What Are You Reading?

[Doc Creed]

Did me a Zane Grey the other day, gotta say, it t'wernt bad. Read that there Nevada (1928). Come to find out it were a sequel to Zane's Forlorn River, so it was. Reckon I'll be checkin that one out a'fore long, ahuh. But that there Nevada, why, it shore reminded me of the Susan section of Wizard and Glass. Nah, weren't nary a thinny nor a robot in sight, but the tone and style shore were Gilead-ish, if'n ye catch my drift. And the character named Rose Hatt...how aboot that? Heh heh, yessir, that there Zane Grey is worth a read. Aw, I spose I felt a little logged-down by Grey's constant, long-winded description of scenery, and could sense the compulsion of a writer getting paid by the word, but, truth be told, ya'll must remember, this was a tale told fer folk what didn't have tv or even technicolor movies, so I spose such an audience woulda shore appreciated plenty of 'set dressing' in their fiction. Aw, heck, I dug it, so I reckon it was time well spent.

I've never read Zane Grey but I like Lamour. Similar?
I have two huge stacks of Louis Lamour that I've been itching to read. They are old paperbacks a friend gave me. It might he the perfect precursor to build up my stamina for the Lonesome Dove quartet. I read LD but not the rest.

 

[muskrat]

I've never read Zane Grey but I like Lamour. Similar?
I have two huge stacks of Louis Lamour that I've been itching to read. They are old paperbacks a friend gave me. It might he the perfect precursor to build up my stamina for the Lonesome Dove quartet. I read LD but not the rest.

Wellsir, I dare say Zane Grey would hit ya right in the saddlebag--that is if ye've a hankerin for lonesome cowpokes and smoking gunplay. Tell'em Muskie sentcha.

 

[skimom2]

I've never read Zane Grey but I like Lamour. Similar?
I have two huge stacks of Louis Lamour that I've been itching to read. They are old paperbacks a friend gave me. It might he the perfect precursor to build up my stamina for the Lonesome Dove quartet. I read LD but not the rest.

Unless you feel like being depressed, you can skip The Streets of Laredo (lol). McMurtry has said that he was in the throes of a major depression when writing it, and it shows. Dead Man's Walk was okay. Comanche Moon was the best of the 'other three'. LD is head and shoulders above anything else in the genre.

 

[skimom2]

I'm reading a review book that's pretty good, but picked up One Second Later at the library today when I was policing the youngest to be sure he did a big project. Started reading it and fell right down the wordhole. Like I said, I'm a sucker for dystopias and apocalypses

 

[Doc Creed]

Unless you feel like being depressed, you can skip The Streets of Laredo (lol). McMurtry has said that he was in the throes of a major depression when writing it, and it shows. Dead Man's Walk was okay. Comanche Moon was the best of the 'other three'. LD is head and shoulders above anything else in the genre.

Ha! Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.
He has a book called Duane's Depressed, incidentally.

 

[skimom2]

Ha! Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.
He has a book called Duane's Depressed, incidentally.

His breakdown/depression really shows in his writing--it's wildly uneven in the last few years. Many of the books are 'edited' by his long time partner; I think how heavy that editing (or rewriting) is marks the difference between the books that still stand out and those that sink.

 

[Silhouette86]

It's a great book, but, yeah, depressing. Have you tried Brave New World? I liked it even more. Handmaid's Tale? Apocalypses and dystopias are favorites of mine--lol.

No, I haven't, but I'll have to keep my eye out for those.

 

[Silhouette86]

Oh, I finished Skeleton Crew and now am going to start reading Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.

 

[morgan]

Finished I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg. It was a breath of fresh air.

A little under 50 pages into a reread of Rose Madder. Another book I barely remember. I must be subconsciously blocking out memories of some of these SK novels that are so brutal. (Psychology 101, perhaps? )

 

[AchtungBaby]

John Grisham's A Time To Kill.

 

[do1you9love?]

Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy based on a rec from Doc Creed in another thread. It was really good and very disturbing. Last night I picked up Full Dark, No Stars for a re-read.

 

[Doc Creed]

Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy based on a rec from Doc Creed in another thread. It was really good and very disturbing. Last night I picked up Full Dark, No Stars for a re-read.

Spoiler

Wasn't it dark? I can still see the man and his son foraging for food. I was so happy when they found the secret underground stash of food but they couldn't stay...constantly worrying that someone would kill them. Did you think the boy should've trusted the guy on the beach at the end? It's not horror but it scared the crap out of me.

