What are you currently reading?

[Blumerang]

Currently reading (for the second time) first George Konrad's book. Wiki said english translation is The Case Worker. Fantastic book, as his other books are.

And just to give one more recommendation for book Corey's reading

Now reading:

For sure, this book gave me one of the greatest enjoyments I had reading.
(Me and my bad english.  )

[karlhenning]

Just finished re-reading Brideshead Revisited (the re-reading was something whimsical).  Always good, though it has got its share of gloom.

Started devouring Simon Morrison's The People's Artist, which is excellent.

[Keemun]

"Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

I'm really enjoying this book!  Has anyone else read it?

[karlhenning]

Long ago! I remember not wanting to put the book down.

[MN Dave]

"Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

I'm really enjoying this book!  Has anyone else read it?

Yes. There's you and ... me!

[Brahmsian]

When Anger Hurts - 2nd edition

Matthew McKay, Peter D. Rogers, Judith Mckay

[Lilas Pastia]

Currently reading (for the second time) first George Konrad's book. Wiki said english translation is The Case Worker. Fantastic book, as his other books are.

And just to give one more recommendation for book Corey's reading
For sure, this book gave me one of the greatest enjoyments I had reading.
(Me and my bad english.  )

Bad in your opinion maybe , but you get everything across all right. Bravo !

[Keemun]

Karl and Dave (or anyone else), did you read any of Asimov's subsequent "Foundation" novels, and if so, what did you think of them?  I'm only half-way through "Foundation" but I'm already considering reading at least the other two books of the original trilogy.  I plan to wait until I finish this one to be sure I want to read more, but I've already added them to my Amazon wishlist.   

[SonicMan46]

From Demon to Darling: A Legal History of Wine in America (2009) by Richard Mendelson, who is a lawyer, has worked in the wine trade for years (on different continents), and is also a winemaker.  This book was well recommended in one of my wine newsletters - really a history of 'alcohol' in the USA -  about half way through and Prohibition has just been repealed; now becoming more interesting regarding the legalities of interstate shipment of wine!  Book is listed at over 300 pgs, but really about 190 of text (plenty of notes & references).  Recommended for 'wine lovers' who can't find what they may want in wine locally and wonder why the 'hell' it can't be shipped! 

[karlhenning]

Karl and Dave (or anyone else), did you read any of Asimov's subsequent "Foundation" novels, and if so, what did you think of them?  I'm only half-way through "Foundation" but I'm already considering reading at least the other two books of the original trilogy.  I plan to wait until I finish this one to be sure I want to read more, but I've already added them to my Amazon wishlist.   

I read the whole trilogy Back in the Day;  they work well as a unit.

I think that he published a fourth book much later, but I haven't even read that one.

[Henk]

REPOST (made some improvements in translation of the titles and added information)



Studying Cornelis' work. Very interesting. I want to bring it into politics, by talking with them about the solutions Cornelis offers.

titles in english:
Logic of Feeling
The Retarded Time
Restpoints of the Spirit

In Logic of Feeling, his primary work, he distinguishes three stability layers of culture:
- the mythic safety as cultural stability layer of the natural system: nestling of fear
- The social regulation system dominates thinking: rationality as second stability layer in culture: nestling of anger
- Communicative self steering as model of the (near) future: the communicative system as new stability layer in culture: nestling of sadness

In the Retarded Time Arnold Cornelis argues that because our world is chancing rapidly, we have to retard our internal clock to keep being self-steering. When we try to keep pace with the rapidly changing world, that is a catastrophic learning process. Cornelis gives with his theory solutions for our justice system, education and (un)employment. In a later phase "cultural retarding of the internal clock" will imply that we not only get older (by retarding our internal clock) the time seems also to pass by slower. Revanche of the Spirit will be the philosophy of the future. Learning results (and the learning results because of the communicative system will deliver in some decades of years) will last because of the Retarded Time.

In Restpoints of the Spirit, his latest work, Cornelis sketches what things are good for our spirit. It's a philosophy of values, meaning and healthiness. He once more gives arguments for solutions he sketched in his previous books.

Henk

[Tapio Dimitriyevich Shostakovich]

Simplicissimus Teutsch, Grimmelshausen. I always wanted to read it. This edition is in unpolished, original writing, i.e. baroque german. A bit hard at first[1], but it's alright now, I got used to it. Still at the beginning...



[1]It reads like this excerpt: "in welchen sie doch / gleichsam wie in finstern Gefaengnussen und Ungezifer-maessigen Diebs-Thuernen / ohn alle gottseelige Regungen gefangen ligen? Jhre edlen Seelen / sage ich / wie moegen sich solche so martern lassen"

[Lilas Pastia]

As in all autobiographies, the primary viewpoint is that of the story teller. There's nothing in there where Birgit was not personally involved. Every event, opera house history, artist (managers, directors, conductors)  is referred to in light of an interaction with her. Surprisingly, singers are viewed as having a carreer, artistry and personality not necessarily Birgit-related. She actually comes across as very appreciative of other singers - except italian tenors, a particular breed her long carreer ought to have made her 'immune' to.

