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What I'm Reading FEBRUARY 2014
Finished G.R.R. Martin's "A Storm of Swords". I started this series because a review I had read compared the author to JRR Tolkien. Being a huge Tolkien fan, how could I resist? Martin's fantasy series does not disappoint, although it could be more tightly edited I think. In this book of the series, the level of magic and other-worldliness increases. A surprising ending and a few twists and turns will propel me into book 4.
Cateline wrote: "The second was something totally different. Frank Langella's Dropped Names. Surprisingly witty and very sweet. He is as good a writer as actor. My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... "
Thanks for the mention! My library had it as a downloadable audiobook, so I got it right away as I really liked the film Starting out in the evening.
Oh, I'm glad! I hope you enjoy it, John.
It does sound good. I'm glad you've been discussing it.
I finished Michael Connelly's The Gods of Guilt yesterday, the most recent book in The Lincoln Lawyer series. Good but not great. A new marketing twist occurs with this book. Michael Connelly's other main character, Harry Bosch, makes an appearance in the book. And then there is a note on the flyleaf that says if you want to find out more about what Harry Bosch was doing when he dropped in on the action of this book, you can buy a Kindle Single (SWITCHBLADE: A KINDLE SHORT STORY). I did ... nice little short story .. again, good, but not great. Slick marketing ... and no, I'm not offended. No one twisted my arm to spend the 99 cents.
Cateline wrote: "Two books finished today, first of all The Martian by Andy Weir. Nail biting action mixed with a wicked sense of humor. My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...The second was something totally different. Frank Langella's Dropped Names. Surprisingly witty and very sweet. He is as good a writer as actor. "
Cateline, Frank Langella made a recent appearance on Charlie Rose. While a good bit of the show deals with his ongoing KING LEAR, he told a number of great stories then also. He is so tough and kind at the same time.
Here's the link to the Charlie Rose archived show with Langella:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/langel...
I've read four football books over the last 12 months. The last is the most important. It is Gregg Easterbrook's The King of Sports: Football's Impact on America. It will explain better than any other book I've read how football disrupts and corrupts colleges and universities, how the money in football the college and pro level has changed society and the media in fundamental ways, and how injuries have affected the game. If you read it without knowing Easterbrook's background, you would think he hates the sport (although he finds a few people to praise, most notably Frank Beamer, the head coach at VA TECH). But Easterbrook actually played college football himself, and his son played football at one of the major schools. I no longer watch any football except for NFL football ... I believe that there should be a law against playing the game at any level .. UNLESS you get paid for it.
Idle curiosity - does Frank Langella discuss his relationship with Whoopi Goldberg in the book?
I raced through Anita Amirrezvani's The Blood of Flowers in double quick time and loved it and reviewed it here . I am now reading a children's version of some of the stories from the epic Iranian poem by Ferdowsi from circa 1000 The Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings. There are lots of versions around of the poem itself and retold in story form including a text available on the net with some beautiful illustrated editions available. Good versus evil, pride, jealousy, love etc the whole gambit of human emiton in classic folk tale / fairy story format. Wonderful to read to kids/grandkids.
Ann wrote: "Idle curiosity - does Frank Langella discuss his relationship with Whoopi Goldberg in the book?"No, he doesn't, Ann. In the introduction, he says that he is only going to be talking about people who are deceased. Good decision, I thought. He got some criticism for "kissing and telling." But, I thought he did it very well and since the people are gone, it limits the fall-out. I thought this was one of the better celebrity memoirs I've read and said so in my review.
That sounds like a good decision, Barb.
I listened to the first few minutes of the Langella book last night -- he's an exception to the idea that authors shouldn't read their own work.
Larry wrote: Cateline, Frank Langella made a recent appearance on Charlie Rose. While a good bit of the show deals with his ongoing KING LEAR, he told a number of great stories then also. He is so tough and kind at the same time.Here's the link to the Charlie Rose archived show with Langella:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/langel...
Thanks so much. Rose is always good as well. :)
Barbara wrote: "Ann wrote: "Idle curiosity - does Frank Langella discuss his relationship with Whoopi Goldberg in the book?"No, he doesn't, Ann. In the introduction, he says that he is only going to be talking ..."
I fully agree, there was no "kiss and tell". The few encounters he speaks of are done with grace and sensitivity.
