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What have you read recently? 2009 -2020
Old 03-11-2009, 04:09 PM   #1
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What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

I find that reading a little bit of fiction makes my life feel richer and beats watching stocks go down. Here are a few books I've gotten from the library and read in the last few months:

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, one of his series about a lady detective in Botswana. Done in a lighthearted and humerous way. I think the first book in this series is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Dreaming of Bones
by Deborah Crombie. Second book in her Kinkaid & Gemma mystery series. Well written in a style that reminds me of P.D. James. A believable plot line.

At Risk by Stella Rimington. The author is a former director of MI5 so she knows what she's talking about. Story about a female MI5 officier who pursues two terrorists in Britain.
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Old 03-11-2009, 04:17 PM   #2
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Mostly non-fiction, "Line Upon a Wind" by Noel Mostert about Britain's war at sea from 1793-1815. Also "Stressed Out About Nursing School" by Stephanie Thibeault as I go off to school this fall (and am not really stressed about it, but open to learning anything I can before I get there.)

Finally, a great read by Neil Gaiman titled "The Graveyard Book". A piece of young adult fiction that's a Newberry Award winner, it's innovatively written and one of a kind, highly recommended.
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Old 03-11-2009, 04:25 PM   #3
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For entertainment, I read most of the posts in this forum...

Always factual, never fictional... or was it always fictional, never factual?. I forget...
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Old 03-11-2009, 04:47 PM   #4
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For entertainment, I read most of the posts in this forum..

Always factual, never fictional... or was it always fictional never factual?. I forget...
It's a fact that I read the fiction in my previous post .

For nonfiction, I found this one interesting:
Wealth, War and Wisdom by Barton Biggs. It covers a lot of 20th century market movements in the US and other developed countries. Biggs has lived though a lot of financial and geopolitical turmoil.
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:07 PM   #5
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My current Trashy Novel is Jeffrey Archer's "A Prisoner of Birth". I'm on page 100 of a 600 page book and so far it's got me interested in the plot. It's a whodunnit based around a murder trial and if I know Jeffrey Archer, the innocent guy who's likely to be convicted for the murder will get his revenge in the end. Archer spent time in jail for fraud and had plenty of time to do literary research there!
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:27 PM   #6
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I'm mostly a reader of nonfiction now. The last novel I read was Heyday by Kurt Anderson. The most recently completed nonfiction book was The Forgotten Man by Amity Shlaes - an examination of FDR's handling of the Great Depression. Next up are Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt and Paper and Iron: Hamburg Business and German Politics in the Era of Inflation by Niall Ferguson.
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:32 PM   #7
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Old Yeller. Someone gave my 97 year old aunt the book and she wanted me to read it since I have a dog. How could I say no? Up next, Big Red.
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:51 PM   #8
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I'm reading the new Maeve Binchy book "Heart & Soul " . I'm also reading "Spend till the end " .
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Old 03-11-2009, 05:54 PM   #9
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Old Yeller. Someone gave my 97 year old aunt the book and she wanted me to read it since I have a dog. How could I say no? Up next, Big Red.
Be careful, I cried at the end.
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Old 03-11-2009, 06:22 PM   #10
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I just finished Dracula. Now I am re-reading S.I Hayakawa's book, Language in Thought and Action.

Ha
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Old 03-11-2009, 06:52 PM   #11
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Be careful, I cried at the end.
Oh gosh, that's for sure. I bawled like a baby.
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:01 PM   #12
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I've been reading a bit of fiction:

DOW 1000: by Dr. Doom.
S&P hits zero: by Best Economist
The World Ends Now: by Jehova and His Witnesses
Better Times Await: by Barak Obama
I can Predict: by Jim Cramer
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:09 PM   #13
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For now, I do a lot of serious and frivolous reading online.
I do have several books on deck...
Enough by Bogle
Getting Started in a Fiancially Secure Retirement by Hebeler
True Stories of Law & Order (TV show) compilation by Dwyer and Fiorillo

...but I haven't started any of them.
One of my voracious reading spurts hasn't happened since fall. I'm due. Then I will rip through all 3 of them and look for more.
I think I have a few Danielle Steele hardcovers floating around somewhere for some "junk food" reading.
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:27 PM   #14
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Okay, this is embarrassing, but here goes. Fatal Tide by Iris Johansen, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson and Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. My 20 yr old daughter has 5 of the Shopaholic books and some other books by Sophie Kinsella. She said she really liked reading them and I saw there was a movie out, so decided to give the first book a try. I was at my DD's apt, when I started reading it. I told her that I did not think I was going to be able to read the book, as it goes against everything I believe in, money wise. I told her that several times and she told me that I did not have to read it. I hate to not finish a book that I start reading. Then I became hooked, wondering how this was all going to end. I kept wondering if this is how people who run up their credit cards, etc, in real life, think. Example: She would throw away bills unopened, so she would not have to worry about them anymore. Anyway, I will probably end up reading the other 4 books, just as a way of sharing things with my DD. I am definitely into light reading at this time!
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:30 PM   #15
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Stephen King's "Ur." Quick, entertaining, forgettable.

Just started "The Cook's Illustrated How to Cook Library" Oi ve, the purees, to die for. Don't miss the section on appetizers. For me cookbooks are fiction.
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:44 PM   #16
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Criminal rap sheets.
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Old 03-11-2009, 07:52 PM   #17
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Criminal rap sheets.
Fiction? Friction?
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Old 03-11-2009, 08:42 PM   #18
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Fiction? Friction?
Fact is stranger than friction fiction....
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Old 03-11-2009, 08:43 PM   #19
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I know he's an old timer, but I just discovered Ken Follett and love it. Big John LeCarre fan. Anything by Updike.

Got a Kindle 2 for my recent b'day and loading it up. Keep the suggestions coming.
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Old 03-11-2009, 08:47 PM   #20
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I am definitely into light reading at this time!
Sometimes chick lit is what is needed .Especially if you are reading on a beach . My DD and I have shared many lite books.
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