Books Ok for the high brow crowd what books you are reading - Page 62

big nasty kcnut · 03-11-2006, 10:37 PM

I'm reading The New American Revolution by tammy bruce. She is a great thinker and funny.

Just Passin' By · 08-10-2009, 09:34 AM

Egil's saga, The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie, Emma by Jane Austen and Plutarch's Lives.

**Reaper16** · 08-10-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patteeu

You read a lot of plays. Why? I never even thought about the idea of reading plays before I saw people like you talking about them in this thread (although if I'd given it any thought I'd have realized that they must exist in the written form somewhere). Just curious.

Plays are definitely able to stand apart from productions of them. If they didn't work as stand-alone pieces of literature, conveying complexities of character and theme, then directors wouldn't have anything to go off of when staging the play.

**Reaper16** · 08-10-2009, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

I just read a collection of plays by Oscar Wilde. An Ideal Husband, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Lady Windemere's Fan. They're good reads. It also included a play of his called Salome, which I didn't care for as much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

Something about it just appeals to me. Years ago I bought a used anthology of great literature; one of those books that’s like 1,000 pages long and it had a variety of authors from around the world, during various periods. In it there were several plays included- Moliere, Chekov, and some more obscure authors like Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, and George Buchner. I found I enjoyed them a lot. So now I try and find plays whenever I can to read. Plus they’re generally quick reads, and I like short stories a lot too, so that factors into it.

You know what I hate? That these posts make me hate you less.

blaise · 08-10-2009, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper16

You know what I hate? That these posts make me hate you less.

That's cool. I try to leave whatever happens in a thread in that thread once I leave it (I try, I'm not always successful). Too hard to find people that appreciate great literature to let political or social differences get in the way.

NewChief · 08-10-2009, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Delano

I plan on starting Rushdie's 'Midnight's Children' tonight. I'm working through the Booker Award winners I have not read and the 'Best of the Bookers' seemed a good start.
Posted via Mobile Device

I love the Booker winners as well, and I try to read them all. Midnight's Children is definitely awesome.

**Slainte** · 08-10-2009, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blaise

Something about it just appeals to me. Years ago I bought a used anthology of great literature; one of those books that’s like 1,000 pages long and it had a variety of authors from around the world, during various periods. In it there were several plays included- Moliere, Chekov, and some more obscure authors like Luigi Pirandello, Bertolt Brecht, and George Buchner. I found I enjoyed them a lot. So now I try and find plays whenever I can to read. Plus they’re generally quick reads, and I like short stories a lot too, so that factors into it.

It's cool that you read plays and all, but Brecht is NOT obscure...

blaise · 08-10-2009, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Town'NCountryChief

It's cool that you read plays and all, but Brecht is NOT obscure...

It's funny, I actually hesitated when I wrote that.

**Reaper16** · 08-10-2009, 12:49 PM

Brecht is not obscure, neither are Moliere and Chekov. They are certainly not in the mainstream consciousness much, though.

L.A. Chieffan · 08-10-2009, 09:02 PM

breezed thru freakanomics.

did you know that the legalization of abortion led to the highest crime level drop in history?

irishjayhawk · 08-10-2009, 09:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

breezed thru freakanomics.

did you know that the legalization of abortion led to the highest crime level drop in history?

That's one of my favorite books.

Also, they have another one coming out. Aptly titled: Super Freakonomics.

**CosmicPal** · 08-10-2009, 10:13 PM

Has anyone read this book, Thin Blue Smoke, by Doug Worgul? It's been getting some rave reviews and I've got it on my wish list now.

Here's the Amazon product description:

LaVerne Williams is a reformed felon, ex-ballplayer, and owner of Kansas City's best barbecue joint. Ferguson Glen is an Episcopal priest and faded literary star, lover of God, women and liquor (but not necessarily in that order). Their lives intersect at LaVerne's diner - 'Smoke Meat', as the regulars call it. There they are joined by a cast of remarkable characters, including LaVerne's devoted right-hand man, A.B. Clayton; blues legend 'Mother' Mary Weaver; and Sammy Merzeti, a young man with a bloody past - and a bloodier future. "Thin Blue Smoke" is an epic redemption tale, the story of two men coming to terms with their pasts. It is also a novel about faith, race, storytelling, bourbon, the language of rabbits, and the finer points of barbecue technique. Heartrending and bitterly funny, it marks the arrival of a vital new voice in American fiction.

keg in kc · 08-25-2009, 09:42 AM

I've recently started reading (well, listening to) the Vampire Earth series by EE Knight.

