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What are you reading in 2015?

Benjamin Grimm Jan 01 2015 06:38 AM

I'm starting the new year with this biography of Walter Cronkite: (The 2014 thread will remain open so that anyone who hasn't yet posted their year-end list can still do so.)

Frayed Knot Jan 01 2015 08:00 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Am presently on a bit of a space/astronaut kick. [fimg=220:2v9n1cbn]http://c745.r45.cf2.rackcdn.com/img/2009/Neil_Armstrong_A_Life_of_Flight.jpg[/fimg:2v9n1cbn]

Rockin' Doc Jan 01 2015 02:16 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Starting on some of my Christmas haul of books. Just starting a book by one of my favorite writers, Doris Kearns Goodwin.

cooby Jan 02 2015 07:36 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Metfairy sent me this for Christmas; I started it this morning! So far it's great! Looks like we are all starting out the year with bios.

d'Kong76 Jan 02 2015 08:55 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Between now and Opening Day I'm going to try and read and reread my collection of Mets' themed books. We were talking about Kiner the other day so I'm starting with him...

TransMonk Jan 02 2015 09:49 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I'm a little more than halfway through this one and am really enjoying it. Has anyone read the Woodrow Wilson biography by Berg? I finished a different Wilson bio not too long ago, but am liking Berg's style enough to think about revisiting Wilson again.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 02 2015 09:54 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Not sure if any of these were covered in the 2014 thread, but I just finished the incredibly overhyped "California" by Edan Lepucki. Apparently this got major media play, including Colbert, but goddamn, what a boring slog. Avoid. Just started "Shop Class As Soulcraft". Its thesis is that we are now a society of consumers who dispose of, rather than repair anything, and thusly there is a shortage of quality trade and craftspeople. It feels like it's gonna go further to argue there is an inherent intrinsic value to working with one's hands, which is lost on us today. 10% in feels and feels a little like "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance 2.0", but so far, so good. On rec by my big bro, I have "The Martian" by Andy Weir on deck. Don' t know a thing about it.

Frayed Knot Jan 02 2015 10:06 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

A Boy Named Seo wrote: On rec by my big bro, I have "The Martian" by Andy Weir on deck. Don' t know a thing about it. My big sis gave me that one earlier in the year and so it's on my 2014 list if you want to see a quickie review. I'm generally not much of a fiction reader (more because I have trouble knowing what to pick out rather than as a policy) but I really liked it. It's kind of cool in that it went, in fairly short order, from a free offering on the author's blog, to a 99-cent deal via Amazon, to getting picked up by a major publisher, and then optioned as a film. Am (cautiously) looking forward to a late-2015 movie adaptation.

A Boy Named Seo Jan 02 2015 10:35 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Thanks, FK. Will look for your review.

Rockin' Doc Jan 04 2015 06:37 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

TransMonk wrote: I'm a little more than halfway through this one and am really enjoying it. Has anyone read the Woodrow Wilson biography by Berg? I finished a different Wilson bio not too long ago, but am liking Berg's style enough to think about revisiting Wilson again. I read Wilson by A. Scott Berg in the fall of 2013. I enjoyed it and found it to be a well written and informative biography of one of the most educated and cerebral presidents in our nations history.

Benjamin Grimm Jan 04 2015 06:50 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I haven't read his Wilson biography, but I've read his books about Lindbergh and about Samuel Goldwyn. Both were good, but the Lindbergh book, I think, was better. He also helped write (or wrote) Katharine Hepburn's autobiography.

Vic Sage Jan 05 2015 08:32 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

currently on my coffee table: and also: and

RealityChuck Jan 05 2015 12:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Excellent collection of fantasy short stories, with stories by Frederick Pohl, Robert E. Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, Philip K. Dick, Fritz Leiber, Clifford D. Simak -- and me. Biography of one of the great Black actors of the 40s (his best known film: Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat) and who lived a fascinating life, going from violinist, to boxer, to musician to actor to activist.

Benjamin Grimm Mar 03 2015 07:06 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Wow, there sure have been a lot of WotS posts since this thread last had activity. Anyway, I got an e-mail from Amazon today previewing some upcoming book releases, and one of the books pictured is "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. I'll definitely be reading that one.

RealityChuck Mar 03 2015 08:34 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

It's Nebula reading time! I hope to get a few of the novels read this year, and I started with this: The first half is excellent, but it starts to deteriorate midway and gives up all characterizations in favor of info dump. But it seems to have impressed a lot of people.

Frayed Knot Mar 05 2015 02:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Anyway, I got an e-mail from Amazon today previewing some upcoming book releases, and one of the books pictured is "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. I'll definitely be reading that one. Well sure, but Jorge Posada's autobiography is due to be released at around the same time so I'm sure you'll have to put McCullough and the Wrights off until after that one is digested. Jorge Posada -- The Journey Home: My Life in Pinstripes I suspect 'the journey home' refers to all the times he walked back to the plate following his usual 8 trips/inning average to talk to the pitcher.

