What Are You Reading ?

[Whisper]

How to kill a mockingbird

[nefilim]

read jg ballards high-rise and then watched the movie.

[360dopes]

Just got home now and i just picked up a book "Frankwood Accounting"

[CRAZY-HORSE]

"the girl on the train" by Paula Hawkins:

ive been picking this one up at the store at least once a month for the last year or so,
an I finally bought it a month or so ago....

synopsis:

Rachel catches the same train every morning on her way to work,'each morning the train
stops at signals at the same place...
every morning Rachel observes the people in their houses/gardens from beyond the tracks...
she feels she knows them through her watching them...
one morning she sees something shocking in one of the backyards and she just has to
investigate...
trouble is, she is an alcoholic and no one including the police believe her....

an interesting novel, probably worth a score of 3/5

[Nady]

The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho. Started it last week.

[Music Head]

Dick Cheney & Liz Cheney - Exceptional - 2015





A view of why the world needs a strong America.
The first half of this was interesting historical stuff going back to WWII.
Once it gets into the current terrorism phase, it becomes a political book.
Jabs at Obama/Clinton as to what they are doing wrong in the battle
Much respect for the man but not this book

Grade - C

next up - Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington

[Music Head]

Booth Tarkington - Alice Adams - 1921



One of only 3 writers to win the Pulitzer prize for fiction more than once. Good company with John Updike and William Faulkner.
Sort of a chic book here. Set in the early 1900's in a small Midwestern town. Was made into a movie, twice.
First in 1923 with no one I have heard of. Then again in 1935 with Katharine Hepburn in the lead role of Alice.
Wouldn't mind seeing that if I come across it while surfing.

Grade - B

next up - Hard Choices by Hillary Clinton

[Ruby]

South: The Endurance Expedition ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton



Phew! What a harrowing read. Shackleton’s own account of the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 – 1917. They set off in the Endurance just as war was breaking out in Europe, which at that stage, it seems, was expected to be a storm in a teacup. How wrong they were! Anyway, the idea was that the Endurance would approach Antarctica via the Weddell Sea and from there, a party would be set out on foot to cross the continent; meanwhile, a support team aboard the Aurora would anchor in the Ross Sea and send out a team to replenish stores along the way which were to be retrieved by the overland party on the final leg of their journey. Needless to say – things did not go according to plan.

The Endurance got stuck in pack ice in the Weddell Sea which eventually crushed her to death. Shackleton and his crew hadn’t been able to get her anywhere close to solid ground so ended up camping on an ice floe and drifting along on it until such time as it started breaking apart. At this point they jumped into lifeboats and eventually managed to land on Elephant Island – a thoroughly inhospitable place, but at least not a capricious lump of moving, frozen water! With no chance at all of a random rescue from there, Sir Ernest, or ‘the boss’ as he was referred to, set out with five others in one of the lifeboats to attempt to reach South Georgia – no instruments, no motor, frozen sails and a dinky little craft in oceans of unimaginable magnitude and weather conditions of a ferocity I’m sure none of us have ever had the misfortune to encounter. God knows how, but they actually made it – unfortunately to the wrong side of the island – separated from the harbour and ‘civilization’ by a glacier and mountainous snow and ice.



^The James Caird - said lifeboat setting out from Elephant Island on its 720 nautical mile crossing.

Intent on his mission, Shackleton and two others had decided to cross the island on foot rather than to launch the by now very strained boat yet again. I think they achieved this part through blissful ignorance – how they managed not to fall into a crevasse or freeze to death during their 36 hour hike, whilst suffering from hunger, exhaustion and little to no visibility remains a mystery. At one point, when they could actually see their end goal, the three sat down in the snow and Shackleton’s companions fell asleep, almost instantly. He didn’t. He let them sleep for five minutes and then woke them up and told them they’d rested for half an hour. A giant among men.

