What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[donheff]

Just talking about books we liked in common with my son and a couple of recommendations came up:

Enduring Love, Ian McEwen (author of Atonement). An engrossing psychological thriller, Great read. Lots of science, psychology, philosophy.

Wasp Factory, Ian Banks. The most twisted novel I have ever read. You will love it or hate it.

[Lsbcal]

Read The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith, a short read (245 pages) as most of his books are. This is the first in a series and takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The author is actually a professor at the university there so he knows the city. We had visited the city some years ago so it was interesting to read an insiders view. I liked it a lot although it got only 3 stars at Amazon. The other books in the series get more stars if that's any consolation.

Also am sampling Larry Swedroe's Alternative Investments. He has sections on The Good, The Flawed, The Bad, and the Ugly. Very good discussion on TIPS, for instance, in The Good section. You can also read the author's views and ask him questions over at the Boglehead's site.

[donheff]

Just Finished "Watchmen" a graphic novel (i.e. comic book) with a cult following. It won the Hugo back in 1987 or so. DD bought if for me for Christmas before we heard the movie was coming out. I liked it. Has anyone seen the movie?

[Moemg]

Just finished Harlan Coben's new book "Long Lost " . It was a read in one day type book because you can not put it down .

[Sarah in SC]

Financially Ever After by WSJ columnist Jeff Opdyke. This one would make a great wedding gift for those young folks we all know. I thought it was up to his usual good standards.

[deserat]

"Cryptomonicom" by Neal Stephenson and now reading his "Quicksilver." These books are 1000 page monsters!

Also reading some essays by James Stockdale - awesome man.

"Free to Choose" by Milton Friedman.

Ripped through some Rex Stout books with Nero Wolfe - also read as much of Tony Hillerman as possible this year.

[donheff]

JPod, by Douglas Coupland (Microserfs), was a fun read. After that I read King of Sting which is an interesting look at a guy who made a living, and earned a jail, sentence ripping off dope dealers.

[Lsbcal]

Read The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst. About a French intelligence officier stationed in Warsaw and running operations targeting the Germans during the years 1937-38. I think Furst gives us a good historical sense of the intelligence conflicts that led up to WW2, particularly if you read his earlier works as well like Blood of Victory. Furst's heros always seem to get the girl too.

[mickeyd]

The Mission, The Men, and Me By Pete Blaber (ex Delta Force CO)

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lsbcal Read The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst. About a French intelligence officier stationed in Warsaw and running operations targeting the Germans during the years 1937-38. I think Furst gives us a good historical sense of the intelligence conflicts that led up to WW2, particularly if you read his earlier works as well like Blood of Victory. Furst's heros always seem to get the girl too.

I have read most of his books and i really like them. Sometimes I get a little confused by the way that he moves around in time and space, but it is worth the trouble to get it straight.

His books set me on a lot on non-fiction reading from and about that period too.

Ha

[Nords]

For you Jim Butcher fans, his next Harry Dresden book "Turn Coat" is out.

But before you claw your way to the front of the line, track down a less-popular four-story novella anthology called "Mean Streets". He's the first author and the other three are "OK" by comparison. But Butcher's short story picks up a year after the last book left off and gives you a nice look at the rest of the story-- with, eventually, a happy ending.

I'm still #16 in the library queue for "Turn Coat". It's almost turned me into a Kindler...

[Lsbcal]

Read Friends, Lovers, Chocolate by Alexander McCall Smith. The second in the Sunday Philosophy Club series. This book is really delightful, humerous, and I found it surprisingly engaging. Takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. Isabel meets a man who has received a heart transplant and he has had some recurring visions.

[Sarah in SC]

Just finished Dr. David Kessler's End of Overeating:Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. I read a review of it in the Wall Street Journal the day it came out and was quite impressed with the sound of it. WSJ Article here

I read the first 70 pages at the bookstore and decided it was worth ponying up the $25 for it. I have to say I'm pretty impressed. It does read like a textbook, but his research is excellent and his conclusions do make a lot of sense.

He takes up some of Michael Pollan's points made in Omnivore's Dilemma, which I liked. A particularly interesting observation was that much of the prepared food we now eat has been practically "pre-digested" and pumped up with water to make it easier to swallow and digest. This naturally makes it possible to eat even more food than when we had to chew diligently to get it down. He used apples and applesauce as one example.

The final part of the book addresses a real problem that I know I have--why are some foods so hard to put down, and how can you retrain your brain to not do the same cue-response that it has always done when faced with foods of your obsession?

His descriptions of the foods sold at chain restaurants like Chili's was disturbing--there is a certain gross factor of knowing how they manipulate ingredients so, for instance, the tortilla wrap soaks up more grease, making the fat-salt-fat layering more effective. He describes the three main ingredients in foods that he calls highly palatable as those containing fat, salt and sugar. If a food is able to incorporate all three, then it will surely be a home run in the grocery store.

Reading it made me very conscious of food cues and how I react to what is on my plate or in my refrigerator. He makes a good parallel between big food and big tobacco. Particularly legitimate was his observation that gov't regulations aren't the answer to our increasing obesity as a nation, but a change in public opinion and what is considered acceptable food--not unlike when smoking became socially unacceptable. Interesting from a former FDA official.

[walkinwood]

I'm struggling with "When Market's Collide" by Mohamed El-Erian. This thread has motivated me to go to the library and get a good, senseless murder mystery.

[Sarah in SC]

walkinwood, may I suggest Ted Bell? He writes wonderful adventure novels!

[BUM]

Highlights For Children. Dont'cha love Hidden Pictures?!

[jambo101]

Other than the morning paper i stick to Sci-Fi and recently have discovered a new to me author Dan Simmons After reading Illium i was hooked so i bought the sequel Olympos which was equally amazing, then bought all 4 books of his Hyperion collection,also riviting.

[Kronk]

Lois McMaster Bujold, The Hallowed Hunt. Fantasy novel, maybe not quite as good as the previous two in the series (which were fantastic), but this one is still very good.

[Notmuchlonger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords For you Jim Butcher fans, his next Harry Dresden book "Turn Coat" is out. But before you claw your way to the front of the line, track down a less-popular four-story novella anthology called "Mean Streets". He's the first author and the other three are "OK" by comparison. But Butcher's short story picks up a year after the last book left off and gives you a nice look at the rest of the story-- with, eventually, a happy ending. I'm still #16 in the library queue for "Turn Coat". It's almost turned me into a Kindler...

Ohhh thanks for the heads up! Seems like it has been forever since the last one.

[citrine]

I am reading Carolyn Myss, "Sacred Contracts" and "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port.