On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved this book by Karen Swallow Prior of Liberty Univ. I waited a long time to get this from the library; the wait was well worth it. Prior is a very astute reader who extracts deep values & principles for life from a number of specific novels. Prior devotes each chapter to a different virtue (love, hope, faith, pride, etc.) and uses one specific novel (The Great Gatsby, Pride & Prejudice & others) to illustrate deep lessons regarding that virtue. Great analysis and exegesis. Well-written and organized, as well as readable/engaging. There is so much to learn from fiction & literature of all kinds--if we have ears to hear & eyes to see. Prior surely helped to better develop my hearing & seeing, and I think I'll be a better reader & interpreter as a result.


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The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Sorry--thought I'd give Roy a chance, seeing as this book won the Booker Prizer, but nah. Couldn't wait to finish it. Didn't like the extremely fragmented & convoluted way that the story unfolded, or the way the characters were drawn--goodness, how could one keep track of them the way things were written. I didn't like the silly & sometimes obscurantist way the English was written. Maybe on a 2nd read it would all make better sense--but I can't ever see myself reading it a 2nd time (which in itself is a sign of a poor novel/story). Choppy, disconnected, vague, hazy, pointless, non-engaging are ways I'd describe this book. Did I really care what happened to the 7 yr old twins and their other relatives who were had to make sense of as they ambled & rambled through meaningless scenes? No, I did not. did there seem to be a purpose or point to the experiences in the characters' lives? No, not really. Borrowed from the library (unfortunately twice! with a long wait in between); read on my iPhone, since the Kindle version wasn't available. Thank God it's over..


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Here To Stay by Mark  Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What a rip-roaring thriller this turned out to be! My wife & I read this together--well, she mainly did the reading, first while we were driving to/from Muscat (from Dubai & via Al Ain), and then at home in the evenings. Some very memorable characters are well-fleshed out in the book--and there are some surprising twists & turns. Elliot--the main character from whose perspective we see things--has it all together and lives in a beautifully refurbished house on a quiet street in London. Hold on to your horses--things are about to drastically change following a drop-by open house visitor named Gemma, with whom Elliot surprisingly & quickly becomes involved. Great pace, great chapter endings that leave you hankering for the next, and colorful characters & dialog that move the story forward (& take you backward)--slowly untwisting a twisted family of characters who are "here to stay" in one way or another, at least until... This was my first Mark Edwards book--but probably not my last, as he's written numerous other thrillers that I look forward to reading one day. Read on the iPad/Kindle as an "audioCookbook"--which we got from one of our monthly Amazon Prime Reads choices.


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Made in America by Bill Bryson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Take a trip down memory/history lane in America with Bill Bryson, as you learn how American English came to differentiate itself from British ("proper") English. And, along the way, learn some fascinating things about American history, personages, battles, events, inventions, discoveries, etc. As usual, Bryson can write about the kitchen sink and make it interesting & engaging. He does it again in this tome. So much to learn; so much to be fascinated about down through the centuries, starting back with the arrival of the Saints & Strangers to the "New World" in the 1600s (which, as you'll learn, wasn't all that new at all--thousands & thousands of fisherman had been there trawling the Great Banks and the Vikings had been there 600+ years before!). Great book--especially for those with a love of history and language.


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Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story by Bruce Iglauer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved this history of Alligator Records from Chicago. I gave this a 4-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. It is a very honest, transparent look by Bruce Iglauer into the start-up of Alligator Records, as well as its successes and failures. Bruce should know--as he started Alligator Records out of his tiny Chicago apartment back in 1971. It all started with Hound Dog Taylor, who had impressed Iglauer in one of the many southside blues clubs in Chicago. Lots of insights into what makes a label tick, about artist contracts & issues, about royalties and other overhead costs, and about distribution/sales & returns. Alligator has stood the test of time--love this label and have bought many of its CDs. They continue on with digital music now and are going as strong as ever. Keep up the great work, Alligator, of bringing us great artists with their best musical offerings!


