What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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I have finished a couple of good books recently. How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, by Michael Pollan, is excellent. Pollan, a journalist and food writer (TheOmnivore's Dilemma) covers the history snd current renaissance of psychedelic research and documents his own experiments at achieving a mystical experience. Fascinating reading.

In a whole different vein I just finished Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith, the final book in the Child 44 trilogy. The trilogy follows the life and career of a conflicted SOviet Secret Policeman from Stalinist times thru the change to the KGB and into the Afghan war period. It is a fascinating look inside Russia over those years.
 
donheff said:
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In a whole different vein I just finished Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith, the final book in the Child 44 trilogy. The trilogy follows the life and career of a conflicted SOviet Secret Policeman from Stalinist times thru the change to the KGB and into the Afghan war period. It is a fascinating look inside Russia over those years.
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Sounds interesting, thanks. I noticed Child 44 which is the first book in the trilogy is available on Kindle for $1.99. I'll just buy it. :)
 
YVRRocketSurgery said:
Just finished Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam too.
I can't recommend this book enough as the first personal finance book people should read. It covers the basic foundations that everyone should start with IMO. Simple is good.
It covers: Spending habits, time/compounding, investment fees/ and active/passive investing, the mental aspect of investing, asset allocation, and how to identify and watch out for scams and pitfalls.
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Another vote for 'Millionaire Teacher' as the go to first finance book to recommend.


I am ploughing though 'Pharmageddon' by David Healy. It is interesting to read about people with whom you w#rked.
 
Just finished a book that's been around awhile -- "Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution" by A.J. Langguth. We all know the gist of the story, so the book delivers few big surprises. But some illuminating detail pops up here and there, like the stories of James Otis, crack lawyer and political firebrand who eventually went mad, or his nemesis Thomas Hutchinson, loyalist governor of the restive Massachusetts colony. How much does the average American know about prominent tories in the colonies? Langguth wrote about several of them.

At one point shortly after passage of the Stamp Act, a mob broke into Hutchinson's house and ransacked it. It's interesting to learn how the threat of violence hung over the heads of colonial officials assigned certain unpopular duties, like apprehending smugglers involved in the thriving colonial black market.

Langguth, while no Stephen Ambrose or David McCullough, is a competent storyteller. His effort adds dimension to the flat narratives in many history books.
 
I'm about halfway through "Bad Call," a book by Mike Scardino about his time in the late 1960s when he worked for an ambulance company in the summer between his college years. Some of the stories are a little gross, so be careful. But it's a page-turner, for sure.
 
donheff said:
If you like medical thrillers, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, is a must read...
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For a more positive spin on Silicon Valley, I am reading Silicon States by Lucie Greene. An interesting look at the multinational implications of the larger players.

Another book I just finished: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. A fascinating look at what constitutes superior performance. Many examples.
 
I just finished "The Paris Architect " by Charles Belfoure . It tells the story of an architect in Paris during World War 2 who was asked to design hiding places for Jews until they could be smuggled to Spain . Great read !
 
Just finished Madame de Maintenon, the Secret Wife of Louis XIV by Veronica Buckley which is a biography of his secret second wife. I am interested in social history during this period and it paints an interesting picture about how life was in Europe during the 17th century.

Also mostly through Traces of Vermeer by Jane Jelly which describes how Vermeer did what he did. It also describes life in Holland in the 17th century.
 
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I just read Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, by Yuval Noah Harari. It raises some thought provoking questions about AI, biotech and nanotech, super-humans, etc. Parts of it were pretty irritating and I suspect the advances these speculations foresee will eventually come but not as fast as the alarmists and evangelists predict. Still worth a read. I downloaded his earlier book, Sapiens, which gets good reviews but haven't read it yet.
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I am about halfway through the book, "Eisenhower vs. Warren," a book about the battle for civil rights and liberties, written by James F. Simon. I saw Simon on C-Span a few weeks ago talking about the book so I got it from the local library.


