What Are We Currently Reading?

[Rushmoras]

Well, completed today War and Peace Vol. 2.

Spoiler

It ended with Anatolij Kuragin being forced to chose: either forget Natasha and get the hell out of... I'd like to say Moscow, but I might be wrong, or face Pjer in a duel. So, he chose exile. As for Natasha, she, after hearing the news that her "fiance" was actually married, tried to take her own life away, but in the end decided to call for help.

Um, this whole book series (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 at least) is a peculiar one - on the one hand you have like 3 parts which are mind numbingly boring, and then you have two parts that are more or less good.

Anyways, won't be reading Volumes 3 and 4 of this book. I got the gist of it.

[andromeda331]

2 hours ago, Rushmoras said:

Well, completed today War and Peace Vol. 2.

  Hide contents

It ended with Anatolij Kuragin being forced to chose: either forget Natasha and get the hell out of... I'd like to say Moscow, but I might be wrong, or face Pjer in a duel. So, he chose exile. As for Natasha, she, after hearing the news that her "fiance" was actually married, tried to take her own life away, but in the end decided to call for help.

Um, this whole book series (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 at least) is a peculiar one - on the one hand you have like 3 parts which are mind numbingly boring, and then you have two parts that are more or less good.

Anyways, won't be reading Volumes 3 and 4 of this book. I got the gist of it.

Congratulations on making it through it. That was a big undertaking.

[Rushmoras]

57 minutes ago, andromeda331 said:

Congratulations on making it through it. That was a big undertaking.

Thanks, I know. Now, I think I will treat myself one of these days with rereading classic Stephen King :D

[Anduin]

I finished Mercy of Gods. Very hmm, you know? Very different from the Expanse. Slower paced, not as much science, fewer characters. Some nice weird aliens, though. Ultimately, I'm not sure I really liked it. Will I buy the next one? I don't know. I'm not saying it's bad, I just wasn't into it. Your reactions might be different.

[isalicat]

I just finished what I thought was going to be a murder-mystery set in rural Sweden called Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson. Lots of accolades in various places for this including all sorts of Swedish literary awards. The premise is good: A rape/murder takes place on the same night as the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and then a second young woman disappears...followed some time later in the same little town by the attempted rape/murder of another woman and the murder of her husband. The policeman in charge of the investigation is the central character of the first third of the novel and then his son (who also becomes a policeman) is the central character of the second third, with the last part told from the point of view of a writer who grew up in the area, knows all these people from childhood, but has left for a life in Stockholm, and now returned to write all about the murders etc. If any of you have read this book I would be interested in your opinion. When I turned the last page I was pretty disappointed; it is a more a very long meditation in writing about the nature of guilt and assumptions about people we think we know than a good crime story or even a good novel.

[EtheltoTillie]

On 8/23/2024 at 2:26 PM, isalicat said:

I just finished what I thought was going to be a murder-mystery set in rural Sweden called Blaze Me a Sun by Christoffer Carlsson. Lots of accolades in various places for this including all sorts of Swedish literary awards. The premise is good: A rape/murder takes place on the same night as the assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and then a second young woman disappears...followed some time later in the same little town by the attempted rape/murder of another woman and the murder of her husband. The policeman in charge of the investigation is the central character of the first third of the novel and then his son (who also becomes a policeman) is the central character of the second third, with the last part told from the point of view of a writer who grew up in the area, knows all these people from childhood, but has left for a life in Stockholm, and now returned to write all about the murders etc. If any of you have read this book I would be interested in your opinion. When I turned the last page I was pretty disappointed; it is a more a very long meditation in writing about the nature of guilt and assumptions about people we think we know than a good crime story or even a good novel.

Well that won’t get any of us to try it lol. 

[LindaHarris]

On 7/29/2024 at 3:40 PM, Hanahope said:

I read Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney, that a friend loaned me. It was pretty good, learned some new information about things that went on behind the scenes surrounding Jan 6 (for non-gopers). the last third of the book was devoted to the Jan 6 committee, and I already knew 90% of that info from reading the news and watching the hearings. the book did not delve into political policy or much of her history or her dad's. it primarily stuck to this topic. 

Mike Johnson had a significantly larger role in the pre-Jan 6 stuff than I knew before.  it makes me believe that the whole parade of "unacceptable" house speaker nominees and failed votes after Kevin was forced out was a big circus act to eventually elect the real nominee, Johnson. that was the plan all along.  They had to go through a whole bunch of completely far right people first in order to make johnson look more moderate. but he is just like jim jordan and the rest. Johnson is just quieter about it. he was always 100% a trump supporter as Liz makes very clear.

my only complaint about the book is her lack of follow up (or at least writing about it). for example, she writes about speaking with Paul Ryan, who is now on the Fox board, about doing a big series on the election and trump's misinformation about the results, after he lost all the court challenges.  before jan 6. she wrote that ryan/fox was totally on board with 'moving on' from trump and exposing that everything trump was saying was a huge lie and to save the party, they had to pull people away from the cliff edge of misinformation. she wrote that fox did apparently shoot this series (at least that is what she was told) and it was ready to broadcast, but at the last minute, it was shelved. she never explains why. she says she doesn't know why. well why didn't you ask paul ryan???

there were a few other instances of where she speaks to people about X, told things, but then when the opposite happens, she doesn't go back to that person and say, what happened? or at least she didn't write about it. so a lot of loose ends in that respect. Also I'm reading Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community because I have a course in socilogy and I need to imprve my skills, and because I'm really imteresred in such books. That one is not the easiest one to read, but it is interesting. And to be honest, sociology is very complex, and I need to dedicate a lot of effort. Some time ago I also found this site https://papersowl.com/blog/sociology-research-paper-outline, which provided me with some good information on how to write a sociology research paper, and it helped me a lot. I still can't say that I'm a pro, but I'm getting better and better.

