comments about Permanent Record, which really make me want to read it.
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Post by htmb on Jun 12, 2021 13:53:31 GMT
I recently started reading Paul Theroux's Deep South and have fallen completely back in love with Paul Theroux. This is far more than a mere travelogue -- it's more of an extended essay on this part of the US, the US in general, and incorporates many truly wonderful comments on traveling. It's the kind of writing that is downright invigorating. The reader is carried along and entertained, but also slows down to ponder some of the observations. I have to say I was stopped in my tracks when I read this: ... a country with an improvisational culture that makes a fetish of despising regulation.As a person who spends every morning reading the news and despairing over the recalcitrant behavior of some of her compatriots back home -- those who persist in throwing mini-tantrums over mask-wearing, for instance -- Theroux's comment seemed not only insightful in a way I'd never considered, but also creepily prescient. I'm still mulling the remark, trying to decide if it is accurate and, if so, in what ways. That sentence was immediately followed by: I was to discover that America is accessible, but Americans in general are not; they are harder to know than any people I have traveled among.The only drawback to this book is that it is far too stimulating to read in bed if you want to fall asleep. I set it aside to read during the daytime and reached instead for the comforting alternative world of a novel. Naturally I am including a review that agrees with my opinion -- my opinion so far, based on my short acquaintanceship with the book. If you want to go looking, there are many reviews that disagree with this review ~ www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/index.php/bookreview/deep-south-four-seasons-on-back-roadsI wasn’t sure I’d like this book. The very beginning felt almost patronizing to me. Plus, when I think of the deep south, my mind tends to think of Alabama and Mississippi. States I’ve certainly visited, but don’t know all that well. So the fact Theroux begins his focus on areas more familiar to me probably has a lot to do with my renewed interest. For most of my life, in various places, I have lived extremely close to Hwy 301. When my parents would drive us to the mountains in the 1950s and ‘60s, before interstate highways, we’d hop in the car, drive up the highway, spend the night in Anderson, SC, where we’d also pick up groceries, and head up into the rural mountains to escape the summer heat. Back then, most of the little towns along Hwy 301 were thriving places. Little havens of "civilization" where you could get gas, buy a coke, or stay in a dingy little motel for the night. Many years later, in an effort to avoid crazy interstate traffic, my youngest daughter and I made summer trips up and down 301 through Georgia and South Carolina on our way to the mountains of North Carolina. We had a "road trip" rule allowing us to eat whatever we wished. Though we packed most of our food, we also made one Hardee’s stop each way so we could feast on their biscuits for breakfast. Our stop when heading south was usually in Allendale, SC, a town featured near the beginning of Theroux’s book. Coincidentally, the railroad also goes through Allendale, and I was able to observe many little towns like this on the train trip I recently took to New York. Most were desolate little towns that seemed almost abandoned and full of decay, while others, usually those having active train stations, appeared lively and inviting. Just reading the first part of Deep South makes me almost want to get in the car and head north on Hwy 301 to revisit some of the various places time seems to have forgotten.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 12, 2021 16:18:14 GMT
>>>Following!<<< This is most interesting to me, Htmb, especially as it fills in the gaps about the eastern parts of Deep South. I figured you would know or identify with that part more, but how wonderful to hear about your long history with Hwy 301. Your vivid evocation of it over the decades really brings it to life for me. I don't know where the photos are in the physical book, but in the ebook they're at the end. One of the reviews I read was scathing about them. That reviewer is someone who doesn't know good photography when he sees it. The photos, by Steve McCurry, are sensitive and revelatory. Interestingly, I thought having them at the end was a good decision. (If, like me, you don't immediately recognize his name, you'll probably recognize this famous photo.) An instance of sad coincidence was seeing this news article immediately after I finished reading Deep South. It not only corroborated something Theroux showcased several times in the book, it was particularly frustrating to read since it showed nothing had changed since the book was published in 2015. www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/us/politics/black-farmers-debt-relief.html
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Post by htmb on Jun 12, 2021 16:35:47 GMT
Ah, THAT Steve McCurry! Thanks, Bixa. I knew the name from somewhere. I liked seeing the photos almost more than reading the book. Some of the places, such as the Dreamland motel, I remembered seeing before. The simplicity of McCurry’s photographs captures the spirit of each person and place in a way I really admire.
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Post by bjd on Jun 13, 2021 18:48:16 GMT
I finally found a book I really enjoyed at the library, unfortunately I read it in French but it was well translated. The English title is Warlight, by Michael Ondaatje. Ondaatje is Canadian, of Sri Lankan origin, and the author of The English Patient. ( great movie with Ralph Fiennes). The narrator is a 14 yer-old boy, at first, whose parents leave him and his sister in London during WW2, in charge of some men who seem to be engaged in criminal activity. The story skips back and forth a bit as he grows up and discovers more and more information about his mother.
And in a book box in Bayonne, I found an old book by James Hadley Chase. It takes place in London in 1946 or so. Everybody smokes all the time, all kinds of action and murders... Lots of fun. It's called No Business of Mine.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 13, 2021 19:38:39 GMT
Thanks for the Warlight review, Bjd. I had been avoiding that book because I had in my mind that it was a type of coming-of-age story.
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Post by rikita on Jun 19, 2021 0:25:20 GMT
"Adas Raum" (Ada's Room) by Sharon Dodua Otoo. It's interesting, but i think should be read with more focus than i am currently managing (mainly because since returning home, i only find time to read about once a week, which is too big a gap to get back into the story easily). My dad had recommended the book to me (and lent it to me) ... Maybe i should restart it when i visit him during my summer break and have more time to read, so i can do it more justice ...
