What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[scrabbler1]

I have just begun "Love Wins" which is the story about the SCOTUS case in 2015 about legalizing same-sex marriage. It was co-written by Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.

[brett]

Just finished Robert Kaplan's Asia Cauldron. Second time around. Good book if you are interested in the changing political/military dynamics in SE Asia.

Also just read Amanda Lindhout's A House in the Sky detailing her kidnapping and 450 day captivity in Somalia.

Both were good books.

[Koogie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koogie Thanks to you both re: The Expanse.

Read Leviathan Wakes and enjoyed it. Will probably read more of the series.

Also recently read Altered Carbon by Richard K Morgan. A mix of scifi and detective noir that is written for adult audiences. Greatly enjoyed it and am now moving on into more of that series as well.

Have been on a bit of sci-fi kick lately. Probably because there are some really good series being written that weren't available (or I overlooked) in the past.

[Marita40]

I just started a new work of literary criticism, Everybody Behaves Badly, about the making of Hemingway's early novel The Sun Also Rises. It is such a fascinating and strange novel in many ways--really groundbreaking--that I'm finding this book delicious! I taught Sun for years in my literature classes so know it backwards and forwards. This is the kind of explanatory book I wish I had written myself!

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Unlike most here, I mainly read nonfiction. The latest is an extraordinarily well written account of how genes were discovered and understood (as far as they are currently understood). The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh I also favour nonfiction. The Gene is on my list. I also recommend Mukherjee's first book, The Emperor of All Maladies, a biography of Cancer.

I am also a mostly non-fiction reader.

+1 on Emperor of All Maladies.

Logging on to my local library now to see if it has this newer book.

[rayinpenn]

I read "the nest" as suggested as a summer read by Money Magazine.. Frankly the ending was a bit disappointing in its realism... Bad guy stays bad.


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[RobbieB]

Top Secret Twenty-One - Janet Evanovich

This was really good, pulp fiction written by a woman. Our hero is Stephanie Plum, bond enforcer. There are the usual corpses with gunshot wounds, a Polonium 210 killer and a "sorta-spy" guy and a cop. Not to mention a dwarf and a pack of killer Chihuahuas.

This was the first "multiple murder" thrillers that had more than a few laughs in it. Very refreshing.

[6miths]

I relistened to the Emperor of All Maladies last week and followed it up with The Death of Cancer by Vincent DeVita, Jr. The former was definitely the better book but DeVita's insights as a former long serving head of the NCI and insider were very interesting. I found his descriptions of battles with the FDA particularly memorable.

[Sarah in SC]

My sci-fi post-apocalypse audio book binge continues--I just finished up all three of DJ MacHale's Sylo books.

These are ostensibly young adult fiction, but I really enjoyed them. Maybe I'm regressing, lol. Compelling characters--four teenagers surviving after a huge battle between "Sylo", one branch of the US military, and an unknown but highly advanced Air Force. If you have YA readers in your family, especially boys, this might be a good series to try on them.

Now on Dog Stars, by Peter Heller, more like McCarthy's The Road, but such beautiful and evocative language. Colorado natives, fly fishing enthusiasts, and pilots would probably like the in-depth discussions of the main character about these subjects.

[donheff]

Blockchain Revolution, by Don and Alex Tapscott is interesting and very worth skimming through although I am ambivalent about whether it is important. The book attempts to outline why the technology under the Bitcoin hood will be the next technology tsunami, disrupting huge components of society from banking and financial services, to Uber, to the Internet of Things. I was vaguely aware of the cryptology foundations of how Bitcoin works but dismissed it as a fringe activity for techo-libertarians and black market drug buyers. I didn't know that the field is booming, increasing in a couple of years from a few million in interest to over $500 million in VC funding last year. Major banks, Governments, and top universities are jamming into the space, all either convinced (as the book argues) that blockchain tech will transform the world or just making sure they don't ignore a marginally possible blockbuster change like Gates almost missed the Internet. The downside is that the book is poorly written. It is a redundant mishmash of fanboy exuberance that leaves you wondering what the authors are talking about half the time. And the technical introduction to the tech is too vague to get a strong feel for how the network functions and whether it is potentially scalable for the massive disruption the book forecasts. The last few section redeem the book to a degree as they outline potential roadblocks, governance issues and the like.

