Reading Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond. It’s not very uplifting--America the ugly--but Desmond does a great job explaining our problems and how we can fix them! Everyone should read this book.
I sat by the fire w a cup of hot chocolate and read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. So so good! And of course I also read a few chapters of Dune😁
When I got a chance, Still Ife by Louise Penny and On Trails by Robert Moor. I've read maybe three GOT books and then got tired of them. Too many soaps and not enough dragons for me.
I finished up John Jakes' North and South. I was only about 40 years late to that party. It did educate me on some of the lead up to the Civil War and was especially interesting considering the state of our politics today. Also, a bit of a bodice ripper so for Civil War, I will stick with The Killer Angels being my favorite. I am in Portland, Oregon and we haven't had power since Saturday so we are in a hotel and I'm reading a Phillip Margolin mystery. My brain can't focus too deeply right now!
Read The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe (1975). He skewers modern art, modern artists, modern art critics, the culturati, New Yorkers etc., all in 112 pages. Fun read.
I was trying to read "The Shards" by Bret Easton Ellis, and finally threw it down in disgust. I mean, I get that he's the King of Vapid, but geez. Someone said my current serial "Lamb" had a similar setup so I gave it a try, but when a high school is more shocked by the Homecoming Queen's slapping the King than the murder of a fellow student, you've lost me - I call BS. ;) DNF
I probably read Less than Zero in the 80s or 90s, hardly remember it except for one or two scenes from the movie... This one felt like a high school take on The Secret History, Tartt was his classmate at Bennington... 🙄
These lists are always fun - some that I've never heard of and others that need to move up in the "million books pending pile." I got some good reading in on Dune and am getting sucked into the story. Not bad for totally not being a sci-fi person. I also made headway in Streets of Laredo. I wasn't in the book group last year, but am going back and reading those as well. Lonesome Dove was a great repeat read. For whatever reason, I didn't finish the series. Time to do just that.
Read ahead in Dune (it’s a re-read for me, fantastic book) and then my husband and I watched both the 2021 movie and the David Lynch version. He’s read the *entire* series written by Frank Herbert and needless to say he loves anything Dune (even the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune!) I also finished The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie and added so many new books to the “future read alouds” list I have for the kids. I’m also chipping away at Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. It’s set in medieval Norway, making it the perfect doorstopper of a book to read in the winter.
I recently watched Dune (1984) for the first time! And I'm in the middle of Jodorowsky's Dune. There is so much Dune material out there. I'd be curious to pick your husband's brain about his affection for the universe. Is he on substack or reddit?
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This book captivated me from the first verse; I had a hard time putting it down. I love feeling so absorbed in a book.
I hope you enjoy The Frozen River as much as I did! The author is hosting a virtual discussion group soon, I can’t wait to chat with her about her book.
Read some of Dune for the Big Read, and almost finished “The Wintering Place” by Kevin McCarthy. I picked it up on a whim not realizing it was a sequel of sorts to “Wolves of Eden.” Definitely an appropriate read.
Planning to start “Outlive” by Peter Attia this week.
Oh and RE: Game of Thrones, I watched the first season and devoured all of the books before season two came out. I absolutely loved the world-building and all the characters (especially Oberyn Martell), but GRRM definitely wandered too far afield from the main story and seems to have gotten himself lost.
The show suffers in the later seasons as well without Martin's books to guide them. There's some good stuff in those books, but the main characters spend a lot of time treading water.
Reading Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond. It’s not very uplifting--America the ugly--but Desmond does a great job explaining our problems and how we can fix them! Everyone should read this book.
His work is high on my list.
I sat by the fire w a cup of hot chocolate and read Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. So so good! And of course I also read a few chapters of Dune😁
Lessons in Chem is a great read! We're gonna try to the TV series soon.
Lessons in Chemistry was a great read, wasn't it!
When I got a chance, Still Ife by Louise Penny and On Trails by Robert Moor. I've read maybe three GOT books and then got tired of them. Too many soaps and not enough dragons for me.
Those are both great! Good picks.
Snow is perfect Louise Penny weather.
Ain't that the truth!
The Stand by Stephen King. It is the equivalent of 3.3 regular sized novels and I've been reading it since December someone please send help 🙃
Ha, great book though!
