Found myself in an eslite establishment again. Bought this:
Just started and love it so far. Bought the English translation and the original Japanese version, so l can read both versions simultaneously and refresh my Japanese. 
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Struggling through Wolf Hall, thanks to my fractured attention span these days (it’s pretty good so far). Made me curious to know if young Catherine of Aragon was really the dish Mantel portrays (even men of the church were on the hook), so went to yt to find some AI renderings … predictably fell into a rabbit hole. For several hours. Now think I’m going to have to write something about Clay Allison before somebody else does. Sigh.
A little better than average looks wise --but being the daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand, and royalty from the richest country in Europe at the time probably made her attractive if one believes power is the greatest aphrodisiac.
In Mantel’s telling, the “old king” i.e., Henry VII wanted her something fierce but refused to marry her because Ferdinand refused to pay her full dowry. The old king gave her to his oldest son, Arthur, who being sickly died less than two years after marrying Catherine. VIII was so smitten, in Mantel’s novel, that he was stuck dumb in her presence and even willing to consider her virginity intact because Arthur.
Anyway, if the AI is close then I’d say she could have presented as much better than average.
Only the middle one above looks aesthetically pleasing (and I dated in my single days and married a lot hotter!).
Maria of Antioch on the other hand. I’d take Byzantine blonde over Aragon brunette! She was quite the hottie!
Maria of Antioch - Wikipedia
Where does Eva Peron rate in your estimation? Pretty hot, film star before she became Fascist concubine.
Way too proletarian for my taste. And that was left-wing Peronism mate. Eva Perón is generally considered to be associated with the left-wing political spectrum, specifically with the Peronist movement. Certainly, had elements of right and left, but these days, it’s the left in Argentina that see her as a hero. She hated capitalists and would have likely wanted to hang Milei.
Peron positioned herself as a socialist champion of the poor (referred to as “the shirtless”), earning lavish newspaper headlines and Time Magazine covers. Time went so far as to call her an “Argentine rainbow” and a “woman of the people.”
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This recent release looks quite worthy of some read time.
A Century of Fiction in The New Yorker: 1925-2025 by The New Yorker
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I think a few of you mentioned reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee? I’m in the middle of Pt. III, about 100 pages to go.
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A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, Pulitzer Prize winner 1981
Was not at all interested in the story or plot but this book was so good during the first half that i thought i would immediately read again but the second half change my mind.
Fantastical way it became published after the author’s suicide.
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About 10 stories in and luvin it… ~1200 pages to go
I really enjoyed Pachinko and would heartily recommend it to anyone - it’s a long read but an easy one, and it’s definitely a page turner. It even has its moving moments and some memorable characters - the novel mostly revolves around the life of the clan matriarch Sunja and her extended offspring & cousins. However I would hesitate to call it one of the best books of the 21st century (as its NYT Books List blurb proudly proclaims) for a couple of reasons. First, the prose is nothing special - serviceable at best; you could call it bland as skim milk, even. If you told me that this was a translation of a novel originally written in Japanese or Korean, I’d believe it (it’s not - Min Jin Lee is an American). Secondly, it gets too soap opera-ish at points. The naughty rebellious daughter dying of AIDS in the hospital is cringily mawkish, for one example, and overall I find Pt. III set in the '80s to be noticably weaker than the first two sections set in the pre-war and post-war decades. Those two carps aside, I did find it engrossing and certainly one of the best books I’ve read in a while.
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Your description reminds me of “Memoirs of a Geisha” which was a really good book as well.
Recently started “Three Body Problem” by Cixin Liu and enjoying it.
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One of my favorites. I’ve read it 3 times. I can’t say it’s the best written book, but I just find it such an interesting dive into geisha culture, the plot twisty and engaging, and the characters properly fleshed out (can’t help but feel bad for Nobu). The movie was ass though; couldn’t even cast Japanese actors since this was back when Hollywood thought all Asian people looked and acted the same.
‘Pachinko’ is also excellent, though I felt the first half was much stronger and more interesting than the second half.
I’m currently reading ‘11/22/63.’ It’s only the second Stephen King book I’ve read (or am currently reading) after ‘The Shining.’ I’ve attempted other novels but have usually abandoned them. I think I’ve felt mixed on King in the past since I find he has a lot of narrative excesses and quirks that reappear across many characters in many books… eg: a protagonist will spout some folksy Maine wisdom and make a somewhat aged pop culture reference that doesn’t land… that said, the plots compensate for this flaw and I think he shows a bit more restraint in his older age as I don’t notice it as much in this one. I’m enjoying it but it’s a huge novel so still have a lot to go.
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Books 1 & 2 in the novel = The Godfather 1 & 2
Book 3 is like The Godfather III, but not that bad. Just a lot weaker than the first two installments. I just couldn’t find the yuppie banker kid & his problems all that compelling. :shrug: 
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It’s been a few years since I read it, but iirc it just wasn’t structured as well. Felt more plot driven than character driven (and also, the new characters were not as compelling as the ones from the previous generation).
