What Are You Reading

Avalon said:

I read Jude first - it was my initiation into Hardy - and was so taken by his work that I immediately gathered whatever else of his I could. I have The Mayor of Casterbridge waiting for when I finish this one. He has to be one of the most jarring, intoxicating, fascinating authors I've had the pleasure to experience.

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Read Jude for a college class. Infuriated me. Felt as though it was heavy-handed manipulation re: voiding outmoded marriage and divorce laws and mores.

Maybe it was just me...

Samsa said:

This is a good mood to be in, methinks.

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...welcome back.
Drop me a line when you can post.

Finished The Sun Also Rises. Found it laying around and thought I read it. Did not like it.

The latest Dexter novel, Dexter by Design.

What are You Reading.

davidwebb_uk said:

The latest Dexter novel, Dexter by Design.

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I agree with you David, the Dexter's books are amazing. But, and this is a big maybe this Dexter is one of those rare occasions when the t.v. show might just out shine the novel. Either way, I have love the Dexter's books since I cracked that first one open.......What, I am reading now is the Alienist by Caleb Call it takes plade in New York City, 1896. A serial killer is on the loose, gruesomely preying upon cross-dressing boy prostitutes. Police detectives are making no progress solving the ghastly crimes. In fact, someone with power or influence seems to be bent on silencing witnesses and thwarting any investigation. Reform-minded police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (yes, the same TR who later became president), determined to catch the killer, assembles an unconventional group of investigators headed by "alienist" Dr. Lazlo Kreizler. (In the 19th century, when psychology was in its infancy, the mentally ill were considered "alienated" from themselves and society, and the experts who treated them were known as "alienists.")
Dr. Kreizler's team includes his former Harvard classmate, New York Times crime reporter John Moore; Moore's longtime friend, spitfire heiress-turned-NYPD-secretary Sara Hamilton; and two former mental patients who now work as his servants.

To help identify the killer--who leaves behind very few clues, manages to spirit his victims out of locked rooms, and passes through the city unnoticed--the team attempts to develop a psychological profile of the type of person who would be capable of such horrendous deeds. The novelty of their approach does not win them any fans from the mental-health establishment or most NYPD detectives, and throughout the novel, they attempt to keep their involvement secret.

Author Caleb Carr puts his historical background to fascinating use. "The Alienist" is filled with rich details about both the seamier underside and more privileged parts of late-19th-century New York City and the then-novel crime detection techniques. Detectives Lucius and Marcus Isaacson, assigned to assist the investigation, employ the not-yet-accepted science of fingerprinting and other methods of identification in their hunt for the killer.

"The Alienist" is one of the few murder mysteries that I have ever enjoyed reading a second time. The characters are memorable, dryly amusing at times, and always fascinating. Carr portrays his victims as humans and individuals, rather than sensationalizing their professions. The plot, including a race against time once the team predicts when the killer is likely to strike again, moves along at a brisk pace. The historical detail advances the plot rather than bogging it down.

Lovers of historical fiction and detective mysteries will find a treat in "The Alienist."

Just started "The Children of Henry VIII" by Alison Weir.

Justification by N.T. Wright. A substantive reply to the critical work of many, particularly, John Piper. Tom Wright is an able debator, has a great grasp of Paul, and will most assuredly bury his faithful and well intentioned "opponents", albeit, with grace and class.

Washington Irving : Bracebridge Hall, Tales of a Traveller, The Alhambra. Currently reading on Bracebridge Hall to deepen my understanding and appreciation for Irving's distinct story telling style. An author in which I have little experience.

John

Just put "Heimskringla" on hold, as I'm at the particularly epic (hear that, Herr Doran?) History of St Olav and just the other day at Powell's stumbled into "Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft".

I felt obligated.

Wally_Hood said:

Finished The Sun Also Rises. Found it laying around and thought I read it. Did not like it.

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...nothing like a lazy book that just lays around.
F Scott Fitz thought The Sun Also Rises a masterpiece-
and Princeton caught it in the chops too-and don'tcha think Gertrude
was wrong, and why did Hemingway deliberately wound his protagonist?
With Ern, moocows aren't brayin' at all....

Currently reading Shahnameh (The Book of Kings). Brain-eating serpents sprouting out of shoulders? These crazy Persians have me hooked.

"The Fourth Hand", by John Irving. Interesting plot. Irving had me laughing
out loud during parts of this novel. Fun and easy read. I recommend it.

Harp said:

...nothing like a lazy book that just lays around.
F Scott Fitz thought The Sun Also Rises a masterpiece-
and Princeton caught it in the chops too-and don'tcha think Gertrude
was wrong, and why did Hemingway deliberately wound his protagonist?
With Ern, moocows aren't brayin' at all....

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Wowsers, you raise more questions than I could possibly respond to...

Is Jacob Barnes wounded as he was so that Brett could find him an emotional safe harbor, and not a physical entanglement threat?

Why does no one connect emotionally? Why is it one string of drunkeness, emotional meltdowns, exotic European sight seeing, and nonstop declarative sentences?

F. Scott maybe was way smarter than me re: books'n'stuff, but I did not enjoy the book. The only challenge was to stay with it until the end.

Wally_Hood said:

The only challenge was to stay with it until the end.

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Well, that is an accomplishment.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It has been more than a quarter century so there was much detail lost to my memory.

vonwotan said:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde....
there was much detail....

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Wilde's depth and elegance--the opening passage stuns.

Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare by John Toohey. It's about the open boat voyage Bligh and others made after the mutiny. A little difficult to read because the author's style is sometimes hard to follow, but the overall picture is very interesting, particularly the prologue which described the circumstances and incidents surrounding Captain Cook's death in Hawaii in gruesome detail, when Bligh was serving under him.

Star Wars: Darth bane The Rule of Two

A little off topic but I am setting here watching the morning show talking about how all books are going digital and in hand books are becoming obsolete. Maybe we should start buying up real books so people will remember how we used to read a book. But back on topic, I am reading the life of Abe Lincoln by Sandburg. Great read, admire Lincoln.

Terry Pratchett's Unseen Academicals.


Certain elements in the media like to trot this one out from time to time, simple fact is the publishing industry have done many, many studies and the vast number of people who buy books on a regular basis like having a real, hard copy. From memory book publishing has seen around a 4% average growth over the past decade.

duggap said:

A little off topic but I am setting here watching the morning show talking about how all books are going digital and in hand books are becoming obsolete. Maybe we should start buying up real books so people will remember how we used to read a book. But back on topic, I am reading the life of Abe Lincoln by Sandburg. Great read, admire Lincoln.

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The Killer Inside Me by Jim Thompson

I never heard about this and I am hooked. Found inside a collection of 1950s crime novels at our library. Very interested to see how this one turns out.