Good morning, Christy!

We’re more of the “Raising the Homestead Hog” sort of readers at our house, but the DH and I did enjoy ourselves a whole lot watching “Silverado” last night. Lots of fun.

Morning Lindy — I left you a link for another Muppet YouTube with Beaker and Swedish Chef yesterday in the muppet blogging thread. *G*

Well the best place to start for the kids (and yourself for that matter ) is The Wind in the Willows.

Toad is the ultimate Republican. And Rat and Mole start the case for gay marriage better than I ever could.

Yeah — we tend to watch a lot of children’s cartoons here. Go figure.

And, as I recall, Little House In The Big Woods had a bit about hog farming — or at least hog butchering. But I’m not certain Laura Ingalls Wilder is what you were looking for there.

I’ll go find it. I was at work and couldn’t pursue blogging past my break.

Good morning Christy.

I’ve been living in the world of the Marx Brothers for a few weeks, and there’s some fantasy. I love fiction, perhaps that’s what I need to break this block I’m feeling.

LOL…thank you, Christy.

As for books, do you read Bujold? I love her science fiction, but she’s been making forays into fantasy lately and they are exquisite. The Chalion books and the Sharing Knife series are wonderful!

Yes there is, but there is also a chilling story from Pa about his youth in Cuba, NY when he and his brother were chased out of the woods by a ‘panther’…given that you figure this was probably in the 1830s or 40s, it gives you an idea of the wealth of wildlife in Upstate NY. I know when the Erie Canal was built, local officials in Buffalo were offering $5 bounties for wolves.

I’ve met Lois a couple of times at science fiction conventions and she is as much of a hoot in person as you’d expect her to be from her books. I haven’t read any of the Chalion books — will have to take a peek.

Also, I just finished re-reading Patricia McKillip’s Riddle Master of Hed. Those were published in the 70’s. I remember reading the first of the trilogy…reaching the end and being so upset that the next one hadn’t even been written that I threw the book across the room. I waited two YEARS to finish that series.

The Peanut loves Wind in the Willows. We have a BBC cartoon of them, too, that is wonderfully produced that she adores. It’s one of our “go to” films when she gets sick — Toad can always set her off in giggles.

I haven’t watched any marx Brothers in ages. Thanks much for the reminder.

Argh! I missed a chance to meet her at the one and only WSF convention I attended in 1986. That was before I’d discovered her books.

This will be live and on stage. The director is a student of Groucho, and he plays him also. The actor playing Chico has played with the director before as the Marx brothers, and they have great chemistry.

I had to find a harp this week as a prop. So I start calling around and I find a guy in FL and he calls me back. He said ‘Well I’m FL and you’re in NJ, I have harp in Long Island, and if you can make arrangements to pick it up, you can return when your done to Princeton.”

I felt like I was talking to Groucho. It’s been my story of the week.

Oh, that’s right! You are doing set design on the play — forgot about that for a minute. Sounds like it will be wonderful!

Good morning , Christy. Funny you should mention fiction. I recently finished David Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter, which is a really good book on the Korean War. It reviews of lot of the Republican post WWII tactics fear and false accusation tactics which, although evolved, are recognizable today. Anyway, I decided to go completely escapist and read some fiction I had missed earlier in life. So, I started Kenneth Roberts’ Rabble in Arms. So far it very entertaining, but even it points out some of the bullying by Sons of Liberty against those they suspected of being Loyalists. It’s hard to completely escape politics.

I mentioned once before, anyone who likes historical fiction might enjoy Gary Jenkins’ Aztec. It’s pretty lurid, but I found it enthralling and educational regarding Mexico at the time of Cortez.

One of my all-time favorite novels is Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and someone else I can’t think of off the top of my head. A great novel!

Gaimin and two of my other favorite authors also have new books.

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Author), Dave McKean (Illustrator)
• B Is for Beer by Tom Robbins
• Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore

As far as cheesy, escapist, guilty pleasure reading, one of my favorites recently was Napoleon’s Pyramids by William Dietrich and I’m hoping to read the sequel, The Rosetta Key soon.

Finishing up an old (20+ years, I think) John Irving book: “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” Strange, hilarious, profound, deep, shallow, quirky. Google’d last night see if a movie resulted from this. It did, sort of, but they renamed everyone and changed the plot. “Simon Birch.” Hmmmm.

This hardcover book is 500+ pages, and I do my fiction reading at night, in bed. Ya know that thing about trying to prop/balance a tome for bedtime reading? barbara who has had a love affair with books all my life (I love the sight, smell, feel of them, and my house is filled with bookcases that are filled with books) did something radical. I just bought a Kindle. I know, I know. I sold out. And it may turn out to be a bust, but I did it anyway. It arrived yesterday and charged up overnight.

I can’t get through A Prayer for Owne Meany, I get so emotional I can’t finish. Which is WAY out of character for me, but for some reason that book just tugs my heart strings so much I can’t get through it.

It will not surprise you, then, to know that I started reading it shortly after Christmas. And I’m a fast reader. It’s a stunning read.

Good morning! I usually lurk here, but I just have to jump in and recommend a book.
If you can find “The Auctioneer” by Joan Sampson, please check it out. It was written in the seventies and is, for the most part, prescient. It’s about a charismatic auctioneer who comes to a small New England town. He touts “old-timey” (family) values and religion. “Pearly” persuades the townspeople to donate various items, which he then auctions off. He eventually has the police on his side, the townspeople are forced to give away their household goods, and he’s selling off their land in parcels for a new, “modern” development. It gets creepier than that, too. It’s amazing how a book from the seventies was pretty much predictive of what the Bush adminstration, in some ways, has done to us. It’s very well-written and has wonderful dialogue, too.
It’s been a long time since I’ve read the book, but I’m thinking of digging it out and reading it again.

