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The Reading Lounge
- Thread starter dangerousdon
- Start date
bosch
Master TSC Shave Member
This, from the publisher...
An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
A waiter's job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell.
Edward Chisholm's spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world—and right into its glorious underbelly.
He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you're fighting your colleagues for tips. Your colleagues—including thieves, narcissists, ex-soldiers, immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers—are the closest thing to family that you've got.
It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter because you're in Paris, the center of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.
Ok, today’s a national holiday and I had several coupons from Amazon (I usually take advantage of the 3 public library systems I belong to (including IMO one of the best The Philadelphia Public Library system) for some of these books - but like I said - had discounts and just felt like going hog wild.
I don’t know which one to start with, though I think it will be American Dirt - which is on the Oprah Book Club list - which would be my first Oprah recommended book. All the library clubs say it is a great page turner. I usually read books before seeing the movie -but Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came out so long ago - and I had rented the movie ages ago (without reading the book - must have been bored I guess). That will probably be second - because I don’t remember much from the movie other than enjoying it very much.
I don’t know which one to start with, though I think it will be American Dirt - which is on the Oprah Book Club list - which would be my first Oprah recommended book. All the library clubs say it is a great page turner. I usually read books before seeing the movie -but Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil came out so long ago - and I had rented the movie ages ago (without reading the book - must have been bored I guess). That will probably be second - because I don’t remember much from the movie other than enjoying it very much.
JWS VII
0
Infinite Jest—excellent choice. I read it over a couple three week stretch while in law school. I loved it in the end and it’s totally worth it, but be prepared for a slog a points. The end notes are intimidating, but just go with it and take your time. No spoilers, but you’ll get a timeline a couple hundred pages in that will make things make way more sense. At the very least it will look great on your bookshelf!
I have The Nineties as well, but haven’t cracked it yet. Klosterman is great, but I have to be in the right mood for that kind of read.
Great choices overall! Happy reading.
Thank you for the thumbs up on the books - now I’m really looking forward to them! I’m a little behind my annual goals for book reading, but hopefully will catch up this month and next to get back on track. I “cut the cord” over back in 2008 - and that has been most beneficial - though I do have Amazon Prime, Netflix, and HBO Max (due to AT&T Wireless) - but other than a few shows that I bond with the kids - most of the time I find that the options are too inundating and end up scrolling too much.
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
Given some recent news while I was away on vacation, I realized that I have never read The Satanic Verses. Since there's nothing else in my book queue right now, I might as dig in (eBook version).
woodpusher
TSC’s International Man of Meh
I have to give up on Rushdie's book. Currently just about 1/3 of the way through and one of the main characters has undergone a physical transformation to a satyr. Bear in mind that the book takes place in modern times. My feeling is that either the author was stoned out of his mind when writing this (the writing is hard to follow) or he expects the reader to be in said state of mind.
As Kramer once said....
As Kramer once said....
I try to read two books concurrently each time - one non-fiction and one for entertainment. The former - was an eye opener - and well resourced (the index was larger than the content of the book - but I highly recommend it as it lists concerning trends within this country.
And for the more entertaining side- I loved the Fletch movies - so given that there is a new release coming shortly - with John Hamm, one of my favorite drama actors (from Mad Men, etc)…..it will be interesting to see him in a more comedic role (I did like him in Tag). I always prefer books to their movie counterparts……The book series is not leaning towards humor - though if it is, it is a very dry humor…….so I think the only way I could find it funny was to picture Chevy Chase saying the lines……that being said - it is an entertaining albeit quick read (took me about 3 hours to finish it) and I think it will make a great movie. I’m hoping John Hamm is the right actor for it. We shall see.
I remember when the book first came out and being shocked at the reaction - until the recent news though, I have to admit I had forgotten about it. I always wondered though - if the hype catapulted him or is he a really good author - I know that the book previous to this was critically acclaimed - but that doesn’t always translate into for lack of a better term - popularly accepted.I have to give up on Rushdie's book. Currently just about 1/3 of the way through and one of the main characters has undergone a physical transformation to a satyr. Bear in mind that the book takes place in modern times. My feeling is that either the author was stoned out of his mind when writing this (the writing is hard to follow) or he expects the reader to be in said state of mind.
As Kramer once said....
I have to admit - I have always been tempted to get it anyway (especially now in the age of Kindle - the book is now $4)……when I was in junior high and high school I remember staunchly reading every book on the “Dirty 30” - which were books that certain people were trying to get banned from schools - so by reading them - it was my form of protest (thank goodness for public libraries)…….still to this day - I have never understood how riled up people get about books, movies, art……but, do in great part of your review - I’ll press pause on getting this book - just because I have about 250 still on my Kindle to get to (damn those daily $2-$5 deals!
BRAIN!!!!I remember when the book first came out and being shocked at the reaction - until the recent news though, I have to admit I had forgotten about it. I always wondered though - if the hype catapulted him or is he a really good author - I know that the book previous to this was critically acclaimed - but that doesn’t always translate into for lack of a better term - popularly accepted.
I have to admit - I have always been tempted to get it anyway (especially now in the age of Kindle - the book is now $4)……when I was in junior high and high school I remember staunchly reading every book on the “Dirty 30” - which were books that certain people were trying to get banned from schools - so by reading them - it was my form of protest (thank goodness for public libraries)…….still to this day - I have never understood how riled up people get about books, movies, art……but, do in great part of your review - I’ll press pause on getting this book - just because I have about 250 still on my Kindle to get to (damn those daily $2-$5 deals!
I have Satanic Verses sitting on my shelf. It's been there for probably been on my shelf for about 12 years. One of the only books the survived the flood. Anyway, it's one of those books that I really want to read, but seem to always find something else to read instead.
My wife reads more books than I have seen anyone else. She has Kindle Unlimited...have you tried that?
I haven’t tried it yet - I had always planned to - but then I end up buying 2-3 books every couple of weeks on the Amazon Kindle Deals- but I bet Unlimited would be cheaper - especially when it comes to the Best seller new releases - and I always end up buying one or two of them.I need to revisit that.
I do have an Audible subscription - I got it when I was still commuting - my boss always teased me that I wasn’t really reading the books - but basically I would be reading a book on my Kindle and with their WhisperSync - I would pick up where I left off on Audible. Now that I still work from home - I use it still around the house and when doing chores.
I really need to look up Kindle Unlimited again- I will check it out today! Your wife is a very smart lady!
I know that...but don't tell her...it will go to her already ginormous ego! But seriously, if we had to pay for every book she read individually...we would be more broke than what we are. I will admit though...while she reads her share of "good" books or literature...the majority of what she reads I will politely say it is in the escape/entertainment category. Not so politely I will say that it is in the "Men without Shirts" category!
Ok, here is the fiction book I’ve picked for this week, I’m still deciding on the non-fiction……
Premise of the story is what would you do if you had the opportunity to relive your life, making a change to the decisions you made in the first one. The main character is living a life of regret (and doesn’t realize that in The Midnight Library has a book that lists all of hers in a book. She ends up at The Midnight Library where she reads her regret book based on her previous decisions and gets the opportunity to see what life would have been like had she not made that one decision - multiple times. I’m only about 15% through but so far - really entertaining.
I may end up picking the non-fiction after I finish this…..we’ll see.
Premise of the story is what would you do if you had the opportunity to relive your life, making a change to the decisions you made in the first one. The main character is living a life of regret (and doesn’t realize that in The Midnight Library has a book that lists all of hers in a book. She ends up at The Midnight Library where she reads her regret book based on her previous decisions and gets the opportunity to see what life would have been like had she not made that one decision - multiple times. I’m only about 15% through but so far - really entertaining.
I may end up picking the non-fiction after I finish this…..we’ll see.
Well based on your recommendation - I signed up for Kindle Unlimited - figured I was spending about $30 per month on books anyway - so the 2 month introductory deal and then the monthly after are cheaper than that. Worth the try and now I don’t have to think about do I really want to spend this much on a book - I can get it and if it isn’t to my liking - move on to the next
For as much as my wife reads...it saves us money. Even if her books are on average of $5 dollars...it still saves us money.
Ok, finished The Midnight Library. It was good - but I wouldn’t say wow; I’d rate it a good vacation novel…..neat premise, but nothing barn burning.
My next fiction is….. And Non-Fiction….
For the non-fiction I needed something light after the last one - and the majority of my other non-fictions in my collection were of the same ilk…..So 90’s it is Dude.
My next fiction is….. And Non-Fiction….
For the non-fiction I needed something light after the last one - and the majority of my other non-fictions in my collection were of the same ilk…..So 90’s it is Dude.
Well my last two books were quick reads and I intend to make future readings even quicker (Because I am behind in my goal of 1 book per week - so I need to get back on track)….
I got this one for free over the winter holiday- so I need to peruse this one…..
And I know that I usually pick one non-fiction and one fiction - but we’re going all non-fiction for the rest of the week……because this one seems like a fun read…My father was an amateur historian - I think he’d get a kick out of this book…
And the last one for this week - I needed to educate myself - because I am going to take an active involvement in my school board meetings. While luckily we have some balance for our Board in the last election - there are a few in a dogmatic cabal that have given me pause. I am a staunch believer that we need to ensure our children (from all walks of life)- feel included, welcome, accepted - and most importantly - LOVED. But in order to help these kids that don’t have their own voice - I have to get informed and right quick - so the last one this week….wish me luck at the next meeting.
I got this one for free over the winter holiday- so I need to peruse this one…..
And I know that I usually pick one non-fiction and one fiction - but we’re going all non-fiction for the rest of the week……because this one seems like a fun read…My father was an amateur historian - I think he’d get a kick out of this book…
And the last one for this week - I needed to educate myself - because I am going to take an active involvement in my school board meetings. While luckily we have some balance for our Board in the last election - there are a few in a dogmatic cabal that have given me pause. I am a staunch believer that we need to ensure our children (from all walks of life)- feel included, welcome, accepted - and most importantly - LOVED. But in order to help these kids that don’t have their own voice - I have to get informed and right quick - so the last one this week….wish me luck at the next meeting.
Okay, got it on Audible. I've quickly turned into a short attention span person. I prefer to be doing more than one thing at a time. So I'm always doing something else while listening to a book. Even if it's just out on the deck with a stick and watching the planes.