[stylist] what I've been reading...

Thu Jan 5 22:34:52 UTC 2012

Shawn,
Another book that might interest you is, "Hell and High Water," by Joseph
Romm. His accomplishments in the field of energy and global warming are too
numerous for me to list. He gives us ten years during which time our
government must take the lead in painful steps to limit our carbon
footprint, or to face disaster in  an environment which will change
humankind significantly.
My brother found this and started reading it to me. I could not find it on
NLS but if any of you can find it elsewhere, I would be interested in the
source. I believe this book has some specific steps that must be taken. I do
not see a lot of hope given the movement away from the EPa, and the denial
of many groups that humans have anything to do with global warming. 
Depressing, but I think we must read about the scientific evidence that is
non-refutable.
Jackie  

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Jacobson, Shawn D
Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 8:15 AM
To: 'Writer's Division Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [stylist] what I've been reading...

Kris

Thanks for the list.  

Given that you've read "Sixty-one Hours", you might be interested in
Methland (by Nick Reding) which is about the effects of meth on a small town
in Iowa.  I kept reading the book and it seemed like every time they
mentioned an Iowa town I could recall a schoolmate from Iowa Braille from
that town.  Actually, this is a good book which goes beyond the whole doing
drugs is evil thing and talks about the history of meth and why it gets such
a hold on the American psyche.  I always thought the whole cold medicine
monitoring thing was over restrictive, but reading this book gives me an
understanding of why we are doing it.

I am also reading (almost done) "Six Degrees, our Future on a Hotter Planet"
by Mark Lynas.  This is a truly frightening book about what global warming
will do to the planet.  I'm in the last chapter, "A choice of futures" and
am thus far disappointed because it is long on liberal guilt and urgency and
short on things we can do to solve the problem.  I think Mr. Lynas wrote
another book on how to decrease your carbon footprint; but it is not in the
NLS collection.  I guess us blind folk are supposed to know that doom is
imminent but are not expected to partake in the solution.

Anyway, here's to good reading.

Shawn

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Chris Kuell
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2012 8:07 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] what I've been reading...

A month or so ago it was suggested we write book reviews, but I didn't
notice much interest in the group. However, I will share a little about what
I've read in the last 6 weeks.

chris

Books read since  November 15:

The Reversal by Michael Connelly  (2010)

The latest in the Harry Bosch series, I think the main purpose of this novel
was to make Harry's half-brother, Mickey Haller, a defense attorney, more
prominent. It sets up the next Bosch novel, and perhaps a series for the
brother? 

Sixty-One Hours by Lee Child  (2010)

Perhaps the best of the Jack Reacher novels. It's an action packed adventure
about a Mexican drug lord, tons of methamphetamine and a small town police
force in South Dakota.

The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris (2010)

Ferris's writing is terse and takes a little getting used to, but once you
do, you'll be drawn into this gut-wrenching novel about a man's attempt to
deal with mental illness. He loses his job, his wife and daughter, but still
does the best he can.

Working in the Shadows: A Year Doing the Jobs Most American's Won't do by
Gabriel Thompson  (2010)

An excellent non-fiction book, the writer goes 'undercover' working in a
lettuce field, in a chicken processing plant and at various crappy jobs in
NYC, and experiences how immigrants are treated and paid (or often, not).

Scorpion in the Sea by P.T.Deutermann   (1992)

A Naval based action-adventure novel, I'll give it a 3 out of 5.

In Our Nature: Stories of Wildness edited by Donna Seaman  (2000)

A series of short stories that loosely deal with nature-the great outdoors,
our sexual nature, our power struggles, etc.

Rogue Warrior: Green Team by Richard Marshenko and John Weissman  (1995)

Marshenko was a navy seal, and is narcissistic enough to write novels based
on himself as the baddest bad-ass of them all. What's really interesting
about this particular book are his views on Islamic fundamentalists and his
predictions of the terrorist havoc they would unleash across the globe.

The Good Soldiers by David Finkle  (2009)

This Pulitzer-prize winner spends 14 months with a group of soldiers during
the 2007 'surge' in Iraq. Unlike the previous Marshenko novel, where war is
glorified, this is bone-chilling, horrible, and real. He describes real men
(boys? The age of the average American soldier is 20) being maimed and/or
killed in what are essentially useless battles in Iraq. After a year of
fighting, trying to rebuild a destroyed city's sewer, power and water
systems-Iraqi insurgents blow it all up so they are back at point 0.

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (1961)

A very interesting novella, this originally was published as 2 short stories
in the New Yorker in the late 50s. Franny is a disillusioned college girl,
and Zooey is her older brother trying to set her straight regarding the
'Jesus prayer'.

The Best American Science Writing 2010, edited by Jerome Groopman

These articles, which were primarily medical in nature, were quite
fascinating, if a touch dated. I took notes on 2 of the pieces as research
information for future stories some day.

Rizzo's War by Lou Manfredo  (2009)

A former Brooklyn cop writing a story about. Brooklyn cops. And corruption
and walking the fine line of what's right, what's wrong, and what just is.

The Trial by Franz Kafka  (1925)

Kafka asked that all of his work be burned after his death, and to be
honest, I think I can see why. I know this is a critically acclaimed novel,
it's been made into a movie 3 times, but I found it strange, not very
interesting, and except for it being a bizarre statement about Prague's
judicial system in the early 20th century, I don't much get the point.

The Best American Short Stories 2010, edited by Richard Russo

This is a fantastic series, and I thoroughly enjoyed each of the 20 or so
stories in this anthology. For the Choice Magazine readers out there, 3
stories in this anthology will be familiar.

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