Thank you, dear Scribbler, for recommending Anne Fadiman's Ex Libris : Confessions of a Common Reader. I found it in stock at Amazon, in an $8.00 paperback version, which is hard to beat .
I noticed somebody mentioned PJ O'Rourke, and Geoff made reference to Patrick McManus (btw, geoff, there are a dozen or so of his books on amazon... which would you recommend most highly??).
like most of you, i'm a voracious reader and would be most grateful for any recommendations you can offer.
i suppose it's hard to narrow it down to just a few, but please give it a shot
the first that come to mind, for me, would probably be Tender is the Night, Snow Crash, Last Chance to See and Watership Down.
thank you, Jackie. believe it or not, it didn't occur to me to see if it was a YART. On the other hand, from i can see of that thread, it was a bit more general than what i was looking for; i'm not after a list of the 100 Most Imporant Literary Works or anything. i'm more interested in books such as the ones scribber and geoff mentioned; preferably more contemporary works that may have moved you in some way.
AnnaStrophic steered me to THE PROFESSOR and THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester. It deals with the construction of the OED, so it's one everyone on this board should find interesting.
Patrick McManus' stuff appeals mostly to outdoorsy types, but all of his yarns have that essential "been there, done that" identification that makes his humor accessable to most all of us. Go to the library and browse all of his stuff!
Since leaving the News Biz I read a great deal more fiction than I used to. In working years I read a lot of non-fiction, some job-related, some not. And I dealt with facts in writing news so reading fiction now is a pleasure. Although I still read some "fact books" for research. As an aside, I sang for many years and listened to vocal music ... my taste now is for orchestral. Hmmmmm. How about you all? What is the preponderance? Fact or Fiction? wow
I rotate: a classic followed by something nonfiction (especially works related to language, architecture, forensics, or evolutionary biology) followed by science fiction, and then back to a classic.
Oh My, Sparteye ! Way too organized even for me ... who was required by a brother, for his birthday gift, to promise that for one year I would not organize him before breakfast!
I tend to be a "Columbus" reader ... I discover an author or a topic and read all those books in one fell swoop then usually turn to something completely different! (Not meaning to bring on another go-'round on Monty Python emoticon) wow.
I'm another rotatory. I try to rotate between fiction, non-fiction, and something in Indonesian, but then I get hooked on a particular author and try and read everything I can get hold of reasonably easily by that person. I'm currently reading St. Augustine's Confessions (in translation, I hasten to add, my Latin's far too rusty).
I read anything that isn't nailed down, and I even read things that are if I can see the writing clearly enough. But no organisation about it. You should see our collection of books!
Does anyone know the name of a book published in the last few years that listed names of US towns? Names such as: Lost Hope, Nebraska; Ruin, Nevada, etc. I made these up, but they are characteristic of some of the contents.
i'm amazed... two pages of responses and not a single book recommendation. *sigh* - so much much for my "Buy five and receive free shipping" at Amazon.
some good fiction that i've read in the last... oh... 5 years.
The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson Bringing Out the Dead, by Joe Connelly Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier and how about something by Jon Hassler...
Faldage reported in a post March 6 in Wordplay & Fun, that he was reading Alphabet to Email by Naomi S. Baron. I was intrigued, so I ordered it from Amazon, read it and was much pleased with it. It's a scholarly work, but eminently readable, very interesting and informative, and even funny in spots. I recommend it highly for all linguaphiles.
By the way, Faldage, thanks very much for bringing this to my notice.
I only read fiction these days. I get enough nonfiction reading at university to completely turn me away from anything requiring brain power at home. So for fictional purposes I would suggest anything by Robertson Davies, Margaret Laurence, Margaret Atwood, Alice Munro, Douglas Coupland, Carol Shields, W. O. Mitchell, W. P. Kinsella. Farley Mowat kind of crosses the fiction-nonfiction line. I just read Black Robe by Brian Moore and it was really good. (You may notice most of these authors are Canadian - I have been reading mostly Canadian authors these last few years because I can relate to them more than US authors, which I unknowingly overdosed on as a child.)
For junky mystery books which you can read in one afternoon, I would suggest the Maggody series by Joan Hess, the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton, the Her Majesty investigates series by C. C. Benison. I also read a book about cat crimes once but couldn't seem to track down the rest of the series.
Does anyone know the name of a book published in the last few years that listed names of US towns?
One such book is All Over the Map, by David Jouris
It has collections of placenames in the US which fit various themes. Major categories are: artistic, natural, divine, historical, eccentric, everyday, personal and miscellaneous. Under eccentric is a map of the curiously juxtaposed. Michigan's curiously juxtaposed are Romulus and Remus, and Chase and Quarry. Of course, we also have both Hell and Paradise, and Cadillac and Pontiac.
I read lots of fiction, with a little non-fiction stuck in from time to time when I feel like learning something new in depth.
I enjoy historical fiction a great deal, and have a couple of favorites. The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian is great, and at 18 volumes, can keep one occupied for some time. It's set in the British navy during the Napoleonic wars and is funny, thrilling, educational - really good.
Also, the Chronicles of Lymond, by Dorothy Dunnet, are great. It's a 6-book series set in Scotland in the 16th century. It's brilliantly written (she's very well read and it shows), lots and lots of fun, and as well executed a bit of suspense as I've run across.
