BOOKS THREAD

I really enjoyed 'The Historian.'

 

Nice!

BTW, Marley will be coming to theaters everywhere.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13721931.htm

 

I think because there is so much which is already known about the substance abuse problems of some members of that team, it has to be dealt with in some way.

The second thing is what would you do what hasn't been done already. Whenever a New York team wins a championship, it seems there are always a lot of books coming out. The questions would be what would you have to say that hasn't been said already. It sounds like you are confident about your story, so maybe there is something.

Another challenge would be that it is 20 years since that team won. Perhaps an anniversary might be an incentive. My question is why would a first-person narrative interest me as a reader. A book where you have interviews of players, coaches, etc. and they provide new insights is one thing, but if it is just you then you have to ask how this would be different.

There was a book written by a Yankees batboy from the early 90s, so I guess it can be done. And a good story is always worth reading.

Good Luck.

 

I just finished Joan Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking." I found it stunningly good.

 

Just finished reading "As I Lay Dying," and "Streetcar Named Desire." I recommend neither.

I do, however, recommend "Who Moved My Cheese," a tale of four characters who react differently when their "cheese" is moved. Cheese can be anything: happiness, success at work, golf -- whatever. Just be prepared to change when the target is moved on you.

 

I picked up Bob Dole's book, One Soldier's Story. I was curious and wasn't expecting much, but I found it to be a pretty good book. It really makes you realize what he went through, as a lot of soldiers who were wounded must go through.

The other thing that amazes me is that after all of those medical problems and nearly dying at least three times, Dole has managed to live for more than 60 years.

 

I just started a huge reading project - Shelby Foote's masterpiece "The Civil War - A Narrative."

I was browsing through the local Books-a-Million seeking another Kama Sutra pictorial or a copy of Penthouse Letters LXIX when I walked by the Civil War section. Random House has re-released Foote's massive series, splitting the original three-book set into nine smaller books for $9.97 apiece. I bought the entire nine-book set.

I'm still in the pre-war stage of the first book. After detailing Jefferson Davis' life and how he became president of the Confederacy, the attention turned to Abe Lincoln. When I stopped reading this morning, Lincoln was boarding the train in Springfield en route to Washington. I plan to revisit nearby battlegrounds like Shiloh and Vicksburg while reading the series.

It may take me the same amount of time the war was fought - four years - to read Foote's narrative, but it's already worth it. I think I can do without Penthouse Letters that long.

 

Has anyone read "Man on the Run" the Marco Pantini story? Still waiting for my copy fom Amazon

 

I'll admit...I like pictures. I highly recommend the "Maus" books by Art Spiegelman. Graphic novel, comic, whatever. Very well written, and you can cruise through it in a day easy. Also in that style, I love the Sin City series, Frank Miller's Batman books and I just recently picked up V for Vendetta. Pretty good stuff.
Oh, and avoid "The Historian." I'll just say as far as let-down endings go, it's pretty high on the list.

 

It took him 20 years to write those books. They stand on their own in pop history, and as good as they are, his historical fiction is much, much better. It's tough to go wrong with a dude who knocked down bourbon with Faulkner.

 

I've started "As I Lay Dying" several times and not finished it. Only finished one Faulkner novel, "The Sound and The Fury." We read it in college and it was much easier to plow through when you're discussing it. His stream of consciousness can be pretty dense to wade through.