What are you reading or what books have you read or heard about? (Part TWELVE) Ongoing general thread. Showing 1,651-1,700 of 2,793

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you for posting.

[Nina]

I would like to know in 1939 book what is fact and what is fiction. Did Germany really send money to US to thwart the Roosevelt election?

[Linda]

One of the gals in the book club is a history buff. I'm curious to learn if she could decipher the fact from fiction. Book club is a few weeks away - let you know if I learn anything.

At any rate, the book is readable for me. Yes, I am skimming some sections. That's just me~

[Jim]

Nina wrote: "I would like to know in 1939 book what is fact and what is fiction. Did Germany really send money to US to thwart the Roosevelt election?"

Yes. I read about that in a biography of Charles Lindberg who was a supporter of the Nazi's, at least at first. Their efforts weren't very good, though. There's a short explanation of it here:
http://www.dialoginternational.com/di...

[Nina]

Thanks, Jim for that info. Sometimes I'm amazed at what went on behind the scenes so to speak of the general's public knowledge.

[Jim]

What we're taught in history class or see in the news is rarely even the whole tip of the iceberg, unfortunately. If some of these people protesting Civil War statues read a few books & stopped to think for a few minutes, they might realize that there are no perfect people. People & institutions who did great things generally did it on both sides of the scale & judging motivations through our current standards is completely unfair. Of course, hating & destroying something is far easier than trying to understand it & build something better.
:(

[Nina]

Jim, I very much like your comment. I only wish more people felt that way. Why don't they?

[Jim]

Nina, I think it's because we've evolved to like simple answers. For most of our history, quick answers were all we needed. (Is it good to eat or not? Will it eat us?) The common man was powerless to change much until recently. It's only been a few centuries (if that) since most needed to really start thinking about complex issues, so we want to categorize & pigeon-hole things plus there's ignorance & short attention spans that consume memes & bite-sized 'news' stories that the mobs are eating up like candy to fuel their self-righteous hatred. It's ugly & stupid. The whole statue thing reminds me of Nazi book burning.

I didn't answer this last night because my son called & we wound up talking for far too long. One of the topics was our need for categorization & I'd happened across a great article about defining species. With our advances in science, especially DNA, the various methods of defining a species are breaking down even more. Here's the article. It's easy enough to understand & is a great illustration of attempts at categorization & the inability to do so neatly. It's quite frustrating.

Look at the uproar about oil pipelines. Few seem to realize that they're the safest, most economical way to transport it nor do most know just how many there are or even where they are. There's about 2.5 million miles of pipeline in the US right now. While the news would have us believe they're bursting all over the place, even a few minutes of checking will show they're far easier on the environment that any other method of transportation.

There's a lot of this sort of thing going on now. Our knowledge is growing incredibly fast & it takes some effort to keep up with it. Most don't & even when we try, it's often overwhelming & unpopular. SpaceX putting up yet another satellite & landing the first stage on a barge is no longer newsworthy. They just did another one a couple of days ago, but no one is talking about it. Instead, the news is full of horrors.

Statistically, we've never lived in a better world, but you'd never know it from the news. Violent crimes, deaths by violence, starvation, & disease are all way down globally, but we certainly don't feel that since the news goes out of its way to find every crappy thing that happens anywhere & put it right in our face. We're constantly bombarded with them so think things are worse, a false perception, but one that most people simply take at face value. They react, don't think, just like their ancestor's did when choosing what to eat.

[Nina]

Well said, Jim. If you were running for Congress you'd have my vote.

[Jim]

Thanks, but I can't imagine a job I would like less.

[Nina]

Nor would my husband. Being a mechanical engineer suited him.

[Jim]

I've gotten the audio versions of L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s books from the library. I'm listening to his Recluce series now in chronological order. It's really good reading this way rather than in published order. Both have their benefits, but I've already read them in order as they were published over the past 25 years or so. Up to 19 books now with a new one coming out this year. It's pretty amazing how fresh he's kept the series.

I'm also loving listening to audio books on my phone. I'm using Smart Audiobook Player on my Android phone with a bluetooth headset so I can still put on my ear protectors while mowing & such to hear well. It let's me make phone calls easily, too.

The best thing is the speed adjustment for audio book playback, though. It allows me to choose a speed in 1/10th increments from .5x to 2.5x & doesn't distort the voice at all. I'm now listening at 1.6x! My Sansa disc had a 'fast' mode, which I guess was about 1.25x, but the voice was distorted; sounded like a chipmunk.

I started out at 1.3x & bumped it up to 1.4x in a few hours. A day later, I tried 1.5x. I listened to a nonfiction history book, so when I finished that without problems, I figured I'd try 1.6x for a fiction book that I'd already read. Again, no problems. Normal conversations don't seem any slower, either. The human mind is incredible in how it can adapt.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you for posting.

[Nina]

Reminds me that all of the announcers talk so much faster than usual and I believe it is because the stations want more time for commercials. It used to be that our local news would come on the morning and evening shows at twenty five after the hour and go to the half hour mark; now that starts at twenty six after and ends at twenty nine..Discouraging.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I agree.

[Linda]

Jim wrote: "What we're taught in history class or see in the news is rarely even the whole tip of the iceberg, unfortunately. If some of these people protesting Civil War statues read a few books & stopped to ..."

