What is Everybody Reading?

[LadyLocust]

An author I would recommend is David Rosenfelt. He writes murder mysteries with a recurring cast of characters, The main character is a defense attorney. He is a dog lover with a great sense of humor, and a very large body of work. My wife found these quite by accident, and now we can't get enough. Great mysteries that always have a twist in the last 10 pages or so. Very enjoyable reading.

Thank you - my mom likes murder mysteries. I'll let her know. She doesn't like if they get smutty, but if they are clean she likes them.

 

[LadyLocust]

Military survival
The Secret

When I was in a pretty rough place, The Secret was the slap in the face of positive that I needed to get out of it.

 

[Amish Heart]

I didn't like The Secret. But I remember The Celestine Prophesy when it came out. My MIL was so into that book, she would hold her hands open over house plants to give and get energy.
I am reading, "Raising Sheep the Moder Way". Written in 1989. Hmm.

 

[Amish Heart]

Whoops, not Moder, but MODERN

 

[LadyLocust]

I didn't like The Secret. But I remember The Celestine Prophesy when it came out. My MIL was so into that book, she would hold her hands open over house plants to give and get energy.
I am reading, "Raising Sheep the Moder Way". Written in 1989. Hmm.

I've read back through it and now find some things a little . . . different??? Not really the right word. I think it was because it was positive and I sure wasn't.

 

[Amish Heart]

I get that. I got a box of books to donate to the thrift store today while working on boxes in our outbuilding. One book I donated I thought was cool at the time when we opened our school. It was a business feel good book called, "Tribes".

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Right now I'm knee deep in a very engrossing biography of George C Marshall, who ultimately became US Army Chief of Staff and was in a large part responsible for us winning WWII.

 

[TENNGRIZZ]

I'm rereading the 12 Caesars and Collision Course by LtCol Robert Maginnis

 

[Morgan101]

Thank you - my mom likes murder mysteries. I'll let her know. She doesn't like if they get smutty, but if they are clean she likes them.

These are pretty clean. There are parts when he and his girlfriend/wife do have some fun, but there is nothing graphic. I might rate it PG, and all part of a very healthy, loving relationship. I think your Mom will enjoy them. IMHO the author has an exceptional sense of humor that he shows through the main character. They are a very easy read.

 

[Tacitus]

I finally read Shepherd of the Hills, a book written in 1907, with a plot based in the Ozark Mountains. (Our posters from the Ozarks will likely be very familiar with this book.)

My review:

If you want to take time out from modern life & news, and read a book that conveys the values of our nation from 100 years ago, read this book. I think many modern readers would think the story is "corny," but it was a huge best seller in the first half of this past century, so the story greatly resonated "back in the day." I liked it for what it was. I was fascinated knowing that this book was so popular 100 years ago, and I felt like it was giving me a window into the mind of the typical American in 1907. Things that I think the author took for granted in his readers are values that are often looked down upon today, which ends up being an unintentional but interesting commentary on modern society. The times certainly have changed.

Author: Wright was relatively famous in his day. Per Wikipedia, he was the "first American writer to sell a million copies of a novel and the first to make $1 million from writing fiction." Fifteen movies were based on his books, including a Gary Cooper movie, and a John Wayne movie. But, his works have largely been forgotten by modern readers.

Story: The story takes place in the Ozark Mountains in the latter half of the 19th century...exactly when is never stated. An "enlightened" man from the city visits the area seeking to exorcise some demons from his past (figuratively), and ends up settling there in order to pay a moral debt of sorts. The story has good vs. bad. City vs. rural. So called "enlightened" vs. "simple." A love story. A failed love story. Mystery. Conflict. Chivalry. Criminality. History. Religiosity.

Overall, I recommend it.

Caveats/Comments:

• The author writes the dialogue like it would have been spoken by mountain people in the Ozarks in the late 1800's. Bear with it for the first couple chapters; you will get used to it.
• If you are going to read the book, I don't recommend reading the plot summary on Wikipedia, which is too detailed, and conveys the story out of order. In my opinion, the book will be better enjoyed without knowing the story...let the story develop as the author tells it.
• The 1941 John Wayne movie of the same name seems to have radically changed the story and the characters. It sounds like it is actually quite different from the book.

 

[CalicoKatie]

Wow, Tacitus, that really takes me back in time! Right along with that I would recommend Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. It's been many, many years since I read it but I've never forgotten it. From that same era were romance novels by Emilie Loring and Grace Livingstone Hill. These authors were prolific but I don't know if you could even find them now.

 

[Morgan101]

Just finished John Grisham's latest: The Judges List. A little bit of a diversion from his usual, and IMHO not one of his best. Sort of disappointing.

I just started David Rosenfelt's latest, and I am looking forward to that.

I picked up a couple of Ace Atkins novels. I enjoyed the first one of his I read, and these are recurring characters in a recurring location. Fingers crossed. For those who don't know him AA has continued the Jesse Stone series originally written by Robert B. Parker. Those are not bad.

