What have you read recently?

[bigreader]

Power Failure

The Man who Broke Capitalism by David Gelles, a biography of Jack Welch. I joined a GE sub just after he retired but saw remnants of his style. He'd changed a company previously know as "Generous Electric" to one that followed the thinking of Milton Freidman- increase shareholder value, no matter how you do it and no matter what the cost.

I'm happy to say that I see this changing in corporate America. Some of the efforts at ESG strike me as feel-good or shell games and a company with a wonderfully diverse board of directors may outsource its manufacturing to a country with abysmal human rights violations- but it beats Welch's approach.

Thank you for this recommendation. You might be also also be interested in Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of General Electric by William D. Cohan. While Welch certainly is the main figure, this book also addresses GE pre and post Welch. I thought it was a really good corporate biography. BR

 

[Ally]

I love that book. Mandatory reading for my three sons.



We now collect as many "Death in the __x_National Park_x_" books.

I had no idea! Thanks to you, I just purchased Death at Yellowstone.[emoji16]

 

[Retch The Grate]

Just finished We Are Legion (We Are Bob) and For We Are Many, and started the third book in the Bobiverse series, All These Worlds. Quite fun space opera, just lent the entire Murderbot Diaries series: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Fugitive Telemetry and Network Effect to my friend who lent me the Bobiverse books because they seem to scratch similar itches with the main characters while being VERY different in style and story.

 

[anethum]

I recently read the novel I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai. It's an interesting whodunit set in a New England boarding school. It combines modern touches including social media references, the pandemic, and the Me Too movement. I found it engrossing though I had a few minor reservations.

I enjoyed The Plant Hunter: A Scientist's Quest for Nature's Next Medicines
by Cassandra Leah Quave, a botany PhD and professor. It's part science, part memoir. The author was born with some very serious medical issues and had multiple surgeries as a child. She became interested in traditional medical practices. She explains the science behind using plant-derived compounds which can work in conjunction with antibiotics, which would otherwise fail due to increasing bacterial resistance to them. I wish she discussed more about any commercial & medical success there has been so far.

A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny is #18 in her Gamache series. I've read them all, in order (which I recommend), but I wasn't as keen on some of the recent books in this series. This novel is somewhat different from her recent books. I enjoyed it a bit more than the previous 3 or 4 books in the series.

 

[brett]

Agent Sonya by Ben MacIntyre.

Life of Moscow's most daring wartime spy.

Excellent read.

 

[scrabbler1]

"Secret City, The Hidden History of Gay Washington," by James Kirchick. It's a long book, over 600 pages, spanning the years from FDR through Clinton, although much of the book spans the 1950s (Eisenhower) through the 1980s (Reagan). Lots of stunning and often sad stories about secreted gay politicians, staffers, activists, and others whose lives intersected in unusual ways.

Kirchick often writes very long sentences (>60 words), requiring me to reread the beginning of them so I can fully grasp its meaning. It has made for an interesting, if not exhausting read.

 

[target2019]

I went for Irish history this time. The guy can write and keep your interest.

Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland
Malachy McCourt
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2532580.Malachy_McCourt_s_History_of_Ireland

The pages are populated with figures from myth, history, and the present-from Saint Patrick to Oliver Cromwell, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Charles Parnell to Sinead O'Connor and Bono. Some beloved, some controversial-each influenced the course of Irish and world history. While McCourt vividly describes Ireland's turbulent history, he also offers a cultural survey with fresh insights to the folklore, literature, art, music, and cuisine of Ireland, producing an irresistible tour through the Emerald Isle.

 

[Markola]

Begin the Begin, which is a history of R.E.M. and the 1980s Athens, GA music scene that I was lucky to be on the fringes of due to some relationships there. I always find these rock band accounts interesting, because the members have personal struggles and have to make complicated artistic choices with business implications. These guys certainly did it relatively well in the end.

 

[MichaelB]

I just finished “Babel, or the Necessity of Violence” by RF Kuang.

When I read the description at Goodreads I almost passed it, as the genre is “historical fiction / fantasy” and that’s a combination I never thought I’d be reading. It was very well written, Kuang is a talented writer and I’ll read her other books.

The story here is about Oxford University and the England / China opium wars.

 

[Idnar7]

"Dinner With the President" by Alex Prud'Homme. What each President ate in the White House and how it influenced politics and diplomacy. As a fan of politics and food, I found it fascinating. Also had some on who the White House cooks were, and how the WH kitchen evolved over time. Washington, Jefferson and FDR were food enthusiasts. Dolly Madison was a social entertainer. Some First Ladies were hands on and others were non-involved.

 

[MuirWannabe]

Just finished The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Should have read it long ago. Very much enjoyed the pilgrim’s adventures. At the top of the list of best selling novels of all time. Definitely recommend.

Also highly recommend Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. A most excellent fiction story of Christianity in China.

Also, finished Shadows Reel. The latest in the Joe Pickett series from CJ Box. Always love a Joe Pickett story.

 

[Trailwalker]

Also, finished Shadows Reel. The latest in the Joe Pickett series from CJ Box. Always love a Joe Pickett story.

There's a new one out, Storm Watch. Joe Picket is very popular here. I'm 179th on the library's hold list.

 

[MuirWannabe]

There's a new one out, Storm Watch. Joe Picket is very popular here. I'm 179th on the library's hold list.

Yes, oops. I meant the latest was Storm Watch. Hope you enjoy it. I did.

 

[steelyman]

Keeping with my habit of being a couple of years behind everyone else on the planet, I finished Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens yesterday.

It seemed a bit of a slow starter at first but once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw there is a movie version out but have avoided it (spoilers).

