Open Thread – Books!
3 01 2010
I had a great suggestion from a Mudflatter who had just finished reading Open Secret by Stella Rimington, the former Director General of Great Britain’s Secret Service, and thought it was excellent. She asked that I throw out the question and ask everyone if they’ve got a biography or autobiography to recommend, about someone who’s really made a difference.
So I will.
And I’ll extend the question to ask what you’ve been reading, or plan to read for the new year? My “I’m going to read this” stack is usually divided into small piles which can be found in various places around the house. Here are the three that are on the top of my current piles.
The first one is written by a friend of a friend who was kind enough to send me a copy. Frankly, it’s freaking me out a little bit. It’s one of those things that most of us who are not in the judicial system never think about, but probably should. I’ll be writing more about this later.
Harvey Silverglate’s Three Felonies A Day focuses on how federal prosecutors invent creative interpretations of statutes, sometimes creating new felonies out of vague language or thin air, felonies never legislated by Congress. Federal criminal law is today so vast and so poorly worded that Silverglate reports, truthfully, each of us, every American, commits three felonies every day without knowing it. A respected Boston civil liberties lawyer, Mr. Silverglate shows his readers why federal prosecutors target innocent people (career enhancement) and how they do it (dispensing with the need to show criminal intent in order to commit a crime). The careers of Rudy Giuliani, William Weld and Michael J. Sullivan were built on the backs of innocent defendants.
Picking up where Three Cups of Tea left off in late 2003, Stones into Schools traces the Central Asia Institute’s efforts to work in a whole new country, the secluded northeast corner of Arghanistan. Greg Mortenson describes how he and his intrepid manager, Sarfraz Khan, barnstormed around Badakshan Province and the Wakhan Corridor, moving for weeks without sleep, to establish the first schools there. Those efforts were diverted in October 2005 when a devastating earthquake hit the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan. Under Sarfraz’s watch, the CAI helped with relief efforts by setting up temporaray tent schools and eventually several earthquakeproof schools. The action then returns to Afghanistan in 2007, as the CAI launches schools in the heart of Taliban country and as Mortenson helps the U.S. military formulate new strategic plans in the region.
And for pure enjoyment and entertainment…
So, what do you recommend? What should we avoid? What’s on your stack? And since it’s an Open Thread, feel free to deviate anywhere you’d like to go!
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:37 PM
C.Rock Says Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett is very good. The follow up book World Without End is also very good. Don’t know how that man can do such detail. Love this thread and ideas.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Fermat’s Last Theorem……I can’t remember who wrote it.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:56 PM
For anyone who enjoys a good mystery, Thomas Perry has a fascinating series of books featuring Jane Whitefield. Jane is a Native American ‘guide’ who helps people trying to escape from extremely dangerous situations create new identities. The books go into great detail about how this is done and how much planning goes into making a new life in the era of computers and instant communication. Jane changes and grows from book to book, and earlier characters sometimes reappear, so it’s best to read them in order, starting with Vanishing Act.
I particularly enjoy the stories since the main character lives near Buffalo when she’s not criss-crossing the country on her adventures, and there are quite a few mentions of locations around WNY. I’ve also read several of his other books and they are well written and real page-turners as well.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:57 PM
my 2nd comment must be in moderation for some reason (?). If you haven’t done so, do read John Dos Passos’s USA Trilogy (The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money). He invented a new form of fiction, incorporating contemporary reality (for example, labor leader Eugene Debs is a character in 1919, and if one wasn’t aware of Debs and the Wobblies, he’d fit right in as a fictional character).
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:58 PM
Many people mistake the acronym “LLC” as meaning a Limited Liability Corporation, when an LLC doesn’t create a corporation at all. “LLC” is the acronym for a Limited Liability Company. LLC’s are used quite commonly in business, especially small business, primarily as an asset protection tool.
The primary benefit of owning and operating a business under an LLC is the protection of your personal assets from creditors and lien holders. Here’s how it works. Say Connie wants to open her own fitness business. Instead of operating the business as an individual, Connie sets up an LLC. First, she gives it a name, “Connie’s Fitness Gym, LLC”. (After contacting the Secretary of State first to confirm that the chosen business name isn’t already taken).
After that, she files the necessary paperwork required by the State, including the formation documents and Articles of Organization. Once she has been approved by the Secretary of State (which can be expedited and approved within days for a higher filing fee) she must acquire an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. (This can be done within an hour, online) Once she has the filing approved, and her EIN, Connie must open up a business checking account under the name of the LLC. And Voila, Connie now has her own business.
http://blog.ctnews.com/medico/2009/09/10/what-is-an-llc-and-how-can-you-benefit-by-owning-one/
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 PM
wow, tnx Lilady – that’s really useful info for a lot of us.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:06 PM
I highly recommend the book Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This book will really make American women and the men who love them, thankful that they were born in the USA and living at this time. I started this book yesterday and finished it today . . . it’s that compelling. Kristof and WuDunn ask us to get moving to help women in these countries . . . let’s get started!
