drneutron's 2014 Reading - Fifth Time Around

Mid-year, so it’s time for a new thread! Here's my list so far:

Five Equations that Changed the World: The Power and Poetry of Mathematics
The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World
Hellboy, Vol. 2: Wake the Devil
Kennedy & Nixon: The Rivalry that Shaped Postwar America
The Twelve
Death Comes for the Archbishop
The Hunters' Haunt
The Shadow of the Soul
Big Machine: A Novel
Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere
New Earth
The Final Descent
Maze
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Netherworld
The Perfect Theory: A Century of Geniuses and the Battle over General Relativity
Hellboy, Vol. 4: The Right Hand of Doom
The Necromancer's House
1491
Trapped Under The Sea
Hellboy, Vol 3
Fiddlehead
Divine Fury
Black Light
Gerald R. Ford: An Honorable Life
All the Pretty Horses
The Aleppo Codex
The Resurrectionist
The Sorceress
The Third Gate
A Dance of Cloaks
A Wanted Man
A History of Ancient Egypt
Just One Damn Thing After Another
Spies, Patriots and Traitors
The Necromancer
Locke&Key: Alpha and Omega
White Nights
My Life Among the Serial Killers
The Bedlam Detective
The Martian
Red Bones
A Natural History of Dragons
Prayer
Blue Lightning
Dark Eden
The Crossword Century
Raising Stoney Mayhall
Broken Homes
Bonhoeffer
Crusoe

Some stats:
Total Books - 51

Author Gender
Male - 38 (75%)
Female - 13 (25%)

Living/Dead
Living - 49 (96%)
Dead - 2 (4%)

Medium
Hardback - 18 (35%)
Paperback - 16 (31%)
eBook - 17 (33%)

Category
Fiction - 36 (71%)
Nonfiction - 15 (29%)

Source
Public Library - 40 (78%)
My Library - 11 (22%)

Misc
ARCs - 5
Rereads - 4
Series - 24

Publication Year
2014 10
2013 14
2012 5
2011 5
2010 2
2009 4
2007 1
2006 1
2005 1
2004 2
2003 1
1999 1
1996 1
1995 1
1992 1
1927 1

Hi Jim, nice new thread.

...and now you're reading The Hanover Square Affair, right? Redress the gender imbalance, up the mystery quotient....

Well, I did download it, but I've got the second St Mary's started on the iPad. After that, though...

And a couple I've finished in the first couple of days July.

52. Dead Water by Ann Cleeves

Ok Ann, you're somewhat back in my good graces after what you did in the last one... Fifth in the really good Shetland Island series (that used to be a quartet). Not going to say much since it would really give away some things about the plot of previous books, but this is a series you *need* to read!

53. The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill

James Monmouth was sent to live in Kenya with a guardian as a very young boy after his parents died. Since then, he's traveled the globe chasing stories of an adventurer from a previous generation. Now he's back in England to track down his hero's history. But mysterious encounters and the ghost of a sad little boy happen at every turn. And all this may lead to a terrible secret that will connect them in ways Monmouth never imagined.

Hill's got a way with the creepy ghost story, and this one's right up there. It's atmospheric and moody and mysterious. Don't look for a roller coaster plot - instead, Hill build tension through to the end. Mostly, though, I just love her way with words!

>4 drneutron: #52 I've been putting this off for fear that the twist in the last one wouldn't be somehow redressed. I mean...! And the...!

Hard to complain about reading A Symphony of Echoes, considering you still have A Second Chance to go before 24 July's release date. But still. Regency London awaits.

Happy new thread, Jim! I have Raven Black on my WL, but I am not familiar with that second book - is it a stand alone by Hill?

Nice new thread, Jim! Did you mean to miss me at #240 on the last one? :-P

Hola! I am on the third St Mary's. Perfect summer reading!

>5 richardderus: Twist is addressed, but still...

>6 Crazymamie: Yep, a stand-alone book by Susan Hill - rather short, too, so perfect for a single session of reading!

>7 michigantrumpet: Doh, yep, I was going to reply, then Richard distracted me with all that warbling... :) Yeah, I agree that Metaxas is interpreting Bonhoeffer through an Evangelical lens. I wasn't so focused on Bonheoffer's theology as Metaxas writes about it, but about what the man did and how his beliefs informed his decision-making, leading him to act when others around him didn't. It's a model I'd like to think I follow, but I've never had to deal with anything remotely like what he did. I haven't read the Marsh book, but will see if I can get my hands on it.

>8 Berly: Hola! Yep, given our life changes with the mother in law and nephew, I'm concentrating on perfect summer reads. :)

Blue Lightning hurt. Actually *hurt* me. And I still gave it four stars. Silly me.

Happy 5th, Dr Jim.

>4 drneutron: 'this is a series you *need* to read!' How can you do that to us? Surely you know that any given TBR pile is so precariously balanced that the addition of one more book / series could potentially see it tumbling, with a domino effect that could race around the world? *shakes head in despair*

ETA And I like the look of The Mist in the Mirror, too.

Contrats on the new thread. We were pretty much neck 'n neck in the first 4, but you are pulling away. I'm still at least a week before I'll start my fifth.

>10 richardderus: Yeah, I'm with you. Give the next a try. The healing begins.

>11 humouress: I'll help you engineer a structure that can support just *one* more series. :)

>12 mahsdad: I'm so up and down with LT time these days, I'm sure you'll catch up in no time!

Happy New Thread, Doc!

Happy New thread, Jim! Hope you have a great 4th and get in plenty of R & R!

Jim, I'm also chiming in with my congratulations on your latest thread. Wanted to say a little thank you also for your kind words and prayers when I was in the dumps these last few weeks.

>13 drneutron: Thanks. I think.

