What book is everyone reading at the moment? Part 2.
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Son of Inigo
Thinker
dudalb said:
Agree with both of you, I have read everything you both mentioned except his Truman. I have also read The Johnstown Flood , which is excellent as well. And on my to be read shelf I have his Mornings on Horseback. That will probably be the next dead tree book I read.
xterra said:
I read a lot of E-library books in OverDrive on my iPhone. Have you tried holding down on the pictures or maps? I am reading In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson. If I press the pictures with my thumb for a couple of seconds, it will open to a bigger picture that can be sized (zoomed). It took me about 5 books before I figured it out.
xterra
So far, so good...
That's the answer! Thank you; it never occurred to me to try that.
ETA, here is a photo of the clubhouse fireplace. The clubhouse is not usually open, but I got lucky and got a tour from the park historian. (Partly because i have been a National Park Service volunteer, and I shamelessly traded on that fact.)
*Fingers will also work for this.
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turingtest
Mistral, mistral wind...
When you finish that one, try (if you haven't already) Larson's Thunderstruck and Isaac's Storm (the second is similar to McCullough's The Johnstown Flood thematically, being about the Galveston hurricane of Sept 1900).
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix a better than decent horror novel about a group of employees overnighting at a haunted Ikea (well a lawyer friendly pastiche of Ikea anyway).
The setup is pretty bog standard; a random mishmash of employees are tasked to stay overnight in a huge furniture big box store to determine what's been causing a rash of weird vandalism.
If the book has a central problem, other than obviously "What if an Ikea was haunted" pretty much being it's only punchline, it is that it can't decide on a tone. Sometimes it skews almost into full horror comedy and other times plays everything straight. And it's trying do that weird "extended universe without having an actual extended universe" thing by having like fake ads for store products and stuff like that. None of it doesn't work well, it just doesn't always work well together.
Remember the remakes of 13 Ghosts and the House on Haunted Hill that came out a few years back? This book really reminds me of those movies for some reason as in it could almost exist in the same universe.
Still it was a good, fun read that I enjoyed and hope to hear more from the author. I'm actually curious as to how anyone that's ever worked in big box retail will enjoy it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23284168-horrorstor?from_search=true
The setup is pretty bog standard; a random mishmash of employees are tasked to stay overnight in a huge furniture big box store to determine what's been causing a rash of weird vandalism.
If the book has a central problem, other than obviously "What if an Ikea was haunted" pretty much being it's only punchline, it is that it can't decide on a tone. Sometimes it skews almost into full horror comedy and other times plays everything straight. And it's trying do that weird "extended universe without having an actual extended universe" thing by having like fake ads for store products and stuff like that. None of it doesn't work well, it just doesn't always work well together.
Remember the remakes of 13 Ghosts and the House on Haunted Hill that came out a few years back? This book really reminds me of those movies for some reason as in it could almost exist in the same universe.
Still it was a good, fun read that I enjoyed and hope to hear more from the author. I'm actually curious as to how anyone that's ever worked in big box retail will enjoy it.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23284168-horrorstor?from_search=true
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catsmate
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It reminds me of Ramsey Campbell's The Overnight, set during an overnight bookshop stocktaking.
calebprime
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_Flash Boys_ -- Michael Lewis
A wonderfully easy-to-read and entertaining look at Wall Street and high-frequency trading. How accurate is it? I've read some criticism, but I still have no idea.
_The Book of Strange New Things_ -- Michel Faber
For this old atheist, missionaries are numpties. So I was a little surprised to find myself reading the whole first section (maybe 170 pages) in one easy sitting. So far, so good.
Oh, and while I'm on the theme of agnosticism about a topic, let me add:
_The Book of Woe_ -- Gary Greenberg (audio book)
A caustic look at the making of the DSM 5, and attendant issues. Some aspects of psychiatry are so easy to criticize* that even idiots like Scientologists can do it -- sort of. Greenberg is a therapist who still believes in the talking cure, so his bias is obvious. Again, I'm an agnostic pessimist without being anti-psychiatry. But even as a pessimist, I believe that some day all the research on the brain will begin to yield effective treatments.
