Bogleheads.org

by **beginner** » Fri May 18, 2012 11:48 pm

Breakthrough Rapid Reading by Peter Kump
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul

by **Lana** » Sat May 19, 2012 11:49 am

After reading The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, I became hooked on this author and started reading his books in chronological order. The novels are engrossing in a grisly, violent, horrific way... I did learn a little about Norway.

by **vtalyan** » Sat May 19, 2012 12:01 pm

+1 on the Nesbo books. I believe there are Norwegian movies based on his novels now.

by **stratton** » Sat May 19, 2012 6:47 pm

vtalyan wrote:+1 on the Nesbo books. I believe there are Norwegian movies based on his novels now.

Headhunters should be making its way to the US soon. Hope you like subtitles. :-)

Interestingly Jo Nesbo didn't want to do an American version unless he got Martin Scorsese. The studio got the him. So... we're getting an American made film of Headhunters.

I haven't seen the Headhunters yet.

It ought to be interesting with a bigger budget like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Danish version follows the books very closely while the David Fincher version concentrates more on the story itself. Both Salanders were fabulous in their own way.

Paul

by **norookie** » Sun May 20, 2012 1:29 pm

Retirement Miracle, by Patrick Kelly. <Shrug>

by **chaz** » Mon May 21, 2012 8:36 pm

"Die Trying" by Lee Child.

by **MP173** » Tue May 22, 2012 5:18 pm

Sweetness, The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, by Jeff Pearlman.

Next on deck...The Passage of Power (Lyndon Johnson) by Robert Caro.

Ed

by **ruralavalon** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:06 pm

Mornings On Horseback, by David McCullough.

Theodore Roosevelt's life through early adulthood.

by **wacobay** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:33 pm

I also read [u]Morning On Horseback[u] and thought it superb. Then again I think all of his books are excellent. I especially enjoyed his [u]Truman.

Richard

by **ruralavalon** » Wed May 23, 2012 8:41 pm

I just started Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe.

by **rmark1** » Wed May 23, 2012 10:52 pm

'The Classic British Rook and Rabbit rifle' by Greenwood

by **chaz** » Thu May 24, 2012 6:28 pm

"The Body of Death" by Elizabeth George.

by **Fallible** » Fri May 25, 2012 11:53 am

Finished Ron Chernow's wonderful bio of "Alexander Hamilton" and came away with two thoughts about the great duel: that it was a suicide for Hamilton, who suffered from depression, possibly clinical, but also due to or exacerbated by great personal losses and political setbacks; or the depression affected his judgment, leading him to believe that Burr would not shoot to kill. It was my first Hamilton bio and the more I read of his depression and hyperactivity, the more I thought manic-depressive or bipolar disorder, although the terms weren't used by Chernow. I Googled for more info and learned that at least one Hamilton biographer referred to a "manic-depressive illness." So it's interesting that biographers would describe symptoms of it but stay away from the term, even as just a possibility. And it seems important in Hamilton's case because the mania certainly helped fuel the monumental achievements, while the depression may have led to the duel and to death.

by **kamo** » Fri May 25, 2012 3:57 pm

Spend Til The End by S. Burn and L. Kotlikof. Gave me a broader understanding of personal finance. This it is about more than investing, and that we have more control over our living standard than the financial industry gives us credit for - where we live, how big a house (and taxes, utilities, etc.) we buy, etc. Good book. I recommend it.

Also reading Don't Sweat The Small Stuff to learn how to...........well, not sweat the small stuff so much. Very short chapters just right for reading before turning out the light.

kamo

by **HardKnocker** » Sat May 26, 2012 10:52 am

Darn fine western!

by **nisiprius** » Sun May 27, 2012 10:24 am

Just finished Guy Gavriel Kay's The Wandering Fire. Enjoyed it, but in the way I enjoy books that I don't think are very good. My biggest impression is, hoo boy, this is a world in which nobody stays dead. The book ends with King Arthur, who has been brought back from the dead by Kim, bringing the dwarf Matt back to life. Matt, the source of power for the mage Loren, died by being overloaded in the epochal battle between Loren and the evil mage Metran, who had brought eternal winter to Fionavar by supercharging his mage powers by using, overloading, and draining hundreds of Sources and then bringing them back to life with the Cauldron of Khath Meigol. You see what I mean. Of the five main characters, so far Paul and Jennifer have been in situations where we thought they had died but have been brought back. Kevin was last seen plummeting down some surreal bottomless hole in the Cave of Dun Maura, and it certainly appears unambiguous that his thread in the tapestry has ended, but I don't believe I have seen a corpse yet and it will be interesting to see whether he reappears in the third volume.

