All Things Books and Reading Thread - 2022

Status
Not open for further replies.

Mia6

Mother of one and numerous ferals
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 22, 2017
Messages
31,113
Purraise
34,064
Location
Ohio, USA
Finished my reread of Alys, Always and enjoyed it even more!!

I have Dracula waiting to be picked up at library drive-thru also
The Stepford Wives Ira Levin: It's been years since I have read it
the DVD as well, the original
The Last to Vanish and The Last House Guest both by Megan Miranda
The Temple House Rachel Donohue
 

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
11,122
Purraise
23,106
Location
near Boston
Still reading "For Whom the Bell Tolls". I have never read any of Hemingway's writing; as this is for the bookclub.
I find when he there is conversation, in Old Spanish, I find it harder to understand. I have to really concentrate. His descriptions of events are really captivating, and the parts that I enjoy.

The book is for our bookclub. Have until September to finish it. Too much going on for me to just sit and read for a long time.
 

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
31,182
Purraise
67,778
Location
North Carolina
Now reading the last book in the series, "The Black Cat Breaks a Mirror." After that, I'll read a Jana DeLeon stand-alone, "Dead Man Talking," then her three Mystere Parish books...which are iffy. They're Harlequins, but we'll see.
 

Boris Diamond

Cat Valet
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
27,152
Purraise
15,950
I'm reading an odd book called Gangsters VS. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America.
Bizarre story. The author says that a Jewish judge and a Rabbi got together and arranged for Jewish Mobsters, including Murder, Inc., to take on the Nazi movement in the US pre-WW2. Jewish mob bosses recruited tough Jewish guys to visit the Nazi meetings and bust heads! According to the author, it had much to do with ridding the US of the Nazi movement in the US before WW2.. I'll have to think about this one when I finish.
 

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
11,122
Purraise
23,106
Location
near Boston
I'm reading an odd book called Gangsters VS. Nazis: How Jewish Mobsters Battled Nazis in WW2 Era America.
Bizarre story. The author says that a Jewish judge and a Rabbi got together and arranged for Jewish Mobsters, including Murder, Inc., to take on the Nazi movement in the US pre-WW2. Jewish mob bosses recruited tough Jewish guys to visit the Nazi meetings and bust heads! According to the author, it had much to do with ridding the US of the Nazi movement in the US before WW2.. I'll have to think about this one when I finish.
WOW.. that sounds like a really odd, different take on WWII... I read a lot of fictionalized books about the people of WWII... I think it makes me feel closer to my parents, especially Dad, who served in Europe. I kind of always felt comfortable reading about that time. It is intriguing.

This is a new one for me.. Is it based on a true story? Is it true? I do not think I had ever heard of this aspect. It could be true.. there is so much about WWII we do not know about.. so many secrets...
 

Boris Diamond

Cat Valet
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
27,152
Purraise
15,950
Is it based on a true story? Is it true?
The blurb for this book says, "The stunning true story of the rise of Nazism in America in the years leading to WWII—and the fearless Jewish gangsters and crime families who joined forces to fight back." The author, Michael Beason, is a fairly well known true crime writer. The book has good reviews. When I finish, I will do some more research on the subject. Bizarre story if true.
 

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
11,122
Purraise
23,106
Location
near Boston
The blurb for this book says, "The stunning true story of the rise of Nazism in America in the years leading to WWII—and the fearless Jewish gangsters and crime families who joined forces to fight back." The author, Michael Beason, is a fairly well known true crime writer. The book has good reviews. When I finish, I will do some more research on the subject. Bizarre story if true.
Thanks... I think FDR had a lot of 'things' going on, behind the scenes.. and do not forget J. Edgar Hoover---- sneeze that he was..
 

misty8723

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
7,688
Purraise
8,129
Location
North Carolina
I'm reading the Adreasson Affair: the True Story of a Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind, by Raymond Fowler. It definitely contains a lot of high strangeness!

The Andreasson Affair is more than just a classic example of a close encounter. It is—to use the jargon of ufologists—a case of such “high strangeness” that even the most open-minded investigators were at first inclined to dismiss it out of hand. Yet it has become probably the best documented case of its kind to date, the subject of an intensive 12-month investigation conducted for the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) that involved, among other things, the recording of large quantities of testimony given under hypnosis, extensive lie detector testing of witnesses, detailed analysis of corroborative circumstantial evidence, exhaustive comparison with other such accounts, and much more.
 

