Whatcha reading?

[DallasHorn26 586]

I've been on a kick of reading PI/Detective type books recently.  I stumbled upon the Amos Decker series by David Baldacci and have been pulled in. The second book is partially set in Texas and involves a fictional former UT Running back that is on death row.

 

Amos Decker

[demos 3002]

Finished these three recently:

[Continental Op 3934]

Started This Storm by James Ellroy.  

[midtown 3345]

I've read two of David Baldacci's books.  Most recently "The Fallen". Pretty good reading. Police detective books are my travel guilty pleasure.

I ordered this after seeing it on one of the the UT football players twitters.   So far pretty good.  Only 2 chapters in this morning.

Edited June 19, 2019 by midtown

[TwiceHorn 31435]

I am on Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko series.  The most notable of which is probably Gorky Park.  Haven't seen the movie, but I kind of remember it.

Pretty entertaining literary whodunnits set in the end-stage Soviet Union.  Started before Chernobyl aired, but kind of elaborates on Soviet silliness.

[Guest Lobo]

Don't know where to put this, but in addition to the usual array of great novelists, political pundits, and children's authors...the Texas Book Festival is making two big pop-author splashes this year with Malcolm Gladwell and John Grisham.  

[midtown 3345]

I ordered this after seeing it on one of the the UT football players twitters.   So far pretty good.  Only 2 chapters in this morning.

Well at least now I know why a ut football player tweeted this. A. It's a great book and story/perspective. B. Brother of the author is Chase Moore. UT Football Jr.

Highly recommended.

[BearSchlong 8082]

Reading Chernow's Alexander Hamilton because I'm seeing the Musical on July 6 in kansas city and I want to be familiar.

[demos 3002]

Finished this one today:



And also finished Connelly’s City of Bones and Lost Light recently.

[TexArcher 37761]

Death Without Company 

#2 in the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson.

So good.

 

[gernblansten 3196]

The Couple Next Door is a quick little read.  Not sure if I liked it, but had a hard time putting it down.

[Deej 76750]

Rereading "The Last Days of the Incas". Such a good read. How do the Spanish not catch more shit for their genocide in the New World?

[Post Oak 20204]

I'm a couple of chapters in and really enjoying it.

[Spartan52 151]

^ Can't see what it is Post Oak

[abuelo gringo 321]

 

Just finishing up.  Very thorough account, with serious research and documentation.  I found it a slow read, but probably largely due to my age and difficulties keeping up with so many people.

[The University 851]

damn, this was a fun read. 

[midtown 3345]

Just started today

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6000 using Tapatalk

[Post Oak 20204]

On 7/11/2019 at 8:53 PM, Spartan52 said:

^ Can't see what it is Post Oak

A gentleman in Moscow.  It's just a wonderful story.  I loved it and recommend it.  

They're gonna make a movie out of it with Kenneth Branagh as Count Rustov.

For me Lonesome Dove and Grapes of Wrath are 5stars.  This was a 4 star.

[shakahorn 1645]

On 6/23/2018 at 9:49 AM, KYHorn said:

About 2/3 through this. Really like it. It's a long read, but has been fascinating to read a history of the world through a middle eastern/asian lens. 

Finally got done with this one.  Very interesting, long read, but really didn't make me "question my assumptions about the world."  

[KYHorn 17004]

8 hours ago, shakahorn said:

Finally got done with this one.  Very interesting, long read, but really didn't make me "question my assumptions about the world."  

I agree, although, it did help me see various current events through a different lens. If you liked that one, you may also like Prisoners of Geography. It definitely provides a unique lens for understanding current events and is a much shorter read.

https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Geography-Explain-Everything-Politics/dp/1501121472/ref=asc_df_1501121472/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312034012759&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13169821819958706447&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9014324&hvtargid=pla-469068175346&psc=1 

 

[shakahorn 1645]

6 hours ago, KYHorn said:

I agree, although, it did help me see various current events through a different lens. If you liked that one, you may also like Prisoners of Geography. It definitely provides a unique lens for understanding current events and is a much shorter read.

https://www.amazon.com/Prisoners-Geography-Explain-Everything-Politics/dp/1501121472/ref=asc_df_1501121472/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312034012759&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=13169821819958706447&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9014324&hvtargid=pla-469068175346&psc=1 

 

Yeah I read that earlier, again based on a recommendation in this thread.  Found that one a lot better.  Maybe because I read it first and it covers some of the same ground.

Figured I'd lighten up a bit and am now in The Goldfinch.  Maybe 1/4 of the way in, really like it, will probably finish it very quickly.

[Post Oak 20204]

Reading this one now.  I've heard great things but can't promise that I can deal with the premise for very long.  Dead son and grieving father twists me up now that I'm a dad.  I've had to put down another book about kids.

