What are you reading now - and then

[sukumvit boy]

Anne Case and Angus Deaton ,"Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism"
https://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Despai...s%2C213&sr=1-2
Deaton and his wife ,both Princeton University professors and he the 2015 Nobel Economics Prize winner have examined an alarming American phenomenon ; the rise in American deaths in the last few decades due to suicide, alcohol and opioid drug abuse and place the blame on the antiquated American health insurance system .
Fascinating and convincing .
Also ,although I don't usually read much fiction I just finished the Stieg Larson 'Millennium trilogy' and very much enjoyed it. (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).

Also ,in reading Stieg Larson's "Millennium Trilogy " it becomes obvious that he had a real life fixation on the unsolved murder mystery of the 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Quite difficult to follow unless one is familiar with the details of Swedish politics.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...-of-olof-palme

[broncofan]

Also ,in reading Stieg Larson's "Millennium Trilogy " it becomes obvious that he had a real life fixation on the unsolved murder mystery of the 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. Quite difficult to follow unless one is familiar with the details of Swedish politics.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/20...-of-olof-palme

I read at least two of them years ago. I recall them being exceedingly detailed which I enjoyed but maybe got a bit tired of later on. Stieg Larson died fairly young I recall but I enjoyed his writing and that memorable main character Lisbeth Salander.

I've read all of the Reacher books which I remember you mentioned a while ago. I've read some of Tana French which have been hit or miss for me. Harlan Coben is hit or miss for me as I find the plot twists and the planning of his books better than the writing. I have only read his stand alone books because his sports agent character books annoy me and are just too implausible.

Just curious, have you read any of the Richard Stark/Donald Westlake books? There are a ton I haven't read but I never loved them, whether they were the Parker books or those written under Westlake. I recall we have a mutual like of Jim Thompson but I've read everything there.

I almost wish all the best mystery writers had been warned of the pandemic a year ago as there would be a ton of books to go through.

[broncofan]

Hey broncofan , yes the Reacher series are addictive page turners and Lee Child actually provides a lot of fascinating behind the scenes factual information.
I would recommend the detective Harry Bosh series by Michael Connelly , fast paced ,and if you like his style there are 20 of them now .
In a more retro vein , I enjoyed the is hard boiled detective novels of Dashiell Hammett . Including The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashiell_Hammett

I'm also a long time Lawrence Block fan and his Matthew Scudder mystery series as well as his more lighthearted and amusing Bernie Rhodenbarr burglar series . The Bernie character is a New York City used and scholarly book store owner by day and a burglar by night . Lawrence Block was named a Grand Master of The Mystery Writers of America since 1994 and I envy you if you haven't read any of his books yet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Block

Maybe I should have gone back to these recommendations. I haven't come close to reading all of the Michael Connelly or Lawrence Block books but have read some since you wrote this in 2017. They're both pretty good writers imo.

Edit: By the way I should thank you because I probably read at least 5 Lawrence Block books, both Matthew and Bernie series. Appreciated.

[sukumvit boy]

Maybe I should have gone back to these recommendations. I haven't come close to reading all of the Michael Connelly or Lawrence Block books but have read some since you wrote this in 2017. They're both pretty good writers imo.

Edit: By the way I should thank you because I probably read at least 5 Lawrence Block books, both Matthew and Bernie series. Appreciated.

Hey broncofan ,yes the Stieg Larson are dense novels which I usually don't read but I think the house bound pandemic and the long delivery times on Amazon gave me just enough of a push to slog on, and I'm glad I did ,after the first one I was addicted and sailed through the next two. I also think that the fact that they were translated from the Swedish (although I think an excellent translation) and all the Swedish references made it more difficult at first reading.
Yes, I remember our previous discussion and thanks for reminding me about the Donald Westlake /Richard Stark books ,I really want to get some of those and give them a try.
I especially enjoy the Block Bernie 'gentleman burglar 'series and the series with the hit man who is a stamp collector.
Amazon has a link that gives all the Lawrence block books separated into series and publication date I tried to send it to you here but I can't get it to open so that I can copy the header, I'm sure you can find it though.
Best regards,stay well.

[jonah609]

Just finished Billy Connolly's Tall tales and wee stories. Laugh out loud stuff

[sukumvit boy]

Just finished Billy Connolly's Tall tales and wee stories. Laugh out loud stuff

Very funny man,as well as actor and accomplished banjo player.

[sukumvit boy]

A recently discovered short story by Ernest Hemingway as well as a quirky little short story by Haruki Murakami.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...t-as-happiness
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2...inagawa-monkey

[sukumvit boy]

Ben Macintyre's "A Spy And A Traitor",2018
https://www.amazon.com/Spy-Traitor-G.../dp/1101904194
Quite good ,includes some interesting material about some old friends such as James Jesus Angleton ,Kim Philby and 'the fifth man'.

[Torris]

John M. Barry - The Great Influenza. How America’s entry into World War I led to 50 million deaths world wide in 1918-1920

[filghy2]

The Anarchy by William Dalrymple - the story of the relentless rise of the East India Company, the ultimate predatory capitalists.