Let me take the occasion of your new thread to stop by and say "hi". I'm "up and down" when it comes to LT time, too, so I do not even try to keep up with many friends. But nonetheless, it is nice to see you continuing to be the reader! Congrats!

Have a great weekend.

Congrats on the new thread, Jim! Hope you enjoy the holiday weekend.

Lovely new thread, Jim! Enjoy the holiday.

Happy New Thread, Jim. I listened to my first Susan Hill book this year, with The Woman in Black. Now I've got The Various Haunts of Men lined up, possibly for this month. Yet another series!

>14 scaifea:, >15 msf59:, >18 maggie1944:, >20 ronincats: Thanks!

>16 PaulCranswick: My pleasure. We all need support now and then!

>21 Smiler69: If you liked The Woman in Black, you'll probably like The Mist in the Mirror. It's got a very similar feel to it!

Just wishing you a Happy Independence day :)
And happy new thread !

May your day be filled with goodness...

Happy new thread Jim! And Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July, Jim. Thanks for everything you do for this forum! Our lives are so much richer for the friendships we've formed through LT.

Happy 4th of July, Jim.

Happy New Thread, Jim, and Happy Independence Day!

I love that Shetland Islands trio quartet series. I hope Cleeves keeps writing them!

The Metaxas biography of Bonhoeffer has been on my "to read" list for ages. I really must get to it. And The Mist in the Mirror is another one I want to read. Thanks for reminding me to bump them up on the Ever-Expanding List.

>4 drneutron: And don't forget the St. Mary's short stories!

Hi Jim! Happy Fourth!

Hope you had a great and relaxing Fourth, Jim!

Happy Fourth Jim! (Squeaking this in!!)

Jim, congrats on your new thread and I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Thanks for the great 4th wishes! mrsdrneutron and I braved the fireworks in DC again this year. Great weather, lots of friends, good picnic dinner, and some really interesting new fireworks this year.

The DC fireworks are among the few I will make the effort for if I happen to be around..... which I was last about... scary number of years ago.

did you mean for your books to sort of pile up at the end of the list in your first comment?

Huh. That's weird. Fixed now...

The LT poltergeist strikes again.

>33 drneutron: Love Fireworks! So glad you were able to see a good show in DC. The Boston Pops 4th celebration was a bit of a bust. Moved to the 3rd because of Hurricane Arthur. It ended up being rushed because a storm front from the Midwest was coming through. Barely got the fireworks done when they evacuated the Esplanade.

Wasn't able to make it this year, but the weather made it an easy call.

Don't you love some of the new styles of fireworks? Of course, we "ooh" and "aah" at them no matter what...

Yup. The DC show had stars, hearts and smiley faces. Plus these new fountains that waggled around. If I had it to do over again, I just might have decided to be a fireworks chemist!

Sorry the Pops were a bust. Our timing was perfect - the storefront passed through early Friday and there was plenty of time for things to dry out. A lot of the local communities delayed until yesterday evening, though.

I love the stars and smiley faces. Don't know that I've seen the hearts but woudld love to some time!

Speaking of fireworks, one of the stores in Campbell County, north of Knoxville caught fire today. It was a rather large blaze, causing the fireworks to launch into the air and thus forcing the closure of the Interstate in both directions (since the building was located right beside the Interstate). I think the fire is now out. I do know that they have announced that the Interstate has reopened.

A fireworks store caught fire? What? wow....

>41 mckait: There is some footage here.

Thank you . and Yikes!

Wow. I'll bet that was a fun fire to try to fight...

I haven't bothered trying to see any fireworks since I left DC 9 years ago. I figure nothing can beat watching them from the South Lawn of the WH so what's the point :)

Wow! The White House! That would be awesome. How'd you swing that invitation?

I worked there 2001-2005, and every year they had a big party for staff and other invited guests. I think they still do it, as my SIL and BIL have been more recently, either because he's active-duty Marine Corps or because she works at the Pentagon. It's a pretty special experience. And what a view - right across the Ellipse to the fireworks over the Washington Monument.

I miss DC......

>45 katiekrug: oooh, no doubt! I once watched them from the foot of Washington Monument.

>47 katiekrug: That must have been so cool! And a very fun town to live in.

54. City of Dark Magic - by Magnus Flyte

Sarah Weston, a graduate student expert on Beethoven, is offered the chance of a lifetime - access to a privately held collection of Beethoven's letters, music, etc in Prague. The previous scholar, her advisor, committed suicide while working on this material, except maybe he didn't and there's more going on here than just the heir of Czech nobility trying to reassemble his family's collections from Nazi and Soviet looters. Oh, and did I mention that Prague just might be on the threshold to Hell?

Flyte (pseudonym, obviously, for novelist Meg Howrey and screenwriter Christina Lynch) writes an eclectic blend of fantasy, science fiction, religious adventure, drug novel,..., that really in some ways defies description. It's pretty well done and kept me reading past bedtime one night. Why did I give it only three stars? It's not as "zany" or "madcap" as advertised, although certainly funny. Plus the writing lagged a bit in the middle, though once I got past that, the pace was pretty good to the end. All in all, a satisfying, but not stellar, read.

I am planning to read the sequel, though... :)

>50 drneutron: Interesting review and great premise for a book. I always wondered how two people write a novel together. It seems it would be difficult to mesh the narrative voice.

I've read a few where it was pretty easy to pick out differences between the partnering authors - Stephen King and Peter Straub come to mind. Here I felt like it was really one story and one author even though there were really two working on it. Personally, I don't know how they do it. When I work on stuff with someone at work it winds up being a primary author and a reviewer. But that's technical writing, so maybe fiction is different.

Hmmm. On balance that's not *quite* ringing enough an endorsement to book-bullet me. (It says here.)

I've polished off and reviewed a 1909 SF novella by EM Forster called The Machine Stops. Prophetic for its day, no doubt, and interesting to read now more for its authorship than its SFnal merits. Review in my thread...post #40.

