Yes, “Still Alice” is popular amongst those of us who work with Alzheimers and with some of the spouses, too. Why they read it when they are living with it surprises me but they do.
Following up on a previous post, I just finished Revolutionary Road, which I thought was terrific (if also very dark).
Here’s a fairly recent piece on Yates and RR that appeared in the *Guardian<a href=“in%20which%20English%20playwright%20David%20Hare%20characterizes%20Yates%20as” title=“with Fitzgerald and Hemingway . . . [one of] the three unarguably great American novelists of the 20th century”>/i</a>.
[Nick</a> Fraser on the American novelist, Richard Yates | Books | The Observer](<a href=“http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/feb/17/biography.fiction]Nick”>Rebirth of a dark genius | Biography books | The Guardian)
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And speaking of fiction, and Brits, I recently read Geoff Dyer’s Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi, which I also greatly enjoyed.
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/books/review/Iyer-t.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/books/review/Iyer-t.html</a>
^ I just picked up Revolutionary Road and plan to read it on vacation (not exactly light reading, I guess!) I forwarded the Guardian article to my daughter, English prof wannabe, who is working on her PhD with a focus on Yates.
Two books for me:
Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield, a novel about the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC where King Leonidas of Sparta held off an overwhelming Persian army under King Xerxes for days with a small strategically-placed force; all 300 Spartan warriors died, but killed over twenty thousand of the invaders;
and Give Me back My Legions! by Harry Turtledove, a novel about clades Variana in 9 AD where three Roman legions were destroyed in an ambush by the German leader Arminius; the title comes from the anguished and repeated wails of the Emporer Augustus when he was informed of the catastrophe; the emperor is said to have beat his head against the marble walls for hours, wailing “Quinctilus Varus, give me back my Legions!” which he murmured every few days until his death. Varus was the Roman governor in charge of the force destroyed in Germany.
Both books are well-researched and riveting reads.
I don’t know how I missed it when it came out in 1996 but I just read An American Requiem by James Carroll. It’s a memoir of his relationships with his father, the American military, and the Catholic Church. He won the 1996 National Book Award for nonfiction for it.
It’s a great read for anyone who grew up Catholic in the 50s, 60s and 70s but can be appreciated by any student of 20th century American history.
Renegade by Richard Wolffe. It’s his insider’s look at what went on in the Obama presidential campaign.
Last night, not intending to when I sat down with it, I read this book of poems cover to cover, all of which deal with the death – the murder – of the poet’s 21-year-old daughter.
[Amazon.com:</a> Slamming Open the Door (9781882295746): Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Slamming-Open-Kathleen-Sheeder-Bonanno/dp/1882295749/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249175243&sr=1-2]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Slamming-Open-Kathleen-Sheeder-Bonanno/dp/1882295749/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249175243&sr=1-2)
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Earlier this week, the author was interviewed on Fresh Air:
[Fresh</a> Air from WHYY : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13]Fresh”>Fresh Air : NPR)
Just read The Stalin Epigram by Robert Littell. Very moving historical fiction of the poet Osip Mandelstam and Stalin.
I just finished “Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea: The Daring Capture of the U-505”, by Dan Gallery. It is a memoir by the skipper of the US ship task force that boarded and captured a German submarine during WWII. This is the U-Boat that is on display at the Museum of Science & Industry in Chicago. I thought it was fascinating.
Last published in 2001, I got my copy through an inter-library loan (I went to the sub display recently, and wanted to read the account written by the guy who captured it - - for some reason this book is not sold at the bookstore at the museum). It is for sale on Amazon, though, new and used.
Thank you Epistrophy. I just listened to the Fresh Air interview and plan to buy the book.
^^^(Capture of the U-505)–I read that years ago…pretty good tale.
Has anyone read Netherland by Joseph O’Neill? I can’t recall if it has been discussed here or not but it was a highly acclaimed novel that got many rave reviews when it was published. I had had it sitting around for a while and finally got to it a couple of weeks ago. I really did not like it at all and I’m not sure why. I struggled to get through it and had to actually force myself to finish it. This is unusual for me. I’d be interested to hear what others here thought of it.
Alwaysamom:
I bought Netherland based on the reviews here and elsewhere too. I’ve only made it halfway through and don’t know if I’ll finish it–I’d be “forcing myself” to do so.
I’m really surprised at how I felt…quite honestly, I tend to enjoy books when they are so well-received. Your described experience with this book is exactly how I felt. Disappointed.
To find previous comments re *Netherland<a href=“or%20any%20other%20book,%20for%20that%20matter”>/i</a>, just do a “search this thread” search.
I’m so glad to read your words, alwaysamom and curioser. I have read some amazing books in 2009, but Netherland was one of the few I did not enjoy. Just felt completely flat to me, and I generally love crosscultural themes and anything to do with newcomers to America. I guess this just goes to show how personal our tastes are.
Has anyone read Columbine, by Dave Cullen; or Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn or The Master? (he’s a new discovery for me, an Irish novelist.)
I have a list of holds that I am waiting on at my library. New books I am eager to try:
Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead ( a very well-received children’s book, which counts as “work reading” for me!)
I’m just a few pages shy of the end of Brooklyn. Can’t tell from your post if you’ve read it yet. I’m loving it: one of the quietest books I’ve ever read (which I mean as, if anything, a compliment), beautifully written (in an utterly unshowy way – contrary to Netherland, which in my view was also beautifully written, but often in a high, showy style [both by Irish writers, coincidentally]).
[Amazon.com:</a> Brooklyn: A Novel (9781439138311): Colm Toibin: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Brooklyn-Novel-Colm-Toibin/dp/1439138311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251392117&sr=1-1]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Brooklyn-Novel-Colm-Toibin/dp/1439138311/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251392117&sr=1-1)
I read Netherland a few weeks ago. Although I liked it, I would also describe it as only partially “satisfying.”
Reading That Old Cape Magic now – excellent, as were the others I’ve read by Richard Russo.
Just finished Olive Kitteridge, which I also enjoyed. Reading it was like getting to know someone through snippets of stories, both direct and indirect, about him/her. At the end, I was left wanting more stories about Olive.
ZEITOUN By Dave Eggers
wonderful account of one mans struggles in post Katrina New Orleans.
Buy the hardcover----a real collectors item --the binding is fantastic.
SuNa, yes, I read both of those this summer and enjoyed both. Epistrophy’s comments on Brooklyn were exactly how I felt. It was beautifully written, and quiet. Columbine was an interesting look back at that awful day. It was enlightening how very different the facts were about what happened that day than the way things were portrayed initially. I also read The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb this summer, which is a fictional work, but the events at Columbine are at the center of the story.
One of my favorites of the summer was another non-fiction book, Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum. It is the stories of nine individuals who live in New Orleans and takes place over the course of forty years, with Hurricanes Betsy and Katrina as the bookends, so to speak. Very interesting look at the city of N.O. itself, through the eyes of nine distinct and very different residents.
CBB, That Old Cape Magic is in my ‘to read’ pile, along with the newest Pat Conroy book, South of Broad, and Fear the Worst by Linwood Barclay, who happens to be a friend of mine! Not sure which one I’ll read next.