What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

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haha said:
I saw that movie and almost did not last through it. If I had not been with others I would have left. It was maybe the most grotesquely violent movie I have seen. My eyes were closed a lot.

I hope that stuff is easier to take on the printed page.

Ha
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Wow...maybe my daughter was right!:confused: I won't go to the movie...thanks for the warning.:(
 
Madrid by C.J. Sansom is the story of a neophyte British spy sent to WW2 Spain to investigate his old British school friend suspected of strong ties to a right wing Spanish group. This book is rooted in good historical research and discusses the different factions on the right and left in "neutral" Spain after the Spanish Civil War. I really enjoyed reading this one as I always felt like I did not have a good grasp of the opposing political views in Spain during and after the civil war.
 
haha said:
I saw that movie and almost did not last through it. If I had not been with others I would have left. It was maybe the most grotesquely violent movie I have seen. My eyes were closed a lot.

I hope that stuff is easier to take on the printed page.

Ha
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Ha, I found it very hard to read, it made me cry at what she went through. Actually what I took away from that scene and the person inflicting the pain, is that there are a lot of vulnerable people out there, who just because they are a little bit different from the norm, are taken advantage of by some people with power. It was very sad and very hard to read, I can only imagine how terrible it is to watch.
 
DangerMouse said:
Ha, I found it very hard to read, it made me cry at what she went through. Actually what I took away from that scene and the person inflicting the pain, is that there are a lot of vulnerable people out there, who just because they are a little bit different from the norm, are taken advantage of by some people with power. It was very sad and very hard to read, I can only imagine how terrible it is to watch.
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I saw the movie yesterday (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and read the book a few weeks ago. I liked both but I think reading the book better prepares you for Lizbeth's treatment by and treatment of her guardian. There is a lot of background that is lost in a brief movie treatment. The comparison with her former (caring) guardian is night and day. I agree with DM that the guardian relationship highlights the precarious situations wards of the state can find themselves in.
 
lsbcal said:
Madrid by C.J. Sansom is the story of a neophyte British spy sent to WW2 Spain to investigate his old British school friend suspected of strong ties to a right wing Spanish group. This book is rooted in good historical research and discusses the different factions on the right and left in "neutral" Spain after the Spanish Civil War. I really enjoyed reading this one as I always felt like I did not have a good grasp of the opposing political views in Spain during and after the civil war.
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I don´t think there was any significant political opposition after our Civil War when WWII. Franco took care of that:( in no uncertain way.
 
I'd seen The Wealthy Barber recommended from time to time, but I always avoided it, probably due to the goofy title.

Picked it up used the other day. I'm halfway through, and all I can say is, If only I could have read a book like this in my 20s....
 
vicente solano said:
I don´t think there was any significant political opposition after our Civil War when WWII. Franco took care of that:( in no uncertain way.
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Hi Vicente, just to clarify I do not mean to say that the right and left were equally represented in Spain after Franco came to power. The book is quite clear on the extremes of the civil war and the aftermath. Regarding the far left and what today we might call the center plus the right and far right, the book goes into the various factions during the civil war. This was interesting to me. BTW, there was a character in the book named Vicente (one of the good guys).

Les
 
DangerMouse said:
Ha, I found it very hard to read, it made me cry at what she went through. Actually what I took away from that scene and the person inflicting the pain, is that there are a lot of vulnerable people out there, who just because they are a little bit different from the norm, are taken advantage of by some people with power. It was very sad and very hard to read, I can only imagine how terrible it is to watch.
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I am sure you are right about this, Danger. I have never been able to deal with violent movies, especially when it involves sexual violence as this one did.

I went with two Swedes and two Americans. I asked if the attack by the thugs in the subway station was a realistic possibility. The Swedes said yes, a realistic possibility, but not common.