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 PM
@honestyinGov….did you notice how Gryphen talked about Trig twice? The second time he did reference another baby when talking about Trig. Like where did this other little guy come from? I just can’t imagine putting my children through so much pain, turmoil and a totally crazy life style. I mean where is the man in this household? Is he as crazy as ex-gino and thinks it’s ok to mess with these children and their emotional well being? I am not getting this lack of compassion and caring about taking care of your children and their well being. Has this household always been crazy? Why are the grandparents not stepping in? Ok…enough of the blogs, thank god the majority of us take care of our children, grandchildren and even our household pets better then the ex-gino and her significant other does with their offspring. Once again…..”IDJITS”!
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:11 PM
So Ordered: Making Partner the Hard Way by Ann Branigar Hopkins. Maybe it’s because I was working at Price Waterhouse while this was going on, but the book is a wonderful story about a woman breaking the glass ceiling without flaunting her sexuality. All she asked for was a level playing field, to be judged for suitability for partnership by the criterion as men. Her case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court before she was made partner. And, sadly, I wonder if Ann Hopkins was mounting her challenge to the SCOTUS of today if the outcome would be the same.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:18 PM
As a Young Adult Librarian for a couple decades, yes, there are many wonderful reads for adults waiting there. I don’t read much in the way of “adult” books because I don’t like the excessive verbiage masquerading as erudite writing.
Robin McKinley is a wonderful writer of fantasy; Anne McCaffrey is probably my all-time favorite writer; Tamora Pierce is another favorite. I also suggest Nancy Werlin for great, terse suspense (and she’s a wonderful person to boot). Jane Yolen has written books in just about every genre. Diana Wynne Jones is another top favorite. These are the authors whose books I read and reread.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:24 PM
Favorites:
Anything (non fiction) outdoors and hiking/mountaineering related.
Anything by Carl Hiaasen.
Anything by Christopher Moore.
And, realistically, not to sound cliche, but really anything sent my way and put in front of my face.
My reading list happens to me rather than me planning it
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:27 PM
What I’m really longing to read is a history of the Rise and Fall of Sarah Palin. It will be a blockbuster and I predict a movie and…a MUSICAL!
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:28 PM
As a low-down, sleazy, money-grubbing, low-class grifter that she is, in my humble opinion, S’error has pressured her daughter to sue for full custody of her son in order to use him to claim as a tax deduction as well as for the PFD. If joint custody were declared, there might have to be a sharing of tax deductions as well who provides what to the child. I don’t really know if that is so, I just surmising.
If I were advising Levi and Bristol, I would encourage them to put the PFD into a trust fund for college for Tripp. But, then, that’s me. I don’t see much emphasis on education in that family.
And Ms. Bristol is just as busy as busy can be with taking care of her son, going to college, working two jobs, and now starting a Public Relations business. How does she find the time?
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:30 PM
I want to know where to get the little corner memo pad gizmo…
************
Anything by Sharon Creech, beginning with Walk Two Moons. A wonderful coming of age story written for upper elementary age but adults will love it as much as their daughters. Several books that are loosely related.
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch. Another coming of age story, more jr high age, this time about a boy in Hoods Canal WA, for you NW folks. Great read and lots of great stuff about the local marine life woven into the story.
Slug Tossing and other stories by a reluctant gardener by Meg Descamp. True tales from a transplant to Portland OR’s Laurelhurst neighborhood. A lovely, funny and light read whether you’re a real gardener or wannabe.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Anne Barrow. Wonderful letter-based tale of the occupation of the Isle of Guernsey in WWII. Fabulous.
The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford tells the story of a Chinese boy and his Japanese (girl) friend in Seattle before and during the internement, again WWII. Fiction but lots of great background and a touching story.
The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. Wonderful true story that gives some insight into the day-to-day lives and challenges of women in Afghan society. I second all the comments about Kiterunner, and also loved his other book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Another book set in Seattle. Very touching, excellent read, especially for you animal lovers.
The Orange Girl by Jostein Gardner. Norwegian author, kind of a coming age story. Beautiful read.
Geez, I feel like I don’t read enough, but when I do it’s all binging. Enjoy. Now I have to go back through all these posts to make my list!
