What are you reading right now (II)?

OakMtn4Bama

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Really good book of history and of their relationship, etc. Harper Lee hated all the attention late in life...her statement over and over: "All I did was write a book."
Reading The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills. Very well written bio with the Sisters' help. Amazing that they let this lady into their lives.
 
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Padreruf

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Reading The Mockingbird Next Door by Marja Mills. Very well written bio with the Sisters' help. Amazing that they let this lady into their lives.
Heard Dr. Wayne Flynt last night...he does not like any of these biographies that were written without Harper Lee's permission. According to him they did not know her...he was highly enjoyable.

Of course I've known him for 53 years, so that makes a profound difference in my perception. This is especially valid since he taught at AU for the last 30 years+ and has been a season ticket holder there...Harper Lee was a UA grad and would give him a Bama cheer every year after the UA/AU game.
 
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Padreruf

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On a side note to our readers: what do you think makes a great novelist? Is it the story? Is it the prose? Is the setting in which the book was written and issues addressed? For instance, To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the late 1950's, set in 1920-30's Monroeville, and took on issues of race, women's place, family, etc.

Personally, I think a great novel deals with the real issues of our lives, tells gripping narratives, and in so doing helps us see ourselves -- and our culture -- as we really are, not as we suppose we are. The really great ones do this with flowing, powerful, descriptive prose -- or a unique style a la Hemingway or Faulkner.

Responses appreciated!!!
 

Bodhisattva

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On a side note to our readers: what do you think makes a great novelist? Is it the story? Is it the prose? Is the setting in which the book was written and issues addressed? For instance, To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the late 1950's, set in 1920-30's Monroeville, and took on issues of race, women's place, family, etc.

Personally, I think a great novel deals with the real issues of our lives, tells gripping narratives, and in so doing helps us see ourselves -- and our culture -- as we really are, not as we suppose we are. The really great ones do this with flowing, powerful, descriptive prose -- or a unique style a la Hemingway or Faulkner.

Responses appreciated!!!
Good questions. IMO, a good novelist is able to make the reader care about the characters and write with such skill that the reader feels like they experiencing the story. The best novels involve a conflict of some sort - protagonist/antagonist, internal, social, etc. To Kill a Mockingbird certainly checks a lot of those boxes for me.

Among the novelists I've read regularly for years, many produce fun reads. These are more action novels than works of great literature. But, for me, they are fun because they clear many of the above thresholds. So, writers like Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy (and the successor writers of the latter two) create characters that I care about. When I finish a book, I look forward to the next one. And when a character is killed, I'm bummed out for a bit.

Probably the writer that I currently follow that does the best at checking the boxes is Ken Follett. His historical fiction Kingsbridge series was extremely enjoyable. Writing historical characters that behave like people from their appropriate period of time (and not like sanctimonius time-travelers with modern sensitivities) is much appreciated. To write villians that are not cardboard cutouts but actually have a reason for their actions is not all that common. And it helps to have several twists and turns in a compelling plot, with characters you care about contronting and overcoming (or failing to overcome) conflict.

Just my $.02. :)
 
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Padreruf

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Good questions. IMO, a good novelist is able to make the reader care about the characters and write with such skill that the reader feels like they experiencing the story. The best novels involve a conflict of some sort - protagonist/antagonist, internal, social, etc. To Kill a Mockingbird certainly checks a lot of those boxes for me.

Among the novelists I've read regularly for years, many produce fun reads. These are more action novels than works of great literature. But, for me, they are fun because they clear many of the above thresholds. So, writers like Daniel Silva, Brad Thor, Clive Cussler, and Tom Clancy (and the successor writers of the latter two) create characters that I care about. When I finish a book, I look forward to the next one. And when a character is killed, I'm bummed out for a bit.

Probably the writer that I currently follow that does the best at checking the boxes is Ken Follett. His historical fiction Kingsbridge series was extremely enjoyable. Writing historical characters that behave like people from their appropriate period of time (and not like sanctimonius time-travelers with modern sensitivities) is much appreciated. To write villians that are not cardboard cutouts but actually have a reason for their actions is not all that common. And it helps to have several twists and turns in a compelling plot, with characters you care about contronting and overcoming (or failing to overcome) conflict.

Just my $.02. :)
Totally agree...and I. know a number of academics who love to read Ken Follett for many of those same reasons. When the characters or the plot gets predictable, I just put it down. If I can figure it out, then there's no need to read it...
 
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Bodhisattva

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Totally agree...and I. know a number of academics who love to read Ken Follett for many of those same reasons. When the characters or the plot gets predictable, I just put it down. If I can figure it out, then there's no need to read it...
Heh. When I get to a book that is predictable or otherwise not enjoyable, I still finish it. I buy everything I read, so an unfinished book is a pet peeve. LOL. Like an unsatisfying meal that I've paid for, I still have to finish it. Not happy about it, but it must be done. :LOL:
 
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Padreruf

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Heh. When I get to a book that is predictable or otherwise not enjoyable, I still finish it. I buy everything I read, so an unfinished book is a pet peeve. LOL. Like an unsatisfying meal that I've paid for, I still have to finish it. Not happy about it, but it must be done. :LOL:
I rarely buy books...get them through my library, usually in Kindle format, read and return. I do buy some....but usually in Kindle format as well. I don't have the shelf space I once had...gave away 1500 books at retirement and need to give away more now...
 

