A Renegade History of the United States, an entertaining reading of U.S. history by looking at people largely outside the conventional narratives: tavern dwellers and "bawdy house" workers and clients in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary years, mobsters of various generations and ethnicities, etc., by historian Thaddeus Russell. To his credit, he concludes his intro by pointing out that "this book does not advocate a renegade revolution. Were the heroes of this book to take control of society, t would be a living hell. No one would be safe on the streets, chaos would reign, and garbage would never be collected. . . "(xii).
The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Foo Fighters' founder and former drummer for Scream and some band called Nirvana, Dave Grohl . Worth reading and fun, though as a musician/writer, he's not quite as good as Bruce Springsteen or Patti Smith.
Don't get stuck. It's pretty much that simple. Keep taking in new information and reevaluating things. Grant does a really good job exploring everything from the varying views on emotional intelligence to the unwillingness of people to accept the data showing that learning styles don't exist. Ultimately, people and organizations thrive with a learning culture instead of a performance culture.
So I have no idea where I got this book, or when; I had no real desire to read it because, well, the cover is goofy and the description is trite and I didn't really want to read about a half-goblin, half-elf boy becoming emperor. But wow did I love it when I finally did pick up Katherine Addison's The Goblin Emperor. I wonder now - given the steampunkish undertones - if it was my wife who bought it originally since she likes the genre. Or maybe it was recommended in the book column of an issue of Science Fiction & Fantasy Magazine, But wherever it came from, I like it; the protagonist is simply a nice person, and it was refreshing reading about him coming to the throne and figuring things out. She published a second book (this one is from 2014) based in the same world, this summer - The Witness for the Dead - about a minor religious character, which I also liked.
The Only Plane In The Sky-An oral history, told by those who experienced 9/11, some of whom are now disgraced. Pretty illuminating.
An interesting look at the on the ground reporting of several major incidents and issues (Ferguson, unions, immigration, Flint, etc) of one of the few people that thought the 2016 election would be close. Maybe more interestingly, LeDuff became so disillusioned with his long time profession that he quit and wrote this book. The thing that rang most true occurred in the last few pages where he correctly identified the differences in class and race in the US being less like 1984 and more like Brave New World. I'm glad I waited a few years to read this one and may even revisit it in the future.
Invincible starts killing enemies and has an existential crisis about it. Eve has a secret she can't share with him. Oliver's aging slows from the pace of his mother's race to something more akin to humans. Nolan reveals a major secret about the Viltrumites to Allen the Alien and the Coalition of Planets before returning to Earth with Allen to recruit Invincible to join in a final battle to eliminate the Viltrumite race (12 volumes are left, so I'll guess it isn't going to happen).
This is the first of several biographies of William Edgar Borah I'll be reading in the coming month or so: First published in 1936, Borah of Idaho by Claudius O. Johnson was written in the midst of Borah's unsuccessful run for the Republican nomination for president, and Borah was an active interview subject. But the book is far from hagiographic. The challenge is the sometimes dense accounting of 1920s American national politics. I direct something called the Borah Foundation, named for the late Senator, but I am much more familiar with his work in the outlawry of war movement than the rest of his time in the Senate. I could speak generally about that for 7-10 minutes. But having been invited to go to Boise State University's continuing education unit and speak about Borah, it's high time I read up on the rest of his career. Otherwise it will be an awfully awkward class that day.
Nostromo - Joseph Conrad "And to become the slave of a treasure with full self-knowledge is an occurrence rare and mentally disturbing."
St. Thomas Aquinas, an "introductory sketch" by G. K. Chesterton, an author I want to like, but . . . it just isn't happening. Too bad, as we share a birthday. The zodiac loses again.
Your final book of 2021 is very different from mine: a paranormal, queer love story largely set on the Q line in NYC. It's Casey McQuiston's One Last Stop which I heard reviewed on NPR this summer and which popped off the hold list for Mrs. Ismitje and me this fine holiday season. Finished at about 10 pm Pacific on New Years Eve so it can end this thread for me rather than beginning the next one.
@Ismitje . . . maybe move Chad's post. . . and maybe lock this thread since it's the old one. I'm like. . .l wait... did I reread that Dave Grohl book last week? I don't remember doing that!