Author Topic: What are you reading right now?  (Read 82690 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline ironhorsedriver

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 204
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #50 on: December 19, 2020, 09:01:11 pm »
Mostly Fiction, lately been reading a lot of Science Fiction. Escapism I guess.

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,397
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #51 on: December 19, 2020, 09:43:20 pm »
Not really 'historical fiction' But I was a very big fan of Clive Cussler wrt his first books... Of 'Raise the Titanic' fame... And a later movie, 'Sahara'... The unstoppable Dirk Pitt and his sidekick Al Giordino always lead you down a rollicking tale, and no matter how implausible, there is always an historical element, and classic cars.  I lost interest in the later ones... but the first six novels or so are excellent.

120 or so all told... Very easy to read short stories, about 150 pages... And within the first 5 pages you will have escaped this realm to the sights and smells of the old west... Excellent stories best read in order, but they all stand alone... If you want to escape for an afternoon, there is no better way.

Zane Gray comes close in the same genre. Not quite as good to me, but that is largely because the character interchange in the L'amour books... They are loosely interlaced where Zane's are not.
I agree about Donaldson, The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant are a worthy read. I also read many of the backstory volumes to Dune (Frank Herbert), and those were good.

L'Amour is good escapist reading, Zane Gray is, too, but more involved, and his dialects might be a problem for some, but still good stuff (Max Brand comes to mind as well).

I liked the early Cussler best, as well, although some of the later books are pretty good, too.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Online bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #52 on: December 19, 2020, 10:25:47 pm »
The Thomas Covenant series I had and loved. His later ones I didn't like so much. I do have a hardback of his Last Chronicles.

Dirk Pitt stories are a fave.

I used to have a lot of books. Too many moves and some essentially nonessentials got left behind. I used to do the exchange at the used book store. Get 8 or 12 books and then exchange them for a small phenomenal fee.

I got a signed book that is worth ten times what I paid. Which amounts to a whopping two dollars!

Alan Dean Foster Spellsinger Scherzo.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #53 on: December 20, 2020, 12:08:50 am »
Max Brand comes to mind as well

How could I have forgotten Max Brand?  :beer:

Quote
I liked the early Cussler best, as well, although some of the later books are pretty good, too.

I nearly picked him up again last year. I may still, considering your recommendation.  happy77

Online bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #54 on: December 20, 2020, 12:19:44 am »
For whatever reason I saw Sean Connery as playing Dirk Pitt. Like .007
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline jafo2010

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,525
  • Dems-greatest existential threat to USA republic!
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #55 on: December 20, 2020, 08:47:55 am »
I have read about a dozen books by Cussler.  They were fun, engaging.

Last couple days have been enlightening about authors.  I have been reading about different authors, and searching for their books.  A number of you recommended L'Amour, and I am leaning his direction if I can find the books.  I figure with the long list of his books, it might well help me escape the next four years with Biden as POTUS. 

I spent a large sum for training on doing stock options, which I hope to be able to do and no longer work, making nice money in the process.  When not spending my time doing that each day, reading and finally getting focused on writing will be my priorities.

As an aside, has anyone here ever adopted a child?  If so, I would be curious to talk to you.  You can PM me if you want to keep it confidential.


Offline jafo2010

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,525
  • Dems-greatest existential threat to USA republic!
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #56 on: December 20, 2020, 09:01:05 am »
Also, on the subject of historical fiction, Herman Wouk is one of my favorites.  The Winds of War and War and Remembrance were the best for me.  Perhaps more than any other character, I fell into the shoes of Victor Henry and could see me being him. 

And when they made it into a TV mini series, I enjoyed it, but not as much as the books.  However, as is true for me, I have come to embrace the mini series with great joy each time I watch it. 

The WWII era was a deadly and tragic time, but the time period was special in the history of mankind.  W.E.B. Griffin wrote many of his books in that time period, and perhaps that is why I love his work so, for he does make it quite the adventure.

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #57 on: December 20, 2020, 04:16:09 pm »
@verga

They are ALL writen with that same care and attention to details. Trust me.

Wait until you "meet" the Sackett's.
@sneakypete What is a good one to start with?
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #58 on: December 20, 2020, 04:19:13 pm »
For Sci Fi Fan... My favorite series is Donaldson - The Thomas Covenant Unbeliever series... Probably pretty heavy for a kid... Late teen or more... But I would put it right up there close to Tolkien. Complicated... very good.

Dragon riders of Pern - Anne McCaffery Mid Teen and up... Excellent story, easy reading.

the Pelbar Cycle - Paul O. Williams. Mid Teen and up... More of an after-armeggedon thing, and the reiscovery of old (our) technology... not reallly fantasy, but the story line and characters are serious. He builds an awesome world from the dregs of our own...

Great series...  All of them.
l
Just finished the last series of Covenant. I Liked them, but he really could have combined the middle two books into one. I really felt like I was just reading extended travelogue.
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #59 on: December 20, 2020, 04:22:37 pm »

I liked the early Cussler best, as well, although some of the later books are pretty good, too.
I have al of his Dirk Pitt. He later stuf has become very formulaic. I has gotten to the point where you can predict where the car chase occurs that destroys his latest acquisition.
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #60 on: December 20, 2020, 04:32:27 pm »
Also, on the subject of historical fiction, Herman Wouk is one of my favorites.  The Winds of War and War and Remembrance were the best for me.  Perhaps more than any other character, I fell into the shoes of Victor Henry and could see me being him. 

And when they made it into a TV mini series, I enjoyed it, but not as much as the books.  However, as is true for me, I have come to embrace the mini series with great joy each time I watch it. 

The WWII era was a deadly and tragic time, but the time period was special in the history of mankind.  W.E.B. Griffin wrote many of his books in that time period, and perhaps that is why I love his work so, for he does make it quite the adventure.
@jafo2010

Did you know---Before his own World War II service and career as a novelist, Herman Wouk was a comedy writer . . . for radio legend Fred Allen. (Allen was actually his own writer, one of the very few comedians of the old-time radio era who did so, but he engaged writers like Wouk to provide him gags as well; my knowledge of his work is that Allen and his one or two writers would work on a script and then Allen would edit the final product to be used on the air.)

Wouk, of course, never returned to comedy writing, but he and Allen remained friends for the rest of Allen's life. Several of their letters to each other were republished in fred allen's letters in 1965 (the lower case title was deliberate; Allen himself often wrote that way in his correspondence); in fact, Wouk wrote the brief foreword at the behest of Allen's wife, Portland Hoffa.

When Allen suffered his fatal heart attack in 1956, Wouk wrote this which was published in The New York Times (and republished as the final entry in fred allen's letters):

The death of Fred Allen, America's greatest satiric wit in our time, brings to mind Hazlitt's elegaic paragraph on the Restoration actors:

Authors after their deaths live in their works; players only in their epitaphs and the breath of common traditions. They die and leave the world no copy . . . In a few years nothing is known of them but that
they were.

Fred Allen was an eminent comic actor. But without a doubt his great contribution to life in America came in the marvelous eighteen year run of weekly satiric invention which was the Fred Allen show on radio. His was the glory of being an original personality, creating new forms of intelligent entertainment. He was without a peer and without a successful imitator.

His knife-life coment on the passing show of the thirties and the forties came from sources no other comedian had access to. He was a self-educated man of wide reading; he was a tremendously talented writer; and he had the deep reticent love of life and of people which is the source of every true satirist's energy. Fred's wit lashed and stung. He could not suffer fools. In this he was like Swift and Twain. But his generosity to the needy, his extraordinary loyalty to his associates (in a field not noted for long loyalties) showed the warmth of heart that made his satire sound and important.

Because his work was a unique kind of comic journalism the written residue might have suffered the usual fate of journalism. Fred fortunately preserved a fraction of it in that fine volume of Americana, his recent book
Treadmill to Oblivion. When he died, he was working on his autobiography; the portion he completed will be published.

But the few writings he left will give future generations a dim notion at best of what sort of man he was. In Fred Allen, the voice of sanity spoke out for all Americans to hear, during a trying period of our history, in the classic and penetrating tones of comic satire. Because he lived and wrote and acted here, this land will always be a saner place to live in. That fact is his true monument.