Ha
 
I just finished Jason Lanier's, You are not a Gadget. I recommend this for those interested in speculations on the Internet and visions of the future. Lanier is an Internet graybeard (or, more accurately, dread-locks) who invented the term "virtual reality" and was Richard Stallman's roomate at the dawn of the free software movement. Lanier's book is a manifesto counseling humanism in contrast to what he views as trends that reduce the value/position of the individual reflected in many current notions like the "noosphere" and the coming "singularity," and incorporated in many aspects of the "Web 2.0" orthodoxy. Lanier is a close friend to many of the leaders of the "movement" he decries. I can't say I fully agree with everything he has to say but he presents some interesting ideas and fascinating digressions.
 
I'm almost done with "One Nation Under Dog" by Michael Schaffer, a very fun and intelligent read about the burgeoning pet business and the cultural and social shifts in perceptions about pets that underly it. It's reminiscent in style to Fast Food Nation or The Year of Living Biblically (both also very interesting). It's also not really a taxing book -- I checked it out of the library this morning on a whim and have worked through 3/4 of it so far today, in addition to multiple errands, cooking, housework and meals.... you get the idea. Recommend, especially for the social change and dog folks among us.
 
lsbcal said:
Hi Vicente, just to clarify I do not mean to say that the right and left were equally represented in Spain after Franco came to power. The book is quite clear on the extremes of the civil war and the aftermath. Regarding the far left and what today we might call the center plus the right and far right, the book goes into the various factions during the civil war. This was interesting to me. BTW, there was a character in the book named Vicente (one of the good guys).



Les
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Hi Les! I´ll try to find and read the book. If only to get to meet that "good guy character":D
 
vicente solano said:
Hi Les! I´ll try to find and read the book. If only to get to meet that "good guy character":D
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Hi Vicente, just a heads up that in Madrid some of the good guy characters do not meet good endings. I don't want to spoil the suspense by saying who survives and who does not -- but it was WW2 :(.
 
I just read a terrific tale by a Brit who went to Hong Kong as a young man and made his career in China. It's called Mr. China, and the author's name is Tim Clissold.

Ha
 
I just finished "the secret life of Cee Cee Wilkes " . Great book for traveling . Keeps you absorbed so you do not notice the turbulence .
 
I just finished Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpara Lahiri. It was ok, was easy to read, but hasn't left any kind of lasting impression on me.
 
I recently stumbled on Sleepless, by Charlie Huston, and highly recommend it. It is a cop mystery/thriller set in a parallel 2010. At about the same time as the housing collapse a prion based epidemic (think mad cow disease) has broken out. Similar to the very real Fatal Familial Insomnia, this new disease renders people incapable of sleeping. They wander about at all hours and eventually die. The impact, along with weather disasters has plummeted the world into a catastrophic mess. Our detective protagonist is undercover, trying to find people dealing in black market "Dreamer," a drug that can alleviate the symptoms of SLP although it can't postpone death. His path collides with that of a ruthless killer on a different mission. Definitely hard to put down.
 
Finished reading

1. JFK and Sam: The Connection Between the Giancana and Kennedy Assasinations by Antoinette Giancana and co-authors. While entertaining, there is almost nothing in this book that sheds new light on the JFK assassination so I would not recommend buying it. It is interesting to see Giancana's daughter's viewpoints on much of this. Beyond that, nada.

2. Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning, by Laura Dogu. Some is stuff that I should have learned 10 years ago, but it is interesting to see what I might have missed and it is well written. Much of it could still be very useful to me now in retirement. The chapters are written by a variety of Bogleheads on their individual areas of expertise, and are very clear and intelligent as one might expect. This is one to read while still planning retirement, as one might surmise from the title.

I am now reading

3. Bloody Treason: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy by Noel Twyman. This is a lengthy treatise on the JFK assassination that is out of print, so the price is exorbitant ($130 and up for a new copy) except for the Kindle version which is $10. Hopefully this book will provide more information that is new to me than the Giancana book did.

4. Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It's been a few years, and the Kindle version can be obtained for free, so... :)
 
I'm half way through "History of Southwest Yuma County Colorado" by Eugene Fadenrecht, written by the father of DW's aerobic class instructor.
 
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