What Books Are You Currently Reading?

[George Jones]

Time enough for love by Robert Heinlein (6th or 7th time probably!)

If you keep repeated reading it, you won't have time enough for love.

 

[lisab]

If you keep repeated reading it, you won't have time enough for love.

:thumbs:

 

[George Jones]

I Just started The Silkworm, the second book (loved the first!) by Robert Galbraith. With my wife and daughter thousands of kilometres away at the in-laws', I have some quite time to read.

 

[ModusPwnd]

I finished Stranger in a Strange Land last week. I am now alternating between The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Wilkinson, Toby A. H. and Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson.

 

[lendav_rott]

Been years since I read the A.C Doyle's Canon - round 2 coming up.

 

[dkotschessaa]

Reading Daniel Dennett's "Intuition pumps and other tools for thinking." I'm reading it in very small bites between other stuff.

Also in the middle of "One Renegade Cell: The Quest for the Origins of Cancer."

That's of course in between reading the current issue of Analog.

And I'm still in the midst of the Three Musketeers Somewhere.

Depends on my mood when I settle into read...

 

[AnTiFreeze3]

11/22/63 was over 800 pages, and, yes, it took me about 4 days.
...

Reading the 5th installment of King's Dark Tower series, I thought you would appreciate this:

​

"Whatever it is, I felt it calling me back to the cave . . . and further. Whispering that I should resume my wanderings, and make them endless. I knew I could open the door by opening the box. The door would take me anywhere I wanted to go. And anywhen! All I had to do was concentrate." Callahan considered, then sat down again. He leaned forward, looking at them in turn over the gnarled carving of his clasped hands. "Hear me, I beg. We had a President, Kennedy was his name. He was assassinated some thirteen years before my time in 'Salem's Lot . . . assassinated in the West--"

​

"Yes," Susannah said. "Jack Kennedy. God love him." She turned to Roland. "He was a gunslinger."

​

Roland's eyebrows rose. "Do you say so?"

​

"Aye. And I say true."

​

"In any case," Callahan said, "there's always been a question as to whether the man who killed him acted alone, or whether he was part of a larger conspiracy. And sometimes I'd wake in the middle of the night and think, 'Why don't you go and see? Why don't you stand in front of that door with the box in your arms and think, "Dallas, November 22nd, 1963"? Because if you do that the door will open and you can go there, just like the man in Mr. Wells's story of the time machine. And perhaps you could change what happened that day.'"

As per an important element in the Dark Tower series, King has access to each and every possible universe and epoch to have ever occurred. He often uses this to allude to other books he has written (notice the 'Salem's Lot). However, 11/22/63 was written many years after The Dark Tower V: The Wolves of Calla. Maybe King's minor "what-if" in this book evolved into a book of its own.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. It slipped by me many years ago so I thought I would give a look..not a bad read.

I liked Fargo the miniseries' take on The Jungle Book.

"You know what wolves do?" Malvo asks. "They hunt. They kill. That’s why I never bought into 'The Jungle Book.' A kid's raised by wolves, he becomes friends with a bear and a panther. I don't think so."

I highly recommend the show.

 

[BobG]

"A Constellation of Vital Phenomena" by Anthony Marra.

This might be the best book I've ever read. The main setting is a practically abandoned hospital in Chechnya during one of their civil wars. This is a classic that would fit right alongside "A Tale of Two Cities", except in a more modern setting that people today could better relate to.

A little more fun read is "Dear Committee Members" by Julie Schumacher.

It's a sarcastic series of letters of recommendation by a middle-aged English professor. It's so sad when an English professor writes a letter of recommendation for one of his graduating students... to a paintball emporium. English majors obviously have a hard life. And never, never, never ask an ex for a letter of recommendation. I kept wishing the book would include at least a reply or two to the letters. It's a really funny book.

Her husband, upon reading the first draft, gave it the highest recommendation possible: "I'm glad we have different last names." (Maybe you shouldn't ask current spouses for recommendations, either.)

And if you like childrens' books, you have to read "The Taking Tree". It's kind of like "The Giving Tree", but a different tree, a different kid, and a very different book.

 

[jim hardy]

"Tales of Terror" , a 1943 collection of scary short stories selected and introduced by Boris Karloff.

First two, by A M Burrage and Helen R Hull, were psycho-mini-dramas worthy of Twilight Zone. Well written. No wonder this little collection is still popular.

I needed a break from the Oldsmobile shop manual - trying to figure put how to add a fuel pressure gauge to the dashboard .

old jim

 

[Astronuc]

I just finished "Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation" by Cokie Roberts. Not only does it provide a much ignored part of US history, it also gives some interesting insights to folks like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, James Monroe, and many others.

I just started reading "Jesus Interrupted" by Bart D. Ehrman, and two books:

The Nag Hammadi Scriptures, edited by Marvin Meyer and
A New New Testament edited by Hal Taussing.

