Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (4 Viewers)

[Hastur]

A Secret History.

The Secret History? By Donna Tartt?

Yes. Sorry.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

I think I picked ip the recommendation from a Tim Ferris guest or maybe a Joe Rogan guest.

He was on Rogan a year or so ago, good discussion that covers a lot of what is in the book. doesn't get as detailed as the book but does cover the high level stuff. Just finished the book a few weeks ago, great read, will be interesting to see how his suppositions play out.

I think he's nailed China's (and other countries') decline vis a vis demographics' impact on viability. I've been (ridiculously) long on U.S. equities since discovering him, and I've done quite all right.

If we can get the repatriation of manufacturing right (and that's heavy lift, so no guarantee there), the U.S. and NAFTA in general, should do very, very well over the coming decades.

I might go back and skim Principles by Ray Dalio to compare and contrast. If I remember Dalio was not as optimistic as Zeihan. So many things to talk about off this book but would get too political quickly. Like immigration, yeah it is a heavy cost on the local community but your economy does grow as a function of population growth or decline.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

I joined a men only book club recently. It is a global organization that started in Australia. There are currently only a dozen or so chapters in America, but easy to start one. No money changes hands. It is all about the discussion. There are 2 rules: 1) don't be a jerk and 2) Can't talk about work. I like that last one. The guy next to me could be a doctor, garbage man, or taxi driver. I'll never know.

Last month we read A Clockwork Orange. This coming month is A Secret History.

Tough Guy Book Club

The reason they called it Tough Guy: It’s either; A. Because people find it weird that the words Tough and Book are together, B. It’s pretty funny name for a thing, C. If you ask ten guys what tough is they’ll give you ten different answers but they’ll all know they’re expected to be it, which seems strange. D. Because if we called it the Inner-city Nice Guys Book Society then none of us would want to go, sounds like a wanker fest.

Interesting. I’ll check it out

 

[shuke]

Horns by Joe Hill. It was ok but I thought it was kind of juvenile. I love Hill's Heart Shaped Box and enjoyed NOS4A2, but the other stuff of his has been disappointing.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

Horns by Joe Hill. It was ok but I thought it was kind of juvenile. I love Hill's Heart Shaped Box and enjoyed NOS4A2, but the other stuff of his has been disappointing.

Read NOS4A2, not my normal type of read, don’t love the horror genre, but he held my attention and I was entertained.

 

[kupcho1]

There's a new leader in the clubhouse. I just finished The Travels of Jamie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor, the 1959 Pulitzer Prize winner. It is by far the best of Pulitzers I've read so far. Hell, it's one of the best books I've read period. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much.

Take one part Mark Twain (Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn), another part John Barth (The Sotweed Factor), a dash of Dickens and a bit of Larry McMurtry (Lonesome Dove) and you'll have some idea of what's in store.
I cannot, I repeat, cannot recommend this book highly enough. Go read this book!

Next up: Advise and Consent (1960) by Allen Drury
58 down / 41 to go

 

[Gjallarhorn]

The Real Anthony Fauchi by RFKJr. It is a tome, to be sure, and reads like a biology textbook, but there are a lot of interesting things covered. The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

 

[Eephus]

The Real Anthony Fauchi by RFKJr. It is a tome, to be sure, and reads like a biology textbook, but there are a lot of interesting things covered. The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

If you believe RFK Jr's positions about anything are undisputed, that says a lot about where you consume your news.

 

[Eephus]

Next up: Advise and Consent (1960) by Allen Drury

I read this one a long time ago. Something so middlebrow would never be considered for the award today.

 

[rockaction]

The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

“When I looked up at random five of the medical papers Kennedy cites, I found that he had misrepresented all of them.” -Theodore Dalrymple, Claremont Review of Books

If you’re skeptical about our response to COVID, and you’ve lost Claremont, you’ve lost badly.

What’s Up, Doc? - Claremont Review of Books

If there is one lesson that the pandemic ought to have taught, it is intellectual modesty.

claremontreviewofbooks.com

 

[Gjallarhorn]

The Real Anthony Fauchi by RFKJr. It is a tome, to be sure, and reads like a biology textbook, but there are a lot of interesting things covered. The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

If you believe RFK Jr's positions about anything are undisputed, that says a lot about where you consume your news.

