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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (2 Viewers)

My reads so far this summer:

Where the Crawdads Sing...excellent

Before We Were Yours...very good...disturbing that this was going on.  Historical fiction based on a child kidnapping and trafficking ring based in Memphis during the depression. A lady led an organization that would steal kids from poor families and then sell them to wealthy families around the country. 

Sold on a Monday...very good...similar to Before We Were Yours but was about families selling their kids during the depression for the sake of survival.  
 

The Killer Angels...excellent, as all Michael and Jeff Shaara books are.  Battle of Gettysburg.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz...moving tale of a concentration camp prisoner that has the job of tattooing numbers on incoming prisoners.  A tale of survival and live in a horrible situation.

Currently about 1/3 of the way in to Devolution: A firsthand account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. 

 
Bengalsfan said:
My reads so far this summer:

Where the Crawdads Sing...excellent

Before We Were Yours...very good...disturbing that this was going on.  Historical fiction based on a child kidnapping and trafficking ring based in Memphis during the depression. A lady led an organization that would steal kids from poor families and then sell them to wealthy families around the country. 

Sold on a Monday...very good...similar to Before We Were Yours but was about families selling their kids during the depression for the sake of survival.  
 

The Killer Angels...excellent, as all Michael and Jeff Shaara books are.  Battle of Gettysburg.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz...moving tale of a concentration camp prisoner that has the job of tattooing numbers on incoming prisoners.  A tale of survival and live in a horrible situation.

Currently about 1/3 of the way in to Devolution: A firsthand account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. 
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Devolution is next on my list. I have high hopes for it.

 
Finished a few recently

"How Global Currencies Work: Past, Present, and Future"- good read on the history of currency since around the late 1800s to today. Interesting discussion on how/when the dollar became the global reserve currency. Author uses the past to assess the renminbi's future prospects. 

"MOB VI: A Seal Team Six Operator's Battles in the Fight for Good over Evil"- good read by an elite commando. Was on the mission to capture Jessica Buchanan in Somalia. Also talked about returning home from war and PTSD. Experienced tremendous benefit with magnetic e-resonance therapy.........to the point where he no longer needed medication. 

"Touching the Dragon: And Other Techniques for Surviving Life's Wars"- another book by one of our nation's elite commandos. Mr. Hatch was critically wounded on the mission to rescue Bowe Bergdahl in 2009. It forever changed his life and sent him down a deep spiral of mental health issues, PTSD, and suicidal thoughts/attempts. It details his recovery, which I felt was incredibly powerful. His method of "touching the dragon" was eye opening. 

"The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google"- never realized how much these 4 companies dominate our lives. They each play a role in our quest either for stuff (Amazon), knowledge (Google), or showing off (Apple and Facebook). Will a fifth enter the fray and make it "The Five?" Will a new contender subvert and replace one of these 4? I enjoyed Galloway's overall writing style. Found it easy to read. 

 
Don't Toews Me said:
"The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google"- never realized how much these 4 companies dominate our lives. They each play a role in our quest either for stuff (Amazon), knowledge (Google), or showing off (Apple and Facebook). Will a fifth enter the fray and make it "The Five?" Will a new contender subvert and replace one of these 4? I enjoyed Galloway's overall writing style. Found it easy to read. 
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The Four is a good primer on those companies. I also liked Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Niel which is similar but spends more time on other companies in addition to the algorithms they use and use of AI.

 
TheFatKid said:
The Four is a good primer on those companies. I also liked Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O’Niel which is similar but spends more time on other companies in addition to the algorithms they use and use of AI.
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Sounds interesting. I'll check it out for sure. 

Agreed, I thought for a novice like myself, Galloway made it easy to understand. Not too complicated. Needed it dumbed down.

 
Binky The Doormat said:
oooo ...let me know what you think.  Sounds right up my alley.
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I liked it. It's an easy read. The book follows three characters from the 1930s on up through the 60s. I'd only ever heard of one of them: Owney Madden. The other two were Dane Harris and Hazel Hill (the author's grandmother), who I knew nothing about.

Lots of famous characters drop by: Meyer Lansky, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano ( who was arrested twice in one day there :lol:  ), Bobby Kennedy (who tried for years to shut that town down), several notable actors (Mickey Rooney was one) & entertainers (Duke Ellington), even Bill Clinton.

You'd probably get more out of it than I, just from a local-name-and-geography perspective since you live down that way.

Jesus, the folks running that town had some serious gonads.

