I'll read whatever Connie Willis feels like writing, so this was a sure thing when it came out (the only question was to jump while it was still in hardcover or wait for paper - hardcover won out). The Road to Roswell has the protagonist traveling to Roswell to be maid of honor in an alien-themed wedding during the annual celebration of the 1940s era landing. She's a major skeptic but it's her friend so she's headed there. And then she's kidnapped by the many-tentacled alien she comes to fondly call Indy (after Indiana Jones and his trusty whip), leading to a whole series of kindappings of what becomes a mostly merry band of folks trying to help Indy get back to his people.
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: A Memoir of Going Home a reasonably entertaining story of a girl who goes to grad school, becomes a professor, marries a sociopath, and returns home after her divorce in her early 40s. Good humor about her family, herself, and her friends. I had no idea there were Mennonites in California, so I was mostly imaging this in the Midwest or in rural PA, but it’s mostly set in Fresno. That doesn’t ruin Rhoda Janzen’s book, fortunately.
I checked this out of the local library in my last "impulse borrow" session, though I had forgotten you posted about it earlier this year. It's an older book (2003 original publication) so I did a forum search to see if anyone read it before - and yes, all of four months ago. I find the authorship interesting, since it would seem an Alaskan or a sled dog person would have tackled it. But instead it's a pair of cousins from New York City, who like many kids in the city visited the statue of Balto in Central Park which honors the lead dog from the team which brought the antitoxin to Nome. The core story itself is not enough for a book, so there's a chapter on various dog breeds, another on the history of Nome, the native communities, and more. The chapter on the natives using the Bering Sea to hunt and gather reminded me of this video from several years ago:
Finished this one I enjoyed it, but man do some parts of it drag. I know I was warned, including on this thread! So far all three books could've been trimmed by like 200-250 pages each, and all three have involved traveling/hunting something. Not sure I can handle 11 more of this, but we will see. my hold for "Three Body Problem" at the library came through, so starting that one next!
Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Anti-War Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism a book from 2008 that, tragically, isn't dated because there hasn't been a resurgence of conservatives rejecting empire and war in the meantime -- sure, there were some that took the opportunity to criticize Obama, and more recently, Biden, but . . . come on. Man, do Republican neo-cons, especially the architects of our Gulf wars, take it in the teeth. It's hard to tell who Bill Kauffman despises more, Bush, Cheney, or Rumsfeld. But there's plenty of vitriol to go around.
In The Blood - Jack Carr The 5th book in the Terminal List series sees James Reece alerted to the location of the sniper who killed his friend in Russia when that same sniper is captured in Burkina Faso after a commercial airliner is shot down with an RPG. Reece traces him through Africa, Italy, and then Montenegro for a final showdown in the mountains. Just as Reece returns home to finally start his new life with Katie, his final enemy executes a plan that sees James arrested for conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States. Pretty wild to read that ending this weekend. Carr still struggles writing dialogue outside of action scenes. Other than that, his writing continues to improve. It's a really interesting contrast to alternate between these books and the Gray Man series as both cover quite a few similar themes but they still feel quite different with Carr being a former SEAL and Greaney having learned under Tom Clancy.
A Long Petal Of The Sea by Isabel Allende. This is a novel about two Spanish Republican refugees who emigrate to Chile during the Spanish Civil War and their adventures in a new country. I'm already enjoying this.
Finished Peter Winn's excellent Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA: I like the approach: it's about the ambitions of a nation-within-a-nation, the Wa State of the Myanmar-China border region, and the group's utilization of the heroin trade (and the eradication of the heroin trade) that allows them to self-realize. They go from loosely related headhunting groups 75 years ago to a cohesive (more or less) group of some means, still holding onto their relative freedom. The main protagonist is a fascinating fellow named Saw Lu, a Christian and a long-time CI for the DEA who dedicated his life to Wa autonomy, and a shift to licit trade - he envisioned the Wa as benefitting from US and/or UN investment, with roads and clinics and schools. It doesn't always go well for him - he spends several stints being tortured but somehow endures. The secondary story is the rivalry between the State Department and CIA on the one hand, and the DEA on the other. They don't show up until about page 100 but it's fascinating and frustrating to see how their machinations play out in/with the Wa, and Myanmar, and other groups. That the Wa ended up with the roads and clinics and such, but as a pseudo-client state of China, is the great irony of their trajectory.