The DH recommends “World War Z” for engrossing, escapist reading – I suppose followed by a sit down with “Shaun of the Dead”.

Next up: “Twilight,” on loan from my grand, and a Tamara Pierce book, “Beka Cooper,” on loan from another grand. More huge hardcovers! I’m always afraid I’ll fall asleep reading them, drop the book and break bones. *g*

A friend introduced me to Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series. Easy reads. Great suspend-your-disbelief adventure/mystery stuff, which I don’t usually read. Anna is a park ranger with police creds. Each book takes place in a different national park, which is an interesting twist. One of her earlier books takes place on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. David and I backpacked the island, so it was especially interesting for me.

“feel of them, and my house is filled with bookcases that are filled with books) did something radical. I just bought a Kindle. I know, I know. I sold out. And it may turn out to be a bust, but I did it anyway.”

All the paper pulp trees still living thank you. Over priced now but eventually the kids in Africa can be given an educational opportunity unimagined today.

I’ll make up some musty library smell potion you can sprinkel on it.

Hi Redd! A quick delurk to say I’m re-reading Great Expectations and love it more than ever .. just endless riches of language and feeling ..

Lots of Marx Bros on YouT .. and yep always good for a quick laff getaway .. over the years I’ve come to especially love the sublime Margaret Dumont (their perennial pompous/clueless society matron foil) ..

5.

Van Creveld notes that many of the wars fought after 1945 were low-intensity conflicts (LICs) which powerful states ended up losing. The book argues that we are seeing a decline of the nation-state, without a comparable decline in organized violence. Moreover, in his view, armies consistently train and equip to fight a conventional war, rather than the LICs they are likely to face. Consequently, it is imperative that nation states change the training of their armed forces and rethink their weapon procurement programs.

The book’s significance is attested to by the fact that until the middle of 2008, it was included on the list of required reading for United States Army officers, the only non-American entry on the list.[2] (Van Creveld’s Supplying War: Logistics from Wallenstein to Patton is now included on the list.)

[edit] Views on current affairs

In addition to writing on military history, van Creveld also comments, often pointedly, on contemporary societies and politics.

In a TV interview in 2002, he expressed doubts as to the ability of the Israeli army to defeat the Palestinians:

They [Israeli soldiers] are very brave people… they are idealists… they want to serve their country and they want to prove themselves. The problem is that you cannot prove yourself against someone who is much weaker than yourself. They are in a lose/lose situation. If you are strong and fighting the weak, then if you kill your opponent then you are a scoundrel… if you let him kill you, then you are an idiot. So here is a dilemma which others have suffered before us, and for which as far as I can see there is simply no escape. Now the Israeli army has not by any means been the worst of the lot. It has not done what for instance the Americans did in Vietnam… it did not use napalm, it did not kill millions of people. So everything is relative, but by definition, to return to what I said earlier, if you are strong and you are fighting the weak, then anything you do is criminal.[3]

In a September 2003 interview in Elsevier (Dutch weekly) on Israel and the dangers it faces from Iran, the Palestinians and world opinion van Creveld stated:

We possess several hundred atomic warheads and rockets and can launch them at targets in all directions, perhaps even at Rome. Most European capitals are targets for our air force…. We have the capability to take the world down with us. And I can assure you that that will happen before Israel goes under.[4]

In the August 21, 2004 edition of the International Herald Tribune van Creveld wrote, “Had the Iranians not tried to build nuclear weapons, they would be crazy.”[5] which was quoted by Noam Chomsky [6] and cited by John Pilger [7].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_van_Creveld

My bold The Transformation of war is great if we could get Martin here for a book club to talk about the Iraq war and or his books it would be great:)

Sorry My bold @29

Right now, the big books in our house are the Bailey School Kids books and the Captain Underpants series.

The librarian at The Kid’s school is convinced that the CU books will create a generation of DFHs, and she keeps them off the shelves for more wholesome fare. I think she might be right about creating more DFHs (questioning and subverting authority is a major theme in the CU series), and so Mrs Peterr and I made sure that Santa brought much of the series at Christmastime.

And dust! Not the “Golden Compass” kind, though! *g*

dia
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King Jesus is a semi-historical novel by Robert Graves, first published in 1946. The novel is controversial for the way it treats Jesus not as the son of God, but rather as a philosopher with a legitimate claim to the Judaean throne through Herod the Great[1], and also for the way it treats numerous Biblical stories and contradictions while demystifying Jesus’ life.

[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Jesus

I’m thinking of rereading this and Jitterbug Perfume and Skinny Legs and all.

The book’s significance is attested to by the fact that until the middle of 2008, it was included on the list of required reading for United States Army officers, the only non-American entry on the list

I wonder if The Transformation of War got off West Points required reading list because of the idea that big nation states seem to lose these low intensity conflicts?

What was Robbins’ book about Cissy and her enormous thumbs?

I just turned my 14 year-old nephew onto “Duck Soup.” He loved it. He looked at me and asked one time, how I would describe what was going on. I said, “Anarchy.” He said, “Yeah!”
Recently, I also turned him onto early Woody Allen, and the great Buster Keaton.
And baseball books.
My sister is accusing me of trying to turn him into a mini-me.

My 7-year-old grandson spent the night with us a couple of weeks ago and seldom took his nose out of one of those Captain Underapants books. He laid on the couch and read with complete seriousness. My wife picked it up when he left for a few minutes and read a few pages and a heard her chuckling. She said it was amusing. I was just happy to see him reading.

