Tiger, by William Richter

This was another Ollie's Outlets purchase, and a "light" read compared to some of my other stuff in financial management or military and other non-fiction stuff that I read to learn. Written by a Hollywoood screenwriter, is apparently a sequel to another book I haven't read. If I come across the previous book, I'll read it, but won't necessarily seek it out. I have too many books sitting around either physically or electronically, and I'm being pressured to reduce some of the clutter.  

Got decent, but not great ratings on GoodReads.

One sign that I'm getting old: this one has a decent bit of thriller stuff going on- explosions, killing, chase scenes, etc- and I like quiet so much, I prefer reading it than watching it.  

Or maybe not being old, I've always enjoyed the quiet of reading.

Blackout, by Marc Elsberg

I enjoyed this one for a couple of reasons.  The first was that it was a fiction piece that took on what was one of our Carlisle Scholar's Program group assignments- identify some event that could be considered a strategic shock and then walk through some of the impacts to national security.

In this case, the strategic shock is a deliberate and persistent, not temporary, takedown of the electric grid for all of the European Union. Later in the book it spreads to the U.S., but the book focuses on a story in the EU.

So this was a whole book about one potential strategic shock. For the book, it was done by some anarchy/new world order type terrorists. What we looked at in our Carlisle Scholar's program, was regardless of the shock, what were impacts to national security- so what would other nation states do when other nation states were dealing with such shocks.

Which brings me to the second reason I found it interesting. We are dealing with what might be considered a strategic shock right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated economic shock, and the U.S. failure to get on top of the problem relative to most other countries.

And what do other nation states do while we are focused inward?

Russia continues to "meddle"- violate our sovereignty and that of other countries- because they know we're not really in a position to do much about it (not just because of COVID-19, but it is a factor), as indicated by recent reports of their continued efforts at influencing our elections through divisive disinformation campaigns as well as technology warfare relative to our COVID-19 research:
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/16/891834251/u-s-says-russian-hackers-are-trying-to-steal-covid-19-vaccine-research

China feels emboldened also to accelerate their process of increasing control over Hong Kong, and other signs of increasing aggression or shows of power, knowing we're really not in a position to do much about it.
https://theweek.com/articles/925903/chinas-growing-belligerence

Was proud to hear that some work that I had participated in relative to the U.S. Army and how it should be positioned in the INDOPACOM region was recently published, a major part of which were considerations about how to best address potential threats from China as a rising major power.

Most reviews of Blackout on Goodreads were fairly positive. I read through a few of the negative ones, with the primary criticisms being about the 800 pages being too much (my version, bought at the local Ollie's for $2 was just over 300 pages, and was to me an enjoyable read); and that it moved too slowly, wasn't "thriller" enough. I was fine with the pace, I'm not trying to feel like everything is a Jason Bourne speed rush.

30 Lessons For Living, by Karl Pillemer

Listened to this on audiobook from our local library. Gets a 4.08 on Goodreads.

A nice mix of story telling and recommendations from a gerontologist sharing his research. He recounts what he's learned from seniors in interviews and other study. He endearingly refers to his interviewees as the experts, due to their experience, some of which reflects success, and some of which reflects learning the hard way. Also enjoyed the self-reflection that Pillemer weaves in from time to time as he contemplates his own aging.

FIRE- Financial Independence Retire Early, by David Jacobs

An Audible free book offer, it was fine, I already subscribe to some of the principles, others not so much. I've never had a bent for sales or entrepreneurial activities, but there are plenty of other ideas in this book by David Jacobs to help people go after the goal of early retirement.

Did not see other reviews for it on Goodreads.

Financial Independence- Retire Early- 2 for 1 book by Richard Sodin

Listened to this on Audible. Some good principles, but it feels like it was either written in another language and poorly interpreted, or someone took a thesaurus and replaced all the appropriate words with other words that weren't quite right. I was wondering if maybe it was more for another English-speaking country, but references to Social Security and other U.S. financial legislation suggested that no, this was for the U.S.

Had not been reviewed on GoodReads, didn't seem like a good read to me, apologies, Richard.

Kill Devil, by Mike Dellosso

This was a fiction piece for entertainment versus more of my books to learn about stuff.  Got a 4.21 out of 5 on Goodreads.  An interesting mix of adventure/suspense and something I don't usually come across, with a bit of Christian faith thrown in as well. One of my "Ollie's Outlets" finds, enjoyed the read. Also interesting that parts of it are set in places I have experience or exposure to, including the area of North Carolina where the Wright brothers got their plane off the ground. "First in Flight"