What are you reading?

[Martina]

I was disappointed in Song of Achilles. I was upset not with the heartbreak, but with the projection of current values and ethics onto Achilles and the Greeks. The author has a BA and an MA in Classics. So she did it on purpose, and I guess most historical fiction does that. But it bothered me. It reminded me of the endless number of undergraduate essays on Odysseus as a hero, droning on about whether his lying made him less heroic. The most cursory review of Ancient Greek culture would tell you that the Greeks thought that kind of tricksterish deception was admirable, the hallmark of a hero.

It bothers me watching Victoria, also. The fine ethical concerns the TV character debates would have been laughable to the real Victoria. It's entertaining. It's relevant to current questions we ask about leadership and politics, but it's absurdly irrelevant to Queen Victoria and the politics of her early rule.

I have Circe, but haven't read it yet. A friend tells me it is a much more satisfying book.

Originally Posted by tantalizingfemme

I am currently obsessed with Audible books. I was listening to The Tale of Achilles by Madeline Miller and have found myself so emotionally invested in the two main character's relationship that I had to stop listening when I realized something negative was going to happen. It has been almost three weeks and I still can't get myself to go back. I went back to read some reviews of the book and found other people have experienced the same thing. Such a great book.

While I continue to avoid the above story, I am going to start her other book Circe.

I realized that when I read books I skip over parts where there seems to be a lot of description because I rush to get to the point (and inadvertently miss out on a lot of information), so when listening to someone read through it all, I find myself getting enveloped in the scenery I would normally ignore. It makes my hour commute to and from work fly by and I have less road rage. Win - win.

[tantalizingfemme]

Originally Posted by Martina

I have Circe, but haven't read it yet. A friend tells me it is a much more satisfying book.

I'm halfway through Circe and I also think you will enjoy it much more.

[Kätzchen]

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts On Crime, Punishment, and The Rule Of The Law (March 19th, 2019; Knopf Publishers).

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts On Crime, Punishment, and The Rule Of The Law (March 19th, 2019; Knopf Publishers).

I've only had this book just a bit over 24 hours, and I'm on page 23 of Part 1. The preface, the introduction and the first few chapters explode at a breakneck pace, talking about the work of an prosecutor, his early days while in school, and the first few cases that dramatically impacted his life before he even became a prosecutor. I'm seriously glad I bought his book. It's simply the best book I've read in quite some time and will certainly be reading it many times over.

I've already underlined key concepts and phrases pertinent to current day political issues we read about in the news, and hear about via favorite media outlets (CNN, Politico, MSNBC, VOX, etc). Preet Bharara's book is outstanding. Even today, while reading from the book on my lunch hour, several passer's by (engineers) spied the book I was reading and asked me what my take on it was. They're buying copies of it, too. In fact, it won't surprise me at all if this book becomes required reading in several fields of study: Sociology, Communication, Law, Psychology, and Criminology.

[Bèsame*]

New read for a vacation trip..

Watching You, Michael Robotham

"New York Times bestselling author, Michael Robotham, brings us face-to-face with a manipulative psychopath who has destroyed countless lives and is about to claim one final victim"

[MrSunshine]

The last black unicorn. Just started it last night, I like it

[Martina]

Just finishing Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou.

I used to live in Silicon Valley and have strong feelings about the ethics of the tech industry. I hope not one of those TED Talk hypocrites ever uses the phrase "change the world" again. I was impressed by how many folk did quit Theranos, mostly, but not all, from the medical field. This is why the profit motive needs to stay out of medicine and law and education, etc.

When is that wretched woman going to jail? Fucking A. If she were a poor person of color, she wouldn't be tooling around SF with her new rich boy fiance telling everyone her husky is a wolf.