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What are you reading right now?

Allow me to introduce some books that will or might, shed light on historical intel.  Some are literary (Tommy Orange) one is literature fiction Silko), others are non-fiction, while others are perhaps others?.  But truth be told, these are some of my fav books to read and circle back to.  I hope you have a journal near your bedside.  Keep notes and enjoy these fascinating reads.  You will not be disappointed too much.   ;)

I recommend buying them all in any format, but would be best to read in order that I will list.  Thank you!

Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, by SC Gwynne - 371 pages

Ceremony - by Leslie Marmon Silko (Native American Literature) - 243 pages

There, There - by Tommy Orange (Native American Literary) - 304 pages

Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers - 480 pages

Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer.  The man who killed Bonnie and Clyde - 528 pages

Big Wonderful Thing - A history of Texas (The Texas Bookshelf)  - 944 pages 

Quick read (and would be good to read after Empire/Summer Moon - or after everything else) - Nine Years Among the Indians,1870-1879: The Story of the Captivity and Life of a Texan Among the Indians - by Herman Lehmann - (a captive of the Apaches during the 1870s) - -98 pages

Adding a link to Tommy Frank Orange at the Wharf - 5 or 6 years ago - discussing his book "There, There".   I read it in 2021 and saw this shortly after finishing the book.  Enjoyed the book even more the 2nd time reading it last summer.  




 
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This is what I am reading RN (shown below).  It is another thick, heavy-weight brick that I could chock my tires with.  I used to be intimidated to read books over 400 pages, especially those 600-1000 page doozies.  But it's no problem for me at all, anymore.  I read them each night for 15 minutes, then take notes in my journal.  Review the next night and repeat reading for 15 minutes.  Night after Night.  That way, I can finish a super big book in 6 or 7  weeks.  This is a great tip that I learned, so I give thanks and credit to my friend Darryl - a professionally skilled carpenter and electrician.  He is so down-to-earth and intelligent - it is crazy.  

I am only three days in, and so far this book is really good. I can already tell it's something you don't want to put down. 

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson.  (Also written by SC Gwynne, who wrote "Empire of the Summer Moon) - It is 688 pages.

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Sounds like some really good recommendations Admo, especially the NA stuff.  Especially since most of my knowledge of NA culture comes from 'Little Big Man'....

Picked up 'When McKinsey comes to town' at the library today.  So far pretty interesting, about the consulting firm.  About 50 pages in and while it seems pretty clear the authors have their own agenda, I find this corporate stuff/how they work interesting apart from all that noise.  Also interesting how so many of the negative quotes/views are from academics who worked there for like a year and (for lack of a better term and to generalize-because I can) didn't cut it so returned to the classroom.

 
I read 1984 last month... pretty apropos for the times we're in.

Also read The Whisper Man (which they are making into a movie on Netflix with De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Keaton, and John Carroll Lynch). Pretty solid crime/mystery story.

Currently reading The Stand by Stephen King (the uncut addition at almost 1200 pages :oops: )
 
I just finished the Mistborn Trilogy last night (up through The Hero of Ages). It's not often a book moves me to tears but The Hero of Ages did. It wasn't sad tears or happy tears... more like tears born from the ache of a beautiful ending. The story did such a good job of respecting its characters and its themes all the way to the end. Highly recommend it to any fantasy readers, particularly ones that enjoy creative and unique "magic" systems and well-developed plots with meaningful twists.
 
Finished The Stand. A lot of really great characters and story, but I didn't love the ending.

Read The Shining recently. Fairly different from the movie. Could really feel the building dread/impending doom.

Currently reading The Hotel Eden short stories by Ron Carlson
 
Currently reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari. This one has been on my list for ages. It seems to get a ton of praise.

I have to be honest. I'm a bit disappointed so far (5 chapters in). It's frustrating how he takes unproven scientific hypotheses such as "The Cognitive Revolution" or Overkill Hypothesis and presents them as fact. Not exactly the academic take on the topic I was expecting.


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So I started reading American Prometheus shortly after Oppenheimer came out, but got side-tracked and distracted by other books, so it sat unfinished on my shelf. I decided to pick it back up again largely out of guilt since I've ignored it for so long lol. I was about 1/4 of the way through when I stopped now probably 40% of the way through.

It's very good and fascinating. It's just also quite dense. The amount of detail and sourcing in this book is stunning though. I try to rotate in non-fiction books at least a few times a year.

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Just finished Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. You might follow him and/or his brother Hank on YouTube or other social media.

An easy read as far as science history books go. Very informative, and interwoven with the story of a young Sierra Leonean boy named Henry, and his intense battle with TB from the age of 6.

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I've been thinking about getting more into poetry reading. Does anybody have recommendations? I'd like to focus maybe classics and more historically famous writers before moving into modern ones.
 
I've been thinking about getting more into poetry reading. Does anybody have recommendations? I'd like to focus maybe classics and more historically famous writers before moving into modern ones.
I have been on and off with poetry over the last 20 years. Some interesting stuff here you may like. It also comes with other poets opinions and reactions which can be pretty cool to me. Nothing behind pay walls allowed on the list so easy to view poems.
 
The Great Paleolithic War by David J. Meltzer.

This one has been a journey to get my hands on. I think it was meant to be sitting in university libraries rather than home libraries. When I initially tried to buy it years ago it was about $120. Which was well out of my budget. Now it's going for ~$60, which is still more than I'm willing to pay for a book. I found a used copy in perfect condition for $35 and jumped on it.

Even though I haven't finished it yet, I can't stop singing its praises. Out of all the science history books I've read it's probably the best. Meticulously researched, and obviously meant for an academic audience, but at the same time is masterfully written in plain American.

It's a study on the development of archeology as a science, while trying to establish a human presence in the Americas during the ice age. An academic "war" that was waged from about 1862-1927.
 

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