What have you read recently?

[Qs Laptop]

Is that the one they made the series out of? Pretty good, IMO. On Peacock as I recall.

There was a TV series about 15(?) years ago. My oldest son was still at home and we watched it together. It started out intriguing but then devolved into ridiculousness. He derisively named it "Under the Dumb" because it was so bad.

It ran a couple of years and we quit with about three or four episodes left in the entire series. At that point we were so worn out with its dumbness that we didn't care how it ended, in fact we actively opposed knowing what they were going to do next.

I sure hope the book was better because the TV show was a train wreck.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

I sure hope the book was better because the TV show was a train wreck.

The book was good.

This is why I've never watched any video adaptation of books I have read.

While I loved the whole 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy (+ The Hobbit) and have re-read them several times, I have zero desire to ever see any movies about them. There is no way any actors or actresses could replace the characters I have developed in my own mind while reading the stories. I want the characters to look like how I envision them based on the author's descriptions, not how some Hollywood director and makeup artist thinks they should look.

The same goes for any Stephen King novel and even the Harry Potter series of books. (I own all of them)

The only Stephen King based movie I've ever seen was 'Maximum Overdrive' at the theater, but that was never a novel and I went with my step-brother back in 1986 primarily to hear ACDC in Dolby™ Surround Sound.

 

[threeonesix]

Wondering if there already exists a thread(s) where members discuss books they have read and enjoyed. Searching "books" sure brings up a lot of threads about vacation bookings, lol. Also came across a lot of "book review" threads but I'm not really looking for reviews, just lists of books others have read.

I have recently gotten back into reading physical books. When I was a kid I read most of the classics. Was a huge fan of Hemingway, Vonnegut and Stephen King (but only his short stories). Resulting from a recent discussion with friends I realized I had never read "The Catcher in the Rye", so that is my current project. Just got a new library card last week and we have a very nice local library, even in this tiny town.

I would love to hear what others have read, or are reading, and enjoy(ed). If a thread already exists for this, please move this post and/or point me to that thread. TIA!

 

[mystang52]

I, too, only read physical books, and most definitely have "frequent flyer miles" with my local library. I'm a history and science buff so I tend to read books in those categories. There was a recent thread where I recommended "Return to the Reich" by Eric Lichtblau. I'm currently in early pages of "Gemini," about that part of our space program. So far, it's very interesting.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I think you may be looking for this thread: What have you read recently?

 

[COcheesehead]

I have always loved real adventure stories. Some of my favorites are:
Paddle to the Amazon. A story of a father and his sons who paddle a canoe from Canada all the way to the Amazon.

Another is River. A 65 year old man hikes/rafts from the very trickle start of the Colorado River all the way to where it ends near the sea of Cortez. The line from the book that sticks with me is he said his motivation was you need to scare the sh*t out of yourself every once in awhile.

Paddle to the Amazon: The Ultimate 12,000-Mile Canoe Adventure: Starkell, Don: 9780771082566: Amazon.com: Books

Paddle to the Amazon: The Ultimate 12,000-Mile Canoe Adventure [Starkell, Don] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Paddle to the Amazon: The Ultimate 12,000-Mile Canoe Adventure

www.amazon.com

https://www.amazon.com/River-Mans-Journey-Colorado-Source/dp/0394574214

 

[threeonesix]

I think you may be looking for this thread: What have you read recently?

Thank you!

 

[Qs Laptop]

Thank you!

One thing I've noticed about the "What Books have you Read Recently" thread is that the responses are 95% about non-fiction books. I occasionally read non-fiction but I devour fiction. I'd like to see a thread on "What Fiction Books Have you Read Recently?"

 

[braumeister]

For consistency, the last few posts were moved from another thread to this one, which is more appropriate.

 

[donheff]

I have read a few of Chris Pavone's thrillers recently. His female characters can be irritating but I did like Ariel in Two Nights in Lisbon. Some good twists on a kidnapping plot.

