Finished the Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption section of Different Seasons this morning. Incredible story, and after reading it I now realize how great of an adaptation the movie was.

I am reading "Munich" by Robert Harris.  Interesting story set during the Munich Conference/Sudenten crisis in 1938.  It is fictional, but with actual people playing a part in the story as well.  I'm about 2/3 through it and liking it very much.

posted by justincredible

Finished the Rita Heyworth and Shawshank Redemption section of Different Seasons this morning. Incredible story, and after reading it I now realize how great of an adaptation the movie was.

The last novella in Different Seasons (The Breathing Method) was the only one I didn't think was really good. It had a great theme (guys in a weird club telling strange stories -- he returned to that club with one of his stories in Skeleton Crew), but the story itself came off as generic and one-note compared to the other three, which were all good enough to become movies, with two of them being movies widely considered great.

I'm barely into Apt Pupil now, but I can tell it's going to be a pretty messed up story.

posted by justincredible

I'm barely into Apt Pupil now, but I can tell it's going to be a pretty messed up story.

Oh. Yes.

Welcome to Santo Donato, I just read this right after Christmas

posted by Heretic

Oh. Yes.

I got through the part with the cat and oven this morning. Then on my lunch break the old dude was at the dog shelter inquiring about the free dogs. I don't like where that's headed.

Just started Lee Child's "Bad Luck and Trouble"  last night.  Anytime a book starts out with a guy on a stretcher with two broken legs being put on a helicopter and then dumped out at 3000 feet, I figure I'm not going to be bored.

Just ordered Jordan B Peterson's 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. I've been exposed to Peterson for a while now and really like the cut of his jib. It doesn't hurt that the mere mention of his name triggers extreme leftists. Mic tried to do a hit piece on him and was called out by pretty much everyone, including reasonable liberals. They keep reposting the video, but it's not going well for them in the comment section.

https://www.facebook.com/MicMedia/videos/1808088502547265/

posted by Zunardo

Just started Lee Child's "Bad Luck and Trouble"  last night.  Anytime a book starts out with a guy on a stretcher with two broken legs being put on a helicopter and then dumped out at 3000 feet, I figure I'm not going to be bored.

Big fan of the Reacher series

Make your bed  by a retired Admiral.   It stemmed from his commencement speech in 2014.

Quick easy inspirational read.

Next TB12

Started reading Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein the other day. Good so far.

Still reading Stranger in a Strange Land. Also started Into the Wild by John Krakauer. I've seen the movie twice, I'm finally getting around to reading the book.

Finished Into the Wild last week. Started Dark Tower IV yesterday and I'm about 20% through it. 

posted by justincredible

Finished Into the Wild last week. Started Dark Tower IV yesterday and I'm about 20% through it. 

How'd you like Into the Wild?  I really enjoyed that book.  If you liked it, you should also read Into Thin Air and Where Men Win Glory - both also by Jon Krakauer.  He's a really good writer.  The second book about Pat Tillman gave me a whole new perspective and respect for that guy.  

I liked the book a lot. I will check the others out, thanks.

The movie is also good. Worth a watch.

Re-reading "I Never Had It Made", by Jackie Robinson.  I first read it over 25 years ago, after seeing a 1990 made-for-TV movie called "The Court Martial of Jackie Robinson".  Zunardo says, "highly-recommended".

Finished Stranger in a Strange Land last night. That book was one big orgy, basically. I didn't like it as much as The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but I did enjoy it. I'm not sure what Heinlein book I'll read next.

I'm also almost finished with The Dark Tower IV, it's getting very interesting towards the end. It was a little dull for a while, but it has picked up nicely.

"A Castle in the Forest" by Norman Mailer.  It's a novel told from the perspective of the demon who was in charge of grooming Adolf Hitler as a youth.  It's a interesting premise and Mailer has a lot of research on Hitler's childhood and the events that shaped him.  I am enjoying it, but if you're not a person with a lot on interest in reading about Hitler, you should pass.

posted by justincredible

Finished Stranger in a Strange Land last night. That book was one big orgy, basically. I didn't like it as much as The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, but I did enjoy it. I'm not sure what Heinlein book I'll read next.

I'm also almost finished with The Dark Tower IV, it's getting very interesting towards the end. It was a little dull for a while, but it has picked up nicely.

I think I have a couple Heinlein books in the back room that a former co-worker let me snag when he moved a long time ago and Stranger might be one of them. Never have gotten to them. Still trying to finish a "best of" sci-fi collection of stories from the 50s or 60s before that.

Finished Dark Tower V (I was on V, not IV in my recent posts) a while back. Also read through The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov over my recent trip, it was a great book. I started One Second After by William Forstchen yesterday, it's been good so far.

Finished One Second After last week, it was a great, but emotionally draining read. I'm about a quarter through Altered Carbon now, good book, the show didn't stray too far as of yet.

Also curious, after watching The Death of Stalin last weekend, anyone read any good books on Stalin? There are two biographies from Simon Sebag Montefiore (Young Stalin and one other) that look good. Anyone read either of those? Boogie?

I finished Lords of the Realm, the story of baseball up to the 1994 Strike.

I thought I knew how screwed up labor relations were growing up, but holy cow, was it bad. I didn't realize how often strikes or lockouts occurred in baseball. Also, how baseball just could not get out of its own way in terms of tv and money rights. Also, crazy how broke some teams were in the 80s and 90s that led to the 1994 strike. 

Funny too how the same things you hear about baseball now, it is older, too long, and too expensive to head to the ballpark, were complaints 30-40 years ago. 

It is a great book for those that are interested in the history of labor relations in baseball. 

Next up is "Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling, and a World on the Brink" by David Margolick. I'm looking forward to it as I know just a little bit about the story.