Rockin' Doc Mar 05 2015 08:17 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Anyway, I got an e-mail from Amazon today previewing some upcoming book releases, and one of the books pictured is "The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough. I'll definitely be reading that one. I have been awaiting the release of "The Wright Brothers" since first hearing of it in November. Basically, if David McCullough writes it, then I read it.

RealityChuck Mar 09 2015 11:42 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

What was really strange for me was that I had a couple of his film criticism books from 1970; I was surprised when I discovered it was the same John Baxter.

Vic Sage Mar 09 2015 02:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Neil Gaiman's short story collection is comprised mostly of previously published work, but i hadn't read most of them so it was mostly new to me. Also, there's a new AMERICAN GODS story at the end, BLACK DOG. If you haven't read these stories before, this assortment is highly recommended. THE TRUTH IS A CAVE IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS... and THE THING ABOUT CASSANDRA are the 2 i'd read before and they're both terrific. Of the ones that were new to me, i was most impressed with his Sherlock story, THE CASE OF DEATH & HONEY, his DR. WHO story, NOTHING O'CLOCK, the disturbing horror of FEMININE ENDINGS and CLICK-CLACK THE RATTLEBAG, and the fairy tale pastiches, DIAMONDS AND PEARLS, RETURN OF THE THIN WHITE DUKE and SLEEPER & THE SPINDLE. My favorite may have been THE MAN WHO FORGOT RAY BRADBURY. I'm not a fan of Gaiman's poetry (examples of which are sprinkled throughout), but whaddyagonnado? I've read his earlier story collections, SMOKE & MIRRORS and FRAGILE THINGS, and this is by far his best.

Vic Sage Mar 09 2015 03:08 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

My ranking of Neil Gaiman's work: [u:hisc7w9t]Graphic noves/series:[/u:hisc7w9t] SANDMAN STARDUST BOOKS OF MAGIC MIRACLEMAN MARVEL 1602 MR. PUNCH SANDMAN:THE DREAM HUNTERS BLACK ORCHID [u:hisc7w9t]Novels:[/u:hisc7w9t] AMERICAN GODS NEVERWHERE GOOD OMENS GRAVEYARD BOOK OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE ANANSI BOYS ODD & THE FROST GIANTS CORALINE (i could not finish it) INTERWORD books (I have not read these): -INTERWORLD -SILVER DREAM -ETERNITY'S WHEEL [u:hisc7w9t]Short story collections:[/u:hisc7w9t] TRIGGER WARNING FRAGILE THINGS SMOKE & MIRRORS ANGELS & VISITATIONS M IS FOR MAGIC (i have not read this) [u:hisc7w9t]Film/tv[/u:hisc7w9t] Beowulf Stardust Neverwhere Dr. Who - "The Doctor's Wife" A short film about John Bolton Dr. Who - "Nighmare In Silver" Coraline MirrorMask

Edgy MD Mar 09 2015 04:23 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Just purchased Trigger Warning based on your recommendation. You had better not be steering me wrong!

Vic Sage Mar 11 2015 12:33 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

it certainly wouldn't be the first time, would it?

Edgy MD Mar 11 2015 12:34 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Yeah, you told me that parachute would open!! Love what I've read so far.

John Cougar Lunchbucket Apr 03 2015 10:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

This book tells the story of the 1910 battle for the batting crown between Ty Cobb and Napoleon Lajoie, with the winner getting the new car pictured on the cover (a Chalmers model 30. back then there were dozens of auto manufacturers; the company would eventually become part of Chrysler) I knew very little about this story. People were so into the race it overshadowed the World Series and of course it erupted into controversy over whether there was scoring and competitive shenanigans (Lajoie went 8-for-9 on the last day of the season, make a guess). The book itself dragged through a retelling of the days leading up to the controversy with the real story being the aftermath -- how they dealt with official scorers, a manager (guilty no doubt, but still a patsy for Ban Johnson's whitewashing), Cobb's general dickishness, the relationship of baseball and advertisers, how stats were collected, and a reminder that the shit Reyes faced a few years back has very deep roots in baseball lore. Not great, but not bad.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 08 2015 09:43 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

excerpt: "In his five months in Mississippi, some had come to revile Mickey Schwerner as 'that communist Jew N****r lover.' Yet those who knew him were struck by his kindness, his easygoing manner, his lack of hatred for anyone, black or white. He was 'full of life and ideas,' 'the gentlest man I have ever known.' A coworker in Meridian paid him the compliment he would have cherished most: "More than any white person I have ever known, he could put a colored person at ease.' Of average size and height, usually dressed in a gray sweatshirt, jeans, and black sneakers, Mickey Schwerner loved W.C. Fields, a good game of poker, and the hapless New York Mets." [fimg=333]http://racialinjustice.eji.org/media/images/FBI-Poster.jpg[/fimg]

