Jump to content

What are you reading?


Boxx

Recommended Posts

I'm rereading Mark Helprin's 'A Winter's Tale'. It's a book which I find almost impossible to put down. A movie adaptation was released this Spring, to horrible reviews, which may be warranted considering the complex storyline of the book. Complex enough that it would be very hard to pull off in a film.

Being a hopeless romantic, it is one of those books that makes me believe it is real. It was the same when I was eight years old and believed the Borrowers really existed. :wacko:

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

a lot of fiction is based on real life experiences of the author, so it's a fine line.
Agreed... However, I do enjoy fiction that is interwoven with historical fact; such as a story about a fictional family during the American Civil War.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hard to believe this couldn't be worked out.....

unnamed6.jpg

A north Leawood man will have to decide today whether to remove a Little Free Library he recently installed in his front yard — or face a citation from the city.

Brian Collins, who lives near the intersection of 89th Street and Ensley Lane, installed a Little Free Library his father-in-law had given his wife for her birthday around three weeks ago. Collins went out of town for a few days last week, and when he arrived home, he found a letter from the city’s codes enforcement officer informing him that the Little Free Library was not permitted under city code because it was a “detached structure” and that he had until June 19 to come into compliance.

“Your take a book leave a book structure must be attached to the house,” the letter read.

Collins emailed Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn about the issue, and requested that the city consider amending the municipal code to allow Little Free Libraries. Dunn referred the matter to City Administrator Scott Lambers, who responded with an email saying that the detached structure ordinance was “a common prohibition for cities.”

“I would suggest that citizens who are interested in this endeavor contact the Johnson County Library to see if this is an activity that the Library would permit to occur on their premises,” Lambers wrote.

That response irked Collins, who pointed out that the whole point of the Little Free Libraries was that they were right in their neighborhoods and easily accessible from the street.

“If it’s attached to the house, people aren’t going to come to it,” he said. “And why would you put a Little Free Library at a big library?”

Collins said he hasn’t made a final decision about whether to pull his LFL or not. He said he thinks he’s “ready to be cited. I’m ready to take it to court.”

“We’ve gotten so much positive response to it since we put it out,” he said. “The neighbors love it. If I lived three blocks to the north [in Prairie Village], this wouldn’t be an issue.”

That ruling came from the crock of governmant.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51oXKWrcYYL.jpg

This is the book now queued. A bit heavier than the preceding one but I believe is part of the answer of "why are so many systems so messed up?". This author won a Nobel prize on the subject of real decision making. Cool stuff, and an underlying theme that I've personally experienced: fast thinking used when slow thinking was the proper response. Like as in billions spent on government stuff that makes no sense whatsoever and if someone actually thought for more than a nanosecond, they never would've done it. It's actually quite amazing to me how hard some people will work to not think about what they're actually doing - and try to squelch others when they do start thinking about their problems more deeply.

I also don't do very well with fiction: I feel that if I'm reading that I should spend my time more productively. Perhaps this feeling is due to my difficulty making it through an entire book before refocusing on another topic of interest....and no...I'm not ADD.

As an experimental psychology professor once told us (she was a mouse expert), "A rat or mouse who runs rapidly through a maze, without stopping to sniff and give the matter some consideration, is dumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But then again, a lot of fiction is based on real life experiences of the author, so it's a fine line.

Indeed. Conroy's novel The Great Santini was a fictional elaboration of his childhood years, in which he didn't have to worry about being fair to his family (especially his father) in order to put the readers in contact with certain aspects of human nature, after society's processing.

Conrac was based on his time teaching.

I hope The Lords of Discipline was pure fiction, but I fear that it was not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few months back my sister in Missouri put a little bookshelf out at the end of her sidewalk and it too is a free library. Hers is a shelf unit without a roof looking top.

Maybe she will be red tagged for dumping furniture, who knows!

I thought it was a nice way to .......be nice.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll argue that fiction is more important in almost all respects than non-fiction.

I wholeheartedly agree. Fiction involves a higher level of creativity. Ideas are exciting--they open doors and presented cleverly, we're compelled to walk through them.. Non-fiction, which can be entertaining, is often the regurgitation of facts. Some are talented writers and can present history in a fresh manner that can be captivating; but, that is no substitute for taking a blank canvas and creating something new. I do like stories that are based in reality, those that explore possibilities while adding a little something here and there for entertainment. For instance, i just watched the premiere episode of a television show on TNT called The Last Ship. The earth being consummated by a strange, new virus, that is mutating faster than we can understand it, is quite possible. Perhaps, i enjoy a mixture of fiction and non-fiction.

