What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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I only got halfway through The Rooster Bar by John Grisham. The characters were not believable and too stupid for real life. I had to put it down.
 
donheff said:
I only got halfway through The Rooster Bar by John Grisham. The characters were not believable and too stupid for real life. I had to put it down.
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I can not believe it made the best seller list . It was Grisham's worst book ever.
 
Moemg said:
I can not believe it made the best seller list . It was Grisham's worst book ever.
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Stopped reading Grisham about 20 years ago......the writing was on the wall then.....likely a better place for it than on paper.
 
The Tunnels-Greg Mitchell (tunnels under the berlin wall)

Red Notice- Bill Browder (hermitage capital mess/magnitski legislation)

both very good IMHO
 
Nemo2 said:
Stopped reading Grisham about 20 years ago......the writing was on the wall then.....likely a better place for it than on paper.
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I still love Grishman . His book "The Confession " is one of my favorites . Last year I went to a lecture to see him and Steven King .They were so funny and interesting .
 
donheff said:
I only got halfway through The Rooster Bar by John Grisham. The characters were not believable and too stupid for real life. I had to put it down.
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Agree, horrible storytelling. He should offer refunds.
 
MichaelB said:
That sounds like a good read. I think I'll give it to myself as a Christmas present. :)

When I was younger (so much younger than today) I used to spend my free time in bookstores. Anyone remember Waldenbooks and B. Dalton? Just browsing the titles, reading blurbs and back covers, looking for something interesting to read. This thread brings me back and reminds me of that experience.
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Kroch’s and Brentano’s in Chicago when we were very very young newlyweds (and the public library was a little scary); done in by Crown Books and B. Dalton, which were done in by Borders and Barnes & Noble, and then that little company called Amazon flexed its muscles. But now I live in a town with an incredible library and buy books only when there’s an author signing by someone I like.
 
Moemg said:
I still love Grishman . His book "The Confession " is one of my favorites . Last year I went to a lecture to see him and Steven King .They were so funny and interesting .
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I'd better not mention King then, since I have read his stuff for the better part of 40 years. ;)

Actually, as in The Stand, I always thought the premise in the first chapter was great, but then went downhill and dragged on too long from there........this applied to others of his that I read, around or before then, so I stopped.
 
kcowan said:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331695.Almost_French

Just finished this hard cover book given to me by a female friend. It was an interesting combination of travelogue, personal love story, trials & tribulations, French cultural exposee. I liked it. But you have to put your critical skills aside and just enjoy the ride.
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I read that some years back. Enjoyed the insights into French culture. As a tourist we didn't get so deep.
 
Just finished Brian Kilmeade's book on the Barbary pirates. If you like US history (like I do), it's a great read.
 
Currently reading Pierced by Thomas Enger
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547299-pierced

Norwegian mystery.....(I chose to read the English translation, since I don't understand a single word of Norwegian, and feared that otherwise I might miss some of the more subtle inflections.....so far, so good.)
 
Started reading Artemis by Andy Weir over the weekend.

Whoever told me about it said it was nowhere near as good as The Martian, so I had low expectations. I have been pleasantly surprised though and am enjoying it.
 
CoolRich59 said:
Started reading Artemis by Andy Weir over the weekend.

Whoever told me about it said it was nowhere near as good as The Martian, so I had low expectations. I have been pleasantly surprised though and am enjoying it.
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I'm also reading this book. It's good so far, but not holding me like The Martian did.

The best book I've read this winter is 'Before the Dawn' (also mentioned in this thread). Fascinating read.
 
CoolRich59 said:
Started reading Artemis by Andy Weir over the weekend.

Whoever told me about it said it was nowhere near as good as The Martian, so I had low expectations. I have been pleasantly surprised though and am enjoying it.
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That was my take on it too. The Martian is a hard act to follow. And the book's success allowed Weir to take an early retirement and do what he wanted to do, so good for him!
 
What have you read recently?

Recently finished two books.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. It was decent but didn’t enjoy it near as much as Atlas Shrugged. Although it was shorter [emoji16].

The Last Season by Eric Blehm. About a seasonal NPS ranger named Randy Morgensen who went missing in the Sierra in the mid 90’s. This book I enjoyed very much, especially cause it brought me back to many of the places in this beautiful and spiritual area I’ve traveled through during my time on the PCT.
 
After two previous failed attempts I finally read and finished The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri translated by John Ciardi. My previous attempts with different translations found the book impenetrable but finally getting the Ciardi translation that has explanations before and after each chapter help me easily get through the book. I also found the Wikipedia page helped me interpret each chapter and the allegory.
To think that someone could write like that in 1320 really made me pause. The more I read classics or historical books the more I realize the the people from 700 years ago or 2000 years ago were pretty much indistinguishable from people today and could probably pick up an I-phone and start texting in under an hour. The only area where I think we have significantly advanced in 3000 years is our understanding of medicine.
 
Blueskies123 said:
My previous attempts with different translations found the book impenetrable ...
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Agreed. A good translation can make all the difference. One of my sons investigates translations before he purchases any classic work. So now the first thing I do if I'm going to read something like Dante is to ask my son "Which translation should I get?" :)
 
Confederate Arsenals, Laboratories, and Ordnance Depots, V.1, 2, and 3. Not light reading and probably more detail on the subject than I'll ever need.
 
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