*For example, the case of Joseph Beiderman
A wonderfully easy-to-read and entertaining look at Wall Street and high-frequency trading. How accurate is it? I've read some criticism, but I still have no idea.
_The Book of Strange New Things_ -- Michel Faber
For this old atheist, missionaries are numpties. So I was a little surprised to find myself reading the whole first section (maybe 170 pages) in one easy sitting. So far, so good.
Oh, and while I'm on the theme of agnosticism about a topic, let me add:
_The Book of Woe_ -- Gary Greenberg (audio book)
A caustic look at the making of the DSM 5, and attendant issues. Some aspects of psychiatry are so easy to criticize* that even idiots like Scientologists can do it -- sort of. Greenberg is a therapist who still believes in the talking cure, so his bias is obvious. Again, I'm an agnostic pessimist without being anti-psychiatry. But even as a pessimist, I believe that some day all the research on the brain will begin to yield effective treatments.
*For example, the case of Joseph Beiderman
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Francesca R
Girl
Last book I completed was "Honey Money--The Power of Erotic Capital" by Catherine Hakim; I posted a review in the reviews sub-forum. Actually I post all the books I review there (which are not all the ones I read)
Currently "How to Predict the Unpredictable--The Art of Outsmarting Almost Everyone" by William Poundstone, which is about how non-random people are even when they try to be.
Currently "How to Predict the Unpredictable--The Art of Outsmarting Almost Everyone" by William Poundstone, which is about how non-random people are even when they try to be.
xterra
So far, so good...
You know how it is: You go to the public library (I still use ours; I hope you use yours also), browse the shelves of new books, and perhaps find one of interest. Then you go to your favorite section of the non-fiction books and look to see what you might have missed or what has been returned last since last time you looked. Finally, you peruse the fiction shelves, including mystery and science-fiction. All the while, of course you're checking for books that have been mentioned here. By the time you've finished, you have an armful of books to check out and take home.
When you begin to read this treasure trove, you find out that some books you though were interesting ... aren't--or at least aren't what you thought they would be.
Over my past two visits to the library, this has happened to me more often than usual. Herewith a list, with comments:
Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies, 2013, Chris Kluwe. Recommended by someone on this thread. Uneven quality of essays, some irritating, some enjoyable.
Liberators A Novel of the Coming Global Collapse, 2014, (by a person who insists on a comma between his given names and his family name, just in case we don't get it) James Wesley, Rawles. Post-collapse of civilization, told from a fundamentalist Christian, prepper, survivalist perspective. I do primitive skills stuff (friction fire, atlatl making, bow making, flint knapping) so I found some of his supposed expertise lacking, at the same time that I found the tendency of the protagonist(s) to pray about things irritating. This is one of a series, none of which I will read.
Hispanic Folk Music of New Mexico and the Southwest: A Self-portrait of A People 1980 J. D. Robb. This is not the mystery writer pseudonym of Nora Roberts, which is a nom de plume of Eleanor Robertson. This is John Donald Robb, who was a professor at the University of New Mexico, and who wrote an opera which was later transformed into "The Fantasticks." A fascinating account and survey of various Hispanic folk genres mostly from northern New Mexico. Robb's translations are not always felicitous, but do give a flavor of the original Spanish. The notes and the photos he includes are quite interesting. Recommended for anyone with an interest in the topic or the location.
I Heard My Country Calling: A Memoir, 2014, James H. Webb. As a Marine myself (not "ex" because once a Marine, always a Marine), I was drawn by the subject. Unfortunately, I didn't get past the first 40 pages. The style and the bombast were too much.
