2024 Q3 BOOK LIST
Beyond Category (1) a biking term for climbs so steep they aren't really bikeable ... see Vuelta A Espana, Stage 15, 2024
Desert Solitaire, a Season in the Wilderness, Edward Abbey (read by Michael Kramer, pub'd 1968): THB thought he had heard this book before. Nope, he had heard Kramer read twice Zen and the Art of Maintenance, pub'd 1974. Zen is one of THB's top 5 (even before listening to the book) and now Desert Solitaire enters the pantheon of all-time greats as well.
This book fits perfectly with THB's Grand Canyon listening spree as Abbey spent 6 months as a ranger for Arches NP, at a station so remote that most visitors to the park never saw him. Intellectual, sense of self-deprecating humor, ends with one of the last raft trips before the Glen Canyon dam is finished. It is another view of this region, extremely well done, if not perfect, which is what THB thought about 75% of the way through. Actually: it is perfect, just like Zen (per N. Young, "it's all one long song" especially when sung by the same reader/singer).
Highly Recommended: Top Picks (10) in order of highest reco to lowest (and still ahead of all the rest)
Creation Lake, Rachel Kushner (novel, read perfectly by the author): The "protagonist" is a female agent hired to infiltrate and foment negative action by the targeted victims. Think the Parallax View starring Warren Beatty. Intellectually challenging: how did those Polynesians find their way across thousands of miles of ocean? How did neanderthal DNA show up in Sapiens DNA?
The Known World, Edward P. Jones (novel, #4 on NYT top 100 of 21st C, narrated by Kevin R. Free, pub'd 2004): a long story set mainly on a farm owned by a free black man with approximately 30 slaves, none free, all owned by the "master." The narrator is fabulous and eventually the listener realizes no person of color is even close to being really free (with one exception, and she could pass for "white").
The Emerald Mile, the Epic Story of the Ridee in History Through the Heart the Grand Canyon, Kevin Feedarko (read by author, pub’d 2014): THB has been on a Grand Canyon ride of his own this quarter, and this is the best “summary” of the GC of the listens. This book is a great overview with a near-epic failure of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1983 that led to the fastest ride - up to that point in time. Here are two links that help illustrate what went on that year, best to visit them after you have got to that point in the book.
Glen Canyon 1983 damage video watch the first 15+ minutes
Raft being torn apart in Crystal rapids: still images by Richard Kocim
Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin (novel, read by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi, pub’d 2022): Two tween video gamers meet cute in an LA hospital waiting area and bond over their love of games. THeir lives stay intertwined over the next 20+ years: college, working together and going into the gaming production industry, all the while having a platonic love and hate relationship. Typical of the genre, misunderstandings abound (see any JOB book as a reference).
A Walk In The Park, the True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon, Kevin Fedarko (read by the author): DB and THB have been to over 40 US national parks, and a decent summary is that we hiked a few trails, drove around a bit, and saw less than 1/100th of 1 percent of each park (even that small amount is definitely worth doing!). Sometimes we weren’t even allowed to take a hike. Got some good vistas. Took some nice pics. Two journalists (one writes - Fedarko - and one takes photographs - Pete McBride) decide to do a more extensive view of the Grand Canyon for a potential magazine article. THB can’t conceive of two more unprepared buffoons than these two (and Fedarko owns up right away). THB wished he could see the pictures … and here they are, Into The Canyon, directed by McBride and streaming on Disney + and also highly recommended
I Am Code, An Artificial Intelligence Speaks: Poems, edited by Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau, and Simon Rich (poems brilliantly read by Wener Herzog): An episode of This American Life led THB to a new collection of poems (yes, THB is actually a fan of poetry), I Am Code, poems generated by an AI program, code-davinci-002. There are 3 individual introductory essays, by each editor, plus an epilogue that explains the techniques used by the editors to train the program. The poems are unedited by humans; they are shockingly powerful and even humorously self-referential. THB gave the entire (albeit short) book two listenings, some poems more than twice.
When We Cease To Understand The World, Benjamin Labatut (#83 on NYT top 100 of 21st C, " non-fiction" novel, translated from the Spanish by Adrian West, read by Adam Barr, pub'd 2021): THB loves truisms, and this short book combines two:
- The path to hell is paved with good intentions
- Man does not sit quietly in the room
Profiles of scientists who were dedicated to finding new ways to move knowledge forward during the last two centuries, despite losing their minds and/or their understanding of the impact on humanity as was known when then they were pushing the boundaries. The ideas and individuals are real, the stories told by the author may not be (e.g., one seems based on the Magic Mountain novel by Thomas Mann).
Netherland, Joseph O’Neill (novel, read by Jefferson Mays, pub’d 2008): post 9/11, a family of 3 separates and mom and child move back to London. Dad commutes between NY and London, and over time through his love of cricket, he is befriended by an older Trinidadian autodidact. Starts as a thriller, then becomes more of a coming-of-age story for dad. Another fave read by THB and revisited as an audiobook.
The Wine-Dark Sea (book 16 in Aubrey/Maturin series), Patrick O’Brian (novel, read by Simon Vance, pub’d 1993): If you made it this far, another brilliant book in the series as Aubrey and Maturin approach the end of a 3 year journey.
Do Something, Coming of Age Amid the Glitter and Doom of ‘70s New York, Guy Trebay (read by Edoardo Ballerini): Right up THB’s alley, a short, snappy, name dropping boil of family and cultural tragedy. Not sure how Trebay had slipped by THB - probably because the observer isn’t often observed - since Trebay writes for the NYT and has for the NY’er in the past.
You Don’t Belong Here, How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War, Elizabeth Becker (read by Lisa Flanagan): Becker. A long-time reporter/journalist, recounts the story of three pioneering women covering the American wars in VietNam and Cambodia, a terrific way to see the impact of misogyny, how much harder women had to work to do the same jobs as men and the backstory of the wars themselves. Francis FitzGerald, one of the three, wrote what THB thinks is the seminal book, Fire In The Lake, on how misguided American politicians, the CIA, and military leaders have been led astray by believing somehow America was the height of exceptionalism.
Recommended: Picks (7) in order of date read, earliest in the quarter to the end of quarter
The Commodore (book 17 in Aubrey/Maturin series), Patrick O’Brian (novel, read by Simon Vance, pub’d 1994): Aubrey is (temporarily) promoted to lead a squadron.
The Yellow Admiral (book 18 in Aubrey/Maturin series), Patrick O’Brian (novel, read by Simon Vance, pub’d 1996): Aubrey is undone by his mother-in-law, Maturin has a coup in capturing a Spanish/French intelligence agent, the children are all doing well, fortunes are recovered, Maturin rescues his forlorn wife, and Aubrey and Maturin leave the service.
Consent, Jill Ciment (Eileen Stevens: More like a noon-fiction novella. Ciment had already written a memoir, Half A Life, and now, many years later, she is reconsidering its veracity. Consent covers some of the same early years: she is 17 when she seduces him … or, he took advantage of her as he was 47, married with 3 kids, and her teacher in an independent art class. THB suspect Ciment included this section to pad out what was already a very short book. Their marriage lasts 46 years until Arnold dies at 63, mostly competent to the very end.
The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner (novel, #56 on NYT top 100 books of 21st C, pub’d 2013): a young artist coming-of-age saga, taking it all in stride, even melancholic at times. The story starts in 1975, moves from Nevada, to the Bonneville Salt Flats, on to NY, Italy and even a bit of France, mixing in the art world and the Red Brigade and heartbreak.
Blue At The Mizzen, Patrick O'Brian (Book 20 of the Aubrey/Maturin series, read by Simon Vance, pub'd 1999): Nearing the end of this volume, Jack gets a promotion while helping the Chileans gain independence from the Spanish and fight off the Peruvians at the same time.
Lady In The Lake, Laura Lippman (thriller, read by Susan Bennett, pub'd 2019): Lippman is the daughter of a newspaperman and this story is primarily told by a 37 year-old, separated woman living in Baltimore in the mid-1960s, who starts her career at one of city's daily papers. Also "speaking" are a number of characters the woman interacts with, cleverly treated as internal dialogues and the requisite twist at the end.
Some People Need Killing, a Memoir of Murder in My Country, Patricia Evangelista (read by the author): A Philippines journalist recounts the extrajudicial killings encouraged and approved by the democratically elected president, Rodrigo Duterte. Police and vigilantes carried out thousands of executions without threat of punishment. Very depressing, and without the rule of law many innocent people were considered “salvaged”.
