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http://images.45worlds.com/f/bk/raymond-chandler-the-little-sister-8-bk.jpg

 

I'm only 18 pages in, but I'm hooked. Fun stuff, and RC was a damn good writer.

 

Best line so far: "On the smooth brown hair was a hat that had been taken from its mother too young."

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd0BCEMG0Cs

Chandler is great!

 

My favorite line from him which is from "The High Window":

 

“From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.”

:LOL:
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The Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

 

Spoiler: In the former USSR a lot of people were just arrested.

You went LARGE with Solz..I went SMALL with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

:LOL:

 

Gulag is compelling just in the vastness of what Solzhenitzen describes, but in this modern world, it's a challenge to have the patience to digest it all.

 

Reading stuff like this keeps me from feeling sorry for myself.

Edited by goose
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Finished Field of Bones J.A. Jance. That makes all of Joanna Brady series (to date) and have recently finished a re-read (over this last year) of Tony Hillerman's Joe Leaphorn/ Jim Chee Navajo mysteries. Includes 4 books by his daughter Anne written after he passed in 2008.

 

Now on to some urban fantasy, re-reading Patricia Briggs' Silence Fallen and then on to her new one Storm Cursed. I love her werewolves :D

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The Chandler book kind of crapped out at the end. Dunno if I'll re-read.

 

Now working on:

 

13068._UY500_SS500_.jpg

 

and:

 

s-l600.jpg

 

 

The Hiaasen book is off to a reasonable start. Good characters.

 

The King book starts off with a long autobiographical section that I'm almost through. I haven't read anything of his in years, and this should be interesting.

It's nice to see how frank he is about his substance issues.

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giGF8nN.png

 

Halfway through. Might make it a personal goal to read all Vonnegut works. This marks number 6, I believe.

 

I love how f*cking dark this one is. I think this is his darkest, bleakest work. Great stuff. Rented-a-tent-a-tent-a-tent...

 

KurtIowa2-okl5ci.jpg

KV, the old tent renter, thinking about cigarettes and loneliness.

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I tried reading Anne of Green Gables, but I couldn't finish it because L. M. Montgomery's racism bothered me too much. She basically hated everyone who wasn't a WASP. She especially disliked the French, Italians and Arabs. After doing a Google search, I discovered that she hated blacks as well. She called them "heathens" and used the N word several times in her stories. Why are this author's books still taught in so many schools? A publisher had to remove several sections of Montgomery's personal journals because of their racist content. An author like that doesn't belong on my bookshelf. That's for sure. Edited by Krystal
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I tried reading Anne of Green Gables, but I couldn't finish it because L. M. Montgomery's racism bothered me too much. She basically hated everyone who wasn't a WASP. She especially disliked the French, Italians and Arabs. After doing a Google search, I discovered that she hated blacks as well. She called them "heathens" and used the N word several times in her stories. Why are this author's books still taught in so many schools? A publisher had to remove several sections of Montgomery's personal journals because of their racist content. An author like that doesn't belong on my bookshelf. That's for sure.

 

You can learn from history better by not cutting out the reality that "offends" you.

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I tried reading Anne of Green Gables, but I couldn't finish it because L. M. Montgomery's racism bothered me too much. She basically hated everyone who wasn't a WASP. She especially disliked the French, Italians and Arabs. After doing a Google search, I discovered that she hated blacks as well. She called them "heathens" and used the N word several times in her stories. Why are this author's books still taught in so many schools? A publisher had to remove several sections of Montgomery's personal journals because of their racist content. An author like that doesn't belong on my bookshelf. That's for sure.

 

Hmmm. I get what you're saying, but like Myles said, you don't want to cut yourself off from knowledge because of bias.

btw, I would be interested to know why Anne of Green Gables apparently resounds so deeply with Japanese people. Any idea? Love of potatoes and sand? :P

 

I am a huge fan of classical Japanese literature, despite how some of the authors would have viewed Westerners at the time. I also enjoy the work of WS Burroughs and some Kerouac, who can pretty easily be described as prurient misogynists.

One of my favorite books was written by a man who, for all intents and purposes, would be called a child molester in this day and age (as would Kerouac and his buddy Cassady, and Ginsberg - not to mention Lewis Carroll/Dodgeson, and a scandalous amount of others). His writing is at times beautiful, and effortlessly conjures a sense of place, but that doesn't mean I like where his fingers have been.

 

Having these books and authors in my house and enjoying them for what they are does not make me what the authors were.

