Death on the Downbeat didn't last. It is written as a series of letters, mostly, from the detective to his wife. I wasn't in the mood for that. So, while I am waiting for two books to drop from my online library. One is a non-fiction audiobook by Nassim Nicholas Taleb titled Antifragile. After years as an options trader, risk analyst, and professor of probability and uncertainty, he has been researching and writing about risk management and applied probability. The other is Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden which I just discovered is now ready in audio book form, so I downloaded that instead of the ebook. I hope I don't get too confused regarding the characters because this book jumps back and forth between characters a bit. Basically, two girls go out on the moor for a hike, only one comes back. The mystery, of course, begins with what happened to the missing girl. But there more than a missing person mystery here. One of Britain's super secret agencies is investigating too. Since the girl went missing, there have been strange occurrences and sightings, a matter of national (or world) security.

Meanwhile I already started War(ish) Stories, Tales from Armyland by Robert Belie. It is also an audiobook but only five hours long. It is a mildly humorous series of 50 vignettes about "everyday life in Armyland."

I doubt I will have time to do any bedtime reading, but I have picked out John Steinbeck's The Wayward Bus. I am not sure if it stays in California, but it starts out Rebel Corners. The town was inspired by Springtown, CA. which is on Rt. 68 just East of the Fort Ord National Monument. It will likely not get read very fast because I tend to fall asleep before getting more than a paragraph or two read lately.
   

Has anyone participated in Reddit's online book clubs? I am curious to know what others experienced/thought of the venue. I wandered across it yesterday and am impressed by the layout, rules, instructions, and links. For now, I am keeping an eye on it, but will probably join at least the classics book club. I've read the November pick, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, while participating in the discussion that the old Senior Net or Senior Learn, so I can easily follow along and compare. First I will have to join the book club (and/or the Reddit site). They have a Science Fiction club in there somewhere, but I haven't tracked it down yet. These two and the history book club will probably be my most frequent haunts should I join.
They have links to Project Gutenberg and Libravox for those who want to download or read free copies of out of copyright books.

Downloaded Familiaris by David Wroblewski but haven't started it yet. This is the prequel to The Story of Edward Sawtelle which I have had for some years on my shelf but have not yet read. Although published much later, I decided to read Familiaris first.

I am also reading a Marko Kloos sci-fi that I have had on my Kindle for over a month. It is the second of the second generation of his Frontlines series books and follows a young girl as she, too, joins the military and moves through basic training.

I've been waiting on another of Kloos' book series, Palladium Wars to show up. Today, I just found out that the publisher declined to continue the series. With the next book partially written, Kloos mentioned on his website that he plans on self-publishing it through Amazon. I do hope that Amazon will pick it up for their Audible Exclusives audio books too, when it is finished. I like the series as much as his Frontlines series. 

Audio-wise, I am listening to the pod-cast version of John Scalzi's Human Division. It doesn't seem any more interesting that the book. When I read the book several years ago, I didn't realize it was actually written as a bunch of vignettes similar to the podcast. I thought that listening to the podcast might make more sense of it, but not so. It is still not very interesting. Thankfully, the vignettes are short.

Some recent books now on my shelves that are not science fiction include: The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War, Craig Whitlock, The Washington Post; Call of the Camino: A Novel, Suzanne Redfearn; Sailing the Graveyard Sea: The Deadly Voyage of the Somers, the U.S. Navy's Only Mutiny, and the Trial That Gripped the Nation, Richard Snow; two of Nick Lloyd's A History of the Great War 1914-1918 series, The Eastern Front and The Western Front.   

Has everyone stopped reading? I pretty much feel like I am talking to myself, but I keep  plugging along.

Mars!  No you aren't talking to yourself.  I'm still here looking in every day, but I haven't read anything worth mentioning for a month or so.  Now that the days are short, and the weather is cooling down, I hope to get to a couple of books that I got way back in August.   One that looks interesting, is  The Last Green Valley,  by Mark Sullivan.  His name is not familiar to me, and the book is 450 pages of small print, and weighs a ton, so I haven't been anxious to start reading.

I have been watching a lot of old movies in the afternoon, on TCM.   A few days ago I watched  The Snows of Kilimanjaro,  1952,   adapted from the book by Ernest Hemingway.   Supposedly a true story about a segment from his life.  It was extremely melodramatic, as were many movies from that era.  It starred Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward and Ava Gardner.     

I will try to help to keep this site active. Although I've been a lurker for the past three years and enjoy seeing what other people are reading, I haven't contributed my own as it is quite different than everyone else. I always have multiple books going at the same time and read in spurts – depending on reading time available, mood, and current interest. Therefore, it takes me a long time to finish a book and I feel the conversation would be boring or confusing to others as the story lines are not progressing very fast and I'm jumping between books. Then all of sudden a new book comes out by a favorite author and I drop everything to read it (like The Black Wolf by Louise Penny that came today), or for a change of pace I pick up one of the many Georges Simonen – Maigret series.

