Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War | 
bailedMaybe when I was sick for what feels like the millionth time this year was not the best time to start a 600 page novel about the Vietnam war. I just can‘t see trying again.
#24in2024
The Things They Carried
https://youtu.be/j-o--RRH46I?si=SwpOFeRNqA3zkAZy
Introduction
Mystery guest
Weekly Highlights
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes
Home Stretch by Graham Norton
pickA marine gets a leech stuck in his urethra in the opening pages of this epic novel of the Vietnam War. It only gets worse after that. The plot: two months in the life of an infantry company as its members try to survive jungle fighting, political idiocy, and racial tension. The book avoids caricatures as it illuminates the blood, despair, suffering, and courage. The storytelling feels effortless, approachable. The author was there, and it shows.
The nights are starting to get longer. Here in Alabama our time falls back this weekend. And longer nights mean more time to read. So here are a few long books for long autumn nights.
There‘s nothing more satisfying than the work of finally finishing a long book. It really is like living a lifetime between pages.
https://wildwoodreads.com/2021/11/05/long-books-for-long-autumn-nights/
#falltreasures
I too tend to shy away from books #over500pages but I do have a couple on my tbr.
@AmberWB could you hear me squealing this morning? Everything is so perfect! Snickers is my favorite candy & I can‘t wait to try the coffee! I‘m obsessed with the reader mug & I love that the organization supports literacy! I‘m so excited for all the books, especially the tagged & YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN which fits a tricky 2021 reading challenge prompt! The black cat bookmark and book sleeve are perfection. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
pickFinished this one as an audiobook, on the boat with my husband on an unusually perfect warm fall day. Long book that could have used some heavy editing especially in the middle. But the characters were well portrayed, the battle scenes were accurate although pretty graphic along with language you‘d expect from embattled marines. My husband was disappointed with the ending but I found it to be a satisfying ending & a complex story overall.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Odds become meaningless when everything‘s at stake. (Chapter 2)
pickThis might be the best book I read all year. I‘ve never read anything that came close to really giving me such a real account of what it was like to fight in the Vietnam War.
Books and breakfast. This book. I don‘t want to say I love it because it‘s so sad. But I can‘t stop reading it.
Congratulations on your milestone, @Chrissyreadit ! My favorite fiction read of 2019 was “Matterhorn” by Karl Marlantes. I don‘t really plan my books ahead of time because I‘m a mood reader, but I do know that I will be starting “Chesapeake” on Jan. 1 as my #chunksterchallenge2020.
#thankyougiveaway
It‘s Dec. 1, so it‘s time to start #adventrecommends ! Every day for 24 days post 1 book that you think more people should know about, or post your all-time favorites.
Today I‘m posting one of the best books I read in 2019.
@emilyrose_x
I am listening to the audiobook of Matterhorn BUT... I am wondering if I should read it also. I really, really want to skim this beginning part with the leeches 😬😳💀
When a novel is so engrossing it makes you unaware of your surroundings and you almost miss your stop on the train. How can I explain to my boss that I was late because my book is too good? 🧐
Settling down to start reading this book about a young Marine lieutenant and his comrades in Bravo Company who are dropped into the mountain jungles of Vietnam.
#WanderingJune I came across this book while watching the Netflix documentary The Staircase. Todd Peterson was reading the tagged book and it sounded really good. (I‘m always open to a book recommendation) I‘d love to read this book in the Fall/Winter!!! Anyone care to join me?? #GoodNightSaigon is also one of my favorite Billy Joel songs ❤️🎵At 2015 BJ concert he brought out a dozen Vietnam vets on stage and they sang with him. Very MOVING 👇🏼
When your son texts and asks you to find a specific book for him ... and you live in southeastern Connecticut ... there‘s one place you can always count on to find it: The Book Barn in Niantic!
pickBeen home sick for two days. On the upside was able to finish this incredible story. If you are looking for something different this is your book. Incredible insight to life,death, race, status, war, peace, and the kids that are dropped in the middle of it.
Only two more sleeps until my second #24in48 Readathon! So excited for the reading ahead. Here is my TBR list... like summer 2018 I‘m expecting it to shift a bit given the weekend mood. Can‘t wait!! 😬
I loved this quote about the banality of things which will simply disappear as if never there. The view is from my summer home on the tender vessel Naknek Spirit in Prince William Sound. #vietnamwar #banality #alaska #onthewater #war
Some safety comics on the tender vessel. #Mapsledgendsorotherbonusart #riotgrams #fishing
Beautiful day in Cordova aboard the NakNek Spirit. Waiting to paint the lazarette. #alaska #travelsandadventure #riotgrams
In #Cordova #Alaska today. Apparently until the opener Monday it will be pretty boring. Good thing the weather is nice! #vietnamwar
Cracking open Matterhorn on the deck of the MV Aurora. Headed to start my month long job on a tender out of Cordova. My view is a million miles away from Matterhorn and Hawke's jungle-rot-pussing hand. Thanks @Kimberlone for lending me the book. See you in a month! #Alaska #MVAurora #ferry #Vietnam #junglerot
pickOne of the best Vietnam novels, powerful and harrowing.
pickThe story of a Marine regiment fighting on and around a hill in Vietnam, Matterhorn. It is not a novel that glorifies war. In fact, it is full of the futility, desperation, fear and frustration that can only be described by someone who experienced it first hand.
