What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

[chaz]

"The Sixth Man" by David Baldacci.

[ruralavalon]

The Early Pioneers and Pioneer Events of the State of Illinois, by Harvey Lee Ross.

Deals with Illinois history of the 1820's, primarily consisting of first-hand accounts by the author and people he knew. Very interesting to me because I am familiar with almost all of the places mentioned so far (e.g. Lewistown, Canton, Cuba, Duncan Mills, Thompson Lake, Havana, on the Illinois River). (Chicago was almost nothing at that time, so it is hardly mentioned at all.)

[HardKnocker]

[volleyballfwtx]

"You CAN Retire Young: How to Retire in Your 40s or 50s Without Being Rich" by Larry A. Ferstenou

[mark18068]

I just dusted off A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. I last looked at it in the 1990s.

Just finished The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Mr. Bogle.

[sschullo]

Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry
by Helaine Olen

Me too.

[Riprap]

Recently finished Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden.

It is the story of the only person born in a North Korean political concentration camp who managed to escape. What is different about this tale as compared to Soviet political prisons or Nazi concentration camps is that the protagonist was not captured and imprisoned, rather he was born and raised there. He believed the suffering, snitching, starvation, and slave labor he was subjected to was normal. He had no other frame of reference. HIs life was no different really than a caged animal whose primary instinct is survival.

The author corroborated the story in interviews with former guards and other ex prisoners. This book was a real eye opener which reveals how evil the Kim dynasty truly is. Indeed, I have a renewed appreciation for my political freedom and the abundance of food available to me.

[mickeyd]

Just finishing up The Clash of the Cultures. Reading Jack Bogle is a true delight. Here are my two favorite quotes from the book. I have recently adopted the CMH idea as part of my signature here.

The CMH-the Cost Matters Hypothesis is all that is needed to explain why indexing must and will work. In fact the CMH enables us to quantify with some precision how well it works. Whether or not the markets are efficient, the explanatory power of the CMH holds. As I’ve noted in several earlier chapters, gross return in the stock market minus the (high) cost of obtaining that return, equals the net return actually received by the investors. Yes, it is that simple. John C. Bogle The Clash of the Cultures

“My midterm grade (in economics @ Princeton) in the autumn of 1948 was 4+ (D+ in today’s lexicon) …I struggled but made the grade that I needed by semester’s end, gaining a 3…I graduated magna cum laude in Economics.” Jack Bogle The Clash of Cultures.

[chaz]

"Zero Day" by David Baldacci.

[katnrica]

Started "The Theoretical Minimum" by Prof. Leonard Susskind (Stanford) and George Hrabovsky. (after reading a review of it in the WSJ a few weeks ago)

[itworks]

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera

Finished 40% so far.. fascinating story..

Is America run by those too-big-too-fail banks? (Mod - delete this sentence if not appropriate)

[BenBritt]

Trying to read Ken Folletts Winter of the World. Does anyone have an opinion of this work? Thanks.

[ruralavalon]

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Not many surprises here, success comes from a combination of : Intelligence (or other inate ability); hard work/practice; and good luck. And we often overlook the role of one of the three. Still, contains many interesting examples and anecdotes from sports, education, business, and the arts, with some interesting data.

[randomwalk]

I just finished In Spite of the Gods by Edward Luce, Hugo Black by Roger Newman, Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida, and King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild.

Still reading Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

[Valuethinker]

All the Devils Are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis
Bethany McLean, Joe Nocera

Finished 40% so far.. fascinating story..

Is America run by ...)

You want to read Simon Johnson and James Kwok. The Baseline Scenario blog and book

http://www.amazon.com/13-Bankers-Takeov ... on+johnson

Johnson was Chief Economist of the IMF, so he can easily see the parallels between 2008 and what happened in SE Asia in 1997 (really the Emerging Market version of what we went through) and Mexico in 1994, Russia in 1998 etc.

[Valuethinker]

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Not many surprises here, success comes from a combination of : Intelligence (or other inate ability); hard work/practice; and good luck. And we often overlook the role of one of the three. Still, contains many interesting examples and anecdotes from sports, education, business, and the arts, with some interesting data.

I think it is the weighting of factors. That what your parents give you is not so much talent but *persistence*.

That '10,000 hours to excel at anything' has become a commonplace since the book came out (rather like '6 Degrees of Separation' after his first big book). His essays (collected at gladwell.com) are often better reading-- the one about GM and Ireland is a personal favourite (ditto the one about SUVs, and the one about the great Chicago heat wave).

[Valuethinker]

I just dusted off A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel. I last looked at it in the 1990s.

Just finished The Little Book of Common Sense Investing by Mr. Bogle.

The change in what is in A Random Walk, with each edition, is fascinating. Nisiprius has some great posts about it. I wish I'd kept my old editions.