I did think it was a bit amusing when he stressed who he didn't sleep with. :)
John wrote: I listened to the first few minutes of the Langella book last night -- he's an exception to the idea that authors shouldn't read their own work.
Oh, I'd love to listen to it, he has a wonderful voice!
He makes it very clear that he'll have some less-than-flattering things to say about some of the people; however, he makes it equally that this book is his how recalls his experiences with them, not an attempt at an unbiased, balanced portrait of the individual.
Finished listening to the audio version of
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (Audio book performed by Frank Muller) – 3.5*** This is a story about a dysfunctional family and one man’s belated attempts to come to grips with the horrors of his childhood, and to find a way to become a better man despite all that he has endured. While Conroy’s prose can be poetic, intensely personal, funny, irreverent, and so evocative of place that you can smell the brine of a salt marsh, his plotting in this case is sometimes so over-the-top as to stretch credulity too far. I got the feeling the story got away from him. Frank Muller does a creditable job narrating the audio version of the novel.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, And 3 RVs On Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure. Ostensibly an account of the travails of moving 30 dogs cross country using three RVs and 11 volunteers, this book by the mystery writer David Rosenfelt is more about his devotion to rescuing dogs and rehoming them. However, many of the dogs the Rosenfelts rescue turn out to have problems that make them unadoptable so they take up permanent residence with the couple. The vignettes of the various dogs are interesting and one admires the Rosenfelts efforts, while thinking about the issues involved in having that many dogs living in one’s house. Rosenfelt doesn’t dodge the problem: he addresses such matters as the removal of feces (think: thirty dogs in the backyard), the “hair” question (just one dog can easily carpet a home—and the Rosenfelts have large dogs, primarily Golden Retrievers). This is a book for dog lovers, as those not devoted to the species would likely throw up their hands.
Book Concierge wrote: "Finished listening to the audio version of The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy (Audio book performed by Frank Muller) – 3.5*** This is a story about a dysf..."
The first pages of this book are like poetry. Beyond gorgeous. The rest of it doesn't keep up.
Sheila wrote: "I raced through Anita Amirrezvani's The Blood of Flowers in double quick time and loved it and reviewed it here . I am now reading a children's version of some of t..."
Thanks for the link to The Shahnameh. That is something I've been interested in and I didn't know about that availability.
Cateline wrote: "Two books finished today, first of all The Martian by Andy Weir. Nail biting action mixed with a wicked sense of humor. My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...The second was something totally different. Frank Langella's Dropped Names. Surprisingly witty and very sweet. He is as good a writer as actor...."
Amazon just put Langella's DROPPED NAMES on sale for $2.99 as one of their monthly deals.
I saw it yesterday on the remainder shelf at Barnes and Noble in Hardcover for $6.99.
I just started The Professor's House for Classics Corner. I loved it immediately. It's really quite different in tone so far from the 2 other Cather books I've read (and also loved). What a versatile writer!I've also been completing some unfinished books (phew) most recently, Leo Africanus, which was excellent, and I'm also nearly finished with Mark Doty's School of the Arts which has been an up and down experience, but the ups have been very nice.
Kat wrote: "Beth wrote: "I finished San Miguel this morning and am going to start OFFSHORE by Penelope Fitzgerald next."I loved OFFSHORE, hope you do too."
I really enjoyed it!
Yesterday I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; I could not put it down. That has not happened to me in a long time. There's a lot of sadness in it and I've been having a dark month, so next I'm going to read Bad Monkey. A little mind candy.
Beth wrote: "Yesterday I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; I could not put it down. That has not happened to me in a long time. There's a lot of sadness in it and I've been having a d..."I have Bad Monkey for my next audiobook. Looking forward to it.
I am still trying to track down the last six Rex Stouts through inter library loan, so I started re-reading the Travis McGee series in the interim. They still fly along, although the sexual commentary seems more dated now than it did when I read them a decade ago.
Sherry wrote: "Beth wrote: "Yesterday I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves; I could not put it down. That has not happened to me in a long time. There's a lot of sadness in it and I've be..."It's a nice read. I love how all the bad guys in Hiaasen's books get their comeuppance. I haven't gotten far enough into this one to know for sure that it happens, but they always seem to. That appeals to my sense of justice.
