Fall - Winter Reading Thread

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:41 pm

Since the only reading thread that came up in a search was the Summer Reading Thread I thought it was time for a new one.

It was a very fun, quick read that added some extra stuff from Roger Kahn's earlier books about the Dodgers.

This is the second book in a series and is much better than the first, The Fifth Wave, at the halfway point:

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:56 pm

Finishing up

Got this from the library (picture removed because it was huge)
When you are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 1:57 pm

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:03 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote:Got this from the library

Large print?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:04 pm

Apparently...

Post by **Sabo** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:05 pm

I think I need to read this book:

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:18 pm

If I started a cookbooks thread, would anyone else give a shit?

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:26 pm

Just finished...

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:27 pm

mister d wrote:If I started a cookbooks thread, would anyone else give a shit?

I'd participate, although I collect more of them than I actually use.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:20 pm

Just finished this:

Finishing this:

and working on this:

TheHumanComa · Post by **TheHumanComa** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:27 pm

For anyone interested in reading some cool comics (all of which are available on amazon or your local bookstore as trade paperbacks) -

Awesome new series from Rick Remender, there's only 1 volume in tpb so far because it's new, but it is the best comic I have read in ages. He did another sci fi series with the original artist from The Walking Dead comic, called Fear Agent, which also kicks ass.

Great comic about two people that freeze time when they orgasm and start robbing banks.

super cool comic, probably one of the most popular right now. Three collected volumes out so far. Two species at war, and one of each has a baby together and goes on the run.

Awesome series written and drawn by Canadian Jeff Lemire, another sci fi adventure comic.

There are so many good comics out there that don't involve superheroes, and those are the ones I read. Most of which are published by Image comics. Worth checking out them out guys! Comics aren't just for kids anymore, i think all of the ones i recommended are for mature audiences only.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:47 pm

mister d wrote:If I started a cookbooks thread, would anyone else give a shit?

I'd read it.

Rush, let me know what you think of Born to Kvetch.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:50 pm

Rush2112 wrote:Just finished this:

and working on this:

Loved this book. It explained more about the Jewish character than any other book I've ever read. And Yiddish is always funny.

Just about done "The Invisible Bridge" - a fantastic book that looks at the fall of Nixon, the Ford years and the rise of Reagan. Some opt it is skimmable, but highly recommended.

Also just read the screenplay of "The Third Man." Great scripts used to inspire me as a writer to aim higher. They now tend to depress me.

TheHumanComa · Post by **TheHumanComa** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 7:56 pm

The Sybian wrote:
mister d wrote:If I started a cookbooks thread, would anyone else give a shit?
I'd read it.

Rush, let me know what you think of Born to Kvetch.

I'm in too. I got a buddy and a brother who only have cookbooks, walls of them. I borrow one from them from time to time and trade for classic novels with my friend, and comics with my bro. My cookbook collection is pretty weak though. I maybe have a dozen, best of which is the Joe Beef one.

howard · Post by **howard** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:06 pm

Pruitt wrote:\
Also just read the screenplay of "The Third Man." Great scripts used to inspire me as a writer to aim higher. They now tend to depress me.

Harry Lime: Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long Holly.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:17 pm

The Sybian wrote:Rush, let me know what you think of Born to Kvetch.

Pretty good so far. Need to read more to keep up my fake Jewishness.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Oct 09, 2014 1:28 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
The Sybian wrote:Rush, let me know what you think of Born to Kvetch.
Pretty good so far. Need to read more to keep up my fake Jewishness.

Speaking of which - Rob Ford has dropped out of the Mayoral race due to his cancer. His City Councillor brother - the "smart" member of the family, a guy with all the charm of a 13 year old bully - was recently at a debate at a Jewish Community Centre. Someone reamed him for not disassociating himself from his brother's usage of the K-word ("Kike"). Doug ford defended himself by saying that he has no problem with Jews, in fact, his lawyer and doctor are Jews.

The crowd booed this stereotypically racist response.

Well, the next day, Doug Ford said that he was shocked at the response as his wife is Jewish. He never mentioned it because he didn't want to make a big deal.

