Hadestown came to Chicago a couple of years ago, and my former actress business partner got us tickets. I loved the production and normally do not like musicals.
I am reading history and biography as ever. I am finishing The Forgotten Founder: James Wilson and the forgotten fight for a People’s Constitution. I recommend it for the history buffs out there. Thank you Richard for the book recommendations.
Confession here - I’m probably the only person I know that didn’t care for Hamnet. The plot of Land sounds so good, maybe I will try it? I’m going to request it from the library.
I just finished The Body by Stephen King and loved it, he is such a wonderful writer. This book was the basis for the movie Stand by Me. I don’t like horror and didn’t realize that King wrote many books that aren’t horror until recently. I’ve also read his book Fairy Tale which was amazing! I reread it about a couple of months after the first reading, I loved it that much.
LAND will be my next book up. Any recommendations for the audio vs paper version? Factors in favor of the audio version: I just finished my most recent listen (always one in the queue) and next week I will have 6+ hours in the car (my primary venue for audiobooks). I may have just answered my own question but guidance welcome.
I have Spotify, which includes many audiobooks (although only for I think 8 hours a month). I will often listen when I have a drive or some other reason when reading is difficult. Sometimes I’ll listen and read at the same time to keep me going. I probably listened to about an hour of Land. The narrator, Irish actor Dane Whyte O’Hara, was fine for fill-in duty, and probably would have been very good for a complete read, but didn’t really fit the internal narrator I’d established when reading.
I'm really looking forward to reading Land as well as Grounded over the next month. Recently I've read and recommend The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, a coming-of-age novel about two girls growing up in Tehran beginning in the 1950's (This was for Sharon McMahon's Governerds book club). Because I missed out on reading it in high school or college, I also read The Grapes of Wrath paired with Working Days, which is Steinbeck's journal as he wrote it (This was with the Closely Reading substack). It is truly amazing (and frightening) how much of the societal concerns and situations Steinbeck writes about in the 1930's are still with us today.
Richard, I briefly met you at a Southern Lights Conference, and now we are reading buddies. Maggie O'Farrell's LAND transfixed me, as did Hamnet and the film. Elizabeth Strout's new novel, The Things We Never Say, as well as Olive Kitteridge and the rest of her work, is so insightful into the human psyche. I enjoyed Whistler, though it took a bit to get into the depth of the story, and once I was there, I enjoyed the swim.
I recommend The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Stoner by John Williams, Clear by Carys Davies, and essays: I Am, I Am, I Am: seventeen brushes with death by Maggie O'Farrell. Happy reading.
Thank you Richard i just finished ‘a hole in the world’ by Amanda held Opelt. A must read! And I read ‘when breath becomes air’ Paul kalanithi. I would highly recommend that also! I love good books⭐️
I just took a vacation that centered largely around reading novels. In addition to those you mentioned I'd recommend Kim by Tayari Jones, also on Obama's list. Others I enjoyed are All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel, and The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. Next up for me is William Kent Kreuger's new one, God's Country.
We saw "Hadestown" last spring when the Broadway troupe brought it to Columbus. Our son recommended it because when he was in college he became familiar with the concept album on which the play is based. I had no idea what to expect, other than familiarity with the narrative. (Perhaps because Orpheus was a musician, the tale has been set to music many times, beginning with the earliest opera still performed--Monteverdi's early seventeenth century "L'Orfeo.")
What intrigued me the most about "Hadestown" was how the musicians are on stage, not in the orchestra pit like usual. That made them characters. I want to see it again.
Near the end of our summer semester, a student came to our tutoring center for help with citations and references. Her paper was about fascism and one of her sources was a brief volume on the subject by Umberto Eco. Reading his name reminded me of his 14th century monastic murder mystery "The Name of the Rose," so I decided to dust it off and re-read it. It has been many years, and so far I have been most intrigued by his description of the time setting--the late Middle Ages, when the popes were in Avignon and there was a great deal of religious turmoil and many accusations of heresy. Eco, of course, discusses the conflicts in depth, out of his own deep knowledge.
So Liam and his father encountered a portal to the Otherworld in that copse? 😉 (I haven't yet listened to Maggie's interview; perhaps she discusses the incident?)
Richard, what a wonderful list of books! My friend read your post this morning and went out and bought The Book of I for me as a birthday gift! (Thank you, Mary!) Now I'm staying up too late reading! 😊
Land is also on my TBR list. Hamnet was everything the accolades said- both book and movie.
I've followed Rosemerry and her gorgeous poetry and heart since "meeting" her on zoom in 2020.
I also recently saw the filmed production of Hadestown and was absolutely gobsmacked. It's incredible!
summer reading: After watching the new movie, “The Odyssey”, I reread it. And then I read “Memorial, A Version of Homer’s Iliad” by Alice Oswald. She leaves out the story! Only has the characters, (now dead,) the atmosphere, and strange metaphors. It is a haunting reflection on war—all wars, and all fallen soldiers.
I am reading GRACE OVER GUNS. It's travel memoir, history and theology all wrapped together. Written by a Presbyterian pastor, Ben Daniel, and published by Mennonites...how cool is that?
The title has also become a mantra for me to repeat and pray when I feel overwhelmed by some drama and by our current government leaders.
Hadestown came to Chicago a couple of years ago, and my former actress business partner got us tickets. I loved the production and normally do not like musicals.
I am reading history and biography as ever. I am finishing The Forgotten Founder: James Wilson and the forgotten fight for a People’s Constitution. I recommend it for the history buffs out there. Thank you Richard for the book recommendations.
