Just finished "Coolidge" by Robert Sobel - an unbiased insight into "silent Cal".
Also "Lafleur The Legend" by Steven Finn and Pierre Gince about my favorite hockey player.
Just started "Hell in a Very Small Place" by Bernard Fall - about the siege at Dien Bien Phu and Martha Wells latest book in the Murder Bot series. Finally starting to reread "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro - read that when it first came out 50 years ago - time to read it again.
I still need to go back and finish The Power Broker — I loved it, got like 250 pages in and put it down for some reason. It’s been calling to me ever since!
Understand - I do the same thing. Sometimes I have 3-5 books going at once.
I read The Power Broker 50 years ago and came across it when I was cleaning out book shelves and remembered how much I enjoyed it, so decided to reread it.
Back in the Young Adult section. Love reading the Newberry and Caldecott Medal books. I have others, but these capture my imagination. Guess I'm not serious enough! :)
When I went on a short but packed trip to Iceland with my daughter last month, I picked up two English translations of novels by the Icelandic writer Sjon, at a bookstore in Reykjavik, and I've been reading those. I'm also listening to Niall Williams' This is Happiness, which is incredible, as was his Time of the Child. When I listen on long trail runs, though, those books slow me down because I'm paying so much attention to the writing!
I've been on a crusade recently on comebacks. I cannot believe how many stories are written on comebacks. In all walks of life. I find them motivating and inspirational.
I have Sara Hall's new book, For the Love of the Grind that I just started. Some of my other comeback books are The Longest Mile by Ed Ayres who writes about coming back at an older age to run the JFK 50 Miler.
Another favorite is Catra Corbett's Reborn on the Run about her journey from addiction to ultramarathons. Catra is going strong this year entered into several tough races. She is a hoot.
Does anyone have any favorites on comeback stories?
These sound super interesting, Jenn — my favorite comeback story is Laura Hillenbrand’s ‘Seabiscuit’ — it’s maybe my favorite nonfiction book of all time.
So many books...so little time. I've been enjoying a year read along with Simon Haisell of Footnotes and Tangents. (Substack) We're covering Hilary Mantel's brilliant "Wolf Hall Trilogy." On the second book-"Bring Up the Bodies."
I'm also going through items on my bookshelf. (I've promised myself that I will read what I already have!) Reading "A God in Ruins," Kate Atkinson's follow-on to "Life After Life" (which was one of NYT's Best books of the 21st century.)
OR...you could wait until next year and do the read-along with Simon Haisell. He is extraordinary, and the weekly posts re: the readings are replete with all sorts of great tidbits--including documents that Thomas Cromwell himself wrote! (I love the history.) And Simon's voice is sooooo soothing...
Same! Reading between Yanagihara’s A Little Life, Lauren Fleshman’s Good for a Girl and van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score. They are all too real and depressing in their own ways and I keep moving from one to the other. Will probably finish Fleshman’s book first - it’s her running biography but also highlights the pressure of running on young female athletes who are expected to sustain a certain body type. Happy Weekend and Happy Running Terrell and THM friends. BTW Terrell I just love all the pics of Twix - she has such gentle eyes, reminds me always of my first dog (she was a lab) Zoey
Three “odd bedfellows” for a study group at HILR: The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James Cain, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Camus found Cain’s style to be the key he was looking for to write The Stranger. Percy’s protagonist “Binx” evolved from a Meurseault-like alienation to a more productive engagement with life similar to the protagonist of Camus’ The Plague.
I pulled Running with Raven back out, enjoyed when we read it with the book club a while back! How about another book club for some good summer reading?!
That's a great idea! I LOVED that book, and that I got the chance to talk with the author Laura Lee Huttenbach way back when. It was such a fun experience -- let me do a little brainstorming and get back to you!
I am reading Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen, devilishly plotted and deliciously funny and listening to Wuthering Height. Read it years ago without realizing it is actually about domestic violence and a narcissistic woman who is a total bitch.
Definitely worth reading. The prose is dense and I love it but not sure if I would have the concentration to read it now. But I recently listened to it as an audio book and found it completely compelling.
I just finished the nonfiction book "The Korean Messiah" by Jonathan Cheng. It's fascinating! I am also reading "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe and watching the Apple TV show!
Currently reading Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle. Crime fiction set in Brooklyn about good people propelled to bad things to get out of bad situations. Sort of.
