What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[Sarah in SC]

MB--that book is waiting at the library for me! Been on the wait list for a while.

I read an old post apocalyptic novel today, one I'd never even heard of before, by Neville Shute called On the Beach. Actually quite good, considering I think it was written in 1957. Found it in pdf form online so read it at work...shhhh!

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC MB--that book is waiting at the library for me! Been on the wait list for a while. I read an old post apocalyptic novel today, one I'd never even heard of before, by Neville Shute called On the Beach. Actually quite good, considering I think it was written in 1957. Found it in pdf form online so read it at work...shhhh!

You young whippersnapper! A classic movie from 1959:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awm50kJQeeI

[Happily Retired]

DW and I have a young son, a college senior next year, and am building a list of beginning investing financial books for him. I'm collecting ideas and have a little time get this together... but why not start this project now.

"Millionaire Teacher" is a great beginning investor book. I loved it. It's on the list.

What other ideas would you have for a new investor like our son?

Thanks.

[Sarah in SC]

Dang, and IIRC, wahoo, you are the one who suggested that other terribly depressing movie about life after the bomb...what was it called again? With the kids watching tv and the mushroom cloud through the picture window. It was grim.
Who knew there was such a vast repository of such things?

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Dang, and IIRC, wahoo, you are the one who suggested that other terribly depressing movie about life after the bomb...what was it called again?

Testament

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Who knew there was such a vast repository of such things?

Those of us who lived through (and fought in) the Cold War.

[My Boss Is Springsteen]

A nice slice of a different era of Americana -- On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Loved this vagabond journey through jazz, ether and Mexico. I'm a music freak -- I found myself playing Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited quite a few times along the way.

[John Galt III]

National Geographic Magazine. I almost threw these out during some decluttering. I have the time to read them now. I can now relax enough to actually follow the stories, no voice in the back of my head saying "You need to be accomplishing something!".

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Testament Those of us who lived through (and fought in) the Cold War.

I remember now...the one you suggested was called The Day After.

[6miths]

Just about finished Michael Lewis' 'Flash Boys'. A bit depressing, and sadly, not surprising.

[Nemo2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC one I'd never even heard of before, by Neville Shute called On the Beach.

Another sign that one is getting old, (as if another was needed); things you grew up with have become medieval.

[zinger1457]

Just finished 'The Light Between Oceans' by M.L. Stedman. Found it a very good read, set in Australia post WWI. Some very interesting moral dilemmas that will get you thinking and wondering 'what would I have done'.

[Moemg]

I just finished "Girl on the train " by Paula Hawkins . It was better than I was expecting since it got mixed reviews .

[SDHiker]

"What Stands in a Storm" by Kim Cross. A non-fiction account of the tornado superstorm in Alabama in April 2011. It was a heart-rending account of the lives lost and those who survived. Good scientific background of tornados and how they form.

[donheff]

If you liked Andy Weir's, The Martian, you will like Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson. Beginning in a vaguely near current future, it speculates on the world's response to a planet busting disaster. An "agent," maybe a mini black hole, passes through the moon splitting it into several pieces which soon begin colliding and splitting again, and again, eventually forming a hard rain of rocks that turn the surface of the earth into an inferno. We have two years to prepare. Thus begins a global effort to supply and people an outpost based on the International Space Station in which our progeny will live out the several millenium until the earth cools. Some suspension of disbelief is required but, like the Martian, the novel includes lots of engineering and hardish science that makes it a great read.

[Nemo2]

http://www.amazon.com/Ordinary-Heroe.../dp/0446584134

Just finished this one, set in WWII Europe, by Scott Turow - thoroughly enjoyed it.

[unclemick]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff If you liked Andy Weir's, The Martian, you will like Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson. Beginning in a vaguely near current future, it speculates on the world's response to a planet busting disaster. An "agent," maybe a mini black hole, passes through the moon splitting it into several pieces which soon begin colliding and splitting again, and again, eventually forming a hard rain of rocks that turn the surface of the earth into an inferno. We have two years to prepare. Thus begins a global effort to supply and people an outpost based on the International Space Station in which our progeny will live out the several millenium until the earth cools. Some suspension of disbelief is required but, like the Martian, the novel includes lots of engineering and hardish science that makes it a great read.

The Martian was the last book I read. Will keep the above in mind.

Have the 'The Boys in The Boat' about the University of Washington Olympic rowing team circa 1936 but I haven't managed to start it yet. Wife started 'Bold Spirit' about the Norwegian(not a widow ) walking from Spokane across America 1896 to win $10,000 and save the family farm.

heh heh heh -

[Nemo2]

Currently reading A Treacherous Paradise by Henning Mankell:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/bo...g-mankell.html

(Already learned some things I wasn't aware of, (which isn't difficult if you don't know too much to begin with), including a synopsized explanation of the nautical term 'starboard'.)

[Marita40]

The first chapter of Harper Lee's new novel which was released this last week. I found it completely underwhelming, as rumors have been all along.

[Mr._Graybeard]

Just finished Wilson by A. Scott Berg. The author gives a nice account of the president's personal life, his rise to political power and the peculiar governance of his administration after he suffered his stroke. Also interesting was Wilson's return to popularity after the quality of his successor became apparent. Berg quotes Alice Roosevelt Longworth after Warren Harding unconsciously snubbed the ailing Wilson at Harding's inauguration: "Harding was not a bad man," she said. "He was just a slob."

[unno2002]

Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, by John J. Ratey


Short version, aerobic exercise, at the right heart rate and complexity of movement helps generate conditions for improved brain activity, which if followed by a learning session can not only aid memory be (reportedly) physically improve the brain.

The author has his own website
Welcome to John Ratey M.D. Cambridge, MA


Ted Talk - A 10 minute or so talk by the author, presented at the Google headquarters, on the benefit to the brain of exercise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBSVZdTQmDs

It appears the entire book is online read out loud.


Audiobook part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3F32JF4ycA

Audiobook part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyUmCUfxtT8