Duff McKagan - How To Be A Man
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What are you reading Chapter 4
- Thread starter slobake
- Start date
Just started "The Impeachers" by Brenda Wineapple, subtitled "The trial of Andrew Johnson and the dream of a just nation." It's set in the 1860s and focuses on the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln.
The pleasant surprise in the first 60 pages is the way it tells an engaging story about the personalities and politics leading into the Civil War, and the factors leading to Johnson's conflicting positions on the "insurrection" and slavery. The novel is about 400 pages, and it's exhaustively researched, with the appendices and bibliography running another 100 pages.
This may sound boring, but it's actually a good story, engagingly told, and I'm learning a lot about the personalities and pressures acting on the country as we entered the Civil War, as well as the mess that remained as reconstruction began.
If you're a history buff, it's a good one.
The pleasant surprise in the first 60 pages is the way it tells an engaging story about the personalities and politics leading into the Civil War, and the factors leading to Johnson's conflicting positions on the "insurrection" and slavery. The novel is about 400 pages, and it's exhaustively researched, with the appendices and bibliography running another 100 pages.
This may sound boring, but it's actually a good story, engagingly told, and I'm learning a lot about the personalities and pressures acting on the country as we entered the Civil War, as well as the mess that remained as reconstruction began.
If you're a history buff, it's a good one.
Last edited:
Finished Njal's Saga yesterday - LOTS of Icelandic court cases... An enjoyable read if that's your thing, with some great characters, but definitely not everyone's cup of tea. I think I'll take a break from some of that saga stuff and read some pulpy sci-fi next. I finished off yesterday catching up on some of my comic stack - Wild's End continues to be a good series in a "War of the Worlds" meets anthropomorphic animals way. Certainly a good series, and makes me want to read the previous 3 volumes again as it's been a while. I think tomorrow I'll start some older Timothy Zahn series I've yet to read. Namely, the first "Cobra" trilogy. I'm sure it won't be as serious as the sagas, but given Zahn's other works, still quite competent (or better!) and well-written. Should be a good palette cleanser!
White Magic - Elissa Washuta
From Goodreads:
"Throughout her life, Elissa Washuta has been surrounded by cheap facsimiles of Native spiritual tools and occult trends; "starter witch kits" of sage, rose quartz, and tarot cards packaged together in paper and plastic. Following a decade of abuse, addiction, PTSD, and heavy-duty drug treatment for a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder, she felt drawn to the real spirits and powers her dispossessed and discarded ancestors knew, while she undertook necessary work to find love and meaning.
In this collection of intertwined essays, she writes about land, heartbreak, and colonization, about life without the escape hatch of intoxication, and about how she became a powerful witch. She interlaces stories from her forebears with cultural artifacts from her own life—Twin Peaks, the Oregon Trail II video game, a Claymation Satan, a YouTube video of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham—to explore questions of cultural inheritance and the particular danger, as a Native woman, of relaxing into romantic love under colonial rule."
Everyone has a story. And we all go through life learning and living the best we can in difficult situations not always making the best choices, or some times not dealing with making choices at all. Hopefully if one comes through the various hardships OK one hopefully learns to do better, and one finds happiness or at least a measure of contentment. peace
From Goodreads:
"Throughout her life, Elissa Washuta has been surrounded by cheap facsimiles of Native spiritual tools and occult trends; "starter witch kits" of sage, rose quartz, and tarot cards packaged together in paper and plastic. Following a decade of abuse, addiction, PTSD, and heavy-duty drug treatment for a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder, she felt drawn to the real spirits and powers her dispossessed and discarded ancestors knew, while she undertook necessary work to find love and meaning.
In this collection of intertwined essays, she writes about land, heartbreak, and colonization, about life without the escape hatch of intoxication, and about how she became a powerful witch. She interlaces stories from her forebears with cultural artifacts from her own life—Twin Peaks, the Oregon Trail II video game, a Claymation Satan, a YouTube video of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham—to explore questions of cultural inheritance and the particular danger, as a Native woman, of relaxing into romantic love under colonial rule."
Everyone has a story. And we all go through life learning and living the best we can in difficult situations not always making the best choices, or some times not dealing with making choices at all. Hopefully if one comes through the various hardships OK one hopefully learns to do better, and one finds happiness or at least a measure of contentment. peace
Last edited:
I'm reading this excellent book. I have learned some quite interesting things, things I have never come across in any other book on the history of the Art & Crafts. I took it out from my local library, but after reading through almost half of it I am going to find (the book is out of print) and buy a copy for my growing library on the Art & Crafts.
Taking a mental break and slowing down on the reading for a bit. Started "Timebomb" which is a compilation of various early Timothy Zahn short stories. He's a favorite author of mine, and the first two have been solid. Besides that, just been watching some cheesy TV and movies instead. I'm sure I'll be back reading again in a few days.
Just finished Geddy Lee's "My Effin' Life". The last part where he talks about Neil's death, the pandemic, then losing his mom is a tough read. A really good book, though.
Finishing up Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" that I started re-reading during our fall vacation.
Finishing up Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles" that I started re-reading during our fall vacation.
A Place on Earth - Wendall Berry
Novel about life in a small rural town near the end of WWII. Young men of the town all off to serve, tells of the older men left behind running farms. Day to day life, deaths, births, chores, gossip and conversation amongst town folk who all know one another. A lot of humorous tales and talk, along with tragedies that can rock through families and close knit friends and neighbors trying to help each other through trying events.
Very good writer. Reads right along with amazing descriptions of people and situations in rural life.
Don't know that this writing would be of much interest nowdays unless one is interested in word craft. I was born mid-fifties and a kid of the '60/70s so still have a connection with the stories and life descriptions as told by my parents - rural children of The Depression, and grandparents born close to the turn of the last century, so I can feel, understand, and relate to the stories of those times - even though I was brought up a city rat.
Novel about life in a small rural town near the end of WWII. Young men of the town all off to serve, tells of the older men left behind running farms. Day to day life, deaths, births, chores, gossip and conversation amongst town folk who all know one another. A lot of humorous tales and talk, along with tragedies that can rock through families and close knit friends and neighbors trying to help each other through trying events.
Very good writer. Reads right along with amazing descriptions of people and situations in rural life.
Don't know that this writing would be of much interest nowdays unless one is interested in word craft. I was born mid-fifties and a kid of the '60/70s so still have a connection with the stories and life descriptions as told by my parents - rural children of The Depression, and grandparents born close to the turn of the last century, so I can feel, understand, and relate to the stories of those times - even though I was brought up a city rat.
About halfway through and it's very illuminating and insightful.
That should be a good one!
About halfway through and it's very illuminating and insightful.
More sagas again - Eyrbyggja Saga this time. This one is basically a saga of a place and its inhabitants instead of just people.
The first one (bio) was good. The second one (motivational) is not bad either, but a little harder to read. I still didn't finish it.
