What are you reading?

[Richard Reyes]

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey.

Also known as book one of The Expanse. Not sure if I want to read the entire series. So far book one is too much like the show. I'm hoping for deviation from the tv show but I fear I'll have to keep going and going until I reach that point. 

[Krystal]

[invisible airwave]

[Principled Man]

Alexandra Petri's U.S. History:  Important American Documents (I made up) W.W. Norton & Co., 2023.  First Edition

 

It just arrived at my doorstep!  I can't wait to marvel at the wonderful satire by Ms. Petri.  

 

Selected documents:

John and Abigail Adams Try Sexting.

Top Toys For Puritan Parents

Ayn Rand's "The Little Engine That Could But Preferred Not To"

Richard Nixon's Tapes But Just The Parts Where He's Yelling At Checkers

 

  

[Krystal]

[TheAccountant]

Tolkien - The Children of Hurin

[TheAccountant]

Tolkien - Bern and Luthien

[TheAccountant]

Katja Panzer - The Finnish Way

 

A book about Finland and its culture some friends suggested we read.  Rather enjoyable.

[Sun & Moon]

On 4/30/2023 at 8:25 AM, TheAccountant said:

Katja Panzer - The Finnish Way

 

A book about Finland and its culture some friends suggested we read.  Rather enjoyable.

As a Finn, I'd like to know how to find "courage, wellness, and happiness through the power of sisu".  Seriously speaking, sisu (determination, grit) can be both a well of extreme stubbornness leading to desperate attempts in making it in the society, and a serenity that leads to individual, unconventional decisions and well-being. How was the book, textwise?    

[TheAccountant]

13 hours ago, Sun & Moon said:

As a Finn, I'd like to know how to find "courage, wellness, and happiness through the power of sisu".  Seriously speaking, sisu (determination, grit) can be both a well of extreme stubbornness leading to desperate attempts in making it in the society, and a serenity that leads to individual, unconventional decisions and well-being. How was the book, textwise?    

 

Overall I enjoyed it.  A lot of emphasis on cycling everywhere (and throughout the year, even the dead of winter), sauna's, swimming in all weather and all seasons (including swimming in the ocean in the winter), spending as much time as possible outside, purchasing localy produced / grown & used / recycled.  Based on our friends recommendation I had read "Teach Like Finland" first and I though this was much better written.  Not great but enjoyable.  Decent.  A fairly quick read.  Worth the time.  Would I purchase it?  I guess.  Maybe.  Once my mom finish's it up I may take another look at it before we return it our friends.  That may make my mind up one way or the other.  Dad also though it was decent and better than Teach Like Finland.  I was surprised that age 96 he enjoyed it as mush as he did.  He has always been one to read about how to do something.  This is not normally his type of book.  

[Sun & Moon]

4 hours ago, TheAccountant said:

 

Overall I enjoyed it.  A lot of emphasis on cycling everywhere (and throughout the year, even the dead of winter), sauna's, swimming in all weather and all seasons (including swimming in the ocean in the winter), spending as much time as possible outside, purchasing localy produced / grown & used / recycled.  Based on our friends recommendation I had read "Teach Like Finland" first and I though this was much better written.  Not great but enjoyable.  Decent.  A fairly quick read.  Worth the time.  Would I purchase it?  I guess.  Maybe.  Once my mom finish's it up I may take another look at it before we return it our friends.  That may make my mind up one way or the other.  Dad also though it was decent and better than Teach Like Finland.  I was surprised that age 96 he enjoyed it as mush as he did.  He has always been one to read about how to do something.  This is not normally his type of book.  

Thanks for the review. It's so cool that your father still has a spark for reading about new skills and areas of life. I haven't read books about hygge, lykke, ikigai or omoiyari, for example, and I thought the sisu book would be of the same type. Hard to tell, but I found the book in the collection of the library group I work in. My reservation should arrive within a few days. Although printed books are not very accessible for me I'm curious to take a look at it.

 

Speaking of sisu, I haven't seen the new Finnish old school action movie of the same name yet. It seems like the right time to export sisu, since the box office in the U.S. has been pretty good. 

[TheAccountant]

18 hours ago, Sun & Moon said:

Thanks for the review. It's so cool that your father still has a spark for reading about new skills and areas of life. I haven't read books about hygge, lykke, ikigai or omoiyari, for example, and I thought the sisu book would be of the same type. Hard to tell, but I found the book in the collection of the library group I work in. My reservation should arrive within a few days. Although printed books are not very accessible for me I'm curious to take a look at it.

