What Are You Reading Right Now?

[Risky Thicket]

Not on a great run at the moment. Read the new Robert Harris Precipice. About British government on the verge of WWI and the affair Asquith was having, pretty dull.

Started Rubicon by Tom Holland as I'm a big fan of his podcast The Rest is History. It's about the Roman Republic and although well researched, has none of the wit of his spoken work.

Now am reading The Year of the Locust. It's so badly written, I can't believe his editor signed off on it. Probably because I am Pilgrim was such a bestseller, he has a ton of leeway but it's really bad. Need to stop reading thrillers and go back to literary fiction.

I Am Pilgrim was a phenomenal read. I waited years for The Year of the Locust which continued to be announced and delayed. I suspect Terry Hayes had an impossible task following the massive success of Pilgrim.

 

[Rexedgar]

Fishing “Heaven and Hell,” the third and final installment of what began as “North and South,” by author John Jake’s. It’s basically a grand soap opera with the years leading up to the US Civil War and a few years afterward.

It’s striking how little has changed in the ensuing years.

North and South (trilogy) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz.I picked up the book and my synagogue with the author spoke back in September or October. I have basically the same gripes about both the book and his speech; they were long on content and short on organization. Bluntly, about 1/3 of the book should have been the subject of its own surgery.

The content is fascinating. The author manages to discuss, just write every prominent shooting and brain surgery, and then some not so prominent. We’ve learned, for example, that neither Kennedy would have been likely to survive their assassination attempts. We also learned that with the benefit of modern medicine, Abraham Lincoln may well have survived. Would I have read the book had I known of his shortcomings? Yes. The book is definitely worthwhile.

 

[Allan]

One of my New Year resolutions is to read a book a week. I'm off to a late start as I was busy procrastinating.

I go to the library and walk the stacks until something catches my eye. I screwed up today by going at lunch time.

The library is attached to the local middle school you see and the kiddos have lunch and read. And talk. My ears are still ringing.

Anyway this week's book is The Rule of Three, a murder mystery by E.G. Scott. So far I can't put it down.

 

[JBG]

But where we have given of our love and respect not from habit but of our own free will, where we have been disciples and friends out of our inmost hearts, it is a bitter and horrible moment when we suddenly recognize that the current within us wants to pull us away from what ls dearest to us. Then every thought that rejects the friend and mentor turns in our own hearts like a poisoned barb, then each blow struck in defense flies back into one's own face, the words "disloyalty" and "ingratitude" strike the person who feels he was morally sound like catcalls and stigma, and the frightened heart flees timidly back to the charmed valleys of childhood virtues, unable to believe that this break, too, must be made, this bond also broken.

I finished reading Demian by Hermann Hesse about a month and a half ago. I felt some trepidation before reading this book. Back in the summer of 1973, I was on a teen tour called Trails West. one of my friends there, Jonathan, was a stunningly brilliant, straight-A Honor Student. I learned this book from his discussions with other people on the trip. I was sure that the book was above my intellectual level. I bought the book during approximately summer of 1980, but did not touch it until now. When I was randomly searching for my next book, I put my hands on it and decided “why not." I am rather pleased with myself that I did. Most “reviewers” on Goodreads classify this book as young adult. I find it to be deeply philosophical, and can be read at many levels. There are discussions of goodwill. The author seems to land quite solidly on both sides of the fence on whether or not people have free will.

The parts that I related to most, however, concerned relationships with peer or near-peer mentors. While out of pride most people resist accepting mentorship, I have always gravitated there. And during my student days, not always to people in my own or older years. My view is that learning is less important than pride. The narrator of the book, Sinclair, except various mentors through the course of the book. And discarded some. I believe that the book takes a deep punch into mentorship, free will, and religion.It was a very worthwhile read, albeit 51 years after I was recommended it.

 

[JBG]

I finished reading Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery by Theodore H. Schwartz about a month ago. I picked up the book and my synagogue with the author spoke back in September or October. I have basically the same gripes about both the book and his speech; they were long on content and short on organization. Bluntly, about 1/3 of the book should have been the subject of its own surgery.

 

[Demon]

One of my New Year resolutions is to read a book a week. I'm off to a late start as I was busy procrastinating.

I go to the library and walk the stacks until something catches my eye. I screwed up today by going at lunch time.

The library is attached to the local middle school you see and the kiddos have lunch and read. And talk. My ears are still ringing.

Anyway this week's book is The Rule of Three, a murder mystery by E.G. Scott. So far I can't put it down.

