What are you reading?

dudog84 said:
Just finished Rick Atkinson's The British Are Coming, the first in his Revolution Trilogy which came out in 2019. The second part is coming out in April. The dude just turned 72, he better finish part 3!
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I love Rick Atkinson, and devoured his Liberation trilogy. I've been holding off on this one until it is completed. I tend to get really into a series like this, and I don't want to wait between volumes like I did with the Liberation books.
 
jipops said:
Currently still in the middle of "My Effin Life" - Geddy Lee's memoir. The chapter on his parents' survival of the Holocaust is just brutal. Just got to the part of the making of 2112. Great read so far if you're a Rush fan.
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Given that I've read *both* of Neal Peart's memoir volumes, this seems like something I should hop on:).
 
WillJ said:
Given that I've read *both* of Neal Peart's memoir volumes, this seems like something I should hop on:).
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Oh for sure. And I'll admit that I took a break from reading this and only just got back on it around last week. It's an engrossing book, I was just doing a poor job of carving out any time for me to sit down and read for the past 2-3 months.

He devotes an entire chapter to his grandparents and parents surviving the Holocaust. It's a very gripping read. All the other chapters are focused on the chronological evolution of the band and what Geddy was going through during those times. If you're a Rush geek, you'll love it.
 
Phredd3 said:
I love Rick Atkinson, and devoured his Liberation trilogy. I've been holding off on this one until it is completed. I tend to get really into a series like this, and I don't want to wait between volumes like I did with the Liberation books.
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I know what you mean, I debated the same. Gonna be a long wait for #3.
 
Sherman’s March by Burke Davis is my current undertaking. I’m about two thirds through it. Sherman’s Army has crossed the border into North Carolina and is marching on Fayetteville to destroy the arsenal.

My primary takeaway from the book thus far is how utterly undisciplined were the Union troops.
 
Bob Green said:
Sherman’s March by Burke Davis is my current undertaking. I’m about two thirds through it. Sherman’s Army has crossed the border into North Carolina and is marching on Fayetteville to destroy the arsenal.

My primary takeaway from the book thus far is how utterly undisciplined were the Union troops.
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Like Bama at a lesser bowl, many really really didn't want to be there. Many got dragged off the streets up North because they couldn't pay their way out.
 
rsvman said:
My wife and I are reading 'My Brilliant Friend.' I am reading it in its original Italian, while she is reading it in English. We are only about a third of the way through it so far, and, while it is enjoyable, i'm not really seeing how this was named the best book of the 21st century.

Maybe the best is yet to come? I'm just happy that the book is written in standard Italian rather than in a Naples dialect.
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Agreed. I read the first two books and then watched the entire series. Good, yes. Great? Meh.
 
For the WWII buffs, I highly recommend Naples '44 by Norman Lewis. It is not, as the Victorians would say, an improving tale.....but I think it's true.
 
Gettysburg - The First Day by Harry W. Pfanz. An in depth look at the action on July 1, 1863. I’ve read 156 pages so far and the book is great. The detailed description of troop movements have me constantly looking at the books maps.
 
Been too long since anyone has shared some good reading and with the world being a bit crazy at the moment we all could use a good distraction.

I finished The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris a few weeks ago.

The story takes place immediately after the civil war as soldiers are returning home and slaves are slowly being freed. You follow 4 different character povs who all live in a fictional town located in Georgia. One is a newly freed man who is trying to find out what freedom means now for himself and his mostly mute brother. Two others are a white husband and wife whose son is expected to be returning from the war. The husband is an older man with some peculiar habits and is very anti slavery which puts him at odds frequently with the locals. The wife is a loyal woman to her family but also hold a lot of resentment towards her husband and his peculiar behaviors. I won’t give the 4th pov as it could be a spoiler but that story line touches on a myriad of topics that make them a major target for the citizens of the town.

The story wasn’t anything in itself all that special, however the writing style was beautiful. The authors word choice and sentence structure really blew me away. It was also nice how well contained the story actually was. You never leave too far from the main location except through background or side character “gossip”. I also thought the ending was wrapped up incredibly well, you can tell the author could have drug it out or even made another small book to continue following events yet he chooses to wrap things up neatly while letting you the reader to use your own interpretation of what may come next but HIS story is done and he doesn’t feel the need to force more storylines.
 
Those Damned Black Hats! by Lance J. Herdegen

The story of the Iron Brigade at Gettysburg. The 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Corps of the Army of the Potomac was comprised of five regiments: 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, 24th Michigan. Their heroic stand on McPherson’s Ridge on July 1st, 1863 is legendary.

I previously read Covered With Glory which is the story of the 26th North Carolina Regiment at Gettysburg so now I’m reading the other side. Ultimately, the Union line broke but the Iron Brigade made the Army of Northern Virginia pay with copious amounts of blood.
 
I've just now discovered the Archy McNally series by Lawrence Sanders and have read the first three books, to mostly positive review. But holy cow, Sanders sure seems to feel a need to have Archy top Nero Wolfe's use of esoteric words. I am glad I'm reading these on Kindle so that I can tap and get instant definitions for those I'm foggy on. I was delighted to find "yclept" in the latest book, I haven't seen that one in decades. But, "The whole thing was a jeroboam of annelids" ... basically, a can of worms ... that's a bit off the deep end.

On the other hand, describing a vacuous woman's conversation as "a diarrhea of words and a constipation of ideas", yeah OK that gets a thumbs-up.
 
The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (good, though ironically it shares a plot with Yellowface by R.F. Kuang).
Also, I seem to have never recommended the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser.....an omission I hereby rectify.
 
rsvman said:
My wife and I are reading 'My Brilliant Friend.' I am reading it in its original Italian, while she is reading it in English. We are only about a third of the way through it so far, and, while it is enjoyable, i'm not really seeing how this was named the best book of the 21st century.

Maybe the best is yet to come? I'm just happy that the book is written in standard Italian rather than in a Naples dialect.
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Did you finish it? I'm curious because I did not.
I seldom put down a book but did this one after 100 pages.
If your opinion changed on the book, please let me know; I too was baffled at the #1 ranking.
 
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