Interesting review. I never knew Forster wrote that. One thumb from me!

>54 drneutron: Thanks for the thumb! I'm not at all sure I knew Forster was aware of SF at all.

I recently picked up a copy of City of Dark Magic so your review is very timely. I also didn't know that Magnus Flyte is the pseudonym for two writers.

drneutron, your list impresses me. I cannot come close to that list. Which one is your favorite so far, and which is your least favorite?

>56 lkernagh: By the way, I'm about 1/3 of the way through the sequel and am liking it pretty well!

>57 slug9000: Oh, the Shetland Island mysteries starting with Raven Black, The Martian, Fiddlehead (one of the sequels to my fave Boneshaker), and the classic Death Comes for the Archbishop. Plus a bunch of other ones that have 4 and 4.5 stars. My least fave was an Advance Reviewer Copy of The Maze that I just really didn't get into.

>58 drneutron: - Oh, goody!

The Martian is close to the top of my list--glad to hear you liked it too!

PS--I don't want to leave you out. There are only a few slots left for LT Thingaversaries annual genres. Do you want to suggest a theme for a year? Here is the thread. : )

https://www.librarything.com/topic/176863

Jim, I wish you a fantastic weekend.

Count me in the group surprised about Forster and SciFi. I learn something new on these threads every day.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Hey Jim! just a quick flyby to say hi!

Hi, Jim ~ I've got your thread starred so can follow from thread to new thread but realize I haven't posted on this one yet. So, here I am, marking my spot (so to speak). Have a great weekend!

Hi Jim--Thanks for the suggestion of Outer Space. I gave it year #20 for the LT Thingaversary Themes. And I am currently reading The Martian and loving it!

I think we are complete for years 1-20. Is there anywhere I should post it so that more people can find these fun suggestions?

https://www.librarything.com/topic/176863#4764728

Hmmm. I suppose we could post it in Book Talk!

You liked City of Dark Magic more than I did I think, Jim. Even though I know it was spoofing the genre, I just could not suspend belief sufficiently. (I mean, really, the bathroom scene during the dinner after she arrives!). Besides, I had recently read that type of story done much better in Sherwood Smith's Coronets and Steel.

I always appreciate a review that lets me off the hook!!!

>67 ronincats:, >68 sibylline: - I finished the second last night. Meh. Like the first, it started out well, but dragged in the middle and tried to do to much in the end. More later... :)

55. A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

There's been enough warbling around here about this series - suffice it to say I loved it!

56. City of Lost Dreams by Magnus Flyte

If you head back up my thread a bit, you'll see that I wasn't super impressed with the first, City of Dark Magic, which got a meh-worthy three stars. The second started off better and held my interest at first. But somewhere around the middle, it lost me again. It's not that I was ready to put it down, it's just that I found myself reading it restlessly, thinking about what's next on my reading list. Which is really odd for me - especially given that I was interleaving Taylor's second book with this one. Both are "zany" and "wacky", at least according to the blurbs on the covers. Both have interesting characters and an interesting concept. So why did Taylor work when Flyte didn't?

After thinking about it for a bit, I think it's mostly a question of scatteredness. The Flyte books should have been right up there near the top of my list, but the plots got scattered feeling - like things that felt like they happened just because the authors thought it would be cool. The Taylor book, on the other hand, felt much more focused, more tightly plotted.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a funny time travel novel with great characters and plot, look to Jodi Taylor!

Ha! Another 75er caught in the grasp of the St. Mary's series! You've got more fun reading ahead of you, Jim, with the newest one coming out fairly soon.

I've got Symphony of Echoes queued up to read "next," athough, because it belongs to me (on my Kindle) and isn't a library book, I've been pushing it aside in favor of library books that have a due date because, you know, I can read Symphony anytime. Why I do that I don't know, but I've got real-life shelves filled with books, not to mention my Kindle inventory, that I bought and haven't read yet because of that very reason.

>71 jnwelch: Joe, I'm sure our resident warbler will let us know when it's out and I'll be in line to get it!

>72 Storeetllr: I do the same thing. I'll go in the library to pick up a book I've got on reserve and there's this beautiful set of shelves just filled with new books *right by the door*. How can I pass them up? Then, since those have due dates, I have to read those first, right... :)

I just finished the third in the Taylor series and am eagerly awaiting the fourth one. I think it is due out the end of summer...! The third ended on such a cliff hanger.

Just saw in USA Today that Daniel Radcliffe will be playing the lead in a movie version of Joe Hill's Horns. He looks pretty creepy in costume!

Jim, as part of my book haul for my birthday, I acquired a signed copy of The Martian. I blame you and your warbling cohorts.

>75 drneutron: Cool!

Hi Jim- Is Zoe Hill, Joe's wife? Snickers. I've been hearing some buzz about the the Shetland Island mysteries. They sound just "dark" enough for me.

Argh. Ok, fixed *Joe's* name...

Yeah, there's a good chance you'll like Cleeves' books!

>76 AuntieClio: Oooooh, you are one lucky lady, Stephanie! You get to read an amazing novel for the first time AND it's signed too? *turns green with envy*

So I've missed both your birthday and your Thingaversary! Shame on me!! I'm so sorry, Jim!

Good news about Harry Potter playing the lead in Horns. :)

>80 Storeetllr: *chuckle*

Of course, I immediately thought of you when I saw this...

http://www.theonion.com/articles/nasa-announces-plans-to-launch-chimpanzee-into-...

Which begs the question 'Why?'. I mean, I do hope you're not implying that our good doctor is ...

ETA ;0)

*snerk* If they send anything, it'll be me... :)

>84 humouress: Nina: Nope - because he's working on a sun project (right, Jim?)...

