The foot's in great shape. I really don't have any notable pain to speak of these days. Other than the scar and it still being (very) oversized, everything is back to normal. We'll see how it holds up this weekend. WP is running a marathon at Disney, and we'll be taking the kids down there for about 5 days. I'll have the crutches and a walking cane on hand in case the extra mileage causes any trouble.
As far as reading, I really like a good "thinking" book, but Catcher in the Rye just didn't seem very deep to me. I suppose I look for a book to make a statement. Stuff like The Time Machine, Fahrenheit 451, or Player Piano. Although I do like a good book that is purely for entertainment as well, but it has to keep my attention the whole way. The Catcher in the Rye just seemed to be a basic picture of an immature jerk and his relationship with his sister. I had another immature jerk to deal with in A Clockwork Orange, but that book was so much better because it said something, other than simply painting a static picture.
Welcome back, duteronomy...Catcher is an awesome book when you're between 14-17 or so...after that, it's just overly sentimental. But there's more to it than just a picture of an immature jerk...read the Times article Urbi linked to.
Maddy, I'm confident you'll like The House of Mondavi.
I really believe you're supposed to question what happened between where he stopped telling you the story and where he is now, he being Holden.
I used to work with a guy that was a VP with Mondavi before he came to work with us. SO it kind of caught my interest when you mentioned. THe local library actually had a copy available so I went and picked it up. I've been trying to use the library more recently bc my bookshelves are full of books I'll never touch again and books that I got half way through and couldn't bare to read any more.
I'll have to rummage through the threads and find that link. I just thought that the idea was that Holden saw himself as (or aspired to be) a protector of children (like his sister). He would, as the Catcher in the Rye, protect them from ruining their lives, because he is aware of the dangers to which they are oblivious. The irony, then, is that his sister seems to play this role for him, providing the only stability in his life, and keeping him from tumbling off the edge of the cliff. I dunno. Just didn't seem that dynamic/entertaining to me. Maybe the article will enlighten me. I'm not very observant, so subtle themes/ideas tend to be lost on me.
Then I'm totally lost as to how that's relevant to my disappointment with Catcher in the Rye... unless I'm supposed to read these other stories instead of Catcher in the Rye. Or something. To quote Kramer's moviefone, "why don't you just TELL me the name of the movie you want to see?"
I'm not arguing that you should like it and that the article will help. Like I said, I think it's a book best enjoyed by adolescents dealing with all their angst. I was just saying the article might shed a little more light on the deeper meaning of Salinger's works. You said it didn't seem very deep to you and only seemed like it was about an immature jerk. Maddy was right, it's more about Glass, but S Glass is Salinger, and Salinger wrote Catcher. I'm totally not arguing that Catcher or the other books should be un-disappointing to you.
I'm not arguing that you should like it and that the article will help. Like I said, I think it's a book best enjoyed by adolescents dealing with all their angst. I was just saying the article might shed a little more light on the deeper meaning of Salinger's works. You said it didn't seem very deep to you and only seemed like it was about an immature jerk. Maddy was right, it's more about Glass, but S Glass is Salinger, and Salinger wrote Catcher. I'm totally not arguing that Catcher or the other books should be un-disappointing to you.
Yes it is. And it's good to see you back, certain among us were beginning to think you had gone the way of the Lassy. Not me of course, I knew you'd come hobbling back.
Yes it is. And it's good to see you back, certain among us were beginning to think you had gone the way of the Lassy. Not me of course, I knew you'd come hobbling back.
Kudos for that. Brave New World is one of those classics that's been on my to-read list for about two decades. The only ones I've really knocked off were The Sound and the Fury and Ulysses. That there is some tough sledding.
So tell me, should I tackle Huxley? Figuratively, I mean, of course.
Yes it is. And it's good to see you back, certain among us were beginning to think you had gone the way of the Lassy. Not me of course, I knew you'd come hobbling back.
Kudos for that. Brave New World is one of those classics that's been on my to-read list for about two decades. The only ones I've really knocked off were The Sound and the Fury and Ulysses. That there is some tough sledding.
So tell me, should I tackle Huxley? Figuratively, I mean, of course.
I haven't quite finished it yet, but I think it is a worthwhile read. So yes, I'd say it would be worth your time to scratch it off of your "to read" list. At worst you've wasted a bit of time and found a novel you don't care for, right?
Just finished reading in the last week The Appeal and The Broker by John Grisham as well as The warrior Elite which for anyone that is interested in Navy Seals and the training they go through to become a seal this is a great book by far the most interesting book on the subject I have ever read and I have read just about anything I can find on Military special ops. If this stuff appeals to you another excellent book is Lone Survivor my Marcus Luttrell. I am about to start Mortal prey by John Sanford which I am sure will be a good read since all of the other prey books have been. But still the best books of all time in my humble opinion are The Godfather and Where the red fern grows which I have read each 5-10 times.
