Peter Hessler - 'Strange Stones: Dispatches from East and West'
'Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions. This unusual perspective distinguishes Strange Stones, which showcases Hessler’s unmatched range as a storyteller. “Wild Flavor” invites readers along on a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China. One story profiles Yao Ming, basketball star and China’s most beloved export, another David Spindler, an obsessive and passionate historian of the Great Wall. In “Dr. Don,” Hessler writes movingly about a small-town pharmacist and his relationship with the people he serves.
While Hessler’s subjects and locations vary, subtle but deeply important thematic links bind these pieces—the strength of local traditions, the surprising overlap between apparently opposing cultures, and the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different worlds.'
I just finished Divergent. What a great book. The Graveyard Book is next.
www.RLMcDaniel.com
1996: Ft Lauderdale
1998: Birmingham
2000: Charlotte, Tampa
2003: Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix
2004: Kissimmee
2008: West Palm Beach, Bonnaroo, Columbia
2010: MSG2
2012: Music Midtown
2014: Memphis
2016: Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Jacksonville, JazzFest 2018: Wrigley 1, Fenway 1 2022: Nashville 2023: Ft. Worth II
Sad to say I'm just starting The Quarry by the late Iain Banks, one of Scotland's finest ever writers that we recently lost to cancer. Poignantly the book revolves around a man dying of cancer, of which the author himself was only diagnosed when he was 80,000 words in.
So sad, missed by the whole nation...the BBC produced a great documentary in his honour which showed his indomitable spirit to the surprisingly and shockingly quick end.
Yes i've been following the American Gods HBO news and i'm excited about it. I think Neil is done writing the pilot. I'm hoping there will be an anouncment at comic con about it
I've read American Gods and His Sandman Graphic novels and enjoyed both. Really enjoying Neverwhere 55% done now
Charlotte 00 Charlotte 03 Asheville 04 Atlanta 12 Greenville 16, Columbia 16 Seattle 18 Nashville 22
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
F Me In The Brain
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Wish I could go back and re-read for the first time. KV spoke to us when I was in college and it was a fascinating hour -- that dude was extremely bright and extremely weird.
If you enjoy there are a haul of short reads from KV that are great. Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan were two of my all time favorites.
Wish I could go back and re-read for the first time. KV spoke to us when I was in college and it was a fascinating hour -- that dude was extremely bright and extremely weird.
If you enjoy there are a haul of short reads from KV that are great. Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan were two of my all time favorites.
That's awesome! I also have "Breakfast of Champions" that I may end up reading after "Slaughterhouse." I started yesterday and read the first two chapters. Couldn't put it down.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Caved in and got a tablet because German books are easier and cheaper to get for me in e-form. My first purchase is "In times of diminishing light" by Eugen Ruge.
From a review:
"In terms of novel writing, Ruge is a latecomer. He was 57 years old when he published the story of his own life, which is also the story of the decline of a model socialist family. The book describes fifty years, four generations, of communist life in Mexico, Russia and East Germany. With sentences such as “Communism is like the faith of the ancient Aztecs: It guzzles blood”, Ruge shows his distance to the political system. He narrates the life, actions and motivation of the characters with condensed intensity."
It's pretty good so far.
Please, Pearl Jam, consider a Benaroya Hall vinyl reissue!
Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse V are my favs by him but he has a lot of others that are good and some great short stories.
I am definitely loving Vonnegut right now. I'll definitely look into more of his work after reading those two.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
The world-champion freestyle skateboarder and the man who brought the ollie - the trick that revolutionised the sport by taking it from the ground to the air - to street skating shares the history of skateboarding, as he tells the dramatic story of his life.
At the age of 13, Rodney took the freestyle skating world by storm. He won 35 world titles in less than five years. But through it all, his father looked down on his son's love for skating and pressured him to walk away from the sport and leave behind his fans and status as the most famous skateboarder of his era. After years of stress and conflict, Rodney gave in and promised his father he'd quit for good. But by the time he finally broke free from his suffocating and abusive home life, the popularity of freestyle had waned and given way to vert and street styles. So Rodney picked up his board and started from scratch. With the help of mentor Mike Ternansky, Rodney used his freestyle background to usher in a whole new era of street skating.
Today Rodney is more popular than ever. The videos in his series Rodney Versus Daewon are among the most popular skateboard videos ever produced. He won the 2002 Transworld Skateboarding readers' choice award for favourite street skater and is the most popular character on the top-selling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games.
"...bring it back someway bring it back, back, back... to the clean form, to the pure form..."
I tend to have about three going at once. One for eating breakfast, one for the treadmill, and another one for whenever.
I just finished "The secret life of bees" and "The flaming corsage" last week. (Treadmill books)
Today I started "Just kids."