 

[ArmchairMillionaire]

One thing I've noticed about the "What Books have you Read Recently" thread is that the responses are 95% about non-fiction books. I occasionally read non-fiction but I devour fiction. I'd like to see a thread on "What Fiction Books Have you Read Recently?"

Speaking of devouring fiction, I've been bouncing between Stephen King and John Grisham lately.

First, I read the 1084 page epic Under The Dome by Stephen King, then I read The Racketeer by John Grisham. After that, I read the 6-paperback version of The Green Mile by Stephen King, and from there, I read A Painted House by John Grisham, which I finished last night.

Tonight I'll start From a Buick 8 by Stephen King.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Speaking of devouring fiction, I've been bouncing between Stephen King and John Grisham lately.

First, I read the 1084 page epic Under The Dome by Stephen King, then I read The Racketeer by John Grisham. After that, I read the 6-paperback version of The Green Mile by Stephen King, and from there, I read A Painted House by John Grisham, which I finished last night.

Tonight I'll start From a Buick 8 by Stephen King.

I really liked The Racketeer by Grisham.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I really liked "A Painted House." It struck me as the novel he actually wanted to write, and could allow himself to do so after he got rich enough from all the lawyer novels.

 

[sengsational]

I'm about 1/3 of my way through The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. It's so good...I've never read it because it's 1,300 pages long....

We watched the recent series on PBS and enjoyed that, so DW got the book on Kindle with plans to read out loud (that's something we do), but it started getting a bit tedious and I asked how far in we were. 5%. We threw in the towel.

I rarely read fiction and usually don't go for anything mystical, but I read The Angel's Game by Zafon. The writing style was great entertainment and engaging. I really liked how he does character development. I felt like I knew these people. And I'm kind of dense when it comes to remembering who's who, especially if the names aren't Bill and Jim (the book was translated from Spanish and is set in Barcelona, which is why I read it... recommended by Nemo2). But Zafon drops in just a word or two so I didn't have to go back and figure out who he's talking about. The plot was engaging, but I felt it kind of petered out at the end. I liked that it didn't read like he was looking for a movie deal, except maybe a bit at the end.

 

[Errollyn]

We watched the recent series on PBS and enjoyed that, so DW got the book on Kindle with plans to read out loud (that's something we do), but it started getting a bit tedious and I asked how far in we were. 5%. We threw in the towel.

Reading is a personal, so DNF'ing is always a good option if you're not enjoying it.

I finished the book and my wife is in the middle of the audiobook now. We both love(d) it.

 

[surprising]

Project Hail Mary. I broke my rule and watched the movie before reading the book, but I still enjoyed the book. I liked that the book had more detailed math and science.

 

[ls99]

Re-read probally for the fifth time John Steinbeck's Travels With Charley. It is dog eared, held together with some tape, which needs replacing.
IIRC bought the book in Singapore, used.

The book was the original impetus for selling my house, loading what fit into a 23' motorhome I bought and traveled the US for the better part of two years.
DId all the contagious states a few years after gettin off a reserach ship, in which I got to circumnavigate the earth.

 

[indiajust]

The Count! The Count! I am amazed at how readable and transparent the text is. It pulled me right into his life. My translation has appended notes on personalities and historical references which has really helped me understand the times and the book better. It is the Penguin Classics version as translated and annotated by Robin Buss, 2003. Where is my aspirational promotion to Captain? Where is my velvet eyed true love? Will I avoid entanglement with the usurper? Oh my. I am currently sipping drops of water and contemplating bread crusts in the dungeons of Iff. My life love and prospects shattered in the dank gloom.

The Count! The Count! I am just over 900 pages now, less than 300 to go. What a glorious escape! I have generously rewarded my crew (oh to have my own crew!) and my former kind employer and his son. Prevented a terrible marriage, made amends to allow a better pairing both possible and probable. Most joyfully, I watched the light go out of the eyes of my dearest and fondest enemy as he was murdered before me by his own wayward henchman. Ah, truly I am living the good life!
I have done grievous financial harm to another enemy who indulged in insider trading and corruption to gain advantage. I willingly used his own weapons against him. He suffers in private, but my next move will be to bring more pain and make his suffering both absolute, and public. I shall flay his ego and vanity both here and forever.

