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Books

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Comments

  • JimWallaceJimWallace Posts: 6,174 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I've recently been introduced to Ken Follett's books.

    I began with Eye of the Needle, then read most of his thrillers, and other 20th century books.

    Now I'm finishing up with Pillars of the Earth. I'll continue that trilogy.

    Mr. Follett does a good job with his history. I was a history major at UGA, but usually don't read actual historical fiction so reading Follett is a change in genres for me.

    I read all sorts of fiction and non fiction, but tend sometimes towards thrillers, mysteries, and detective fiction. One of my favorite books in the last year was Grisham's book, The Racketter.

    One of my favorite authors in recent years has been Max Allan Collins. Almost everything I've read by him has been good. Many of his books are period pieces of a sort and have historical settings and characters. Perhaps I read more historical fiction than I realized a few minutes ago.

    Go, Dawgs!

  • DamnYankeeDawgDamnYankeeDawg Posts: 1,196 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I love reading WWII novels. When I take a break from those, I read finance books.

    Currently reading Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. Read it back in the early '90s and decided to read it again. Interesting historical perspective from Shirer as he was not a historian. He was a reporter for CBS during the rise of the Reich in the '30s and left in late 1940. Long book but well worth the read.

    Previous book I read was Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe. Gave up a very good Hollywood career to fight the war. He did not have an easy tour in WWII nor did he want one. 20 B-24 missions over Germany. First film back after the war - It's a Wonderful Life. After reading his biography, I have a new respect for the performance he gave in that film.

    Finance novel - Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. Spend less than you earn. Invest the difference. Buy index funds. Can't get any easier than that.

  • kelly_bkelly_b Posts: 1,464 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @DamnYankeeDawg I am a huge Jimmy Stewart fan and wasn't aware of this book. Thanks. Queued.

  • FirePlugDawgFirePlugDawg Posts: 5,480 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @DamnYankeeDawg said:
    I love reading WWII novels. When I take a break from those, I read finance books.

    Currently reading Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. Read it back in the early '90s and decided to read it again. Interesting historical perspective from Shirer as he was not a historian. He was a reporter for CBS during the rise of the Reich in the '30s and left in late 1940. Long book but well worth the read.

    Previous book I read was Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe. Gave up a very good Hollywood career to fight the war. He did not have an easy tour in WWII nor did he want one. 20 B-24 missions over Germany. First film back after the war - It's a Wonderful Life. After reading his biography, I have a new respect for the performance he gave in that film.

    Finance novel - Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. Spend less than you earn. Invest the difference. Buy index funds. Can't get any easier than that.

    As to personal finance, Venita VanCaspel (now dead, but books still available) put out many variations of her theme for success, the main one being to invest in no-load mutual funds for the long haul. Also live below your means; don't buy more life insurance than you need and recognize that LI is a means to have an immediate "estate", and once you are building assets, your need for LI decreases - so buy decreasing term life insurance; and you pay too much for annuities - may look good, but fees are too high. What I recall.

    I read a bio on Jimmy Stewart and one on Henry Fonda. They were buds, so there was overlap - but different authors. Fonda was in naval intelligence. Both made a meaningful contribution to the war effort.

  • LowcountryDawg21LowcountryDawg21 Posts: 3,404 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    As far as brain candy novels go, I’m a fan of Ward Larsen’s stuff, particularly his David Slaton novels.

    I’m currently listening to Do Over by Jon Acuff.

  • RxDawgRxDawg Posts: 2,922 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    @DamnYankeeDawg said:
    I love reading WWII novels. When I take a break from those, I read finance books.

    Currently reading Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William Shirer. Read it back in the early '90s and decided to read it again. Interesting historical perspective from Shirer as he was not a historian. He was a reporter for CBS during the rise of the Reich in the '30s and left in late 1940. Long book but well worth the read.

    Previous book I read was Mission: Jimmy Stewart and the Fight for Europe. Gave up a very good Hollywood career to fight the war. He did not have an easy tour in WWII nor did he want one. 20 B-24 missions over Germany. First film back after the war - It's a Wonderful Life. After reading his biography, I have a new respect for the performance he gave in that film.

    Finance novel - Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins. Spend less than you earn. Invest the difference. Buy index funds. Can't get any easier than that.

    I'm currently reading All The Light We Cannot See. I guess it would qualify as a WWII novel. Really interesting take from the citizens of both France and Germany. Hell of time... and it's really crazy to think that this wasn't that long ago at all.

  • tfk_fanboytfk_fanboy Posts: 2,821 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
  • WCDawgWCDawg Posts: 17,293 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Humble. To be honest I don't have patience with fictional novels anymore, and I loved them from 5th grade till I was in my 40s. Now I prefer a quick movie or tv when it comes to fiction, most of my reading is non-fiction these days. I'm not saying it's a better way, great fiction really opens the mind, it's just where I am.

  • WCDawgWCDawg Posts: 17,293 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    finesse. our natures are beastly as well as civilizing. When we learned to farm and began to congregate long term in villages the ability to cooperate beyond pack hunting became a prime survival trait. I never was hung up on the need to feel superior to our animal cousins anyway.

  • WCDawgWCDawg Posts: 17,293 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    tfk. This may seem like a contradiction after my comments on our natures, but I haven't hunted or even fired a gun since 1988.

    I just decided I wanted to live my life from a different perspective. I put down the gun and camo in favor of a camera and hiking gear.

  • DogsNotDawgsDogsNotDawgs Posts: 1,703 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    FirePlugDawg I thought Rise and Fall of the Third Reich was great.

    I like history and anything by Robert Caro. He is most famous for his works on LBJ. He does not consider himself a historian but seeks to understand power. His first book won a P Prize on Robert Moses. Moses built NYC infrastructure, is America's architect, urban designer and had enormous power without ever being elected.

    Youtube Robert Caro, hear him answer questions about his books to get a feel for them. And read the preface. The author himself is quite a story.

  • HumbleYourselfHumbleYourself Posts: 826 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I've read 10 on this list...I am going to have to accept.the challenge and polish off the rest of it.

  • benjaminwgreggbenjaminwgregg Posts: 677 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    America's greatest political philosopher is Henry George and he's practically unknown nowadays. You can't buy his work "Progress and Poverty" at barnes and nobles but they sell it on Amazon. wish I still had it but I loaned it to a girl I dated who broke it off and never returned it buts its absolutely worth a read.

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