What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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Ally said:
I just read Unbroken by Hillenbrand. It's very good. It's a story about a WWII hero and written by the woman who wrote Seabiscuit. I think anyone who likes a good story would like it. I don't want to give much away of the story.
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Just read this while on vacation. I would recommend it highly.
 
TromboneAl said:
Recently finished this

Amazon.com: The Stand (9780307743688): Stephen King: Books

This was a heavy book, literally, over 1000 pages. Good, but a little slow in the middle. I got the "complete uncut" version -- if you can get the regular version go with that. Best would be an eBook.

9/10.
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One of my all time favorites. It took forever to read the uncut version, but it was such a good book that I didn't care. Really made me think about a lot of things.
 
Ally said:
I just read Unbroken by Hillenbrand. It's very good. It's a story about a WWII hero and written by the woman who wrote Seabiscuit. I think anyone who likes a good story would like it. I don't want to give much away of the story.
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I read it when it first came out . Excellent book !
 
Ally said:
I just read Unbroken by Hillenbrand. It's very good. It's a story about a WWII hero and written by the woman who wrote Seabiscuit. I think anyone who likes a good story would like it. I don't want to give much away of the story.
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Thanks for the recommendations everyone! I read the sample on my Kindle and decided that this is a book I definitely want to read, so I've downloaded it.

I've recently finished George Eliot's Middlemarch, which would probably be at least 500 pages in book form. It took me a while to get into it, but the characters were well developed. And yes, everything did turn out well in the end. :)
 
Read a couple of the Scandinavian detective novels that have become popular since "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" took off. "A Troubled Man," by Henning Mankell, is the last of the Kurt Wallender novels and a very good read. Wallender is investigating a modern day disappearance and a murder that seem to be connected to a cold war spying ring. "The Snowman," by Jo Nesbo, features detective Harry Hole in pursuit of a serial killer. Excellent read. I have read others by both Mankell and Nesbo and can recommend them both for mystery/thriller fans.
 
T-Al, the Stand was one of my grandmother's favorite books. I re-read it every few years and every time am blown away by the complexity of his interpretation of the battle of good and evil. It is an epic novel and one of my all time favorites.

In that vein, I picked up a used copy of the Drifters, by James Michener. Like King's The Stand, I really only like this one book of his but it is a very compelling read. I most appreciate that it is told from the older (and presumably wiser) narrator's perspective, but still offers a glimpse into the young rebellious characters' minds.

Just read Robopocalypse, too. It is fantastic--the kind of book you start reading at 2 pm on a Saturday and do not put down until you finish it at 2am Sunday. Perfect vacation read!

Also, for anyone who remembers reading about the glory days of the 70s East Coast mary jane smuggling rings, there is a new book out by a SC journalist, profiling a few of the more famous of these guys. I won't deny that the book tends to glorify the weaponless playboys of that time, who eschewed violence and "hard drugs", but I still very much enjoyed the stories. The second half has more focus on the law enforcement side, with stories of the very ambitious attorney general of SC at that time and the massive amount of time, money, and energy that was devoted to putting a handful of these guys behind bars. It is called Jackpot.
 
donheff said:
Just put in a hold on the epub version. Thx.
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Me too. Thanks for reminding me to check the ebooks library. They didn't have it at the regular library, or at paperbackswap.
 
Books I liked and read in July:
Justin Cartwright, Amazon.com: Other People's Money: A Novel (9781608192731): Justin Cartwright: Books
The head of an old line British bank is dying. His son races to clean up the bank's financials as the evolving banking crisis threatens them.

Robert Goddard, Amazon.com: Hand in Glove (9780385339216): Robert Goddard: Books
Mysteries surround the killing of an elderly British woman whose poet brother died decades ago after volunteering in the Spanish Civil War.
 
Just finished reading 'A Measureless Peril' by Richard Snow. Very enjoyable.
Amazon.com: A Measureless Peril eBook: Richard Snow: Kindle Store

From Publisher's Weekly:
Former American Heritage editor-in-chief Snow brings long experience to this graphic account of the Battle of the Atlantic. He seasons it heavily with the letters of his father, who was an officer on one of the U.S. destroyer escorts vital to the U-boat offensive's final defeat.
 