Wouk worked for Allen from 1936 until Pearl Harbour, when Allen's show was known as Town Hall Tonight (1935-39), The Fred Allen Show (1939-40), and Texaco Star Theater with Fred Allen (1940-44). (Yes, those are links to the surviving show broadcasts; 163 total shows. Considering the valedictory which provided Treadmill to Oblivion's title, Allen would have been stunned to discover that his shows are collected and heard today!)

I have copies of Treadmill to Oblivion and the memoir to which Wouk referred, Much Ado About Me, in addition to fred allen's letters. (Eight letters from Allen to Wouk close fred allen's letters, before Wouk's elegy, beginning with one in which Allen praised The Caine Mutiny in 1951.) They remain marvelous reading.

« Last Edit: December 20, 2020, 04:34:36 pm by EasyAce »


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #61 on: December 20, 2020, 09:45:06 pm »
Just finished the last series of Covenant. I Liked them, but he really could have combined the middle two books into one. I really felt like I was just reading extended travelogue.

I would accept that criticism... Though I would argue the very same in Tolkien.... Or any other that scratch-builds a world.... The tendency toward over-descriptive narratives between action scenes seems to be an almost universal necessary evil.  :shrug:

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #62 on: December 20, 2020, 10:01:22 pm »
I have al of his Dirk Pitt. He later stuf has become very formulaic. I has gotten to the point where you can predict where the car chase occurs that destroys his latest acquisition.

That can either be a bane or a joy, And I have no idea why the difference... There is no one who would deny the rather formulaic layout of L'Amour, for instance... or westerns in general - But that almost translates into a sort of nostalgia...

But in another place, that just doesn't work...

David Eddings' 'Belgariad' is like that in the fantasy genre for me... And exactly the opposite of your criticism of Donaldson.... It (The Garion/Belgariad series) is a great little tale, and very easy reading... But so very formulaic and predictable that it loses quite a bit of value for me.

Offline thackney

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12,267
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #63 on: December 20, 2020, 10:32:06 pm »
I see lots of past enjoyed reads mentioned here.

Most of my current reading is calming distractions before bed.  I am going through Robert B. Parker's Spenser series now.  Before that I had enjoyed discovering Donald E. Westlake's, under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Parker series in the same genre.
Life is fragile, handle with prayer

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #64 on: December 20, 2020, 11:29:27 pm »
Read and re-read this one. It should be required reading for anyone wishing to exercise his or her right to vote.  wink777



"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #65 on: December 20, 2020, 11:33:36 pm »
I see lots of past enjoyed reads mentioned here.

Most of my current reading is calming distractions before bed.  I am going through Robert B. Parker's Spenser series now.  Before that I had enjoyed discovering Donald E. Westlake's, under the pseudonym Richard Stark, Parker series in the same genre.

Robert B Parker is top flight!  :beer:

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #66 on: December 21, 2020, 12:51:20 am »
My nightstand has humourous books, I like to read light in bed.

The current selection:








"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #67 on: December 21, 2020, 12:59:23 am »
@sneakypete What is a good one to start with?

Sackett Land is probably the chronological beginning... But all of them more-or-less stand alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackett

I suppose it would be no surprise, my favorite Sackett would be William Tell Sackett...  happy77

Offline mountaineer

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 78,111
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #68 on: December 21, 2020, 01:05:43 am »
I always enjoyed Thurber, @EasyAce Good choice!
Support Israel's emergency medical service. afmda.org

Offline EasyAce

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,385
  • Gender: Male
  • RIP Blue, 2012-2020---my big, gentle friend.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #69 on: December 21, 2020, 01:11:43 am »
I always enjoyed Thurber, @EasyAce Good choice!
@mountaineer

I also have these by Thurber: The Beast in Me, Thurber Country, My World, and Welcome To It (given as a gift, it recycles a lot of material from his earlier books), and Thurber on Crime.


"The question of who is right is a small one, indeed, beside the question of what is right."---Albert Jay Nock.

Fake news---news you don't like or don't want to hear.

