Currently Reading (Take 2) — Page 38

I'm halfway through PURITY. It's no masterpiece, and Franzen can surely be didactic, but I find it entertaining overall. It's dessert -- not very healthy but it tastes good (and reads fast).

Roscoe, if that little bit of snark caused you to put the book down, I'm assuming you didn't read far enough to spot his most self-referential joke.

Not quite. He references Jonathan Safran Foer (somewhat bitchily), which leads to a small tangent on the spate of "literary Jonathans".

After about 310 pages the narrative switches to first person, which is much more enjoyable, if that's any incentive.

I am currently re-reading the Harry Potter books. Decided to make it fun so I am downloading the soundtracks from the movie of each book as I read them and I am watching each movie right after reading the book. I am on book 3 and enjoying them just as much as the first time. It was interesting watching the first two movies right after reading the books. Caught more thing they changed and left out this time around.

Just finished the Ian Fleming Bond novel " You Only Live Twice". Previously read all of them but wanted to re-read this one as I wanted to see how much the movie differed.Other than the title and the Japan locale , it was totally different.Some followed the book closely. This one did not even try.

Now on to a book on the JFK assassination.

Got a couple books for Christmas, the first one I am reading is An Astronauts Guide to Life on Earth by Col. Chis Hadfield...really enjoying it so far.

Just Finished "The Adventure of English-the Biography of a Language" based around a BBC radio and the TV presentation a very accessible ( if occ light) overview of how English became and remains the dominant language of the world.

Did a few Linda La Plante novels british police procedurals Backlash and Bloodline, both quite good for what they are.

Starting on Mistress of the Elgin Marbles- Bio of Mary Nisbet Countess of Elgin and a bunch o other places It was really her money that brought the Elgin Marbles to England and their status is still being fought over.

Also as a "fun" read, the Captain Lacey mystery novels by Ashley Gardner set in the late 18th century about an injured semi retired Army Captain who will keep getting involved in all sorts of disreputable situations. I think the writer must have studied the period professionally, she fills the books w delightful arcane details about pugilism and womens hairstyles/decorations etc.

next up- Religion and the Decline of Magic! by Keith Thomas

Tender by Belinda McKeon

Catherine and James are as close as two friends could ever be. They meet in Dublin in the late 1990s, she a college student, he a fledgling artist - both recent arrivals from rural communities, coming of age in a city which is teeming - or so they are told - with new freedoms, new possibilities. Catherine has never met anyone quite like James. Talented, quick-witted, adventurous and charismatic, he helps Catherine to open her eyes, to take on life with more gusto than she has ever before known how to do; she begins to enjoy her new home, to find her voice as a writer and to meet with the people who will shape her new world. But while Catherine's horizons are expanding, James's own life is becoming a prison; as changed as the new Ireland may be, it is still not a place in which he feels able to truly be himself.

Kindlle link

Mona Lisa by Alexander Lernet-Holenia

Florence, 1502. Marshal Louis de La Trémouille's small army has stopped off en route to Naples, to buy objects d'art for King Louis XII of France. Naturally, Leonardo da Vinci's workshop is on the shopping list; and during their visit to his house, the young nobleman de Bougainville chances upon the not-quite-finished Mona Lisa. He promptly, utterly and hopelessly falls in love with the woman in the painting, and is determined to find her - despite rumours that she has long ago died.

Kindle link

Both highly recommended!

Updated On: 1/5/16 at 07:30 PM

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

The first in a quadrilogy about the lives of two women - the first set in 1950s Naples. Apparently it's been a sensation for the last couple of years, but I'm only cottoning on now. Easy to read and compelling.

(Another penniless Friday night on my own! )

I love It. Probably Stephen King's best novel.



I'm reading Wild Swans by Jung Chang. Really amazing but really hard to read sometimes, due to the horrific nature of some of the stuff she writes about.