What Are You Reading Now?

[mbhenty]

Yes Steve1:

Thanks for the input:

Yes, from what I can remember, the pier is at San Clememte.

The rest of the photos were taken around Big Sur. Boy, what wonderful country. (So was the foggy bridge)

Yes: The Dove reminds me of one of my previous boats. Picture below.

[mbhenty]

Funny story about the boat in the photo above.

When I put it up for sale I sold it real cheap. Just wanted to help someone else get into sailing. It was easily a 5 to 6000 dollar boat. I was asking 3000 and when the guy made me an offer of 2500, I countered with 2200. So the Dude got a deal, but he had 24 hours to get back to me and let me know he wanted it for sure.

That night another guy called me and was interested. I told him I was waiting for a reply from the first guy. He insisted he would be happy to give me 3200 for it. I told him I couldn't until I knew for sure whether the other fellow wanted it.

Well the first fellow bought it. I told him there was this hose, one foot long, 3/4 inch heater hose between the cockpit floor and the bottom of the boat that needed to be replaced. About four bucks. After taking possession of the boat he called me and insisted I help him install it. I declined. It was a 10 minute job. After all I gave him a fantastic deal to help him out and have the boat go away.

Well, he changed the hose himself. The next day the boat almost sunk to the bottom of the river. It was half way under. The marina towed it to shore just in time.

After that the guy wasn't to friendly........

I told the Marina owner my story. He's an old Yankee. A very simple honest guy. He said: "you should have sold it to the other guy or just cut it up and take it to the dump. Serves you well..."

Yep, it sure did...

[1bigsteve]

I guess it doesn't always pay to be kind to some people. Give them an inch and they will take it all. There will always be someone out there who will take advantage of your generosity. Been there, done that, got scre...!

-1bigsteve (o:

[Debbie]

I am reading the 5th Harry Potter book. I have read them all before, but I love that series of books.

[DJ]

Debbie,
I love them unabashedly, myself!
I've heard rumors that Jo Rowling is writing a detective novel!
She's such a wonderful wordsmith-- and novelist, in the grand tradition of Charles Dickens-- I'd hate to think she isn't going to
write something else, although I accept that Harry's wrapped up nicely, and I do love the way she ended the series!

[joseph]

'Blitzfreeze' by Sven Hassel. From the point of view of German soldiers pressing into Russia during WWII. The author is Dutch and was there. Pretty gory but interesting historical tidbits.

[Constantine]

How the States Got Their Shapes, by Mark Stein.

A fascinating state-by-state look at how the states acquired their boundaries. A bit confusing at times. (Always look at both states on any border.)

So far, I have caught one error (or oversimplification). This is, in fact, the very one that concerns us most: Stein seems to think that all of present-day Fall River was once in Rhode Island. Actually, only part of it was. (The 1862 land swap between Massachusetts and Rhode Island is mentioned in Radin.)

[Kat]

One can check on the Rhode Island boundary question at Keeley Library online. One can download the small chapter:

History of Fall River : With Notices of Freetown and Tiverton / as published in 1841, by Orin Fowler ; together with a sketch of the life of Rev. Orin Fowler, an epitome of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island boundary question, an account of the great fire of 1843, and ecclesiastical, manufacturing, and other statistics. -- Fall River, [Mass.] : "Almy & Milne, 1862.
100 p., [1] leaf of plates : geneal. table ; 23 cm.
Contents:

* Title page, etc. Orin Fowler [biographical sketch], p. 1-6. (380K)
* Historical Sketch, p. 7-58. (3,320K)
* Appendix
o Notes, p. 59-66. (571K)
o Massachusetts and Rhode Island Boundary Question, p. 67-71. (305K)
o The Great Fire of 1843, p. 72-77. (296K)
o Ecclesiastical Statistics. Mission Schools, p. 78-85. (435K)
o Manufactories--Cotton Mills. Print Works. Fall River Iron Works. The Fall River Gas Company. Flour Mills. Miscellaneous Statistics, p. 86-100. (740K)
Complete book. - exact facsimile, searchable. (5,884K)"

http://www.sailsinc.org/durfee/fulltext.htm
There are other places online to check as well...