RealityChuck Apr 08 2015 03:49 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I loved Eschbach's first novel (the best science fiction novel of the past ten years) and was delighted that a couple more have been translated.

cooby Apr 08 2015 04:12 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Recommended by the grief counselor at the animal hospital when Faith died. Arrived today.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 20 2015 10:25 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Found this, among other books, in a used book store while on vacation a few weeks ago. Hard cover copy in brand new practically unread condition for one buck. Couldn't resist, it being baseball and me thinking highly of Dierker as a manager. Skimming it more than reading it. excerpts: I have gone up against some worthy skippers, such as Jim Leyland, Dusty Baker [Really??!!?? Dusty Baker?], Bobby Cox, Bruce Bochy, and Tony LaRussa. In 2000, Bobby Valentine was clearly the top manager in the league. The Mets had good pitching, but beyond that, Bobby had to juggle position players in and out of the lineup all year long, in what became a strategic masterpiece. I was amazed that he could make it all the way to the World Series and give the Yankees a tough battle with the team he had. My predecessor, Terry Collins, was a stormy petrel. His strategic ideas were more conventional than mine, but he still felt frustration when his vision of the team went awry. I internalized my regrets while he expressed his loud and clear. When things went wrong during the course of a ballgame, say a pitcher failed to get a bunt down, Terry screeched like an owl. He had plenty of passion, but he may have been short on wisdom. The players heard his invective too many times. I would venture a guess that when that pitcher was trying to get a bunt down, that pitcher could already imagine the as yet unspoken outrage of his manager. This type of pressure might motivate some guys, but it would almost certainly inhibit others; I have played for screamers and it is no fun. I knew I would not go that route.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 20 2015 11:14 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I'm starting the new year with this biography of Walter Cronkite: (The 2014 thread will remain open so that anyone who hasn't yet posted their year-end list can still do so.) This was another book I found for one buck in practically brand new unread condition (see post above). I planned on starting this book in the next few days, but now have some reservations after skimming the Amazon.com terrible reviews, which consistently claim that the book is inaccurate and ridldled with errors. What'd you think?

Benjamin Grimm Apr 20 2015 11:20 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

It was very disappointing. There was some good stuff in there, but also a lot of weirdness. Disconnected thoughts, strangely worded sentences that are difficult to parse, and some nutty mistakes. You probably didn't overspend in getting it for a dollar, but you also have to consider the value of the time you'll spend reading it. If I were you I think I'd skip it.

Benjamin Grimm Apr 20 2015 11:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I misread Larry Dierker's quote about Terry Collins, and thought that Larry was calling Terry a "stormy pretzel." I think I prefer "Stormy Pretzel" as a nickname for Terry Collins over "Dark Knight" as a nickname for Matt Harvey.

batmagadanleadoff Apr 20 2015 11:30 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I misread Larry Dierker's quote about Terry Collins, and thought that Larry was calling Terry a "stormy pretzel." I think I prefer "Stormy Pretzel" as a nickname for Terry Collins over "Dark Knight" as a nickname for Matt Harvey. "Stormy Pretzel" is great. Plus, I hadda look up "petrel". What are you, an ornithologist or something?

d'Kong76 Apr 20 2015 12:09 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

batmagadanleadoff wrote: I hadda look up "petrel". Phew, I did too (and ornithologist).

Mets – Willets Point Apr 21 2015 08:31 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Working my through this. Pretty much everything I'd want from a comedian's autobiography: funny stories and insights into how he got into his career. I'm 3/4's of the way through the book and he hasn't even gotten to Monty Python's Flying Circus yet, so I'm guessing the last 45 years of his life will be less-detailed.

sharpie Apr 21 2015 09:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

The book doesn't deal with Monty Python. He's writing a second volume.

Vic Sage Apr 21 2015 10:37 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Working my through this. Pretty much everything I'd want from a comedian's autobiography: funny stories and insights into how he got into his career. I'm 3/4's of the way through the book and he hasn't even gotten to Monty Python's Flying Circus yet, so I'm guessing the last 45 years of his life will be less-detailed. I was disappointed by it. His mother issues, school days and ability to play cricket were not interesting to me. His career as a writer and performer, and his aesthetics generally, are given relatively less attention, while the Python years are hardly addressed at all.

Mets – Willets Point Apr 21 2015 10:58 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

sharpie wrote: The book doesn't deal with Monty Python. He's writing a second volume. I was wondering if that was going to happen.

TransMonk Jun 04 2015 11:33 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

TransMonk Jun 21 2015 10:49 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I'm blazing through this one. It's profiling the Pittsburgh Pirates embrace of data analytics to develop unconventional strategies (defensive shifts, pitch-framing, etc.) for producing more wins without expanding payroll...so far, a terrific, geeky read!

