Sand
Footballguy
Not that you asked, but I wanted to throw out there that Augustus McCrae is the best literary character in history. I haven't read all books, but I'm pretty darn sure this is accurate.
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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter shuke
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kupcho1
Footballguy
He's awful good. Just missed making my top 10. He was neck and neck with Travis McGee, but being referenced in a Jimmy Buffet song broke the deadlock.
simey
Footballguy
I haven't read the book, but I saw the movie, and whenever I see purple flowers I always think of Shug saying to Celie as they walked through a field of purple, "I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field and don't notice it."
Navin Johnson
Footballguy
Just knocked out Fight Club and High Fidelity in the last two weeks. Trying to get back in to reading regularly, having a regular twenty minute train ride helps.
kupcho1
Footballguy
I think Toni Morrison's Beloved (the 1988 Pulitzer prize winner) is best described as a ghost story. Maybe.
Sethe (the protagonist) escapes from slavery and is able to join her 3 children in Cincinnati as she facilitated their escape earlier, but didn't join them because she wanted to wait to see if her husband Halle could as well. After only a few short weeks free in Ohio, Sethe sees "Schoolteacher" approaching with 3 other slave catchers and goes mad, kills her infant daughter and tries to murder her 3 other children (forgot to mention she was pregnant when she escaped and gave birth on the way to Ohio) before she's stopped. Sparknotes summed it up best
Beloved shows up around 18 years after "the misery" as it was referred to in the book. Who or what she is is a mystery. There is a brief mention in the book of a "colored girl" escaping from a white man's home, and that she had been incaptivity for many years. However, the bulk of the book leads me to believe that Beloved is the child Sethe killed made flesh and returned to punish Sethe. I'm not sure where I fall on this question. But that's OK, I don't mind if there's not a clear cut answer provided. YMMV.
Paraphrasing the source referenced above, "Beloved represents the inescapable, horrible past of slavery returned to haunt the present. Her presence, which grows increasingly malevolent and parasitic as the novel progresses, ultimately serves as a catalyst for Sethe’s and other character's respective processes of emotional growth."
This was a very good book.
75 down / 24 to go
Next up: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, the 1989 winner.
Sethe (the protagonist) escapes from slavery and is able to join her 3 children in Cincinnati as she facilitated their escape earlier, but didn't join them because she wanted to wait to see if her husband Halle could as well. After only a few short weeks free in Ohio, Sethe sees "Schoolteacher" approaching with 3 other slave catchers and goes mad, kills her infant daughter and tries to murder her 3 other children (forgot to mention she was pregnant when she escaped and gave birth on the way to Ohio) before she's stopped. Sparknotes summed it up best
Beloved shows up around 18 years after "the misery" as it was referred to in the book. Who or what she is is a mystery. There is a brief mention in the book of a "colored girl" escaping from a white man's home, and that she had been incaptivity for many years. However, the bulk of the book leads me to believe that Beloved is the child Sethe killed made flesh and returned to punish Sethe. I'm not sure where I fall on this question. But that's OK, I don't mind if there's not a clear cut answer provided. YMMV.
Paraphrasing the source referenced above, "Beloved represents the inescapable, horrible past of slavery returned to haunt the present. Her presence, which grows increasingly malevolent and parasitic as the novel progresses, ultimately serves as a catalyst for Sethe’s and other character's respective processes of emotional growth."
This was a very good book.
75 down / 24 to go
Next up: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler, the 1989 winner.
beer 30
Footballguy
Started Rogue Heroes over the weekend. Watched S1 of the show, got me interested enough to get the book. These guys are every bit as incredible as you think they are.
Britain’s Special Air Service—or SAS—was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II’s African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel’s desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war material. Paired with his constitutional opposite, the disciplined martinet Jock Lewes, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. He faced no little resistance from those who found his tactics ungentlemanly or beyond the pale, but in the SAS’s remarkable exploits facing the Nazis in the Africa and then on the Continent can be found the seeds of nearly all special forces units that would follow.
Britain’s Special Air Service—or SAS—was the brainchild of David Stirling, a young, gadabout aristocrat whose aimlessness in early life belied a remarkable strategic mind. Where most of his colleagues looked at a battlefield map of World War II’s African theater and saw a protracted struggle with Rommel’s desert forces, Stirling saw an opportunity: given a small number of elite, well-trained men, he could parachute behind enemy lines and sabotage their airplanes and war material. Paired with his constitutional opposite, the disciplined martinet Jock Lewes, Stirling assembled a revolutionary fighting force that would upend not just the balance of the war, but the nature of combat itself. He faced no little resistance from those who found his tactics ungentlemanly or beyond the pale, but in the SAS’s remarkable exploits facing the Nazis in the Africa and then on the Continent can be found the seeds of nearly all special forces units that would follow.
TheBaylorKid
Footballguy
I was able to see episode one on a preview. I liked it. Sound track was pretty good too with AC/DC and Black Sabbath.
beer 30
Footballguy
Soundtrack doesn't disappoint for sure. I know S2 is out and I'm dying to watch it, just too cheap to foot for yet another streaming service.
Navin Johnson
Footballguy
Another train ride today, need to start a new book. Waffling between The Martian, Catch 22, and Hot Dog Money
On The Rocks
Footballguy
Just finished The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff.