Also just picked up Sara Hall’s For the Love of the Grind.
And someone was looking for “comeback” books. There is Keira D’Amato’s Don’t Call it a Comeback.
Right now I'm reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (the second in a series). All my library holds seem to come in at once, so I've been flying through some books and/or reading two at a time.
So far, I've read 63 books this year. Some of my faves: The DS Cross series by Tim Sullivan, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, and There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm.
I am reading a biography titled "Don't Fool Yourself. The Magical Life of Dell O'Dell." The author, Michael Claxton, is a good friend and a member of my church.
a friend gave me a michael connelly book to read - void moon. its good! not too old that its not super dated (they are using pay phones tho!). i fluctuate between entertaining fiction and then my book club fiction. our group just finished Going Zero by Anthony McCarten. a wild ride that makes you wonder if you would be successful going off the grid - recommend the read!
fyi i was wondering what that photo was! i was thinking it was your house and then wondering about your taste in decor (and why you had some peeping toms!) have a great weekend.
Unsupported, Bethany Adams, story of her FKT speed climbing the ADKs with Katie Rhodes (I'm going to give a book talk with her in August!). Yellow Wolf, memoir of a Nez Perce warrior. Beverly Gage's bio of J Edgar Hoover -- creepy!
Just finished "Coolidge" by Robert Sobel - an unbiased insight into "silent Cal".
Also "Lafleur The Legend" by Steven Finn and Pierre Gince about my favorite hockey player.
Just started "Hell in a Very Small Place" by Bernard Fall - about the siege at Dien Bien Phu and Martha Wells latest book in the Murder Bot series. Finally starting to reread "The Power Broker" by Robert Caro - read that when it first came out 50 years ago - time to read it again.
I still need to go back and finish The Power Broker — I loved it, got like 250 pages in and put it down for some reason. It’s been calling to me ever since!
Understand - I do the same thing. Sometimes I have 3-5 books going at once.
I read The Power Broker 50 years ago and came across it when I was cleaning out book shelves and remembered how much I enjoyed it, so decided to reread it.
Back in the Young Adult section. Love reading the Newberry and Caldecott Medal books. I have others, but these capture my imagination. Guess I'm not serious enough! :)
When I went on a short but packed trip to Iceland with my daughter last month, I picked up two English translations of novels by the Icelandic writer Sjon, at a bookstore in Reykjavik, and I've been reading those. I'm also listening to Niall Williams' This is Happiness, which is incredible, as was his Time of the Child. When I listen on long trail runs, though, those books slow me down because I'm paying so much attention to the writing!
I can imagine! I'm going to have to check out Niall Williams
I've been on a crusade recently on comebacks. I cannot believe how many stories are written on comebacks. In all walks of life. I find them motivating and inspirational.
I have Sara Hall's new book, For the Love of the Grind that I just started. Some of my other comeback books are The Longest Mile by Ed Ayres who writes about coming back at an older age to run the JFK 50 Miler.
Another favorite is Catra Corbett's Reborn on the Run about her journey from addiction to ultramarathons. Catra is going strong this year entered into several tough races. She is a hoot.
Does anyone have any favorites on comeback stories?
These sound super interesting, Jenn — my favorite comeback story is Laura Hillenbrand’s ‘Seabiscuit’ — it’s maybe my favorite nonfiction book of all time.
Love Hillenbrand's writing I have several of her books including Seabiscuit and Unbroken!
That is such a good book!
Yes! I love that book. I need to re-organize my bookshelves and put all my comeback books together.
Kiera D’Amato’s Don’t Call it a Comeback
Thanks Jim!
So many books...so little time. I've been enjoying a year read along with Simon Haisell of Footnotes and Tangents. (Substack) We're covering Hilary Mantel's brilliant "Wolf Hall Trilogy." On the second book-"Bring Up the Bodies."
I'm also going through items on my bookshelf. (I've promised myself that I will read what I already have!) Reading "A God in Ruins," Kate Atkinson's follow-on to "Life After Life" (which was one of NYT's Best books of the 21st century.)
Next up: Station Eleven. (Finally!)
These all sound so great, Diana! I think Emily St. John Mandel (what a perfect name for an author, btw) has a brand new one that’s out soon?
