What have you read recently?

[anethum]

I've been doing lots of reading, much of it in airports, on planes, and on other forms of public transportation.

The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. By Zoë Schlanger, This is an excellent book about new discoveries concerning how plants are able to communicate with other plants. Lots more remains to be discovered. I found the first chapter a bit tedious, but after that, it quickly becomes fascinating.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters, A four-year-old Mi'kmaq girl goes missing from a blueberry farm in Maine where her family members are doing seasonal picking. An interesting novel set in Maine, Boston, and the maritime provinces of Canada.

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. This novel won the National Book Award in 2019. Lots of angst in a high school drama class. It was OK but not an award winner for my taste.

Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst. I loved this engrossing novel about a man born & raised in England by his British mother, and who never knows his Burmese father. The novel moves from decade to decade until reaching the pandemic late in his life. We see the boy become a man and professional actor, Hollinghurst's writing is sublime, and there are acute observations about race, sexuality, and politics over the decades.

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny is her latest mystery in the Gamache series. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden is a historical novel set in the Netherlands after WWII. An interesting tale. I learned that Dutch Jews who survived the Holocaust found that their problems were not necessarily over when they tried to return to their homes.

The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths. This mystery reminded me a bit of Richard Osman's "Thursday Murders Club" series. It's not as wonderful as that series, but it's nonetheless an enjoyable and well-written mystery with a slew of interesting characters.

 

[NatureBoy]

I read "Framed" with my church book group and totally agree with your assessment. Admittedly, these cases are some carefully selected egregious examples such that some might question the motives of the authors, but the cases are so far beyond the pale that one cannot finish the book without being outraged and concluding that our criminal justice system is deeply flawed. Further, the higher courts charged with hearing appeals of convictions are often extraordinarily slow to rule and excessively deferential to lower court decisions with obvious flaws.

We had a retired circuit court judge visit with us about the book and the criminal justice system, in general. He said that a colleague had recently given him a copy and that it was on his desk, but that he didn't think he could read it because it would be too painfully near to his experience during decades of trial work. He then related a particular case he had handled as an appellate special master (not sure I have the legalese right), wherein he concluded there was a wrongful conviction and that a judge in the case had perjured himself on the stand during his proceedings.

 

[socca]

Recently read All in the Family by Fred Trump III. I rarely read political / celebrity nonfiction but I saw this in the New Books section of the library and thought, “Why not?” This book exceeded my low expectations. It’s mostly about nasty family dynamics and struggles over generational wealth (I’m familiar with both) rather than politics. There are some interesting similarities between Fred’s life and mine as well as some major differences. Recommended!

 

[steelyman]

In my ongoing exploration of F. Scott Fitzgerald, I read the short story “O Russett Witch!”, which is part of Tales Of The Jazz Age.

I came across a website Owl Eyes (I suppose a nod to a character in The Great Gatsby) that looks like a good source for literature in the public domain.

Owl Eyes

 

[steelyman]

Continuing with Tales, I read “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, which is quite a story that makes me think of Dorian Gray for obvious reasons.

Also reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. That novel describes growing up in early 20th century New York. A good writing style.

 

[Zona]

Also reading A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. That novel describes growing up in early 20th century New York. A good writing style.

That's one of my favorite books, one that I've reread quite a few times. I read another one by her that was also excellent Tomorrow Will Be Better.

 

[steelyman]

That’s interesting (Tomorrow Will Be Better). It’s now on my list, thanks.

Wikipedia tells me that Betty Smith had some ties to North Carolina (!).

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

 

[Markola]

I’m really enjoying Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism, by Bhu Srinivasan. He brings an immigrants’ awe and enthusiasm of US economic opportunity, and explains in just enough detail to stay very readable the major components of our development. So far we’ve covered furs, tobacco, cotton, steamships, and canals, touching on rice and sugar. And he doesn’t shy away from the horrors of the enslaved labor that made so much of it possible.

 

[walkinwood]

I recently read the first two books in Raymond Chandler's private detective Philip Marlowe series. I enjoyed them even though they're very dated now. You can see his impact on so many fictional detectives that followed.

 

[steelyman]

I recently read the first two books in Raymond Chandler's private detective Philip Marlowe series. I enjoyed them even though they're very dated now. You can see his impact on so many fictional detectives that followed.

The NY Times ran an article “Classic Private Eye Detective Novels” this week. Their “starter pack”:

The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett
The Long Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
The Galton Case, Ross Macdonald
Sleep With Slander, Delores Hitchens
Indemnity Only, Sara Paretsku
Dead In The Frame, Stephen Spotswood
Case Histories, Kate Atkinson
The Eighth Circle, Stanley Ellin
Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead, Sara Gran

 

[scfr]

Currently reading, The Only Plane in the Sky, an Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett Graff. It’s a sad tale of the day the US was attacked as told in the words of those who experienced it. An amazing account and stories of the hero’s of that fateful day and weeks following.

I just finished listening to the audiobook version. It was deeply moving.

 

[steelyman]

I’ve started a book Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan that’s kind of a nice companion to A Tree Grows In Brooklyn in that it’s also a story about growing up, except the setting at first is Aguascalientes, Mexico. The date period is similar.

This book is classified as being for young adults but I think it’s OK for retirees too. No baby-talk or anything like that.

 

[HFWR]

Not too current, but “Bill Bruford The Autobiography”.

Background, Bruford was Yes’s original drummer, and at one time or another drummed with King Crimson, Genesis, Earthworks, U.K., and the self-named Bruford. Interesting tales of life as a rock drummer, told with humor, with a hint of terror.

 

[Twilo123]

Started reading on plant gene editing techniques. This is an older starter that many people begin with when interested in this topic.

