(I am honored to fill in at the request of the regular poster of this diary, plf515.)
In this series I note what I am reading and people comment with what they're reading. I have also written occasional reviews here at Daily Kos.
If you like to trade books, try bookmooch.
Just finished (within the past month or so)
(started and finished)
Beyond Glory: Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling and a World on the Brink by David Margolick. Political context is everything in this behind the scenes history of the two Louis/Schmeling heavyweight bouts. Good material and illustrations on the reactions of the Nazi press and hierarchy.
Bloomsbury: A House of Lions by Leon Edel. A great introduction to the (in)famous group of early 20th century British intellectuals, writers, and artists by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a five-volume Henry James biography. Edel’s style in Bloomsbury is (appropriately) a homage to Lytton Strachey. I will probably re-read before the end of the year but only with a compilation of writings by Bloomsbury members (i.e. Virginia Woolf, Lytton Strachey, John Maynard Keynes).
My Life as a Pornographer & Other Indecent Acts by John Preston. A collection of essays, profiles, and lectures by the self-described pornographer. Preston’s 1993 lecture at Harvard and his profile of Samuel Steward are brilliant.
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis. A quirky and likable memoir of the author’s journey to become a competitive Scrabble player. Fatsis plays up the “freak” angle more than it seems necessary. As a longtime Scrabble aficionado, this book is encouraging me to take "the next step." (studying word lists and rack formations, etc.)
Now reading
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself; a New Critical Edition by Angela Y. Davis including her “Lectures on Liberation” by Frederick Douglass and Angela Davis. The provenance of this reprinting of Davis’ 1969 UCLA lectures on Frederick Douglass is nearly as fascinating a story as Davis’ lectures and Douglass’ narrative.
Divine Fury: A History of Genius by Darrin M. McMahon. A history of the concept of “genius” from classical antiquity to the present.
Just started
Have Mercy On Us All by Fred Vargas. I’m at page 60 or so of this novel, so I really don't too much know what the mystery is. I have been enjoying learning a little about the history of "town criers." The detectives, Chief Inspector Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg and Adrien Danglard, bear more than a little resemblance to Holmes and Watson and the cast of characters that I've been introduced to (thus far) are eclectic. Kind of a Caleb Carr-feel to this novel (which is a good thing!)
The Tastemaker: Carl Van Vechten and the Birth of Modern America by Edward White. A biography of the author and patron of the Harlem Renaissance writers and artists.
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