What book are you currently reading, or recommend?

[buckeyefool]

Is that the negotiation book written by that Harvard professor?

No Which is to bad that might be interesting. Here is a quote I found about the book that fits how I feel about it.

Abbie Headon is a writer and editor who has written this superficial, simplistic and ultimately unhelpful book that aims to give readers the ability to put the spark into life and achieve their goals but ultimately is a mix of bland checklists, empty affirmation statements and brief biographies of famous people who have a vague link to the point of the previous chapter such that I didn’t really see the point of it.

The book encourages readers to think about where they are and what they want – some people find such exercises useful but there wasn’t anything here that I haven’t seen in a dozen other self-improvement books or even women’s magazines. Headon goes on to give tips on how to establish goals and develop resilience, drown out critics, doing something different. There are then tips on how to set about travelling, getting outside your comfort zone, learning new skills or subjects, career planning, decuttering and so on.

There are some mini biographies of people such as Malala Yousafazi, J K Rowling and Marianne Cusato, which are okay (I learnt about some people I hadn’t previously heard of) but they’re brief and simplistic and only tie in with the preceding chapter in the most superficial of ways.

Ultimately I found this to be a disappointing read and although I was open to being advised on how to make changes, there’s nothing here that anyone who’s serious about making a change won’t already have considered.

 

[5 STAR U-G-A]

No Which is to bad that might be interesting. Here is a quote I found about the book that fits how I feel about it.

I just looked on Google about the book I was thinking of, it's called "Getting to Yes"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_to_Yes

I read it a few years ago. It was a good read, but definitely one that needs to be re-read (several times) to really nail down.

I feel that way about most "personal development/self-help" books. A lot of them are generic and say the same things, but there's a handful of really good ones that just need to be studied and implemented into my life to really get the value out of it.

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I knew nothing about the book coming into it, other than the title is brilliant and it makes some of those top book lists.

It is a stunning book. Just breathtaking by the end really. I liked it as a standalone story, and I liked it from an analytical standpoint. Highly recommended.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. I knew nothing about the book coming into it, other than the title is brilliant and it makes some of those top book lists.

It is a stunning book. Just breathtaking by the end really. I liked it as a standalone story, and I liked it from an analytical standpoint. Highly recommended.

Sounds interesting from a few quick blurbs. I try to go into books completely blind other than general mood —how would you classify it? Dark? Poignant? Just interesting?

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I’ve been on a binge lately:

I’ve read a lot of grim and bleak books, but this one takes the cake. Violent and brutal and a book I will not recommend to anyone ever.

A much more palatable read. Funny, interesting, and informative. If you want to walk the Appalachian Trail after this book, you are crazy. If you don’t, you are crazier.

Absolutely my favorite book of the year. Also violent and grim at times but 100% worth the read. Quanah Parker was the most interesting man in the world long before there was a most interesting man in the world.

My dad and I listened to this driving back from the Field of Dreams go. Okay book, but the movie was an improvement.

I thought this would be the most painful book of the year until I read The Painted Bird. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure it’s worth the read. I suspect another one where the movie is better, although I haven’t seen the movie, so…..

Pretty quick read that makes a pretty good jest of international politics.

 

[ExpatAkronite]

I’ve been on a binge lately:

I’ve read a lot of grim and bleak books, but this one takes the cake. Violent and brutal and a book I will not recommend to anyone ever.

A much more palatable read. Funny, interesting, and informative. If you want to walk the Appalachian Trail after this book, you are crazy. If you don’t, you are crazier.

Absolutely my favorite book of the year. Also violent and grim at times but 100% worth the read. Quanah Parker was the most interesting man in the world long before there was a most interesting man in the world.

My dad and I listened to this driving back from the Field of Dreams go. Okay book, but the movie was an improvement.

I thought this would be the most painful book of the year until I read The Painted Bird. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure it’s worth the read. I suspect another one where the movie is better, although I haven’t seen the movie, so…..

Pretty quick read that makes a pretty good jest of international politics.