I just went and looked that up. I may have to buy it, in a while.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading reading The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown. All I can say is "wow." The author managed to interweave the sunny, uniquely American story of Joseph Rantz, his fellow crew members and the builder of the winning boat The Husky Clipper, George Yeoman Pocock with the gathering clouds in Nazi Germany. The story is built around the miraculous U.S. crew victory, achieved by the underdog University of Washington team but it is so much more. Abandoned by his father as a child in favor of his new wife, he more or less raises himself. Essentially, this story is an "only in America" tale where someone who is dirt poor can then ride the top of the world, earning a highly marketable engineering degree in the process.

And Pocock's story, also woven in, is no less inspirational. At some point I'll pick up one of several bios of that gentleman. The ogres are Adolph Hitler (who staged the Olympics to fool the world about him) and to a lesser extent his stepmother. Enough spoilers; read the book which I am giving a "five!"

 

[NewfieMom]

I just finished the last two books in the Mitch Rapp series started by Vince Flynn that were written by the author Kyle Mills, who started to write his novels after Mr. Flynn's tragic death from cancer at a young age. There is a new book in the series out, by a third author, which has received good reviews. I will read that, too.

After my adventure books I went back to my cozy mysteries set in the English countryside...with dragons. I didn't know I would become so attracted to these books, which are awfully silly. But they are quirky and unusual. I enjoy being surprised by the odd things the author comes up with, even if the books are very slow moving. (Some of the female English authors I read, serious ones, have action move at a glacial pace, too.) I am currently reading Game of Scones. (The women in these books do a great deal of baking and their recipes are available.)

I should also mention that I gave my husband Augustus by John Williams, recommended by Decypher, for Christmas and that he started reading it while still here. He loved it! Thank you, @Decypher.

 

[Decypher]

I just finished the last two books in the Mitch Rapp series started by Vince Flynn that were written by the author Kyle Mills, who started to write his novels after Mr. Flynn's tragic death from cancer at a young age. There is a new book in the series out, by a third author, which has received good reviews. I will read that, too.

After my adventure books I went back to my cozy mysteries set in the English countryside...with dragons. I didn't know I would become so attracted to these books, which are awfully silly. But they are quirky and unusual. I enjoy being surprised by the odd things the author comes up with, even if the books are very slow moving. (Some of the female English authors I read, serious ones, have action move at a glacial pace, too.) I am currently reading Game of Scones. (The women in these books do a great deal of baking and their recipes are available.)

I should also mention that I gave my husband Augustus by John Williams, recommended by Decypher, for Christmas and that he started reading it while still here. He loved it! Thank you, @Decypher.

Glad he enjoyed it! It’s a great novel. I’m going to get another by him when I’m next book shopping.

 

[Slartibartfast]

Right now I am reading boring stuff:

https://www.amazon.com/Storytelling-Data-Visualization-Business-Professionals/dp/1119002257/

https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Learning-PyTorch-Scikit-Learn-learning/dp/1801819319/

 

[Along Came Jones]

I'm revisiting old stuff . . . very old stuff . . . rereading Understanding Fiction and Understanding Poetry, both coauthored by Cleanth Brooks and Robert Penn Warren. Partly nostalgia and partly an appreciation for the days when poetry and short fiction were more traditionally structured.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading The Revenge Of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate by Robert D. Kaplan.

This book is a tour d-force of information concerning world geography and its impact on politics, systems of government and economic advancement. The information is unobjectionable; I dispute some of the conclusions. By way of example, he states, I believe correctly, that the lack of natural boundaries has led to Russia's more or less continual state of war and the prevalence of authoritarian conditions over the centuries. He dismisses, in either a footnote or sentence, the fact that the U.S. and Canada share similar characteristics with very different results. Another quibble: he gives insufficient weight to the importance of ideas. He says, about the Jewish people: "And above all, of course, there is the history of the Jews, which goes against the entire logic of the geographical continuity of major religions (particularly of Hinduism and Buddhism), and which therefore takes pains to include: the utter destruction of the Jewish community in Judea, the consequence of the crushing of first- and second-century A.D. revolts by the Romans, did not end Judaism, which went on improbably to evolve and flourish in scattered cities of the western Diaspora, a two-thousand-year-old story averse to the dictates of geography, which shows once again how ideas and human agency matter as much as physical terrain." Despite this acknowledgement this is about his only obeisance to the important of ideas.

Additionally, he seems to believe, similar to many thinkers on the liberal side of the spectrum (spoiler alert, he writes for Atlantic Magazine) that the U.S. and Israel must, in one way or another surrender or modify their demography because of the presence of less advanced societies on their border. To my mind this borders on silly. Other than a deliberate, suicidal decision on the part of societies to abandon their advanced status, there is no reason that I can fathom not to use military force, if need be, to preserve life style.