One reason why I’d had it on my to-read list is that it’s set right here in North Carolina. The town is fictional but the best guesses I’ve come across are Bath and New Bern.

 

[harllee]

Keeping with my habit of being a couple of years behind everyone else on the planet, I finished Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens yesterday.

It seemed a bit of a slow starter at first but once I got into it I thoroughly enjoyed it. I saw there is a movie version out but have avoided it (spoilers).

One reason why I’d had it on my to-read list is that it’s set right here in North Carolina. The town is fictional but the best guesses I’ve come across are Bath and New Bern.

If you like the book you will probably like the movie.

 

[Sanstar]

I’ve had a hard time these past few years finding a book that will hold my interest enough to finish it. Thought I’d see if there were any James Mitchner books I haven’t read as I was an avid reader in my younger years and he was a favorite author. Found one, Space! Starts with WWII. Am half way through it and really enjoying it. No doubt I’ll be finishing this one.

 

[indiajust]

I just finished up Morgan Housel, Psychology of Money. It's a summary of his blogs, so if you have been a regular reader it is not worth it. If not, he has great takes on risk, reward, and psychology.

I just finished a 1979 book from a friend. Walter Williams, the State against blacks. If you want insight into what is now termed institutional .... delivered in a folksy readable practical style, this is the book. I am a big fan of Thomas Sowell, he can clear cobwebs from any brain. Williams is a practical and deceptively simple read.

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I just finished "Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies: by César Hidalgo. A little rough sledding, but this helped make so much sense about so many aspects of our complex world that it was enthralling.
https://www.amazon.com/Why-Information-Grows-Evolution-Economies/dp/0465096840/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

[indiajust]

Around the same time I stumbled into RE and realized I had FI, I started reading a bunch of financial blogs and following their recommendations. The best sites had sections titled variations on "What I am reading now". The shock for me is the caliber of writing and understanding of risk. I was expecting lame selfhelp style formulaic investing tropes and ended up on the South Pole reading Shackleton, in psych with Housel, even moral philosophy with adam smith. I never saw it coming and have read several local libraries completely out of my interests.

I typically skim the reading lists and paste them into the apple notes which is shared to all my devices. That way I have it at my fingertips in any used book store, any library, any browser window.

I even write up the occasional book report for my linkedin feed and spend a date night or seven in discussions.

I'm not sure if I am compensating for the paucity of thoughtfulness in media, returning to my roots, or just enjoying myself.

There's an incredible amount of great thinking on offer and I am paying with my time to enjoy it.

 

[Dreamer]

I just finished, Die With Zero, by Bill Perkins. I saw that quite a few people on here had read it and got it out on Hoopla. I wish that I had read it 25 years ago. I am 70 years old now, so no time like the present. I really enjoyed it.

 

[Lsbcal]

I am currently reading Origin Stories about “big history.”. So far this is a fantastic description from the Big Bang through to our species. I’m taking it slowly as this requires some thoughtful reading. There is another great book by the same author entitled Big History which has some great illustrations. It is a heavy book so could not take it along on our vacation.

With all the contentious politics and angst this book puts things in perspective. . That’s what I need.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have nearly finished "Stars and Strikes, Baseball and America in the Bicentennial Summer of '76" by Dan Epstein. Epstein, who wrote a book about 1970s baseball titled, "Big Hair and Plastic Grass," later decided to write an entire book about 1976, a year which had a lot of activity and excitement in MLB as well as in the country in general.

For me, who grew up in the 1970s and was 13 in 18976, I could surely relate to a lot of what he wrote about that year. It's a page-turner.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I’ve had a hard time these past few years finding a book that will hold my interest enough to finish it. Thought I’d see if there were any James Mitchner books I haven’t read as I was an avid reader in my younger years and he was a favorite author. Found one, Space! Starts with WWII. Am half way through it and really enjoying it. No doubt I’ll be finishing this one.

My James Michener experience was not like yours. I had friends that have talked about how great his books are, with the warning that they are kind of long. I don't have a problem with long books if they are engaging. I decided I would try Michener's book "Centennial", basically the history of Colorado.

After an introduction to the basic framework of the story--in 1973 a history professor is commissioned to write the history the North Platte river area of Colorado. He goes to Centennial and starts his research. The research literally started out in prehistoric days. I'm talking about the nitty-gritty of rock strata formation, then onto how life started, or abiogenesis, then onto simple forms of life, then how plants evolved, how fossils were formed, in intricate detail. Pages and pages. Chapters of it. Then we moved up to small reptiles, then dinosaurs, including dinosaur characters (with names, even) and their lifestyles and conflicts with other dinosaurs. I'm over 150 pages into the book that's 1,200 pages long and I'm still in the Mesozoic age! I quit reading.

 

[harley]

^^
I had this problem with Dune. I would read the first 100 pages or so, then lose interest in the boring background info. I did this two or three times over a decade or so. Finally someone told me that it got good right about where I was quitting. I forced myself through the incredibly long introduction and discovered they were right. It was a great book. But it should have had a warning label about the background info.

 

[Pointby2]

Decided to open my horizons and read Greta Thunberg's book "The Climate Book: Facts and Solutions", hoping to learn more about climate change. On the positive side, I liked that the way the book was organized from where we are now to where we need to go. All the chapters were short and each were written by a different author so you get a lot of perspectives. On the other side, it's a lot of gloom and doom. We've passed a lot of the "tipping points", we aren't even close to doing enough to be net zero by 2045. One chapter suggests we close the top 100 businesses in the US to save the planet. That would be all the energy companies and the US government. I was hoping there would be practical solutions to the challenge of climate, but I didn't find them here.

The book gets almost five stars on Amazon and 4.4 of Goodreads. Guess it's just me.