What Are You Reading?

[Highmac]

Haven't had this thread for a while so what books are you going through at present?

I've just finished Bill Bryson's latest tour around the UK. The earlier one, 20 years ago, was Notes From a Small Island and featured in a BBC poll at the time as the travel book that best represented Britain.

The new one, The Road to Little Dribbling, revisits some of the places featured then, but comments on the changes over time - realistically some are good, some are bad. His trick is that even when he is being quietly critical he does it in a way that has you laughing along with him and you just don't feel offended.

Whether or not you've been to the UK, it's well worth a look if you enjoy light-hearted reading.
Annoyingly, Amazon insists on sending me to its UK site.... The Road to Little Dribbling

[Xairbusdriver]

Now that SWMBO has finished her three-year 'tour-of-duty' with the DAR, she's itching to travel again! England is almost always her first choice, of course. My only problem with England is the language... and driving on the wrong side of the rhode!

[kimmer]

QUOTE(Highmac @ Jul 21 2016, 06:34 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whether or not you've been to the UK, it's well worth a look if you enjoy light-hearted reading.
Annoyingly, Amazon insists on sending me to its UK site.... The Road to Little Dribbling

The book is on my wishlist for my Kindle. For the Yanks on the board here's the link to Amazon US:
The Road to Little Dribbling.

I recently finished "Rescue of the Bounty" by Michael Tougias. Once again, Tougias built the story by introducing the reader to all those involved, and the events as known. Then the story shifted into gear with the incident (in this case Hurricane Sandy), the search, the rescue, and a wrap-up. Even though I already knew the outcome, I found myself hoping against hope, shedding a few tears and holding my breath at some of the scenes. A difficult story well told by Tougias.

I also read the memoir by Clint Hill, "Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford", and while it was interesting, it didn't really grab at me they way "Mrs. Kennedy and Me" did.

In fiction, I've been devouring books by two authors. A friend introduced to the "Tahoe" mystery series by Todd Borg, and I adore them. No, I like the mysteries, Detective Owen McKenna, and his lady, Street; but I *adore*, SPOT, McKenna’s Harlequin Great Dane. Every story has been well written and enjoyable.

I told another friend about the Tahoe series, and she in turn told me about the "Andy Carpenter" series. Andy is a lawyer whose best pal is Tara, his golden retriever. Oh, and his girlfriend, Laura, and their assorted friends. The series is written by David Rosenfelt, who has a dry sense of humor and it shows through in his stories.

I also stumbled across this odd little book, The Ladies Room by Carolyn Brown. I don't remember who recommended it, but it was a fun little gem. I wasn't aware it was a "romance", but I'm glad I didn't as it wasn't the typical formulaic romance, but a lighthearted book about dealing with the difficulties that life sends, facing them, and coming through the storm a better person for it all.

I've been reading a book every day this week as I'm having some work done and there isn't a working TV in my house. I have streamed a few movies with my Amazon Prime acct, but mostly I spend my time reading – no point in doing housework at the moment as the contractor just keeps stirring up the dust. I'm liking it.  

[gunug]

I quote, liberally, from the WIKIPEDIA for this book because I'm only really starting it; I read about it when it came out and then forgot to look it up.  Interesting if you're into history or science fiction!

QUOTE

The story, divided into short, numbered "episodes" rather than chapters, is presented as a "story about Nikola Tesla" recounted by Richard Feynman to a group of other Manhattan Project scientists in the wake of World War II. It involves the efforts of a similar think-tank, the Kamikaze Group, to uncover the secret of a rumored "super-weapon" Tesla had developed before his death, one supposedly responsible for the mysterious Tunguska explosion of 1908. Feynman makes no claims for the tale's veracity, a caution warranted at the end of the book when his informant is revealed to have been pulp writer L. Ron Hubbard, a participant in the novel's events portrayed as a self-promoting, delusional narcissist.

Malmont bases the Kamikaze Group on the trio of science fiction writers, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp and Isaac Asimov, who in actual history spent most of the war doing aeronautical engineering research for the U.S. Navy at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard's Naval Air Experimental Station. He portrays them as engaged in a joint project there to develop super-scientific weapons to help the U.S. win the war, though in reality they worked separately on technical improvements to airplanes and weapons systems. Heinlein leads the fictional project, which also draws on the assistance of other pulp authors of his acquaintance, most notably Hubbard, Walter B. Gibson, and Lester Dent, with cameo roles by John W. Campbell, Norvell Page, Hugh B. Cave, Frederik Pohl, Cleve Cartmill, Kurt Vonnegut, Judith Merril, and Ray Bradbury. Additional historical luminaries such as Jack Parsons, Albert Einstein and Jimmy Stewart also put in appearances.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Astoundin...and_the_Unknown

[kimmer]

Another recent read was "U.S. Marshals: Inside America's Most Storied Law Enforcement Agency" by Mike Earp (yup, he's related to that Earp).  This was an interesting read and some of you might enjoy it.

[gunug]

Hey, Kimmer: how recent are the stories in that book; I know someone who recently retired as a U.S. Marshal and I think he was involved at Ruby Ridge amongst other things!

[jchuzi]

Spies and the lore surrounding them fascinate me. I'm reading The Secret War: Spies, Ciphers, and Guerrillas, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings. It's very thorough and debunks the vaunted omniscience of the British Secret Service. The Nazi's spy service doesn't come off too well either. Apparently, the Soviets had an excellent service but Stalin only looked at the information that he wanted to believe, thus missing out on a lot of critical intelligence.

James Bond is turning over in his grave.

[kimmer]

QUOTE(gunug @ Jul 22 2016, 01:41 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, Kimmer: how recent are the stories in that book; I know someone who recently retired as a U.S. Marshal and I think he was involved at Ruby Ridge amongst other things!

It covers Mike Earp's 30 year career, and he retired fairly recently. I don't remember reading anything about Ruby Ridge (but it might have been a minor mention that didn't stick in my brain). It's a fairly fast read that is a blend of true stories on capturing criminals, the role of the U.S. Marshals in their arrest, and some of the history behind the U.S. Marshals Service. They started out as no-nothings, and now have fairly broad powers and are very well trained. Prior to reading this book my only thoughts about them were based on the movies with Tommy Lee Jones.

QUOTE(jchuzi @ Jul 22 2016, 05:10 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

James Bond is turning over in his grave.