A mixture of what I already knew after reading his book "A Warning" by Anonymous ...and more especially what Miles Taylor had to endure from "Trump Wor
A mixture of what I already knew after reading his book "A Warning" by Anonymous ...and more especially what Miles Taylor had to endure from "Trump World" after he announced ...he was the author, he was anonymous. Hell hath no fury like...Trump scorned!...more
Genre: non-fiction (memoir/essays) Rating: A+++ Review: There is Always This Year
No matter what you dream about ...winning the lottery ...seeing your mother again (desceased) ...going back to the "old neighborhood" ...seeing your home team win the championship ...able to send a "floater" on the rim...and dunk for the win! ...being Le Bron James
Whatever it is Hanif Abdurraqib has a little something in this book for you! "...just the chance to dream myself beyond my circumstances ...for a few hours ...before succumbing, again, to the wide sharp grin of reality. "...more
Goodnews: I love Everett's sense of humor: setting is Money, Mississippi, neighborhood is Small Change and the local newspaper is the Money Clip. What
Goodnews: I love Everett's sense of humor: setting is Money, Mississippi, neighborhood is Small Change and the local newspaper is the Money Clip. What's not to like?
Goodnews: Dispite the unspeakable terror and high body count...this was a "laugh-out-loud" book! Percival Everett has a Dickensian talent for eccentric characters: Helvetia Quip - Chauncey Boatwright - Sheriff Chalk Pelluicd - Pick L. Dill - Hickory Stonewall Spit and the unforgettable Deputy Ho, Deputy Chi and Deputy Minh!
Personal: I've now read 3 books by Percival Everett: James, Erasure and So Much Blue...but this one was the BEST! #MustRead...more
It is an election year so "everybody" is talking about the border! But...what do you actually know about this hot issue? Well, leave it to Jonathan BlitIt is an election year so "everybody" is talking about the border! But...what do you actually know about this hot issue? Well, leave it to Jonathan Blitzer (staff writer at The New Yorker) to make this topic so intersting and more importantly readable! #Must Read...more
Well written and a document for the ages. Liz Cheney recaps what happened from the election in November 2020 to December 2022. Much of the information iWell written and a document for the ages. Liz Cheney recaps what happened from the election in November 2020 to December 2022. Much of the information is known if you folllowed th J6 Committee hearings. Cheney adds the "behind the scenes" work that produced the evidence and a final report of Trump's attemped coup....more
What a thrilling book! I'm reliving history that passed me by in 1970s - 1980s especially. I'd just left USA after college and was busy learng to liveWhat a thrilling book! I'm reliving history that passed me by in 1970s - 1980s especially. I'd just left USA after college and was busy learng to live in a new country, learn a new language build my life, buy a house, go to night school while working during the day. This was before news was "online" 24/7. It feels so medieval compared to how we process news now.
Ch 9 - 9/11 attack: more about the skills and humanity of all involved behind the scenes in the situation room during this crisis. Ch 10 - Special operation to assassinate Bin Laden ...the plan, the decison making and the implementation. Ch 11 - Trump (just chaos), good chapter name "Postcards from the Edge!" Ch 12 - Biden retreat out Afghanistan (2021) + invasion Ukraine (2022) Just a stunning page turner of a book!
There were a few tidbits of new info but as the book progressed it felt like I was just reading the news again. Been there, done that. Books about Trump.
There were a few tidbits of new info but as the book progressed it felt like I was just reading the news again. Been there, done that. Books about Trump....and they all seem to be blending together now. It is time to see him go....more
Impressive.... I read this book for the first time in 1967 during a summer filledd with babysitting jobs. This blockbuster was everywhere and I was just
Impressive.... I read this book for the first time in 1967 during a summer filledd with babysitting jobs. This blockbuster was everywhere and I was just developing a more love of adult reading. (....no more Nancy Drew). Just 50 pages and I am in awe how well Truman Capopte could write. Too bad it was the last book he'd ever finish before his death 1984...more
I agree with some of the comments about this book. It feels like a "Dr. Atkins" diet...once you get to the end and read the eat/don't eat food list. and
I agree with some of the comments about this book. It feels like a "Dr. Atkins" diet...once you get to the end and read the eat/don't eat food list. and menu plans. As a vegetarian...I cannot eat eggs, dairy, meats, cheese that he recommends. Not doing it! So my only takeaway is to curb my eating of wheat products (bread) ...and continue to eat in moderation....more
Pleasantly written, this book is easily read. Alas, I was not swept away by the writing. So what did I do? Just kept reading it. Believe it or not, youPleasantly written, this book is easily read. Alas, I was not swept away by the writing. So what did I do? Just kept reading it. Believe it or not, you don't have to have an emotional connection to every book you read....more
There is only one way to review this book ...with a wonderful quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates: "...the craft of writing as the art of thinking”.
9 EXCELLENT esThere is only one way to review this book ...with a wonderful quote by Ta-Nehisi Coates: "...the craft of writing as the art of thinking”.