For a real break from the real world I read the Southern vampire series by Charlaine Harris. HBO has a series called “True Blood” *very* loosely based on the books, but it’s awful. The books are 300% better than the TV show. You won’t think about the economy while reading, guarantee it.

“Even Cowgirl’s Get the Blues.”

g’mornin’ all,

“Bedtime for Frances” was one of my favorite children’s books. When Frances (a little badger) couldn’t fall asleep, she made up an alphabet song.

…
S is for sailboat.
T is for tiger.
U is for underwear, down in the drier.

Classic.

Edward Lear’s “Nonsense Alphabets” are also delightful for children and adults, alike.

A was once an apple-pie,
Pidy,
Widy,
Tidy,
Pidy,
Nice insidy,
Apple-pie!

Yesss! Thanks.

The musty library smell I have on hand, the ‘dust’ may take a while to prepare. You are sneaky.

Must get more coffee…brb…

How old are the little ones? When mine were young I often read what they were reading. I have 3 faves from those years and would recommend them to all parents.
-There’s a Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom
-The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
-Indian in the Cupboard
The first 2 have lots of humor. Loved them all.

Brother G is visiting here this weekend. He’s an adult who has mild mental retardation. Every night, I read to him a few chapters from a “Magic Tree House” book before I tuck him in. Last night, he was describing them to a friend. “They’re very interesting and they’re very well written,” said he. Tender sweetness. He now knows from memory the whole sequence of, “And then the wind began to blow. The house began to spin and spin. And then, everything was silent. Absolutely silent.” What a blast for him!

Yes I am! It’s one of my most endearing qualities! *g*

I love Christopher Moore. Lamb(about the life of Jesus)is freaking hysterical. Practical Demonkeeping is a hoot too.

I’m currently reading a book called America Eats! On The Road with the WPA by Pat Willard. It’s really an interesting view of late Depression Era America and our(unfortunately racially separated)food traditions. The WPA commissioned writers in every state to write about potluck suppers,feasting to raise money for causes,state fairs and other food meets culture events and how they relate to our development as a nation. It’s interesting and very revealing. Sadly,the project was cancelled before the work was done,so the author had to do alot of travel and digging to find the old manuscripts and put them into perspective. I like off the beaten path kinds of books and this one is quirky and fun.

The Peanut likes “A Sister for Frances” — but all of those books are a hoot.

Current religion denies that it want political power yet it wants everyone to live according to their rules.
Current Religion denies the mystical in everyday life like the Grand Inquisitor in the Brothers Karamazov and finds it threatening.
Yet the idea of faith is used to try and get us to obey their interpretation of faith.
An interpretation that never seems to call for self sacrifice from the wealthy or threatens their rule.
Nietzsche was right about Priestly Morality it would be healthier for the Priests/MSM Right Wing Propaganda hacks to strive openly for power rather than subvert their desires to the inbred Nobel loyal Bushies.

My 49 was suppose to be a reply to my 33

If you like that book, try “Still Life with Woodpecker.” Robbins spends about 40+ pages describing a pack of Camel’s – not a single boring second.
Another of my Robbins favorites is, ” Jitterbug Prefume.” Awesome!

I find myself drifting back to old favorites or kid’s favorites lately — must be a need for comfort reading. One great thing about having The Peanut is getting to share with her some of my faves from childhood. We recently started reading the Mrs. PiggleWiggle books — and they are so much more hilarious as a parent reading them to your child as they were to me as a kid. *g*

g’mornin’ with one of my favorite pete songs, done by an australian uke player, bill martino. he sent his tape to a friend and they surprised him putting it to pictures. i love the tennis shoes. check his cover of the hula hula song by warren zevon, he’s playing a poke-a-lay-lee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..re=related
=============

fiction with an escapism twist on reality with sly and witty hidden references and allegory?

terry pratchett

a series, but doesn’t really matter which order you read them in. *

each stands on its own.

*bold-last night on bill moyers linguist john mcwhorter gave everyone permission to end sentences with a preposition. if it is intended. said that structure stopped at jane austen. no more mind breaking thoughts on -to whom, for which, etc. i am now released from the grammar hell i was in. though will probaably not be able to do it more than once a month. rofl.
it was interesting, worth a watch.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/jour…..atch2.html

My little one is past that (seven, going on 30), but those titles sound interesting.

He devoured the Magic Treehouse series when he was younger, which not only got him excited about reading but also about history and geography. When he discovered that I put Google Earth on our computer, he now demands computer time to be able to explore. Yesterday he was blown away when I showed him how GE would also let him explore Mars, and how he could view changes on earth over time . . . If this keeps up, we’re going to have to figure out how to get another computer.

Bad children’s authors write bad little morality plays and trite nothings, but good children’s authors inspire kids in ways that are incredible.

Instead of thou shall not. Why not thou shall? Why not act from Desire instead of Duty to be good? Do we need mysterious in Religion to entice us? Do we need Rules to compel us?
Should not self direction be the goal?

Oh, now that sounds like a wonderful read.

psssst-hugh jackman is on actor’s studio on bravo right now.

The brother in the HBO series reminds me of Bush. The Vampires thanks to the fake blood going public and trying to get rights reminds me of the Gay Marriage struggle going on now.

I recently discovered the delights of the Christopher Moore series of books. I’m reading A Dirty Job at the moment. Who could pass by a book with names like Bite Me and You Suck without investigating further.
Another of my favorite authors is Janet Evanovich. She makes me laugh out loud, an effect a lot of writer wish they had but don’t. I guess I’ll have to end up sacrificing part of a tree also and buy the book.

Hi Christy! A woman in my neighborhood started a “book pass” club–each of us pick a book to pass and we pass the books monthly. I think she thought she’d have about 6 takers…well, we’re passing until 2011!!

