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Thread: What are you currently reading?

  1. #1401
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    Philip Roth - The Plot Against America. A book whose time has surely come again in the present political climate...

  2. #1402
    I read Field of Blood - which was about an ex-IRA man and a British officer. The only problem I have with GS writing about Northern Ireland is that his research is occasionally lacking, when he gets simple details wrong. Sometimes details that any squaddie in either the British Army or the IDF could have told him and sometimes details that any Belfast local could have told him.

  3. #1403
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Currently reading "The Iceman: Confessions Of A Mafia Contract Killer". It's the biography of Richard Kuklinski. A psychopath who probably killed over 100 people in his life. It's so over the top that if I didn't know it was real, I'd think it was just too graphic a novel to be taken seriously! Chilling stuff!
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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  4. #1404
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    Currently reading "The Iceman: Confessions Of A Mafia Contract Killer". It's the biography of Richard Kuklinski. A psychopath who probably killed over 100 people in his life. It's so over the top that if I didn't know it was real, I'd think it was just too graphic a novel to be taken seriously! Chilling stuff!
    I have read that. Agree, a lot of what he claims seems to be way over the top, and there are some doubts to the extent of some of his claims, but there is no question that he was a complete cold blooded serial killer. You might want to also check out the HBO interviews that were done with him back before he died. You can find them on youtube. Even if just half of it is true, it is chilling stuff.

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    I am reading “Without Frontiers” a biography of Peter Gabriel. Very interesting so far.

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    Member Koreabruce's Avatar
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    As usual, all of mine are audio books. I just finished Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow and am now well into Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, both by Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian. From Wikipedia: "His more recent books are more cautionary, and work through the consequences of a futuristic biotechnological world where sentient biological organisms are surpassed by their own creations; he has said 'Homo sapiens as we know them will disappear in a century or so'". Very thought-provoking books!

    I've also started Fire and Rain by David Browne, which basically looks at events during the year 1970 mostly in terms of rising and fading popular music stars (The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSN&Y, etc.).

    In the queue: Steven Pinker's The Better Angels of Our Nature... an epic 36+ hours of listening. The coming winter will not be boring, to say the least!

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    Hmmm I might checkout that Harari book - sounds like it might be up my alley.

    I'm reading the Joni Mitchell biography Reckless Daughter and so far it is excellent. Lots of insights into this brilliant woman and many great artists and personalities she encountered on her journey. Learning a lot of specifics about what some of her songs were about and their inspirations.

  8. #1408
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    I've had the Harari books on my radar for a while, now. Fascinating stuff.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  9. #1409
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    I have read that. Agree, a lot of what he claims seems to be way over the top, and there are some doubts to the extent of some of his claims, but there is no question that he was a complete cold blooded serial killer. You might want to also check out the HBO interviews that were done with him back before he died. You can find them on youtube. Even if just half of it is true, it is chilling stuff.
    The author's notes at the beginning of the book claim that he had to pry a lot of the information out of him. He didn't walk into the interview room and start boasting. The sheer quantity of murders, and the sadistic way most were perpetrated seems totally surreal.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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  10. #1410
    Member Lopez's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    Currently reading "The Iceman: Confessions Of A Mafia Contract Killer". It's the biography of Richard Kuklinski. A psychopath who probably killed over 100 people in his life. It's so over the top that if I didn't know it was real, I'd think it was just too graphic a novel to be taken seriously! Chilling stuff!
    When I saw your post, Yves, I decided to put down the collection of Western noir stories I'm currently reading and ordered this one from the library. Recently saw shows on TV about Tony Spilatro and Tommy Pitera, other Mafia psycho hitmen, so I'm primed for the Iceman. Thanks for the recommend.
    Lou

    Looking forward to my day in court.

  11. #1411
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lopez View Post
    When I saw your post, Yves, I decided to put down the collection of Western noir stories I'm currently reading and ordered this one from the library. Recently saw shows on TV about Tony Spilatro and Tommy Pitera, other Mafia psycho hitmen, so I'm primed for the Iceman. Thanks for the recommend.

    Hope you enjoy. It reads like a novel so it's a page-turner. There's a section focused on his second wife , to give us a different perspective. Kuklinski was a Pole so he could never be a "made guy". As a result, he was a free-lance contract killer. I like that the book starts with his childhood, to give a window into his early development into psychosis.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

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    Member interbellum's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    I am reading “Without Frontiers” a biography of Peter Gabriel. Very interesting so far.
    I read it a few years ago with a lot of pleasure. The only thing that bordered me somewhat was that Daryl Easlea is too much a fan to be critical, especially when it comes to Gabriel's "Mandela-years".

  13. #1413
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    Hope you enjoy. It reads like a novel so it's a page-turner. There's a section focused on his second wife , to give us a different perspective. Kuklinski was a Pole so he could never be a "made guy". As a result, he was a free-lance contract killer. I like that the book starts with his childhood, to give a window into his early development into psychosis.
    After seeing this thread yesterday, I went back and watched a bunch of the old interview footage on youtube. The last hour or so with the psych doctor is especially interesting.


  14. #1414
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lopez View Post
    When I saw your post, Yves, I decided to put down the collection of Western noir stories I'm currently reading and ordered this one from the library. Recently saw shows on TV about Tony Spilatro and Tommy Pitera, other Mafia psycho hitmen, so I'm primed for the Iceman. Thanks for the recommend.
    Kulkinski was an associate of Roy DeMeo (a psycho killer in his own right).