>85 drneutron: *snork!*

Howdy Jim.

Howdy!

I read The Martian - in part because you were so positive about it - and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Thanks!

Enjoy the weekend.

Another one of us entangled in the St. Mary Chronicles, I see. Richard should be getting a cut of the profits!

>73 drneutron: But you were addressing the Coven-master of the Satanic Book Warblers: >71 jnwelch:.

You could not *possibly* mean moi, as *I* am a mere flâneur on the boulevards of lit'rachure.

Jim, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

*grumbles as she goes off to Google "flâneur"*

Yeah, I had to do that too...

Flaneuring by....(with no idea how to put the accent up above)

>95 Berly: You copy and paste it from someone else who already did it! Thusly : flâneur

>96 laytonwoman3rd: But that's too easy! : P
And no help whatsoever if I want "â" on my own thread sometime. I'd have to remember where I saw the little thing ages ago, in what word on whose thread. LOL

OR! You could just google flâneur again, without the circonflexe. Et voilà! There she shall be in all her glory, the circonflexe.

Yes, I know, but I wanted to know what keystrokes to hit on my keyboard to get "â," otherwise known as the circonflexe, instead of copy and pasting. Or "è," l'accent grave, etc.

ooh! I found alt + c = ç
and alt + a = å

Hmmm. So close...

>97 Berly: I'm using a MacBook Air. If I hold down a letter for a few seconds, it gives me options with various accents. Does that help? Not too easy? ;0)

>97 Berly: Sorry, didn't realize you really wanted to know "how"...the Google shortcut is good for me. I am intrigued to see the keyboard functions, although they don't seem to work on this computer.

>100 humouress: Yep, the same thing works on my iPad.

The macbook air does not have a CD drive, is that right? Do you of a macbook that has one, Jim?

That's right, the Macbook Air doesn't have a CD/DVD drive. You can by an external one for about $100 that plugs into a USB port, but frankly, it's been ages since I needed one and didn't bother. :)

hmm. Thanks Jim.

>100 humouress: Success!!!! Thanks very much. : )

à á â ä æ ã å ā !!!!

57. Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Thomas Sweterlitsch

Some ten years after Pittsburgh is destroyed, John Dominic Blaxton wanders an online Pittsburgh Archive obsessed with his wife and child lost in the event. When he loses his job investigating deaths in the blast after being arrested for drug use, Dominic is pulled into a web of deceit into the ruins of the city itself.

Now, cyberpunk is usually a fave of mine; pinning out possible futures is usually pretty intriguing. Tomorrow and Tomorrow? Not so much. It's not bad so much as just average. I wasn't much impressed with the characters. The writing was a mix of interesting and tedious. The best part for me was the way Sweterlitsch projected today's Web into a virtual reality web driven by commercializations of nearly everything - he got that pitch perfect.

Yeah, but what of us that are not on a Mac? If I press and hold down a letter, I get this: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Help!

>108 Morphidae: Try this chart: Windows Alt Key Codes

You type these by holding down the ALT key and tyoing the number code on your keyboard's numeric keypad. If your keyboard doesn't have one of those, the page tells you an alternate way to type them.

>108 Morphidae:: Another Windows alternative, which is a bit out-of-the-way at first, is to use the character map.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/open-character-map

If you think you'll be using this regularly, you can drag the icon to your desktop or toolbar.

>109 rosalita: >110 swynn: Very cool. Thanks.

>106 Berly: You're welcome :0)

>108 Morphidae: Sorry, Morphy; I'm actually fairly tech-illiterate and getting worse as time progresses :0(

Hello, Sir! Just bopping around to say hello! Nothing wildly interesting to add. I hope things are going well.

Greetings! Just popping in to say hello.

Hello.

Uh oh.... Pittsburgh is destroyed? Worrisome. Very worrisome.

>113 DorsVenabili:, >114 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks for stopping by! I've been a bit out of touch for the last few days - meetings at Kennedy Space Center's been keeping me busy. But I did get to finish two more books...

>115 mckait: Yup. Yinz might want to move farther away... :)

Kennedy Space Center .... jealous ... envious ... want to visit so badly

>108 Morphidae: Ha! I immediately tried that and got the same result!

>116 drneutron: *yinz* Ha! I saw what you did there! Happy Friday!

117> It's a pretty neat place! Especially when you get to go out back and climb launch towers and stuff. :)

And during the trip, I clocked in two more!

58. Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner

Way back in the early days, the FBI built its (often under-deserved) reputation chasing outlaws, then later, by "busting" organized crime. G-men had the reputation of being tough, honest, upright - Hoover was a master at managing the spin around his organization. But there has always been an uglier, less forthright side to the FBI. Hoover, always a rabid anti-communist, built the organization as an intelligence-gathering and counterintelligence fiefdom that had no qualms about dirty tricks, illegal wiretaps and black bag jobs to gather information on anyone and everyone remotely suspected of Communist - or just liberal - leaning. Now, admittedly, there *was* an active effort by some Soviet and American Communists to spy on and subvert the US government, but never in measure to the response by the FBI. Tim Weiner has done a pretty good job of developing the history of the FBI as an intelligence/counterespionage organization, rather than an arm of law enforcement.

It's frankly, a bit of a disturbing book. Anybody complaining about the Patriot Act and domestic spying as a result of 9/11 should read this book. There's no excuse for abuses of the early 21st century, but the old days were bad old days indeed. And sadly, what this really means is that there's nothing new under the Sun, and we still haven't figured out how to make security and freedom coexist - if they can at all.

As far as writing goes, Weiner's efforts at the early story are choppy and a bit repetitive, probably a lack of primary sources is responsible. Once we get to the late 60s and early 70s, the story really takes off, though, and the book almost becomes un-put-downable. The discussion of the FBI's relationship to Presidents Nixon through Obama was pretty fascinating stuff. My only real quibble with the work is that near the end, Weiner becomes a bit of an FBI fanboy and I wonder if all's as rosy as he paints in the last chapter or so.

