What Books Are You Currently Reading?

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Participants in the discussion share a variety of books they are currently reading, spanning both fiction and nonfiction. Titles mentioned include Simon Singh's "Fermat's Last Theorem," Robert Jordan's "Towers of Midnight," and biographies like "A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday." There is excitement about upcoming astronomical events, with some members discussing photography techniques for capturing solar phenomena. The conversation also touches on the impact of certain nonfiction works, such as "Humanizing the Economy," and the emotional responses elicited by books like "The Monster of Florence." Overall, the thread serves as a vibrant exchange of literary recommendations and personal reflections on reading experiences.
Infinitum
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Hey people,

I believe this would be a good way to find out new(probably good :-p) books, so just as it says on the tin, what are you reading now?

I currently alternate between Simon Singh's Fermat's Last Theorem, and Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan. Nearly finished both so I can surely use some suggestions!
 
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I'm currently waiting for a new book to arrive: "Chasing Venus, The Race to Measure the Heavens".

I'm kind of psyched for the upcoming transit of Venus. I bought a ND16 filter for my camera hoping to get a decent picture of both the annular solar eclipse and the transit of Venus (and, naturally, after being sunny all day, the clouds blew in front of the Sun just I got home to try it out). I'm hoping an ND16 will be enough, as I've never taken pictures of the Sun before. But it definitely does make a difference when you just hold it up and look at the Sun (as I did outside the camera store). Ideally, I'm hoping to get enough clarity that I can see some sunspots (we are in the middle of a solar max). And, of course, I'm hoping to block enough of the light that the telephoto lens doesn't result in my camera being burned like an ant.

I took some decent pictures of the full moon this morning, to at least get a feel for the amount of zoom I need to size the Sun in the frame (the Moon and Sun appear approximately the same size, hence the solar eclipses). We'll hopefully see how much detail the ND16 filter gets me for the Sun today.
 
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I'm reading this one at the moment:

A Life of Discovery: Michael Faraday, Giant of the Scientific Revolution - James Hamilton, and I agree with the first review over @ Amazon, it's a great biography but the author skims over some scientific details in favour of the more ... human story, which is both refreshing, and a pity.

and I just bought:

For Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest Hemingway, and I can't wait to read it. I fell head over heels for The Old Man And The Sea when I read it earlier this year (amazing book!) and I bought this hoping for something equally as good - the reviews are all great. :)

@Infinitum - you mention Singh's book on Fermat's Last Theorem, I'd like to read that - I have The Code Book by the same author, on the history of cryptography, and it was excellent!
 
The memoir of Gen. W.T. Sherman of the US Civil war.
 
This thread, but I'm almost finished.
 
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Last week I read The Roman Invasion of Britain. Then I read Chinatown: Portrait of a Closed Society. Today I finished The Monster of Florence by Preston & Spezi.

The last contains, in part, a scathing portrait of the Italian prosecutor who went after Amanda Knox, if you followed that story. He is rabid and paranoid and has been trying to "uncover" a satanic cult in Italy for years, a cult for which he has never been able to produce one shred of evidence. He spent years arresting and jailing alleged cult members for the "murder" of a doctor, who had, in fact, simply fallen from a boat and drowned. He's under indictment for that whole farce, but, inexplicably, was allowed to continue to work in the meantime, during which he invented the whole new twist on his satanic cult obsession, this time including Knox. A book guaranteed to leave you outraged.
 
phylotree is on his way to Origins:Fourteen Billion Years Of Cosmic Evolution by Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith
 
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Current non-fiction: Humanizing the Economy: Co-operatives in the Age of Capital by John Restakis. A really interesting read about the history and modern progression of the co-operative movement and how new practices with new technologies are allowing co-operatives world wide to out-compete corporates in areas they previously could not hope to.

Current fiction: A Song of Fire and Ice series. I watched the Game of Thrones for the first time a month or so ago and have devoured my way through most of the books. If you like tales of swords, kings and kingdoms with a dash of fantasy then you might like to try it.
 