Station Eleven is fantastic! The Wolf Hall trilogy has been on my list forever. Maybe this is the year!
OR...you could wait until next year and do the read-along with Simon Haisell. He is extraordinary, and the weekly posts re: the readings are replete with all sorts of great tidbits--including documents that Thomas Cromwell himself wrote! (I love the history.) And Simon's voice is sooooo soothing...
Same! Reading between Yanagihara’s A Little Life, Lauren Fleshman’s Good for a Girl and van der Kolk’s The Body Keeps the Score. They are all too real and depressing in their own ways and I keep moving from one to the other. Will probably finish Fleshman’s book first - it’s her running biography but also highlights the pressure of running on young female athletes who are expected to sustain a certain body type. Happy Weekend and Happy Running Terrell and THM friends. BTW Terrell I just love all the pics of Twix - she has such gentle eyes, reminds me always of my first dog (she was a lab) Zoey
Awww, thanks, Rupa! I’ve taken more lately — I’ll share them a little later in the Chat area! 😀
Three “odd bedfellows” for a study group at HILR: The Postman Always Rings Twice, by James Cain, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, and The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. Camus found Cain’s style to be the key he was looking for to write The Stranger. Percy’s protagonist “Binx” evolved from a Meurseault-like alienation to a more productive engagement with life similar to the protagonist of Camus’ The Plague.
Those all sound so great, Randy 🙌
I pulled Running with Raven back out, enjoyed when we read it with the book club a while back! How about another book club for some good summer reading?!
That's a great idea! I LOVED that book, and that I got the chance to talk with the author Laura Lee Huttenbach way back when. It was such a fun experience -- let me do a little brainstorming and get back to you!
Amazing book! I enjoyed it so much that I own a copy!!
I am reading Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen, devilishly plotted and deliciously funny and listening to Wuthering Height. Read it years ago without realizing it is actually about domestic violence and a narcissistic woman who is a total bitch.
I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but I'm an English major who's NEVER read Wuthering Heights. I have to rectify that, don't I?
Definitely worth reading. The prose is dense and I love it but not sure if I would have the concentration to read it now. But I recently listened to it as an audio book and found it completely compelling.
I just finished the nonfiction book "The Korean Messiah" by Jonathan Cheng. It's fascinating! I am also reading "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe and watching the Apple TV show!
Okay I have to check those out! 🙌
Currently reading Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle. Crime fiction set in Brooklyn about good people propelled to bad things to get out of bad situations. Sort of.
Also just picked up Sara Hall’s For the Love of the Grind.
And someone was looking for “comeback” books. There is Keira D’Amato’s Don’t Call it a Comeback.
Just picked it up!
Nice
Saint of the Narrows Street sounds really good!
Right now I'm reading Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (the second in a series). All my library holds seem to come in at once, so I've been flying through some books and/or reading two at a time.
So far, I've read 63 books this year. Some of my faves: The DS Cross series by Tim Sullivan, Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman, A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, and There is No Antimemetics Division by qntm.
63 books! Wow, Allison — I’m seriously in awe! 🙌
Love Tchaikovsky and qntm is interesting
I am reading a biography titled "Don't Fool Yourself. The Magical Life of Dell O'Dell." The author, Michael Claxton, is a good friend and a member of my church.
Really interesting! Googling now…
"Hope Dies Last" by Alan Weisman ... visionary people across the world fighting to find us a future. A must read in my humble opinion...
I’ll have to check that one out, Clark!
a friend gave me a michael connelly book to read - void moon. its good! not too old that its not super dated (they are using pay phones tho!). i fluctuate between entertaining fiction and then my book club fiction. our group just finished Going Zero by Anthony McCarten. a wild ride that makes you wonder if you would be successful going off the grid - recommend the read!
fyi i was wondering what that photo was! i was thinking it was your house and then wondering about your taste in decor (and why you had some peeping toms!) have a great weekend.
Ha! Yes — this was maybe my favorite photo I took when I was there. Having a whole library in the bathroom certainly caught my eye!
Unsupported, Bethany Adams, story of her FKT speed climbing the ADKs with Katie Rhodes (I'm going to give a book talk with her in August!). Yellow Wolf, memoir of a Nez Perce warrior. Beverly Gage's bio of J Edgar Hoover -- creepy!
Ooooh — that last one sounds really interesting… googling now…. 🧐