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Old 03-03-2022, 09:17 AM   #41
CliffFletcher
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Non-fiction

Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum. It looks at the embrace of authoritarianism by the far right, using Poland as a warning of how illiberal movements can exploit populism to subvert the media and the courts and snuff out democracy. Applebaum shows that a great many people are so desperate for simple solutions that they will willingly cede authority to nationalist strongmen.

Fiction

Chasm City by Alastair Reynolds. Weird and dark hard sci-fi. The science is front and centre, in a far future where transhumanism, generation ships, and nano-plagues have transformed humanity. This isn’t Star Trek or the The Expanse. Very dense and challenging.
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Old 03-03-2022, 01:30 PM   #42
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Reading now - Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
This is the story of Theranos and its founder, Elizabeth Holmes. The depths of greed and bizarre behaviour exhibited by many involved is stunning. I'd recommend it so far.

Recently finished - Power House, The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artists Agency
This is another great book by James Andrew Miller. He is so good at presenting an historical breakdown of a very entertaining subject. He previously did books on ESPN and Saturday Night Live. Both were brilliant.
As for this book, the real life characters are fascinating. CAA was founded in the 70s by Michael Ovitz and Ron Meyer and they did literal battle against massive agencies like the William Morris Agency that had a strangle hold on the industry and then lost that control in a fairly short amount of time to CAA. It's a big book (700+ pages paperback) but a very fast read.
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Old 03-03-2022, 10:38 PM   #43
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Just finished a really cool book called "When We Cease To Understand The World" by Benjamin Labatut. The premise is quite interesting, and I found it also incredibly strange at times as well. It focuses largely on the great minds in physics and science in the late 1800s, early 1900s, as well as present day. In telling their stories he weaves historical fact with extremely creative fiction. I won't give much away but if you like science, relativity and quantum theory, history, and something strange, then this is definitely for you.
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Old 03-03-2022, 11:18 PM   #44
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In light of what is happening in Ukraine, I’ve picked up one of my favourites of Tom Clancy.

Red Storm Rising may be a little dated but it’s an incredibly researched novel - as to weaponry, tactics and military mindset.

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Old 03-04-2022, 12:11 AM   #45
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The Company - the rise and fall of the Hudson’s Bay empire. As an immigrant it’s a really fascinating history lesson.
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Old 03-04-2022, 12:39 PM   #46
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My shampoo bottle
Stop reading just before the Repeat part. The shampoo did its job the first lather and rinse - they're just trying to get you to use up their product faster.

It's truly amazing to me that people still shampoo their hair twice.
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Old 03-04-2022, 01:11 PM   #47
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'Moon Witch, Spider King' is a rare sequel that is better than its predecessor

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/15/10800...ts-predecessor

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Black Leopard, Red Wolf, the first book in Marlon James' Dark Star Trilogy, was one of those novels that broke my brain in the best possible way. Unwieldy and unrelenting, it systematically dismantled everything I thought I knew about epic fantasy.

With the sequel, Moon Witch, Spider King, James once again shattered my expectations. As awed as I was by Tracker's story in the first book, Sogolon's tale makes this a rare sequel that is better than the first.
Susanna Clarke Divines Magic In Long-Awaited Novel 'Piranesi'

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/91436...novel-piranesi
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Old 03-06-2022, 08:22 AM   #48
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Just finished book 10 in the Gray Man series by Matt Gearney.

He's right up there with Vince Flynn and the Mitch Rapp series imo.

If you're into series thrillers like Jack Reacher I would look into the following;

Mitch Rapp series by Vince Flynn
Gray Man series by Matt Gearney
Scot Harvath series by Brad Thor
John Puller series by David Baldacci

I think they're all a cut above Lee Child's Jack Reacher series.

