What Are You Reading?

[brite]

Karl Marx...

[Thumper]

After making it through the hard but good read, "Stronger" by Boston Marathon bombing survivor, Jeff Bauman, and then Neil Peart's first book, "Masked Rider" about a bicycling trip around Cameroon, I'm reading something extremely light:
"I Killed Pink Floyd's Pig" by Beau Phillips. He was a program manager for a rock station in Seattle during rock's excessive hey days. It's short stories about the fun crazy things he witnessed and were involved in with rock stars and their entourages.

One of the nicest I've read so far involved Eric Clapton coming to town on his first tour since his son's tragic death. Beau convinced the BIC lighter company to donate 20,00 lighters. They were screen printed with the radio's logo. Staffers swarmed the venue and handed out all the lighters. They told everyone to wait for the first notes of "Tears in Heaven," light them up but remain totally silent. Clapton started the song acoustically as always sitting on a stool, with his eyes shut. After a few bars, he knew something was different because of the "pin drop" silence. He opened his eyes and saw 20,000 people with lighter's raised in silent tribute. He was so moved he just stopped and looked around for 15 or 20 seconds. Then he settled back into the heart wrenching song. That would have been something to see.

[Swift]

One of the nicest I've read so far involved Eric Clapton coming to town on his first tour since his son's tragic death. Beau convinced the BIC lighter company to donate 20,00 lighters. They were screen printed with the radio's logo. Staffers swarmed the venue and handed out all the lighters. They told everyone to wait for the first notes of "Tears in Heaven," light them up but remain totally silent. Clapton started the song acoustically as always sitting on a stool, with his eyes shut. After a few bars, he knew something was different because of the "pin drop" silence. He opened his eyes and saw 20,000 people with lighter's raised in silent tribute. He was so moved he just stopped and looked around for 15 or 20 seconds. Then he settled back into the heart wrenching song. That would have been something to see.

Shit, that made me teary just reading it.

[Thumper]

I'm guessing that's probably the most moving story in the book. So far, all the others involved debauchery and shenanigans.

[Parrothead]

Finished Perfidia, probably could have been a bit shorter, will wait for the next book in Ellroy's second LA Quartet.

Right now I'm about halfway through Stephen King's Under The Dome, I'm liking it, a number of differences from the tv show based on the novel. At the rate I'm going, I should have the book read, by the time S3 starts, at the end of the month.

[Loresinger]

The last testament - a memoir by God

Funny as all get out

[geonuc]

The last testament - a memoir by God

Funny as all get out

Let us know how it turns out.

[Parrothead]

Currently reading The Covenant of the Flame by David Morrell, picked up this, The Legacy by Stephen Frey and a hardcover copy of Stephen King's Four Past Midnight for $5 at a used book sale.

[Thumper]

Another astronaut book. I think it's called "We Seven."
It's about Project Mercury, by the astronauts, in their own words.

[Swift]

I'm reading "This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital" by Mark Leibovich. It's a satirical look at Washington and the relationship among the politicians, the insiders and lobbyists, and the media in the 21st century (mostly under Clinton, Bush, and Obama).

There are some funny and amusing bits, but I actually find it more disturbing than funny, and interesting in a "I'm disgusted looking at this horrible car accident but I can't look away" kind of way. It really says how fucked up this whole thing is, both the politics and the media.

[brite]

The usual... Constitutional law, History of the world to 1500, women’s history, how to write a speech, and my foreign language... algebra....

[Rommie]

Another astronaut book. I think it's called "We Seven."
It's about Project Mercury, by the astronauts, in their own words.

Have you read Chris Hadfield's memoir btw? I have it on my Kindle as my sister gifted it to me, but not sure if I'm going to finish it (just not liking the writing style). Read as far as him being accepted to the astronaut corps.

[Thumper]

Another astronaut book. I think it's called "We Seven."
It's about Project Mercury, by the astronauts, in their own words.

Have you read Chris Hadfield's memoir btw? I have it on my Kindle as my sister gifted it to me, but not sure if I'm going to finish it (just not liking the writing style). Read as far as him being accepted to the astronaut corps.

I got that book for Christmas, haven't loaded it up yet. Also have John Young and Alan Bean's bios waiting for me. This Mercury book started out real dry and real plain, with each astronaut explaining in somewhat engineering terms the systems or the problems they were assigned to address in the creation of the program. But I'm really liking it so Hadfield's book is on hold.

