The Book Thread

[billy.pilgrim]

Been on a post-apocalyptic fiction kick. Currently reading "The Death of Grass". Some others that I've read that are really good are "On the Beach", "The Earth Abides", and "The Dog Stars" (really good).

Have you read The Road? Much better than the movie.

It's by Cormac McCarthy, which reminds me, did you read his books about western NC?

I haven't read the road yet. I've seen the movie, though. Cormac McCarthy is a really good writer. The only other books of his I've read is Blood Meridian , All the Pretty Horses, and The Crossing.

Got any suggestions?

The Orchard Keeper (1965)
Outer Dark (1968)
Child of God (1973)

All 3 are short novels and are set in the NC area

Suttree (1979) was different from his other stuff and a little hard to read, but well worth the effort.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suttree

Just finished Outer Dark.

It was really good. I feel like it's a good book to re-read as McCarthy loads his stuff up with symbolism. A lot gets missed on the first reading. His books always feel like a hallucinogenic fever dream (and I like it).

Then you'll like Suttree.

[Whack9]

Have you read The Road? Much better than the movie.

It's by Cormac McCarthy, which reminds me, did you read his books about western NC?

I haven't read the road yet. I've seen the movie, though. Cormac McCarthy is a really good writer. The only other books of his I've read is Blood Meridian , All the Pretty Horses, and The Crossing.

Got any suggestions?

The Orchard Keeper (1965)
Outer Dark (1968)
Child of God (1973)

All 3 are short novels and are set in the NC area

Suttree (1979) was different from his other stuff and a little hard to read, but well worth the effort.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suttree

Just finished Outer Dark.

It was really good. I feel like it's a good book to re-read as McCarthy loads his stuff up with symbolism. A lot gets missed on the first reading. His books always feel like a hallucinogenic fever dream (and I like it).

Then you'll like Suttree.

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

[neoplacebo]

Written about me.

[Ulysses]

Delusions of Grandeur.

Read it now.

[Whack9]

Written about me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_God

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. It depicts the life of a violent young outcast and serial killer in 1960s Appalachian Tennessee.

[Ulysses]

Written about me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_God

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. It depicts the life of a violent young outcast and serial killer in 1960s Appalachian Tennessee.

OMG

[neoplacebo]

Written about me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_God

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. It depicts the life of a violent young outcast and serial killer in 1960s Appalachian Tennessee.

Shucks, I was only kidding. I admit to the young outcast part but that other shit must have been some other body.

[Vrede too]

Written about me.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_of_God

Child of God (1973) is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. It depicts the life of a violent young outcast and serial killer in 1960s Appalachian Tennessee.

Lester Ballard, serial stomper. Among god's creatures only groundhogs and hummingbirds were/are safe from him.

[Vrede too]

LeVar Burton (with Trevor Noah) implores kids to read banned books: 'That's where the good stuff is'

[billy.pilgrim]

LeVar Burton (with Trevor Noah) implores kids to read banned books: 'That's where the good stuff is'

They know. We even knew that in 1962.

[Ulysses]

I may have mentioned this elsewhere (possibly over on LNF), but currently I'm enjoying some Zane Grey works. Currently the novel "Riders of the Purple Sage". I also remember the Grateful Dead had a spinoff band named "The New Riders of the Purple Sage". Although Grey reflects the racism and sexism of his time, it's pretty good stuff.

[billy.pilgrim]

I haven't read the road yet. I've seen the movie, though. Cormac McCarthy is a really good writer. The only other books of his I've read is Blood Meridian , All the Pretty Horses, and The Crossing.

Got any suggestions?

The Orchard Keeper (1965)
Outer Dark (1968)
Child of God (1973)

All 3 are short novels and are set in the NC area

Suttree (1979) was different from his other stuff and a little hard to read, but well worth the effort.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suttree

Just finished Outer Dark.

It was really good. I feel like it's a good book to re-read as McCarthy loads his stuff up with symbolism. A lot gets missed on the first reading. His books always feel like a hallucinogenic fever dream (and I like it).

Then you'll like Suttree.

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... r-the-road

"Sixteen years since his last novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s long awaited follow-up has finally been confirmed – with not one, but two new novels to be published one month apart later this year.

The Passenger, out in October, and Stella Maris, out in November, follow siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, “who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb”, reported the New York Times on Tuesday."

[Ulysses]

Finished Grey's "Riders of the Purple Sage". It seemed to end a bit abruptly, but with a happy conclusion.

The next half of the volume is "The Rainbow Trail", which is sort of a sequel to the "Riders of the Purple Sage" work. Not quite as interesting, but some elements of mystery in the first work seem to be answered, not that they were any huge mystery to begin with. Now I dimly remember reading the Riders work some years ago, but not the Rainbow half. I'm also aware that Mormons were none too fond of how they are portrayed in the Riders work. It remains to be seen if they come off any better in the sequel.

Stay tuned...

[Whack9]

The Orchard Keeper (1965)
Outer Dark (1968)
Child of God (1973)

All 3 are short novels and are set in the NC area

Suttree (1979) was different from his other stuff and a little hard to read, but well worth the effort.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suttree

Just finished Outer Dark.

It was really good. I feel like it's a good book to re-read as McCarthy loads his stuff up with symbolism. A lot gets missed on the first reading. His books always feel like a hallucinogenic fever dream (and I like it).

Then you'll like Suttree.

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... r-the-road

"Sixteen years since his last novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s long awaited follow-up has finally been confirmed – with not one, but two new novels to be published one month apart later this year.

