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Let's get this thread going again! 

 

I recently finished: The Vory: Russia's Super Mafia by Mark Galeotti and Master of War by David Gilman 

 

Just now starting Master of War: Defiant Unto Death and also started The Storm Before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Empire by Mike Duncan

 

@CastlevaniaNut18

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I'm reading Landfalls by Naomi J. Williams for the book club I'm part of here, and only have about 20 pages remaining. It's a fictionalized account of the Lapérouse expedition from 1785 to 1788. As the title suggests, the book takes place at their various landfalls along their journey: Chile, Alaska, California, China, Russia, Australia, and finally the Solomon Islands.  The locations are historically accurate but of course the dialog is fictional, but exceptional. One story in the book was particularly moving to me, and actually made me tear up a bit, which hasn't happened with a book in a long time. It's a very fun adventure story which is at times also very heart-wrenching. If anyone is looking for historical fiction, I can't recommend it highly enough; it was a real page turner. 

 

Next I'll probably read Pet Sematary by Stephen King or maybe And Yet by Christopher Hitchens, because both have been in my to-read list for a very long time. :p 

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10 hours ago, Nokra said:

I'm reading Landfalls by Naomi J. Williams for the book club I'm part of here, and only have about 20 pages remaining. It's a fictionalized account of the Lapérouse expedition from 1785 to 1788. As the title suggests, the book takes place at their various landfalls along their journey: Chile, Alaska, California, China, Russia, Australia, and finally the Solomon Islands.  The locations are historically accurate but of course the dialog is fictional, but exceptional. One story in the book was particularly moving to me, and actually made me tear up a bit, which hasn't happened with a book in a long time. It's a very fun adventure story which is at times also very heart-wrenching. If anyone is looking for historical fiction, I can't recommend it highly enough; it was a real page turner. 

 

Next I'll probably read Pet Sematary by Stephen King or maybe And Yet by Christopher Hitchens, because both have been in my to-read list for a very long time. :p 

That sounds fascinating. Added to my wishlist.

 

I'm reading Iron Gold, the 4th book in the Red Rising series.

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6 hours ago, Mercury33 said:

Reading(audiobook) Good Omens. 

 

Just finished the 1st Dark Tower book and I wasn’t really that impressed. Was kinda boring and the ending seemed abrupt. 

 

I remember also not being particularly impressed with the first Dark Tower book, but they get better and better (until about book five or six and then they plateau). Book four (Wizard and Glass) was one of my favorite books I'd read in recent memory, so I'm glad that I stuck with it. Up to you of course, if you have a lot of other books to get to it may not be worth the time investment, but personally I loved them once I got through the first book. 

 

4 hours ago, thewhyteboar said:

That sounds fascinating. Added to my wishlist.

 

I'm reading Iron Gold, the 4th book in the Red Rising series.

 

Awesome, I'll be very curious to know what you think of it once you get to it. :call:

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In my previous post I had forgotten that I was reading The Grapes of Wrath back in April, so I went back to that to finish it up. We read part of it in high school and I didn't remember how funny and vulgar the book is at times. I'm guessing maybe we read a censored version or something, in rural Idaho. :p 

 

Anyway I like the historical setting of it, as it was a fascinating time in American history. Sometimes I think Steinbeck becomes rather verbose (he goes into great detail to describe Tom Joad and Casey replacing a car part, for instance), but overall it's a fascinating snapshot of America in the 1930s. Last year I started reading East of Eden by Steinbeck and got distracted after reading about half of it and then forgot it in the US, but I was really enjoying it. I also read Of Mice and Men last year. I generally like his style, but the plodding westward journey of the Joads is getting on my nerves a little bit. :p 

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I liked The Grapes of Wrath, but it was kind of a slog while they were on the road. I look forward to reading East of Eden at some point. Folio Society has a beautiful copy I'd love to get my hands on at some point.

