What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

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heartwood
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

I'm having a tough time getting into the new Paul Theroux book, Under the Wave at Waimea. He's a very good writer but the story so far is about how hard it is to be an aging big-wave surfer, set on the North Shore of Oahu. I'll keep at it for now.

I've got another water themed book waiting for me. John Sanford's Ocean Prey, its a Lucas Davenport novel but includes Virgil Flowers as well. Sandford's kept his work fresh by adding characters or having his characters change jobs.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by quantAndHold »

Deacon King Kong, by James McBride.

Brooklyn, 1969. An old drunk living in the projects shoots a drug dealer, and people start making bets on how long he’s going to live. The lives of the people in the projects, the drug dealer, a cop nearing retirement, and an Italian American mobster are all connected. Hilarious and touching.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by nisiprius »

Did I mention Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo? I'm tutoring someone who is learning English and looking for something at the right level, and this book was--and it is absolutely charming. It is not a heavy-duty YA book. Winn-Dixie is a stray dog whom the narrator adopts. The name is explained in the first pages. The narrator finds him in a Winn-Dixie supermarket. The manager is about to call the dog pound, and the narrator, on the spur of the moment, says "Don't! That's my dog." Stuck for a name, she thinks quickly--and not very well--and calls the dog "Come here, Winn-Dixie," and the dog grins and trots right over--so that's his name.

Here's a cultural detail. My student kept referring to the narrator as "he." I said, finally, "no, the narrator is a girl." She asks me "How do you know?" And I say, "well, it's obvious, because... uh... uh... gee, I'm sure she's a girl but how..." I start flipping pages, completely baffled.

I knew because the first words of the book are "My name is India Opal Buloni," and as a US English speaker I know that "Opal" is a feminine name and that "India" is a rare feminine name. (I've never met anyone named "India," and the only other time I've encountered it is in Evan S. Connell's novel, Mrs. Bridge). Eventually, far into the book, other kids tease her and call her "the preacher's daughter," so her name is not the only clue. And depending on the copy of the book you have, some editions have a picture from the movie and show Opal, but ours just has a big picture of a smiling dog.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by William4589 »

Stalingrad: The City that defeated the Third Reich

By Jochen Hellbeck

Excellent book.

It's a collection of interviews with Russian soldiers and German POWs that served on the front lines in Stalingrad and it also includes a diary from a German soldier.

The hand-to-hand combat inside buildings, the numbness to the constant bombings, Russia’s senseless shootings of their own soldiers (Stalin’s not one step back), the lack of food and the determination of the Russian people provides for an interesting but brutal read.

As an American, I’m more familiar with our efforts on the Western Front and our battles in the Pacific theatre. Just an opinion, and not to diminish our allies' accomplishments, but I think the moment the Germans crossed over into Russia they lost WWII. The German Sixth Army was known for its atrocities but I believe these interviews also reveal that the Red Army had no moral high ground to stand on.

Strategically, I do not understand why the Germans avoided bombing Russia’s logistical area across the Volga near Stalingrad. Also, the German flanks were obviously inadequate. Just seems many mistakes were made by the German Commander, Fredrich Paulus.

I read a quote that said, “this was two of the largest land armies to ever do battle and they were both led by amateurs (Stalin and Hitler).” I tend to agree and I’m saddened at the waste of so many lives on both sides.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Random Poster »

A Brief History of Everyone Who Ever Lived: The Human Story Retold Through Our Genes, by Adam Rutherford.

The book is divided into two parts: How we came to be; and Who we are know.

The first part traces rough genetic lineages of mankind and I thought it was educational and informative.

The second part is more about what genes aren’t, with a big emphasis on how race doesn’t exist. I found this part to be repetitive and a bit polemic.

Might be best to just read the first part of the book and stop there.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by SethJane42 »

With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by EB Sledge. Great book so far. Written by a WW2 vet. Part of the HBO miniseries The Pacific was based on his book. He was also featured as a subect in the Ken Burns' doc, The War.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by eucalyptus »

Pagans & Christians in the City, Steven D Smith, Eerdman's 2018. Smith is a law professor who has written several books about law and religion. As virtually all reviewers remark, his style is wonderfully clear. The book can be enjoyed as an opportunity to spend time in the company of someone who's read widely and thoughtfully. I found his discussion of Christianity and paganism in Rome interesting, even though he disclaims expertise in the field. Compare Teitler's book The Last Pagan Emperor and other recent treatments. Smith's book consider's TS Eliot's thesis that there's an ongoing contest between Christianity and "modern paganism" (you need to read the book to understand Smith's use of this term). It's clear where Smith stands. I found his portrayal of secularism a little cartoonish. But the big question left unanswered for many readers will be why, now that we've seen where a substantial portion of the American Christian community wants to take us, we shouldn't root hard for "modern paganism." This is not that book.