  • #10
Fiction: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle.
Nonfiction: On the Origin of Species by Darwin.
 
  • #11
Adyssa said:
@Infinitum - you mention Singh's book on Fermat's Last Theorem, I'd like to read that - I have The Code Book by the same author, on the history of cryptography, and it was excellent!

I've read The Code Book and Big Bang too, and they're both pretty awesome. I just finished Fermat's Last Theorem, and I found it the best of the three, but that's probably biased because I love math stuff.

zoobyshoe said:
Last week I read The Roman Invasion of Britain. Then I read Chinatown: Portrait of a Closed Society. Today I finished The Monster of Florence by Preston & Spezi.

The last contains, in part, a scathing portrait of the Italian prosecutor who went after Amanda Knox, if you followed that story. He is rabid and paranoid and has been trying to "uncover" a satanic cult in Italy for years, a cult for which he has never been able to produce one shred of evidence. He spent years arresting and jailing alleged cult members for the "murder" of a doctor, who had, in fact, simply fallen from a boat and drowned. He's under indictment for that whole farce, but, inexplicably, was allowed to continue to work in the meantime, during which he invented the whole new twist on his satanic cult obsession, this time including Knox. A book guaranteed to leave you outraged.

:bugeye:

I was* SO confused :confused:

Ryan_m_b said:
Current fiction: A Song of Fire and Ice series. I watched the Game of Thrones for the first time a month or so ago and have devoured my way through most of the books. If you like tales of swords, kings and kingdoms with a dash of fantasy then you might like to try it.

I had heard of this one earlier, but it slipped my mind :-p Thanks for reminding! It turns out my local library has these too(of a modest little collection) so that's a plus.

Jimmy Snyder said:
Nonfiction: On the Origin of Species by Darwin.
Gonna give this one a go. Thanks :smile:
 
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  • #12
Infinitum said:
:bugeye:

I am SO confused :confused:
About?
 
  • #13
Amanda Knox's story popping in out of no-where. I assumed she was a fictional character...:rolleyes:
And the satanic cult...

Google helped, though.
 
  • #14
Infinitum said:
Amanda Knox's story popping in out of no-where. I assumed she was a fictional character...:rolleyes:
And the satanic cult...

Google helped, though.
It's a non-fiction book, yes. She was actually jailed in Italy for four years because of a crazy prosecutor who got his belief in her guilt from a psychic channeling a dead priest.
 
  • #15
- Caligula by Albert Camus
- Le Mythe de Sisysphe by Albert Camus

When I'm done with that, I will start "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan.
 
  • #16
Just finished 1984 by George Orwell and Freakonomics by Levitt and Dubner. I'm on the last chapter of their second book SuperFreakonomics and plan to go on to Free Lunch by David Smith and A brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.

I might also take a look at either some Shakespeare or A clockwork orange for a nice fiction read.
 
  • #17
Spiral by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams.
 
  • #18
I'm reading the City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers.

I picked it up from the bookstore shelve because of the catching title, great cover illustration and the exclamation mark "best book ever!" I left it on the shelve for a year and have now started reading it and it really is a nice adventure-type book, a recommendation.
 
  • #19
Mépris said:
- ...

When I'm done with that, I will start "The Wheel of Time" by Robert Jordan.

The first three are good, the rest a waste of paper.
 
  • #20
The last intellectually stimulating thing I read that wasn't a textbook, exam, or homework assignment was probably the lyrics to Britney Spears, I Wanna Go. It's not a very long read so I'll just post it here:

Lately I've Been Stuck Imaginin'
What I Wanna Do and What I Really Think, Time To Flow Out
Be A Little Inappropriate Cause I Know That Everybody’s Thinkin' It When The Lights Out

Shame On Me
To Need Release
Un-Uncontrollably

[Chorus]

I I I Wanna Go o o, All The Way ay ay
Takin' Out My Freak Tonight
I I I Wanna Show ow ow
All The Dirt ir irt
I Got Running Through My Mind (Repeat)

[Verse 2]