 

Its written in an interesting style and so far it's good once I figured out exactly what's going on.

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

Just finished A Treasury of Swashbuckling Adventures.

I started it when we were at the beach in France. I usually try to read fun stuff when on vacation. The final adventure was Captain Blood. Others were: The Prisoner Of Zenda, The Story Of Cyrano De Bergerac, The Corsican Brothers, obviously Captain Blood & How Jean-Pierre Met The Scarlet Pimpernel and others.

 

[Rougarou 594]

21 hours ago, Post Oak said:

Reading this one now.  I've heard great things but can't promise that I can deal with the premise for very long.  Dead son and grieving father twists me up now that I'm a dad.  I've had to put down another book about kids.

 

Its written in an interesting style and so far it's good once I figured out exactly what's going on.

I absolutely and wholly loved 10th of December and Civil Warland in Bad Decline-- this guy rules as a short story author. This is his first published long fiction and around the time this book was coming out he was getting a ton of press in LitFic circles and salons. It was his coming out party and he was the next Tobias Wolfe (his mentor and professor at one point, I think?). 

But it was a weird book. Written like a play versus a novel, almost entirely in dialogue, I couldn't really find myself getitng immersed. I ended up reading like a third of it and forgetting about it and to this day never finished it. Sales were initially strong because of the hype and his legitimate buzz as an awesome writer based on his shorts, but I think it ended up not selling well and I saw a ton at Half Price Books on the Clearance shelf a year ago.

Tell me how it goes!

[Post Oak 20204]

4 hours ago, Rougarou said:

I absolutely and wholly loved 10th of December and Civil Warland in Bad Decline-- this guy rules as a short story author. This is his first published long fiction and around the time this book was coming out he was getting a ton of press in LitFic circles and salons. It was his coming out party and he was the next Tobias Wolfe (his mentor and professor at one point, I think?). 

But it was a weird book. Written like a play versus a novel, almost entirely in dialogue, I couldn't really find myself getitng immersed. I ended up reading like a third of it and forgetting about it and to this day never finished it. Sales were initially strong because of the hype and his legitimate buzz as an awesome writer based on his shorts, but I think it ended up not selling well and I saw a ton at Half Price Books on the Clearance shelf a year ago.

Tell me how it goes!

You're right it reads like a play and it took me a while to figure out exactly what I was reading. 

I'm going to give it a good shot.  It should be a pretty short read since it doesn't have many you know paragraphs.  

We'll see

[Post Oak 20204]

On 8/1/2019 at 8:08 PM, Post Oak said:

You're right it reads like a play and it took me a while to figure out exactly what I was reading. 

I'm going to give it a good shot.  It should be a pretty short read since it doesn't have many you know paragraphs.  

We'll see

Welp I'm out.  Can't do it.  Made it about 40 pages

[SimonBolivar 10957]

 

It's been a few years and I've forgotten most of it.

[WBT 20559]

It was a pretty good cartel crime story set on the Mexican gulf coast.  There were some good twists and a pov change halfway through that was pretty interesting.

[demos 3002]

Finished these two:

Plus Bosch #'s 10-17

Cocaine Nights didn't really meet expectations. Was going to read it a warm up to High Rise, but not sure if I want to read that now.

[Continental Op 3934]

Reading The Moviegoer because I feel like it is something I should read.  I'm about a third of the way through and it's a tough chew.  

[NoName 16349]

On 8/17/2019 at 10:54 PM, WBT said:

It was a pretty good cartel crime story set on the Mexican gulf coast.  There were some good twists and a pov change halfway through that was pretty interesting.

don't know if you have read them but The Border series by Don Winslow is excellent. 

Power of the Dog / The Cartel / The Border talk about the DEA's role in the War on Drugs, immaculately researched and very well written.

His book The Force is maybe my favorite book of the last 5-6 years. In fact, I may re-read it on vacation.  

[WBT 20559]

Yeah, I read Power of the Dog a couple of years ago.  The other 3 you mentioned are on my list but I haven't got to them yet.  Power of the Dog was excellent.  I liked the tie-ins with the earthquake and other historical events and it did a good job portraying the futility of the drug war.

Edited August 22, 2019 by WBT

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

The Odyssey, by Homer.

[Rougarou 594]

On 8/7/2019 at 9:54 PM, Post Oak said:

Welp I'm out.  Can't do it.  Made it about 40 pages

lol yep.

[NorthLoop 14180]

For fans of WWZ  - Brooks is coming out with a Bigfoot book. Article link has an excerpt.

 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/world-war-z-author-max-brooks-new-novel-devolution-focus-sasquatch-attack-1233889?fbclid=IwAR1vQI1D2ppyoO6vRjCsxu5xviiSeevHDcl7WcdLN1osXdeUr-3Mh86h07U

[Post Oak 20204]

21 hours ago, Rougarou said:

lol yep.