The Real Anthony Fauchi by RFKJr. It is a tome, to be sure, and reads like a biology textbook, but there are a lot of interesting things covered. The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

If you believe RFK Jr's positions about anything are undisputed, that says a lot about where you consume your news.

The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

“When I looked up at random five of the medical papers Kennedy cites, I found that he had misrepresented all of them.” -Theodore Dalrymple, Claremont Review of Books

If you’re skeptical about our response to COVID, and you’ve lost Claremont, you’ve lost badly.

What’s Up, Doc? - Claremont Review of Books

If there is one lesson that the pandemic ought to have taught, it is intellectual modesty.

claremontreviewofbooks.com

I was saying that I am not aware of any litigation related to the material covered in the book. Maybe I am incorrect?

 

[Gjallarhorn]

The most interesting part thus far is that none of the content has been disputed, at least not that I am aware of.

“When I looked up at random five of the medical papers Kennedy cites, I found that he had misrepresented all of them.” -Theodore Dalrymple, Claremont Review of Books

If you’re skeptical about our response to COVID, and you’ve lost Claremont, you’ve lost badly.

What’s Up, Doc? - Claremont Review of Books

If there is one lesson that the pandemic ought to have taught, it is intellectual modesty.

claremontreviewofbooks.com

I meant disputed in the courts. I am not aware of any libel or defamation suits against RFK related to this book.

 

[shuke]

Not in here, boys. Please.

 

[Gjallarhorn]

Not in here, boys. Please.

My apologies, I honestly had no idea.

 

[kupcho1]

Next up: Advise and Consent (1960) by Allen Drury

I read this one a long time ago. Something so middlebrow would never be considered for the award today.

adjective

1. (of art or literature or a system of thought) demanding or involving only a moderate degree of intellectual application, typically as a result of not deviating from convention.
   "middlebrow fiction"

Well, I can't argue with that. However, I don't think there's very much on the Pulitzer list that rises above middlebrow.
From Goodreads:

ADVISE AND CONSENT is a study of political animals in their natural habitat and is universally recognized as THE Washington novel. It begins with Senate confirmation hearings for a liberal Secretary of State and concludes two weeks later, after debate and controversy have exploded this issue into a major crisis.

I'd agree with that, particularly when you consider it was written in 1959. Now it might not still qualify as THE Washington novel, but I think at the time it certainly would.
Anyway, I liked the book. My only complaint was that he seemed to want to introduce the massive cast of characters all at once in the first few pages. With 100 senators, ambassadors, relatives, friends and a host of government functionaries, it was a bit much.

But eventually he settles into a large cast, and the story picks up some speed.

Next up would typically be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the 1961 winner, but I (like I would imagine most everybody perusing this thread) have already read it.
(Spoiler: it's highly overrated.)
59 down / 40 to go

Next up: 1962 winner The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor. It, along with the next 3 after it, are on order from the library. Hopefully they'll all come in before the end of the year and I can finish 1 or two more.
Note to self: read 23 Pulitzers so far in 2024; skipped 4 I've previously read (Gone with the Wind, The Grapes of Wrath, All the King's Men and To Kill a Mockingbird).

 

[kupcho1]

I found Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) sitting on my bookshelf. I have no recollection of having acquired it, and while I waited for my next batch of Pulitzers to arrive for pickup at the library, I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm glad I did. It's a breezy little number and turns out to be a delightful "novel of manners" (the most common description I've found of it on-line).

A novel of manners is a work of fiction that depicts the customs, values, and social mores of a specific society. The characters are differentiated by how well they meet the society's standards of ideal behavior. The plot is often dominated by the social conventions of the society, and the mores of the group are described in detail.
Jane Austen is considered to have introduced the novel of manners at the beginning of the 19th century.

I'll pick up The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor and hopefully polish it off before year end.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Just finished the Riyria Revelations - by Michael J. Sullivan.