Just finished Diablo Cody's Candy Girl about her year as a stripper. I never saw the movie she wrote, Juno, so this was my first experience with her style of writing. I thought it was both hilarious and interesting. I could definitely sympathize with her troubles with the pole! Her descriptions of the patrons and her fellow dancers were fascinating.

Also read a Kindle version of Stevenson's Treasure Island on our way home from the music festival. I can't remember if/when I read it as a youngster, but it was really quite good. Thanks to T-Al for pointing out the free edition.
 
A few weeks ago I read "Still Missing " by Chevy Stevens . It was her first book and absolutely spell binding & weird . You will not be able to put this book down and the ending will shock you . It's about a woman who is kidnapped .
 
Moemg said:
A few weeks ago I read "Still Missing " by Chevy Stevens . It was her first book and absolutely spell binding & weird . You will not be able to put this book down and the ending will shock you . It's about a woman who is kidnapped .
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Sounds good. I put a hold on it.
 
Moemg said:
I hope you like it .It 's pretty strange . It may appeal more to women than guys .
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You got me with weird. Strange is appealing too. If it turns out to be "chick lit" I will hand it over to DW. ;)
 
The Kindle version of Barry Goldwater's "Conscience of a Conservative" is just $1.99 these days, so I downloaded it. Never read it way back when. It should be interesting (to me, anyway) to see if and how conservative philosophies and ideas have changed over the past half century.
 
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I am blushing to be quoted so many times, and am happy that others recommend Unbroken, too.

I like Wallendar on PBS, so may give one of those a try. Thanks! I recently read In the Garden of the Beasts by Erik Larsen or Larson. It's non-fiction about the American ambassador's family living in Berlin during the years Hitler takes over. It was fascinating to see his true nature dawn on the family and how the ambassador's warnings were never taken seriously in Washington DC. He was considered to be a bit of a nut. (Meaning they thought the ambassador was sort of a nut.)

Another interesting book I read this year was Fifty Russian Winters: An American Woman's Life in the Soviet Unionby Margaret Wettlin. This woman went to witness the revolution in Russia and ended up staying and marrying a Russian. It was very interesting to watch things change over the years and her reactions. She eventually returned to the US to live.

I like history, what can I say.
 
I am rereading "The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning". Succinctly pulls a mash of retirement advice into a manageable plan. I am reading a library copy but plan on putting this one into my own e-library.
 
I went to the library and checked out Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert. She has written several mysteries that take place in "Thyme and Seasons", an herb shop in the Texas Hill country. The owner is China Bayles, a former attorney who purchased the store after burning out from her previous job.

Her best friend, Ruby, owns the store next door - a far-out metaphysical store; she is the local psychic. She and China find themselves in all sorts of interesting fixes. Bring in China's sig. other, McQuaid, who is a former law enforcement person, and "Smart Cookie," who is the female chief of police, and there is a medley of characters and fun plots and sub-plots.

All the stories center around solving a murder mystery and herbs. Some of the titles to her books are: Rosemary Remembered, Chili Death, A Dilly of a Death, and the like. The stories are loaded with fun herbal recipes, lore, and history of medicinal healing herbs. She's also an excellent writer; her characters and plots are well-developed - and infused with a sense of good ol' Texas humor.
 
Ally said:
I like history, what can I say.
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Can you recommend a history of Napoleon's campaigns against Russia in the early 19th century? I am reading (and loving) War and Peace and I would enjoy knowing more about the battles.

Ha
 
haha said:
Can you recommend a history of Napoleon's campaigns against Russia in the early 19th century? I am reading (and loving) War and Peace and I would enjoy knowing more about the battles.

Ha
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Tolstoy's original title for that was War -- What is it Good For?...



...see this authoritative source: Seinfeld Scripts - The Marine Biologist
 
Haha, I'll have to see if my husband has a recommendation. He likes books about battles and military campaigns more than I do. I guess I like the human stories, biographies, different civilizations, etc.
 
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