BOOKS THREAD

I just finished Rome 1960. I enjoyed Maraniss's Clemente and Lombardi books and this one didn't disappoint. I didn't know much about the 1960 games going in - Ali would have been the only gold medalist I could have named - but this one covered all the bases.

Up now, A Few Seconds Of Panic followed by Mark Bowden's Guests Of The Ayatollah.

 

I really enjoyed Guests of the Ayatollah. Rome 1960 is next on my list. I'm reading Founding Brothers and Bowden's Best Game Ever right now.

 

After finishing Best Game Ever last week, I'm devouring Bowden's Killing Pablo. A hundred pages and change in, and it's outstanding. If there's a filmmaker not named Billy Walsh (http://www.medellinthefilm.com/) that wants to take a shot at making a biopic of Pablo Escobar's life, Bowden's book is one hell of a jumping off point.

 

Also: Thurston Clarke's book on RFK's 82 day Presidential campaign is an outstanding read.

 

You'll probably laugh at this one ...

I walked by a desk at work and saw Paris Hilton's book about being an heiress. Took it home for shits and giggles, start to read it ... it's humorous in an endearing way. More than anything what shines through is that she's no dummy. It's an act. Oh, she's spoiled and richer than the best chocolate cake you've ever eaten, but there's something deeper than the stink of Hiltonian money. Read between the lines and it could be seen as an inspirational book for girls. Yes, it's a how-to book about being an heiress, but it's really a book about empowering girls to be the best they can be.

Some of the pictures are interesting. She's definitely got shine.

 

Demolished this book on a train last month

 

Nice LJB. I read that last year during the afternoon before the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Was killing time in a Barnes & Noble, sat down for a few and ended up finishing it. I felt bad for not purchasing it, but I ended up picking it up off amazon.com a little while ago.

I am reading Obama's "Audacity of Hope" right now. It's pretty good so far.

 

My dad had nothing but good things to say about Grisham's Playing for Pizza.

I'm looking forward to picking up Pearlman's "Boys Will Be Boys."

 

Nobody else could have done this right but him. It's one of those books where the goodness and wholesomeness of the subject lights the entire way. I picked it up at a bargain bookstore for seven bucks. Should have paid a lot more than that.

 

Read The Perks of Being a Wallflower yesterday.

Boy, was that a fucked up book.

It's in the same genre as The Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace, but more modern - and in ways more screwed up.

Anyway, a very good book.

I thought of this board when I read in the author's personal section that he has "recently written a pilot named Jericho."

 

I started Great Expectations today. I bought a bunch of old books at yard sales this weekend. I hit a pot of gold at one house where the kids were homeschooled but were grown and gone. Lots of good classics.

 

My local library had a book sale in which the last day was a "bag sale". You buy a grocery bag for $3 and fill it with any books from the sale room. Bought a few bags worth -- a lot of best sellers from the 80s and 90s.