[Kat]

Two books at the same time is unusual for me, but I am reading the autobio of William Shatner (Up Till Now) and the autobio of Margaret Cho (I'm The One That I Want).

[joseph]

Didn't Shatner's first wife drown mysteriously?



Oh no, what have I started?

[1bigsteve]

Joseph, Shatner's wife did drown in their pool. I don't know which wife it was but it was a sad story. Poor girl.

I am currently rereading Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein." I was not very impressed with it the first time (the cover art is out of this world!) but for some unknown reason I'm being pulled back into it. I once had a biography of Mary Shelley's mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, called, "A Different Face." She was a feminist and is still much admired.

I have Tina Turner's auto-bio "I, Tina" lined up next. I don't care for her but I love good success stories.

-1bigsteve (o:

[Kat]

Shatner mentions her early on, but I'm waiting 'til the end to see if he goes into any detail.

So far the book is only mildly amusing.
I did find out that after Star Trek ended he did live stage acting gigs around the country and lived out of his vehicle- which was a sad and lonely story...

[DJ]

Steve!!!!
"Proud Mary" is the anthem!!!
Tina's version (complete with The Moves) is the apotheosis of rock, soul, rhythm & blues, rolled into one!!!!

[Richard]

Kat , I heard Shatner tell a story of how in the early 70s he was living out of his car doing dinner theater and one morning while he was washing his clothes at the back of his station wagon, he saw some children in the road staring at him. When he asked them what they wanted, they asked, “Where is Mr. Spock?” That’s when he ran to a phone booth and called his agent collect and found out for the first time that Star Trek was back on the air. None of the actors had been notified and they weren’t getting any residuals.

I think Shatner’s first climb out of the depths was getting the gig of doing Kirk’s voice for the Animated Series (correct me if I’m wrong).

The Animated Series was interesting because it had the voices of the original actors and the scripts were harvested from all the unused stories they had lined up for Season 4 of Star Trek. So they are a strange little glimpse into what could have been if the show had continued past Season 3.

[Kat]

Richard, why are you telling me the ending to my book?


Actually, I will have to go back a bit and refresh my memory- you are probably right.

[1bigsteve]

Steve!!!!
"Proud Mary" is the anthem!!!
Tina's version (complete with The Moves) is the apotheosis of rock, soul, rhythm & blues, rolled into one!!!!

My dad likes Tina Turner, DJ, especially those legs. He drools every time she comes on. At his age thats about all a guy can do. He doesn't buy any CD's but catches her on the tube. I'll be reading Tina's book soon. I love success stories.

Right now I'm knee deep in books on "How to get organized." I'm going through Jane Seymour's book "Making Yourself At Home." It's about designing your living areas using color coordination. Neat book. I'm busy remodeling my house so her advice is coming in handy.

-1bigsteve (o:

[joe]

Reading two books: "For the Thrill of It" about the Leopold/Loeb case and "The Dead Shall Rise" about the murder of 14-year-old factory worker Mary Phalen in Atlanta.

Both good books.

[DJ]

Steve, I suppose "Proud Mary" speaks to me since I spent so many formative years in both NOLA and Memphis. Don't know what it is about the Mississippi-- I guess I drank so much of the water in NOLA that I'm part of it now!
Saw Tina in concert when she started touring after "Private Dancer." Brilliant! She's petite, but those legs do just go on and on.
And, since this is the book post, I'm looking forward to M.C. Beaton's latest Agatha Raisin mystery, "A Spoonful of Poison." Also like Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series, set in the Scottish Highlands.

[Barbara]

I have just finished "The Anatomy of Deception" by Lawrence Goldstone.It is a forensic thriller set in 1889 Philadelphia. The characters are real but the story is fiction. I also read "The Night Ville" by Goodman. It is a murder mystery/archeological novel about the eruption of Mt. Vesuius and the subsequent discovery of the ville used for pagan rituals. Now I am reading 'Bound" by Sally Gunning. I have just started it but can't put it down. It is about a young girl coming to America on a ship with her family. Her mother and 2 brother die on board and she is sold as an indentured servant. The style of writing draws you in. Another great book is "The Red Tent" and I can't remember the author,but is was wonderful.

