What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ally said:
I am reading The Hunger Games. I work with a lot of younger people who have been urging me too read it. It's interesting, but I can see that the way it's written, the author was angling to follow in the path of the Twilight series, with movies, etc. it seems to be written with that in mind, and so is not at all subtle. Like I said, it's interesting and different, but not my type of book.
Click to expand...

I think you're being unfair (and incorrect) in this accusation.

The first Hunger Games was published in 08. The first Twilight movie came out in 08. I'm sure she had written most way before the movie.

The author doesn't have the best literary skills, but it's a solid story, and I think accusing someone of doing it just to be commercial is a harsh accusation (in my mind).

I could be wrong though,
 
I may be wrong, too. It just seems that way to me. Sometimes, other books seem that way, too, when I'm reading them. For example, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was like that to me. Good story, eccentric characters and sensational plot lines, which would play well in a movie, etc, Maybe, I'm being too cynical.
 
Ally said:
I may be wrong, too. It just seems that way to me. Sometimes, other books seem that way, too, when I'm reading them. For example, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was like that to me. Good story, eccentric characters and sensational plot lines, which would play well in a movie, etc, Maybe, I'm being too cynical.
Click to expand...
I don't know about the specific titles, but in this day and age it might be appropriate to be a bit cynical. When people talk about the "Potter franchise" I shutter. My guess is with the pricing flexibility in ebooks, we will see a lot more tie in deals.

I prefer to see a book stand on it's own for some years before it becomes commoditized -- if it ever does. Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone series could easily be made into a hit TV or movie series. I'm glad she has stuck to a more literary approach.
 
Just finished a novel by SE Hinton, called Hawkes Harbor. I'd read her earlier work, the teen fiction stories That was then, this is now and the Outsiders. This is an interesting adult fiction read. I recommend it, if only for the surprising plot developments and character changes that occur.
Also in the midst of Dan Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow. A remarkable, but dense read that will make you question pretty much every decision you make!
 
I just finished " The distant land of my Father " by bo caldwell . This was a can not put down book about life in Shanghai and her father's adventures . Highly recommended !
 
I also just read "Outside the lines " by Amy Halvany . If you loved The Glass House you will love this . It is a daughters search for her schizophrenic homeless Father .
 
Read a couple of Lames Grippando's mysteries on vacation. They were pretty good. And available as ebooks from the library.
 
Wow. I am definitely going to read 2030. Thanks Al!

My current library ebook is "The Cat's Table" by Michael Ondaatje. It's the story of a small boy from Ceylon dispatched by his relatives to join his mother in the UK in 1954 (irresponsible if you ask me) and follows his adventures on the 21 day voyage. Lots of good character development and very accessible. I found Ondaatje's "The English Patient" challenging to follow, but this novel is a delight to read.
 
Tonight we watched Modern Romance, written, directed by, and starred in by Albert Brooks. I now think he's less of a genius than I did before.
 
If you like thought provoking books on US culture, economics & politics - this is one of the best I've read in a long time. Whether you agree with all or part of it isn't the point to me, it's that it makes me think about what I think I know, what I think I believe - and I enjoy that challenge. If you're content with mainstream conventional Democrat, Republican, Tea Party, Occupy, liberal, conservative, libertarian or even conventional moderate thinking - the book will probably surprise you. The thinking is different.

It's a short read, not meant to be comprehensive, just enough to encourage thinking. The key chapter titles are:
  • Great Citizenship
  • True Capitalism
  • Self-Government
Again, if you prefer thought provoking reading over like-minded (yawn...IMO). FWIW...

American democracy is informed by the 18th century’s most cutting edge thinking on society, economics, and government. We’ve learned some things in the intervening 230 years about self interest, social behaviors, and how the world works. Now, authors Eric Liu and Nick Hanauer argue that some fundamental assumptions about citizenship, society, economics, and government need updating. For many years the dominant metaphor for understanding markets and government has been the machine. Liu and Hanauer view democracy not as a machine, but as a garden. A successful garden functions according to the inexorable tendencies of nature, but it also requires goals, regular tending, and an understanding of connected ecosystems. The latest ideas from science, social science, and economics—the cutting-edge ideas of today--generate these simple but revolutionary ideas:

True self interest is mutual interest. (Society, it turns out, is an ecosystem that is healthiest when we take care of the whole.)

Society becomes how we behave. (The model of citizenship depends on contagious behavior, hence positive behavior begets positive behavior.)

We’re all better off when we’re all better off. (The economy is not an efficient machine. It’s an effective garden that need tending. Adjust the definition of wealth to society creating solutions for all.)

Government should be about the big what and the little how. (Government should establish the ideas and the goals, and then let the people find the solutions of how to make it happen.)