[chaz]

"Almost Dead" by Lisa Jackson.

[Austintatious]

Just finished Vol III of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill, The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965. This last volume, dealing with Churchill's WWII years and those until his death in 1965,was completed by American author Paul Reid following Manchester's death in 2004. 1053 pages and definitely a serious commitment but, what a book! And what a man! Given the circumstances of his time, I think Churchill has to be considered the greatest political leader ever. I highly recommend this book, though I now wish I'd been smart enough to read the first two volumes before this one.

[ruralavalon]

The Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830, by Arthur Clinton Bogus.

[ruralavalon]

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell.

Not many surprises here, success comes from a combination of : Intelligence (or other inate ability); hard work/practice; and good luck. And we often overlook the role of one of the three. Still, contains many interesting examples and anecdotes from sports, education, business, and the arts, with some interesting data.

I think it is the weighting of factors. That what your parents give you is not so much talent but *persistence*.

Or as my mother called it, being "pig headed".

[gkaplan]

I requested Gillian Flynn's new book, Gone Girl, about nine months ago when it first came out. My library placed me around 170th in the queue. My number finally came up this week, and I picked it up at the library Wednesday night. I'm expecting good things, because her two previous books were outstanding.

[chaz]

"Therapy" by Jonathan Kellerman.

[Blues]

"The Laughing Policeman" by Sjowall & Wahloo

[EternalOptimist]

"The Art of Happiness"....Dalai Lama

[AnnDavis19]

Black Banners: The inside story of 9/11 and the war against al-qaeda

[Blues]

"Angle Of Repose" by Wallace Stegner.

[nisiprius]

The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman. Just finished Extreme Money: Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk, by Satyajit Das.

[randomwalk]

I just finished Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.

Now reading Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas by Bruce Allan Murphy.

[chaz]

"Black Coffee" by Agatha Christie.

[bengal22]

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John LeCarre. Just finished the Karla Triology and am definitely hooked on LeCarre.

[MP173]

Lawrence Block's "Getting Off"...oh, is it dark. One of the best crime / mystery writers out there.

Ed

[denismurf]

The Thurber Carnival, by, of course, James Thurber.

I decided to reread this book I read in the 50's, but gave up about halfway through. It did remind me of why I carried such a negative opinion of marriage into adulthood. The dismal married life Thurber portrayed reinforced much of what I saw as a teenager in my own parents and my friends' parents.

[chaz]

Lawrence Block's "Getting Off"...oh, is it dark. One of the best crime / mystery writers out there.

Ed

I'll try a Lawrence Block novel next based on your praise.

[stemikger]

Think, Act, and Invest Like Warren Buffett: The Winning Strategy to Help You Achieve Your Financial and Life Goals
bt Larry Swedroe

Technically I start reading it tomorrow because I'm waiting to get it from Amazon. I didn't want the Kindle version of this one, it looks too good not to have it form my personal finance library.

The reviews from Amazon are mostly 5 stars.

[nisiprius]

Finished The Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman. A fairly quick read. Very good. Good storytelling, good descriptions, wonderfully evocative of time and place, believable plot, convincing characters. Just enough lighthouse-keeping background. Oh, maybe I would have enjoyed even a little bit more. The biggest problem I had was that even though the plot was made believable--no Dickensian coincidences--it still seems too much like a contrived "The Book of Questions"-type ethical dilemma--What Would You Do If you were in that situation, what's the right thing, etc. The author, playing god, has been cruel to her characters, has put them into a contrived situation, where some kind of misery is certain and the only question is how much. I felt that the first 90% of the book was great, the ending was both unsatisfying and chaotic. Although nobody is unreasonably mean or stupid, I found myself wishing for a both a better ending, both in terms of (yes) a happier ending, and less of an author-throwing-up-her-hands because she set herself an unsolvable problem and couldn't work her way out of it.

[Valuethinker]

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John LeCarre. Just finished the Karla Triology and am definitely hooked on LeCarre.

Spy thrillers run in many directions from Le Carre. There is no real substitute that I can think of BUT

for spy fiction rooted in history, the Dr. David Audley series by Antony Price (the earlier ones probably better than the later)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/p/anthony-price/

Charles McCarry

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/cha ... autumn.htm

I'd call that novel literature.

The early Eric Ambler (Ambler broke with the communist party over Stalin's show trials in 1938)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/eric-ambler/

Ambler's quite conscious successor is Alan Furst

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/f/ala ... k-star.htm

up to (and including) 'Blood of Victory' I think they are all pretty good.

Graham Greene from 'Stamboul Train' to 'Our Man in Havana' but most especially 'The Quiet American' (Michael Caine was in a very good movie of same)

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/g/graham-greene/

[Fallible]

The Thurber Carnival, by, of course, James Thurber.