 
I reserved Empire of the Summer Moon from the library back in January. I just got it this week. That is the longest I have ever waited for a library book. So far it is really good but pretty brutal. It is a nonfiction account that sounds a lot like Cormack McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

The Comanche was one bad ### group I would have not want to run into back then. It is crazy how brutal they were. 

 
prosopis said:
I reserved Empire of the Summer Moon from the library back in January. I just got it this week. That is the longest I have ever waited for a library book. So far it is really good but pretty brutal. It is a nonfiction account that sounds a lot like Cormack McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

The Comanche was one bad ### group I would have not want to run into back then. It is crazy how brutal they were. 
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It was hard to put summer moon down once i started reading it.

 
SouthJersey said:
I thought this books was meh.  Not sure why it was noted as one of the best memoirs by the NYT last year.  I kept waiting for it to get interesting but it never did.

Currently half way through Shantaram.  I really like the story, but thing the writing is mediocre at best.  To read an 1,000 page novel I'd prefer the author writes like Michael Chabon, Gregory David Roberts is nowhere close to that level.
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Finally finished Shantaram.  I can't believe it took me longer to read this book than it did The Brother Karamazov a few months ago.  The writing is annoying and it was a bit too long, but I really enjoyed the story.  His love for India really come through, makes me want to visit again reading how he describes certain things.

Now starting Edward Thorp's autobiography A Man For All Markets

 
Recently finished Devolution and Empire of the Summer Moon. I loved them both.

I am now looking for a new read:

I am in the mood for either Southwestern mystery/crime ( I have read all the Jim Chee books) or

Southwestern horror/legend stuff

Classic mystery that is in the vein of John D Mcdonald or

Horror

I will take any suggestions. I want to take a break from history books. I am really looking for a total escape from reality book.

 
Trying to once again light a fire under my ### for reading.  

Finished Sing, Unburied, Sing and really liked that one.   

I am about 1/2 done with American Predator  and it's pretty good too.  I like some true crime every once in awhile, and never heard of this guy.   After that I am going to start a @krista4 recommendation.  

 
KarmaPolice said:
Trying to once again light a fire under my ### for reading.  

Finished Sing, Unburied, Sing and really liked that one.   

I am about 1/2 done with American Predator  and it's pretty good too.  I like some true crime every once in awhile, and never heard of this guy.   After that I am going to start a @krista4 recommendation.  
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Loved Sing, Unburied, Sing. Jesmyn Ward’s Salvage the Bones is great too (although did prefer Sing).

Did you mention Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing on your reading list a few months back? I may be misremembering, but that was another recent one that I loved. I have her new one (Transcendent Kingdom) on pre-order. Coming out on 9/1. Early reviews have been pretty glowing.

 
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prosopis said:
You take that back!!! Sasquatch is way cool. I just finished this book and I loved it. This would make a great movie if done right and with an R rating. 
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Devolution was great. I was literally anxious in several sections.  I loved the setup of the community and the irreverence shown to many of the people who live there. I loved the "game theory" behind the creature. And I loved the conclusion. Highly recommend. 

 
prosopis said:
I reserved Empire of the Summer Moon from the library back in January. I just got it this week. That is the longest I have ever waited for a library book. So far it is really good but pretty brutal. It is a nonfiction account that sounds a lot like Cormack McCarthy's Blood Meridian.

The Comanche was one bad ### group I would have not want to run into back then. It is crazy how brutal they were. 
Click to expand...
:blackdot:

 
prosopis said:
Recently finished Devolution and Empire of the Summer Moon. I loved them both.

I am now looking for a new read:

I am in the mood for either Southwestern mystery/crime ( I have read all the Jim Chee books) or

Southwestern horror/legend stuff

Classic mystery that is in the vein of John D Mcdonald or

Horror

I will take any suggestions. I want to take a break from history books. I am really looking for a total escape from reality book.
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Have you read any Joe R Lansdale?  His Hap and Leonard books are east Texas mystery/crime.

 
prosopis said:
Recently finished Devolution and Empire of the Summer Moon. I loved them both.

I am now looking for a new read:

I am in the mood for either Southwestern mystery/crime ( I have read all the Jim Chee books) or

Southwestern horror/legend stuff

Classic mystery that is in the vein of John D Mcdonald or

Horror

I will take any suggestions. I want to take a break from history books. I am really looking for a total escape from reality book.
Click to expand...
Hey, @prosopis. Not to be overly self-promoty, but since you specifically mentioned Southwestern mystery/crime, I'd be remiss not to recommend Hostile Takeover. Suspense/thriller that takes place in the desert of New Mexico. 

If you read it, please let me know what you think. 🙂

 
Daywalker said:
The Stand

Was surprised how underwhelming it was.  1500 pages and i don’t think i could even visualize what most of the characters look like.  
 

