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What are you reading?

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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Kathy Rose » Sun Sep 29, 2013 9:16 am

My penchant for biographical material continues. I just started "The Astronaut Wives Club" by Lily Koppel. I'm only a few chapters in but if the rest of the book is as informative and entertaining -- something not always associated with historical material -- I'm in for a treat. Even though they were from diverse backgrounds and might not necessarily have been otherwise, the women banded together to help support each other.

The press invaded these women's lives, even more so than they do to celebrities today. They even barged into their homes unannouced, and tried to film through their windows when they couldn't get in. The wives soon learned that they needed to keep their curtains closed on the days when their husbands were launched into space. Annie Glenn shot down LBJ's demand to be with her in her home while her husband, John Glenn, was making history as the first American to orbit the Earth. Annie had a terrible stutter that caused her embarrassment, but she was even more concerned because LBJ wanted to bring in cameramen and reporters from the three major networks. The astronauts had signed over exclusive rights to being in their homes during launches to Life magazine, which provided life insurance for them as part of the deal. Seeing as how no one else was willing to insure the astronauts. if Annie had let those other reporters in, all the astronauts would have lost their life insurance.
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby EntAllat » Thu Nov 07, 2013 10:03 am

Right now I'm reading "Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened" by Allie Brosh. This should just come in a package together with Jenny Lawson's book - another extremely funny, yet very touching and very human sort of book.

Over the summer I read Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs - I'd skimmed some of her stuff before, including this book, but never actually sat down and read it all. Good, though some of the actions of the main character really made me want to whack some sense into her at times. The next book I'm planning to read is The Worst Hard Time.
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Mr Smith » Fri Nov 08, 2013 8:33 am

EntAllat wrote:Right now I'm reading "Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened" by Allie Brosh. This should just come in a package together with Jenny Lawson's book - another extremely funny, yet very touching and very human sort of book.

Did she finally make it to publishing her book? I must get this! She's so funny, but her posts about depression were some of the most most accurate and honest depictions of it I've read anywhere.

I'm still reading Lonesome Dove, think I will be for a while, but that's okay, it's an amazing novel.
"Is that really how you see me? The eternal pessimist? The grim reaper? I don't want to die, what makes you think I want to die?"
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Frakme » Fri Nov 08, 2013 9:42 am

Currently reading Taltos by Anne Rice.
Am re-reading a lot of stuff at the moment while I wait for the next installment of GRRM's A Song of Ice and Fire!
I do find I have little time to read and I tend to read more on my 'phone. I am seriously thinking of buying more e-books rather than paper ones. Still I think we maybe lacking space for more paperbooks!
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Artisticmom2 » Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:36 pm

Lots and lots of things, I don't focus on one book well.
Rereading the entire Harry Potter series at the moment, currently on book 6.
Reading The Magic of Fire about open fire cooking. Just finished Saving Dinner for the Holidays which had some interesting recipes. Then working through The Immune System Recovery Plan as we are thinking of making some dietary changes to help one of the kids with a health issue. Just started Emily Gets Her Gun which will be an easy read and then lastly Star Wars Crucible
But I am supposed to be reading Brave New World so that I can discuss with teen child who is working through it for school.
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Kathy Rose » Tue Dec 31, 2013 5:08 pm

I received several books for Christmas. I'm a little more than half way through the first, "Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household" by Kate Hubbard, It's about the lives of six people in particular, drawn from their correspondence and diaries, including the royal children's governess and the queen's personal physician, and how they lived and coped in the Victoria court. It's interesting, especially if you like history, and a real eye-opener about everyday life for not only the those serving the queen, but of the queen herself. Considering Victoria was on the throne for 63 years, there's quite a bit of information.
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby EntAllat » Thu Jan 02, 2014 5:48 pm

I gave in to curiosity and read through all three Hunger Games books mid-December. Right now I'm catching up with some friends who've read all the "Nikki Heat" books by fictional author Richard Castle. (Richard Castle is a fictional character from the ABC show, Castle , played by Nathan Fillion. The name is being used as a pseudonym for tie-in novels to the TV show.)
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Kathy Rose » Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:24 pm

EntAllat wrote:I gave in to curiosity and read through all three Hunger Games books mid-December. Right now I'm catching up with some friends who've read all the "Nikki Heat" books by fictional author Richard Castle. (Richard Castle is a fictional character from the ABC show, Castle , played by Nathan Fillion. The name is being used as a pseudonym for tie-in novels to the TV show.)


I read the first Nikki Heat book when it came out. It was okay, and of course I kept picturing Kate Beckett when reading about Nikki Heat. :) I was intrigued that they actually published a Nikki Heat book to tie in with what Castle writing it in the series.
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby EntAllat » Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:32 am

Kathy Rose wrote:I read the first Nikki Heat book when it came out. It was okay, and of course I kept picturing Kate Beckett when reading about Nikki Heat. :) I was intrigued that they actually published a Nikki Heat book to tie in with what Castle writing it in the series.


Yeah, I think they are all supposed to be thinly veiled Beckett/Castle episodes, er, books. There's five books now, and the latter ones often have Firefly references, like a team of detectives named Malcolm and Reynolds, etc. :lol:
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Re: What are you reading?

Postby Kathy Rose » Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:38 pm

Just finished "Unholy Night" by Seth Grahame-Smith, the author of "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" and "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies." All i can say is "Wow!"

The premise is that the three wise men who brought gifts to baby Jesus were not really wise men or kings, but rather thieves. They wind up protecting Jesus, Mary and Joseph on their flight to Egypt to escape Herod's decree to kill all Jewish male babies in order to prevent a messiah from becoming king of the Jews.

It's quite the tale, and moves along at an incredible pace, with enough backstory for the main character, the thief Balthazar, to explain things but not so much that it bogs down the story. Balthazar is known as the Antioch Ghost because of his life of crime. He is one of the best anti-heroes I've come across in a long time. I really felt for his character, although there were times he was a jerk.

There are elements not only of religion but supposed magic (a mysterious character, the last practitioner of ancient dark knowledge who is aiding the Romans). I was also impressed by the historical information as to the setting and societal structure of the day as presented by the author.

My only quibble about the book is that it has too much violence. It was a violent era at times, but I almost balked at finishing the book when near the end there is a torture sequence. I'm not sure it was really necessary to be as graphic as it was portrayed, but perhaps that was to give even more impact to what happens afterward.
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