What Are You Reading?

[AndyG]

but... what happens in March 2021?

.... sound of static ....

[UCanoe_2]

Daniel Defoe (under pseudonym of Capt. Charles Johnson), A General History of the Pyrates, from their first Rise and Settlement in the Island of Providence, to the present Time. With the remarkable Actions and Adventures of the two Female Pyrates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny,&c.,
Second Edition, 1724. Free Project Gutenberg download. Brief, pithy titles were not in vogue in 1724. The quality of this book is uneven, but it is a fascinating read nevertheless. The chapter on the rise of Blackbeard, up to his apprehension and killing, is full of action. The chapter on pirates in the Indian Ocean tries to include too many characters and events, and in the end is only confusing. Great depiction of 18th Century ship handling and naval battles.
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40580

J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: a memoir of a family and culture in crisis. Truly one of the most depressing books I have ever read. I couldn't finish it.

[Flying Orca]

If you want a fun chaser, I highly recommend George MacDonald Fraser's The Pyrates. Among other things, it features what might just be the best opening paragraph in the history of English literature.

[skuthorp]

Book on native bush foods.

[Hugh Conway]

Read it twice now, love it. Have you read Fall yet? I am wondering how it compares as some of his I find hit or miss. I thought Seven Eves was great but Anathem not so much.

am reading Fall now. enjoyable so far (halfways). I don't think it's his best work, but it's not bad. If suffers from two major flaws - the first is the general end of the "geek culture" that Stephenson channeled for decades, the second his inability/unwillingness to be edited now. I read the first book of the Baroque Cycle but never finished the full cycle because I found it too baroque - florid, extravagantly detailed where his earlier books had been much more tightly edited and more enjoyable.

[webishop14]

Just finished Talking to My Daughter About the Economy or, How Capitalism Works -- and How it Fails, by Yanis Varoufakis. Easily understood. Enlightening in its historical presentation.

"Leaving the economy to the experts is the equivalent of those who lived in the Middle Ages entrusting their welfare to the theologians, the cardinals, and the Spanish inquisitors. It is a terrible idea."

The economy for the non-economist.

[skuthorp]

Hillbilly Elegy.
J. D. Vance

Explains a lot……..

I'll expand later when I've read a bit more.

[David G]

Just finished Talking to My Daughter About the Economy or, How Capitalism Works -- and How it Fails, by Yanis Varoufakis. Easily understood. Enlightening in its historical presentation.

"Leaving the economy to the experts is the equivalent of those who lived in the Middle Ages entrusting their welfare to the theologians, the cardinals, and the Spanish inquisitors. It is a terrible idea."

The economy for the non-economist.

Never heard of it. Sounds interesting. Ordered.

[Chip-skiff]

Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips.



Set on the Kamchatka Peninsula, it begins with the abduction of two sisters.

Then it sort of wanders.

[David G]

When you've finished the second one, don't miss the novella The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It's touching and beautiful.

Read a short Robert Hunter thriller while I waited, but now I'm about 1/3 into #2 ('Wise Man's Fears'??). I understand #3 is out, or close to it. I'll look when I'm about finished with #2.

[goodbasil]

Just began reading, How to Build a Boat by Jonathan Gornall.

Decent review by Matthew P. Murphy of the Wooden boat staff.

[skuthorp]

Hillbilly Elegy, J. D. Vance.

Explains a lot about America, and the election of donald.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...d-vance-review

[bobbys]

Catcher in the rye.

[Chip-skiff]

This one, about an Alaska wolf that liked being around people and dogs.

[birlinn]

The Power to Fly, LJK Setright

[UCanoe_2]

The Traitor and the Spy, by Ben Macintyre. John LeCarre called this book, "the best true spy story I ever read."

Oleg Gordievsky (Оле́г Анто́нович Гордие́вский) was the son of a KGB officer, and followed in his father's footsteps. Beginning with the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Gordievsky became disillusioned with the communist system. He rose to the rank of colonel in the KGB. From 1974 to 1985, he was a double agent for MI6. He provided the British with mountains of information which helped identify Russian spies and provided insight into the paranoid thinking of the Soviet government in general and the KGB in particular.

Here is a book review from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...cintyre-review

"....Macintyre touches only briefly on the unprecedented “download” of information given by Gordievsky to the west. It included details of the KGB’s attempts to influence western elections through “active measures”. In 1985 the KGB circulated a top secret “personality questionnaire”. It set out the characteristics it was looking for in a potential agent: narcissism, vanity, greed and marital infidelity. Soon afterwards, the Soviet government invited a prominent American, Donald Trump, to visit Moscow....."