I don’t get it.  
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Half way through right now. Not a King fan really but it’s somewhat relevant to the Covid.  I like it so far and have a good visual of the characters. Probably because I remember the corny miniseries from the 90s with Molly Ringwald as Frannie and Rob Lowe as Nick. 

 
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Captain Fantastic said:
Hey, @prosopis. Not to be overly self-promoty, but since you specifically mentioned Southwestern mystery/crime, I'd be remiss not to recommend Hostile Takeover. Suspense/thriller that takes place in the desert of New Mexico. 

If you read it, please let me know what you think. 🙂
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Short memory dude. I read it and gave you a review. I did like it. I believe I had the same feelings as someone in your family regarding a character. I am staying spoiler free so you will have to try to remember that. 😆

 
Captain Fantastic said:
Hey, @prosopis. Not to be overly self-promoty, but since you specifically mentioned Southwestern mystery/crime, I'd be remiss not to recommend Hostile Takeover. Suspense/thriller that takes place in the desert of New Mexico. 

If you read it, please let me know what you think. 🙂
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Hey, I started reading Second Son and quite a way into it but just realized it's the second part of a trilogy.  Should I stop and read Hostile Takeover?

 
KarmaPolice said:
Trying to once again light a fire under my ### for reading.  

Finished Sing, Unburied, Sing and really liked that one.   

I am about 1/2 done with American Predator  and it's pretty good too.  I like some true crime every once in awhile, and never heard of this guy.   After that I am going to start a @krista4 recommendation.  
Click to expand...
On the subject of Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward has an essay in Vanity Fair that came out today and it is something else. Heartbreaking and devastating... https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2020/08/jesmyn-ward-on-husbands-death-and-grief-during-covid

 
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prosopis said:
Short memory dude. I read it and gave you a review. I did like it. I believe I had the same feelings as someone in your family regarding a character. I am staying spoiler free so you will have to try to remember that. 😆
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Eek! Totally remember that now. Embarrassed am I.  😳

Still, um, glad you liked it. 👍

 
shuke said:
Hey, I started reading Second Son and quite a way into it but just realized it's the second part of a trilogy.  Should I stop and read Hostile Takeover?
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Thanks for reading @shuke! No worries at all on the order.

Second Son and Hostile Takeover are each standalone stories and can be read independently of one another. There is an underlying thread that connects them, and the third book - Final Reckoning - pulls that thread to join the stories and wrap up the loose trilogy. (Final Reckoning is currently targeted for release on 11/12)

Hope you're enjoying Second Son! 🙂

 
Got through a couple books the past few weeks:

A Man for All Markets -- Ed Thorpe's autobiography.  He's the dude who wrote Beat the Dealer about blackjack and then created his own hedge fund.  The first 2/3rds of the book were great, the last 3rd kinda boring with basic personal finance stuff: 99% of people will make more money investing in a low-cost S&P index fund over a hedge fund manager.  I enjoyed it.

Say Nothing -- This was awesome.  Good book about The Troubles in Northern Ireland.  Good history but also digging into the background of an unsolved murder during that time.  Definitely in the top 5 books I've read this year.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Read this maybe 25 years ago and remembered it for the way Bach wrote about flying.  Thought it would be fun to read with my son who is in 1st grade but he wasn't into it after about 10 pages.  I still enjoyed the parts he wrote about flying, the rest was meh.

 
facook said:
Huh. The Shantaram schlock is in my all time top 10. I am dumber than I thought I guess.
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Nah, don't buy into that.  If a book hits you, fall feel love disappear think.  That's why we read.

SouthJersey said:
Finally finished Shantaram. 

...

I really enjoyed the story.  His love for India really come through, makes me want to visit again reading how he describes certain things.
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Agreed.  His descriptions of the clothes, food, and locations hit throughout Shantaram.  Only topped by the people and their huge hearts for others they keep close or share spaces with.  From the head wagging, their romanticism, and their way of living within guidelines outside of laws.  A way of family that's not necessarily blood or solely based on shared backgrounds.  Very good book and well worth the almost 1,000 page investment.

 
SouthJersey said:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Read this maybe 25 years ago and remembered it for the way Bach wrote about flying.  Thought it would be fun to read with my son who is in 1st grade but he wasn't into it after about 10 pages.  I still enjoyed the parts he wrote about flying, the rest was meh.
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Read this for the first time a few months ago.  Was surprised how basic it was, yet how powerful.  I can understand why some could dismiss it entirely while others would get hit right between the eyes by it.  I found myself closer to the latter and gave it to my 10 year old to read as well.