John Cougar Lunchbucket Jun 22 2015 09:36 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

A dissatisfying Billy Joel bio.

Ceetar Sep 15 2015 10:31 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Finally finished the Dexter series with Dexter is Dead. Didn't love the last book, as it broke from the routine in trying to tie things up, but still fun. (Lindsey thinks it might be the last book) I love the book Dexter's dry wit and sarcasm, though it was lacking a bit in this one.

cooby Sep 15 2015 10:43 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Just finish To Kill A Mockingbird, Go Set a Watchman, and The Mockingbird Next Door. Read them as a group.

TransMonk Sep 15 2015 10:48 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I am currently about 250 pages into an 1100 page Hitler bio as I continue reading 20th century historical biographies. I am guessing this one will take me close to the end of the calendar year to finish.

TransMonk Dec 16 2015 04:38 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

These were my 2015 books: I'm working on Brief Candle in the Dark: My Life in Science by Richard Dawkins, but I don't think I'll finish it in the next two weeks.

Mets – Willets Point Dec 17 2015 10:52 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Between the World and Me is the book I read this year that I think everyone needs to read.

Benjamin Grimm Dec 29 2015 07:23 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

My end-of-year list for 2015. I only read two-thirds as many books in 2015 (28 books) than I did in 2014 (42 books). More time spent watching baseball certainly accounts for some, but definitely not all of that. The ones I liked best (five stars on Goodreads) were Last Days of the Incas and Inside of a Dog. The worst one, and the only one to get a one-star rating from me, was Lost City of the Incas. Others that I especially liked were Destiny of the Republic, The Sixth Extinction, and Into Thin Air. The Wonder Woman and Prohibition books were also good, as were the biographies of Hitchcock and Gish. Fireball and Atlantic were duds and I was disappointed with Cronkite and The Race Underground. The Worst Subtitle Award goes to the Grover Cleveland book. 1 Cronkite Douglas Brinkley 2 Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster Jon Krakauer 3 Birth of a Nation, The: How a Legendary Filmmaker and a Crusading Editor Reignited America's Civil War Dick Lehr 4 Feast for Crows, A George R. R. Martin 5 Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3 Robert Matzen 6 Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Mary Roach 7 Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories Simon Winchester 8 Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President Candice Millard 9 Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me, The Lillian Gish 10 Peru Reader Orin Starn, Robin Kirk, Carlos Ivan Degregori 11 Hold Life Has, The: Coca and Cultural Identity in an Andean Community Catherine J. Allen 12 Last Days of the Incas, The Kim MacQuarrie 13 Lost City of the Incas Hiram Bingham 14 Inca Gold Clive Cussler 15 Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time Mark Adams 16 Mother of God: An Extraordinary Journey into the Uncharted Tributaries of the Western Amazon Paul Rosolie 17 President Is a Sick Man, The: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth Matthew Algeo 18 James Whale: A New World of Gods and Monsters James Curtis 19 McTeague Frank Norris 20 Sixth Extinction, The: An Unnatural History Elizabeth Kolbert 21 Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition Daniel Okrent 22 Columbus: The Four Voyages Laurence Bergreen 23 Black Chalk Christopher J. Yates 24 Secret History of Wonder Woman, The Jill Lepore 25 Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light Patrick McGilligan 26 Shane Jack Schaefer 27 Race Underground, The: Boston, New York, and the Incredible Rivalry that Built America's First Subway Douglas Most 28 Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Alexandra Horowitz