Walk in the Woods is a classic (movie w/ Robert Reford is so so but kind of charming).

 

[Abenaki]

I’ve read a lot of grim and bleak books, but this one takes the cake. Violent and brutal and a book I will not recommend to anyone ever.

I just read the summary and holy shit. That was bleak enough.

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

Sounds interesting from a few quick blurbs. I try to go into books completely blind other than general mood —how would you classify it? Dark? Poignant? Just interesting?

It captures well the essence of what it is to be human with primary themes of struggle, loneliness, and hope. It is unique to anything I've read - in the end very moving and heavy. Maybe Southern gothic (I've never studied literature formally but I'm pretty sure that's what it would be categorized as), like Faulkner, but with less difficult prose, and very authentic to the time (1930s), place (southern mill town), and the individual experiences expressed therein (deaf/mute sage, bar keep overseer, adolescent girl coming of age, angry anti-Capitalist, physician black who has repressed the treatment of his race). 4 or 5 stories somehow unified into 1. No overarching judgements or stereotypes, but illustrating through the 5 main characters. The author does some really cool things with the treatment of time and there is some simple yet profound psychology at play. I could go on for hours, but do not want to spoil anything (but if you read it and would like to, would definitely be up to discuss it thoroughly).

 

[JohnnyCockfight]

I thought this would be the most painful book of the year until I read The Painted Bird. I’m glad I read it, but I’m not sure it’s worth the read. I suspect another one where the movie is better, although I haven’t seen the movie, so…..

I've tried to read Styron before (Lie Down in Darkness) and failed. You are a better man than me.

 

[Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux]

I’ve been on a binge lately:

I’ve read a lot of grim and bleak books, but this one takes the cake. Violent and brutal and a book I will not recommend to anyone ever.

Your comments have intrigued me and I am going to order this book asap.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

I just read the summary and holy shit. That was bleak enough.

Your comments have intrigued me and I am going to order this book asap.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

The weird thing is that Jerzy Kosinski also wrote the novel and screenplay for Being There which is one of the most oddly peaceful movies I've ever seen. It seems nearly impossible that both were written by the same guy.

 

[Fungo Squiggly]

It captures well the essence of what it is to be human with primary themes of struggle, loneliness, and hope. It is unique to anything I've read - in the end very moving and heavy. Maybe Southern gothic (I've never studied literature formally but I'm pretty sure that's what it would be categorized as), like Faulkner, but with less difficult prose, and very authentic to the time (1930s), place (southern mill town), and the individual experiences expressed therein (deaf/mute sage, bar keep overseer, adolescent girl coming of age, angry anti-Capitalist, physician black who has repressed the treatment of his race). 4 or 5 stories somehow unified into 1. No overarching judgements or stereotypes, but illustrating through the 5 main characters. The author does some really cool things with the treatment of time and there is some simple yet profound psychology at play. I could go on for hours, but do not want to spoil anything (but if you read it and would like to, would definitely be up to discuss it thoroughly).

Thank you! I'll definitely add it to my list.

I've tried to read Styron before (Lie Down in Darkness) and failed. You are a better man than me.

Not really. I do appreciate but absolutely did not enjoy his writing style. I only stuck it out for the painful ending that I knew was coming.

 

[Tomateaux Quinoa Gumbeaux]

Just finished reading

I enjoyed reading it. It had some interesting Observations about human and animal life as well as some interesting history about towns in Baja California along the Gulf.

I mainly read it however to get better insight into what I’m reading now:

 

[BB73]

I’ve been on a binge lately:

Absolutely my favorite book of the year. Also violent and grim at times but 100% worth the read. Quanah Parker was the most interesting man in the world long before there was a most interesting man in the world.

Just finished this, thanks for the recommendation. It was interesting and informative.

 

[colobuck79]

Just finished this, thanks for the recommendation. It was interesting and informative.

Even the Apaches were terrified of the Comanches. This continent wasn’t the peaceful and tranquil place some people would have you believe. That canyon north of Amarillo where Parker liked to hide out is worth a visit if you ever pass by.