I'm a big fan of reading early American history and while I loved this book, it had long stretches that were tough to get through. Somewhat text-book'ish in areas. Just a lot of words. I might typically get through a book of this length in 10-12 days, but this took a few weeks. And it's not that long.
But that's the bad part. I typically grade a book by how likely I am to re-read it, and I absolutely plan to read this one again at some point.
I knew of Samuel Adams to have been a Patriot and Founding Father but had not read much in the past of his role in "lighting the match" for Independence; apparently primarily due to most of his papers, he himself burned so not to put any of those he corresponded with in danger of arrest. He was actually the guy that "wired the continent for rebellion" through the development of the committee of correspondence. He was a propaganda genius. Using the press to his full advantage, He was one the originals to use the idea of "never let a good crisis go to waste".
Turning the unfortunate deaths of Boston residents, the result of a local mob getting into a skirmish with British Regulars into THE BOSTON MASSACRE! Which all these years later, I still allow that phrase to drum up a certain negative emotion towards the red coats.
A couple additional interesting thoughts:
Lots of great information in this book!
Next up, a trifecta from Nathaniel Philbrick I have on order:
I'm a big fan of reading early American history and while I loved this book, it had long stretches that were tough to get through. Somewhat text-book'ish in areas. Just a lot of words. I might typically get through a book of this length in 10-12 days, but this took a few weeks. And it's not that long.
But that's the bad part. I typically grade a book by how likely I am to re-read it, and I absolutely plan to read this one again at some point.
I knew of Samuel Adams to have been a Patriot and Founding Father but had not read much in the past of his role in "lighting the match" for Independence; apparently primarily due to most of his papers, he himself burned so not to put any of those he corresponded with in danger of arrest. He was actually the guy that "wired the continent for rebellion" through the development of the committee of correspondence. He was a propaganda genius. Using the press to his full advantage, He was one the originals to use the idea of "never let a good crisis go to waste".
Turning the unfortunate deaths of Boston residents, the result of a local mob getting into a skirmish with British Regulars into THE BOSTON MASSACRE! Which all these years later, I still allow that phrase to drum up a certain negative emotion towards the red coats.
- One of the big story lines throughout the book is the never-ending battle between Adams and Massachusetts Governor Thomas Hutchinson. Wow, did they hate each other!!
- The relationship between Adams and Hancock. On again, off again, I came away from this book thinking of Hancock as necessary to the success of the Revolution, but a total douche that basically inherited all of his wealth and used it to act like a big shot. I'm sure he was more good than that,
- It's truly a miracle that Adams didn't get captured and hung. Truly remarkable.
- One of my favorite quotes from the book came from a Captain in the Brit Army:
- "Would you believe it, that this immense continent from New England to Georgia is moved and directed by one man (Adams) of ordinary birth and desperate fortune?"
A couple additional interesting thoughts:
- I was interested to learn that the Brits fined the people of Boston an enormous fine (I don't recall the exact amount) for the tea that was dumped into the bay. And while many groups from up and down the Atlantic Coast from all colonies had offered donations, a group of Indians from Martha's Vineyard also contributed to help pay the fine.
- Benjamin Church (Physician who I get confused with Benjamin Rush) - This guy needs to have a movie written about him. Son of Liberty and Spy. I don't understand how he wasn't hung for being a traitor.
- Adams' pursuit of Liberty, and the regular notations about property and how at some point Thomas Jefferson changed the line in the Declaration of Independence from Pursuit of Property to Pursuit of Happiness.
Lots of great information in this book!
Next up, a trifecta from Nathaniel Philbrick I have on order:
- Mayflower
- Bunker Hill
- Last Stand: Custer and Sitting Bull
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
Hot dog money was pretty good but I felt like I didn’t get quite the level of detail about specific players or programs that I wanted. Focused more on the narrative of the main guy, which wasn’t bad, but I came away a little wanting. Pretty good, not great. Would go with catch 22 (though I’ve never read the Martian…)
Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
I liked the Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki, though the ending got a little too nice too fast. As a devotee of Jorge Luis Borges, and specifically The Aleph, I was especially drawn to the part of the book (and I didn’t even know it was in there). Enjoyed the meta aspects of the multiple narrators and the themes of the interconnectedness of all things and how do you actually know what is real?
To The Lake is a sort of memoir meets travel book meets history/sociology that is written with the prose of a novelist. The author visit the area between two lakes that are on the border of North Macedonia, Greece and Albania, in an area of the world where borders have meant both everything and nothing for centuries. The author’s grandmother and prior ancestors are from the region and she traces the places they lives and went and explores the feeling and spirit of the place, along with the feelings of inherited trauma.
Slug and other stories was an … interesting collection of short stories that may not be for the faint of heart. The stories mostly feature themes of transformation, identity, alienation and sexual fluidity, though not quite as graphically as they seem on the surface. Many bodily experiences described that seem gross, tend to reflect the inner turmoil of the characters. Unexpected main characters (like the an insect and a flower in a relationship or a semi-sentient electronic sexual apparatus) make the stories more interesting than a lot a of basic drama/romance/etc.
Those are a few of my recent reads anyway.