sharpie Dec 29 2015 08:52 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Here are mine. 57. Three more than last year. I actually haven't finished the last one on the list but will certainly before the year is out. MY STRUGGLE: BOOK TWO – Karl Ove Knausgaard MR. BELUNCLE – V.S. Pritchett LITTLE FAILURE – Gary Shteyngart BARK – Lorrie Moore THE SWERVE – Stephen Greenblatt LIVING TO TELL THE TALE – Gabriel Garcia Marquez THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER – Junot Diaz THE ORPHAN MASTER’S SON – Adam Johnson THE ACCIDENT – Chris Pavone ONCE MORE AROUND THE PARK – Roger Angell SOME LUCK – Jane Smiley THE END OF THE STORY – Lydia Davis ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE – Anthony Doerr THE RISE AND FALL OF GREAT POWERS – Tom Rachman LITTLE BLACK BOOK OF STORIES – A.S. Byatt NO MAN’S LAND – Duong Thu Huong A MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY – Kurt Vonnegut BLUE NIGHTS – Joan Didion THIS BODY OF DEATH – Elizabeth George THE DOG – Joseph O’Neill THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – Paula Hawkins LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN – Colum McCann MEMORY WALL – Anthony Doerr 10:04 – Ben Lerner THE PAINTER – Peter Heller BITTERS – Brad Thomas Parsons COMING UP FOR AIR – George Orwell QUEEN OF THE AIR – Dean N. Jensen THE WHORE’S CHILD – Richard Russo BORDERLANDS – Derek Lundy THE BONE CLOCKS – David Mitchell THE ROUND HOUSE – Louise Erdrich THE BOOK OF ARON – Jim Shepard THE BURIED GIANT – Kazuo Ishiguro INSTANT REPLAY – Jerry Kramer & Dick Schaap ACT ONE – Moss Hart TAIPEI – Tao Lin GIOVANNI’S ROOM – James Baldwin FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL – Sheri Fink THE BEST OF DAMON RUNYON – Damon Runyon WINSLOW IN LOVE – Kevin Canty THE BOYS IN THE BOAT – Daniel James Brown DEAD WAKE – Erik Larson THE COMMITMENTS – Roddy Doyle CALCUTTA – Amit Chaudhuri A SPECIAL PROVIDENCE – Richard Yates M TRAIN – Patti Smith THE TSAR OF LOVE AND TECHNO – Anthony Marra I, CLAUDIUS – Robert Graves PURITY – Jonathan Franzen CIVILWARLAND IN BAD DECLINE – George Saunders THE NOBLE HUSTLE – Colson Whitehead THE SOUND AND THE FURY – William Faulkner THEODORE REX – Edmund Morris FREE RIDE: HOW DIGITAL PARASITES ARE DEVOURING THE CULTURE BUSINESS -- Robert Levine STONER -- John Williams MISLAID -- Nell Zink

Frayed Knot Dec 29 2015 08:55 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Previously read from Grimm's list: INTO THIN AIR LAST CALL DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC COLUMBUS - The Four Voyages all of them worth reading. from Sharpie's: BOYS IN THE BOAT DEAD WAKE also thumbs up.

sharpie Dec 29 2015 09:17 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Previously read from Grimm's list: INTO THIN AIR; SHANE.

