will trade book recommendations for same

[unhappycamper]

Collapsed a few years ago & have been able to indulge my reading habits. 95% of my reading is non-fiction, with subjects like cosmology, economics, current political writings (but I’m burned out on political – can’t read anymore,) Civil War, earth sciences in general, geology, evolution, religion, medicine, virology, physics, history & biography to name a few.

I’m currently working on “Dark Tide” by Steven Puleo – it’s about the great molasses flood of 1919.

The other book I’m reading is “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” by Jared Diamond. A most interesting read on the factors for failure (extinction.)

In December, read a few books on ice ages that were worth reading:
“Frozen Earth” by Doug MacDougal
“The Two Mile Time Machine: ice cores, abrupt climate change, and our future” by Richard Alley
“The Little Ice Age” by Brian Fagan

Those three books cover the mechanics of ice ages over the last 100,000 years.

An interesting read on the 1883 Krakatoa eruption is “The Day the World Exploded: Krakatoa” by Simon Winchester.

“Sudden Sea” by R. A. Scotti is very good account of the great 1938 hurricane that leveled eastern Long Island & then made a direct hit on Jamestown, RI.

I’m currently on an ecology kick, so any recommendations would be appreciated.

[unhappycamper]

1. The first sentence should read: Retired a few years ago,. . .

I have NO idea how that happened.

[Bullwinkle925]

5. Was it a 'Freudian Slip' perhaps?

[Crankie Avalon]

2. I was in the Barnes and Noble yesterday looking for something...

...and I picked up that "Collapse" book and looked it over, but didn't end up buying it. It's good, then? Didn't have much time to go through it. What civilizations did it specifically cover? There was a hardcover edition of Boswell's "Life of Johnson" for sale, so I got that, instead.

I just read a book called "The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry" by Legs McNeil. That's my recommendation. Really, really readable. If you saw the film "Boogie Nights" and liked it, this non-fiction book takes it to a whole different level of intensity. Over six hundred pages, but a real page turner: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060096594/qid=1111584236/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-2271037-4949434

Still, I think I'd like to read one or two more shorter books before I tackle something as long as Boswell's "Life of Johnson." I'm thinking of getting this book about Charles Ponzi: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400060397/qid=1111584963/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/103-2271037-4949434

...but if you have any other recommendations, I'd be interested. I like history, especially "quirky" history.

[Hamlette]

3. Blink and Arc of Justice

are both great reads.

I also just finished Bangkok 8 (a mystery) Hard News and True Story, all great reads.

I just picked up Ian McEwans new book, Saturday (I've read all his books and LOVE them all, especially Amsterdam and Enduring Love)

I also just bought Happy Days are Here Again about the 1932 Dem. convention. I'll let you know.

[BamaGirl]

4. My non-fiction lately has run to

gardening and self-sufficiency mostly. The closest thing I've read to ecology in quite awhile was Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone by Thomas McNamee. It's older, but interesting and an easy read.

In the last year-- some of these are older books.

Crimes Against Nature Robert Kennedy Jr

The Fourth Turning Strauss and Howe--generational history, very cool stuff

Cicero Anthony Everitt

Portrait of a Killer Patricia Cornwell--the Jack the Ripper book

Bella Tuscany Frances Mayes

Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi

The Bookseller of Kabul Asne Seierstad--completely overlooked book on Kabul after the US invasion

Out of the Flames Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone--about Michael Servetus who wrote a book attacking Calvin and was later burned as a heretic by Calvin.

Patience and Fortitude Nicholas Basbanes--um, hard to pin this one down. It's about books and book people. It's a companion to another book of his about book collecting called A Gentle Madness. I have a thing for books about books lol. I have several lol.