Is Travis McGee the series where each book has a color in the title? I remember reading a lot of these when I was a teenager and quite liking them, but I haven't thought about them in a long while.
Finished listening to the audio version of
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan (Audio book narrated by Jonathan Davis) – 3.5*** This slim volume is a study in reflection. The reader witnesses Manny’s struggles, small victories, and seemingly endless defeats as he continues to put one foot in front of the other, ever hopeful that he is somehow in control of his future success. There are no pretty romantic endings here; Manny plows through his day, doing his best even when he realizes that his best isn’t quite good enough. It is a perfect appetizer of a novel, whetting my appetite for O’Nan’s writing, and leaving me hungry for more.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Finished The Intercept by Dick Wolf, well done thriller. My full review, here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I have just read The Last Friend by Tahar Ben Jalloun. A story of lifelong friendship. I loved the way the author constructed the book telling the story first from one friend's perspective, then for the other's, then for a mutual acquaintance's standpoint, each in the first person, before producing the final letter between the two as the final fourth part of the book. It is a quite short book at only 182 pages, but it is a beautifully told story, about the flawed nature of memories and how things can appear very different to different people. The writer leaves it for the reader to figure out how he/she would have reacted to the same situation and the same letter. A most enjoyable Sunday's read.
Book Concierge wrote: "Finished listening to the audio version of Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan (Audio book narrated by Jonathan Davis) – 3.5*** This slim v..."
Loved this book!
Uh oh. Four books came in at the library at one time: A Case of Exploding Mangoes, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.
I'm not much of a short story reader but I've been enjoying a selection of Philip K. Dick science fiction stories from the 50's. Found out about free e-versions on a website I follow called Open Culture. A couple nights ago I read "The Gun". It was an interesting treatment of the concept of a WMD that never dies.
Finished Steven Berry's "The King's Deception" this afternoon. It was an enjoyable, quick read that explores a hypothetical possibility as to the identity of Queen Elizabeth I that Berry used as the crux of one of his usual thriller action stories. Like most books of this genre, it strains credulity from time to time but it was still a good book to read in the car on a weekend road trip.
Finished The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley. It's the latest in the Flavia de Luce series. It's taking some interesting turns. My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Cateline wrote: "Finished The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley. It's the latest in the Flavia de Luce series. It's taking some interesting turns. My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."I read your review and couldn't agree more!
Mary Anne wrote: "Uh oh. Four books came in at the library at one time: A Case of Exploding Mangoes, One Good Turn, When Will There Be Good News?, and [book:Quiet: The Pow..."I hate when that happens, too much of a choice and all due back on the same day
Recently finished The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles after hearing it recommended up Maureen Corrigan of NPR. This is a fluff piece of French chick lit. One of the sub plots took a ridiculous turn, but overall it was fun. I needed something light after some of the heavy books I've been reading.
Carol wrote: "I started The Goldfinch today. It does grab you right a way."Hello Carol, I too just started reading The Goldfinch, and I very much agree. You're into the story and want to know what's happening and happened to Theo from the first page.
Ruth wrote: "Just started The Interestings by Meg Wollitzer. Already wondering if I want to continue."Once I got into it, I loved it.
I finished reading They Found Him Dead by Georgette Heyer. As the book progressed, I began to think of it as Agatha Christie lite. It's been a while since I read Dame Agatha, but if my memory of her writing is at all accurate (an iffy proposition), then Heyer has a bit more humor, but her detective is utterly colorless. I figured this was a one-shot (no pun intended) mystery, but learned it is part of a series. I can't imagine why anyone would care if they encountered her sleuth, a Scotland Yard Inspector (named Hannysmide or something like that) ever again. The rest of the characters, if a bit stock, had some life to them.I'd come across Heyer's name a few times, and now I've read her for myself. Cross another one off the bucket list....
I read Still Life with Bread Crumbs. It was okay and very readable, but in retrospect most characters were essentially a good person or a bad one, and though I loved the dilemma the main character faced in the beginning of the novel, its solution was broadcast too broadly and seemed too simplistic to be real.
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Constant Reader
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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The second was something totally different. Frank Langella's Dropped Names. Surprisingly witty and very sweet. He is as good a writer as actor.
My review here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...