What are you currently reading?

[Hyfi]

After putting some of my wife's family history together with an awesome pile of signed photos of stars getting their hair done by her uncle, prior to evenings at The 500 Club in Atlantic City NJ, I have been reading a few books about it all. Turns out my wife's uncle was a very close friend of Paul 'Skinny' DiAmato, who owned and ran the 500 and picked up where Nucky Johnson left off. We have pictures of Skinny as Best Man in her uncles wedding, an 8x10 of Frank Sinatra's last performance at the 500 with Dean Martin and both signatures. 5 inscribed 8x10s of Jane Mansfield in his Beauty Shop getting a wig worked on the day she put her feet in the cement at the 500 Club Walk of Fame, one pick has Micky Hargitay, her husband. We have one of Nancy Sinatra and a very young Frank jr, with mom getting her hair done. There are several others in the collection.

I was able to make contact with Mariska Hargitay (Olivia Benson - Law and Order SVU) and sent her copies of the pics of her parents. She sent my wife 2 inscribed 8x10s to add to the provenance and she gave us a personal phone call one night. We still have her opening message identifying herself on our answering machine.

So the 2 books I am just finishing up are-

Chance of a Lifetime: Nucky Johnson, Skinny D'Amato and how Atlantic City became the Naughty Queen of Resorts

and

The Last Good Time: Skinny D'Amato, the Notorious 500 Club, & the Rise and Fall of Atlantic City

[mogrooves]

Raw Deal: How the “Uber Economy” and Runaway Capitalism Are Screwing American Workers - Steven Hill.

Welcome to the jungle. Indeed!

[Scott Bails]

Fair warning - no spoilers - YMMV, but I haven't been so pissed off with a wrap-up since reading King's Dr. Sleep (or the conclusion of the Dark Tower series, for that matter...)

Finally finished this. I can't say that I had the same reaction, but it was definitely disappointing. It was the equivalent of wilted lettuce.

[-=RTFR666=-]

Finally finished this. I can't say that I had the same reaction, but it was definitely disappointing. It was the equivalent of wilted lettuce.

Fair enough, Wilted lettuce pretty much sums it up, Scott - My reaction being that if I am going to invest so much time reading nearly 500 pages, I guess I was expecting more of a money shot conclusion, e.g., a satisfying smackdown of the Chinese nemesis in particular.

[BaldJean]

I never was a fan of King and consider him to be overrated. His best is "Needful Things", but even that is ruined by the end. The massacre is in my opinion put on and totally unnecessary; I could think of so many ways the neighbors could make each others life living hell.

I am generally not a friend of massacres. There is one exception, and that is "Dia andere Seite" ("The other Side") by Alfred Kubin. The massacre at the end is the logical conclusion there and told with a grim humor which makes even the worst atrocities (and trust me, there are some really big ones) bearable. Reading about the grim end of Dr. Lampenbogen always makes me smile.

When it comes to horror I find old-school horror much more fascinating.

"The Monk" by Matthew Gregory Lewis

"Melmoth the Wanderer" by Charles Maturin

"Uncle Silas" by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

"The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James

"The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket" by Edgar Allan Poe

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker

"Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus" by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

"At the Mountains of Madness" by Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Or, to name books in other languages:

"Malpertuis" by Jean Ray (written in French)

"Nachts unter der steinernen Brücke", "Der Marques de Bolibar", "Die dritte Kugel", "St. Petri Schnee", and "Der Meister des Jüngsten Tages" ("By Night under the Stone Bridge", "The Marquis of Bolibar", "The Third Bullet", "St. Peter's Snow" and "The Master of the Day of Judgement") by Leo Perutz

"Alraune" (meaning "Mandrake", but it is the name of the main character) by Hanns Heinz Ewers

"Der Golem", "Walpurgisnacht" and "Der Engel vom westlichen Fenster" ("The Golem", "Walpurgis Night" and "The Angel of the West Window") by Gustav Meyrink

"Die andere Seite" ("The Other Side") by Alfred Kubin

Those are absolute standouts of horror literature.

Fortunately my German is excellent meanwhile, so I could read all the German books in the original language. I only needed a translation for "Malpertuis" since it was written in French.

Currently I am reading "Villette" by Charlotte Brontë.

[Scott Bails]

Fair enough, Wilted lettuce pretty much sums it up, Scott - My reaction being that if I am going to invest so much time reading nearly 500 pages, I guess I was expecting more of a money shot conclusion, e.g., a satisfying smackdown of the Chinese nemesis in particular.

Yes, I totally agree

SPOILER ALERT

In the end, the whole idea of "aliens" was just a MacGuffin, which was pretty disappointing and a cop-out, IMO. It became more of a techno-political thriller instead of a SF novel. Which is fine, but not what I was expecting. Sandford's talent for writing interesting characters and dialogue saved it from being a total disappointment, but it was a let-down for me.