[Kat]

Wow that sounds like a heavy book, Barbara- Bound.

I just finished (in large print, yet) the new Joseph Wambaugh, Hollywood Crows.

It was entertaining and captivating but it had no style- it was like a series of anecdotes that barely developed the characters and then any cohesiveness came very late- like the first half was a sketch and the last 1/2 had some substance and was actually written. Very unusual writing- it was missing any depth or insight. His books have always been reliable...this one is not reliably good, but worth borrowing from the library.

The book he published just before this, a true story- was Fire Lover. That book was unreadable. Disappointing. I hate to say it. I only read about 1/4 of it. It was also predictable- I knew exactly what was going on and who did it, at the beginning. Then the rest of the book - as far as I got- was just building proof upon proof that this person did it (started fires). It was over really within the first quarter of the book.

It's a shame. My family always read him and discussed his books- we grew up on him. He's not even phoning these in any more. Maybe he is ill and trying too hard to get some work done. It's a pity.

[Susan]

I am currently reading The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Its a story about a writer who finally decides to tell the true story of her life after many years of telling false stories about herself. Its a wonderful book, one of its reviewers said it evokes Jane Eyre which is exactly what I thought as I began to read it. I would recommend it to anyone who likes books in that vein.

[DJ]

For those who like celebrity memoirs, I've recently read Rue McClanahan's "My First Five Husbands ..." Exceptional! Funny, heartbreaking, and "all out there." Mostly, funny! If you like "The Golden Girls"-- run get it.

[Kat]

I got The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher from the library last week, because of the mention here. Am looking forward to reading it!

I wanted to get the Rue McLanahan but forgot about it! They had the Julie Andrews but I passed that one up.

[DJ]

Katie Crouch's "Girls in Trucks," which was published this past spring.
Raw in many spots, but also laugh-out-loud funny. Offbeat, a bit like Mark Childress's books, though not quite as quirky.
Kat ( & Co.)-- don't give up on Rue! It's one of the best celeb-memoirs I've read.

[Tina-Kate]

I just finished Mary Shelley's original 1818 text of Frankenstein. A true classic as relevant today as when 1st written. I started it on Halloween. For anyone only familiar with the Hollywood versions, this original perspective is very intreguing indeed. It's amazing this book is fast approaching 200 years old...& the theme is in fact more plausible now. Highly recommended.

[Cheryl]

Tina-Kate-I'm thrilled you mentioned the Shelley's original Frankenstein.
My 8th grade daughter and I were brousing the bookstore the other day.
She looking for a good read and I suggested reading a "classic" and Frankenstein came up for consideration. Would you suggest it for an 8th grader?

By the way, I'm reading "When You Are Engulfed in Flames", by David Sedaris -- he is my all time favorite and it just came out. It's not appropritate for everyone, but heck what is?

Also, I've purchased Augusten Burrough's "A Wolf at the Table". I must admit I haven't started it yet, because I need to get into that right frame of mind for this kind of memoir. I understand it got great reviews, but is a darker departure from his humor in "Running With Scissors" and "Dry".

[Tina-Kate]

Tina-Kate-I'm thrilled you mentioned the Shelley's original Frankenstein.
My 8th grade daughter and I were brousing the bookstore the other day.
She looking for a good read and I suggested reading a "classic" and Frankenstein came up for consideration. Would you suggest it for an 8th grader?

Seeing as I had been reading Stephen King for a few years by the 8th grade, I'd say an 8th grader could handle it.

The only problem may be the archaic language. My background is British & I was raised a history buff, so it was no problem for me. However, it might be a bit alien for an American child.

I found it to be a page-turner tho. It might be a good intro book to the classics. If she tries it, let me know how she likes it!

[1bigsteve]

I started Frankenstein when I was in the eighth grade but lost interest. I read it cover to cover a few months ago and although a good story, I was not all that impressed. Recently I bought the Washington Square edition with the picture of the monster in the alps with his back to you looking cold, lonely and forlorn. That picture sums up the entire story. Beautiful art work! I'm looking forward to reading it again.