Three books are missing (a GR win in the post, and two still in the few boxes I have yet to unpack), and At Swim, Two Boys is an optional for my #PassportLitsy.
Looking at it this way, I'm thinking a bit ambitious for 2018. Although, there's enough of a mix of genres that I may be okay. #MountTBR #MountTBR2018
Oh, this also does not include any of my #LitsyAtoZ. Those I'm allowing for mood reads - will select as appropriate from my shelves.
Inspired by @Ashley_Nicoletto , here are my tentative picks for #yearofthechunkster in 2018. I own all of these except Winter. Stephen King is open because I‘m going to start in order of publication for him.
I hope it‘s okay I used your hashtag, Ashley! 🙂
Watching the Vietnam War documentary is very emotional and recalls to mind this vicious and terrible story that so effectively told the Vietnam story from the eyes of the soldiers. It is wonderful that KM and Tim O'Brien are being interviewed and tonight O'Brien was left without words.
Anyone else getting into the new Ken Burns' documentary "The Vietnam War"? An inexplicably bad internet connection has prevented me from watching the last 2 nights, but finally catching up on Ep. 1 & 2 tonight. Karl Marlantes and Tim O'Brien are both featured as talking heads. Matterhorn is staggering, and The Things They Carried will remain one of my favorite books of all time. Essential readings on the American war experience in Vietnam.
Watching the start of the new Ken Burns documentary on the Vietnam War and I am reminded of one of the best books I've ever read. And the ebook version is on super sale, for only $1.99. If you are fascinated by this part of our history, I highly recommend it.
Going to finish this one up tonight. I almost did last night (or rather very early this morning) when my wonky neck-shoulder-migraine combo threw me an impromptu insomnia party, but I was too restless. This book is amazingly good. Not at all my usual fare, but I can't quit reading it.
#maybookflowers #war
My father proudly served in the Vietnam War. Sadly, he was affected by the war until his last days. He passed 6 years ago. I will never understand what he went through and that is why I'm drawn to books about Vietnam and the war. I hope to one day have a better understanding of who he was and what he experienced. Love and miss you Dad.
Besides the novel's stark and realistic prose, its publishing journey is amazing. It took Marlantes, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran, 30 years to write and publish this epic. Highly autobiographical, Marlantes himself has suffered from severe PTSD since returning home. Our veterans' sacrifices must not remain invisible to us. This book will rightly haunt all that read it. #aprilbookshowers #thoughtprovoking
This book about the Vietnam War is #setinsoutheastasia. Very good intense book that I think gives you the best idea of what our soldiers went through over there. #aprilbookshowers. @RealLifeReading
This is a quick stack of #booksaboutwar. I could have kept going because I have more on my shelves than I thought.#marchmadness #bookaboutwar
#FunFridayPhoto I don't know about always but this book has been on my TBR for a while. I bought this copy sometime last year from my library's book cellar. I'm hoping to get to it this year for one of my challenges.
I've read lots of fiction and nonfiction about WWII, some about the war in Iraq, and I want to read more about the Vietnam War. I read The Things They Carried by O'Brien so long ago that I don't remember it. I've heard nothing but praise for Matterhorn.
#atopicyoudliketoknowmoreabout #readjanuary
Victory in combat is like sex with a prostitute. For a moment you forget everything in the sudden physical rush, but then you have to pay your money to the woman showing you the door. You see the dirt on the walls and your sorry image in the mirror.
'Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War' (by Karl Marlantes; narrated by Bronson Pinchot) A novel about USMC Bravo Company during 9 months of the Vietnam War in '69. There's a Chain of Command list at the beginning that you should take the time to absorb before Marlantes effectively lands you in the bush! Pinchot channels the characters so perfectly that he himself disappears (BTW Don't expect "Balki" to appear!) #audiobookpantheon #recommendsday
#setinAsia I have a number of books on my TBR set in Asia (growing with every post today ☺️), but this is the only one I physically own. This was a recommendation on All The Books back in November as a back-list bump. I hope to tackle it soon.
#somethingforsept #septphotochallenge
#somethingforsept #booksetinasia I have not read this one yet. Picked it up on a road-trip at McKay's in Nashville.
#somethingforsept #booksetinasia I have not read this one yet. Picked it up on a road-trip at McKay's in Nashville.
pick"These are the men that are fighting….not some politician behind a desk…or a faceless entity. These men are brothers, sons, husbands, fathers and friends. They are not just numbers at the bottom of a count sheet…no matter how much the public and the politicians try to make it so…" Reviewed by Urania https://goo.gl/vquWKF
