Time for a new book - any suggestions?

[tgapp]

Recently read “A Distant Mirror “ generally about the 1400’s

https://www.amazon.com/Distant-Mirro...1-5cff1dc6b1dc

What struck me was the author’s writing about how society changed after the black plague (or it’s many renditions) and how the outlook and demands of the workforce shifted.
The book was written in the 70’s but it really mirrored what we have been seeing after covid. A distant mirror indeed.

Funny, one of my best friends just finished that and said the same thing. He remarked that the parallels to our world right now are startling. Really interested to pick that up next.

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[The AD]

Recently read “A Distant Mirror “ generally about the 1400’s

https://www.amazon.com/Distant-Mirro...1-5cff1dc6b1dc

What struck me was the author’s writing about how society changed after the black plague (or it’s many renditions) and how the outlook and demands of the workforce shifted.
The book was written in the 70’s but it really mirrored what we have been seeing after covid. A distant mirror indeed.

The second book in Ken Follett's "Kingsbridge" series titled World Without End covers this era and that workforce shift is one of the plot points in the book. I've read the first two books in that series (first one is Pillars of the Earth which is set in the 12th century and concerns building a cathedral in England). Both fun reads.

[toast2266]

Just finished Cormac Mccarthy's new one, The Passenger. I believe the follow up, Stella Maris, comes out today, but I think I need to give it a bit before I wade into that one.

I liked The Passenger - I love Mccarthy's writing, and he has a knack for painting brutal yet hilarious pictures. I'm not sure I'm really smart enough to understand what the book's about, because it certainly doesn't present any tidy resolutions to that question. It winds around through a series of tangents and vignettes that loosely present the relationship of a family, the patriarch of which was an inventor of the atomic bomb. But I'm still undecided if the book really had a central message or if it wanted to mostly just present an assortment of ideas to chew on.

[Rasputin]

I've re-read a few books since my magazine subscriptions stopped ("reading room" material), including The Book of Enoch as translated by R.H. White , The River Why by David James Duncan, and Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

Recently, I've started reading The Urantia Book, as some "Light reading". Wading through the forward's definitions of Deity, God, The Eternal Son, Heavenly Father, Supreme Being, the various energy states these names are assigned to, and the various types of reality we inhabit and may evolve to, has been challenging. It's heady stuff, from a distantly, otherworldly, perspective.

[boltonoutlaw]

Is this thread mainly fiction? If so I apologize, I only read non-fiction.

Now reading Peril by Bob Woodward. Highly recommended for poly-sci buffs.

Golden Boy by John Glatt was a page-turner, especially for anyone familiar with the prep school > Ivy League > Wall Street pipeline.

At the moment my go-to for book recommendations is the excellent resource Books We Love: NPR which has an excellent search/filter function and covers 2022-2013

[boltonoutlaw]

The Twilight World by Werner Herzog

I found this book fascinating. Incredible subject, amazingly talented writer/director. Notes from the publisher:

In his first novel, Herzog tells the incredible story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who defended a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after the end of World War II.

[dookeyXXX]

The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu

I've been enjoying The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu by Tom Lin recently. It's an interesting take on a modern, violent western with some supernatural elements to the story.

Thanks for the rec.
I dug it, although the ending was a bit predictable and it did succumb to a few familiar and worn tropes (most notably the noble savage/mystical native).
But it has some wonderful layers in regards to memory, reincarnation, and redemption.

In a similar vein I would highly recommend:
The Magic Wagon - Joe R. Lansdale
Dead In The West - Joe R. Lansdale
The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
Dragon Teeth - Michael Crichton
Walking Wolf - Nancy Collins
Lynch - Nancy Collins
True Grit - Charles Portis

and while not a Western, it is about a traveling freak show:
Freezer Burn - Joe R. Lansdale

Also, this review of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu is worth the read:

https://www.npr.org/2021/06/03/10021...es-of-ming-tsu

[Danno]

Educated, 2018.
A memoir or a Mormon girl named Tara Westover

I'm in the middle of this, it's fantastic.

[Danno]

Just finished Educated. Best book I've read in a long time.

[yeahman]

Been listening to a couple Harlan Coben audiobooks recently. That guy never wastes a sentence. Great for passing the time driving to and from Big Sky.

[dookeyXXX]

Masters of Atlantis - Charles Portis
A droll satire of secret societies, cults, and political witch hunts, this novel from the author best known for True Grit, unveils a rambling odyssey about family and belonging, albeit in the most untraditional of definitions.

Cool op-ed/review of the novel here:
[article does contain some plot spoilers]
https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/ma...comedians.html

[JamesTeter]

This is literally in bed next to me.

Murakami is interesting, and 1q84 is a fascinating read, but not an easy one. It drags a bit since it's essentially three books, but I still recommend it all the time.
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Just amazing reading

[tgapp]

Just finished Cormac McCarthy's new two novel set The Passenger and Stella Maris. Both are interesting and compelling reads that fit in thematically, if not structurally, with the rest of his body of work. Don't go into them expecting a shoot em up Western - these books are very different than All The Pretty Horses or Blood Meridian - but they both represent an incredible exploration of love, grief, philosophy, and math. Highly recommend if you're a fan of the author.

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[dunfree]

“The Artisans” by Shen Fuyu. A collection of little village vignettes over a hundred years, as told to Mr Shen by his father and grandfather, as the village gets swallowed by change.

[Buster Highmen]

I just finished rereading “the cunning man” by Robertson Davies. The guy is way overlooked; brilliant, subtle and deft writing mostly about in this case the spectra between formal religion and faith untethered by doctrine , an access to beauty and solace absent dogma.

[chicken feathers]

I'm reading through Jeff Guinn's Waco; David Koresh, the Branch Davidian's and a Legacy of Rage.

I've been sort of fascinated with this, ruby ridge, the bundy's lately...to a point at least.

Also picked up Virga and Bone from Craig Childs. Only skimmed a few pages at the library but it showed promise of some great desert writing so looking forward to this one

[beer30]

Probably been mentioned before but „ The Worst Hard Time“ by Timothy Egan was pretty hard to put down.

[jamal]

Yeah I've liked all the Timothy Egan books I've read. That one, big burn, lasso the wind, and just finished breaking blue.

Just started red notice that I think I found recommended in here a few pages back. barely into it and holy shit.

[evasive_MT]

I’m enjoying this more than I imagined I might:



The writing is a little breathless at times, but it’s very engaging.

[chicken feathers]

Stone Desert by Craig Childs is another great desert read.

[The AD]

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This one is hard to put down. I started it about two days ago and I'm almost finished. The story follows a black teenager named Elwood who gets thrown into the Nickel Academy (a juvenile reform camp) in the '60s. The story alternates between his life at the school and the present day. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2020.

[evasive_MT]

I just got this beautiful beast in the mail. (Not my photo).



I really enjoyed The Silk Roads. This is a broader synthesis of human and ecological history set against climate. He packed a lot (too much?) into the first 2 chapters but I think once he settled down into more recent millennia with better archaeological and written records it’ll hit a better pace.

[teledad]

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. This one is hard to put down. I started it about two days ago and I'm almost finished. The story follows a black teenager named Elwood who gets thrown into the Nickel Academy (a juvenile reform camp) in the '60s. The story alternates between his life at the school and the present day. This novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2020.

The Underground Railroad (same author) was great as well.

[The AD]

The Underground Railroad (same author) was great as well.

Yes, I've read that one. I think I'm giving the edge to Nickel Boys at this point.

[yeahman]

Yes, I've read that one. I think I'm giving the edge to Nickel Boys at this point.

I'd give the edge to Harlem Shuffle.