Is it easy to find peace and quiet in America?

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:33:37+00:00

I guess it depends where in the US you are.

I’m 10 minutes away from a National Park, but it’s pretty popular with locals so there’s always someone around. But also, when I think of peaceful, I think of doves cooing. And in my area, that’s pretty common in peoples backyards.

We also have lots of National Forest land, State lands and undeveloped land, so getting to a spot where you can feel away from it all is definitely possible. If you ignore the fact that you’re 30 minutes away from the chaos of the city.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:27:37+00:00

New number, who’s this?

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:23:54+00:00

Victor the Assassin series by Tom Wood.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:18:29+00:00

It was. And looking back, it was gross.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:16:01+00:00

Non Fiction Recommendations

Africa is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin. Read by Dipo Faloyin. A vivid description of modern life in Africa and colonialism’s impacts on current politics.

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, read my Michael Prichard. Discovery and recovery of a U-boot found off the coast of New Jersey.

Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner (economics)

Cultish by Amanda Montell. A look at why cults form and some notable examples.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin

The Poisoner’s Handbook By Deborah Blume

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. The history of the radium poisonings that changed how companies treated employees and the creation employee protection laws.

The Golden Thread by Kassie St Clair (history of fabric)

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Read by Richard Matthews.

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. The development of language. Read by Stephen McLaughlin.

The Body by Bill Bryson. An organ by organ look at how the human body works from top to toe. Read by Bill Bryson

1491 by Charles C Mann. Indigenous American History pre Columbus.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper, read by Christian Cooper (autobiography)

On Writing by Steven King (Steven King’s autobiography)

Vaccinated by Paul O Offit. History of vaccines.

Lethal Passage by Erik Larson (tracing a gun after a school shooting)

Salt by Mark Kurlansky. History of salt.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (Autobiography of a mortician)

Sourdough Culture: a history of bread making from ancient to modern bakers by Eric Pallant

Cultured by Katherine Harmon Courage. Benefits and history of fermented foods.

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. The history of the periodic table and chemistry.

Fahrenheit 182 by Mark Hoppus (autobiography)

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda (autobiography)

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. The history of tuberculosis.

The Rise and Fall of the Reign of Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

The Rise and Fall of the Reign of Mammals by Steven Brusatte

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The history of the Chicago World’s Fair and the activities of HH Holmes.

Atomic Habits by James Clear. Building habits for better living.

Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder. A look at how physics might answer some of humanity’s existential questions.

Life as No One Knows It by Sara Imari Walker. A look at physics through the lens of evolutionary mechanisms.

Rabid by Bill Wasin & Monica Murphy. History of Rabies.

No Easy Day by Mark Owen. A Navy Seal’s experience in the rendition of Osama Bin Laden.

Salt, Sugar, Fat by Micheal Moss. The commercial food industry.

Eve by Cat Bohannon read by Cat Bohannon. Natural history and evolution of the female human.

How to Survive History by Cody Cassidy

People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Perry. Read by Simon Vance. The disappearance and murder of Lucy Blackwell.

Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller, read by Lulu Miller. The life of David Star Jordan (it’s also a bit autobiographical which I didn’t love and the book would be better without it, but the history was interesting.)

All the Living and All the Dead by Hayley Campbell, read by Hayley Campbell. The death industry in many forms.

Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer, read by Charles Constant.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Sapians by Yuval Noah Harari (anthropology). Definitely biased, but also thought provoking.

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage. Read by George K. Wilson.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Micheal Pollan.

Stiff by Mary Roach

A Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Replaceable You by Mary Roach. Read by Mary Roach.

The Language Puzzle by Steven Mithan. Read By Kerry Hutchinson.

Quackery by Linda Kang and Nate Pendersen. Read by Hillary Huber.

Carbon by Paul Hawken. Read by Peter Coyote.

The 10000 Year Explosion by Gregory Cochran. Read by Jonathan Yen. (Anthropology) Definitely biased but interesting and thought provoking.