The Nag Hammadi codices are written in Coptic and some (or most if not all) likely translated from Greek. The were written in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, and represent some of the earliest Christian writings, even preceding many books in the New Testament. Very interesting history surrounding these documents.

 

[Psinter]

Journey to the West - a 16th century chinese novel. :)

 

[CFDFEAGURU]

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Very interesting main character.

 

[Enigman]

To Kill a Mockingbird
It has been sitting on the shelf for forever, time to put it of its misery.

 

[B. Elliott]

Volkswagen New Beetle Service Manual 1998-2002.

I'm halfway through it and still waiting for the plot to develop.

 

[Doug Huffman]

Karl Popper's The Open Society and Its Enemies (One-Volume Edition, 2013 Princeton) is open on the floor next to me, ready for its in depth re-reading with all external references and citations. The first read took all of last winter.

Neal Stephenson's Anathem (2008 Morrow) is on the bedside table.

Lee Smolin and Leonard Sussikind are in the KINDLE for when I can steal a moment from other stuff.

I am trying to learn how to use an on-line archive of Martin Luther, which catalogue is athwart my needs.

Andreas Albrecht's 'Origin of probabilities and their application to the multiverse', arxiv:1212.0953v1 is on my desk for me to practice expanding <Bra| - |Ket> notation. Anyone know a good Maxima CAS package for that?

 

[BobG]

To Kill a Mockingbird
It has been sitting on the shelf for forever, time to put it of its misery.

Awesome book!

 

[BobG]

One flew over the cukoo's nest is a good book.

Try Kesey's second book: "Sometimes a Great Notion"

Based on his first two books, you'd think Ken Kesey could have been the best American writer ever. I think taking on a new profession (drug addled celebrity) ruined his career.

 

[JorisL]

Forgot my copy of the Silmarillion at my parents home :(
Nothing else to read here at the moment.

 

[Borek]

Bukowski's "Women".

 

[Mépris]

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.

Very interesting main character.

Indeed. I refused to read the sequel until there was at least a release date for the third book. Wise Man's Fear (a gift from a friend) is sitting on my desk right now.

When I finish Murakami's Norwegian Wood, I might just read that.

Borek, what do you think of Women? I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure if I liked Post Office better though.

 

[Borek]

Borek, what do you think of Women? I really enjoyed it.

In many ways fascinating, but not what I consider a "pleasant read". Still, definitely worth the time.

I have read a great book recently, Jetlag by Michał Radomił Wiśniewski - sadly, available in Polish only.

 

[Medicol]

I'm currently reading
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345337662/?tag=pfamazon01-20 by Anne Rice

 

[Mépris]

In many ways fascinating, but not what I consider a "pleasant read". Still, definitely worth the time.

I have read a great book recently, Jetlag by Michał Radomił Wiśniewski - sadly, available in Polish only.

Yeah, I can see why one would say that. Chinaski is not the most socially acceptable guy. Two pints of whisky, a six pack, cheap cigars, and all this talk about blackheads.

Not very pleasant.

I think it gets a bit derivative after a while. He makes me say "Look, you've made your point. Are you going somewhere else with this?" I read half the novel, and I may as well have read the full one.

But I enjoy such ramblings, and meticulous descriptions. So for me, it was enjoyable still. But after Post Office, I decided I had had enough.

Anyway, I really enjoy Murakami's (Norwegian Wood) writing because of those "ramblings".

 

[Borek]

I think it gets a bit derivative after a while. He makes me say "Look, you've made your point. Are you going somewhere else with this?" I read half the novel, and I may as well have read the full one.

Exactly my thoughts of yesterday, and I am around 66%. "Are you going to add something new, or is it all that you had to say?"

But I started with Ham on Rye, which was different, so I don't know yet if I am going to read more of Bukowski, or not. I have plenty of other books on my list.

 

[Tosh5457]

I'm going to start reading "The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999", just waiting for it to arrive.

 

[SELFMADE]

Mastery by Robert Greene.

It is simply fantastic!

Every college bound kids, and college freshmen and sophomores should read it immediately.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Hand to Mouth - Living in Bootstrap America

 

[dkotschessaa]

Exactly my thoughts of yesterday, and I am around 66%. "Are you going to add something new, or is it all that you had to say?"

But I started with Ham on Rye, which was different, so I don't know yet if I am going to read more of Bukowski, or not. I have plenty of other books on my list.

When I was in college (the first time, in my 20s) I was really into Bukowski for some reason. Read almost everything he wrote. Now when I look at it I just feel it's something I've outgrown.

-Dave K

 

[Borek]

I haven't read him before. I am an impulse reader and it just happened Bukowski was mentioned as an example of something in a discussion between my friends - so I decided to give him a try.

