SSP Canada Reads

[jamincan]

I thought it would be interesting to have a thread where people can share what they are reading, or what they have been reading.

I listened to an interview with Patrick Radden Keefe by Adam Buxton on his podcast this past fall about his newest book, Empire of Pain. It was an excellent interview and I sought out the book at the library, but unfortunately couldn't get my hands on it right away, so I picked up another book by Keefe, Say Nothing, instead. As it turns out, both are excellent, and well worth reading.

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland - Patrick Radden Keefe
Keefe tells the story of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, focusing principally on three main figures - Gerry Adams, Dolours Price, and Brendan Hughes. While it I often found myself identifying them as the protagonists in Keefe's well-crafted narrative, he regularly brings things back into perspective, most starkly throughout the book with the brutal and unjust murder of Jean McConville. The book ends with no protagonists and no catharsis. While we see the Troubles come to an end with an uneasy peace, you can't help but feel that the justice that is so desperately deserved by victims on both sides of the conflict is impossible and out of reach.

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty - Patrick Radden Keefe
In Empire of Pain, Keefe tells the story of the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma, and lays bare how this narco family made billions off addiction and had their names immortalized on museums and galleries all with the sanction of the FDA. An infuriating masterpiece of non-fiction.

[kwoldtimer]

Covid times has been all police/detective/spies and murder for me. Huge amounts of the sort of thing I’d read on the beach in the before times. At least it has introduced me to “tartan noir”.

[Acajack]

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[SignalHillHiker]

Hamnet by Maggie Farrell was my fave book in years. Beautiful writing, interesting premise, intriguing story. Highly recommend.

[Coldrsx]

A penetrating examination of how we live and how to live better

Few books transform a generation and then establish themselves as touchstones for the generations that follow. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is one such book. This modern epic of a man’s search for meaning became an instant bestseller on publication in 1974, acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters. It continues to inspire millions.

A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions on how to live. The narrator's relationship with his son leads to a powerful self-reckoning; the craft of motorcycle maintenance leads to an austerely beautiful process for reconciling science, religion, and humanism. Resonant with the confusions of existence, this classic is a touching and transcendent book of life.

This new edition contains an interview with Pirsig and letters and documents detailing how this extraordinary book came to be.

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But a must read for this page folks is...

[niwell]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Covid times has been all police/detective/spies and murder for me. Huge amounts of the sort of thing I’d read on the beach in the before times. At least it has introduced me to “tartan noir”.

I also switched to lighter "airplane reads" during COVID, but went route of sci-fi. Definitely upped my reading quantity which is a plus. Particularly enjoyed the Culture series (Iain M. Banks), Hyperion Cantos (Dan Simmons) and Expanse series (James A. Corey).

Still read some more serious stuff in both the fiction and non-fiction genres. Re-read some Cormac Macarthy in the former category and for the latter recently finished "If We Burn" by Vincent Bevins.