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Commander in Cheat: How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Whoever would've thunk it? Golf explaining a US President? Rick Reilly has done a superb job of clearly demonstrating the underlying character of the US' current Commander-in-Cheat. Classic title--I must admit; spot on. I'm giving this a 4-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. A shame in so many ways: the lies, deception, vain boasting, trickery, cheating, bold-face-lying, brazenness, infantile attitudes, and just plain meanness based on an egotistical & self-centered vision of life--which for the Commander-in-Cheat means "winning" at any cost. Enriching himself & his family at any cost--to the detriment of so many others. OK, Trump has done some good things as well--it's not all bad; yes, governments & politicians are well-known to basically all be self-centered cheats (show me some who aren't), so it's just par for the course, as they say (!). These revelations are just so laughable--in the sense that one has to truly laugh at the audacity of the tricks & deceptions & boastings (in a sad, depressing manner). The book is written by a lauded sportswriter who loves golf--whose family has loved & lived for golf over generations. He points out the sadness in Trump's treatment of the game--and this went on for years before he became Commander-in-Cheat, and still goes on to this day as he holds the office--and the way Trump has denigrated the principles (& rules) of the game. Along with his two lifelong caddy friends who regularly tweet & cheat on his behalf. This book was a sad hoot-a-minute that was sad and depressing--to think that half of it could really be true is just. plain. disgusting. And dishonoring to the institution of the presidency of the United States. How many hours has Trump played golf during his current presidency? How many times has he stayed at his own trumped-up hotels & courses at taxpayer expense?...you don't want to know. Believe me. Read on my Kindle; borrowed from the library. Thanks for the tip-off, Kevin.


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The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Some great, succinct info/principles on how to better budget, save, and invest for one's future. Written in a very informal, engaging and humorous manner--like having a conversation over a meal. One issue: if you're American, be aware that this is written by an Aussie for an Australian market--so all the various banking & investment instruments are from that context. As well as some of his references to various Australian sporting folks whom you've never heard of...well, maybe they weren't all sporting folks, but they were obscure references, nonetheless. But, overall, don't let that distract you from the great insights in this book.


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Light from Heaven by Jan Karon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More adventures of Father Tim & his wife, Cynthia (Kavanaugh), as Tim takes on a new assignment as the vicar of a long-abandoned parish up in the hills outside Mitford. There are some nice surprises waiting for Father Tim as he steps into this new challenge--and some very likable new characters who are added to the Mitford series hall of fame. Love the narrator for these Karon books--he really does an excellent job representing the voices of the various characters--old & new--and brings their conversation & interaction alive. Listened to this audiobook on my iPhone; borrowed from the library (though my loan ran out near the end of the penultimate chapter--just as Father Tim was sharing a simple prayer for salvation...arggh--had to go & borrow the Kindle version to finish it up!). But, you can't beat getting free books at our local libraries! What a country we live in--thanks be to God.


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The Revolving Door of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another great unfolding adventure revolving around that famous Edinburgh address--44 Scotland Street. Where the now-7 year old Bertie lives--at this time so very much enjoying the absence of his controlling mother (Irene) who has ended involuntarily sequestered in an Arab sheikh's harem! Bertie's grandmother--Bertie's father's mother, Nicola--comes to the rescue from Portugal and gives Bertie untold freedoms & gifts, including a new traditional Scottish kilt. Very enjoyable--love McCall Smiths' writing and development of these characters from the neighborhood who have become so familiar. Read on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere by Pico Iyer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Good. Short. Meditative...do all moderns think the East & Buddhist monks/monasteries are the final answer? It's just all so, well, so PC-'ish for the day & age. God forbid that Jesus or The Bible had anything to say about this--centuries ago...But, ah yes, that's so old school, isn't it? Listened to on my iPhone; bought for cheap on chirp.com.


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Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change by Paul David Tripp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A great handbook with insights & principles for biblical counseling. Tripp does an excellent job looking at how we can be used a instruments of change in others' lives as we listen to them, understand them, confront & care for them, and then support & teach them to apply the truths they've learned. Illustrated with plenty of examples (without real names) from Tripp's personal counseling experiences over his many years of counseling. A good reference handbook to refer back to--I have lots of notes to record for later reference/use.


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Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

How long have I heard of this famous book and not yet read it? A long, long time. My wife recently read the book, talking about it in glowing terms on many an occasion. I am now so glad I've read it--it was a great read. A hard read, for sure. Hard things to hear and vicariously to "live" through. Though fiction, as the author states at the conclusion, these characters, their stories and the context of their sufferings, were based on true events & people that the author heard about in her lifetime. Sad, sad, sad. Horrible. Some parts hopeful and encouraging--seeing the faith of slaves who were treated so horribly. What a divide this whole issue of slavery caused in our nation, since its beginning. What a terrible cancer on our land; a blight on all our ideals and hopes & dreams & values. A dark hypocrisy of grandest proportions that contradicted our nation's yearnings for freedom and that ran against biblical principles (despite those who took the Bible totally out of context to support their fallacious beliefs). But, yes, even in the midst of so much suffering, dislocation, unfairness, injustice--there were glimmers of hope because of the Gospel that transformed evil human hearts.