 

I finished Stalingrad last night. Still working on It Can't Happen here, but I also decided to read The Liberal Redneck Manifesto: Draggin' Dixie Outta the Dark, by Trae Crowder, Corey Ryan Forrester, and Drew Morgan. I like the guy's videos, so I'm interested in reading his book. I have a copy autographed by all of them.

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Just bought Pattern Recognition and Running With Scissors from Goodwill.  Pattern Recognition looks interesting as I haven't read too many William Gibson books and I've been wanting to read Running With Scissors after watching the film again recently.  I know Augusten Burroughs got sued over the book, but I'm still curious to get more details behind that oddball of a film.  

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12 hours ago, Chris- said:

 

As a professional grant writer, I could have saved you whatever you paid for that damn thing. :p

 

It was free.

But I sure could use some help because my new job requires me to write grants to get federal and state money to run a transit system and I am a newb.

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3 hours ago, Zarich said:

It was free.

But I sure could use some help because my new job requires me to write grants to get federal and state money to run a transit system and I am a newb.

I have limited experience with federal and state funds, but if you ever need help, feel free to PM me to see if I can offer any guidance.

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For my book club here now we're reading The Marrying of Chani Kaufman, which is apparently about a woman being forced into a marriage because she's in an ultra-orthodox Jewish community. I haven't actually started it yet and the reviews are kind of mixed on Goodreads, but we'll see. Supposedly it has a lot of humor, and if the reviews are mixed it should make for some interesting discussion at the meeting.

 

I finished The Grapes of Wrath and it grew on me a lot more by the end. It made me feel so sad for the Joads, and so frustrated with the system, circumstances, and people that put them (and thousands of others) in that position.  I'd count that as a success, if a novel can evoke those kinds of emotions. I can certainly see why it is considered a classic of American literature. It's also amazing to me how relevant it still is, given the current administration's fears about migrants (though admittedly of those from outside the US  :p ). 

 

I'm also reading Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know which I heard about after Sam Harris did an interview with him on his podcast a while back. As the title suggests, it's essentially a summary of the current state of our understanding of climate change. tl;dr: we're fucked. :p 

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I'll add that to my queue, thanks CNut! I see it's only $6 on the Kindle though... maybe I'll just pull the trigger. :thinking: I'll be interested to know what you think of it when you've finished it, whether it holds up even through to the end. 

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Finished It Can't Happen Here. Yeah, it was a good read, all  the way. It's satire, but it's very relatable to the current political climate. 

 

Now reading Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic, by David Frum. I enjoy reading his articles in the Atlantic.  Also reading Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz, by Omer Bartov. It's a look at how the Holocaust affected this border town(at the time)between Poland And Ukraine. 

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On 6/23/2018 at 7:20 AM, Nokra said:

I'm reading Landfalls by Naomi J. Williams for the book club I'm part of here, and only have about 20 pages remaining. It's a fictionalized account of the Lapérouse expedition from 1785 to 1788. As the title suggests, the book takes place at their various landfalls along their journey: Chile, Alaska, California, China, Russia, Australia, and finally the Solomon Islands.  The locations are historically accurate but of course the dialog is fictional, but exceptional. One story in the book was particularly moving to me, and actually made me tear up a bit, which hasn't happened with a book in a long time. It's a very fun adventure story which is at times also very heart-wrenching. If anyone is looking for historical fiction, I can't recommend it highly enough; it was a real page turner. 

 

Next I'll probably read Pet Sematary by Stephen King or maybe And Yet by Christopher Hitchens, because both have been in my to-read list for a very long time. :p 

I started it this weekend. So far it's fantastic! I'm only a few chapters deep, but it's great. I really dig the format of it too.

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On 7/7/2018 at 3:40 PM, CastlevaniaNut18 said:

Finished It Can't Happen Here. Yeah, it was a good read, all  the way. It's satire, but it's very relatable to the current political climate. 

 

Now reading Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic, by David Frum. I enjoy reading his articles in the Atlantic.  Also reading Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz, by Omer Bartov. It's a look at how the Holocaust affected this border town(at the time)between Poland And Ukraine. 

That sounds interesting...I might have to check it out  

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