What are you reading?

[JBG]

I just finished re-reading The Great Gatsby (Paperback) by F. Scott Fitzgerald; in High School senior year, 1974-5 and now.Rereading classics without the pressure of a pending exam and the competitive pressure of an English honors class definitely helps enjoyment. Particular since I started honors track in Junior Year, I couldn't hope to compete with the eloquence of my class mates. One of many key excerpts:

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy-they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.

I have used this expression again and again, to describe people that don't mind damaging each other, and other people. One of many examples of great writing.

Also, the book is a great period-peace of the halcyon days of the Prohibition Era, early 1920's, particularly those with the privilege of imbibing freely. I would write more and might start a thread. Re-reading classics that perhaps we were too young, or under too much academic pressure to appreciate has its values.

 

[frigidweirdo]

I'm reading Gold Coast by Kim Stanley Robinson... I only started yesterday, it's weird that the USSR is in it.

Also interesting just how wrong he got the future.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Just finished this...An Expat's Struggle

A good insight into the problems that can arise when moving to a new country.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Starting this one today....Modern Panama: From Occupation to Crossroads of the Americas

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas. As usual I have my quibbles, these somewhat more profound than usual. The book, about the Israeli government and intelligence efforts to kill those responsible for the 1972 Olympic massacre, is in the "non-fiction" category but just barely. A lot of the dialogue is necessarily invented. The protagonist of Vengeance, one ex-Mossad agent "Avner" is admittedly an invented person. Obviously, a Mossad agent with a price on his head, both my Arab terrorists and by some elements of the Mossad and his loose supervisors, was not going to be named in a book about him. More to the point though, much of the dialogue had to have been imagined or filled in, unless "Avner" had a superhuman memory. This invention of dialogue is necessary feature of many books about war, espionage or disaster. Can one, for example, reproduce the discussions on board The Titanic or the boat that sank in The Perfect Storm? Could Gordon Lightfoot known that the captain said "fellows it's been good to know you."

That being said, however, it is a historical fact that most or all of the 1972 Olympics butchers met violent ends. It is known, from a study of current events, that strange things happen to terrorists who cross Israel. With those caveats in mind, I recommend reading Vengeance.

 

[braalian]

I just finished re-reading The Great Gatsby (Paperback) by F. Scott Fitzgerald; in High School senior year, 1974-5 and now.Rereading classics without the pressure of a pending exam and the competitive pressure of an English honors class definitely helps enjoyment. Particular since I started honors track in Junior Year, I couldn't hope to compete with the eloquence of my class mates. One of many key excerpts:


I have used this expression again and again, to describe people that don't mind damaging each other, and other people. One of many examples of great writing.

Also, the book is a great period-peace of the halcyon days of the Prohibition Era, early 1920's, particularly those with the privilege of imbibing freely. I would write more and might start a thread. Re-reading classics that perhaps we were too young, or under too much academic pressure to appreciate has its values.

Great book

The classics are classics for a reason

 

[JBG]

I just got finished reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. All I can say is "wow." "Gripping" would be an understatement; I work full time and read it in eight days cold. I could barely put it down.

The comparison between the civilization of America and the rank savagery of much of the rest of the world is breathtaking. The first part of the book focuses on his accomplishments in the Berlin Olympics in 1936; itself a savage territory, temporarily concealing its bestiality. After his return from the Olympics, US involvement in World War Two began. He wound up in the Army Air Force, had not yet morphed into the Air Force. I will not spoil the story for future readers except that he spent 47 days floating on a raft in the Pacific, and wound up being captured by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands and subject to years of incredible abuse. Then he survived is unbelievable. Though the books title is unbroken, in many respects he really was broken. As cover I'm sure, where many people of that generation.

There is some discussion of his “redemption” after the war. Let's just say that if that is redemption, I would want something a lot better. Den is now covered there was insufficient focus on the mental health needs of trauma victims. I don't know if that could have been handled better but I certainly would like to think so.

 

[JBG]

I just got done reading Saving the Lost Tribe: The Rescue and Redemption of the Ethiopian Jews by Asher Naim. I didn't have that book on any list to read. I saw it in the library and was interested in the topic of the Falashas for a long time.

While the book had perhaps some unnecessary detail, it did set the stage on just how primitive they were, and that they had trouble adjusting to the modern world. This group of Jews split from the rest of the Jewish population shortly after the Babylonian exile of 586 B.C.E. and does not have the benefit of the Talmud or Mishnah. In many cases they were illiterate. The book makes may fascinating observations about how antisemitic tropes even extend to them.

I recommend reading it.

 

[g5000]

I just finished Bonfire of the Vanities. Someone mentioned F. Scott Fitzgerald a few posts back, and I have stated in the past that Tom Wolfe is in the same league as Fitzgerald.

I am currently reading The Original Watergate Stories which is a collection of all the Washington Post news items during that period. It is fascinating to read how knowledge of the entirety of the scandal evolved.

The term "investigative reporter" was not in the popular lexicon until Woodward and Bernstein came along.

 

[g5000]

I just got finished reading Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. All I can say is "wow." "Gripping" would be an understatement; I work full time and read it in eight days cold. I could barely put it down.