He told me it was okay and we talked about it a bit.  Seemed to be a meh to him and I moved on.  At least he read it and seemed to not hate my recommendation...I'll take that.  Then, a month after reading it, we're at the beach.  He looks up and sees a seagull flying solo. My son said, "Hey, it's Jonathan." It took me a second, but I laughed. He then smirked and said, "Glad to see he's still kind of doing his own thing." ####.  Could have knocked me into the water with a slight push.  Kids man.  It may take ten twenty thirty battles prodding exchanges but sometimes you get one of those and you realize you're doing okay.

 
I finished reading Yaa Gyasi's Transcendent Kingdom.  I know I've pimped her "Homegoing" quite a bit in here the past few years; Transcendent Kingdom is even better.  My one complaint with Homegoing was that I could have used a bit more time on each of the characters (it follows around 7 generation of family members as split off in Ghana and US).  Transcendent Kingdom focuses more narrowly on an immigrant family, which allows some room for the characters to breathe and shine, and the inner struggle dealing with loss.  I like a bit of philosophy in my novels and Transcendent Kingdom has that edge to it.

 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking for decent beach reading for fall break, plus another few for here. 

My current hold list:

Holds (12 total)
Libertarianism, from a to z / Miron, Jeffrey A

The ballad of songbirds and snakes Collins, Suzanne,

Man's search for meaning : an introduction to logotherapy / Frankl, Viktor E.

Into the wild / Hunter, Erin. (For my 12yo)

The four : the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google / Galloway, Scott,

Deep South : four seasons on back roads / Theroux, Paul,

Weapons of math destruction : how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy / O'Neil, Cathy,

The Stone reader : modern philosophy in 133 arguments /

Minecraft : the island / Brooks, Max, (another for my 12yo)

World War Z : an oral history of the zombie war / Brooks, Max. (I think I read this before but don't recall for sure)

Devolution : a Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. Brooks, Max.

The undoing project : a friendship that changed our minds / Lewis, Michael
 

 
Recently read:    

Harry Potter and the cursed child. Parts one and two 

(My 12yo and I decided to reread all the HP books, had to end with this one)

    The dumb things smart people do with their money : thirteen ways to right your financial wrongs / Schlesinger, Jill,

    (Excellent, highly recommend)

    The power of habit : why we do what we do in life and business /
Duhigg, Charles.

(Another highly recommended)

    Principles /Dalio, Ray,

 (Not as good as advertised but solid)

The infinite game, Sinek, Simon,

(I liked it enough)

The golden albatross, grumpus maximus

(If you're in a job with a pension and like personal finance, it's definitely worth a read)

I think I see a trend 🤔 but would really like to branch out a bit.

 
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Reading volume 2 of the Wandering Inn.

guilty pleasure.  Was annoying for a good part of the first book then it really grew on me.  Into second one and really am enjoying it.

 
-OZ- said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking for decent beach reading for fall break, plus another few for here. 

My current hold list:

Holds (12 total)
Libertarianism, from a to z / Miron, Jeffrey A

The ballad of songbirds and snakes Collins, Suzanne,

Man's search for meaning : an introduction to logotherapy / Frankl, Viktor E.

Into the wild / Hunter, Erin. (For my 12yo)

The four : the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google / Galloway, Scott,

Deep South : four seasons on back roads / Theroux, Paul,

Weapons of math destruction : how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy / O'Neil, Cathy,

The Stone reader : modern philosophy in 133 arguments /

Minecraft : the island / Brooks, Max, (another for my 12yo)

World War Z : an oral history of the zombie war / Brooks, Max. (I think I read this before but don't recall for sure)

Devolution : a Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. Brooks, Max.

The undoing project : a friendship that changed our minds / Lewis, Michael
 
Click to expand...
My God.  Do you read for pleasure or out of some weird torture obligation?  If the former, read these two.  They are actually......you know....fun books to read.

 
Just finished a book called White Out which I do not recommend. 

Just started The Haunting of HG Wells by Robert Masello. Only two chapters in but it is wiping away the abomination that was White Out from my mind.

Both of these books were free with Amazon Prime. I do find these monthly first read books to be hit and miss. 

 
You know, one of life's great pleasures is discovering an older book/author that you really enjoy. There are so many great works I finally get around to reading and--beyond having that sense of accomplishment of "phew! I've finally read ____"--they don't exactly sweep you off your feet.

Finished The Duel by Anton Chekhov the other day. Book was fine (not a waste of time by any means), but I guess my reading sensibilities have never really jived with Russian authors. Meh.