Fun trilogy in the fantasy genre. A little bit of magic/elves/goblins/dwarves in the background of the main story - but its primarily about the adventures of a Thief and his Bodyguard.

I am on the third book of Riyria Chronicles, which were written after Revelations, but take place in the 12 or so years before Revelations - from the time Hadrian and Royce meet - more adventures leading up to Revelations.

Getting ready to start Legends of the First Empire - which is set in the same world - but 3000 years earlier.


Books are written such that they can be read in publication order or chronological order - without losing much. There is a "twist" in Revelations, but its pretty well telegraphed in that series, and even more obvious if you read the books in chronological order, but does not really distract from the story.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Just finished the Riyria Revelations - by Michael J. Sullivan.

Fun trilogy in the fantasy genre. A little bit of magic/elves/goblins/dwarves in the background of the main story - but its primarily about the adventures of a Thief and his Bodyguard.

I am on the third book of Riyria Chronicles, which were written after Revelations, but take place in the 12 or so years before Revelations - from the time Hadrian and Royce meet - more adventures leading up to Revelations.

Getting ready to start Legends of the First Empire - which is set in the same world - but 3000 years earlier.


Books are written such that they can be read in publication order or chronological order - without losing much. There is a "twist" in Revelations, but its pretty well telegraphed in that series, and even more obvious if you read the books in chronological order, but does not really distract from the story.

You'll appreciate this one - my kid/wife got me Inverting the Pyramid. I just started reading it.

 

[mr. furley]

I just finished Andersonville. Wow, what a book. I think kirkusreviews sums it up best:

Man's inhumanity to Man -- and the redeeming flashes of mercy -- this is the theme at the heart of this grim record in fictional form of one of the blots on the nation's history.

Yes, it is fiction, but it is based on research done by Kantor over the preceding decades.

It is carved out of primary sources:- reports filed only to be buried and the infamy condoned, the sadist who boasted of his achievement confirmed in his horrifying perfomance; letters, diaries smuggled out, stories written afterwards, contemporary eye witness accounts, notes left and saved by descendants of prisoners and Jailers; interviews with those descendants; historical accounts year after year.

There are very few heroes in the book (one of which emerges at the end of the book, that I was completely surprised by), but plenty of villains ranging from Henry Wirz, the prison commandant to William Collins, a Union soldier and Andersonville "raider." But the biggest villain was General John Winder, the Confederate general in charge of prisoners-of-war. It was a visit to Buchenwald when it was opened to war correspondents (in this case the author) to bring home the horrors of Andersonville and spurred Kantor to write the book.

In reading the book, and given that it was written not all that long after WWII, I couldn't help but compare the Conferate's treatment of prisoners with the Nazis treatment of the Jews. Granted, Winder & co. didn't gas anyone, but neither did they provide them with food, shelter or medical intention. Winder considered the Yankees subhuman, and wanted to use the prison to exterminate as many as he possibly could.

Andersonville, the prisoner stockade in Georgia, twenty acres hewn out of a pine woods, counted for more dead in fourteen months of the Civil War than Bull Run, Antietam and Gettysburg combined.

From wiki:

Of the approximately 45,000 Union prisoners held at Camp Sumter during the war, nearly 13,000 (28%) died. The chief causes of death were scurvy, diarrhea, and dysentery.

If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend this book.

started this one this summer. put it down without finishing. just a mess of a read.

starts strong enough and if the author had continued with expanding on those characters, maybe it would even be good, but each chapter is about 15 pages and focused on different characters who are not tied together in any way except there's a prison involved.

combined with him writing dialogue without any indentation, quotation marks or other separation to indicate someone is speaking... is just too much. you'll be in the middle of a page and suddenly it seems someone is speaking... to someone else? themselves? maybe it's not a monologue at all.. anybody's guess when you'll be mid-stream.

at nearly 800 pages, i just couldn't continue.

 

[Mister CIA]

I found Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) sitting on my bookshelf. I have no recollection of having acquired it, and while I waited for my next batch of Pulitzers to arrive for pickup at the library, I thought I'd give it a go.

I'm glad I did. It's a breezy little number and turns out to be a delightful "novel of manners" (the most common description I've found of it on-line).