Next:

Luhrmann, How God Becomes Real
Vyse, Believing in Magic
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by abuss368 »

Sam Zell “Am I being too Subtle”. Enjoying it. What a career.

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

SethJane42 wrote: Sat Apr 24, 2021 8:15 pm With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa by EB Sledge. Great book so far. Written by a WW2 vet. Part of the HBO miniseries The Pacific was based on his book. He was also featured as a subect in the Ken Burns' doc, The War.
I read With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa years ago, and reread the book recently.

I also think it's great, and recommend this book.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by bighatnohorse »

A Confederacy of Dunces - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confederacy_of_Dunces
Not my usual pursuit but very different and interesting in it's own obession.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by bertilak »

bighatnohorse wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:42 pm A Confederacy of Dunces - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Confederacy_of_Dunces
Not my usual pursuit but very different and interesting in it's own obession.
It is not ANYONE's usual pursuit! It is a book in its own category, although firmly out of the early '60s when it was written. I've read it twice. Once long ago (probably near its first publication in 1980), and once just a couple of years ago. It is captivating. It won a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by jdb »

The River War, An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan by Winston Spencer Churchill. Two volumes, recently published by St. Augustine Press in association with International Churchill Society. Originally published in 1899, written by young Winston Churchill who had participated in final battle of the campaign, the Battle of Omdurman, as a subaltern in the 21st Lancers including the cavalry charge by 400 British soldiers armed primarily with lances and some pistols against about 2,700 Dervish warriors arrayed in a line 8 men deep armed with spears and swords. This book was reduced by Churchill in 1902 to one volume to make it less expensive, the original two volume set went out of print and has just been republished for first time since 1899. Contains all the fold out maps and pen and ink drawings made by an officer friend of the author during the campaign, shows the portions deleted by Churchill when reduced to one volume. Churchill was a wonderful writer. This account of the two year military campaign led by General Kitchener is fascinating. I very much enjoyed, highly recommend to military history fans and fans of Winston Churchill. But only if can get this two volume set, I found that much of the best material had been deleted in the reduction to one volume. Good luck.
Last edited by jdb on Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Nicolas »

jdb wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 3:03 pm The River War, An Historical Account of the Reconquest of the Soudan by Winston Spencer Churchill. Two volumes, recently published by St. Augustine Press in association with International Churchill Society. Originally published in 1899, written by young Winston Churchill who had participated in final battle of the campaign, the Battle of Omdurman, as a subaltern in the 21st Lancers including the cavalry charge by 400 British soldiers armed with pistols and swords against about 3000 Dervish warriors arrayed in a line 8 men deep armed with spears and swords. This book was reduced by Churchill in 1902 to one volume to make it less expensive, the original two volume set went out of print and has just been republished for first time since 1899. Contains all the fold out maps and pen and ink drawings made by an officer friend of the author during the campaign, shows the portions deleted by Churchill when reduced to one volume. Churchill was a wonderful writer. This account of the two year military campaign led by General Kitchener is fascinating. I very much enjoyed, highly recommend to military history fans and fans of Winston Churchill. But only if can get this two volume set, I found that much of the best material had been deleted in the reduction to one volume. Good luck.
This looks interesting, I enjoy Churchill’s writing. I just found the 1902 edition free on Amazon Kindle here (public domain)—> https://www.amazon.com/River-War-Accoun ... 195&sr=8-6

Also the original 1899 edition volumes 1 & 2 are available free on Archive.org (public domain) here and here.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by FreeAtLast »

"Empire Of The Superheroes", by Mark Cotta Vaz (University Of Texas Press 2021)

Eons ago when I was a brash whippersnapper and could bend over and immediately touch my toes without having to stretch carefully for 15 minutes.....I was a fanatical comic book collector. I was fortunate enough to begin in 1963 (8 y.o.), when Marvel Comics had just exploded with a bunch of exciting titles which spotlighted new superheroes like Spiderman, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Mighty Thor, and the Incredible Hulk. The Fantastic Four had come out a year or so previously. My buck and a half allowance got me 12 wonderful comix every month. Eventually my collection rose to about 500 copies, kept dry and safe in our renovated attic. More on that shortly.

