What Books Are You Currently Reading?

[AnTiFreeze3]

... I really like this writer.

I've noticed that a lot of the books that you posted recently were from him. I might have to check some of them out.

 

[nevere]

the god particle
zero: the biography of a dangerous idea
the oxford histrory of ancient egypt

curently reading:
laser: supertool of the 1980s
relativity, special and general theory
audel, complete building construction
small business for dummies
the home water supply. story
the lego book
investing online for dummies

 

[zoobyshoe]

I've noticed that a lot of the books that you posted recently were from him. I might have to check some of them out.

He's kind of like Michael Crichton but with much better pacing. Crichton loses sense of the flow sometimes and you feel the narrative is sitting at an intersection waiting for a red light to change. Preston always seems to be moving and very often accelerating. They're not great literature, obviously, but I always feel effortlessly pulled through them; very easy reading, very entertaining. There's always a big sci-fi element in the background but the action is mostly grounded in cloak-and-dagger.

The books he co-authors with Lincoln Childs have a distinctly different edge: they're more horror, like Stephen King. I've enjoyed the solo Preston books more.

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

He's kind of like Michael Crichton but with much better pacing. Crichton loses sense of the flow sometimes and you feel the narrative is sitting at an intersection waiting for a red light to change. Preston always seems to be moving and very often accelerating. They're not great literature, obviously, but I always feel effortlessly pulled through them; very easy reading, very entertaining. There's always a big sci-fi element in the background but the action is mostly grounded in cloak-and-dagger.

The books he co-authors with Lincoln Childs have a distinctly different edge: they're more horror, like Stephen King. I've enjoyed the solo Preston books more.

I've been bogged down by non-fiction books lately. I'm currently in this mood where I recognize that my time is limited (as we all do), and I feel as if should be taking advantage of the time that I have to learn as much as possible. (Knowledge is power, anyone?)

Anyways, I miss fiction books dearly. For one reason or another, I was a ridiculously avid reader as a child. No matter the reason, I read far more books than I would think is normal (while at the same time, I neglected the importance of math until my recent 'eureka' moment I had this last year). The books that I read when I was younger were always fast-paced stories of other worlds that I could fantasize about, and often included time travel, other dimensions, and meticulously crafted plots that probably fueled my passion for reading.

I've purchased four non-fiction books recently, and once I finish them, I know that I'll be returning to my long-lost love of a fast-paced novel. I think that there's a reconcilable consensus that novels read much faster than non-fiction literature, so I can't wait to start burning through books again.

 

[20Tauri]

I am currently reading The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente. It's ostensibly a children's book, but the very best kind--smart and well-written and compelling. There's even a coy reference to quantum superposition, a la Schrodinger's Cat.

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

Along with The Lucifer Effect, I picked up Why Not Me? from my library.

It's by Al Franken, one of the original writers for SNL, and a current Senator (although the book was written in 1999, and he ran for office in 2009).

It's basically a completely fictional account of his run for the Presidency, and he makes himself come off as a complete moron. It's extremely funny, and I'm really enjoying it so far. He is Jewish, and this is one particular part that I enjoyed:

"It's hard to imagine now, but in 1962 many people felt that only members of certain religious groups, such as Presbyterians and Episcopalians, for example, were qualified to be president. In fact, America had just elected (and was about to shoot) its first Catholic president. In 1960, when John F. Kennedy launched his bid for the White House, there were many, my parents among them, who believed that a Catholic was unfit to serve as America's leader; that all Catholics were in thrall to their puppet master in Rome: the Pope; that they were intellectually ill-equipped for anything more than brutish manual labor and the hollow re-creation of excessive devotion to the superstitious hocus-pocus of their beloved Mother Church.

Irish Catholics in particular were regarded as drunkards and loutish potato eaters who, given half a chance, would sooner spend their last dime in the neighborhood saloon than buy food for their drooling simpleton of a wife and her innumerable brood of squalling infants, each one an unwelcomed addition to the Pope's legions of brainless drones.

That was then.

Now, in 1999, only Arabs are held in the sort of contempt once reserved for Catholics, Jews, and Communists. It will still be many years before America has its first Arab president but I hope I am alive to see that day. Also, I think it will be a long time before we see a Hispanic president. Also, blacks."

 

[BobG]

I just finished "The Guernsey Literature and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (unfortunately, Mary Ann Shaffer's health underwent a rapid and serious descent, requiring her niece to do the bulk of the work turning the initial draft into a final product).

Some of my ancestors are from Guernsey Island, which is why the title caught my eye. The novel is about the German occupation of Guernsey Island and is told entirely in letters written by the characters in the story to each other.

What a great book! The main character reminded me a little of Evo. In fact, the format kind of gave it the feel of reading an iternet forum.

Now I need to find a good recipe for Potato Peel Pie!

 

[Gale]

I just finished Slaughterhouse Five. Vonnegut is so very odd. I've read a few other books by him, Galapagos and something else I think. But I haven't decided if I like him or not...

 

[Andre]

Gale, long time no see.

Currently I am reading this thread.

The last time I (re)read fiction was in a plane. That was "Mooi is dat" (beautiful that is) from Marten Toonder. Although the plots of the stories are not very complicated, they show a very keen sense for human interaction. But it's especially the absolute brilliant use of language that makes one savour it sentence by sentence.