On the other hand (and the reason for this post), I've only recently discovered PG Wodehouse (pronounced "wood-house" as I later learned) and can honestly say my life was incomplete up until that point. And THEN realizing that this guy has been a mainstay as "the writer that other writers list as their favorite writer" forever, well, WTH? I guess it just blew right by me for years.

Anyway, if you've heard of Wodehouse, you're saying "yeah, of course he's awesome, everyone knows that." But if you've never sampled his work, I'll just ask you, "does the name 'Jeeves' sound familiar?" There's a reason for it.

These books--which are basically compiled short stories of the misadventures of Bertie Wooster and "his man" Jeeves--are brilliant. There are very, very few writers who can make me laugh out loud but Wodehouse does it on a pagely basis. How did I not know about these books?!

It's often said that the two most difficult types of writing are comedy and horror, because done badly, one begins to feel like the other. I concur. That makes Wodehouse all the more impressive.

I've only read the first three Jeeves books, but (since I don't often contribute on this thread other than to shamelessly pimp my own work) I had to light the batsignal just in case you other constant readers haven't yet had Jeeves in your life.

Since these are older books, they're not all available on Kindle (I had to get a hard copy of Carry On, Jeeves through thriftbooks), but they're worth your time. Also nice that the format allows you to just indulge in a chapter/story here and there (as a break from more "serious" books) if you don't want to plow through the whole thing all at once. The unofficial reading guide is here.

Good stuff. Carry on. 🙂

 
SouthJersey said:
Jonathan Livingston Seagull - Read this maybe 25 years ago and remembered it for the way Bach wrote about flying.  Thought it would be fun to read with my son who is in 1st grade but he wasn't into it after about 10 pages.  I still enjoyed the parts he wrote about flying, the rest was meh.
Click to expand...
Been thinking about this one...my kids are roughly the same age I was when I read it (9 and 13). I liked it then, and wondered how it held up...iirc a very 70s vibe.

Been reading Recursion...not bad, and interested to see where it goes.

 
-OZ- said:
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm looking for decent beach reading for fall break, plus another few for here. 

My current hold list:

Holds (12 total)
Libertarianism, from a to z / Miron, Jeffrey A

The ballad of songbirds and snakes Collins, Suzanne,

Man's search for meaning : an introduction to logotherapy / Frankl, Viktor E.

Into the wild / Hunter, Erin. (For my 12yo)

The four : the hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google / Galloway, Scott,

Deep South : four seasons on back roads / Theroux, Paul,

Weapons of math destruction : how big data increases inequality and threatens democracy / O'Neil, Cathy,

The Stone reader : modern philosophy in 133 arguments /

Minecraft : the island / Brooks, Max, (another for my 12yo)

World War Z : an oral history of the zombie war / Brooks, Max. (I think I read this before but don't recall for sure)

Devolution : a Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. Brooks, Max.

The undoing project : a friendship that changed our minds / Lewis, Michael
 
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Perhaps it was simply the period in time in my life when I read "Man's Search for Meaning," but it remains one of my favorites. Incredible read. 

 
-OZ- said:
Recently read:    

Harry Potter and the cursed child. Parts one and two 

(My 12yo and I decided to reread all the HP books, had to end with this one)

    The dumb things smart people do with their money : thirteen ways to right your financial wrongs / Schlesinger, Jill,

    (Excellent, highly recommend)

    The power of habit : why we do what we do in life and business /
Duhigg, Charles.

(Another highly recommended)

    Principles /Dalio, Ray,

 (Not as good as advertised but solid)

The infinite game, Sinek, Simon,

(I liked it enough)

The golden albatross, grumpus maximus

(If you're in a job with a pension and like personal finance, it's definitely worth a read)

I think I see a trend 🤔 but would really like to branch out a bit.
Click to expand...
Principles / Ray Dalio comes up in podcasts I listen to. Tim Ferris mentions it a lot but haven’t gotten around to tracking it down.

 
Finished recently:

Willpower Doesn't Work -- It was ok.  Felt it was repetitive and took the same info from other books.  "Mindset" by Dweck was similar but better.

The Tender Bar -- This was a fantastic memoir.  The author was the ghost writer of Shoe Dog (Phil Knight's memoir) and Andre Agassi's memoir.  This was written well and told a great story.  If you like memoirs I highly recommend this one.

Currently reading the new Desus & Mero book God Level Knowledge Darts -- funny so far but similar to the show there are parts where they're trying hard to be funny and it's just corny.

 
-OZ- said:
The infinite game, Sinek, Simon,

(I liked it enough)
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I have watched a lot of him on YouTube and, while I really like his concept, it gets very repetitive. I have been hesitant to pick up the book because I think it will be the same. Thoughts?

 
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