The point of this personal history is that unless you have a similar fanatical past - or were a patent attorney - you probably will not enjoy this book like I did. Eventually the surprisingly profitable comix business spawned a morass of lawsuits over copyright violations and tugs of war between publishers and creative artists over who actually "owned" the idea of a new superhero. Multiple times Vaz quotes directly from extensive trial transcripts to illuminate or prove a legal point. For yours truly, now supposedly an adult, this detailed history of superhero creations and the subsequent court battles over them was absolutely fascinating: Siegel and Shuster inventing Superman, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby inventing most of the menagerie listed above (Steve Ditko was pretty much the father of Spiderman), and the copycat of Superman known as Captain Marvel cooked up by Fawcett Publications. Eventually some justice was dealt out in very belated recognition and inadequate remuneration for Siegel, Shuster, Kirby, and another artist named Edward Finger (co-creator of the Batman with Bob Kane).

As for me, two unfortunate things eventually occurred - my mother wanted use the attic for her important (?) storage and I had become overwhelmed by the tantalizing existence of girls, and none of the latter wanted to be seen within 100 miles of a comix geek. So I threw out all of my comics collection into the trash! To this day I shudder to think of that egregious error in judgement. I owned many low issue number copies of most of the Marvel pantheon, many of which were in at least 7.5 - 9.0 condition, according to today's comic book grading system. We're talking perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars here, my fellow Bogleheads. Experientia Doce Stultos. :oops:
Last edited by FreeAtLast on Sun Apr 25, 2021 10:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by KaskadeForever »

The Third Pole by Mark Synnott about Everest. It’s good so far.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by black jack »

FreeAtLast wrote: Sun Apr 25, 2021 8:47 pm "Empire Of The Superheroes", by Mark Cotta Vaz (University Of Texas Press 2021)

Eons ago when I was a brash whippersnapper and could bend over and immediately touch my toes without having to stretch carefully for 15 minutes.....I was a fanatical comic book collector. I was fortunate enough to begin in 1963 (8 y.o.), when Marvel Comics had just exploded with a bunch of exciting titles which spotlighted new superheroes like Spiderman, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Mighty Thor, and the Incredible Hulk. The Fantastic Four had come out a year or so previously. My buck and a half allowance got me 12 wonderful comix every month. Eventually my collection rose to about 500 copies, kept dry and safe in our renovated attic. More on that shortly.

The point of this personal history is that unless you have a similar fanatical past - or were a patent attorney - you probably will not enjoy this book like I did. Eventually the surprisingly profitable comix business spawned a morass of lawsuits over copyright violations and tugs of war between publishers and creative artists over who actually "owned" the idea of a new superhero. Multiple times Vaz quotes directly from extensive trial transcripts to illuminate or prove a legal point. For yours truly, now supposedly an adult, this detailed history of superhero creations and the subsequent court battles over them was absolutely fascinating: Siegel and Shuster inventing Superman, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby inventing most of the menagerie listed above (Steve Ditko was pretty much the father of Spiderman), and the copycat of Superman known as Captain Marvel cooked up by Fawcett Publications. Eventually some justice was dealt out in very belated recognition and inadequate remuneration for Siegel, Shuster, Kirby, and another artist named Edward Finger (co-creator of the Batman with Bob Kane).

As for me, two unfortunate things eventually occurred - my mother wanted use the attic for her important (?) storage and I had become overwhelmed by the tantalizing existence of girls, and none of the latter wanted to be seen within 100 miles of a comix geek. So I threw out all of my comics collection into the trash! To this day I shudder to think of that egregious error in judgement. I owned many low issue number copies of most of the Marvel pantheon, many of which were in at least 7.5 - 9.0 condition, according to today's comic book grading system. We're talking perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars here, my fellow Bogleheads. Experientia Doce Stultos. :oops:
I feel your pain.

I experienced a similar asset loss--though probably a fraction of yours--due to being in graduate school half a world away from my parents when they suddenly decided to move to a new house. Not everything made the trip, and some of what did was put into the humid unfinished basement and subsequently raided by my young nephews. If I close my eyes I can still see some of those inked panels. Sigh.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Metsfan91 »

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

Read this book over 20 years ago, and I still have the book in my collection...Another poster mentioned this book which caused me to read it again. Good read.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by jebmke »

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

Sixth in the Inspector Gamache series.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

Forty Years a Fur Trader, by Charles Laarpentuer.