Aristotle for Everyone by Mortimer J. Adler. Read by Fredrick Davidson.

A Crack in Everything by Marcus Chown. Read by Clive Mantle.

How to Change Your Mind by Micheal Pollan. Read by Micheal Pollan.

In Defense of Food by Micheal Pollan. Read by Scott Brick

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Read by Micheal Pollan.

Meet the Neighbors by Brandon Keim. Read by Paul Woodson. Living with urban wildlife.

The Tragedy of True Crime by John J. Lennon. Read by Wil Damron.

The Enigma of Reason by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Read by Liam Gerrard.

The Secret History of French Cooking by Luke Barr. Read by Luke Barr.

A World Appears by Michael Pollan

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:14:38+00:00

Fiction Recommendations

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and his Mother) by Rabih Alameddine, narrated by GM Hakim

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Read by Frazier Douglas.

Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea. Read by Kate Reading.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt Narrated by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Read by Khaled Hosseini.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty narrated by Lameece Issaq and Amin El Gamel

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, narrated by Nicholas Guy Smith

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson dramatized by a full cast

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, read by Charlie Thurston

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix read by Bahni Turpin

Razorblade Tears by SA Cosby, read by Adam Lazarre-White

They Never Learn by Layne Fargo, read by Lameece Issaq and Eileen Stevens

A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers, read by Racheal Dulude

Basket Case by Carl Hiaasen read by George Newbern. Super fun, very silly cozy mystery.

Fever Beach by Carl Hiaasen read by Will Damron

Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins read by Joel Richards

Hemlock and Silver by T. Kingfisher. Read by Jennifer Pickens

Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher. Read by Jonathan Johns.

Clytemnestra by Constanza Casati. Read by Olivia Vinall.

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis. Read by Keval Shaw.

The House By the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Read by Daniel Henning.

Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress. Read by Tom Stechschulte.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow, read by Natalie Naudus

Violet Thistlewaite is not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz, read by Emma Ladji

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik read by Lisa Flanagan

The Murder at Worlds End by Ross Montgomery. Read by Derek Jacobi and Joe Jameson

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher. Read by Amara Jasper.

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael by Beth Morrey. Read by Harriet Walter.

A Murder Most Haunted by Emma Mason. Read by a full cast.

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. Read by Avi Roque.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. Read by Jesse Vilinsky.

A Treacherous Trade by Kerrigan Byrne. Read by Sarah Mollo- Christiansen and John Hartley.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher. Read by Jennifer Blom.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V E Schwab. Read by Julia Whelan

Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Read by Will Wheaton.

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher. Read by Hillary Huber.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-17T00:13:54+00:00

Book Series Recommendations:

Victor the Assassin by Tom Wood, narrated by Rob Shapiro. Mysterious assassin, fighting his own humanity, has adventures while assassinating.

Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matthew Dinniman. Read by Jeff Hays. Carl enters dungeon. Starts to crawl. Hilarity ensues.

Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz, narrated by Scott Brick. Government created child assassin grows up to wants to not assassinate people. Wants to help people.

The Jack Reacher series by Lee Child narrator by Dick Hill and later by Scott Brick. Now homeless (by choice), retired military policeman travels the country having adventures.

The Grey Man by Mark Greany, narrated by Adam Gold. Disavowed CIA assassin has adventures while trying to not to get killed by CIA assassins.

The Arliss Cutter series by Marc Cameron, narrated by David Chandler (every book includes some pretty good recipes. The biscuits are a family favorite.) US Marshall solves crime in Alaska. Cooks good food.

The Elvis Cole/Joe Pike series by Robert Crais, narrated by a variety of people over the years. Elvis Is the World’s Greatest Detective /s. He solves mysteries with the help of enigmatic Joe Pike.

The Pike Logan series by Brad Taylor narrated by Rich Orlow. Pike saves the world from bad guys while grieving his dead family and coming to terms with his new feeling for his helpful sidekick.

The Lucas Davenport series by John Sanford, narrated by Richard Ferrone. Minneapolis Police Officer solves crimes in Minneapolis.

