Thought I'd start the new thread a few days early.

 

I finally saw the film The Town (a year or two late), loved it in a way I thought I wouldn't (and man, how handsome Ben Affleck is in sunglasses and a police officer's uniform!). Two Saturdays ago, they were playing it all day, all night, on one of the cable stations, and, with the flu, it was good to see it, over and over.

 

Anyway, I liked it so much I turned to Chuck Hogan's Prince of Thieves, from which the film was adapted. This book will close out my reading for the 2012.

 

DD is taking me to see Life of Pi on New Year's Day, which gives me three days to read the thing while reading "Prince." "Pi" is how I will begin my 2013 reading, along with a few gifts I received:

 

A David Foster Wallace biography

A posthumous David Foster Wallace essay collection

Best American Short Stories 2012

Dave Eggars, A Hologram for the King

 

DD knows that a happy mommy is a reading mommy, and planned her gift-giving as such. :) (Actually, she didn't have to give me anything. Her presence on Christmas morning before goibg off with her father, and her own love of reading, was my Christmas present.)

 

For fun, I picked up Keith Richards's authobiograpy, Fun, and Ken Caillat's Fleetwood Mac memoir, Making Rumours.

 

So, that should hold me for January.

 

With what reading will you kick off the New Year?

Hi reindeergirl, nice to see you around.   I read Cyndi Lauper  A Memoir,  not too long ago and enjoyed it.

I've got to get to the library!

Hi Robin!

 

Oh yes, thanks for reminding me to put that one on my list! I always adored her.

Recently finished Hitch-22 (Christopher Hitchen's memoir. Interesting fellow. I didn't know much about him before) and Mortality (his incomplete reflections on dying).

Reading 1434 now (the follow-up to 1421) re: How the final trade/tribute mission by the Chinese before withdrawing from the world stage provided the necessary knowledge (maps, far superior astronomy, etc) for all European explorers to find their way to the 'new world' and other knowledge which sparked the Reinneisance.

The OP refers to Keith Richard's autobiography ("Life"); I highly recommend it. Very well composed - as if he's telling you stories over drinks. I think one leaves the book with a much greater appreciation for just how great of a player Keith is. So much value in the notes he chooses not to play as well as the one's he does - the Hemmingway of guitarists.

 

 Ok to start off the New Year I am reading:

 

 BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS - KATHERINE BOO

 THE LOST ESTATE ( Le Grand Meaulnes) - ALAIN-FOURNIER

 ONE MANS MEAT- E.B. WHITE

 WHO HAS SEEN THE WIND -  W.O. MITCHELL

HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

 

I am reading Virginia Woolf's "Night and Day".  I hear she was a feminist.  I am a man and what the deuce, the novel so far seems well written. It has a familiar theme of prejudice against women but as long as the promise of a good read holds out, I am confident I'll enjoy it.   I am reading it on a PDF file on my computer.  I got it through the online-literature network.

Other books I am reading are "Last of the Mohicans" and "Souls of Black folk".  The latter was as you may guess, written by WEB Dubois.  "Last of the Mohicans" I dare say feels rather childish, but then I saw the TV series when I was a child. 

Started The Wanting Seed  by Anthony Burgess.

Mark Doty was the guest editor for The Best American Poetry 2012. So, I shall have to pick up a copy this afternoon.

Oh, I shall have to place the Burgess on my list!

Damien Echols    "Life After Death"    memoir/commentary on American prison life

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/magazine/a-death-row-love-story.html?pagewanted=all&_moc.semityn.www

Read these three starting in late December:

 

Me and My Dad - A Memoir by Paul O'Neill

American Trancendentalism by Philip Gura

Washington Irving by Brian Jay Jones

 

I have just started Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster... by Pope Brock

The one magazine I read is "Yankee".

In response to WhatDoYouWantNow's comment:

Now "Marco Polo"; a decent prequel to 1434 of sorts.

In response to HasanAbdul's comment:

Like you, I'm a man who is not prejudiced against feminist ideas though I don't always agree with some of them.

