What Are You Reading

greatestescaper · Jul 11, 2017

The Poison Belt, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I am of course familiar with many if not all of the stories of Holmes and Watson, and I have read The Lost World a few times over the years. That said I have not, until now, read any other of the Doyle novels or stories that follow the further exploits and adventures of the great GEC and his compatriots. So far this has proved a fun read, with an excellent and admittedly terrifying concept.

LizzieMaine · Jul 11, 2017

Revisiting my favorite trashy novel of the Era, Frederick Wakeman's "The Hucksters." Where Herman Wouk used tiny pinpricks to skewer the Boys From Marketing in "Aurora Dawn," Wakeman uses a rusty hatchet, which he hammers home over and over again in utter delight in exposing the moral leprosy of the big-time advertising business. "Mad Men" has nothing on this book, which was a scandalous delight in 1946, and which inspired a wave of horrified doth-protest-too-much from the Boys themselves, especially in "Life," where a hyperventilating panty-twisting Luce minion declared it a threat to the very substance of America itself.

The movie, starring an unlikely Clark Gable was, as they say, Rinso White compared to the decadent gaminess of the book, with every single bit of the novel's bite flushed away in deference to the delicate sensibilities of Louis B. Mayer and Joseph Ignatius Breen. Ooowee.

Harp · Jul 13, 2017

The Case Against Cardinal Pell, Julia Yost, First Things; 7/3/17

Advocatus diaboli against Louise Milligan's Cardinal: The Rise and Fall of George Pell.
Factual evidence is paramount in criminal prosecution and Yost takes a very close appraisal of Milligan.

Fading Fast · Jul 19, 2017

Just finished "The Last Days of Night" by Graham Moore

It's a historical fiction novel that tells the story of Edison, Westinghouse and Tesla's battles - in courts, the marketplace and the public's opinion - over AC versus DC current, specifically, and the early "electrifying" America in general. Using the young lawyer Westinghouse surprisingly hired to represent him as the central focus, the novel (admitted by the author) plays fast and lose with the timeline and other facts, but tries, overall, to keep the core story intact.

It's an okay way to learn about this slice of the history of electricity in America, but for a more in detail and accurate account, I'd recommend the non-fiction "Empire of Light" by Jill Jones. The attempt to present the story as a novel, slowed the book down early on and is distracting at times, but it does coalesce nicely in the last third. Overall, though, the fiction-story construct, while okay, doesn't add enough which, as noted, leads me to recommend a straight history over this one.

Touchofevil · Jul 20, 2017

The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley

vitanola · Jul 20, 2017

hatguy1 said:
I have a friend who said he became solid Libertarian once he read "Atlas Shrugged." Another said he changed from liberal to conservative after reading it. Both are among those in my circle that constantly urge me to read it.

The book was recommended to me by a teacher when I was eleven. I read it, and was quite enamored of Objectivism for a coupe of seasons. An introduction to similarly enamored Objectivists in our local Mensa chapter led me to reconsider. When I worked out the implications of the book I slowly backed away, subsequently falling in a big way for William Ellery Channing, Harry Emerson Fosdick, and Walter Rauschenbusch.

Fading Fast · Jul 20, 2017

vitanola said:
The book was recommended to me by a teacher when I was eleven. I read it, and was quite enamored of Objectivism for a coupe of seasons. An introduction to similarly enamored Objectivists in our local Mensa chapter led me to reconsider. When I worked out the implications of the book I slowly backed away, subsequently falling in a big way for William Ellery Channing, Harry Emerson Fosdick, and Walter Rauschenbusch.

My intent here is to discuss the way the book impacted me and not the underlying politics / philosophy. I was a libertarian / Objectivist my entire life, but I didn't know that until I read "The Fountainhead" which sparked me to read more Ayn Rand - both her fiction and non-fiction - and, then, related philosophy books on libertarianism.

I had a mishmash of libertarian / Objectivist ideas and views swirling around in my head from a pretty early age, but it was "The Fountainhead" that put me on a path where I discovered there was a highly developed and deep philosophical basis to the amorphous ideas I had in my head.

Whatever your philosophy, the beauty in books is that they can open your mind up to the wider scope of those ideas - their history, all the "thinkers" in the past who have helped develop them, the current state of the philosophy, etc. It was that one book, "The Fountainhead," that set me on an incredible reading and discovery journey.

vitanola · Jul 21, 2017

Fading Fast said:
My intent here is to discuss the way the book impacted me and not the underlying politics / philosophy. I was a libertarian / Objectivist my entire life, but I didn't know that until I read "The Fountainhead" which sparked me to read more Ayn Rand - both her fiction and non-fiction - and, then, related philosophy books on libertarianism.