The author was born in France in 1807, emigrated to the U.S. with his family at age 11, and grew up on a farm in Maryland. He went west at age 21 and worked as a Fur trader on the Upper Missouri from 1833 to 1872, except for a few years when he tried farming in Northwest Iowa.

The book is an interesting first person account of work as a Fur trader, life on the Northern Plaines, interactions with the Army, Indian Agents and other traders, and interactions with and warfare between the Indian Tribes.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by murdockFan »

I found “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” not to my liking. I had switched from audiobook to print edition from the library so I could re-read passages where I didn’t get the point. Unfortunately I kept losing interest even with that. The print edition in my hand had 3 addendums which were meant to enhance the book , one of which posed questions designed to enlighten the reader. None of these did, not to me anyway. But they did assure me that this is a major work of the 20th century. It probably is a touchstone for the 1960’s which is about the time of the movie with Maggie Smith. I will see the movie (again, though I lost interest in that the first time around) because I loved Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey, and because now I have some background to help understand and enjoy.
So now I have embarked on my fourth audiobook by Muriel Spark (third being Miss Jean Brodie) “Aiding and Abetting” and am finding it as interesting as the second one I digested heartily.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Sconie »

Knock, Knock by Anders Roslund. A #1 international-best selling thriller translated from Swedish.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by MP173 »

One of my favorite "secondary authors" of mystery books is Harry Dolan (along with John Virdon, David Housewright, Steve Hamilton, Robin Yocum, and Brian Thiem). BTW I am not slighting these authors....they are very good but are not as well recognized as the "big" mystery writers such as Connolly, Burke, Sandford, Coban, etc. Personally, I would match any of the above in any mystery genre, except perhaps Connolly and Burke who are slightly ahead in the class.

Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself...Harry Dolan has been a pretty good writer, particularly "The Man in The Crooked Hat". I felt his latest "The Good Killer" took a step back. He developed a new character, a mystery man who kills a gunman in a mall, saving numerous lives. After giving first aid, he slips out of the mall and out of sight...except for two people who want him for different reasons (both criminals) in the worst way. Thus begins a cross country journey of cat and mouse. Not a bad book, but...it wasnt "The Man in the Crooked Hat".

Next was "Off Mike" by Mike "Doc" Emerick the longtime NHL announcer. Easy to read, Emerick's broadcasting career took him from rural Indiana to the minor leagues of hockey to the NHL and the Olympics. Not too many hockey books reach our public library and I snatched this one up....worth the read.
Ed
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by chuckb84 »

A very old science fiction work, "The Black Cloud" by the astronomer Fred Hoyle. It's a real classic, that I haven't read since 1965, and that's special to me. By age 7 I had learned there was a thing called "science fiction" and I proceeded to read EVERY such book in the "children's section" at the library (think "Secrets of the Martian Moons", "Marooned on Mars", Heinlein juveniles, etc) and then learned that there were many MORE such books in the adult section of the library, and I couldn't check them out, but my parents could.

I recall going up to the checkout desk with my mom with The Black Cloud as one of a half dozen or so scifi books and the librarian rather frostily asked my mom if that book was "appropriate" for a child. My mom---even more frostily---informed her that it was none of her business which books she allowed me to read. It's a great memory of my mother, 57 years later.

The inappropriateness of the book is that there are some very vague suggestions that men and women (who aren't even married!) might be having sex, and the oblique references to this are VERY vague.

It's a cute book, certainly not for everyone, but interesting as sort of a period piece. I wonder if anyone else has read this?
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Blues »

chuckb84 wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 9:34 pm A very old science fiction work, "The Black Cloud" by the astronomer Fred Hoyle. It's a real classic, that I haven't read since 1965, and that's special to me.

Fred Hoyle was one of my heroes, and his books on astronomy were among my first as I got into amateur astronomy as a youth. I was taking classes on Saturday mornings at the Hayden Planetarium around the same year you last read it.