And for 12 hours, I had some sympathy for the guy.

Claimed she was Jewish on her mother's side - which in Judaism means that no matter how you were raised, or what you practice in terms of religion, you are still TECHNICALLY a Jew.

But then...

http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/t ... _wife.html

According to newspaper archives and ancestral records, Karla Ford’s maternal grandparents did not identify as Jews when they arrived in Canada, or later when they married on Canadian soil.

Her maternal Grandmother's name was Eleonora Marko...

A wedding certificate for an Eleonora Marko and John Arenowicz dated 1916 shows the two were married in Ottawa. Their wedding certificate, available on Ancestry.com, also asked for religious denomination. For both, the answer was “Russian Greek Orthodox.”
They were married by a reverend at the Holy Trinity Church in Ottawa’s Carleton County.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:40 am

Finished the new Murakami. Gotta give it a "meh".

About 1/3 of the way through…

Not bad so far. A bit more light-hearted (and concise) than Moby Dick. Pretty entertaining.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:45 am

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Fun Read!

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore next as well as Locke & Key Volume 1 by Joe Hill graphic novel.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:33 am

AB_skin_test wrote:A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Fun Read!

I enjoyed it as well. My mother-in-law got a hard bound copy for me last year, I should re-read.

If you haven't delved into his non-travel writings, I highly recommend Made In America and the Mother Tongue.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:47 am

Rush2112 wrote:
AB_skin_test wrote:A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Fun Read!
I enjoyed it as well. My mother-in-law got a hard bound copy for me last year, I should re-read.

If you haven't delved into his non-travel writings, I highly recommend Made In America and the Mother Tongue.

I've read several of his books but neither of those. Will check them out.

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 1:01 pm

Really interesting bio of one of the great announcers of the 1950s & 1960s, written by his son:

Giff · Post by **Giff** » Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:38 pm

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Wed Oct 15, 2014 12:40 pm

Bensell wrote:Really interesting bio of one of the great announcers of the 1950s & 1960s, written by his son:

Apparently the link to the cover doesn't work anymore:

Voice of the Wildcats: Claude Sullivan and the Rise of Modern Broadcasting by Alan Sullivan & Joe Cox

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 7:34 am

Cryptic and ultimately depressing as hell.

Have a couple of hours for a novel about displaced Jews in 1938 Europe?

Than this is your book.

Applefeld is a great writer, but it takes a while to get over his books.

vandwagon · Post by **vandwagon** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:34 am

Had a flight to and from Charleston, SC on Monday and to Portland, OR on Tuesday a few weeks ago. Started and finished this:

I liked it. I'd be curious if any of the Detroit Swampers have read it and what their take was. Is it accurate, overblown, etc... I'm certain every city has similar problems and crooks.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 2:22 pm

I picked up the first few of these at the library a few weeks ago:

With the first issue, I thought it was just going to be a cool series of crime noir vignettes with a Twilight Zone-type twist. Then in Issue 2, it the stories started coming together and it's pretty awesome. I have books 5-7 waiting for me at the library now and I can't wait.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Bullets" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:57 pm

Had to give Kvetching a bit of a break. Interesting, but a little too into the particulars of a language I'm not that familiar with.

This is very good.

TheHumanComa · Post by **TheHumanComa** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:32 pm

Shirley wrote:I picked up the first few of these at the library a few weeks ago:

With the first issue, I thought it was just going to be a cool series of crime noir vignettes with a Twilight Zone-type twist. Then in Issue 2, it the stories started coming together and it's pretty awesome. I have books 5-7 waiting for me at the library now and I can't wait.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Bullets" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yeah, i have the first 2 volumes, that's all i've read, but i like them. I just can't afford to read every series I start reading, and I put 100 bullets on the back burner. I wish I lived near a library cool enough to carry graphic novels, unfortunately i live in a french town that only has one aisle of English books in their library, but they do have a good selection of English books. or at least the newest and most popular ones.