Borderline, 2009, Nevada Barr. One of a series by Barr, a former NPS ranger (like our own Tiktaalik). I have read most (all?) of Barr's books. I was particularly interested in this one because I visited Big Bend NP about a year after this book was published. I also liked her book on Lechuguilla Cave at Carlsbad Caverns NP because I had been a volunteer at Carlsbad for four months in 2006, and knew some of Barr's resource people. Well-researched, good descriptions of places to the point that I recognized the original location of what she had moved for dramatic purposes. Oh, and a good story.
The Kingdom of Zydeco, 1998, Michael Tisserand. Very detailed, almost too much so, but very informative. It corrected of my several misconceptions about zydeco, starting with the name, which is a variant of the French les haricots, "the beans."
Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places, 2009, Bill Streever. What can I say? A cool book.
The Sorceress of Karres, 2010, Eric Flint. A continuation of characters invented by James. K. Schmitz. Good, but the original was better.
The Whale Road, 2007, Robert Low. A very good first book. I am only surprised that there has not yet been a second one in the same series. This description is from the library website: "In tenth-century Europe, Orm Rurikson and a band of oath-sworn Viking raiders journey from the fjords of Norway to the steppes of Russia as they search for the long-lost treasure hoard of Attila the Hun."
When you begin to read this treasure trove, you find out that some books you though were interesting ... aren't--or at least aren't what you thought they would be.
Over my past two visits to the library, this has happened to me more often than usual. Herewith a list, with comments:
Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies, 2013, Chris Kluwe. Recommended by someone on this thread. Uneven quality of essays, some irritating, some enjoyable.
Liberators A Novel of the Coming Global Collapse, 2014, (by a person who insists on a comma between his given names and his family name, just in case we don't get it) James Wesley, Rawles. Post-collapse of civilization, told from a fundamentalist Christian, prepper, survivalist perspective. I do primitive skills stuff (friction fire, atlatl making, bow making, flint knapping) so I found some of his supposed expertise lacking, at the same time that I found the tendency of the protagonist(s) to pray about things irritating. This is one of a series, none of which I will read.
Hispanic Folk Music of New Mexico and the Southwest: A Self-portrait of A People 1980 J. D. Robb. This is not the mystery writer pseudonym of Nora Roberts, which is a nom de plume of Eleanor Robertson. This is John Donald Robb, who was a professor at the University of New Mexico, and who wrote an opera which was later transformed into "The Fantasticks." A fascinating account and survey of various Hispanic folk genres mostly from northern New Mexico. Robb's translations are not always felicitous, but do give a flavor of the original Spanish. The notes and the photos he includes are quite interesting. Recommended for anyone with an interest in the topic or the location.
I Heard My Country Calling: A Memoir, 2014, James H. Webb. As a Marine myself (not "ex" because once a Marine, always a Marine), I was drawn by the subject. Unfortunately, I didn't get past the first 40 pages. The style and the bombast were too much.
Borderline, 2009, Nevada Barr. One of a series by Barr, a former NPS ranger (like our own Tiktaalik). I have read most (all?) of Barr's books. I was particularly interested in this one because I visited Big Bend NP about a year after this book was published. I also liked her book on Lechuguilla Cave at Carlsbad Caverns NP because I had been a volunteer at Carlsbad for four months in 2006, and knew some of Barr's resource people. Well-researched, good descriptions of places to the point that I recognized the original location of what she had moved for dramatic purposes. Oh, and a good story.
The Kingdom of Zydeco, 1998, Michael Tisserand. Very detailed, almost too much so, but very informative. It corrected of my several misconceptions about zydeco, starting with the name, which is a variant of the French les haricots, "the beans."
Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places, 2009, Bill Streever. What can I say? A cool book.
The Sorceress of Karres, 2010, Eric Flint. A continuation of characters invented by James. K. Schmitz. Good, but the original was better.
The Whale Road, 2007, Robert Low. A very good first book. I am only surprised that there has not yet been a second one in the same series. This description is from the library website: "In tenth-century Europe, Orm Rurikson and a band of oath-sworn Viking raiders journey from the fjords of Norway to the steppes of Russia as they search for the long-lost treasure hoard of Attila the Hun."