Netflix is also producing a high budget Gray Man movie with the intention of making it a series, which I'm super excited for.
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Old 03-06-2022, 09:53 AM   #49
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Just wrapping up Bearcat Murray's autobiography (needed a light read given the shape of the world). Good read for long time Flames fans, and Bearcat is the type of guy we don't have enough of anymore.
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Old 03-06-2022, 10:25 AM   #50
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Susanna Clarke Divines Magic In Long-Awaited Novel 'Piranesi'

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/91436...novel-piranesi

I really enjoyed that one, a fairly easy/short read (particularly compared to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) but just a beautiful story.


Just finished the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. Kind of old-school epic fantasy, a bit of a Wheel of Time kind of vibe but only 3 books. Not life-changing but enjoyable, had a few good twists, and it mostly stuck the landing.


Starting on Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon, which I've heard good things about; off to an intriguing start.
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Old 03-07-2022, 09:31 AM   #51
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Originally Posted by troutman View Post
'Moon Witch, Spider King' is a rare sequel that is better than its predecessor

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/15/10800...ts-predecessor


Susanna Clarke Divines Magic In Long-Awaited Novel 'Piranesi'

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/91436...novel-piranesi
Piranesi was great. So strange and beautiful. I think Clarke is stronger in short form - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell dragged at times
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Old 03-07-2022, 09:32 AM   #52
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Starting on Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon, which I've heard good things about; off to an intriguing start.
Keep us posted. Boy’s Life has been on my to read pile for a while.
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Old 03-07-2022, 09:38 AM   #53
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Steve-Os "Professional Idiot: A Memoir". Steve-O will always occupy a special place in my heart. I love stories about extreme degeneracy and there's never been a bigger fame-whore or degenerate than Steve-O.
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Old 03-07-2022, 09:51 AM   #54
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This year is the centenary of the publication of Ulysses so I figured I should finally get around to it. I read Edna O'Brien's short biography of Joyce last month, have just finished A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and am re-reading Dubliners in preparation to get into Joyce's mindset.

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Old 03-07-2022, 10:18 AM   #55
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I read and reread the first couple pages of Ulysses a few times and gave up. Something about the older style of writing just made it impossible for me to absorb any of it.
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Old 03-07-2022, 03:29 PM   #56
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This year is the centenary of the publication of Ulysses so I figured I should finally get around to it. I read Edna O'Brien's short biography of Joyce last month, have just finished A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and am re-reading Dubliners in preparation to get into Joyce's mindset.
You’re a better man than I. Dubliners I can handle. But Joyce loses me after that.
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Old 03-07-2022, 05:52 PM   #57
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Well, we'll see how it goes. I'm loving Dubliners moreso this time around with more life experience under my belt. Portrait... it's heavy going during the chapter where the priest is lecturing on and on about Hell, and again when Stephen is waffling on about his aesthetic theory, but I enjoyed the overall story arc. I read both in Penguin's annotated editions. Even though I'm familiar with the geography, politics of the era and much of the slang, there is still a lot that can pass me by, so having an editor to hold my hand and explain the things I didn't get is helpful.

Ulysses is obviously a much more daunting prospect and I just realised neither of the copies I own (a Penguin, and a nice 1960s hardback edition) has annotations, so I'll have to do something about that before I get to it.
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Old 03-07-2022, 07:11 PM   #58
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Just started The Lincoln Road, the newest from Amor Towles. Same guy who wrote A Gentleman In Moscow. So far, so good. I’ll give my final review in a few weeks.

Bought it from a store in Key West where Judy Blume currently works. True story bro.
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Old 03-07-2022, 08:06 PM   #59
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I just finished re-reading The Force by Don Winslow which is one of the best, if not the best, police procedural type books I've ever read. Winslow's other books, specifically his cartel trilogy, The Power of the Dog (2005); The Cartel (2015); The Border (2019), are absolutely amazing. He's got another trilogy coming out this year. Amazing author.
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Old 03-07-2022, 08:11 PM   #60
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Judy Blume works in a book store? Is it her store?
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