A very thorough and down to earth recollection. Nilsson tells the tale of her being unable to find a restroom in Stockholm (on her first visit ever), and ending up peeing on a parkbench that conveniently had widely spaced laths. She was definitely well aware of her musical and financial worth. Stories abound of her not taking any crap from opera house managers when it came to her contracts and fees (good for her!).

She has very few gripes about particular individuals. She even omits a couple of nagging stories about Bing or Karajan that are known to have occurred, in which the person in question doesn't appear in a very flattering way.  She delights in telling tales of confrontations where a real argument (artistic or financial) was at stake and in which she prevailed. But she just won't trample on an opponent's head.

She had an amazing carreer, in the sense that she emerged quite late on the international scene (lin her late thirties to early forties), and sang well into her sixties - often very heavy roles. Contrary to other noted wagnerian singers, she never 'went down' to lower tessitura roles - like her noted colleagues Mödl or Varnay. Her voice simply retained its clarion incisiveness, making any downward adjustments not only unnecessary, but probably unnatural. She even went on to sing Sieglinde (instead of her scheduled Brünnhilde) in a 1975 Met production. She had just gotten word that the Sieglinde had fallen ill, and she 'felt like' going back to the role (at 57 years of age!)

Her favourite conductor: Karl Böhm. She doesn't spare him when it comes to his mean-spirited ways with other artists. But she finds him the most inspiring artist she's worked with, bar none (hint: she preferred flowing, urgent tempi). She also has very good words about Sawallisch, Knappertsbusch, Keilberth, some less than enthusiastic assessments of Bernstein, and a lot of really negative comments about Karajan. It is surprising to hear her single out individual performances where she feels the Maestro easily rose above any other competitor and managed to provide the audience with a transcendant musical experience. One such instance seems to have entirely been motivated by the presence in the La Scala boxes of the House's conductor (Gavazzeni). According to Nilsson, Karajan's inspired leadership surpassed anything she had ever expereineced in that opera (Fidelio).

Nilsson offers precious few hints on what goes on in one's throat. From what I've read, she doesn't seem to be especially aware of it. How is one to analyze his/her own spectacular endowment ? What is truly amazing is to realize that Nilsson's vocal heyday started when she was about 40, and asted lasted a good 20 years - longer than most wagnerian singers, and longer than most opera singers, period - except maybe Joan Sutherland, a contemporary singer that is conspicuously absent from her memoirs...

YouTubing nilsson will uncover many entries. They all show her to be the mistress of the vocal line, unfailingly nailing pitches, high notes, and addressing the character's emotions in a heartfelt manner.  Which brings the question: what is a swede soprano's range of emotions compared to, say, that of an italian tenor? From recollections and comments form La Nilsson, it seems she didn't quite  understand - let alone appropriate - the particular connection between heart and voice that is the essence of italian singer's artistry.

[Brahmsian]

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

a favorite of mine! 

[MN Dave]

Roberts' History of the World

[karlhenning]

Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

a favorite of mine! 

The other day I saw stills of De Niro in the Branagh film . . . a film I had been avoiding, but now I think I do want to give it a spin.

[Brahmsian]

The other day I saw stills of De Niro in the Branagh film . . . a film I had been avoiding, but now I think I do want to give it a spin.

Not a bad film, Karl.  I've seen it more than once. 

[val]

RICHARD DAWKINS:  " The Greatest Show on Earth"  (2009)

Dawkins most recent book and one of the best. Less controversial than others, it is centered in the evolution, describing a large number of examples, natural and artificial, in a fascinating global perspective of life in Earth. It remembers me of some of Jay Gould books about similar subjects.

[Harpo]

I'm about to start Outliers by Malcom Gladwell, about what makes people successful. It's my old ladies' book club selection for January.
I recently read Pat Conroy's South of Broad, his first novel in 14 years, set in Charleston SC. Not particularly recommended, but I finished it because (a) we love Charleston and (b) I wanted to see how it ended. Rather soap-opera-ish.

[offbeat]

In a book group i joined above is next choice - dont know if anybody has read this but for me its really hard work. Its about a bloke who has a medical condition which enables him to travel back and forward in time. Sounds ok for a plot but the story imo is total mess. Its supposed to be mainly a romance but the plot is so ridiculous and the story so boring i am tempted to give up - maybe its just me because on amazon site the five stars outnumbered the one stars around 7 to 1