by **Robert The Bruce** » Sun May 27, 2012 12:36 pm

Just finished Alfred Lancing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. I have always known who Shakleton was but I never really knew the details. What a great story of perseverance in the most barren of conditions! The 28 men were stranded on the trapped boat for 10 months, then on various ice floes for 6 months followed by 3 weeks in the life boats before they make it to Elephant Island. But that only starts the story, from there Shackleton and 5 others take the largest of the boats and sail 880 miles over some of the most treacherous seas for South Georgia island, the currents are so intense that if they pass the island in the night or in the fog, there will be no going back – and yet they succeed here also, just as they run out of fresh water. As you know, at this point Shackleton and 2 others hike over an unexplored mountain range on the island, they come close to falling asleep in the frigid night and freezing to death before finally reaching civilization.
An interesting aspect that only gets mentioned on the last 2 pages is that it takes Shackleton another 3 months and 3 attempts to return to Elephant Island to retrieve the rest of the crew. On the second attempt they come within 100 miles of a rescue but ice forces them to turn around.

http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackle ... 961&sr=1-1

by **randomwalk** » Sun May 27, 2012 2:29 pm

I just finished A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes.

Now reading Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak.

by **Petrocelli** » Sun May 27, 2012 7:22 pm

Jane Goodall's Through a Window: My 30 Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe. It is fascinating so far.

FYI, I got the book as an Amazon "deal of the day" for only $1.99 on Kindle.

by **RedJones** » Mon May 28, 2012 3:55 am

Robert The Bruce wrote:Just finished Alfred Lancing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. I have always known who Shakleton was but I never really knew the details. What a great story of perseverance in the most barren of conditions! The 28 men were stranded on the trapped boat for 10 months, then on various ice floes for 6 months followed by 3 weeks in the life boats before they make it to Elephant Island. But that only starts the story, from there Shackleton and 5 others take the largest of the boats and sail 880 miles over some of the most treacherous seas for South Georgia island, the currents are so intense that if they pass the island in the night or in the fog, there will be no going back – and yet they succeed here also, just as they run out of fresh water. As you know, at this point Shackleton and 2 others hike over an unexplored mountain range on the island, they come close to falling asleep in the frigid night and freezing to death before finally reaching civilization.
An interesting aspect that only gets mentioned on the last 2 pages is that it takes Shackleton another 3 months and 3 attempts to return to Elephant Island to retrieve the rest of the crew. On the second attempt they come within 100 miles of a rescue but ice forces them to turn around.

http://www.amazon.com/Endurance-Shackle ... 961&sr=1-1

There are two really interesting facts about Shackleton. His goal on the expedition was ill-considered to the point of foolishness: to find gold in Antarctica when there was no evidence of any. So, the expedition was going to be a failure for certain. But then he gets trapped in the ice and all the men survive entirely due to Shackleton's leadership ability. The captain, Frank Worseley, whose successful navigation of the small boat 800 miles is a towering, heroic achievement attributes the successful escape and rescue entirely to Shackleton's leadership. Worseley's book is a good read. He treats marching hungry through the arctic right to the point of collapse before stopping briefly to recover as a clever tactic they discovered and mentions how handy it came in later when he was fighting the Bolsheviks in Siberia.

by **SurfCityBill** » Mon May 28, 2012 3:42 pm

With Fire and Sword - Henryk Sienkiewicz

Epic, historical adventure story written over 100 years ago and considered a national treasure in Poland.

by **coldav** » Tue May 29, 2012 8:42 am

Just finished William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." His material is difficult with his semi Joycean stream of consciousness style, Deep South themes, and dictionary reaching words. This is the second book I have read by him and consider him to be an extraordinary author.

by **reggiesimpson** » Tue May 29, 2012 10:57 am

Lots of Travel books. The Lonely Planet series, the Rough guide series,1000 places to see before you die, 100 events to see before you die, Arthur Frommers books etc,etc. Pure escapism and personal "plotting".

by **scottyja** » Tue May 29, 2012 12:55 pm

I just picked up Wool by Hugh Howey. It was highly recommended and I have had a difficult time putting it down. I'm about halfway through the Omnibus edition.

by **stratton** » Wed May 30, 2012 9:25 pm

Red Wolf by Liza Marklund. Another Scandicrime book. :-)

Stockholm reporter investigates terrorism case and murder 1000 km away in Northern Sweden.

