What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[1-31-18]

I finished Hillbilly Elegy this weekend. I found it somewhat disappointing. It is a good story along the "rags to riches" American lines of Ben Franklin--poor disadvantaged boy by luck and pluck overcomes obstacles and rises up--but I didn't find it nearly as insightful as some reviews have made it out to be. I'd like to find a book that is more in-depth and analytical about the plight of poor whites, especially in Appalachia. I lived briefly in southern Ohio, close to the area Vance writes about, and found the culture fascinating.

In that case, read Charles Murray, Coming Apart: The State of White America.

 

[Koogie]

John Scalzi's "The Collapsing Empire," is a good beach read. It your standard space opera that reads like a who done it. Sets things up nicely for volume 2 which will probably be titled "The End of Empire."

Just read this in one sitting yesterday.

I have enjoyed Scalzis earlier work (Old Mans War, Red Shirts) and I enjoyed this one a lot. He writes dialogue well (including adult situations and profanity) and does great world building without being to expository and is decent at character development (not to many unrealistic characters).

That being said, the ending was disappointing and rushed. Probably as he was setting it up for a sequel, as suggested. You can't help feeling that he did a great job for 90% of the novel though and then was told to just wrap it up neatly in a bow inside two chapters. Most unsatisfying.

Off to read Hillbilly Elegy next. I gather opinions are divided on it. I grew up on a farm in a poor rural area though (not in the US) so I expect I will recognize a lot of what is written. Plus, I had to wait three months for a copy of it from the library so I might as well..

 

[Marita40]

Just finished A Man Called Ove. A nice "lite" read, full of gentle humor.

 

[donheff]

Just back from a week at the beach where I read two books. The Girl from Venice, by Martin Cruz Smith was enjoyable. This isn't Smith's normal crime fiction. It is a suspenseful love story and family drama set in the "Vichy" Italian Republic in the waning days of World War 2. It was short, more novella length than novel.

The Operators, by Michael Hastings, is basically a very readable book long extension of Hastings' Rolling Stone article, The Runaway General, that brought down Stanley McChrystal. It is an interesting, if depressing, look at ambition, waste and hubris at work in the middle east. If you enjoy varying perspectives on Iraq and Afghanistan, this is one worth reading. If you just want a reminder of how McChrystal stuck his foot in his mouth, read the Rolling Stone article.

 

[Lsbcal]

This is the latest in Cumming "Kell" series: A Divided Spy
I'd rate it a 5 star for this genre.

Also read this Olen Steinhauer novel: Liberation Movement
This I had a bit of trouble getting through but I remember it better then the Cumming novel above. Maybe 4 star.

Olen Steinhauer's acclaimed crime series set in Eastern Europe has taken readers from the first shots of the revolution and through the chaos of the 1960s. Now, it is 1975, and one of the People's Militia investigators is bound for Istanbul when his plane is hijacked by Armenian terrorists and explodes in midair.

Gavra Noukas, a secret policeman, and Katja Drdova, a homicide detective, are assigned to the case. Both believe that Brano Sev, their enigmatic superior and career secret policeman, is hiding the true motives of their investigation, but they can't figure out why until they learn that everything is connected to a seven-year-old murder with far-reaching consequences.

The compelling politics and history for which Olen Steinhauer's novels have been praised turn intimate in this ambitious novel.

 

[scrabbler1]

I am reading 3 books now. One, which I just finished, is "A Fine Mess," by T. J. Reid about the U.S. tax code, its problems, and how to fix it. I have seen Reid several times on C-Span, a frequent source for book ideas.


Another book is "The Campus Rape Frenzy" by K.C. Johnson and Stuart Taylor Jr.. I have seen Taylor on C-Span talking about the book which is about the attack on due process at America's colleges in the pursuit of investigating rape complaints.


The third book is a novel, "New York 2140" by Kim Stanley Robinson. This 613-page brick is about life in New York City following a huge rise in sea level (which floods lower Manhattan) from the melting of the polar ice caps in the late 21st century due to global warming. Venice-like canals replace streets and skybridges replace sidewalks as city dwellers struggle to get by. I saw Robinson on C-Span talking about his book.

 

[Nemo2]

Krakow, Poland:

Sporadically reading, (when time permits), Freakonomics, which I acquired aboard ship.......interesting perspectives.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freakonomics

 

[John Galt III]

Can't find anything at the library that looks interesting. I had been reading some Saul Bellow, as a replacement for Philip Roth, but I can't read Bellow any more. Just not as enjoyable as Roth for me. I've read all the Roth stuff I want to read, so am looking for yet another Roth replacement. If you like Roth, you will also like.......who? I like Updike too, but haver read all the Updike stuff. Any recommendations?

 

[Lsbcal]

Just finished Olen Steinhauer's The Cairo Affair

Interesting historical discussion of events in Eastern Europe and more recently in Libya and Egypt. Quite a few characters with no real central standout. Good but could have used more character focus.

