What are you reading? Books Suggestions

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48570454

Really enjoying transcendent kingdom

Rick Saunders wrote:

Pervis Muldoon wrote:



I remember when the book came out, some critics didn't like the quirkiness - especially Owen speaking in all caps. I thought it worked perfectly. Did you finish the book?

I did finish the book and I loved it. Construction of the book was brilliant. All caps was absolutely great, I agree. I kept kind of cheating and looking but not reading late pages when I would pick it up to see if there were any all caps (thus indicating that Owen was still living). I keep picking up "In One Person" and reading about 10 pages but not going back to it. One day I'll commit myself to it. Have you read that?

No, I haven't read that one. I've read a few Irving books (Cider House, Garp, Fourth Hand) and Owen Meany is my favorite.

AvgMSUJoe wrote:

Pervis Muldoon wrote:Don Winslow's latest is a quick but engrossing and entertaining read. It's called "City On Fire" and it's the first in a trilogy.

You dirty sun of a bitch... Was just going to post this. Only half way through, but I like Winslow's style.

Looking forward to Razzmatazz - Christopher Moore... cause he's pretty awesome.

Winslow knows how to keep the story moving while still building good characters. He's got a lot of Elmore Leonard and John D. MacDonald in him. Let me know what you think of Razzmatazz when you get to it. That looks good.

I recently finished Recursion, a sci-fI novel by Blake Crouch in which people start having memories of lives they never lived. It's a fast and fun summer read.

I read another Blake Crouch novel, Dark Matter. It's a sci-fi story about a man who's kidnapped and ends up exploring the multiverse and examining the results of choices he could have made. Crouch draws decent characters and delivers unexpected twists to keep things lively.

I also read Nine Lives by Peter Swanson and am almost finished with Before She Knew Him by the same author. Both are decent mystery novels, but neither is groundbreaking.

Yesterday I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. My daughter had just finished it and asked if I'd like to read it, since we read all of the original books together when she was eight or nine. If you've read the books or seen the movies, it's worth reading as an engaging addition to the Potter world. It was written as a play, but that's a good way to tell the story without bogging the reader down with unnecessary details.

It's probably time for me to read something a little more substantial, but nothing is jumping out at me. And really all I want from a book is to be entertained, surprised or mildly enlightened.

Pervis Muldoon wrote:

AvgMSUJoe wrote:
You dirty sun of a bitch... Was just going to post this. Only half way through, but I like Winslow's style.

Looking forward to Razzmatazz - Christopher Moore... cause he's pretty awesome.

Winslow knows how to keep the story moving while still building good characters.  He's got a lot of Elmore Leonard and John D. MacDonald in him.  Let me know what you think of Razzmatazz when you get to it.  That looks good.  

Razzmatazz is part 2 after his last Noir. Noir was pretty funny. Some great one liners...

The fog lay spread across the city like a drowned whore—damp, cold, smelling of salt and diesel—a sea-sodden streetwalker who’d just bonked a tugboat . . .

The story is a little goofy, but worth it for the lines.

Pervis Muldoon wrote:

It's probably time for me to read something a little more substantial, but nothing is jumping out at me.  And really all I want from a book is to be entertained, surprised or mildly enlightened.

I just finished "A Visit from the Goon Squad" by Jennifer Egan (Pulitzer) and "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead (Pulitzer) which both appear here:  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/21/best-books-of-the-21st-century

I highly recommend both but you may have read them as you are a voracious reader and I am a slow poke.

I also just finished "Scoop" by Evelyn Waugh which appears on this list:  https://www.modernlibrary.com/top-100/100-best-novels/

I finished "Scoop" and I liked it OK but I sort of got the point and felt like quitting early on.  Maybe one reason for that was the juxtaposition of having read "The Underground Railroad" and then the stark racism and racist language in "Scoop."

I try to go to that second list every once in a while when thinking I should do something substantial.

Now I have gone the other direction and am finally (after years and a backpacking past) reading "A Walk in the Woods" by Bryson which is appropriately light.

I see references to "Bosch" on here a lot (streaming too).  Anyone like the Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo?

I really enjoyed a walk in the woods, rick

Currently reading River of the Gods about the first Europeans to find the source of the Amazon. It’s a wild story. I liked the first 4 chapters so much I went and got River of Doubt by the same author which is about Teddy Roosevelt tracing the course of this “unexplored” river that is a tributary of the Amazon. I guess this chick has a thing for rivers. Man the illnesses and infections these guys get are gruesome

Haven’t been reading as much lately, primarily because I rarely sit and relax during the summer. Changing that up this week, and will be starting S.A. Cosby’s Blacktop Wasteland.

Another novel that came to mind for those of you who like thrillers was something I read back in the late 90s called The Day After Tomorrow* by Allan Folsom. Although it’s been 20+ years, I recall absolutely loving that book. In fact, I might reread it soon to see if it holds up to my memory of it.
*Note: This novel has absolutely no connection to the movie of the same name

Anyone read The Road by Cormac McCarthy? Just found out there is a movie too? Anyways, pretty solid so far about 1/4 the way in. Interesting writing style. No chapter breaks, just seems to keep going which I am not used to.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Anyone read The Road by Cormac McCarthy? Just found out there is a movie too? Anyways, pretty solid so far about 1/4 the way in. Interesting writing style. No chapter breaks, just seems to keep going which I am not used to.

I liked it. As bleak as much of the journey is, the story moves quickly. The father/son relationship is terrific, and there are moments of horror and hope that stick with you.

Other Teams Pursuing That wrote:

Anyone read The Road by Cormac McCarthy? Just found out there is a movie too? Anyways, pretty solid so far about 1/4 the way in. Interesting writing style. No chapter breaks, just seems to keep going which I am not used to.

Is this the post end of the world one about the father and his kid trying to get from Minnesota to Florida?

If yes, the movie, which I have, is way too dark and gory for my tastes.