The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
When was the last time you read a book, and what book was it?
Talk about it….
53 comments
Currently working on Love & War, a novel based on Alexander and Eliza Hamilton’s love story, second in a trilogy. It’s fluffy, but satiates me enough to not dole out another couple hundred dollars to see Hamilton again.
Yet.
an actual book? Too long, but Reader’s Digest just last weekend….
Dark Run, Mike Brooks. Read a chapter this morning while waiting for the weather to get a bit warmer.
I haven’t read in years but this school year both my kids have huge reading goals so I figured I would set a good example. I just finished Her One Mistake. It was very good, page turner, only took me a week to finish. Now trying to find something else.
The only book read for entertainment since high school was “Jonathon Livingston Seagull” back in the ’70’s. I dug the book out and re-read it last year before lending it to a kid who aspires to become a pilot.
I read that a few times as a young-un. Very 70s. I should re-read it too and see if I still enjoy it. Haven’t thought of that book in 30 years I bet. Crazy.
currently reading a book on becoming a pet sitter.
Been reading a couple of books,…mostly health information types.
Roz…our families are so much alike. The wife is currently studying Naturopathic Medicine. Old school people call it Holistic Medicine. She is trying to get her degree to teach but between a job and Grandchildren it’s a long task.
Simonpure ~
Hats off to your Wife!
She’s a busy Gal, and I hope she gets her degree soon.
@Simonpure – I went to a local Naturopathic Physician some years ago when I was dealing with possible remission cancer recurrence issues and felt I was getting nowhere with my traditional doctors re: side effects of treatment and extreme stress/quality of life issues from the treatments. She (the ND) was instrumental in getting my physical and mental health back on track. But her rates, no insurance for this, grew so much I couldn’t afford to see her. $375 for a brief office visit, and it went up from there. Also no insurance for the homeopathic meds she prescribed and filled in her office. So I went back to my primary MD. No other choice.
If your spouse indeed teaches this medicine subject, billing and setting rates for patients must be a focus. I would use an ND if I could afford to do do.
Good morning Mary…Yes! Very expensive but if people will pay I could retire sooner than later 🙂 Actually love my career and will probably work until I die.
Been awhile…last recorded book was Skeletons on the Zahara
Last night. Currently reading Revival by Stephen King
Yesterday. Also read 2 newspapers every day we have delivered, the SF Chronicle and the NY Times. The Times sometimes takes me a couple days to get through, the Sunday Times about 3 days.
Whats a newspaper Mary 🙂
It will make me sad if people answer never, or years ago.
Nutcreek Frontier
Well what’s your answer?
Sorry Derb thought it was implied. As a life-long reader, I get about 10 books from the library every 3 weeks. I do notice though I don’t read as much as I used to before the advent of social media.
Now. The Company. A good work of fiction about Cold War espionage
I started a new book last night called “City of Crows.” I finished “The Secrets We Kept” on Sunday. What a page turner! I finished “The Vexations” on Thursday. That was great, but it took about a month to read.
I read the The New York Times and The Guardian most days.
I work more than full time, cook, clean and do chores, exercise, see friends, and go out and about. I stream a show a couple times a week and try not to spend a lot of time on social media or texting. There’s plenty of time to read.
Audiobooks have been fantastic to me for commuting, I’m about to begin one about the home front in World War II, read by Martin Sheen.
Just starting The Peshawar Lancers and just finishing Germania. Usually while baseball it s on in background. What a gift, a joy of reading truly is.
I vowed when I left college I would never read another book – I had a double major – English and art history and between those two subjects I never read so much in my life. And I didn’t read another book for years but I read newspapers and magazines like crazy and eventually I returned to books – in fact I had a book delivered today – history of the statue of liberty – I never read fiction – only non-fiction although I always have Shakespeare around. Just finished Prince Charles which was really interesting.
Last night. Well, not an entire book. I read a chapter or so every night. Don’t watch TV.
I love Agatha Christine novels, I just finished And Then There Were None.
“Life,” Keith Richards. And, what an interesting one he has had. Plan to read it, again, soon. I usually carry a book from college on Zen to read, if I know I’ll be waiting for any length of time. But, I just skip around to different parts. “Life” is the last one I read cover to cover.
About 25 years ago I read my cousins book, The Defense.
I love a good book- the problem is finding one that peaks my interest. I happened across 29 Seconds at the library and it has been a page turner. I’m one of the few people on Bart thats reading a book and not buried in my phone.
Finished the Walnut Creek One City-One Book, “The Library Book” about the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Main City Library. Very good.
Just picked up “The Sixth Man” by Andre Iguodala at the library.
(I also read Newspapers as I don’t have television)
Since I am a computer programmer I spend most of my day looking at text. Thus reading a book is not really healthy for my eyes after hours. Instead looking at my TV 8′ away is better and confirmed by a friend who is an optometrist.
Books are just another form of media. They’ve been around for a long time. Some people treat them as something sacred but if a picture is worth a thousand words what is a movie worth?
I usually have about 3 going at the same time. One for living room/kitchen, one for bedtime reading, one in the car for all the “hurry up and wait” times. Also 2 newspapers a day.
