What are you reading right NOW?!?!

[A Boy Named Seo]

Got this one at the library after getting Willets' thumbs up. I'm only a quarter of the way through or so, but already very interesting, shocking, and sometimes sad. The author acknowledges when the truth doesn't seem attainable when it comes to certain events pertaining to Lincoln's mental health, possible causes for his depression, and even speculation about his sexuality. Instead of attempting to make up a truth based on facts or events that paint a partial picture, he does a good job of presenting all of the information and putting forth a few theories that may explain things that happened. In other words, he doesn't try to re-write history, just give us all the information he has.

He uses accounts from Lincoln himself in letters to friends and co-workers, Lincoln's personal writings, and accounts from people who knew him well. He cross-references these accounts with medical information, both from Lincoln's time as well as now, to try to depict what Lincoln might have been going through and how he might have been (mis) diagnosed or (mis) treated.

So far seems like an important look at a side of this President that most people don't know about, and an enlightening look at depression, which I think a lot of people deal with directly or indirectly all the time, but may not know much about.

ABNS sez thumbs up.

[Guest cooby]

That Lincoln book looks good, I will have to look for it


I am reading this, although that Jack the Ripper book made me want to slap her

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Just starting Game of Shadows.

[Willets Point]

="Elster88"]Just finished the most recent book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Pretty good stuff. I still think I like the The Wheel of Time series better.

My wife loves those books. She read them all and then read them all again over the past year.


ABNS, I'm glad you like the Lincoln book. I think it's a great work of history.

[Elster88]

="Willets Point"] ="Elster88"]Just finished the most recent book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Pretty good stuff. I still think I like the The Wheel of Time series better. My wife loves those books. She read them all and then read them all again over the past year.

Which series?

[Elster88]

I read a Cornwell book once. Sorta liked it. Tried a second but failed. Haven't been back since.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I haven't read it yet, but apparently I need to. My friend called me to tell me that her daughter gave her a copy, and she saw a story by me in there.

[Willets Point]

="Elster88"] ="Willets Point"] ="Elster88"]Just finished the most recent book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. Pretty good stuff. I still think I like the The Wheel of Time series better. My wife loves those books. She read them all and then read them all again over the past year. Which series?

A Song of Ice and Fire. I don't think I'll tell her about the other ones. She tends to get absorbed.

I'm currently reading two books:


The Best of Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay

&

[seawolf17]

="ScarletKnight41"] I haven't read it yet, but apparently I need to. My friend called me to tell me that her daughter gave her a copy, and she saw a story by me in there.

Page 121, your story about Bobby V's. I flipped through it today in the store.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Cool - I'll look forward to seeing my name in lights, as it were <g>

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

I found a small error in Game of Shadows that had me confused for a while.

The raid on BALCO took place in September of 2003, but at once point the book says that it was December. It then mentioned that the Giants were playing the next day, which led me to start flipping through the pages trying to make sense of the timeline.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

="ScarletKnight41"]

My book just came. Now I understand my friend's confusion when she told me about the story - Wolfe edited the story, and did so badly. In the book, it says that I'm married to Kase!

[url=http://www.kcmets.com/Feature111201.html]Here's the Full Story[/url].

[Willets Point]

Eeeeeeeew! That's incest!

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I haven't had too much time to read For Mets Fans Only, but it's a frustratingly bad read. I can understand that people's memories fade in time, but you have an author who doesn't really understand Mets history picking a lot of casual fans to tell their stories, and the inaccuracies are mind-boggling.

It's easy to pick up and put down, which is good for me while I'm in school, but it is not a good read - don't waste your money on this one.

[Elster88]

="Willets Point"]Eeeeeeeew! That's incest!

[Guest Rockin' Doc]

I'm probably one of the last people left in America to get around to reading The DaVinci Code. My wife had bought it a year or so ago and then never got around to reading it. Finally, my daughter picked it up and read it. I was out of reading material, so when she finished it, I picked the book up and started reading. I'm roughly 2/3 of the way through it. Interesting, but not as great as one would expect considering it's sales and notoriety.