Post by **Shirley** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 9:40 pm

TheHumanComa wrote: Yeah, i have the first 2 volumes, that's all i've read, but i like them. I just can't afford to read every series I start reading, and I put 100 bullets on the back burner. I wish I lived near a library cool enough to carry graphic novels, unfortunately i live in a french town that only has one aisle of English books in their library, but they do have a good selection of English books. or at least the newest and most popular ones.

Do you have a good bookstore nearby? Barnes and Nobles in the States usually carry a nice selection of graphic novels. You can go in there and read one while getting a coffee or something.

TheHumanComa · Post by **TheHumanComa** » Mon Oct 20, 2014 10:14 pm

Shirley wrote: Do you have a good bookstore nearby? Barnes and Nobles in the States usually carry a nice selection of graphic novels. You can go in there and read one while getting a coffee or something.

Not a bad idea. Yeah, i have a Chapters (Canadian B and N) half an hour from my house. but they got rid of all their seats last year for some reason except for the Starbucks upstairs. I buy all my books/comics from amazon these days anyway, i'll throw a few volumes of 100 bullets into the list, i think there are only 20 of them and they aren't that pricey.

But if you like 100 bullets, I think you'd like Ed Brubaker's books too. I read Brubaker's stuff first and someone told me to check out 100 bullets. But not his mainstream Marvel and DC stuff, even though that's good too, I mean his stand alone noire comics like Criminal and Fatale.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Oct 21, 2014 9:38 am

Just wandering the Library over the weekend and decided to pick something from E. Leonard. Since I am not a watcher of Justified, I did not realize that the series was based on a few of his novels. However, I did think the guy on the cover looked a whole lot like Timothy Olyphant.

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:47 pm

I don't remember which Swamper said he was reading it, but this is a good read:

Next up:

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Wed Oct 22, 2014 1:00 pm

Up, Up and Away was mine (well via MaxWebster)

I just started this this morning:

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:57 pm

I went to listen to Chuck Palahniuk last night. He's touring for his new book Beautiful You. Glad I finally got to see him; in Portland it's almost impossible without waiting in line for a couple of hours. Not as many hipsters in Boulder. Highlights:

- Someone thankfully asked him about Pygmy so he talked about that for awhile. He got the idea after he was in Germany doing a radio interview. His German is really bad, so his manager wanted him to use an interpreter, but he insisted on doing without. When he was finished, she was furious with him — apparently he continuously erred in a specific pronoun and verb tense which amounted to him repeatedly referring to "gassing the German people." This gave him the idea to write an entire book as if he were speaking English as bad as he spoke German, so many of the phrases in Pygmy are translations of things he would try to say in German with his very limited vocabulary.

- Many of his stories are based on real people he's met or things that random people have confided in him as a famous author. IE, the Guts story in Haunted came from a guy he actually met while attending sex addiction therapy classes while researching Choke. He told a bunch of other stories about things that random strangers have told him. Highly entertaining stuff.

- (probably old news) The Fight Club sequel will be a serial graphic novel (via Dark Horse) with first issue to be released in May, and the entire collection to be released in one volume in 2016. The story picks up about 2/3 of the way through the original novel, following the actual ending rather than the movie ending.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Thu Oct 30, 2014 12:18 pm

So far, so good.

Just up to the part where they start planning their internet poker empire. A quick read...

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:50 pm

Going to start this while I'm watching the pre-Breeders Cup races since I'm not meeting up with my best friend til after 5:

bfj · Post by **bfj** » Sun Nov 02, 2014 4:02 pm

This is now on Broadway. I was blown away by this book. Granted, it hits me a little close to home, but it is a great story and very well written.

Bensell · Post by **Bensell** » Fri Nov 07, 2014 12:42 pm

TheHumanComa wrote:

super cool comic, probably one of the most popular right now. Three collected volumes out so far. Two species at war, and one of each has a baby together and goes on the run.

I read the first 2 volumes this week and they are great; picking up volume 3 at the library this afternoon. Thanks for the recommendation.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Fri Nov 07, 2014 1:23 pm

Pruitt wrote:So far, so good.

Just up to the part where they start planning their internet poker empire. A quick read...

At page 200 I realized I no longer cared.