What are you currently reading?

[weary warrior]

You folks are much more spiritual than I am. I'm currently reading the collected short works of Nathaniel Hawthorn.

[Musician4God1611]

Right now I'm in a couple of different books, but I'm focusing mostly on "The Preacher and His Preaching" by W. B. Riley.

[DaveW]

Aside from Proverbs, referencing "US Warbirds".

Just interested in that sort of stuff and looking over a few things again..

[weary warrior]

I love the classics in general, but I find I don't care for Hawthorn in particular. Too shallow. He has nothing to say, although he says it very well. Huh?

Anyway, my daughter bought me a new book by the Civil War historian Shelby Foote, so I will be starting that now.

[HappyChristian]

30 minutes ago, weary warrior said:

I love the classics in general, but I find I don't care for Hawthorn in particular. Too shallow. He has nothing to say, although he says it very well. Huh?

Anyway, my daughter bought me a new book by the Civil War historian Shelby Foote, so I will be starting that now.

Have you read The Scarlet Letter? I am reading it again with my niece for school. I love the way he has written it, in such detail, but her education up until 9th grade was in a public school. She has neither the comprehension nor the vocabulary to read it without constant explanation. So it is taking more time than I really wanted to take for it.  While he uses a lot of verbiage and could be much more succinct, I think it's been good for her to have to try and work through it. It's actually a good lesson on hypocrisy. But I agree - I'm not too impressed with his short stories. Although I have an OLD copy of it that I keep more for the value of the book than the contents. =D

[weary warrior]

8 minutes ago, HappyChristian said:

Have you read The Scarlet Letter? I am reading it again with my niece for school. I love the way he has written it, in such detail, but her education up until 9th grade was in a public school. She has neither the comprehension nor the vocabulary to read it without constant explanation. So it is taking more time than I really wanted to take for it.  While he uses a lot of verbiage and could be much more succinct, I think it's been good for her to have to try and work through it. It's actually a good lesson on hypocrisy. But I agree - I'm not too impressed with his short stories. Although I have an OLD copy of it that I keep more for the value of the book than the contents. =D

I believe I read The Scarlet Letter years ago. Of his short stories, "The Great Stone Face" is the only one I find to have any insight to it, and even that is probably not the insight he was trying to convey. After years of reading Kipling, O. Henry and London, few writers of short stories ever measure up. For me, Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is the standard for short stories by which all others are judged.

[Alimantado]

32 minutes ago, HappyChristian said:

Have you read The Scarlet Letter? I am reading it again with my niece for school. I love the way he has written it, in such detail, but her education up until 9th grade was in a public school. She has neither the comprehension nor the vocabulary to read it without constant explanation. So it is taking more time than I really wanted to take for it.  While he uses a lot of verbiage and could be much more succinct, I think it's been good for her to have to try and work through it. It's actually a good lesson on hypocrisy. But I agree - I'm not too impressed with his short stories. Although I have an OLD copy of it that I keep more for the value of the book than the contents. =D

Loved Scarlett Letter. I haven't read it since I was a teen--should pick it up again.

[HappyChristian]

5 hours ago, Alimantado said:

Loved Scarlett Letter. I haven't read it since I was a teen--should pick it up again.

It's worth another read as an adult. Life experience adds to it.

[1Timothy115]

I'm starting to read HOW TO BRING MEN TO CHRIST, by R. A. TORREY. I purchased the book but, it has been "updated for the modern reader" so, I'm reading the original from the internet.