The Pornographer Diaries by Danny King, courtesy of Jimipresley… 
Pretty funny so far. Brings back memories of being 14 in SA perusing the Scope magazine bought at the corner Portuguese cafe. Back then I also had wild dreams of working for a similar magazine one day, scoring hot woman, taking pictures of half naked ladies etc etc. Reality has been a lot less interesting.
Ever read The Fermata or Vox by Nicholson Baker? The first is about a guy who can stop time and wander around, so he stops time and wanders around like a perv, the second is two phone sex calls. Great writer, very engaging. Also wrote “The Mezzanine”, supposedly solely about a ride up an escalator in an office, but way more than that. Highly recommend all three, though I thought The Fermata and The Mezzanine were worthy of awards.
[edit] I’ve added The Pornographer Diaries to my list, thanks you guys.
Never read that, but as a teenager I fantasized about doing just that…
I finished Waiting by Ha Jin. It’s a very gentle novel. The two women represent traditional, rural China v. modern, urban China. It works both as a love story and as an allegory. I highly recommend it.
I’m now reading Smiley’s People by John le Carré. I read it over a decade ago and remember it as the greatest, most intriguing thriller I’ve ever read. I want to see if I still feel the same way. Judging by my reaction to the opening chapters, it is. Is there any greater thriller writer than le Carré?
Just finished Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult. Not bad. Quite enjoyed it, but not sure I could wade through another one of her novels in a hurry.
Roughing it by Mark Twain. Just started, but already I’m not sure if I can wade through the American Western frontier with young Sam.
“The Second World War” by RAC Parker.
Weird choice for me. I’m not a big history buff or into war history, etc. In fact, that’s exactly why I picked up this book. I realized a while back that I’m way too ignorant about WWII. I don’t even remember if or when I ever studied it in school and I confess I know (knew) practically nothing about it except vague concepts of Nazis, Hitler, Pearl Harbor, War in the Pacific. So I decided it was about time I educated myself on it.
And boy am I glad I did. It’s just amazing. Read already about the Nazis taking over Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg then France (weenies), and how Russia and Italy took advantage of the Germany hostilities to see if they could snatch up some land too, then it was up to Britain to stand up and defend themselves.
Was reading last night about the German bombing raids on England. Holy shit. In Aug 1940 they sent 160 planes per night dropping bombs on Liverpool. Starting in Sept, they made nighttime bombing raids on London on 67 out of 68 nights. On April 19, 1941, over 700 planes dropped over 1,000 tons of explosives on London.
Then there’s the damage to ships. Many thousands of ships sunk by the Nazis, cutting off millions of tons of ordinary consumer goods that were intended for the people of England.
And the death toll: 42,000 British civilians killed and 50,000 seriously wounded.
Jezus. I realize there’s a lot to go still, but I’m pretty overwhelmed so far and glad I’ll finally have some idea for what our grandparents or great grandparents went through. Just crazy. Those were tough times. 
If you’re into audiobooks/ podcasting, try listening to “Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History” series on the eastern front: four episodes about an hour each, called “Ghosts of the Ostfront.”
dancarlin.com/disp.php?page=hharchive
The Battle of Britain and Dunkirk are pretty much the founding myths of the heritage I grew up with, but the horrifying fact is that the western front was a sideshow - the real battle was in the east.
And what’s even scarier is that the western front was the “civilized” war.
I also really enjoyed Waiting after picking it up in Bongos. I would say it has universal themes about life in general seen through the Chinese context. War Trash by Ha Jin is also a fascinating insight into the Chinese fighting for North Korea and ending up in Taiwan. Nothing I’ve read about anywhere else before.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]“The Second World War” by RAC Parker.
Weird choice for me. I’m not a big history buff or into war history, etc. In fact, that’s exactly why I picked up this book. I realized a while back that I’m way too ignorant about WWII. I don’t even remember if or when I ever studied it in school and I confess I know (knew) practically nothing about it except vague concepts of Nazis, Hitler, Pearl Harbor, War in the Pacific. So I decided it was about time I educated myself on it.
And boy am I glad I did. It’s just amazing. Read already about the Nazis taking over Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg then France (weenies), and how Russia and Italy took advantage of the Germany hostilities to see if they could snatch up some land too, then it was up to Britain to stand up and defend themselves.
Was reading last night about the German bombing raids on England. Holy shit. In Aug 1940 they sent 160 planes per night dropping bombs on Liverpool. Starting in Sept, they made nighttime bombing raids on London on 67 out of 68 nights. On April 19, 1941, over 700 planes dropped over 1,000 tons of explosives on London.
Then there’s the damage to ships. Many thousands of ships sunk by the Nazis, cutting off millions of tons of ordinary consumer goods that were intended for the people of England.
And the death toll: 42,000 British civilians killed and 50,000 seriously wounded.
Jezus. I realize there’s a lot to go still, but I’m pretty overwhelmed so far and glad I’ll finally have some idea for what our grandparents or great grandparents went through. Just crazy. Those were tough times. [/quote]
I find it mind boggling that you know next to nothing on the first and second world wars. But kudos to you for realising it and reading up on it. :bravo:
Probably why you’re a financially successful lawyer in Taiwan and I’m a WWI and II knowledgeable person teaching kids their ABCs for next to nothing.
There’s a lesson here. Study something worthwhile and catch up on the interesting stuff later on in your spare time.
For what it’s worth, still struggling through the initial chapters of Roughing it by Mark Twain. I think it’s all a load of bollocks (unless you’re American, or grew up anywhere near, or drove through anywhere where he wrote this drivel.).