 

Speaking of sisu, I haven't seen the new Finnish old school action movie of the same name yet. It seems like the right time to export sisu, since the box office in the U.S. has been pretty good. 

Your welcome.  Hope you enjoy it.  I will be curious what you think of it and look forward to any review you post of it.

 

Thanks also for mentioning Sisu.  I had no idea their was a movie with the title.  If I get the time I will have to check it out.

Edited May 3, 2023 by TheAccountant

[Sun & Moon]

On 5/3/2023 at 4:50 AM, TheAccountant said:

Your welcome.  Hope you enjoy it.  I will be curious what you think of it and look forward to any review you post of it.

 

Thanks also for mentioning Sisu.  I had no idea their was a movie with the title.  If I get the time I will have to check it out.

I'll give the book a try as it arrives. Maybe I'll learn something new, or get a new perspective.

 

In the movie the power of sisu will be demonstrated in it's most extreme. Not quite an accurate depiction of how the German troops were expelled from Lapland, the north of Finland.  The director was inspired by the first Rambo movies and didn't forget the tongue-in-cheek humour. The music is composed by Tuomas Wäinölä who's a helluva guitar player himself but also composes a lot of other stuff.

 

(As a possibly triggering sidenote, being a granddaughter of a Lapland war veteran I never heard any stories about the war. Both of my grandpas fought in WWII, and what happened was widely not talked about in post-war Finland. The veterans could only share their stories with each other. My other grandpa was seriously injured by a grenade in the stomach and was literally rescued from a pile of dead. A guy from the neighboring village fighting in the same group happened to notice that my grandpa was still alive. Without that guy I wouldn't be writing this, as my father was born a few years after the war.)

[TheAccountant]

There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather - Lind Akeson McGurk

 

This was another one some family friends loaned us to read.  Not bad.  Interesting enough - not that I am planning on having kids any time.  Life long bachlor and never really wanted to have kids.  Still, it an interesting read.  Should some strange event happen and I meet some gal who falls for me (not likely) and something happens I suppose it could be helpful.  

[TheAccountant]

On 5/4/2023 at 2:42 AM, Sun & Moon said:

I'll give the book a try as it arrives. Maybe I'll learn something new, or get a new perspective.

 

In the movie the power of sisu will be demonstrated in it's most extreme. Not quite an accurate depiction of how the German troops were expelled from Lapland, the north of Finland.  The director was inspired by the first Rambo movies and didn't forget the tongue-in-cheek humour. The music is composed by Tuomas Wäinölä who's a helluva guitar player himself but also composes a lot of other stuff.

 

(As a possibly triggering sidenote, being a granddaughter of a Lapland war veteran I never heard any stories about the war. Both of my grandpas fought in WWII, and what happened was widely not talked about in post-war Finland. The veterans could only share their stories with each other. My other grandpa was seriously injured by a grenade in the stomach and was literally rescued from a pile of dead. A guy from the neighboring village fighting in the same group happened to notice that my grandpa was still alive. Without that guy I wouldn't be writing this, as my father was born a few years after the war.)

Thats a lot more than I knew about any fighting in Lapland during WWII.  My dad was in basic training when the bomb was dropped which forced Japan to surrender.  He was eventually in occupation troops in Germany.  I certainly don't like the idea of the A-bomb being used but if it had not been used my dad would likely have been sent to help invade Japan and lord knows what might have happened.  

 

As for WWII, I know the USSR attached Finland and provoked the winter war of 1939 - 40 and I have read that the invasion was set in motion by the Fins (rightful) refusal to allow the USSR to station troops at a number of locations in Finland.  I believe the USSR had also demanded a swap of some land.  As I understand it the USSR was actually willing to give more land then they would have gotten but the land the USSR wanted was militarily sensitive (basically the Manerheim line) and what they were willing to give us was not of great military importance.  After epic resistance Finland lost that war but kept its independence.

 

After the winter war Finland (as I understand it) got involved in WW II when Germany attacked the USSR, reclaimed the land it lost in the winter war and then stopped any offensive actions.  Finally in 1944 the USSR launched a major offensive against Finland which forced Finland to a less then satisfactory peace treaty but at least Finland kept it independence (unlike eastern Europe).  As I understand it, part of that treaty was that the Fins would expel any German troops from Finland.  But unfortunately I don't know anything about that.