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Worm: The First Digital World War by Mark Bowden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quite an overall fascinating read regarding internet security & fraud--mainly focused on the Cornficker worm that has infected thousands & thousands of computers loaded with the Microsoft Windows OS. MS really screwed it up with vulnerabilities to Port 445 (I think that was it--lots of #s swirled in this book). Interesting to read how vulnerable the infrastructure the internet worldwide is and how vulnerable US government/military internet networks are--and now LITTLE the US government, at least prior to 2009-2010 was doing about it. I think things have improved since then, but there was horribly dangerous exposure up to that point--and will always be bad/dark guys--"Black Hats"--who are looking at ways they can explore & exploit weaknesses & openings.


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Truth Worth Telling: A Reporter's Search for Meaning in the Stories of Our Times by Scott Pelley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this book by the CBS reporter/editor, Scott Pelley. I've always enjoyed Pelley's segments on 60 Minutes and think he is an engaging, incisive, unbiased reporter who is good at asking tough/hard questions. Turns out he's a pretty good writer too. Love the wide spectrum of people & situations/issues he covers in this book of his many years of experience as a journalist, from 9/11 to Elon Musk to the Clintons (focused on deception & lies & lies, untrustworthiness, & serial abuse of women). Pelley makes a great case for the necessity of the freedom of the press & journalists in the sustenance of a democracy--and I like his emphasis on being careful, objective, unbiased, story-driven, and prickly about getting to the truth at the heart of the matter. Get your confirmed sources straight--and beware of Russian bots and fake news generated to be intentionally provocative for the sake of "like" algorithms to generate ad money. Check your sources; don't be sucked in by junk news and one-sided gobbley-gook. Stand up for what is right and do it with excellence. Read on my iPad; borrowed from the library.


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How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by James C. Collins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another insightful business book by Jim Collins, with a focus on the causes behind great companies who have fallen--some into non-existence, some into bankruptcy, some into irrelevance, some into the history books of ignominy. I gave this book 3-1/2 stars in my Reading Log; it's really an extended research paper--clocking in at only 123 real pgs. (then another 100 pgs of Appendices). How do the mighty/great--former giants of business--fall? 1) Hubris born from success, 2) Undisciplined pursuit of more (greed/relentless drive), 3) Denial of risk & peril (not facing the facts), 4) Grasping for salvation (in a new CEO, restructuring, etc.), and 5) Capitulation to irrelevance or death. These 5 phases of going from Great to Naught can happen slowly over many years, or can happen in a flash (e.g. Lehman Bros in the Crash of 2008). And, some have been able--over time--to bounce back. Some of the companies highlighted: Motorola, Rubbermaid, A&P Supermarkets, Ames Department Stores, Bank of America, Circuit City, Addressograph, HP, Merck, Scott Paper, & Zenith. One of the ones that was a "Success Contrast" (to Bank of America) was Wells Fargo...and since the book was written, they have fallen hard & been exposed for fraudulent business practices & a level of greed/avarice that is unprecedented (just watched an episode of Dirty Money, Season 2, which excoriated their high pressure tactics & disregard of their personnel). Some good warnings/lessons for all in this book, so illustrative in many ways of the biblical principle that "pride goes before a fall."


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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good "read" and I really liked Gary Sinise's narration. Of course, he played George in a film adaptation, so was the perfect fit for this audiobook. What a sad, sad story--of some down on their luck farm hands in California. Listened to on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Some great ideas and recommendations in this book on how one can start up a business with very little capital. Focus on value--what are you giving to the customer? Follow your natural interests & passions--stuff you're already good at, and begin with giving value to people, even if at first that means for free or losing a bit. Build a good, solid, loyal customer base and give them options and more than they even asked for. Some great/practical examples of real businesses and vignettes of real people. Borrowed from the library; read on my Kindle.


