What Was the Last Book You Read?

[An old bloke]

Ordinary Heroes: A Memoir of 9/11, by Joseph Pfeifer.

The story of the first NY Fire Dept battalion chief to respond to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.

You are a better man I am, I lost too many friends that day, the wounds are still there and all too easily re-opened by reading such a detailed account.

Mate, I wasn't there, and I didn't lose anyone that day. I witnessed it live on the news. It's etched in my memory in the same way as some of the horrors I lived through in Vietnam and elsewhere. I share your feeling that these things are too close to be read about or even watched again. Pax.

[Chip]

The Apollo Murders a thriller by Chris Hadfield, a Canadian astronaut who posted a viral clip of his version of David Bowie's Space Oddity, performed on the International Space Station. As you might guess, the factual details are impeccable, and create a solid basis for much of the action. Highly recommended.

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

John Le Carré's final novel, Silverview.

60 Minutes interviewed him in 2017.

In Silverview, one of the characters buys some Basildon Bond stationery.

[MHBRU]

Nomadland

[Chrissy]

The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. What a triumph. Enjoyed every moment and had to ensure I didn't read too much in any one sitting in order to make it last.....

[VertOlive]

I just finished On All Fronts by Clarissa Ward (excellent, BTW) and now reading Nomadland by Jessica Bruder (also excellent)

I’ve read Nomadland twice and still enjoyed it. Very unhappy with the film, though!

[VertOlive]

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd Robinson : 17th century England. An abolitionist is found murdered at the slaving docks of Deptford. His best friend, who has everything to lose, learns he had discovered information that could end slavery forever. He feels bound to find out who killed his friend and to perhaps learn enough to deal a mortal blow to the powerful slave lobby. Based on an historical Guineamen voyage.

[Kaputnik]

I recently read, online at Project Gutenberg Australia, A Gent from Bear Creek, by Robert E. Howard. I ran across a mention of it while searching for something completely unrelated, and was curious, as I'd only heard of Howard as the author of the "Conan" stories. I'd read a few of those some years ago, and found them better than I'd expected.

"A Gent" is also pulp fiction, but it's a comedy western, a series of related tall tales told from the point of view of their protagonist, big, dumb, and violent frontiersman Breckinridge Elkins. Again, I liked it better than I'd expected, quite a bit better, in fact. Interesting contrast with Conan, but I guess it pays a professional writer to be versatile.

As a bonus, I find that the Australian Project Gutenberg site is worth checking for things I can't find on the American one. Both are worth knowing. Yes, as always, for any given book I'd rather have a print edition in my hands, but when one is not readily available, Ebook collections, free or not, are a great resource.

[Chip]

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. It's a picaresque, loosely modelled on Huckleberry Finn, going east to west rather than north to south.



I liked his two previous novels and found this one a bit disappointing. Too many characters with too many quirks, and an abrupt ending.

[An old bloke]

I'm about to start The Beginner's Guide to Fly Tying as I wander deeper into a rabbit hole I unintentionally stumbled into.

[VertOlive]

Just started: Grammar for a Full Life: How the Ways We Shape a Sentence Can Limit or Enlarge Us by Lawrence Weinstein.

Who knew what increasing one’s use of the colon could do for the personality?! So far, engaging and winsome reading for any writer, reader, or lover of words.

[Jon Szanto]

Who knew what increasing one’s use of the colon could do for the personality?!

You leave my colon out of this, Missy!

[Chip]

The first three Sejer crime novels, by Karin Fossum. Solid and well-crafted Nordic noir. She's a very good writer and acutely aware of the role of poor judgement, mistakes, and random ill fortune in human affairs.

Despite her skill, the books are somewhat depressing. Not a weakness, exactly.

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

The Boys, by Ron Howard and Clint Howard.

The actor and director - and his brother - tell their experiences acting in The Andy Griffith SHow, Happy Days, American Graffiti - Gentle Ben, and a Star Wars Story.

A well-written and upbeat look at some happy days for them and for us.

[TinaLe]

Eli Wiesel : “ Night”

[AZuniga]

JR by William Gaddis
Great !

[Chip]

The Gilded Page by Mary Wellesley. Very enjoyable and pitched for the common reader, with a slight feminist bent on unrecognized women scribes and authors.



There is an addendum with illustrations, but while reading, I searched the titles for original images and found a wealth of beautiful stuff.

[TSherbs]

False Alarm, by Bjorn Lomborg

Eye opening book covering the recent research on climate change, global warming, and damage to the planet and humanity.

[An old bloke]

False Alarm, by Bjorn Lomborg

Eye opening book covering the recent research on climate change, global warming, and damage to the planet and humanity.

Heard of it. Haven't read it.

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

The Art of Resistance, by Justus Rosenberg.

Professor Rosenberg's memoir of his youth in Nazi-occupied Europe, his time in the Resistance and then the U.S. Army.