Paul

by **energy2025** » Wed May 30, 2012 11:03 pm

Just read Black Banner, everything you want to know about CIA, FBI, AlQeada and geopolitics. Thisshould be of interest to anyone.

by **nisiprius** » Thu May 31, 2012 12:53 pm

While reading other things, I've been steadily nibbling away at The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, edited by Leslie Klinger. When it came out, I gave away my old Doubleday one-volume edition and bought the fancy one. But it's a mixed bag. Although the books look beautifully produced, they're actually impractical--too heavy to read easily in bed, and the annotations are printed in a funny color of ink and typeface that isn't pleasantly legible. And Klinger unfortunately maintains the tedious pretense that Holmes was real, and the annotations are way too heavy on the opinions of Holmesian "scholars." And not very interesting notes on differences between the published text and Conan Doyle's manuscripts, or between the U.S. and British publications. Apart from the really annoying stuff (stuff like suggestions that Holmes may have committed the crime himself etc.), what these notes mostly do is direct your attention to Conan Doyle's sloppiness, inconsistency, and the imperfections of the stories as logical puzzles. Which is OK by me, as I can never "solve" mysteries anyway, it's all character and atmosphere. The explanations of Victorian-era everyday life are good, not great.

by **swats** » Thu May 31, 2012 1:04 pm

Reading Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L.James. Wondering what the hype is about.

by **jpecci** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:31 pm

Lizz Winstead: Lizz Free or Die. Funny autobiographical essays from creator of The Daily Show. quick weekend read.

by **jpecci** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:42 pm

cheese_breath wrote:Vulture's Picnic by Greg Palast. I'm about half way through. Exposes unethical and criminal practices in the energy industry, especial big oil. Some may find the raw language and/or political comments in the book offensive. But on the other hand it is both informative and entertaining.

I got through first half. Have not picked it back up yet, but I will next week. Man --- scary stuff about the wheelers and dealers like Paul Singer. A good companion book to this would be "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins. That one came out a couple years ago.

by **chaz** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:04 pm

"This Body of Death" is the longest novel I have ever started - 953 pages. I'm at p. 591. A wonderful story by Elizabeth George.

by **gkaplan** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:29 pm

Elizabeth George's next book will be War and Peace II.

by **chaz** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:41 pm

gkaplan wrote:Elizabeth George's next book will be War and Peace II.

She's talented.

by **gkaplan** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:04 pm

And long winded.

by **Patchy Groundfog** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:41 pm

How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe's Poorest Nation Created Our World & Everything in It by Arthur Herman -- Title exaggerates, of course, but lots of fascinating history I didn't know.

Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath by Michael Norman and Elizabeth M. Norman -- I'm only a couple of chapters in, but it seems to be a well-researched and well-written account.

by **Bungo** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:11 pm

Currently reading:

The Great Gatsby
The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy - How to Save Yourself and Your Country (Peter Schiff)
The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890s (H.W. Brands)

by **HardKnocker** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:16 pm

Fascinating character study of Tiger Woods. A psychopathic personality.

by **chaz** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:29 pm

gkaplan wrote:And long winded.

Her characters have a lot to say and to do. A terrific author.

by **NAVigator** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:55 pm

"The Joy of Not Working" by Ernie Zelinski, based on a post to another thread about how to occupy time during retirement. I hoped the book would extoll the many opportunities awaiting people. Instead, the author's intent seems to be focused on bashing work and adopting a laid-back or lazy approach. Perhaps it will improve as I continue reading.

Jerry

by **MP173** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 6:40 pm

Now reading Robert Caro's "Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power".

