What are you reading this week of October 15, 2017?

[hermetic]

I'm listening to The Fifth Witness, a "legal thriller" by Michael Connelly and now look forward to reading his Bosch novels. Coincidentally, I came across a Hieronymus Bosch painting online a couple of weeks ago and was having a great time exploring all the little intricacies. Then I heard about the books. Serendipity? We shall see.

Reading Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper, "a thought provoking and finely crafted novel that thoroughly involves the reader in the life of one of the most captivating heroines in modem fantasy, Beauty." So far, this is quite entertaining and fanciful. At first it's a colorful fairy tale, full of evil relatives. Then it jumps into a frightfully drab, dystopian future. Hard to say which is scarier at this point.

What new things are you looking at?

[MontanaMama]

1. I'm almost done with Hillary's book

which has been an emotional read. Many parts of it have are like reliving the election over again. Not pleasant but I appreciate Hillary's ability to see through the BS and make some sense of "What Happened".

I have a copy of Sleeping Beauties by Stephen and Owen King up next. I don't usually read Stephen King, but my kiddo wants to read it and I feel I must get to it before he does...the responsible mama thing to do and all.

Hi hermetic!

[hermetic]

5. Hi MTMama!

Delighted to see you. How's the weather? We've already had several frosts. Brrrrrr. I've been thinking about your town a lot lately and how I wish I was there. I WILL be back.

I am not familiar with Sleeping Beauties but I find most of King's stuff to be basically harmless reading. Sure, he can be scary but is never graphic or icky. Good for you, though, checking it out first. Let us know if you enjoy it.

[MontanaMama]

11. It is definitely fall in MT!

We've had several hard frosts too which has nudged the trees in their color. We had snow one day last week (too soon!).

You should definitely come back...always lots going on in our little town.

Speaking of Stephen King, I'm off to get Halloween decorations situated in the yard. Enjoy your Sunday.

[PoorMonger]

2. Lightning Men By Thomas Mullen

(Darktown #2)

Officer Denny Rakestraw and “Negro Officers” Lucius Boggs and Tommy Smith have their hands full in an overcrowded and rapidly changing Atlanta. It’s 1950 and racial tensions are simmering as black families, including Smith’s sister, begin moving into formerly all-white neighborhoods. When Rake’s brother-in-law launches a scheme to rally the Ku Klux Klan to “save” their neighborhood, his efforts spiral out of control, forcing Rake to choose between loyalty to family or the law.

Across town, Boggs and Smith try to shut down the supply of white lightning and drugs into their territory, finding themselves up against more powerful foes than they’d expected. Battling corrupt cops and ex-cons, Nazi brown shirts and rogue Klansmen, the officers are drawn closer to the fires that threaten to consume the city once again.

With echoes of Walter Mosley and Dennis Lehane, Mullen demonstrates in Lightning Men why he’s celebrated for writing crime fiction “with a nimble sense of history...quick on its feet and vividly drawn" ( Dallas Morning News).

[hermetic]

6. Wow, sounds great.

Drawn right from today's headlines, except it's 1950. SMH. I enjoy Mosley's books so I will have to check this one out.

[PoorMonger]

14. Yeah.

I am a big fan of Mullen and his last book, the first in this series, was his best yet in my opinion.

[cilla4progress]

3. The Power of Now,

Which I saw discussed here which impelled me to finally read it, after owning it for many years.

And The Things They Carried, also owned for many years but finally reading it; instigated by watching the recent PBS Vietnam documentary.

[hermetic]

7. Oh, neat.

And, The Things They Carried, I've heard about that. Sounds quite sad.

[TexasProgresive]

4. I think you will love Bosch.

I am in the middle of the last Foundation book, Foundation and Earth and a bit into The Commitments by Roddy Doyle. I had forgotten how slangy The Commitments is. I mostly get it but had to google "redner." That's a blush or flush caused by embarrassment. Anyway books like this are a real treat for me. After a bit I get into the language and it flows effortlessly. It's one way to get the old brain to seek new neuronic paths.

[hermetic]

8. I love that,

About the language stuff. Same happens for me. How awesome that we now have the internet so we can look up terms like that. It helps.

[WhiteTara]

9. I'm reading "Freda Bedi"

the biography of one of the most incredible women who was responsible for bringing Tibetan Buddhism to the West.

[hermetic]

10. Awesome

She "broke the rules of gender, race, and religion. An inspiring biography that will appeal to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike."
She certainly has my gratitude. And admiration.

[WhiteTara]

12. She spent her whole adult life trying to help the under class

Little did she know that her work to promote communism would create the Tibetan diaspora! But perhaps the work was to open Tibet so that the teachings could be spread around the world.

She was so selfless that she embodied the Bodhisattva. She is an inspiration for all the Bodhisattvas in training.

[japple]

13. Hi everyone! Thanks for the thread, hermetic. Life has been complicated lately esp. in

the field of cat rescue. It has been a brutal kitten season. So many little bitty fragile kittens being brought into the shelter and no one to care for them. The rescue groups I work with try to get them out ASAP, but they are so compromised by the time they are brought in that some just do not have the strength to survive. Even though there are more cats than homes for them, we rejoice for every single baby kitten that makes it!

And in books, I am going back to an author I have loved ever since I discovered him when I lived in North Carolina. His writing is beautiful, hypnotic and descriptive. Like Pat Conroy, his vivid depictions of growing up on the SE Atlantic shores are truly noteworthy.

http://davidpaynebooks.com/books/

Barefoot to Avalon

In 2000, while moving his household from Vermont to North Carolina, author David Payne watched from his rearview mirror as his younger brother, George A., driving behind him in a two-man convoy of rental trucks, lost control of his vehicle, fishtailed and flipped over in the road. David’s life hit a downward spiral. From a cocktail hour indulgence, his drinking became a full-blown addiction. His career entered a standstill. His marriage disintegrated. He found himself haunted not only by George A.’s death, but also by his brother’s manic depression, a condition that overlaid a dark family history of mental illness, alcoholism and suicide, an inherited past that now threatened David’s and his children’s futures. The only way out, he found, was to write about his brother.
Barefoot to Avalon is Payne’s earnest and unflinching account of George A. and their boyhood footrace that lasted long into their adulthood, defining their relationship and their lives. As universal as it is intimate, this is an exceptional memoir of brotherhood, of sibling rivalries and sibling love, and of the torments a family can hold silent and carry across generations. Barefoot to Avalon is a brave and beautifully wrought gift, a true story of survival in the face of adversity.

[hermetic]

16. Oh my

Another author to add to my list. Sounds too good to pass up, though.

Kitties sure can bring you to . I've had to bury 3 over the past couple of months. It was easy to see they wouldn't make it, though. I do what I can to make sure my group always has food, water and protection from severe weather but they were all just so fragile. Then we had one tough little gal we were calling Tiny. She was doing so well and I had just started letting her come in so that she could be rescued and then she just vanished. I do so hope she went into someone else's door and they kept her.

Meanwhile, I am so glad we took this guy in. He is so sweet and smart. He loves paper.

[KPN]

15. Celine, a novel. By Peter Heller.

Actually just finished it. It's a quasi-suspense/detective novel. Great book. Great writing. First book I've read by P. Heller, but I will be reading his two other acclaimed novels for sure.

[hermetic]

17. Me, too

They have The Painter at my library so I will for sure check that out. Thanks for the tip.

[japple]

18. Will have to check this out. I love Peter Heller. Esp. enjoyed

The Dog Stars. It is a great story.

[hermetic]

19. Ah ha!

I thought that name was familiar. I remember reading The Dog Stars way back when. Good stuff.