And it wasn’t over yet. Three rescue missions to Elephant Island were mounted with none being successful thanks to the drift of the ice. In this instance, it was a case of fourth time lucky. Twenty two stranded men were picked up off the island by the boss himself whose immediate and lasting concern was for the safety and wellbeing of the crew. All 28 survived this almost two year ordeal and it’s quite clear that it was mostly to do with their leader. Not only did he have formidable skills in terms of organisation, he also had the ability to communicate, to make good decisions and to keep the spirits of his team buoyant. He did things like put a depressed crew member in charge of cooking, for example, which took him out of himself and forced him not to just lie down and die which he had expressed the wish to do, and which I think I too would have wanted to do under the circumstances! He also went short himself if someone was ill and needed more, or handed over his own mittens to a fellow frostbite sufferer – that sort of thing. I expect he had an innate authority because I don’t see that it ever occurred to anyone not to follow his direction. It must be said that he had picked a couple of good 2IC’s as well, who showed the same fortitude and resilience – I guess it filters down from the top. Pity there are no Shackleton’s around to run for office right now! And I say that globally speaking.

There are parts of the narrative that are quite dry in the beginning, taken up with minutiae, but you soon realise that that is precisely what led to them not all perishing. Food plays a major role in all of this and rations had to be eked out to the ounce, as did water which could only be obtained by melting ice. The amount of planning by Sir E and the absolute adherence to fairplay resulted in a conflict free zone as far as food went, and from what I understand, this particular zone can lead to a very unhappy team if not managed properly.
The accounts of the dogs having to be shot and the seal and penguin killings were difficult for me, but you do understand that nothing was done gratuitously, and only for survival, which makes it a little easier to swallow. On the other hand, there are quite a few descriptions of the strange beauty of the scenery which were fascinating and made me want to see it for myself.

The final quarter of the book is taken up with the account of the also ill-fated Aurora. Three of the ten men on that expedition were lost although they did fulfil their task of replenishment. The Aurora was torn free of her mooring and drifted away, finally getting back to New Zealand and having to launch a rescue mission back to McMurdo station which Shackleton went along on, although not as captain or leader. The difference in the Ross Sea group’s leadership and attitude is marked, as is the difference in planning and strategy.

This book won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’s difficult to imagine, one hundred years on from the rescue of the crew of Endurance, the difference between conditions then, and conditions now. The advances in communication and the amount of information available to us as opposed to what there was back then is quite inconceivable! I’m glad to have finally read it – I’ve been meaning to do so since discovering Frank Bossert’s album which he recorded under the moniker Eureka – Shackleton’s Voyage. It all makes sense now!

[Jerome]

South: The Endurance Expedition ~ Sir Ernest Shackleton



Phew! What a harrowing read. Shackleton’s own account of the ill-fated Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 – 1917. They set off in the Endurance just as war was breaking out in Europe, which at that stage, it seems, was expected to be a storm in a teacup. How wrong they were! Anyway, the idea was that the Endurance would approach Antarctica via the Weddell Sea and from there, a party would be set out on foot to cross the continent; meanwhile, a support team aboard the Aurora would anchor in the Ross Sea and send out a team to replenish stores along the way which were to be retrieved by the overland party on the final leg of their journey. Needless to say – things did not go according to plan.

The Endurance got stuck in pack ice in the Weddell Sea which eventually crushed her to death. Shackleton and his crew hadn’t been able to get her anywhere close to solid ground so ended up camping on an ice floe and drifting along on it until such time as it started breaking apart. At this point they jumped into lifeboats and eventually managed to land on Elephant Island – a thoroughly inhospitable place, but at least not a capricious lump of moving, frozen water! With no chance at all of a random rescue from there, Sir Ernest, or ‘the boss’ as he was referred to, set out with five others in one of the lifeboats to attempt to reach South Georgia – no instruments, no motor, frozen sails and a dinky little craft in oceans of unimaginable magnitude and weather conditions of a ferocity I’m sure none of us have ever had the misfortune to encounter. God knows how, but they actually made it – unfortunately to the wrong side of the island – separated from the harbour and ‘civilization’ by a glacier and mountainous snow and ice.



