Books: What have you been reading?

[Zauriel]

I have read many books about Kennedy family but The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America's First Family for 150 Years by Edward Klein. was a very interesting book. It was written before the recent deaths in the Kennedy family, namely Saoirse Roisin Hill, daughter of Courtney Kennedy, and Maeve Kennedy McKean and her eight-year-old son, Gideon Joseph Kennedy McKean. The book should be updated to list them in the book.

Saoirse Hill died of a drug overdose at the age of 22 a few years ago. She was open about her depression and anxiety. She attempted suicide when she was in high school. She must have tried hard to overcome her depression but it appeared she didn't handle it well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maeve_...ance_and_death

Maeve and her son Gideon went canoeing into Chesapeake Bay attempting to retrieve a kickball that had landed in the water. Due to high winds, they were swept further out into the Chesapeake Bay. Both of them drowned.

I don't mean to disrespect the dead or offend the family but frankly I must say, canoeing in the water when the current is strong and the wind is high is very reckless. But taking an eight-year-old child on a dangerous canoe ride is not only a stupid idea but a complete lack of common sense.

Why would they risk their lives for an inexpensive ball? Maybe it was a gift from a dear friend or relative. But if it is the case, would you risk your life and your child for a ball?

Quoted from a certain website, this description best summarizes the book in a way readers should understand what it means to be America's royal family. They are a family of reckless risk takers with a profound sense of entitlement.
This book is a detective story.
It is an investigation of one of the great mysteries of our time-the Kennedy Curse. It explores the underlying pattern that governs the curse and examines the many influences-historical, psychological, and genetic-that have shaped the Kennedys` character and led to their self-defeating behavior.
The stories in this book illustrate how the Kennedy Curse began in the common Irish immigrant experience of poverty and humiliation, and developed into an obsessive lust for power and dominance over others at the expense of all ethical behavior....
The people in this book were, for the most part, on a fatal collision course with reality. They felt immune to mortal laws and somehow divinely protected from the inevitable consequences of their deeds and misdeeds. In their hunger for unlimited power, they saw themselves as superior beings who resided above the common herd. They felt special-omnipotent and worthy of being worshiped....
Our inclination to idolize the Kennedys has obscured their human attributes. And so, finally, this book is an attempt to demystify the Kennedys by telling the story of how the descendants of Patrick Kennedy, a poor Irish immigrant who came to the shores of the New World in 1849, pulled, tore, scratched, scraped, clutched, and clawed their way to the top of American society-and, in the process, made the fatal mistake of thinking of themselves as divine.

[Chubistian]

Cristo con un fusil al hombro (I've no idea if it has been translated to english), by Ryszard Kapuscinski

[Deathstroke]

I finished reading Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen today. My copy of the book is signed by the author but I hadn't gotten around to reading it. But the revived Mystery Book Club at my local library (of which I'm co-chairing) selected the book to read as the first book back. I liked it, though I had some minor criticisms. You can check out my review HERE.

[The Darknight Detective]

New books: tomorrow I begin James Patterson (2022) by James Patterson...



... while today on my Kindle, it's the Breckinridge Elkin stories of the '30s by Robert E. Howard.

[Deathstroke]

I finished reading the Amy Pershing mystery Murder Is No Picnic. Here's my review.

[Zauriel]

Sons of Camelot: The Fate of an American Dynasty was an interesting book about Kennedy family, particularly Kennedy sons.

The author Laurence Leamer did a good job researching Kennedy family history and narrating this tale in a beautifully written prose.

[The Darknight Detective]

Finally going to do it: The Yale Shakespeare: The Complete Works (written by the Bard of Avon before we were all born - this edition is from 1993). Right now, I'll be reading the Comedies*, take a break, then the Histories, another break, and finally the Tragedies and poems.



Before today, only Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth (plus a few sonnets) were read by me 40-something years ago (though I have seen quite a few movie adaptations).

* All’s Well That Ends Well
As You Like It
The Comedy of Errors
Love's Labour's Lost
Measure for Measure
The Merchant of Venice
The Merry Wives of Windsor
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Much Ado About Nothing
The Taming of the Shrew
The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida
Twelfth Night
The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Okay, now I'm reading the Histories*, since I finished the Comedies (favorite? maybe A Midsummer Night's Dream, though it's tough to choose from) last week. Looking forward to Richard III, FWIW.

* King John
Richard II
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 2
Henry V
Henry VI, Part 1
Henry VI, Part 2
Henry VI, Part 3
Richard III
Henry VIII
Edward III - this is not actually included in my collection for some reason, as well as The Two Noble Kinsmen in the Comedies. I'll read them on my Kindle at a later date.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

"Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman.

[Malvolio]

If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother by Anita Renfroe

[Zauriel]

I have read another book about Kennedy clan. The title is The Kennedy Heirs: John, Caroline, and the New Generation - A Legacy of Tragedy and Triumph

It is fascinating book, particularly the chapters about Bobby Kennedy Jr. and Bobby Shriver. Better and more entertaining than Sons of Camelot book.

[The Darknight Detective]

New Kindle read fit for Halloween: The Green Eyes of Bast (1920) by Sax Rohmer.

[MajorHoy]

New Kindle read fit for Halloween: The Green Eyes of Bast (1920) by Sax Rohmer.

Does it have Fu Manchu in it?

[The Darknight Detective]

Does it have Fu Manchu in it?

Nope nor Nayland Smith. It's strictly a standalone "weird fiction" novel.

[The Darknight Detective]

double post

[Deathstroke]

True crime author Rebecca Godfrey has passed away.