arrow1
Footballguy
I just finished Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King and Owen King. Long read as most King's books are, but enjoyed it. I'd give it a 7/10.
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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (3 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
- Start date
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Ended up settling on An Honest President for Cleveland. Up to his second term now. Pretty solid bio, although a bit lighter on footnotes than I usually like. I see some parallels to today, as he came in as a bit of an outsider (he went from first time elected mayor of Buffalo to NY governor to President all in about a three year time span), so he was able to position himself as someone not beholden to special interests or any of the political bosses that ruled the era. Of course, the parallels break down because of the whole "honest" thing, Cleveland's reputation for carefully and thoroughly reading legislation before him, and many other reasons.
Balancing it out with some fiction: Paul Howarth's Only Killers and Thieves. It is Howarth's debut novel, set in the 1880s in Queensland, Australia. I read a mostly favorable review of it in the Washington Post and thought I'd check it out. His writing style has received some comparisons to Cormac McCarthy. Pretty well-written and an enjoyable read so far. Although the major critique that I've seen is that it is a bit predictable, and I haven't gotten that far yet.
I see Steve Berry was mentioned early on, several years ago, in this thread. He writes novels similar to Dan Brown with his hero Cotton Malone similar to Robert Langdon. They are stories are based on real places and historical events that Berry interweaves into his fiction. What I like is he always has a chapter at the end where he explain what places and events are real and what parts are fiction. That way you get a little history lesson in with the entertainment. Have read a half dozen of his, currently reading The Last Order and have almost all the rest that are in print stacked up and waiting.
Dan Brown's newest book Origins was off the charts phenomenal too btw.
Dan Brown's newest book Origins was off the charts phenomenal too btw.
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arrow1
Footballguy
SWC
Bromigo
churchill by paul johnson he really went out on a limb with the name take that to the bank brohan
Idiot Boxer
Footballguy
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
Solid work so far, if a little bit wordy.
Solid work so far, if a little bit wordy.
Shaft41
Footballguy
I enjoy Steve Berry as well. I also recommend James Rollins with his Sigma Force series. Definitely in the same vein.
facook
Footballguy
Recently finished Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer. Novel follows a Jewish family in DC in a time when Israel is being destroyed. Their internal strife, how they react to the crisis, and how the react to how other react to the crisis. I was hoping for more on the actual danger to and in Israel, but the family drama was enthralling and in some cases just devastating to me. The guy knows how to write characters and dialogue. Could have been just depressing, but there were enough chuckles in the family dynamics to keep it from going there, and in the end I was glad I read it. Definitely would recommend.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Just starting Robert R McCammon's The Listener. He's an automatic buy for me when he releases.
From the blurb:
1934. Businesses went under by the hundreds, debt and foreclosures boomed, and breadlines grew in many American cities.
In the midst of this misery, some folks explored unscrupulous ways to make money. Angel-faced John Partlow and carnival huckster Ginger LaFrance are among the worst of this lot. Joining together they leave their small time confidence scams behind to attempt an elaborate kidnapping-for-ransom scheme in New Orleans.
In a different part of town, Curtis Mayhew, a young black man who works as a redcap for the Union Railroad Station, has a reputation for mending quarrels and misunderstandings among his friends. What those friends don't know is that Curtis has a special talent for listening... and he can sometimes hear things that aren't spoken aloud.
One day, Curtis Mayhew's special talent allows him to overhear a child's cry for help (THIS MAN IN THE CAR HE'S GOT A GUN), which draws him into the dangerous world of Partlow and LaFrance.
This gritty depression-era crime thriller is a complex tale enriched by powerfully observed social commentary and hints of the supernatural, and it represents Robert McCammon writing at the very top of his game.
From the blurb:
1934. Businesses went under by the hundreds, debt and foreclosures boomed, and breadlines grew in many American cities.
In the midst of this misery, some folks explored unscrupulous ways to make money. Angel-faced John Partlow and carnival huckster Ginger LaFrance are among the worst of this lot. Joining together they leave their small time confidence scams behind to attempt an elaborate kidnapping-for-ransom scheme in New Orleans.
In a different part of town, Curtis Mayhew, a young black man who works as a redcap for the Union Railroad Station, has a reputation for mending quarrels and misunderstandings among his friends. What those friends don't know is that Curtis has a special talent for listening... and he can sometimes hear things that aren't spoken aloud.
One day, Curtis Mayhew's special talent allows him to overhear a child's cry for help (THIS MAN IN THE CAR HE'S GOT A GUN), which draws him into the dangerous world of Partlow and LaFrance.
This gritty depression-era crime thriller is a complex tale enriched by powerfully observed social commentary and hints of the supernatural, and it represents Robert McCammon writing at the very top of his game.
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Pretty good. A couple of the later books got a little too James Bond-y for me. I'm not against action stories, but they didn't really fit the tone of the first couple of entries (IMO). I'll keep buying them because even the least good are still entertaining. I think there are 6(?) of them now and there's a little bit of repetition creeping in, but I'd recommend them for sure.
His last couple of stand-alones - The Five and The Border - were really good.
I loved it. (I would have done the ending a little bit differently, but that's just me) And coincidentally our next door neighbors had just returned from a trip to Spain and had pictures of all the famous buildings where the story took place. It was fascinating.
facook
Footballguy
Picked it up today. Read in the summary that they end up in Barcelona, which my wife and I visited in 2016. Do they race through the Sacre de Familia?
That cathedral is unreal.Picked it up today. Read in the summary that they end up in Barcelona, which my wife and I visited in 2016. Do they race through the Sacre de Familia?
