So, What Are You Reading?

H

Hi Steve,
Well, I didn't get all the way through it because it contains basically the same tired arguments we've heard before: The Church needs to redefine itself and reclaim traditional values in order to be relevant on the one hand, and keep basic tradition modifying it to fit the needs of contemporary culture in order to be relevant. There is nothing new here.

 

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Thirty Years' War- Bonney and French Religious Wars- Knecht

 

Now reading Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured by Kathryn Harrison. I have always been fascinated by her and have read this is the definitive book on her.

 

Just finished The War Within: Iraq (2006-2008) by Bob Woodward. This was voluminous. An enjoyable look into the later stages of the Iraq War.

It portrayed Bush as deeply involved and pushed back on the idea that Cheney was a shadow President.

General Casey comes off as inflexible and incapable of fighting a non-traditional war, Petraeus as a hero (this was before his scandals came to light.)

I came away with a deeper understanding of the sectarian divide and the failed attempts to define what their role was in Iraq and to apply the counterinsurgency principles they already knew early on were key to winning.

I don't think I'll ever get the oportunity to serve unless we end up in a "total war" situation where the US changes their medical standards significantly, but I have a deep respect for those who are able and willing.

 

Philosophers of the Enlightenment-Peter Gilmour, next Russia in the Age of Peter the Great-Lindsey Hughes

 

Instinct: Rewire Your Brain with Science-Backed Solutions to Increase Productivity and Achieve Success (2021) by Rebecca Heiss.

The book has a big font size and large margins so it was a quick read.

The content was underwhelming. The point of the book is that there are automatic, historic or evolutionary approaches don't serve us as well in decision-making as alternative approaches that are more intentional.

The book spends about 90% of each chapter assembling evidence to prove whatever the claim is, and only a few paragraphs on how to solve the different issues raised. I'd rather it be the opposite.

Also, there are clear editing marks in the book that weren't removed, and some typesetting mistakes.

Overall, not a big fan of this one.

 

Mother Tongue: My Family's Globe-Trotting Quest to Dream in Mandarin, Laugh in Arabic, and Sing in Spanish (2016) by Christine Gilbert.

This woman and her husband have a 2 year old and they are digital nomads. They decide to learn Mandarin in China, Arabic in Beirut, and Spanish in Mexico by staying in each country for 6 months.

She doesn't know that 6 months is way too little for Arabic and Mandarin, and it was an entertaining read as you feel her ups and downs, from pollution in Beijing to the unrest in Beirut.

I am very jealous of her Arabic experience in particular. I long to learn French and Arabic and her descriptions of Beirut in particular are wonderful.

All in all, a great read.

 

D'oh. Let the record show that Beirut is in Lebanon. She actually ended up staying in Beijing, Beirut and Puerto Vallerta. But I wrote Beirut above instead of Lebanon.

 

The Origins of the Wars of German Unification by William Carr. After that, The Ottoman Peoples and the End of Empire by Justin McCarthy.

 

NATO 1948- Lawrence Kaplan

 

"If I was your girl" by Meredith Russo.

 

Spies in Congress by Frank Miniter (2018). What a load of tripe. The claim: that a Pakistani-American IT worker spied on the House of Representatives and Democrats covered it up.

The reality: the DOJ and FBI investigated these claims and found them baseless. Jim Jordan and Louie Gohmert are the primary sources on the record. Many of the stories show up only on The Daily Caller and other right-wing websites with zero coverage in any reputable publications.

I paid a dollar for it and that was too much.

 

Tao Te Ching - A new translation
Lao Tzu

Translated by William Scott Wilson

 

I'm currently reading and watching everything about Betty Broderick.
She made headlines in November 1989 when she killed her ex-husband and his new wife.
She put him through Cornell Medical School, Harvard Law School and she worked 3 jobs to pay for his tuition.
They were both young and had nothing.
Then he became a famous malpractice lawyer in San Diego (La Jolla).
He hired a former stewardess who became his legal assistant, started an affair with her, kept the affair going on until 1986. Married his mistress 2 years later.
They bullied Betty by selling every asset that had her name on it, without consulting her.
She couldn't see her children very often (4 children).
He was making 137000 USD per month (over 1 million USD per year) in 1989. That's the equivalent of 3 million USD in today's money you could say.
Betty received 9000$ in alimony per month ( not equitable) and she was fined (he thought out a fine system to fine Betty) every time she came on his property to see her children.
Betty couldn't find legal representation because Dan ( her ex) was the head of the bar. Lawyers were fearful of reprisals.
Betty eventually snapped under all the bullying, took her daughter's key, went to the house Dan and Linda were living in, she shot them in the master bedroom while they were sleeping.
She turned herself in that same day.
Her first trial ended with a hung jury ( some jury members understood how she was emotionally abused, others not).
Her second trial ended with 2 second degree murder convictions.
She was sentenced to 32 years to life in prision.
She was eligible for parole in 2010, 2017.
Betty was denied parole twice because she refuses to show remorse for her actions.

I have always felt bad for Betty.
The legal system took this woman, who was a victim herself, her life away by putting her in prison for so long.
She is 74 now. I hope they will release her this year.

Betty held the gun, but Dan and Linda pulled the trigger by bullying and emotionally abusing her.

Terrible that 2 people lost their life and 1 is paying the price for the rest of her life, but let's face it: there are far worse people out there who were released much sooner than Betty.
She killed 2 people who put her through 6+ years of emotional torture.

I have never understood why her children believe she should stay in prison.
If my father treated my mother the way Dan treated Betty, I wouldn't want my mother to serve a life-long sentence in prison for something he would have partially provoked himself.

If there was 1 person I could release from prison it would be Betty.
In the 80s women were treated badly. Women were supposed to stay at home and care for a bunch of kids, leaving little time for pursuing an education and career for themselves.
If the husband became successful after the woman's sacrifices and left her, she would never have been able to fully restore her life to the point she would have been at prior to marrying him.
Some women in those days sacrificed everything for their husband, not realising they were building him up for the next woman ( a home-wrecker).
That makes me so sad.
The misogyny in society that was present till recently and, while improved, still present to some extent.

Betty's story is one that keeps intriguing me.
May she find peace.
May justice do her right one day.
Yes, she shouldn't have taken anyone's life, but there is only so much a human being can take before they'll snap.

 

Just finished listening to The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. It's a weird novel about managerial accounting. I think it probably could've done without the marriage problems sub-plot.

 

Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State- Texas Federal Writers' Project

 

Read 2 great books this week: Seducing the boss; Rhinoplasty, a case-based approach.
Highly recommend both!