Books and other stuff I feel like discussing
By education and experience - Accountant with a specialty in taxation. Formerly a CPA (license has lapsed). Masters degree in law of taxation from University of Denver. Now retired. Part time work during baseball season as receptionist & switchboard operator for the Colorado Rockies. This gig feeds my soul in ways I have trouble articulating. One daughter, and four grandchildren. I share the house with two cats; a big goof of a cat called Grinch (named as a joke for his easy going "whatever" disposition); and Lady, a shelter adoptee with a regal bearing and sweet little soprano voice. I would be very bereft if it ever becomes necessary to keep house without a cat.
Mood:
Advisory
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Books Update
Although my attention span for print is still not back to full throttle, I have managed a couple of print titles, and have listened to several books. So here's an update:
THE KNOWN WORLD by Edward Jones
A prize winning novel from a few years ago, on the theme of the societal and personal prices paid as a result of slavery. The focus of the novel is a middle class black family in the years just before and after the Civil War. I'm not sure I would put it in a "prize winning" class of books, but it was an absorbing tale.
AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Don Chaon
This one caught my attention when I heard it reviewed on NPR. More than a little unsettling in quite a few ways, it follows the trail of several victims of identity theft, as well as the perpetrators. There are three separate plot threads, and I had an uneasy feeling I would eventually see that they were in fact one plot thread. I don't think the book has the reputation it deserves.
HEAVEN'S KEEP by William Kent Krueger
A small town PI travels to the wilds of Wyoming to search for his wife after her plane disappears in a snow storm. Lots of stuff going on in this one, and a few too many climaxes (and as a result, anticlimaxes) for my taste. I've planned to read one of his books for quite awhile. This one held my attention as I circled the outer loop of the park, but I don't think I'm ready for another.
U IS FOR UNDERTOW by Sue Grafton
She's nearing the end of the alphabet, and a lot of readers are wondering how she will handle titles for "X" and "Z". I'd say "U" turned out OK. Kinsey is visited by a young man, claiming some recovered memories of observing a body being buried. There are enough confirmed facts in his story to encourage Kinsey to begin to ask questions. Although the recovered memories in question are not a complete picture of the actual events, she does learn enough to begin to alarm a pair of killers who had deceived themselves that they got away with something. A good book for Grafton fans.
PERSON OF INTEREST by Susan Choi
Choi loosely bases her novel on the Unabomber case of a few years ago, but focuses the action on the life of a man who was in an adjoining office when the letter bomb exploded and killed one of his co-workers. The reader can count, almost on a minute by minute basis, the mistakes the surviving educator makes as cops, the FBI, and the press swarm into the community. Interlaced with the descriptions of the investigations, Choi relates events of a generation past. I really enjoyed this book, and hope to seek out more by Choi.
IRON RIVER by T Jefferson Parker
The latest in Parker's series featuring LA Deputy Sheriff Charlie Hood. Hood is detailed to assist border guards and the ATF in tracking weapons traffic between the SW United States and Mexico. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few violent encounters. I like Parker's writing quite a bit.
KISS IT GOODBYE by John Moody
A very enjoyable baseball book, about the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates and centering on the life and career of pitcher Vernon Law. Moody grew up in Pittsburgh - he was just a little kid starting grade school in 1960, and he weaves the story of 20th century Pittsburgh into the story very nicely.
THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM by Barbara Tuchman
I've always enjoyed history, and fretting at my recent troubles staying fastened on a book of fiction, I found this at the library after a friend recommended it. Zimmermann was a German diplomat and in 1916-17, sought to draw Mexico and Japan into WWI in support of Germany, hoping to isolate the US, give them hostile action on both coasts and the southern border. The British had succeeded in decoding most German messages - but the challenge was to reveal the contents of the telegram to the US, without compromising their possession of the German code.
Most of what I know about Woodrow Wilson comes from high school history, and I've probably forgotten most of it, and certainly never understood the nuances of this complicated man. Tuchman may not have portrayed him in toto, but what she does write about him is fascinating.
So that's it for now. Happy reading!
THE KNOWN WORLD by Edward Jones
A prize winning novel from a few years ago, on the theme of the societal and personal prices paid as a result of slavery. The focus of the novel is a middle class black family in the years just before and after the Civil War. I'm not sure I would put it in a "prize winning" class of books, but it was an absorbing tale.
AWAIT YOUR REPLY by Don Chaon
This one caught my attention when I heard it reviewed on NPR. More than a little unsettling in quite a few ways, it follows the trail of several victims of identity theft, as well as the perpetrators. There are three separate plot threads, and I had an uneasy feeling I would eventually see that they were in fact one plot thread. I don't think the book has the reputation it deserves.
HEAVEN'S KEEP by William Kent Krueger
A small town PI travels to the wilds of Wyoming to search for his wife after her plane disappears in a snow storm. Lots of stuff going on in this one, and a few too many climaxes (and as a result, anticlimaxes) for my taste. I've planned to read one of his books for quite awhile. This one held my attention as I circled the outer loop of the park, but I don't think I'm ready for another.
U IS FOR UNDERTOW by Sue Grafton
She's nearing the end of the alphabet, and a lot of readers are wondering how she will handle titles for "X" and "Z". I'd say "U" turned out OK. Kinsey is visited by a young man, claiming some recovered memories of observing a body being buried. There are enough confirmed facts in his story to encourage Kinsey to begin to ask questions. Although the recovered memories in question are not a complete picture of the actual events, she does learn enough to begin to alarm a pair of killers who had deceived themselves that they got away with something. A good book for Grafton fans.
PERSON OF INTEREST by Susan Choi
Choi loosely bases her novel on the Unabomber case of a few years ago, but focuses the action on the life of a man who was in an adjoining office when the letter bomb exploded and killed one of his co-workers. The reader can count, almost on a minute by minute basis, the mistakes the surviving educator makes as cops, the FBI, and the press swarm into the community. Interlaced with the descriptions of the investigations, Choi relates events of a generation past. I really enjoyed this book, and hope to seek out more by Choi.
IRON RIVER by T Jefferson Parker
The latest in Parker's series featuring LA Deputy Sheriff Charlie Hood. Hood is detailed to assist border guards and the ATF in tracking weapons traffic between the SW United States and Mexico. Not surprisingly, there are quite a few violent encounters. I like Parker's writing quite a bit.
KISS IT GOODBYE by John Moody
A very enjoyable baseball book, about the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates and centering on the life and career of pitcher Vernon Law. Moody grew up in Pittsburgh - he was just a little kid starting grade school in 1960, and he weaves the story of 20th century Pittsburgh into the story very nicely.
THE ZIMMERMANN TELEGRAM by Barbara Tuchman
I've always enjoyed history, and fretting at my recent troubles staying fastened on a book of fiction, I found this at the library after a friend recommended it. Zimmermann was a German diplomat and in 1916-17, sought to draw Mexico and Japan into WWI in support of Germany, hoping to isolate the US, give them hostile action on both coasts and the southern border. The British had succeeded in decoding most German messages - but the challenge was to reveal the contents of the telegram to the US, without compromising their possession of the German code.
Most of what I know about Woodrow Wilson comes from high school history, and I've probably forgotten most of it, and certainly never understood the nuances of this complicated man. Tuchman may not have portrayed him in toto, but what she does write about him is fascinating.
So that's it for now. Happy reading!
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