Memory lane.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by TomatoTomahto »

MP173 wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:05 pm Next was "Off Mike" by Mike "Doc" Emerick the longtime NHL announcer. Easy to read, Emerick's broadcasting career took him from rural Indiana to the minor leagues of hockey to the NHL and the Olympics. Not too many hockey books reach our public library and I snatched this one up....worth the read.
When we lived in NJ, one of the (few) pluses was having Doc Emerick be our announcer for the Devils.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

MP173 wrote: Mon Apr 26, 2021 5:05 pm ...

Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself...Harry Dolan has been a pretty good writer, particularly "The Man in The Crooked Hat". I felt his latest "The Good Killer" took a step back. He developed a new character, a mystery man who kills a gunman in a mall, saving numerous lives. After giving first aid, he slips out of the mall and out of sight...except for two people who want him for different reasons (both criminals) in the worst way. Thus begins a cross country journey of cat and mouse. Not a bad book, but...it wasnt "The Man in the Crooked Hat".

...
Ed
I've read the several Harry Dolan books and liked each one. There are several with the David Loogan character and a few others with other leads. I recall all are decent reads.

I mentioned in a recent post that I was reading the new John Sandford, Ocean Prey. I finished it quickly. It's a good one with both Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers in it. I do wonder if Sandford had two novels going and decided to merge them. It certainly worked for me.

I watch the best seller lists and a few weeks ago saw a book hit the list by an author I did not know : The Devil's Hand by Jack Carr. Looking on Amazon it had a few hundred 4+ reviews already. I saw there are several prior books with the same character, all with thousands of 4+ reviews. I got a copy of the first in the series, The Terminal List, and I'm ripping through it. Well written with a decent story, about a Navy Seal in Afghanistan where everything goes wrong. He returns to the US and it all continues going wrong. Lots of bad characters and a good story so far. I've reserved the 2nd book in the series.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by frugalmama »

The Thorn Birds (paper copy), Behave (nonfiction), and The Murmur of Bees (Kindle)...my first real delve into magical realism.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by FreeAtLast »

"Homicide Special", by Miles Corwin (Henry Holt and Company, 2003)

Let's see now.....an actual crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times was allowed to be embedded into the actual Robbery-Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department at Parker Center and to follow its homicide detectives for a year as they attempted to solve some puzzling murders. Shades of our beloved Harry Bosch! I couldn't put this book down. I found it as gripping and fascinating as any of Michael Connelly's well-written plots. One of the suspects mentioned in the book - millionaire and accused serial killer Robert Durst - is only now being brought to trial this very month. The profiles of the LAPD detectives are wonderfully detailed and include a couple of Renaissance men. The only item that was lacking in the book was a real life analogue to Connelly's formidable Deputy Chief Irvin Irving. If you can't find this book at your local library, you can still buy it on Amazon.
Last edited by FreeAtLast on Fri Apr 30, 2021 7:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by FOGU »

Just finished "An Instance of the Fingerpost." By Iain Pears. Fascinating historical mystery novel set in Oxford around the time of the English Civil Wars and the restoration of the British monarchy.

https://www.amazon.com/Instance-Fingerp ... 284&sr=1-1
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by MP173 »

Paul Doiron's "The Bone Orchard" is an excellent mystery set in Maine featuring Mike Bowditch, a late 20something former Maine Game Warden (resigned). He investigates (on his own) his former mentor's shooting and tracks down the person who attempted to murder her.

Very good book....I flew thru this one.

BTW in Maine Game Wardens have police type powers due to the wilderness area and the lack of State Police resources...or at least so in the book. This is a series...I read the initial book "The Poacher's Son" years ago where Bowditch had to investigate his father for murder.

Ed
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by tj218 »

Just finished Malcolm Gladwell's new book The Bomber Mafia https://www.amazon.com/Bomber-Mafia-Tem ... 0316296619

It's a short read, but interesting background on the precision guided (Bomber Mafia) bomb group in WWII vs. the area effect school. Focuses quite a bit on the moral question through the lens of what the goal of the "Bomber Mafia" was trying to achieve vs. the pragmatic concerns (lack of accuracy, ineffectiveness, etc.) of waging such a campaign during that era. I enjoyed the background on the development of the Norden bombsight in particular. The Curtis LeMay led firebombing campaign is the focus of the final third of the book.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by quantAndHold »

Strangers on a Train, by Patricia Highsmith.