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:33 PM
It’s time for me to go to bed. It’s been a long day. Sorry for all the typos in that last post.
This has been one of the best open threads we’ve had here in the Mudflats. I’ve enjoyed it so much!
@kareninOR – Sarah The Musical. Love it!
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:24 PM
For an odd way of putting life into perspective, I would suggest “The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World” by Ward and Brownlee.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:25 PM
Great thread, thanks for starting it! I keep a list in my bag with all kinds of books/authors and use it to browse the library. There are enough recommendations here to make a few more lists!
I have to recommend the Spellman Files series of books by Lisa Lutz. Funny and smart (the footnotes are the best parts!)
So nice to see good books spotlighted as an antidote to all the GR coverage…
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:35 PM
pdx mb @164, my sister was just telling me about The Guernsey Literary and the Potato Peel Pie Society tonight, she was raving about it. I’ll have to borrow her copy!
(not sure it posted…so sorry if it shows twice…)
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:35 PM
Or then, there’s music: from Tom Chapin, at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4N5wkp2Ug
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:38 PM
If you want some really ‘ light-hearted ‘ humor… THIS might give you a lot of chuckles.
I was reading earlier today a book by Robert Fulghum… called ” UH-OH “.
This is like a little midnight snak citing ‘ Kitchen- counter Philosophy ‘ and gems of wisdom.
————-
“Another dead-of-night dining extravaganza happened because I sat up late reading ” The White Trash Cookbook “. There’s a recipe in there for ‘ Rack of Spam ‘ “.
He then goes on to describe how you prepare ” Rack of Spam “.
( Any Hawaiian Mudpuppies had this dish?… Spam is a favorite in HI )
I don’t know what else is in ” The White Trash Cookbook “, but I will bet it will make you laugh.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:16 PM
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is fantastic. Also just finished City of Thieves about the siege of Leningrad. We will be traveling there in June so I am fascinated by the story. Now reading Harrison Salisbury’s 900 Days also about the siege.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:26 PM
What a great topic. Many of the books mentioned here I have read or are in my stack to read. I am intrigued by some I haven’t heard of but will definitely look into them.
I am currently reading Gertrude Bell by Georgina Howell which is fascinating. It is a biography of the “female Lawrence of Arabia” and details a life of adventure, love, tragedy and her involvement with the creation of modern Iraq. I’m not yet finished with it but would heartily recommend it. What an incredible woman who was ahead of her time.
Another recent book I read was “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” by Mark Hadden. Loved it! Semi-light reading with a heavy message.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:42 PM
I recently finished The Red Leather Diary by Lily Koppel. Lily is a young woman and a new journalist, who acquires a red leather diary amongst abandoned steamer trunks from a NYC apartment building. The story of the find itself is fascinating. Lily tracks down Florence, the writer of the diary and interviews her extensively to fill in the life story of a 14 year old girl in the 1930s. The two were interviewed together on some of the morning shows, and it was fun to find those. The young girl shares quite a lot of detail of her friendships and romances. One of the fascinating glimpses into a long ago life is how that generation of smart teens relied upon writing, plays, books, theater, poetry and music for their entertainment.
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:54 PM
I love to read, though admittedly I do not read books as much as I used to before the internet. I still knock off a fair few per year though. I will read almost anything but westerns and romance.
I just recently finished The Minds of Billy Milligan, Sybill and When Rabbit Howls. I liked all of them, but definitely liked The Minds of Billy Milligan the best of those 3.
I am currently reading The Know it All by A J Jacobs about his quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. His other 2 books, The Year of Living Biblically and The Guinea Pig Diaries are on my “I’ll get to that” list.
In my ever growing stack of fiction, my next up are Heat Lightning and Rough Country by John Sandford, Breathless by Dean Koontz and the newest Dexter book, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:53 PM
I have two to recommend, please, one fiction and one non-fiction.
The non-fiction is Carl Sagan’s ‘The Dragons of Eden – Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence’. It sounds dry but isn’t. Although Dr Sagan was a trained biologist he says he writes as a lay person. He sets out his ideas of how our intelligent species got to be where we are and he makes the subject very interesting. In doing so he writes with a wit, grace, charm, beauty and clarity that soothes and uplifts the soul crazed by an insane world, made mad by the cruelty around us and fed upon by a media no longer capable of recognising the good and the evil among us and describing it for us. I open the book every time I feel my world has gone crazy and I want my sanity back. Sagan engages the reader in a conversation that I’ve found rare in modern scientific writing, and I love the book for that.
