Books: And What Are You Reading?

lizkat said:
Must be the summer of India... and I wish that one were available in ebook format, I imagine it will be an excellent read, and hope you will comment further in time.

I've just begun reading a book that's chronologically a big leap back from the era of the British Raj, to the earlier rise of British colonialism in India, based in expansion of the original charter and progress of the extraordinary "trading" outfit, the East India Company....which at some points was even granted permission to conduct military operations on behalf of the Crown.

Think about that for a moment. In the USA in modern times, as in Guatemala for instance, our imperialism and association with US companies has generally lain in more covert channels, e.g. CIA involvment in coups or anti-revolutionary maneuvers such as in Central or South America. It seems like a whole other thing when a country just flat out says by all means use whatever force needed to establish or strengthen our interests...​

Anyway my current book on southeast Asian and then specifically Indian history at the moment is by William Dalrymple, The Anarchy: The Relentless Rise of the East India Company. I have enjoyed a number of other India-related books by this author, so it was hard to resist picking this one up.
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Don't know whether you ever came across "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh, a novel my mother and I both loved (it dealt with the history of a few families across Burma, India and Malaysia between the 1880s and 1990s, the history of those countries serving as the setting; for once, the main characters are Indian, or Burmese, or Malaysian - the Europeans - while real, mostly play secondary roles); a thoughtful, and immensely interesting book, and one well worth reading.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Don't know whether you ever came across "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh, a novel my mother and I both loved (it dealt with the history of a few families across Burma, India and Malaysia between the 1880s and 1990s, the history of those countries serving as the setting; for once, the main charcaters are Indian, or Burmese, or Malaysian - the Europeans - while real, mostly play secondary roles); a thoughtful, and immensely interesting book, and one well worth reading.
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I have read that, yes, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
 
lizkat said:
I have read that, yes, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
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I remember a lenghty Skype call with my mother - well over two hours long - when I was in Georgia (Caucasus Georgia) - I was based in Tbilisi for most of that time where internet connections were good - for two years as a political analyst with the EU, immediately following their conflict with Russia in 2008.

My mother - who was still mentally sharp and intellectually curious, - had requested reading recomendations, and one of the books I recommended was The Glass Palace, which she loved so much, - and bizarrely, and to my delighted surprise, she read it exactly as I had read it, opening it at random, reading from that point to the very end, whereupon she went back to the beginning, started it and proceeded to read it right the way through - that we subsequently spent the best part of two hours excitedly discussing it, debating it and dissecting it by Skype.

During her long decline with dementia, those wonderful and deep discussions - our intellectual relationship, which had existed since my childhood - was one of the things I missed most; however, her character, essential decency, generosity and sense of humour remained recognisably hers until the end.
 
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SuperMatt said:
I am reading Hiding in Plain Sight by Sarah Kendzior. It‘s about the kleptocracy leading up to and including Trump.

sarahkendzior.com

Sarah Kendzior

sarahkendzior.com sarahkendzior.com
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I thoroughly respect Kendzior's research and writing, so I want to read that too.

At the moment though, during this laid-back early part of my summer, I've an earworm in my brain from Gillian Welch's song Look at Miss Ohio, namely, "I wanna do right but not right now...."
 
The last few nights I haven't been able to indulge in reading in bed right before heading off to slumberland....things have improved enough now with my eye that tonight should be just fine. I have really missed my usual bedtime ritual, not to mention that I really want to get back to the book in the first place, having left it somewhere in the middle. Also there are a couple of new books waiting for me to pick them up at the library this week, too.
 
Clix Pix said:
The last few nights I haven't been able to indulge in reading in bed right before heading off to slumberland....things have improved enough now with my eye that tonight should be just fine. I have really missed my usual bedtime ritual, not to mention that I really want to get back to the book in the first place, having left it somewhere in the middle. Also there are a couple of new books waiting for me to pick them up at the library this week, too.
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Ah, reading in bed; one of life's great pleasures, isn't it?
 
Ah, it was so nice last night to get into bed and to once again pick up my book and dive back into it. I really missed being able to do that!
 