I decided to reread this book I read in the 50's, but gave up about halfway through. It did remind me of why I carried such a negative opinion of marriage into adulthood. The dismal married life Thurber portrayed reinforced much of what I saw as a teenager in my own parents and my friends' parents.

Marriage per se was not Thurber's big problem but his alcoholism, a disease that can take over a life, and his eye injury finally leading to total blindness. From what I've read of Thurber over the years, it seems doubtful he would've lasted as long as he did without his last marriage to Helen Wismer.

[chaz]

"Small Town" by Lawrence Block.

[stratton]

Sheldon Jacobs: Investing without Wall St., The Five Essentials of Financial Freedom.

Espouses low fees and index funds, but likes market timing. Yes, if an investor have followed "signals" in 2008 they would have lost less money, but neglects the other half of when to get back in and running actual money is not the same looking at market sell signals in hindsight.

Library only and you won't miss anything if you don't read it.

James Owns Weatherall: The Physics of Wall Street.

This books is a history about physicists who engaged in finance. The problem is it doesn't go into any actual incidents other than a paragraph here and there. You'd think a 200+ page book would spend two or three pages on an example, but this one has maybe one paragraph. I want more connections to what happened in 2008 and not some borderline alliterations.

Library only.

Paul

[wilpat]

Trying to read Ken Folletts Winter of the World. Does anyone have an opinion of this work? Thanks.

Ken Follett is my absolutely favorite author of all time! "On Wings of Eagles" is my favorite of all of his.

He covers a great deal of variety in his books, but (IMHO) none are bad!

I am an addictive reader -- I have read about 200 books per year (4 a week) for over 60 years.

Enjoy the book!

Wilpat

[linguini]

I just started re-reading A Confederacy of Dunces.

[randomwalk]

I just finished Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas by Bruce Allan Murphy.

Now reading Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

[chaz]

"Evidence" by Jonathan Kellerman.

[tuckeverlasting]

Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden. The true story of Shin Dong-hyuk, born and raised in one of North Korea's political prison camps and and how he escaped in 2005 against overwhelming odds. A horrifying story of the unbelievably evil regime that exists right this minute.

[gkaplan]

Field Gray, the eighth in the series by Philip Kerr featuring Bernie Gunther, the prototypical anti-hero.

[nisiprius]

Greenmantle, by John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps, which I read aeons ago but have pretty much forgotten... though I remember being annoyed at how different the movie is from the book. What would you call it? A spy/thriller-type novel. It does read right along. I didn't expect to finish it but I'm finding it irresistible. It is somewhat reminiscent of Ian Fleming (or more likely vice versa), though of course without the "sex, sadism, and snobbery."

I wish I'd thought to read it a decade ago, as it is all set in the Middle East, and the plot revolves around some German plot to make the Islamic world believe that Germany is allied with a new Islamic prophet... or something of the sort.

I'm fascinated by its quaint generalizations about national character, stuff like

The West knows nothing of the true Oriental. It pictures him as lapped in colour and idleness and luxury and gorgeous dreams. But it is all wrong. The Kaf he yearns for is an austere thing. It is the austerity of the East that is its beauty and its terror ... It always wants the same things at the back of its head. The Turk and the Arab came out of big spaces, and they have the desire of them in their bones. They settle down and stagnate, and by the by they degenerate into that appalling subtlety which is their ruling passion gone crooked. And then comes a new revelation and a great simplifying. They want to live face to face with God without a screen of ritual and images and priestcraft. They want to prune life of its foolish fringes and get back to the noble bareness of the desert. Remember, it is always the empty desert and the empty sky that cast their spell over them—these, and the hot, strong, antiseptic sunlight which burns up all rot and decay. It isn't inhuman. It's the humanity of one part of the human race. It isn't ours, it isn't as good as ours, but it's jolly good all the same.

There's also an American character, and Buchan shows how American is by having him say "stoodent" and "noos" and "nootral." I suppose the British say "styoodent" and "nyoos" and "nyootral." His characters keep getting into hopeless situations and then getting out of them by amazing coincidences.

It's assumed that readers know all about World War I and who "Enver" and the "Young Turks" are and where Erzerum is and why it's important, so it's keeping me busy Googling...

[Blues]

"The 39 Steps" was a great movie and also a fun read but I got awfully tired of Buchan's anti-Semitism.

(Fully realize that it was fairly common in literature back in the day...Agatha Christie, Buchan et al...but when read now it does put one off.
At least this reader.)

[randomwalk]

I just finished Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple.

Now reading Chief Justice by Ed Cray.

[chaz]

"The 39 Steps" was a great movie and also a fun read but I got awfully tired of Buchan's anti-Semitism.

(Fully realize that it was fairly common in literature back in the day...Agatha Christie, Buchan et al...but when read now it does put one off.
At least this reader.)

None in "Black Coffee" by Agatha Christie.