What are you reading this week of July 2, 2017?

[hermetic]

I am delighted to say that I am now reading A GREAT RECKONING by Louise Penny, the 12th Chief Inspector Gamache novel. I thought there were to be no more of these and I am so glad that's not true because these are my favorites of all the mystery & detective - police procedurals. The town of Three Pines feels very real to me as I did once live somewhere a lot like that and I miss the people there so much. So, reading these feels like homecoming to me. Still, I try to keep in mind the intriguing instructions in this tale: "Don't believe everything you think." Seems good advice for these times.


Have a HAPPY 4TH EVERYONE! Stay safe.

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[TexasProgresive]

1. Thanks for the bookish fireworks!

Finishing up Rankin's "Fleshmarket Alley", "Crimson Shore" Preston & Child next. I liked the 3 Pines mysteries.

[hermetic]

8. My pleasure!

Had a bit of a shock yesterday when I found out I can't post pics from photobucket here any more so I had to quick find a new place for my book-themed visuals. Now I just have to figure out how to resize them there at postimage.org.

[Number9Dream]

16. We can't post pix from Photobucket??? WTF?

Hi Hermetic,

There's nothing in the announcements section about that. Do you know what the story is?

[sharp_stick]

17. Photobucket turned off

3rd party hosting unless you cough up $400 a year for premium service.
I switched to Imgur but still looking for others.

[Number9Dream]

19. Thanks for the info n/t

[MFM008]

2. 'In Bed with the Tutors'

Is one and a depression Era cookbook is another. We all need to know how to make racoon roast and squirrel pie.

[hermetic]

5. Yum (not!)

Says this vegetarian. Better yet, learn how to grow food, like beans.

Say, that book sounds a bit too risque, depending on your subject I guess. I think more likely it's "In Bed with the Tudors: The Sex Lives of a Dynasty from Elizabeth of York to Elizabeth 1" by Amy Licence. Illigitimate children, adulterous queens, impotent kings, and a whole dynasty resting on their shoulders. Sex and childbirth were quite literally a matter of life or death for the Tudors. Yeah, that's more like it.

[sharp_stick]

18. My Grandmother's old

Mennonite cookbook section on pork told you how best to kill your pig. It was a disturbing find for me as a 10 year old.

[yellowdogintexas]

3. Skip Langdon mysteries by Julie Smith

a really fun series, acquired in a sweet deal from BookBub Set in New Orleans

[hermetic]

6. Awesome!

I will have to check those out. I saw this and as a somewhat computer-obsessed person, I am now quite intrigued:

Death Before Facebook, formerly entitled New Orleans Beat, is the FOURTH book in the Edgar Award-winning Skip Langdon series by Julie Smith.
Reader-friendly from log-on to log-off." -The Orlando Sentinel
"A peek into the sometimes dangerous world of the computer-obsessed, set in the sultry heat of New Orleans and tempered with just the right dose of Southern humor." —USA Today

Thanks for bringing this series to our attention.

[sagesnow]

4. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amory Towles

The story is centered on a Russian nobleman who is sentenced to house arrest by the Bolsheviks in the lavish Metropol Hotel in Moscow in 1922. Subject to being shot if he sets foot outside the hotel, the Count constructs a surprisingly bounteous life inside. Amazing plot details shaped in the first half of the book come to fruition in the second half, as the Count assists his last protegee to freedom and a successful career. It was an interesting juxtaposition of capitalist vs communistic ideas. I was not completely sure which side to root for- as I am ideologically somewhere in between.
While I was initially put off from reading this because of the Russian connection, it turned out to be a good, but light, refresher on Russian history. IMO, Towles story telling nearly rivals Checkov's. I couldn't put it down. BTW, I listened to the Audible version read by Nicholas Guy Smith, a very excellent reader. I am giving it 5 stars because 1. it is a well crafted story, 2. It made me laugh and made me cry 3. it made me want to read other books and see movies about this subject, ie Casablanca, 4. I would read it again 5. I would recommend it to others.

[hermetic]

7. Read that recently

I thought it was terrific. Quite memorable.

[northoftheborder]

14. Read recently - gave it 5 stars. A memorable story.

The quality of a book, for me, is if I can remember what it is about months later. Some I could read again, it not having made much of an impact on my brain cells in plot or character.

[Break time]

9. The Force

by Don Winslow....

[hermetic]

10. Hot off the press

this one is. I read his The Power of the Dog some years ago. Good stuff. Welcome to DU! And our little reading group.

[Break time]

12. His latest

And my first read of his stuff, seems pretty decent so will look at the rest if his stuff. I tend to read all of any given authors stuff if I can.. Continually amazed when I find more that are pretty good.. average 3 a week usually.

[japple]

15. Hi hermetic and all DU bookies! I read your comment about The Power of the Dog with interest

because it is one of my favorite books, but it is the one by Thomas Savage written in 1967. Really interested to read that there was another book by the same title written just recently. Man, this can be confusing!