I had a mishmash of libertarian / Objectivist ideas and views swirling around in my head from a pretty early age, but it was "The Fountainhead" that put me on a path where I discovered there was a highly developed and deep philosophical basis to the amorphous ideas I had in my head.

Whatever your philosophy, the beauty in books is that they can open your mind up to the wider scope of those ideas - their history, all the "thinkers" in the past who have helped develop them, the current state of the philosophy, etc. It was that one book, "The Fountainhead," that set me on an incredible reading and discovery journey.

Absolutely agree with you, Mr. Fast. After re-reading "Atlas Shrugged" as an adult, I found it less compelling tHan I did in my salad days. "The Fountainhead", and "We, the Living" are as novels more to my taste.

I am currently on a bit of a re-reading kick. Recently re-read "The Rise of Silas Lapham", and found it to be every bit as fine as I remembered. Am just now re-reading "McTeague", and am enjoying it much more. In my youth I considered it to be rather flat and hammy. It now strikes me as richly textured and strikingly realistic.

scottyrocks · Jul 21, 2017

The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience by Clifford A. Pickover.

Fading Fast · Jul 21, 2017

vitanola said:
Absolutely agree with you, Mr. Fast. After re-reading "Atlas Shrugged" as an adult, I found it less compelling tHan I did in my salad days. "The Fountainhead", and "We, the Living" are as novels more to my taste.....

Putting the philosophy aside (which is a bit like the old joke "but, otherwise, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln"), "The Fountainhead" is a very Golden Era novel where the depression looms large and industrial might is the center of the economy (several of Roark's customers are industrialist with the money to build). Also, the small details from clothes, to cars, to social norms (broken or not) all are very GE.

As we talk about in this thread regularly, period novels are a great view into the period unfiltered by modern prejudices (but very much - and quite interestingly so - filtered through the prejudices of the times). "Atlas Shrugged," too, is of its period - it has a very 1950s vibe IMHO. And I agree, very much enjoy "We The Living."

Angus Forbes · Jul 22, 2017

Mr. Vitanola, I have an off-topic question for you, if I may. What do you think of Mensa? A good way to meet interesting, friendly people, or not so much?

Harp · Jul 22, 2017

Fading Fast said:
I had a mishmash of libertarian / Objectivist ideas and views swirling around in my head from a pretty early age, but it was "The Fountainhead" that put me on a path where I discovered there was a highly developed and deep philosophical basis to the amorphous ideas I had in my head.

In youth, I succumbed to the National League Central Division, the Chicago Cubs, and adolescent Cartesian agnosticism.

Fading Fast · Jul 22, 2017

Harp said:
In youth, I succumbed to the National League Central Division, the Chicago Cubs, and adolescent Cartesian agnosticism.

While I remain a libertarian, in my youth, I also believed that it was very important if the NY Giants or Yankees won or lost - now I follow them with much, much less passion as free agency, steroids and all the other turn-offs of major sports has greatly mitigated my enthusiasm for any one team. Still like tall, wan blondes and Oreos, so not all youthful passions dissipate with time.

Harp · Jul 24, 2017

Fading Fast said:
While I remain a libertarian, in my youth, I also believed that it was very important if the NY Giants or Yankees... Still like tall, wan blondes and Oreos, so not all youthful passions dissipate with time.

The Yankees were a boyhood favorite. Mickey Mantle was one of my idols and we both played left field....
----no truer words were ever spoken...but regular, everyday, ordinary Oreos are hard to find amidst all the change.

Tiki Tom · Jul 31, 2017

I just finished “The Lost Book of the Grail” by Charlie Lovett.