Frayed Knot Dec 29 2015 10:29 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Was reading a lot in the first half of the year, then the pace slowed down as mom's health got worse and the Mets got better more or less simultaneously. *** NEIL ARMSTRONG: A Life of Flight — Jay Barbree (2014) The author is a longtime science/space writer, but he’s also a longtime friend of Armstrong’s so this bio goes beyond positive to the point of being positively gushing at times. Still, there’s some good insight into both the subject and his most famous flight. *** APOLLO 13 — Jim Lovell, Jeffrey Kluger (1994/2000) Originally issued as LOST MOON, this was the source material for the Ron Howard/Tom Hanks movie and was re-released in 2000 under the new name with an updated afterward. The movie turns out to reasonably true to the facts. * FIRST WORD: The Search for the Origins of Language — Christine Kenneally (2007) I read and liked this author’s book on genetics last year. Not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this one but it turned out to be so clinical and theoretical in nature that I wound up totally bored and/or lost through much of it. ** BIG HAIR AND PLASTIC GRASS: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ‘70s — Dan Epstein (2010) A mostly superficial, though entertaining at times, nostalgia trip through a volatile decade of the USA & MLB. **** SUDDEN SEA: The Great Hurricane of 1938 — R. A. Scotti (2003) Growing up on Long Island one would occasionally hear long-time residents who, several decades and many storms later, still referred to the un-named hurricane of 1938 as simply “the big one”. It came virtually without warning and ripped through L.I.’s east end on its way to devastating New England, killing nearly 700 in six states before it was done. ‘Sandy’, comparatively, was a somewhat breezy day with rain. *** EMPIRE OF SIN: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans — Gary Krist (2014) Covering the period from 1890 to the 1920s, the forces of sin and reform battle to shape the image and future of the ‘Big Easy’, at one time the 4th largest city in the U.S. *** CITY OF SCOUNDRELS: The Twelve Days of Disaster that Gave Birth to the City of Chicago — Gary Krist (2012) The sub-title here is a bit of an overstatement (as is often the case with books of this type) but it’s still an interesting story by the same author as the New Orleans book [Empire of Sin] and with a similar theme of reform vs lawlessness. In this case it’s Chicago of 1919. *** ON THE REZ — Ian Frazier (2000) A personal (even though written by a non-Indian) rather than comprehensive account on the state of Indian affairs that I found interesting at times and disturbing at others. **** A SPY AMONG FRIENDS: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal — Ben MacIntyre (2014) Thoroughly enjoyable story about some decidedly less than enjoyable people. As much an examination and indictment of the British class system that allowed such questionable people to thrive in important jobs within government as it is of just Philby himself. ** ALL EYES ARE UPON US: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn — Jason Sokol (2014) A look at the north’s struggle with racism as the effects of black migration changed the social fabric and challenged the region’s assumed moral high ground on civil rights matters. The attempt was worthy but me thinks the author tried to stuff too many square pegs into round holes in an attempt to fit some predetermined conclusions. **** THE BIRTH OF THE PILL: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution — Jonathan Eig (2014) The social as well as pharmaceutical campaign to invent and get approval for a reliable oral contraceptive. Had previously read books by this author on Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and Al Capone. *** THE TRUE AMERICAN: Murder and Mercy in Texas — Anand Giridharadas (2014) The plot of this book — where a lowlife, angry Texan goes “Arab huntin’ “ right after 9/11 and winds up shooting a Bangladeshi immigrant working at a Quickie-Mart — reads like cliche-heavy fiction. But it’s a real life account and one that doesn’t necessarily go in expected directions following the crime. **** BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK — Ben Fountain (2012) **Fiction** While war, modern day football, and Hollywood movie deals may be fairly low-hanging fruit for satire, this one does them all particularly well. A title I learned about via this board and probably wouldn’t have found otherwise. Also to be a Nov ’16 movie release! *** FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS — Ernest Hemingway (1940) I had never read much Ernie — and what I had was many moons ago — so I decided to go with this one to sync up with a non-fiction one on the Spanish Civil War. ** HELL AND GOOD COMPANY:The Spanish Civil War and the World it Made — Richard Rhodes (2015) Not a scholarly history of that war, more just observations via letters, records, and lore from some of the ordinary folks (doctors/nurse) who participated as well as a few of the artist types who were there (Hemingway, Orwell, Picasso). *** SAPIENS: A Brief History of Humankind — Yuval Noah Harari (2015) Tracking us folks from the time we won the contest over Neanderthals and other human-like characters to be top ape on the planet, right up to the present and future of gene therapy and robotics. *** BILLY MARTIN: Baseball’s Flawed Genius — Bill Pennington (2015) Enjoyable read in that it’s a full bio of the subject rather than some Yanqui-centric hagiography. A decent look into his full career, full life really, and into what made Billy tick … and sometimes explode. **** DEAD WAKE: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania — Erik Larson (2015) I like reading up on historical events and topics that I only sort of know about. This one was a very well narrated and documented account of the incident which led (two years later) to the U.S. entry into WWI. - and it was all occurring exactly 100 years to the month while I was reading it. *** THE WHITES — Harry Brandt (2015) **Fiction** Harry Brandt is actually longtime novel & screen writer Richard Price adopting the pseudonym as some sort of means of writing as someone else but then abandons the idea as the news that Brandt is really Price is trumpeted all over the book’s cover; all of which is especially odd in that the book fits right in Price’s wheelhouse of gritty cop dramas. In any case it concerns an active detective plus several of his former colleagues who have trouble letting go of the great unsolved crimes of their careers, aka: their ‘Whites’ (as in whales). *** DAYS OF RAGE: America’s Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence — Bryan Burrough (2015) Looking back on the increasingly forgotten days of the Weather Underground, the Patty Hearst kidnapping, and other homegrown radicals of the 1960’s and ‘70s when crude bombs going off in various locations were almost commonplace. **** THE WRIGHT BROTHERS — David McCullough (2015) A fairly short but excellent tale of one of those events where most of us know the basic facts but little of the story behind them. Not enough can be said about how much the brothers Wright accomplished virtually on their own with trifling budgets and no formal training. *** GIRONIMO: Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy — Tim Moore (2014) British writer/rider sets out to trace the route of the 1914 ‘Giro d’Italia’ — when bike racing was in its horribly dangerous/exploitive infancy — and do so on a period-correct bike and clothing. This same guy got a book about a decade ago out of ‘pre-riding’ that year’s ‘Tour de France’ route (FRENCH REVOLUTIONS). He’s still entertainingly funny but this one has a bit of a warmed-up/leftovers feel to it a la Bill Bryson’s second go-round travelog books. *** BEYOND: Our Future in Space — Chris Impey (2015) From how we got to space, to what we’re doing there now, to speculation about the future off this planet. ** ALPHABETICAL: How Every Letter Tells a Story — Michael Rosen (2015) Language-obsessed writer/poet looks at how the English language alphabet got to its current state and various related topics. *** MISSOULA: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town — Jon Krakauer (2015) An important topic obviously although I’m not sure the author makes the case that there was anything about this particular town or school (U of Montana) that made it unique or especially inept in dealing with on-campus sexual assaults. ** THE GRIND: Inside Baseball’s Endless Season — Barry Svrluga (2015) Short little book by the Washington Post’s national baseball writer where he follows various aspects of the off the field work that goes into a baseball season. Naturally it’s Nationals-centric but it could be about any team’s GM, equipment manager, player wives, etc. **** TY COBB: A Terrible Beauty — Charles Leerhsen (2015) Although the author claims he didn’t set out to write revisionist history, he pretty much does exactly that as many of the things modern day baseball fans “know” about Cobb get debunked. A demonized angel? … Hardly. But a dirty, spike-sharpening, racist who was hated by the rest of baseball? … the facts, as he finds them, say otherwise. **** PETER THE GREAT: His Life and Times — Robert K. Massie (1980) I’ve read numerous other books by this author but just got around to this massive 35 year old tome this year. Tsar Petey wasn’t always the nicest guy around, but he singlehandedly dragged late 17th/early 18th century Russia out of its self-imposed isolation and backwardness towards modernity and the rest of Europe. *** THE GAME: Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball’s Power Brokers — Jon Pessah (2015) This chronological trip through MLB’s Selig era isn’t a bad book but one which focuses almost exclusively on Selig, Don Fehr, and Steinbrenner as the main players in the wars of owners vs labor and big markets vs small. So while there’s some good stuff on the labor & drug tussles for instance (and that Steinbrenner is a bigger asshole than you probably imagined) the book is so Yanqui-centric that stories not involving them (Fred & Madoff for example) go unmentioned. ** THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: A Cultural History of the North Sea and the Transformation of Europe — Michael Pye (2015) While the area around the Mediterranean tends to be the sea getting most of the good pub, the author here makes the case that there was at least as much important stuff going on in and around the North Sea despite its rep for being the dark and uncivilized neighborhood in Europe. Some interesting parts but the book only sometimes held my attention.