I'm thinking my next book is going to be Liar's Poker, a Wall Street brokerage firm tell-all written by Michael Lewis, who was the author of an excellent article Urbi linked to somewhere in here.
Brave New World is actually a pretty quick & breezy read, Luko. I think you could knock that one off your list in no time, if you wanted.
Catcher in the Rye is a bit like the movie The Graduate, in that you really have to get your head into the culture that existed when it came out if it's going to do anything for you. At the time, a kid like Holden was practically unheard of (esp. in respectable literature). It became a huge hit because so many kids at the time (see Luko's advice about reading it when you're 14-17) instantly identified with Holden's disillusionment with the world of his parents and teachers. Part of Salinger's accomplishment is Holden's voice; the book reads from first to last like something written by a kid just like Holden Caulfield, which is not an easy thing to pull off.
As for Holden being the catcher, doody, and his sister keeping him from going over the edge, the thing is he pretty much did go over the edge. I don't want to drop a spoiler on anybody who hasn't read it yet, but by the end of the book Holden is pretty darn **** up. So what happens when the catcher goes over the edge?
All that said, I was still underwhelmed by it. I didn't read it when I was 14-17.
I'm thinking my next book is going to be Liar's Poker, a Wall Street brokerage firm tell-all written by Michael Lewis, who was the author of an excellent article Urbi linked to somewhere in here.
Just finished reading in the last week The Appeal and The Broker by John Grisham
I love Grisham. The Broker was good but The Appeal was easily the most profund book Grisham has written. It left me sitting there at the end questioning my political stances. Great book.
Have you had the displeasure of trying to suffer through the Innocent Man though? I haven't been able to finish it, I pick it read a few pages and damn near fall asleep.
Luko-Liars Poker is a great book-especially if you enjoy the wall street/financier type books (which I do) also Wolf of Wall Street and Born to Steal are two more good ones.
The Palestine - Israeli Conflict, by Dan Cohn-sherbok and Dawoud El-alami two Professors at University of Wales, Lampeter.
The authors are, as their names suggest an Israeli and a Palestinian. I believe these two gentlmen toured the US this past summer and did the talk show circuit. A very informative book with very minimal judgements made. It is a cronological order of this conflicts' events from 1862 up to 2001. There is some fascinating reading in this book.
The Palestine - Israeli Conflict, by Dan Cohn-sherbok and Dawoud El-alami two Professors at University of Wales, Lampeter.
The authors are, as their names suggest an Israeli and a Palestinian. I believe these two gentlmen toured the US this past summer and did the talk show circuit. A very informative book with very minimal judgements made. It is a cronological order of this conflicts' events from 1862 up to 2001. There is some fascinating reading in this book.
Just finished reading in the last week The Appeal and The Broker by John Grisham
I love Grisham. The Broker was good but The Appeal was easily the most profund book Grisham has written. It left me sitting there at the end questioning my political stances. Great book.
Have you had the displeasure of trying to suffer through the Innocent Man though? I haven't been able to finish it, I pick it read a few pages and damn near fall asleep.
Comments
I used to work with a guy that was a VP with Mondavi before he came to work with us. SO it kind of caught my interest when you mentioned. THe local library actually had a copy available so I went and picked it up. I've been trying to use the library more recently bc my bookshelves are full of books I'll never touch again and books that I got half way through and couldn't bare to read any more.
Here's that link.
That being said, I will be reading Understanding Management for the next few weeks.
So tell me, should I tackle Huxley? Figuratively, I mean, of course.
Loved the godfather
Catcher in the Rye is a bit like the movie The Graduate, in that you really have to get your head into the culture that existed when it came out if it's going to do anything for you. At the time, a kid like Holden was practically unheard of (esp. in respectable literature). It became a huge hit because so many kids at the time (see Luko's advice about reading it when you're 14-17) instantly identified with Holden's disillusionment with the world of his parents and teachers. Part of Salinger's accomplishment is Holden's voice; the book reads from first to last like something written by a kid just like Holden Caulfield, which is not an easy thing to pull off.
As for Holden being the catcher, doody, and his sister keeping him from going over the edge, the thing is he pretty much did go over the edge. I don't want to drop a spoiler on anybody who hasn't read it yet, but by the end of the book Holden is pretty darn **** up. So what happens when the catcher goes over the edge?
All that said, I was still underwhelmed by it. I didn't read it when I was 14-17.
Have you had the displeasure of trying to suffer through the Innocent Man though? I haven't been able to finish it, I pick it read a few pages and damn near fall asleep.
Luko-Liars Poker is a great book-especially if you enjoy the wall street/financier type books (which I do) also Wolf of Wall Street and Born to Steal are two more good ones.
The authors are, as their names suggest an Israeli and a Palestinian. I believe these two gentlmen toured the US this past summer and did the talk show circuit.
A very informative book with very minimal judgements made. It is a cronological order of this conflicts' events from 1862 up to 2001.
There is some fascinating reading in this book.
only grisham book i am yet to be able to finish
Q-Tip? A Tribe Called Quest?