Yep. He goes to the tomb and removes the coffin and that was it for me.

[Rougarou 594]

2 hours ago, Post Oak said:

Yep. He goes to the tomb and removes the coffin and that was it for me.

Truly though, check out Civilwarland in Bad Decline and/or 10th of December. His short stories are better than most anyone's I've read recently not named Adam Johnson (mega-underrated writer) or Cheever which made this book such a colossal disappointment and commercial, if not completely a critical, bust. 

Edited August 27, 2019 by Rougarou

[shakahorn 1645]

Just finished this and as advertised, it was a great read.  Glad I read it before the ads for the movie came out.  Some of the actors don't fit the characters, at least in my mind.

Didn't even know there was a movie in the works as I was reading it, but all I could think while reading it was "this would be tough to make into a movie."

Edited September 4, 2019 by shakahorn

[wild_turkey 3159]

I read The Goldfinch last month and really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t say it was perfect because there were aspects that annoyed me at times, but it was very good and I was bummed when I finished it.

Wife is reading it currently and I’m hoping she finishes it in time for us to catch the movie in theaters.

[Halohal 498]

The Legacy of Earl Campbell

 

Earl Campbell: Yards After Contact is the new biography by Asher Price chronicling the life and impact of Texas football legend Earl Campbell — on and off the field. Price will share highlights from the book, stories about Earl Campbell, and insights from his writing and research process. He'll also talk with two key figures in Earl Campbell's career — Ken Dabbs, the recruiter who brought Campbell to UT, and Alfred Jackson, a former UT receiver who, with Campbell, formed one of UT's most powerful offensive squads. 

Books will be available for purchase thanks to BookPeople, and the author will sign copies after the program. You can pre-order a copy of the book. We ask that you reserve free tickets to the event in advance. This event is presented in partnership with University of Texas Press.

Presented by The Library Foundation.

7:00 PM

Thursday

September 5, 2019

Central Library
Special Event Center (1st floor)

710 W. César Chávez St.
512-974-7400

[4th&Five 41506]

Just finished this and loved it.

This is my next and it's off to a good start.

[wild_turkey 3159]

Catch-22
Ugh. I tried reading this once before and couldn’t get into it. Figured I’d give it another try and I’m struggling on page 70. I know I’m supposed to like it but I’m honestly bored. It’s full of humorous random musings but there is no plot thus far and that makes it easy to put down after 5 pages. Someone tell me to keep going.

[Damor 1236]

Just recently reread Catch 22 (I love it).  It's OK if it's not your cup of tea, but maybe try looking at the structure (repetitive, approaches the same events over and over from different angles, jumps around chronologically) as purposeful in portraying the absurdity of war and modern 'humanity.'  If you don't know the story, it does draw to something of a conclusion, but it's more about the jarring ride to get there.

Edited September 6, 2019 by Damor
PS -- Keep going.

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

On 8/23/2019 at 4:20 PM, PittsburghTiger said:

The Odyssey, by Homer.

Just finished this.  Better than I thought it would be. A shit ton of names to deal with. But it was enjoyable.

[TwiceHorn 31435]

On 6/14/2019 at 9:46 AM, DallasHorn26 said:

I've been on a kick of reading PI/Detective type books recently.  I stumbled upon the Amos Decker series by David Baldacci and have been pulled in. The second book is partially set in Texas and involves a fictional former UT Running back that is on death row.

 

Amos Decker

I'm reading these.  I like (I think) the main characters fine, and the plots are intricate and unobvious, but there's just something about them that makes them less than riveting.  Enjoyable, but easy enough to put down.  Not sure why.

I had read another Baldacci before and hadn't put him in the sort of "must-read" category that I put Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, and Michael Connelly, among others in the pulpier genres.

[PittsburghTiger 6174]

Picked back up to finish Soldaten. I deals with recordings made of German P.O.W.s. It’s an interesting read. I had started it a while ago and need to finish.

[Continental Op 3934]

About halfway through The High Window by Raymond Chandler.  It stands up well in comparison to The Big Sleep or The Long Goodbye. 

[SoCalHorn 40]

On 5/15/2019 at 11:51 AM, Damor said:

I can't find the post to give rep, but someone recommended Hernan Diaz's In the Distance.

Just finished it this morning -- that was a fantastic read, one of the best books I've read in a while, and thanks to this thread, I've read a lot of good ones lately.  I really do appreciate all the great recommendations in here.

Up next, going on a WWI tangent with Goodbye to All That, then rereading All Quiet on the Western Front.

This was really good. I liked the amazon review, like a cormac McCarthy novel but good!

[demos 3002]

Finally finished this one:

Good read, but kept distracting myself with Bosch novels.

Picked up this one today; timely read:

[4th&Five 41506]

really good and pretty short.