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
11,122
Purraise
23,106
Location
near Boston
I'm reading the Adreasson Affair: the True Story of a Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind, by Raymond Fowler. It definitely contains a lot of high strangeness!

The Andreasson Affair is more than just a classic example of a close encounter. It is—to use the jargon of ufologists—a case of such “high strangeness” that even the most open-minded investigators were at first inclined to dismiss it out of hand. Yet it has become probably the best documented case of its kind to date, the subject of an intensive 12-month investigation conducted for the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS) that involved, among other things, the recording of large quantities of testimony given under hypnosis, extensive lie detector testing of witnesses, detailed analysis of corroborative circumstantial evidence, exhaustive comparison with other such accounts, and much more.
Wow.. sounds interesting.. Not sure if I could read an entire book--it would freak me out, but I would love a synopsis of it.
 

misty8723

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
7,688
Purraise
8,129
Location
North Carolina
Wow.. sounds interesting.. Not sure if I could read an entire book--it would freak me out, but I would love a synopsis of it.
It is about Betty Andreasson's experiences being abduction by aliens. It's supposedly very well researched and verified, but definitely reads like scifi. So far into it the strangest thing is that she was taken to another world (or dimension or somewhere) and given secrets that will affect mankind but will only be unlocked at a certain time. No idea when that might be. This is not the first time I'm hearing about that scenario, and supposedly a lot of people have these secrets locked in their minds. If you are easily freaked out by the thought of UFOs, alien abduction, etc., maybe start with a more basic book like Budd Hopkins Missing Time. That's probably the first one I read and I've read so many since, I absolutely believe something is going on. I find it fascinating and my thinking is it's been going on so long if they meant us harm something bad would have happened by now. Now mind you, I do not believe I have ever been abducted (thankfully!) but my husband saw a UFO being chased by military jets when he was a kid.

Budd Hopkins Missing Time

Missing Time is a comparative study of individuals distinct from one another in their life circumstances, separated by geography, but connected by their shared experience of a disturbing mystery with profound implications. An essential addition to the library of any serious scholar of the anomalous, and of all who dare to explore the physical, psychological, and spiritual extremities of human experience.
 

artiemom

Artie, my Angel; a part of my heart
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2014
Messages
11,122
Purraise
23,106
Location
near Boston
It is about Betty Andreasson's experiences being abduction by aliens. It's supposedly very well researched and verified, but definitely reads like scifi. So far into it the strangest thing is that she was taken to another world (or dimension or somewhere) and given secrets that will affect mankind but will only be unlocked at a certain time. No idea when that might be. This is not the first time I'm hearing about that scenario, and supposedly a lot of people have these secrets locked in their minds. If you are easily freaked out by the thought of UFOs, alien abduction, etc., maybe start with a more basic book like Budd Hopkins Missing Time. That's probably the first one I read and I've read so many since, I absolutely believe something is going on. I find it fascinating and my thinking is it's been going on so long if they meant us harm something bad would have happened by now. Now mind you, I do not believe I have ever been abducted (thankfully!) but my husband saw a UFO being chased by military jets when he was a kid.

Budd Hopkins Missing Time

Missing Time is a comparative study of individuals distinct from one another in their life circumstances, separated by geography, but connected by their shared experience of a disturbing mystery with profound implications. An essential addition to the library of any serious scholar of the anomalous, and of all who dare to explore the physical, psychological, and spiritual extremities of human experience.
I read a lot about the abducted couple from New Hampshire. I think it was one of the first publicized cases. This was when I was younger. Since I live in Massachusetts, and NH is next door.. I was getting scared at night.. and scared to be alone..

I also read a lot of other stories of alien abduction.. Do I believe that there is another habitable planet in the universe?Of Course I do.. Do I believe they are more advanced than us.. yes,.. do I believe they are watching us? unsure.. But there have been so many unexplainable UFO sightings by reputable people.. even an astronaut.. It makes me wonder..

Intrigued, in more like it..
 