I passed March, by Geraldine Brooks, which I loved. But I must tell you, the first book I received, The Girls, by Lori Lansens, just completely blew me away. I don’t know how I missed it (2005). It’s fiction, and it took would could have been a completely freaky, odd story and made it totally wonderful. She tells the story of Ruby and Rose, craniopagus twins, who are writing their autobiography. That’s all I’m going to say. Just go find it and read it.

When our son was 7, he discovered the Red Wall series and that set him on fire for reading..

Good Morning Fellow Lovers of Fiction,
I just finished Our Game by John Le Carre last night. Wow.
Last Week I read T is for Tresspass, Sue Grafton. I like to mix them up. Grafton is always a fun easy read. Le Carre was a lot more serious and I learned a lot.
Regarding Robbins…I played Bonanza Jellybean in a college readers theatre performance of Even Cowgirls Get The Blues. My mother was shocked when she saw it. Remember the part where Sissy is telling her therapist about her affair with Bonanza Jellybean? We added a big old kiss during one of their conversations. Ha. Woke mom right up!

Just starting a horror book. Warring factions. Greed. Lust. Violence. Deception. Danger. Possible treason. Double-dealing. Power plays. Very scary stuff. Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.

Oh, those Red Wall books are fantastic, aren’t they? Just wonderful stuff for kids (and adults, too!).

Can I sneak in a video?

New post at the mothership.

Oooooh, I missed that one, too. Sounds very intriguing — will look for it. Thanks!

Those books took our son from a ‘only girls read – I refuse – this is stupid” kid to a “no, I can’t turn out the light now, I’m reading” kid.

Just wait if we ever get Bush convicted on war crimes the expanded version of the Shock Doctrine should be even scarier if they include all the abu graid photos.

Christy, that video is for you :)

G’ morning, Firepups!

I loved the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books when I was in third grade. I felt like they were my special find. And I adored the Hilary Knight illustrations. It’s great to hear about another generation enjoying it.

I’ve started rereading Miss Austen again, and have been slowly making my way through an old Helen MacInnes novel, Message from Malaga. My exercise bike has Nixonland, which is amazing, and keeps me glued to the bike [good for my health as well as my mind].

Work for peace, every day.

Oh, if you want to read something on-line that will tickle you, I suggest this site—

http://margaretandhelen.wordpress.com/

Two ladies best friends for over 50 years.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Oh man. Thanks heaps for that!

The Sunday NYT magazine has a MASSIVE piece on John Cheever. It was obviously prompted by Updike’s passing in that Cheever was the other chronicler of postwar suburban malaise. But while Updike remained eminently sane, Cheever was a 20-car pile-up on the I-5. The piece wants to rescue him from being a Seinfeld punchline, but that’s no easy task. Apprently no one reads him much anymore, which is a shame because his fucked-upedness tells us a ton and a half about this culture. His kids are fascinating in that they’re strung out between gaping horror at his alcoholism and psychological abuse of their mother and delight in striking the all-time gusher of male American middle-class dysfunctionality.

Does anyone know whatever became of Cheever’s boytoy Max Zimmer?

Couple years ago, while wandering around a Borders I came across a book titled Eragon, the first in a planned 3 volume fantasy called Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. Needless to say I’m attracted to dragon related fantasy. In a note to the 3rd volume, Brisinger, released last fall, Paolini says he’s had to extend the Inheritance Cycle to 4 volumes. Fine with me. Really a great read and one of those you can read over and over again. I’m hoping the 4th volume comes out this year. I got the 3rd the week it came out. From Harry Potter to dragon fantasies. It’s fun regressing in age.

My last Tom Robbins read was Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates. The main character gets a hex placed on him that he’ll die if his feet ever touch the ground, so I sits down in a wheelchair for the rest of the book. How’s that for a metaphor?

When Mr. ReddHedd’s parents were both in the hospital at the same time last year, and he was out in AZ for close to a month as a result, I started re-reading all of the Jane Austin novels again in the order in which they were written. It was so wonderful to read them now because some of them were ones I hadn’t touched since I was college age. And so much of it made so much more sense at this age than it did back then. *g*

Funny how that happens…

The Harry Potter books are one of my comfort reads, too. Mr. ReddHedd knows I’m having a crappy week when I’ve picked up one of those for escape. *G*

I wonder when his next book will come out/

Changing from books to tv, has anyone seen the new Showtime series The United States of Tara? Enjoying it immensely.

*
* Wild Ducks Flying Backward (2005) — a collection of non-fiction essays, reviews, and short stories.
* B Is for Beer (2009) — To be published April 21, 2009.

[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Robbins

Hey, I have a ‘go to’ book also – for me it’s Jane Eyre. For the DH, it’s something called “Yellow Eyes” from his childhood. I’ll bet all of us have the literary equivalent of a blankie.

A close friend of mine–a very smart magazine editor (there are a few of them left)–was saying the other day what a lot of my friends have been saying lately: She can’t take cable news anymore, so she’s started reading novels again.

I’m re-reading Le Carré’s Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but my greatest escape pleasure these days has come from listening to historic classical music recordings re-mastered and available online at http://www.pristineclassical.com/

For 10 Euros a month (via Pay Pal), you get access online to an extraordinary catalogue of the greatest performances ever recorded: Toscanini conducting the NY Philarmonic in a Thirties performance of the Beethoven 7th; Felix Weingartner and the Vienna Philharmonic performing the Beethoven 9th just on the cusp of the Nazi takeover of Austria; Fritz Busch conducting a marvelous Marriage of Figaro at Glyndebourne; Edwin Fischer playing Bach; and, my current fave, Toscanini and the NBC Symphony in an early 1942 “War Bonds Concert,” beginning with a glorious “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and concluding with the most stirring “Star Spangled Banner” I ever expect to hear.