[Scott Bails]

I never was a fan of King and consider him to be overrated. His best is "Needful Things", but even that is ruined by the end. The massacre is in my opinion put on and totally unnecessary; I could think of so many ways the neighbors could make each others life living hell.

When it comes to horror .....

I think King's best work is the more supernatural, character-driven stuff than his horror. The horror stuff worked when I was in high school, but I've found more enjoyment from most of his other work.

[BobM]

About once a year I feel the need to pick up a "classic" and read it, so I got myself Steinbeck's "East of Eden" this time around. Enjoying it so far. His writing isn't anything spectacular but it is a compelling storyline with it's share of real people's anguish and grief and mistakes and failures and shortcomings. I guess that's why it's a classic, but I'm not halfway through yet, so we will see.

[BaldJean]

About once a year I feel the need to pick up a "classic" and read it, so I got myself Steinbeck's "East of Eden" this time around. Enjoying it so far. His writing isn't anything spectacular but it is a compelling storyline with it's share of real people's anguish and grief and mistakes and failures and shortcomings. I guess that's why it's a classic, but I'm not halfway through yet, so we will see.

Steinbeck is always a good read. I love "Cannery Row".

[No Pride]

About once a year I feel the need to pick up a "classic" and read it, so I got myself Steinbeck's "East of Eden" this time around. Enjoying it so far. His writing isn't anything spectacular but it is a compelling storyline with it's share of real people's anguish and grief and mistakes and failures and shortcomings. I guess that's why it's a classic, but I'm not halfway through yet, so we will see.

I read it about a half year ago. I wasn't thrilled with the ending (and that happens a lot), but other than that I thought it was really good!

[mogrooves]

RIP Umberto Eco

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b041136f171d24

[wideopenears]

Yes, sad news about Eco.

[SteveSly]

I just finished “The Man In The High Castle” from Philip K Dick. I have always been curious about it and was kind of reminded of it when the tv series came out (which I have not watched). So…….I know this is considered a classic, but I am not sure that I understand what the fuss is about. In fact I was kind of disappointed in it. The book was not really what I was expecting, and it just kind of seems to go on and on with nothing ever really happening. I found the constant references to consulting oracles to be kind of annoying. I mean, I get that the author is trying to represent Japanese culture (I think), but…….

Curious if anyone else here has read it and what you thought?

[Scott Bails]

I just finished Stephen King's Mr. Mercedes. Really enjoyed it, despite it being a little predictable. It was a nice ride, and a bit of a departure for King. I'm about to start the sequel, Finders Keepers (part two of a trilogy, apparently). Finders Keepers seems to explore some of same ground covered in Misery, so we'll see how he handles this one differently.

[Lopez]

“The Man In The High Castle” from Philip K Dick.
Curious if anyone else here has read it and what you thought?

I read this several years ago with the same high expectations. When I finished it I thought, "Yeah, so?" In my opinion, it's a dud.

[Scott Bails]

I was looking forward to reading that one, too. Oh well - off the list!

[Yves]

I read this several years ago with the same high expectations. When I finished it I thought, "Yeah, so?" In my opinion, it's a dud.

I posted about it in this thread. I agree with Lopez.

[SteveSly]

I was looking forward to reading that one, too. Oh well - off the list!

I know people who think it is a classic, so not totally trying to scare people off, but I thought it was pretty dull.

[Scott Bails]

I know people who think it is a classic, so not totally trying to scare people off, but I thought it was pretty dull.

Right - that was why I was interested, in the first place. But now three people here who's opinions I respect have slagged it. Too many other books on the list.

[Adm.Kirk]

My latest book is from 1955: Zeb's Black Baby by S. T. Peace. A history of Vance County, North Carolina.

Bill

[SteveSly]

On vacation doing a lot of reading. Just finished "Making Jack Falcone" about the undercover FBI agent in the 00's who came very close to being a made member of the Gambino crime family. I saw the guy interviewed on 60 minutes and thought his book might be interesting which it was. The guy comes across as pretty full of himself, but other than that it was somewhat similar to Joe Pistone's "Donnie Brosco".

[spellbound]

Tim Dorsey - Coconut Cowboy

Joe R. Lansdale - Honky Tonk Samurai

[aplodon]

Joyce Carol Oates - The Gravedigger's Daughter.

I'm about 1/4 into it. Quite a depressing story.

[-=RTFR666=-]

Somewhat off topic, but if there's anyone here who's read King's Dark Tower Series...any opinions out there on what a clusterfuck the plans for a movie treatment's turning out to be? Idris Elba cast as Roland, with Matthew McConaughey as the man in black...

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/29...ew-mcconaughey

...the hell?

[SteveSly]

Somewhat off topic, but if there's anyone here who's read King's Dark Tower Series...any opinions out there on what a clusterfuck the plans for a movie treatment's turning out to be? Idris Elba cast as Roland, with Matthew McConaughey as the man in black...

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/29...ew-mcconaughey

...the hell?

I have read all the books, although it has been a while. Not sure what to think of the movie version, although I will probably check it out when it come sout.