The comparison between the civilization of America and the rank savagery of much of the rest of the world is breathtaking. The first part of the book focuses on his accomplishments in the Berlin Olympics in 1936; itself a savage territory, temporarily concealing its bestiality. After his return from the Olympics, US involvement in World War Two began. He wound up in the Army Air Force, had not yet morphed into the Air Force. I will not spoil the story for future readers except that he spent 47 days floating on a raft in the Pacific, and wound up being captured by the Japanese in the Marshall Islands and subject to years of incredible abuse. Then he survived is unbelievable. Though the books title is unbroken, in many respects he really was broken. As cover I'm sure, where many people of that generation.

There is some discussion of his “redemption” after the war. Let's just say that if that is redemption, I would want something a lot better. Den is now covered there was insufficient focus on the mental health needs of trauma victims. I don't know if that could have been handled better but I certainly would like to think so.

A movie was made of that book a decade ago.

You can find it on Netflix and Amazon Prime.

 

[Zavulon]

Just found some old but gold techno-thrillers of Tom Clancy and other authors, put them on the now-read shelf and started rereading.

 

[boedicca]

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

 

[Mr Natural]

The Grapes of Wrath.

Makes you think about how good we got it these days.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential CampaignbyEdward J. Larson. Obviously well-researched I felt the author was attempting to fill pages with needless detail. On the plus side, he seemed to favor John Adams, who until recently has been underrated. I don't think Jefferson was taken to task enough for his adulation of the French Revolution. Not great, not terrible, a solid "3" on Goodreads.

 

[sparky]

I'm reading everything on the 'net

I often stay up late s*cking it all in

~S~

 

[Skull]

"Free speech is the most pragmatic tool we have for ascertaining truth. Only
by examining all sides of an issue can the truth be chiseled out like a statue
out of marble. But the underlying reality is that there can be many truths;
we each have our own experiences, values, mores, and life. That is the
beauty and wonder of being an individual. There can be no free speech
without free and open access to ideas, knowledge, truths, and untruths.
Without free speech, we are little more than slaves.
We must defend all speech—whether untrue, hateful, or intolerable, as
that is the only way to protect our rights and abilities to understand the
world. As soon as free speech is restricted, that restriction will be used to
sway public opinion. As soon as one person can be defined as a heretic for
uttering words, then soon everyone opposing the “officially approved” side
of an issue will be labeled as a heretic. The next logical step will be for the
state to define acts of heresy as criminal offenses. As soon as governments
and those in power can sway public opinion by restricting free speech,
democracy and even our republic of United States will be lost."

From PsyWar by Robert Malone

 

[lg325]

Under His Wings by Emily Compagno

 

[JBG]

But where we have given of our love and respect not from habit but of our own free will, where we have been disciples and friends out of our inmost hearts, it is a bitter and horrible moment when we suddenly recognize that the current within us wants to pull us away from what ls dearest to us. Then every thought that rejects the friend and mentor turns in our own hearts like a poisoned barb, then each blow struck in defense flies back into one's own face, the words "disloyalty" and "ingratitude" strike the person who feels he was morally sound like catcalls and stigma, and the frightened heart flees timidly back to the charmed valleys of childhood virtues, unable to believe that this break, too, must be made, this bond also broken.

I just finished reading Demain by Hermann Hesse. I felt some trepidation before reading this book. Back in the summer of 1973, I was on a teen tour called Trails West. one of my friends there, Jonathan, was a stunningly brilliant, straight-A Honor Student. I learned this book from his discussions with other people on the trip. I was sure that the book was above my intellectual level. I bought the book during approximately summer of 1980, but did not touch it until now. When I was randomly searching for my next book, I put my hands on it and decided “why not." I am rather pleased with myself that I did. Most “reviewers” on Goodreads classify this book as young adult. I find it to be deeply philosophical, and can be read at many levels. There are discussions of goodwill. The author seems to land quite solidly on both sides of the fence on whether or not people have free will.

The parts that I related to most, however, concerned relationships with peer or near-peer mentors. While out of pride most people resist accepting mentorship, I have always gravitated there. And during my student days, not always to people in my own or older years. My view is that learning is less important than pride. The narrator of the book, Sinclair, except various mentors through the course of the book. And discarded some. I believe that the book takes a deep punch into mentorship, free will, and religion.It was a very worthwhile read, albeit 51 years after I was recommended it.

 

[Michael1985]

I just finished reading A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, America's First Presidential CampaignbyEdward J. Larson. Obviously well-researched I felt the author was attempting to fill pages with needless detail. On the plus side, he seemed to favor John Adams, who until recently has been underrated. I don't think Jefferson was taken to task enough for his adulation of the French Revolution. Not great, not terrible, a solid "3" on Goodreads.

I read that not long ago myself. I would agree with you about the filler part.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading I am reading The Massacre That Never Was: The Myth of Deir Yassin and the Creation of the Palestinian Refugee Problem by Eliezer Tauber. I picked this up at the Tikvah Leadership Convention on December 9, 2024. It was a great book, a bit of a slog since I was not familiar with a lot of its material. Since this is not POC or Judaism, I will save my most detailed discussion. What I can say is that it goes far contrary to the popular legend, i.e. that Dar Yassin, a battle on the outskirts of Jerusalem, was an atrocity. It was a tense battle conducted in an inhabited village. From that perspective, things happen that one would not like.