What book is everyone reading at the moment?

[quadraginta]

"The Lies of Locke Lamora" by Scott Lynch

"Red Seas Under Red Skies" by Scott Lynch (The sequel. What a coininkydink. If you haven't got it already, start looking. You'll need it.)

"Massacre At Mountain Meadows" by Ronald L. Walker, Richard E. Turley Jr., Glen M. Leonard

This is non-fiction history. A remarkably even-handed look at a tragic incident in American history that all too few Americans are even aware of.

 

[HawaiiBigSis]

What I'm reading on it is the new Christopher Moore, "Fool".

I just saw that at Border's today! Is it as funny as it looks?

I'm reading my first ever Carl Hiassen. It's enjoyable, but it reminds me of all the other series set mostly in South Florida: all the Travis McGee, there was somebody else about that time, Elmore Leonard, etc. And Dick Francis' books too. (Although I don't think those were all in Florida, but a racetrack is a racetrack, and they might as well all be in Florida. Except the one in Pomona.)

 

[BTMO]

Having got an eBook reader with my iPhone, I'm now taking the opportunity to read Flatland at last.

Looking for other free eBooks to read too.

Before my PDA died a couple of years ago, I had a *lot* of websites bookmarked that had stuff. I may even have some titles stored on the other PC.

PM me if you like, and I will send you what I have. It is mainly (older) sci fi.

 

[Z]

Well, I'm on book V of the Dark Tower series now - Wolves of the Calla. I'm actually enjoying it a great deal.

I read Flatland some time ago, and its sequel (whose title I cannot recall). I remember they were pretty darned good reading!

 

[Z]

I'm a teacher in my first nonworking summer, so I'm feeling like the protagonist in the Twilight Zone's "Time Enough at Last"

With that in mind, I'm alternating between
Bad Astronomy by Phil Plait
Death From the Skies by Phil Plait
Trick or Treatment by Simon Singh
Making Money by Terry Pratchett
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (Reread)
The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins (Reread)
Feast of Fear: Conversations with Stephen King

I should have those ll finished in a week or two. Tomorrow's my library/park day.

... Make sure you have a spare or two pair of glasses?

I think that might have been the first television episode to make me cry.

 

[arthwollipot]

PM me if you like, and I will send you what I have. It is mainly (older) sci fi.

I like sci-fi.

 

[hcmom]

I just saw that at Border's today! Is it as funny as it looks?

I'm reading my first ever Carl Hiassen. It's enjoyable, but it reminds me of all the other series set mostly in South Florida: all the Travis McGee, there was somebody else about that time, Elmore Leonard, etc. And Dick Francis' books too. (Although I don't think those were all in Florida, but a racetrack is a racetrack, and they might as well all be in Florida. Except the one in Pomona.)

It's "King Lear" from the jester's perspective. I'm loving it!

 

[linusrichard]

Having got an eBook reader with my iPhone, I'm now taking the opportunity to read Flatland at last.

Looking for other free eBooks to read too.

I don't know if you know, but if you don't know, www.gutenberg.org has over 28,000 books. Old stuff, public domain stuff. I surf my Kindle over there pretty regularly. If you run across sites that have newer books, please do report back!

 

[arthwollipot]

I don't know if you know, but if you don't know, www.gutenberg.org has over 28,000 books. Old stuff, public domain stuff. I surf my Kindle over there pretty regularly. If you run across sites that have newer books, please do report back!

Yep. Project Gutenberg is my favourite site. The eReader app doesn't link to it automatically though. I still have to work out how to wrangle it.

 

[Azimer the Mad]

I like it, but it's very...different. I can't tell you the surprise I had when I started reading it years ago. I was like "so....when does it get to Gandalf and all that?" It took me awhile before I realized that, even though it's in the same universe, Tolkien doesn't really talk much about LOTR (except for the short bit at the end, and I think that was written entirely by Christopher Tolkien).

I loved it, but I always skip "The Lay of Beleriand." It's the chapter where Tolkien describes all the placements of countries. You'd think his son would have just left in the map.

I can't read from page 74 on without hearing Blind Guardian's "Nightfall in Middle Earth" album in my head.

 

[Starwind51]

Nancy Drew

I'm currently reading a reprint of the 1931 edition of Nancy Drew Mysteries #5 The Secret at Shadow Ranch.

 

[catbasket]

Death From the Skies by Phil Plait
Trick or Treatment by Simon Singh
Your Inner Fish by Neil Shubin (Reread)

Those three are on my must read list.

Non-fiction - Bob Park's "Superstition (Belief in The Age of Science)"
Fiction - "The Complete Yes Minister: The Diaries of the Right Hon. James Hacker" edited by Jonathan Lynn & Antony Jay

 

[Doctor Evil]

Just finished Adrian Goldsworthy's How Rome fell.

Decided to pick it up after reading his previous book Caesar. In my opinion, Caesar was a masterpiece of popular history. Goldsworthy managed to bring to life the late republic Roman society.

Unfortunately, How Rome fell fails to fill Caesar's boots, though, in my opinion, it is not due to the author. The story of the late Roman empire is just not as engrossing. There are two main reasons for that. One is the lack of source material for lengthy periods. As a result, our knowledge of the lives and actions of many Roman emperors is lacking. The second reason has to do with the frequent civil wars. So many emperors barely hung onto power for a few years before being murdered or ousted by another claimant to the thrown.

The frequent internal strife is crucial, as it is the central cause for the weakening and decline of the empire. (That is the central argument of the book.) However, this does not make a very good story. There were just too many claimants to the throne and usurpers. Some chapters of the book are just overly filled with the details and dates.

Overall, it is a readable history book, especially if you are interested in this period, which is not covered often. However, it is not as good as its predecessor.

 

[wackyvorlon]

That book sounds like it would be very long. The last vestige fell in 1453 to the turks, from the end of the julio-claudians to then is a very long time to cover. Mind, there is a common belief(due to Gibbons, methinks) that the fall of rome was something that happened suddenly. It took centuries, and there are a few small fragments that still exist to this day.

EDIT: I'm re-reading some technical stuff, like Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill. My understanding of the behaviour of transistors appears to be sufficiently lacking that I need to refresh it.

 

[J Coplen]

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky

 

[Doctor Evil]

That book sounds like it would be very long. The last vestige fell in 1453 to the turks, from the end of the julio-claudians to then is a very long time to cover. Mind, there is a common belief(due to Gibbons, methinks) that the fall of rome was something that happened suddenly. It took centuries, and there are a few small fragments that still exist to this day.

The book covers the period between (arguably) the height of the Empire in the middle of the third century and the fall of the western empire at the end of the fifth century. It is true that the eastern empire lasted longer but it was not a superpower anymore. Especially after the Islamic conquests in the seventh century.

It is funny that you mention that there is a common belief that the Roman empire fell fast. In fact, in the introduction the author makes it clear that this belief is no longer held by most academic historians. Many say that the empire changed, or transformed, rather then fell. Mainly due to the fact that many of the European kingdoms had similar political institutions. One of the goals of the book is to argue that, so to say, the pendulum swung to far to that side. One can say that the (western) empire fell in a century or two. The kingdoms left behind had some cultural and political similarities to the empire, but there were also many differences.

Anyway, as I have mentioned earlier, this period in history is rather complicated, and the arguments are not easily simplified. If you are really interested you should read the book.

 

[maddog]

Glover's Mistake by Nick Laird

 

[maddog]

Oh, and I just finished The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist -- not related to any TV series by a similar name.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

 

[Aurelian]

Kallocain by Karin Boye

 

[rsaavedra]

In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan