The first lady recently read this book and suggested the Rev take a read, so I'll peruse it over the weekend.

 

Here is the author's analysis in her introduction:

 

The more legal and material hindrances women have broken through, the more strictly and heavily and cruelly images of female beauty have come to weigh upon us... During the past decade, women breached the power structure; meanwhile, eating disorders rose exponentially and cosmetic surgery became the fastest-growing specialty... Pornography became the main media category, ahead of legitimate films and records combined, and thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal...More women have more money and power and scope and legal recognition than we have ever had before; but in terms of how we feel about ourselves physically, we may actually be worse off than our unliberated grandmothers

 

This ought to be an interesting read.

 

Rev

 

 

Empathy could not exist if the hard wiring for its expression did not pre exist. It is one of those things like language. We come with a mentalese that makes us all receptive to language. As we have a language instinct we have an empathetic instinct.  That is self evident in that we can be thoroughly be defined via reciprocal altruism in everything we do. Yes, it is what generates the misunderstanding that we have a selfish gene and act only if it maximizes a desired return.

Thanks, Danyael!

Finished reading "Stoner", a novel by American writer John Williams.

This is a sad, moving and beautiful book written in smooth and straightforward prose.

The main character is William Stoner, son of a poor farmer in Missouri.

Stoner advances himself thru education and becomes an English Literature professor at the University of Missouri.

He marries a banker's daughter and they produce a girl child.

One would expect Stoner to be a happy man but his life is far from blissful.

Neither his wife nor university colleagues nor his students think much of him. Except one female instructor with whom he has a short extra-marital affair.

Stoner is forced by bad health to take early retirement. Shortly after, he dies at home of cancer.

For me, the novel's last two paragraphs resonate; Stoner dies with a book in his hands. A rare ending.

 

Finished reading "Interpreter of Maladies", a collection of short stories by Indian American writer Jhumpa Lahiri.

This woman can write well. No wonder she won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for this book, her first.

As expected, the stories are peopled by Indians in the United States, Indians in Britain, and Indians in the homeland, West Bengal mostly. As expected, too, I read about egg curry, fish curry, dhal, samosas and arranged marriages.

Jhumpa Lahiri is not only brilliant, she is also beautiful. I am posting her photo in addition to my usual book cover pic.

Brilliant, beautiful woman, a PhD, ...alias taken..she is married to a journalist , I think.  Rarely do you find brilliant beautiful women, but if you look hard enough, you will

 

 

Jhumpa Lahiri is married to a Guatemalan-Greek-American journalist named Alberto Vourvoulias Bush. Here is Jhumpa on her wedding day in India in 2001:

 

On October 12, 1972, a plane carrying a team of young rugby players crashed into the remote, snow-peaked Andes. Out of the forty-five original passengers and crew, only sixteen made it off the mountain alive. For ten excruciating weeks they suffered deprivations beyond imagining, confronting nature head-on at its most furious and inhospitable. And to survive, they were forced to do what would have once been unthinkable...
This is their story - one of the most astonishing true adventures of the twentieth century.

 

 

I'll be perusing "Alive" this weekend---was told it will be a gripping and absorbing read.

 

Rev

Oh rant Rev "Alive" is a ole ole book banna, even Iman aready read dat thing donkey years ago. I hear dem boys so old now, they start workin on another book gonna be named "Dead"

I got real hungry after reading that book many years ago!  

 

   

 

There are hundreds of excellent and interesting books the Rev has not yet gotten to. I try to read one a week. Glad to know you are a fellow reader. A lot of people stop reading after they are done with school.

 

Rev

I shouldn't mention this but what the heck, it's Christmas

 

Have you ever been featured in a book, as a main character?

Well, this lady I know wrote a book that is on sale on Amazon. I ain't going to give you the name of the book, but I did buy the book. Damm book features me and is semi fiction. I was tempted to quote a few paragraphs, but Christmas or not, I ain't that brave.