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dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
Webb wrote one of the best novels to come out of the Vietnam War in "Fields Of Fire" but when it comes to non fiction he is pretty hopeless as a writer.
dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
Just started "Napoleon" by Andrew Roberts on my Kindle.
Only about a 100 pages in, but so far it looks as if the reviews were right when they said this might well become the standard One Volume English Language biography of the Emperor.
Only about a 100 pages in, but so far it looks as if the reviews were right when they said this might well become the standard One Volume English Language biography of the Emperor.
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Parsman
Muse
"1000 Years of Annoying the French" by Steven Clarke. I guess I wnated to see if it was the typical UK = England book and it largely is (the fact that Scotland was allied to France for half that 1000 years is mostly ignored). But it is quite fun and while short it has pointed me in the direction of some reading on France's failures and mistakes in colonising the Americas.
Denver
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One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, and Sinbad and other Tales from the Arabian Nights, both by Mushin Mahdi. Two books, rather than the more westernized single collection, since the tales from earlier centuries spanned about 300 nights, but were still called 1001. Apparently that was not to be taken literally, and 1001 meant "a whole bunch". But that confused the later translators of the 1700s, who then added a lot of other (albeit authentic) folk tales to fill out the number. These two books give me the original 300, plus all the rest (which are actually many of the better known ones, including tales of Sinbad and Aladdin).
Brainster
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I'm going back through the 1970s Hugo winners. Just finished To Your Scattered Bodies Go and now on Ringworld. When I was a young adult, the Riverworld series was much better (and way more vivid), but as I approach senility, I prefer Ringworld. Perhaps because I don't remember it as well. Another benefit of aging!
catsmate
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There are straight dinosaur sex books if you prefer...
Just got through with Ready Player One a dystopian sci-fi novel set in the future where after economic collapse most people spend the bulk of their lives inside a virtual reality MMO / 'Second Life' style simulation.
Our main character is a poor down on his luck nerd who has been searching for years for a legendary hidden easter egg inside the simulation which leads intrigue and bla-bla-bla.
It's a good book but waaaaaay pandering. It's basically "Nerd's are awesome" pounded into your head for an entire novel. The literal plot of the novel is about saving the world via his knowledge of video games, D&D, and 80s nostalgia movies. I mean I'm a nerd and I love being told how awesome that is but Jesus there's a fine line between playing to your base and jerking your base off and while the book doesn't cross it it certainly bumps up against pretty hard a few times.
The main character is that annoying "Loser but still Mary Sue" style of character and the main female love interest is that annoying "Absolutely perfect fantasy female character... but with one obvious tacked on physical flaw to show you how not shallow the protagonist is" characters.
But all that being said they were well written, funny, and engaging enough for that to only be problem some of the time. And for what it's worth I did care for the characters enough to be rooting for them going into the final confrontation.
Our main character is a poor down on his luck nerd who has been searching for years for a legendary hidden easter egg inside the simulation which leads intrigue and bla-bla-bla.
It's a good book but waaaaaay pandering. It's basically "Nerd's are awesome" pounded into your head for an entire novel. The literal plot of the novel is about saving the world via his knowledge of video games, D&D, and 80s nostalgia movies. I mean I'm a nerd and I love being told how awesome that is but Jesus there's a fine line between playing to your base and jerking your base off and while the book doesn't cross it it certainly bumps up against pretty hard a few times.
The main character is that annoying "Loser but still Mary Sue" style of character and the main female love interest is that annoying "Absolutely perfect fantasy female character... but with one obvious tacked on physical flaw to show you how not shallow the protagonist is" characters.
But all that being said they were well written, funny, and engaging enough for that to only be problem some of the time. And for what it's worth I did care for the characters enough to be rooting for them going into the final confrontation.
dudalb
Penultimate Amazing
If you have a Kindle of other E reader, you can pick up the complete, more then a Dozen volumes, transalation of the Arabian Nights for around five bucks.
