The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost. Subtitle: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific. Hilarious travelogue.
The Sex Lives of Cannibals, by J. Maarten Troost. Subtitle: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific. Hilarious travelogue.
Still dog-paddling through the deep waters of the Portable Jung.
"...there is no greater obstacle to immediate experience than cognition..."
Will soon be looking for the Jungian approach to zoning admin.
Being present in the moment while some citizen is chewing you a new one and personalizing/directing all their anger towards you is a challenging exercise.Originally posted by fringe
Just got done with Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge. Great book. Next is The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews.
JOE ILIFF
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Debt is normal . . . Be weird!
Dave Ramsey
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
After many years, I've pulled out my copy of The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It's still a depressing read but I had forgotten the richness of his writing style, especially his ability to turn words into visual imagery.
“Death comes when memories of the past exceed the vision for the future.”
Sports from Hell by Rick Reilly. Very funny. The first chapter, World Sauna Championships, was the best. I had tears in my eyes from laughing.
Even ZG liked it and she's no sports fan.
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
School's out next week, which is when I traditionally read "Magic By The Lake" to my middle daughters, Hailyn and Evie. My favorite kid's book ever, and I feel like I'm 9 again when I read it.
"...I would never try to tick Hink off. He kinda intimidates me. He's quite butch, you know." - Maister
As mentioned elsewhere, my ailing father is the retired psychiatrist who provides a clinical view of the title character's medical records.
I swung by the local library to see what else was in there. Wowie--complete index, and dear ol' dad is mentioned multiple times. There's even a description of the homestead, and dad's living conditions: "...he admits to waging a losing battle against the accumulating clutter of daily life."
(Admit, nuthin.' Ray Charles could see that...oh, heck, check out the hording and saving useless stuff threads.)
My sis was given a copy by a friend who left a Post-It review. "What a wonderful book -- your father's role is great!"
What I've read so far is fascinating. Most of my treasure hunts have been Google searches, and sometimes I've had to interact with governmental officials (folks in a county deed office). Trying to resist the urge to go stretch out on the couch and rip right through it.
Here's one review.
I'm out of library books but I have to stay home all day tomorrow awaiting RJ's wine shipment, which requires an adult signature for delivery. Sigh.
I guess I will download something to my kindle. Maybe I can get RJ to pay for it.
Started the second reading ritual of summer: Faulkner's "Light in August", arguably my favorite.
Are there other Faulkner fans out there in Cyburbia? Read him first in college - before I was diagnosed Adult ADD. Everyone in my class hated Faulkner's narrative style (Absalom, Absalom!) and I felt like I'd found the only other person who experienced life the way I did. Later when I was diagnosed I wondered if there was a connectioin. Just a thought.
"...I would never try to tick Hink off. He kinda intimidates me. He's quite butch, you know." - Maister
Started reading New York, by Edward Rutherfurd. Off to a good start. Easy reading as compared to The Power Broker, which I have been plodding through for quite some time (and still more to read!). Makes for a twin combo, reading these New York books at the same time.
Years ago read Russka by Rutherfurd and enjoyed it, especially with my family background.
Bear
Occupy Cyburbia!
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
JOE ILIFF
________________________________________________________________________
Debt is normal . . . Be weird!
Dave Ramsey
"Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think."
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I like him too, but like you most of that reading was in college. Also like Flannery O'Connor, whose stories I have revisited lately.
I'm reading "The Blind Side" which RJ borrowed and just read. I have to say, it's "dry" reading with a bunch of NFL padding which nobody but a rabid fan would want to read. So I have to pick thru that and skip some stuff to get to the real story.
Never read any O'Connor, I'll pick something up...
"...I would never try to tick Hink off. He kinda intimidates me. He's quite butch, you know." - Maister
This might just as well go in the Raising Children Thread, but I'll put it here.
I'm in the middle of Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon. Its kind of a series of essays ruminating on the hilarious and tragic moments of being a grown up man and father in our modern society. He's a wonderful and very funny writer (a bit wordy at times, but that's also how I write - though not as well - so I can relate). His upbringing and mine are very much in parallel in terms of places, timeframe and experiences, so it has a little extra ooomph from my perspective. Thumbs up!
The purpose of life is a life of purpose
OK, my last lame reading ritual of the summer...it's almost August so my daughters and I will begin reading "Tuck Everlasting" again this weekend. I'm just realizing that I could possibly be the most annoying father ever and they're just humoring me....
"...I would never try to tick Hink off. He kinda intimidates me. He's quite butch, you know." - Maister
Just arrived (what can Brown do for you?), and next on tap: Star Island by Carl Hiaasen.
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
Cool! I didn't know Hiaasen had a new book! Will have to look for that one.
I just started reading 212, by Alafair Burke. This is the first time I've read anything by her, though I've been a fan of her papa, James Lee Burke, for years. If you have read any of James Lee Burke's books, you will recognize Alafair as the name of lead character Dave Robicheaux's adopted daughter.
It's been a historical novel kind of summer. Poland and The Covenant(about 20 pages left to go) by Michener. I'd read both before but it was a few years ago. Next on the read list will be Comanche Moon by McMurtry. It's part of his Lonesome Dove series. I don't normally read back to back to back novels of that length but when it's 100+ friggin degrees that's about as active as I want to be.
“Death comes when memories of the past exceed the vision for the future.”
Just finished Nature Girl by Carl Hiaasen. It was alitle slower than some of his previous books, but still good and very classic.
I saw Star Island in the bookstore at the airport, but it wasn't paperback so I went with this one.
"Whatever beer I'm drinking, is better than the one I'm not." DMLW
Post #2: yay!
Just finished up "Planet of Slums" by Mike Davis, who really is one of the greats. His ability to synthesize seemingly limitless amounts of disparate information is truly impressive. "Planet of Slums" is a dense book; it's not terribly long, but not a sentence is wasted. And it's obviously heavy subject matter. It will bum you out, but it's a must-read on the topic of developing world cities and the disastrous on-the-ground effects of neo-liberalism.
Currently working on Matt Hern's "Common Ground in a Liquid City: Essays in Defense of an Urban Future." Matt has a PhD in Urban Studies and teaches at UBC. He uses visits to other cities as a jumping off point for essays on the city of Vancouver--which serves as microcosm of many cities that are facing similar issues of affordable housing, interminable high-rise condo development, public space questions, city branding, and urban funkiness, among other things. Really great read so far.
Just finished The Good Soldiers and now starting Broke, USA and Those Who Work and Those Who Don't: Morals in Rural America
I burned down the church to atone for my transgressions.
Currently reading Horatio's Drive. The companion book to the Ken Burns PBS series (that I never saw). Tells the story of a man who was the first to drive an automobile across the country. Bet $50 he could drive from San Francisco to New York within 90 days. This was in back in 1903 when there was only 150 miles of improved road in the entire nation.
That's a great book, Maister! I actually used a photo of Bud the dog, who accompanied the man on his journey, as my Cyburbia avatar for awhile. Hmm, maybe it's time to change back...
I just finished a biography of writer/naturalist John Burroughs, and - in a completely different vein - started the new thriller by Linwood Barclay. It should be a good Labor Day weekend read.
Last edited by Mud Princess; 02 Sep 2010 at 11:05 AM. Reason: Remembered the name of the dog
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