To The Lake is a sort of memoir meets travel book meets history/sociology that is written with the prose of a novelist. The author visit the area between two lakes that are on the border of North Macedonia, Greece and Albania, in an area of the world where borders have meant both everything and nothing for centuries. The author’s grandmother and prior ancestors are from the region and she traces the places they lives and went and explores the feeling and spirit of the place, along with the feelings of inherited trauma.
Slug and other stories was an … interesting collection of short stories that may not be for the faint of heart. The stories mostly feature themes of transformation, identity, alienation and sexual fluidity, though not quite as graphically as they seem on the surface. Many bodily experiences described that seem gross, tend to reflect the inner turmoil of the characters. Unexpected main characters (like the an insect and a flower in a relationship or a semi-sentient electronic sexual apparatus) make the stories more interesting than a lot a of basic drama/romance/etc.
Those are a few of my recent reads anyway.
kupcho1
Footballguy
Just finished Breathing Lessons (1989) by Anne Tyler.
A day in the life of Maggie and Ira Moran. Maggie is a meddler who constantly tries to influence those around her. At times the book is cringe-inducing, but in a very humorous way. I laughed out loud a good number of times reading this book. It's an easy read; I would recommend.
I'd even be interested in seeing the movie that was made in 1994. Per Wiki:
76 down / 23 to go
Next up: 1990's The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. I'm going in blind on this one. It sounds fun; I hope it's good.
A day in the life of Maggie and Ira Moran. Maggie is a meddler who constantly tries to influence those around her. At times the book is cringe-inducing, but in a very humorous way. I laughed out loud a good number of times reading this book. It's an easy read; I would recommend.
I'd even be interested in seeing the movie that was made in 1994. Per Wiki:
Now that's gotta piss the Baltimoreans off since the novel is set in and around Baltimore.
76 down / 23 to go
Next up: 1990's The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos. I'm going in blind on this one. It sounds fun; I hope it's good.
kupcho1
Footballguy
I finished The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love today, Oscar Hijuelos' story of two Cuban brothers (Cesar and Nestor Castillo) who immigrate to the US and become quasi-famous musicians (with an appearance on I Love Lucy care of Desi Arnaz to boot!).
I've got to imagine that when this award was announced in 1990, Thomas Pynchon broke a hand punching a wall. Gravity's Rainbow's Pulitzer was rescinded based in part on it being "obscene." That book has nothing on The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love for sheer raunchiness. I haven't done a count, but I'd estimate (conservatively) that 50% of the pages of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love include explicit descriptions of either sex acts or organs (mainly Cesar's enormous pinga).
The book is told almost entirely in flashback as Cesar checks into a hotel to drink himself to death. (If Leaving Las Vegas hadn't been written in 1990, I'd suspect it of plagiarism.) It's a very entertaining novel, and I learned a great deal about the music scene in NYC in the 1950s, as well as life in pre-Castro Cuba.
So now that's 77 down / 22 to go. I'm headed to the library shortly to pick up the 7 remaining Pulitzer winners from the 1990s that I haven't yet read starting with:
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, the 1991 winner.
I've got to imagine that when this award was announced in 1990, Thomas Pynchon broke a hand punching a wall. Gravity's Rainbow's Pulitzer was rescinded based in part on it being "obscene." That book has nothing on The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love for sheer raunchiness. I haven't done a count, but I'd estimate (conservatively) that 50% of the pages of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love include explicit descriptions of either sex acts or organs (mainly Cesar's enormous pinga).
The book is told almost entirely in flashback as Cesar checks into a hotel to drink himself to death. (If Leaving Las Vegas hadn't been written in 1990, I'd suspect it of plagiarism.) It's a very entertaining novel, and I learned a great deal about the music scene in NYC in the 1950s, as well as life in pre-Castro Cuba.
So now that's 77 down / 22 to go. I'm headed to the library shortly to pick up the 7 remaining Pulitzer winners from the 1990s that I haven't yet read starting with:
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley, the 1991 winner.
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kupcho1
Footballguy
This whole Pulitzer run has been rewarding, but A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley (the 1992 winner) was a revelation. I had only read one Jane Smiley book prior to this one (Moo in 1995) and I knew she was a good writer, but wow, this book was absolutely deserving of the win and I highly recommend it.
It starts slowly, but around the 1/3 mark man does it pick up steam. I'm not going to go full Stefan here becuase I don't want to spoil it, but it's got everything including Chekhov's liver sausage.
As a rough outline, it is the story of Iowa farmers the Cook family, which roughly mirrors King Lear. As with many of the other Pulitzer winners, this was also made into a movie and although it's got one of the most loaded casts I've ever seen, I'd never heard of it.
If you do intend to read the book (and you should), do not do any research on it beforehand; go in blind.
That's 78 down / 21 to go
Next up: the 1993 winner: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain: Stories by Robert Olen Butler
It starts slowly, but around the 1/3 mark man does it pick up steam. I'm not going to go full Stefan here becuase I don't want to spoil it, but it's got everything including Chekhov's liver sausage.
As a rough outline, it is the story of Iowa farmers the Cook family, which roughly mirrors King Lear. As with many of the other Pulitzer winners, this was also made into a movie and although it's got one of the most loaded casts I've ever seen, I'd never heard of it.