LSSBB
Devilish Dictionarian
Just finished Moby Dick via LibraVox (I have a long commute), reading by Stuart Mills. He was excellent, so was the book, although I could have done without the extensive references. I also just finished Selected Buddhist Writings on LibraVox, various readers who generally sucked. I am now listening to a reading of Walden Pond, which is very promising albeit a rather gloomy take on his contemporaries.
In print I am working my way through Pablo Neruda's The Captain's Verses. I am not great with poetry so much of it doesn't resonate with me, however I liked "The Well".
For non-fiction I just finished "Habit", which I thought great although it could have used a section on employing it's findings in a business environment. I am also now finishing Four Disciplines of Execution, which although simple in format does present a good framework for operational improvements.
In print I am working my way through Pablo Neruda's The Captain's Verses. I am not great with poetry so much of it doesn't resonate with me, however I liked "The Well".
For non-fiction I just finished "Habit", which I thought great although it could have used a section on employing it's findings in a business environment. I am also now finishing Four Disciplines of Execution, which although simple in format does present a good framework for operational improvements.
Venom
Philosopher
Abominable Science!: Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids By Daniel Loxton and Donald Prothero
and Invented Knowledge, by Ronald Fritze
and Invented Knowledge, by Ronald Fritze
I just watched the movie Cloud Atlas. A neat weave of 6 stories through different eras and timelines, all connected by common threads. Sci-fi, decent story, action, a bit unique and enjoyable in my opinion.
dmaker
Graduate Poster
Gallow: The Fateguard Trilogy, 2014, Nathan Hawke
On Live No Limit Cash Games, 2014, Jonathan Little
Wars of the Roses: Trinity, 2014, Conn Iggulden
Magicians Gambit, 1986, David Eddings ( YA is comfort food for the brain to my wife, so I read a bit of something to her most nights before falling asleep. I got to choose this time)
On Live No Limit Cash Games, 2014, Jonathan Little
Wars of the Roses: Trinity, 2014, Conn Iggulden
Magicians Gambit, 1986, David Eddings ( YA is comfort food for the brain to my wife, so I read a bit of something to her most nights before falling asleep. I got to choose this time)
catsmate
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Horrorstör by Grady Helix an interesting horror novel set overnight in an Ikea like store. A bit derivative of Campbell's The Overnight though with some interesting illustrations of Ikea-esque BDSM furniture
Winds of Change. by Charles S. Jackson. The second in his time travel/alternate history series, this one is set after the Nazi occupation of Britain with Sinister Goings-on happening on a remote Scottish island
Winds of Change. by Charles S. Jackson. The second in his time travel/alternate history series, this one is set after the Nazi occupation of Britain with Sinister Goings-on happening on a remote Scottish island
calebprime
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_Possibilities_ -- Herbie Hancock
I skimmed this, got the gist, in an hour.
It's not terrible for an "as told to" book -- just kind of bland.
I'm not sure if the blandness also comes from Hancock himself -- who comes across as more of an ordinary joe than you'd think -- more interested in cars, women and celebrity (in this telling) than you'd expect.
It is surprising that he got addicted to crack in the late 90's, despite his success, despite his Buddhism, despite everything.
Well, Hancock was always open to a fault. This is the guy who composed all those great tunes, (Like the ones on The Prisoner) but also produced that horrible arrangment of Norwegian Wood.
There's some good stuff about Tony Williams here. But for someone in the know about jazz, it's fairly thin.
I skimmed this, got the gist, in an hour.
It's not terrible for an "as told to" book -- just kind of bland.
I'm not sure if the blandness also comes from Hancock himself -- who comes across as more of an ordinary joe than you'd think -- more interested in cars, women and celebrity (in this telling) than you'd expect.
It is surprising that he got addicted to crack in the late 90's, despite his success, despite his Buddhism, despite everything.
Well, Hancock was always open to a fault. This is the guy who composed all those great tunes, (Like the ones on The Prisoner) but also produced that horrible arrangment of Norwegian Wood.