59. Something More Than Night by Ian Tregillis

Tregillis really got to me with his time-travely, sf-y Milkweed Tryptich starting with Bitter Seeds. The stand-alone Something More Than Night just showed up at my library, and I nearly broke my arm trying to be the first to grab it off the new books shelf. This new one's a great homage to Philip Marlow and noir detective fiction built around a metaphysical universe behind the scenes of our everyday life that just blew me away. Think quantum angel dynamics. Think overlapping individual realities that cohere to form our reality. Think about a plan to change reality that starts with the murder of the Archangel Gabriel. Think a low level angel that's banished himself to Earth and adopted a Marlowe-esque persona trying to figure out what's going on. Never mind, don't think about it. Just read it!

Jim, I still get goosebumps when I see pictures or video of the VAB and that ginormous tractor they used to move the vehicle to the launchpad. Ron Howard said he actually go to drive it when he was working on Apollo 13.

Fascinating review of Enemies : A History of the FBI, Jim.

Must admit that national security/interest has often been the excuse for widespread abuse of position and power, but the J. Edgar Hoover tenure does appear to have been the peak of rank self-serving.

Have a great weekend.

You've got me thinking about reading Something More Than Night. It sounds intriguing; just trying to decide if it's up my street.

>119 drneutron: 'Especially when you get to go out back and climb launch towers and stuff. ' Now you're just showing off. ;0)

>122 humouress: yeah, just a bit! :)

>120 AuntieClio: I've actually only been over to the shuttle area when I took the KSC tour through the Visitor Center. I did get to see the big train car that rolls the Atlas V rocket out to their pad. That was a very cool day!

60. Kitty Genovese: The Murder, The Bystanders, the Crime That Changed America by Kevin Cook

In 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens while returning home from her late shift tending bar. The murder took place over about 30 minutes, and in spite of her cries for help, some 38 witnesses in surrounding apartments failed to help or even call police, as reported by the NY Times.

The murder - and the reaction of the neighborhood - horrified people across the US, leading to psychologists and sociologist to study what is now known as the "bystander effect", police departments to adopt a unified 911 system, and governments to enact Good Samaritan laws to encourage people to help others in need. The aftermath of this case truly changed our society, how police interact with the public, and how we make choices about helping each other.

For the 50th anniversary of Kitty Genovese's murder, Kevin Cook has put together a pretty good retelling of Kitty's life, the murder and capture of the murderer, and the greater impact on society. Along the way are interesting little insights into life in New York at the time and what was going on in our culture. Plus, Cook spent some time with folks involved in the case to get a better inside view of what really went on. Surprisingly, the myth of the uninvolved bystanders turns out to be just that - a myth, mostly put forward by an overly ambitious editor at the Times. So the cornerstone case driving work on the bystander effect isn't really a bystander effect case at all! This doesn't affect the validity of any bystander effect research, but it *is* curious and fascinating in itself.

Recommended!

>125 drneutron: Another one for the wishlist - thanks for the excellent review!

No prob!

>116 drneutron: Jim & >118 michigantrumpet: ? are you a yinzer?

Good one Jim, big smiles !

>125 drneutron: Ha, the one that inspired Phil Ochs to write "Outside of a Small Circle of Friends"!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMeG6dAFqXw

>128 mckait: Nope, not a yinzer, but my best friend is!

>129 ronincats: Yup, and it gets mentioned in the book!

>125 drneutron: Wow. I've heard of the "bystander effect" several times. Usually in a psychology class or therapy group of some type. And each time they used that example! Interesting to know a book was written about it.

>131 Morphidae: One of the things most interesting to me about the bystander effect is that there's an inverse relationship between the number of people capable of rendering help and the number of people that actually do - so the more people around who can help means that fewer people actually do help. I guess folks decide that someone else can get involved. Not having any real background in psychology, I'd never heard that before.

I'm the one who really shouldn't be helping but can't help herself. I'm rather bumbling but good-hearted.

>131 Morphidae: I think it's more "oh surely someone else is gonna step up" than "someone else can do this." People are followers not leaders. If someone steps up, then others usually do too. Depending, of course, on the situation.

I'm like Morphi, I'll step in. I'm usually the one who figures out what kind of help is needed and goes and gets it (e.g. ushers, EMTs, police, etc.)

>119 drneutron: Great review on the FBI book. Got a copy through the ER program and quite enjoyed it. I think Weiner did a great job. He also is quite specific about needed reforms.

>130 drneutron: is that the one who dresses like you?

:)

Yup!

Hi there - just catching up after a longer than expected absence.

Thanks for stopping by!

61. A Fair Maiden by Joyce Carol Oates

In turns compelling and off-putting, Oates' short treatment of a teen girl coming of age at the New Jersey shore and the elderly man who captivates her is fascinating. Frankly, I thought I had it figured out as a spin on Lolita, but then she knocked me for a loop with the ending. As usual, JCO is deep and disturbing, but well worth it.

>139 drneutron: I'm not going to read it so could you PM me the twist?

>125 drneutron: That sounds like a great book. I have heard about that case a number of times and would love to read more about from a psychology standpoint. Thanks!

>140 Morphidae: - Done!

>141 Berly: - you're welcome!

>97 Berly: just add some bit of fun information: get a Swiss keyboard and you have the éàèçâöäüëîìñú right there :)

Hej Jim

62. Shadows in the Vineyard by Maximillian Potter

In 2011, the director of the finest vineyard in Burgundy received a letter threatening to destroy the vines unless a substantial ransom was paid. Maximillian Potter's Shadows in the Vineyard tells story of the crime and the investigation. But it's also an interesting history of the Domaine Romanée-Conti and the families who owned and tended this piece of living history.