Plants from Test Tubes: An Introduction to Micropropogation Hardcover – August 13, 2013​

by Lydiane Kyte (Author), John Kleyn (Author), Holly Scoggins (Author), Mark Bridgen (Author)

 

[richardsok]

I just got done reading "Nexus" (Harari) and it's a fascinating view of the progress of humanity, stone age to AI. It's a depressing look at what we're up against as AI becomes more integrated into the world. He argues pretty convincingly, from cultural movements of the past, that as AI gets integrated into more stuff, things will probably go south. He argues against what he calls "the naive view of information", which incorrectly posits more information will yield more truth. Plenty of justification that truth is not the obvious or likely result of more information.

He talks about how earlier technologies for managing information (the printing press, telegraph, radio, etc) were used and misused by the various cultural organization schemes on both sides of the iron curtain. Harari talks about a new "silicon curtain" or maybe not just one, where each grouping will have their own "mythology," or cultural narrative. Again, some pretty reasonable arguments about how AI will be different. The network, up until now, always required a flesh and blood person as a participant. If AI's become "members of the community", acting on their own, THAT is why "it's different this time," when compared to earlier human created technologies.

A lot of what was in the book didn't really "stick," but it was a library book, so I couldn't go back and reread. And I'm not inclined to check it out again, like I said, it was depressing, but I'm glad I read it.

Points taken. Whenever I read some dark prognostication of a future 20+ years out, I take solace in all the past prediction writers I've read over the years. NO ONE has ever had a clue. We thought we were going to the moon, endure global starvation and have flying autos. What we got was gridlock, Twitter and the Green Revolution.
Closest prediction was in the funny papers: Dick Tracy and his Two-Way Wrist Radio.

 

[robnplunder]

I finished reading Franz Kafka's The Castle. It is a difficult book that seems to go nowhere (and it went nowhere). But the book made me think. I am now reading The Trial by the same author.

 

[Walt34]

Points taken. Whenever I read some dark prognostication of a future 20+ years out, I take solace in all the past prediction writers I've read over the years. NO ONE has ever had a clue. We thought we were going to the moon, endure global starvation and have flying autos. What we got was gridlock, Twitter and the Green Revolution.

I was just remembering today (a youtube video reminded me) that I recall reading in my first grade Weekly Reader that everyone would have flying cars in the future. I'm 75 years old and I'm still waiting. It's making me grumpy.

 

[Sanstar]

The Women by Kristin Hannah. A novel about nurses at a front line medical unit during the Vietnam War. Brought back a lot of memories of those days. So many of the guys in my high school enlisted right out of school. I too enlisted with the expectation of going. The Peace Accords were signed when I was in Basic. Back then, we gals were told: “don’t travel in uniform. You’ll be targeted by anti war activists.” Risk at home and in Vietnam.

Engrossing and troubling look back at a sad chapter in our country’s recent past.

 

[HFWR]

I was just remembering today (a youtube video reminded me) that I recall reading in my first grade Weekly Reader that everyone would have flying cars in the future. I'm 75 years old and I'm still waiting. It's making me grumpy.

And you think traffic is bad now!

 

[stevenr]

Brothers, by Alex Van Halen

 

[socca]

Picked up in the New Books section of the library: Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI. A good technical introduction to the latest "AI Revolution".

 

[steelyman]

The Women by Kristin Hannah. A novel about nurses at a front line medical unit during the Vietnam War. Brought back a lot of memories of those days. So many of the guys in my high school enlisted right out of school. I too enlisted with the expectation of going. The Peace Accords were signed when I was in Basic. Back then, we gals were told: “don’t travel in uniform. You’ll be targeted by anti war activists.” Risk at home and in Vietnam.

Engrossing and troubling look back at a sad chapter in our country’s recent past.

I was part of a local book club until Covid put the brakes on everything. One book we read was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. It’s set in WWII and I thought it was very good.

 

[Phroig]

Reading The Power Broker by Robert Caro. Fascinating.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

A couple of biographies about former president Gerald Ford that I picked up our library.

Learned a lot, and I don't take political sides.

God I wish we could live like that again.

 

[Rianne]

The Dark Wives is Ann Cleeves latest Vera mystery. I thought it was one of her best, and that's saying something! Wonderful character development and an interesting plot.

Not long ago, the NY Times published a list of the top 100 books published in the 21st century thus far. The books were chosen by hundreds of authors the Times contacted, but there was some editorial involvement (i.e. manipulation) as well. FWIW, I have found the NY Times Readers' selection of the top 100 books of the 21st century to be a much more reliable list for finding a book I will enjoy. Anyway, #1 on the Times original list is a novel by Elena Ferrante titled My Brilliant Friend, translated from Italian. It's about a childhood and adolescent friendship between 2 girls growing up in a poor and chaotic neighborhood in Naples beginning in the 1950s. I got through it but I found it tedious. This was the first of 4 books in a series. It was made into a TV series/movie for HBO/Max. I'm not sure if I'll attempt to watch it though it received good reviews from viewers.

A couple of weeks ago the NY Times published a list of the Top Ten books published this year. I read Good Material by Dolly Atherton, one of five fiction books on the list. A modern-day story set in London about a couple who break up after 4 years together. Most of the book is written in the 1st person by the man, a not-very-successful standup comedian. The last part of the book is told by the woman who initiated the breakup. Her narrative redeemed the book for me.

The Times seems to select books which fit into certain categories rather than overall merit. I will ignore their lists going forward. I doubt they would consider selecting a mystery, but the Ann Cleeves mystery I just read IMO far surpassed the two novels named in these two "Best books" lists.

We were spellbound by "My Brilliant Friend" the series on HBO. Thrilled when each new season came out, never disappointed. I love that Elena Ferrante is a pseudonym and has kept her identity secret.