Nor am I ashamed to have these writers in my collection. They can be learned from, faults and all. Whether it's cautionary ("ew, I won't ever do that"), technical (actually enjoying their writing and storytelling skills), or critical ("that was well-written but the content has no appeal"), most books can teach us something.

Even that piece-of-shit "Meg", or "Clockwork Angels" has lessons for the reader in 'what makes me want to turn the page and keep reading?' aka 'why should I give a shit?'

 

It's good that you picked up on some of the troublesome aspects from AoGG, and that you had the proper, current, visceral reaction that you did. But before throwing it all out the window, ask yourself a couple of quick questions:

 

Did the book do what it was supposed to do? (ie: teach you piano, tell you about PEI in times of yore)

Did you enjoy the writing style?

Do any episodes or images stand out after reading the book?

Did you learn anything, good or bad, from the book?

Did the book make you groan out loud?

Did the book make you swear out loud?

 

If the answer to the last two questions is "yes" then you might want to make a little space on your bookshelf. :LOL:

 

Also, consider the opposite of what you're saying: "I only will value writers who don't use certain words or who don't hold specific stereotypes near and dear to them." If that's the case, have fun trying to find something good to read, as authors are very, very human. And 'good person' doesn't always equal 'good storyteller.'

 

This response is too damn long. Sorry. :(

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I tried reading Anne of Green Gables, but I couldn't finish it because L. M. Montgomery's racism bothered me too much. She basically hated everyone who wasn't a WASP. She especially disliked the French, Italians and Arabs. After doing a Google search, I discovered that she hated blacks as well. She called them "heathens" and used the N word several times in her stories. Why are this author's books still taught in so many schools? A publisher had to remove several sections of Montgomery's personal journals because of their racist content. An author like that doesn't belong on my bookshelf. That's for sure.

 

Hmmm. I get what you're saying, but like Myles said, you don't want to cut yourself off from knowledge because of bias.

btw, I would be interested to know why Anne of Green Gables apparently resounds so deeply with Japanese people. Any idea? Love of potatoes and sand? :P

 

I am a huge fan of classical Japanese literature, despite how some of the authors would have viewed Westerners at the time. I also enjoy the work of WS Burroughs and some Kerouac, who can pretty easily be described as prurient misogynists.

One of my favorite books was written by a man who, for all intents and purposes, would be called a child molester in this day and age (as would Kerouac and his buddy Cassady, and Ginsberg - not to mention Lewis Carroll/Dodgeson, and a scandalous amount of others). His writing is at times beautiful, and effortlessly conjures a sense of place, but that doesn't mean I like where his fingers have been.

 

Having these books and authors in my house and enjoying them for what they are does not make me what the authors were.

Nor am I ashamed to have these writers in my collection. They can be learned from, faults and all. Whether it's cautionary ("ew, I won't ever do that"), technical (actually enjoying their writing and storytelling skills), or critical ("that was well-written but the content has no appeal"), most books can teach us something.

Even that piece-of-shit "Meg", or "Clockwork Angels" has lessons for the reader in 'what makes me want to turn the page and keep reading?' aka 'why should I give a shit?'

 

It's good that you picked up on some of the troublesome aspects from AoGG, and that you had the proper, current, visceral reaction that you did. But before throwing it all out the window, ask yourself a couple of quick questions:

 

Did the book do what it was supposed to do? (ie: teach you piano, tell you about PEI in times of yore)

Did you enjoy the writing style?

Do any episodes or images stand out after reading the book?

Did you learn anything, good or bad, from the book?

Did the book make you groan out loud?

Did the book make you swear out loud?

 

If the answer to the last two questions is "yes" then you might want to make a little space on your bookshelf. :LOL:

 

Also, consider the opposite of what you're saying: "I only will value writers who don't use certain words or who don't hold specific stereotypes near and dear to them." If that's the case, have fun trying to find something good to read, as authors are very, very human. And 'good person' doesn't always equal 'good storyteller.'

 

This response is too damn long. Sorry. :(

 

I don't think it was too long of a post; you made some excellent points! I haven't ever read "Anne of Green Gables" (although have seen the Meg Follows show x 100) but it reminds me of our family's experience with the Little House on the Prairie series of books. They are beloved by my mom, sisters, and myself, partly because of our midwest roots. The writing is excellent and although they are fiction, they are based on what was reality 150 years ago. The books are viewed critically by some, now, because the mom was afraid of Native Americans and referred to them in unkind ways. Yet, if you realize that going in, you can try to understand the times the books were written in.