The books I have going at this time are: Mark Twain by Ron Chernow; The Fate of The Day: the war for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (volume two of his Revolutionary War series) by Rick Atkinson; 100 Places to See After You Die: a travel guide to the afterlife by Ken Jennings; A History of London by Stephen Inwood; and 1929: inside the greatest crash in Wall Street history and how it shattered a nation by Andrew Ross Sorkin. I started 1929 when it came yesterday after being recommended by my grandson on Sunday.  As you can tell by the subject matters, I don't have to worry as I jump around about mixing them up or forgetting where I left off as they are all unique.

A brief bio – live in Wisconsin, age 85, volunteer one day a week, involved in family research, former elementary school library media specialist, have two daughters, three grandchildren, one great granddaughter, enjoy watching Cubs baseball and college football, and hire others to do my lawn mowing, and snow removal.

Quote from: Cub Fan on November 08, 2025, 03:50:33 PMenjoy watching Cubs baseball and college football, and hire others to do my lawn mowing, and snow removal.

Cub Fan, I'm not a reader, except for Tech/Users Manuals, but I often check this Discussion. I enjoy watching College Football (and Pro) but have no favorite teams. I just enjoy the competition. I passed the 90 mark a while back and like you hire lawn and snow removal people.

Marilyne, I have The Last Green Valley on my Kindle for months but haven't read it yet. I still think once you get used to it, you would like using a table to read rather than a book. I love being able to adjust the size of the type. On my Fire tablet, I can also adjust the color of the background. I have my background adjusted to sepia. The white tends to be too glaring for me. My sister found a stand that she mounts her tablet onto so she does not have to hold the tablet, but like you, she prefers reading a real book.

I didn't know The Snows of Kilimanjaro was adapted from a Hemingway book.

Cub Fan, you sound a lot like me. Lots of books started, some set aside for a while, some I forgot that I started. I tend to stay away from romance and sports for example, but I will never say never. And I never know what is going to pique my curiosity. Or, for that matter what I am reading gets someone else interested in a subject or book. Aside from Rammel, we have several others who peek in now and again, but normally just like to "read the mail".
 
Oscar is pesting for lap time. So I'll catch you all later

 

Cub Fan  -  Welcome to Library~Bookshelf!   I'm glad you decided to join us.  This discussion isn't as busy as it once was, but enough members are still active, and we continue to exchange ideas and recommendations.  One of your books sounds intriguing to me . . . 100 Places to See After You Die:  a travel guide to the afterlife by Ken Jennings.  Is that the same Ken Jennings who now hosts Jeopardy??  If so, I'm sure the book is as good as it sounds!

College Football is going on here as well . . . every Saturday during the day, and on into the evening.  Right now my husband is watching LSU get trounced by Alabama.  (recorded earlier).  Granddaughter went to LSU and grandson went to Oregon State University, so those are the favorites around here.  Always, Stanford and UCLA.

Mars - I  do like the kitchen table for reading.  The light from outside is good, and I find it easier to get comfortable in a kitchen chair, (with a memory-foam pad),  than I do in the living room recliner.  I know there are quite a few different types of book stands.  I should go to Barnes and Noble, and see what they have to offer?   

Marilyne, the recliner and the sofa are my downfall. They tend to be so relaxing that, these days, I fall asleep fairly quickly when reading or watching TV. At least I don't fall asleep at the computer.

Marilyne - Yes, it is Ken Jennings from Jeopardy. He definitely loves research and trivia. In this book he approaches his subject with references to multiple religions, books, movies, television, music and theater.

Rammel/Marilyne -I enjoy watching Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern and Notre Dame football games. Usually at least one of the teams is on TV each Saturday. Living an hour from Green Bay dictates Packers professionally, although I will watch the Bears when they're available.

Familiaris turns out to be another extra long book. I already have The Story of Edward Sawtelle in hardcover, so I think I will end up ordering a hardcover copy of Familiaris to match instead having to deal with library deadlines. Since I generally switch reading between two or three books when I have time, I don't care to be pushed to read two or three chapters a day and/or renew a book only to have to wait weeks before it becomes available again like I had to for The Doors of Eden.

MY replacement for Familiaris turns out to be a nonfiction book. Alexander at the End of the World, by Rachel Kousser, is about Alexander the Great's travel and conquests in Central Asia. It is an easy read about something I already know a bit about. Also, the book is not super lengthy. I suspect that there will not be much in it that I have not already run across elsewhere.

I have gotten to Chapter Five of Corvus, part of a sci-fi series by Marko Kloos. I probably mentioned it already. Anyway, it is slow going, not because of the story, but because I've been falling asleep on it after a few paragraphs or I don't even pick it up because Oscar seems to not care much for me hiding my face behind a tablet at bedtime these days. Also, it is not a book that keeps me riveted.

Audio books are being neglected again.

Sue went to see Nuremberg with a friend the other day. She was amazed at some of the scenes/photos which were more graphic than she remembered seeing ever before, not to mention learning some things she either forgot or never knew. It is not a film she would have chosen to see. It is one her movie loving friend wanted to see. They do a movie and lunch once or twice a month.

Cub Fan,  Today I got a message from the library, that the book I requested,   100 Places to See After You Die:  a travel guide to the afterlife,   is in, so I'll be picking it up in the next couple of days.  I ordered it in the large print, so that will help with my vision problems.   I'm looking forward to reading it, and will let you know  how I liked it: