Books I've read since September, rated from the best to the worst on my quality/greatness scale

Books I've read since September, rated from the best to the worst on my quality/greatness scale ??? Stay tuned for my Books of the Year 2019 ??

?? Conversations with an Executioner by Kazimierz Moczarski — A most remarkable memoir that reads like a thriller. The author was involved in the resistance movement against the German occupation of Poland during WW2. But since he was a member of the group organized from the West, the Communists locked him up in jail after the war, coincidentally with one of the highest-ranked Nazis in the country, responsible for the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto and the death of over 50,000 people. He was appalled but as a former journalist he decided to use this opportunity to get into a head of his former enemy to understand his motivations for the war crimes committed in Poland and elsewhere.

?? The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (A History of Nazi Germany) by William L. Shirer — If any book comes close to Winston Churchill's 6-volume history of the 2nd World War, it's this one. The unabridged audiobook is 57 hours long but it was worth every minute I have spent on it. While Churchill's history covers mostly the Anglo-American perspective, Shirer goes into the shocking depths of Nazi regime and the cruel mind of its leader.

?? Einstein's Greatest Mistake and E=mc2 by David Bodanis — Both books are great and similar in a way, but especially the first one touched me deeply as a remarkable intellectual biography and the story of how one of the history's greatest minds ended up in almost total intellectual isolation, ignored by most scientists of that time. Sad but true, the book is a must for all intellectuals struggling to stay relevant in their field.

?? The Lincoln Lawyer and The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly — These are the first two Connelly's books with the “Lincoln lawyer” Mickey Haller and I have to admit I like them even better than Harry Bosch detective novels by the same author. I wonder if it is because they are narrated by the main character?

Paul McCartney, The Biography by Philip Norman — Great read for all Beatles fans, with extended coverage of Paul's solo career after the band split up. It also offers very useful insights into show business and celebrity brand management in general.

The Horse That Won't Go Away by Thomas E. Heinzen, Scott O. Lillienfeld and Susan A. Nolan — Simply the most approachable book on critical thinking I've read so far.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles — An exceptional novel. The story wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I have to bow to author's literary style and vocabulary. If you like books by Hrabal, you will probably love this one.

An Austronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield — Interesting and easy to read, but lacking in style. I was confused by author shifts back and forth in time and in the end, it felt like a collection of anecdotes. A missed opportunity.

Alisik 1. Fall, 2. Winter and 3. Spring by Vogt and Rufledt — A comic book trilogy I've read with our son. Nothing exceptional really, but engaging and entertaining yes.

Supernova Era by Cixin Liu — I was misled by the marketing campaign of this book, thinking that it’s a new novel by the Master. But it is actually his first one, newly translated to English, and I didn't really like it much.

?? Kochland by Christopher Leonard — Potentially great topic, but the book was boring to the bone. I was almost screaming with pain reading the second half of it. This text should have been heavily edited and cut down to one third, max. Booooring!

?? The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón — Each next book by the author of the one and only Shadow of the Wind just gets worse. This one was the worst so far indeed. It has good moments to be sure, but the end felt rushed and totally confused, I wasn't even able to understand the point of this disappointing novel. Terrible.