 

My sisters and I have agreed that a very moving part of the actual "Little House On The Prairie" book is when the family is finally settled in Oklahoma with a solid house and things are going well. Just then, they receive word from the US government that their home is located on what is being turned into an Indian reservation and they will have to move again. There is an excellent part where the family is packing and watches the native Cherokees (on the "Trail of Tears") walk by in an unending line of people for three solid days. I remember my mom explaining that, and how sad it was (thanks Andrew Jackson) that so many people had to walk all the way from Georgia to Oklahoma. The book was saying how sad the move was for the family, but viewing it a little wider you can see what a tragedy it was for both sides.

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I tried reading Anne of Green Gables, but I couldn't finish it because L. M. Montgomery's racism bothered me too much. She basically hated everyone who wasn't a WASP. She especially disliked the French, Italians and Arabs. After doing a Google search, I discovered that she hated blacks as well. She called them "heathens" and used the N word several times in her stories. Why are this author's books still taught in so many schools? A publisher had to remove several sections of Montgomery's personal journals because of their racist content. An author like that doesn't belong on my bookshelf. That's for sure.

 

Hmmm. I get what you're saying, but like Myles said, you don't want to cut yourself off from knowledge because of bias.

btw, I would be interested to know why Anne of Green Gables apparently resounds so deeply with Japanese people. Any idea? Love of potatoes and sand? :P

 

I am a huge fan of classical Japanese literature, despite how some of the authors would have viewed Westerners at the time. I also enjoy the work of WS Burroughs and some Kerouac, who can pretty easily be described as prurient misogynists.

One of my favorite books was written by a man who, for all intents and purposes, would be called a child molester in this day and age (as would Kerouac and his buddy Cassady, and Ginsberg - not to mention Lewis Carroll/Dodgeson, and a scandalous amount of others). His writing is at times beautiful, and effortlessly conjures a sense of place, but that doesn't mean I like where his fingers have been.

 

Having these books and authors in my house and enjoying them for what they are does not make me what the authors were.

Nor am I ashamed to have these writers in my collection. They can be learned from, faults and all. Whether it's cautionary ("ew, I won't ever do that"), technical (actually enjoying their writing and storytelling skills), or critical ("that was well-written but the content has no appeal"), most books can teach us something.

Even that piece-of-shit "Meg", or "Clockwork Angels" has lessons for the reader in 'what makes me want to turn the page and keep reading?' aka 'why should I give a shit?'

 

It's good that you picked up on some of the troublesome aspects from AoGG, and that you had the proper, current, visceral reaction that you did. But before throwing it all out the window, ask yourself a couple of quick questions:

 

Did the book do what it was supposed to do? (ie: teach you piano, tell you about PEI in times of yore)

Did you enjoy the writing style?

Do any episodes or images stand out after reading the book?

Did you learn anything, good or bad, from the book?

Did the book make you groan out loud?

Did the book make you swear out loud?

 

If the answer to the last two questions is "yes" then you might want to make a little space on your bookshelf. :LOL:

 

Also, consider the opposite of what you're saying: "I only will value writers who don't use certain words or who don't hold specific stereotypes near and dear to them." If that's the case, have fun trying to find something good to read, as authors are very, very human. And 'good person' doesn't always equal 'good storyteller.'

 

This response is too damn long. Sorry. :(

 

I don't think it was too long of a post; you made some excellent points! I haven't ever read "Anne of Green Gables" (although have seen the Meg Follows show x 100) but it reminds me of our family's experience with the Little House on the Prairie series of books. They are beloved by my mom, sisters, and myself, partly because of our midwest roots. The writing is excellent and although they are fiction, they are based on what was reality 150 years ago. The books are viewed critically by some, now, because the mom was afraid of Native Americans and referred to them in unkind ways. Yet, if you realize that going in, you can try to understand the times the books were written in.

 

My sisters and I have agreed that a very moving part of the actual "Little House On The Prairie" book is when the family is finally settled in Oklahoma with a solid house and things are going well. Just then, they receive word from the US government that their home is located on what is being turned into an Indian reservation and they will have to move again. There is an excellent part where the family is packing and watches the native Cherokees (on the "Trail of Tears") walk by in an unending line of people for three solid days. I remember my mom explaining that, and how sad it was (thanks Andrew Jackson) that so many people had to walk all the way from Georgia to Oklahoma. The book was saying how sad the move was for the family, but viewing it a little wider you can see what a tragedy it was for both sides.

