The good book thread!

[EbS-P]

Have you read or listened to a good book lately? Let everyone else know.

PS. I just figured out how easy it is to get a digital books and audio on my phone/tablet from my library. I don’t remember the last time I tried (at least 5 years ago) but it’s super fast, easy and simple.

I’ll get started.
Edward Snowden
Permanent Record

Permanent Record

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Edward Snowden, the man who risked everything to expose the US government’s system of mass surveillance, reveals for the first time the story of his life, including how he helped to build that system and what motivated him to try to bring it down.In 2013...

share.libbyapp.com

He’s my definition of a 21st century patriot.

 

[begreen]

There are so many good books out there. I just finished Mink River by Brian Doyle. It is one of the more unique and completely Northwest books that I have read. Currently, I am rereading Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon. Caste, by Isabel Wilkerson, is a thoughtful piece. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer was enlightening.

 

[SeanBB]

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

 

[SeanBB]

A book that is raw, cruel and not for prudes: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. Not everyone's cup of tea for sure, but quite important.

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

Find out more about Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart

www.panmacmillan.com

 

[begreen]

The Fourth Turning is Here by Neil Howe is on my list.

 

[Stove Cricket]

It took me about three months to finish Hemingway’s Boat. Interesting book in that there is insight on how an author researches obscure information for a book. Some discussion about the wood used in the boat (the Pilar) that was built around 1930, up around New York, and then motored down to Key West. The book jumps around a little, but contributes new information on the subject of Ernest Hemingway.

 

[ABMax24]

I was fantasized at one point in time with the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, how such an intelligent group of individuals could make such dumb decisions and how seemingly simple decisions have such extreme consequences.

Truth, lies & O-Rings - Allen J. McDonald
Tells the story from Morton Thiokol's Perspective (the builder of the solid rocket motors). Certainly elements of the author CYA in there though.

What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard Feynman
Tells the story through the eyes of Feynman during the investigation. Feynman demonstrates his regret for his part in the development of the Atomic bomb, and attempts to use the investigation to repay society.

 

[Prometeo]

the Holy Bible

 

[Ashful]

the Holy Bible

I preferred the last third of the prior two thirds.

But after that, the book I just finished doesn't feel quite so outdated, The Stand by Stephen King. Really enjoyed it, even if 20 years late. Also enjoyed No Country for Old Men earlier this year, also a few decades past its popularity.

Most of what I've been reading and audio-booking recently is murder/mystery stuff. Not exactly high literature, but it's fun. Several by Joy Ellis, Shannon Baker, in addition to Koontz and King horror.

I think I've mentioned it here before, but Upland Autumn by William G. Tapply is probably my favorite book of the last several years. A collection of short stories, all centered on hunting, fishing, outdoors.

 

[Prometeo]

I preferred the last third of the prior two thirds.

But after that, the book I just finished doesn't feel quite so outdated, The Stand by Stephen King. Really enjoyed it, even if 20 years late. Also enjoyed No Country for Old Men earlier this year, also a few decades past its popularity.

Most of what I've been reading and audio-booking recently is murder/mystery stuff. Not exactly high literature, but it's fun. Several by Joy Ellis, Shannon Baker, in addition to Koontz and King horror.

I think I've mentioned it here before, but Upland Autumn by William G. Tapply is probably my favorite book of the last several years. A collection of short stories, all centered on hunting, fishing, outdoors.

at first i was shocked, what i read in old testament, now i understand it's good for that, read something you don't wait, I don't know who likes things like this, but a very nice book, really very nice, the book of the god Enki, which is a translation of very, very ancient tables, also explains the creation in another point of view.. far from the Bible, but I always reward the church for the peaceful effects it has on people

 

[Stove Cricket]

Pilar is a Spanish term for Mary. EH nicknamed his wife that after she convinced him convert to Catholicism - and subsequently so named his boat.

Ironically, the double pillars on the back of the Piece of Eight is likely the source of the US dollar symbol.

 

[EbS-P]

Here is a good read. Our perceptions of world progress are probably wrong. 10 steps to regain a factual picture of our world. Rather apolitical.

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World—and Why Things Are Better Than You Think

For fans of Freakonomics and Thinking, Fast and Slow, here is a book by Hans Rosling, the scientist called “a true inspiration” by Bill Gates, that teaches us how to see the world as it truly is. Factfulness: The stress-reducing habit of only carrying opinions for which you have strong...

share.libbyapp.com

 

[PaulOinMA]

Just finished Jean Shepherd's biography. I can only recommend it for the most ardent Jean Shepherd fans.

Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean She…

Jean Shepherd (1921-1999), master humorist, is best kno…

www.goodreads.com

Reread his five books I had and the last one I recently purchased, which was published after his passing and is just a collection of transcribed radio broadcasts. The biography portrays him as a seriously flawed individual. His radio engineers hated him, as stated multiple times in the book. He denied the existence of his children.

 

[Ashful]

I've decided it's finally time to tackle Moby Dick. Not sure how I've made it to this age, and a huge fan of boating and the sea, and never read it before. I guess maybe its reputation for being long-winded kept me away from it when I was younger, since how many books you could read in a semester often counted toward various grades.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Mystic Seaport does a Moby Dick reading marathon. Been thinking of signing up for an overnight slot some year.

Moby-Dick Marathon 2023 - Mystic Seaport Museum

Join us to celebrate Herman Melville’s 204th birthday! Mystic Seaport Museum will be hosting a twenty-four hour marathon reading of Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick. The reading is the one time of year we invite guests to sleep over on the 1841 whaleship, Charles W. Morgan. For those who stay...

mysticseaport.org

 

[Ashful]

Mystic Seaport does a Moby Dick reading marathon. Been thinking of signing up for an overnight slot some year.

Moby-Dick Marathon 2023 - Mystic Seaport Museum

Join us to celebrate Herman Melville’s 204th birthday! Mystic Seaport Museum will be hosting a twenty-four hour marathon reading of Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick. The reading is the one time of year we invite guests to sleep over on the 1841 whaleship, Charles W. Morgan. For those who stay...

mysticseaport.org

That place was my Disney World, when I was a kid. Kind of surprised I never pursued a career thru ship wrighting, to be honest.

 

[StoveInNH]

No one here gets out alive. Always one of my faves.

No One Here Gets Out Alive https://a.co/d/eLza7Oi

 

[PaulOinMA]

The following jane Austen biography should have just been put in the mailbox for my wife.

Jane Austen at Home book by Lucy Worsley

I'm waiting on Chef Tell's biography.

Chef Tell: The Biography of America's... book by Regis Philbin

 

[webfish]

I wasn't trying to be political, I just stated that I'm reading the rise and fall of the 3rd riech for the 3rd time. And made a comment on the similarities of that regime and our current situation in USA. And that gets deleted

You said this...had nothing to do with the book .

I think "conservatives" will be the target of extermination

 

[webfish]

I stated history, and I shouldn't of said Conservative. I meant free thinkers that want freedom. I believe our gov. No matter what party is an evil bloated organization wanting complete control and obedience. Therefore the nazi reference. I have no doubt our government is willing to stoop to that level of evil, and that a vast majority of people will lay down and accept it

Now you did it again.

 

[Ashful]

Back on topic, my reading has gotten decidedly less academic, with age. Okay, I read Moby Dick this year, if that counts as "academic". But more and more, I pick up books that look more like fun than work.

For some reason, when I was younger, I thought all of my reading should be more high-minded. Spending a few years as a research assistant, where most of my job was reading for several years, cured me of that!

 

[PaulOinMA]

I couldn't read for pleasure when I was working. Nice to finally be able to do it again. My career was in regulatory affairs. The conduit between the company and regulatory agencies such as FDA, EPA, Health Canada. A lot of my time was writing, reading, and reviewing documents and studies. Also reading how regulations were promulgated to understand what can and can't be done. I just couldn't pick up a book when I got home.

 

[NHWS]

"American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson" by Joseph Ellis.

 

[NHWS]

I was fantasized at one point in time with the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, how such an intelligent group of individuals could make such dumb decisions and how seemingly simple decisions have such extreme consequences.

Truth, lies & O-Rings - Allen J. McDonald
Tells the story from Morton Thiokol's Perspective (the builder of the solid rocket motors). Certainly elements of the author CYA in there though.

What Do You Care What Other People Think? - Richard Feynman
Tells the story through the eyes of Feynman during the investigation. Feynman demonstrates his regret for his part in the development of the Atomic bomb, and attempts to use the investigation to repay society.

An acquaintance of mine at the time got his dream job: Test Director of one aspect of the Shuttle program. About a year before the first flight, he quit and moved back to the PNW. He said that the program was so political, and the upper management of the various contractor companies was so deceitful, that he didn't want to be involved with the program when a shuttle blew up. "When", not "if".

Many years later the mockumentary "Pentagon Wars" came out. Not the same program, but the same attitudes.

 

[NHWS]

"A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.