- Michelle Pfeiffer as Rose Cook Lewis
- Jessica Lange as Ginny Cook Smith
- Jason Robards as Larry Cook
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Caroline Cook
- Colin Firth as Jess Clark
- Keith Carradine as Ty Smith
- Pat Hingle as Harold Clark
- John Carroll Lynch as Ken LaSalle
- Michelle Williams as Pammy
- Elisabeth Moss as Linda
If you do intend to read the book (and you should), do not do any research on it beforehand; go in blind.
That's 78 down / 21 to go
Next up: the 1993 winner: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain: Stories by Robert Olen Butler
On The Rocks
Footballguy
Eephus
Footballguy
It was non-fiction's turn so I just finished Season of the Witch by David Talbot.
It's of local interest to me because it chronicles the history of San Francisco from the Summer of Love to the age of AIDS. There was a lot happening in the area during those two decades even omitting some things like the Zodiac Killer. The "highlight" for me was the part about Jim Jones and People's Temple. His rise and fall happened before I moved to the Bay so I wasn't familiar with the details of how he insinuated himself into the the City's politics.
Talbot was the editor of Salon.com. He's a good storyteller but the book reads a bit like a series of magazine articles about different historical topics. Still recommended if you're interested in the subject.
I'm alternating back to fiction but am staying in the same general time period with The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
It's of local interest to me because it chronicles the history of San Francisco from the Summer of Love to the age of AIDS. There was a lot happening in the area during those two decades even omitting some things like the Zodiac Killer. The "highlight" for me was the part about Jim Jones and People's Temple. His rise and fall happened before I moved to the Bay so I wasn't familiar with the details of how he insinuated himself into the the City's politics.
Talbot was the editor of Salon.com. He's a good storyteller but the book reads a bit like a series of magazine articles about different historical topics. Still recommended if you're interested in the subject.
I'm alternating back to fiction but am staying in the same general time period with The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
kupcho1
Footballguy
I'm keeping up my blistering pace so far in 2025 (averaging a book every 3.8 days; 19 so far this year).
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain was a very entertaining collection of short stories by Robert Olen Butler (R.O.B.). Some are funny, most are sad; there's even a ghost story. Every one of them is from the perspective of a different Vietnamese immigrant living in Lousiana after the Vietnam war (there are two more stories in the edition I read; one from the perspective of a Viet Cong, one from an American soldier that deserted and stayed to live in country). And while the stories were good, there was something that was constantly in the back of my mind as I read them.
Did R.O.B. really have the "right" to take on the voice of a Vietnamese immigrant? Perhaps the attitudes of today w/r/t cultural appropriation has infected my mind a lot more than I ever expected. R.O.B served in Vietnam in intelligence and as a translator. Did he capture the true feelings of a Vietnamese immigrant? I don't know. But I kept coming back to this even though the stories were very, very good.
Anyway, 79 down / 20 to go
Next up: one I am pretty sure I started shortly after it was published, put aside and never picked up again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx, the 1994 Pulitzer Prize winner.
I'm going to try to maintain my pace, but past performance with this one doesn't bode well. Also, heading out to the course tomorrow for the first round of the year.
A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain was a very entertaining collection of short stories by Robert Olen Butler (R.O.B.). Some are funny, most are sad; there's even a ghost story. Every one of them is from the perspective of a different Vietnamese immigrant living in Lousiana after the Vietnam war (there are two more stories in the edition I read; one from the perspective of a Viet Cong, one from an American soldier that deserted and stayed to live in country). And while the stories were good, there was something that was constantly in the back of my mind as I read them.
Did R.O.B. really have the "right" to take on the voice of a Vietnamese immigrant? Perhaps the attitudes of today w/r/t cultural appropriation has infected my mind a lot more than I ever expected. R.O.B served in Vietnam in intelligence and as a translator. Did he capture the true feelings of a Vietnamese immigrant? I don't know. But I kept coming back to this even though the stories were very, very good.
Anyway, 79 down / 20 to go
Next up: one I am pretty sure I started shortly after it was published, put aside and never picked up again. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you
The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx, the 1994 Pulitzer Prize winner.
I'm going to try to maintain my pace, but past performance with this one doesn't bode well. Also, heading out to the course tomorrow for the first round of the year.
TheBaylorKid
Footballguy
He finishes books like I finish chapters. This is like watching high brow Nathan’s hot dog eating contest. We are watching the Joey Chestnut of bibliophages.
kupcho1
Footballguy
Well I have no idea what I was thinking 30 years ago when I put this book down. The Shipping News was great. In fact it was so good that I wish Proulx had continued writing these characters (and believe me, they're characters). Similar to what Updike did with Rabbit, Proulx should have done with Quoyle.
It's the story of Quoyle, who's a bit of schlub. His parents recently committed suicide after both were diagnosed with cancer. His wife, Petal, cuckolds him for a period of time after which she and her latest paramour take the two Quoyle children to New England and sell them to ... let's just say a questionable character. They're rescued quickly though, as the police found documentation as to where they were left when they found Petal dead in a car accident. Quoyle's aunt shows up and convinces him to go back to Newfoundland (where the family was originally from).
In spite of (because of?) this, the book is laugh-out-loud funny at times. There are some great characters in Newfoundland, and the little newspaper Quoyle ends up writing for is a hoot.
So that's 80 down / 19 to go.
Next up: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields the 1995 Pulitzer prize winner.