The book the Hitchcock movie is based on. Psychological thriller. It was creepy enough that i had a hard time finishing it.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Barkingsparrow »

The Ice Master - Jennifer Niven

Account of the tragic 1913 Karluk expedition primarily based on the diaries of the men involved. The Karluk was an expedition led by Captain Stefansson to find new lands in the Arctic. Once the ship got stuck in the ice, the cowardly Stefansson abandoned the ship with a small picked crew to continue on in his search. The remaining crew were trapped in the ship for months, helpless as the ship was caught in the ice, which was flowing from east to west. Eventually the ship was wrecked and they were forced to make a 50 mile trip over treacherous ice to Wrangel Island, where they had to endure the horrors of bitter cold (-50F at times), starvation, disease, snow-blindness, and frostbite before being eventually rescued - only because the ship's other captain made an incredible heroic 700-mile journey over ice to Siberia, then to Alaska to get help. A truly harrowing story.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by AlwaysaQ »

The last book I finished was Cat Daddy by Jackson Galaxy. I bought it on Kindle, put off reading it for a time because I knew it would be sad, finished it in 2 days reading through my tears at the end.

Now I'm reading Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson on Kindle. This is one volume in the Oxford History of the United States series and the author won the Pulitzer for the book. I also have it in paperback but Amazon had a special on it and e-readers are much easier on the wrists.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Eowyn »

"Stalking Ground" by Margaret Mizushima - It's the 2nd in the Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series. I'm enjoying this series about Deputy Mattie Cobb & her K-9 partner Robo. The stories have a nice balance of plot & interesting character development, and I find the amount of tension just right for evening armchair reading. Descriptions of the work of veterinarian Cole Walker, a secondary character, is very interesting and probably accurate (the author assists at her husband's veterinary practice).
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heartwood
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

The Last Good Kiss by James Crumley (1978). A low rent Montana investigator is hired to find a boozy author and segues into a search for a runaway in Haight-Asbury missing for a decade. Lots of well written dialog and plot twists. I'll look for more by him.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ScoobyDoo »

Watchers by Dean Koonz
Excellent action/thriller with a cute dog as the main character! Love it...definitely recommend although violent...obviously, unless you are not familiar with the author. He’s a terrific storyteller! Hard to put down and just giddy to read more about man’s best friend!
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heartwood
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by heartwood »

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells. Listed as book 6 of her Murderbot Diaries series, but also described as a stand alone adventure. It's more a novella than a novel, listed at 172 pages.

I continue to like her writing and dialog, but surprised its so short after being presented as it has been for so long. My Libby reader tells me I'm 60% into it with 25 minutes of reading, and will finish in another 17. So less than an hour's read, w/o skimming.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by placeholder »

heartwood wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 5:20 pm Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells. Listed as book 6 of her Murderbot Diaries series, but also described as a stand alone adventure.
I just read this as well and it fits in between Exit Strategy and Network Effect.
It's more a novella than a novel, listed at 172 pages.

I continue to like her writing and dialog, but surprised its so short after being presented as it has been for so long. My Libby reader tells me I'm 60% into it with 25 minutes of reading, and will finish in another 17. So less than an hour's read, w/o skimming.
All of the murderbot stories have been novella length except for Network Effect.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Artful Dodger »

Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

I'm only about 60 pages in, but a fascinating read.

Won the Nobel prize in economics in 2002 based on similar work - "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty."
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by black cat fortunate »

Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro was unexpectedly wonderful.

Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing - Lauren Hough painted/tweeted herself in a corner with the Goodreads folks, but her essays are quite unique and immersive.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ruralavalon »

Ratification, by Pauline Maier.

This is the history of the debates over ratification of the U.S. Constitution in the years 1787-1788 via conventions elected by voters in the 13 original States and the regions which soon became the States of Kentucky, Vermont and Maine.

I thought the book was very interesting, most other histories focus on the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia ending September 17, 1787, and the Federalist papers. Recommended.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by jebmke »

ruralavalon wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 10:49 am Ratification, by Pauline Maier.

This is the history of the debates over ratification of the U.S. Constitution in the years 1787-1788 via conventions elected by voters in the 13 original States and the regions which soon became the States of Kentucky, Vermont and Maine.

I thought the book was very interesting, most other histories focus on the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia ending September 17, 1787, and the Federalist papers. Recommended.
Excellent book. Good compliment to these other histories, as you note. Bailyn and Ellis are two authors that I like for the pre-ratification era.
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Artful Dodger
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Artful Dodger »

ruralavalon wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 10:49 am Ratification, by Pauline Maier.