Anon, I’m also one of few on BART that reads a book. But I’m usually only on it once a month.
Always have at least 2-3 books going. Currently “Frozen Hell” by John W. Campbell, “Beatleness: How the Beatles and their fans remade the world”, and “Sapiens: A brief history of humankind”.
I’m always reading something. I read trash, Steinbeck, Dickens, Hemingway, poetry, l read biographies, auto biographies, and especially anything about President”s and First Ladies (regardless of party). I recently read The Summer of 69 and A park Avenue Summer, are from the mid to late sixties and set back east (Boston and NYC) and since l was living in NYC in 1969 and l was in my twenties and single l identified a lot with the characters.
I always have a book going. Just finished Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah and Wild Swans by Jung Chang. Winter Garden is a novel about a family in Seattle with a mother who lived in Russia during WWII.
Wild Swans is a non-fiction book about China before and during the Communist Revolution. Even though it’s about Communism, there are a lot of similarities to America today. Long book, great read.
Am currently reading “The War Nerd – Iliad”, by John Dolan, a prose translation of Homer’s epic poem in modern idiom.
As one reviewer wrote (paraphrased) “I’ve read “The Iliad” several times, but this is the first time I’ve felt it, or really understood it”.
I like it.
Cool!
I read about 8-10 books a year, and about 10 magazines a month (one of which I have subscribed to as a child since 1958 [Flying] and another since 1962 [Road & Track]). I read very little fiction, but a lot of history. The most recent one I finished was a re-read of Carrying the Fire by Michael Collins (the Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot), originally published in 1974 when I read it the first time. It is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’m currently reading The Second World Wars by Victor Davis Hanson (a definitive history) and Rick Steves Spain 2020, since we’re going there in a few months.
50 minutes ago:
“A Stroke Called Manni”
by J.T. Fest
this afternoon – ” The Tailor of Panama. ” been catching up on a couple of his I missed.
The Bible-book of Luke right now.
Just finished “Bad Blood” about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos …. very good book.
Finished one book and one short story today. Halfway through another. book. Picked up two more books at the library tonight when I was there for the WC “All City Reads” event. Also read several books to my granddaughter this afternoon.
I keep several books going all the time and prefer reading in bed.
At the moment, the non-fiction is Jules Ehle’s “Trail of Tears”, The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation (an “over the fence” loan to me my neighbor of 50 years, who is full-blooded Cherokee). It is so raw, intense, and historically detailed that I can handle only one chapter per night.
The current long-haul fiction is “The Fiery Cross”, Diana Gabaldon’s 5th Book of her acclaimed “Outlander” series. (There are at least 3 more thick books to go in that series, which I bought at one of the Concord Friends of Library sales.)
And the current random selection (to be started tonight as a diversion) was passed along by another friend. It is one of Kate Atkinson’s thriller mysteries, titled “One Good Turn”.
This is a most enjoyable thread! Someone mentioned always having a ride-along book for the car. Of those books, my favorite ever is “Driving over Lemons”…. sorry, cannot recall the author’s name (and it’s tooo cold out there for me to go check). On the rare occasions when I go out to eat alone, it is nice company.
Another personal quirk is my preference for the “Publisher’s” size of paperbacks, rather than for the small, thick paperbacks whose pages want to lump up or close while I’m reaching for the mug of hot cocoa.
Someone mentioned audio books, which I can enjoy while doing stationary activities such as ironing, dish washing, and planting bulbs or small bedding plants. But I caught myself not fully keeping my mind on driving a few times when listening in the car, so…… just for me anyway …. that’s a no-no!
Please, everyone, keep giving reading suggestions!
Thank you, Mayor, for this super topic!!!
When I was teaching I read a book a day, more in the summer. Books about anything and everything. Fiction, non-fiction history. comedy. Pretty much anything I could find. Now my eyes have gotten so bad I haven’t read a book in years. and I miss it.
Books on audio is available.
The last time we bought a new car, a couple of years ago.
The new owners manuals have about 500 pages!
I read every day and would die without books.
Anything by:
Lee Child
Vince Flynn (Kyle Mills)
Greg Iles
Nelson DeMille
Jeffery Deaver
Mary Kubica
Liane Moriarty
James Patterson (Private Series)
David Baldacci
Harlan Coben
John Grisham
Brad Meltzer
Ridley Pearson
Karen Robards
Philip Shelby
Daniel Silva
Karin Slaughter
Christopher Reich
I read 3 books in one day when I was younger.
If I remember correctly they were….
“The Brave Little Toaster”
“See Spot Run”
“The Wit & Wisdom Of Jimmy Carter”
I’m in the middle of “The Log From the Sea of Cortez”.
In the last month, I’ve read two by John Grisham and one by Michael Connelly.
Just finished “Dream Lovers” about the lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee written by Dodd Darin.
Just read, “Brave”, by Rose McGowan.
Highly recommend it.
It’s currently available (audiobook) for free on YouTube.
https://youtu.be/iyE77RAL_rc
All Nicholas Sparks
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