WHAT have you finished reading recently? Precipice, Robert Harris. I found it enjoyable enough to finish, but it was distinctly underwhelming.
WHAT are you reading now? In addition to the things I’ve started but have not yet continued in earnest, I just picked up a Mafia history called Borgata: Rise of Empire, A History of the American Mafia. It’s a history of the Mafia by someone who was imprisoned for being a member of la cosa nostra. While I’m not particularly impressed by the tone (it’s extremely casual for a history), so far I’ve liked his dive into Sicilian history and its importance in shaping the origins of Mafia culture. I should not be reading about the Mafia, I should be reading about inter-war Germany.
WHAT are you reading next? In addition to the things I should be reading, I just saw another Titanic horror novella (how is this a genre), an alt-history in which Germany seizes Paris early on, annnnd Abraham Lincoln but with vampires. The last title would be of no interest except for the fact that it’s October, i.e. Spooky Season. Amazon also gave me a book for being a Prime subscriber, which is about the Very Secret Science being done at Los Alamos in the 1940s. I should pair it by watching Oppenheimer. Oh, and I’ll probably start The Grandest Stage, a history of the World Series, this month, given that the series will be starting in a few. My Red Sox didn’t make it, so I’ll be rooting for the Braves (my closest regional team) and the Orioles (who have a local boy playing).
Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews is….”something that was better when you were a kid”. Well, I didn’t have to listen to people’s inane phone conversations literally everywhere there are people. That was nice. Even better, people were walking around, not shuffling along staring down at a device 10 hours a day, or blocking an entire aisle in the store because they’d decided that This is The Place to have an extended conversation about medical matters while their cart is parked sideways. Nevermind the strangers who just want to get past and get some coffee or pickled okra or what-have-you. (Yes, I’m a crank. I’d tell you to get off my lawn but I’d honestly be relieved you were outside instead of screen-bathing.)
Reading Freely 
I live where any number of kids walk to our high school, and I am always shocked at their appearance. Black hoodies. Can’t see a face. Alone. Looking at their phones as they walk. I worry about them.
I’m currently reading a book called “Anxious Generation” that’s on that subject!
That’s such a good point about there being phones everywhere nowadays. They were just beginning to become ubiquitous when I was leaving school, but people are attached to them these days.
and wow, this Mafia book is only volume 1 of a trilogy!
I get annoyed by folks who walk and use their phones, too. Unless it’s an emergency, people really shouldn’t do that.
How are Titanic horror novels a genre? I never would have thought to combine those two things.
Thanks for stopping by earlier.
Lydia
Two weeks ago I found several “titanic with zombies” novel, there’s this one, and another book called “There’s something alive on the Titanic”!
Check out ‘The Deep’ by Alma Katsu…. [grin] Another to add to your list!
Good lord, I should’ve done a week-long series of horror-Titanic reviews!
Like you I was completely unaware that it was a ‘thing’. [lol]
Borgata sounds fascinating — outside my “usual” reading scope, but you’ve seen how much that means for me, haha. XD