The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
Hey, What Ya Reading??? A book???
Kerry:
I'm an avid reader. For much of my life, books have been my fondest friends.
I'm never without a book on the boil. I love novels, especially if there's a gay theme, and my second favourite genre is biographies/autobiographies.
Most recent reads have been:
* "Too Many Mothers - A Memoir of an East End Childhood," by Roberta Taylor
* "In Cold Blood," by Truman Capote
* "I Am What I Am - My Life and Curious Times," by John Marsden
And I am presently reading "The Catcher in the Rye," by J. D. Salinger. I last read (studied) it at school, back in the 1960s and am thoroughly enjoying the present re-read enormously.
injest:
I am reading the Tao of Willie.
It is little snippets of Willie Nelson's view of life. One thing you have to give him, he lives life on his own terms and seems to be very happy with himself.
I always am amazed when I pick up a book that really fits where I am in my head. This is one of them....and I always wonder if there is a higher power leading me to these things. The last book I read gave me so much insight into my mother's life (even though it is set in India during the revolution)...now the very next book I pick up is so comforting and is telling me things I need to hear.
I love reading.
Kd5000:
I just finished reading DEVILS BROOD, written by Sharon Penman. It's the final book in a trilogy dealing with HENRY II and ELEANOR Of AQUITANE. She really understands the medieval world and really brings depth to her characters. Penman is a big fan of THE LION IN WINTER and in the epilogue, she says Richard the Lionheart wasn't gay (as portrayed in the movie) and he certainly didn't have an affair with the King of France. She doesn't rule out that he wasn't bisexual. I just thought she didn't want to "complicate" the novel by having a gay Richard.
I'm back to reading another mystery titled OSCAR WILD AND A GAME CALLED MURDER. It's a much easier read then DEVILS BROAD.
After I'm finished with this book, I'll have to see if there are any new books dealing with the holidays that aren't terribly sacharine.
I saw an article that anything Obama is reading (FDR First 100 Days or Lincoln's Team of Rivals) is flying off the shelves. Also, books on Obama are selling like hotcakes.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081124/ts_alt_afp/uspoliticsobamabooks;_ylt=Ai5OcQMRTaB2JL9sKHwxXn1REhkF
Kerry:
I forgot to mention that I read "Timoleon Vieta Come Home - A Sentimental Journey," by Dan Rhodes, prior to "The Catcher in the Rye." It was lovely in places. Tragic in others. Some (quizzical) gay content. Picture postcard Italian setting. Crying out to be made a movie of.
I've not yet decided what I'll be reading next, when I finish "The Catcher in the Rye."
I really shouldn't visit bookstores (I don't mean that), because I invariable always come away with a book or two, even if there's already a stack, waiting to be read, on my coffee table.
Already on the coffee table is the following short list. Decisions! Decisions!
* The Boy from Oz - The Peter Allen Story," by Stephen Maclean
* "How Proust Can Change Your Life," by Alain de Botton
* "Maurice," by E. M. Forster (this will be a re-read)
* "Ancient Egyptian Divination and Magic," by Eleanor J. Harris
* "The Campaigns of Alexander," by Arrian (this will be a heavy read, which probably explains why it keeps sinking to the bottom of the pile)
* "The Architecture of Happiness," by Alain de Botton
* "Captain Corelli's Mandolin," by Louis de Bernieres
* "A Fortunate Life," by A. B. Facey
Eclectic, no?
As well as that lot, there's probably about another 20 books under the lamp tables, including several by Annie Proulx.
I'm leaning toward reading "A Fortunate Life" next. It's an Australian classic. The back cover blurb reads:
"This is the extraordinary life of an ordinary man. It is the story of Albert Facey, who lived with simple honesty, compassion and courage. A parentless boy who started work at eight, on the rough West Australian frontier, he struggled as an itinerant rural worker, survived the gore of Gallipoli (WWI), the loss of his farm to the Depression, the death of his son in World War II and that of his beloved wife after sixty devoted years - yet felt that his life was fortunate. Albert Facey's life story, published when he was eighty-seven, has inspired many as a play, a television series, and an award-winning book."
Yep, I think it'll be "A Fortunate Life" next. :D
delalluvia:
I just finished Cry from the Deep - about the Kursk submarine disaster, Titianic's Last Secrets, Ghost Ship - about the Mary Celeste mystery and am currently working on (at work during lunch) Elizabeth's London - about everyday life in Elizabethan England and Portrait of a Killer Jack the Ripper case closed (at home while riding an exercise bike at the club).
I rediscovered my local library after a disgraceful absence on my part last week and promptly checked out all these books at once. Hope to go again Saturday to return some and get new ones.
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