And did I say that the re-masterings are superb? I hacw many of these performances either on LP or CD, but the new re-masterings are better still, and, in some cases (the Weingartner, for example), very much better.

Check ‘em out!

I’m a mystery reader. Best lately:

IN THE WOODS – Irish novel by Tana French about a detective on a case that may touch on the disappearance of his childhood friends years before. Political link – corrupt real estate development.

CASE HISTORIES – and the ones that follow by Kate Atkinson – mysteries on the literary fiction side of the aisle – wonderful touches of Dickensian grace as seemingly unrelated occurrences begin to intertwine. Oddly enough, corrupt real estate developers figure in the plot of the later novels.

ROSS THOMAS – mystery writer of the 60s through 90s. Currently reading through all of his books. He worked as a union organizer, PR person and political consultant, in the US, Germany, and Africa before turning to writing. Fascinating reading now because they reveal a great deal of the old-school back room politics. If you want to know why some people blow their stack at the mention of unions, these books tell you why. Also show the beginnings of the Republican shadow network of money and behind the scenes shenanigans. And they are funny.

I should be blogging about these, eh?

Someone mentioned B is for Beer. His wiki says that will be published April 21, 2009.
A short story about the T is for Trespass. It deals with how there are always people out there who live to take advantage of others, especially the youngest and oldest of us. I had taken the book with me on an unplanned jaunt out to the desert – I just had to get away – and while we were stopped at a red light on an offramp, the big black SUV in front of us, put it in reverse and hit us. Worse, they are saying we rear-ended them and now I’m in insurance land hell. Well, not hell exactly, but painintheass land. Arg.

The Xmas before the last Harry Potter book came out one of our clients told the office about a young boy, 12 iirc, who was dying of AIDS and wasn’t expected to live past the next summer. Poor family and couldn’t afford to give him a decent Xmas. I boxed up all of my hardback Harry Potter’s and sent them along to him. Replacing them one by one. It’s like reading them for the first time. Damn, made myself cry.

What a wonderful thing to do — good for you. Hugs…

Oooooh — now that sounds heavenly. Will have to peek at that — thanks!

If you enjoy historical fiction, through a woman’s point of view, I would suggest two books.

The Borgia Bride, about the Caligula-like Pope Alexander VI and his charming daughter Lucrezia.

I Mona Lisa, a thriller about the real model for Leonardo’s portrait, Lisa Gherardini, and her life in Renaissance Florence during the time of the Medici and the crazed prophet, Savonarola. The politics of the day were not that far removed from today. da Vinci, Michelangelo and Alessandro Botticelli, and the life of the rich and famous of Florence.

Available in all major bookstores and the web.

Yes, this is blog whoring, my wife is the author.

Okay, I’m impressed. I didn’t bother with the accent in Le Carre’s name. How’d you do that? It’s Saturday. I need to learn something.

would make a great oxdown diary

Seeing them on the shelf and touching them is a great reminder of how fragile we really are and that our children represent our hopes and dreams.

thank you thank you!

Ack. Way late. It’s been that kind o’week….

Everything ever written by John Steinbeck. Laura Ingalls Wilder for feelin’ the pioneer spirit. Just look what our parents and grandparents endured and got thru…we will prevail.

The Stand, Stephen King. Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood. Triumph in these dystopian times.

And for pure escapism, yeah, Evanovich and Barr and Grafton and Paretsky and PD James and DuMaurier and… hmmmm, I see a trend here….

Easy on a Mac. I always have trouble doing it on a PC though. On a Mac, you hit Option and tap e twice, and it comes out é,

I know I don’t really “know” you (*g*), but I think you would really like it…just incredibly written. She tells this story with such grace and humanity you forget that it’s fiction. Rose writes most of the chapters, but Ruby contributes some too. I’m still thinking about it, and I’m 3 books away from it.

Me pc. But, thanks. I still learned something. Not applicable though. :)

“I’ll bet all of us have the literary equivalent of a blankie.”

Mine was “Swiss Family Robinson”. A gentle all-knowing father and access to all the raw materials anyone would need to live.

Unfortunately reading again years later I noticed it was totally male fixated. A father(narrator), four boys with names and personalities, and a mother/wife almost unseen in the background who did not have a name. I read it twenty times ( I kept track) and blame all my consequent misogyny on that book.

The most bizarre book I’ve ever read is Dhalgren by Samuel R Delany

Odd characters…one thing I did was send myself an email with the most common ones I might use and save in my inbox for copy-pasting. things like em dash, etc. easier than going into word and opening the symbol window to copy paste.

As I said, the Le Carre was a difficult read. Tough subject matter. One of the quotes in the forepages is Who gathers knowledge gathers pain – Ecclesiastes 1:18.
I had to pick up something fun to read before I went to sleep. Read the book my daughter gave me for Christmas. Mother of the Bride. Yes, she’s getting married in October. I found out all mothers of the bride have similar experiences. And, yes, I am going down to the local Curves this afternoon to find out how much it would cost for me to get into shape for the upcoming event. Oh, please gawd, let it be affordable. Don’t make me do this on my own.

Not to get all serious on everyone, but read Cormac McCarthy from his first novels to his latest. He’s a writer with mnay different voices and styles. That’s very unusual.
He starts off Faulkner-like in his early novels. Then in “Suttree,” he channels Kennedy’s “Ironweed,” but maybe better. Then read “Blood Meridian.” About the bloodiest book ever written, and my fave. And then “All the Pretty Horses,” and “the Crossing.” Elegant writing.
Recently, he came out with “The Road,” a post-apocalyptic father-son journey. It will tear your heart out.
Also, any book by Umberto Eco.
My favorite escapist lit is fictional historical mysteries. A lot of great writers there.
Reading is good book renews my faith in humanity.