I read a biography about Warren back in 2010, so some of the book rehashes familiar territory. But the back story about Eisenhower in the post-WWII era leading up to his election and appointment of Warren as Chief Justice of SCOTUS is pretty fascinating.


I am now through the 1955 Brown II decision and how Eisenhower and some of the resistant Southern states are reacting to it. It's pretty tense although I am always shocked at how blatantly stubborn the Deep South was at desegregating its public schools.
 
Gaurdian by Jack Campbell

Our hero, Blackjack Geary, despite having won the war against the nasty Syndicate empire still has to keep defeating them as they prove even more sneaky and diabolical in defeat than they ever were in war. At the same time he must try to understand a seemingly friendly but inscrutable non-human alien culture, and various human factions who see him as a great Savior and/or a potential military dictator.

If they ever bring this series of books to the big screen it will make Star Wars look like goofy aliens on parade.
 
Thanks to the recommendations here, I read two novels in the past month, more than in the past year! First was Rough Justice by Lisa Scottoline, which I enjoyed a lot (especially since I'm somewhat familiar with Philly); I definitely plan to find more of her books. Then I found The Martian on my church's used bookshelf ($1 each) and took it on a trip last week. As many others have said, once you start, it's tough to put down. Really well done.

I have a long list I've compiled from this thread and will start to reserve them with our library. Thanks for all the inspiration!
 
I just finished this one - very good short stories much in the vein of his father's writing. Good stuff.


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scrabbler1 said:
... I am always shocked at how blatantly stubborn the Deep South was at desegregating its public schools.
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You should read Ron Chernow's 'Grant'. I am pretty well versed on U.S. history, but reading about the violent opposition in the South to any type of integration in the post Civil War period has been eye opening for me.
 
Catching up with the most current Louise Penny mystery before her new book is released later this fall. My Mom always reads them right after they're released and she gets frustrated when I'm behind and she can't discuss them.
 
I just read "The Case Against Sugar" by Gary Taubes. Its pretty shocking. I Immediately started cleaning out my pantry. Its a good read if you are concerned about your health, but i have to say, Taubes beats an argument to death, and its a pretty technical read.
 
The story of the Human Body, Evolution, Health, and Disease by Daniel E. Lieberman. I bought this book before I retired and now finally go to it.
 
Bad Call: A Summer Job on a New York Ambulance, by Mike Scardino, is a surprising gem. It is a memoir based on Scardino’s college summer job from 1967 to 1971. Back then it is clear ambulance attendants didn’t need any training or experience. He got the job thru family clout like many of us did back in the day. The “bad calls” he went on are funny, harrowing, and sad. His prose is simple and crisp. I think this guy suffered PTSD from his experiences. Made me realize I could never pass muster as an EMT, a cop, or a fireman. I think this is his first book at 69 years old. Very much worth reading.
 
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After finishing Tom Rob Smith's Child 44 trilogy, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I picked up his latest, The Farm. This is a quite different novel. Set in current day London and Sweden it is a psychological thriller about a mother turning to her son to help her prove that she has been gaslighted because she stumbled on something truly horrible. It gets mixed reviews, some finding it slow and ponderous, others finding it compelling. I'm in the later group. YMMV.
 
Sapiens is a good read, but somehow leaves out sport competition.


Tekward said:
The book "Younger Next Year" made a huge impact on me.
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I got this one from hoopladigital (part of my local library digital collection). I'm on chapter 5 so far. Unfortunately, it's premise is a non-negotiable gym membership. I just can't do gyms. It's a pretty compelling argument that exercise is critical to stave off negative effects of aging based on evolution. I haven't gotten into exactly what exercises they recommend, but it's 6 days a week.
 
I thought Younger Next Year was pretty compelling too. Then I read Body by Science which makes a pretty good case for a much less onerous one day a week high intensity weight program. I follow the BBS approach but add in a second day plus cycling. I suspect the YNY approach of work out hard 6 days a week is best but I also suspect you can get 80% of the benefits with 20% of the effort with a BBS approach.
 
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