I've taken a break from books and have been reading the Y: The Last Man graphic novels. Basic synopsis- there is a plague that wipes out every living male of every species on the planet, except two- the main character Yorick and his monkey Ampersand. Great books- good writing, pacing, appropriate cliffhangers, good action and humor. Keeps me interested for hours. Art is perfect, nothing over the top. You'd think the guy is up to his armpits in poonanny, but there are other interesting twists, like an uber-crazy feminist group that is out to kill him and other groups trying to control him because he's the last source of sperm on the planet. I'm up to issue 25 so far. Highly recommended.
After talking with Xerobull this morning, he's convinced me to go ahead and start this: A good holdover until A Dance With Dragons is released, I hope.
Just finished The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America by Richard Kluger. Kluger has long been a favorite of mine. Simple Justice Is just an awesome book... a great, great history of the Civil Rights fight and so well written. Highly, highly recommended. I also liked Ashes to Ashes about the cigarette industry so I was looking forward to reading this when I saw it. I was, however, a bit disappointed. This is essentially one small event in the history of the West and Kluger is much better looking at those larger themes. This story would be the equivalent of an anecdote in Simple Justice. The writing was also not up to what I expected. Given all that, it's still a good story, but it really suffers from Kluger implying (and in some footnotes overtly drawing) parallels to the Bush administration and the War on Terror/enemy combatants issue. He certainly has the talent to write a book on that topic, so I'm kind of puzzled why he tried to incorporate that message into this book. That he did try prevents him from coming up with a book that meets the high expectations he has created for himself. About 1/3 done with Killing Rommel by Stephen Pressfield. I started reading Pressfield when I saw Gates of Fire, an excellent treatment of the Battle of Thermopylae, on the Wildland Fire Leadership reading list and I think I will recommend this one for the next iteration. The story is well written, engaging, and detailed in time and place without being mindnumbing. The strength of the book so far are the sections on wartime leadership, the good, the bad, and the indifferent. Of particular interest is his description of how the troops naturally allow a savvy junior officer to take the place of an incompetent senior officer. Recommended so far. If you're interested, here's the reading list I mentioned: http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/PRP_library/downloads/BoB_List2011.pdf
Wrapped up my re-read of A People's History of the United States. Cannot recommend it enough. Currently working on Tuchmann's Guns of August and then I'll take on Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy. I need a break from non-stop history.
reading obama's wars. for some reason really enjoying it. seems like something that would be rather boring.
Speeding through The Art of Racing in the Rain (Kindle version) which was recommended here and is definitely one of the best stories I have ever read. I will be looking for more books from the author (Garth Stein).
Reading The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test for the second time. It's not as good as I remember it. Wolf spends too much time recreating acid trips through prose. I think he does a pretty good job of describing the experience, but it just gets tedious after awhile.
Finally finished A Game of Thrones. I enjoyed it and plan on reading the rest of the series, but I need a break from it. Need a change of pace from this genre. I might check out The Shadow of the Wind based on the recommendations in this thread. Would love to find another thriller worth reading in the same vein of the Millennium Trilogy.
This was next on my list until I ordered Game of Thrones and the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire books that are currently out. I love books on rock & roll insanity, but Game of Thrones has me wrapped up for the near future.
Just finished reading John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, Pulitzer Prize winner that details the life Ignatius J. Reilly, an obnoxious slob living in New Orleans with a strong displeasure for "offenses against taste and decency" and a disgust for individuals demonstrating a "lack of geometry and theology." Absolutely superb read with many gut-wrenching laughs! Now on to the next one: The Great Shark Hunt by Hunter S. Thompson.
Thanks for the info; from your response I found a BBC article from 2006. lots of inconsistencies between items from the authors past and the story, being billed as true. he did go to the gulag, and if the records are correct was released in "1942, apparently as part of a general amnesty for Polish soldiers" (from the following article) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6098218.stm