I'm also reading a few books on eating better, "Eat to Live" and "Raw food cleanse." (afternoon books)
I'm also working on a book about photography called "Learning to see creatively." (breakfast book)
Comments
'Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of three books, Peter Hessler has lived in Asia and the United States, writing as both native and knowledgeable outsider in these two very different regions. This unusual perspective distinguishes Strange Stones, which showcases Hessler’s unmatched range as a storyteller. “Wild Flavor” invites readers along on a taste test between two rat restaurants in South China. One story profiles Yao Ming, basketball star and China’s most beloved export, another David Spindler, an obsessive and passionate historian of the Great Wall. In “Dr. Don,” Hessler writes movingly about a small-town pharmacist and his relationship with the people he serves.
While Hessler’s subjects and locations vary, subtle but deeply important thematic links bind these pieces—the strength of local traditions, the surprising overlap between apparently opposing cultures, and the powerful lessons drawn from individuals who straddle different worlds.'
Neil Gaimen's Neverwhere.
SO GOOD SO FAR (25% done)
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
Good book I like it.
If you have not read American Gods by NG it is a strong recommendation.
I love apartment clean outs!!!
1996: Ft Lauderdale
1998: Birmingham
2000: Charlotte, Tampa
2003: Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix
2004: Kissimmee
2008: West Palm Beach, Bonnaroo, Columbia
2010: MSG2
2012: Music Midtown
2014: Memphis
2018: Wrigley 1, Fenway 1
2022: Nashville
2023: Ft. Worth II
I've never read any of his prose work, but I've always wanted to. He's on my list ...
Due to some house projects I want to finish up, I haven't read in more than a week. My brain is starting to turn to mush. :?
"Let's check Idaho."
American Gods is just awesome. HBO show should kick much ass, seeing as how Gaiman is reported to be heavily involved.
Also, Good Omens (written with Terry Pratchett) is a good time (and another doomed Terry Gilliam project).
I also loved Good Omens.
So sad, missed by the whole nation...the BBC produced a great documentary in his honour which showed his indomitable spirit to the surprisingly and shockingly quick end.
I've read American Gods and His Sandman Graphic novels and enjoyed both. Really enjoying Neverwhere 55% done now
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... smyZGrS91A
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
I think I'm going to pick up American Psycho
If you enjoy there are a haul of short reads from KV that are great. Cat's Cradle and The Sirens of Titan were two of my all time favorites.
That's awesome! I also have "Breakfast of Champions" that I may end up reading after "Slaughterhouse." I started yesterday and read the first two chapters. Couldn't put it down.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
From a review:
"In terms of novel writing, Ruge is a latecomer. He was 57 years old when he published the story of his own life, which is also the story of the decline of a model socialist family. The book describes fifty years, four generations, of communist life in Mexico, Russia and East Germany. With sentences such as “Communism is like the faith of the ancient Aztecs: It guzzles blood”, Ruge shows his distance to the political system. He narrates the life, actions and motivation of the characters with condensed intensity."
It's pretty good so far.
Breakfast of Champions and Slaughterhouse V are my favs by him but he has a lot of others that are good and some great short stories.
I just finished Neverwhere by Neil Gaimen. I was pretty happy with that.
I just started the first Saga Graphic novel last night
Pretty good so far, and yes i know it is a picture book but leave me along there are some great stories being told in them too!
Charlotte 03
Asheville 04
Atlanta 12
Greenville 16, Columbia 16
Seattle 18
Nashville 22
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
lonely planet pocket berlin
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
The world-champion freestyle skateboarder and the man who brought the ollie - the trick that revolutionised the sport by taking it from the ground to the air - to street skating shares the history of skateboarding, as he tells the dramatic story of his life.
At the age of 13, Rodney took the freestyle skating world by storm. He won 35 world titles in less than five years. But through it all, his father looked down on his son's love for skating and pressured him to walk away from the sport and leave behind his fans and status as the most famous skateboarder of his era. After years of stress and conflict, Rodney gave in and promised his father he'd quit for good. But by the time he finally broke free from his suffocating and abusive home life, the popularity of freestyle had waned and given way to vert and street styles. So Rodney picked up his board and started from scratch. With the help of mentor Mike Ternansky, Rodney used his freestyle background to usher in a whole new era of street skating.
Today Rodney is more popular than ever. The videos in his series Rodney Versus Daewon are among the most popular skateboard videos ever produced. He won the 2002 Transworld Skateboarding readers' choice award for favourite street skater and is the most popular character on the top-selling Tony Hawk's Pro Skater video games.
My Fugazi Live Series ramblings and blog: anothersievefistedfind.tumblr.com
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
I just finished "The secret life of bees" and "The flaming corsage" last week. (Treadmill books)
Today I started "Just kids."
I'm also reading a few books on eating better, "Eat to Live" and "Raw food cleanse." (afternoon books)
I'm also working on a book about photography called "Learning to see creatively." (breakfast book)
:thumbup:
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
"I need your strength for me to be strong...I need your love to feel loved"