A novel of manners is a work of fiction that depicts the customs, values, and social mores of a specific society. The characters are differentiated by how well they meet the society's standards of ideal behavior. The plot is often dominated by the social conventions of the society, and the mores of the group are described in detail.
Jane Austen is considered to have introduced the novel of manners at the beginning of the 19th century.

I'll pick up The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor and hopefully polish it off before year end.

Almost freaked me out. I spent my gift card balance at B&N today and came home with Flannery O'Connor's The Complete Stories and Wise Blood. Also picked up two from Harry Crews too, The Gospel Singer and The Knockout Artist. If this does not fulfill the requirements for my Southern Gothic merit badge, then I give up.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

Rereading Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I read a lot of these back in 7th grade so I don’t have high expectations but I’ve been itching for a good fantasy quest maybe this trilogy will satisfy

 

[kupcho1]

If you asked me if I was interested in reading about an alcoholic priest in an unnamed town, I'd have probably declined. No, strike that; I would have definitely declined. However, given that The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor was the 1962 Pulitzer winner, read it I must.

Imagine my surprise when I found I very much enjoyed it. The characters are primarily Irish (maybe 2nd or 3rd generation), two of whom were best friends growing up and now priests. There are several outlandish characters and I found myself laughing out loud while reading the book. I got almost a John Kennedy Toole feel at times (although the characters are humorous, there's no Ignatius J.).

So, that's 60 down and 39 to go.

Next up ... oh, no.
Who's music is that I hear?

Damn, Faulkner again. The 1963 winner: The Reivers: A Reminiscence.
I was hoping to get to finish another before the end of the year, but if this one's anything like 1955's A Fable, I'll be lucky to finish it before MLK day.

 

[Don Quixote]

A couple of 2024 releases over the holidays for me: Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! And Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo.

I loved Martyr! Just behind Percival Everett’s James as far as 2024 releases go for me. Akbar is a poet, and that really shines through in the novel. A joy to read something so well-written and constantly saying so much in so few words. Characters that will linger too. It has been on a lot of end of year book lists, and definitely worthy of the praise.

Intermezzo was solid and I like Rooney as an author. Think I enjoyed it more than the others of hers that I’ve read (Normal People and Beautiful World, Where Are You). Grief, family, and love with two brothers dealing with the loss of their father, and its interaction with their romantic relationships.

 

[pecorino]

Just finished reading the novel The Godfather. Don't know why it took me so long as I love the movies. Very well done, loved it.

That was just a palette cleanser as next on my list is to reread Infinite Jest. It's been long enough and I want to revisit it again. See you in 2026.

 

[heckmanm]

**** THIS JUST IN! ****

Apparently Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Polostan (Volume 1 of Bomb Light), and nobody told me about it.
Immediate hold placed and I'll be reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it. So the Pulitzer series will be on hold.

Carry on

Just finished. If you like Stephenson, you'll like this book. If not, or if you are unfamiliar, it might not be the best entry point.

So ends the break; next up: A Death in the Family by James Agee, the 1958 winner (no prize awarded in 1957)

Just finished Polostan. As a Stephenson fan I agree with you. Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon are my suggestions as starting points.

Diamond Age, IMO, is his most approachable book. Snow Crash is close (and awesome). I've taken two shots at Crypto and failed both times. Need to give that one another go - maybe audiobook this time.

Seveneves is great

 

[heckmanm]

Currently reading Front Sight by Stephen Hunter. Three novellas about 3 generations of the Swagger family from his earlier novels.

 

[kupcho1]

**** THIS JUST IN! ****

Apparently Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Polostan (Volume 1 of Bomb Light), and nobody told me about it.
Immediate hold placed and I'll be reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it. So the Pulitzer series will be on hold.

Carry on

Just finished. If you like Stephenson, you'll like this book. If not, or if you are unfamiliar, it might not be the best entry point.

So ends the break; next up: A Death in the Family by James Agee, the 1958 winner (no prize awarded in 1957)

Just finished Polostan. As a Stephenson fan I agree with you. Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon are my suggestions as starting points.

