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Just finished this one. The author wrote that "you can't bomb Afghanistan back to the stone age, it's too late for that" e-mail that circulated widely after September 11. He was raised in Afghanistan in the 1950s and 60s by his Afghan father and white American mother, then moved back to the U.S. with his mother for high school, and never again lived there. An exploration of what it means to understand Islam without practicing it, and what Americans understand and don't understand about Afghanistan's history and culture, specifically how they relate to the rise of the Taliban.

 

If you're interested in that one, I'd also recommend

 

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which I mentioned here a few months back. This one is written by a young (high school/college age) Afghan-American, raised in the Bay Area, who goes back to Afghanistan with his father when his father is tapped to participate in the Karzai government. He is often used to translate not just language, but cultural differences, for American troops and other personnel in Afghanistan.

 

These two authors were raised in different circumstances, in two different generations, pre- and post-Soviet and Taliban influence. The two books together give a good basis for understanding some of Afghanistan's recent history, and current status.

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Speaking of Afghanistan, I just finished this one. I loved it, but the information it imparted was totally infuriating.

 

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I also read this book last week. I love Miriam Toews' fiction-- very wry and unique, with wonderful characters.

 

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I haven't picked this up yet, but it looks pretty cool, with a bunch of writers that I really enjoy:

 

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Inspired by the example of the legendary WPA American Guide series of the 1930s and '40s, now 50 of our foremost writers have produced original pieces of reportage and memoir that capture the 50 states in our time, creating a fresh portrait of America as it lives and breathes today.

 

At turns poignant and funny, and always insightful, these 50 writers tell us something lasting and revealing about each state through personal memory or contemporary reporting that captures the essential qualities that make each state its own. With an array of revealing facts and figures comparing the 50 states in a range of surprising measures (toothlessness, military enlistment, suicide), State by State is more than an anthology: It is a classic American road movie in book form.

 

Featuring original writing on all fifty states

 

Alabama by George Packer

Alaska by Paul Greenberg

Arizona by Lydia Millet

Arkansas by Kevin Brockmeier

California by William T. Vollmann

Colorado by Benjamin Kunkel

Connecticut by Rick Moody

Delaware by Craig Taylor

Florida by Joshua Ferris

Georgia by Ha Jin

Hawaii by Tara Bray Smith

Idaho by Anthony Doerr

Illinois by Dave Eggers

Indiana by Susan Choi

Iowa by Dagoberto Gilb

Kansas by Jim Lewis

Kentucky by John Jeremiah Sullivan

Louisiana by Joshua Clark

Maine by Heidi Julavits

Maryland by MylaGoldberg

Massachusetts by John Hodgman

Michigan by Mohammed Naseehu Ali

Minnesota by Philip Connors

Mississippi by Barry Hannah

Missouri by Jacki Lyden

Montana by Sarah Vowell

Nebraska by Alexander Payne

Nevada by Charles Bock

New Hampshire by Will Blythe

New Jersey by Anthony Bourdain

New Mexico by Ellery Washington

New York by Jonathan Franzen

North Carolina by Randall Kenan

North Dakota by Louise Erdrich

Ohio by Susan Orlean

Oklahoma by S.E. Hinton

Oregon by Joe Sacco

Pennsylvania by Andrea Lee

Rhode Island by Jhumpa Lahiri

South Carolina by Jack Hitt

South Dakota by Sa

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That does sound great. I'll have to keep an eye out for it. I'm currently reading:

 

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His debut novel comes out soon. I'm curious about it, but from the description, it sounds a bit predictably autobiographical. I'll probably still check it out, though. I've been on a big Klosterman kick recently. I gave the students in my Writing About Music class a passage from Killing Yourself to Live without its punctuation the other day and had them work in pairs to put it all back. It was much more of a hit than my grammar and editing exercises usually are.

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Morlock Night - Jeter, K W

Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds - Wellman, Manly Wade

The Nomad of Time - Moorcock, Michael A

A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! - Harrison, Harry

Peter Green: The Authorised Biography - Celmins, Martin

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So far, just very depressing, and a bit rant-y. Not that I don't love Barbara Ehrenreich, and it's not that she's not backing up the rants with specific examples and stats, but it feels more like just a litany of wrongs, than a coherent argument. I'm only a few chapters in, though, I may change my mind before I'm through.

 

Also, recently finished:

 

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(I hate when the picture doesn't match the edition that I read)

 

and

 

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I had not read any Tobias Wolff previous to these, and I enjoyed them very much. I've got a few more of his books on reserve at the library now.

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Morlock Night - Jeter, K W

Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds - Wellman, Manly Wade

The Nomad of Time - Moorcock, Michael A

A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! - Harrison, Harry

Peter Green: The Authorised Biography - Celmins, Martin

 

 

Moorcock......didnt he write the Rockhir the Red Archer series?

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He may have - I have never really read any of his books. I think I read one of them when I was a kid - but i don't recall the title.

 

I looked it up....he wrote the Elric of Melnibone series, which included Rackhir. Pretty good fantasy fiction but I was 13 when reading it.....so who knows.

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I looked it up....he wrote the Elric of Melnibone series, which included Rackhir. Pretty good fantasy fiction but I was 13 when reading it.....so who knows.

 

I usually read most all of the time travel books that are out there - so that is why I snagged it.

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I haven't picked this up yet, but it looks pretty cool, with a bunch of writers that I really enjoy:

 

West Virginia by Jayne Anne Phillips

 

You may want to check out her books - I met her several years ago. She went to school here - where I live that is.

 

Fast Lanes

Machine Dreams

Shelter

MotherKind: A Novel

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I looked it up....he wrote the Elric of Melnibone series, which included Rackhir. Pretty good fantasy fiction but I was 13 when reading it.....so who knows.
I usually read most all of the time travel books that are out there - so that is why I snagged it.

My 11 year old niece is always on the look-out for good fantasy stories, and anything with "Book ___ of the _________ Trilogy" in the title is usually a hit with her. So I'll check these out. And any other suggestions for her would be very welcome!

 

 

You may want to check out her books - I met her several years ago. She went to school here - where I live that is.

 

Fast Lanes

Machine Dreams

Shelter

MotherKind: A Novel

Nice, thanks. I'll add those to the ever-expanding list. :D

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My 11 year old niece is always on the look-out for good fantasy stories, and anything with "Book ___ of the _________ Trilogy" in the title is usually a hit with her. So I'll check these out. And any other suggestions for her would be very welcome!

 

 

 

Nice, thanks. I'll add those to the ever-expanding list. :D

 

 

That is, if you like to read southern fiction, coming of age, Appalachian region stories.

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gogo, I'd love to hear more about that State By State collection if/when you get around to it. :)

I'll definitely keep you all posted! I'm currently #11 on the reserve list...

 

That is, if you like to read southern fiction, coming of age, Appalachian region stories.

Yep, all of those work. :thumbup

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Tony Earley - you should check him out - maybe we have had this conversation before?

No, that name doesn't ring a bell. Checked out some on-line reviews though, definitely looks like those would be up my alley.

 

My to-read list is growing at an alaming rate. :stunned

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