What Books Have You Read Recently?

[Enrique]

Trying to mimic the successful thread on recent movies, I think a book thread would be a good idea.

Here are the latest two I've read:

The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook. Easterbrook is my favorite NFL columnist. His weekly columns on the NFL are the best out there full of comedy and very practical. His touch on how the world is getting better uses his same pragmatism applied to life in general. Life is getting better in every aspect, yet we are not happier, why? This book, with many references, analyzes the problem and is a nice optimistic view of life. An enjoyable book that makes you feel good, but at the same time makes you want to keep improving life. A great read.

The Fig Eater by Jody Shields. The book is very good. It is about a murder in 1910 Vienna. You follow the inspector's investigation. The book has this great atmosphere of 1910 with superstition elements coming from the character Erzsebet (the inspectors wife). A fun read. I probably liked a bit more because Erzsebet is hungarian and since I lived in Hungary for a semester I feel a connection to their culture and love reading hungarian words whenever they pop up.