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Need to read The Shipping News. Loved her Barkskins, but haven’t gone back to The Shipping News.
kupcho1
Footballguy
The Stone Diaries was not a collection of diaries, but it was a pretty good book nonetheless. Carol Shields (1995 Pulitzer winner) crafts a story (and make no mistake, the book is fiction even though for some strange reason the author includes photographs of some of the characters in the middle of the book, much like is done in nonfiction) in very definitive chapters of Daisy Goodwill's life:
81 down / 18 to go
Next up: Independence Day by Richard Ford, the 1996 Pulitzer prize winner
- Birth, 1905
- Childhood, 1916
- Marriage, 1927
- Love, 1936
- Motherhood, 1947
- Work, 1955-1964
- Sorrow, 1965
- Ease, 1977
- Illness and Decline, 1985
- Death (no year provided other than 199_)
81 down / 18 to go
Next up: Independence Day by Richard Ford, the 1996 Pulitzer prize winner
Dinsy Ejotuz
Footballguy
Loved this one. Found families comprised of spare parts and misfit couples might be my favorite theme in lit.
Others that scratch this itch... The Bone People, Their Eyes Were Watching God, About a Boy.
Eephus
Footballguy
Saw the movie. Spoiler: the human race is saved.
Actually I've never seen it but a different Ford novel will probably make my 70
Eephus
Footballguy
It wasn't anywhere near kupcho's pace but I plowed through The Unbearable Lightness of Being in about a week. I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out to be such a page turner in spite of the author's frequent philosophical digressions. The setting of the Prague Spring and its aftermath has always been interesting to me but the characters were more concerned with other worldly matters (and sex) than politics.
On The Rocks
Footballguy
Just finished The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
I'm a huge fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's story telling style. I enjoyed this book a great deal! I had no knowledge of the battle other than Custer and his battalion were destroyed.
A few things I learned: (take these comments with a grain of salt, I only know what I read in this book, and I have no idea how completely accurate it is)
Excellent book. I recommend it if you're a history nerd like me, and I will read it again at some point.
I'm a huge fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's story telling style. I enjoyed this book a great deal! I had no knowledge of the battle other than Custer and his battalion were destroyed.
A few things I learned: (take these comments with a grain of salt, I only know what I read in this book, and I have no idea how completely accurate it is)
- Men grew bushy mustaches to protect their lips from sunburn.
- In the Spring of 1876, many Lakota Indians became dissatisfied with the lack of food being provided by the local reservation agencies, so rather than starve to death, they began to leave the reservations to join the Sitting Bull village. I believe it's safe to say the US Govt was itself to blame for the number of Warriors that attacked Custer because their numbers were a result of the Sitting Bull village doubling in size because the Govt was starving them at the reservation.
- There were three commanders over the course of the two-day battle: Custer, Benteen and Reno.
- Wow! What a cluster #@%&! Reno and Benteen hated Custer, and delayed their support because they thought Custer was actually delaying his support, at the time Custer was getting destroyed. Reno was a drunk coward for the entire episode. And Benteen....wow.... just a guy who detested Custer.
- Custer deserved being hated based on how his character was portrayed in this book, but he didn't deserve to be abandoned.
- With my little knowledge of the battle I was surprised to learn one of the bigger influences for the defeat was the Indian Warriors had repeat firing rifles and the Troopers only had single shot carbines.
- Sitting Bull himself said despite the odds against Custer, it was scary how close he managed to come to winning the battle.
- Lots of additional information regarding the Native American struggle and the deceit of the US Govt. but it's not preachy.
Excellent book. I recommend it if you're a history nerd like me, and I will read it again at some point.
Eephus
Footballguy
If you still haven't had enough Custer and Sitting Bull, I recommend Son of the Morning Star by Evan S. Connell. It's a non-fiction book that covers similar ground about Little Big Horn. Connell is best known as a novelist and he brings a more literary style and voice to history. His narrative has a tendency to go off on tangents but they're always interesting.
If our top 70 lists included non-fiction, this one would definitely* be in my top 20.
* I haven't really thought about a combined list
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I've read Connell's book. I remember it being very good, though it's been a minute.
I'm gonna try Philbrick's next.
kupcho1
Footballguy
OK, although my reading's slackened off a bit (I blame March Madness), I'm still maintaining a book every little-less-than-4-days pace.
Latest casualty: 1995 Pulitzer winner Independence Day by Richard Ford.
Verdict: I didn't much care for it.
Not because it's a sequel (to The Sportswriter). I don't think you need to have read the first book to follow what happens in Independece Day.
Not because it's not well written (he manages to avoid the double negatives that often ensare me). It's very well written.
Not because most of the book is introspective. It is, but that's not why I didn't care for it.
I didn't like the main character. The main character in The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir (1938's winner) was definitely more loathsome. But that was by design (it's satire after all).
Frank Bascombe, IMHO, is a POS character. I'll tell you the part that really turned me against him. It came ~80% of the way through the book, and I'll put it in spoilers in case anyone might read it.
Frank and his son Paul are on a father/son trip. Paul is a troubled youth and may have some mental health issues (he seems to bark like a dog uncontrollably at times). Frank is a divorced dad, and at times his internal monologue raises the question as to whether or not he even likes his son.