A very oldie but goodie, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. There is a movie adaptation which is good, but the book is outstanding.
I have a special Aunt, my Aunt Midge. She was my mother’s best friend while we were growing up.
After my dad died when I was 9, my mother entered a mild depression that lasted several years. This was in the 60’s and nobody but nobody we knew went to a Psychiatrist. Our neighbors were wonderful, but my Aunt Midge was a rock for me.
For some reason, my mother did not encourage reading which was my refuge. My Aunt Midge used to give me great books but this one was the best.
If you can, read the book. The movie is one of the best adaptations I have seen, but the book is wonderful.
I will be forever grateful for the love and kindness she gave me and my sister during that time
My mom is dead now(and yes we did get through it and come to an understanding!!!!) and my Aunt Midge has cancer.
Two wonderful women who much is owed!!!

Please tell me more about the mother of the bride book. My daughter’s getting married in September.

She’s at the venue (alone) meeting the planner as I type this. Was supposed to be there but at the last minute, could not leave my mother.

My daughter and the groom to be will both be out of the country in May, then working out of state until August. This could get a bit dicey with all that needs to be done.

And don’t get me started about what needs to be “done” to/by me!

Great stuff, Lindy. And check out the size of the crowd!!

(((Southern Dragon))) You have so much heart. Blessings.

No, thank you the reader.

Artur W. Upfield wrote a series in the 40′ and 50’s about a fictitous Australian detective named Bony. He uses real places, and the imagery of Australia from that time period is excellent. Bony is an aborigine half caste with abilities to track and live in the outback like no other, yet he’s educated and refined like a white. The way Upfield weaves a tale of an unsolvable crime, which is picked up by Bony months later, and ultimately resolved, has lead many to going on a ‘Bony binge’, as there are many novels with this hero. I recomend ‘The Bone is Pointed.’ Not only does it involve murder, but the culture of the aborigine and it’s inner battles is highlighted.

Oh, now I have accent aigu envy!

PW up at the mothership

Thank you for sharing that story. Life can be so fragile and we all find comfort where we can. So good of your aunt to be there for you.

I also love to read Gary Jenkins – especially ” The Journeyor”. His transvestite visigoth was creative! Thanks for reminding me.
Karen

Also Robbins: “Another Roadside Attraction”. I still drive by it on Hwy 101 – Olympic Peninsula.
Karen

Hi barbs. How’s my sweet swede today? Staying warm?

The Chalion books: They’re interesting. Actually they’re two of the three ‘Five Gods’ books written so far. (The third is ‘The Hallowed Hunt’, which is in a different time and place. And just as good, if a bit strange at times.)

I’ve been reading Stephenson’s Anathem, which I would say is ‘worth reading’. Also Cherryh’s Regeneration.

Very funny!
And, in response to another earlier posting, I think I really should begin reading Cormac McCarthy, whom I have not read. A good friend of mine is a big fan and keeps telling me that, as someone raised on Faulkner, I would love his novels.

Which reminds me: This being the Easter season, I think I will take up The Sound and the Fury. It’s my absolute favorite among many wonderful Faulkner novels (Light in August, Absalom, Absalom!, As I Lay Dying, and Go Down, Moses being my idea of top-tier Faulkner).

That would be great.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Gargoyle
Spade And Archer – Joe Gores has written a Maltese Falcon prequel old-school noir at it’s best
White Tiger
American Creation
The Abstinence Teacher
2666 – Roberto Bolano probably his last novel

Fiction? Lessee. I’ve been getting kind of a kick outta the press releases about dubya & the missus having ta borrow teh furniture so they can hold dinneh parties in their new digs.

I keep visualizing 2 little fold-up chairs and mebbe a step-stool in the corner, teevee on the floor near the lone electric outlet, and take-out nachoes crumbs all over the floor. Barney. Attaboy! Clean it up. Good fella.

We’ve been ripping through the Terry Pratchett books in our house. My favorite so far is Going Postal.

Greatest books ever–All Richard Brautigan, all Cormac McCarthy, A Confederacy of Dunces and the Tin Drum. Great crime stuff–Charles Williford and Jim Thompson.

I have been reading the late David Foster Wallace ’s essays published in Harpers.
Here is the list with links published after his death by Harpers.

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/09/hbc-90003557

For those unfamiliar with his writing, I would recommend starting with “Ticket to the Fair. ” It is very insightful and funny.

John le Carré’s Smiley’s People. The third in the trilogy (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Honourable Schoolboy are the other two), but you don’t have to have read the first two to enjoy it. It’s the longest and most complex of the three; and exquisitely crafted. Le Carré conjures up so vividly a believable world of post-WW2 espionage; not heroic in the grand sense, the characters are somewhat ordinary, homespun people doing shady and courageous things for money, for their country and sometimes because they don’t know anything else. Every page fires the imagination, and nothing in the early part of it would lead you to think it ends the way it does. A totally absorbing and satisfying read.

JohnAnderson, thank you for that link.

@ demi, post 90:

Scroll down to the bottom of this page – http://htmlhelp.com/reference/html40/entities/; the three links there take you to where you can find the codes for the HTML entities that produce these characters in web pages. Use the decimal codes, they’re the most widely supported across all the different browsers. Not all web pages allow you to use these, but a comment preview box should show whether they work or not. They work at HuffPo.