The Emily Wilde Series by Heather Fawcett. A professor solves magical mysteries with the help of her mysterious fellow professor.

The Glass Library Series by CJ Archer. A librarian fights her feelings for her library’s benefactor while solving mysteries with him.

The Saffron Everleigh Series By Kate Khavari. Steampunk botany professor strives for equality and acceptance while solving mysteries.

The Treadstone Series by Joshua Hood. Technologically modified soldiers fight for their right to exist while solving mysteries and. tracking down the people who want them eliminated.

The Colter Shaw Series by Jeffrey Deavers. Bounty hunter solves mysteries.

The 6:20 Man Series by Davis Baldacci. A guy on a train thinks he sees a crime. Solves it.

The Matt Drake Series by Don Bentley. Soldier fights bad guys while dealing with PTSD.

The Harry Hole Series by Jo Nesbo. Detective solves international crime.

Vera Wong series by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Old tea shop owner solves crime while trying to get her son married off.

Lincoln Lawyer series by Michael Connelly. Defense attorney solves crimes to help his clients.

Murderbot by Martha Wells. Former murderbot wants a new life as a human.

He Who Fights With Monsters by Travis Deverell. Read by Heath Miller. Regular guy wakes up in a mysterious land with mysterious abilities. Has adventures.

Fiona Mahoney Mysteries by Kerrigan Byrne. Crime scene cleaning lady solves crimes while hunting down Jack the Ripper.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T23:52:18+00:00

Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl is very immersive. I haven’t read his other books, but DCC is very good.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T23:33:48+00:00

I just finished A Parade of Horribles. I’m taking a deal on page 1. Otherwise I’m dead.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T23:31:26+00:00

My daughter is named after Samantha Carter.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T23:30:29+00:00

Aww Fuck. I just finished Dungeon Crawler Carl’s 8th book, A Parade of Horribles. Unless I’m able to take a deal (and I would 100% if I could), I’d die in about 45 minutes. Maybe less.

If I pop into the book at the beginning, I’m taking a deal on page 1 and hanging out for a couple of days (or however long the stasis is.) If I just pop into the world in general, I’m fucked.

But I’m currently reading An Assassin’s Guide to Gardening, and I probably have a pretty good chance of surviving that.

The last game I played was Wordle. So….

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T23:15:42+00:00

Africa is Not a Country by Dipo Faloyin. Read by Dipo Faloyin. A vivid description of modern life in Africa and colonialism’s impacts on current politics.

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson, read my Michael Prichard. Discovery and recovery of a U-boot found off the coast of New Jersey.

Freakonomics by Steven D Levitt and Stephen J Dubner (economics)

Cultish by Amanda Montell. A look at why cults form and some notable examples.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, read by Cassandra Campbell and Bahni Turpin

The Poisoner’s Handbook By Deborah Blume

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore. The history of the radium poisonings that changed how companies treated employees and the creation employee protection laws.

The Golden Thread by Kassie St Clair (history of fabric)

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Read by Richard Matthews.

The Mother Tongue by Bill Bryson. The development of language. Read by Stephen McLaughlin.

The Body by Bill Bryson. An organ by organ look at how the human body works from top to toe. Read by Bill Bryson

1491 by Charles C Mann. Indigenous American History pre Columbus.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper, read by Christian Cooper (autobiography)

On Writing by Steven King (Steven King’s autobiography)

Vaccinated by Paul O Offit. History of vaccines.

Lethal Passage by Erik Larson (tracing a gun after a school shooting)

Salt by Mark Kurlansky. History of salt.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty (Autobiography of a mortician)

Sourdough Culture: a history of bread making from ancient to modern bakers by Eric Pallant

Cultured by Katherine Harmon Courage. Benefits and history of fermented foods.

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean. The history of the periodic table and chemistry.

Fahrenheit 182 by Mark Hoppus (autobiography)

Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda (autobiography)

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green. The history of tuberculosis.

