What are you reading 2018?

[dado potato]

I am listening to an audiobook of Bryan Stevenson reading Just Mercy

and I recently finished Alex Pollock Finance and Philosophy. Pollock calls it "ironic" that people might want, or even plan for and achieve, a "long and recreation-filled retirement." He believes our expectations about retirement are 60 years outdated, and we really need to work into our mid- to late-seventies. He makes no mention of Simple Living, but I consider SL to be a fair means to financial independence, be that attained at 50, 55, 65, or whatever.

I enjoyed Pollock's Compendium of Aphorisms, which includes this nugget from Jacob Viner: A period of transition is a period between two periods of transition.

[Teacher Terry]

Dado, if people worked that long many would die before ever retiring. Plus many are not physically capable. That sounds crazy to me.

[JaneV2.0]

Dado, if people worked that long many would die before ever retiring. Plus many are not physically capable. That sounds crazy to me.

He's certainly entitled to his crazy opinion . Those who love their jobs or can't think of any other way to amuse themselves can knock themselves out, IMO, while the rest of us fine-tune (or live out) our bailout plans.

[Rogar]

and I recently finished Alex Pollock Finance and Philosophy. Pollock calls it "ironic" that people might want, or even plan for and achieve, a "long and recreation-filled retirement." He believes our expectations about retirement are 60 years outdated, and we really need to work into our mid- to late-seventies. He makes no mention of Simple Living, but I consider SL to be a fair means to financial independence, be that attained at 50, 55, 65, or whatever.

An interesting theory that I obviously can't totally understand without reading the book. I could propose in the days coming of AI there will be many people sitting on their rear ends in front of monitors doing unrewarding jobs manipulating computer systems and the automated systems they serve. Jobs will be less diverse, less healthy, less human, and possibly less rewarding. The term wage slave will have more relevance and people will either become mentally numb or want to get out. Maybe they will have more free time then, but that trend is not obvious yet.

[Rogar]

I just finished two books that had been waiting on the shelf for cold dark nights.

"Somme Mud" was a true first hand account of a WWI soldier fighting in the trenches on the Western Front. It is simple but decent writing. No grand military strategies, or number of people lost in this battle or that, and few political elements. Just day-to-day in the trenches and the relief working on the supply lines under routine artillery bombardment and machine gun fire. It became a little repetitive, but was insightful. It's a wonder how anyone survived.

And, the popular non-fiction, "Killers of the Flower Moon". It's the story of the poor Oklahoma Osage Indians who were eventually pushed onto the barren lands of Oklahoma. And then in the early 1920's they discovered oil on their land making them mostly multimillionaires. A grabber line for me was when they said the common phase of the day was, one of 10 Americans owned autos and the average Osage owned ten cars. Unfortunately, greedy mostly white men with some big oil influences discovered ways to murder dozens of the tribespeople and acquire their wealth. The crime solving became a little tedious to wade through, but it was a very interesting story well known in the at the time but seldom told today.

[pinkytoe]

Revisiting another Indian tale - Empire of the Summer Moon and also a very interesting new age-y book called Luminous Life.

[JaneV2.0]

I finished Not My Father's Son, by a British actor who was featured on their Who Do You Think You Are? I chose it for the genealogical aspect, and that part was interesting, but I skipped through a lot of the childhood descriptions. I also read Rosemary, about the lobotomized Kennedy sister. It was sad, and I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to read it. I just started Soul of an Octopus, which holds some promise. I'm a big fan of cephalopods.

[iris lilies]

I finished Not My Father's Son, by a British actor who was featured on their Who Do You Think You Are? I chose it for the genealogical aspect, and that part was interesting, but I skipped through a lot of the childhood descriptions. I also read Rosemary, about the lobotomized Kennedy sister. It was sad, and I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to read it. I just started Soul of an Octopus, which holds some promise. I'm a big fan of cephalopods.

I read that! Not My Father’s Son was something I picked up because I really like Alan whatshisname. It became very interesting when I learned his father was head of forestry on the estate of Blair Athol Castle near the time I was there around 50 years ago.

[Tybee]

I read that book about Rosemary Kennedy. Sad is so true--what a tragedy. There is a really good American Experience about lobotomies. Just awful, and makes you really skeptical about medicine in general.

[JaneV2.0]

I read that book about Rosemary Kennedy. Sad is so true--what a tragedy. There is a really good American Experience about lobotomies. Just awful, and makes you really skeptical about medicine in general.

I didn't need a lot of nudging on that front.