Right now I'm reading

[motherjuggs&speed]

Human Smoke, by Nicholson Baker.. This was mentioned here a few years ago and I've finally gotten around to it. This is a different kind of book. Instead of a conventional narrative, Baker recounts hundreds of vignettes describing events leading up to the second world war, from statements made by leaders to events people took little notice of at the time, like Goebbels and a gang stopping the showing of All Quiet on the Western Front. It's a compelling story, and Baker tells it well. I have a different take on it than I would have a few years ago, though. Now, I see the obvious parallels to our own time, from swattings to organized riots to the lust for war (again). We never learn. We never change. The warmongers are still stoking the flames, the mobs are still easy to incite, people are still getting killed for the profit of a few, and most are either enthusiastic about the conflagration or indifferent to it. Human Smoke details history but we can also see it unfolding all around us, every day. Recommended.

Mass Observation, the British government's morale-sampling service, concluded that people in England found the war too dull. "A new restlessness is settling in, a desire for something to happen, however unpleasant." It was February 1940.

[motherjuggs&speed]

Popular Crime, by Bill James. We have a crime problem, and a criminal justice problem, and there are those who call for a return to the good old days. In Popular Crime, James details how there were no good old days, that crime has always been with us, and the mendacity and incompetence of police and prosecutors was much worse in the past. James describes a number of famous crimes and the media and social atmosphere around them, with his own commentary on both. He writes in a opinionated, acerbic style, just like he uses in his baseball writing, and he seems to have as much passion for popular crime as he does for baseball. He writes about a famous crime, and then takes us on a digression through his opinions on things, from juries to parole to crime reporting. He may not convince you of the truth of his theories about crime or how it's handled but he does hold my interest. And while he's critical of many books and movies about crime, he does give recommendations of some he likes. While I disagree with James about a lot of things, Popular Crime is an interesting and thought provoking read.

[Bram]

I liked All the Wrong Moves so much I read it almost nonstop and wouldn't stop that night until I finished it. One of the things I liked about it is the reality of Sasha's journey. There's a survivor's bias at work in most books of this type, or maybe it's a publisher's bias: The author goes on a journey to learn or improve at something, and after training with his own Mr. Miyagi, he's amazing at it. As if that's the way things work. Sasha struggles and doesn't really get that much better, because that's what happens in chess: people don't get much better. Although Sasha struggles with his manic obsessions, it's not all grim. There are many funny moments and Sasha brings his experience to the page very well. Recommended.

I thought you might like it. Your review is much better written than mine, but I enjoyed it too.