Book Club: What are you reading?

[agate]

Yes, Rushdie indicates in the book that the fatwa is forever even though the person who issued it has died. I've been following some of the developments in Rushdie's stressful career, off and on, for some time as I had read a couple of his books many years ago and admired his writing.

Fanatics of any kind are very frightening and very dangerous.

[Virginia]

I read Mad Honey. I really enjoyed it. It was a little bit of a controversial topic but in my thinking it shouldn't be. It was extremely well written. It was long and I like that.

[jingle]

Re-reading "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers. I read it when I was about 12 but not since then. Recently I saw a movie of it and thought re-reading it might be a good idea.

I looked in my section of saved books (books I've been keeping and plan to keep forever) and I have all of Carson McCullers books -- I loved every one of them and can't wait to read them again. I'll soon be finished with Jojo Moyes' SOMEONE ELSE'S SHOES and go right to McCullers books. Thanks for reminding me of those great books, agate.

[Lazarus11]

Verghese…The. Covenant of Water… very long but extraordinary…(He wrote Cutting for Stone).
he reads the audible book and chhanges his voice for different characters. It is worth the time!

[agate]

Thank you for the heads up, Linda!

I recently read a very favorable review of The Covenant of Water in the New York Times. Now I'm going to request both books.

[Virginia]

Thanks Linda, I like long books. I will.definitely check this one.

[agate]

Disclaimer: I haven't read this book and know nothing about the author but I ran across a mention of it and wondered if anyone else is aware of it. Apparently it's not even being sold until mid-August but some here might want to get hold of it.

It's a book by a woman doctor who has MS.

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The title reminds me of a book I read many years ago, by a teacher (with no connection to MS), Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman.

[flatcap]

The last thing I read was On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides. It covers the largest battle of the Korean War, the Chosin Reservoir campaign. Before that, it was No Hands by Judith Crown and Glenn Coleman. That one is about the history and downfall of the Schwinn bicycle company.

By and large, I read non-fiction. The last time I went through a fiction phase was in the 1990s. I know I have missed out on a lot, that my education is lacking in that respect as much as it is from never having traveled the world, but fiction just usually isn't something that interests me.

What I mostly read nowadays is the news, and even then all I do sometimes is scan through it. On the plus side, I do read a lot of the more in-depth news stories found in places like ProPublica, but they still aren't books.

Not related, I suppose, is the fact that I do like fictional movies. I would say my favorite genre is Film Noir, which are films sometimes based on true stories but usually are not. I have literally bookmarked those I especially like, as I never tire of them. But not a surprise, I'm sure, is that I also watch a lot of documentaries. I sometimes rewatch those, too.

Which reminds me, what is your favorite movie? Ironically, mine is The Wizard of Oz. I watch it at least once a year and probably always will.

As for TV, I never watch it except in restaurants. One funny thing about that is, when sports are on (which is usually), I am sometimes asked questions such as, "Who's winning?" Ha! Half the time, I don't even know what game is being played. That's how much I know or care about sports.

That's pretty much it, at least for the time being. If I get around to reading another book, I'll let you know what it is. Just don't hold your breath. lol

[agate]

I hope you ask, "What's the game?" when someone asks "Who's winning?" Sports addicts probably need to find out that there are (a few) people left in the world who don't live and breathe sports.

The only sport I was ever any good at was swimming and I was fairly good at that. I even "lettered" in it.

Last to be chosen for (a) the volleyball team, (b) the basketball team, and (c) the baseball team in high school. That's a distinction not everyone can claim.

[flatcap]

I was the best player (lol) not to be chosen for the middle-school basketball team. My hair was too long. No kidding, that's what the coach told me.

I never tried out for anything after that. I was too much of a rebel, I guess.

Looking back on it, it all makes sense. Being the consummate loner, I probably wouldn't have made much of a team player.



ETA: I did win two things in high school: I was elected to the position of class treasurer in my junior year, and I was voted the quietest for my senior yearbook. I never quite understood how those things could coexist, but they happened.

[agate]

Aren't treasurers quiet people? Quietly cooking the books or whatever it is they're doing? (Just kidding.)

[agate]

I would say my favorite genre is Film Noir, which are films sometimes based on true stories but usually are not.

You might be interested in the birthday present I have for my son if/when he gets over here to pick it up. It's a set of 3 movies in that genre--"Appointment with a Shadow," "Undercover Girl," and "One-Way Street." Probably not the best-known in the genre but he's a "completist" about film noir.

[flatcap]

Thanks for tip!

I looked for those three on YouTube and found:

Appointment with a Shadow
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Undercover Girl
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One Way Street
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All of them are free to watch: there are tons of open-domain film noir movies on YouTube.

In fact, there are tons of free films of all kinds on YouTube. That includes copyrighted films posted by YouTube itself. I would guess that most of those are paywalled but a heck of a lot of them are not.

Free Movies on YouTube (this is just a starting place)
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[flatcap]

Aren't treasurers quiet people? Quietly cooking the books or whatever it is they're doing? (Just kidding.)

lol

I won the treasurer slot because I promised the class that I would make sure we had the best senior prom ever.

Suckers.

rofl

[agate]

Found it! The post from flatcap with the links to some movies.

I'm planning to watch them. Thank you, flatcap!

We had a Thank button here a while back but it's one of those bygone features.