I am reading a collection of novellas called The Day The Sun Stood Still. It is science fiction about a miracle that happens to prove that god exists. Interesting premise. Robert Silverberg is among the authors who contributed.
I am reading a collection of novellas called The Day The Sun Stood Still. It is science fiction about a miracle that happens to prove that god exists. Interesting premise. Robert Silverberg is among the authors who contributed.
My daughter gave me this book of essays about some of the songs the Beatles wrote, written by famous writers. It's really a good read.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
"My Digital Travel for Seniors" by Jason R Rich. I have learned a few things. Other books by him are also good.
I'm still slogging through Dolezal's memoir, and I've started Dreamland, a highly readable account of the opioid epidemic.
I think we talked about this book here.
I am reading Richard Reeves’ The Dream Hoarders: How the American Upper Middle Class is leaving everyne else in the dust, why that is a problem, and What you can Do About it.
He speaks of “income inequality” as though that is a settled bad thing. This book doesnt even try to attack the 1%, it stakes out the next strata of society to attack as the “upper middle class as defined by income of $112,000 per household.”
I am only 25 page in and will skim the rest, if that. The chapter
I am in now talks about how I (well, before I retired) create “opportunity hoarding” in things like reproduction and parenting. Ooooookkaaay, he is on to me, I purposely hid everyone’s birth control around here. Guilty!
Then he slips into typical East Coast value system talk where he opines about parents who pull strings to get their offspring into prestigious schools, ignoring that most of us in flyover country are perfectly fine with attending State U or Mediocre Private U. and we even achieve his upper quintile of income in doing so.
Where DO these thinktank people get these ideas. He works for The Brookings INstitute.
Last edited by iris lilies; 1-1-18 at 10:56am.
I found Dreamland fascinating as it explained the Mexican connection in the opioid crisis.
"born bright" a memoir by C. Nicole Mason.
I'd roughly characterize it as the urban female equivalent of Hillbilly Elegy, a bright girl who managed to escape her circumstances and succeed. It's a frank look at her own family's shortcomings, while also outlining the persistent problems of poverty-stricken schools and communities.
One interesting parallel with the Hillbilly memoir by Vance is her agreement that the lack of social capital is a real impediment. If your family isn't aware of opportunities and your teachers are indifferent, you are left to look to your peers or figure everything out on your own. To a teenager it can be overwhelming. A very interesting read.
I'm reading Patricia Cornwell's Dust, listening to Jenny Bowen's Wish You Happy Forever about her work with Half the Sky, and I have Fire and Fury in queue.
Audiobooks:
Winston Churchill's biography of Marlborough (I am all the way to 1710... not much to go).
Next up: Charles Dickens' David Copperfield reputed to be his own personal favorite.
The Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich.
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