Anyway, they're at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and Frank takes a turn at the batting cages. He fails miserably and his son busts his balls a little. This isn't uncharacteristic, or unwelcome ... typically. Frank tries to goad Paul into trying his hand at the batting cage and when Paul refuses Frank forcibly tries him to do so.
When I reach him, I don't know why but I grapple him behind his head
Paul gets rightly pissed off, goes into the cage and sets about trying to hurt himself. The cage (only) delivers 5 pitches. Paul's 1st pitch zips by; no effort to swing. 2nd pitch, same thing, but he moves closer. Same with the 3rd pitch. On the 4th pitch, Paul turns to face the machine, straddles the plate and gets blasted in his left eye with a 75 mph fastball.
Man I hate Frank Bascombe. And unlike the satirical 1938 winner, I don't believe the reader is supposed to hate him.
Anyway, 82 down / 17 to go
Next up: Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
All I can say is this book better be damn good. There was another book written in 1996 that in retrospect probably should have won. But I hope this one is at least good enough for 2nd place.
Latest casualty: 1995 Pulitzer winner Independence Day by Richard Ford.
Verdict: I didn't much care for it.
Not because it's a sequel (to The Sportswriter). I don't think you need to have read the first book to follow what happens in Independece Day.
Not because it's not well written (he manages to avoid the double negatives that often ensare me). It's very well written.
Not because most of the book is introspective. It is, but that's not why I didn't care for it.
I didn't like the main character. The main character in The Late George Apley: A Novel in the Form of a Memoir (1938's winner) was definitely more loathsome. But that was by design (it's satire after all).
Frank Bascombe, IMHO, is a POS character. I'll tell you the part that really turned me against him. It came ~80% of the way through the book, and I'll put it in spoilers in case anyone might read it.
Frank and his son Paul are on a father/son trip. Paul is a troubled youth and may have some mental health issues (he seems to bark like a dog uncontrollably at times). Frank is a divorced dad, and at times his internal monologue raises the question as to whether or not he even likes his son.
Anyway, they're at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and Frank takes a turn at the batting cages. He fails miserably and his son busts his balls a little. This isn't uncharacteristic, or unwelcome ... typically. Frank tries to goad Paul into trying his hand at the batting cage and when Paul refuses Frank forcibly tries him to do so.
When I reach him, I don't know why but I grapple him behind his head
Paul gets rightly pissed off, goes into the cage and sets about trying to hurt himself. The cage (only) delivers 5 pitches. Paul's 1st pitch zips by; no effort to swing. 2nd pitch, same thing, but he moves closer. Same with the 3rd pitch. On the 4th pitch, Paul turns to face the machine, straddles the plate and gets blasted in his left eye with a 75 mph fastball.
Man I hate Frank Bascombe. And unlike the satirical 1938 winner, I don't believe the reader is supposed to hate him.
Anyway, 82 down / 17 to go
Next up: Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
All I can say is this book better be damn good. There was another book written in 1996 that in retrospect probably should have won. But I hope this one is at least good enough for 2nd place.
kupcho1
Footballguy
I'll state right up front that I was predisposed not to like Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, the 1997 Pulitzer prize winner by Steven Millhauser. That said, I didn't like it but my dissatisfaction with the novel has more to do on its worth than the fact that there were other more deserving candidates that year (I have on in particular, but you might be able to guess what it is).
What didn't I like? The main character, Martin Dressler, is a rags-to-riches story but far more improbable than any I've read before. He starts as a young boy working in his father's cigar shop. He then progresses through a series of jobs (starting at around age 14) where he's an amazing success at everything he does and everyone loves him. There is never even a minor setback. This didn't seem like a novel that was written in the 1990s. If you told me it was written in 1921 and discovered years later in an old steamer trunk I'd believe you.
He eventually is so damned good at business he starts a chain of wildly successful cafes, buys and resurrects the hotel he started at as a busboy, and then builds increasing absurd hotel/apartments that are universally admired (if initially his genius isn't understood for the first day or two) and profitable until the last, ridiculous building is finished.
At one point, as he's touring his last hotel, he overhears children telling their mother they're bored, so he installs a zoo and carousel. Inside the hotel. If you think that's crazy, read the book for the complete list of nonsense included as part of the package.
83 down / 16 to go (I think the Pulitzer is announced in May so I've got a chance to finish by then, but it's a slim one)
Next up: The Hours by Michael Cunningham the 1999 winner (I've already read American Pastoral by Philip Roth, the 1998 winner).
What didn't I like? The main character, Martin Dressler, is a rags-to-riches story but far more improbable than any I've read before. He starts as a young boy working in his father's cigar shop. He then progresses through a series of jobs (starting at around age 14) where he's an amazing success at everything he does and everyone loves him. There is never even a minor setback. This didn't seem like a novel that was written in the 1990s. If you told me it was written in 1921 and discovered years later in an old steamer trunk I'd believe you.
He eventually is so damned good at business he starts a chain of wildly successful cafes, buys and resurrects the hotel he started at as a busboy, and then builds increasing absurd hotel/apartments that are universally admired (if initially his genius isn't understood for the first day or two) and profitable until the last, ridiculous building is finished.
At one point, as he's touring his last hotel, he overhears children telling their mother they're bored, so he installs a zoo and carousel. Inside the hotel. If you think that's crazy, read the book for the complete list of nonsense included as part of the package.