And they expand on the history of the place, which you probably already know since you've visited, it's beyond fascinating.
facook
Footballguy
If you can ever visit, it's beyond worth it. My wife spent the summer after college in Europe 20 years before we went. Her explanation of how much it's been built on since then was crazy. And to hear what they have to do to the city around it is crazy. The whole thing is crazy. It's literally the single coolest man made thing I've ever seen in person.
Native
Footballguy
Well that was awesome.
Plowed through Name of the Wind and Wise Mans Fear in about six weeks total. That's more than 1800 pages for those keeping count 
Rothfuss is a gifted storyteller and an eloquent writer.Now comes the long wait for the third book...
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
Isn't there a supplemental book of some sort for the series?Well that was awesome.
Now comes the long wait for the third book...
GilbertGrape
Footballguy
Dan Brown has always been a terrible writer with some interesting ideas. He hasn't changed that I can tell.
sports_fan
Footballguy
Yes, The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It's centered around Auri, much shorter than the other 2 books and no where near as goodIsn't there a supplemental book of some sort for the series?Well that was awesome.
Now comes the long wait for the third book...
prosopis
Arizona Chupacabra
I finished The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It was set in the Russian wilderness of the 1800s. It was very suspenseful and had some genuinely scary moments. My understanding is it is based on some Russian folk lore. After I finished it I found out it was part one of a trilogy. I thought the tale was wrapped up nicely in the first book. I am also getting tired of all the trilogies. As much as I liked it I am not sure I will read the next two in the trilogy. It wont be the first time I have done this. Its my own silent protest against trilogies. Just write a book and finish the story in one book.
sports_fan
Footballguy
If you want a standalone story in a single book there are plenty of options that offer that. I could understand not continuing with the sequels if they weren't well received or you didn't like the writing. That doesn't seem to apply here. The only thing you're likely to accomplish is to deny yourself the opportunity to read two books you would likely enjoy.
facook
Footballguy
No offense but I didn’t care much for Origin. I did like the setting and some of the details on Barcelona. But Brown is still what he is. I finished because I wanted to give it a chance but just not for me.
Now reading Strange Weather by Joe Hill. Excellent author.
sports_fan
Footballguy
I'm about a third of the way through Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It's not quite as good as I was hoping, just decent so far.
Socrates11
Footballguy
For those of you who enjoyed the Red Rising series, the 4th book "Iron Gold" comes out next week.
Just finished Iron Gold, easily as good if not better as the previous three. Pierce Brown has really crafted an intricate universe full of varying personalities, stories, and environments. Hard to put down.
prosopis
Arizona Chupacabra
I am enjoying Born to Run the Bruce Springsteen autobiography. I am enjoying it more then I thought I would have. I am certainly listening to his albums from a different perspective.
I am also listening to The Talisman by Stephen King. I read it when it first came out and I remember loving it. I wanted to brush up on it as it is the next book to be covered in The Losers Club podcast. Its a fun listen.
I am also listening to The Talisman by Stephen King. I read it when it first came out and I remember loving it. I wanted to brush up on it as it is the next book to be covered in The Losers Club podcast. Its a fun listen.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
KarmaPolice
Footballguy
I was thinking about dipping into this soon for the same reasons. Just re-read Pet Sematary and those Zelda scenes still bring a tear to my eye.
skol asylum
Footballguy
Just started City of Endless Night, the latest Pendergast book by Preston & Child.
Worm
slimy ninja
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Rolling on with the Presidents... After Cleveland, I went with the American President Series book on Benjamin Harrison. A pretty slim volume, as most in that series are, but there are not many options on Harrison. It does not have the space for a whole lot of detail, but a decent account on Harrison's life.
Currently on Robert Merry's William McKinley: Architect of the American Century. I read Merry's "A Country of Vast Designs" on James K. Polk, oh, 14 Presidents ago. I timed this one pretty good, as Merry's book on McKinley just came out last fall. So far, as well-written and as good of a book as his Polk book was. I had read Scott Miller's The President and the Assassin a few years back, also on McKinley, but that focused a bit more on the assassination and the anarchist movement. Merry's book is a more traditional biography.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
Interested on hearing your thoughts when you're done. Hill's longer works are fun, but I think he's even better at short fiction. He's like a cross between his dad and George Saunders.
shuke
Black Ice Skeptic
Worm
slimy ninja
That's awesome. I remember hearing about the potential movie(s) a while back and was pretty disappointed. I just don't see how it would work. As a TV series there is so much potential to really get into the nuances of the books. I hope it happens.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I just finished The Listener by Robert McCammon. It was enjoyable, but a little sloppy. I think this would have worked better as either a much shorter story, or one much longer. Plus, I think one of the protagonists may be a bit problematic given our social climate today.
On to Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett. I'm on a mission to clean up some stuff that's been on my Kindle forever.
On to Mr Shivers by Robert Jackson Bennett. I'm on a mission to clean up some stuff that's been on my Kindle forever.
heckmanm
Footballguy
Not sure this is really spoiler-y but just in case:
It's not a sequel, it's a prequel
facook
Footballguy
Eephus
Footballguy
RIP Philip Kerr
He was best known for his Bernie Gunther series of detective stories set in 1930s-50s Germany. Those paid the bills but he was a prolific author who wrote in a variety of genres.
He was best known for his Bernie Gunther series of detective stories set in 1930s-50s Germany. Those paid the bills but he was a prolific author who wrote in a variety of genres.
Barry
Footballguy
120 pages in and struggling. went to wiki to get a reminder of who the characters are, hoping that it will make me care.
Barry
Footballguy
It's easy to read scifi that has a lot of action. Kind of Juvenile. book 1 was pretty good. 2 was very good, 3 was ok.Almost ready to start on the series, and will start listening on audiobook (with the kickass Tim Gerard Reynolds as narrator) once I'm caught up on my True Crime Garage podcasts. Should I be worried?
