Reading anything?

[BoyScoutKevin]

Yes.

"Emma."

But this is not Jane Austen's "Emma," but Karou Mori's "Emma."

Time: the 1870s and 1890s

Place: London and the surrounding countryside. With side trips to America and India.

A story about the social divide between the upper and lower classes.

Thus, a little bit Romeo. A little bit Juliet. And the characters are very Dickensian.

One of the neatest things about this story is all the neat information it. For example, not only did the people of that time and place divide along the lines of upper and lower, but they also divided along the following lines.

Servants and servants. Even the servants had a pecking order.
The rich and the poor.
Public school and non-public school.
Parents and children.
Older siblings and younger siblings.
The old and the young.
Mothers and daughters
Men and women.
Masters and servants.
Locals and non-locals.
Husbands and wives.
Fathers and sons.
English and non-English.
City and country.
Aristocracy and non-aristocracy.

If we had been communicating in that time and place, we'd have to communicate through an ouija board, as the average life expectancy was only 50, so I'd have been dead for almost a decade.

Maybe the life expectancy was so low, because the average banquet consisted of . . .

seaturtle soup
followed by . . .
lobster and flounder in orange sauce
followed by . ..
chicken topped with supreme truffle
followed by . . .
pureed snow grouse
followed by . . .
roast duck
bollowed by black thrush
and topped off by a rich souffle.

All washed down by glasses of port, hoch, claret, sherry, and madera.

And, of yes, throw up afterwards.

The story was firs serialized in a Japanese magazine betwee 2002 and 2006. Then it was translated into  English and published in 7 volumesbetween 2006 and 2008, which is how I read it.

There is also 3 more volumes in the magna series of side stories dealing with some of the side characters in the first 7 volumes. The authoress also has another magna series called "Shirley" of stories about other English maids None of which I've read.

But, if you want to read a story that realistically depicts that time and place, "Emma" is that realistic depiction.

Next time: "The Indiana Jones Omnibus"

[JaseSF]

I just finished Red Tide by G.M. Ford. It was quite an involving book as we follow several different characters in Seattle as the city is basically taken under siege due to a terrorist threat - one involving germ warfare and a potential airborne virus capable of wiping out most of the world's populace if not contained in time. The most entertaining character here is perhaps Ford's continuing character Frank Corso, a detective/true crime story writer, who gets tangled up in this whole affair, himself becoming a suspect for having his nose in the wrong place at the wrong time. I also quite liked the different local Seattle detectives and the police captain Harry Dobson who are determined to get to the bottom of things and clean up this mess in their own city and set out to do it in much better fashion than all the outside intrusive government agencies that also show up in town including the CDC, the FBI, the CIA, etc., etc..

It basically gives us the perspective of many different characters and eventually the narrative weaves into an whole that makes sense and builds and builds a terrific sense of suspense. I really couldn't put it down as I reached the climax. I just had to see how it would all play out. Very good book IMO ...kind of a mix of Outbreak meets Pulp Fiction meets Cold Case but completely unique too.  

[lester1/2jr]

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/12/23/60-in-60-9-gibbons-the-christians-and-the-rise-of-rome-penguins-great-ideas/

the christians and the fall of Rome.  I'ts good and interesting but a little slow going unless your preferred style is 18th century formality including page long sentences with 11 commas

[Jim H]

http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2008/12/23/60-in-60-9-gibbons-the-christians-and-the-rise-of-rome-penguins-great-ideas/

the christians and the fall of Rome.  I'ts good and interesting but a little slow going unless your preferred style is 18th century formality including page long sentences with 11 commas

I just read two more of the Repairman Jack books.  Very good and entertaining.  Lester, think you might like some of the title character's viewpoints on a few things (which appear to be author F. Paul Wilson's as well). 

[Rev. Powell]

The title speaks for itself.  A collection of movies reviewed 1.5 stars or less.  Lots of fun.

[lester1/2jr]

rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 

[Joe the Destroyer]

Finished reading UR by Stephen King on Kindle.  Decent, but not as good as some of his other works.  It somewhat felt like a forced effort. 