While reading the first half of the book, I was convinced that this is one of my favorite books ever. It starts with the London Blitz and introduces us to mysteries within mysteries in a British cathedral. Layers of history are investigated starting from the dark ages. There is even a conspiracy that is carried on down the centuries. Even better, the modern protagonist, Arthur, is a bit of a curmudgeon. He’s a luddite who hates technology and just about anything modern and seems to spend about half his time submerging himself into the ancient life (and the library) of the cathedral. This despite the fact that he is not a believer. The book is full of dank stone rooms, candle light, Gregorian chants, church rites, and obscure clues. What is not to like? It is indeed a wonderful book for a rainy afternoon by a fireplace. It is intelligent and well written. That having been said, I found two flaws in the book: #1: Even though the author is American (obviously an Anglophile), the young American woman who arrives to digitalize the books in the cathedral library is a bit too brash and stereotypically American. The author is trying too hard to make her the perfect strong, independent, infallibly smart, modern woman. The perfect foil for Arthur! But I didn’t find their relationship and eventual romance all that believable. It seemed a little forced. #2: The mystery is pretty complex and, early on, the clues and hints are wonderful and full of the dust of centuries. However, as so often happens with mysteries of an earth-shaking nature, the ending was not entirely satisfying. “After all that”, I thought, “that’s it?” (I also thought the final chapter or two were somewhat rushed.) Still, all in all, this is a book written for book lovers, history geeks, and lovers of England. Being guilty on all counts, I did enjoy it.

Benzadmiral · Jul 31, 2017

William Brinkley's semi-SF novel, The Last Ship (the title of which was apparently "borrowed" by the creators of the TV series). It's a fascinating story about a US missile-carrying destroyer's search for a safe harbor after a worldwide nuclear (or neutron bomb) holocaust. But WB's writing style, at least in this book, is a little hard to handle. He gives us good dialogue between the commander and his officers and men, but frequently insists on explaining it. Not the technical Navy details, which are compressed and wonderful, but the narrator-captain's reactions to and speculations about what the other man, or woman, just said. I find myself reading the line of dialogue, then skimming the next paragraph or 2, until the next line of dialogue pops up. Not a good sign.

But I repeat: the story is gripping. Brinkley's the fellow who, in the Sixties, wrote The Ninety and Nine, a World War II tale of 9 nurses being rescued by a small U.S. Navy ship crewed by 90 officers and men. (I read it in the Reader's Digest Condensed Books long long ago, so I'm going on memory here.) Apparently he specializes in naval stories.

Harp · Jul 31, 2017

Benzadmiral said:
Brinkley's the fellow who, in the Sixties, wrote The Ninety and Nine, a World War II tale of 9 nurses being rescued by a small U.S. Navy ship crewed by 90 officers and men. (I read it in the Reader's Digest Condensed Books long long ago, so I'm going on memory here.) ..

I found the The Ninety and Nine among my grandmother's Reader's Digest Condensed Book collection, and I thought it would prove an excellent film script.
The ending is especially poignant.

LizzieMaine · Aug 3, 2017

"The Ordeal Of Oliver Airedale," by cartoonist D. T. Carlisle. Published by Scribners in 1941, this is a delightful dog-themed anti-Fascist satire of the pre-WWII isolationist movement, as seen thru the eyes of Oliver Airedale, a prosperous and well-regarded business leader in the dog-run nation of Caninia. An advocate of the minimalist economic and diplomatic policies of the late Calvin Collie, Oliver sees no reason to worry much about the rise in the nation of Hundia of a charismatic new leader, "Der Pootsch." His colleagues on the board of the Airedale Corporation reassure him that "we can do business with Der Pootsch" when the time comes, and that there is no need to help the threatened Angleterriers, anyway, because they really hate Caninia. But Oliver's misgivings come to the fore when he hears a defeatist radio speech by a famous Skye Terrier who is now a follower of Der Pootsch, and decides that he would rather die on his paws than live on his hocks.

The illustrations are hilarious, with the faces of prominent figures of the time cleverly caricatured into dog form. And Der Pootsch's logo, emblazoned on the front and back of the dust jacket is very disturbing -- a swastika made up of four conjoined dog legs. "A Satire With Teeth In It" indeed.

Harp · Aug 3, 2017

Freshly culled off the internet commuter train reading:Justice Thomas, Criminal Justice, and Originalism's Legitimacy,
William H Pryor, Yale Law Journal Aug 2 2017

ChiTownScion · Aug 3, 2017

I just finished (2 day read) Pat Conroy's nonfiction work, The Death of Santini. I had already read The Great Santini, The Boo, and The Lords of Discipline, and it was interesting to read about the people who inspired Conroy's characters. All I can say is that, if you think that yours is a dysfunctional family and that your father failed in every way that a dad can fail. take heed of Donald Conroy. Although there is a lot of redemption and reconciliation as his life wound down.

What Are You Reading

greatestescaper

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LizzieMaine

Harp

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Touchofevil

vitanola

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vitanola

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Tiki Tom

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Benzadmiral

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