Diamond Age, IMO, is his most approachable book. Snow Crash is close (and awesome). I've taken two shots at Crypto and failed both times. Need to give that one another go - maybe audiobook this time.

Seveneves is great

I should add this to the books that should be made into a movie thread.

 

[heckmanm]

**** THIS JUST IN! ****

Apparently Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Polostan (Volume 1 of Bomb Light), and nobody told me about it.
Immediate hold placed and I'll be reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it. So the Pulitzer series will be on hold.

Carry on

Just finished. If you like Stephenson, you'll like this book. If not, or if you are unfamiliar, it might not be the best entry point.

So ends the break; next up: A Death in the Family by James Agee, the 1958 winner (no prize awarded in 1957)

Just finished Polostan. As a Stephenson fan I agree with you. Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon are my suggestions as starting points.

Diamond Age, IMO, is his most approachable book. Snow Crash is close (and awesome). I've taken two shots at Crypto and failed both times. Need to give that one another go - maybe audiobook this time.

Seveneves is great

I should add this to the books that should be made into a movie thread.

IMDB says Ron Howard is in development

 

[kupcho1]

IMDB says Ron Howard is in development

Arrested?

 

[Eephus]

IMDB says Ron Howard is in development

Arrested?

by Deputy Sheriff Barney Fife

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Currently reading Front Sight by Stephen Hunter. Three novellas about 3 generations of the Swagger family from his earlier novels.

This may be the best format for Hunter going forward with these characters. The novels have gotten kind of bloated.

Thanks for the rec. I'll check this one out.

 

[heckmanm]

**** THIS JUST IN! ****

Apparently Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Polostan (Volume 1 of Bomb Light), and nobody told me about it.
Immediate hold placed and I'll be reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it. So the Pulitzer series will be on hold.

Carry on

Just finished. If you like Stephenson, you'll like this book. If not, or if you are unfamiliar, it might not be the best entry point.

So ends the break; next up: A Death in the Family by James Agee, the 1958 winner (no prize awarded in 1957)

Just finished Polostan. As a Stephenson fan I agree with you. Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon are my suggestions as starting points.

Diamond Age, IMO, is his most approachable book. Snow Crash is close (and awesome). I've taken two shots at Crypto and failed both times. Need to give that one another go - maybe audiobook this time.

Seveneves is great

I should add this to the books that should be made into a movie thread.

Not sure you could do Seveneves in a single 2-3 hour movie. Although there’s a natural break in the middle for a 2-parter

 

[Kanil]

Just finished Wind and Truth by Sanderson. (Book five in the stormlight archive series)

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I heard he got a new editor and you could definitely tell. It was a little cheesy in parts but not bad by any means. Sad that I've got a long wait to finish this series though. :(

 

[kupcho1]

OK, so maybe I was wrong and this Bill Faulkner can write a little.

I just finished The Reivers by William Faulkner, the 1963 Pulitzer prize winner. While I hated A Fable (1955) as it was a meandering mess of a Christ allegory set in WWI, with very little interesting to say, The Reivers was a highly entertaining "comic masterpiece" (bit of hyperbole on the back cover, but it was funny at times) outlining the story of Lucius Priest and how he was enjoined by Boon Hogganbeck to steal his grandpappy's automobile (a novelty at the time the story is set). They find a stowaway on the way out of town, and hijinks ensue.

Overall, a good book (and a lightning fast read as compared to A Fable).

There was no Pulitzer awarded in 1964. I took a peek at Wiki to see what novels were written in 1963 and saw The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), Cat's Cradle (Kurt Vonnegut) and V. (Thomas Pynchon). All of these books are pretty damn good and certainly worthy of consideration, particularly given some of the books that had previously won.

Anyway, 61 down / 38 to go.

Next up: The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau, the 1965 winner).

 

[Sand]

**** THIS JUST IN! ****

Apparently Neal Stephenson has a new book out, Polostan (Volume 1 of Bomb Light), and nobody told me about it.
Immediate hold placed and I'll be reading this one as soon as I get my hands on it. So the Pulitzer series will be on hold.

Carry on

Just finished. If you like Stephenson, you'll like this book. If not, or if you are unfamiliar, it might not be the best entry point.