Potter's a pretty good storyteller; he certainly knows how to bring the Domaine to life. In spite of the blurbs on the cover, this isn't a suspenseful book. But that's ok - it's a delightful read anyway.

#62 is NON-fiction?! Sounds like a thriller to me!

Yup, nonfiction. For true wine lovers, it's pretty scary! :)

>146 drneutron: :0)

A day for fifths!

63. The Warlock by Michael Scott

Fifth in the Nicholas Flamel YA series that begins with The Alchemyst. The series is coming to a head, and the story's getting more intricate and more interesting. On to the last!

64. The Sixth Gun, vol 5 by Cullen Bunn

Fifth in the excellent graphic novel series. Again, things are coming to a head and I've already got the next coming from the library!

Hi Jim, I wish you a lovely Sunday.

I do my good-literary-netizen duty with a review of Notes from the Internet Apocalypse in my thread...post #185.

*like*, *like*, *like*

Snarky reviews are my faves... I love the SNL take. :)

Some great reviews here, Jim, of some interesting reading. The one about the Genovese case sounds especially interesting. Shadows in the Vineyard sounds good, too.

>151 drneutron: *bows* One endeavours to give satisfaction.

It was the first time I'd ever been exposed to the "this ain't the first time, sonny" idea quite so forcefully.

>139 drneutron: I love how you describe Joyce Carol Oates as deep and disturbing, Jim. That is SO on the money for the one book of hers that I've read! Such a superb characterization!

>139 drneutron: >154 TinaV95: What Tina said.

>154 TinaV95: >155 mckait: Ditto!

Hi Jim! It looks like I've been tardy over here. Glad to see you've been churning through the books. Always a good sign. Hope all is well, in your world.

ETA- Try any new worthy beers lately?

Hmmm. Some catching up to do...

>152 tymfos: Thanks! The book on Kitty Genovese was indeed pretty interesting, especially for the ramifications for future psychological and sociological research.

>153 richardderus: :)

>154 TinaV95: >155 mckait: >156 tymfos: Thanks!

>157 msf59: No new beers lately - we've actually been tapering off for a bit. The nephew who's now living with us takes medication that doesn't do well with alcohol, and he's 23 and thinks he should be allowed to drink in spite of this. So we're trying to remove temptation. :) We did have some Fat Tire the other day, though...

65. Fetch the Devil by Clint Richmond

In 1938, Hazel and Nancy Frome, wife and daughter of a wealthy executive in an explosives company connected with DuPont, left Berkeley California for a coast-to-coast trip to South Carolina. For reasons not well understood, they decided to take a southern route along the US-Mexico border, most likely to dip into Mexico for shopping - which they had done in the past. After problems with their car, they were forced to spend a few days in El Paso, Texas, while waiting for repairs, and once the car was ready, strangely left El Paso in a rush, then were found brutally murdered a few hundred miles away after a few days.

The investigation was a confused mess - the local sheriff was not able to handle a crime of this magnitude, the Texas Rangers meddled in everything without actually helping - and the murders became a media sensation. The El Paso sheriff, a rather modern investigator, was convinced that the solution to the crime lay in their Bay area origin, and likely with the husband/father they left behind. You see, during this time, spies from Nazi Germany were highly active trying to organize resident German Americans, snoop out military resources, and steal secrets from industry. And Frome was deep in the manufacture of high explosives used by the US military in infrastructure construction and munitions. But because of the "too many cooks" investigating the crime, and ultimately because of the US entry into the war, the crime was never solved.

Clint Richmond has done a very good job of laying out the crime and the evidence uncovered, profiling the people involved, and offering his well-supported theory of what really happened to Hazel and Nancy in the West Texas desert. It's narrative nonfiction of the kind I like best, with a fascinating story of pre-WWII espionage that I knew very little about beforehand. Highly recommended!

>158 drneutron: *sigh* Every stinkin' time I come over here, I end up adding something to my wishlist...

:) My work here is done...

Sure you guys can't make a quick trip to Asheville next weekend?

>159 scaifea: >160 drneutron: ... apparently, it's ongoing ...

>161 msf59: I'd love to, but that's the annual back-to-school event we hold at our house for the teenagers at our church. 200 ft long slip-n-slide, cookout, games etc. we'll have at least 50 on the place, plus some parents and volunteers. Mrsdrneutron would skin me alive if I bugged out. :)

66. House of the Hunted by Mark Mills

Fairly standard "ex-spy pulled back into the life" thriller. House of the Hunted benefits from a good writer and a post World War I France setting that adds nice color to the story. It made a good brain-candy read, and I'll look for others by Mills.

>163 drneutron: Holy moly, that's some party!

I reviewed the laugh-out-loud lark The Madonna and the Starship, James Morrow's latest bagatelle, in my thread...post #282.

67. Lovecraft's Monsters, ed. Ellen Datlow

Datlow's probably my favorite collector of short stories - at least in the fantasy and horror realm. This one's one of the better - stories that touch on, but aren't pastiches of Lovecraft - with more than the usual fraction of really good stories. Gaiman was blah, Lansdale was top notch, Bear was great. And I picked up a couple of new-to-me authors to look for.

68. Chew, Volume 8 by John Layman

Eighth in the ongoing graphic novel series centered around the Chew family, and the abilities they gain by eating things. These are funny, satirical, and just plain weird. And not for the easily grossed out. Layman manages to get a few icky things for folks to eat in each volume.

Just behind you in completing Shadows in the Vineyard. Enjoying it so far ... or as much as a wine lover can.

Speaking of true stories horrifying to those in the know, I'm listening to the audio version of Sex on the Moon: the Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History -- about about a NASA insider stealing lunar samples. Can imagine it would give you nightmares. Have you read this one?

