Don't eat anything except plants and whole grains. They can be pretty good.
Coffee with Shakespeare, Stanley Wells, Joseph Fiennes
Slim volume (a birthday gift) imagines a modern interview with the Bard. Largely inoffensive, free of conjecture or controversy, which might have made it more interesting.
The Atomic Weight of Secrets Or the Arrival of the Mysterious Men in Black, Eden Unger Bowditch
Adventure of an unlikely group of scientifically gifted children. A gift from a friend of WW, written by a woman we met in Cairo, the kids were well drawn, but two things--the intersection with history and the to--be-continued... resolution left me unsatisfied. But maybe that's the point.
Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Essential Writing ofHunter S. Thompson, Hunter S. Thompson
The singular voice in American writing? Only Hemingway or Twain come to mind as rivals. 70s reports of the Democratic primaries and Nixon rants stand out. Later became a bit of a caricature of himself, but that seems unavoidable. No-one could live as he did without a little embellishment. Right?
A Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
Rich and compelling medieval fantasy world, dripping with intrigue, liberally sprinkled with sex and violence. Writing a bit hackneyed at times, but impossible to put down nonetheless. Not sure I’m in for the remaining 4,000 pages of the series, but I do want to know how it turns out.
William Henry Harrison: The American Presidents Series: The 9thPresident,1841, Gail Collins, Arthur M.
Schlesinger, Jr., Sean Wilentz
Lifelong bureaucrat from Virginia, settled in Ohio. In 1840, at 67, he somehow won the nomination and was recast by Whig handlers as an injun-killer from the frontier, and squeaked by Van Buren in a rollicking campaign. Got pneumonia after a 2 hour inaugural speech and died 31 days later. The end.
Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Picked this up on a recommendation that it was an insightful look at how people think. Are we really that petty and boring?
The Daydreamer, Ian McEwan
Invented stories from the mind of a very creative boy. Easy to see how he went on to become a famous writer.
The Numerati, Stephen Baker
People who want to sell you stuff know far more about you than you'd imagine. I don't mind this, as much as the way they make it difficult to understand how much things actually cost. What happens to insurance and medicine when the providers know everything about you?
A Short History of Progress, Ronald Wright
Similar to Diamond's Collapse, but with much less data and more philosophy, though not as much as I'd hoped for. Did humans develop agriculture only because they ran out of animals to kill?
The Lacuna: A Novel, Barbara Kingsolver
Beautifully written story of a boy's life in Mexico and the US, his accidental entanglement with Rivera, Kahlo and Trotsky, success as a writer in Asheville and final undoing by the HUAC. Interesting throughout, less so after Mexico. Hard to believe the witch hunts of the 1940s were real.
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Grace Lin
From Evie's summer reading list. Nice collection of Chinese folk tales tied together by hey another plucky distaff heroine.
Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food, Taming Our Primal Instincts,
Terry Burnham, Jay Phelan
We're only human. But at least we know that, which, at times, can help
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's GreatMigration, Isabel Wilkerson
Sweeping story of African Americans moving north in search of opportunity and to escape life on the plantation; told through the stories of three people. Beautifully personal and contextually rich, but I would have preferred some more data.
Nice complement to Cod, particularly for its history of the European fishing industry and the development of techniques for salting and smoking. Industry driven by religious mandates and constant wars, but the book says little on these topics. Too bad, because I’d like to know more.
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, Trenton
Lee Stewart
Not as much character development as the first story. Suffers as a result. The children finding themselves and each other was the strongest part of the story.
Fish Into Wine: The Newfoundland Plantation in the SeventeenthCentury, Peter Edward Pope, Omohundro Institute of Early American History &
Culture
Thoroughgoing examination of the fishing industry in 17th century Newfoundland. More than I needed to know about the quotidian details and lacking much in the way of global perspective, which for me is the interesting part.
A History of the Middle East, Peter Mansfield
Few obvious boundaries or nations, under the heel of various empires throughout history. After David's conquest of Jerusalem in the 7th Century BC, no mention of the Jews until the zionist movement of the early 20th century.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck
Hard work and sticktoitveness are more important to success than talent. Treat every failure as a learning opportunity and you are bound to get better. Don't tell kids they're smart; reward hard work.
Comprehensive study of our use of energy and forecast of the future. Transition from coal to oil took a hundred years; move to oil's successor will take similar time. Depressing, but thoroughly enjoyable 700-odd pages.
Shipping News: A Novel, Annie Proulx
Beautifully written novel about a lummox who finds a life in Newfoundland. Full of implausible characters and set in a present day that nevertheless feels like 1920. And then it just sort of ends, with a small bang and a quiet whimper.
The Call of the Wild, Jack London
Some dog, that Buck. And Jack London really got into his head. Sheesh
Some Great Thing, Lawrence Hill
Enjoyable tale of ethnic, social, racial and language politics in 1980s Winnipeg, told through the eyes of an educated reporter. Implausible at times, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless
The Person and the Situation: Perspectives of Social Psychology, Lee
Ross, Richard E. Nisbett
The latter is often a better predictor of our response than the former. Billed as psychology for the lay person, I found this to be overly academic and difficult to get through, despite its brevity.
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, Robert B. Cialdini
More background about how certain heuristics direct our behavior. Less interesting after Kahnemann, but nonetheless enjoyable. Self-awareness is the key to manipulation, but it is frustratingly elusive.
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
Very enjoyable look at the craft of writing fiction interrupted by the horrible story of a crippling car accident. Honest and insightful throughout. I learned a great deal and remembered how much I enjoyed the Dead Zone when I read it in ninth grade.
Concise set of proven shortcuts to acquiring skills. There are no real shortcuts of course, but the optimal approach to learning is preferable nonetheless
Bone: Out from Boneville, Jeff Smith
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