 

[Weedygarden]

Wow, Tacitus, that really takes me back in time! Right along with that I would recommend Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. It's been many, many years since I read it but I've never forgotten it. From that same era were romance novels by Emilie Loring and Grace Livingstone Hill. These authors were prolific but I don't know if you could even find them now.

Yes, you can find books by Grace Livingstone Hill and Emilie Loring. They are even available on Kindle.

 

[Magus]

All that Kurt Saxon stuff I linked to.

Heh. roofies and TNT, what could go wrong? LMAO

 

[LadyLocust]

I finally read Shepherd of the Hills, a book written in 1907, with a plot based in the Ozark Mountains. (Our posters from the Ozarks will likely be very familiar with this book.)

My review:

If you want to take time out from modern life & news, and read a book that conveys the values of our nation from 100 years ago, read this book. I think many modern readers would think the story is "corny," but it was a huge best seller in the first half of this past century, so the story greatly resonated "back in the day." I liked it for what it was. I was fascinated knowing that this book was so popular 100 years ago, and I felt like it was giving me a window into the mind of the typical American in 1907. Things that I think the author took for granted in his readers are values that are often looked down upon today, which ends up being an unintentional but interesting commentary on modern society. The times certainly have changed.

Author: Wright was relatively famous in his day. Per Wikipedia, he was the "first American writer to sell a million copies of a novel and the first to make $1 million from writing fiction." Fifteen movies were based on his books, including a Gary Cooper movie, and a John Wayne movie. But, his works have largely been forgotten by modern readers.

Story: The story takes place in the Ozark Mountains in the latter half of the 19th century...exactly when is never stated. An "enlightened" man from the city visits the area seeking to exorcise some demons from his past (figuratively), and ends up settling there in order to pay a moral debt of sorts. The story has good vs. bad. City vs. rural. So called "enlightened" vs. "simple." A love story. A failed love story. Mystery. Conflict. Chivalry. Criminality. History. Religiosity.

Overall, I recommend it.

Caveats/Comments:

• The author writes the dialogue like it would have been spoken by mountain people in the Ozarks in the late 1800's. Bear with it for the first couple chapters; you will get used to it.
• If you are going to read the book, I don't recommend reading the plot summary on Wikipedia, which is too detailed, and conveys the story out of order. In my opinion, the book will be better enjoyed without knowing the story...let the story develop as the author tells it.
• The 1941 John Wayne movie of the same name seems to have radically changed the story and the characters. It sounds like it is actually quite different from the book.

Sounds interesting. I like old words - they used them better back then.
I'm reading the last Gladys Taber book I have "Country Chronicle." It's much like her other books but later in life when she is a grandmother.
Not sure which one is next. I have a Bronte book "Shirley" but no sure I want to dig into something that big before the holidays. I also have "The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs." Probably not for everybody, but I like weird things like that.

 

[joel]

Market Bulletin
Obsidian Butterfly, by L.K.H.

 

[LadyLocust]

Oh yea, I am nearly finished with "Front Porch Tales" by Phillip Gulley. He is a Mennonite pastor with a great sense of humor. They are short little stories perfect to read at bedtime. They have a little message in each one but an example titles - My Cup Runneth Over and So Does My Toilet or Family Reunions and Other Reasons Jesus Never Married.

 

[randyt]

I finally read Shepherd of the Hills, a book written in 1907, with a plot based in the Ozark Mountains. (Our posters from the Ozarks will likely be very familiar with this book.)

My review:

If you want to take time out from modern life & news, and read a book that conveys the values of our nation from 100 years ago, read this book. I think many modern readers would think the story is "corny," but it was a huge best seller in the first half of this past century, so the story greatly resonated "back in the day." I liked it for what it was. I was fascinated knowing that this book was so popular 100 years ago, and I felt like it was giving me a window into the mind of the typical American in 1907. Things that I think the author took for granted in his readers are values that are often looked down upon today, which ends up being an unintentional but interesting commentary on modern society. The times certainly have changed.

Author: Wright was relatively famous in his day. Per Wikipedia, he was the "first American writer to sell a million copies of a novel and the first to make $1 million from writing fiction." Fifteen movies were based on his books, including a Gary Cooper movie, and a John Wayne movie. But, his works have largely been forgotten by modern readers.

Story: The story takes place in the Ozark Mountains in the latter half of the 19th century...exactly when is never stated. An "enlightened" man from the city visits the area seeking to exorcise some demons from his past (figuratively), and ends up settling there in order to pay a moral debt of sorts. The story has good vs. bad. City vs. rural. So called "enlightened" vs. "simple." A love story. A failed love story. Mystery. Conflict. Chivalry. Criminality. History. Religiosity.

Overall, I recommend it.

Caveats/Comments:

• The author writes the dialogue like it would have been spoken by mountain people in the Ozarks in the late 1800's. Bear with it for the first couple chapters; you will get used to it.
• If you are going to read the book, I don't recommend reading the plot summary on Wikipedia, which is too detailed, and conveys the story out of order. In my opinion, the book will be better enjoyed without knowing the story...let the story develop as the author tells it.
• The 1941 John Wayne movie of the same name seems to have radically changed the story and the characters. It sounds like it is actually quite different from the book.

I havent read that book in years, need to revisit it.

 

[LadyLocust]

I've been on a book binge for the past year. I just finished "Forever Christmas" Tasha Tudor just because.
I now have 2 going. One I'll read by month so just started January Butt'ry Shelf Almanac by Mary Mason Campbell.
The other is "Southern Jack Tales" because I have a curious cultural mind.
Seems like I've had a couple others here next to the chair but can't say now what they were. I like happier reading during the holidays. If there is something deep, I'll wait until later in the month.

 

[Bacpacker]

Just seed catalogs recently

 

[joel]

Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

 

[Peanut]

The other is "Southern Jack Tales" because I have a curious cultural mind.

The author of this book... Mr. Davis, I happen to know where he often tells stores. Some people I know in western NC have a school up in the mtns. It's similar to a "Foxfire" school, where the old ways are taught to youngsters. It's an accredited school, kids are taught modern curriculum plus the ways of their ancestors.

Mr. Davis has been a guest of the school many times... I've seen posts about him before.

I lost contact with those folks before covid. I still hope to visit the school someday.

 

[Haertig]

I'm reading Dust by Hugh Howey at the moment. It's the third and final book of his Silo trilogy. The first two books were Wool and Shift.

This is a good series. Post-apocalyptic, future dystopia, science fiction. But not with robots and aliens running around. Good stories of humans living in an isolated and different, but still very familiar feeling, environment.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Eisenhower's Armies by Niall Barr, Pegasus Books, 2015.
MacArthur At War by Walter R. Borneman, Little, Brown and Company, 2016.

I switch back and forth between them. Sometimes I'll have 4 or more "working" at any given time.
I'm about to change over to the Eastern Front for a while - I just got a new one on the Battle of Stalingrad.

I don't smoke, drink, or use drugs. I get high on the printed word. I've been studying WWII since a pre-teen growing up in the 50's when the war was still fresh in the American conscience.
I barely graduated high school and went to war instead of college. I'm entirely self-taught in the usage of the English language by reading some of the greatest historians, and many lesser ones.
There are books everywhere throughout our tiny house.

 

[LadyLocust]

Eisenhower's Armies by Niall Barr, Pegasus Books, 2015.
MacArthur At War by Walter R. Borneman, Little, Brown and Company, 2016.

I switch back and forth between them. Sometimes I'll have 4 or more "working" at any given time.
I'm about to change over to the Eastern Front for a while - I just got a new one on the Battle of Stalingrad.

I don't smoke, drink, or use drugs. I get high on the printed word. I've been studying WWII since a pre-teen growing up in the 50's when the war was still fresh in the American conscience.
I barely graduated high school and went to war instead of college. I'm entirely self-taught in the usage of the English language by reading some of the greatest historians, and many lesser ones.
There are books everywhere throughout our tiny house.

Hubby read "While We Were Sleeping" which is a very detailed, very thick book on Pearl Harbor and the events both before and after it. Said it was good.

 

[rice paddy daddy]

Could you mean At Dawn We Slept, by Gordon Prange?
The most definitive work on the Pearl Harbor attack, and the events leading up to it, ever written.
Mr Prange spent 30+ years working on this, and when he died there were over 5,000 pages of manuscript.
Two of his students distilled this down to around 1,000 pages, and the work is remarkable.
My copy is a paperback the size of a hardbound book, I reread it every few years around December.
I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in the Pearl Harbor attack. It is one book I'll never part with.

 

[LadyLocust]

Eisenhower's Armies by Niall Barr, Pegasus Books, 2015.
MacArthur At War by Walter R. Borneman, Little, Brown and Company, 2016.

I switch back and forth between them. Sometimes I'll have 4 or more "working" at any given time.
I'm about to change over to the Eastern Front for a while - I just got a new one on the Battle of Stalingrad.

I don't smoke, drink, or use drugs. I get high on the printed word. I've been studying WWII since a pre-teen growing up in the 50's when the war was still fresh in the American conscience.
I barely graduated high school and went to war instead of college. I'm entirely self-taught in the usage of the English language by reading some of the greatest historians, and many lesser ones.
There are books everywhere throughout our tiny house.

I fibbed it was “At Dawn We Slept”

 

[rice paddy daddy]

I fibbed it was “At Dawn We Slept”

I misspoke.
My copy of At Dawn We Slept is indeed a hardback, of 750 pages not including notes.
The same two students further abridged Mr Prange's work into a 450 page account of just Dec 7th itself. That one is a large paperback.
(I just went and looked)

 

[Morgan101]

I just started the latest David Baldacci book.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Seed catalogs