What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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Im reading the pet peeve thread from the beginning, Its like a novel, I find many of the posts hysterical. its like therapy without the copay.
 
Deliver us from Evil, David Baldacci
 
The Man Who Could be King - about how George Washington did not become King.

D Day Through German Eyes - fascinating interviews with German soldiers at D Day.
 
I have just started reading "An American Sickness," by Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal. It's about the American health care system. So far, a good read, an eye-opener. I have seen Dr. Rosenthal on C-Span a few times talking about her book. I get many of my book ideas from watching C-Span.
 
Marita40 said:
Just finished Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat and loved it; couldn't put it down. Brown is simply an incredible writer. I've read his work on the great Hinckley fire (local color, since I'm in MN) as well as the book on the Donner party. All three held me spellbound. What an amazing talent.
Did I hear that The Boys in the Boat was going to be made into a movie? I hope so as I think it would film very very well.
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I will second The Boys in the Boat. I got it as a gift several months ago and finally read it not realizing how good it was. It was one of those books I looked forward to reading every day. There were a few times where it got too much into the weeds on boat construction but I really got into the (true) story of these hardworking young men that overcame poverty, abuse, and snobbery to become heroes.
 
Janet Reitman's book Inside Scientology.
 
scrabbler1 said:
I have just started reading "An American Sickness," by Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal. It's about the American health care system. So far, a good read, an eye-opener. I have seen Dr. Rosenthal on C-Span a few times talking about her book. I get many of my book ideas from watching C-Span.
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Thanks for reminding me. I have the audiobook on my phone and now that I am back from vacation I have time to listen to it.
 
I am reading an encouraging book: "The Lucky Years: How to Thrive in the Brave New World of Health". Bestselling author David Agus unveils the brave new world of medicine, one in which we can take control of our health like never before and doctors can fine-tune strategies and weapons to prevent illness.
 
If you want to read a self-help book, try "The inner game of Tennis". I read it years ago and googled it today to find that there is a whole gaggle of inner game books. It's not just about sports. It's about how to ignore inner stress and perform at whatever you're doing without worrying about the outcome. It's easier to read than to practice, but most self-help books are.
 
Just finished The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, author of Room. Five stars.
 
ER Eddie said:
Re. books extolling the virtues of leisure.



I've enjoyed:

- How to Be Idle, by Tom Hodgkinson

- The Importance of Being Lazy, by Al Gini

- Take Back Your Time, by John de Graaf

- The Importance of Being Idle, by Stephen Robins

- Slow is Beautiful, by Cecile Andrews


Tom Hodginson can be a bit extreme, but I like his spirit. Cecile Andrews' book is probably my favorite, although it may not be quite as "on point" as the others. Al Gini's book is precisely on point. He is a professor of leisure, which sounds like a nice job. Take Back Your Time is a good read, focused on reclaiming time from work. I'd put Robins' book at the bottom, since it is made up mostly of quotes from other people, but there are some good thoughts in there about the value of leisure.
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Returning the Hodgekinson book to the library...read that one if you want to get in touch with your inner rebel. I got a "Take Back Your Time" by Jasper (the wrong book) and it was a 1999 dud about how to be a better slave.

"Slow is Beautiful" is too political for me...I really don't care who's fault it is, I just want to make the best of of what is here.

Bought "The Importance of Being Lazy" (Gini) and "My Time" (Trafford) on half.com and haven't started them yet.
 
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scrabbler1 said:
I have just started reading "An American Sickness," by Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal. It's about the American health care system. So far, a good read, an eye-opener.
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I started out as cynic regarding health care in the US, after reading this book I feel much worse. Ways to game the system that would never, ever have occurred to me.
 
I am currently reading Stamped from the Beginning: the Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Ibram X. Kendi (2016). It's a 500 plus page history book that is exhaustively researched and very well written. IMHO it is essential reading.
 
I just finished Y is for yesterday by Sue Grafton . It was good but not her best . I am sad that she only has one letter left .
 
Over the Labor Day weekend, I read Inside the Third Reich, the memoirs of Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and Minister of Armaments. It's an old book (published in 1970), but a fascinating read if you want to understand better the leaders of that disastrous regime. Some of his observations are timeless.
 
Just finished Hubris by Isakoff and Corn.

Good read. Lots of data. Next will be a Rebus novel.
 
Currently reading Notes from a Big Country/I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson....a collection of some 70+ short articles he wrote in the late 1990s for a British magazine regarding his observations upon his return to the US after a 20 year hiatus in England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_from_a_Big_Country

DW, who wants to read it when I'm done, (although she has a dozen other books lined up), is constantly bombarded with "Listen to this...." while I attempt to read passages without laughing.
 
Posted this elsewhere because I thought I got the idea to read the last book there but now I can't find who recommended it. Nor can I find it here. Hmmh.. maybe I was smart enough to find out about it on my lonesome ? Nah, probably not.. lol
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Just back from holiday and read a few books in the RV we rented to tour Northeastern Ontario.

The King of Shanghai - Ian Hamilton. Book 7 in the Ava Lee series. She is a lesbian Chinese-Canadian accountant that specializes in collecting bad debts and breaking noses. Hamilton has reached the formulaic stage now but she remains a compelling main character and the Canadian settings are familiar and the Asian ones well dramatized. I hope he keeps the quality as high as the output. I understand it has been optioned for a film series.

Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle - Dervla Murphy. I am a sometime bicycle tourer and people have spoken highly of this book. I think I would have enjoyed it 25 years ago but didn't now. It is set in the 1960s and the politics and descriptions of the countries in Europe are just to dated and irrelevant to be enjoyable now. Gave up on it, which is rare.

The Year 1000: What Life was Like at the turn of the First Millenium - Robert Lacey. Only half way through but enjoying it so far. For some reason, it brings to mind when I first read Freakonomics.
 
Ok, I'll start right off and say this is an ad for a book. It's not out yet, but I requested it from the library.

The reason I think it's worth putting up here is because the message is a cool one: we humans don't remember past events "fairly". Instead, we remember peak moments (good or bad).

Build Peaks, Don't Fix Potholes - Heath Brothers Heath Brothers

It's a 4 minute video.
 
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