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Extreme You: Step Up. Stand Out. Kick Ass. Repeat. by Sarah Robb O'Hagan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Quite the career charted by the "Extremer" Sarah Robb O'Hagan, starting with her homeland's national airline, Air New Zealand. Later she had marketing stints at Virgin Megastores, Virgin Atlantic, Nike & Pepsico (Gator-Ade). She's apparently a very savvy marketer--and later moved more into high-end/exclusive health fitness clubs. She outlines some good ideas for how to be the best version of yourself--and how to take things to a higher (more extreme) level. Good/practical steps to growing and pushing oneself towards success. I liked that she also included some of her biggest mistakes/flops--and lessons learned from those experiences. Listened to on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World by Maya Jasanoff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Enjoyed learning about Joseph Conrad's background and story. I knew he was one of the few non-native English writers to be successful, but didn't know much about his history. Polish heritage, though he eventually moved to England and became a British citizen. Didn't realize about all his sea-going experiences, as a worker, deckhand, and eventually captain. Most of his writings were conjured up out of his seafaring experiences, including the classic Lord Jim & Nostromo, as well as The Heart of Darkness. Well-written and researched overall. Listened to this on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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Diamond Head by Cecily Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an Amazon First Reads selection (free!). Set in Hawaii and also some in China--where families of the main characters emigrated from--this was a very interesting story of two families whose fates & destinies intersected. It started out slowly, but built to a powerful conflict & climax, with some surprising third generation woes. Wong does a great job filling out the main characters, their inner struggles, their sorrows, their conflicts, their hopes & broken hearts. Read on my Kindle.


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Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a thoroughly fascinating journey into some of the latest research & findings on the workings of the human brain. But, even with the great advances made in this field in the last couple hundred years, there is still so much mystery left uncovered & unresolved--and not comprehendible. Why? Because the human brain--which has so much in common with many/most animal brains--is so much more stinking complex in what it does and produces and experiences than anything else like it. And, though some of its " inner secrets" have been better understood lately--there is still a universe within each human brain that is not understood and that goes beyond the "bits & pieces" and the chemicals and neural synapses & networks. As Eagleman states: "while it’s true that we are tied to our molecules and proteins and neurons—as strokes and hormones and drugs and microorganisms indisputably tell us—it does not logically follow that humans are best described only as pieces and parts. The extreme reductionist idea that we are no more than the cells of which we are composed is a nonstarter for anyone trying to understand human behavior. Just because a system is made of pieces and parts, and just because those pieces and parts are critical to the working of the system, that does not mean that the pieces and parts are the correct level of description."

I think the author does a pretty good job of showing that the reductionist viewpoint on the human condition--materialism that is only the result of chemicals & atoms/molecules randomly interacting & evolving over millions of years--is not the answer and probably never will be. There is too much complexity and unexplained depth that shows up in the most careful human studies & observations: "Arthur C. Clarke was fond of pointing out that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. I don’t view the dethronement from the center of ourselves as depressing; I view it as magic. We’ve seen in this book that everything contained in the biological bags of fluid we call us is already so far beyond our intuition, beyond our capacity to think about such vast scales of interaction, beyond our introspection that this fairly qualifies as “something beyond us.” The complexity of the system we are is so vast as to be indistinguishable from Clarke’s magical technology. As the quip goes: If our brains were simple enough to be understood, we wouldn’t be smart enough to understand them.
In the same way that the cosmos is larger than we ever imagined, we ourselves are something greater than we had intuited by introspection. We’re now getting the first glimpses of the vastness of inner space. This internal, hidden, intimate cosmos commands its own goals, imperatives, and logic. The brain is an organ that feels alien and outlandish to us, and yet its detailed wiring patterns sculpt the landscape of our inner lives. What a perplexing masterpiece the brain is, and how lucky we are to be in a generation that has the technology and the will to turn our attention to it. It is the most wondrous thing we have discovered in the universe, and it is us." Well put...think on that for a bit, or for a few hundred years...No wonder God says in His revealed Word to us: "Who is like unto Me?"


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Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications by D.A. Carson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a deeply biblical and thorough treatment, in my opinion, on the issues of the so-called "Emerging Church." Carson shoots straight and points out the positive & the negative, carefully wrapping up with a solid biblical analysis of the trends that have been emerging. Biggest take-aways for me: 1) there's a danger of getting so focused on the present culture & its perspectives & hang-ups with Christianity that the Gospel starts getting watered down, and 2) there's a danger in basing too much on personal experience & interpretation, rather than on revealed biblical Truths--as well as a concomitant belief/teaching that we as humans really can't know everything about God, so we can be more tentative, vague, and less assertive & confident. Watch out--there's a Danger Zone ahead...


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Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament by Mark Vroegop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book has been very good for me & has helped me immensely through these recent days of grieving for the losses of my dear sister-in-law, Holly, and a dear long-term friend/partner, Stan. I greatly appreciated Vroegop's approach, honesty, and transparency as he deftly takes readers through the solid biblical foundation of what prayers of lament mean and what purpose they have in a believer's life. We face the pains & difficulties of life's realities--and do so honestly, crying out Why? & How long? in anguish & personal pain--but we also do so with a great hope and with a growing trust in The One who is forever sovereign & is faithful & good. As he states:

"The practice of lament—the kind that is biblical, honest, and redemptive—...is a prayer. A statement of faith. Lament is the honest cry of a hurting heart wrestling with the paradox of pain and the promise of God’s goodness...lament is rooted in what we believe. It is a prayer loaded with theology. Christians affirm that the world is broken, God is powerful, and he will be faithful. Therefore, lament stands in the gap between pain and promise. To cry is human, but to lament is Christian."