Just finished Daniel Suarez’ Daemon – cyberfiction, dead mad-genius takes over the world using computers. Stayed up all night to read it. There’s a sequel coming – at the end of Daemon you still don’t know who’s who or what’s what. Very cool.

another long-term lurker here, to recommend the best book no one has ever heard of: Vivian Gornick’s The Romance of American Communism. Gornick is an early 2nd wave feminist (b. 1935), some may have heard of Women in Sexist Society, an anthology of 2nd wave writings published in 1971).

ROAC isn’t about the Communist Party per se. It’s about the emotional and intellectual tug that brought people to it and subsequently drove people away. Gornick is a careful but also charismatic writer. I’ve never read any other book that explained, in exquisite and heartbreaking clarity, why it is those of us on the left care so passionately about politics and about justice.

I’m also a voracious consumer of mysteries, and I appreciate the tips here.

Thanks for this. Sent your comment to a couple folks I know will find this very juicy!

Oww!
I’m thinking chili from a can, or mac and cheese frozen dinner, cooked in the microwave.
(Which brings up the memory of former boss’s grandson, being helpful, asking how long it takes to make a baked potato, and then cooking it in the microwave for that long.)

“Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow.

This is 1984 brought to San Francisco post 9/11.
Good for computer interested readers from teenaged to adult.

Top marks from me for pointing out the deep dangers in a surveillance society.

And books on board shelves, separated by bricks.

I’m reading Tim Dorsey novels. Blurb on the back says he’s Carl Hiasson on meth, which does sort of capture the insane energy of his florida based stories. His crazed protagonist was never Governor of Florida (many of Hiasson’s novels feature a crazed eco-warrior ex-governor).

The violence is a bit much at time. Just got the denouement of the Rube Goldburg murder device introduced in the prologue of Florida Road Kill, while imaginative it’s pretty messy.I’ve been reading all but one of his first 5 novels in random order (I don’t have Orange Crush).

I think I may go for some space opera next, I’ve been thinking of re-reading Charles Stross‘ Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise.

“A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village In The Sixties” by Suze Rotolo, the woman featured on the cover of “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”, is a great read. i hadn’t realized how young the two of them were when they got together, 17 and 20. a wonderful story of a young woman coming into her own amidst the 60s folk music scene while dealing with both the joys and pain that came with her sudden role as Dylan’s muse.

Ooh, a Kindle! Let us know how you like it, huh, huh?
You sound just like me – my “house” is overwhelmed with hundreds of books, and I keep trying to get rid of ones I probably won’t read or could get from the library, and the books way outnumber the shelves to hold them.

I’ve been eyeing the Kindle myself, for just those reasons of space, and because, when I travel, I tend to load up the suitcase or carryon with at least 2 or 3books — I might finish one on the plane and then have nothing to read! Aagh!. The Kindle seems like a good solution, and lightweight, too.
So, don’t feel like a sell-out, there are good reasons to choose it.
I worry alittle about more obscure books that Amazon doesn’t have…but, hey, the chances of my spending the money for the thing mean that’s not much of a worry.

Looking forward to your opinions on your Kindle. What have you downloaded?

Ah, thanks for enlightening me Peterr – I’ve read that the Captain Underpants books are often challenged, andI wondered why.
Of course, I have no munchkins so haven’t read them, but they looked pretty harmless to me.
Of course, I *am* a DFH…

Willa Cather – Shadow and the Rock (novel), Youth and the Bright Medusa (short stories)
Barbara Ehrenrich – Hearts of Men (essays)
Annie Dillard – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (defies categorization, non-fiction)
Graham Greene – anything
Karl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard – anything
Octavia Butler – anything
God of Small Things – Ahrunditi Roy
Blackberry Winter – Margaret Mead autobio

Ah, I see I’m pretty much talking to myself. Gotta find a way to get up in time for PUAC in real time. Used to be I was working Saturdays and missed it; now I’m unemployed, shifting into my natural nightowl style and sleeping late, and still missing it.

And a book thread, my favorite!

I’ll just say I’ve made a few notes of books noted here — I’ve been in the mood for fiction, too, needing a break from politics…but then I picked up Nixonland, and it’s pretty interesting.

To ja48, if you read this – how did you like Bolano’s 2666?
I have it now – had to wait my turn for library edition and it’s due back for next person on waiting list, but not getting very far.
Partly it’s that my life suddenly became busy (in a very non-work way), but it isn’t grabbing me yet, trying to hang in — 50 page rule.
I picked it up because I heard it’s theme was based on the murders of women in Juarez, an issue we in South Texas have been following for years, but so far, still talking about “Archimboldi” scholars. Hunh.
I’ve been reading “Latin American” fiction since the time of the “Boom” in the ’60’s, trying to catch up with the younger writers (well, I know Bolano died at fifty, but Carlos Fuentes just turned 80, and Vargas Llosa and Garcia Marquez are the same generation).

Anyone know good Spanish-language writers of the current generation?

I hope you will love your Kindle.

I was an early, early adopter and yesterday received Kindle_2. They are been perfect for my needs. I can no longer hold heavy books. When my eyes tire or the light dims, I enlarge the text. It is so light weight that I can carry and read it on the train to SF for a day in the city. Also, I love to read many books at once and because Kindle keeps your bookmark in each book, changing books is so easy. I do miss the quirky design of Kindle_1.

I don’t read much fiction, But I did like Snow and My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk.

I LOVE “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” – it was one of my mother’s books and I read it when I was about 11 or 12, the first time anyway – I didn’t quite get a lot of the stuff that went on, but I loved it nonetheless. I second your recommendation.

For fantasy/SF, I recommend anything by Connie Willis, especially “The Doomsday Book”, which won ALL the SF awards when it came out years ago – it’s a combination of time travel/epidemiology/medieval history that is simply wonderful. Can’t recommend it enough, really.