9 EXCELLENT essays + 3 okay + 4 good This is just my personal score. You may love them all! #MustRead on a lazy summer day!...more
MLK pivoted his work from a civil to a political movement. August 1966 King:” If people from Mississippi wanted to feel hate, go to Chica
Conclusion:
MLK pivoted his work from a civil to a political movement. August 1966 King:” If people from Mississippi wanted to feel hate, go to Chicago.” Under the pressure of marches in white suburbs… …mayor Daley agreed to changes in Chicago’s housing. The marches helped galvanize support for the passage of the …Civil Rights Act of 1968 against discrimination to private housing.
I reached the biography’s final section. I had an awarness of the clock ticking down (April 1968), …a terrible feeling that I couldn’t save him. The book gave me purpose for many summer days during my morning walk, 2-3 chapters in an hour. It was at times a comforting read to compare 1960s civil rights struggle and the progress, yes progress…Obama, Kamala Harris, the USA …has made all thanks to the couragous …MLK and the people how believed in the cause.
Last thoughts:
This book included more information about MLK …recently revealed in released FBI files. The next information will be made public in 2027. We will get the tapes and transcripts of wire taps done by the FBI Who autorizied these taps….who collected the information and …most importantly why did the government …want to weaponize MLK’s private life. ...more
The period covered by the plot extends from 1815 to 1864. So while I was expecting some action in the wild west Ch 1-2 were very “slow going”…11 pages sitting in a bar (cantina)! (pg 23-117). I had to push myself through the book. Ch 3-6 – was about a “road trip” with: Tom Hawkins – introvert, “killer”, carries the burden of guilt of parricide. Pigsmeat Spence – traumatized by indian massacres Flora – mulatto slave…who seeks revenge against the “Boss”. The chapters feel endless because Lance Weller decided compact 326 page novel into just 6 chapters! Ch 7 in contrast is just 5 pages! Go figure.
Last thoughts:
No, this was not a great read for “squeamish” me. Don’t really enjoy reading about scalping people, protruding tendons in people’s neck or 5 pages about removing an arrow from Tom’s loins. This book is not for me. Nevertheless I’ve ordered Weller’s book “Wilderness”. Weller’s inserts more humanity into his characters in that novel. Not giving up on Lance Weller…. So, fingers crossed!...more
I'm going to have to agree with another reader ....who says it perfectly: An Immense World was an interesting look into the topic, but the writing was nI'm going to have to agree with another reader ....who says it perfectly: An Immense World was an interesting look into the topic, but the writing was not as engaging as I'd hoped it would be. ...more
Finish date: 08 July 2024 Genre: novel (242 pg) Rating: B #20BooksOfSummer24
Conclusion:
I haven’t even started the book …just making an overview of the book’s structure and I’m shaking my head already. Do we need 53 “mini chapters, really”? I dislike stories that jump back and forth ad nauseam. So I’m going to do something different: I’m going to read ALL the chapters (bundles) under 3 titles: 1979 – House – Paris I will be curious to see how this will go. At the end of the book I’ll put three storylines next to each other and ask myself if the “back and forth” or …reading the chapters in bundels makes a difference?
Bundle “1979”:
Reading time: 1 hr 30 min Chapters: 17 mini chapters Motif: Color blue… represents a deeper meaning. Calmness, comfort, depression, melancholy. References to the color blue: 12 x 3 narratives: (1979, Paris, House) all represent part’s of the protagonists life…. the color blue shows Kevin Pace’s journey. Conclusion: (good hook to start the book….nothing more) This storyline is Kevin’s trip with his friend Richard. Kevin takes chances but feels his friend needs him and he is there to help. It was a typical madcap rush into the unknown and dangerous …El Salvador for 4 days in search of Richard’s brother Tad. Not great writing.…I was just waiting for the trio to bet back to the airport unscathed and return to Los Angeles, California.
Bundle “House”
Reading time: 1 hr 45 min Chapters: 21 mini chapters Motif “…blue is so likable, a color that so many loved or liked …no one hated blue. I could not use it. The color of trust, loyalty... “ References to the color blue: 17 x Conclusion: (best narrative) Kevin Pace confronts many of his long hidden secrets. His wife and children are all involved as well as an …affair in Paris and a death of a child in El Salvador. Excellent writing.…the story just swept me away!
Bundle “Paris”
Reading time: 30 min Chapters: 15 mini chapters Motif: NO references to the color blue Conclusion: (weakest narrative) Boilerplate writing.…love affair language is always the same …just fill in the blanks with other names. Love affairs are not great literature. I love you, you love me, I’m not leaving my wife and children.
Personal:
Reading the narratives in “bundles” was the …best way to go. Kevin reveals: “My paintings were abstract and splashed with guilt as much as paint…” He never tells his wife his deepest secret, …but he does, in the end, show her his secret painting. Her reaction: “So much blue,” she observes. “Now you know everything,” Kevin says....more
Loading...