[Parrothead]

Currently reading Trust Fund by Stephen Frey. Four Past Midnight by Stephen King is on deck, to be followed by Murder As A Fine Art by David Morrell.

[Thumper]

A new Illustrated History of Rush complete with original album reviews (which I didn't know about). And Neil Peart's latest, "Far and Near," (which I asked for)

Well, I'm not reading them. Just got them as gifts and sifted through them for an hour or so...

[Parrothead]

Currently reading Murder As A Fine Art by David Morrell. A switch for him as this book is historical fiction. It is set in 1854 London, a set of murders have taken place, re-creating the "Ratcliffe Highway" murders as set out by Thomas De Quincey in his essay On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts (1827). Famous for his essay Confessions of an English Opium-Eater (1822), De Quincey (still addicted to opium) and his daughter Emily, set out to exonerate him as a suspect. Emily's view of things are written as diary/journal entries.

Only about 50 pages in so far, the book starts with the murders being committed in some detail. I have books and handouts on the changes to policing in London, in that era, through a course at university. I'll likely refer to them while reading this book. I have already purchased the sequel Inspector of the Dead which will be my next read.

[SciFiFisher]

I love you to the moon and back by Amelia Hepworth. The 5 year old loves it. Tomorrow night it might be "Pete the Cat; I love my white shoes".

[Cyborg Girl]

Just finished a novel by Aliette de Bodard. I won't say which one because spoilers, but suffice to say
a) It was awesome.
b) Most writers do not have the guts to pull off straight tragedy. De Bodard does, and does it well, and I really appreciate that.
c) No seriously, it was awesome.

[brite]

How to analyze a film (I have to write a 1000 word essay on The 400 Blows), a novel by one of the English professors from school, Western civilization to 1500, and geography. On the upside... I’m taking less that 15 units....

[Cyborg Girl]

The Iliad of Homer, as translated by William Cowper...

What currently keeps astounding me, is how unrelentingly bloody awful the Iliad is for all the woman characters - everyone from mortals like Briseis and Chryseis, to full-blooded Olympians like Juno, basically live at the mercy of heartlessly cruel male authority figures. It's not like I expected women playing major roles; but I'd hoped that at least some of the male characters would not habitually treat women like shit.

(OTOH I do have my own head-canon about Achilles and Briseis. Based on one line, and much contrary to Cowper's own opinion, but still.)

[SciFiFisher]

The Iliad of Homer, as translated by William Cowper...

What currently keeps astounding me, is how unrelentingly bloody awful the Iliad is for all the woman characters - everyone from mortals like Briseis and Chryseis, to full-blooded Olympians like Juno, basically live at the mercy of heartlessly cruel male authority figures. It's not like I expected women playing major roles; but I'd hoped that at least some of the male characters would not habitually treat women like shit.

(OTOH I do have my own head-canon about Achilles and Briseis. Based on one line, and much contrary to Cowper's own opinion, but still.)

Hey... women play major roles in some of the old classics. Look at Helen of Troy.

[Cyborg Girl]

@Fisher

In this case, that only seems to work if being the MacGuffin counts as a major role.

Edit: in any case it's not the (quite expected) Bechdal test failure that bothers me here; so much as that all the male characters are uncompromising bastards, and nobody (either inside the story or out of it) seems to notice.

Basically it reads like Steven Erickson, except that the men are much more brutal, and the women are all slaves (more or less).

[brite]

All early complex civilizations (and even today) were/are patriarchies. However, with that being said, women were a commodity in ancient Greece.

[SciFiFisher]

It is worth noting that some of the early civilizations started down the road to a matriarchal society. Sadly, due to their lack of ability or willingness to wage war they fell to the more aggressive male dominated societies.

[brite]

It is worth noting that some of the early civilizations started down the road to a matriarchal society. Sadly, due to their lack of ability or willingness to wage war they fell to the more aggressive male dominated societies.

No... Sorry... there were some matri-focal, but no matriarchal... matri-focal are societies where women are treated on an almost equal footing as men - American Indian tribes of the Southwest (Pueblo) and the Iroquois are notable, here. The nomadic lifestyle of the hunter-gatherers lent itself to a matri-focal society. It was when humans settled into agricultural (civilized) settlements that patriarchy became a way of life and women's reproductive ability became commercialized (reified).

And this is what happens when you allow your wife to study history too deeply...