However, I have decided to start reading Lair of the White Worm by Bram Stoker.  Hopefully it won't disappoint.  [Sidenote: I hated the movie]

[Rev. Powell]

rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 

I have to scale back my enthusiasm after reading it a bit.  In fact, there are several 2 star reviews in here, which are films he didn't "hate" at all, just sort of "blah" films.  Yet, he put out a companion volume called "You Movie Sucks" with more bad reviews.  It's a bit of a ripoff to stretch the bad reviews over two volumes by putting mediocre ones in with the truly awful.   

[lester1/2jr]

that's too bad.  Hollywood talks Turkey, I haven't read it in like 15 years, but it was from the golden age of Hollywood and it delt with real stinkers.  I think it might have been Jane Russell I can't remember, some other actor goes to visit her on the set and she is drinking vodka from a jar and going "get me out of here,please!" 

[Jim H]

rev- that looks awesome.  there's one called "hollywood talks turkey" that is really good. 

I have to scale back my enthusiasm after reading it a bit.  In fact, there are several 2 star reviews in here, which are films he didn't "hate" at all, just sort of "blah" films.  Yet, he put out a companion volume called "You Movie Sucks" with more bad reviews.  It's a bit of a ripoff to stretch the bad reviews over two volumes by putting mediocre ones in with the truly awful.   

That's too bad. Ebert's very negative reviews are often pretty amusing.  I recall enjoying his Rollerball (remake) review. 

[indianasmith]

I just finished Conrad Black's masterful biography of President Nixon, entitled RICHARD NIXON: A LIFE IN FULL .   It is a very detailed, unflinching, but fairly sympathetic chronicle of the remarkable life and career of the most maligned President in U.S. history.  Black is a great storyteller, and was also personally acquainted with Nixon.  As a Brit, he has no "dog in the hunt" when it comes to American politics, and so he does not hesitate to indict Nixon, his aides, or his many critics when he finds them guilty of falsehood or self-serving hypocrisy.  His comments on the turbulent relationship between Nixon and Kissinger alone make the book worth the time it takes to read . . . . which is quite a bit, since it runs about 1000 pates.  Highly recommended for history buffs and those who are interested in the lives of our Presidents.

[AndyC]

I just finished Conrad Black's masterful biography of President Nixon, entitled RICHARD NIXON: A LIFE IN FULL .   It is a very detailed, unflinching, but fairly sympathetic chronicle of the remarkable life and career of the most maligned President in U.S. history.  Black is a great storyteller, and was also personally acquainted with Nixon.  As a Brit, he has no "dog in the hunt" when it comes to American politics, and so he does not hesitate to indict Nixon, his aides, or his many critics when he finds them guilty of falsehood or self-serving hypocrisy.  His comments on the turbulent relationship between Nixon and Kissinger alone make the book worth the time it takes to read . . . . which is quite a bit, since it runs about 1000 pates.  Highly recommended for history buffs and those who are interested in the lives of our Presidents.

Black is no Brit. He's a Canadian who gave up his citizenship to get himself a title. Now, after badmouthing the country for years because we wouldn't let him have his cake and eat it too, he's trying to get his citizenship back, because it suits his purposes.

I'm not at all surprised he'd be sympathetic to Nixon, being a powerful man who considers himself above the law. Black is a crook, currently serving 6-1/2 years for fraud and obstruction of justice. His history as a businessman in Canada is mostly about buying companies to dismantle them and trying to steal from employee pension funds. He's filth.

[indianasmith]

That may be, but he's still a fine writer.  His work on Franklin Roosevelt, CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, is probably going to be the definitive Roosevelt biography for our generation.

[AndyC]

That may be, but he's still a fine writer.  His work on Franklin Roosevelt, CHAMPION OF FREEDOM, is probably going to be the definitive Roosevelt biography for our generation.

Of course, and Michael Jackson might have molested a few children, but he was a heck of a showman.

[indianasmith]

Ouch!!  I get the feeling you really hate this guy!  I looked up his bio, and I still can't figure out exactly what it was he went to jail for.