What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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Just finished Carol Off's book All We Leave Behind.

Great insights into Afghanistan.
 
Reading now: Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions it Aroused. By Mike Dash. Kindle version: $9.99

Really well done explanation of the Dutch tulip madness of the mid-17th Century. Lots of good background on the origins of the botanical tulip and the history of its variegated forms. Why Holland? It was a chance encounter of one of the main protagonists in the story. Why so expensive: biological factors limited the number of the most desirable tulip bulbs. Tulip "tupperware parties" -- yep!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0037BS2RW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

-BB
 
Just finished Hillbilly Elegy. Very interesting read. Don't want to say too much about it in case you want to read it. Would recommend it, the author has a way of expressing ideas susctintly. Non fiction story discusses upward mobility.
 
I just finished "The Streak" about pro baseball players Cal Ripken's and Lou Gehrig's consecutive-game playing streaks, along with similar streaks by other baseball players in the late 19th and 20th centuries.


I am in the middle of "Not a Scientist," a book by Dave Levitan whose subtitle is "How politicians mistake, misrepresent, and utterly mangle science." This one is a great page-turner.
 
I discovered an interesting Finnish noir author names James Thompson. Thompson was born in the US and has lived in Helsinki for decades. I read Lucifer's Tears, the second in his Inspector Vaara Series of crime novels. It is dark, amusing and a good introduction to Finnish history and culture. I put in a request at the library for Snow Angels, Book 1.
 
donheff said:
I discovered an interesting Finnish noir author names James Thompson. Thompson was born in the US and has lived in Helsinki for decades. I read Lucifer's Tears, the second in his Inspector Vaara Series of crime novels. It is dark, amusing and a good introduction to Finnish history and culture. I put in a request at the library for Snow Angels, Book 1.
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Read Snow Angels some time ago...will look out for Lucifer's Tears...thanks.
 
Just finished Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley. Very well-written whodunit from multiple points of view.
 
Nightcap said:
Just finished Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley. Very well-written whodunit from multiple points of view.
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Ha. Sounded interesting on Amazon so I downloaded it from the library and discovered I already have it in my collection not yet read.
 
We have a yearly book reading challenge in our family. The kids don't stand a chance against me the DW. Even though we aren't ER quite yet, being empty nesters but not TV watchers, leaves us plenty of time in the evenings for reading.

I just finished my 29th book for the year. Some of the notable reads for me this year have been:
  • The Strangler Vine - M. J. Carter
  • The Infidel Stain - M. J. Carter
  • Grant Moves South - Bruce Catton
  • My Antonia - Willa Cather
  • The Forgotten Soldier - Guy Saget
  • Endurance - Alfred Lansing
  • AWOL on the Appalachian Trial - David Miller
 
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I know they are old, but just reread Winds of War and War and Remembrance and felt it was well worth the re-read. Herman Wouk. The characters come to life. The TV series doesn't do it justice.
 
Just finished "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman. I love his stuff. I've heard they're turning this one into a movie too. Once we get down to FL for the winter (next week) I'm going to start watching American Gods on Starz.
 
An American Sickness by Elizabeth Rosenfeld is excellent but depressing. The US health care industry is out of control. I’m halfway through and each page is like an unfolding car wreck. Did some evil poster here turn me on to this?
 
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The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. An interesting book with new discoveries about trees, such as how some trees communicate via biochemical signals. A very good translation from the German.

Lab Girl by Hope Jahren. An unusual memoir by a woman who does interesting botanical research, though the most memorable parts concern her unusual research partner, Bill.

The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis. Somewhat different from Lewis' other books. Interesting but I felt it could have been shorter and still told the story as effectively.

Glass Houses by Louise Penny. The latest and one of her best, and that's saying something. Read them in order, however, if you haven't read any of her Inspector Gamache books yet, all set in Quebec.

A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear. Another good one in the Maisie Dobbs series. This one set in Gibraltar during the Spanish civil war. Once again, reading them in order is best.

The Templars Last Secret by Martin Walker. The latest in the excellent Bruno Courrèges series set in SW France. Walker captures the Dordogne valley so well.

Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. An engaging collection of stories which together comprise a novel. Great writing, as always.
 
CoolRich59 said:
Good book.

I really liked another of his books, "Valiant Ambition", re Benedict Arnold.
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I read this book in the last year or two. I liked it a lot, it was right up there with David McCullough's "1776."
 
Anyone here read Jeff Fager's "Fifty Years of 60 Minutes," a history of the long-running TV news magazine show on CBS? I just started it and it's been good far. I have been watching the show since the mid-1970s when I was a teenager and look forward to reading a lot about the backstory.
 
After DW, SIL,BIL and I visited Key West, and Hemingway's place last spring, I bought BIL a 4 in 1 book of Hemingways novels. He just gave it back after reading it. I started with "The Sun Also Rises" and got halfway through it. I'm not impressed with the story line but he paints a pretty good picture. I'm understanding why he drank and was depressed...
 
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