What have you been reading?

Toss up between an oldie but goodie:


And a new thrift store find that's really good, about one of my favorite places!

 

Thanks for posting what you've been reading. I've read or listened to many of the books that have been listed here. Many are genres and topics I would not normally consider. Y'all have some interesting, eclectic, and good tastes in books.

 

I volunteered there many years ago. Keep meaning to go back!

 

"Rock Me on the Water" - How LA impacted the country's cultural scene in 1974 regard to movies, music, politics and TV. For someone like myself who was coming of age in that year, this well-researched book took me back to 1974 and gave me such a deep perspective of the SoCal scene.

 

That's a good one.

 

Running right through this, good page turner. So far it really captures the misery of a cold climate “Spring” too. Brr!

 

Took me a while but finally waded through Victor Hugo’s Les Misables. Switched writing styles and read A Farewell to Arms. Lighter reading followed with Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley and Twain’s Pudd'nHead Wilson(one of his later works). Those are the ones for the past six months. I also read a trilogy of short stories written and recently published, by my younger brother… hmmm… an author in the family… who knew?

 

I just started reading Anthony Bourdain: World Travel, an Irreverent Guide. A compilation of stories compiled by Laurie Woolever based on episodes of "No Reservations" and talks with Bourdain.

It gave me some good ideas for my next Asia trip.

 

Actually, it's Travels With Charley. Not my favorite Steinbeck—East of Eden fits that category—but still a good book. When I retired six years ago my sister presented me with another Charley, not a blue standard, but an excellent traveling companion, nonetheless. Here he is at Huntington Lake in the Sierra last year. And, by the way, you have great taste in literature.

 

Apologize for misspelling the title; I will edit my post as I also misspelled Twain's book. I've read many of Steinbeck's works, but not East of Eden. I will have to put that on my "to do" reading list. That's a fine looking animal by the way.

 

This is my grandson’s dog, Charlie.

 

This is the companion book to PBS's "Vietnam: A Television History" (1983.) A very engaging, 13 part series that I watched in its entirety 3 or 4 times back in the '80s and '90s. The book is copyrighted 1983. There have been two reprintings, but no new editions. The perspective and knowledge are what they were in the early 80s. I'm not reading it so much as a definitive history of the war. But more to see how much of the series I remember by reading the companion book.



 

I remember that one from back in the day.

 

The Gulag Archipeligo is the most recent one I have completed. It was written in a completely different style than any book I’ve ever read. It was one of the most haunting and yet uplifting books I’ve ever read, although the uplift came after the haunting which was tough to get through at times.

 

I just started an unusual nonfiction book called "Gulp" by Mary Roach. It's a humorous grand tour of the human gustatory and digestive systems. Not everyone's slice of pizza but I like it.

 

I worked my way through the C.J. Box Joe Pickett series and now am almost through William Kent Kreuger's Corcoran O'Connor series. Wasn't much of a book reader until election season in 2020 and became addicted. I jokingly call the library the "crack house" and the Little free libraries in town "crack in a box".

 

^^ started this one because I liked the lettering. Very readable. Interesting because it was written in 1985, and, well things have changed so much! Lots of US history in it, which I remember because I was alive at the time which makes me historic I guess lol.


Haven’t started this yet but excited to. I’m in a Downton hole! Season 4 now…

 

So, not sure if you've already read them, but there's a Bunny-focused prequel to the Dublin trilogy, and just this year a sequel to the prequel (yeah, confusing). Both of those were great, and I just started on the Bunny in America trilogy too.

 

Just finished Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano. Excellent book, albeit quite dark. The Italian TV series loosely based on the book is excellent and available now on HBO Max. It’s by far my favorite TV series of all time.

 

Basil, thanks! No. I have not run into them and I will look into them.