What are you reading these days?
By The Horse
@TheHorse (238268)
Walnut Creek, California
July 3, 2019 12:45pm CST
Right now I'm finishing Mark Twain's "Biography," as written by his 14-year-old daughter, Susy Clemens. It's edited by Charles Neider, who is a known Mark Twain scholar, and includes much commentary from Twain himself on what Susy wrote.
It's giving me a lot of insight into what things were like in the Twain household, and into how Susy, Twain's "favorite" daughter viewed her father and the world around her. Yes, she's the one who died of spinal meningitis at age 24, and Twain's comments about her writing were written after her death, so it's a slightly sad read.
I have ordered a book called "Oh Boy!" (it cost me fairly "deep in the purse"), which is about how young boys are misunderstood, and how ECE educators often aren't trained to deal with their high energy levels and tendency toward testing rules. That will be my next read. If you've read my recent posts kvetching about "the teacher from hell," and her mishandling of discipline (for boys in particular), you'll understand why this is my next read.
What are you reading right now? If you like the writings of Mark Twain, you'd probably like the Neider-edited biography by Susy. I'll link the song I wrote about Twain as viewed through Susy's eyes. I had only read summaries of Susy's biography of her father when I wrote it, but I think I got it right. Most who know me have already heard the song, but I'll link it anyway.
"Susy" by Colin H. Sacks Colin H. Sacks - Vocals, guitars, bass Recorded by - Michael Stenberg Like and subscribe for more songs and videos :)
13 people like this
14 responses
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Jul 19
@JohnRoberts Some those can get pretty "racy"!
1 person likes this
@cperry2 (5608)
• Newport, Oregon
3 Jul 19
I joined Onlinebookclub to do reviews. I love to read, I am a writer, so, I said why not. I get the review books for free and they pay for my reviews. WIN WIN So currently I am reading Dark Web Murders, I'll be doing a review in about a week. They will likely publish that in another week. (If they don't reject it that is)
1 person likes this
@cperry2 (5608)
• Newport, Oregon
3 Jul 19
@TheHorse Just getting into it. I like what I see. The pay for doing reviews isn't great. Especially considering the time involved in reading the story then putting together a review. But, I would be reading anyway, and just like here little bits do add up. Also, as one gets lots of views on the reviews, the pay offers increase. I'll not get wealthy this way, but as I said, I'd be reading anyway and I love writing even if it is to pick apart someone else's efforts. I look at the review process as trying to help the author do better next time. Or in the case of those I give the highest rating, yell about the things they did right. (I've only given two of those top ratings to date, out of 14)
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Jul 19
@cperry2 Do you have any links to your reviews? It would be fun to read one (and maybe it would earn you a penny or two). I used to do reviews for Epinions, but mostly did reviews of guitars and vintage stereo gear, not books. I did review The Magus, by John Fowles, but that was about it.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
3 Jul 19
I am reading the British mystery Deliver Us From Evil by Peter Turnbull.
1 person likes this
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
3 Jul 19
@TheHorse It's okay. Standard police procedural.
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
3 Jul 19
I just finished Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin, I'm in the final couple of chapters of Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans and I'm about halfway through Two Solitudes by Hugh MacLennan.
The Twain book sounds intriguing!
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Jul 19
@SophiaMorros Hmm. After Oh Boy!, maybe I'll go for something funny before I get back to "heart wrenching." P.G. Wodehouse anyone?
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
3 Jul 19
@TheHorse heart wrenching
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
3 Jul 19
I started reading F.M. Busby's Alien Debt but got busy and haven't gotten back to it. I thought I'd enjoy the book because Buzz was such a nice guy, even shared his Bourbon with me at some con, either in Vancouver or Seattle, way back when. I enjoyed the first chapter, which was supposed to be a teenager term paper, but after that it's a bit stilted. Maybe it'll improve.
@JudyEv (381813)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Jul 19
I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas while I was away and I'm reading it again. I often get much more out of a book the second time around.
@AliCanary (4387)
•
3 Jul 19
I just finished two books; one, a graphic novel, and the other, an anthology. The graphic novel was the 6th book in the Locke and Key series by Joe Hil and Gabriel Rodriguez. I think it's the final book, but it's actually the first one I had read, and now I want to read the others. It was very good! The anthology was one of the Pushcart Prize anthologies, which gathers the best of the small presses every year, so it has short fiction, poetry, and nonfiction articles and reviews. It took a VERY long time to read, being a sizeable volume and also consisting of many pieces (lots of places to close the book and contemplate).
@TheHorse (238268)
• Walnut Creek, California
3 Jul 19
Are they helpful? As a psychologist, my "words of wisdom" are pretty simple: do as many things as you can that are "predictable" and "controllable." Avoid people and situations that make you feel "out of control" For me, predictable and controllable things include woodworking, cycling, rereading favorite books, and playing guitar. Yours will be completely different, but could include anything from crafts to cooking to..._____.