This is my first reading of a Caro book. It is a well documented biography of Lyndon Johnson's life from about 1955 thru 1964. He begins the book as the "second most powerful man in Washington", a real deal maker as Senate Majority Leader ("Mr. Leader"), loses the nomination to John Kennedy for the 1960 Democratic Presidental hopeful and is then the Vice President in the Kennedy administration.

Two very interesting points are the process which led to him being asked to be the VP nominee (and then the 3 trips in one day by Robert Kennedy asking him to withdraw from the VP nomination) and the complete loathing and ridicule from the Kennedy administration during his tenure as VP.

Not only is this a great insite into the life of Mr. Johnson, but also into the inner workings of the Kennedy Administration and the hatred between Robert Kennedy and Johnson. They truly hated each other.

Right now I am at the summer of 1963 and the Civil Rights issues are front and center. I never realized Johnson's commitment to that issue. He had to walk a fine line between being a "southern Senator" and his feelings about human/civil rights.

This is a fascinating book.

Ed

by **abuss368** » Fri Jun 01, 2012 8:57 pm

I am presently reading The Bond Book.

by **ruralavalon** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:12 pm

The Pathfinder, by James Fenimore Cooper.

by **Fallible** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:37 pm

MP173 wrote:Now reading Robert Caro's "Lyndon Johnson, The Passage of Power".

This is my first reading of a Caro book. It is a well documented biography of Lyndon Johnson's life from about 1955 thru 1964. He begins the book as the "second most powerful man in Washington", a real deal maker as Senate Majority Leader ("Mr. Leader"), loses the nomination to John Kennedy for the 1960 Democratic Presidental hopeful and is then the Vice President in the Kennedy administration.

Two very interesting points are the process which led to him being asked to be the VP nominee (and then the 3 trips in one day by Robert Kennedy asking him to withdraw from the VP nomination) and the complete loathing and ridicule from the Kennedy administration during his tenure as VP.

Not only is this a great insite into the life of Mr. Johnson, but also into the inner workings of the Kennedy Administration and the hatred between Robert Kennedy and Johnson. They truly hated each other.

Right now I am at the summer of 1963 and the Civil Rights issues are front and center. I never realized Johnson's commitment to that issue. He had to walk a fine line between being a "southern Senator" and his feelings about human/civil rights.

This is a fascinating book.

Ed

The Caro book is on my library list and your comments make me anxious to get started. Being a member of the '60s generation, I well recall Johnson's battles for civil rights and how unlikely it seemed that he would be the one to lead to enactment of the Civil Rights Act. But it was fitting for the '60s, about which everything seemed unlikely.

by **mcblum** » Sat Jun 02, 2012 4:59 pm

Dan Abnett's "The Founding" Go ahead and scourge me...
Marty

by **chaz** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 11:54 am

"Rage" by Jonathan Kellerman.

by **BenBritt** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:25 pm

Hi Bungo. Gatsby is one of my top picks. I reread it every couple of years. Just finished Calico Joe by John Grisham--a decent read in my opinion.

by **WolfpackFan** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 5:29 pm

"Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain" by Charles Cross.

by **bcboy57** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 6:02 pm

John Irving's new effort....In One Person....his books are always, well, certainly, interesting......

by **nisiprius** » Sun Jun 03, 2012 9:02 pm

Taking a nibble at The Language Wars by Henry Hitchings but will only be about 1/3 through before I need to return it... very good but not a read-it-straight-through kind of book.

Cycling through that one and The Longest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay... very good but not a read-it-straight-through kind of book...

... and dipping here and there into The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner, which is very good but not a read-it-straight-through kind of book.

by **Fallible** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:26 pm

It's back to Ray Bradbury for me after learning today of his death at 91. To me, Bradbury was Mr. Imagination, Mr. Original. I'm sure I'll be re-reading "The Martian Chronicles" now, one of my favorites, but for now the only Bradbury I can find in the house is "Zen in the Art of Writing" and here are a couple of favorite quotes from it:

"Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together. Now, it's your turn. Jump!"

And another on the kind of life he's had, "Drunk, and in charge of a bicycle, as an Irish police report once put it. Drunk with life, that is, and not knowoing where off to next. But you're on your way before dawn. And the trip? Exactly one half terror, exactlly one half exhilaration."

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