Welcome to the latest attempt to get Crasstalkers talking about what they are reading: Book Pub. Once a month, check in with your fellows to see what’s interesting in their literary lives. And get smashed.*
*Optional
So here we are. What I would like to do with this new experiment is simply a more formal version of what we have been doing in the open threads: create a place to share what you’re reading, what you think of it, or simply give and ask for suggestions of what to read next. I’ll share what I’m reading or what I have just finished, you share yours. Looking up the “bookpub” tag will hopefully, in time, provide you with a nice bunch of posts containing all the book recommendations and suggestions you could ever hope for. Pretty simple.
Here we go!
What I’m Reading:
This month’s post is probably going to be more complicated than most other times I do this post, because I am horribly disorganized and recently found myself with FOUR books on my “currently reading” shelf on Goodreads. Did you know that libraries make you give the books back after a certain time?
- The Walking Dead: Compendium One by Robert Kirkman. Illustrated by Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburne, and Tony Moore.
Status: Finished
Recommended if you need to bone up on your zombie apocalypse survival skills.
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.44 | Amazon)
Thoughts: I had a hell of a time getting a hold of this one from the library. Was it worth the wait? The short answer is yes. The show is brutal, graphic, and at times hard to watch. The graphic novel that it’s based on is no different, and in some places was toned down for TV. There are significant differences to the plot lines and characterizations that make me like the graphic novel more. The book is physically massive, but it’s easy reading. If you like the show, give it a go. - L.A. Noir by John Buntin
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 3.66 | Amazon)
Status: Finished
Recommended if you are interested in the history of Los Angeles and the L.A.P.D., or the real story behind Gangster Squad.
Thoughts: L.A. Noir follows the lives of diminutive Jewish mobster Mickey Cohen and Bill Parker, the man who would become the L.A.P.D.’s top cop. Both transplants to L.A., from Brooklyn and Deadwood respectively, they would clash in the middle of the century as Cohen and other eastern gangsters tried to establish a firm foothold in the west. If you watch Boardwalk Empire or have read James Ellroy’s Underworld USA trilogy, you’ll see a lot of familiar names; Bobby Kennedy, Mike Wallace, Billy Graham, and Dwight Eisenhower have also made appearances. Buntin does a solid job of explaining how law and law enforcement changed over the course of forty years+ in Los Angeles. - Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin by John D’Emilio
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.19 | Amazon)
Status: Just started
Thoughts: I haven’t gotten too far into this one, so I’m withholding final judgment, but it’s high reader ratings give me hope. I’m not overly impressed with D’Emilio’s writing so far, but it looks to be a very well-researched biography of a Black leader who is all too often overlooked. - The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.07 | Amazon)
Status: Just started
Thoughts: I’ve put Lost Prophet on the back-burner because this one is due in a few days. Again, withholding final judgment, but so far it seems like it is going to be a very enjoyable read. This edition contains the first four novels of the cycle; the fifth, At Last, was published last year. The series follows the life of, obviously, Patrick Melrose, the child of a wealthy American mother and a cruel, abusive English father, as well as the overly privileged people that inhabit their world. Sidenote: I’m warning you now not to pick this up if rape and child abuse is something you absolutely cannot read about.
So there we are! Hopefully this is the beginning of something beautiful. If you have any suggestions/complaints about the format, let me know in the comments. If you want to say anything else to me, send me an email. If it’s about the title, I already know it’s stupid, so no need. See you next month?
Image:
Photo by Alejandro Escamilla.