For non-fiction, my favorite of recent years is Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Really insightful and thought-provoking - and a great title.
anna's "organic RAMs" reminded me of something offered by Wendalyn Nichols, the editorial director of Random House Reference with whom we had a chat back in January:
"wetware"
i routinely use 'hardware', 'software', 'freeware', 'shareware' and 'treeware', but i'd never heard this term.
I spend and awful lot on technical books and various references for art, so for the rest of my reading time and funds I tend to spend on fiction. Especially mystery or fantasy/science fiction. Lord of the Rings, of course. I enjoy Tanya Huff's writing when she gets into humor, like in "Summon the Keeper". Anne Perry is enjoyable for her victorian mysteries, and Ellis Peter's for her medieval. Lynda S. Robinson for her ancient Egyptian mysteries. The Harry Potter series is fun for light reading and humor - good "bad day" books. For me, science fiction seems to excell when it's in the short story form. I'm saved from technobabble when words are at a premium. Names escape me, because I don't seem to retain them on my shelves any better than in my mind.
for real style in the science-fantasy realm, I can't recommend anyone more than Gene Wolfe; particularly his Book of the New Sun (an epic published variously in 2 or 4 volumes).
For good mysteries try the Dick Francis books. All set against the world of horse racing. I am not a racing fan but find his books informative, interesting and entertaining. Francis himself a former jockey in England brings a real feel for the game to his books.
As for cat mystery books... could it be the series of "The Cat Who ....." by Lillian Braun. Best read in order as the protagonist's life evolves as the series progresses.
My Library has a book that lists authors, their books and the order in which they were written. Bet yours does too!
Anyone out there read Jack Finney's "Time and Again?" I am on fifth copy .... and *this one will *not* be loaned.
If anyone has a copy ... or knows where one may be obtained ... of an old book, green cover, called "The Life And Struggles Of An Irish Boy In America" by Lawlor ....PLEASE contact me. I listed with a dozens of book finder services over the years but no joy. wow
Anyone out there read Jack Finney's "Time and Again?" I am on fifth copy .... and *this one will *not* be loaned.
Oh yes!--there was just an article (NY Times I think, but it could have been else where) about the book-- which remain in print and perennial "good seller" --
I recently read City of Light byt Laurn Belfer-- about Buffulo at the turn of the century-- and Crichton's Timeline-- he had the neat trick of mixing together medial history and quantum physics!--
in non fiction-- i liked the series-- (I forget the authors name (husband & wife team)-- i should look it up--) on Life in a medial castle, and Cathedals, Mills and Forges-- technology in the middle ages.. (there are other in the series, i just haven't read them yet.
and "wetware"....pen and real ink? I thought is was a reference to the warm wet grey stuff between my ears...
"and "wetware"....pen and real ink? I thought is was a reference to the warm wet grey stuff between my ears..."
Nope, you had it right... Ms. Nichols confirmed that 'wetware' is indeed used in reference to our grey matter.
i suspect pen and ink would fall into the 'treeware' category, though treeware is traditionally reserved for description of the Japanglish instructions that come with electronics, hardware, etc.
I see Geoff already made mention of The Professor and the Madman - oops Is this the first instance of a YART in the selfsame thread?
I love The Cat Who... mysteries that wow mentioned. Imagine, a 50-something hero with a checkered past, a bushy moustache and two Siamese cats. What's not to love?
I refuse to go there with you on the sheep thing, CapK [evil-grin e] ...and bridget, I dunno... "wetware" is a little too graphic for this skittish poster person.
Among my favourites are: Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast and Titus Groan but not Titus Alone (and I enjoyed the BBC adaptation) Frederick C. Crews' The Pooh Perplex on literary criticism styles and probably more relevant to this forum: Lancelet Hogben's The Mother Tongue - probably way out of date now but I still find it fascinating. and an absolute delight: Mots D'Heures: Gousses, Rames and N'Heures Souris Rames but not the German equivalent Morder Guss Reims
I generally stick to fiction for my leisure reading, in part because of all of the textbooks I have to read for my college classes. Some of the books I have really enjoyed:
Dune by Frank Herbert (my favorite SF book) A Place of Greater Safety by Hillary Mantel (an excellent historical fiction book set in the French Revolution) Anything by Dorothy Sayers or Ellis Peters (mysteries) The Pendragon cycle by Stephen R. Lawhead (a series set in Arthurian England)
There are plenty of others, but these are the ones that came to mind at the moment.
tsuwm : Re:wetware .. not to be confused with wetwork. do you mean a code word for sanctioned killing sometimes heard in spy movies, read in spy books?
Just heard (On CNN-2 BookTV) author Jane Katch on her book "Under Deadman's Skin, : Discovering the meaning of children's violent play." The talk was recorded at the Harvard University Askworth Education Forum. She talks about how children desensitize themselves from seeing violent films, playing violent video games and watching violent TV. Katch suggests remedies including adapting play to a less violent mode suggested by children themselves. Further she gets a lot of input from children themselves and tells of some positive results from the talks with the children and parents. If I had youngsters around I think this would be a must buy. I will read it in any case but from what I heard it would be worth a browse-perhaps-buying for any parent or grandparent who is dealing with children. Those of you in US may be able to catch her talk on BookTV ... it was on about 8:30 a.m. EST. BookTV.org has a site listing the books being discussed and the schedule, including repeats late at night. Respectfully submitted wow
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Names escape me, because I don't seem to retain them on my shelves any better than in my mind.
Is this the first instance of a YART in the selfsame thread?