Nevertheless, it is important that people read a map before forming political or historical conclusions.

 

[GIJane]

Checked out The Waiting by Michael Connolly this afternoon, finished about an hour ago.

Good read, although I hate how just HAS to throw in a political jab that has shit all to do with the story line.

 

[Allan]

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles.

Any book that has my two favorite things in the title (library and Paris) is going to be a must read. The author got extra points with me by mentioning my hometown early on.

This is a novel to get lost in.

An instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller—based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War II—The Paris Library is a moving and unforgettable “ode to the importance of libraries, books, and the human connections we find within both” (Kristin Harmel, New York Times bestselling author).

The Paris Library

An instant New York Times, Washington Post, and USA TODAY bestseller—based on the true story of the heroic librarians at the American Library in Paris during World War II—The Paris Library is a moving and unforgettable “ode to the importance of libraries, books, and the human connections we find...

books.google.com

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Unmasked: Big Media's War Against Trump by L. Brent Bozell and Tim Graham. The book is great at listing and describing the "low points" of an obviously decrepit, biased and sometimes treasonous mass media. No serious person can say now that the press is useful other than as a source of ideological arguments. The book is basically an enlarged pamphlet, which could have put the 220+ pages into 100-125 pages. Quality, not page count make for good reading. This tome; not terrible but not great.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Goyhood (Hardcover) by Reuven Fenton. I give it a 3 1/2. The concept of the novel is promising; two twin children in Georgia whose mother and by extension the children, with the help of a Rabbi, more or less declare themselves Jewish. One of the twins moves to Brooklyn to an ultra-Orthodox life. His spiritual mentor sets him up for an arranged marriage, into a moneyed family. His mother's tragic death brings to their attention that they are not Jewish.

What follows is some slapstick comedy, perhaps too much. I won't spoil the ending. The novel is a promising first work by a journalist; editing and organization would have helped. Still I will read this writer's next work. I think he's on to greatness.

 

[Allan]

I just finished reading Goyhood (Hardcover) by Reuven Fenton. I give it a 3 1/2. The concept of the novel is promising; two twin children in Georgia whose mother and by extension the children, with the help of a Rabbi, more or less declare themselves Jewish. One of the twins moves to Brooklyn to an ultra-Orthodox life. His spiritual mentor sets him up for an arranged marriage, into a moneyed family. His mother's tragic death brings to their attention that they are not Jewish.

What follows is some slapstick comedy, perhaps too much. I won't spoil the ending. The novel is a promising first work by a journalist; editing and organization would have helped. Still I will read this writer's next work. I think he's on to greatness.

This sounds like it would be a good movie.

 

[JBG]

This sounds like it would be a good movie.

Agreed

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie. The book is about the famous author Salman Rushdie, who was knifed and severely injured given a lecture in upstate New York on August 12, 2022. The book is a definite "five star." A short excerpt, bridging two chapters:

The idea came to him [Nietzsche] of what he called "the love of your fate." Whatever your fate is, whatever the hell happens, you say, "This is what I need." ... Any disaster you can survive is an improvement in your character, your stature, and your life.

After a while one realizes that what is being said here is a cliche, which probably isn't true. To express it in ordinary English: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But does it? Does it really?

*****
There are no second drafts. ****As I recovered from my wounds, both physical and psychological, I was far from sure that I would emerge from the experience stronger. I was just happy to be emerging from the experience alive. Whether stronger or weaker, it was too soon to tell. What I did know was that, thanks to a combination of luck, the skill of surgeons, and loving care, I had been given a second chance. I was getting what Kundera believed impossible-a second shot at life. I had beaten the odds. So now the question was: When you are given a second opportunity, what do you do with it? How do you use it? What should you do the same way, what might you do differently?

Personally I have had recent occasion for this kind of reflection. In late December I was admitted to Greenwich Hospital for exploratory diagnostic surgery. The admission form said "patient has pancreatic CA" which basically is a death sentence. The first set of biopsies, taken through an endoscope on December 30, 2024 came back benign. My GI didn't totally believe it because of certain symptoms and lab results. On January 29, 2025 a second set of biopsies, also through an endoscope, confirmed. The doctor called me and said "you dodged a bullet."
Since then I feel that I have been a lot more straightforward, and cut out most of my sarcasm. My legal writing has gotten more careful and more thorough. I have noticed other changes in myself. This is not my first near-death experience; when I was ten, on December 2, 1967 I plunged through the ice on a pond in Scarsdale. My head went under a few times. My body temperature dropped below what the thermometer would read. Again, after a few hours in White Plains Hospital I emerged relatively unscathed. I was not, as a ten year old, as philosophical.