Freedom is responsibility. (True freedom is not about living some variant of libertarianism but rather an active cooperation a part of a big whole society; freedom costs a little freedom.)

The Gardens of Democracy is an optimistic, provocative, and timely summons to improve our role as citizens in a democratic society.
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • gardens-of-democracy.jpg
    gardens-of-democracy.jpg
    46.7 KB · Views: 5
Just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Best fiction I've read in years. Deep without being pretentious, and some great humor.
 
Finished reading: DNA The Secret of Life by Watson and Berry

I was looking for an informative read about genetics. Genetics for Dummies was well written but it was more of a text book explanation for some of the details of genetics. There was no story there and none of the history.

This book is a sweeping overview of the gensis of the field of genetics by an insider and pioneer.
It is well written and good for anyone that has wondered about genetics/molecular biology and would like to learn more.
 
Free To Canoe said:
Finished reading: DNA The Secret of Life by Watson and Berry

I was looking for an informative read about genetics. Genetics for Dummies was well written but it was more of a text book explanation for some of the details of genetics. There was no story there and none of the history.

This book is a sweeping overview of the gensis of the field of genetics by an insider and pioneer.
It is well written and good for anyone that has wondered about genetics/molecular biology and would like to learn more.
Click to expand...

I agree. I read this some years ago and found it a page turner.
 
Pineapple Grenade by Tim Dorsey is a great read. If you like all the noirish Florida mysteries with pastel titles and like slaptic comedies, this one is for you. All kinds of goofy Florida characters from serial killers to ganag bangers, to Latin American presidents caught up in internation intrigue with multiple intelligence agencies. No redeeming social importance.
 
Don, we love Florida fiction, and Tim Dorsey is a real fave of my DH. I met him at a conference years ago, organized in honor of John D McDonald, and he was very nice. I probably favor Randy Wayne White a bit more, but can appreciate the craziness of Dorsey, too.
 
Sarah in SC said:
Don, we love Florida fiction, and Tim Dorsey is a real fave of my DH. I met him at a conference years ago, organized in honor of John D McDonald, and he was very nice. I probably favor Randy Wayne White a bit more, but can appreciate the craziness of Dorsey, too.
Click to expand...
+1. I forgot to mention Randy Wayne White. I also just finished Chasing Midnight which was pretty good. White is more of a traditional Florida writer. Dorsey is a different breed of cat - at least Pineapple Grenade is. I will try some others to see.
 
Thanks for the tip on White's latest. I'll be sure to pick it up. His travel stories are excellent as well. You will love the rest of Dorsey's books if you haven't read them. Also check out the Key West stories of Laurence Shames. Very entertaining!
 
Just finished 2030 by Albert Brooks. I didn't think it was genious like T-Al did, but it was pretty good. A really believable future, and a good comedic look into the problems we're likely to be facing in 20 years. I've always been a fan of Albert Brooks' movies, I like his quirky sense of humor.
 
Sarah in SC said:
. You will love the rest of Dorsey's books if you haven't read them. Also check out the Key West stories of Laurence Shames. Very entertaining!
Click to expand...
Thanks. Got a Dorsey in my eBook queue and a Shames in my physical book queue. I love Key West so I am looking forward to Shames.
 
I just finished "Flagrant Conduct" by Dale Carpenter. It is a book about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case, "Lawrence v. Texas" decided in 2003. It reads like a long "Law & Order" episode, including chapters about the defendants in the original case, cops, and gay rights groups along with the many twists and turns the case took on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
 
Lsbcal said:
I find that reading a little bit of fiction makes my life feel richer and beats watching stocks go down. Here are a few books I've gotten from the library and read in the last few months:

Blue Shoes and Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, one of his series about a lady detective in Botswana. Done in a lighthearted and humerous way. I think the first book in this series is The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

Dreaming of Bones by Deborah Crombie. Second book in her Kinkaid & Gemma mystery series. Well written in a style that reminds me of P.D. James. A believable plot line.

At Risk by Stella Rimington. The author is a former director of MI5 so she knows what she's talking about. Story about a female MI5 officier who pursues two terrorists in Britain.
Click to expand...

Even though I was an English and journalism major (maybe BECAUSE of it), I'm not a big reader...not of fiction anyway. BUT, I recently decided to read some classics that I had never read (well, I had read one of them):

Old Man and the Sea - I really did not like this book at all.
Puddin' Head Wilson - GREAT novel by Mark Twain.
The Time Machine - I read this as a kid and decided to read it again. I don't think it stand up to the test of time (no pun intended). It's very uneventful and just not very exciting.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

S
Scott Burns' own story
Replies
3
Views
3K
haha
haha

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom