What have you read recently? 2009 -2020

[ls99]

The instruction label on my chainsaw for how to start it.

It has been a bit sluggish, turns out it was the ignition coil going bad. Will post in recent repairs when the part gets in.

 

[donheff]

A bunch of routine thrillers and mysteries. I won't review them since they are not memorable enough that the titles come to mind. I am about two thirds of the way through Misbehaving, by Richard Thaler. It is sort of a narrative history of the development of behavioral economics. Entertaining.

 

[Gumby]

I just finished The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell. A murder mystery set in the Vatican, it involves the Shroud of Turin, Tatian's Diatessaron and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. I found it fast paced and fascinating, especially if you are interested in the Vatican behind St. Peter's.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't remember how I got Micro (2011) by Michael Crichton, but I finally read it. Science thriller is not my favorite genre, so perhaps I was already prejudiced and did not enjoy this novel as much as many reviewers did, though I finished it.

The story is about a group of graduate students on a job interview trip to a high-tech company in Hawaii getting inadvertently drawn into a murderous plot by the company executive. I do not want to give the story line away here, but will say that Crichton's description of nature as encountered by the students in their struggle to survive in the Hawaiian forest is unique and different than most can imagine.

The description of many scenes in the novel made it obvious that Crichton expected that his novel would be turned into a movie, and wanted to give some hints to the script writer and the director. Indeed, I found out that DreamWorks has announced plans to do a film adaptation of Micro.

I also learned that Crichton died in 2008, and the manuscript of this novel was found on his computer and published posthumously. He died at the age of 66 of leukemia. Here's another sad example of a famous and successful person whose life was cut short by a terrible and unpredictable disease.

 

[NW-Bound]

I finally remembered to read Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (2008) by Dan Ariely, and also the follow-up The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic (2011). These are the kind of non-fiction that I like to read.

Both books are good reads, although in the 2nd book I do not see the upside of irrationality in some study cases recounted by the author.

 

[donheff]

I finally remembered to read Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions (2008) by Dan Ariely, and also the follow-up The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic (2011). These are the kind of non-fiction that I like to read.

Both books are good reads, although in the 2nd book I do not see the upside of irrationality in some study cases recounted by the author.

I took a free online college level course by Ariely that covered a lot of the material in Predictably Irrational. It was good.

 

[brett]

Just read Glenn Greenwood's book about revealing the Snowdon files, domestic spying etc. Very interesting. Somewhat depressing.

 

[modhatter]

Just finished "Girl on the Train". Thought it was very good, very suspenseful, and good writing. Others I know have mentioned it here. I expect they will make a movie out of it. About a girl who is murdered, and another girl who believes she sees something while the train is passing the house.

 

[Meadbh]

Just finished "Girl on the Train". Thought it was very good, very suspenseful, and good writing. Others I know have mentioned it here. I expect they will make a movie out of it. About a girl who is murdered, and another girl who believes she sees something while the train is passing the house.

I enjoyed it too. And they are working on the movie.

The Girl on the Train (2016) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb

 

[donheff]

The Fifth Gospel, by Ian Caldwell, is a pretty good intellectual thriller set in the Vatican City in 2004. A Vatican Library curator is murdered just before he will stage an exhibit on the Shroud of Turin that will shock the world, shake up the Church, scare the devil or whatever. If you liked the Divinci Code you will probably like this. It is a bit more low key but carries a lot of detail about the Gospels and about Vatican life.

 

[donheff]

And West is West, by Ron Childress is an excellent first novel. Hard to describe it, not quite a thriller, not exactly a coming of age novel, ... this blurb captures some of it: “This compelling debut novel, which won the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, dramatically examines the insidious role unrestrained technology plays in the moral and ethical corruption of people, institutions, and government . . . This is an excellent story, well told, suspenseful, and tragic.” —Publishers Weekly

 

[John Galt III]

Rereading "Ham on Rye" by Charles Bukowski. Read it years ago while still at MegaStress Corp.

 

[traineeinvestor]

I am trying to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

The writing is brilliant and often very comic but on the whole I am finding it very heavy going and, quite frankly, for all the excellence of the individual sentences and scenes, it is totally uninteresting. At about half way through it feels like an exercise in trying to be clever that got out of hand.

 

[Chuckanut]

The Three Body Problem

Absolutely brilliant science fiction. Humans find out that another race is traveling to Earth with the intention of invading and taking control of it. They will arrive in 450 years. What do do?