Quote:

In the year 2022 CE, a seemingly immortal extraterrestrial race called "Kurians" has wrested control of the Earth from its inhabitants. The Kurians derive their endless lifespans from draining the "vital aura" of other life forms. To facilitate this addiction to life energy, the Kurians employ killing machines known as "Reapers".

Following the Kurian takeover, many humans made the decision to serve the new overlords. These traitors, known as Quislings, are set up as members of the police and supervisory government for the Kurian Order. Nearly every other human who is not a Quisling is known as a Territorial, and is either a slave scratching out a living in various trades, or fighting with rebel organizations such as the Southern Command.

After a time, the Kurian Order reduced Earth to a technological and social Dark Age, with only the few remaining pre-2022 machines and transportation networks surviving, with most of these under Kurian control. As an incentive to good and loyal service to the Kurian Lords, Quislings are awarded "ten year badges", which protect the wearers from the Reapers. Even more sought after is the "Brass Ring". A Brass Ring ensures that one never has to fear being randomly taken by the Reapers at night, although it can be revoked and cannot be passed to one's children.

Pockets of resistance do exist, however. The main rebel group fighting the Order at the beginning of the series is known as Southern Command. A formal military (though classified by the Order as terrorists) is charged with the defense of the Ozark Free Territory; Southern Command would be doomed were it not for the Hunters.

It's sort of a mishmash of vampire horror and post-apocalyptic military sci-fi. Only about halfway through the first novel, but it's been good.

Chiefnj2 · 08-25-2009, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfStanssonDDS

Mark Z. Danielewski-House of Leaves

I finished it a few weeks ago and was very disappointed.

Hydrae · 08-25-2009, 09:56 AM

I just finished Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Interesting read about how the World Bank and the IMF are involved in getting 3rd world countries deeply into debt. He contends that this leads to a lot of the problems related with terrorism and general ill-will to the US.

Not sure how much I believe his conclusions but it is still a thought provoking book.

nychief · 08-25-2009, 10:01 AM

under the volcano, lord jim

03-11-2006, 10:37 PM
big nasty kcnut The pizza king of kansas Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Somewhere in the u.s.a. Casino cash: $1610900	Ok for the high brow crowd what books you are reading I'm reading The New American Revolution by tammy bruce. She is a great thinker and funny.
Posts: 18,841

08-10-2009, 09:34 AM	#916
Just Passin' By In Search of a Life Join Date: Feb 2009 Casino cash: $5460524	Egil's saga, The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie, Emma by Jane Austen and Plutarch's Lives.
Posts: 69,748

08-10-2009, 09:02 PM	#924
L.A. Chieffan PLAY GOOD FOOTBALL Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: American Gardens Building Casino cash: $4048654	breezed thru freakanomics. did you know that the legalization of abortion led to the highest crime level drop in history?
Posts: 17,368

08-10-2009, 10:13 PM	#926
CosmicPal Learn it. Know it. Live it. Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: St. Petersburg, FL Casino cash: $10004900	Has anyone read this book, Thin Blue Smoke, by Doug Worgul? It's been getting some rave reviews and I've got it on my wish list now. Here's the Amazon product description: LaVerne Williams is a reformed felon, ex-ballplayer, and owner of Kansas City's best barbecue joint. Ferguson Glen is an Episcopal priest and faded literary star, lover of God, women and liquor (but not necessarily in that order). Their lives intersect at LaVerne's diner - 'Smoke Meat', as the regulars call it. There they are joined by a cast of remarkable characters, including LaVerne's devoted right-hand man, A.B. Clayton; blues legend 'Mother' Mary Weaver; and Sammy Merzeti, a young man with a bloody past - and a bloodier future. "Thin Blue Smoke" is an epic redemption tale, the story of two men coming to terms with their pasts. It is also a novel about faith, race, storytelling, bourbon, the language of rabbits, and the finer points of barbecue technique. Heartrending and bitterly funny, it marks the arrival of a vital new voice in American fiction. __________________ - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - * - Four blessings upon my fellow planeteers: Older whiskey, younger women, faster horses, and more money.
Posts: 10,840

08-25-2009, 09:56 AM	#929
Hydrae Sandbox: Leander Lasercats Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Austin, Tx Casino cash: $2317000	I just finished Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins. Interesting read about how the World Bank and the IMF are involved in getting 3rd world countries deeply into debt. He contends that this leads to a lot of the problems related with terrorism and general ill-will to the US. Not sure how much I believe his conclusions but it is still a thought provoking book.
Posts: 14,686

08-25-2009, 10:01 AM	#930
nychief MVP Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: NYC Casino cash: $7149466	under the volcano, lord jim __________________ Good Time Charlie, Uncle Doobie and the Great Frisco Freakout.
Posts: 7,863