Rockin' Doc Dec 30 2015 09:51 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Previously read from Grimm's list: Into Thin Air Destiny of the Republic Mother of God - Read this year. Previously read from sharpie's list: Five Days at Memorial The Boys in the Boat Dead Wake - Read this year. Previously read from Frayed Knot's list: Empire of Sin - Read this year. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Dead Wake [u:t4rdekzb]Here is my reading list for 2015.[/u:t4rdekzb] 1. The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Godwin 2. Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner 3. American Sniper by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice 4. America the Beautiful by Ben Carson, M.D. 5. Savage Harvest by Carl Hoffman 6. Slow Getting Up by Nate Jackson 7. Brigade by Howard Blum 8. Black Count by Tom Reis 9. Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius 10. Lone Survivor by Marcus Lutrell 11. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller 12. Blood of Heroes by James Donovan 13. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande 14. Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne 15. The Murder Room by Michael Capuzzo 16. Dead Wake by Erik Larson 17. Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado & Vince Rause 18. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking 19. The Deep Dark by Greg Olsen 20. Mother of God by Paul Rosolie 21. The Murder of the Century by Paul Collins 22. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson 23. Tell My Sons: A Father’s Last Letters by Mark Weber 24. Fierce Patriot by Robert L. O’Connell 25. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose 26. Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game by Jimmy Breslin 27. One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard 28. The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber 29. Strangers on A Bridge by James Donovan 30. A Walk In the Woods by Bill Bryson 31. Empire of Sin by Gary Krist 32. Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink 33. The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs 34. Mookie: Life Baseball, and the ‘86 Mets by Mookie Wilson & Erik Sherman 35. Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlof Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar 36. The Secret Game by Scott Ellsworth 37. Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker by John f. Ross 38. Legends and Lies: The Real West by Bill O’Reilly 39. Jungleland by Christopher S. Stewart 40. Sgt. Reckless: America’s War Horse by Robin Hutton

Benjamin Grimm Dec 31 2015 07:21 AM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

Here is my reading list for 2015. 11. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller 20. Mother of God by Paul Rosolie What did you think of Mother of God? I read it about a month before traveling to the area of the Amazon described in the book, and it provided a lot of useful background information. But on the other hand, the style of the prose was eye-rolling and the writer seemed like a bit of a goofball. While reading the book I learned that he was the guy who tried go get himself swallowed by an anaconda on live TV a couple of years ago. I read Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight in 2012 and liked it well enough, but I also read two other books on a similar topic that I liked a lot more. If you want to delve further into the subject (the difficulties of white Africans in Zimbabwe under the role of Robert Mugabe) try When a Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin and The Fear by the same author. I liked Crocodile better than Fear, but they were both very good.

Rockin' Doc Jan 01 2016 01:11 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

I thought Mother of God was an informative look into Amazon rainforest and how it is rapidly being exploited by modern man. I learned a great deal about many of the animals that make the AMazon rainforest their home. The author, Rosolie, is not the greatest writer, but there is no doubt he is passionate about conserving the wilds of the Amazon and the animals that live there. Though Rosolie has certainly led a very interesting life and had some amazing experiences, the book seemed to bog down and drag at times. Prior to reading the book, I knew he was the guy who did the TV stunt with the anaconda a few years back. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight was okay, but I did not find it as enjoyable as Mother of God. The author's parents did not strike me as the most stable individuals. They certainly exposed the author and her siblings to a very dangerous upbringing by choosing to live and raise their family in what was often a war zone.

Mets – Willets Point Jan 04 2016 12:10 PM Re: What are you reading in 2015?

