I’m reading a mystery called Every Last Secret by Linda Rodriguez. It won an award for “Best First Traditional Mystery Novel,” but I’m not feeling it. Nothing wrong with the writing, I guess it’s just not what I want right now.
And polished off The Disappearing Spoon. This book ought to be in every HS chemistry class.
Back, for now, to the Nero Wolfe project, with Too Many Women.
That’s a wrap for Broken Bottle. I’m still not sure what I think of it, but it wasn’t like anything else I’ve read and because it’s about music (there is an extensive discography at the back) I had the enjoyable experience of reading about particular artists and songs and then taking a break to listen to them between chapters. I’m not sure what I’ll be reading next.
Finished “The Feud that Sparked the Renaissance” yesterday.
It was a good book with a great overview of the artists of the early Quattrocento, I was especially happy about the biographical look at Masaccio. However, if one is interested in the actual construction of Il Duomo and why it took one hundred years to complete, one should read "Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King. But all in all it was a good introduction to the early Renaissance art world and the lives of the people who created it.
I’ve just started reading the Nero Wolfe books. I’m in the middle of The League of Frightened Men. So far these are a lot of fun.
Over the weekend I read Christopher Moore’s Island of the Sequined Love Nun. I really liked it - it’s my number three Moore favorite so far, after A Dirty Job and Lamb.
I also read The King’s Speech, by Lionel Logue’s grandson. It was a nice supplement to the movie, which was an excellent drama but necessarily took liberties, especially with the timeline.
They’re definitely good fun. If you have a chance, check out the old A&E series, “A Nero Wolfe Mystery,” featuring Timothy Hutton as Archie Goodwin and Maury Chaykin as Nero. As I recall, I checked them out because I was impressed with Timothy Hutton’s wardrobe in the commercials and wound up hooked. Also, do yourself a favor: read them in order. Not because there’s anything going on in terms of long-term plot or character development; other than some rough edges from the very early novels that get smoothed out fairly quickly, Nero, Archie, Fritz, Inspector Cramer, Sgt. Purley Stebbins and the rest of the gang are the same in book 5 as they are in book 20. No, just do it so that you don’t lose track of which ones you’ve read. That’s why I’ve got this ongoing “project” with them now–I used to pick them up at random from the library, and now I have no idea which ones I’ve read and which I haven’t. (Mind you, they’re just about as much fun the second time…)
Thanks, I’ve added the series to my Netflix queue. I am planning to read the books in order. I’d like to buy them for the kindle, but it’s irritating that such old books are $8-$12 each.
Checked out Charles Yu’s How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe based on some GoodReads reccos and the title, but it turned out to be just a little too meta- for my tastes. I got a kick out of Ed, the “nonexistent but ontologically valid dog”; however the novel just didn’t click with me overall. I think it was more the style of storytelling than the story itself that didn’t work for me; the message of the story and the father-son relationship was worthwhile, but Yu seemed to be trying too hard to be clever. I had the same issues with John Dies at the End - the way the story was told was enough to kind of turn me off the story itself. This is definitely a “your mileage may vary” kind of book - if you’re into experimental fiction, you may get into this novel.
I’m still working on Connie Willis’ All Clear - I’m really starting to feel for the protagonists (even Alf and Binnie Hodbin!) as they try to survive London during the Blitz. My inklings about Sir Geoffrey still haven’t panned out yet, and things are just getting interesting for Mary/Polly on her earlier/later assignment. This is more the kind of time-travel SF I’m into.
Yeah, I hated John Dies At the End. I don’t think I even finished it.
Gave up on Disraeli’s Sybil.
Have finished Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie and Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy.
I see why people go on about McCarthy, but I wasn’t feeling it. Maybe I need to try another one.
Bury My Heart was shocking, horrific and nauseating in places. It is excellent.
I have weakness for Sherman Alexie.
Am now re-reading Yiddish Policeman’s Union, by Michael Chabon. Far superior to Kavalier and Clay in my opinion.
Currently reading a biography of William the Conqueror by Charles Douglas, considered the seminal work on the Conqueror since its publication in the 1950s. Very thorough writing and excellent assessment of historical sources.
Reluctantly starting on The Casual Vacancy today. I bought it for my daughter the Potter fan, and now that she’s read it, I’d like to be able to discuss it with her.
I’m about forty pages in and it’s not bad…I’d just rather be following my own interests.
Have you guys heard about this? Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death by Corrine Botz.
It’s fascinating, and something crime buffs should have in their libraries.
I’m still reading Isaac’s Army, which is excellent. I’ve read quite a few WWII/Holocaust novels and some nonfiction but this is my first with a focus on Poland. I can only handle a couple of chapters before taking a break.
I’m also finally reading Wool by Hugh Howey.
While I did enjoy The Road (as much as it can be enjoyed), I’ll probably never read McCarthy again due to his elitist attitude with regards to quotation marks. You’re not too good for proper punctuation, Cormac.
That’s exactly why I tend to pick up his books as audiobooks! The experience is vastly improved.
Ah, good! Had you seen my post in the Sept. thread?:
Yes - I had coincidentally just ordered the book. I read a biography of George VI not long ago, and while there wasn’t much new information in The King’s Speech, it was an interesting read.
I’ve just started reading Into Thin Air, by Jon Krakauer. I know nothing about mountain climbing or this Everest expedition, so I keep stopping to look things up on Wikipedia.
Also a very good book. Hope you like it.
I finished The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and was somewhat underwhelmed. It was very well written, but I guess the story kind of lost me. There were some unnecessary characters and none of the “haunting” was explained in the least. Too bad, I wanted to like it.
After much struggle I finally put down What the Night Knows by Koontz. This by-the-book horror offered nothing to keep me reading. I kept trying because it was given to me for Christmas and I always feel oddly obligated to read/use Christmas presents.
However, this weekend I’m stopping to see my mother on the way to see a friend, and when I visit my mother I always take all the books I’m not keeping and give them to Mom to give to my sister. So I figured now was as good a time to stop as any. I mean, I gave it nearly 10 months of sporadic reading and I just don’t care what happens.