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  • Re: What are you currently reading?

    I loved Brothers Karamazov and didn't find it at all a slog. Of course, I read it a long time ago, when I had a lot more time on my hands and fewer distractions.

    My current read is John Crowley's Little, Big--which seems to be one of those books people love or hate. So far, I love it. Sneaky and subtle fantasy? A gorgeous and charming narrator's voice?--although maybe a little too florid, but hey, I can handle. I can see why some people get bored with this book, waiting for the plot to trundle ahead. But if you let yourself get lost in the words and the (seemly) side stories and the big extended family living in the strange multi-faced country house that's not on any map...It casts its spell.

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    • Re: What are you currently reading?

      I recently finished Ghostwritten by David Mitchell, an impressive first novel. I am now into Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, a wild and enjoyable ride so far.

      BTW, The Brothers Karamozov is my favorite Dostoevsky novel.

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      • Re: What are you currently reading?

        Going to start the year by re-reading my favorite book, "Watership Down" by Richard Adams. Don't know what will come after that yet.

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        • Re: What are you currently reading?

          I need some help, guys. I really would like to read some fiction based in Hawaii (preferably on Oahu, but I'll take whatever is out there) but I can't find any. I know about Murder on Molokai by Chip Hughes, but it is not available here in any bookstore- new or old. It's on Amazon, but is $13 new or used, plus shipping. Is it worth it? And can anyone give me tips on other books? Please help...I miss Hawaii desperately and with my husband in negotiation about a job in Australia, I seem to be moving farther away...SOS!!

          PS- Just finished Islam for Dummies. I'm Catholic, but am interested in other religions. Never knew much about Islam before, but it's actually pretty interesting. Not that I'm looking to convert or anything, but I like putting new wrinkles in my brain. Some famous person said every time you learn something new, you put a new wrinkle in your brain. I hope mine is nice and wrinkly.
          Last edited by surlygirly; February 9, 2012, 12:06 PM. Reason: PS

          Can't think of anything creative this time

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          • Re: What are you currently reading?

            Originally posted by surlygirly View Post
            I need some help, guys. I really would like to read some fiction based in Hawaii (preferably on Oahu, but I'll take whatever is out there) but I can't find any.
            I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but I would recommend The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings. It should be widely available, since the movie version is up for an Oscar Best Picture award. Other works that might be available would be Shark Dialogues by Kiana Davenport, and two novels by Alan Brennert--Moloka‘i and Honolulu, both of which are historical fiction.

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            • Re: What are you currently reading?

              As for what I've been reading, I just finished The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, a real page-turner. It’s a quick read and thoroughly enjoyable. The movie version is coming out next month, and seems sure to be a hit.

              Having finished that, I’ve shifted gears and have just started The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco, definitely not a page-turner, but if it’s as good as The Name of the Rose or Foucoult’s Pendulum, then it will be well worth the effort.

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              • Re: What are you currently reading?

                I am currently re-reading George Crile's book Charlie wilsons war.

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                • Re: What are you currently reading?

                  Matthew Algeo's tale of how President Grover Cleveland kept his oral-cancer surgery a secret from the American public, including a campaign to discredit the reporter who revealed the story - "The President Is A Sick Man" (link is to NPR story from last summer)

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                  • Re: What are you currently reading?

                    A most revealing peek into the highest levels of
                    the ship of state.
                    The power to elect the Senate by popular vote was only
                    granted in the early 1900s by constitutional amendment.
                    Prior to that time the senate was brought to power from
                    what is now called the lower house.

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                    • Re: What are you currently reading?

                      With a brief break to sail through Sarah Vowell's disappointing book on Hawaiian history, "Unfamiliar Fishes," I'm re-reading all of British humorist Stephen Fry's novels: "The Liar," "The Hippopotamus," "Making History," "The Stars' Tennis Balls" and the short-piece collection, "Paperweight." All very funny stuff.

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                      • Re: What are you currently reading?

                        Leo - just curious why you say Vowell's book is "disappointing"?

                        I've just downloaded Steven King's "11/22/63" and also plan to read all of the "Hunger Games" books which are up next on my download list. Also, Bill O'Reilly's book about John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assasination has been recommended to me. Sorry, don't know the name of the book - have to look it up. These are all Kindle downloads.

                        (O'Reilly's book is called "Killing Lincoln" and it has a co-writer)
                        Last edited by anapuni808; March 27, 2012, 11:48 AM.
                        "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
                        – Sydney J. Harris

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                        • Re: What are you currently reading?

                          Originally posted by anapuni808 View Post
                          Leo - just curious why you say Vowell's book is "disappointing"?
                          I found her writing style ... uncomfortable to read. I recognize that it is reflective of her radio speaking, but it reads awkwardly in several places (misplaced modifiers and run-on sentences, primarily). She has a tendency also to story-tell in convoluted circles, sometimes getting back to an earlier historical point or personality many pages later, sometimes not at all, and often with a flippant tone.

                          She likes to fact-toss, which is why so many reviewers have used the word "accurate" to describe the book - but just recycling facts and names does not a good story tell. I know that Vowell is more (snarky) essayist than historian, but she reminds me of so many people who take the knowledge they have gleaned about Hawaiian history and spew it out with themselves now inserted into the story - not to help educate, but rather to assuage their personal guilt about ancestral behavior.

                          Based on the number of my friends from Hawai`i who encouraged me to read it, I was expecting better. It's not a recommendation I would attach my name to.

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                          • Re: What are you currently reading?

                            Thanks Leo. I've not read her book and don't really anticipate reading it. I know many in the Hawaiian community who have met her and spoken to her about her book and these are folks who opinions I respect. She has been invited here several times to speak with different Hawaiian groups. I got the impression that they appreciated her effort to tell the story but that it was really more about the missionaries than about the Hawaiians and that that was ok with them. and yes, they also called her flippant at times.
                            "Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be."
                            – Sydney J. Harris

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                            • Re: What are you currently reading?

                              I figure after 20 years... I'm running out of ideas. HaHa!
                              A fun light read and even a little informative.

                              The Good Orgasm Guide All a girl needs for a great time
                              by Kate Taylor
                              http://www.elwinstreet.com/book.php?id=7

                              Life is either an adventure... or you're not doing it right!!!

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                              • Re: What are you currently reading?

                                Originally posted by Leo Lakio View Post
                                . . . but rather to assuage their personal guilt about ancestral behavior.
                                Does personal guilt accrue from ancestral behavior? If so, there are no innocents, eh?

                                I believe you have called upon an imaginary condition that bears no light upon truth, though it may brighten the realms of psychosis.
                                Last edited by salmoned; March 28, 2012, 09:38 AM.
                                May I always be found beneath your contempt.

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