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Pit Book/Discussion Thread

Reading Tishomingo Blues and it’s my first Elmore Leonard book. What are his best?
 
Just finished Bright Young Women. Pretty good thriller. Engaging read.
 
Finished up book 7 of Harry Potter this. morning with the kids. What a great story - not sure I could have appreciated it if I had read when they came out, but at almost 40 I can honestly say I loved the books. Reading with the kids was great as well!
 
IamThunderbolt said:
Really like Gaiman's stuff. I'd suggest Anansi Boys next over Good Omens
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I mean yes, following AG with AB is the way to go. It contains some of the same characters. You’ll never look at limes the same way again. Good omens though was a collaboration with the late Terry pratchett and was meant for a different audience, very different type of book but still amazing in its own right. Stardust is the same kind of thing, great book but different than AG. Neverwhere however has a very AG feel to it. Also if you need more Shadow and don’t hate Beowulf, Shadow appears again in the Fragile Things book of short stories.
 
Got a few fiction books on my list I want to hit before tackling another Gaiman but I added those to my list so thanks
 
Thanks to the boards for curating my initial 2024 reading list. I readily admit I am very behind on what the cool kids read. Currently about 1/3 through Demon Copperfield, then I have Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Fourth Wing as dessert.
 
Since mid/late December I’ve finished a few that are a bit all over the place in terms of content but I’d recommend each of them:
  • Killers of the Flower Moon – David Grann: I'm assuming most people already know this with the movie now out so I'll keep it short. I found the story to be both heartbreaking and wildly fascinating. The book focuses on two main plots: the Osage Native Americans and their continued slaughter due to oil headrights, and the foundation, formation, and growth of the FBI. These two stories are intertwined and it's a story that feels like it was intentionally washed over until the book.
  • Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain: I have to say that the audiobook might be the best way to consume this, as it’s just Tony story telling tales of his past before any fame and fortune came his way as this was written in 2000. This is in part a love letter to the chefs he grew up with and was trained by, and a peel behind the curtain to everybody else about what the industry actually looks like. It was great company as I got through all of the holiday cooking for the season.
  • The Transgender Issue: Trans Justice is Justice for All – Shon Faye: This feels like an important book to me and something very timely and relevant, as well as something that’s going to age incredibly well. The book is very well researched and shows a blunt and clear look at the realities of trans life (primarily trans women) in the West, but more specifically the UK. For those on the left/more aware, the book offers calls for coalition building among/showing the intersectionality within the trans community. For those less aware/more ambivalent, it offers new perspectives and ways of thinking and demonstrates why Trans liberation is not only good for a small portion of one’s community, but benefits the entirety of society. The book is sharp, to the point, and builds on each topic presented very well and while it has some very dark moments and subjects, the book is beaming with hope and demands for a better world that benefits all.
I’m currently reading:
  • Pep Confidential – Marti Grau: Marti was given full access to Pep’s first year at the helm in Bavaria. It’s a fascinating read as it’s basically a daily diary of the 2013/14 season. For any Bayern fan it’s a must-read, for City/Pep fans I’d also recommend it as you get a lot of insight into how Pep thinks (as a person and how he sees the game). I think it may be worth reading as a general soccer/sports fan as well just to see how a manager goes about taking over a wildly highly-performing team (Bayern is coming off a treble - league, cup, champions league).
  • Inverting the Pyramid – Jonathan Wilson: The book tracks how soccer spread across the globe, how wherever it landed, the game sprung roots, and how those roots shaped the game that each country began to play. It’s really deep and rich and you’ll pick up more obscure knowledge on formations than you have ever needed. You start to see the underlying theories behind formations, roles, systems, etc., and how those developed over time to match where the game as a whole was going. Still have a way to work through in this and it’s not what I would call a fast read, but I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly and would recommend it to anybody who has a curiosity in the nerdier side of the game.
 
Just heads up: I loved Kitchen Confidential (even reading it way past its prime), but really struggled to even finish the follow up, Medium Raw. It felt far more like a personal rant and just didn't have any of the charm or interesting info that made Kitchen Confidential so good.
 
I have the same problem with every Neil Gaiman book: I read what the book is about, I think 'that sounds like a great idea for a book' and I get into it and it does nothing for me. I've read American Gods (DNF), Neverwhere, Stardust, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Graveyard Book, and Coraline. Love his ideas for stories, but something about them never clicks. Ocean at the End of the Lane was probably the only one I'd reread.

I have a similar problem with Kurt Vonnegut. His books always deal with very interesting questions and themes but I rarely enjoy the book. I've tried Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle, Mother Night, and Galapagos, and only enjoyed Galapagos.
 
Deac6 said:
  • Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain: I have to say that the audiobook might be the best way to consume this, as it’s just Tony story telling tales of his past before any fame and fortune came his way as this was written in 2000. This is in part a love letter to the chefs he grew up with and was trained by, and a peel behind the curtain to everybody else about what the industry actually looks like. It was great company as I got through all of the holiday cooking for the season.
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I also recently did KC for the first time and did it via audiobook -- it rips


Sirens of Titan is my favorite Vonnegut
 
I promised Townie a top 10 list of the books I read in 2023. With Townie on hiatus I have been slow to fulfill my obligation. These will all be nonfiction. I did read a little more fiction in 2023, but I would guess I read at least 85% nonfiction.

#10: Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie.

This book is about the eight types of bears that still exist. This is not the type of book I typically read. Then again, maybe it is, because it takes place in eight different areas of the world. When I saw this book, I realized I knew little about bears. Eight bears? Can I even name five? My kids certainly knew a lot more than I did and part of the fun of reading this book was discussing it with my kids. Like, how did my son know the seal is the closest relative of the bear? Is this common knowledge?

The primary focus of the book is to detail the dangers that face bears due to humans. Climate change is challenging the polar and spectacled (my personal favorite of the eight after reading the book) to the greatest degree. Dickie is especially pessimistic about the polar bear being able to survive in the wild much longer. The moon bear is subjected to bile harvesting. Humans are crowding out the aggressive sloth bear. (The sloth bear is terrifying, by the way. If I had sloth bears around my house I would never go outside.) On the other hand, the North American bears, black and brown (grizzly), are faring better, especially the brown.

It is an entertaining book, with some history, science, geography, and myth all included in a relatively quick read.
 
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