Because it has been revealed to us WHO our God is and how much He cares for & loves us. Because we don't always understand His purposes & plans, but we have been learning how trustworthy & faithful He has been. Because even though this world is broken and we are puzzled & in pain, we can acknowledge those realities and be rightly saddened by them. Because if Jesus hadn't risen from the dead & broke the power of death-blazing the trail for us who believe in & follow Him--then we would only cry, to no avail, as all would be fleeting, meaningless, impermanent, and hopeless. But, alas, the cross & empty tomb have clearly demonstrated that a revolution in our eternal destinies has happened--and we have hope & can continue to grow in our trust of God our Father. Amen & Amen.


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The Big Fat Surprise: Why Meat, Butter, and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet by Nina Teicholz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Bottom line--you gotta read this book! Don't you want to know why the American public has been hoodwinked for the past 65 years regarding a healthy diet? Don't you want to know the ridiculousness of all the "low fat" products still cramming America's supermarket shelves? Doesn't it make you wonder why--after so much pushing & pulling to switch people to a low-fat, no/little eggs & dairy, no/little meat diet--that Americans are at an all-time high level of obesity and are still having heart & clogged veins & other health issues? This book will give you some straight answers and will also show you why, alternatively, you should be enjoying more meat, butter, and cheese (& fat!) in your regular healthy diet. Teicholz writes in an engaging style and includes lots of research (more in the footnotes), as well as pointing out the paucity of research and scanty associations from them that led the American Heart Association and Food & Drug Administration to make--and to continue to hold to--some very, very wrong & dangerous recommendations to the American public. I was shocked, and I think you'll be shocked too. Shame on them. Get your act together, people! Don't you realize something's got to change--what you've recommended ain't working no way. I own this book and read it on my Kindle.


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Invested: How Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger Taught Me to Master My Mind, My Emotions, and My Money by Danielle Town
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this book had some great investing insights & principles--and was told in an interesting way, as the author works closely for a year--under the tutelage of her star investor father--learning about value investing, a la Buffet & Munger (investing titans). The main focus of the book is how to calculate the right/best purchase price for a good company's stock--best to get it at a bargain price, ensuring your ultimate financial recouping/rewards. Unless there's a good reason to do so (& those reasons are enumerated within), good attention is also paid as to why to hold a stock long-term and benefit from compounded savings. This book confirmed some of what I've already learned and also taught & highlighted new things to make sure I focus on when making sound investments. I'm looking forward to tracking further in these areas with Danielle's website's resources, as well as her father's. Borrowed from the library; read on my Kindle.


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Seven Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another Metaxas book in the books--and this was another good one, highlighting seven godly & righteous men whose lives were exemplary for many reasons: George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jackie Robinson, Pope John Paul II, and Chuck Colson. Great insights into their lives & the impact they had on so many through the years. Read on my iPad; borrowed from the library.


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Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had this book on my library wishlist for awhile--and was finally ready & able to get the audiobook version. What an amazing, complicated, whiz-bang, creative, smart-as-as-whip & hard-headed persister this man is. And to think that he landed in Canada looking for relatives to stay with (first one wasn't there any more--so he bought an all-Canada bus pass) and with very little money in his pocket! And has since gone on to be a part of revolutionizing internet payments/banking, rocketry, as well as the world of electric vehicles & efficient & usable large battery packs for vehicles. And then there's his boring/tunneling exploits and the hyper-loop concept (the book didn't focus on these last two industries, which are still emerging into viable businesses). Musk is a truly creative genius and out-of-the-box thinker/creator. He knows his stuff--and if he didn't know it, he learned it from interacting regularly with is engineers, picking their brains for the know-how. Amazing to hear how Space X and Tesla have been able to produce & deliver real products so much cheaper and more efficiently than other long-standing behemoths (like NASA, Lockheed & Boeing, as well as other major auto companies). Truly revolutionary stuff that has been done in the past 15-20 years on a scale unimaginable at the turn of the century. I think there's still a long ways to go in their continued development & improvement--in truly world-changing & improving ways. Enjoyed listening to this library audiobook on my iPhone.