Knife is an extraordinary reflection on a near-death experience, and its effects, both physical and mental. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

 

[NewfieMom]

I just finished reading Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie. The book is about the famous author Salman Rushdie, who was knifed and severely injured given a lecture in upstate New York on August 12, 2022. The book is a definite "five star." A short excerpt, bridging two chapters:


Personally I have had recent occasion for this kind of reflection. In late December I was admitted to Greenwich Hospital for exploratory diagnostic surgery. The admission form said "patient has pancreatic CA" which basically is a death sentence. The first set of biopsies, taken through an endoscope on December 30, 2024 came back benign. My GI didn't totally believe it because of certain symptoms and lab results. On January 29, 2025 a second set of biopsies, also through an endoscope, confirmed. The doctor called me and said "you dodged a bullet."
Since then I feel that I have been a lot more straightforward, and cut out most of my sarcasm. My legal writing has gotten more careful and more thorough. I have noticed other changes in myself. This is not my first near-death experience; when I was ten, on December 2, 1967 I plunged through the ice on a pond in Scarsdale. My head went under a few times. My body temperature dropped below what the thermometer would read. Again, after a few hours in White Plains Hospital I emerged relatively unscathed. I was not, as a ten year old, as philosophical.

Knife is an extraordinary reflection on a near-death experience, and its effects, both physical and mental. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I am so glad you are well. You were also in my backyard when you were at Greenwich Hospital. I volunteered as a candystriper there when I was 15, working in the Central Supply Room under the watchful eye of a Head Nurse. (They wore caps in those days.) (We wore red and white pinafore type uniforms over white blouses, if I remember correctly.) I learned how to fold towels and blankets really, really well. I looked at the glamorous 18 year-old nurse's aides in their blue and white uniforms who could handle syringes and things we couldn't go near. They were really old and pretty. I wanted to be one someday. And guess what? When I graduated from high school at 18, I got a job that summer as a nurse's aide at Greenwich Hospital! I got the blue and white uniform and all the glamour of being a nurse's aide.

But I logged on to say that I am reading A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci, which so far is excellent. It is a serious novel dealing with racism, not a thriller. I will report back about it.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Traitor: A History of American Betrayal from Benedict Arnold to Donald Trump

By David J. Rothkopf / Thomas Dunne Books / 2020 / 244pp.


And this book was written before the latest Trump betrayals here in 2025. Even with the examples in this book, no American has been as traitorous as Donald J. Trump

I can't even begin to fathom what the American people were thinking on November 5, 2024. At that time, Trump was already a convicted felon, and had already stolen dozens of Top Secret government documents.

 

[multivita-man]

I am ashamed to say I am really not one to read a lot of books but I've tried to force myself to do it lately. I'm a voracious reader of periodicals, including highly complex academic studies and papers, but I just don't read a lot of literature per se, and I feel like it's a flaw.

Books I've read (okay, mostly read) recently:

• The Prize, by Daniel Yergin. It's about the history of oil and energy.
• Material World, by Ed Conway. A book about the 6 raw materials that shape our world.

 

[southwest88]

I am ashamed to say I am really not one to read a lot of books but I've tried to force myself to do it lately. I'm a voracious reader of periodicals, including highly complex academic studies and papers, but I just don't read a lot of literature per se, and I feel like it's a flaw.

Books I've read (okay, mostly read) recently:

• The Prize, by Daniel Yergin. It's about the history of oil and energy.
• Material World, by Ed Conway. A book about the 6 raw materials that shape our world.

Thanks for Material World - 500pp. Looks interesting. I remember reading The Prize, it was/is a good one.

 

[NewfieMom]

I finished A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci, a novel set in Virginia in 1968. He managed to capture the atmosphere and the racism very well. It was, in fact, partly an auto biographical novel and the descriptions of the town and the characters seemed authentic. The plot of the crime that was the cause of the trial (because this was a courtroom drama) was a bit farfetched, however. The book obviously took real effort for the author to write. His attention to the atmosphere was very sensitive. In my opinion, the book is a worthwhile read because of how well it is written, despite what I consider some deficiencies in the plot.

I am now reading A Bonfire of The Calamities by Kim M. Watt. It is a cozy mystery with dragons set in Yorkshire. (The bonfire is a Guy Fawkes Day bonfire.)