 

[Doc Creed]

John Grisham's A Time To Kill.

He wrote a sequel to this btw. The title escapes me. Jake Brigance is a great character.

 

[do1you9love?]

Spoiler

Wasn't it dark? I can still see the man and his son foraging for food. I was so happy when they found the secret underground stash of food but they couldn't stay...constantly worrying that someone would kill them. Did you think the boy should've trusted the guy on the beach at the end? It's not horror but it scared the crap out of me.

I agree.

Spoiler

I think it's frightening because it could happen. As for the guy on the beach, i think he followed his instincts. He had to trust him. And I got the feeling that there was something special about the boy, "the fire" that we just didn't exactly see. Anyway, I enjoyed the rec! Thanks for that!

 

[Desert Kris]

He wrote a sequel to this btw. The title escapes me. Jake Brigance is a great character.

I never knew about this until I read this post just now. I haven't read John Grisham in a long time, since after reading his fourth book, The Client. I read all of his first four, but never returned to reading him, not sure why.

Right now, I'm reading the original Dracula, by Bram Stroker. I've been wanting to read it properly for ages, and had some additional incentive lately; I've been wanting to read The Historian for a while now, but after Dracula. 'Salem's Lot is on my radar now, too, as I read in On Writing that 'Salem's was inspired by Dracula. So Dracula it is, as a gateway book into those two books (and a few others that jump off from it, Anno Dracula and Covenant of the Vampire). It's kind of rough going. I'm glad to say that I'm understanding it better than when I tried reading it long ago as a kid. It doesn't work well as an audiobook, as I've listened through it several times and still missed a number of particular details; I knew reading it with my eyeballs would make sure that I would catch elements that are otherwise easy to miss or lose focus on.

 

[Doc Creed]

I never knew about this until I read this post just now. I haven't read John Grisham in a long time, since after reading his fourth book, The Client. I read all of his first four, but never returned to reading him, not sure why.

Right now, I'm reading the original Dracula, by Bram Stroker. I've been wanting to read it properly for ages, and had some additional incentive lately; I've been wanting to read The Historian for a while now, but after Dracula. 'Salem's Lot is on my radar now, too, as I read in On Writing that 'Salem's was inspired by Dracula. So Dracula it is, as a gateway book into those two books (and a few others that jump off from it, Anno Dracula and Covenant of the Vampire). It's kind of rough going. I'm glad to say that I'm understanding it better than when I tried reading it long ago as a kid. It doesn't work well as an audiobook, as I've listened through it several times and still missed a number of particular details; I knew reading it with my eyeballs would make sure that I would catch elements that are otherwise easy to miss or lose focus on.

I just remembered. Sycamore Row.
Let us know how you like Dracula and 'Salem's Lot.

 

[doowopgirl]

A few weeks ago someone on this thread recommended a Jack London book called Star Rover and then I found you could get it free on Kindle so I did. It is really intense. Very thought provoking. I've only read a few chapters, but I'm hooked already.

 

[doowopgirl]

Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy based on a rec from Doc Creed in another thread. It was really good and very disturbing. Last night I picked up Full Dark, No Stars for a re-read.

Strangely enough I found this the most hopeful of all Comac McCarthy's stories.

 

[kingricefan]

I never knew about this until I read this post just now. I haven't read John Grisham in a long time, since after reading his fourth book, The Client. I read all of his first four, but never returned to reading him, not sure why.

Right now, I'm reading the original Dracula, by Bram Stroker. I've been wanting to read it properly for ages, and had some additional incentive lately; I've been wanting to read The Historian for a while now, but after Dracula. 'Salem's Lot is on my radar now, too, as I read in On Writing that 'Salem's was inspired by Dracula. So Dracula it is, as a gateway book into those two books (and a few others that jump off from it, Anno Dracula and Covenant of the Vampire). It's kind of rough going. I'm glad to say that I'm understanding it better than when I tried reading it long ago as a kid. It doesn't work well as an audiobook, as I've listened through it several times and still missed a number of particular details; I knew reading it with my eyeballs would make sure that I would catch elements that are otherwise easy to miss or lose focus on.

Dracula is a must read for any fan of horror. The Historian is a wonderful novel in its own right and keeps to the 'feel' of the original and the writing is exquisite. Whatever you do, don't read Dracula- The Undead that was written by Dacre Stoker, Bram's great-grandnephew. It isn't a worthy follow up.

 

[do1you9love?]

Strangely enough I found this the most hopeful of all Comac McCarthy's stories.

Egad! I may not be able to read any more then.