Lately People Got Me All Tied Up
There’s A Countdown Waiting For Me To Erupt
Time To Blow Out
I’ve Been Told Who I Should Do It With
To Keep Both My Hands Above The Bl-an-ket
When The Lights Out

Shame On Me
To Need Release (*giggles*)
Un-Uncontrollably

[Chorus]

I I I Wanna Go o o, All The Way ay ay
Takin' Out My Freak Tonight
I I I Wanna Show ow ow
All The Dirt ir irt
I Got Running Through My Mind (Repeat)

Shame On Me
(Shame On Me)

To Need Release
(To Need Release)

Un-Uncontrollably
(Uncontrollably)

[Chorus]
I I I Wanna Go o o, All The Way ay ay
Takin' Out My Freak Tonight
I I I Wanna Show ow ow
All The Dirt ir irt
I Got Running Through My Mind

I I I Wanna Go o o, All The Way ay ay
Takin' Out My Freak Tonight
I I I Wanna Show ow ow
All The Dirt ir irt
I Got Running Through My Mind
...Whoa

At this point, I might as well just point the music video:

T-sxSd1uwoU[/youtube]
 
  • #21
Currently reading "A Dance of Dragons" from the Song of Ice and Fire series already mentioned by Ryan. I believe its the fifth book in the series. I've been a bit hung up on it though only because I have been much too busy with other things lately.
 
  • #22
My favorite books are :-
1.) Catch-22
2.) Birdsong
3.) Rebecca
4.) Harry Potter And The Philosopher's StoneNow I read A Prayer For Owen Meany, written by John Irving. I read half this book.this is very intersting book. I want to complete these book but in working day i have not time but in this sunday i defenetly complete this book.
 
  • #23
rps singh said:
My favorite books are :-
3.) Rebecca
Have you read Jane Eyre too?
 
  • #24
Jimmy Snyder said:
Fiction: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle.
Nonfiction: On the Origin of Species by Darwin.

There are those who would put both of those works into one category or the other.

Both of those groups of people are delusional, but I wonder which is the more.
 
  • #25
Curious3141 said:
There are those who would put both of those works into one category or the other.
I had considered flipping them, but evolution is a topic that tests the sense of humor of a lot of people and I wasn't in the mood to provoke them. If you want an argument in favor or against evolution, you won't find it in Origin. He takes it for granted. His argument is that competition for resources is the main driving force behind evolution and natural selection is steering its direction. Current understanding seems to be that mutations in DNA are the main driving force and competition for resources is secondary. OK, bring out the sharp knives.
 
  • #26
Curious3141 said:
There are those who would put both of those works into one category or the other.

Both of those groups of people are delusional, but I wonder which is the more.
What do you mean by this? :confused:
 
  • #27
Jimmy Snyder said:
I had considered flipping them, but evolution is a topic that tests the sense of humor of a lot of people and I wasn't in the mood to provoke them. If you want an argument in favor or against evolution, you won't find it in Origin. He takes it for granted. His argument is that competition for resources is the main driving force behind evolution and natural selection is steering its direction. Current understanding seems to be that mutations in DNA are the main driving force and competition for resources is secondary. OK, bring out the sharp knives.

Mutations in the native DNA occur at a pretty constant rate depending on the type of organism, barring certain physical/chemical exposures. Some organisms (e.g. bacteria) may also acquire "extrinsic" DNA "wholesale", for example, in the form of plasmids, phages or even "naked DNA" by a process called transformation. Even this occurs at a fairly constant rate that depends on the vector that carries the extrinsic DNA and the receptiveness of the host. All these things directly affect the genotype.

Genotype does not directly affect the fitness of an organism in a given niche. That's determined by its phenotype. The phenotype is dependent on a complex interaction between the genotype and environmental influences.

Survival fitness in a particular niche (which may be itself changing) has always been the main determinant of whether a particular phenotype persists to pass on its DNA.

Hence the cycle is: genotype of parent generation+ environmental factors/stresses -> (determines) phenotype ->(determines) survival and reproductive fitness in that environmental niche->(determines) distribution of "successful" genotypes in offspring generation. Where the distribution of offspring genotypes has changed noticeably with respect to that of the parent genotypes, evolution is said to have taken place.