[Willets Point]

A modern novel a la James Joyce or Thomas Pynchon written from the perspective of the characters from Gilligan's Island.

[Centerfield]

="ScarletKnight41"] ="ScarletKnight41"] My book just came. Now I understand my friend's confusion when she told me about the story - Wolfe edited the story, and did so badly. In the book, it says that I'm married to Kase! [url=http://www.kcmets.com/Feature111201.html]Here's the Full Story[/url].

Congratulations! Both on getting printed and on your unexpected nuptials!

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I never figured that I'd be a polygamist.

The more I read this book, the more I hate it. The footnotes are absolutely insipid - they aren't even related to the book's subject matter most of the time.

[Elster88]

[Elster88]

[url=http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/07/17/121258.php]A fairly accurate, if harsh, review of The Traveler (pictured above).[/url]

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I just finished this -



It's not my normal choice of reading, but my daughter was given the book as part of an award she received in school. Riding the Bus With My Sister is the memoir of a woman and the time she spent getting to know her mentally retarded sister. It's not a bad read, but it's probably the book equivalent of a chick flick.

This is what's next, as soon as it arrives from Barnes & Noble.com -



It's the second Peter Pan prequel written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. I enjoyed the first prequel, Peter and the Star Catchers, which was an enjoyable mix of humor and adventure. I expect similar things from this book.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

While I'm waiting for the Peter Pan prequel to arrive, I started this -



It's a paperback, it's portable, and Grisham is usually an entertaining enough read. After The Brethren, I'll move onto this -



There was a while when I OD'd on Grisham, but I've had a break, and I was in the market for some portable books to take along on vacation. They'll pass the time during my break between my summer class and the start of the fall semester.

[Willets Point]

Kevin Baker is an author of historical novels who seems to be interested in the same aspects of New York City history that I am.

The first novel I read by him Dreamland is about Coney Island, immigrants in the Lower East Side, Tammany politics, and the labor movement, among other things.

Paradise Alley is set in New York during the Civil War Draft Riots focusing on the interlocked stories of the mixed Irish and Black neighborhood during the riots with lots of flashbacks over the 20 years preceeding. I think Dreamland is the better novel, but Paradise Alley is gripping all the same.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Peter and the Shadow Thieves arrived yesterday, and I'm already 2/3 of the way through it. It's a quick read, entertaining, and family friendly. You can often identify the parts of the book written by Ridley Pearson and those written by Dave Barry, but it all comes together nicely. Fans of the James Barrie Peter Pan will enjoy certain plot twists that are shout-outs to the original story.

The first prequel, Peter and the Starcatchers, is available in paperback. Pick it up to read to your child (if you don't have a child of your own, then borrow a kid who enjoys stories). It's a fresh look at a beloved old story.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Received this yesterday:



Awesome piece of research, even if it overlooks Hubie Brooks was #61 for a short while in 1980.

Gotta double check everything, discovered a few discrepancies between his data & mine already

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Wow, is that the book for you or what?

Did you hear from the author at all before the book was published? I'd be surprised if he wasn't aware of MBTN.

[Guest Edgy DC]

You should submit a review. It'll definitely get blurbed on the paperback.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I did contact him a few times several years ago. I was interested in determining Dyar Miller's 56-to-49 switch and the other odd goings-on of 1980 as I recall it. I got to him through the retrosheet guy.

I think he was worried a bit that I was moving in on his territory, or maybe he was just too busy, but we didn't get very far helping one another. Maybe we can now.

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Target Tokyo

This is the first of several books that I'm reading in preparation for my Japan trip this fall. I got this in 1989 as a free gift for listening to an encyclopedia sales pitch, and it sat on my bookshelf unread for 17 years.

I didn't buy the encyclopedias, but I did consider it. Now, in the Internet age, buying a printed encyclopedia seems so quaint.