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 29, 2021 20:13:25 GMT
Can anybody recommend a good accurate objective book about Stalin?
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 30, 2021 3:15:49 GMT
Maybe i should restart it when i visit him during my summer break That's what I do when I can't get into a book -- just set it aside and approach it from the beginning later. It's more fair to the book and more fair to me the reader.
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Post by patricklondon on Jun 30, 2021 5:11:45 GMT
Can anybody recommend a good accurate objective book about Stalin? Try Robert Service's biography, and Simon Sebag Montefiore's Young Stalin and Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 30, 2021 6:12:52 GMT
Thanks Patrick.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 30, 2021 17:16:47 GMT
Whew! Last night I finished reading On the Plain of Snakes, by Paul Theroux. It is a long book and in his style of travel writing, you have to be willing to go where he takes you. Know that will include some citing of gruesome crimes linked to cartels and corruption. These are narrated as flatly as something like that can be narrated, but I suppose included to show that Theroux, despite what turns out to seem real love for Mexico, is very aware of its dark side. My guard was down with this book because of having recently read his "Deep South" (reviewed by me in this thread on March 8). Theroux's fairness and truly breathtaking insightfulness about the place I originated made me feel I could trust him with my adopted country. Indeed, Theroux's willingness to immerse himself as an outsider, the breadth of his research, and his stepping outside of the tourist path allowed him to produce a book of such range, general accuracy, and importance. For more on the book: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/366117/thread (reply #188) Further down in that thread, Htmb reported that she was "totally engrossed" in the book. I'm looking forward to hearing her ultimate judgment on it.
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Post by Kimby on Jul 3, 2021 4:24:39 GMT
I’m reading a new book called HOW ICELAND CHANGED THE WORLD: The Big History of a Small Island by Egill Bjarnason. It’s interesting and engaging, and I’m learning a lot about the land I’ll soon be visiting. Fun Fact: Iceland has the oldest parliament in the world. Over 1000 years old.
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Post by bjd on Jul 12, 2021 15:40:27 GMT
I just finished one of Andrea Camilleri's final books with Montalbano -- L'altro capo del filo. As ever, he touches on current affairs - the migrants arriving at the port - as well as a police case. Too bad there won't be any more.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 23, 2021 17:00:57 GMT
I'm currently reading two books. One is Jim Harrison's The Road Home. This is an excellent, thoughtful book that I'll probably have to read again. I read in bed before sleeping and that is preventing me from truly catching all the riches the book holds. The other book is Once in Europa, by John Berger. This is a used book that has been lying around my house for maybe ten years & I may have even started it once or twice before. John Berger is one of those authors with an excellent reputation that you always think you'll get around to reading. Well, the other day a desire to lounge in the hammock with a book coupled with a disinclination to go upstairs & get what I am currently reading meant that I picked up Berger & dived in. Wow. In terms of quality "fiction as social history" (as one reviewer termed it), this is up there with the likes of Thomas Hardy, if Hardy had written in the last quarter of the 20th century.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 23, 2021 18:24:20 GMT
Thank you, Huckle. When I started Once in Europa I did not realize that it was part of a trilogy. It can certainly stand alone, although of course now I want to read the rest.
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Post by bjd on Jul 23, 2021 18:25:50 GMT
Our library will close for the first - two weeks of August so I took out a few books thinking I would have time to read them. One, Jerusalem by Simon Sebag Montefiore is one I have been looking at for a while and even once thought of buying in English. But it is really a huge book, so not comfortable to read lying down. So far I have read the introduction.
I also took a collection of GK Chesterton's Father Brown stories, but admit that I just don't find them that great. Just okay, simply because they were written long ago, but I have read a few here and there and certainly won't read them all.
A book by Donna Leon, those set in Venice with Commissario Brunetti, Unto us a son is given. I was surprised to read recently that she has never allowed her books to be translated into Italian. And that she now lives in Switzerland, not Venice.
A couple of graphic novels too: two Nestor Burma (Whatagain will know), the 5th voume of L'Arabe du futur as well as the first volume of a trilogy called Berlin by an American, Jason Lute. It takes place in the 1920s, the drawings are all black and white and it took the guy 22 years to finish them, but I will stop after volume 1.
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Post by whatagain on Jul 24, 2021 11:31:24 GMT
Ah Nestor Burma...
I also love Dona Leon's book but am shocked she forbade translating into italian...
I am reading 'An unwanted guest' by Shari Lapena. A solid whodunit with an ending that would make Dame Christoe proud - according to USA today. The style is not Agatha's however.
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Post by huckle on Jul 25, 2021 14:26:47 GMT
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Post by casimira on Jul 25, 2021 17:05:44 GMT
I am reading On The River Styx and Other Stories by Peter Matthiessen. One of the few Matthiessen books I hadn't read. My husband has always raved about it and Know I can see why. It consists of ten stories in chronological order.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 25, 2021 17:05:48 GMT
Thanks for this, Huckle. I hadn't looked at my deal recommendations for today, but will pounce on this.
I've copied your post over to the ebooks thread.
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Post by bjd on Aug 1, 2021 19:26:47 GMT
I read the easy stuff -- the graphic novels and Donna Leon but am slogging through Jerusalem. Over 100 pages of blood and gore and exile and I'm just getting to the Roman conquest. Another 100 years and Titus will have the Temple destroyed again (after once in the Introduction). I wondered whether I was the only one feeling this way and checked on Goodreads. Most of the reviews give it 5 stars and talk about the novel-like easy reading, but I am finding it hard going. The most interesting bits are the footnotes where the author mentions archeological finds that confirm lore passed down over the centuries.
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