What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[Cattusbabe]

I just finished The Bellwether by Connie Willis. You can find a synopsis here:

Amazon.com: Bellwether eBook: Connie Willis: Kindle Store

I am currently reading Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
Amazon.com: Three Men in a Boat eBook: Jerome K. Jerome: Kindle Store

Next up is To Say Nothing of the Dog also by Connie Willis which references the Jerome book.

Amazon.com: To Say Nothing of the Dog eBook: Connie Willis: Kindle Store

[vicente solano]

Listening to "Odd Thomas" by D. Koontz. I am enjoying it.

[haha]

I just read a terrific tale by a Brit who went to Hong Kong as a young man and made his career in China. It's called Mr. China, and the author's name is Tim Clissold.

Ha

[Moemg]

I just finished "the secret life of Cee Cee Wilkes " . Great book for traveling . Keeps you absorbed so you do not notice the turbulence .

[DangerMouse]

I just finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpara Lahiri. It was ok, was easy to read, but hasn't left any kind of lasting impression on me.

[donheff]

I recently stumbled on Sleepless, by Charlie Huston, and highly recommend it. It is a cop mystery/thriller set in a parallel 2010. At about the same time as the housing collapse a prion based epidemic (think mad cow disease) has broken out. Similar to the very real Fatal Familial Insomnia, this new disease renders people incapable of sleeping. They wander about at all hours and eventually die. The impact, along with weather disasters has plummeted the world into a catastrophic mess. Our detective protagonist is undercover, trying to find people dealing in black market "Dreamer," a drug that can alleviate the symptoms of SLP although it can't postpone death. His path collides with that of a ruthless killer on a different mission. Definitely hard to put down.

[W2R]

Finished reading

1. JFK and Sam: The Connection Between the Giancana and Kennedy Assasinations by Antoinette Giancana and co-authors. While entertaining, there is almost nothing in this book that sheds new light on the JFK assassination so I would not recommend buying it. It is interesting to see Giancana's daughter's viewpoints on much of this. Beyond that, nada.

2. Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning, by Laura Dogu. Some is stuff that I should have learned 10 years ago, but it is interesting to see what I might have missed and it is well written. Much of it could still be very useful to me now in retirement. The chapters are written by a variety of Bogleheads on their individual areas of expertise, and are very clear and intelligent as one might expect. This is one to read while still planning retirement, as one might surmise from the title.

I am now reading

3. Bloody Treason: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Noel Twyman. This is a lengthy treatise on the JFK assassination that is out of print, so the price is exorbitant ($130 and up for a new copy) except for the Kindle version which is $10. Hopefully this book will provide more information that is new to me than the Giancana book did.

4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It's been a few years, and the Kindle version can be obtained for free, so...

[Ronstar]

I'm half way through "History of Southwest Yuma County Colorado" by Eugene Fadenrecht, written by the father of DW's aerobic class instructor.

[Leonidas]

The Sling and the Stone by T.X. Hammes. An analysis of what he calls 4th Generation Warfare, or how insurgencies can defeat modern military forces. Donald Rumsfeld should have read this book.

[TromboneAl]

I just finished

Amazon.com: More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea (9780007334872): Tom Reynolds: Books

and it's the first book that I read entirely on my iPod touch.

The author states that being an EMT/ambulance driver is less excited that that depicted on TV shows, and the book kind of proves that. The different calls are kind of interesting, but not that exciting. I rate it a 6/10.

[W2R]

Six Easy Pieces: Fundamentals of Physics Explained by Richard P. Feynman. This book contains six of Feynman's celebrated, landmark lectures in physics. Feynman's lectures explain physics simply, without using equations or math. He provides an intuitive and almost philosophical understanding of physics that is easily understood and pleasant for anyone to read whether a physicist or non-scientist.

I also downloaded the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (just $0.99 for all six volumes), but don't expect to finish it any time soon. One of these days.

[Westernskies]

The Big Burn, by Timothy Egan.

Fascinating account of the early days of the US Forest Service and the Great Northwest Wildfire of 1910. Interesting insight into the politics, policies, and personalities of Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Gifford Pinchot.