This is the history of the debates over ratification of the U.S. Constitution in the years 1787-1788 via conventions elected by voters in the 13 original States and the regions which soon became the States of Kentucky, Vermont and Maine.

I thought the book was very interesting, most other histories focus on the Constitutional convention in Philadelphia ending September 17, 1787, and the Federalist papers. Recommended.
Sounds interesting. I read Maier’s book American Scripture (about the writing of the Declaration of Independence) a number of years ago and really enjoyed it.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Elsebet »

Jack Bogle's "Enough" - really good, tough to see how accurate he is about the current business, investment, and social landscape.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by mr_mac3 »

Artful Dodger wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 5:46 pm Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

I'm only about 60 pages in, but a fascinating read.

Won the Nobel prize in economics in 2002 based on similar work - "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty."
Great book. Be forewarned, there are reasons to doubt the studies from chapter 4. See

https://replicationindex.com/2017/02/02 ... the-rails/

Kahneman responded in the comments, you can either search for it there or find it here.

https://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp/Teach ... day-1.html
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Fallible »

Finished Michael Lewis’s new book, The Premonition: A Pandemic Story, and I highly recommend it, especially as a sequel, sort of, to his previous excellent book, The Fifth Risk. Having read “Fifth,” I was surprised at “Premonition,” mostly because of the issues it raises about preparing for pandemics, what was done for the current one and what can be done with any certainty for the next.

Btw, if Lewis's name sounds familiar, his previous books include The Big Short, Moneyball, and Liar's Poker.
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Artful Dodger
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by Artful Dodger »

mr_mac3 wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 4:56 pm
Artful Dodger wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 5:46 pm Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

I'm only about 60 pages in, but a fascinating read.

Won the Nobel prize in economics in 2002 based on similar work - "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty."
Great book. Be forewarned, there are reasons to doubt the studies from chapter 4. See

https://replicationindex.com/2017/02/02 ... the-rails/

Kahneman responded in the comments, you can either search for it there or find it here.

https://turnbull.sk.tsukuba.ac.jp/Teach ... day-1.html
Thanks,

I just finished that chapter a few days ago, so it's pretty fresh. Bananas ... vomit. Eh
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by nisiprius »

Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World, by Simon Winchester. Excellent. Very readable, "page-turner" doesn't sound right for nonfiction, but it is.

I thought it lacked coherence, though. It isn't a grand integrated overview. It is more like a collection of thirty excellent standalone essays that touch on various specific aspects of land ownership.

One striking turn of phrase, which I have to quote from memory because I returned the book to the library, occurs in the last chapter, "Yet Now the Land is Drowning." He talks about how our bedrock ideas of land are centered on the idea of permanence, yet now we perceive that this isn't so. He suggests that the land is now "like a balloon with air leaking out." This is important, because I hadn't realized it, but mentally when land is submerged you have the idea that it is, after all, still there. But from the human point of view, it may be better to think of it as leaking away.
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ResearchMed
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part VI

Post by ResearchMed »

nisiprius wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 5:47 pm Land: How the Hunger for Ownership Shaped the Modern World, by Simon Winchester. Excellent. Very readable, "page-turner" doesn't sound right for nonfiction, but it is.

I thought it lacked coherence, though. It isn't a grand integrated overview. It is more like a collection of thirty excellent standalone essays that touch on various specific aspects of land ownership.

One striking turn of phrase, which I have to quote from memory because I returned the book to the library, occurs in the last chapter, "Yet Now the Land is Drowning." He talks about how our bedrock ideas of land are centered on the idea of permanence, yet now we perceive that this isn't so. He suggests that the land is now "like a balloon with air leaking out." This is important, because I hadn't realized it, but mentally when land is submerged you have the idea that it is, after all, still there. But from the human point of view, it may be better to think of it as leaking away.
Interesting about land "leaking away", as in "getting submerged.

Was there any discussion about the [relatively new] submerged facilities, such as a restaurant or hotel that is at the least partially submerged?
Currently, this is a "special feature", a view of the underwater activity (sea life, maybe divers!?) and views, much like mountain views or views of the Venice canals from one's room or dining table, etc.

But in the past, who would have predicted apartments or hotels rooms 40 stories into the sky? Is creating "living space" underwater so different?
Or the idea of "floating islands"?

Peculiar as it seems to write this next bit, I'm only referring to housing here on Earth. :shock:

RM
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