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
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.
I actually haven’t done all that much reading in the past month? Don’t hate me.
And seriously though, can someone come up with a better name for this?
What I’m Reading:
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.19 | Amazon
)Status: Halfway through
Thoughts: This book contains a lot of fascinating bits information, and provides an equally fascinating view into how Rustin’s friends and colleagues dealt with the fact of his homosexuality in the ’50s and ’60s (not very well in many cases, in case you were wondering). It’s also a shame that Rustin is so often left out or skimmed over in the larger story of the civil rights movement in schools, because his work and friendship with Martin Luther King, Jr. was key.
(Goodreads Avg Rating: 4.07 | Amazon
)Status: 2/4 novels completed
Thoughts: 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.
I’m looking forward to finishing these novels, though they are more than a bit heavy. Child abuse? Check. Misogyny? Check. Extreme domestic violence? Check. PTSD and drug addiction? Check, check. Characters displaying a disturbing lack of concern for their fellow man? Left and right. Despite all that, they are well written novels and I harbor some hope for the main character.
And that’s it for me! What have you guys gotten into in the last month?