In 1985, Gordievsky was exposed, probably by Aldrich Ames, a Soviet mole in the CIA. Against all odds, MI6 pulled off a daring and hair-raising extraction. The saga of the escape included distraction of KGB dogs by a bag of crisps and a dirty nappy. Gordievsky was tried by the USSR in absentia and sentenced to death. He is now 80 years old and lives in the UK.

[skuthorp]

It's spring in our 2 acre garden, too damn busy or too damn tired to read at present.

[Chip-skiff]

The earth is a book.

I'm reading a madly-detailed work on the navigational methods and achievements of the Mäori and Polynesian sailors in general.



They learned to read the sea and the wind like books. And staked their lives on that knowledge.

[Dave Lesser]

The Traitor and the Spy, by Ben Macintyre. John LeCarre called this book, "the best true spy story I ever read."

If you liked that, you'll love MacIntyre's "A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal". Absolutely fascinating.

[SeanM26]

I finished the Mistborn trilogy and started The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

[Canoeyawl]

Life on the Mississippi

[ron ll]

Nevil Shute's "Round the Bend", thanks to suggestions on my books with airplanes thread.

[Harry Miller]

Empty Planet. By Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson.
Global population decline; coming much sooner than we expect.

[Flying Orca]

Empty Planet. By Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson.
Global population decline; coming much sooner than we expect.

A pollster and an English BA on population science? That sounds interesting, but not necessarily well-founded.

I suspect population decline is coming, alright, but it's going to involve the Four Horsemen. It's interesting to note that starry-eyed optimists have been pooh-poohing population concerns (and the resulting environment concerns) for decades, claiming that a decline is coming, a decline is coming... and the decline hasn't materialized. Meanwhile, we have vastly overshot the planet's sustainable carrying capacity, and our food sources are taking serious damage. I will likely die before the worst of it, but famine and resource wars are coming to the lives of our children and grandchildren.

Interesting review: https://overpopulation-project.com/r...bitson-part-1/

[WX]

Swatchways and Little Ships by Maurice Griffiths. One of Peter's Sibley's books.

[David G]

Reading the second book in Jason Mathews' 'Red Sparrow' series. Pretty decent.

[David G]

[Chip-skiff]

Weird twins. Entertaining.

[Puttputt]

This Storm by James Ellroy

[Ed Harrow]

Kochland, by Christopher Leonard.

[johnw]

Mind of my Mind, by Octavia Butler. What a writer!

[David G]

Mind of my Mind, by Octavia Butler. What a writer!

I've got Parable of the Talents on my stack. Looking forward to it.

At the moment, I just finished book #2 in Jason Matthews 'Red Sparrow' trilogy and started #3. The first was good, without being great. #2 was outstanding. One reviewer gave it 6 stars out of 5. That's a bit hyperbolic, as book reviews sometimes are (sigh)... but I can understand the sentiment.

[webishop14]

I've got Parable of the Talents on my stack. Looking forward to it.

At the moment, I just finished book #2 in Jason Matthews 'Red Sparrow' trilogy and started #3. The first was good, without being great. #2 was outstanding. One reviewer gave it 6 stars out of 5. That's a bit hyperbolic, as book reviews sometimes are (sigh)... but I can understand the sentiment.

I'm currently reading Jason Matthews book #1 in the series. I think I'd shade the "good" more toward's the "OK" side. I'll see about #2 when I get to it. Also reading James Lee Burk's In The Moon Of The Red Ponies. Now Burk is an excellent writer.

[David G]

I'm currently reading Jason Matthews book #1 in the series. I think I'd shade the "good" more toward's the "OK" side. I'll see about #2 when I get to it. Also reading James Lee Burk's In The Moon Of The Red Ponies. Now Burk is an excellent writer.

Perhaps I was being kind on boo #1. It was his debut effort - so I'm inclined to cut people some slack. My sweetie is a published author - so I know how difficult the road is.

I've read everything I can find from Burke. He's a treasure. His daughter is very good also.

[UCanoe_2]

Antique Woodworking Tools and Restoring, Tuning, and Using Classic Woodworking Tools by Michael Dunbar. Both books are mostly about planes of various varieties. The first book treats wood bodied tools entirely, while the second also covers iron and steel tools by Stanley and other manufacturers. The author specializes in building Windsor chairs by hand using old tools.