Current Reading

[Xray]

In recent years, my reading interests have shifted more to non-fiction.

Christopher Hitchins' autobiography Hitch 22 arrived in the mail yesterday. I'm only a few pages into and already hooked!!

[caroljane]

On another thread Phil asked for suggestions on good Biographical Writing, I have a couple top-of-head ones to put here.

Mr, Clemens and Mark Twain, by Justin Kaplan.

Zelda, by Nancy Milford.

Nicholas and Alexandra, by Robert Massie.

[Philip Coates]

Thanks.

[PDS]

I am currently reading Awareness Through Movement by Moshe Feldenkrais.

Feldenkrais invented/developed what is, in effect, secular yoga (my term for it....). Basically, it is a book about how to move one's body correctly and consciously. As an aging martial artist, I am hoping it will become a form of self-administered physical therapy--and all puns related to same are welcome!

[caroljane]

There are 3 new books which have caught my eye but I will not get to read them soon, so I am hoping somebody might do so and report.

1. Robert Harris's new novel, I am a great fan of his, especially Fatherland and the historicals. Pompeii with its engineer hero, should appeal to any Objectivist. And the two Cicero novels, well, rhetorically speaking, words fail me. This one is about business and a corporation so I likely will not get to it soon.

2.Joseph Epstein, Gossip. As an inveterate gossip myself, I appreciate a book which appreciates it.The blurb says it covers the history of gossip from Saint-Simon in the 1600's to Matt Drudge tomorrow. I can see a clever screenwriter make a movie of it, As Mary McCarthy truly said, "all novels are gossip."

3.Charles Murray, "Coming Apart" Another take on the sociopolitical polarization of America, heavily researched. Argues it is a 20% elite tribe vs a 30% masses tribe. Pick a side, guys.

[Peter]

In literature as in love, we are astonished at what is chosen by others. - Andre Maurois

[Peter]

I just finished David Baldacci’s “Walk the Wire.” It features FBI agent Decker, who has a nearly perfect memory, of everything he experiences in life. It was a bit long but very enjoyable, and you will learn something about North Dakota 's oil wells and drilling.  

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

21 minutes ago, Peter said:

I just finished David Baldacci’s “Walk the Wire.” It features FBI agent Decker, who has a nearly perfect memory, of everything he experiences in life. It was a bit long but very enjoyable, and you will learn something about North Dakota 's oil wells and drilling.  

Peter,

I've listened to the audiobooks of 3 or 4 of the Amos Decker series. I really liked them.

Cool that there's a new one. I think I will review the Amos Decker stories I have read to remember them, then read (listen to) the ones I haven't.

Apropos, I've read the Jane Hawk series by Dean Koontz. She's a rogue FBI agent and fugitive on the run. The bad guys invented some real nasty stuff that takes over your brain through nanoparticles if you get injected with it. It turns you into a zombie under their control when they so wish. And, of course, she's a single mom since her husband had been one of the victims of the nasty stuff and they made him commit suicide. And, to complicate matters, she has a son she tries to protect from all the nastiness and danger. She also has a very cool autistic friend who is brilliant, but goes to pieces if someone touches him.  

I was surprised at how good Koontz is at thriller writing. He's as colorful as all get out.

Another thriller series-in-the making I really enjoyed is Terry Goodkind's Angela Constantine books. There are only 4 so far, but two are novellas Trouble's Child and Crazy Wanda, and the first (Nest) is a kind of prequel that does not feature Angela. The main long novel with Angela is The Girl in the Moon. He's writing more.

Terry is a big Ayn Rand fan and is famous for ancient mythic-like fantasy stories. Not too long ago, he wanted to write something modern, so he came up with Angela Constantine. She was born with a power to look into someone's eyes and see if they have committed murder. She can see the scenes of each murder just by looking at the murder's eyes. This also works for photographs, but only chemically developed photos, not digital ones.

There are bad guys who hunt people like her. So she spends her time running from them and exacting revenge on murderous scum bags she encounters as she goes about. And, of course, she constantly gets caught, imprisoned and tortured by both before she escapes and puts them to terrible deaths. She has a friend with a troubled relationship with the Israeli secret service who does not have that power, but knows she does and tries to help her all the time.

Terry is a bit more blood and guts than the other two, but he keeps you turning the pages while your heart is racing.

Michael

[Peter]

1 hour ago, Michael Stuart Kelly said:

There are bad guys who hunt people like her.

I have long thought that anyone who had "powers" to read minds would be murdered out of fear of exposure. And there is the canard that an Intelligence operation would kidnap them and use their powers . . . or a big corporation would do the same.