I picked up several books yesterday in the library (and returned a few), and last night, I buried myself in the latest book by Louis de Bernières, The Autumn Of The Ace.
 
Just finished the first Game of Thrones book. It's a pretty impressive world-building exercise. The series seem to be (until it was actually based on the books) quite a good adaptation of the costumes.

Then I did Caste. A good book about racism from a caste perspective. Super relevant and well-written. Wilkerson dissects racism and examines how it is really a caste system that works in the USA.
www.goodreads.com

Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling author of The W…
www.goodreads.com www.goodreads.com

Listening to Deep right now. It's a fun one about free diving and cetacean telepathy. My mentor suggested it, describing the experience of the deep sea as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle and how the observation of the eye (consciousness) alters solitary environments.
www.goodreads.com

Deep: Freediving, Renegade Science, and What the Ocean …

While on assignment in Greece, journalist James Nestor …
www.goodreads.com www.goodreads.com

Listening to audio books while moving is fun. 1.6x speed gets me through pretty quickly and I get to maintain focus and attention on the big-picture messages without missing the nuance.
 
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I'm reading the lovely The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles. It jumps between the Paris of 1939, where a newly-minted French librarian, Odile Soucher, begins working at the American Library in Paris, and Montana in 1983, where we again meet an older Odile..... The 1939 segments are particularly interesting, of course, as the author draws us into the growing conflict in Europe and the rise of the Nazis...... The descriptions of how the beautiful city of Paris was altered by fear and worry as residents and tourists alike began to leave or bravely stayed in attempts to try and protect precious homes, loved ones, cherished items.....including -- yes, books, are especially powerful. For librarians, booklovers and historians alike, this is a novel not to be missed.
 
Clix Pix said:
I'm reading the lovely The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles. It jumps between the Paris of 1939, where a newly-minted French librarian, Odile Soucher, begins working at the American Library in Paris, and Montana in 1983, where we again meet an older Odile..... The 1939 segments are particularly interesting, of course, as the author draws us into the growing conflict in Europe and the rise of the Nazis...... The descriptions of how the beautiful city of Paris was altered by fear and worry as residents and tourists alike began to leave or bravely stayed in attempts to try and protect precious homes, loved ones, cherished items.....including -- yes, books, are especially powerful. For librarians, booklovers and historians alike, this is a novel not to be missed.
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Okay; I'm intrigued and interested.

Must see if my local library has a copy and shall place a hold.
 
Clix Pix said:
I'm reading the lovely The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles. It jumps between the Paris of 1939, where a newly-minted French librarian, Odile Soucher, begins working at the American Library in Paris, and Montana in 1983, where we again meet an older Odile..... The 1939 segments are particularly interesting, of course, as the author draws us into the growing conflict in Europe and the rise of the Nazis...... The descriptions of how the beautiful city of Paris was altered by fear and worry as residents and tourists alike began to leave or bravely stayed in attempts to try and protect precious homes, loved ones, cherished items.....including -- yes, books, are especially powerful. For librarians, booklovers and historians alike, this is a novel not to be missed.
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Have now placed a hold on it - purely on the strength of your recommendation.

Look forward to laying hands (and eyes) on it, and immersing myself in it.
 
Listening to Squeeze Me by Carl Hiaasen. This guy Created Florida man Think. his stores are about crazy Floridians. This one is about a old lady that died and a big ass snake ate her and the woman animal catcher that takes care of it but then it just gets crazy in a believable way. it even has trump as president and al the stupid things he says (not actually trump but you know who it is supposed to be)
I listen to audiobooks while working and read another book when. have chances.
 
Carl Hiaasen is indeed known for his books about weird characters in Florida! Brilliant, funny writer! I haven't read one of his novels in a while.....I should pick up one the next time I'm at the library.
 
Clix Pix said:
Carl Hiaasen is indeed known for his books about weird characters in Florida! Brilliant, funny writer! I haven't read one of his novels in a while.....I should pick up one the next time I'm at the library.
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yes I have really enjoyed him. this one is great as it has a trump clone in it.
 

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