Unworthy Republic by Claudio Saunt. It's a historical work about Amerindian deportations here in the US and the road to Indian Territory. I enjoyed the first chapter. The rest of the book should be good.
Bye Bye Miss American Empire: Neighborhood Patriots, Backcountry Rebels, and their Underdog Crusades to Redraw the Political Map an interesting history of various attempts (besides the big one) to consider seceding from the union, or more typically, to divide existing states (outstate NY from NYC and Environs, etc) into other entities. If you like reading about political cranks, the vast majority of whom are harmless, Bill Kauffman has written the book for you. Interesting asides on those who wanted to keep Alaska and Hawaii OUT, including of course residents of those states, but that ship sailed once the Second World War morphed into the cold war.
Looks like a fun read. I am wrapping up The Day the World Came to Town: 9-11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede. He did a great job not over-telling the story. Lots of people did remarkable things for the thousands of people stranded there. The women who realized there were animals in the holds of several planes, for example, and the dogged work by local pharmacists to figure out thousands of prescriptions from around the world.
A Moment In The Sun by John Sayles. This lengthy novel covers the state of our union in the late 19th century. I like the writing of Sayles. Should be a good read.
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton. I'm reading this book in addition to A Moment In The Sun. It's a tale of how to improve your Christian prayer life. My church is reading this book in August, so I figured I'd get a head start. Seems interesting.
Rebel Hearts: Journeys Within the IRA's Soul – Kevin Toolis By a journalist from Scotland, with Irish parents, who spent ten years covering the Troubles. Well written and interesting, based on his many interviews with IRA volunteers and their families.
Piranesi ~ Susanna Clarke Took a bit to get into this book. The abstract explanation of "The House" I found difficult to wrap my head around. I didn't really need to dwell on it though as it is really just creating atmosphere. Once the story starts to explore the mystery of "why" the main character is in this place, I could hardly put it down.
I have that on my Kindle Unlimited right now. Just finished... Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting On the Road to Recovery, a book which makes me forever grateful that, when my back went out badly about 20 years ago (need help putting on my socks, couldn't sleep, pain shooting from my ass down to my heal, needing to rest every 30 steps or so) that my first doctor didn't put me on opioids, and that the neurosurgeon he referred me to had me do physical therapy and take Naproxan rather than put me under the knife (seriously. . . apparently, surgeons don't take that route very often). So thanks as well to investigative reporter Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, who had her own back problems.
I had a spinal fusion done a few weeks before I turned 19. I'm not sure if physical therapy would have helped (injured my back in November 1992 and played full lacrosse seasons in spring 93 & 94), but I do know my doctor misdiagnosed it and by the time I got to the neurosurgeon he had me in surgery in less than 24 hours. By that point I had a ruptured disc, bulging disc, damage to the L5 and S1 nerves, and two chipped vertebrae, but I have absolutely no idea what the extent of the injury was when it happened.
I happen to be at the local library at this very moment, killing an hour between an election official training I was attending (gearing up for the partisan primary next month and the 'big one' in November) and going to my back doctor to find out the results of the MRI I had on Tuesday. Didn't want to drive home, just to come back "downtown" half an hour later. This book was just two aisles over from me. Just picked it up. Not sure I will read the entire thing (it's too depressing reading about the medical industry), but so far, it is a pretty good read.
MRI showed bone spurs in my middle back, arthritis in the bones, disk degeneration, basically spinal stenosis has set in in my mid back and lower back. Had four injections today. They did almost nothing. In a week or so, I am going for more serious injections and the. Radiofrequency ablation. Burn those damn nerves, the little bastards!
Thanks. It could be so much worse, especially when the office called on Monday and the first thing she said, "Well, we don't see a fracture in your spine..." At least they found a spine!
The Islander: My Life in Music and Beyond, an interesting memoir by the founder of Island Records, Chris Blackwell, who started putting out records around the dawn of ska up to this century. The "Beyond" is mostly getting into the hotel/resort business, which isn't super interesting compared to hanging out with Bob Marley, but there's nothing to stop me from skimming those parts.