BOOKS THREAD

They only good part of my suburban commute into Manhattan is that I'm reading a lot more. Halfway through an interesting and quirky novel -- "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon. A very compelling read.

 

DD, my wife and I named our kid Charley in honor of that book. Not because the boy looks like a giant black poodle, but we wished for him to be a wanderer and thought Steinbeck's mojo might provide influence.

I have the Tiger Stadium book in my nightstand pile, about three down from the top. I think based on the Ragu's praise, I'll bump it up to the top, after I finish up Far Afield. I'll probably get into it tonight.

I think ESPN Books might become more and more a respected publisher, all things considered.

 

Those Kennedy Albany books are really terrific.

 

I'm about to finish the second book in Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy. Only about 1,000 pages to go and I'll be done with the whole thing.

 

I finished The Bronx Is Burning yesterday. I found the passages on The Son Of Sam, the blackout and subsequent riot and mayoral election to be far more interesting than the Yankees day-to-day bitching.

I am now starting the history of Murder Inc.

 

Murder Inc. being Ja Rule and Irv Gotti?

 

This book was mentioned in the "What books have you read more than once thread" but I found it in a used bookstore last weekend: Smiling Through the Apocalypse, the best of Esquire from the 1960s. It checks in at 981 pages, so it can also be used in place of dumbells. It's got all the classis: "Superman comes to the Supermarket," "Kennedy without tears," Tom Wolfe's epic Las Vegas story, Frank Sinatra has a cold, etc. But there are so many more, many of which I was unfamiliar with. The book I got also had a copy of the original review from the New York Times jammed inside. It can probably be ordered online, otherwise just wander through used bookstores and you might come upon it.

 

Mr Guy,

Congratulations. You just won the lottery. It's the most important Esquire collection and as such one of the top two or three anthologies of mag writing.

YHS, etc

 

It was pure luck finding it too, as I was looking for The New Journalism book that Wolfe edited and the store was supposed to have but didn't. My disappointment was erased when I saw this on a shelf nearby.

 

I got a preview copy of Brian Mulroney's Memoirs 1939-1993 and it is a must read for anybody who likes or loathe the former Prime Minister of Canada. If you are into politics or the Canadian political system, you have to read this book. His thoughts on Trudeau are compelling (titled Captain Canada, I think not). He attacks Trudeau in this book quite openly. He opens up about who betrayed him to in cabinet and how he feels about it. He is settling scores with people with people who ruined his legacy, especially Meech Lake.

It is interesting and for any SJ Can members, you should really purchase this book. It's better than the Secret Mulroney Tapes. (FYI, he is going to be interviewed on CTV on Sunday night special at 7pm Hali time about his life)

 

Here's an excerpt in today's Toronto Sun:

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2007/09/06/4473628-sun.html