So ends the break; next up: A Death in the Family by James Agee, the 1958 winner (no prize awarded in 1957)

Just finished Polostan. As a Stephenson fan I agree with you. Snow Crash or Cryptonomicon are my suggestions as starting points.

Cryptonomicon is $2 now on Kindle.

https://www.amazon.com/Cryptonomicon-Neal-Stephenson-ebook/dp/B000FC11A6

 

[Sand]

Illustrated LoTR on Kindle for $2. Illustrations are from Tolkein himself. 1875 pages with 30 Tolkien illustrations for $2 is a darn good deal.

Amazon.com

 

[Sand]

Just finished Wind and Truth by Sanderson. (Book five in the stormlight archive series)

I enjoyed it quite a bit. I heard he got a new editor and you could definitely tell. It was a little cheesy in parts but not bad by any means. Sad that I've got a long wait to finish this series though. :(

At least, unlike some other authors, he actually finishes books.

 

[kupcho1]

I just completed The Keepers of the House, the 1965 Pulitzer winner by Shirley Ann Grau. It's a multi-generational story of the Howland family set in rural Alabama. Amazon's description of it as "a many-layered indictment of racism and rage that is as terrifying as it is wise" is quite apt.

The book is extremely well written and the story is pretty good. The ending, however, is great. It is a very satisfying ending.

62 down / 37 to go

Next up: 1966's The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by, you guessed it, Katherine Anne Porter. This is the first of 3 (I think) short story collections that have won the Pulitzer.

 

[kupcho1]

Finished The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter. I enjoyed it as it was very well written. The stories take place in a number of intersting locations (e.g., Mexico, Texas, Berlin).
One interesting thing was the author recycled character names throughout the stories. For example, several stories had sisters named Maria and Miranda. They were always young girls, but what they experienced in the stories differed, sometimes greatly. Also, a dog named Kuno in the penultimate story was followed up by a German boy named Kuno in the last one. Puzzling.

So that makes 63 down / 36 to go.

Next up: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, the 1968 winner (I am skipping The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, the 1967 winner as I have already read it). I have heard of this book (unlike many of the Pulitzers I've read in this exercise), but I have no idea what it is about. I hope it's a good one.

 

[timschochet]

Finally got around to the first Jack Reacher book Killing Floor. About 3/4s through it; it’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s a decent thriller but it’s not the all out great action novel I had heard about and was expecting.

I will finish it but then should I go on to the next one in order? Or should I jump ahead in the series?

 

[Uruk-Hai]

Percival Everett’s James

Just finished & I enjoyed this one a lot. I haven't read Huck Finn in over 50 years, so am not sure where the intersections are.

 

[Don Quixote]

Percival Everett’s James

Just finished & I enjoyed this one a lot. I haven't read Huck Finn in over 50 years, so am not sure where the intersections are.

That was a great one. I’m currently back to an earlier release of his and reading his Erasure, which was the basis for the film, “American Fiction.”

 

[Lehigh98]

Finally got around to the first Jack Reacher book Killing Floor. About 3/4s through it; it’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s a decent thriller but it’s not the all out great action novel I had heard about and was expecting.

I will finish it but then should I go on to the next one in order? Or should I jump ahead in the series?

Triumphs of literary fiction they are not. They are fun, quick reads (or listens) on the road or on a plane as a break between the books that may require more attention. The initial novelty of his style (per the author) was to have a hero who was bigger, faster, smarter, stronger, one step ahead that you knew was going to win, you just didn't know how yet. This in contrast to what he considered most of the similar stories at the time having more of an underdog in peril that somehow finds a way to win against the odds.

Doesn't seem like there are many longer story arcs that matter, so it's not much of a problem to jump around out of order. I've read (listened) to like 5-6 and what I did was look at reviews / top 10 lists and just picked the highest rated stories and/or whatever was a deal on Audible at the time. Best of lists aren't all in agreement because seems like some people are looking for different things out of the stories: detective work vs kicking ***, working solo vs working with a team, more back story, romantic interest, etc...

