Printable View
1. not yet. just started superego by frank fleming so that i can listen to the audible version of the sequel, which he gave me for free.Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
2. you know i love me some bradbury, but i have not read the martian chronicles. i think i've read a couple of the stories contained in it, but not the whole selection.
I have started reading a series of books...volumes! on Napoleon. It covers every detail of his life, and every aspect of his tenure as emperor of France. It also includes ALL the side stories of his relatives and friends he placed in positions of power, naming them governors of various places, like regions in Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, etc... It is four volumes totaling nearly 3,000 pages of texts, charts, graphs, maps...
It's gonna take me some time to get through it all. I am not as young as I used to be, when I could start and finish a 400-page historical book in one weekend. Now, my eyes get tired, and all of that.
Here's a tidbit...between 1796 and 1815, his reign as at least a general of an army, his armies included a total of 820,000 "foreigners" who were, ahem, convinced to serve in the Army of France. For instance, in his ill-advised invasion of Russia in 1812, his 630,000-man Grand Army included nearly 200,000 foreign nationals. His southern covering army on that march was 28,000 Austrians, 5,000 Italians, and one division of Frenchmen, 10,000 men.
Napoleon's economic policies are fascinating and he was way ahead of his times with innovative laws that encouraged entrepreneurship and rewarded such endeavors. Of course, all of it contributing to the greater good of the vast French Empire.
I decided to read Good Omens. Somewhat interesting story, but rather disappointing overall. For one thing, it feels like the authors read Douglas Adams one too many times. The style and feel is like Adams on steroids. It also has the problem of too many story lines. I’ve been tempted to check out the series, but I’m not sure it’s a good enough story to warrant it.
I love Neil Gaiman and Iike Good Omens, but The Ocean at the End of the Lane is my favorite by him.Quote:
Originally Posted by TechDawgMc
The only other one I've read by him was American Gods -- which I think might be the better of the two.Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnylightnin
Of the ones I’ve read, American Gods just felt different...less light and fun. Took me a few tries to get into American Gods. If you do audiobooks, check out one of the ones that he (Gaiman) reads.Quote:
Originally Posted by TechDawgMc
If you have youngish kids, “Fortunately the Milk” is a lot of fun.
You ever get around to reading Annihilation or The Hike?Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnylightnin
I ordered a Clive Barker book this week but it looks to be more fantasy than horror (which is fine with me). I also ordered Coraline for the 10 year old and Fortunately the Milk for just a little October spookiness (not sure if the later is scary at all, but given the author, it'll at least be unusual).
Have you or yours read the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson? My big ones and I are reading them (separately) and really liking them so far. I spotted a Wendell Berry reference in like the 4th chapter (the barber shop in town is run by J. Bird - that's got to be Jayber Crow, right!).
My son loves the Wingfeather Saga. I haven’t read them. I’m going to look for Annihilation today!Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
Still working my way through Wizard of the Crow. It's not bad, but it is quite long (yeah I know, twss).
And Just Mercy at the same time. It would be a much shorter read by itself, but I feel I need to mix in something else just to give myself a bit of an emotional break.
Finished Authority. Different from Annihilation, but not bad. Creepy. I guess I need to finish the trilogy now.
Working on an Ian Fleming Bond and a book about life in the 14th century now.
Also finished How to Eat Fried Worms with my boys last night. That book was written in the early 70s and it was a little jarring how much more similar the childhoods depicted in the book are to my (1980s) childhood than to my kids' experience. The boys were just so-so on it overall, but I thought it was pretty good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
Dr. Sanders referenced this book today. Apparently reading it as well (re-reading maybe, in his case).Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
It's really good (so far).
Got into a classics kick recently. Working through The Iliad right now and, if I don't lose my steam, will read the Odyssey after.
Earlier this year I picked up the Iliad and knocked out a few books (picking up from where I'd left off years ago) but lost steam and it got put back on the shelf (probably when the libraries opened for curbside pickup). I guess there is a chance I finish it this year, but it's a slim one. What translation are you reading? Not reading it in Greek are you?Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnylightnin
Fagles is the translation I’m using. My greek has atrophied.Quote:
Originally Posted by inudesu
That's what I have. I love the look of my edition, but it's hard for me to just sit down and slog through the text (where I really don't mind longish works of prose fiction).Quote:
Originally Posted by johnnylightnin