What are you currently reading?

[karlhenning]

Ooo. I think I'm a middler listener.

More middle than middle; 'at's our Dave! 

[mn dave]

More middle than middle; 'at's our Dave! 

I know just enough to lubricate my mouth for foot insertion!

[karlhenning]

Just picked this up from the library:



I'll probably read it after I finish The Sleepwalkers.

Is he singing along, do you think?  Or did the camera catch him mid-yawn?

I'm not sure how I feel about a half-note used for the letter P.

[Lethevich]

Ooo. I think I'm a middler listener.

It's very nifty if you can find it cheaply (with a Penguin book this old, almost certainly can) - I read the Dvořák part and was pleased to find that he covered syms 7 and 8 as well as 9. All quite concise, but with enough info to have seperate paragraphs for each movement.

Edit: hehe, what a product of its time. Only two Mahler symphonies are afforded analysis (4 and 9 - kinda left-field choice in the 4th), and yet all of Sibelius' are. It seems the Brits really did like their Sibelius back then.

Edit 2: yet more interest - at the time of printing, Sibelius, RVW and Bax had yet to die (leaving no year of death to add to the year of birth under their section headings), and even more jarringly, RVW had only published his first six symphonies. Reading this is like stepping back in time

[val]

HILARY PUTNAM:    "Renewing Philosophy"

Based of conferences made by Putnam, the best part of the book is the chapter giving a different perspective about Wittgenstein. I am not sure that Putnam's interpretation is the most faithful but it is the one we wish it was true.

[Florestan]

Not reading, but just bought these:

Alejo Carpentier: Lost Steps, Reasons of State, The Consecration of Spring

Augusto Roa Bastos: I, the Supreme

Mario Vargas Llosa: Conversation in the Cathedral

Jean Giono: The Strawman

[mozartsneighbor]

Right now:

-- Edward Hopper: Vision of Reality, by Ivo Kranzfelder
-- The Simple Art of Murder, by Raymond Chandler
-- god is not Great, by Christopher Hitchens

[Opus106]

-- The Simple Art of Murder, by Raymond Chandler

Is that for beginners? I mean, the title looks comforting.


A few books I borrowed from from the library today.

I know this will be great!

Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 4
- Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
- Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
- Jeeves in the Offing
P. G. Wodehouse

I have read that this is good (and maybe slightly controversial).

The Selfish Gene (30th Anniversary Edition)
Richard Dawkins

And based on the superlative praise on the back cover, this should be good. A kind of book I've been searching for quite a while. [EDIT: No. Not quite.]

What Evolution is
Ernst Mayr

[SonicMan46]

Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music (2008) by Ted Gioia - read a review of this book in the NY Times Book Review a while back, ordered the hardcover from Amazon, and have just started to read to this fascinating story - the first few chapters relate the blues back to Africa in a new & refreshing way (now, I've read MANY books on the blues, and this one is more engrossing and personal); Gioia is a superb narrator - about 10 yrs ago, I purchased his history on jazz (shown below, right); also, an excellent written presentation - at the moment, I can't comment on the remainder of this blues book but expect utter enjoyment - if 'early' blues is your interest, then read the NY Times Review which prompted me to order the book - 


 

[mn dave]

Because UNCLE SILAS was such a hit with me...

[mozartsneighbor]

Is that for beginners? I mean, the title looks comforting.

Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 4
- Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit
- Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves
- Jeeves in the Offing
P. G. Wodehouse

If you're an absolute beginner, start with "Murder for Dummies". "The Simple Art of Murder" is for the intermediate enthusiast seeking to take his hobby to the advanced level.        
But seriously, it's a collection of hard-boiled detective stories from one of the great exponents of the genre, Raymond Chandler. My first experience with Chandler after hearing him extolled so often -- unfortunately it was a bit disappointing.
Wodehouse... is a treat I miss and am craving lately.

Right now am also reading some stories from The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, ed. by Ted Goossen. Excellent stuff in here.

[ezodisy]

Right now am also reading some stories from The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories, ed. by Ted Goossen. Excellent stuff in here.

That is a great collection.

[Harry]

The History of Groningen, from the early beginnings to the present day!

[mn dave]

The History of Groningen, from the early beginnings to the present day!

Harry, have you read UNCLE SILAS?

[Harry]

Harry, have you read UNCLE SILAS?

No, but I red Uncle Harry!

[mn dave]

No, but I red Uncle Harry!

You should read it.

[Harry]

I will explore some of his works. I at least saw a film from 1947 if I remember correctly.

[mn dave]

I will explore some of his works. I at least saw a film from 1947 if I remember correctly.

Yeah, I think you do. I need to see that. I think there was a BBC production as well.

[Lethevich]

I bought this a) because I have received others from the series as gifts (Saarinen, Calatrava) and like the format of the books and b) I wanted to see the really cool Bangladesh parliament building which I have seen exterior shots of but not seen the interior. There isn't as much info on it as I had hoped, but as expected, overall it's a great and easily digestable overview. Nice mixture of HQ pics, studies of a few specific buildings, pictures of sketches, etc, plus the all important bio - this format applies to all of their books in this series.

[Kullervo]