Jim's profile

43 ratings | 27 reviews
avg rating: 4.23

Jim's bookshelves

read (41)
currently-reading (11)

to-read (9)
penny-bet-books (20)

books-that-changed-my-life (2)

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Jim is currently reading

	07/22 Jim is currently reading: Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-three of the World's Best Poems (Paperback) by Camille Paglia bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Jim said: "Though I am slowly savoring my way through it, I can't resist saying a few words about this book. This is a delicious book. This is my kind of bathroom book. This is a wonderful read. in it, the controversial culture maven Camille Paglia takes 43 E...more " add a comment
	07/05 Jim is currently reading: The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes) by Patrick O'Brian bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
	Jim said: "I am currently just getting into the second book in the series, Post Captain. But, since I am reading it in this mammoth Complete version, I'd thought I'd put it up this way. This may be on my currently-reading shelf for a long while. . . " add a comment
	06/25 Jim is currently reading: Pear As One Example (Paperback) by Eric Pankey bookshelves: currently-reading	my rating:
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Jim's recent updates (rss)

July 22

Jim is currently reading:
Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads Forty-three of the World's Best Poems (Paperback)
by Camille Paglia
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

Jim said: "Though I am slowly savoring my way through it, I can't resist saying a few words about this book. This is a delicious book. This is my kind of bathroom book. This is a wonderful read. in it, the controversial culture maven Camille Paglia takes 43 E...more "

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July 05

Jim gave

to:
The End of Beauty (American Poetry Series)
by Jorie Graham

my rating:

Jim said: "This book was a real discovery for me. It blew apart and redfined what can be used as poetic language. It is full of retellings of classic mythology in very interesting language, and with layers of meanings conveyed through the original imagery. ...more "

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Jim is currently reading:
The Complete Aubrey/Maturin Novels (5 Volumes)
by Patrick O'Brian
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

Jim said: "I am currently just getting into the second book in the series, Post Captain. But, since I am reading it in this mammoth Complete version, I'd thought I'd put it up this way. This may be on my currently-reading shelf for a long while. . . "

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June 25

Jim is currently reading:
Pear As One Example (Paperback)
by Eric Pankey
bookshelves: currently-reading

my rating:

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Jim gave

to:
Fear Up Harsh: An Army Interrogator's Dark Journey Through Iraq (Hardcover)
by Tony Lagouranis, Allen Mikaelian

my rating:

recommended for: Anyone interested in the current debate over our government's use of torture
read in June, 2008

Jim said: "I read so many books as part of my job. Most of them I don't really need or want to talk about here.

But this was an extraordinary book. It is a very honest and soul-searching account by a young man who, through his fascination with languages ...more "

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June 21

Jim gave

to:
No Country for Old Men (MTI) (Vintage International)
by Cormac McCarthy

my rating:

recommended for: anyone interested in a disturbing and deep sketch of the human condition
read in June, 2008

Jim said:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

"I have to say that the movie bugged me. But it bugged me in a way that made me want to give it another chance. I decided to read the book first.

The book is really amazing.

I see it as a balance between the best and the worst of what human be...more I have to say that the movie bugged me. But it bugged me in a way that made me want to give it another chance. I decided to read the book first.

The book is really amazing.

I see it as a balance between the best and the worst of what human beings are capable. The characters at opposite poles are the enigmatic murdering force of nature, Anton Chigurh, played off against the solidly humanistic Sheriff, Ed Tom Bell. Bell's italicized monologues punctuate the book, introducing each section. His voice is troubled but solidly human. He knows he is up against something new and terrible and that he possibly has met his match. We learn a lot about Bell and what he thinks and his own demons. We get a good sketch about what has made him the way he is and why he thinks what he does.

Chigurh is written very much as Bell's opposite. We don't know much about him. We only see his actions, and his actions are horrific, at odds with anything we'd call human decency. He not only kills people, but kills them in horrible ways and seemingly without motivation at times. He seems to have his own deep and solid and furious set of values, but they are values we ultimately cannot understand or reject. He seems almost to stand outside what we'd usually call humanity, and yet he is human. That makes the character all the more disturbing.

Directly between these characters is Moss, who has made the monumental decision of his life in running off with the satchel of drug-tainted money. In doing so, he has opened himself to the world of Chigurh, while still being protected and pursued by Bell.

So, Sheriff and murdering demon at opposite poles, and a failed human being directly in the center, pursued by both.

Makes for a great and a deep novel.

McCarthy's writing is spare and poetic. Most of the time he portrays people through their actions, not their thoughts. Most of the thoughts as thoughts come in Bell's monologues, which are often a welcome balance to the ghastly actions of Chigurh.

That is part of what is great about this truly excellent writer's work. He is able to convey much about people and their motivations through detailed sketches of their actions only. He rarely dives into their thoughts, and when he does it is deliberate and powerful.

It is hard to heap too much praise on this great great book.

And, having read the book, I have to say that the Coen Brothers certainly stayed with it faithfully in their movie. There are few scenes in the book that did not appear in the film. Not very many, just a few.

Now it is time for me to view the film again, see what I think this time! ...less "

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June 12

Jim gave

to:
In Watermelon Sugar (Paperback)
by Richard Brautigan

my rating:

Jim said: "My brother Bill had a copy of this book and I saw it and started reading it when I was 12 years old. It took me quickly into that amazing world of Brautigan's dream and gave me an entirely different idea of what literature could be. I was reminded ...more "

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June 03

New comment on Don's review of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2)

Jim wrote: "I do love the Narnia books. Well worth the visit. I can't deny what you suggest, either, about bot...more "

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June 01

Jim gave

to:
The Selected Poems Of William Carlos Williams (Paperback)
by William C Williams

my rating:

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Jim gave

to:
Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Paperback)
by Carl Gustav Jung
bookshelves: penny-bet-books

my rating:

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	Roger W. 10 books 4 friends
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	She ra 11 books 4 friends
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