 

I have read one book on Finlands involvement in WW II but it was more about the winter war then the latter (post 1941) Finnish involvement in the war.  It only very briefly mentioned what happened after the 1944 treaty.  I had not idea that the efforts to expel the Germans from Finland were so bloody.

 

Thanks for opening my eyes to a part of history I did not know much about. 

[pjbear05]

The White House Plumbers, by Egil "Bud" Krogh and Matthew Krogh

[Richard Reyes]

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

[TheAccountant]

The Fall of Gondolin by J.R.R. Tolkien

[Babycat]

Stephen King - The Shining

[Sun & Moon]

On 5/8/2023 at 3:47 AM, TheAccountant said:

Thats a lot more than I knew about any fighting in Lapland during WWII.  My dad was in basic training when the bomb was dropped which forced Japan to surrender.  He was eventually in occupation troops in Germany.  I certainly don't like the idea of the A-bomb being used but if it had not been used my dad would likely have been sent to help invade Japan and lord knows what might have happened.  

 

As for WWII, I know the USSR attached Finland and provoked the winter war of 1939 - 40 and I have read that the invasion was set in motion by the Fins (rightful) refusal to allow the USSR to station troops at a number of locations in Finland.  I believe the USSR had also demanded a swap of some land.  As I understand it the USSR was actually willing to give more land then they would have gotten but the land the USSR wanted was militarily sensitive (basically the Manerheim line) and what they were willing to give us was not of great military importance.  After epic resistance Finland lost that war but kept its independence.

 

After the winter war Finland (as I understand it) got involved in WW II when Germany attacked the USSR, reclaimed the land it lost in the winter war and then stopped any offensive actions.  Finally in 1944 the USSR launched a major offensive against Finland which forced Finland to a less then satisfactory peace treaty but at least Finland kept it independence (unlike eastern Europe).  As I understand it, part of that treaty was that the Fins would expel any German troops from Finland.  But unfortunately I don't know anything about that.

 

I have read one book on Finlands involvement in WW II but it was more about the winter war then the latter (post 1941) Finnish involvement in the war.  It only very briefly mentioned what happened after the 1944 treaty.  I had not idea that the efforts to expel the Germans from Finland were so bloody.

 

Thanks for opening my eyes to a part of history I did not know much about. 

It's easy to see that you have interest in history. You summarized the events of those wars nicely. The amount of casualties of the Lapland War in comparison with the Continuation War was dramatically smaller but the duration of the war was significantly shorter as well. The German troops burned down or otherwise demolished pretty much every building, bridge and railroad in most of the vast Lapland area, leaving great masses homeless. It took more than a decade to rebuild everything - except the broken, war-torn minds of the locals and the soldiers. It starts to be the generation born in the 2010s that no longer is haunted by the memories and reflections of the three consecutive wars.

 

What you wrote about your father, and the story of my grandfather both show the coincidental nature of life. If my granddad hadn't been seriously wounded on the 12th July 1941 in the very beginning of the Continuation War he might have been killed a few days or months later in the battles. His brother, a very clever young man, died in the war. The majority of the soldiers were reservists. The families were not the same when the war ended. They never are, no matter when or where the war takes place.

 

By the way, I got the Sisu book you recommended. Seems like an easy read with a comfortable layout.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Sun & Moon

[Richard Reyes]

Poverty, By America   -   Mathew Desmond.

Time for some non-fiction. His previous book, Evicted, is one of the most eye-opening books I've ever read. Work hard, work smart and still live in poverty. 

 

[TheAccountant]

9 hours ago, Richard Reyes said:

Poverty, By America   -   Mathew Desmond.

Time for some non-fiction. His previous book, Evicted, is one of the most eye-opening books I've ever read. Work hard, work smart and still live in poverty. 

 

 I will be curious if you think this is good or not.  I read one review of it and it seemed to be a very interesting read.

[TheAccountant]

They Called Me A Lioness: A Palestinian Girl's Fight For Freedom by Ahed Tammy & Dena Takruri

 

Basically the story of a young Palestinian girl (and her family and village) attempts at non-violent opposition to its occupation.  So far (about 40 page into it) its a very interesting read.  

Edited May 31, 2023 by TheAccountant

[Rhyta]

Been sidetracked on my reading since the NHL playoff started (happens every year )  Started I, Robot before they started but didn't get past the first story.  Going to come back to it,  now I am re-reading the 4th book in a fun steampunk series

[Chronos]

Donna Tartt: The Secret History