Rate the last book you read

[Bob Sacamano]

I haven't read any of his books .... yet.

I know he's highly regarded. Maybe he's the exception to the rule. I'll definitely check it out.

I was excited to read "Stealing Lincoln's Body," but struggled with the style of writing. I work with historians and researchers and their stuff is like wading through mud.

Of course, anyone who writes a non-fiction book is a researcher to some degree. But the good authors have a strong background as a writer, too.

Alex Kershaw is another great non-fiction writer too

he has written a couple of great WWII books such as The Bedford Boys (the 15 or 20 or so boys from the town of Bedford, VA who died on DDay storming Omaha beach) The Few (about the few American flyers among the few British flyers to defy the German Blitz) and Escape From The Deep (about the sinking and exciting escape from the USS Wahoo, the most decorated American sub of WWII, and their subsequent POW experience among the Japanese)

all 3 I've read, and all 3 I give 10/10 ratings to

 

[Chief]

Alex Kershaw is another great non-fiction writer too

he has written a couple of great WWII books such as The Bedford Boys (the 15 or 20 or so boys from the town of Bedford, VA who died on DDay storming Omaha beach) The Few (about the few American flyers among the few British flyers to defy the German Blitz) and Escape From The Deep (about the sinking and exciting escape from the USS Wahoo, the most decorated American sub of WWII, and their subsequent POW experience among the Japanese)

all 3 I've read, and all 3 I give 10/10 ratings to

Sounds great.

Since you like WWII stuff, did you read In Harm's Way, by Doug Stanton?

 

[Bob Sacamano]

Sounds great.

Since you like WWII stuff, did you read In Harm's Way, by Doug Stanton?

I have it. Great book.

I also have another book about the USS Indianapolis.

It sucks that Charles McVay has a felony listed on his record...still, because of the incident.

 

[hairic]

The last book I read was a snoozer. It was a weather and climate textbook. I now know a lot of things about weather that I can't use other than for random fact droppings.

It was chosen on a random library trip. Walk in, pick a random aisle, reach to the left or right, grab whatever my hand lands on, check it out, and read it. Was a habit I formed when I was nerdier and wanted to be more well-read. Every time I return a book, I pick another random one. I don't recommend it, but it works.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

The last book I finished was "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen. I was skeptical about the book after reading a description, but a friend gave me a copy so I decided to give it a shot. I wasn't really drawn in by the first few chapters but eventually the writing just clicked and I couldn't put it down. Fantastic book about a college aged kid who ends up dropping out of school and joining a travelling railroad circus during the Depression. It was a really enjoyable read, definitely something that I'd recommend.

The last book I started reading was "The Fate of Katherine Carr". It's terrible, one of the few books that I had to give up on, without finishing. The story had promise, but the writing is bad, the characters are contrived and the story within a story structure does nothing to add interest to the book. It's about an ex-travel writer who's son was kidnapped and never found. One night, he's at a bar and strikes up a conversation with the police detective who was on his son's case. They start talking about old cases and one of them catches the writer's attention. The detective gives the writer some of the kidnapped woman's manuscripts and he starts seeing clues in the writing, regarding her disappearance. Nice premise, terribly executed. Not recommended at all.

Right now I'm reading "Lords of Finance" by Liaquat Ahamed. I'm only about quarter of the way though, but it's quite interesting so far. As a non-fiction book that details the role that world bankers played in causing the Great Depression, it's definitely not a page-turner. However, for anyone interested in the history of the 1920s - 1930s, or anyone with an interest in economics/finance, it's worth picking up. The writing it entertaining and at a layman's level, or maybe just a small step above.

Up next, I'll be reading "Tongue" by Kyung-Ran Jo.

Hmmm.

This isn't exactly filling me with confidence.

 

[Vintage]

Its not the last book I read....

But it is a good book. I don't agree with the author's political commentary at every turn, but ignoring that, the book is a fascinating read about one author's reporting career in the Middle East as well as other interesting anecdotes of Middle Eastern politics.

Perhaps the most interesting part of this book is the early United States political dealings with the Middle East and how the constitutional founders turned Presidents dealt with early foreign policy in the barbary wars.

 

[Kevinicus]

Daemon - 6.5/10. I'm not quite finished yet, but almost there. It started out pretty interesting, and held onto that for quite some time...but here towards the end it's just gone pretty far out there as far as being believable.

 

[vta]

Two recent books:
The Poet - Michael Connelly. 0/10
I don't even know how this tripe got into my house, I know I didn't buy it. I found it in my armoire and decided to read it. Awful, dismal waste.

If Stephen King recommends a book, avoid it.
I'm going to go read an Anthony Burgess novel to wash it from my memory.

London Blues - Anothony Frewin. 6.5/10
Interesting UK based fiction about the early days of Soho porn, with some factual references. I wonder how much is based on the truth.

 

[ethiostar]

Two recent books:
The Poet - Michael Connelly. 0/10
I don't even know how this tripe got into my house, I know I didn't buy it. I found it in my armoire and decided to read it. Awful, dismal waste.

If Stephen King recommends a book, avoid it.
I'm going to go read an Anthony Burgess novel to wash it from my memory.

London Blues - Anothony Frewin. 6.5/10
Interesting UK based fiction about the early days of Soho porn, with some factual references. I wonder how much is based on the truth.

I'm disappointed to hear that. I recently read The Narrows, The Overlook, and The Scarecrow by Connelly and I wanted to read The Poet since a couple of the books I've read make references to the 'Poet's' case. I actually looked for it at the book store a couple of days ago but they didn't have it.