I’m reading the 3rd book in the “Wheel of Time” fantasy series by Robert Jordan, and I may not get any further in them – I greatly prefer George R.R. Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy series, and highly recommend them as well. Sort of combination of Tolkien and the Sopranos – the first one is “A Game of Thrones” – wonderful writing, but lots of violence and sex, so be prepared for that.

I’m a dyed -in-the-wool western reader. Recently, a fellow here in Portland has acquired the original manuscripts to many of Zane Gray’s novels, which had been highly edited (some fore political reasons! Can you imagine ZG being a political liability?) So I’ve had to go back and read them.

His first book, Betty Zane, is an account of the last battle of the Revolutionary War at Fort Henry. Betty played a key part in that battle, and the account of that event was found taped to the back of a painting and was snatched from a pile of rubbish about to be burned.

I am particularly drawn to historically accurate westerns, such as the ones Matt Braun writes.

There is something interesting in following the characters under these circumstances. For instance in Rio Hondo, an account of the Lincoln County wars, the actual New Mexico governor is found, and Braun mentioned the guv also was a writer. The book “Spartacus” was written by Lewis Wallace, governor at that time. Then this led to an interesting conversation with a fellow I worked with whose family goes way back hundreds of years from the Basque country in Spain, to Mexico to New Mexico where his great grandfather was made sheriff of the town of Magdaena, because he was so fast with a gun! Yet his name is not one you find in any history books.

Lots out there! :-)

I’m not much into fantasy, even less SF, but I just LOVED Doomsday Book. and “To Say Nothing of the Dog,” another of Connie Willis’s timetravel novels. Great stuff.

Forgot to add my voice to praise of “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.” Great story, great modern/recent history. I first read it in high school – loved it, but got much more of its heart on re-reading ten or so years later.

Two of my favorite contemporary writers, sort of mystery-thriller-historical but much more: Alan Furst and Robert Wilson. Both write atmospheric tales of amateur spies and detectives during, before and just after WWII, set in Europe.
For Furst: Blood of Victory, Dark Star, The Polish Officer, the Foreign Correspondent.
Wilson, “A Small Death in Lisbon,” “The Company of Strangers.” Politics included, yes, but great stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lew_Wallace
“Wallace [who was a Brig. General in the Civil War on the Union side] participated in the military commission trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators as well as the court-martial of Henry Wirz, commandant of the Andersonville prison camp.[4] He resigned from the army on November 30, 1865.[5] Late in the war, he directed secret efforts by the government to help the Mexicans remove the French occupation forces who had seized control of Mexico in 1864. He continued in those efforts more publicly after the war and was offered a major general’s commission in the Mexican army after his resignation from the U.S. Army. Multiple promises by the Mexican revolutionaries were never delivered, which forced Wallace into deep financial debt.

Wallace held a number of important political posts during the 1870s and 1880s. He served as governor of New Mexico Territory from 1878 to 1881, and as U.S. Minister to the Ottoman Empire from 1881 to 1885. As governor, he offered amnesty to many men involved in the Lincoln County War; in the process he met with Billy the Kid. On March 17, 1879, the pair arranged that the Kid would act as an informant and testify against others involved in the Lincoln County War, and, in return, the Kid would be “scot free with a pardon in [his] pocket for all [his] misdeeds”. But the Kid returned to his outlaw ways and Governor Wallace withdrew his offer. While serving as governor, Wallace completed the novel that made him famous: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). It grew to be the best-selling American novel of the 19th century.[6] The book has never been out of print and has been filmed four times.

I saw that also, Toby, but what I liked is that Braun highlighted “Spartacus” in his novel.

The Kid also figures in that novel, and he is made out to be somewhat human! In fact, the novel starts out with Billy.

Late to the party, but I’ll put in another plug for Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon books. Also for Jane Haddam’s Gregor Demarkian books, Harlan Coben’s Myron Bolitar books, Bujold’s Sharing Knife series (and Miles! Can’t forget Miles!), JA Jance’s Joanna Brady books. Lawrence Block’s Burglar series, and, and, and. . . ;)

oh god~ I had forgotten Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle….

Thank you for causing the smiles to break out~ she was always a go to book for me….

Wheel of Time is often derided as “Extruded Fantasy Product”.

Song of Ice and Fire has some good machiavellian political machinations in it. If you’re into that sort of thing in a medieval setting you’ll like it. I’ve put it away for a while, want to re-read it from beginning when i can read 6 in a row in paperback.

Dear Christie – for you and the peanut – the 5 little peppers, for you and others The Milagro Beanfield War (John Nicols) laugh out loud, beautiful magical realism of the finest kind.

Couple years back the movie “There Will Be Blood” got me thinking about Upton Sinclair. In researching him I got interested in the series of historical novels he wrote covering the period of WW I through the beginning of the atomic age. They are generally referred to as the Lanny Budd series, after the protagonist. So I ordered the first one online. It was such a good read I ordered the rest–eleven in total–and blazed through them. Highly recommended.

For something completely different: Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter, by Antonio Vargas Llosa.

Every decade or so I will re-read all of Raymond Chandler’s books. They never fail to satisfy. Recently I read one of them on my wife’s Kindle, to check that out. She really loves the Kindle. I must say I liked it a lot too. Between Amazon and other sources for compatible eBooks about half of the books I’d like to read are available for it. I’m tempted to buy her a Kindle 2 so I can inherit her Kindle 1.

Sorry I have no recommendations for children’s books. Since my youngest is 16 I have lost touch with that field. But since the GrandPeanut is three, looks like I’ll be getting reacquainted with it soon.