  15. #1415
    facetious maximus Yves's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SteveSly View Post
    After seeing this thread yesterday, I went back and watched a bunch of the old interview footage on youtube. The last hour or so with the psych doctor is especially interesting.

    Thanks for the link. I'll finish the book before watching this.
    "Corn Flakes pissed in. You ranted. Mission accomplished. Thread closed."

    -Cozy 3:16-

  16. #1416
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    Quote Originally Posted by interbellum View Post
    I read it a few years ago with a lot of pleasure. The only thing that bordered me somewhat was that Daryl Easlea is too much a fan to be critical, especially when it comes to Gabriel's "Mandela-years".
    Yes, I would agree with that. The book is certainly not very objective, but it was an enjoyable read.

  17. #1417
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus by S. G. Browne. Funny, and told in the first person by one of the undead.
    We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

  18. #1418
    Member Lou's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Yves View Post
    Currently reading "The Iceman: Confessions Of A Mafia Contract Killer". It's the biography of Richard Kuklinski. A psychopath who probably killed over 100 people in his life. It's so over the top that if I didn't know it was real, I'd think it was just too graphic a novel to be taken seriously! Chilling stuff!
    Thanks Yves, I just ordered a used copy of this. Looks right up my alley!

    Recent reads include The Fighter, by Craig Davidson, and The Acolyte, by Nick Cutter. (a Davidson pseudonym)

    The Acolyte was excellent. About a society where the ruling authority is the One True Religion. Heretics are hunted down
    and exterminated. The Acolytes are an elite team whose task is to hunt down and eradicate all non believers. Of course,
    the One True Religion is far from the moral high ground that they portray. This is an extreme version of what can happen
    when religion is perverted to the maximum.

    The Fighter tells the tale of a wimpy high class guy who gets his ass kicked badly in a bar. He then loses interest in everything else in life
    except training at a local boxing dive. His life devolves into a series of underground bare knuckle bouts which can never seem to satisfy
    his immense self loathing. Pretty gritty and very dark.
    A Comfort Zone is not a Life Sentence

  19. #1419
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    "The Collapsing Empire" by John Scalzi was the page turner for today.
    To be truthful, I don't know if I will read more of Scalzi's work based on this one.
    Billed as 'An Interstellar Epic', it sort of gets moving and explains the background 'science' that moves the ships.
    Much ( too much ) palace intrigue, and forgive me for not being up on the latest authors styles, way to much colloquial American english idiom for some time period 1600 years in the future.
    It did seem like a mostly self contained novel, but left some room for additional material in the future, that does seem the formula for the scifi of today.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
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    Nostalgia, you know, ain't what it used to be. Furthermore, they tells me, it never was.
    “A Man Who Does Not Read Has No Appreciable Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read” - Mark Twain

  20. #1420
    Member rickawakeman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MudShark22 View Post
    I enjoyed the 1st two in the series but fell away afterwards. Interested in hearing how you like it.
    Regarding the Pendragon Cycle by Lawhead , I also enjoyed the second volume (Merlin) so will plow ahead!

    I'm about a hundred pages from finishing Hobb's second in the Liveship Trilogy (thanks for the recommendation Yves) "Mad Ship" and have "Ship of Destiny" on deck.

    I also have "Kate: Inside the Rainbow" by Kate's brother John waiting for me. Found this in Montreal, beautiful coffetable-type book full of his photos of his beautiful sister.

  21. #1421
    Progga mogrooves's Avatar
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    I'll pretend that this is an audio book:

    https://www.truthdig.com/videos/chri...ystopia-video/
    Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes

  22. #1422
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    I was reading Ship of Magic at the recommendation of folks here, and was a little over halfway through and it was kind of boring me so I put it aside. But just restarted a few days ago and it seems I was right at the place where it picks up. Or absence makes the heart grow fonder. Anyway, much more interesting now, though still a little frustrating the way i imagine romance novels are. Friggin screw already, people!

    On a different subject, anyone here familiar with the Horus Heresy novels? It's part of some mammoth series of Warhammer books. People seem to love them, and the covers are cool, but I'm worried they suck. I sometimes am interested in these books based on RPGs, but always figure they'll probably blow. But they look so cool...

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ho...k_1_to_Book_10

  23. #1423
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    So I was decided to just get the first of the Horus Heresy books mentioned above, and Barnes & Noble's site said it was in stock at a store a 20 minute drive from me, so I go there and lo - they didn't have it. Thanks a damned lot, B&N. No apology or anything either.

  24. #1424
    All Things Must Pass spellbound's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000
    So I was decided to just get the first of the Horus Heresy books mentioned above, and Barnes & Noble's site said it was in stock at a store a 20 minute drive from me, so I go there and lo - they didn't have it. Thanks a damned lot, B&N. No apology or anything either.
    Sounds like Best Buy. Their website will tell you they have a new CD at a decent price at the nearest store, but if you go there, they will not have even one. So, I don't believe them anymore and rarely visit their store or website. If they want to put themselves out of business, it's fine by me. If you ask an employee, not only will they be unapologetic, they likely won't have ever heard of the advertised item.
    We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
    It won't be visible through the air
    And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973

  25. #1425
    Member davis's Avatar
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    The Art of Non-Conformity, by Chris Guillebeau

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