The thing is, the book is exceptionally well written. I saw her in a newspaper recently being interviewed on another book she wrote. If she become rich and famous, i wonder if I should beg for a raise

 

TI, if you shouldn't mention about the book, why did you? Christmas is not a good enough

I meant to say " not good enough reason"

It is selfish not to mention the name of the book nor the author's name.

 

Bookman - read many moons ago.

ICIP(yep, that ICIP) & I had a discussion about this book many moons ago right here on GNI.

Glad to hear, IGH. I recommend it to GNI folks.

Never finished reading this book...

 

Next on my list:

I read both. They're worth re-reading if one has the time.

Haha, yu mean self preservation! . The book is semi fiction, so people might have the wrong impression of poor me. Also she gave me a British accent, whereas I does talk Guyanese

 

 

I am presently looking at Imprints in Life's Journey- short stories by:

Barbara Verasami

Dwarka Ramphal

Kennard Ramphal

 

Edited by Kennard Ramphal

Gilly, do you know Ken Ramphal? His bio says that he was born in Canal Ploder (#2). Infantry officer. Teacher.

 

I never met him. I heard about him. My mamoo knows him personally.

 

 

This book is next on my list---ordered it from Amazon on Christmas day---it will be delivered on Saturday---will peruse it over the weekend.

 

HERE'S A WRITEUP:

 

Man's Search for Meaning is a 1946 book by Viktor Frankl chronicling his experiences as an Auschwitz concentration camp inmate during World War II, and describing his psychotherapeutic method, which involved identifying a purpose in life to feel positively about, and then immersively imagining that outcome. According to Frankl, the way a prisoner imagined the future affected his longevity. The book intends to answer the question "How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" Part One constitutes Frankl's analysis of his experiences in the concentration camps, while Part Two introduces his ideas of meaning and his theory called logotherapy

 

Rev

 

 

I've met him a few times and thoroughly enjoyed his company. I can't seem to get into his books though

I've only read excerpts of his writings. I ought to get a copy of this book too.

 

Finished reading "The Day of the Jackal" by Frederick Forsyth.

This political thriller is about a plot by disgruntled ultra-right ex-soldiers to kill French President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. They hire a foreign mercenary to do the job.

French security authorities discover the plot, enlist help from British and American police, and launch a massive manhunt for the elusive hitman known as the Jackal. They eventually get and kill him seconds before he could aim at de Gaulle's head.

While reading this exciting book, I couldn't help but wonder how the plot could have turned out if there were cell phones, airport security cameras and other electronic security gadgets 50 years ago.

I'm pleased to report that I've ended my reading on a high note, having completed 49 books during 2013.

I wish to thank everyone who participated in our book club during the past year, and I hope we continue our enriching discussions thru 2014.

if you read the day of the jackal then you must read Borne Identity 

Thanks for the recommendation, warrior.

Bookman, Not sure if this is your kind of reading; since you did not finish Stieg Larsson series.


You have to read the books in order.




After the passing of Robert Ludlum, Eric Van Lustbader  continued the Bourne's story...

    The Bourne Legacy - (2004)
    The Bourne Betrayal - (2007)
    The Bourne Sanction - (2008)
    The Bourne Deception - (2009)
    The Bourne Objective - (2010)
    The Bourne Dominion - (2011)
    The Bourne Imperative - (2012)
    The Bourne Retribution - (2013)

I have read all...

I usually just wait for the movie. Much more interactive.

sometime reading the book then watching the movie help like the godfather

I agree. My son enjoyed the Hunger Games movies because he knows the stories from reading the books.

I read one Van Lustbader Bourne book and was very disappointed. I don't think he depicted the character well.
However, the first Lustbader book I read, The Ninja, was great.

They get predictable and boring, merely regurgitating material. I can't tell you how many books I have abandoned halfway.

Thanks, IGH. I'll put Robert Ludlum on my reading list. Oh, what a long list it is!

 a book i enjoy reading is SHOGAN

Just bought with a click.

Bookman, read this 1939 classic by Thurber.

 

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

 

It is a very short story.

 

i think Ben Stiler made a movie on it recently.

 

If you mean Shogun I read three Clavell books and thought they were all good - Shogun, Taipan and King Rat.