83 down / 16 to go (I think the Pulitzer is announced in May so I've got a chance to finish by then, but it's a slim one)
Next up: The Hours by Michael Cunningham the 1999 winner (I've already read American Pastoral by Philip Roth, the 1998 winner).
krista4
Footballguy
It's been a while since I read it (and it could make my 70), but I didn't think we were supposed to like him. I sure didn't.
krista4
Footballguy
And in case anyone was wondering what time in my life I was reading a lot of fiction, both of these are also on my "possible 70" list (with the latter a shoe-in).
Don Quixote
Footballguy
Latter is on mine. Have not read The Hours.
krista4
Footballguy
Don Quixote
Footballguy
I’m haven’t read her either. May have to consider reading them back-to-back on my list at some point.
Ilov80s
Footballguy
Love that one and all of Kundera’s books. He’s worth digging further into imo.
Thorn
Footballguy
Finished another book that's been on my shelf forever and always meant to read, but figured I had to be in the right frame of mind because of how heavy the subject matter is: Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. If you're not familiar, Frankl was a psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz. Half of the book is his experience there, the other half is how he used his experience to develop better therapies.
A short and powerful read. It was not as heavy as I thought it might be, as he mostly glosses over grisly details and instead focuses on how the human mind can endure and find meaning even in the most hopeless situations.
There is a lot to take from this book, and I think I will read it again. Here are three takeaways that I've thought about:
1. One does not find contentedness by avoiding all stress or challenge. One finds meaning by answering some calling or challenge to overcome.
2. One way to find meaning: Imagine you have already lived this life once, and this is your second life, and you are about to act in a way to right the wrongs you made the first time through.
3. Treating a person struggling to deal with grief, Frankl asks: "would you rather you died and they had to grieve this loss?" (answer: no) "Okay then, this is your meaning: you spared them this grief, but of course now you must endure it. Your suffering is therefore not meaningless."
A short and powerful read. It was not as heavy as I thought it might be, as he mostly glosses over grisly details and instead focuses on how the human mind can endure and find meaning even in the most hopeless situations.
There is a lot to take from this book, and I think I will read it again. Here are three takeaways that I've thought about:
1. One does not find contentedness by avoiding all stress or challenge. One finds meaning by answering some calling or challenge to overcome.
2. One way to find meaning: Imagine you have already lived this life once, and this is your second life, and you are about to act in a way to right the wrongs you made the first time through.
3. Treating a person struggling to deal with grief, Frankl asks: "would you rather you died and they had to grieve this loss?" (answer: no) "Okay then, this is your meaning: you spared them this grief, but of course now you must endure it. Your suffering is therefore not meaningless."
kupcho1
Footballguy
That is a great book. He was an amazing man.
rockaction
Footballguy
I read The Sportswriter by Richard Ford. You just reminded me that I did. Ford didn’t want you to hate the character of his other book but he writes flawed characters who we have to abide as readers, warts and all.
The Sportswriter has a suicide by a one-time same-sex sex practitioner who cannot live with having had that sex. He wires up a crossbow or something to kill himself by having the gun go off spilt his head. The other charcacter, his supposed confidant and acquaintance/friend, finds out and subsequently doesn’t even seem to care that he’s dead as he relays it to the reader. You even get the sense he thinks the guy deserves it for being a homosexual for a night.
Weird, memorable plot line and weird callousness in the delivery. I think that’s just Ford you’re experiencing because I got the same vibe from the main character of The Sportswriter. He is definitely a warts-and-all writer with his creations and inspirations. But his worldview is dim and the characters are mostly cold-hearted bastards.
kupcho1
Footballguy
I liked this book a lot as well. Nonlinear stories may be my jam.
So I just finished The Hours by Michael Cunningham (1999 winner) and loved how the story was constructed. I've never read any Virginia Woolf (although my curiosity is piqued) before, but apparently Cunningham channels Woolf in the narrative.
There are 3 characters: Virginia Woolf, Clarissa Vaughan and Laura Brown (listed in order of appearance) with the time frame being from 1923 to late 1980s? Early 1990s? I'm not sure, but it's roughly around when AIDS had been ravaging but some drugs were available to mitigate the damage. The key point being it was too late in the day for one character.
The Woolf sections of the novel are littered with real life people (even the maid, Nelly, was part of the Woolf household).
So, that's 84 down / 15 to go.
This was also a bit of a milestone. I've read 24 Pulitzers so far in 2025. I read 24 in all of 2024. So there's that.
Next up: Interpreter of Maladies: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri the 2000 winner. I've no clue what this one is about, but I'll assume it is short stories.
beer 30
Footballguy
Literally just had that book delivered today. Heard about it on a podcast, decided to give it a go
Eephus
Footballguy
When I was putting together the longlist for my 70 books, I remembered a lot of hard boiled detective stories I'd read. It's a genre I used to enjoy a lot but have moved away from recently. I jumped back in with Five Decembers by James Kestrel. It's from 2021 and won the Edgar Award for best novel the following year.
It starts off as a straightforward police procedural about a double murder in the weeks before Pearl Harbor but becomes an odyssey spanning the Pacific and the five Decembers from the title. The propulsive plot took advantage of some improbable coincidences but none were dealbreakers for me. The hero was a mixture of a romantic and cynic who bore the burdens of both. The author has a good ear and provides enough period detail without getting lost in it.
