Undiluted Hocus-Pocus by Martin Gardner

How a magician becomes a world-class mathematician despite having no math degrees. Writes dozens of books and hundreds of articles and has a world-wide following.

This autobiography is truly remarkable for its honesty and disarming transparency. It is almost childlike in its candor. A man of many friends and many famous acquaintances.

A couple chapters deal with his belief in God. These passages are delightful for their lack of artifice, their grace and simplicity. He is strongly influenced by G. K. Chesterton though stops quite a bit short of his orthodoxy.

Sycamore Row by John Grisham

(read aloud)

Very good book, nice plot and interesting characters. Leaves one thinking about race and how far we have come and how far we have to go.

Evil and nobility live side by side in a quiet small southern town.

Haiti - After the Earthquake by Paul Farmer

This book by Paul Farmer with an assemblage of epilogues by co-workers and associates encapsulates the experiences of thousands who tried to respond to this great disaster. It is a story of bravery and zeal and of success and dismal failure. President Clinton's appeal to "build back better" is a serious theme.

Also underlying the whole story is Farmer's longstanding appeal to involve the Haitian government rather than bypass it. This is more than a theoretical matter. Money given to the government often disappears. However, aid agencies come and go almost at a whim. The government is there at all times responsible for everyone. It is a false economy to avoid helping the health department and others responsible even if they might be immediately less effective. 

Also there are many unintended consequences to aid efforts. For example, all the aid agencies provided medical care for free, instantly severing the income of all indigenous Haitian doctors.

Though controversial, Farmer is without doubt an amazingly gifted and dedicated humanitarian.

War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk

Engaging story of war and man's inhumanity. Shows the treatment of the Jews under Hitler. An effective anti-war book. Love and life, death and destruction, heroism and fear in the same places and people.

Ghost Detective by Scott William Carter

(read aloud)

A pleasant surprise, well-written, clever, and actually insightful. Because this was on sale on Kindle, I expected a short, ordinary tale. A head injury causes him to see ghosts and once you buy in to the premise, you are off on an interesting and surprisingly emotional adventure.

Flash Boys by Michael Lewis

 A fascinating story of how greed and opportunism and raw technology create a financial system where milliseconds are worth millions, so complex only a few can understand. A few people out of a sense of fairness undermine this system by refusing to play along. Will the high-speed boys be exposed and discredited? The book ends with hope but by no means any certitude.

Command Authority by Tom Clancy et al

Typical novel by the posthumous Clancy and his surviving ghost writers. What is of interest is the uncanny way the plot mirrors the events of these very weeks in the Ukraine. The diabolical leader of Russia, knowing the west will not respond, attacks Ukraine. Completely unprepared, the west does respond with a few extraordinary elite forces and covert operators. Satisfying but unrealistic. Sadly, I think Russia will win in real life.

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

An interesting, well-written story about an American icon and genius of a sort. The more I read, the less I liked him and the less I respected him. His vision and drive is not in my opinion an excuse for cruelty. I see no necessary connection between what he accomplished and the damaged, traumatized people he left strewn along the way. Sorry, that's just the way I feel.

The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley

Another Flavia mystery but very different. Less a mystery and more a deeply psychological exploration of grief and closure and growing up. Previously an observer and almost an outsider in the family, she is finding her place and her voice and is understanding her father as he shows that he understands her more than we know.

The Partner by John Grisham

A really good story, well-written. An interesting and not really unexpected ending. The plot plays off a universal, usually suppressed urge to escape one's life and start another.

The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

A much better book than I expected. A truly modern epic. It deals with anti-semitism in a very understated but absolutely chilling way. All racism is horrible and indefensible but some racism is ignorance-based and some racism is pure hate. I will say no more about that lest I appear to at all defend any racism whatsoever, which I do not.

I think it is very accurate historically and have a whole list of notes I want to investigate further. Plan to read the sequel and might dabble in the TV miniseries for fun.

Evangelii Gaudium by Pope Francis

How we need this message in the church! This is an intensely biblical message to all believers in Christ, to take joy in him and show that joy to the world by caring for the poor and telling the world that there is joy in following Christ. I feel his message has been distorted in the press as a criticism of capitalism and a retreat from moral positions of the church. While he does criticize the excesses of unbridled capitalism, his emphasis is not on economic systems but on Christians helping the poor. And he actually affirms the moral stands of the church but contends that our "face" to the world should be love and joy, not criticism.

This protestant has reservations about the last few paragraphs about Mary. I find the exegetical foundation of his presentation weak in contrast to all the rest of his biblical treatment which is simply brilliant.

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Quite similar to previous episode and I am losing interest.

Rumsfeld's Rules by Donald Rumsfeld

Pithy, valuable rules from a public servant and businessman. He has arguably the best resumé in American history. He seems to be a man of wit, wisdom, and integrity. Leaders and executives of all kinds could profit much from this volume of hundreds of rules. The last rule says to have no more than ten rules!

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

(read aloud)

A little too convoluted for my taste, and no progress in her father's depression, which is getting me down. I think there is a deep psychology at work in these books. It is almost a therapy to read and work through the loneliness of life that all people face in different ways. In this case, the loss of a mother, a distant, hurting father, self-absorbed siblings. Coping by a life of the mind, making adult friends, and enjoying the invisibility of a young girl. The next book is out. Can't wait!

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton

(read aloud)

Another home run for us fans. A good story, delightful characters. Kinsey isn't larger than life, nor is she deeply flawed. She seems real. She is not a role model in the usual sense but someone who muddles through life like all of us and does the best she can and things turn out OK, which is what most of us hope for if we are honest.

The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg

A quick, enjoyable read about a nuclear Iran and CIA intrigue, with visions and signs and wonders.

The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens

This is a very thought-provoking book. He gives a strong defense of theism refined in the fire of his famous brother's atheism. But he has credentials of his own and a keen mind and incisive prose. He understands what is at stake in believing in Christ. His coming to faith is wonderful and compelling. His application of his faith to the world and war and conflict is to me very thought-provoking. His accounting of his time in Russia is formative in his thought, it seems. This book deserves a wider exposure.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

An enjoyable mystery, with Agatha's usual fare of everyone being a suspect. In this case, everyone. But I am giving too much away!