 

[Terryjm51]

Working on Ben Sasse the vanishing American adult ..... good read!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[donheff]

Can't find anything at the library that looks interesting. I had been reading some Saul Bellow, as a replacement for Philip Roth, but I can't read Bellow any more. Just not as enjoyable as Roth for me. I've read all the Roth stuff I want to read, so am looking for yet another Roth replacement. If you like Roth, you will also like.......who? I like Updike too, but haver read all the Updike stuff. Any recommendations?

Here is the Goodreads take on Roth similars. Bellow and Updike are on the list so maybe you will like the others. I suggest that you start reading the Sunday book reviews in the NYT or Washington Post and order up some books that sound interesting from the library. Why stick to one author and clones?

 

[FIREmenow]

Shop manual for our Northern Lights 6kW generator......

 

[sengsational]

DW and I are reading (she's reading, I'm listening) to "The Frontiers Saga", which is a space opera set in the distant future where humanity on earth is emerging from a "dark age", going out and finding the humans that colonized distant places.

We are in book 5 of 15, and although it's not my favorite, it has enough pluses to keep us going; character development is good, not too many characters so you always know who they're talking about. Like STNG, you get to know the people, but unlike STNG, it has a much larger focus on battle and fighting action scenes. I get a pretty good visual of what's going on. In fact, it almost seems like he's trying to make it easy for the screen writers! But the fraction and duration of action scenes is more than I like....but then again I'm the one that takes the bathroom break when the movie's chase scene starts...all I care about is who crashed and died, and who got away.

Anyway, for the SciFi person, a good read. And I think the whole set is included on the Kindle if you're in that $10/mo thing.

 

[sengsational]

Sporadically reading, (when time permits), Freakonomics, which I acquired aboard ship.......interesting perspectives.

I've read all of Dubner and Levitt's stuff. Interesting and sometimes surprising stuff they dig up. And Dubner does a podcast that I regularly listen to Freakonomics Radio Archive - Freakonomics Freakonomics

 

[braumeister]

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking

I have a lot of cookbooks, some general and some specialized, but this one is in a class by itself. I read so many great reviews of it that I had to get it out of the library. Three days later I ordered my own copy from Amazon.

Just an amazingly clear and understandable approach to the basics of cooking, presented in an entertaining and memorable way. If you enjoy cooking, you owe it to yourself to read this.

 

[Ally]

Just finished Killers of the Flower Moon. It's an historical account of a series of murders of members of the Osage tribe. I had never heard of this before and found it very disturbing. It's also very good.

http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/b...the-flower-moon-by-david-grann/9780385534246/

 

[Moemg]

The Arrangement by Sarah Dunn . It is a light beach book but it is so funny . I could not put it down . Light reading but if you need a summer book this is it .

 

[6miths]

Catherine the Great by Robert Massie. I wish I had read more about Peter the Great and Catherine the Great before visiting St Petersburg 2 years ago. Very fascinating history. Leaves one struck by the advances in childbirth and newborn care and infectious disease, especially vaccinations if nothing else. Apparently Catherine the Great was the first person in Russia to be inoculated with small pox. By a Scottish physician in a practice brought to Europe from China and the middle east.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

For a cool summer read - In The Kingdom Of Ice. Chronicling the ill fated arctic voyage/expedition of the USS Jeannette.

 

[braumeister]

The Old American

I thoroughly enjoyed this. A very different perspective on the relationships among Native Americans, English colonists, and French Canadians.

In 1746, Nathan Blake, the first frame house builder in Keene, New Hampshire, was abducted by Algonkians and held in Canada as a slave. Inspired by this dramatic slice of history, novelist Ernest Hebert has written a masterful new novel recreating those years of captivity.

 

[splitwdw]

"The Battle of Monmouth", an Oration given by Henry Brown on the 100th anniversary of the battle. "The Counsel Assigned" by Mary Andrews, an historical fiction about Lincoln as an attorney in younger years. Still working my way through all the old books from my deceased father in law's library.

 

[pacergal]

Recently finished the Millionaire Teacher by Andrew Hallam and Coffehouse Investor by Bill Schultheis.
Now starting 98.6 The art of keeping your a** alive by Cody Lundin.

 

[chilkoot]

I vaguely recall seeing a passing reference a few years ago to website called Silk Road, dedicated to the anonymous sale of drugs and arms. That was the extent of my awareness of the meter. If there were any news stories of a search for or trial of the operators, I must have missed them. So I was happy to pick up "American Kingpin" by Nick Bilton. It tells the complete story and reads like a novel. Would make a great movie.

 

[Marita40]

Just finished Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat and loved it; couldn't put it down. Brown is simply an incredible writer. I've read his work on the great Hinckley fire (local color, since I'm in MN) as well as the book on the Donner party. All three held me spellbound. What an amazing talent.
Did I hear that The Boys in the Boat was going to be made into a movie? I hope so as I think it would film very very well.

 

[ER Eddie]

Made it through 2/3 of The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, then pooped out. I don't think I'm cut out for these epic tomes, these novels that run 800 pages (first of two parts). I just don't have the patience or perseverance.