I just finished reading Phillip Roth’s “The Plot Against America” and Ann Benson’s “The Plague Tales”, and now am rereading Robert Graves’s “Claudius the God”.
Just started Greene’s The Quiet American, and have just finished Jean Rhys’ After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie, just barely surviving that pit of black (though beautifully written) despair. Next up in the queu is Sologub’s The Petty Demon, which looks delightfully juicy.
“Celestial Navigation”
Thought it would be great to learn how to navigate by the heavens. I never knew the heavens used so much stinking math.
I just finished I Never Promised You A Rose Garden by Joanne Greenberg, and started From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming.
You may have actually missed out on the full-Jorkens deal. If you ordered the full three-volume set (like I did–heh heh heh), Night Shade Books threw in an extra volume called The Last Book of Jorkens; some of its contents had been previously published, but this was its first appearance as a full book.
Anyhoo, Volume One has The Travel Tales of Mr. Joseph Jorkens and Jorkens Remembers Africa.
Volume Two has Jorkens Has a Large Whiskey and The Fourth Book of Jorkens, as well as one story that is previously unpublished except for an appearance in Chess magazine in 1949 and another story that is previously unpublished.
Volume Three will have Jorkens Borrows Another Whiskey, The Last Book of Jorkens, and three uncollected stories.
Check the Night Shade Books web site for more info.
So far, I prefer Vol. 1 to Vol 2, but I haven’t gotten very far into Vol. 2. Frankly, you might as well just break down and get all three–you know you really want to, no?
They’re really not like Wellman’s stories. If you’re familiar with, say, Tales From the White Hart by Clarke or Tales From Gavagan’s Bar by de Camp and Pratt, that’s more what they’re like–except they have more of a fantasy flavor than a science fiction flavor. Essentially, they’re a mechanism for Dunsany to spin tall tales about his travels and feed you entertaining lines of B.S.
Fury by Salman Rushdie.
Not liking it as much as his other books, so it takes me effort to actually pick up the book and read it.
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon.
It’s just a short, pleasant read. You can read it in a day, probably. It’s about an autistic boy that finds a dead dog and sets about to solve the mystery of how it died.
It’s an interesting look into the mind of someone mildly autistic while also being sad and funny.
Not overly literary – a junior high kid could handle it – but a good read.
I recently found “The American Seasons” by Edwin Way Teale at the library for fifty cents. Fascinating book about a naturalist and his wife spending a year traveling around America.
On Sunday I was going through my boxes of diaries, and found “A Walk Through the Year” by the same author. I don’t even remember buying it–probably did so during my years as a wino. I’m reading it now, and again it is a fascinating account of a year as a naturalist. I wish I could write so well on the subject.
I just finished Master of the Senate, volume three of Robert Caro’s biography of Lyndon Johnson. There’s nothing I can add to all the accolades that far better qualified reviewers have heaped on the book, so I’ll just say that IMHO it thoroughly deserves all of them. Up next: Titan, Ron Chernow’s biography of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
I’m switching back and forth between Plan of Attack (Bob Woodward) and Naked (David Sedaris). And next, I’m going to start rereading all my Barbara Kingsolver books. The Sedaris book is funny as hell, but so far not up to the level of Me Talk Pretty One Day.
Wait…Nightshade has theJorkens volumes at the publisher’s price of $35, Shockline has 'em at $31.50, and Amazon has them at $23.10. Am I missing something here?
Thanks for the information! Looks like I’ll have to get the complete set.
Oops. I looked wrong at the Amazon price. Cool deal!
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf.
I know I’m supposed to like her and she’s a wonderful writer and blah blah blah but I am just not getting into it. Feels a little self-indulgent to me.
I’ve read it TWICE! But yeah, its a drowsy start.
A House in Gross Disorder: Sex, Law and the 2nd Earl of Castlehaven byCynthia B. Herrup-- Its a bit dry but a good analysis into the minds of aristocratic men at the beginning of the 17 th century.
Time in History by G.J. Whitrow— he’s just a tad to fond of himself and the sound of his, err, voice? 
But interesting none the less.
plus a half a dozen Ellery Queen Mystery MAgazines scattered all over the house!
Moanin at Midnight The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf (Segrest-Hoffman)
Tommy Johnson (Evans)
The Dobro Book (Phillips)
Antenna Theory Analysis and Design (Balanis)
Regarding the last one: I’m having trouble sleeping.
For school, I have to read accounting books. As an antidote, I am reading every Piers Anthony book the library will lend me. I don’t know what’s worse yet.
On the plus side, I can completely crack myself up by whispering the word “panties.”
The Trojans by Wirt Williams. Yes, Wirt Williams. Yes, it’s the most obscure book ever. Yes, I’m proud of it.
Heroics for Beginners, by John Moore. This one made me laugh in public as I was reading it at lunch – it’s a spoof of all the worst excesses in heroic fantasy. The evil overlord has read and implemented the evil overlord tips, the hero is reading a self-help book to tell him how to proceed, and the damsel in distress can’t decide if she’s comic relief (although she can’t tell a joke to save her life) or a barbarian warrior (complete with chainmail bikini).
I read that in the last “Whatcha reading?” I confess, I thought it was only Mediocre.
I’ll have to pick that up, but if you like that style, I recommend Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David, which seems to be cut of the same cloth.
Right now, I’m reading You Slay Me by Katie MacAllister–a total guilty pleasure and one of those books you’re concerned someone might be reading over your shoulder.
One of my friends recommended Brian Lumley’s Necroscope series, but I’ve kinda stalled at the second book.
Jennifer Weiner’s Little Earthquakes is next on my list, I’m actually planning to hit the bookstore today.
And I still haven’t managed to finish the damned Iliad.