That's too bad.

 

[ethiostar]

I'm currently reading "Crooked Little Vein" by Warren Ellis. I started reading it this morning and I haven't been able to put it down, even though i'm supposed to be working from the house today.

I'm half way through it but this book is a trip. Its has a typical British sense of humor, very off the wall. Its about a detective who has a history of working on cases that take him to the darkest sexual underbellies of America. He is described as a '**** Magnet' because he has nothing but bad luck. He gets commissioned by the US Chief of Staff to find 'the other Constitution'. The journey takes him all over the US.

There aren't a lot of books that make me laugh out loud but i've been laughing like a crazy person alone in my house sandwiched between moments that make me shake my head and squirm in my seat. Again, typical British sense of humor.

Just finished this book. Yep, its pretty off the wall all the way although it loses some of its momentum toward the end. This book is not for the faint hearted or those who get offended easily. Its a bit vulgar and crass in its delivery but at the same time very humorous.

 

[Cajuncowboy]

Going Rogue

Fantastic.

 

[vta]

I'm disappointed to hear that. I recently read The Narrows, The Overlook, and The Scarecrow by Connelly and I wanted to read The Poet since a couple of the books I've read make references to the 'Poet's' case. I actually looked for it at the book store a couple of days ago but they didn't have it.

That's too bad.

Oops, hope I didn't ruin it for you.
I just really found his writing pedestrian with very childish dialogue. I felt like he was inspired by Silence of the Lambs and he thought that by going to extremes, he would somehow reach a new level. Problem is SOL is a great read for far more than the fact it has some shock value.

 

[ethiostar]

Oops, hope I didn't ruin it for you.
I just really found his writing pedestrian with very childish dialogue. I felt like he was inspired by Silence of the Lambs and he thought that by going to extremes, he would somehow reach a new level. Problem is SOL is a great read for far more than the fact it has some shock value.

No, you didn't ruin it for me. I read Connelly's books for what they are. Detective crime mysteries with some plot twists, not much more. But he has become notorious for his unsatisfying endings or just a lack of consistency and momentum in the second half of most of his books. This is particularly true in his later novels. It seems he is more interested in churning out quantity than quality.

I will still read The Poet but I won't expect much.

Right now I'm about to start reading 'The Alchemist' by Paulo Coelho.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Brain, I could've warned you about Nora Roberts. She's a long-time romance novelist. She's written in all forms of the romance genre. So I'm not surprised you found her work leaning heavily in that direction.

Right now, I work so hard, I don't take the time to read as much as I used to. I think the last book I read was by Cedric the Entertainer. Pure mindless entertainment that got me through a hair appt.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov, 9/10

Like the majority of Nabokov works, Pnin is a literary masterpiece; however, it falls somewhat short of the standard set by Lolita and Invitation to a Beheading. Pnin chronicles the events and mishaps that befall a Russian emigre, Timofey Pnin, working as a professor at an American college in the 1940s. Nabokov interjects a great deal of humor into the work, especially when narrating Pnin's struggles adapting to American culture and his failures to master the English language. However, there's also an undercurrent of tragedy; at times, the reader sees just how lonely and isolated Pnin is in a culture that is, for the most part, alien to him.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Lost Boy, Lost Girl by Peter Straub, 5/10

Incidentally, I selected this author on a recommendation from VTA. Unfortunately, I was not impressed by this particular work despite its accolades -- the 2003 Bram Stoker award. The novel is interesting, but I wasn't over enamored of the constantly shifting point of view.

 

[kmp77]

The Road 10/10

I don't think I've ever bee this moved by a book before.

 

[masomenos]

The Road 10/10

I don't think I've ever bee this moved by a book before.

McCarthy is a brilliant writer, very powerful. The last paragraph of the novel has stuck in my head, since the first time I read it.

Possible spoiler - last lines of the book to follow, doesn't give anything away in regards to the story

"Once there were brook trout in the streams in the mountains. You could see them standing in the amber current where the white edges of their fins wimpled softly in the flow. They smelled of moss in your hand. Polished and muscular and torsional. On their backs were vermiculite patterns that were maps of the world in its becoming. Maps and mazes. Of a thing which could not be put back. Not to be made right again. In the deep glens where they lived all things were older than man and they hummed of mystery".

It reminds me of the scene in The Wrestler, where Randy screws up one too many times and he's on the floor with his daughter and she tells him that sometimes things that are broken just can't be fixed. That's a pretty powerful concept, the idea that our lives have certain event horizons or tipping points, from which there's no coming back. Sometimes an action really does have permanent, meaningful consequences.

McCarthy's other stuff is all top notch as well, I especially enjoyed Blood Meridian.

 

[kristie]

"to kill a mockingbird"

10/10

a classic.

i'm currently reading "profiles in courage". another classic IMO.

 

[vta]

Lost Boy, Lost Girl by Peter Straub, 5/10

Incidentally, I selected this author on a recommendation from VTA. Unfortunately, I was not impressed by this particular work despite its accolades -- the 2003 Bram Stoker award. The novel is interesting, but I wasn't over enamored of the constantly shifting point of view.

Sorry.

I read that book too and was disappointed. His work ranges from creative and interesting (Koko and Ghost Story), to atrocious (Floating Dragon) to flat out boring, (In the Night Room; Lost Boy, Lost Girl).