The Passenger, out in October, and Stella Maris, out in November, follow siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, “who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb”, reported the New York Times on Tuesday."

Oh man I just saw that. I'm super excited.

[billy.pilgrim]

Gift for billy.p and whack9:

https://www.wonkette.com/here-is-your-b ... -armistice

https://www.vonnegutmovie.com/

Dude spent 30 years making this documentary. It's priceless and on Prime.

[billy.pilgrim]

Just finished Outer Dark.

It was really good. I feel like it's a good book to re-read as McCarthy loads his stuff up with symbolism. A lot gets missed on the first reading. His books always feel like a hallucinogenic fever dream (and I like it).

Then you'll like Suttree.

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... r-the-road

"Sixteen years since his last novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s long awaited follow-up has finally been confirmed – with not one, but two new novels to be published one month apart later this year.

The Passenger, out in October, and Stella Maris, out in November, follow siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, “who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb”, reported the New York Times on Tuesday."

Oh man I just saw that. I'm super excited.

Have you read it yet?

[Whack9]

Then you'll like Suttree.

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... r-the-road

"Sixteen years since his last novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s long awaited follow-up has finally been confirmed – with not one, but two new novels to be published one month apart later this year.

The Passenger, out in October, and Stella Maris, out in November, follow siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, “who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb”, reported the New York Times on Tuesday."

Oh man I just saw that. I'm super excited.

Have you read it yet?

Not yet, have you?

Might check this out next.

[Vrede too]

LeVar Burton (with Trevor Noah) implores kids to read banned books: 'That's where the good stuff is'

They know. We even knew that in 1962.

A Reporter's Life

Walter Cronkite, 1997 (81 years old)

As the New York Times book review said, "It's the story of a modest man who succeeded extravagantly by remaining mostly himself -- succeeded in a demanding new medium, itself part of an exploding technology that made the world more complex by enabling peoples to know more about one another. And not unlike journalism itself, his memoir is a short course on the flow of events in the second half of this century -- events the world knows more about because of Walter Cronkite's work, and some of which might not have happened without it."

Very accessible and informative read, chock full of interesting anecdotes spanning decades. It's a chronicle of much of my life. Maybe Fascist DerSantis will ban it because of the discussion of the Civil Rights Movement and freedom movements in South Africa.

... The LA Times recounts, "Cronkite is entitled to boast--especially in a book that is less surprising for its hubris than for the bitterness with which it ends. After almost 400 pages of great stories, unforgettable characters and impressive journalistic achievements at CBS, Cronkite complains that ultimately he was 'driven from the temple where for 19 years . . . I had worshiped the great god News'." ...

Well put. IMO the book stumbles with its divergence into the subject Cronkite should have known best, the making of the News. It comes off as preachy, whiny and too lacking in taking responsibility for his enormous role in shaping our modern news coverage. Fortunately, he saves all of this for the end of the book and does not dwell on it too awful long.


John Grogan

Just a few months older than me. I found myself often relating to the personal and historical context of his writing.

... in 2002, he joined The Philadelphia Inquirer as a columnist. The Inquirer published a volume of his best articles in 2007 called Bad Dogs Have More Fun.

Despite the title less than 1/3 of the columns are about dogs and other animals. He has a very engaging style.

Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog

In 2003, when Grogan's dog, Marley, died at age thirteen, Grogan wrote a column in The Philadelphia Inquirer honoring him, and he received over 800 responses from his readers. The readers' astounding response and interest in Marley sparked Grogan's decision to write a book, due to the realization that he had "a bigger story to tell" and "owed it to Marley to tell the rest of the story."

In 2004, Grogan began writing Marley & Me, which is told in first-person narrative. Marley is a yellow Labrador retriever, boisterous, somewhat uncontrolled, powerful and often destructive of property but loyal and loving and always forgiven. Released in 2005, Marley & Me was an international bestseller, having sold over five million copies in over thirty languages. It spent 76 weeks on the bestseller list, and 23 of those weeks it stood at the #1 spot. His first book earned him Quill Awards in the Audiobook and Memoir/Biography categories in 2006. It was later adapted into a film that was released on December 25, 2008, starring Owen Wilson as Grogan (and Jennifer Aniston as Jenny Grogan)....

Finally got around to it.

[Whack9]

I highly recommend this book if you're a nature nerd. Even if you're not, I still highly recommend it. One of the best I've read this year so far.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is a 2013 nonfiction book by Potawatomi professor Robin Wall Kimmerer, about the role of Indigenous knowledge as an alternative or complementary approach to Western mainstream scientific methodologies.

...

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants is about botany and the relationship to land in Native American traditions.[1] Kimmerer, who is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, writes about her personal experiences working with plants and reuniting with her people's cultural traditions.[1] She also presents the history of the plants and botany from a scientific perspective.[1][2]

[billy.pilgrim]

Already read that one. I really enjoyed it. Might check out Child of God next.

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... r-the-road

"Sixteen years since his last novel, The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s long awaited follow-up has finally been confirmed – with not one, but two new novels to be published one month apart later this year.

The Passenger, out in October, and Stella Maris, out in November, follow siblings Bobby and Alicia Western, “who are tormented by the legacy of their father, a physicist who helped develop the atom bomb”, reported the New York Times on Tuesday."

Oh man I just saw that. I'm super excited.

Have you read it yet?

Not yet, have you?

Might check this out next.

https://news.yahoo.com/cormac-mccarthy- ... 30329.html

RIP Cormac