No Country For Old Men, Cormac McCarthy (novel, read by Tom Stechshulte, pub’d 2005): THB has seen the movie and read the book, and now completes the trilogy of one of McCarthy’s most famous books. The sheriff of a lightly populated rural Texas county is beset by one dead body after another (15+) in what is a pretty short book. A bit preachy about the nature of change (drugs, green hair) and faced with a psychopathic killer with principles.
Neutral (11) Something of value, not enough to actively encourage reading (or listening)
Lot Six, a Memoir, David Adjami (read by Micky Shiloah): Adjami’s book is a story about an angst-filled childhood, lasting until his crook of a father dies when David is 31 and has become a successful playwright. Wherever you go, there you are, estranged from one and all. Adjami just won a Tony for his most recent t play, Stereophonic, a huge hit/success, likely the Hamilton of the 2020s.
The Hundred Days (book 19 in Aubrey/Maturin series), Patrick O’Brian (novel, read by Simon Vance, pub’d 199): Everybody is getting old, the plot points are seeming to repeat, long-running characters are starting to be killed off, and the books are getting shorter.
The Devil’s Chessboard, Allen Dulles , the CIA, and the Rise of America’s Secret Government, David Talbot (read by Peter Altsschuler): A greatest hits compilation, with one major CIA fiasco after another and a few fiascoes that might or might not be credited to the CIA. Going back as far as between the two world wars, Allen Dullles - a thoroughly despicable human being - ingratiated himself with the rich and powerful, and other callous and non-empathetic types, starting with making sure his legal clients would not be hurt by either being Nazis or working with Nazis. Best way to think of Dulles: he was the J. Edga Hoover of the CIA, except he was a philanderer rather than a closeted gay man.
The North Waters, Ian McGuire (novel, read by John Keating, pub'd 2016): a surgeon and psychopath are linked together on a doomed voyage of one of the last whaling trips to be made only under sail by a British investor and his hand-picked crew. Not much of a thriller, and totally eclipsed by any of the O'Brian sea battle books of a slightly earlier period.
Random Family, Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx, Adrian Blanc (read by Roxana Ortega, pub’d 2016, #25 on NYT Top 100 of 21st C): The subtitle says it all, THB made it through 12 of the 20 hours and finally felt he had heard it all. Very repetitive, girls becoming moms in their mid-teens, boys earning a living dealing drugs on the street, overt misogyny, grandmas raising grandchildren and great grandchildren, much unprotected sex, prison life for being caught dealing ... .on and on.
The Evangelicals, the Struggle to Shape America, Francis Fitzgerald (read by Jacques Roy, pub’d 2017): focused on Evangelical movement from before the US freed itself from British rule right up to DJT (clearly not a guy that hued to the main tenets of the Christian orthodoxy) getting elected with major support from the Christian right. THB got worn down by the steady stream of men (all men!) who professed to take the Bible as the word of God and to be followed dogmatically as such. Whatever happened to doing good work?
Guilty Creatures, Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida, Mikita Brottman (read by Leon Nixon):Two couples in the early 2000s spend way too much time together, and three of them start a threesome and eventually one is permanently eliminated and two end up married, divorcing, and 20 years later turning on each other.
Charlie Hustle, the Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Day In Baseball, Keith O’Brien (read by Ellen Adair): Mostly covers Rose’s life up to his banishment from baseball for betting on games he played in and/or managed). During the last 35 years or so he became a convicted felon (tax evasion), divorced (again), “apologized” for betting on games (after denying he did so for many years), and continues to believe he can charm anybody he meets (fooling only himself). If you want to be convinced that Rose is a despicable person, stream episode 1 of Charlie Hu$tle and the Matter of Pete Rose. No need to watch the other episodes.
An Honest Woman, a Memoir of Love and Sex Work, Charlotte Shane (read by Caitlin Kelly): short and full of discussions of sex work. THB is reminded of a conundrum: when the actress is kissing you, can you tell if she is truly in love with you or just acting like she is in love? One of her clients is discussed extensively, and it sure sounds to THB that Shane likes to think of herself as being more like a mistress than a paid escort. Is there a difference? THB also wondered if this is a true story…or is Shane just acting like she has lived this life? THB put this in the Neutral Category because it is so short an audiobook, though if you don’t mind the length it should be in the Recommended Category.