I finished up John Jakes' North and South. I was only about 40 years late to that party. It did educate me on some of the lead up to the Civil War and was especially interesting considering the state of our politics today. Also, a bit of a bodice ripper so for Civil War, I will stick with The Killer Angels being my favorite. I am in Portland, Oregon and we haven't had power since Saturday so we are in a hotel and I'm reading a Phillip Margolin mystery. My brain can't focus too deeply right now!
"My brain can't focus too deeply right now!" → Understandable! Hope you get back home soon!
Read The Painted Word by Tom Wolfe (1975). He skewers modern art, modern artists, modern art critics, the culturati, New Yorkers etc., all in 112 pages. Fun read.
Haven't heard of it, but sounds interesting!
I read a book of essays -I ’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein - with many laugh-out-loud reflections about motherhood 😊
Thanks for the rec, Grace!
Tearing through Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.
Great one for a cold weekend. :)
On my list!
I came in late to the GOT TV show as well but after binging the series I devoured the books! They’re so good!
Dune, War and Peace, and A Stranger in the Woods. Caught a little bug so I snuggled on the couch and did a ton of reading.
Two big books and a small one. :) Not a bad balance.
I was trying to read "The Shards" by Bret Easton Ellis, and finally threw it down in disgust. I mean, I get that he's the King of Vapid, but geez. Someone said my current serial "Lamb" had a similar setup so I gave it a try, but when a high school is more shocked by the Homecoming Queen's slapping the King than the murder of a fellow student, you've lost me - I call BS. ;) DNF
Interesting! I've only read American Psycho by him -- memorable, but can't say I enjoyed it.
I probably read Less than Zero in the 80s or 90s, hardly remember it except for one or two scenes from the movie... This one felt like a high school take on The Secret History, Tartt was his classmate at Bennington... 🙄
Metamodernism - Storm
The Condition of Postmodernity - Harvey
Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism - Jameson
Philosophy! Nice. Thanks for sharing, Stirling.
Writing several posts on Metamodernism.
These lists are always fun - some that I've never heard of and others that need to move up in the "million books pending pile." I got some good reading in on Dune and am getting sucked into the story. Not bad for totally not being a sci-fi person. I also made headway in Streets of Laredo. I wasn't in the book group last year, but am going back and reading those as well. Lonesome Dove was a great repeat read. For whatever reason, I didn't finish the series. Time to do just that.
Great series to finish, for sure. :)
Read ahead in Dune (it’s a re-read for me, fantastic book) and then my husband and I watched both the 2021 movie and the David Lynch version. He’s read the *entire* series written by Frank Herbert and needless to say he loves anything Dune (even the documentary Jodorowsky's Dune!) I also finished The Read-Aloud Family by Sarah Mackenzie and added so many new books to the “future read alouds” list I have for the kids. I’m also chipping away at Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset. It’s set in medieval Norway, making it the perfect doorstopper of a book to read in the winter.
I recently watched Dune (1984) for the first time! And I'm in the middle of Jodorowsky's Dune. There is so much Dune material out there. I'd be curious to pick your husband's brain about his affection for the universe. Is he on substack or reddit?
Ha, I’m a very inattentive wife and had no clue if he has either, so I had to ask 😅 He’s TheSaevus on Reddit.
I always have problems reading Nordic authors, those people are really dark :D
Ha ha, Minnesota Scandinavian here, and I was thinking “this is kind of a cute story” 😅
I will put it on my Goodreads list! Can't hurt to try!
I haven't tried Lavransdatter yet, but it's high on my list. :)
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. This book captivated me from the first verse; I had a hard time putting it down. I love feeling so absorbed in a book.
I’ve read so much praise for Frozen River! Patiently waiting for my turn for either a digital or print copy from the library.
I hope you enjoy The Frozen River as much as I did! The author is hosting a virtual discussion group soon, I can’t wait to chat with her about her book.
Read some of Dune for the Big Read, and almost finished “The Wintering Place” by Kevin McCarthy. I picked it up on a whim not realizing it was a sequel of sorts to “Wolves of Eden.” Definitely an appropriate read.
Planning to start “Outlive” by Peter Attia this week.
Oh and RE: Game of Thrones, I watched the first season and devoured all of the books before season two came out. I absolutely loved the world-building and all the characters (especially Oberyn Martell), but GRRM definitely wandered too far afield from the main story and seems to have gotten himself lost.
Yeah that's what I've heard about books 4/5... always a bummer when that happens, and yet it feels almost inevitable with a long-running series.
The show suffers in the later seasons as well without Martin's books to guide them. There's some good stuff in those books, but the main characters spend a lot of time treading water.