It also makes it hard to translate.

 

[ApplePion]

<<What are you currently reading?>>

Right now I am currently reading your post on Physics Forums.

 

[greyhame]

I've been alternately reading Jerry Coyne's "Why Evolution is True," Michio Kaku's "Physics of the Future," and Christopher Moore's "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff."
It looks like I'll finish Moore's novel first, though.

 

[Borek]

Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

 

[zoobyshoe]

A Tour of the Calculus by David Berlinski. I have previously read this guy's biography of Newton. His writing style is refreshingly insane, as if he's on Coke or having a manic episode. No dry, tedious math here. In Berlinski's hands Math is an emotionally charged subject, full of storm and stress or lyrical, romantic beauty; calculus if Beethoven had invented it.

 

[BobG]

A Tour of the Calculus by David Berlinski. I have previously read this guy's biography of Newton. His writing style is refreshingly insane, as if he's on Coke or having a manic episode. No dry, tedious math here. In Berlinski's hands Math is an emotionally charged subject, full of storm and stress or lyrical, romantic beauty; calculus if Beethoven had invented it.

I've read that book. That was a good read.

 

[OmCheeto]

Pretty Shield

along with 1000 other books I've purchased and not gotten past the first 2 pages.

TIME!

The next book I will buy and probably not read is by Farley Mowat; "The Boat Who Wouldn't Float". Recommended to me by someone that saw me pumping my boat out 3 weekends ago.

 

[Evo]

I just read a play adaptation of Medea. Took about 10 minutes. Talk about giving women a bad name.

 

[Pythagorean]

My own writing, over and over (and over) again

 

[FreeMitya]

Right now I've got Don Quixote, Crime and Punishment, and the Sound and the Fury on the go.

 

[Crake2]

I'm reading "Stranger in a strange land", by Heinlein. Not the english version tho.

 

[Hessa]

I'm reading "Stranger in a strange land", by Heinlein. Not the english version tho.

I read the Arabic translated version, it's an amazing story!
but it's too depressing!

currently, I'm reading The Eye of the Wizard, by Daniel Arenson

 

[Pythagorean]

I know the lyrics from Iron Maiden's "stranger in a strange land" by heart. They like turning novels into metal.

 

[Curious3141]

I know the lyrics from Iron Maiden's "stranger in a strange land" by heart. They like turning novels into metal.

And poems. Don't forget "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

The difference is that "Stranger" is lyrically unrelated to the Heinlein book, while "Mariner" is very much based on the Coleridge poem.

 

[uneasyrider]

I just finished Moby Dick and now I'm on here searching for something new. If you've never read it it is still something special. Melville can be a little dry at times and a little long winded but it's just a beautiful story in the end. :) It's as close as we can get to going on a whaler in the 1800's. A fantastic book! :)

 

[uneasyrider]

Right now, I'm reading Roger Collins' "The Arab Conquest of Spain, 710-797".

Did like it?

I didn't read through all the page to see if you commented again upon conclusion, forgive me.

 

[Pythagorean]

And poems. Don't forget "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

The difference is that "Stranger" is lyrically unrelated to the Heinlein book, while "Mariner" is very much based on the Coleridge poem.

And history/mythology lessons (Alexander the Great, Powerslave, Flight of Icarus) and Brave New World was tailored after Aldous Huxley's novel.

I've never read any the novels, only really know about them through Iron Maiden. I think the last fiction book I read was The Physiognomy by Jeffrey Ford. I stopped reading fiction during my undergraduate physics degree; never went back.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

I've been reading the US Federal Code (all the Federal laws and regulations in force in the USA). I started in 1982 and I'm currently on page 214,988. I read it because I know everything I read in it is true (by definition).

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

I've been reading the US Federal Code (all the Federal laws and regulations in force in the USA). I started in 1982 and I'm currently on page 214,988. I read it because I know everything I read in it is true (by definition).

That sounds like quite the project. How much of it do you think you have retained?

 

[SW VandeCarr]

That sounds like quite the project. How much of it do you think you have retained?

I don't know. I don't really care. It's a Zen thing. The knowledge that everything I read is absolutely, unconditionally true is all that matters. I started when I worked for Federal Government and I saw that it brought me great respect. Some worshiped me, but I told them I was a mere mortal seeking enlightenment. Some read the Bible, some read the Koran or Hindu scripture. I read the US Federal Code.

 

[FreeMitya]

I don't know. I don't really care. It's a Zen thing. The knowledge that everything I read is absolutely, unconditionally true is all that matters. I started when I worked for Federal Government and I saw that it brought me great respect. Some worshiped me, but I told them I was a mere mortal seeking enlightenment. Some read the Bible, some read the Koran or Hindu scripture. I read the US Federal Code.

But there is both objective truth and subjective truth, in my view. To each his own, I guess.

P.S. I did the boldfacing.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

But there is both objective truth and subjective truth, in my view. To each his own, I guess.

P.S. I did the boldfacing.

Well I don't want the thread locked by getting into a philosophical discussion. It's clear the content of the Federal Code has the force of law and governs large aspects of the lives of those who live permanently or temporarily, or who do business in the US. The words of the Federal Code have real objective consequences. Ask the IRS. My big problem is they keep changing the truth.