Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty, 501 pages

On a flight from Hobart to Sydney, an unremarkable older woman stood up from her seat at the front of the plane and began walking toward the back, methodically prediction the age and cause of death of everyone on board. While everyone was shaken, nobody could agree if she was the real deal or just crazy, even after the first person died according to the "Death Lady's" prophecy.

This was an intriguing examination of fate, determinism, free will, and our own obsessive tendencies. At times it was hard to keep track of who was who (it's a LARGE cast of characters, after all) and I kind of wish we'd heard about a few more people at the end, but really, it was an excellent book. I can see why there's such a long wait for the book.

How to Land a Plane

 

The Little Book of How to Land a Plane by Mark Vanhoenacker  64 pp.

At only 64 pages this is indeed a little book. And it is exactly what the title says, a book on how to land a plane, specifically a Boeing 747. Written by an experienced pilot of 747s who now pilots Boeing 787 Dreamliners for British Airways, the author gives a detailed explanation of the flying and landing process in mostly layman's terms with illustrations. Why would I choose to read this? Because when I was a young teen I wanted to be an airline pilot (later changed to surgeon and we know how that turned out).