What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[Bluemoon]

Just finsihed In One Person by John Irving! I consider it a "must read".

 

[happy2bretired]

Just finsihed In One Person by John Irving! I consider it a "must read".

I'm reading my first John Irving book right now A Widow for One Year. My first library download on my iPad. My Kindle is old and does not have wifi so right now, had to use iPad and EPUB format from my library....nice.

 

[Nords]

"All The Money In The World" by Laura Vanderkam.

She claims that we have more than we think, and we just need to spend it more creatively. Instead of saving all our lives for one big happily ever after, we can find more ways to deliver little bursts of happiness now. It’ll actually make us feel more satisfied with our progress in saving for retirement, and it will help our current lives feel less like deprivation in exchange for a better tomorrow.

For example, she totally demolishes the myths of the engagement ring and the wedding. (I didn't realize that the diamond ring "tradition" was created by De Beers in the 1930s with the willing cooperation of Hollywood.) Vanderkam's point is that you could spend $5000 on a consumer tradition before you're even married-- or you could break it up into smaller doses of marriage pleasure as a hundred nights of babysitting.

However while Vanderkam writes a great book and I've reviewed it in more detail on the blog, the actual reason for this post is: Wade Pfau. I do a book review every month or so on the blog and I'm not trying to drive traffic by cross-posting it here, but this time Wade has a couple thoughtful comments on the marginal expense of having more than two kids.

He starts here:
Book review: “All The Money In The World” | Military Retirement & Financial Independence
with the comment:

And though I’m frugal, I am rather curious about how the marginal cost of a third child can be zero. I understand hand me downs and all that, but there are not economies of scale on all expenses.

and riffs on from there.

I think there's new economic research to be done on the subject...

 

[Nords]

I thoroughly enjoyed Jim Garner's autobiography:
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f29/the-garner-files-58588.html

His ghostwriter came to Garner's attention with a book on curmudgeons, which Garner decided qualified him to help with his bio.

50+ years of smoking marijuana-- no wonder Garner smiles so much!

 

[scrabbler1]

I am now reading the latest book by former Senator Arlen Specter. It is titled, "Life Among the Cannibals," a biography centering on Specter's party switch in 2010 and eventual defeat in the 2010 Democratic primary as well as the rise in the Tea Party.

 

[donheff]

I read two books at the beach this week. Camilla Lackberg's The Stonecutter, is a well written mystery from one of Sweden's top new writers. You Have Gone To Far This Time, Sir, is a quirky memoir of a cross Europe/East Asia bicycle trip to raise money for slum kids in India. Wonderful read.

 

[Meadbh]

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. Jobs was not a nice person. He had a narcissistic personality. He was adopted, and when he got his girlfriend pregnant at 23, he abandoned her. He was high on acid and other substances a lot in the early years, and didn't believe in personal hygiene. He was also a control freak and treated many colleagues badly, even Steve Wozniak, who was the engineering genius behind the first Apple. It's a fascinating story and I'm only half way through.

It feels odd to be reading about the genesis of the iPad on the iPad.

 

[Lsbcal]

Steve Jobs, by Walter Isaacson. Jobs was not a nice person. He had a narcissistic personality. He was adopted, and when he got his girlfriend pregnant at 23, he abandoned her. He was high on acid and other substances a lot in the early years, and didn't believe in personal hygiene. He was also a control freak and treated many colleagues badly, even Steve Wozniak, who was the engineering genius behind the first Apple. It's a fascinating story and I'm only half way through.

I'm always suspicious of people who get to the top. It's a bit disconcerting. Too many myths in our society I guess. Thanks for the dose of reality.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have seen a 1999 movie called "Pirates of Silicon Valley", which told the stories of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. You may find it interesting.

There was this story on Jobs cheating Wozniak big time by lying about a $5000 bonus that was supposed to be shared between them when they both worked at Atari. Wozniak was given $350 by Jobs, though he did most of the work.

No, not nice! Jobs may be a good marketeer or manager or had good visions, but Wozniak is the real hero for geeks.

 

[Lsbcal]

I have seen a 1999 movie called "Pirates of Silicon Valley", which told the stories of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. You may find it interesting.

There was this story on Jobs cheating Wozniak big time by lying about a $5000 bonus that was supposed to be shared between them when they both worked at Atari. Wozniak was given $350 by Jobs, though he did most of the work.

No, not nice! Jobs may be a good marketeer or manager or had good visions, but Wozniak is the real hero for geeks.

I lived and worked in Silicon Valley for 25 years. Did not see any heros except for my dog. That's business I guess.

 

[NW-Bound]

Oh well, what do I know? How can there be a hero in business, same as in politics? It should not be the word for me to use.

Still, the undisputed fact remains that the "Woz" is a real designer, far better than Jobs. The latter was a far better promoter, and definitely had more entrepreneurial skills.