I'm a member of JSTOR and have access to articles or writings not generally available to the public. Luckily, membership is free. At present I am reading this article on feminism by Sarah Moore Grimke - "Sisters of Charity".

Her sister Angelina wrote the famous

APPEAL TO THE CHRISTIAN WOMEN OF THE SOUTH:

http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abesaegat.html

I consider this to be the greatest writing by any female scholar in American history. Everyone should read it for Black History month. Indeed, there is much historical scholarship created by women that has long been overlooked in our schools and other institutions.

"Waging Heavy Peace" by Neil Young

 

Just finished "Atonement" by Ian McKewan and re-read both "The Stand" (SK), and "Making It New" by Henry Geldzahler (former modern art director at the Met).

On tap: 

"Just Kids" by Patti Smith

In response to portfilio's comment:

Luckily, membership is free.

For those of us spending or who spent time in academia (or the like). Most of JSTOR remains inaccessible. See also this (from Wikipedia):

 

"Beginning September 6, 2011, JSTOR made public domain content freely available to the public.^[26][27] This "Early Journal Content" program constitutes about 6% of JSTOR's total content, and includes over 500,000 documents from over 200 journals that were published before 1923 in the United States and before 1870 in other countries.^[26][27][28] JSTOR stated that it had been working on making this material free for some time, but that the Swartz controversy and Greg Maxwell's protest torrent of some of the same content led JSTOR to "press ahead" with the initiative.^[26][27]

In January 2012 JSTOR announced Register & Read, an experimental program to offer free access to some articles for individual scholars and researchers who register. It allows individuals to read articles online, but not to download PDFs. The program initially includes access to all the articles in 70 journals that account for 18% of user demand. Registered readers can read three articles every two weeks.^[29] Articles less than three years old are not included in the program.

In January 2013, JSTOR announced it was expanding the number of articles available through Register & Read."

 

Just so not everyone gets their hopes up about JSTOR access.

JSTOR is not the only source for historical or literary information.  I use the Brooklyn Public Library website for info as well.  Therefore, the info you are looking for is out there - it just takes a  little work to find it.

I read "Breakfast of Champions" last summer so I figured I'd give Vonnegut another shot.

Interesting/unique ideas, simple prose. Had one of his characters say something very much like that of another character, whom I take to be a loose stand in for himself. Very quick reads it would seem.

Over a matter of days, I read The Sirens of Titan and Slaughterhouse 5. Now, "Cat's Cradle".

 

I think I would generally recommend him for anyone who likes science fiction that does not spend a bunch of time dwelling on the fictional science of the science fiction....    

I have always been a Vonnegut fan.  Sirens of Titan is my ablsolute favorite.  I love his take on the meaning of life!  

Right now I am reading Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.  For those of you who are familiar with her work, it's very much her usual.  A family issue that culminates in a court case.  This book deals with who gets to decide when to take someone off life support.

Aside from this, one of the main characters has spent his life studing wolves.  I have learned so much about their behavior.  Fascinating!

 

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"Elsewhere," by Richard Russo. Great read.

Currently reading  The Religion of Man by Rabindranath Tagore. I have to say..this book is easily one of the most remarkable books I've ever read.

And completed....Mother Night, Timequake (vonnegut)

Short stories:

The Skull, Mr. Spaceship, The Variable Man, The Crystal Crypt; 2BR02B, The Big Trip Up Yonder (vonnegut)

 

Currently on:

A. The language of the blues: from alcorub to zuzu

B. "The Minority Report and other classic stories" (Philip K. Dick)

 

Next moves:

The Rise of Rome:  The Making of the World's Greatest Empire (Anthony Evitt)

Livy's histories of rome

 

Wool - easy read, good vqcation book

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - great Book.  Very funny

Crossing the Line by Derek Sanderson - Great book.  old time Hockey.

Silver Lining Playbook - easy vacation read

Francona - interesting read.  I think it's a fair book.

started reading Agent 6, by Tom Rob Smith.  

I recently reread (came out in the early 90s) "Dream Lovers" by Dodd Darin, son of Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin,  very good book btw.

 

currently reading "Native American Son: The Life and Sporting Legend of Jim Thorpe" by Kate Buford