My all-time favourite fiction is Smiley’s People by John le Carre. Mr le Carre creates a world of cold-war espionage so real it can make you shiver even when you’re snuggled up in front of your own fire, all comfortable and secure. It’s a world where ordinary people do great, and sometimes bad, things, like seedy little Toby Esterhaze, avoiding his creditors and worse, sliding out into the cold, foggy night to serve his country faithfully. It’s a long book, beautifully crafted and detailed, the characters very recognisable, and you never get an idea until you’re over halfway through the book, that it might end where it does. If you saw the BBC television series 30 years ago and never read any of the George Smiley trilogy, you won’t be disappointed; Alec Guinness WAS George Smiley, true to the book. Reading it, I can just see Sir Alec again, cleaning his glasses, and blinking through them, slightly surprised that the world isn’t any cleaner than it was before.
Sorry, but I can’t seem to reproduce the acute accent over the ‘e’ in Mr le Carre’s name.
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 PM
Author / Title:
FICTION
Frank Yerby, historical novels
Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible
Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth
Daniel Quinn, Ishmael
NON-FICTION:
Toni Cade Bambara, Those Bones Are Not My Child
Phipps Verner Bradford and Harvey Blume, Ota Benga: The Pygmy In The Zoo
Joe Bageant, Deer Hunting With Jesus: Dispaches from America’s Class War
Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited
Carl T. Rowan, The Coming Race War in America: A wake up call
January 4th, 2010 at 12:04 AM
Bit dated, but the story of Paul Farmer in “Mountains Beyond Mountains” is an excellent read and helps to put your own obstacles in proper perspective.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:47 AM
It’s 5:30 in the AM and I’m having one of those “my brain won’t shut up” nights so I might as well be up and playing Farmville on Facebook. LOL
This is just too delicious to go unmentioned from rumproast.com and we have a new word for the Palin dictionary: autobimbography!
John McCain Beats Out Palin to Scuttle Scott Brown�s Run for MA Senate Seat
John McCain delivers the Kiss of Death to Naked Teabagger Scott Brown.
McCain went public with his endorsement while Sarah Palin, whom many Conservatives Militant Secessionists had hoped would work her �NY-23 Magic� on the underdog Conservative candidate, was still snow-machining into the New Year under the Full Red Moon on her homeworld of Planet Denali.
One of them had to do it, eventually. A Palin endorsement�while burnishing Palin�s 2012 conservo-cred�would have rendered Brown, the only Republican in the race, almost radioactively Teabaggy in a state that was proud of hosting the original Tea Party before the concept was co-opted by crazed Obamaphobes and Kennedy-haters.
However, by exercising his first-strike capability, McCain has practically assured a GOP loss in a contest that is widely considered unwinnable by odds-makers on both sides (viz. Nate Silver and Real Clear Politics) and has already been abandoned by the national GOP.
Better yet�from a GOP strategy standpoint�McCain�s pre-emptive move has cast any subsequent Palin endorsement of Brown as a decidedly un-Roguey �me-too� suck-up to a man she whacked in the face with the stitched binding of her recent autobimbography, I�d Be VP Now If McQueeg Hadn�t Been Such a Senile Pussy.
I hate to give either McCain or the GOP points for intelligence, but it appears the lessons of the Hoffman debacle have not been lost on them. Plus, you just know Johnny McVengeance has been itching for a chance to stick it to Governor Ingrate.
Posted by StrangeAppar8us on 01/03/10 at 01:11 PM � Permalink
January 4th, 2010 at 3:37 AM
Favorite recent books and books piled on the nightstand:
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire are my favorite “can’t put them down and don’t want them to end” reads. Think Abby from NCIS on steroids.
At the Corner of Bitter and Sweet – gentle, sweet look at the injustices done to American citizens by Americans during WWII.
The Scarlet Letter – yea, it’s a classic but what book club chooses I read. Still relevant.
On to the pile!
Half Broke Horses – Heannette Walls’ follow-up to the amazing Glass Castles, her autobiography.
The Recipe Club – fiction and recipes… what could be better than a book about 2 of my favorite things — cooking and reading!
Lacuna — Barbara Kingsolver
The Help — Kathryn Stockett
Ditto on Stones to Schools and The Lost Symbol
True Blue — David Baldacci, one of my favorite guilty pleasures
Molaki — about leprosy colonies in Hawaii, it was a gift
a couple of new cookbooks including “In the Sweet Shop” about baking
That’s just the nightstand pile. If I started listing all those on the “to read” bookcase, I’d just get depressed. Enjoy!