Right now I'm reading "Just Jackie" by Edward Klein about the private post 11/22/63 years. I'm also reading Victor Frankl's "Man's Search For Meaning." His moving story of how he survived the Auschwitz and Dachau camps in the '40s.

Lately I've been thinking about other classics like Lorna Doone, Wuthering Heights, David Copperfield, Emily etc.


-1bigsteve

[Tina-Kate]

I should try Wuthering Heights again, since I have it & have never finished.

I sometimes find I have better luck the 2nd time around.

[1bigsteve]

I should try Wuthering Heights again, since I have it & have never finished.

I sometimes find I have better luck the 2nd time around.

I have been wanting to read "Wuthering Heights" for years but never got around to it.

Lately I have been reading "Danger Stalks The Land" by Larry Kanuit. It's a series of true stories of survival and death in Alaska. Plane crashes, bear attacks, etc. Real good book.

I'm begining "Clara Bow: Runnin' Wild" by David Steen. She had a very sad life.

-1bigsteve

[Kat]

Somewhere around here I think I admitted to buying up and reading every Agatha Christie book I could find after my mother passed away. I read for a year. Anyway, I had my picture taken with Agatha before that craze ever hit me! I finally found the photo- here we are in London, 1986!

[Kat]

I just read 2 dog books. I don't know why.

One was Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo, 2000. MAde into a movie- which I did not see.
It was written as "Young-Adult" I think. I didn't know that when I picked it up at the library. It was pretty good. Very short- maybe 3 hours reading. It didn't stay with me too long.

Then I just read Marley & Me by John Grogan, 2005. I did not see that movie either. I liked this book. I thought it would be sad but it was not. People hinted to me that the film was "Old Yeller-ish" and so I was prepared for some horrible calamity. But no- just the normal aging process with not much to be sorry about after a long, fun life (with inevitable spurts of pathos). This book has stayed with me, which is still surprising me. It's like the book was better after it was over. It is lasting in my memory. That's a gift!

[Shelley]

Is this the Agatha Christie at Madame Tussauds's?

[kssunflower]

Re: Marley & Me, I've read excepts of the book and saw the movie. It was predictable and melodramatic, but I cried anyway. I'm a dog lover and even those ASPCA commercials make me teary-eyed. I've seen the Marley DVD, but I'll never buy it because I can't stand to watch it again.

[Barbara]

I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played with Fire". It is the second novel in the trilogy.The first is "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo".It was just as good as the first. It may take some reading before you get "hooked" but it is well worth it. It should be available in bookstores in July,I was lucky to get the book mailed to me.

[Kat]

Is this the Agatha Christie at Madame Tussauds's?

Yes indeed! They have (had) a wonderful display!
While I was crouching I got a good look at her ankles. They are thickening and had pooling hosiery- so realistic!

[Kat]

I just finished reading Stieg Larsson's "The Girl Who Played with Fire". It is the second novel in the trilogy.The first is "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo".It was just as good as the first. It may take some reading before you get "hooked" but it is well worth it. It should be available in bookstores in July,I was lucky to get the book mailed to me.

What is the subject matter? Is that fantasy?

[SarahJay]

looking over everyone's posts, it's reminded me to pick up my old old copy of Wuthering Heights and have another good read - thanks :) Im just looking at the cover and hoping the brown stain is an old banana from the bottom of my bag and not something else...

There are a few books i love that i try to re read at least once a year. I've just finished re-reading 'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides. Probably one of my all time favourite books. Highly recommended if you haven't picked it up yet

[Constantine]

Speaking of Agatha Christie, I just reread And Then There Were None, (a.k.a. Ten Little Indians (originally Ten Little Niggers). (I had just bought a cheap copy of the videotape of the 1945 movie, which gives it a happy ending for two survivors (who are therefore innocent), instead of the book's 100% mortality rate (and guilt).) Christie herself changed the ending when she made it into a play. This is one of her very best. The atmosphere is quite different in the movie, which is laced with comedy. Book and movie are equally good in their different ways.