Online Cyber Liberty

  • Coffee! Donuts! Kittens!
  • Administrator
  • ******
  • Posts: 79,867
  • Gender: Male
  • 🌵🌵🌵
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #70 on: December 21, 2020, 01:35:13 am »
I always enjoyed Thurber, @EasyAce Good choice!

I liked Thurber too.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
Castillo del Cyber Autonomous Zone ~~~~~>                          :dontfeed:

Online sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,855
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #71 on: December 21, 2020, 02:14:33 pm »
@sneakypete What is a good one to start with?

@verga

Well,his first book was titled "Hondo",in 1953. You may have heard of the movie.

Quote
http://louislamour.com/chronology.htm
In fact,you can look at this list of his books and be hard pressed to find one you CAN'T remember being made into one of your favorite western/cowboy movies.

The Sackett's even became a tv mini-series. A very good one,I might add.

I have read everything he ever wrote that was put into print,and I honestly can't say any one of them was better than any other one. Flat out,he was my favorite writer of all time,and I felt like I lost a family member when he died.

I do love the "Sackette's" series,though. Mostly because it starts with the loners that came here,mostly from Ireland,that only wanted to be left the bleep alone to live their lives in peace so they could farm,trap,and raise their families in peace.

In case you haven't guessed,most of these early Irish settlers got the hell out of NY as soon as possible,and headed to the mountains of Virginia and North Carolina. This was in Colonial Times.

As with any series,it is best to start with book 1. The problem is I can't remember what the order was,but follow this link and find the buy of the decade in good used books by him.

Quote
https://www.ebay.com/i/383839697224?rt=nc&_trkparms=aid%3D1110006%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D225073%26meid%3D9d51b2ef7aed4e34a7958209f0de68c2%26pid%3D100677%26rk%3D15%26rkt%3D30%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D143795834731%26itm%3D383839697224%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2386202%26algv%3DDefaultOrganic
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Online sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,855
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #72 on: December 21, 2020, 02:32:29 pm »
Sackett Land is probably the chronological beginning... But all of them more-or-less stand alone.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackett

I suppose it would be no surprise, my favorite Sackett would be William Tell Sackett...  happy77

@roamer_1

Hard for me to pick a favorite,but if I did,it would be either Logan or Emily Sackett. Anybody that underestimates the toughness and determination of women is a fool. ESPECIALLY a woman with no backup in her and a whole damn pack of blood relatives just like her,willing to come to her aid at the drop of a hat.
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #73 on: December 21, 2020, 02:59:36 pm »
@roamer_1

Hard for me to pick a favorite,but if I did,it would be either Logan or Emily Sackett. Anybody that underestimates the toughness and determination of women is a fool. ESPECIALLY a woman with no backup in her and a whole damn pack of blood relatives just like her,willing to come to her aid at the drop of a hat.

Logan would be my second choice @sneakypete ... I likely would fit better with that Clinch Mountain bunch... But I'd like to think I was a bit more genteel, and siding more or less on the side of the law... And Tell is about as far as I could imagine.  :laugh:  :shrug:

Offline libertybele

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,522
  • Gender: Female
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #74 on: December 23, 2020, 05:18:01 pm »
I am reading "Giver of Stars" by Jojo Moyes.  Well, so much for reading to relax before bed.  happy77  I was up till past midnight last night reading this book.  I have about 4 chapters to go and found myself trying to speed read to find out what happens, but the book is somewhat descriptive and detailed so I couldn't really do that.  I recommend this book; it is historical fiction and I give it 4 out of 5 stars; plot is captivating but I'd prefer a little more history.

The book is based on a true story during the years of Franklin Roosevelt's administration and takes place in a coal mining town in Kentucky involving four ladies and their traveling library under a program initiated by Eleanor Roosevelt.  In brief, each of the characters struggles with being female in a coal mining town and exercising some independence because of their traveling library. Each of them refusing to bow to the owner of the coal mine and the rigid "rules" set by their families and the town folks during that era.

I have another book on reserve at the library by this author and hope I have found a new author to read.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2020, 05:23:30 pm by libertybele »
Romans 12:16-21

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.