No doubt he was a good writer of his time, but his works do nothing for me.
In a word. Overrated.
Twain is often a very sly jokester. Some of his jokes may be dated, or depend on a knowledge of America and US history, but not all (by far). You are correct, though: Twain is essentially American. His was a hell of an American life, actually.
For example, do you speak or read German? If you do, you might want to read Twain’s “The Awful German Language” before you write him off as overrated.
Thanks. I find it a little mind boggling too. Of course it’s partly my fault, but more blame lies on the schools I attended (most of which I felt were decent, one was crappy, and one was excellent). In any event, one day I realized that I couldn’t remember having studied WWI or WWII in school and I realized that was a huge omission that I would have to make up for on my own.
[quote]Probably why you’re a financially successful lawyer in Taiwan and I’m a WWI and II knowledgeable person teaching kids their ABCs for next to nothing.
There’s a lesson here. Study something worthwhile and catch up on the interesting stuff later on in your spare time. [/quote]
I’m not wealthy, but I am a lawyer. But that education was from ages 27-30. Prior to that I screwed around for many years taking mostly English classes, reading stuff I enjoyed. Others took math or chemistry or business or history, perhaps because that was what they enjoyed.
But certain subjects should be compulsory, repeatedly at several levels in elementary school, junior high and high school. Not just reading, writing and rithmatic, but geography and world history. Anyway, I think I’ll start a new thread on that subject.
[quote]For what it’s worth, still struggling through the initial chapters of Roughing it by Mark Twain. I think it’s all a load of bollocks (unless you’re American, or grew up anywhere near, or drove through anywhere where he wrote this drivel.).
No doubt he was a good writer of his time, but his works do nothing for me.
In a word. Overrated.[/quote]
Interesting. I don’t recall reading Roughing It, but I looooved Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn and always felt Twain was a phenomenal writer. I wonder if you picked up one of his less captivating books or are Americans more likely to appreciate him.
Formosan Odyssey 
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[quote=“flike”]Twain is often a very sly jokester. Some of his jokes may be dated, or depend on a knowledge of America and US history, but not all (by far). You are correct, though: Twain is essentially American. His was a hell of an American life, actually.
For example, do you speak or read German? If you do, you might want to read Twain’s “The Awful German Language” before you write him off as overrated.[/quote]
I love Mark Twain.
I’m reading Black minutes by Martin Solares. It’s not bad, but the translation needs work.
[quote=“flike”]Twain is often a very sly jokester. Some of his jokes may be dated, or depend on a knowledge of America and US history, but not all (by far). You are correct, though: Twain is essentially American. His was a hell of an American life, actually.
For example, do you speak or read German? If you do, you might want to read Twain’s “The Awful German Language” before you write him off as overrated.[/quote]
Perhaps I was being too harsh. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer were books I enjoyed as a kid. However, I just can’t get into Roughing it. It might just be the Wild West theme. Never been an era (historically) or a genre I’ve enjoyed (apart from the occasional movie like Unforgiven, which I thought was awesome). I’ve recently tried reading Stephen King’s Gunslinger series. I managed to plow through Book 1: The Gunslinger, but the second one (The Drawing of the Three) has finally tripped me up. I might get back to this series eventually, just to find out how it turns out, but it’s tough going with the theme (apart from the fantasy aspect) and I can’t seem to find anything about the main character (The gunslinger) to actually feel anything for him or his quest…
So it could be that that’s the problem for me. Another thing that bothers me is his style of writing these looooooong sentences and the need to describe absolutely everything. Then again, some would probably say that’s part of his “genius”. That said, I do admire the way he creates his atmosphere and how he manages to write people’s accent and speech.
Death on the Installment Plan (Louis-Ferdinand Celine)
Chump Change (Dan Fante)
Hunger (Knut Hamson)
The Road to Los Angeles (John Fante)
Town Smokes (Pinckney Benedict)
Big Bad Love (Larry Brown)
Started reading Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon, PhD and Michael Thompson, PhD.
Reckon I need some more guidance on raising my son. It’s started to worry me that I continually used as a “scarer” for every time he doesn’t listen to his mum or grandmother. 
Will write more about it once I’ve finished reading it.
See a few years back sandman and another guy were talkin about Burmese Days by George Orwell - just finished it, it’s a must read for anyone exoticizing the orient. Absolutely engrossing writer, good story, the man was ahead of his time.
Also read Out by Natsuo Kirino, real good Japanese crime-sort-of novel in modern day factory worker Japan, gonna hit Grotesque next.
Incidentally, anyone read Spycatcher?
In my very first anthropology class at university, my professor took us all into his study and gave us 10 books in a pile, and told us to work out who the quacks were, from just looking at the front page of each. We couldn’t work it out, so he told us. Any writer that feels compelled to list his academic credentials on the cover, must be a sad quack. And a charlatan.
In my very first anthropology class at university, my professor took us all into his study and gave us 10 books in a pile, and told us to work out who the quacks were, from just looking at the front page of each. We couldn’t work it out, so he told us. Any writer that feels compelled to list his academic credentials on the cover, must be a sad quack.[/quote]
I’ve researched them. Doubt it. Otherwise, probably a semi-decent yardstick.
[quote=“bismarck”]
I’ve researched them. Doubt it. Otherwise, probably a semi-decent yardstick.[/quote]
OK, tell me. Why would any serious academic write “PHD” after his/her name on the cover of a book? Isn’t it like a bit, urm, wankerist?