Here is the book I read and loved:

First published in 1967 to critical raves, Thomas Savage's The Power of the Dog now includes an afterword by Annie Proulx. It traces the tense relationship between two bachelor brothers, Phil and George Burbank, on a Montana ranch in the 1920s. When George marries a widow, Phil, a bullying, repressed homosexual, terrorizes his new sister-in-law. And when her teenage son comes to the ranch, things get even more complicated. This is just the first reissue of a long-out-of-print book by Savage, hailed as a true master of the western genre. I Heard My Sister Speak My Name is scheduled for this fall, retitled The Sheep Queen.

[hermetic]

24. I know, right?

I am constantly amazed to learn that there are so many books that have the same name. I always assumed there was some sort of copyright on titles, but evidently not. The Power of the Dog happens to be one that I've read both of. This is one reason I always look up titles nowdays, because you can no longer assume that's going to be the one you think it is.

[japple]

25. Yes! And then there are those books written by people who are trying to make folks

believe they are Stephen King who have books with a very similar title like, The Strand or Salem's Lotto. You really have to pay attention! I was in a hurry one time and actually bought a used copy of one of those copycat books. It was awful, but so cheap that I just recycled it rather than donating it to the library.

[hermetic]

27. Salem's Lotto? Too funny!

One would hope that was a satire, or attempt at...

Speaking of that, my library has stopped accepting book donations, as of a month ago. They have too many and no where to put them. And no one even wants to adopt one, for free. So, I now have a library of my own to watch over. I really want physical books to survive.

[japple]

33. Our Friends of the Library group has used book sales two times per year and there

are still people who like to buy used books. Also, we have a few used book dealers who shop at our sales. We are going to start doing a perpetual sale using book shelves near the circulation desk. The cash register will have a "Friends" key and our sales will automatically be tallied. On of the branches in our system is already doing this and it has worked well. It will be a lot easier than having an actual sale in Spring and Fall each year.

[hermetic]

34. I, obviously, buy used books all the time

My library has a maybe 3' x 4' shelf right next to the check out counter with all the donated used books. Big sign says pay what you want. Nothing "sells". Too sad. Just a sign of the times, I guess. I am so thrilled to spend time here with all of you each week. You give me hope for the future.

[japple]

35. I finished reading Affinity Konar's book, Mischling and highly recommend it. The "tough parts" were

handled with extreme care and balance.

I've been looking for something humorous for my next read, and this book seems like it will hit the spot. Must admit that the title drew me in!


Sam Torode, The Dirty Parts of the Bible

https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-Parts-Bible-Novel/dp/1450567630/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1499218563&sr=1-1&keywords=dirty+parts+of+the+bible

Publishers Weekly says:

"While the title suggests a raunchy read, this rich and soulful novel is actually a rather well-done bildungsroman [coming-of-age story] steeped in wanderlust and whimsy that at times recalls The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and at others a tamer On the Road. The story begins in 1936 as 19-year-old Tobias is thumbing his way from Remus, Mich., to his uncle's farm in Glen Rose, Tex., to find a hidden bag of money, after his father, a Baptist pastor, drunkenly slams his car into the church and is removed from the parsonage. The author does an excellent job in making well-charted territory (riding the rails; scavenged campfire meals under the stars) seem vibrant and new. Snippets of scripture, Southern spirituals, and folk ballads lend context and flavor to the text. Most impressive are the jangly dialogue and the characters' distinctive voices, which are authentic and earthy but not remotely hoary. When Tobias finally arrives at his uncle's, the surprises that await him are more than enough to keep his--and readers'--interests piqued." (Review from the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award)

[Best_man23]

11. Modern Welding

Decided I want to pick up a new skill.

[northoftheborder]

13. The Artists' Society, by Calloway

Pretty good, good light summer read.

[PoorMonger]

20. Promise Of Blood by Brian McClellan

The Age of Kings is dead . . . and I have killed it.


It's a bloody business overthrowing a king...
Field Marshal Tamas' coup against his king sent corrupt aristocrats to the guillotine and brought bread to the starving. But it also provoked war with the Nine Nations, internal attacks by royalist fanatics, and the greedy to scramble for money and power by Tamas's supposed allies: the Church, workers unions, and mercenary forces.

It's up to a few...
Stretched to his limit, Tamas is relying heavily on his few remaining powder mages, including the embittered Taniel, a brilliant marksman who also happens to be his estranged son, and Adamat, a retired police inspector whose loyalty is being tested by blackmail.


But when gods are involved...
Now, as attacks batter them from within and without, the credulous are whispering about omens of death and destruction. Just old peasant legends about the gods waking to walk the earth. No modern educated man believes that sort of thing. But they should...



In a rich, distinctive world that mixes magic with technology, who could stand against mages that control gunpowder and bullets? PROMISE OF BLOOD is the start of a new epic fantasy series from Brian McClellan.