Interesting enough that I will try to learn more. I already enrolled in a Princeton University Coursera course on the underlying technology. I spotted the value of the Internet fairly early on (wrote my own personal website in 1994) and made a switch from HR to IT as a result). Maybe this is the next big thing. Whatever - my portfolio will remain in a broadly diversified set of index funds. At most I will get a Bitcoin wallet and buy a few unregulated crypto-shares of a couple of blockchain innovators through some black market investment scheme.

[SpinDr]

Having a very stressful job has led me to lighter reads and more escapist literature. Just finished a series of books "The Dresden Files" that were a lot of fun. My Sci-Fantasy interested son turned me on to these. Basic premise is a modern day wizard living in Chicago fighting evil Great fun reads for those that like Sci-Fi kind of stuff.

Over the past few years as job demands have become tougher I find that some of the more serious or darker subjects have less appeal for me.

[RobbieB]

The Jungle - Clive Cussler

Another of the Oregon files.

Juan Castillo and Co. vs ruthless terrorists intent on ruling the world. Yup, once again -

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB Top Secret Twenty-One - Janet Evanovich This was really good, pulp fiction written by a woman. Our hero is Stephanie Plum, bond enforcer. There are the usual corpses with gunshot wounds, a Polonium 210 killer and a "sorta-spy" guy and a cop. Not to mention a dwarf and a pack of killer Chihuahuas. This was the first "multiple murder" thrillers that had more than a few laughs in it. Very refreshing.

I became aware of Janet Evanovich less than a year ago and have read all 23 of the Stephanie Plum series and 5 of the Fox and O'Hare series to date. Great fun. I only wish there were a few dozen more. I guess I will have to search for an author with similar style.

Cheers!

[Nemo2]

Recently finished Prayer by Philip Kerr https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...eview-thriller author of, among other things, the Bernie Gunter series, and one of my favorite writers*.

(*Which was the only reason I finished it, rather than tossing it aside....very disappointing. I just hope his latest, The Other Side of Silence, the next of the Bernie Gunter books, puts him back on his usual form.)

Currently reading Day After Day by Carlo Lucarelli Day After Day by Carlo Lucarelli — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists and translated by Oonah Stransky, the second of the Grazia Negro books....much better!

[Ally]

I'm nearly finished with Anna Karenina and I love it. Don't spoil the end, because people keep trying to tell me about the end. I like all the individual stories weaving together and love the observations about human nature.


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[Moemg]

"A few of the girls " . It is a collection of short stories by Maeve Binchy. It started slow but it got better as the book progressed .

[Nemo2]

Just started Joseph Heller's Closing Time, (the sequel to Catch 22)

Closing Time | Book by Joseph Heller | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster Canada

Already found a quote that pertains to my own personal experience. Yossarian: "But if you can delay the decision of what you want to do with your life until you're old enough to retire, you will never have to make it."

[donheff]

The Girls, a debut novel by 25 year old Emma Cline, was very good. It is primarily set in 1969 and loosely based on the Manson Murders. The book doesn't quite capture the flavor of the 60s (but why would a current 25 y/o really "know" that tumultuous decade) but she writes beautifully and captures the soul and voice of a troubled 14 year old girl. Or at least captures it well for this old guy. I will leave it up to you ladies to tell me whether that is correct. The newspaper reviews were glowing: brilliant, mesmerizing, seductive, and on and on. I agree with all of those accolades. A few of the Amazon reviews dis it for rehashing an event we all know about but I think they miss the point - the novel isn't about a murder it is about why a young girl might be drawn in by destructive personalities. Good read.

[Lsbcal]

Don, I'm impressed by the range of your reading materials. I probably would have passed on such a young author. Good that you have an open mind on this.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Don, I'm impressed by the range of your reading materials. I probably would have passed on such a young author. Good that you have an open mind on this.

In this case my 30 yo daughter brought the book by last week and suggested I might like it. But, in my eclectic defense, it was already in my library online holds list where I am #93 in line for an ePub version. I read a review a while back and had independently decided to read it.