There's some good stuff about Tony Williams here. But for someone in the know about jazz, it's fairly thin.
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Bram Kaandorp
Master Poster
I'm well on my way through the Full Facts Book Of Cold Reading. Very impressive book. I guess I was one of those people who thought that cold reading was just observation and vague statments. I had no idea (or at least not nearly as much as I thought) that it was such an intricate skill set.
xterra
So far, so good...
In the interest of helping people (including me) more easily find the books you are reading, please include at least the author, date, and publisher.
Thanks.
xterra, who has read some of the things you all recommend and has usually profited from doing so.
Thanks.
xterra, who has read some of the things you all recommend and has usually profited from doing so.
calebprime
Penultimate Amazing
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http://www.amazon.com/Short-Tragic-Life-Robert-Peace-ebook/dp/B00GEEB7LC
_The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace_ -- Jeff Hobbs
_The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace_ -- Jeff Hobbs
catsmate
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I recently finished two somewhat related books:
Blaine Pardoe's The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Germany's Gentleman Pirate
Jack Finney's Attack on a Queen
Both about maratime piracy, one freelance and fictional the other governmental and very real.
Blaine Pardoe's The Cruise of the Sea Eagle: The Amazing True Story of Germany's Gentleman Pirate
Jack Finney's Attack on a Queen
Both about maratime piracy, one freelance and fictional the other governmental and very real.
12AX7
Banned
Just starting Going Clear : Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright.
skeptichaggis
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I'm reading the black war(about the Tasmanian genocide) ,Carl sagans the dragons of eden and the cruel hunters about the vile dirlwanger ss brigade and also on the second volume of a new trio of books on Alexander the greats military conquests-the army of Alexander,the seiges and the third book is the field campaigns written by Stephen english
Bram Kaandorp
Master Poster
Finally!
After looking for a good copy for a long time, I can finally read The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr.
It is purportedly the best locked room mystery, so I'm curious.
After looking for a good copy for a long time, I can finally read The Hollow Man by John Dickson Carr.
It is purportedly the best locked room mystery, so I'm curious.
catsmate
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It is. Dickson/Carr specialised in that sub-genre but many of his stories were fairly mediocre. However The Hollow Man is excellent. The chapter where Fell analyses the locked room genre is a masterpiece in itself (with a bit of fourth wall breaking).
I'm surprised you had trouble finding it, usually it's the only Dickson/Carr that's reliably in print (it's taken me many years to accumulate the others).
Enjoy.
I'm reading Ken Hite's excellent analysis of Nazi occultism, The Nazi Occult. And a couple of books on the Cheapside Horde for an article on 'Stony Jack' Lawrence.
Bram Kaandorp
Master Poster
Thanks.
The thing is that I wanted to find a version with a nice cover, which I did.
Here it is:
http://www.bol.com/nl/p/the-hollow-man/9200000011778813/
xterra
So far, so good...
I have always enjoyed Carr's The Nine Wrong Answers, in which nine times there is a footnote saying that if the reader thinks the answer is thus-and-so, the reader is wrong. The tenth time, of course, is the revelation of the mystery.
This is the most overt game between mystery writer and mystery reader that I've seen.
I don't remember if I have recommended The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers, published in 1903. It is an interesting novel on several levels, one of which is the depiction of life at sea in a small boat prior to the common use of electricity in such vessels.
catsmate
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Yeah covers can be a bit hit and miss.at one's good but it doesn't seem to be related to the story.
I prefer the original (also used in reprints) or the International Polygonics cover (which seems to capture Fell very well).
Fellow Traveler
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I've been reading "The Bayeux Tapestry". Can anyone deduce how King William looked from the illustrations? Perhaps they were stock items that were used in embroidery in the 11th century. I suppose William had the same racial look as as the north European Englishmen, the Normans having come from Scandanavia before Normandy. The author of the book said at some point the English were shown with mushtashes while the Normans were not. BTW how does one pronounce Bayeaux. Bayu?