Library Books

[Sarah in SC]

As was mentioned in another post, for the book Doing Nothing (reserved at my library as well) that we should mention our recent reads.*

My two latest are John McPhee's Uncommon Carriers, a nifty book about freight and the people who move it.* Starts out with a truck driver, then big ships, coal trains, and river barges.* Wonderful writing style and the detailed descriptions of the people, machines, and landscape are very enjoyable.*

The other is Authentic Happiness, by Dr. Martin Seligman.* Happy people will find much validation and explanation for why even the worst circumstances don't bring some people down.* Unhappy people might find some useful tips and links to some extensive tests available on the UPenn website (google Authentic Happiness).*
I enjoyed both and must also put in a mention for a music CD borrowed:* All This Roadrunning, by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris--just outstanding!
FWIW,
Sarah

[shiny]

I just finished The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It was really interesting - its about our food, where it comes from and how things have changed overtime. One thing I didn't realize is that in America we spend less on food now (as a percentage of income on average) than any other time in our history.

I'm now reading The Joy Diet by Martha Beck. It is interesting and kind of funny, but too much work for me. She is trying to motivate me to follow my passions, but I guess I just like to randomly do things with no big goals.

[TromboneAl]

Thanks guys, I just reserved the first three.

[haha]

Originally Posted by mclesters

My two latest are John McPhee's Uncommon Carriers, a nifty book about freight and the people who move it.* Starts out with a truck driver, then big ships, coal trains, and river barges.* Wonderful writing style and the detailed descriptions of the people, machines, and landscape are very enjoyable.*

Sarah, I think I read the section about coal trains in the New Yorker. I will reserve that book too. McPhee makes things so clear and interesting.

I just started reading his Annals of the Former World which is a compilation of all his books on geology. This one also looks really interesting.

Ha

[grumpy]

Recent reads:

Hunters, Herders and Hamburgers - discusses the consequences of the "post domestication" society we now have. How our distance from food animals effects our attitudes towards animals in general.

To Hate Like This Is A Joy Forever - the sociological roots of the Duke/UNC basketball rivalry.

Last Dance - John Feinstein's tale of the 2005 Final Four

Grumpy

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

"Soldier, Statesman, Peacemaker--Leadership Lessons from George C. Marshall"

Damn, they don't make 'em like they used to.

[califdreamer]

Originally Posted by mclesters

All This Roadrunning, by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris--just outstanding!
FWIW,
Sarah

Agreed!

[shorttimer]

I find it interesting that non fiction books were the only recommended so far.

finally got around to "The Kite Runner." excellent book, very well written about Afghanistan

"the world is flat" by Friedman. Very wordy, goes round and round to make a point, but quite interesting. The theories could be debated for years in a forum like this.

One of my all time favorites is "Full tilt" by Dervla Murphy. She rode a one speed bicycle from Britain to India in the fifties as a young woman. She has several other adventure books. I could not put it down and my jaw hung open reading what she did and what she encountered.

[5j404]

Just found time for the library this week for the first time in months...* I picked up and enjoyed* Anne Tyler's* *"Back when We were Grownups"* A small iook at someone looking back over there life sayin g wait a minute this isn't who I was supposed to be.*

Also read Stan Hinden's "How to Retire Happy" Which talks about a lot of the planing mistakes he made.* *Yikes - I always read his financial column in the business section of the Washington Post .* Scarey when you read about all his errors.
Really glad I have this site.

[haha]

Originally Posted by shorttimer

I find it interesting that non fiction books were the only recommended so far.

I didn't mention fiction because it is so personal to one's own taste. I am reading 2 right now-Beware of Pity *an agonizing but great book; and Bangkok 8 a really odd and diverting mystery set in Bangkok, told from the POV of "an honest cop", the son of a bar girl and an American GI during the Viet Nam war.

[VoyT]

Just finished At the Abyss : An Insider's History of the Cold War by Thomas C. Reed. A bit dry, but some interesting tidbits about the goings-on at the Reagan White House.

[bow-tie]

Just finished The Two Income Trap (Elizabeth Warren and her daughter) - -*Interesting read.* I don't buy into ALL of their reasoning, but I found it overall enlightening.

Just started Age of Access* (Jeremy Rifkin) - - I guess its about how our economy is morphing away from a buyer/seller relationship for goods towards a networked relationship where experiences are the thrust of consumption. Three chapters in and still trying to grasp where is going with this...

[Sarah in SC]

I liked that Two Income Trap, found it an interesting theory on why home prices have gone up so much in some areas (for the schools) and that because there was "suddenly" more two income earners, that the ordinary American family could price themselves into a better school district.*
I know that is the case here in our county, the "perceived" best schools have much higher home costs than the areas with "worse" schools, but the parents don't have time to participate in the schools because they are both working 40+ a week.

But I don't agree with their premise that debt woes are universally external.* I see too many new car (payments) in town to explain it away as not a case of too much stuff!

Along the same lines, Juliete Schor's books, especially the Consumer Child , the Overworked American and the Overspent American are good food for thought.

I read a lot about the decline of leisure and the rise of debt. I think there is a strong correlation between the two.
Sarah

[wabmester]

I agree with the John McPhee rec's.* He's one of my favorite authors.

Last book I read was The Singing Neanderthals, and I highly recommend it to anybody interested in evolution, music, or anthropology.

The author attempts to answer a question that has always intrigued me: why do humans love music?* *He basically argues that we *need* music to communicate emotional states, and in exploring this idea he gathers evidence from primate studies, infant studies, and psychiatric studies.* *It's an interesting read that covers a lot of intellectual ground without ever getting bogged down.

[laurence]

The complete reference to Solaris 10

I mentioned somewhere else, "Monster Island" was my last fiction book, and it was fun fun fun, if you like Zombie novels.

[BUM]

Originally Posted by califdreamer

Agreed!

Some really great tracks! Everyone should put this CD on their gift list.