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Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't know what to expect with this book, but was pleasantly surprised. I found the characters, plot, and context very interesting--and the whole area of what/who "dreamers" are to be quite fascinating. Having been out of the country for years, the whole upsurge in the news & politics concerning dreamers was something I didn't quite understand. Having the book set in NYC and around the financial crash/crisis of 2008 and the fall of Lehman Brothers made for interesting conflicts & crises--ones that were very real and affected many. I loved the Cameroonian characters in this book--and especially their accents & rhythm in the audiobook version. I borrowed this from the library & read it on my iPhone.


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The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow!--what a book! Amazing tour through the whole body, section by section. Bryson makes it all so interesting, engaging, insightful, and awe-some. Yes, awesome in the sense that one has to just step back and give praise to the Creator who designed such an intricate, amazing, incredible, complex, unrivaled piece of machinery--the human body. Oh, wait, it's not just a hunk of random man-made machinery...it's a divinely designed body, mind & soul that cannot be replicated. One of the common themes that crops up is--despite all the years of studying, the best minds still don't understand why or how this part of the body or mind works in such & such a way. A great treatise on all the amazing facts of how our bodies and minds work--and of the medical discoveries & the discoverers down through the centuries, as only a great writer like Bryson can pen. His writing just continue to get better in my opinion. I got this as a Christmas gift from one of my children--read it on my iPad. Check it out!


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Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader by Benjamin Hedin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What--another Bob Dylan book? Yes, are there enough books on Bob? This was a Bob Dylan Reader--so had selections of writings on His Bobness ranging from his earliest years to his later ones (hard to believe that Bob will turn 80 next May!). Why called Studio A, you ask? Well, if you know anything about Dylan, you know he recorded some of his finest music in Columbia's Studio A in NYC. The classic being Highway 61 Revisited (cover pic of the sitting Bob in Triumph T-shirt under a psychedelic floral patterned shirt)--with the likes of "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Tombstone Blues" and the inimitable (one of my all-time Bob favs) "Desolation Row." The book is broken up into the following parts/time periods:
1. I Was Young When I Left Home (1961-1969) "Once upon a time..." he was 20 years old in the Big Ole Apple
2. Blood on the Tracks (1970-1978): "T'was in another lifetime...
In a little hilltop village, they gambled for my clothes
I bargained for salvation and she gave me a lethal dose
I offered up my innocence I got repaid with scorn
Come in, she said
I'll give ya shelter from the storm"
3. Saved (1979-1996): He became the "Property of Jesus" and Won't Look Back...
"I was blinded by the devil,
Born already ruined,
Stone-cold dead
As I stepped out of the womb.
By His grace I have been touched,
By His word I have been healed,
By His hand I've been delivered,
By His spirit I've been sealed.
I've been saved
By the blood of the lamb"
4. When You Got Nothing, You Got Nothing To Lose (1997- ): Bob's still singing about "Trying to Get to Heaven" and to the "Highlands"...
"It's dark and it's dreary
I been pleading in vain
I'm old and I'm weary
My repentance is plain
Beyond the horizon o'er the treacherous sea
I still can't believe that you have set aside your love for me"

Thoroughly enjoyed the various articles from well-known Dylanologists--as well as others who are not as well-known. Benjamin Hedin did a great job in compiling a variety of meaningful articles & analysis of Dylan's music & sources, lyrics, poetry, and Dylan's great impact down through the years on music in general. Highly recommended for insights & appreciation of a great artist--and performing minstrel..."who is still on the road, heading for another joint."


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The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock by Jane Riley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Got this from our Amazon Prime Reads freebie selection. Really enjoyed it and the characters that Jane Riley brought alive. And, Oliver Clock, is truly a character--a funeral home director, taking over from his father who was the previous director, and having to still deal with his mother, who is still very much involved in the business. Oliver is just a tad obsessive-compulsive. Reminds me in many ways of another fictional character I loved reading about--Edward of 600 Hours of Edward & Edward Unspooled, by Craig Lancaster. Read this on my Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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Flat Broke with Two Goat by Jennifer McGaha
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this memoir of a couple who--due to financial woes/mismanagement--had to move out into the wooded hills to a leaky/smelly "old" cabin, and to forge a new way of life that was much more earthy and subsistence-level. This included trying to grow their own food, as well as raising first chickens, and then goats (and learning to make various cheeses, as well as soap). Sad story of her first abusive marriage--gets one's blood boiling for a variety of reasons, especially the level of physical abuse (violence). And then to see her 2nd marriage becoming characterized by financial abuse--very sad. But some great life lessons learned from the new lifestyle they took on--as well as a new appreciation for her ancestors and the hardships they struggled with to make ends meet. Listened to on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this was my first Bernard Cornwell book, though I have been watching the Last Kingdom on Netflix for a bit now. We are in Season 3 now, and so it was good to read this book, even though it was Book 2. I’ll have to go back to read Book 1 at some point, and then look forward to reading Book 3. The book dragged at some points in the middle, but overall it was a pretty interesting read, and this is a fascinating time period. I read this on my iPhone; it was purchased at a nice low price.


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Bringing the Heat by Mark Bowden
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The inside scoop from a great writer who worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer's Sports Section for a few years, before becoming a best-selling author of books like Black Hawk Down. Loved learning more about the inside workings of an NFL team--in this case, the Philadelphia Eagles (not exactly friends of us New England Patriots!)--and of the players, coaches/trainers, owners, and wives/families. The days of the Minister of Defense--Reggie White--and Jerome Brown, and the razzle-dazzle (self-centered spotlight-must-be-on-me man) Randall (nicknamed "Ran-doll" by teammates) Cunningham, relative of Sam-the-Bam Cunningham, running back extraordinaire of the NE Patriots in the days of yore. Bowden did his research over 2-3 years and does a great job weaving all the stories of the main players into a tapestry. Bought this for a song on sale and read it on my Kindle.


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Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first Mira Jacob book--and I really had no idea what I was getting into! First off, I didn't realize it was fangled graphic novel, a mixture of drawings and photos. Very creatively done. Secondly, I had no idea that it was a novel tackling the issue of racism (& cultural superiority & appropriation) today in America--and especially the way East Indians (Indian Americans; South Asian Indians) have had to deal with these issues, increasingly after 9/11. Real life issues tackled in a humorous, but also serious manner. I gather it's autobiographical, though I've not yet really researched into Jacob's life & history. Borrowed from the library; read on my Kindle.


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Force of Nature by Jane Harper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyed this audiobook with a great Australian narrator. Ah, there's just something about that Aussie accent...The book moved well and I really liked the way the story unfolded, going between Falk and his inquiry and the actual events that the hikers were going through. Nice pacing in unfolding the climax--kept good suspense. Listened to on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sorry, but I just don't understand the supposed hype over this book. Really had a hard time following it, getting interested in the characters, and the plot? What plot? What real development of the main characters? The most interesting thing about it was reading about the Algericas Port where the ferries from/to Tangier, Morocco come/go--since we went through this port in Jan 2020. But even that was a let-down, from pretty much every angle. Fun to read about the escalator that went up to the cafe--where we sat waiting for our much-delayed ferry to Tangier--but not much really happens there...just like while we were there (except for getting ripped off by some overpriced & underwhelming food). The story/chronology was hard to follow and didn't seem written in a way to draw the reader into either the characters or the story. Read on my Kindle; borrowed from the library (which I had to do 2x, due to travels & meetings--and then had to wait weeks to get the book off hold).


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The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So interesting to learn about the originally "secret" new little town of Oak Ridge, Tennessee--which was thrown up by scratch almost overnight during WWII, becoming a city of over 75,000 residents. All of whom were--in one way or another--working on a secret project to hopefully bring about the end of WWII more quickly. And most of the people working at Oak Ridge--at the Clinton Engineering Works (CEW)--many of whom were women, had very little idea of exactly what they were working on...until the day that "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima. Yes, the first nuclear weapon used by humans against humans. Fascinating history told through the eyes of several different women who worked at CEW, as well as some historical context given at the beginning of each chapter. I found it a bit hard to follow the various women whose stories were broken up and told over a number of different chapters--with lots of other characters and info in-between the individual stories. But, overall, it was a well-written and engaging look at a historical first of many sorts. Read on my Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had previously read Frankl's Search for Ultimate Meaning and thought this book might give more insight into that one. Well, it really didn't do much. It was very interesting (& sickening) to read of the unbelievable treatment of so many in the WWII German concentration/extermination camps--and of how someone like Frankl coped with the darkness & despair of those days. But, I'm not sure that for most people just having a future in mind and keeping a "vision" of that hope is enough to truly get one through such ordeals. He does admit that religious notions can be helpful, but his focus is really on psychological ones--mental maps or ways of thinking beyond your circumstances (and not focusing on what is happening to you at the moment). Listened to the audiobook; borrowed from the library.