OakMtn4Bama

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On a side note to our readers: what do you think makes a great novelist? Is it the story? Is it the prose? Is the setting in which the book was written and issues addressed? For instance, To Kill a Mockingbird was written in the late 1950's, set in 1920-30's Monroeville, and took on issues of race, women's place, family, etc.

Personally, I think a great novel deals with the real issues of our lives, tells gripping narratives, and in so doing helps us see ourselves -- and our culture -- as we really are, not as we suppose we are. The really great ones do this with flowing, powerful, descriptive prose -- or a unique style a la Hemingway or Faulkner.

Responses appreciated!!!
I read a little bit of everything, but love mystery novels. Most have a fairly standard plot, but to be compelling, the author via character development and hopefully description of the setting, pulls the reader into the middle of the story. The reader can smell the onions frying and the flowers at sunset. One of my favorites at this is James Lee Burke.
 

OakMtn4Bama

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Re-reading: Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg - and Why it Failed
by Tom Carhart.

Excellent read on Lee's tactics at Gettysburg, where the prevailing view is that he just had a bad day on day three of the battle. Carhart argues that he didn't have bad days, and that his master plan involved tactics gleaned from Napoleon, which Custer actually foiled in stopping an attack from the rear by Stuart. In depth research and it flows like a novel. Compelling argument IMHO.
 
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UAH

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Re-reading: Lost Triumph: Lee's Real Plan at Gettysburg - and Why it Failed
by Tom Carhart.

Excellent read on Lee's tactics at Gettysburg, where the prevailing view is that he just had a bad day on day three of the battle. Carhart argues that he didn't have bad days, and that his master plan involved tactics gleaned from Napoleon, which Custer actually foiled in stopping an attack from the rear by Stewart. In depth research and it flows like a novel. Compelling argument IMHO.
My impression has always been that Lee was blind without Stewart and could not understand the force arrayed against him. The failure of Longstreet to move to Little Round Top
(I believe from memory) before it was fortified by the North doomed the battle. Lee with Jackson as his lieutenant had come to believe that his force would always prevail and made a faithful decision to commit Pickett to an impossible mission on the final day rather than choosing to move his army to a more advantageous position. Some of this is likely myth from the movie but certainly a compelling topic to explore.
 

OakMtn4Bama

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My impression has always been that Lee was blind without Stewart and could not understand the force arrayed against him. The failure of Longstreet to move to Little Round Top
(I believe from memory) before it was fortified by the North doomed the battle. Lee with Jackson as his lieutenant had come to believe that his force would always prevail and made a faithful decision to commit Pickett to an impossible mission on the final day rather than choosing to move his army to a more advantageous position. Some of this is likely myth from the movie but certainly a compelling topic to explore.
Day three according to Carhart was supposed to be Pickett's charge almost as a holding diversion, with attacks on both the left and right flanks. As the battle was progressing, Stuart was to circle around and hit Culp's hill from the rear and start rolling up the Northern line. War would have ended shortly thereafter. It seems like Longstreet was willfully disobeying direct orders.
 
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Bodhisattva

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I rarely buy books...get them through my library, usually in Kindle format, read and return. I do buy some....but usually in Kindle format as well. I don't have the shelf space I once had...gave away 1500 books at retirement and need to give away more now...
1500? Wow! Tip of the hat to you, sir.

I'm kind of in the opposite position. Once my wife and I had our house built two years ago, we finally had space for all of our interests. One of mine was to finally unpack dozens of boxes of books and put them in my library. For the first time ever all of my books have a place of their own.
 
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Padreruf

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1500? Wow! Tip of the hat to you, sir.

I'm kind of in the opposite position. Once my wife and I had our house built two years ago, we finally had space for all of our interests. One of mine was to finally unpack dozens of boxes of books and put them in my library. For the first time ever all of my books had a place of their own.
Explanation: most of these were Biblical commentaries or ministry oriented books. I gave them to a non-profit which distributes them to ministers in Africa who have limited access to such works. I did get a tax write off...but not near what they cost. I did feel good about doing it...I must confess.
 
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Bodhisattva

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I read a little bit of everything, but love mystery novels. Most have a fairly standard plot, but to be compelling, the author via character development and hopefully description of the setting, pulls the reader into the middle of the story. The reader can smell the onions frying and the flowers at sunset. One of my favorites at this is James Lee Burke.
Mine too. He's up there in years. I would love to read a new Dave Robicheaux novel or two before JLB puts down his pen.
 
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