I vaguely remember The Amber Spyglass being confusing and irritating. I couldn’t tell whether I just needed to reread the first two books or it really had gone off the rails. I never really believed in Pullman’s world, so I haven’t tried to read the new trilogy. I do wish I read as fast as my kids - because I feel like that’s what I need to do and I don’t want to.
The World That We Knew By Alice Hoffman. This was a beautiful audio book. Really, a true story telling.
My taste in literature must be in the < 10% minority of book readers.
I get so psyched for these books!
But different strokes for…
“The Man Who Solved the Market” - Gregory Zuckerman such a fascinating life
“The Forgotten Depression” - James Grant such a timely book for the current state of the World
@bloomfield88
Have you read “the economists’ hour”? I got the book but have not started it. Heard good reviews about the book and looking forward to reading it.
Just finished book 5 of the Red Rising series. Loved it!
@bloomfield88 - Jim Grant is my husband’s uncle! He is a lovely man. He is kind as well as intelligent. I should read his book.
@Onward You haven’t read the book? Oooh, You really ought to. I just started and I am enjoying James Grant’s most recent book “Bagehot: The Life and Times of the Greatest Victorian”.
By far the best podcast amongst the thousands is “Grant’s Current Yield”. Aside from sneaking in the usual commercials, James Grant has the most respect for the listener’s valuable time. I wish other podcasters would listen to an episode of Grant’s to learn how to squeeze as much material as possible into as little time as possible.
I guess I better order the books. Bagehot sounds interesting and a book my son-in-law would like. Ha, my husband just pulled up the podcast.
I started watching the HBO His Dark Materials and downloaded The Golden Compass from my library to re-read and really enjoyed it. But I remember being very confused by the Amber Spyglass. so was hesitant to pick up the new series, but will try it. I like the HBO series (from the BBC) so far.
I’m reading the first book of Pullman’s trilogy now. I don’t know, I guess I’m just not into fantasy worlds as much as sci fi. I’ll stick with it and see if I can get into it more.
I only watched the first episode and I thought they did a really good job telling the story so far. Can’t wait to watch the second episode. And the acting is amazing, especially the young girl who plays Lyra.
I was so excited when the movie came out years ago but it wasn’t good at all, they compacted so much into 2 hours, did not do justice for the books. But the HBO series has a lot of potential!
I just finished Lands of Lost Borders: A journey on the silk road by Kate Harris, and I highly recommend it.
The author and a female friend biked the entire Silk Road and recounted their adventures. I forget all the countries but they include Turkey, India, China, Tibet, and a plethora of “stan” countries. The writing is excellent, and I felt as if I were along for the adventure.
I had such sympathy for the author’s parents and kept thinking how worried I would be if my child attempted this. Nevertheless, the young women remained safe and had largely positive interactions with these warmly welcoming people.
Whoa! “Address Unknown”, first published in 1938. Re-released in 2015. Wow. It’s a shocking little story. Very little. You can read it in like 20 minutes.
“Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is the compelling tale of a friendship that is lost at the hands of Nazi Germany. It is told in the form of letters written between the two characters, Max and Martin, and shows how Nazism undermines and ruins their relationship, leading to a very tragic end.”
“A rediscovered classic, originally published in 1938, and now an international best-seller, it reveals the extraordinary power of the pen as a weapon.”
I’ve had this book in queue for over a year and just got around to listening to it.
The Warmth of Other Suns
I enjoyed it very much and learned some important history.
Just finished the CC book club recommendation from a few months ago “the weight of ink”, couldn’t put it down. Deeply moved by the contemporary and 17th century characters of the book. Five stars!
@Midwest67
“The warmth of other suns” is one of my favorite non-fiction books.
I thought * The Weight of Ink *was fabulous, probably the best book I’ve read this year.
Currently reading the last of Madeleine L’Engle’s Crosswick Journal’s her musings about life, religion, her life, and her marriage. I am not a Christian, but I find L’Engle gives about as good a sense of what it means to have faith, or to struggle to have faith as anyone I know. It’s clear that she has a lot of demons left over from her childhood, which she tends to paint in a positive light here, but much less positively in her novels. I read an interesting essay about her novels and her memoirs - that said in many ways the novels were more autobiographical than her memoirs. She’s obviously no angel.
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Should be required reading in high school.
Everyone should read this book, IMO.
My most recent forays are really meh
(audio versions)
amy poehler yes please…I think I lasted about 15 minutes.
The winemakers wife. I think it was partly the terrible french Asian accent but it wasn’t engaging in any way. I think I gave it about 20 minutes.
Cilkas journey. I am plodding through it becuase I feel obligated. I think it is the narrator that I dislike.