Clanlands, Heughan and McTavish

 

Clanlands: Whiskey, warfare, and a Scottish adventure like no other by Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish is supposed to be a fun romp (travelogue?) through Scotland by a couple of friends.

Started: 12/18/2021
Completed: 12/30/2021
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Words for which I sought help:

crinigerous -- having hair

dogsbody -- a person who is given meaningless, boring tasks

dualchas -- cultural inheritance (Gaelic)

Review:

There is some good material in this book, but it is sparse.  I am not a fan of Outlander (never seen it), so the fact that the two who wrote the book are from the series has no meaning for me.  Moreover, their tales of their pasts and the adventures while filming Outlander is only marginally interesting, but takes up a staggeringly large portion of the book.  I think that these two are genuinely friends, but the way that they go at each other is not entertaining for me...it is distracting and bit like trying to referee with 13 year old boys.  Not a fun experience.

The subtitle mentions whiskey, but the most telling whiskey information is about one of the author's own brand (perhaps, also, that the authors drink too much of it).  Other than that, whiskey mentions seem to be focused around what one keeps in a flask in a kilt.  The "warfare" was most of the good material--not that I enjoy warfare, but it was interesting material that kept me engaged.  The "adventure" focused mainly on how uncomfortable they were, though they seemed to look at it in hindsight as a great adventure.  The "great adventure" part, however, was not emphasized.

With a few interesting nuggets, it is not worth the time unless you want to read more about these two actors from Outlander.

Think, Simon Blackburn

 

Think: A compelling introduction to philosophy by Simon Blackburn is a book that was on a reading list to prep for a degree in philosophy.

Started: 6/15/2021
Completed: 12/26/2021
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: A Reading List

Review:

The title call is answered in this book.  Covering thought from the ancient Greeks to contemporary philosophers (not in a timeline), Blackburn provides an overview of thought on a variety of issues.  I like that Blackburn started with Descartes and the basic question of how one knows one exists.  To me, this is a logical starting point for philosophy, although it was assumed for a very long time.  The effort to understand the word outside of the individual is a window into both historical and contemporary thought.  The desire and effort to persuade others of an opinion and, finally, what to do with thinking is a natural progression.  Excellent.

Palmares, Gayl Jones

 

Palmares by Gayl Jones was on a best books of 2021 list from the New York Times.

Started: 12/23/2021
Completed: 12/25/2021 (did not finish)
Recommendation: No Comment
Recommended By: The New York Times

Review:

This book addresses slavery in Brazil as a lived condition.  The book opens with abuse and rape (as well as many of the other common attributes of slavery) and I just could not stomach it.  It is all perceived from the eyes of a 7 year old whose marginal family is torn asunder in the first quarter of the book.  I recognize the need to have such first hand accounts (even fictional), but I just can no longer stomach them.  Thus, I cannot comment reasonably on the quality of the book.

Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese

 

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese was recommended by my wife.

Started: 12/11/2021
Completed: 12/23/2021
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: my wife

Review:

This is not an easy book to read.  The book itself is extremely well written which means that each word is precious and this makes it harder to read.  The plots and subplots are complicated, dynamic, and largely unpredictable which makes it harder to read.  The characters are complicated, messy, and true to themselves (nothing is particularly jarring despite several things being surprising) which makes it harder to read.  Many parts of the book are flat-out sad and that makes it hard to read.  For my money, this is an excellent book.  It is worth the effort to read.

The Fated Sky, Mary Robinette Kowal

 

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal is the second lady astronaut novel.

Started: 11/15/2021
Completed: 12/19/2021
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

Some parts of this book are excellent (what is the proper way to handle a dead crew member in long distance space travel?).  Others are mostly annoying ("I miss my husband" is both obvious and it just is said over and over).  The end of the novel sort of suggests that there was much more, but the book was getting too long.  Why they chopped up the ending the way that they did is hard to understand.  It seems like there was a huge amount of detail about some of the crew members that was just left empty.  I picked up the next book, but I'm not sure if I will continue the series past that book unless things improve.

The Legend of the Celtic Stone, Michael Phillips

The Legend of the Celtic Stone by Michael Phillips is the first volume of the Caledonia series.  It has been so long, I cannot remember why I picked up this book.  I think it was at a used book store in Mt. Pleasant, SC, but I am not certain.

Started: 6/22/2019

Completed: 12/18/2021 (Did not finish)

Recommendation: Not Recommended

Recommended By:  Nobody

Review:

I started this book, but quickly ran into a slew of names, locations, and actions that I had a hard time keeping in mind.  I have stopped and started it several times over the last few years.  I hit a section that was largely transliterated brogue.  It felt like I was reading As I Lay Dying and I finally flipped ahead randomly in the book to see if this continued and, indeed, it did.  This is just too much effort for what I intended to be a simple, easy nighttime read.  I have put it aside for the last time.

iWoz, Wozniak and Smith

 

iWoz: How I invented the personal computer, co-founded Apple, and had fun doing it by Steve Wozniak and Gina Smith.  I kind of feel like it would be good to know more about this founder of Apple.

Started: 12/11/2021
Completed: 12/11/2021 (Did not finish)
Recommendation:  Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

I just could not stand more of this book.  I am no longer interested in this arrogant man.

Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie

 

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie is the last book in the First Law trilogy.

Started: 12/5/2021
Completed: 12/11/2021
Recommendation: Mild Recommendation
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

The characters and environments are richly developed, but the level of violence is overwhelming.  I would not normally have continued with this book had I not read the previous ones in the series.  So, mild recommendation.  Less graphic violence and this would be highly recommended, but I get how that would be a challenge.

Peril, Woodward and Costa

 

Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa is the latest from Woodward.  Cannot seem to look away...

Started: 11/29/2021
Completed: 12/5/2021
Recommendation: Highly Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This is an interesting look at the transition and beginning of Biden's presidency.  Trump remains a scary dude and I hope he does not come around to Graham's approach and become a real factor in the 2024 campaign.  I hope he keeps griping about the election being stolen and his relevance gradually disappears as his funds run out.

Dirty Rubles, Greg Olear

 

Dirty Rubles:  An introduction to Trump/Russia by Greg Olear is a book recommended in New Republic.

Started: 11/26/2021
Completed: 12/1/2021
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: New Republic

Review:

This book is really dated and its sources are mostly the stuff I already have read.  Nothing surprising, nothing that hadn't already been put together.  Just the timing of when I read it more than anything else.