Names of books

[Jeanine]

Okay, so it can be something you've read, something classic, something you want to read, whatever-- just post a book title. Feel free to comment on the book : )

I'll start with one for Minus : )

Wild Thing: The Short, Spellbinding Life of Jimi Hendrix -- Philip Norman

 

[Minus]

And my second favorite book after that one.....

101 Things to Do with a Pickle

 

[Minus]

A Night To Remember by Walter Lord

It is about the sinking of the Titanic and was published back in the 50s
when there was no big interest in the topic.

I came across Walter Lord's book in junior high, when I had a habit of
reading various types of history. Lord interviewed 63 survivors of the
wreck and did other research for the book.

In the late 50's it was made into a movie with Lord as a consultant and is
considered to be possibly the most accurate movie on the topic, though
there are some errors, such as, at that date they did not know that the
ship broke in half. Sean Connery is in the film, but in such a small part
that I have never been able to spot him.

Lord was a consultant to James Cameron when he was making his
1997 film Titanic.

 

[Jeanine]

Cool! I found the movie on YouTube. Going to check it out tonight! Btw, love the photo of your book : )

1000 Books to Read Before You Die -- James Mustich
(I have this one in digital from the library. It's 3297 pages long : )

 

[Jeanine]

^^ I watched A Night to Remember last night. Wow, outstanding! Really enjoyed it, even though I cried a lot : ) Knowing it was the one most closely based on facts made it even sadder to watch. I recognized the young David McCallum, but I could not find Sean Connery anywhere, and I was really looking! It must have been a very small part- lol. Thanks for the tip, Minus : )

Streams to the River, River to the Sea - Scott O'Dell (about native American heroine Sacagawea).

 

[Minus]

^^I have seen a number of people mention that they didn't spot Connery. seanconnery.com says "Sean Connery stars as a wireless operator on the Titanic in this 1957 historical drama." "Stars" is quite an overstatement, he is in an uncredited role. Even they didn't even seem to have a still frame from his appearance.

I'll Take You There : Mavis Staples, the Staple Singers, and the Music That Shaped the Civil Rights Era - Greg Kot
The closest book handy, it was a book that was given to me and I guess the title pretty much describes it.

 

[Jeanine]

Super Suite: The Ultimate Bedroom Makeover Guide for Girls - Mark Montano
Picked this one up at the thrift store the other day. It's given me some good ideas : )

 

[Minus]

Time Lord : The Remarkable Canadian Who Missed His Train, and Changed the World

About Sandford Fleming who promoted a 24 hour clock and standard time zones,
rather than every town making up their own time.

 

[Jeanine]

^^ Fascinating!

The World's Religions -- Huston Smith

A classic on comparative religion. Really enjoyed it.

 

[Minus]

^^ Haven't read one of those.

Black Rednecks and White Liberals - Thomas Sowell, an intellectual conservative perspective on various cultural issues before most everything became conspiracy theories.

 

[Jeanine]

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything - Joshua Foer

Didn't read the whole book, but got some helpful ideas, when I remember to apply them : )

 

[Minus]

Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson

Back in teachers' college, I had to take a children's literature class and ended up reading a
massive amount of children's books. Somehow Harold and the Purple Crayon
always stuck with me. I never realized how old it was, having a copyright on 1950.

It has recently come out as a movie, though I haven't seen it yet and have no idea how they did.

 

[Jeanine]

^^ Interesting. Reminds me of something. When I was grieving the loss of my dad back in 2007, I happened to leaf through a children's book in a store, don't even know why. But strangely enough, I found it soothing to my grief. So then I decided to read all of the Newbery award winners for children's books. Don't think I read them all, but I read quite a few. I felt like my dad was giving me messages in them : ) Anyway, the book in the store (not a Newbery winner) was

My Pony -- Susan Jeffers

 

[Minus]

^^ It is good that it helped. All the Newbery winners would be a good selection.

How to be your own Home Electrician by George Daniels
It was my fathers book. Not sure why I chose to keep it when he passed.

 

[Jeanine]

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - JK Rowling

The only one I read in the series, a lot of fun though : )

 

[Minus]

The Magic Island - William Seabrook (1929)

In junior high, I first read a different book by William Seabrook and it lead me to read any book I could get my hands on by him. While "The Magic Island" was a best seller in January of 1929, I suspect Seabrook and his books aren't as well known these days, or probably even back when I read him.

"The Magic Island is an account of Seabrook's experiences with Haitian Vodou in Haiti, and is considered the first popular English-language work to describe the concept of a zombie."

"White Zombie" the first feature length Zombie film was based on the book.

 

[Jeanine]

^^ Never heard of him! Wow, interesting guy!

Party of One: The Loner's Manifesto -- Annelli Rufus
(probably the first book I read that made me realize I wasn't alone : )

 

[Minus]

One out of print at the time, that I tracked down was....

Asylum - William Seabrook

"The book documents Seabrook's experiences in Bloomingdale Asylum in
New York, where he was committed from 1933 to 1934 or 1935 for his alcoholism."

F. Scott Fitzgerald mentions the book in "The Crack-Up" (1945)

Also in the "Big Book" story 'Women Suffer Too' there is the lines "I remembered going through
what my sister assured me was my nightly procedure of trying to find Willie Seabrook’s
name in the telephone book. I remembered my loud resolution to find him and ask him
to help me get into that “Asylum” he had written about."

 

[Jeanine]

^^ Not familiar with that book. I imagine his experiences must be harrowing!

Reminds me of one I read back in my twenties that opened my eyes to the realities of the mental health system:

The Manufacture of Madness: A Comparative Study of the Inquisition and the Mental Health Movement - Thomas S. Szasz

 

[Minus]

^^ I always meant to get around to reading one of Szasz's many books.

Witchcraft (1940) ~ William Seabrook

I bought this book back when I was in 7th grade and it was my introduction to William Seabrook.

An adventurer is probably the best description that I have heard of William Seabrook. He traveled
the world and spent time with cannibals, African witch doctors, Dervish mystics, Aleister Crowley,
monks, Haitian zombies and a wide assortment of people.

The book is a 'collection of anecdotes and stories relating to author's experience with various
types of witchcraft and magic in many parts of the world'. He was a skeptic who felt that all
he had seen could be explained by science.