But let's not keep on this vein. I dislike derailing threads, so if you want to continue this, it's better placed in Biology. :smile:
 
  • #28
Ryan_m_b said:
What do you mean by this? :confused:
Some think that Sherlock Holmes is a real person, while others think that evolution never occured. That is to say, some would call both non-fiction, while others would call both fiction.
 
  • #29
Ryan_m_b said:
What do you mean by this? :confused:

Slightly oblique comment, I know.

Person A says "Sherlock Holmes = Nonfiction" (along with a correct classification of Darwin as the same). Noone would dispute that Person A is a crazy person (delusional), since Holmes is universally acknowledged (among the rational) to be a demonstrably fictitious character.

Person B says "Darwin = Fiction" (along with a correct classification of Sherlock Holmes as fictional). I would say this person is crazy and delusional, but this would be a controversial opinion since many creationists and "Intelligent Design" adherents seem to believe exactly this.

The "joke" (such as it is) is which person is labouring under the greater delusion.

There is, of course, a third group, that would switch the categories around completely (Holmes = nonfiction, Darwin = fiction), and I didn't consider those, but I'm guessing it would be uncontroversially agreed that they're also crazy. :biggrin:
 
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  • #30
Curious3141 said:
Slightly oblique comment, I know.

Person A says "Sherlock Holmes = Nonfiction" (along with a correct classification of Darwin as the same). Noone would dispute that Person A is a crazy person (delusional), since Holmes is universally acknowledged (among the rational) to be a demonstrably fictitious character.

Person B says "Darwin = Fiction" (along with a correct classification of Sherlock Holmes as fictional). I would say this person is crazy and delusional, but this would be a controversial opinion since many creationists and "Intelligent Design" adherents seem to believe exactly this.

The "joke" (such as it is) is which person is labouring under the greater delusion.

There is, of course, a third group, that would switch the categories around completely (Holmes = nonfiction, Darwin = fiction), and I didn't consider those, but I'm guessing it would be uncontroversially agreed that they're also crazy. :biggrin:
Interestingly, Sherlock Holmes believed in Charles Darwin:

In The Study of Scarlet, Holmes quotes Charles Darwin: "It was magnificent. Do you know what Darwin says about music? He claims that the power of producing and appreciating it existed among the human race long before the power of speech was arrived at. Perhaps that is why we are so subtly influenced by it. There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhoods."

http://www.trussel.com/detfic/friedlit.htm
 
  • #31
zoobyshoe said:
Interestingly, Sherlock Holmes believed in Charles Darwin:



http://www.trussel.com/detfic/friedlit.htm

It was "A Study in Scarlet", actually. I should know - I've read every single word about Holmes. :biggrin:

Anyway, Doyle had his faults - he was a rather gullible spiritualist, and fell hook, line and sinker for that whole affair with the Cottingley Fairies. But a great novelist, nonetheless.
 
  • #32
Pythagorean said:
The last intellectually stimulating thing I read that wasn't a textbook, exam, or homework assignment was probably the lyrics to Britney Spears, I Wanna Go. It's not a very long read so I'll just post it here:



At this point, I might as well just point the music video:

T-sxSd1uwoU[/youtube][/QUOTE] Wow.. I can't believe I watched that.
 
  • #33
Ryan_m_b said:
Current fiction: A Song of Fire and Ice series. I watched the Game of Thrones for the first time a month or so ago and have devoured my way through most of the books. If you like tales of swords, kings and kingdoms with a dash of fantasy then you might like to try it.

Same series, but just getting started. Doc I work with is a big fan of the first 3 books, not so much of the later books.
 
  • #35
Integral said:
The first three are good, the rest a waste of paper.

While I chose not to re-read Caligula in the end and choosing to go over some extracts instead, I have not yet started reading the Wheel of Time. Why would you say the rest is a waste of paper? The person who suggested I read the series seems to think that the first three serve merely as an introduction to the whole series and the interesting stuff starts to happen after the 3rd book!

