Book thread

[Vidor]

If you are curious to learn more about the extremely depressing way in which Hollywood abandoned silent films as they were hitting all-time artistic peaks, and instead started making terrible crappy talkies, look up a book called "The Speed of Sound".

[Vidor]

oh, russet-golden afternoon, you are a mellow fruit of happiness ripely falling! …

The grief from his wife's death became greater and greater agony. The home they had so long shared became a tomb, a sweet memory of her joyous living. The sky to which he had once looked was now only a covering for her dead body.

****

The crimsons and purples in the windows will stain our faces with faded passion. It must be in the hour before sunset when the earth dreams in afterthoughts and mystic premonitions of life's beauty.

All of us on this earth know that there is a time to live, and that there is a time to die. Yet death is always a shock to those left behind. It is even more of a shock when Death, the Proud Brother, comes suddenly without warning.

[Freed Roger]

If you are curious to learn more about the extremely depressing way in which Hollywood abandoned silent films as they were hitting all-time artistic peaks, and instead started making terrible crappy talkies, look up a book called "The Speed of Sound".

Related: Bryson hypthesizes a bit in "One Summer" that the American film industry dominance with "talkies" and corresponding influence on the world

The capper was the moving picture. We produced 80 percent of the world’s movies by 1927, and the rise of the “talkies” would popularize, as Bryson notes, not only American speech but “American thoughts, American attitudes, American humor and sensibilities. Peacefully, by accident, and almost unnoticed, America had just taken over the world.”

[Vidor]

There's a lot to that, Hollywood as American cultural ambassador.

[pioneer98]

I'm reading "In The First Circle" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. It's set in 1949 Soviet Union. A lot of it is based on the author's experiences. He was exiled for this (and other) work. I'm only 200 pages in (out of 800+). So it is long but not a difficult read. You get a glimpse into what it must have been like, and what Stalin was probably like.

[Freed Roger]

Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. The jacket blurbs all ring true.
http://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Walk-Ric ... 1571311157

A grateful nod to Subterranean Books in U-City. They have random handwritten notecards by books, with thoughtful recommendations that can help one find a gem like this.

[MrSaigon]

I always like the idea of Sci-Fi (and to a lesser extent, Fantasy), but too often, not the books. I'm reading Ringworld right now, and there's far too much Sci and not nearly enough Fi. Shoot a laser or something, dammit!

I bet there's a list online of Sci-Fi for people who don't like Sci-Fi. I should look. The possibility for world-building and creativity is very intriguing to me.

[Maclowery]

I recently finished a book by an author who I considered one of my favorites through her first trilogy. Then I figured the second trilogy was alright, I guess. Now the second book of the third trilogy was one of the worst pieces of schlock I've ever read. I'm in a big rut on my fantasy literature fandom, the last 5 or so books by favorite authors of mine have all disappointed me, and I've not found a new author to fall into.

[ghostrunner]

Had never read Moby Dick, so I decided I'd read it with my 10 year old before bed. I could have sworn I'd heard of kids reading it in school, so I figured why not. We just bailed after getting a third of the way through. Obviously people think highly of it, but wow. It's about 4-5 different books in one. There's a fairly straightforward narrative about a guy going out on a whaling voyage and the odd characters he meets. Next chapter it's a scientist/naturalist diary. Then it's something akin to Proust carrying on about his madeleines, only it's the color white. On to a poetic ode to the ocean and virtues of sailors. Somewhere in there a chapter that reads like extended stage directions. All this told with sailing terminology and some outdated English. We just couldn't hack it.

Reminded more of Pynchon than anything, though I recall liking that more.

[tlombard]

I use public transportation almost every day so instead of carrying real books (which I do prefer), most of my reading is done on a tablet through either Nook or Kindle apps. I am starting to get rather annoyed with the lack of editing on them though. Has anybody else paid $5 or more for an e-book and noticed constant grammatical errors, misspelled words and just plain extra words all over the place? I cannot stand it!!! I am in the middle of one series and I just want to email the author and offer them my services, they send me the book in advance for free and I'll point out the hundreds (it seems like) of mistakes that somehow get past the editing process. I've noticed it with quite a few books from different authors as well as STLToday and other websites that are supposedly journalists. Are all editors complete idiots these days or have they all been fired? My guess is fired to save money which is pathetic.

My grammar and spelling aren't particularly great but even I can pick out tons of mistakes which is pathetic.