What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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Going on a cruise in a couple days, think I'll take "The Bell Curve" with me to finish it. Not fiction but, I'm mostly a nonfiction kind of guy.
 
Blowback, by Valerie Plame, was actually readable -- lightweight but a fun read. Naturally, the heroine was a hot young blond, super smart and a bit of a rogue. The writing was contributed by Sarah Lovett who has a few thrillers featuring a psychologist under her belt but Plame undoubtedly contributed some CIA trade-craft and insider knowledge. This is number one of an expected series featuring "Vallerie," the Plame clone CIA agent. Worthy of a library checkout but not your hard earned dollars.
 
I too read Blowback. It was a good first effort and I wondered how much of the book material really occurs in the real world. I hope the quality of the writing improves as these two authors work together.

There are not too many people who worked in intelligence writing spy novels. Another is Stella Remington who was a former director of MI5.
 
I just finished a good, and very interesting, book called Field Notes on the Compassionate Life, by Marc Barasch. There is an updated version called The Compassionate Life, Walking the Path of Kindness.
The Compassionate Life: Walking the Path of Kindness: Marc Ian Barasch: 9781576757567: Amazon.com: Books

I really enjoyed the fact that he brings up his own struggles to be kind, not only to strangers, but to the people closest to him. My own evolution of thinking about how I interact with the rest of the world is a work in progress, surely, and it is comforting to read a book from someone who shares that.

The chapters on Bonobos and their social structure, the Hearthmath measurements (where he learned about experiments that can change your heart rhythm subtly by experiencing compassion), and his week spent as a homeless person in Denver were all quite enlightening.

I also just finished the Ragged Edge of Silence, by John Francis.
The Ragged Edge of Silence: Finding Peace in a Noisy World: John Francis Ph.D.: 9781426207235: Amazon.com: Books

Professor Francis did not talk or ride in cars for 17 years, after witnessing an environmental tragedy in California. He managed to walk across the USA, down to South America, and get three degrees (and teach at the college level) all while not talking. Well written and charming.

Both of these gave me a lot to think about during my birthday month of December, and I'm hopeful that some of the more provoking things I read therein will stick with me in 2014. Maybe I'll listen more, and be kinder. Or at least try a bit harder. :)
 
Just finished "The Magic of Thinking Big", by David J. Schwartz. Read about it on Mr. Money Moustache's blog earlier this year. Big disappointment as I've read this kind of stuff by much better authors since a teenager (which was when MMM read it, though he did say it influenced his outlook). Have two more books I ordered from the library to pick up this weekend, and several on the way, no cost to me!
 
This was a short read from our library, Deathtrap: Peter Turnbull .

This is a British police procedural that takes place in Northern England, in York. I liked it but took a lot of time to get through it because it involves some issues of justice and injustice that are uncomfortable.
 
I just finished Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

I learned quite a bit about psychology and the behavioral science from this book. Still couldn't help thinking that the book could have been condensed to 1/2 of its length to make it more appealing to laymen like myself.
 
NW-Bound said:
I just finished Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, winner of the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

I learned quite a bit about psychology and the behavioral science from this book. Still couldn't help thinking that the book could have been condensed to 1/2 of its length to make it more appealing to laymen like myself.
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I agree. It was great, but I confess to skipping around some of the more densely packed science.
 
Well, I can handle the math but I think it is wordy in places, to tell the truth.
 
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Just read

"Walden on Wheels: On The Open Road from Debt to Freedom" by Ken Ilgunas

In this frank and witty memoir, Ken Ilgunas lays bare the existential terror of graduating from the University of Buffalo with $32,000 of student debt. Ilgunas set himself an ambitious mission: get out of debt as quickly as possible. Inspired by the frugality and philosophy of Henry David Thoreau, Ilgunas undertook a 3-year transcontinental journey, working in Alaska as a tour guide, garbage picker, and night cook to pay off his student loans before hitchhiking home to New York. Debt-free, Ilgunas then enrolled in a master’s program at Duke University, determined not to borrow against his future again.

