I don’t like candy houses. Reminds me too much of the time my breadcrumb trail in the woods was unexpectedly devoured by birds. Got lost. That didn’t end too well for the witches.
I stumbled across an updated version of Working, which is excellent but written in 1972. Studs Terkel was a skilled interviewer. His subjects are often funny and sometimes discuss weird and interesting things, or occasionally things like corruption and mob involvement.
The update, Gig (from 2001, so still dated) seems interesting but is by different authors (the Bowes) who (IMHO) slightly lack the empathy and interviewing skill of Terkel. They admit to being heavily influenced by the original work. It got some good reviews though. Ira Glass and the Harvard Business Review loved Gig.
Thousands of Goodreads readers rated both Working (4.24) and its unauthorized sequel Gig (4.13) very highly.
Genesis by Henry Kissinger, Craig Mundie & Eric Schmidt
DO NOT read “And every morning the way home gets longer & longer”! Dear God, if you thought “About Grace” was sad…
1 Like
What Time the Sexton’s Spade Doth Rust by: Alan Bradley
No idea why I enjoy the Flavia de Luce novels but, once again, it did not disappoint.
1 Like
Last week I finished listening to Our Ancient Faith by Allen Guelzo. It concerns Lincoln and his belief in democracy.
I did not sleep well last night so I finished reading Lincoln vs Davis by Nigel Hamilton (FDR at War). This follows the political game between Lincoln and Davis up to Emancipation. Hamilton also details Lincoln’s struggles with Seward and McClellan. It was interesting.
2 Likes
I just finished the audio of God Emperor of Dune. I am still asking, What happened? I did doze through much of it.
Leto saves humanity, according to Leto.
1 Like
Yes… The bridge incident is the part I lulled through. I am revving up for Heretics of Dune.
It gets even weirder.
I actually enjoyed the Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson prequels much more than anything Frank Herbert wrote after God Emperor.
1 Like
I wondered about those novels. I look forward to reading them. Thank You!
You’ll enjoy them if you’re enjoying the Dune universe. I read 6 or 7 of them when they were published around 20 years ago. The house origin stories were all good but not great with much more coherent storytelling than dad managed with the later novels.
I found them to be easy and entertaining reads.
1 Like
Hillbilly Elegy (JD Vance) was the only book downloaded in my kindle when the power went out last week, so I started it. My daughter read it during college for some reason years ago and it was shared to my device. Anyway, an interesting read in light of current affairs.
@twojarslave have you read it? He’s doing a great job with it and it seems in line with the kind of book you’re after. A fairly grim story with politics laced through, but told with humor and warmth. I’m about halfway through and find myself wanting to blow other things off to read.
3 Likes
I haven’t. I’ve heard good things from other people about the book and I grew to like Vance during the campaign, which is the opposite of what usually happens to my opinions of politicians. He actually seemed like a guy I’d get along well with on his Rogan interview.
I’m working through what little there is on Lewiston’s history right now and Hillbilly Elegy has been in the back of my mind for a while as worth reading for this project of mine. When even his political opponents give credit to his skills, it must be good.
1 Like
I really enjoyed it when I read it decades ago.
1 Like
Studs Terkel wrote, “The Good War”. It is a collection of oral histories he collected after WWII. He interviewed soldiers and civilian citizens from all sides. It is truly well worth the time to read the experiences of everyone he recorded.
2 Likes
In fact, The Good War won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985. A very good read and an important book. But Working resonated with me at a more personal level.
1 Like
Defense Protocol by Andrews and Wilson Tom Clancy/Jack Ryan. Enjoyed the story but man there were A LOT of acronyms!
A Murder to Remember by Brynn Kelly this one was just quirky enough to keep me interested. A little too rom/com but the plot was okay.
1 Like
I will have to read Working.
1 Like