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The Misunderstanding of Glencoe by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ha, ha! I loved this short, pithy, hilarious audiobook/play that was originally broadcast on the BBC, as I understand. A seemingly harmless visit to the Scottish Highlands by a touring couple turns out to be a mostly tongue-in-cheek unraveling of the historic bitter feud among the Scottish clans of the McDonalds and the Campbells, which revolves around a massacre at Glencoe. I listened to this on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing book & story. It was so well-crafted and developed. It slowly & surely drew me in, engaging me right to the very end...and what an end it was. There is foreshadowing, but it's subtle and not easy to pick up on with regards to where the story is headed. So well developed. The character of Kya--the "Marsh Girl," was painted in exquisite detail. What a fascinating character who lived a very isolated & solitary life--but a very rich one in her knowledge of the marshlands she lived in. I listened to this audiobook on my iPhone; borrowed from the library (after waiting on hold forever!--it's very, very popular now).


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The Joy of Reading: A Passionate Guide to 189 of the World's Best Authors and Their Works by Charles Van Doren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lots of great info/background on some of the world's most classic reads. I gave this 3-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. It was good--but I found myself only being able to read so much at a time, and sometimes it was not as engaging as it could have been. I was thinking there would be more insights into reading well and how to get more out of classic works. There was some of that, but not much. There was good background on the authors, though, and some on other works of each author. I read this on my iPad; borrowed from the library (about 4x!).


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Dying: A Memoir by Cory Taylor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I'm giving this a 2-1/2 stars in my Reading Log, as I deem it a little bit better than OK. I thought the writer was brave & courageous to take on the topic of her immanent death from cancer. She did a fair job of telling some of her family's history--of her parents' & their issues/struggles, and of the troubles between her & her siblings, all of whom survived their parent's & the author's deaths. It was sad to see another person so blinded by the prevailing western scientific-materialistic outlook on life--there's nothing after our short & fleeting life...even though the author illustrated the natural human longing for living forever--and for not having to leave life as it has been known, or family/friends. I listened to this audiobook on my iPhone; bought from chirp.com (at a great price).


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At the Reunion Buffet by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Another McCall Smith short from the Isabel Dalhousie series. I really liked this one, set around a class reunion of Isabel's. Some intriguing characters & issues going on as her high school class of 2o years past has a weekend reunion. Some things are not always what they appear to be...and some good thoughts on forgiveness (& mercy). Read on the Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first full Craig Johnson novel--in the Longmire series. Recommended by a friend--thanks, Jason! I liked the fleshing out of the main characters, and the mystery involved in the crime that was highlighted. Liked the setting in Wyoming--rural, frontier, etc. Also liked having the context of The Rez and the Indian characters who regularly interact with Longmire. Think I'll have to watch the Netflix series at some point (actually watched a part of an episode in Season 4 on the plane just before finishing up the book). Read on my Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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Four Friends: Promising Lives Cut Short by William D. Cohan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Four short bios on four friends who all attended Andover Prep School in Massachusetts, the most well-known of them being JFK, Jr. All four died relatively early in life--their lives cut short in various ways.


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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read this book a long time ago. I remember (slightly) having to study it & write a paper about it while in college...years ago. This time around I listened to it on my iPhone as an audiobook and enjoyed it. Loved the accents & different voices. Well done all-around, and so funny at times. Also tackles serious issues, like the position of the run-away slave, Jim, who accompanies Huck on most of his adventures. I gave this book a 3-1/2 stars in my Reading Log. Bought from chirp.com.


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Ghosted by Rosie Walsh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this on the recommendation of a favorite author, Liane Moriarty. It did not disappoint. Loved how the story unfolded and the latter parts where it brought in the viewpoint of the "antagonist." Creatively done. Read this audiobook on my iPhone; borrowed from the library.


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God Save Texas: A Journey into the Soul of the Lone Star State by Lawrence Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wright is one of my favorite authors. Enjoyed this book with its history and insights into the Lone Star State--which is not a place I'm very familiar with, though I do have quite a few friends from Texas. It's a world unto itself. Some fascinating statistics and perspectives detailed in Wright's book, all in a very readable & interesting/engaging manner. Read on the Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens by Michael  Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fascinating analysis of the "hidden" themes that C. S. Lewis had in mind when he wrote the seven Chronicles of Narnia books. Ward came upon a "eureka" moment while reading one of Lewis' poems called "The Planets," which led him down a track of discovery with regards to how Lewis connected each book to one of the seven pre-Copernican planets. Lots of good archaic language with regards to these planets and their believed "influences" are discussed, as well as lots of examples from the characters, dialogs, and plots of each of the Narnian Chronicles. Makes me now want to read through the Chronicles for a 3rd time to better pick up on all these themes. I read this on my Kindle; borrowed from the library.


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