Strongly recommend for any noir fans.
www.hardcasecrime.com
It starts off as a straightforward police procedural about a double murder in the weeks before Pearl Harbor but becomes an odyssey spanning the Pacific and the five Decembers from the title. The propulsive plot took advantage of some improbable coincidences but none were dealbreakers for me. The hero was a mixture of a romantic and cynic who bore the burdens of both. The author has a good ear and provides enough period detail without getting lost in it.
Strongly recommend for any noir fans.
About Five Decembers
kupcho1
Footballguy
I just completed Interpreter of Maladies: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri the 2000 Pulitzer prize winner. As you might guess from the title, her stories were mainly depressing (e.g., stillborn babies, infidelity) but I found it - to put it in the preferred exclamation of the 103 year old landlady of the final story - SPLENDID! All of the stories dealt with Indian characters, some emigrated from India, others were born in the US. All have sad stories to tell.
By my count, Interpreter of Maladies: Stories is the 6th Pulitzer winner that is a short story collection (I suppose you could also include South Pacific, or the 2011 winner A Visit from the Goon Squad but I think the stories in those two are so interrelated that they qualify as novels.)
I've read the next two winners, but let me put a brief word in for them.
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon is one of my all time favorite books. It's historical fiction that follows the lives of two Jewish cousins, Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn-born writer Sammy Clay, before, during, and after World War II. They team up to create a comic book The Escapist. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Seriously, go read it.
2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo is about a guy that manages a diner in a small town in Maine. It sounds riveting, I know. It is a very good read and I think they made it into a movie.
Which brings me to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides the 2003 winner. I've seen this book in libraries and bookstores over the years, have picked it up ... and put it back down again. I don't know why. Hopefully this will be another Shipping News as in a book I thought was bad and turned out good. Fingers crossed.
That's 85 down / 14 to go.
By my count, Interpreter of Maladies: Stories is the 6th Pulitzer winner that is a short story collection (I suppose you could also include South Pacific, or the 2011 winner A Visit from the Goon Squad but I think the stories in those two are so interrelated that they qualify as novels.)
I've read the next two winners, but let me put a brief word in for them.
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon is one of my all time favorite books. It's historical fiction that follows the lives of two Jewish cousins, Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn-born writer Sammy Clay, before, during, and after World War II. They team up to create a comic book The Escapist. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Seriously, go read it.
2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo is about a guy that manages a diner in a small town in Maine. It sounds riveting, I know. It is a very good read and I think they made it into a movie.
Which brings me to Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides the 2003 winner. I've seen this book in libraries and bookstores over the years, have picked it up ... and put it back down again. I don't know why. Hopefully this will be another Shipping News as in a book I thought was bad and turned out good. Fingers crossed.
That's 85 down / 14 to go.
brun
Footballguy
Eastern Inferno: The Journals of a German Panzerjäger on the Eastern Front, 1941–43
This was put together by grandchildren of a German (Hans Roth) fighting on the Eastern front. It has been edited for readability and to provide context. Otherwise it contains the candid thoughts recorded in his personal journals at the time that the events occurred. I really enjoy personal recollections like this but this is better than most as it's not imperfect memories diluted by time or censors who would have been going through the letters home from the front.
As these are his personal experiences, it's not heavy with war strategy. Still, you can see how winter, mud, an underestimation of the Russian resources, etc., affected the outcome in the East.
Hans went MIA in 1944 so there is no happy ending nor family reunion at the end of the war. As I understand it. He brought home these journals in a visit home in 1943. Chances are he continued his writing after redeployment to the front, up until he went MIA.
If you're interests include the military experience from a personal POV. I strongly recommend.
This was put together by grandchildren of a German (Hans Roth) fighting on the Eastern front. It has been edited for readability and to provide context. Otherwise it contains the candid thoughts recorded in his personal journals at the time that the events occurred. I really enjoy personal recollections like this but this is better than most as it's not imperfect memories diluted by time or censors who would have been going through the letters home from the front.
As these are his personal experiences, it's not heavy with war strategy. Still, you can see how winter, mud, an underestimation of the Russian resources, etc., affected the outcome in the East.
Hans went MIA in 1944 so there is no happy ending nor family reunion at the end of the war. As I understand it. He brought home these journals in a visit home in 1943. Chances are he continued his writing after redeployment to the front, up until he went MIA.
If you're interests include the military experience from a personal POV. I strongly recommend.
Sand
Footballguy
Robert Jordan's entire Wheel of Time (+ 2 extra books) on sale for $18. Price per word might be the best deal ever.
www.humblebundle.com
Humble Book Bundle: Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time
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www.humblebundle.com
kupcho1
Footballguy
Price per Nynaeve braid pull is also quite low.
kupcho1
Footballguy
Well what do you know, another happy surprise. Middlesex was, hands down, the best book I've ever read featuring a hermaphrodite. It is also the second best story that had incest as a major plot driver (story being the operative word as the #1 in this category is a yet unfinished series of books).
Calliope (later Cal) Stephanides tells the story of her family and the recessive gene that made
Next up, the 2004 winner The Known World by Edward P. Jones. I have no idea what this one is about, but am going to tackle it immediately. I'm in danger of losing my 4 day pace in finishing books. 3.96 is too close for comfort.
So that's 86 down / 13 to go.
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