My list for '15, rated on a 5 star scale. (A) stands for audiobook. The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde – **** The Days of Anna Madrigal by Armistead Maupin (A) – ***1/2 Grandma Gatewood’s walk : the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail by Ben Montgomery (A) – ***1/2 Cerebus by Dave Sim – ** Dirigible Dreams: The Age of the Airship by C. Michael Hiam – ** Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde (A) **1/2 Bunker Hill : a city, a siege, a revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick – **** The accidental highwayman : being the tale of Kit Bristol, his horse Midnight, a mysterious princess, and sundry magical persons besides by Ben Tripp (A) – ***1/2 The Librarian (Book One: Little Boy Lost) by Eric Hobbs – *** The Librarian (Book Two: Unhappily Ever After) by Eric Hobbs – *** A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (A) – *** The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements by Sam Kean (A) – *** The Bluffer’s Guide to Beer by Jonathan Goodall – **1/2 The Journey That Saved Curious George: The True Wartime Escape of Margret and H.A. Rey by Louise W. Borden – **1/2 A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (A) – *** The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (A) – **** Cheesemonger : a life on the wedge by Gordon Edgar – **** A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (A) – *** Night of the Humans by David Llewellyn (A) – ** Manhood for amateurs : the pleasures and regrets of a husband, father, and son by Michael Chabon (A) – **1/2 The Walking Dead (Volume 21): All Out War Part Two by Robert Kirkman – ** The Walking Dead (Volume 22): A New Beginning by Robert Kirkman - ** Art of Mindful Living by Thích Nh?t H?nh (A) – **** A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin (A) – *** Fifteen minutes outside : 365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids by Rebecca P. Cohen – ** Airman by Eoin Colfer (A) – **** Ninety percent of everything : inside shipping, the invisible industry that puts clothes on your back, gas in your car, and food on your plate by Rose George – *** Even This I Get to Experience by Norman Lear – ***1/2 Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket (A) – *** When Did You See Her Last? by Lemony Snicket (A) -***1/2 Looking for Alaska by John Green (A) – **1/2 Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry (A) – **** So, anyway… by John Cleese – ***1/2 Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz (A) – ***1/2 Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer (A) – ***1/2 Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (A) – **1/2 The New York nobody knows : walking 6,000 miles in the city by William B. Helmreich – **** Timewyrm: Exodus by Terrance Dicks – *** Adventures With the Wife in Space by Neil Perryman – *** From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (A) – ***1/2 When you reach me by Rebecca Stead (A) – *** Hang a Crooked Number by Matthew Callan – *** The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (A) – ***** Shouldn’t You Be In School? by Lemony Snicket (A) – ***1/2 It’s Game Time Somewhere: How One Year, 100 Events, and 50 Different Sports Changed My Life by Tim Forbes (A) – **1/2 Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer (A) – *** Timewyrm: Revelation by Paul Cornell – ***1/2 The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann – **1/2 The Happiness of Kati by Ngarmpun (Jane) Vejjajiva – **1/2 Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz (A) – ***1/2 Q : a novel by Evan J. Mandery – ** Love and War by Paul Cornell – *** Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer (A) – *** A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin (A) – **1/2 The Left-Handed Hummingbird by Kate Orman – ***1/2 In the Garden of the Beast by Erik Larson (A) – *** First Family by Joseph Ellis (A) – ***1/2 Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt by Michael Lewis (A) – *** Assault on Paradise by Tatiana Lobo – **1/2 What If? by Randall Munroe – **** Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates – ****1/2 Out on the wire : the storytelling secrets of the new masters of radio by Jessica Abel – ***1/2 Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving (A) – *** The Myth of the Spoiled Child: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom about Children and Parenting by Alfie Kohn (A) – **** How To Raise a Wild Child by Scott D. Sampson – ***1/2 The Last Lover by Can Xue The Walking Dead Vol. 23: Whispers Into Screams by Robert Kirkman – **1/2 In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (A) – ***1/2 You’re Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day (A) – *** The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (A) The Wright Brothers by David McCullough (A) – ***1/2 Mysterious New England by Austin N. Stevens – **1/2 Why Is This Night Different from All Other Nights? by Lemony Snicket (A) – ***1/2 Flight by Sherman Alexie (A) – *** Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (A) – **1/2 Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson (A) – ***1/2 Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tarado (A) – **** Rubbish!: The Archaeology of Garbage by William Rathje – **** Lives in Ruins: Archaeologists and the Seductive Lure of Human Rubble by Marilyn Johnson (A) – **** Through the Children’s Gate by Adam Gopnik (A) – **1/2 The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame – **** Up : a mother and daughter’s peakbagging adventure by Patricia Ellis Herr – **1/22 The Glorious Cause by Jeff Shaara (A) – *** Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (A) – *** Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?: A Memoir by George Clinton – *** A People’s History of the New Boston by Jim Vrabel – **** The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin - ***