mooselywild

For my AP classes- it was EVERYTHING on the list- there was a test at the beginning of the year....if you mean the summer reading list. Then there was the list of books we had to read during the school year, and the further list of books it was recced that you should become "familiar" with before the exam....I read the major titles, then skimmed a few more, read the summaries of the rest and then faked my way through the essay portion of the exam- BS is a student's best friend, folks.....

JJ5

There are good writers out there in every gendre and at every level. And cerebral reading does not have to be dull treatises, long-winded literature, obscure, or containing chunks of highly digested philosophy. Simplicity in form can be extremely cerebral.

IMHO, pare the prose to the essential, fit it to match its time, express true characterizations (and oh the ways that those genuses can do this!)and then "get out of Dodge." In other words, quit the chorus of political opinion- exit the soapbox etc.

So many writers can't seem to include the last and thus we have a lot of good writers, not a lot of great writers.

Kingsolver- perfect example of loving that chorus.

But we all have such different tastes.

I know just what you mean by snarky, bennnie. That is one of the real stoppers for me, as well.

I can easily read grit, but find depressant thought patterns and introspection disguised as literature are my kryptonite. They abound presently.

Thanks for all the leads on the other thread and this one as well. I found some new treasures this summer.

Thanks!

jetset1

egads people! No one warned me I'd be getting feedback from Mensa members. Okay, starting tomorrow, I'm finshing the crossword puzzle if it takes me all day.. J.

jetset1

...and spelling finishing correctly, I might add

Andrew

I finished "House of War: The Pentagon and the Disasterous Rise of American Power" by James Carroll a couple of weeks ago - a long but fascinating (and sometimes personal) history of America's military since 1943. I am now reading "American Theocracy" by Kevin Phillips - scary and kind of depressing. The book I want to read is "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq" by Thomas Ricks - it's getting a lot of attention, and I've seen Ricks interviewed on several talk shows. Probably won't come from the library for a while; maybe I'll have to buy one for a change! Might be good reading on the plane next week.

Andrew

xanthippe

Thomas Wolfe published Look Homeward, Angel in 1929 (or rather Scribner's did. Maxwell Perkins was Wolfe's editor). Wolfe was from Asheville, N.C., and is buried there. He wrote the rest of his major work in the l930's.

Tom Wolfe is writing today. His latest novel is I am Charlotte What's-her-name.

BayouGal

I love this thread, and hope we can keep it going!

Also wanted to let all you avid readers know, in case you didn't already, there is a "Music, Movies, and Books" board where you can post an individual title creating a thread, and go from there with discussion. I'd like to see some threads started on a lot of these great recommendations, and I know all the other regular contributors would love to see you all on that board, too!

L84SKY

xanthippe
It's just amazing what happens when I don't just scan the thread, looking for new books! Thanks for being alert. quot;>

missypie

After our trip to Italy, my 15 year old decided that he just had to read the Divine Comedy. He finished the Inferno; is working on Purgatorio now. The funny thing is that he is working at our local pool and brings the books with him. Now, two of the other kids at the pool are reading the Inferno! I admit that he is MUCH better read than I am!

By the way, having The Awakening and Their Eyes We Watching God on high school reading lists baffles me. I read them back to back this spring and, as a woman married for 17 years, got a lot out of them. Don't quite know what a 16 year old - male or female - would make of them!

ImitationOfChrist

If you like Kate Chopin's "The Awakening," you should read "Desiree's Baby," one of her short stories. It has an ending that hits you like a freight train. I used to use the story to teach irony to my students.

Suki

I offered this on the other thread as well, but since I don't think many have read it, I offer it here as well: Peace Like A River by Leif Engel. It is a beautifully written book with characters that you care about and a story that unfolds slowly but is captivating. If you appreciate good writing, you will like this book.

FainaAgain

Every time this thread pops up, I feel sick. Reading the heading, all I can think of, is the disease "cerebral palsy".

jetset1

Alright, I'm heading up the highway to Barnes and Noble today.
Who knows what I'll return with, but I am printing out the list in good faith..
it seems that the book store is one of the few places my oldest teen can browse w/o complaint fortunately!
I need to find a good audio tape or two as a distraction from my screams about ds driving on the return leg>) J.

Suzie

"I need to find a good audio tape or two as a distraction from my screams about ds driving on the return leg."

LOL jetset1. I feel your pain. Having just driven with my ds on vacation I thought the tightness in my stomach would never dissipate. Let him drive to but I drove home. He thinks he's the best driver. He's ok, but he's still too young to know everything he needs to know.

ElendilPickle

>>For fiction, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series, preferably in order.<<

*Definitely* in order!

I'll second Suki's recommendation of "Peace Like a River." Lovely book.

I recently finished Patrick Leigh Fermor's "A Time of Gifts," the first volume of his memoirs of walking from the Netherlands to Constantinople in the 1930s. At the time, he was a young man who had been expelled from his school in England and was at loose ends. Hitler was just coming to power...really interesting. I have the second part, "Between the Woods and the Water," on hold at the library.

Lee Ann

Ryan

I'm 90% of the way through "A Team Of Rivals" by Doris Goodwin. It shows Lincoln's substantial talents both intellectually and politically. A very well written book that is a full character study of what may have been the most important leader in our history.

Of course, if you've got a few free months I'd suggest "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. I think it took me about 2 years to finish.

sparkerlaw

I ifnished Anderson Cooper's "Dispatches from the Edge" in one sitting...What a book! Amazingly graphic tales of his past life and his experiences all over the world. It's a wonderful read.

Ozarksbill

OK, I do enjoy a good mystery like P. D. James' "The Lighthouse." But feel I must balance with "cerebral reading" including some mentioned...Devil in the White City: fascinating bipolar.
Freakonomics: amusingly off beat but disquieting. Poisonwood Bible: satisfying. American Theocracy: solid but sobering.

Another disquieting one: Assassin's Gate. A new book exposing the phamous philandering preacher Henry Ward Beecher: The Most Famous Man in America. Reached back for an oldie: Slaughterhouse Five. Good solid history read: The Conquerors (i.e., Roosevelt & Churchill).

ozarksbill

JJ5

OH Ryan, so glad to hear from you.

And Ayn Rand, our lady philosopher, so much out of favor, so much an example of the 5 page politico-philosophy diatribe- but sometimes, damn it, despite herself, she does nail it. So many hate her, that that fact alone keeps her read. I enjoyed her books, but find the protagonists not believeable. I don't know any supermen or superwomen.

If you are the Ryan that I used to read so much on Fodors, then you must be pretty happy about the last minute NY Yankee purchases of this week.

I, myself, think it is going to be Detroits year.

JJ5

Oh yes, Ryan, or anyone that wants a good cerebral Civil War read, try "Widow of the South". And then counter it with, "Last Living Confederate Widow Tells All". If you like military, or a good story- both will do. You do have to endure grit. I can't believe the last one was written by a man.

And then there is "March" if you want to comprehend Sherman's motivations and the changing realities of the lowly enlisted man wearing grey, blue, or brown. This one isn't literature, more like boring everyday reality, until.....