What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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I just finished re-listening (Audible) to the 20-book Aubrey-Maturin (Master and Commander) series by Patrick O'Brian. The series follows the careers of a British naval sea captain and his close friend and ship's surgeon. I'm a sucker for adventure and historical fiction, and I enjoy the relationship that develops over the years between these two main characters. The books are set primarily during the Napoleonic Wars, but also during the War of 1812. Simon Vance does a wonderful job of narration, vocally helping to create many unique and quirky characters. I thoroughly enjoyed going through the series again.
 
Andy Weir's, Artemis, is a quick read that is a worthy follow-on to The Martian although not in the same league. This time the action is set on Moonbase Artemis sometime in the late 21st century. The protagonist is a rebellious 26 year old woman who is a hybrid of Lisbeth Salander and Mark Watney with all of Watney's McGiver skills. The book is derivative of the Martian but that seems like a reasonable thing. In any event, it is enough of a page turner that I finished it the day I cracked the spine.
 
Lsbcal said:
Thanks. I will look this one up but will first start with Mayflower by the same author Nathaniel Philbrick. ...
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I'm reading Mayflower now. Like Philbrick's other books, it is really making this period of history come alive. I think he is an excellent author.
 
donheff said:
Andy Weir's, Artemis, is a quick read that is a worthy follow-on to The Martian although not in the same league.<snip>
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Thanks for this post. I hadn't known that Weir had written another book so I bought it from Amazon (library didn't have it) and started reading it late this morning. I'll probably finish it tomorrow. I'm about halfway through at the point where she just escaped from the hotel room where one of the bad guys tried to slice her head off.

Agreed it's not in the same league as The Martian but I sure don't regret spending the money on the book. I'll probably donate it to the library when I'm done with it.
 
Reading A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea. Good read so far. Makes you really appreciate the good ol USA.
 
chicamuxen said:
Reading A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea. Good read so far. Makes you really appreciate the good ol USA.
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Got that book as an Amazon Prime freebie but haven't read it yet. Sounds like an interesting read. I spent some time in the northern part of South Korea in the early 70's and have always had an interest in the two Koreas.
 
"Curing Cancer with Carrots" by Ann Cameron. Yes, I know the title sounds preposterous. Found this book while searching about juicing, which I've been doing for years. I was about to pass it by but the Amazon reviews piqued my curiosity and it was only $5 on the Kindle. Surprisingly good and well researched.

Coolrich, agreed about Nathaniel Philbrick's books. Very good. "In the Heart of the Sea" was excellent (though the film adaptation was not.) I put Nantucket on my travel list after reading that one. Quite a story.
 
REWahoo said:
Got that book as an Amazon Prime freebie but haven't read it yet. Sounds like an interesting read. I spent some time in the northern part of South Korea in the early 70's and have always had an interest in the two Koreas.
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Same here. Not the most well-written book, but I suspect part of the issue might be due to the translation. Regardless, the story is pretty compelling.
 
Lsbcal said:
Finished Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves. This is the latest in her Shetland series of police procedurals: https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Earth-Shetland-Mystery-Mysteries/dp/1250107385

I would give it 4 stars out of 5. I prefer her Vera series but this is good too.
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Just finished listening to this. I love the books and TV adaptations of both the Shetland and Vera series, and the audible Vera books, but omg was Cold Earth a slow-moving story, really noticeable when listening.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Just finished listening to this. I love the books and TV adaptations of both the Shetland and Vera series, and the audible Vera books, but omg was Cold Earth a slow-moving story, really noticeable when listening.
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I think you have to enjoy it for the characterizations.
 
Yesterday I started rereading Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'.

A great book that I like to read every year during the Christmas season.
 
sengsational said:
So many experiments show that getting enough good sleep is so much more important that society gives it credit for. Memory, health, aging... a huge list.
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What, you woke me up just to tell me that? ;)
 
I'm about 200 pages into Ulysses Grant's new biography by Ron Chernow. It's a pretty good page turner -- I just got past Shiloh.
 
Nemo2 said:
What, you woke me up just to tell me that? ;)
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Ha! Yeah. The book does say to put away the electronics long before bedtime, which probably include turning off the ER forum alerts.
 
sengsational said:
Ha! Yeah. The book does say to put away the electronics long before bedtime, which probably include turning off the ER forum alerts.
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Blasphemy! "Get thee to a [-]nunnery[/-] monastery!" :LOL:
 
My last three books were all pretty good. The Water Will Come, by Jeff Goodell, looks at the current and anticipated impact of rising seas on coastal areas, particularly major cities around the world. Sort of a prelude to Kim Stanley Robinson's fictional New York 2150 which is also good.

The Dry, by Jane Harper, is an excellent debut mystery set in a drought ridden south Australian town. The protagonist, a cop from Melbourne, returns to his home town after 20 years to attend the funeral of his best friend who allegedly killed his family and himself. He joins with a local cop to investigate that death and the death of his 16 year old girl friend when he was still in high school.

The Quantum Spy, by David Ignatius, is a thriller set in the current day CIA featuring Chinese efforts to steal our work on quantum computing. It is a well crafted, low key thriller, with endorsements from two former CIA directors.
 
The Infidel and The Professor
David Hume, Adam Smith, and the friendship that shaped modern thought

Hume and Smith were two of the greatest intellectuals of the 18th century, and also best friends. This very well written book gives the story of that friendship as well as a brief but very accessible explanation of their thoughts.
 
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