 

[Nords]

... and didn't believe in personal hygiene.

As I understand the story, Jobs thought that his fruititarian ("fruitatarian"?) diet made bathing unnecessary. I'm not sure who took him aside to explain the facts of life... maybe he was having trouble finding hot fruititarian chicks.

Still, the undisputed fact remains that the "Woz" is a real designer, far better than Jobs. The latter was a far better promoter, and definitely had more entrepreneurial skills.

Sad to say, I think without Jobs that Woz would've still been building cool stuff at the Homebrew Computer Club and wondering whether he'd survive the next round of HP layoffs.

But I enjoyed Woz' biography much more.

 

[Moemg]

I was browsing Amazon for a book to read . I considered "Fifty Shades of Grey " but the reviews were awful so I bought "Gone Girl " by Gillian Flynn . It was a can't put down book .I seriously wonder how someone can write something this weird but great .

 

[grasshopper]

Drop Dead Healthy by A. J. Jacobs (Apr 10, 2012)

Ms G. read it and laughed through most of the book. I was simply amused, and read it in one day. Some fun, some fact, but ER folks into healthy living will see themselves a lot.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have just begun reading the book, "It's Worse Than It Looks," by Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein. It's a page-turner.

 

[donheff]

I was browsing Amazon for a book to read . I considered "Fifty Shades of Grey " but the reviews were awful so I bought "Gone Girl " by Gillian Flynn . It was a can't put down book .I seriously wonder how someone can write something this weird but great .

I have it waiting to be read. Flynn is married to my SIL's nephew so SIL has fed me all of her books as they come out.

 

[Moemg]

I have it waiting to be read. Flynn is married to my SIL's nephew so SIL has fed me all of her books as they come out.

She certainly kept my attention . I checked out her other books and they also seem bizarre but they have gotten excellent ratings so I may have to read them.

 

[Gumby]

Just returned from my two-week vacation in Maine. While there, I read:

Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Atlantic by Simon Winchester
Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
Last Train to Paradise by Les Standiford
Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues dos Santos
The Longest Winter by Alex Kershaw
Ingenious Pursuits by Lisa Jardine
Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
A Trace of Smoke by Rebecca Cantrell

 

[Lsbcal]

Gumby, you are a speed demon.

If you had to recommend one, which would it be?

 

[Gumby]

Gumby, you are a speed demon.

If you had to recommend one, which would it be?

If you could read only one, I would suggest the first, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. The central conceit of the story is that the monastery in the fictional town of Kingsbridge in England is building a new and glorious cathedral in the "gothic" style, with the flying buttresses, stained class etc. The major characters are the master mason in charge of the project, the ambitious and ruthless local minor nobility, the conniving bishop and the clever abbot of the monastery. The characters are well drawn and capture the imagination. The tale explores a wide range of life in the high middle ages and really makes the reader want to turn the page to see what happens next. I truly enjoyed it.

 

[REWahoo]

If you could read only one, I would suggest the first, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

The characters are well drawn and capture the imagination. The tale explores a wide range of life in the high middle ages and really makes the reader want to turn the page to see what happens next. I truly enjoyed it.

+1

I also highly recommend this book. I read it several years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[zinger1457]

Just finished reading 'The Devil We Don't Know' by Nonie Darwish and found it to be a good read. Nonie spent her first 30 years as a Muslim living in Egypt (she now lives in USA), and attended a University there. The book is about her frustrations with Islam, especially Sharia law, and the problems she sees with the 'Arab Spring'.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Pillars of the Earth is 1008 pages in the mass market paperback but "only" 973 in the slightly larger trade paperback. And you read 9 more books in his two week vacation? Can I nominate you for the Guiness Book of World Records for speed reading?

 

[Gumby]

Pillars of the Earth is 1008 pages in the mass market paperback but "only" 973 in the slightly larger trade paperback. And you read 9 more books in his two week vacation? Can I nominate you for the Guiness Book of World Records for speed reading?

When we are in Maine, our principal activity is sitting out on the dock or the screen porch (depending on the mosquito level) and reading. We do walk first thing in the mornings and go out to the grocery or for lunch/dinner or antiquing, and even mountain climbing (Mount Megunticook -- 1384 ft.), but mostly we just read. The young wife goes kayaking on the lake in the afternoons and does crossword puzzles, so she reads fewer books.

 

[MichaelB]

When we are in Maine, our principal activity is sitting out on the dock or the screen porch (depending on the mosquito level) and reading. We do walk first thing in the mornings and go out to the grocery or for lunch/dinner or antiquing, and even mountain climbing (Mount Megunticook -- 1384 ft.), but mostly we just read. The young wife goes kayaking on the lake in the afternoons and does crossword puzzles, so she reads fewer books.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay?