~ Books ~
Current Read
Great American Short Biographies (J. Mersand) Actually, Mersand isn't the writer, he's the editor. This is a collection of quick biographies first published in 1966. The subjects are famous Americans. So how does one describe the lives of the likes of Mark Twain, George Washington, Emily Dickenson, and Thomas Edison among others in five to fifteen pages? The approaches are as interesting as the people the authors write about. Thanks Linda!
August
Swing (R. Holmes) Okay, Rupert is 2 for 2 so far. This is the last of his three murder mystery novels. After Warrior Politics (below) it's time for some more escapism! Set in the 1940's San Francisco Bay Area and dealing with musicians, what's not to like? Actually, the story became a bit more convoluted and a bit of a stretch. Still, it was good fun.
Warrior Politics (R. Kaplan) Back to serious stuff. The author's thesis is that the approaches the ancient Greek, Roman and Chinese authors used to describe the politics of their time can be applied to modern times. It was written in 2002, and is holding up well against what's happening today. A bit unsettling at times, and that's a good thing.
July
The Willoughbys (L Lowry) People leave a bunch of stuff outside marked "Free". This was one such item, what turned out to be a parody of children's books inspired by the likes of "Anne of Green Gables" and "Pollyanna", but with some very strange twists and turns. It turned out to be a light read and great fun! The author has written other things, but they all look serious.
Where the Truth Lies (R. Holmes) Told ya I was looking forward to reading more of his stuff! This one was much less in the realm of fantasy, but a wonderful mystery novel of a comedy team involved in a murder. Very intricate plot. I love the guy's style and will go ahead and read a third book he has written.
Shin the Scholar - 2024
Last update: September 5, 2024
Books, DVDs and Other Scholarly Pursuits
~ DVDs & Other ~
Current "Other"
I'm currently working on my End of Life documents. That's a REAL education!
Current DVD
None
More books:
June
The Illustrated Histories of Everyday Expressions (J. McGuire) A friend had offered this short (139 page) book covering the origins of 64 common expressions. Not much meat on the bones, but it occupied my time for a couple of mornings. Onward.
Rumpole and the Reign of Terror (J. Mortimer) On a whim, I bought this book at an estate sale. Rumpole is a ficticious barrister working in London's central criminal court. Mortimer died in 2009, leaving behind a wealth of works, including the PBS series "Rumpole of the Bailey" (which I never saw). This was good fun and I look forward to reading more of Mortimer's stuff!
Nickel and Dime (G. Soto) A novel about life on the streets of Oakland and vicinity. Soto writes about the lives of three people, two of whom fall into homelessness. Soto isn't preachy or political. Most excellent.
May
Murder Your Employer (R. Holmes) So I was looking for my next book and found myself at the Barnes and Noble website. I found a book by one Rupert Holmes, a NY Times Bestseller, a recommendation that has been a surprisingly good predictor for me. The book is a novel about a school which teaches how to murder those who deserve it. Obviously a humorous book, I LOVED it and will look for the others by Holmes. And if the author's name sounds familiar, yes, it's THAT Rupert Holmes.
April
American Colossus - (W. Brands) Yeah, the same author as below. I bought the two books at the same time. This is the story of the conflict between democracy and capitalism between the Civil War and about 1900. Almost finished.
February - March
The Money Men - (W. Brands) A short book about the yin and yang of capitalism vs. democracy in the U.S., from our founding (Hamilton vs. Jefferson) through the early 20th century (T. Roosevelt vs. J. P. Morgan) and in an epilog, into the age of Alan Greenspan and the Fed. This type of history should be part of high school curricula.
Fear - (B. Woodward) The story of the 2016 Trump campaign and subsequent days in the White House. Scary stuff, but well written. I thought the reason it sounded so familiar was that I'd lived through the Trump presidency. No, I'd already read the book, back in 2019! So I stopped.
January
Wild Thing - (P. Norman) Another Philip Norman rock and roll biography, this one on my favorite guitarist ever, Jimi Hendrix. A Christmas present from Brian. Thanks!