Mystery shrouds my attack on a final dread adversary, but the game is afoot and the prey is in play. His arrogance will be his downfall.

 

[indiajust]

The Count! The Count! The poisoner is revealed, and my charge is rescued by a helpful inside hand. Marital catastrophe is averted while true love triumphs. The corrupt prosecutor is utterly ruined as his infidelity and reckless abandon led to a near murder of his mistress' son. His mind descends to madness at his own folly, after confronting his not dead son in court. Justice eagerly awaits. My fiance of long ago comes to forgiveness, returning to her simple life in the house of my father, long dead. An inadvertent misjudgement leads to a murder/suicide pact, yet my conscience is unburdened by friends I have helped and my rescued slave. I gift my properties and excess wealth to those I know most in need and who might well administer it better than I. My corrupt banker enemy has the last of his stolen wealth extracted by thieves in my pocket, where I make my true self known. He is left to wander penniless, a man of low means and even lower standing. Unburdened of excess wealth, I sail off with my stunning princess slave I rescued from death, who now returns me to life, anew.

 

[anethum]

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon is a riveting novel inspired by the diary of a real person named Martha Ballard, an 18th century midwife in the district of Maine. (Maine was part of Massachusetts until statehood in 1820.) Everything that is known about Martha Ballard comes from her diary. The author brilliantly creates the novel from certain events described in Ballard's diary, including rape & murder. It's a fascinating look at the lives of women in early America.

The so-called "book of the summer" is Yesteryear, by Caro Claire Burke. Readers are divided in their opinions. For me and many others, this otherwise engaging and well-written story falls apart with its sudden and unsatisfying ending. Other readers loved the book.

 

[PlayinwithFIRE]

I read alot. Last 4 were :

1. Left for dead, Eric Dolin - shockingly true story of 5 men abandoned on the Falkland Islands around the War of 1812 and the exploits finally getting them back to civilization.

2. The Long Way, Bernard Motissier - Journal written during the worlds' first non-stop sailing solo-circumnavigation (around 1969 i believe)> Motissier didn't win the race but that also was an interesting twist. The guy who beat him was Sir Robin Knox Johnson-his journal is also on my list to read.

3. Imperium, Robert Harris - fiction but with solid historical foundations

4. The First Man in Rome. Colleen McColough - fiction but with solid historical foundations


pwf

 

[Lewis Clark]

Just finished the book "Remarkably Bright Creatures". It is a fictional story about an elderly aquarium cleaning lady who bonds with an octopus. Some of the story is told from the point of view of the octopus.

My wife and I liked the book, and we also enjoyed the movie version, which stars Sally Field.

 

[Flyfish1]

I'm reading American Rambler by Isaac Fitzgerald. Very interesting twist and discussion on the Johnny Appleseed story. Enjoyable in a modern way.

 

[CautaServans]

I’m reading Universality (2026) by Natasha Brown right now. It’s a British murder mystery (fiction).

 

[ls99]

Finished "The Bashful Billionaire"

No, it is not about the recently upgraded to Trillionaire.
Though there are a few similarities. Eccentric, visionary, spacecrafts.

Difference, the book's subject was born into money, inherited a valuable manufacturing plant at age 18, then expanded into an empire of aircrafts, airlines, electronics, space, movies. Liked to be seen with movie stars, yet also insisted on extreme privacy, etc.
Flew all his airplanes, including one around the world, set aviation speed records.
Hint: A somewhat famous paraphased, quip by him, no one needs to buy our drilling bits, they can always use a pick and shovel.

The currrent billionaire made his own $++++++++. He kind of cycles between Billions and Trillions.