Never read Fahrenheit 451. I’m ashamed. Good news is that I already own it and just stole it from my younger son’s bedroom so I’m winning on a Friday night. Have to finish Famine Ships first so y’all have a great weekend
I rate this book 1 star. I can't even remember the last time I tried so hard to like a book, and finally quit after reading after painfully waiting for it to get better. I quit after 225 pages, knowing I was barely a third of the way through. This was the worst suspense thriller I've ever read. How anyone could call this book a fast-paced page thriller baffles me. I thought it was a grueling, slow read.
Apocalypse: Generic System (The Stitched Worlds Book 1) Feels like a popular subgenre/genre... Fantasy/RPG and this one was written very creatively. All the characters worked and if you like a more sarcastic/rude/smartass style of writing then you should like it. Enjoyed the combat and pacing of the story. Felt like the ending was a bit weird and abrupt but will probably make more sense in the next book.
Agricola: Invader (Book 1) I like this author's stuff.... pretty much Roman fiction where many of the main characters existed but their exploits were turned into some entertaining fiction. If you like Rome, Roman politics, and most of all Roman military structure then this is a great book. The second book comes out early January and will probably be my next read.
Current series I'm reading: The Last Watch (The Divide Series Book 1) Actually on book 2. A good sci fi series that has some really good characters that makes the world come alive. Definitely more about the characters than the ideas or world. Basically the book(s) are split between two main characters with one of them being a snarky smart ass so if that's your bag then you'll probably enjoy like I am. It's not lacking in world building or even "sci fi" but that's just not the focus.
very much enjoyed Erik Larson's new book on Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War. A lot of detail but a quick read.
You'll have to relay the author's version of the "riding lawnmower story", I've heard a couple of ones
The riding lawnmower story was so well known that George Jones, himself, referenced it in music videos. Coe mentioned it more in passing since Jones using his riding lawnmower in lieu of a car to get his drink on was comparatively benign. Here is another story- Jones was on tour and he had been sober for about 8 months. The owner of the club he was about to play kept begging Jones to drink with him. He wanted a story. Jones resisted. The club owner persisted. He kept pushing and pushing. Finally, Jones said, "alright" and grabbed the whiskly bottle. He drank the whole thing. Then some more. And then George Jones proceeded to break nearly everything in the bar, including the club owner, himself. You wanted a story, he seemed to say, you are going to get one! The book is really good and it is about a lot of things. I mean, first, Jones and Wynette were two of the most fundamentally damaged people I have ever read about. Jones had a childhood of abuse (*those* stories are harrowing), undiagnosed mental illness, crippling social anxiety and worked in an industry of pit vipers. He honestly did not think he was worth a damn- the more successful he was, the more self-destructive he became. He literally flushed money down the drain and cried to his family back in East Texas that he was ashamed of himself. Wynette was probably even more f-d up. She was almost completely delusional- including concocting a bizarre kidnapping story that was never prosecuted, or, for that matter, make any sense. It was apparently meant to cover up the bruises on her face caused by her husband/manager George Richey. Jones, as crazy as he was, at least loved Wynette. Her last husband worked and drugged her to her early death. Having said all that, this book is not only about how messed up they were. It unpacked their artistic brilliance, the Nashville sound and so much of the culture surrounding their music going back centuries (for real). "Cocaine and Rhinestones" is an ambitious book and worth reading.
On book 6 of the 12-book Cradle series. Interesting premise- magic is all about martial arts, and the more badass you are the higher you climb in society.
This is what I thought, but like I said I've heard it enough that sometimes the details turns into story and lore and bullshit. I was more interested in the original details. I want to read this now. I don't like the "George and Tammy Tornado" (I think it's just very sad) but I like all of the stuff that blew around it, if that makes any sense.
This is a trip- a noir, detective story set in an alternate past where the Jewish diaspora following World War II was in Alaska. I really love Michael Chabon and this is another excellent book.
I'm in the mood for some weird, so: 1. new King collection of short stories ("You Like It Darker") 2. new collection of short stories from other authors centered about The Stand ("The End of the World As We Know It...")