It was reviewed in the newspaper so I picked it up from the library. I was interested because our daughter's new boyfriend has a lot of school debt. Turned out to be a very readable author.

Kindest regards.
 
I read Ken Ilgunas's blog, and was glad for him when he announced the publication of his book. I will read his book later but suspect that most of the material might be already covered in his blog, which describes other exploits of his.
 
NW-Bound said:
I read Ken Ilgunas's blog, and was glad for him when he announced the publication of his book. I will read his book later but suspect that most of the material might be already covered in his blog, which describes other exploits of his.
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Agree that you've probably already read the story and more. I looked up the blog after reading the book. There's more info on the blog, as would be the case when one boils all of that down for a book.

Kindest regards.
 
The Pacific

By Hugh Ambrose is a thrilling, gut wrenching account of our Greatest Generation during WWII in the Pacific. Very well written first person narrative by the son of the master WWII writer,....:)
 
Moemg said:
...I'm currently reading "My Life in France " by Julia Child and it is curing any insomnia I might have . The movie showed it sooo much better .
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DangerMouse said:
I recently saw the movie and have to say I enjoyed it immensely. I had never thought of Julia Child as being anything other than what was seen on her in the media. It really portrayed her as someone you would want to hang out with.
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FIYes said:
Thought that I would chime in on Julia Child's "My Life in France"

I just finished reading it and loved it (earlier poster mentioned it as a cure for insomnia). The book made Julia Child seem like someone I would have liked if I had known her. My previous impressions of her had more to do with Dan Ackroyd than with anything she had done. It also motivated me to read "Julie and Julia" and while I didn't like it as well as "My Life in France" it was an interesting companion book. I plan to rent the DVD to see the movie.
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I saw a copy of this book on the donation shelf at the local library and picked it up. Though I knew of Julia Child, I got interested in cooking long after her TV shows stopped airing, so never did watch any of hers.

I like the description of life in France in the years after WWII as seen by Julia when she lived there with her husband who served as public affair officer at different consulates in Europe. Julia came across as a determined woman who led an interesting life. She had worked for OSS, the predecessor of CIA in WWII in Sri Lanka where she met her husband. The book started when they first moved to Paris for her husband's first assignment with the embassy in 1948, so not much was said about the WWII period which would also be interesting.

It took Julia Child 12 years to get her first cook book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, to print. It launched her career in TV and publication.

I just finished the book, and will see if I can get the movie Julie and Julia. I also heard of this movie, but have not watch it.
 
RE: Julie and Julia, Meryl Streep is wonderful as Julia Child, but the Amy Adams character (Julie) got a bit tedious.
 
I just read "SixYears " by Harlan Coben . What a great book ! I could not put it down .If you like mysteries I highly recommend this book .
 
For those of you who like to play Bridge, there are several good books by the late Victor Mollo. One of them I have read several times over the last 20 years (and again recently) is his 1984 "I Challenge You" book which includes 200 challenging bridge puzzles for declarer play. Several of his other books include fictional characters from his "menagerie" and incorporate them into Bridge problems.
 
NW-Bound said:
I just finished the book, and will see if I can get the movie Julie and Julia. I also heard of this movie, but have not watch it.
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Movie was great . Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were perfect .What ever you do do not get Julie Powel's second book "Cleaving " . It is a complete dog !
 
Moemg said:
I just read "SixYears " by Harlan Coben . What a great book ! I could not put it down .If you like mysteries I highly recommend this book .
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May need to give him a second chance. The only book I've read my him was Back Spin and wasn't impressed though it did have good reviews on Amazon.
 
"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

The life story of Louie Zamperini who was a world class, Olympic runner who participated in the Berlin Olympics and then shortly thereafter joined WWII. He was in the air force and was shot down over the Pacific, spent many, many days at sea in a life raft, was captured by the Japanese and spent years in prison camps. Excellent story that leaves you marveling at the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. I understand it will be made into a movie in the near future.
 
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