The Man Who Walked Through Time, the Story of the First Trip Afoot Through the the Grand Canyon, Colin Fletcher (read by Matthew Joseda, pub’d 1967): Supposedly the first man to walk the length of the Grand Canyon NP below the rim (before the NP was expanded), in 1963, almost entirely on his own. It is mostly a philosophical rumination on the idea that everything is alive, some it over quickly, most of it slowly changing over billions of years. Another story that captured the fascination of many of the hikers that came after Fletcher and, this quarter, THB. Factoid: Fletcher came upon the wreckage of two commercial aircraft that collided over the Grand Canyon in 1956, killing all 128 on the two planes, at the time the most deaths in history of a single incident.
In the Something Else Category (4)
Clipped, 6 streaming episodes on Hulu, the story of how the owner of the Clippers, an NBA basketball team, is “outed” as a racist by his personal assistant. A real-life soap opera starring the rich, the famous,the strivers, the un-woke, told from the POV of the new coach, Doc Rivers, played by Laurence Fishburne.
It’s Only Life After All, 2023 documentary of the Indigo Girls, one of the most honest portrayals of a band since Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster. Streaming on several channels. You think women have to work twice as hard and way more efficiently than men to gain recognition? Put the word “gay” in front of their “identities” and the mountain to scale got even more steep.
Kanye West Bought An Architectural Treasure - Then Gave It A Violent Remix: NY’er article that seemed to be using THB and DB’s love of art and early life in LA as a clue to writing this article. No, THB does not know a single Kanye song, this ain’t about music.
The Unfinished Voyage of Jack Aubrey, Patrick O'Brian (novella, the end of the Aubrey/Maturin series, read by Simon Vance): O'Brian died before finishing this volume and the publisher decided to give O'Brian's many fans a partial book, begun and not finished, in 2004. O'Brian died in 200.
Pretty Birds, Scott Simon (novel, read by Christina Moore, pub'd 2005): How even young teenagers were recruited into dangerous roles during the Bosnian Serbs siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. The book is based on true events - Simon covered this war of ethnic cleansing - which is unfortunately similar to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Not Recommended - and high likely not finished (5)
The Art Of Fielding, Chad Harbach (read by Holter Graham, pub’d 2013): Another oldie that THB really liked in print and yet did not come across as anything but farce when listening. Could it be the narrator’s fault? Probably not though THB is starting to feel the humor and the sense of fake characters is somehow subdued in the printed version for this reviewer.
Men We Reaped, Jessamyn Ward (read by January LaVoy, number 97 on NYT top 100 of the 21st C, pub'd 2021): A memoir of growing up in a relatively poor part of the South and living through the deaths of 5 young Black men in her cohort. A third of the way through, as Ward relates the history of the area and goes to parties, get wasted, and tries to get the listener hooked on these 5 lives, THB got tired of waiting and stopped listening.
The Emperor’s Children, Claire Messud (novel, read by Suzanne Toren, pub’d 2008): THB read other books by Messud and really like them. THB thinks that a) this was not one of Messud’s good books, and b) certainly not helped by the reader.
Never Saw Me Coming, How I Outsnarted the FBI and the Entire Banking System - and Pocketed $40 Million, Tanya Smith (read by Robin Miles): THB thinks Tanya Smith doesn’t exist, fabricated this entire book, and should have been listed in the fiction section. One tall tale after another, name dropping famous people all the way (e.g., Prince, Magic Johnson, DJT Jr…okay not the last guy).
The Friday Afternoon Club, a Family Memoir, Griffin Dunne (read by the author): comes from a well-known family with many famous friends. Like the audiobook above, it appears to be fabricated. THB found it repetitive, boring, poorly read, and the author/reader extremely unlikeable. And that’s before THB got to the drug addition stage of Dunne’s life.
The Monkey Wrench Gang, Edward Abbey (novel, read by Michael Kramer, pub'd 1975): From the heights to the depths. This book is a farcical/satirical piece over over-exaggeration. Not Recommended except for the foreword by Douglas Brinkley summarizing Abbey's place in history which is excellent
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