BOOKS THREAD

You need to stop reading such serious books! I think I read 12 mysteries/thrillers in February, and learned a tidbit from each one.

 

"A Wrinkle in Time" led to a minor YA reading jag. Just finished "A Study in Charlotte" which is the first book in a trilogy about the teen descendants of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Enjoyed it enough to read the rest of the trilogy.

 

I've recently read a couple of animal/conservation-related books by Lawrence Anthony, the founder of The Earth Organization, and both are really excellent.

"The Elephant Whisperer" is the true-life story of the herd of elephants Anthony rescued and brought to Thula Thula, his South African game reserve, growing close to the once-troublesome animals and watching them thrive and grow, as individuals and as a group. It's a really appealing, easy-to-read book that I think just about anyone would like.

"Babylon's Ark: The Incredible War-time Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo" chronicles Anthony's 2003 efforts to save and rehabilitate the bombed-out (with animals still locked inside) Baghdad Zoo in Iraq. It's a different kind of true-life tale, to be sure, of Anthony and his self-decided, self-funded and self-directed project. It was completed over an eight-month span with the help of an international cast of characters, including a small, heroic staff of Iraqi veterinarians and zookeepers, as well as members of the U.S. military, including the U.S. Special Forces and the Green Berets.

It was another very good read that I'd recommend to anyone. Both books involve humanitarian ventures that are about animals, both on the surface and beyond, but they also spotlight both the best and worst of humanity for very interesting, relatable and compelling reads.

 

"Sandman" by Lars Kepler; good Scandanavian thriller.

 

I am awaiting delivery of my first Swedish novel, "Hypnotisören" by Kepler. Probably take me a good long while to work my way through since it's my first time reading in Swedish but I'm psyched!

 

Nice, I can only read the translations. My co-worker who turned me onto the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy, then Henning Mankell was from Sweden and read them in the native language. I then went onto other Scandanavian authors because enjoyed reading with setting in another country.

 

I really enjoyed this. It's about a guy who steals books to collect them, not to re-sell them. He went to prison several times for his actions, and goes back to stealing as soon as he gets out. It's written in the first person, as the author plays a role in the story. Well done.

Joe Bob says check it out.

 

I've become a Nordic crime fanatic which is why I started learning Swedish on Duolingo last year. A quixotic quest but I'm going to watch "The Bridge" without subtitles before I die.

 

Maybe there's a book called The Bridge about trying to watch The Bridge in Swedish. Because that's a fucking journey.

 

Reading "Between the World and Me" by T. Coates. We're contemporaries, so I enjoy the comments on pop culture in particular. Not a fan of his repeated use of terms such as "so-called white people," which is blatant trolling. Still, I'd recommend it to others. I'll never know what it's like to be black, but sections of it -- in particular, when a white woman pushes his young son out of the way and says "Move it" -- really pissed me off. Gonna read The Autobiography of Malcolm X next.