Pythagorean said:
The last intellectually stimulating thing I read that wasn't a textbook, exam, or homework assignment was probably the lyrics to Britney Spears, I Wanna Go. It's not a very long read so I'll just post it here

A good riposte to such abominations is the 11th episode of the 3rd Community season. Here is an extract.
 
  • #36
  • #37
Non-fiction: reading about Wittgenstein on the internet, with a view to reading a biography and possibly even attempting something he wrote!
Fiction: another Sherlock Holmes fan. I'm working through his novels having read the "shorts" to death. Just started A Study in Scarlet.
 
  • #38
Fiction: A Game of Thrones, which seems to be really popular right now.
Non-Fiction: Hyperspace by Michio Kaku, which is really entertaining. I love all the pictures and diagrams; they do a great job at providing a visual representation of some of the more difficult to grasp (through words alone, at least) concepts.
 
  • #40
Jimmy Snyder said:
Fiction: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Doyle.
Nonfiction: On the Origin of Species by Darwin.

Very nice choices.

Curious3141 said:
There are those who would put both of those works into one category or the other.

Both of those groups of people are delusional, but I wonder which is the more.

lol

cobalt124 said:
Fiction: another Sherlock Holmes fan. I'm working through his novels having read the "shorts" to death. Just started A Study in Scarlet.

The novels are amazing, I honestly think I like them more than the shorts, so you're in for a treat. The Valley of Fear and The Sign of Four are probably the least talked about longer stories, but both are completely amazing.




Currently I have just finished reading Feynman's Rainbow by Leonard Mlodinow. Anything for a mere further glimpse at Feynman.. :)
 
  • #41
I just received a recommendation for Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist Hans Bethe by Silvan S. Schweber, June 2012.

I like to read biographies, autobiographies, textbooks and journal articles by (or about) physicists and mathematicians.
 
  • #42
I have a bit of an issue visiting libraries or bookstores, especially when I end up wanting books or journals that have been handled by people with colognes or perfumes all over their hands.

Pretty much restricted to on-line stuff now. I try to keep current with ArXiv and free journals when I can. It would be nice if people could pay a yearly fee for access to copyrighted materials and download them for reading without getting nickel-and-dimed for every single book without actually taking possession of a physical book.
 
  • #43
I can't be specific, but I've been reading all about swaging.

The significance of swaging in the industrial and commercial/municipal sectors goes mostly unrecognized until one learns a bit about it. Suddenly swaged products appear all around you! Next, one is asking oneself how in the world they swaged that! Then, how in the heck did they hold it?? An entire universe within the industrial world suddenly comes into view.
 
  • #44
dydxforsn said:
The novels are amazing, I honestly think I like them more than the shorts, so you're in for a treat. The Valley of Fear and The Sign of Four are probably the least talked about longer stories, but both are completely amazing.

It's the second time round for me, though I can only remember The Valley of Fear.
 
  • #45
Right now, I'm reading Roger Collins' "The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710-797".
 
  • #46
Just finished Game of thrones, and hey, its awesome. :approve:

Have to stop being lazy now and go to library for book 2 :cry:
 
  • #47
Just finished "Diamond Dust". Very good British detective fiction by Peter Lovesey. Really entertaining plot twists.
 
  • #48
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other members of a Boston literary club are trying to solve the murders of prominent Bostonians, murders based on punishments from Dante's Inferno.
 
  • #49
zoobyshoe said:
The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other members of a Boston literary club are trying to solve the murders of prominent Bostonians, murders based on punishments from Dante's Inferno.

Zooby is literally a well read person! :rolleyes:I started 'The First Three Minutes' by Steven Weinberg, and SOIF 2.
 
  • #50
Blasphemy, a novel by Douglas Preston.

Murder and mystery plague a 40 billion dollar supercollider tucked underground a New Mexico Indian Rez while a TV Evangelist rallies fundamentalist outrage against this government sponsored effort to explore the Big Bang. Very entertaining!
 
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