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
31,182
Purraise
67,778
Location
North Carolina
When I finish, I will do some more research on the subject. Bizarre story if true.
Wouldn't be the first time that organized crime got involved in something political, if it threatened their bottom line. Not saying it's all true, but saying it would certainly be feasible.

I've finished Jana DeLeon's "Dead Man Talking." It is part of a collaborative series, a different author for each book, and I may go back and collect the rest of them. Currently reading "The Reckoning," book one in her "Mystere Bayou" series. THIS is a Harlequin, so I'm not expecting much from it.
 

Boris Diamond

Cat Valet
Top Cat
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
27,152
Purraise
15,950
Wouldn't be the first time that organized crime got involved in something political, if it threatened their bottom line. Not saying it's all true, but saying it would certainly be feasible.
They may well have been worried about their bottom line, but according to the book, they were more angry at the mistreatment of Jewish people that was being suggested at these meetings. The speeches given at these meetings - which would have been illegal with today's hate speech laws - suggested violence, discrimination and hatred for the Jews - just as Hitler did in Germany. This made it easier to recruit Jewish people to help with the head busting. Many of them were mobsters, but others joined in, including a former middleweight(?) champion boxer. I think they were more worried about the future of the Jewish people in the US if the Nazis became influential here. Which admittedly would have affected their bottom line, but I suspect they were just fed up with the hatred being spewed at them.
 

misty8723

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
7,688
Purraise
8,129
Location
North Carolina
I read a lot about the abducted couple from New Hampshire. I think it was one of the first publicized cases. This was when I was younger. Since I live in Massachusetts, and NH is next door.. I was getting scared at night.. and scared to be alone..

I also read a lot of other stories of alien abduction.. Do I believe that there is another habitable planet in the universe?Of Course I do.. Do I believe they are more advanced than us.. yes,.. do I believe they are watching us? unsure.. But there have been so many unexplainable UFO sightings by reputable people.. even an astronaut.. It makes me wonder..

Intrigued, in more like it..
I think you're talking about Betty & Barney Hill. That was the first I heard of and it was in the National Enquirer. I laughed and said "riiight." Since have come to believe them based on the recorded hypnosis sessions. Not only are there multiple inhabitable plants in this galaxy and others, there are other dimensions. And I do believe there are many that are watching us, interacting with us, etc. Does it scare me or make me uneasy? No. It makes me curious who they are and what they want.

There were some famous UFO sightings in the PA town I grew up in. My Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins saw ufos on more than one occasion. Here is the story one of my cousins told me.

(1) Many years ago, while cousin L. was working in his garage or on his car and saw a cigar shaped UFO in the sky, including seeing portals or windows along the side of the UFO. (My mother explained it this way: L was working on a car and saw lights. When he looked up the UFO was right above him. He ran into the house to get someone to come out and see it, but when they got back outside the UFO was gone).
(2) A few days or weeks later, Uncle F. saw a UFO while working in the yard of the family home. The UFO that he saw also was cigar shaped and also had portals or windows.
(3) In 1967, the family was driving down State Street (main street in the city). For some reason Uncle F. decided to drive towards the Peninsula. As they were driving, they saw a bright light in the sky that was clearly not an airplane, planet, or star. They watched the UFO for a while, until all of a sudden it shot up in the sky at a very high rate of speed.

My friend and I once saw something that looked like the cigar shaped UFOs, but it was low on the horizon and went behind some trees. We told her mother and she call the police or someone who apparently ignored it. I also saw something when the same friend and I were standing in the road chatting. It was late, dark, and we saw what we took to be airplane lights, 2 bright white lights coming in our direction. But there was no noise and when it got pretty much overhead the lights split and went in different directions. At the time it was sort of curious but I didn't even think about it until much later. No idea what it might have been. I might say helicopters, but there was no noise.

None of it frightens me or makes me anxious, just curious what's going on.
 

Mamanyt1953

Rules my home with an iron paw
Staff Member
Forum Helper
Joined
Oct 16, 2015
Messages
31,182
Purraise
67,778
Location
North Carolina
I finished "The Reckoning," which was better than I had expected...but I'm not sure that Jana could write a bad book...and am now almost done with "The Vanishing." I will start the third book, "The Awakening," before I head to bed.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top