What Are You Reading ?

[Music Head]

Brooks D. Simpson - Ulysses S. Grant - 2000




a bio through the war years
always wondered how that many people could die considering the weaponry
the north won

Grade - A

next up - Guard Of Honor by James Gould Cozzens

[Music Head]

James Gould Cozzens - Guard Of Honor - 1948




Has to be the worst Pulitzer Prize winning novel I have read.
Set at an Army Air Force base in Central Florida during WWII 
No military action ever takes place over the 3 day period of the book
a bunch of high ranking military dudes pulling their weight
Author worked for a general during the war, so a lot of military lingo
just not much of a plot ever comes together for me

Grade - D
it's hard to give any book an F
there are words in them

next up - Just As I Am by Billy Graham

[Music Head]

Billy Graham - Just As I Am - 1998



He had another 20 years to go, but this is his life up to this point, in his words.
He doesn't spill any dirt on himself.
Can't believe this man drew the crowds he did, not just here but across the world.
Most of the book is just a chronology if all his major crusades.
Best for me were the parts detailing his relations with the Presidents back to Eisenhower
A lot of name dropping of the rich and famous.
Sounds like once Billy acquired his notoriety his circle changed dramatically
Not knocking him, just saying he was very proud of his associations with the powerful

Grade - B

next up - Tales Of The South Pacific by James Michener

[Jerome]

Just noticed your mention of James Michener - I have read two of his books - 'The Drifters' - many moons ago - really liked it. Also 'Poland' - an accurate account of the hardships this nation has suffered through the centuries. Seems like any major European war criss-crossed through Poland. It has been the battleground of Europe since the beginning of time. But a great and resilient people and a VERY high standard of education. And LUVERLY women too...........

[wcr]

Mother Night (Kurt Vonnegut)

[sjpolyguy]

I'm currently in the middle of three books that I'm switching between. Although they are all interesting none of them have hooked me in to commit to one to the finish.

Rat Girl by Kristin Hersh
New York 2140 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Provenance by Ann Lecke

[CRAZY-HORSE]

two Stephen King novels now...
both of which I couldn't get "in to" so I never finished them, and im a huge fan of the guy...



co-authorship between King and his novelist son Owen...
I couldn't get into the story from the get-go and I struggled to the halfway mark prior to
putting it away...

the synopsis:

In a future so real and near it might be now, something happens when women go to sleep: they become shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. If they are awakened, if the gauze wrapping their bodies is disturbed or violated, the women become feral and spectacularly violent. And while they sleep they go to another place, a better place, where harmony prevails and conflict is rare.


One woman, the mysterious “Eve Black,” is immune to the blessing or curse of the sleeping disease. Is Eve a medical anomaly to be studied? Or is she a demon who must be slain? Abandoned, left to their increasingly primal urges, the men divide into warring factions, some wanting to kill Eve, some to save her. Others exploit the chaos to wreak their own vengeance on new enemies. All turn to violence in a suddenly all-male world.

Set in a small Appalachian town whose primary employer is a women’s prison, [i]Sleeping Beauties[/i] is a wildly provocative, gloriously dramatic father-son collaboration that feels particularly urgent and relevant today.





his latest novel, another one that just didn't do it for me...
read like a dumbed down re-write of "thinner" but just didn't go anywhere, so again,
put away, who knows, I may pick it up again at some point, but don't hold your breath waiting for it...

the synopsis:

Although Scott Carey doesn’t look any different, he’s been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn’t want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.

In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King’s most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott’s lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face–including his own—he tries to help. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott’s affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

From Stephen King, our “most precious renewable resource, like Shakespeare in the malleability of his work” ([i]The Guardian[/i]), [i]Elevation[/i] is an antidote to our divisive culture, as gloriously joyful (with a twinge of deep sadness) as “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

[SteveO]

A Christmas present from the grandkids ! I will not be listening to 1,001 albums before I cash it in ! I am noting the ones I have listened to already and hoping this procedure will reduce the number from 1,001. I will let you know the final count!

[CRAZY-HORSE]

although I rarely agree with those sort of lists SteveO I am always drawn to them because its fun to see what is (and in most cases)
isn't included on the lists

[SteveO]

^ I know exactly what you mean Crazy mate ! I am always curious in case I miss the lost chord or in case I have allowed a great album slip by me ! Also at my stage in life I can only get into movies and books about musicians!