^The James Caird - said lifeboat setting out from Elephant Island on its 720 nautical mile crossing.

Intent on his mission, Shackleton and two others had decided to cross the island on foot rather than to launch the by now very strained boat yet again. I think they achieved this part through blissful ignorance – how they managed not to fall into a crevasse or freeze to death during their 36 hour hike, whilst suffering from hunger, exhaustion and little to no visibility remains a mystery. At one point, when they could actually see their end goal, the three sat down in the snow and Shackleton’s companions fell asleep, almost instantly. He didn’t. He let them sleep for five minutes and then woke them up and told them they’d rested for half an hour. A giant among men.

And it wasn’t over yet. Three rescue missions to Elephant Island were mounted with none being successful thanks to the drift of the ice. In this instance, it was a case of fourth time lucky. Twenty two stranded men were picked up off the island by the boss himself whose immediate and lasting concern was for the safety and wellbeing of the crew. All 28 survived this almost two year ordeal and it’s quite clear that it was mostly to do with their leader. Not only did he have formidable skills in terms of organisation, he also had the ability to communicate, to make good decisions and to keep the spirits of his team buoyant. He did things like put a depressed crew member in charge of cooking, for example, which took him out of himself and forced him not to just lie down and die which he had expressed the wish to do, and which I think I too would have wanted to do under the circumstances! He also went short himself if someone was ill and needed more, or handed over his own mittens to a fellow frostbite sufferer – that sort of thing. I expect he had an innate authority because I don’t see that it ever occurred to anyone not to follow his direction. It must be said that he had picked a couple of good 2IC’s as well, who showed the same fortitude and resilience – I guess it filters down from the top. Pity there are no Shackleton’s around to run for office right now! And I say that globally speaking.

There are parts of the narrative that are quite dry in the beginning, taken up with minutiae, but you soon realise that that is precisely what led to them not all perishing. Food plays a major role in all of this and rations had to be eked out to the ounce, as did water which could only be obtained by melting ice. The amount of planning by Sir E and the absolute adherence to fairplay resulted in a conflict free zone as far as food went, and from what I understand, this particular zone can lead to a very unhappy team if not managed properly.
The accounts of the dogs having to be shot and the seal and penguin killings were difficult for me, but you do understand that nothing was done gratuitously, and only for survival, which makes it a little easier to swallow. On the other hand, there are quite a few descriptions of the strange beauty of the scenery which were fascinating and made me want to see it for myself.

The final quarter of the book is taken up with the account of the also ill-fated Aurora. Three of the ten men on that expedition were lost although they did fulfil their task of replenishment. The Aurora was torn free of her mooring and drifted away, finally getting back to New Zealand and having to launch a rescue mission back to McMurdo station which Shackleton went along on, although not as captain or leader. The difference in the Ross Sea group’s leadership and attitude is marked, as is the difference in planning and strategy.

This book won’t be to everyone’s taste – it’s difficult to imagine, one hundred years on from the rescue of the crew of Endurance, the difference between conditions then, and conditions now. The advances in communication and the amount of information available to us as opposed to what there was back then is quite inconceivable! I’m glad to have finally read it – I’ve been meaning to do so since discovering Frank Bossert’s album which he recorded under the moniker Eureka – Shackleton’s Voyage. It all makes sense now!

An excellent summary Ruby. I have a couple of books on the subject as well. There is also a new book written by one of the Andes survivors - can't think of the title at the moment - that is worth a read as well. And on a different, but slightly related subject - I see that a 70 year-old Japanese man has climbed Everest. He did it again at 75 and then at 80 as well!!!! People are really quite mad.

[360dopes]

I'm just sitting here reading without a silver spoon.