Well, this has been an interesting month for reading. My best-intentioned plans to read more southern literature finally woke up after attending a lecture by Dr. Wayne Flynt on Harper Lee, leading to my reading his memoir about his friendship with her, followed by Go Set a Watchman, a biography of Atticus Finch, a look at the Civil War, and a Rick Bragg binge. Mix that with a hangover from October’s focus on mental health and substance abuse (that’s …continuing), plus some science fiction and it was a varied month.
Classics Club:
(helpless shrug)
Science Survey:
Together: The Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. Debatable, as it draws on science heavily but is not itself A Science Book.
Readin’ Dixie
Afternoons with Harper Lee
Atticus Finch: The Biography
Go Set a Watchman
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War
Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg
My Southern Journey
Climbing Mount Doom:
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War
San Fransicko: Why Progressive Policies Ruin Cities (review to follow tonight)
Sid Meier’s Memoir
The Unreviewed:
Atticus Finch: The Biography deserves more than a one-paragraph write-off here, but my thoughts on it and the titles that bookended it shared so much common ground that I didn’t want to repeat myself. This is a curious book, though — beginning as a biography of Harper Lee’s father, A.C. Lee, who inspired the character of Atticus Finch. A newspaperman and legislator, his character is plumbed in the opening before the author moves on to Harper’s struggle to reconcile the moral ideals of the South with the antagonism inherent in segregation. From here we review the character of Atticus Finch as he evolves in first To Kill a Mockingbird, its movie, and then Go Set a Watchman. Of great interest to Harper Lee and TKAM fans, obviously, but I most enjoyed the survey of A.C. Lee’s editorials, a look at the Depression and World War 2 through the critical and learned eye of a leading citizen of a small southern town.
New Acquisitions:
……
Yep, nothing. I’ll have you know I was sorely tempted, too. There were several Star Trek Voyager novels on $1 sales, and I wanted them. I’ll see about my Mexican dessert reward later this week. The book-buying ban will continue with the bribe repeated.
Plans for December:
Expect at least a couple of titles relating to southern lit and a nod to the Pacific War. The focus will be TBR titles.
Reading Freely 
My book buying tends to be minimal in December mostly because the post is clogged up with presents (plus we have postal strikes ATM) and the shops are full of manic last minute gift buyers…. This month I’ll eat into my existing ‘stock’.
Somewhere Basil Fawlty is closing his newspaper and harrumphing about the strike. We’re trying to work on one here, too. They’d reached a deal that offered railmen salary increases and a bonuses, but didn’t address the chief grievance of being penalized for sick leave. Will make things interesting, I’m sure. I usually buy a BUNCH of books in mid-December so I can start the New Year off with an interesting bang, but I have plenty of interesting books waiting for me on Mount Doom.
Oh, we have LOTS of strikes to choose from ATM – postal workers, ambulance drivers, train drivers, nurses, lawyers…… Hard to keep track some days………
I’ll hit my local Indie book shop in the New Year (Feb probably). They’re always good for 10-15 books.
At this point I wonder why more trains aren’t automated the way parts of the French metro are. I’ve not heard of any automated freight trains, which is interesting. One would think that automated trains (American freighters often have a crew of two, the conductor and engineer) are easier to manage than automated cars or freight trucks.
When transport services are finally automated, trains will definitely be first. It’s like they were designed for that sort of thing from the beginning. It’ll take a while, but it’s definitely coming. Automating trains is MUCH easier that robot cars or aircraft which are at least years if not decades away from being achieved.