During football season I need a little bit of escapist reading, since real life is just so busy. It’s odd, but all (or most) of my football reading takes place outside of football season. I’m someone who needs a little bit of balance in my life, so I can’t drown myself in football books when I have practice and games for three hours a day – not to mention the football blog.
So that’s where Concrete Blonde, a Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly, fit into my days. I had read The Black Echo and The Black Ice previously, but Concrete Blonde finally got me interested in the Bosch series on Amazon Prime Video, which I binge-watched over the past couple weeks. I wondered how the show would match up with the first three Bosch novels, and it turns out the show just weaves a bunch of different book plots into each season. This particular book is about a serial killer who kills young blonde women. Bosch finds the serial killer and shoots him (this is not a spoiler), but then a copycat killer appears years later.
If you’re looking for a show to binge on, Bosch is a good pick. The reason I held off so long was because I just couldn’t buy into Titus Welliver as a lead actor. But after reading the books, I saw that Welliver was actually a good fit.
What am I reading right now? The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Black List by Brad Thor.
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Ty Cobb – A Terrible Beauty. Great read as much for a history of Cobb but more for setting the record straight about a person whose reputation was destroyed by a wishful narrative pushed by Al Stump and a lot of lazy journalists/ Filmmakers.
Biggest Game in Town. Written in 1983 about the origins of the World Series of Poker. Very interesting insights into the champion poker players of the 1970s and 1980 and they they think and live.
Wilderness of Mirrors. Not done yet but so far very good book regarding origins of CIA and in fighting with FBI during Cold War.
Random Walk Down Wall Street. Originally published in late 1960s but updated several times – finally got around to reading it although I am well versed in the theory behind it. It is a an easy and interesting read even for those with little knowledge in finance Read and stop paying active fund management fees.
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Oooh…I’ve always meant to put that book about Ty Cobb on my reading list. Thanks for reminding me!
I went through a big poker phase a few years ago. That would be interesting. I still enjoy the game a lot, but I don’t have as much time as I used to.
Thanks for the suggestions!
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I strongly recommend the Michael Connelly Bosch series. I don’t know how many times in other books or TV series I have commented that it reminded me of some detail in a Bosch book. BTW, I still don’t think that the lead actor on the series fits, but I can overlook him because of the shows connection to the books.
I have started reading Nelson DeMille’s John Corey series. Very well written.
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Whomever came up with Dexter in these posts, probably Thunder, that’s a decent series of both books and television if your looking for some escape from the day. I’m in the middle of bingeing both.
Random Walk Down Wall Street is good stuff too. But if you’re gonna read that one, you should go get the famed Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. Edwin Lefevre’s probable/most certain biography of the great Jesse Livermore aka “The Boy Plunger” who made, lost, made, lost, made and lost millions in the stock market, among other places, when millions was millions. His most notable success being during the crash of 29 where it is said he made $100 million dollars alternately shorting and buying the market. This is a completely different kind of book than Random Walk Down Wall Street which is kind of a treatise on why and how you’re gonna lose your ass trading. Read Jesse’s story to see how it’s done in the most magnificent way possible.
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Whoever.
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Agree – Reminiscences of a Stock Operator is one of the most entertaining books written on markets and trading aka speculating. Random Walk is more a of guide to how one should invest.
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That probably was me. I’m glad you’re enjoying them. The last time I posted about Dexter was back in February 2016:
https://touch-the-banner.com/what-ive-been-reading-15/
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