January 4th, 2010 at 4:00 AM
True Compass – Ted Kennedy’s memoir…what a great read. What a man. What a family. And it has NOTHING to do with money or status.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:53 AM
Oh, I forgot one more book that I bought for a runner friend of mine for Christmas…
Born To Run…a very good read if you enjoy the sport of running!
January 4th, 2010 at 6:17 AM
What a great thread! After I post this, I plan to make a list of other mudpups’ recommendations.
Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back Frank Schaeffer
Backstage You Can Have Betty Hutton The multi-talented movie star of the ’40s and ’50s shares the story of her tumultuous life
The Ode Less Travelled (Unlocking the Poet Within) Stephen Fry
January 4th, 2010 at 7:08 AM
Another James Lee Burke character series, Billy Bob Holland, an attorney and ex-Texas Ranger with his dead grandfather’s ghost apearing now and again (some really good back stories), is worth checking out for excellent mystery reading.
And, Robert Crais’ series on Joe Pike and Elvis Cole, detectives who do business in the Los Angeles area. Great mystery reads.
I tend to find an author who I like and read everything I can find. It’s worked out pretty good so far.
JaneE
January 4th, 2010 at 7:16 AM
Yes! to the Art of Racing in the Rain and Sarah Dunant’s Sacred Hearts. One fascinating recent read (short novel) for anyone interested in writing herself or esp in writing poetry: The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker. Anything by Michael Pollan sets off wonderful reverberations.
January 4th, 2010 at 10:50 AM
An acquaintance of mine (who says having no friends makes his life simpler) who was a pretty good runner and coach recommended some good running books to me over the years. Some of these are great not only because they are well written and easy to read, but also because they shine a light on the author’s/subject’s training and racing theories:
1) The Perfect Mile, Neal Bascomb
2) The Four-Minute Mile, Roger Bannister
3) Run With the Buffaloes, Chris Lear
4) Bruce Fordyce: Comrades King, John Cameron-Dow
5) Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, Kenny Moore
January 4th, 2010 at 12:09 PM
this was one of the greatest threads ever. we got to do this again next year.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:17 PM
If you want to keep track of your home library (or just books you’ve read) online, check out http://www.librarything.com/
You can see what’s in other people’s libraries too and see what people with similar tastes are reading.
January 4th, 2010 at 1:25 PM
Three of my favorite series of books, all mysteries:
the Inspector Lynley novels by Elizabeth George
the Maisie Dobbs series by Jaqueline Winspear, set in England just after WWI
the Inspector Ian Rutledge novels by Charles Todd (the author is actually a mother-son team), which is also set just after WWI.
I second the mentions of Pillars of the Earth, The Lovely Bones (just finished it a few days ago), Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal (hilarious and thought-provoking), and The Unlikely Disciple (3 degrees of separation – it was written by my best friend’s son’s high school friend).
If no one else mentioned them, I strongly recommend The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, The Chosen by Chaim Potok and anything by Herman Wouk.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:20 PM
Ah, I wanted this thread to go on forever.
January 4th, 2010 at 5:16 PM
@Irishgirl — Perhaps there’s a thread in the forum that talks about books/movies/etc? If not, definitely worth starting one!
I am mulling over options for the 3rd Larsson book — could get it sent to friends in Scotland for me to pick up when I get there, don’t think it will get here from the UK before we leave. I cannot believe that it can’t be had via amazon canada or us until May! What a rip-off!
Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions everyone!
January 4th, 2010 at 5:40 PM
Just to keep this thread going…..The Road by Cormack McCarthy was a definite downer but a great read. His style is classic and the message was very thought provoking so say the least. I would recommend it. This book was a page turner and changed my view on how comfortably we live and how much we take it for granted. So much could change in an instant.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:39 AM
@SMR, there was a thread on the forum at one stage. I will try to resurrect it.
Hubby hasn’t started the 3rd book yet, but he should do soon and I imagine he will have it finished by the weekend (he is on holiday)! So just say the word and I can either send it to Scotland or Canada sometime early next week.
January 6th, 2010 at 8:30 PM
@Irishgirl –
Send me a PM if you get it resurrected. I’d love to see one that talks about books & movies. I don’t get over to the forum much (that’s an understatement), but would wander over to talk books, movies (which I don’t get much time for, so am pretty particular about the ones that I do watch), and music too.
I like keeping books, so don’t worry about sending on your copy, though the thought is very very much appreciated. I’m still trying to decide whether I will buy it thru amazon uk and have it sent to the friends that we’ll be staying with, or just head to one of the big booksellers as soon as humanly possible after landing in Glasgow (no, that’s not where we’re staying!).
I cannot wait to get to your side of the world! My husband has talks with a couple of people lined up, hoping to get back over there for work, crossing fingers.