[1bigsteve]

Just started "Dean And Me" by Jerry Lewis.

I love Agatha's murder mysteries. Many are committed in some sleepy little setting in a time when life was simple and the details are talked about over tea. I like the Holmes mysteries for the same reasons. Now days mysteries have a lot of dead bodies piling up and far too many sub-plots that have no bearing on the story, just a bunch of stuff to confuse you. I love the older classics.

-1bigsteve (o:

[1bigsteve]

I told myself I wouldn't read it again but I just bought another copy of, "Gracie: A Love Story" by George Burns. It is such a beautiful story of these two entertainers. The ending is bitter-sweet. It's my third time around with this book. I love it.

-1bigsteve (o:

[Kat]

I just finished Laurie R. King's newest Holmes book:
The Language of Bees.

She has a series of Mary & Sherlock Holmes books.
The first is A Monstrous Regiment of Women.

Mary Russell and he first become proteges and then marry. They go all over the world. Fascinating! I like these better than Doyle's originals.

I'm also still reading the Hatchet. I carry my copy everywhere and read some at a time. Thanks Stef!

[Tina-Kate]

I just finished Dan Brown's Angels & Demons, purchased @ the airport for travel reading. It was just OK.

Was at my uncle's on the w/e & low & behold, he had a copy of Evan Hunter's Lizzie! I have been scouring used book stores for years.

I had a copy in the 80s that disappeared. Just starting it, I have a feeling I never read the whole thing before. I probably just read the parts having to do with the murder day/solution.

Anyway, this will be fun...

[Kat]

Maybe it's your copy!
Well, anyway- that's cool! Have fun!!!

[Tina-Kate]

No, I had a paperback...disappeared...now I have it in hardcover (he didn't want it anymore) Had no idea my uncle even knew about Lizzie Borden.

Another hardback edition to my Lizzie collection. I LOVE when stuff like that happens.

[Becky7/19]

Read Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay about a week ago. A lovely book about the roundup of Jews in France during the occupation and how the French authorities (and people) were involved.
Will be reading T. Wm's Glass Menageire for a class this week.

[Kat]

heavy for summer.
i've got lite reading now- amanda quick's the third circle.

oh and i need to fix the title of the first mary russell novel by laurie r. king, with sherlock holmes. it was the beekeeper's apprentice.

[1bigsteve]

I just bought "Blue Angel: The Life of Marlene Dietrich" by Donald Spoto. I have no idea why I bought it. I don't like her but I figured I'd read about her and see what all the interest in her has been about. Donald Spoto writes some good biographies and that was a motivating factor.

I'm currently reading "Hitchcock's Notebooks" by Dan Auiler. It's a detailed look into how Alfred Hitchcock created his films. A very good book on film making and the creative process.

-1bigsteve (o:

[Kat]

I can read Spoto's books some of the time- but not all his books.

I'm reading Priceless Memories- an autobiography by Bob Barker with Digby Diehl. (I was wondering if he chased product models around his desk! )

[DJ]

Agreed, Kat-- Spoto's definitely a "professional biographer," though one can't fault him for making a very good living. He does possess an appealing style, and is usually highly readable. IOW: capable, but in it for the money.
Steve-- if you're interested in Dietrich, you ought to check out her daughter, Maria Riva's, massive tome. There's no index, but it's first-hand, with Riva's slant of course. Riva's definitely opinionated (often passionately so), but it's a treat to read about the voyages on the Ile de France during the '30s, among other glamorous images of Hollywood, Europe, and beyond. Dietrich does come across as one of the most self-absorbed people who ever lived, but she knew her strong points, how to address her weak ones, and how to keep herself before the public for five decades, plus.
Maximilian Schell produced a fascinating documentary on her during the late '80s. Burt Bacharach was her music director for many years before he hit it big with Hal David. Dietrich is nothing if not Teutonic-- there's concert footage of Dietrich and a young Bacharach. She's at the microphone stand: "[Addressing the audience] Who's talking? Shut up." And she does mean it!