What are you currently reading?

[Ken B]

There is a difference in opinion; Runciman, I feel, portrayed the crusaders as greedy, horrible cynics, and Asbridge captures both this quality and the genuine piety & religious fervor felt by many of them. He makes an earnest effort to re-evaluate every figure, comparing his assessments with those of Runciman & other western figures, along with a consideration of the Muslim historians from c. 1200 to the present day. Another difference of opinion - Asbridge believes, against the propaganda of al-Qaeda and American right-wing Christians, that the crusades have almost no relevance to 21st century geopolitics, and that the Crusades did not create a "culture clash" of centuries-long religious hatred, for the simple reason that the Muslim world thought of the wars as a sideshow to the real wars - their internal power struggles between Ayyubids, Fatimids, Mamluks, and Mongols - and quickly forgot about what they called the "Frankish wars."

I have not read anything about the Crusades in a long time but I recall liking
[asin]B008SBXGCW[/asin] which bolsters the "it was a side show" theory and
[asin]1559704144[/asin] which is an attempt to get at the motivations of the crusaders, from contemporary sources.
Rodney Stark has a good, if very biased, book as well.

[Parsifal]

Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad.



A very find book, perhaps not measuring quite up to the hyper.

It is a historical novel focusing on the escape of a slave named Cora from slavery in Georgia. However, it combines historical detail with fantasy, reimagining the underground railroad as a real railroad running in tunnels underground. Cora also seems to travel in time as well as space, since after various transits on the railroad she arrives at some places that did not really exist at the time, such as a town in South Carolina with a large skyscraper which is centered around eugenics project that reminds me of various movements that existed in the early 20th century.

In any case, I'm glad I read it.

[Kontrapunctus]

[NikF]

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe.



I've enjoyed the film many times. And while I don't completely identify with the protagonist, I do kind of understand where he's coming from.

[MN Dave]

.[asin]1607066327[/asin]
crime comic
[asin]0356506932[/asin]
fantasy novel

[NikF]

The Invention Of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares.

I had started reading this and then was sidetracked and never got back to it. But nowadays I have more time.



Also, years ago I dated a girl with long hair who left for London and returned weeks later with a Louise Brooks bob. That's neither here nor there, but she was cool as hell. 

[Karl Henning]

The 10 highest-earning YouTube stars made $70.5 million in 2016

[Artem]

Maybe the best book that I've read this year. Highly recommended for fans of well written artists' biographies.

[kishnevi]

Fetched off Amazon MP

[NikF]

Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler.

[asin]0141182245[/asin]

This was recommended to me by an art student I spent a few days with. She described it "...the most beautiful book I've ever read." So I picked a copy of it up.

[Ken B]

Long ago I saw a movie I thought was great, Cutter's Way. I noted the book and looked for it for ages. Finally it appeared on Kindle, and I bought it.

[asin]ISBN-10: 1852426764[/asin]

This week I got around to reading it. This is a terrific novel, the best I have read this year. It is now 99 cents on Kindle.

[Hollywood]

I'm reading "The Plantagenets: The Warrior Kings and Queens Who Made England" by Dan Jones. I love reading books written about my royal ancestors.

[NikF]

The Emperor of Paris by C.S. Richardson.



This was in my unread/half read pile. Maybe I'll find it should have stayed there? Or perhaps not. But I'll give it a try anyway.

[ritter]

Starting this recently published book:

[asin]1784785687[/asin]
So far, it seems quite approchable and very entertaining.

[SimonNZ]

^Michael Dirda, a reviewer I particularly admire and trust, gave that a glowing write-up:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/grand-hotel-abyss-life-among-the-original-anti-consumerists/2016/09/27/db60f46a-84e3-11e6-a3ef-f35afb41797f_story.html?utm_term=.8633f652c0a5

[NikF]

Journey to the End of the Night by Celine.


[asin]1847492401[/asin]

[André]

And your thoughts ?

Voyage was a huge scandal/success when it missed the Goncourt in 1932 (got the Renaudot Prize). Its use of french slang (argot) mixed with very classical (almost never used) verb tenses created a stir. And of course, the subject matter and its treatment were quite novel also, if possibly just a mutation of Zola's preoccupations.

[NikF]

And your thoughts ?

Voyage was a huge scandal/success when it missed the Goncourt in 1932 (got the Renaudot Prize). Its use of french slang (argot) mixed with very classical (almost never used) verb tenses created a stir. And of course, the subject matter and its treatment were quite novel also, if possibly just a mutation of Zola's preoccupations.

I can't get my head around it yet. Quite often it can take a long time for me to understand what I've read.
Having said that, the intial and most immediate impact was from the misanthropy - layers and layers of it - and disenchantment with life in general, although I felt that was sometimes the result of a kind of super honesty or a lack of illusion. Also, Henry Miller came to mind quite often and I wasn't prepared for that. Finally, it's yet another book I wish I could read in the original language.

Thanks for posting your own opinion and insights. I like to know what others think about a work.

[Karl Henning]

I spent 7 years working in retail. I'll never complain about a long Starbucks line again.

[NikF]

Elective Affinities by Goethe.

[asin]0199555362[/asin]

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke.

[asin]0575077336[/asin]

This year when it comes to Xmas I don't want to play. So I'm going away for a few days to avoid it. These books are accompanying me.