Books I've Read in 2020

According to my Kindle app, I've read 15 books in 2020 (goal was 10)

I've read for at least one day in a week for 55 weeks in a row. Daily streak record was 105 days. Currently have read for 30 days in a row.

Madame Fourcade's Secret War - Lynne Olson

Non-fiction

Well to do French woman leading a resistance group against the Nazis in WW2. Enjoyed the book, the resistance took incredible risks to fight for freedom. Always like reading about France as I would like to visit there again someday.

The Second Sleep - Robert Harris

Fiction

Recommended by library friend.A medieval priest goes to a small church to officiate at the church's priest's funeral. But the church priest has some interesting objects in his study.

So You've Been Publicly Shamed - Jon Ronson

Non-fiction

A series of stories about people who have been publicly shamed for things they have said or tweeted. Do they deserve the shaming, having the lives wrecked? What does it say about people engaging in the shaming? I previously enjoyed the author's stories on This American Life podcast.

Exahalation: Stories - Ted Chiang

Fiction

Science fiction short stories. Don't remember much about the stories. What does that say about the book and/or about me?

Breakfast of Champions - Kurt Vonnegut

Fiction

I read most of Vonnegut's books when I was a teenager. This was my favorite book of his. Felt like re-reading it to see if my opinion has changed. It was still funny. Dark humor as you would expect from Vonnegut. Are we all just preprogrammed robots going through life?

Three Men in a Boat - Jerome K. Jerome

Fiction

Published in 1889. Found it on a classic books list. About three men going on a boating trip down the Thames. Still quite funny over a century later.

Outlander - Diane Gabaldon

Fiction

WW2 recently ended. Recently married woman accidentally goes through a time portal to 18th century Scotland. Interesting, exciting story. Meets some Scottish warrior, falls in love. Lots of action, with interspersed sex episodes.  But I wasn't interested enough in the characters to continue reading the series (I think she's written 8 of 10 planned books). Also haven't watched the TV series.

Munich - Robert Harris

Fiction

Historical fiction. British spy supports his German friend who is plotting to assassinate Hitler. Set during the Munich conference where British PM Chamberlin met Hitler and Mussolini. "Peace in Our Times". Was it appeasement? Exciting story, lots of interesting historical details. Wish I read the book before visiting Munich so that I could have visited some of the locations described in the book.

Bad Monkey - Carl Hiaasen

Fiction

Comedic mystery thriller. I've read a number of this author's books. The books are always set in the Miami Florida area. Easy fun reading.

Hidden Valley Road - Robert Kolker

Non-fiction

A large Colorado family of 12 children, where the father and six of the children develop schizophrenia. Interesting story of the struggles the family goes through. Reflections of nature vs nurture. Traditional psychological treatments. Along with telling the family story, tells the story of the search for a biological cause(s) of schizophrenia (a number of family members participated in the studies). Meaty book, lots to chew on (think about).

The Overstory - Richard Powers

Fiction

Recommended by a hiking group friend. First half of the book describes a number of people and how a tree (or trees) were a significant factor in their lives. Then in the second half of the book, these people (who didn't know each other previously) randomly come together in protests over logging of ancient forests. Different book than I usually read, quite literary. Enjoyed it.

The Body - Bill Bryson

Non-fiction

I've read a number of Bryson's books. Probably one of my most read authors. Describes the various systems of the human body. Lots of interesting facts. Want to go through my notes/highlights of the book again.

Along Came a Spider - James Patterson

Fiction

Police mystery. First novel of Patterson's series about police/psychologist Alex Cross. Interesting story, the violence was a bit too graphically described for my liking in parts, seemed excessive. Didn't enjoy it enough to continue reading the many other Alex Cross novels.

Dirt - Bill Buford

Non-fiction

Journalist/amateur cook takes his family to Lyon, France to learn about and be a French cook. Interesting to learn about what it's like in a French restaurant kitchen. The trials of living in a foreign country with a family that includes two school age children. Describes Lyon locations where we've visited, including a restaurant where we ate (we weren't impressed). History of local chefs and cuisine.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life - Eric Idle

Non-fiction

Memoirs by Eric Idle, Monty Python member. First part of the book was interesting about his life growing up, meeting the other Python members. Later in the book, many anecdotes about his meeting of famous people, more than I found interesting.

Selling via Ebay

Started a new "adventure" of selling various collectibles that I have acquired over the years. Working my way thru the Grateful Dead collection for now.

Feel free to check out my profile: https://www.ebay.com/usr/teverett96

SpaceX - Making Life Multiplanetary

Inspirational!

Vasona Park, Los Gatos Creek walk

It finally stopped raining so Sharon and I were able to join our hiking class today. The trails in the mountains are still too wet, so the hiking group instructor had us go to the paved trails at Vasona Park today. Of course, Vasona Park is where Richard works and the site of Bryce and Travis birthday parties!

Right away, we could see that Los Gatos Creek was more like Los Gatos River.

 

We noticed that Vasona Lake wasn't as full as we expected. Once we got to the other side of the dam, we knew why.

 

The water was just roaring out of the dam, so Los Gatos Creek was flowing even faster on the other side. In the next picture, if you look towards the back, you can see a whole tree was uprooted and carried down the creek.

 

We walked quite a ways down the creek trail, almost to Campbell, before turning back. We passed by Vasona Lake again and it was great to see blue sky and blossoms flowering on the tree. Also next to the lake, we saw a whole family (5 or 6) of turtles, hanging out on a log. I couldn't get close enough for a picture as they all jumped in the water as we got closer.

Signs of spring!

 

10 mile hike

Sharon and I decided we wanted to go on a "long" hike. But I don't think either of us had a 10 mile hike up to the Black Mountain summit in mind!

We started at Hidden Villa (about 15 minutes from home). To begin, we hiked on a trail next to Adobe Creek. By the way, the computer company Sharon used to work at, Adobe Systems, was named after this creek.

The creek water is very pure as the headwaters are protected in the same park.

Along the way, we saw mushrooms and fungus.

We just kept hiking and hiking, thinking if we should turn around. But we kept getting closer and closer to the top of Black Mountain. So we kept going.

It was a cold day (for Northern California!), so in some of the protected areas near the top, we saw some frost.

Near the top, it became quite steep, so we had to stop for lunch and stop for breaks. But we finally made it to the Black Mountain summit and our app said we had hiked 5 miles. Here is a proud hiker at the top.

Of course, what goes up must come down. Thus, 10 miles round-trip. Since it had recently rained, the air was very clear. We were rewarded for our climb with amazing views on the way down. At one point, we could see the whole Bay Area in front of us, from San Francisco to San Jose.

Those are our shadows on the trail!

Going down was a lot easier and faster than going up. We were both exhausted once we got back to the car and drove home. But we were just a little stiff the next day, so not bad for two 50+ year old hikers!