Oh, man ... sorry to hear that.
Me too. Very sorry.
Non-fiction
The Art of Memory - I've looked for his book for years and accidentally ran across a copy of it in Barnes and Nobles a few weeks back. then I got a very old copy of it from a University library. I'm also buying my own copy. the old copy has some fascinating and old original graphics and illustrations, such as of the Memory theatre, and other such marvels. I am studying it intently. It is without a doubt the most fascinating and mentally exciting book I have read in ten years or more. And bets of all it is incredibly useful. I find it extremely helpful with further developing my own Memory City.
The Molecules of Murder - An absolutely superb new book on molecular forensic examination in criminal cases. On the cover is the picture of an umbrella, which I immediately recognized. It is an icon in Intel circles, as it was used by the Bulgarian Secret Service to assassinate Georgi Markov, by injecting him with a ricin pellet using a fake umbrella as a weapon/poison delivery system. The assassination of Markov back in 1978 was the first real case of international assassination I ever studied (the soviets were the real culprits, the Bulgarians were just the delivery men) and I reviewed the case in minute detail back then. The umbrella on the cover naturally made me extremely nostalgic and impelled me to get the book as soon as I saw it. I haven't been disappointed, though actual criminalistic details have sometimes been lack (it seems more like an overview primer). The last case examined in the book is the murder of Alexander Litvinenko which I recently finished an in-depth book on covering the case of polonium poisoning. I have been following the Litvinenko case in detail since it first surfaced, so I have also found this book extremely useful.
The Renaissance - This is part of the history series by the Durants. The Durants are now somewhat dated in their historical writings but I still very much enjoy reading Will Durant's histories. I haven't re-read his histories in maybe twenty years, but I'm finding it every bit as interesting as my first go round.
Fiction
The Fourth Tower of Inverness - This isn't really a book, but is a radio play I'm listening to on CD. I often listen to unabridged fiction books on CD. To save time. I'm listening to it every night with my family for about half an hour right before bed. It's making me have weird and wonderful dreams, just like the first time I listened to it, maybe twenty, twenty-five years or so ago. My kids love it, it terrifies my youngest daughter, for instance she nearly jumped out of her skin when the dragon showed up, and I'm enjoying it as much as the first time I heard it. Maybe more now as I'm noticing far more details.