Very good points Jim.

[Linda]

Jim wrote: "I've gotten the audio versions of L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s books from the library. I'm listening to his Recluce series now in chronological order. It's really good reading this way rath..."

I've tried audio books from time-to-time and haven't had success. Either the story line was bad or the voices either too many or too little didn't suit me. Being able to adjust speeds could fix this issue of mine. Perhaps I'll give audio books another try. Thanks for providing this information about audio books and about Modesitt books.

[Jim]

They take some getting used to, Linda. When I started, I found that listening to a book I really liked, but hadn't read in a long time was a good way to start. That helps comprehension at first since it's a skill.

The narrator makes a big difference. Almost every site lets you listen to a sample now. I'd recommend that. Some narrators just don't work for some people or books.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I've started reading a Kindle book: _The Designer_ by Marius Gabriel.

See my review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Linda]

Jim wrote: "They take some getting used to, Linda. When I started, I found that listening to a book I really liked, but hadn't read in a long time was a good way to start. That helps comprehension at first sin..."

Excellent idea - listen to a book I've read and liked. I'll try.

[Linda]

Joy H. wrote: "I've started reading a Kindle book: _The Designer_ by Marius Gabriel.

See my review at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

Takes place in Paris. I like the bright red dress on the cover of the book.

[Jim]

Marg started reading The Painter as it was recommended by a friend. She said it was very well written - too well written. She quit since she really didn't want to know any more about what the painter was thinking.

[Linda]

Listened to an audio book while I was staining the deck today. My mind did start to wander a bit ... Takes a little getting used to "listening."

[Jim]

Linda wrote: "Listened to an audio book while I was staining the deck today. My mind did start to wander a bit ... Takes a little getting used to "listening.""

Super! Listen to a book you've read & that will help some. Once you get the skill, it's a blast!

[Linda]

Book club meeting last night. Lo and behold there wasn't any discussion questions to be found for Jack 1939. Since there were only 4 members who showed up, the person who selected the book told us mostly what was real and what was made up. All 4 of us liked the book even though 3 of the readers weren't history buffs.

Our September book is: "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" which is a novel by Melanie Benjamin who also wrote "The Aviator's Wife" (which I didn't care for much).

Here's some info: http://melaniebenjamin.com/swans-of-f...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin

Thank you for posting.

[Mary JL]

I just started an older SF trilogy by Alfred Coppel. It tellsof part of the journey of aGoldenwing-class ship called Glory.

There are three books 1) Glory 2) Glory's War and 3)Glory's people.

It is not as well known as I wish it could be---originally published in 1993. Every now and then, I like to go back to some older authors. And and least so far, I am finding Book 1---Glory--enjoyable.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Mary.
Alfred Coppel

[Jim]

Good to know, Mary. I'll keep an eye out for them. I haven't read them.

[Linda]

Mary, I haven't read or heard about this author. I'm going to review this author as the book seems like something my husband would enjoy. He doesn't read much but from time-to-time I find something that captures his attention.

[Linda]

Still reading: "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" which I find to be a bunch of fluff. Honestly, who cares if someone wealthy has an empty champagne glass and holds it slightly up to be refilled automatically, or if someone wants to take their picture because they are wealthy, glamorous and 'in" at the time? I keep reading and skimming to see if something substantial happens.

[Nina]

Maybe it will abut don't get your hopes up.

[Linda]

Ha ha!

[Jim]

War Horse was an absolute delight! I gave it a very short 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I see it is part of a series. Nope, not going there. It stands alone perfectly.

OTOH, while I gave Under Western Eyes by Joseph Conrad 3 stars in my review, I really didn't like the book. In a word, torturous.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you for posting.
See my review of War Horse here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I didn't not read this book but watched the movie adaptation.

[Nina]

Welcome back, Joy. You were missed.

[Nina]

A quote for you Joy, "That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet," Emily Dickenson

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thank you.

[Linda]

I'm sure it will come as no surprise but I've stopped reading "The Swans of Fifth Avenue" as I just don't care to read about ladies dressing up to the hills for lunch to be "seen" and photographed blah blah blah.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Sounds like a wise decision.

[Jim]

I read The Road & was highly disappointed. I'm a fan of post apocalyptic fiction & with all the raving about this, I thought I was in for a treat. I wasn't. I gave it a 1 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, I read All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy a while ago.
Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Nina]

Good review/brings back memories of reading that book. I decided t order the DVD.

[Gabby]

I have read many books. I love books by Cassandra Clare, Rick Riordan, James Patterson, and J.K Rowling. My favorite book is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Gabby.

City of Bones BY Cassandra Clare

[Nina]

Did you like Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children?

[Linda]

Gabby wrote: "I have read many books. I love books by Cassandra Clare, Rick Riordan, James Patterson, and J.K Rowling. My favorite book is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare."

City of Bones sounds good to me, Gabby. Haven't read anything by this author - going to check her out.

I also like James Patterson. Not too fond of J.K. Rowling.

[Jim]

I just finished Parasite, the first of a trilogy. I gave it 3 stars, but am not sure when/if I'll read the other books. It was pretty slow going. Not a very good heroine.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks for posting, Jim.