>168 michigantrumpet: I haven't read it, but I know the story. I really ought to put it on my list. But yeah, it's pretty sad that we have to worry about that sort of thing happening.

>168 michigantrumpet: Marrianne, and >169 drneutron: Jim, I just read the description of Sex on the Moon which included, "If they're worthless to scientists once they get to Earth, what could be wrong with stealing them?" (paraphrased)

Uhhhh .... because they don't belong to you? Because they're still government property?

Don and I are having a text message conversation about the new 49'ers stadium which opened this week and is less than a mile from where he lives. People are idiots.

Hi Jim, I have set up the September Series and Sequels thread - here is the link:

September Series and Sequels

>151 drneutron: added to the group wiki!

>172 drneutron: Thanks, Jim.

>163 drneutron: That is a massive amount of teenagers in one place! I'd agree that Mrs.Dr.Neutron would have reason to skin you alive if you left her with that much teen angst alone!! lol

Jim, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Have a great weekend Jim.

Thanks, everyone, for the good thoughts this weekend!

Hi Jim! I vaguely heard an article on BBC World Service about satellites orbiting the sun, but my parents were in town and I was talking to them, so I didn't get to listen to it properly. But I thought of you! :0)

You may have heard about the STEREO mission. It's two spacecraft orbiting the Sun at 1AU, one ahead of the Earth, one behind. The purpose is to image the Sun in regions we can't see from the Earth. They're about to go behind the Sun relative to Earth, and we'll lose contact for a couple of months. Yep, I worked on 'em. :)

>179 drneutron: - That is so cool! Does the whole concept of 'losing contact' with the spacecraft cause any level of anxiety or concern for the folks involved with the mission? It would be somewhat difficult for me to just sit back and accept the fact that I wouldn't know anything that may be happening to the spacecraft for a period of months. It must be nail when time for contact to resume happens....

Oh, yeah. These sorts of things cause no end of angst! Solar Probe has several periods where we're unable to contact the missions for days at a time, and one that lasts for a month. Fortunately, it's away from the closest encounter period, and it's well into the mission when we believe we'll have a much better understanding of how the spacecraft behaves. But yeah, those will be interesting times...

69. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

A very nice history of Genghis Khan and the rise of the Mongol empire in the early 13th century. Born Temujin, the son of a tribal leader, Khan rose from abandonment by his tribe to eventually lead a large group of Mongol tribes to unite all of Mongolia. Then in a series of lightning-quick wars, went on to bring large parts of Central Asia into the fold. Eventually, Genghis and his descendants enlarged the Mongolian Empire into the largest contiguous empire ever known, adding the Mongol horde into European thinking as a symbol of brutality and terror.

But as Jack Weatherford shows, Genghis was more than just a brutal war leader. The Mongolians - because they were a nomadic, herding people - had very little technological base or manufacturing capability, yet they wanted the goods produced by a more advanced society. In building their empire, the Mongols under Genghis Khan adopted and adapted many of the best aspects of the cultures they subsumed, and in doing so greatly increased trade and the exchange of ideas across cultures. Perhaps the best part of the book, Weatherford's work gives great examples of this, and is a great introduction to this period of history.

70. The Rock Hole by Reavis Z. Wortham

A well-done start to a mystery/suspense series featuring a constable in rural 1964 Texas. It's got a good ear for the people and the times - good and bad without sugarcoating issues such as racism - and a decent mystery. There's two more in the series, and they've now appeared on my TBR!

I loved Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, too, Jim. Fascinating - we think of him mainly as a warrior, but he was a visionary leader who had a huge impact. In a lot of ways he and the Mongolians out-Romaned the Romans.

Yeah, I thought the same thing. I was really surprised by Genghis Khan's willingness to adapt features from other cultures while still keeping his fundamental steppe nomad way of life.

>158 drneutron: Fetch the Devil sounds fascinating . . . oh, dear, as if my list wasn't long enough . . . ;-)

>185 tymfos: I agree Fetch the Devil does sound good. On my list it goes.

Finished a couple of graphic novels last night...

71. The Sixth Gun, vol 6 by Cullen Bunn

Sixth in what's turning into my second favorite graphic novel series (after Locke & Key by Joe HIl and company). It's weird, it's Western, it's a bunch o' fun!Plus it looks like the series is heading for a final cionflict and I'm lokking forward to seeing how all this wraps up.

72. Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Really more an illustrated short story collection, this graphic novel really shines. Horrific, scary stories - they reminded me of the stories told around a campfire when I was younger. The artwork is fantastically done and just right to enhance the creepiness of the stories. Highly recommended!

Oh both of those sound good - and available at my library - Yay!!

>181 drneutron: I've always wondered about this, but now I can feel unstupid for asking: Isn't there an orbit of a given body that can support a satellite which could act as a relay for the occulted satellite's signal?

>182 drneutron: *owowowow* Dammit Jim! I'm a pensioner, not a squillionaire! *trudges off to Ammy*

>187 drneutron: Hahaha! Comic books can't hurt me! nyah

>189 richardderus::

181 - Yep, but we'd have to build and launch 'em. It's cheaper to wait it out since we've shown that we can build reliable spacecraft. But there's actually a data relay network in place around Mars since NASA has a bunch of Mars missions in either operations or planning/building phases.

182 - Hah. Just desserts, my friend. :)

183 - Excuuuse me, these are *graphic novels*. Sophisticated literature for nerds who can't grow up!

>190 drneutron:

#181 That sounds to me like penny wise, pound foolish. Suppose the occulted satellite fails for extrinsic reasons? No way to know that unless data is available. Plus two satellites = many more chances to observe the object in question, more kinds of data possible to collect....

What am I thinking. The Congress doesn't even "believe in" global climate change. *snort*

Mars gets GPS! How unbelievably cool is that. Ya know, if they want crippled-up old guys to go to Mars and die so they can study how it works, I'm totally up for that. As long as I can take my Kindle.