Just in case you're interested in watching the (good) show vs reading the books:
Season 1: Killing Floor
Season 2: Bad Luck and Trouble
Season 3: Persuader

Also the movies with non-John Reacher-esque Tom Cruise:
Movie 1 (Jack Reacher): One Shot
Movie 2 (Jack Reacher: Never Go Back): Never Go Back

Just saw this too, timely... How to Read All 29 Reacher Books in Order

 

[hagmania]

I have begun a book club for Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere with a bunch of first timers. Most of it will be a reread for me, but based on the first reads I have made I know the reread experience will be awesome.

Sanderson is the modern king of worldbuilding and what he might lack in descriptive scene writing he makes up for it in spades with story beats and greater mystery hints.

First session is this Saturday! Mistborn Book 1, ‘The Final Empire’, we will be dissecting a Part per week. (5 Parts per book, typically).

 

[Eephus]

Next up: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, the 1968 winner (I am skipping The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, the 1967 winner as I have already read it). I have heard of this book (unlike many of the Pulitzers I've read in this exercise), but I have no idea what it is about. I hope it's a good one.

I read this and Styron's Sophie's Choice when I was young. I've thought about going back for a re-read but I'd probably start with the latter.

 

[Thorn]

Finally got around to reading The Brothers Karamzov. Kind of mad at myself for procrastinating it for so long. But, it's intimidating at nearly 1000 pages, and obviously translated from the Russian. I come away from it so impressed by the character development; that feeling when the book ends that you want to know what they are doing next. Also even though the arguments for and against God's existence are not usually all that interesting to me, the discussion by the characters here was engrossing.

Next I read On the Run by William Shaw. I can't decide if this was the second-worst book I've ever read, or if it was just that I read it immediately after Karamazov. If it hadn't been so short, and given to me by a relative for Christmas ("cause you've been to Ireland!"), I probably would not have finished it. But it almost became like trash TV or Sharknado or something. So bad I had to complete it. The plot is a teenage son is sent from Ireland to America for safety during The Troubles, the father is imprisoned for having IRA ties, and the book tries to tell both their stories. But the author tries to throw in so much in so little space that all of it is severely under-developed. You've got a fish out of water (the son), the morality of terrorist attacks, prison life, church sex abuse scandals, school hazing/bullying, media portrayal of conflict, and it all just feels like an oh-by-the-way and it's over in 200 pages.

Also read Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut. I've read most of his, but saw this at the bookstore and realized I not only had not read it, I didn't recognize the plot. I love his style, and this one has a classic Vonnegut protagonist with that unpretentious and unaffected (and maybe even unimportant?) air about them, just telling you what's happened. This one is a retired abstract painter and WWII veteran who is twice divorced, very wealthy, and has resigned himself to the admission that he's mostly been a failure. He also has a barn on his estate that he has locked and boarded up, with instruction that it is only to be opened upon his death. The barn makes a wonderful metaphor through the book about what we keep locked away.

 

[kupcho1]

I just completed The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron, the 1968 Pulitzer Prize winner. This was a very good book, a fictionalized retelling for Nat Turner's Rebellion, which actually happened in 1831 in Virginia. The book is based on The Confessions of Nat Turner: The Leader of the Late Insurrection in Southampton, Virginia, a first-hand account of Turner's confessions published by a local lawyer, Thomas R. Gray, in 1831 (per Wiki).
One interesting tidbit is that a book was written in response to The Confessions of Nat Turner. From NY Books 1968 review of William Styron’s Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond I learned that

[t]he praise given to William Styron’s current prize-winning, best-selling novel, The Confession of Nat Turner, has been followed by strong dissent and hostility from many members of the black intelligentsia. Black writers have denounced the novel in essays and public statements; black actors have threatened to boycott the film version.

I usually try to keep in mind what was happening in the world when I read these novels. I whiffed completely this time around. Continuing on with the review of the response book:

William Styron’s Nat Turner: Ten Black Writers Respond presents the essential points of the attack. It is a book that demands attention not so much because of the questions it raises about Styron’s novel as for what it reveals about the thinking of intellectuals in the Black Power movement.

Yeah, the Black Power movement. I can see where they'd have something to say about The Confessions of Nat Turner. In short, the reviewer dismisses 8 of the 10 Black Writer's essays. Whether this is because they were poorly written or he just didn't agree with them, I can't say (only part of the review is readable before one runs into the paywall).
Anyway, 64 down / 35 to go
Next up: 1969 winner House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday.

 

[kupcho1]

I just finished House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday, the 1969 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Please do not take the fact that I finished this book in 2 days as a sign that it is good or that I enjoyed it. It is not and I did not. It is, fortunately, a very short book.

Goodreads summarizes the book as follows:

A young Native American, Abel has come home from war to find himself caught between two worlds. The first is the world of his father’s, wedding him to the rhythm of the seasons, the harsh beauty of the land, and the ancient rites and traditions of his people. But the other world—modern, industrial America—pulls at Abel, demanding his loyalty, trying to claim his soul, and goading him into a destructive, compulsive cycle of depravity and disgust.

Yes, the book is set in two locations: his grandfather's (I believe they are using "world of his father's" metaphorically) and Los Angeles, CA, so sure, two worlds. However, the rest of the description is a bit of a reach.

There's an about the author section at the back of the book. I often read these (although I often stop reading them if they aren't illuminative of the book or author), and this time I found a passage that summarizes my feelings of the book. More accurately, the opposite in this case. In an interview, Momaday recalls "the joy of reading Classic Comics and the cowboy-and-Indian novels of Will James."

Regarding the Will James books, he said "The writing is terrible, but the books were wonderful."
My feelings on House Made of Dawn are the revers: The writing is wonderful, but the book was terrible.

OK, in fairness, maybe not terrible, but not great. I expect greatness from a Pulitzer. This just isn't great.

So, 65 down / 34 to go.

Next up: The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, the 1970 winner. I'm not going to tell you who the author is, I'll let you work that out for yourself.

 

[TheBaylorKid]

I just finished House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday, the 1969 Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Please do not take the fact that I finished this book in 2 days as a sign that it is good or that I enjoyed it. It is not and I did not. It is, fortunately, a very short book.

Goodreads summarizes the book as follows:

A young Native American, Abel has come home from war to find himself caught between two worlds. The first is the world of his father’s, wedding him to the rhythm of the seasons, the harsh beauty of the land, and the ancient rites and traditions of his people. But the other world—modern, industrial America—pulls at Abel, demanding his loyalty, trying to claim his soul, and goading him into a destructive, compulsive cycle of depravity and disgust.

Yes, the book is set in two locations: his grandfather's (I believe they are using "world of his father's" metaphorically) and Los Angeles, CA, so sure, two worlds. However, the rest of the description is a bit of a reach.

There's an about the author section at the back of the book. I often read these (although I often stop reading them if they aren't illuminative of the book or author), and this time I found a passage that summarizes my feelings of the book. More accurately, the opposite in this case. In an interview, Momaday recalls "the joy of reading Classic Comics and the cowboy-and-Indian novels of Will James."

Regarding the Will James books, he said "The writing is terrible, but the books were wonderful."
My feelings on House Made of Dawn are the revers: The writing is wonderful, but the book was terrible.

OK, in fairness, maybe not terrible, but not great. I expect greatness from a Pulitzer. This just isn't great.

So, 65 down / 34 to go.

Next up: The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, the 1970 winner. I'm not going to tell you who the author is, I'll let you work that out for yourself.

You are the forum bibliophage, we are not surprised you finished a book in two days. Impressive challenge you are working through.

 

[Eephus]

Next up: The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford, the 1970 winner. I'm not going to tell you who the author is, I'll let you work that out for yourself.

We've reached the point of your project where I've at least heard of most of the books and their authors but Stafford was someone I'm completely unfamiliar with.

I read a couple of short Internet bios. She led an interesting and rather tragic life including a brief and unhappy marriage to poet Robert Lowell. She quit fiction late and life and wrote children's books and non-fiction. Her short biography of Lee Harvey Oswald's mother was described by Time in 1966 as "the most abrasively unpleasant book in recent years”.