Always loved biographies … but, have always loved The Twilight Zone even more. For me, reality is just a base to build on; and fiction is the wonderful tool to make life fun.

Edited by BigStewMan
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Non-fiction, which can be entertaining, is often the regurgitation of facts.

This is often times true Steve.

However, well researched "non-fiction" books often times will expose/uncover/discover new elements of history (for example) that had never been exposed previously.

As more and more, previously classified or sealed documents, become available to scholars our own past rises to a new levels of discovery.

It is interesting to note the disdain that university scholars have regarding the historical "research" done by many writers of "non-fiction" literature.

Edited by Boxx
Link to comment
Share on other sites

But then again, a lot of fiction is based on real life experiences of the author

That's what i was saying in my previous post. I watched an interview with a guy named Phillip Rosenthal. He was the creator of that television show Everybody Loves Raymond. He said that every episode is loosely based on some real life experience encountered by one of the writers, cast, or crew.

Agree Boxx -- I am fascinated with "little" details that we learn played a major role in an historic event.

Edited by BigStewMan
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an experimental psychology professor once told us (she was a mouse expert), "A rat or mouse who runs rapidly through a maze, without stopping to sniff and give the matter some consideration, is dumb.

I'll have to remember that one :) I like it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My daughter has a second novel in the hands of an agent. One of these days, she will be an overnight success! She has quite a few online stories (paid), and writes steadily, working to hone her craft. Far more difficult than many think.

This is a short story in print (Nature Magazine)

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v506/n7486/full/506126a.html

And others:

http://www.stupefyingstoriesshowcase.com/0140214/0140214-20.html

http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/science-fiction/a-g-carpenter/insomnia

and other links on her blog:

http://agcarpenter.blogspot.com/

Almost forgot... available on Amazon as a Kindle edition is 'Brass Stars':

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GP5PR7U

Edited by Marvel
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My daughter has a second novel in the hands of an agent. One of these days, she will be an overnight success! She has quite a few online stories (paid), and writes steadily, working to hone her craft. Far more difficult than many think.

This is a short story in print (Nature Magazine)

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v506/n7486/full/506126a.html

And others:

http://www.stupefyingstoriesshowcase.com/0140214/0140214-20.html

http://dailysciencefiction.com/science-fiction/science-fiction/a-g-carpenter/insomnia

and other links on her blog:

http://agcarpenter.blogspot.com/

Almost forgot... available on Amazon as a Kindle edition is 'Brass Stars':

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GP5PR7U

Congratulations to her.... Outstanding...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Steve... one of the funniest and saddest things I've read today.

Bruce

i tease a lot; but, i do okay. probably overpaid actually; but, my co-workers disagree. Seriously the sad part is looking at how much is taken away before i even get it … 49% disappeared before i get a penny. Over $750 per month just paying my share of the retirement, then I live in (I think) the third highest taxed state…but, grateful that i have a job.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The best, and cheapest entertainment possible:

.

library_card.jpg

I agree. I did not read for pleasure until I took a very long plane trip. I read "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy and really enjoyed it. After that I started reading a lot of non-fiction, starting the with financial meltdown. (If anyone wants a very well written, informative and entertaining summary, try "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis).

We now use the library constantly. If I do nto like a book (happened just a few times) I just return it right away. We also get movies, yesterday we watched Life of Pi and we are working our way through "The Sopranos"

The neighborhood library is a great idea and some very little person is flexing their government muscles. The owner needs to contact their congressperson as welll as representative on the city or county commission. They will not want the bad publicity and will dive in to this like a vulture for the easy positive press.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A book I can't put down since getting on my Kindle yesterday: Dog Stars - by Peter Heller

Our Hero, Hig, lives at a little country airstrip which he shares with his beloved blue heeler Jasper, and a mean gun nut named Bangley. It's nine years after a super-flu has killed 99.7% of the people on the planet. Hig sleeps out under the open sky at night with Jasper. He does it because he loves to see the stars, and because it's safer: if marauders come he won't be trapped in one of the nearby houses. -

For anyone who has a dog, the commentary of the hero on his dog, Jasper, is so touching it will make you cry. It's one of the best reads I have had in months. Warning: parts of the book are a little gruesome.

A good book with a dog as a central character is Suspect by Robert Crais. Maggie is a bomb-sniffing dog that lost her handler in the Middle East and has been sent stateside to be retrained as a police K9. Scott is an L.A. cop who was severely wounded in a shootout where he lost his partner. The two are paired with each other for training and for duty, with much of the book written through the eyes of the dog. If you are a dog lover, don't miss this one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...