 

One of the reasons I love reading "classic" literature is the reaction I get from learning how people thought and acted back in those days. Reading with the intent of trying to understand why and how people lived and thought is fascinating for me.

 

I don't find the subject matter "shocking", or "offensive", but more educational and that for me is SO relevant. Many of these people were likely considered the best of the best by society, and that to me makes it really interesting to read many books for the sociological aspect.

 

People were educated, and raised, and lived by the UP TO DATE morals of that time. If a writer was to write a book set in the present, but with the moral outlook of someone back then, I would find it very, VERY offensive.

 

But I can't say I've ever read books dealing with racism by our modern standards and felt offended. In fact, it makes it really clear to my mind how far society has come in a relatively short space of time. You can learn so much from reading these stories, not just to be entertained, but to be informed.

 

And the sad truth is, modern America and rural Britain is still full of entire communities that think in a bigoted and self righteous fashion. They may lean on the understanding that the old ways are the best ways. But an intelligent reader can devour these books, enjoy them and intellectually challenge themselves to try and gain insight and wisdom from what has happened in the past, and strive to avoid many of the fouler aspects of those times.

 

I love classic literature, but often find myself gobsmacked by how terribly both male and female writers portray women, and often men, in such rigid, and really rather harmful black and white roles. Men are STRONG and HEROIC, women are WEAK, and INDUSTRIOUS, ROMANTIC and RELIANT on men.

 

But contrast that with the progressive works of Dickens, Austen and others, writers who made it their goal to be more truthful about the real nature of the human experience, and you can find many writers willing to break the rules of the time and lead the way for future writers to keep on pushing boundaries.

 

The blatant homophobic undertones of many Victorian writers, for example, give room for me to be offended. But I choose instead to learn from it, and try and understand what a mighty struggle it must have been to be a homosexual, a lesbian or a bisexual, trans person in those days. To be written either in offensive, coded fashion, or to just be omitted completely from works of the time must have been suffocating.

 

But we must keep giving past writers a voice in our time, to remember that history is NOT always quaint, that standards of living that many seem to think we're idealistic were anything but.

 

Learn to read between the lines, with a modern eye, and the words in a book full of outdated views suddenly become highly relevant and educational. Don't omit the grievances of our past by erasing from your library works that are, in all truth, honest insights into what life was like then.

 

 

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The Chandler book kind of crapped out at the end. Dunno if I'll re-read.

 

Now working on:

 

13068._UY500_SS500_.jpg

 

and:

 

s-l600.jpg

 

 

The Hiaasen book is off to a reasonable start. Good characters.

 

The King book starts off with a long autobiographical section that I'm almost through. I haven't read anything of his in years, and this should be interesting.

It's nice to see how frank he is about his substance issues.

 

It's been a while since I listened to On Writing...I tried the book but it was slow going. I had just started checking out audio books on cassette (yeah the old days) from the library so I tried it. Listening to King was very enjoyable. I believe he does talk frankly about his issues in this but I loved listening to his voice, it was a good one.

Edited by Rhyta
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I finished Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs but haven't got to the new one yet. I got the second book of an Urban Series called the Sixth World and had to go back and read the first one again, Trail of Lightning and Storm of Locusts. It takes place after a world wide flood (referred to in the story as the Big Water) and the Land of the Dinetah (Navajo) is safe behind protective walls. (These walls were built by the Tribal Council with some help from shamans) With all the climate change and upheaval, some sinister characters are on the loose and the old gods and tricksters are on the move. The female protagonist is a Monster Slayer and a real badass, there are lots of other cool clan powers that others are able to use too, Big Medicine for sure. I loved this and can't wait for the other two books to come.

 

Also doing a re-listening to the Comoran Strike series (now that the #4 book is out) and enjoying it again. In the middle of the Silkworm, and I forgot how strange it was...also some of the folks on Goodreads are upset with the language. Yeah there is a lot of swearing but with a former military officer it should be expected.

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The Chandler book kind of crapped out at the end. Dunno if I'll re-read.

 

Now working on:

 

13068._UY500_SS500_.jpg

 

and:

 

s-l600.jpg

 

 

The Hiaasen book is off to a reasonable start. Good characters.

 

The King book starts off with a long autobiographical section that I'm almost through. I haven't read anything of his in years, and this should be interesting.

It's nice to see how frank he is about his substance issues.

 

It's been a while since I listened to On Writing...I tried the book but it was slow going. I had just started checking out audio books on cassette (yeah the old days) from the library so I tried it. Listening to King was very enjoyable. I believe he does talk frankly about his issues in this but I loved listening to his voice, it was a good one.

