BOOKS THREAD

Just downloaded the Winslow book last night for a vacation starting tomorrow. He may be my favorite author these days. (And if you haven't read "The Power of the Dog" and the sequel "The Cartel," you should.)

 

I read a lot while on vacation, and the best of the bunch was "Grocery: The Buying and Selling of Food in America," by Michael Ruhlman. He's a journalist who wants to be a chef, kind of the opposite of Anthony Bourdain.

 

Winslow did an interview with The Ringer's "The Watch" podcast that was pretty interesting.

 

Author Don Winslow on Delving into the Dark Side of the NYPD

 

I tried to read the "The Road to Glory and Profits: The Economic Rise of the NFL during the 1950's". The author is an economics professor and he has no ability to organize his material and create a narrative. Michael McCambridge does know how to create a narrative and his book "America's Game: The Epic Story of How Pro Football Captured a Nation" is really good.

But is there a good history of other sports such as the NBA, MLB, NCAA football or basketball or the NHL.

 

About to embark on "Magpie Murders" anyone read this?

 

on my list. i've heard good things

 

I keep trying with Elmore Leonard books and I almost always feel meh at the end.

 

Haha.
I just finished Leonard's "Djibouti."
It took a good 80/100 pages before I got into it.
And it was a solid "meh."

 

Reading "Sick in the Head," by Judd Apatow.
It's a big read where he interviewed comedians in 1984 when he was a 15-year-old kid. Some of the interviews he updated over the last few years, and some were added. 10-15 pages for each interview, covering about 40 subjects.
Really insightful. Not funny, so much, but a lot of interesting stuff about Apatow and just about every major comic in the last 30 years.
For instance, I didn't know Harry Anderson was a street kid/hustler who's mom was a hooker.
I'm only about 1/4 through the book and have been scurrying to You Tube to look up various comics, Gary Shandling and SNL clips, etc ...
Recommended reading.

 

SPOILER ALERTS:

Just finished this. Largely a very good novel, though I felt there were some large problems mostly having to do with coincidence (SPOILER ALERTS!!) -- meeting the Baker boys at the end -- and also no explanation for how the drones ("The Birds") could have remained airborne and operational for so long.

I liked the conceit about the war and what precipitated it. Some very creative thinking. But the ending was rather unsatisfying. Sarat seemed to be making progress, recovering from what happened to her in the war. But then what she does with the nephew? Kidnaps him from his parents and sends him away? And then she kills millions of innocent people? Just for revenge? It just didn't gibe for me. Especially after she didn't kill Albert Gaines, but merely gave him his knife back.

I saw this as a book with movie potential, but not with that ending. It was good to great till the last 20 pages. There was a heartfelt redemption story in there and the author lost the thread, IMHO. It's ok and even preferable to go against convention; I just don't think the ending was earned by what happened beforehand.

 

Runnin' With The Devil, Van Halen's former manager's memoir of their greatest years (with Diamond Dave), isn't bad. Not as good as the Motely Crue book, but it has all the requisite rock star debauchery and band dysfunction. There is a little out there about Van Halen so it was a worthwhile read from that perspective. None of the guys, with the exception of Michael Anthony who was treated horrifically by the others, comes off too well but that's always the case in a book like this.