I read this book some time ago, and I have the same thoughts as you. I liked it, but there were things that were definitely missing.

Now I'm reading The Forgotten 500 by Gregory A. Freeman, but it's hard to say something because I've read just 15 pages.

[sugarbaker design]

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

Edited August 28 by sugarbaker design

[Zella]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

I keep wanting to read Demon Copperhead but not quite getting to it. I work in a library, and I have been noticing that, though it was released nearly 2 years ago, it still stays on hold constantly at our branch. It has had some considerable staying power. 

[Browncoat]

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

[sugarbaker design]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

So well, indeed!

[Zella]

33 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

I've read nearly all of Kingsolver's works, and Demon Copperhead is near the top of the list of favorites of hers.  It is so well-written, and, because she's from that region, she is able to capture the voice so well.

The Poisonwood Bible remains one of my absolute favorite books. 

[EtheltoTillie]

23 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

  Last October, while I was on a mini-vacation in Provincetown Massachusetts, I was perusing this used bookstore, I found a copy of Demon Copperhead for $5.  Of course, I snapped it up, and then while still perusing I found a $2 paperback of David Copperfield.  I thought it was fate and snapped that up also.  I read David Copperfield immediately, I read a lot on my train ride to work.  It took me two weeks to finish.  While I loved the book, it was so much.  So much institutional poverty, so much abuse, so much malice.  After that I found it hard to pick up Demon Copperhead.

  So months fly by, many crime fiction novels fly by.  Procedurals, gumshoes, dark Scandinavian Noir, a few cozies to break things up.  All provided by my local library, thankfully.  My library isn’t open on Saturdays during summer (I’m very cool with librarians getting Saturdays off during the summer.)  Now I have to rely on my TBR pile, and right on top is Demon Copperhead.  Barbara Kingsolver keeps the essential plot structure, moves it from Victorian Era England to modern day Appalachia with the Opioid Crisis as it’s backdrop. 

  Characters somewhat remain the same with clever name alterations:  Murdstone becomes Stoner, Creakle becomes Crickson, Uriah Heep becomes Ryan “U-haul” Pyles etc.  On of my favorite characters from the original, the vicious, vindictive Rosa Dartle becomes an equally vicious and vindictive Rose Dartell 

  I follow Demon (real name: Damon Fields) with his single mom, her subsequent marriage to Stoner, foster care first with Crickson, then with McCobb family (Micawber).  While Demon is suffering indirectly from the Opioid Crisis, I was wondering while reading it if he was ever going to suffer directly.  Then Demon is placed with Coach Winfield, starts playing football, is unfortunately injured, goes to a doctor where he gets a scrip of Oxy.  It quickly snowballs.

  Two hundred years later, still the same institutional poverty, still the same abuse, still the same malice.  It’s quite overwhelming.  Demon has the same ending as David, with it’s promise and hope, but it was a tough, yet such a rewarding read.  I just put it down 30 minutes ago, I have the perfect antidote resting on my TBR pile:  The Custom of The Country by Edith Wharton.

Thanks for this. I have been reluctant to pick it up. I love how you were able to compare the two books so directly. 

[Listeria Bangs]

On 8/16/2024 at 5:14 AM, Anduin said:

Weird thing, these humans aren't on Earth. They have apparently never heard of Earth, but they have things like dogs and coffee. My suspicion is that their planet is one of those colonised during the second half of the Expanse novels. Once they overthrow the kidnapping aliens, they'll find the records of Earth and set off to visit, making this perhaps an interquel set between the last chapter and epilogue of the last novel. But given my track record with predictions, I'll probably be entirely wrong. :)

This is 100% my thinking as well. I can understand why they didn't bill it that way (yet?), but if this ends up being how we get more on the original gate builders/the wider galaxy, I'm all in.

(I did like it as a whole and will probably keep reading the series but it's absolutely a Book 1, so if that's something folks find frustrating I'd wait until there are more to pick them up.)

Edited 4 hours ago by Listeria Bangs

[Anduin]

2 hours ago, Listeria Bangs said:

This is 100% my thinking as well. I can understand why they didn't bill it that way (yet?), but if this ends up being how we get more on the original gate builders/the wider galaxy, I'm all in.

(I did like it as a whole and will probably keep reading the series but it's absolutely a Book 1, so if that's something folks find frustrating I'd wait until there are more to pick them up.)

Yeah, it didn't do much for me. I might wait for reviews before going further.