Winner of the David Gemmell Morningstar Award for Best Debut Fantasy.

(Powder Mage #1)

[hermetic]

23. That sounds like fun, too

It may be fantasy but sounds pretty close to real anymore. We could use some of that 'gods waking to walk the earth' assistance, I think.

[PoorMonger]

39. Musical Suggestion ' (That's When I Reach For My) Revolver'

https://m.

From Mission Of Burma's classic EP "Signals, Calls & Marches" (1981).

[shenmue]

21. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster

A kids' classic. Going back to it because it's fun.

[hermetic]

22. That IS fun

A delightful little read for all ages.

[Mz Pip]

26. Before the Fall

By Noah Hanley. Am also reading The Thin Man by Dashiel Hammett.

[iamateacher]

28. My Favorite Author...Sherry Thomas

I am rereading her Lady Sherlock book "A Study in Scarlet Women". She has a new Lady Sherlock coming out soon
A CONSPIRACY IN BELGRAVIA".
I follow her on Twitter and she is an activist Dem!

[hermetic]

30. Lovely! Someone new to consider

Though she is hardly "new" with some 20 titles to her credit. And she's evidently one of us, so thank you for telling us about her. We'll be looking for her books now.

[Runningdawg]

29. I am reading the Rho Agenda trilogy by Richard Phillilps

I am on the 2nd book - Immune
2 ships crashed at Roswell. One was immediately scooped up by the military. They had no idea there was a second ship. It was found decades later by 3 teenagers. When the government starts releasing data about their ship and tech they have backwards engineered from it, only the 3 teenagers, a couple of rouge CIA agents, a washed-up journalist and a BIA deputy know the truth about their discoveries and future agenda.

[hermetic]

31. Ah, good old Area 51.

Grew up around there. Still have relatives living there. Intimately familiar with most of the tales from there. Hey, I want to believe, too. It would sure explain a lot. As I said earlier, though, "Don't believe everything you think."

[Runningdawg]

36. So far Area 51 has not been mentioned

The book is set in and around Los Almos, not even Roswell. The plot has very little to do with UFOs or aliens. I would describe it as a scientific thriller.

[hermetic]

41. So then

That sounds more plausible than the little green men thing. I was young then but I think SOMETHING crashed out there. The UFO explanation was probably just to distract from something. I have put this book on my list to look for, thanks

[hermetic]

49. Great coincidence

70 years ago, July 8
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018965416

[Botany]

32. The Panda's Thumb

[hermetic]

42. Sweet

[chia]

37. I'm just finishing up My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante

Book 1 in a series of 4.

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to see what all the fuss was about. Happily, I was.

[hermetic]

43. Just read some reviews

It does sound great. Thanks for telling about it and keep us apprised on the sequels, as well.

[Demsrule86]

38. I love mysteries and will have to read those.

[hermetic]

44. Cool!

Hope you enjoy them. I adore them. Good mysteries, some quirky characters, and frequent discussions about art. Hope you will stop by again. We're here every week, talking about books.

[Demsrule86]

47. I took out the first one from the library. One of the joys of Kindle is

having multiple library cards. Although, I still love the feel of a real book. Thanks for the information. I plan to make hubs a good meal and spend the day in the garden and reading. Hubs is upset as there are rumors of a shift going down...as a Temp worker (been there two years) he could lose his job...economically things are not great in Ohio...thousands laid off in autos.

[hermetic]

48. So sorry to hear that

Hope it really is only a rumor. But I also know things are bad all around and getting worse. Sending best wishes your way.

[PoorMonger]

40. The Mayakovsky Tapes by Robert Littell

In March 1953, four women meet in Room 408 of Moscow’s deluxe Hotel Metropol. They have gathered to reminisce about Vladimir Mayakovsky, the poet who in death had become a national idol of Soviet Russia. In life, however, he was a much more complicated figure.

The ladies, each of whom could claim to have been a muse to the poet, loved or loathed Mayakovsky in the course of his life, and as they piece together their conflicting memories of him, a portrait of the artist as a young idealist emerges. From his early years as a leader of the Futurist movement to his work as a propagandist for the Revolution and on to the censorship battles that turned him against the state (and, more ominously, the state against him), their recollections reveal Mayakovsky as a passionate, complex, sexually obsessed creature trapped in the epicenter of history, struggling to hold onto his ideals in the face of a revolution betrayed.

Written by Robert Littell, whom The Washington Post called “one of the most talented, most original voices in American fiction today, period,” The Mayakovsky Tapes is an ambitious, impressive novel that brings to life the tumultuous Stalinist era and the predicament of the artists ensnared in it.

[hermetic]

45. That truly sounds great

I could probably really get into a novel about that kind of thing. I could almost even write one of my own.

[PoorMonger]

46. Musical Suggestion ' 100 Other Lovers'

From DeVotchKa's album of (almost) the same name '100 Lovers' (2011).

https://m.