What Are You Reading? (continuation...)

[Carey]

I'm about halfway into 'Middlemarch', by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans's nom de plume). After taking some time getting used to her way, I think it's the most satisfying novel I've yet read. The characterizations are full, in a slow-paced way; they feel real and uncontrived, and stick deeply in the mind as a result. The larger development- echoing the passage of time, I guess- does, too. The book makes some sort of sense of being, for better or worse.

[BrunoBlack]

Fascinating book. If you can find a used copy, pick it up. The most interesting book on the history of music I’ve come across.

[tinnitus]

Atomic Habits - by James Clear

Sensible and concise. Not about music per se, but makes tons of sense regarding practice habits, frequency, duration and (dare I say it...) results.

[snissors1971]

Normally I am Koontz / King type reader. Lately I've been stressed over work and life, just over-thinking too much. Needing to get into the mindset of going with the flow. Just bought and started reading The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. Wanted a book specific to Taoism, but this was the closest I could find at my local bookstore. I was in a hurry to get a book I could actually hold and read in the tub

[tinnitus]

Originally Posted by snissors1971

Normally I am Koontz / King type reader. Lately I've been stressed over work and life, just over-thinking too much. Needing to get into the mindset of going with the flow. Just bought and started reading The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. Wanted a book specific to Taoism, but this was the closest I could find at my local bookstore. I was in a hurry to get a book I could actually hold and read in the tub

If/when you dive back into Kootz/King fare, try Weaveworld by Clive Barker. I've seen a couple of his movies and thought... meh. Read the book decades ago before I had any idea who he was. Spellbinding.

[snissors1971]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

If/when you dive back into Kootz/King fare, try Weaveworld by Clive Barker. I've seen a couple of his movies and thought... meh. Read the book decades ago before I had any idea who he was. Spellbinding.

Thanks for the suggestion, Tin. 👍🏻

[Jim Owen]

Willa Cather’s My Antonia. I’ve not read it in at least a decade, but it continues to grow on me.

I asked my chair if I could teach the American Novel this term (I used to teach it regularly but have of late been teaching the British novel classes). It’s going to be a good semester for me.

[fumei]

Clive Barker's Weaveworld is in awesome book. Very imaginative.

I read multiple books simultaneously, and in such a variety as to keep my brain fresh. However, and this has happened rarely, one book has risen and dominated. In fact, I am only reading two others at the same time. The book?

Ideas
A history from fire to Freud

Peter Watson

All I can say is wow. I have been forced to open a new notebook just for thoughts that come up reading this. Wow.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by snissors1971

Normally I am Koontz / King type reader. Lately I've been stressed over work and life, just over-thinking too much. Needing to get into the mindset of going with the flow. Just bought and started reading The Way of Zen by Alan Watts. Wanted a book specific to Taoism, but this was the closest I could find at my local bookstore. I was in a hurry to get a book I could actually hold and read in the tub

I'm a big King and Koontz fan too (I have all of King's books and almost all of Koontz's but I've only read 40 so far). Try some HP Lovecraft.

...and Welcome to the AGF!

[KenL]

Originally Posted by rbock

I just downloaded A Canticle for Leibowitz off Kindle. I tried reading this a couple of times when I was younger but never could make it beyond the first 100 pages. The download was only $3.99 and I figured it might be a good time to have another go at it.

Hang in there, rbock, it's a great book, one of my favorites. It takes a while to get going.

[KenL]

I'm reading this one again, having read it many years ago.

It's different this time, though, because we spent three days in Savannah back in April, and it's easy for me to picture the author's vivid descriptions of the city.

20220818_092018.jpg

[Glennwillow]

I've been reading a book called, "The Guitar, Tracing the Grain Back to the Tree" by Chris Gibson and Andrew Warren, both Australian professors.

My wife and I are continuing to read to each other almost every day and we keep looking for new books to read that appeal to both of us because we are tearing through book after book. We got about 1/3 of the way through James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," but just couldn't stand the circuitous writing style. So we gave up on that and started reading Nelson DeMille's first book, "By the Rivers of Babylon," obviously a huge jump in writing style.

At bedtime I am slowing plowing through Ron Chernow's, "Hamilton."

- Glenn

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

My wife and I are continuing to read to each other almost every day and we keep looking for new books to read that appeal to both of us because we are tearing through book after book. We got about 1/3 of the way through James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," but just couldn't stand the circuitous writing style.

You and Mark Twain both.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3172/3172-h/3172-h.htm

[rbock]

Originally Posted by KenL

Hang in there, rbock, it's a great book, one of my favorites. It takes a while to get going.

I finished Canticle for Leibowitz a few weeks after starting it for the third time. It was not what I was expecting, though I admired it for being so unusual.

Went on to "Cloud Coo Coo Land." Another strange one, but fun and large of scope.

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

My wife and I are continuing to read to each other almost every day and we keep looking for new books to read that appeal to both of us because we are tearing through book after book. We got about 1/3 of the way through James Fenimore Cooper's "The Last of the Mohicans," but just couldn't stand the circuitous writing style.

Like FrankMCR, Mark Twain's famous evaluation of Cooper's writing was the first thing I thought of. Look at it this way, though, at least you didn't try Sir Walter Scott...those page-and-a-half sentences are the devil to try to parse out when you're reading silently to yourself. Reading 'em out loud would be nigh on to impossible!

Dirk