[TeeRuh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westernskies The Big Burn, by Timothy Egan. Fascinating account of the early days of the US Forest Service and the Great Northwest Wildfire of 1910. Interesting insight into the politics, policies, and personalities of Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, and Gifford Pinchot.

I enjoyed the above and you should follow up with The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley for a whole different perspective on Roosevelt and Taft. This book is not without controversy and my personal take is that Bradley puts some negative attributes on Roosevelt that were merely the facts of the times. Amazon reviewers were: 35 = 5 star ratings and 46 = 1 star ratings. This book left me wanting to read a Roosevelt biography (on my list).

(Also, though I think it was previously mentioned, Tim Egan's book on the Dust Bowl was a great read!)

t.r.

[ziggy29]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeRuh Amazon reviewers were: 35 = 5 star ratings and 46 = 1 star ratings.

Typical of works that are controversial and/or political. If they agree with the author's perspective and politics, it's a 5; if they disagree, it's a 1. Doesn't matter how well written, well researched or thought provoking it is (or isn't). All that matters is whether or not they agree with the author's take.

[Westernskies]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeeRuh I enjoyed the above and you should follow up with The Imperial Cruise: A Secret History of Empire and War by James Bradley for a whole different perspective on Roosevelt and Taft. This book is not without controversy and my personal take is that Bradley puts some negative attributes on Roosevelt that were merely the facts of the times. Amazon reviewers were: 35 = 5 star ratings and 46 = 1 star ratings. This book left me wanting to read a Roosevelt biography (on my list). (Also, though I think it was previously mentioned, Tim Egan's book on the Dust Bowl was a great read!) t.r.

Also just finished "East of the Sun and West of the Moon"- the story of TR and Kermit Roosevelt's trek through the roof of the world. Found a dusty old first-edition at a thrift store...paid $2 for it... (unclemick would be proud )

Thanks for the recommendation re: Egan's book on the Dust Bowl- will look for it (used, gotta LBYM...) on B&N.com.

ws

[TeeRuh]

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those who survived the Great American Dust Bowl (I wasn't to clear on the title.) Looks like you may have to go as high as $3.00. Of course I got it at the library for free!

t.r.

[W2R]

A Terrible Thunder: The Story of the New Orleans Sniper by Peter Hernon, is my latest reading adventure. I downloaded it to my Kindle last night on a whim.

This book is about the Howard Johnson's sniper who terrorized downtown New Orleans back in 1972, and it is absolutely riveting. I always wondered what could possibly lead someone to do something like this (though I suspect that I could never understand the "reasoning" of any murderer, but still I want to know!). Hernon digs into all the details, bit by bit, like peeling an onion. Or perhaps more gruesomely, like performing an autopsy of this crime.

This book is possibly in the "can't put it down" category.

[CuppaJoe]

I'm alternating between James Joyce's "Ulysses" and "Birth of Impressionism." I like the first a lot, the edition has a detailed synopsis and analysis to read before each chapter, works for me, some of it is laugh-out-loud funny. The second is a catalog for an upcoming exhibit, promises to show the current thinking on Impressionism which I'm guessing is different from my last-go-round which was very very different from my first time with a wonderful old edition of Gardner's "Art through the Ages."

[IndependentlyPoor]

Just finished The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and I am sorry to say that I found it a very irritating book. It is set in Sweden and has altogether too many sentences like this:

Quote:

The news that he was becoming part owner of Millennium was just as improbable as Peter Wallenberg or Erik Penser popping up as part owners of ETC or sponsors of Ordfront magazine.

Get it?
Well, I didn't either.
I began to resent having to Google up Swedish politicians and business leaders just to figure out what the references were about.

In addition there were so many characters that the book included a family tree and a table of characters.

Not going to continue reading the series.

[TromboneAl]

I just finished

Amazon.com: Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers (9780316012799): Michael Connelly: Books

I was expecting another Connelly novel, but it's just a collection of his crime beat newspaper stories back before he became an author. Pretty ho-hum and many of the crimes he reported were never solved, so it's readus interruptus.

6/10.