What I'm reading
 

Right now I'm reading
1 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
2 I am in the s-l-o-w process of catching up on good fiction that I haven't read. I was a dual English (literature) and Psychology major in college. Now that I'm retired and have a lot more time for reading. I also wanted to read the impetus for "Apocalypse Now.
3. "The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest."
4. Page 14 of 72. I would guess this is more like a novella.
5. It's a little dense and SOMBER 9 (and in a really small font)

PS I donate the books I bought of "literature" to the local public library so other people can catch up/enjoy.

1. The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel.
2. Like to read the book before the movie comes out in December of 2013 if they keep their schedule.
3. "Most of us are aware that World War II was the most destructive war in history."
4. 214/473
5. Very well researched book based on interviews with living relatives and the actual participants, letters, books, archived materials, etc.

I will be very interested to see how the book translates into a film. It will be hard to do it justice IMHO. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177771/...r_1#ni50570508

Cate Blanchett is playing the leading female role of Rose Valland whose plainness according to the book made her a master spy of the Nazi art stealers. Valland was also the muse for a main character in The Train as you can see from these pictures. The article is in French however. http://rosevalland.eu/

1. The 10,000 Year Explosion by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending which is about how civilization has accelerated human evolution.
2. Guide to Wills and Estates, fourth edition, an ABA publication
3. New Rules for Estate Planning, J.K Lasser's
4. Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams, a social history of modern Florida by Gary R. Mormino

Love all the Reacher books. Can't wait for the next.
Same for Steve Martini Paul Madriani series.

The Pact, by Jody Picoult. About 1/3 through. Good!

reading?
 

John D. Macdonald
The Long Lavender Look
'Late April. 10 o clock at night'
page 221
A good read, even though it was written in 1970!!
Love J D Macdonald, and have tried to read as many of his as I can over the past 30 years!!
If you have not read it, try The Condominium by J D M :read: :read:

I'm reading "Goodbye Bafana, Nelson Mandela My Prisoner, My Friend", by James Gregor, the guard in the prison with Mandela for 27 years.
An excellent evolution from extreme racist, wishing Mandela had been shot instead of sent to life imprisonment, to becoming his closest friend. Book was recommended by a friend who spent 14 years in South Africa.
Mary Anne Stoutsenberger

Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher; by Timothy Egan.

on page 95 and loving it. I heard an interview with the author on NPR. The book is about Edward Curtis, a photographer back in 1895 - who made it his mission to document and photograph all the American Indian tribes before they disappeared. Great book - i even went on Ebay and bought one of his photographic books.

Also reading "The Orphanmaster's Son" about a character in North Korea. interesting but can be confusng at times. Pulitzer Prize winner

I'm reading three books.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
Book club selection that I put off reading because he wrote Cloud Atlas, so I assumed I wouldn't understand a word of it.
"Miss Kawasami?" Orito kneels on a stale and sticky futon. "Can you hear me?"
Page 66 of 510. 3 members of the club said they quit around page 70, but so far I'm finding it interesting (Dutch traders in Nagasaki in 1799 - whole different world).

Unleashed by David Rosenfelt - one of my very favorite authors, he can't write fast enough for me. He's a mystery writer and runs a dog rescue (as does his character, Andy Carpenter, a lawyer who practices in Paterson, NJ, "after everyone else has moved out." Rosenfelt grew upin Paterson as did Carpenter. I suggest you start the series at the beginning and read them in order, though it's not crucial. He's a very funny writer, even his Dedication is oftern hilarious.

I have just finished what I think is his first non-fiction book "Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Country adventure". This is a MUST for the dog-lovers out there! He and his wife, soon after almost losing their house in one of southern California's forest fires, decide it's time to move to their home (unfinished yet) in Maine. But how to move 25 dogs? They rescue older dogs, mostly golden retrievers, but some others -- all dogs over 60 lbs.

Start David Rosenfelt with "Open and Shut" and go on from there. Someone else, please love his books with me!

Unleashed by David Rosenfelt
 

He's my favorite author in any genre right now. He writes mysteries, very funny some of them, and his character is Andy Carpenter a lawyer in Paterson, NJ where he and Rosenfelt both grew up. And he helps run the Tara Foundation, as does Rosenfelt, a rescue especially for golden retrievers but one that takes large dogs out of kill shelters and finds them homes. His mysteries always include Tara, his golden who seldom ages (and Rosenfelt has promised will never die). The mysteries have twists and are populated by his secretary Edna who never works (nor does Andy if he can help it - he's rich and doesn't have to work unless he wants to).

I want everyone to read him! My suggestion is that you start at the beginning of his Carpenter series and go through in order, though it's not mandatory. book #1 was Open and Shut.

Just finished Rosenfelt's first non-fiction book, "Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross-Coiuntry Adventure". He and his wife who is the REAL dog nut, lived in southern California and ran their rescue. When they almost lost their house in one of southern California's forest fires, they decided it was time to move to their retirement home (as yet unfinished) in Maine. How to get their with their 25 large, elderly dogs is the problem. A MUST reading for all the dog-lovers out there.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
Book club selection that I put off reading because 1) he wrote Cloud Atlas so I was sure I wouldn't understand this one, 2) three of our members said they got about 70 pages in and quit.
"Miss Kawasami?" orito kneels on a stale and sticky futon. "Can you hear me?"
I'm on page 65 of 510 and so far find it fascinating. It takes place in 1799 in Nagasake and is about Dutch traders there.
It has great reviews!

Just finished reading "The Bounty: The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty" by Caroline Alexander.

An interesting book for anyone who has enjoyed reading "The Bounty Trilogy" by Nordoff & Hall or has seen one of the movies. A lot of historical detail of the voyage, mutiny and court martial gleaned from Naval records, news accounts and personal journals of the involved. She shows Bligh in a more favorable light than in the novels and films.

Creole Belle
James Lee Burke

How to overcome addiction to online forums.

By Naught Likely.

I think this one has my name all over it. Thanks. It's going on the list.

Bondage Breakers by Neil Anderson
Wonders of Life by Brian Cox..guess I missed this series on science channel. Lovely book that marvels at creation--and I am sorry for the author who thinks it's all by chance...