#182 *snort* Yeah, right.

#183 Well yeah, like I said: Comic books.

"Sophisticated literature for nerds who can't grow up!" *snerk* (to borrow a sound effect from the lovely scaifea. That's the best definition of graphic novels I've heard yet.

Ooh, you've got me fascinated by that Genghis Khan book. I've been considering trying to visit Mongolia in the next five years, so maybe I should start reading now!

>190 drneutron: Excuuuse me, these are *graphic novels*. Sophisticated literature ... Yeah, the kids have been trying to convince me about that. Not buying it from them.
(ETA or for them)

>191 richardderus: As long as I can take my Kindle. Richard, for all the satellites and GPS Mars has, I'm not sure they have Amazon. They might have some other equivalent, though.

Nice review of Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, Jim!

Thanks!

I've only just discovered that, as of 2005, we officially (obviously, they've existed all this time) have 2 more dwarf planets that have joined Pluto in our solar system.

Why did no one tell me about this before?! I must have been too 'blur' (Singaporean phrase), looking after a young baby.

(Sorry Dr. Jim; I mention this here because your my go-to guy for all things extra terrestrial.)

Yep, that's one of the reasons that Pluto was reclassified. It's more like those objects than the other planets.

By the way, here's a picture of Charon circling Pluto taken with our long range imager called LORRI:

ETA: hmmm, won't display. Try here...
http://www.librarything.com/pic/4521883

Hi Jim, I wish you a fantastic weekend.

>182 drneutron: Great review of the Genghis Kahn... I've never been interested in that particular part of history, but I'm curious now!

Catching up here. Both the Genghis and Fetch the Devil sound great--dang you!! And your summer bash for the kids sounds great. How did it go? We do a similar one in the spring, but its indoors and more game oriented. Wise man to stay. Never abandon the wife! ; )

Some years ago, I saw a great movie about Genghis Khan, "Mongol"; if you have a chance to see it.

>201 Berly: The event went well. We planned it for Saturday, but had to postpone to the rain date on Sunday. So we lost about 15 kids who couldn't make it. Still, everyone had fun and we didn't have any injuries! :)

>202 banjo123: Hmmm. *trots off to Netflix*

That Genghis book has been on my WL for far too long, time to move it into a shelf at the very least!

>197 humouress: >198 drneutron: At one stage I was relatively well up on dwarf planets. At the age of about seven or eight J was hugely interested in dwarf planets, moons and most other things connected to the solar system, and all TV programmes on the subject had to be watched, the internet had to be searched for further information, and everything he'd discovered had to be discussed at frequent intervals. Of course, now I can't remember - Eris - is that one? Going off to look up dwarf planets ...

Yup. Eris is a dwarf planet, along with Pluto!

73. The Sixth Extinction by James Rollins

Latest in the Sigma Force series. As usual, it's a scientific thriller that bends the science just enough to be suspenseful. If you've read the previous, you won't be surprised by it. If not, start at the beginning of the series - they're pretty good brain candy.

74. Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman
In some ways, it sucks to be king. You never get to do what you want, lots of rules and traditions to follow, peasants are always revolting... But in one aspect, the king has it ok: while he may have to marry someone for politics or money, he can have sex with pretty much anyone he wants. Now, many of these relationships aren't much more than one night stands. But sometimes the king's interest gets elevated to a high position at court - the King's Mistress. Herman writes a history of mistresses of kings to give us insight into their lives, their concerns, their personalities, their challenges.

Some of the relationships discussed are deeply loving ones, where the king and his partner are more married than he is with the queen. In other cases, the king's mistress was out to get whatever she could, knowing that her life and (in some cases) safety depends on the good will of the king, which can be lost at a moment's notice. And not surprisingly, a king's mistress was surrounded by those who wanted access to the king, those who wanted to take her place, and those who wanted her out of the picture - not a pleasant life.

Herman tells these stories with decent skill. I was surprised by some aspects, particularly how politically active most of these women were, in some cases even ruling for the king. It's a bit unfortunate that Herman's perspective was so narrow; most of the discussion centered around the later kings of France and the occasional 16th and 17th century English king. I suspect that the primary sources are pretty limited outside that timeframe and geographic location, but it would be interesting to get insight from early eras and from other places. Nonetheless, an interesting book.http://www.librarything.com/topic/177190#

Jim. I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Sex with Kings sounds like a very compelling read, Jim!

And for number 75:

75. Malice by John Gwynne

I happened across this epic fantasy at the library while browsing the new books, and it seemed like a pretty good story. Sure enough, Gwynne's put together just the thing for a long airplane ride - decent plot, good writing, and a well-conceived world. Yeah, there's a lot borrowed from George R. R. Martin, there's more than a passing similarity to Tad Williams' Dragonbone Chair. But I like the way Gwynne started from the world of Irish Celtic mythology and culture, then added his own elements to build the world. Plus, I'm anticipating some interesting twists in the next volume!

Congrats! Since if drneutron shows up to congratulate you here, it'd lack the usual mysteriously perfect timing.

Happy 75!!!

Bravo, Jim!

Congrats on 75!

Congrats on reaching 75 Jim, onwards now to 100.

Congrats on reaching 75 Jim! (books I mean)

WOOHOO! Congrats on reaching 75, and sounds like a good one!

Congrats on 75.

Congratulations on reaching 75, Jim.

Congrats on reaching 75, Jim. Always good to have a good book for the 75 milestone.

Way to go on the 75, Jim!

Congrats on reaching

Congratulations!

Congrats on the 75, Jim!

Congratulations on reaching your 75th for the year, Jim!

You did it! Congratulations!

Thanks for the congratulations, everyone! Join me on the new thread...