Confession here - I’m probably the only person I know that didn’t care for Hamnet. The plot of Land sounds so good, maybe I will try it? I’m going to request it from the library.
I just finished The Body by Stephen King and loved it, he is such a wonderful writer. This book was the basis for the movie Stand by Me. I don’t like horror and didn’t realize that King wrote many books that aren’t horror until recently. I’ve also read his book Fairy Tale which was amazing! I reread it about a couple of months after the first reading, I loved it that much.
I recently finished Whistler, the audio version. Ann Patchett is a wonderful narrator (with all due respect to Hanks and Streep) but the ending of the story seemed a bit incomplete. This Substack offers an interesting take (SPOILER ALERT) https://babsvan.substack.com/p/why-my-book-club-almost-broke-into?r=4h82t&utm_medium=ios
LAND will be my next book up. Any recommendations for the audio vs paper version? Factors in favor of the audio version: I just finished my most recent listen (always one in the queue) and next week I will have 6+ hours in the car (my primary venue for audiobooks). I may have just answered my own question but guidance welcome.
I have Spotify, which includes many audiobooks (although only for I think 8 hours a month). I will often listen when I have a drive or some other reason when reading is difficult. Sometimes I’ll listen and read at the same time to keep me going. I probably listened to about an hour of Land. The narrator, Irish actor Dane Whyte O’Hara, was fine for fill-in duty, and probably would have been very good for a complete read, but didn’t really fit the internal narrator I’d established when reading.
I'm really looking forward to reading Land as well as Grounded over the next month. Recently I've read and recommend The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, a coming-of-age novel about two girls growing up in Tehran beginning in the 1950's (This was for Sharon McMahon's Governerds book club). Because I missed out on reading it in high school or college, I also read The Grapes of Wrath paired with Working Days, which is Steinbeck's journal as he wrote it (This was with the Closely Reading substack). It is truly amazing (and frightening) how much of the societal concerns and situations Steinbeck writes about in the 1930's are still with us today.
Richard, I briefly met you at a Southern Lights Conference, and now we are reading buddies. Maggie O'Farrell's LAND transfixed me, as did Hamnet and the film. Elizabeth Strout's new novel, The Things We Never Say, as well as Olive Kitteridge and the rest of her work, is so insightful into the human psyche. I enjoyed Whistler, though it took a bit to get into the depth of the story, and once I was there, I enjoyed the swim.
I recommend The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, Stoner by John Williams, Clear by Carys Davies, and essays: I Am, I Am, I Am: seventeen brushes with death by Maggie O'Farrell. Happy reading.
I loved this comment: the power of coincidence in shaping our lives.
It rang sooooo many bells!!!!
E. Beal
Thank you Richard i just finished ‘a hole in the world’ by Amanda held Opelt. A must read! And I read ‘when breath becomes air’ Paul kalanithi. I would highly recommend that also! I love good books⭐️
I just took a vacation that centered largely around reading novels. In addition to those you mentioned I'd recommend Kim by Tayari Jones, also on Obama's list. Others I enjoyed are All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel, and The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett. Next up for me is William Kent Kreuger's new one, God's Country.
We saw "Hadestown" last spring when the Broadway troupe brought it to Columbus. Our son recommended it because when he was in college he became familiar with the concept album on which the play is based. I had no idea what to expect, other than familiarity with the narrative. (Perhaps because Orpheus was a musician, the tale has been set to music many times, beginning with the earliest opera still performed--Monteverdi's early seventeenth century "L'Orfeo.")
What intrigued me the most about "Hadestown" was how the musicians are on stage, not in the orchestra pit like usual. That made them characters. I want to see it again.
Near the end of our summer semester, a student came to our tutoring center for help with citations and references. Her paper was about fascism and one of her sources was a brief volume on the subject by Umberto Eco. Reading his name reminded me of his 14th century monastic murder mystery "The Name of the Rose," so I decided to dust it off and re-read it. It has been many years, and so far I have been most intrigued by his description of the time setting--the late Middle Ages, when the popes were in Avignon and there was a great deal of religious turmoil and many accusations of heresy. Eco, of course, discusses the conflicts in depth, out of his own deep knowledge.
So Liam and his father encountered a portal to the Otherworld in that copse? 😉 (I haven't yet listened to Maggie's interview; perhaps she discusses the incident?)
Richard, what a wonderful list of books! My friend read your post this morning and went out and bought The Book of I for me as a birthday gift! (Thank you, Mary!) Now I'm staying up too late reading! 😊
Land is also on my TBR list. Hamnet was everything the accolades said- both book and movie.
I've followed Rosemerry and her gorgeous poetry and heart since "meeting" her on zoom in 2020.
I also recently saw the filmed production of Hadestown and was absolutely gobsmacked. It's incredible!
Thank you for this!
summer reading: After watching the new movie, “The Odyssey”, I reread it. And then I read “Memorial, A Version of Homer’s Iliad” by Alice Oswald. She leaves out the story! Only has the characters, (now dead,) the atmosphere, and strange metaphors. It is a haunting reflection on war—all wars, and all fallen soldiers.
I just finished reading "Galahad and the Grail" by Malcolm Guite. A beautiful retelling of Arthurian legend in verse.
These books sound intriguing. Thank you for sharing them!
I am reading GRACE OVER GUNS. It's travel memoir, history and theology all wrapped together. Written by a Presbyterian pastor, Ben Daniel, and published by Mennonites...how cool is that?
The title has also become a mantra for me to repeat and pray when I feel overwhelmed by some drama and by our current government leaders.
We missed Hadestown in the theaters because of a weather incident. But great to know it will be on streaming and we can catch it then!