Now Reading in the New New Year

[welch79]

some may dismiss it, but on a whim whilst christmas shopping at target, i picked up a copy of

and read a large chunk of it just standing there in the book aisle, laughing my ass off. i was a facebook fan of this guy, and got an occasional laugh out of the statuses. anyway, halpern does a good job of weaving those one-liners of his dad into a personal life-spanning memoir that was a brief but really enjoyable read.

[welch79]

did you make it through that?? i heard about it on npr so i went and perused it at my local bookstore. i ended up not getting it because it felt rather text book-ish, both in length and tone. i like bryson, and have read "mother tongue" and listened to a walk in the woods. this may be another audiobook purchase. the topic is interesting to me, and bryson has a sense of humor i appreciate.

[fif1435]

Anyone have any comments on the effort needed to read this? It's been sitting on my bookshelf for 15 years or more. I picked it up this past weekend, thinking I'd have some good reading time. Haven't gotten very far yet. I think it's all the Russian names; they start looking the same to me and I can't keep the characters straight. Should I put more effort into it or put it back on the shelf?

 

 

[Oil Can Boyd]

Just started this and it's pretty great. (I also just learned that Paul Harding used to be the drummer in a Boston band called Cold Water Flat.)

 

[GtrPlyr]

Just started reading this:

 

[Spawn's dad]

[Sweet Papa Crimbo]

Pure escapism.

 

I was gonna give this a go...but i watched this instead

 

[jimtweedy1977]

Animals In Translation by Temple Grandin & The Unreleased Beatles by Richie Utenberger

[anthony]

I was gonna give this a go...but i watched this instead

 

If you can find a greasier sandwich, you're in Mexico!

 

[uncool2pillow]

 

It'll be interesting to see where this goes. His introduction was full of arguments I agree with. Primarily, that students in a democratic society need to be taught about religion to be well educated citizens. And, as at least 3/4 of Americans identify themselves as Christian, that instruction in it should be emphasized. Religion clearly impacts many areas of our modern lives and Christianity, our political lives, especially. His history of religious education in America, however, seems to glorify the time when student learned to read (via New England, McGuffey, etc. Readers) by reading religious passages. It's a very interesting history, but I look forward to reading his specific recommendations for the place of teaching about education in modern schools. From my experience, students crave learning about all religions, even their own. It's become my favorite unit to teach, and most of my students' favorite to learn.

[The Inside of Outside]

 

After nearly 20 weeks of reading, finished it tonight. Worth every minute!

[anthony]

 

After nearly 20 weeks of reading, finished it tonight. Worth every minute!

Congrats! I know the length is daunting, but this is a fantastic novel that will stick with you forever.