This is the first book in a trilogy.

Set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, a secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens. An alien civilization on the brink of destruction captures the signal and plans to invade Earth. Meanwhile, on Earth, different camps start forming, planning to either welcome the superior beings and help them take over a world seen as corrupt, or to fight against the invasion. The result is a science fiction masterpiece of enormous scope and vision.

 

[donheff]

I am trying to read Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.

The writing is brilliant and often very comic but on the whole I am finding it very heavy going and, quite frankly, for all the excellence of the individual sentences and scenes, it is totally uninteresting. At about half way through it feels like an exercise in trying to be clever that got out of hand.

I will occasionally run into a critically acclaimed book (e.g. Name of the Rose) that affects me like that. A some point I usually toss it. Often it is the book with several pages of rave reviews that do me in.

 

[NW-Bound]

The Three Body Problem

Absolutely brilliant science fiction. Humans find out that another race is traveling to Earth with the intention of invading and taking control of it. They will arrive in 450 years. What do do?

This is the first book in a trilogy.

Given the propensity of people to not do anything to prepare for doom, the human race will only start to panic in the year 449.

 

[traineeinvestor]

I will occasionally run into a critically acclaimed book (e.g. Name of the Rose) that affects me like that. A some point I usually toss it. Often it is the book with several pages of rave reviews that do me in.

Ulysses fell into that category for me. I finished it and still wonder why I bothered.

 

[scrinch]

It being Thanksgiving already here, today is the perfect day to post that I just read I am Pilgrim, a thriller along the lines of the 1980's Bourne books. The book's main plot is around Middle East terrorism, but there are lots of subplots in different parts of the world. At Amazon there are many rave reviews and a handful of equally negative reviews. I was one of those who liked the book a lot!

 

[splitwdw]

Ulysses fell into that category for me. I finished it and still wonder why I bothered.

Ugh, "The Warrior Queens" was my hard slog. Interesting but boring read. Was a long time ago and don't remember if it was the writing style or what. Finished it and still remember that I hated reading it. Kept waiting for it to get better. Ever pick up a book and the first few chapters don't grab you and then the book takes off?

 

[FIYes]

I recently read "River of Doubt". The book is a nonfiction account of Teddy Roosevelt's exploration of the Amazon River tributary that is now named for him. The book was a page-turning account of a harrowing journey. Both DH and I found it to be a fascinating read.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[scrabbler1]

I am reading "Sisters in Law," a book about SCOTUS justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is about how they, who came from vastly different backgrounds, overcame obstacles in the legal profession because they were women and rose to join the high court and become great influences there.

 

[donheff]

I read the Butcher's Boy, a 1987 crime thriller, by Thomas Perry that won an Edgar -- excellent. It is part of a trilogy. I have already downloaded the third book from the library and am waiting for a hard copy of the second book which they don't have in digital format. Perry has written a lot of stuff and will probably become a regular.

I also read Leviathan Wakes and Caliban's War, by James Corey and am waiting for the third and fourth books in the quaternary (sp?). This is a lowbrow SF space opera about wars between Earth, Mars, Belters, and outer planet types. Fast paced and fun, but not likely to win any literary awards.

 

[Nemo2]

I read the Butcher's Boy, a 1987 crime thriller, by Thomas Perry -- excellent. It is part of a trilogy. I have already downloaded the third book from the library and am waiting for a hard copy of the second book which they don't have in digital format. Perry has written a lot of stuff and will probably become a regular.

I always enjoyed the Jane Whitefield series, et al,.......but Butcher's Boy, I think, was one of his very best.

 

[Marita40]

I am reading David McCullough's The Wright Brothers and finding it very absorbing. Like most Americans I knew only a few things about them--ie. Kitty Hawk, the bicycle shop, etc. This is a fascinating look at their genius and personalities in the context of their family life and small town background. McCullough is an excellent writer.

 

[Meadbh]

I recently read "River of Doubt". The book is a nonfiction account of Teddy Roosevelt's exploration of the Amazon River tributary that is now named for him. The book was a page-turning account of a harrowing journey. Both DH and I found it to be a fascinating read.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I'm watching "The Roosevelts" on Netflix. This episode is shown and discussed in some detail. It's a fascinating series, BTW. 14 hours in total.