 

I'm almost finished! One chapter to go.

Very breezily written once I got into it, but still packs a pretty good punch for a book about writing.

Did you ever search out anything from his book list at the end? I'm surprised there's no Bradbury on it.

I've only read a dozen of the authors mentioned, and didn't like 3 of them! :LOL:

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V, by Thomas Pynchon

 

Excellent. All Pynchon is good, but I like the breezy stuff (Inherent Vice is great, and Mason and Dixon definitely worth the backaches from lifting it. What's that? ebooks? Never heard of 'em.)

 

Has anyone read any of those Bloomsbury Press 33.3 series of books on great albums? I've read about half a dozen (I'd recommend the Led Zep IV and the DBT Dirty South) but my current read on Johnny Cash makes me want to use the book to prop up a shaky coffee table.

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V, by Thomas Pynchon

 

Excellent. All Pynchon is good, but I like the breezy stuff (Inherent Vice is great, and Mason and Dixon definitely worth the backaches from lifting it. What's that? ebooks? Never heard of 'em.)

 

Has anyone read any of those Bloomsbury Press 33.3 series of books on great albums? I've read about half a dozen (I'd recommend the Led Zep IV and the DBT Dirty South) but my current read on Johnny Cash makes me want to use the book to prop up a shaky coffee table.

 

My son got me the one about Exile on Main Street and it was pretty good!

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The Chandler book kind of crapped out at the end. Dunno if I'll re-read.

 

Now working on:

 

13068._UY500_SS500_.jpg

 

and:

 

s-l600.jpg

 

 

The Hiaasen book is off to a reasonable start. Good characters.

 

The King book starts off with a long autobiographical section that I'm almost through. I haven't read anything of his in years, and this should be interesting.

It's nice to see how frank he is about his substance issues.

 

It's been a while since I listened to On Writing...I tried the book but it was slow going. I had just started checking out audio books on cassette (yeah the old days) from the library so I tried it. Listening to King was very enjoyable. I believe he does talk frankly about his issues in this but I loved listening to his voice, it was a good one.

 

I'm almost finished! One chapter to go.

Very breezily written once I got into it, but still packs a pretty good punch for a book about writing.

Did you ever search out anything from his book list at the end? I'm surprised there's no Bradbury on it.

I've only read a dozen of the authors mentioned, and didn't like 3 of them! :LOL:

 

I didn't see that, will have to check the book out to see it, wasn't included in the audio

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The Chandler book kind of crapped out at the end. Dunno if I'll re-read.

 

Now working on:

 

13068._UY500_SS500_.jpg

 

and:

 

s-l600.jpg

 

 

The Hiaasen book is off to a reasonable start. Good characters.

 

The King book starts off with a long autobiographical section that I'm almost through. I haven't read anything of his in years, and this should be interesting.

It's nice to see how frank he is about his substance issues.

 

It's been a while since I listened to On Writing...I tried the book but it was slow going. I had just started checking out audio books on cassette (yeah the old days) from the library so I tried it. Listening to King was very enjoyable. I believe he does talk frankly about his issues in this but I loved listening to his voice, it was a good one.

 

I'm almost finished! One chapter to go.

Very breezily written once I got into it, but still packs a pretty good punch for a book about writing.

Did you ever search out anything from his book list at the end? I'm surprised there's no Bradbury on it.

I've only read a dozen of the authors mentioned, and didn't like 3 of them! :LOL:

 

I didn't see that, will have to check the book out to see it, wasn't included in the audio

 

I was wondering about that. I can't imagine him reading his list out loud, but you never know!

 

I found it on Goodreads, if you're interested:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7519.Stephen_King_s_Booklist_from_On_Writing_

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Traitor Stanislaw Potocki by Jerzy Lojek. It deals with the partition of Poland at the end of the 18th century. One of the highlights of the book is the origin of the word "kurwa" in the Polish language. :blush:
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Just about to start this:

 

51-Q-zHP8fL._SX329_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

 

He's an award-winning Canadian novelist from New Brunswick. I really like his older novels from the 80s, especially "Lives of Short Duration." Unfortunately, his style has changed since he's found god, and it's not my cup of tea.

 

I honestly don't give a f*ck about hunting or guns, but I am looking forward to reading what he has to say about them. He writes quite well about the outdoors, so I'm hoping for some good descriptive imagery at least.

 

darmain.jpg?itok=4aaaDA8e

"I don't give a frig what you think. Frig off, frigger."

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