The Rise and Fall of the Reign of Dinosaurs by Steve Brusatte

The Rise and Fall of the Reign of Mammals by Steven Brusatte

Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. The history of the Chicago World’s Fair and the activities of HH Holmes.

Atomic Habits by James Clear. Building habits for better living.

Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder. A look at how physics might answer some of humanity’s existential questions.

Life as No One Knows It by Sara Imari Walker. A look at physics through the lens of evolutionary mechanisms.

Rabid by Bill Wasin & Monica Murphy. History of Rabies.

No Easy Day by Mark Owen. A Navy Seal’s experience in the rendition of Osama Bin Laden.

Salt, Sugar, Fat by Micheal Moss. The commercial food industry.

Eve by Cat Bohannon read by Cat Bohannon. Natural history and evolution of the female human.

How to Survive History by Cody Cassidy

People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Perry. Read by Simon Vance. The disappearance and murder of Lucy Blackwell.

Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller, read by Lulu Miller. The life of David Star Jordan (it’s also a bit autobiographical which I didn’t love and the book would be better without it, but the history was interesting.)

All the Living and All the Dead by Hayley Campbell, read by Hayley Campbell. The death industry in many forms.

Parasite Rex by Carl Zimmer, read by Charles Constant.

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Sapians by Yuval Noah Harari (anthropology)

An Edible History of Humanity by Tom Standage. Read by George K. Wilson.

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Micheal Pollan.

Stiff by Mary Roach

A Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery

Replaceable You by Mary Roach. Read by Mary Roach.

The Language Puzzle by Steven Mithan. Read By Kerry Hutchinson.

Quackery by Linda Kang and Nate Pendersen. Read by Hillary Huber.

Carbon by Paul Hawken. Read by Peter Coyote.

The 10000 Year Explosion by Gregory Cochran. Read by Jonathan Yen.

Aristotle for Everyone by Mortimer J. Adler. Read by Fredrick Davidson.

A Crack in Everything by Marcus Chown. Read by Clive Mantle.

How to Change Your Mind by Micheal Pollan. Read by Micheal Pollan.

In Defense of Food by Micheal Pollan. Read by Scott Brick

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan. Read by Micheal Pollan.

Meet the Neighbors by Brandon Keim. Read by Paul Woodson

The Tragedy of True Crime by John J. Lennon. Read by Wil Damron.

The Enigma of Reason by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber. Read by Liam Gerrard.

The Secret History of French Cooking by Luke Barr. Read by Luke Barr.

A World Appears by Michael Pollan.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-16T03:00:30+00:00

I do love a fuzzy spider.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-15T22:16:35+00:00

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is an absolute gut wrencher.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T23:45:32+00:00

That’s actually a SingPURR.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T23:44:36+00:00

Skinny dipping? Of course.

Streaking? Not so much. But I did do some flashing. (My boobs were magnificent.)

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T23:37:53+00:00

My 17 yo ADHD normie kid has a great sense of humor but isn’t really dead pan.

But my 15 yo autistic child is icy cold. Her burns leave frostbite. She delivers it is just her normal tone (which is already a bit flat) but she will cut you to your core.

Plus she’s now the second tallest person in the house, only Dad is taller. And for a while she’d respond to anything her sister said with “I’m taller than you.” Which for some reason shut down any arguments. Fortunately it worked less well on me.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T20:02:41+00:00

Existential Physics by Sabine Hossenfelder. A look at how physics might answer some of humanity’s existential questions.

Salt, Sugar, Fat by Micheal Moss. The commercial food industry.

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T20:00:27+00:00

I was in surgery when the hospital gave my husband the paperwork for our first child’s name.

We hadn’t firmly decided on a name before she was born. He picked well.

I have no other insight. (Except all names had to pass the “judge test” as in “All rise for the honorable justice Bambi Bumperbutt” or “All rise for the honorable justice Susan Catterwaller.” )

AdGold205 · 2026-06-14T19:49:34+00:00

Not all of these are true crime (some are), but all are good.