I finished the first volume of Boswell’s Life of Johnson. Well, I finished the 300 pages of actual biography, but I skipped most of the 300 pages of appendices and footnotes!
I’m glad you liked it! I need to re-read it sometime but I’m trying not to re-read as much this year. Babbitt is probably my third favorite Sinclair Lewis book, after Main Street and Elmer Gantry. Oh, and I like Ann Vickers a lot, too…it’s maybe tied with Babbitt for the #3 spot.
I apologize for this late response,(Okay, not as late as I thought!) I’ve been distracted and forgot to check the thread. I do have that book and it is in my stack to be read this year.
I just finished Hexed by Kevin Hearne, he is toning down the "Mary Sue"ishness of Atticus and I’m still loving the supporting cast and their quirks!
I finished Bertrand Russell’s ‘Mysticism and Logic’. It was a bit of a slog; I think I need to find a better ‘Intro to Philosophy 101’ kind of book.
Now that I’m back home, I have ‘Religion for Atheists’ by Alain de Botton back out from the library - I didn’t get to finish it before I went away. I also have ‘What Money Can’t Buy - the Moral Limits of Markets’ by Michael J. Sanders out.
I have to say, I don’t really care much for my Kobo e-reader except - reading books in languages that you’re studying is much, much easier when you can look up a word by holding your finger on it for a few seconds. Still reading Karl May, Daniel Pennac and Luigi Pirandello in their original tongues…
His My Dark Places is a fantastic nonfiction account of his trying, with the help of a retired LAPD detective, to solve the mystery of his own mother’s murder. You get a good sense of how he became the author he did.
I just finished **The Proving Ground **by G. Bruce Knecht. It describes the 1998 Sydney to Hobart race, which encountered cyclonic weather. Of the 115 yachts that began the race only 41 finished it, and six sailors died. Walter Cronkite described the book as the blue-water sailing race’s version of The Perfect Storm.
This is what I’m starting today.
Sounds interesting. Didja like the book? Pros and cons?
I’m so glad you’re still enjoying this series. After the first book, I’ve been trying to hold off reading the whole series in a go, trying to responsibly read other books that I’d promised myself I would read. But really, I just want to read more Atticus books! I hereby vow that when I finish Wool 5 I will read Iron Druid #2 and as many others in the series as I feel like reading!
Gahhh, I hear you! I ran out and bought 2, 3, 4 and5 soon as I finished Hounded. But I’m making myself space them out, like having a box of expensive chocolate.
Hearne’s publisher signed him up to write 6 more books, so it’s safe to over-indulge I think. He’ll end the Iron Druid Chronicles at #9, and write some other stuff. The only thing I regret is not having hard copies of the books to admire the cover model.
You’re right, #2 was a little bit slow, but I still enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to starting #3! Loving this series so far.
Starting The Daylight War, the third book in Peter Brett’s Demon Cycle trilogy. Not as good as Abercrombie, but pretty good. The premise is that humans fight demons that rise out of the ground at night. The time period isn’t medieval but the weapons and technology are primitive.
I’m not fond of the cover art.
Wool #2 was my favorite; it was a beautiful, touching story about love and aging.
Yes, I enjoyed it very much. The major criticism by the author is that pure racing boats are designed to be as light as possible, obviously, and that safety is sacrificed for speed and nothing any heavier than it has to be is scamped.
One of the boats is so totally racing-oriented that the interior is not painted. Why? Paint adds weight.
The cost of unlimited sailboat racing is tremendous, of course, with some of the larger yachts being built or purchased for mid-six figure prices (1998 money). One of the boats loses a spinnaker to a wind gust and replaces it with a spare, which is shortly destroyed as well. Each one cost 30,000 dollars.
Thanks for the review, movingfinger!
Four online dictionaries of nautical terms have let me down. What does “scamped” mean?
I forget who first joked that the best simulation of yachting is standing in a cold shower, tearing up $100 bills.
I am reading Ashes to Dust by the Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir. I met her in October and she offered me some fermented reindeer testicles. I declined, but I’m glad I bought her book.
Just finished Lonesome Dove. Great, great book.
Are the following books (Streets of Laredo, Dead Man’s Walk, Comanche Moon) any good?
The Basque History of the World (just started)
Super-Freakonomics (almost done)
A Storm of Swords (2nd or 3rd time through, ASoIaF is my holycrapwhataday escape series of the moment, so I just keep slowly cycling through them.)
I liked them. I’ve liked all McMurtry’s stuff, except for the Berrybender series, which had too much humor to suit me.