Taken to the Stars by J N Chaney * Rick Partlow (2023)

I enjoy the Anspach / Chaney books so I tried this one by Chaney.  It's a juvenile book written for young teenagers and not very good. I shall not read the rest of the series. 2/5 Stars.

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (2007)

Clever, well-crafted, immersive, and fun.  I did not like the end of the story-in-the-story. 4/5 Stars.

Homo Faber von Max Frisch (1957)

Ich habe diese Geschichte wirklich genossen. Es ist unvorhersehbar, subtil und gut gemacht. Das philosophische Thema der anti-humanistischen amoralischen Wissenschaft und Technologie im Vergleich zu Mythen, Kunst und Transzendentalismus ist großartig. 5/5 Sterne

Play Dead by Harlan Coben (1/1/2010)

Harlan Coben wrote this book when he was 19 and 20 years old, as an undergrad in college.  The values, perspectives, hormones, and perspectives of a 20-year-old shine through the fantastic (though somewhat melodramatic) plotting and dialog.  It's always great to catch up on the early works of a good writer.I really enjoyed this book, despite the terrible, cardboard 2-D characters. In particular, the end is well-crafted and well-edited. 5/5 Stars.

Holly by Stephen King (2023)

I am very grateful to live in a time when Stephen King is still writing new, thrilling books that are so carefully and skillfully crafted. The universe is conspiring to make me happy.  5/5 Stars.

Der Prozess von Franz Kafka (1925)

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Ich habe dieses Buch langsam gelesen, weil mir die Prosa und der Stil gefallen haben. Die bürgerlichen und sozialen Interaktionen sind schrecklich, frustrierend und erschreckend. Die Hauptfigur K hat gesunden Menschenverstand und stellt unschuldige, vernünftige Fragen. Der Dialog und die detaillierte Darstellung der Bewegungen, Ereignisse und Schauplätze sind fantastisch. Die Geschichte ist natürlich sehr deprimierend. 4/5 Sterne.

Yesterday's Spy by Tom Bradby (2022)

An "impulse borrow" from the library the last time I was there, this book reads like a James Bond film script set in 1953.  The author really should have availed himself of professor Amanat's fantastic history book; he made some blunders about the leaders and factions in the 1953 chaos in which the story takes place. But the thriller aspects of the story were fun and it was wildly entertaining, despite how depressing the situation was. 3/5 Stars.

Silos, Politics, & Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni (2006)

It's another interesting story; however the "model" (prescriptive methods of overcoming the problems), is not (at all) appropriate to my own situation; so I was disappointed. 3/5 Stars.

This is my God by Herman Wouk 2nd ed. (1992)

Here is another book I found on the shelf of one of my children whose former-bedroom is now my home office. I did not get most of this information in my own education or research, so this overview was very helpful to me personally.  I do not recommend the book for folks whose mom is not Jewish. 3.5 Stars.

The rise of the Wobos

I sometimes read transcripts of, or listen to Yascha Mounk's interviews.  His latest interview is with New York TImes columnist David Brooks.  Mr. Brooks is hawking his latest book. Among the interesting topics discussed by Dr. Mounk and Mr. Brooks is the rise of the "Woke Bourgeois," (WoBos).  Some find our current geopolitical situation analogous to the conditions that led to the 12 million Ukrainians murdered by Stalin (see Live Not by Lies and the Netflix Film "Mr. Jones."