 

[dkotschessaa]

I just finished reading "The Three Musketeers." Took me quite awhile, on and off. It was a fun read - though I wish I was more familiar with the history he used as the setting. They key to appreciating the book for me was to realize the kind of values held dear to those in the story.. i.e. chivalry, bravery, vengeance, that sort of thing. Nothing really more profound than that. Lots of swashbuckling romance and adventure type stuff. Fun all the way through.

So I decided to do the Asimov thing. I've been mostly into hard sci-fi for the past several years (Analog magazine and such), and while Asimov doesn't fit that genre, he is just such a good storyteller. I read "Robots of Dawn" awhile ago and it was pretty profound and escapist at the same time. So I started with "I, Robot" (A collection of short stories) and then I'm going to go back into the sequence, then perhaps go to the foundation series.

-Dave K

 

[Borek]

I just finished reading "The Three Musketeers."

That would be around 1976 in my case ;)

 

[dkotschessaa]

That would be around 1976 in my case ;)

And a lot earlier for some people!

 

[Astronuc]

I plan to read Quentin Skrabec's biography, George Westinghouse: Gentle Genius.
http://books.google.com/books?id=C3...ce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.algora.com/136/book/details.html

Meanwhile - here is a brief article on G. Westinghouse -
Will Railroads adopt the Westinghouse Air-Brake? … 1870 by I. E. Levine
http://saltofamerica.com/contents/displayArticle.aspx?19_170

An interesting set of articles:
Create & Innovate: Home Grown Innovation, Invention, Home Made Gifts & Games
http://saltofamerica.com/contents/TopicIndex.aspx?19

An interesting site - http://saltofamerica.com/contents/default.aspx

 

[BobG]

...then perhaps go to the foundation series.

-Dave K

These are very good stories. Surprisingly so.

This series started out as a short story in a magazine and Asimov's only real goal was for the magazine to hire him to write a second short story (so the first had to be entertaining and end on a cliffhanger that would leave readers wanting to know what happens next). And, likewise, his only goal for the second story was for the magazine to buy a third story, etc.

Usually, just meandering at random is a bad strategy for writing a book (but writing a book, or three, was never Asimov's goal). Of course, some of the problems are evident by the fact that the story took three books to tell and only towards the end did Asimov start thinking this was a story that needed an ending, let alone how to get there.

 

[Borek]

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

[Astronuc]

. . . then perhaps go to the foundation series.

-Dave K

I read the second book, Foundation and Empire in high school. I did not know at the time that the book was part of a series. Several years ago, I discovered the series, and that it was more than three books, which became 7 altogether.

I think I read the original trilogy, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, then the other 4 in order.

According to the Wikipedia article, "For nearly thirty years, the series was a trilogy: Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation. It won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. Asimov began adding to the series in 1981, with two sequels: Foundation's Edge, Foundation and Earth, and two prequels: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series

"Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951 which, together, form a single plot." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(novel )

The stories were written at the dawn of the 'nuclear age', when there was a lot of hype about science and nuclear energy, and many folks had unrealistic expectations of how science and nuclear energy would transform the world. It was also a time following the trauma of World War II, so hope for the future was probably extraordinary. The stories reference 'nucleics' or nuclear powered devices, which reflect the attitude toward nuclear power and technology at the time.

See the reference in nucleics in - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_(novel)#The_Traders

 

[TheDemx27]

I'm reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I find it quite slow, beating around the bush. I rather just read the back cover detailing her philosophy. (As it happens I also don't agree with her philosophy of things).

I only continue to read it is because I'm already ~70% through.

 

[Curious3141]

Currently engrossed in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R. R. Martin. About three-quarters of the way through the fourth book (A Feast for Crows), one more currently published book (A Dance with Dragons) to go, and more to come, I'm sure. I started the series a few weeks back and just want to "catch up" before the new season of Game of Thrones starts up in about six months.

 

[Enigman]

Kafka "The Trial"

 

[Simon Bridge]

Richard Morgan: Thirteen ...

 

[Medicol]

I just found this to be a really good read to share (Likely many of you have skimmed it). I've spent 2 hours to read most of the comments and understand pretty much this is quite like a "global" issue in hiring. Clearly I just can't stand HR 's stubbornness. But all ideas really make my day! (chuckles)
https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20141006125226-10136502-why-you-must-lie-on-job-interviews-and-what-you-must-lie-about
I love Mark Stevens's ideas and Kandi Jackson's comments most.

 

[TheDemx27]

The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America.

 

[lisab]

Thread resurrection!

Recently read:
"Gone Girl". Good story, hard to like any of the characters though.

"All The Light We Cannot See". Fantastic! Well written, great story...read it. Really, you have to read it.

Currently reading:
"Les Miserables". I've seen the movie (omg great movie!). Only 17% through (yes I'm reading on Kindle), but I like it so far. Hugo is in no special hurry to tell this tale - it's as if hurrying it would diminish his point. Makes me wish I could still read in French so I could read the original.

 

[Pythagorean]

Thread resurrection!

Recently read:
"Gone Girl". Good story, hard to like any of the characters though.

"All The Light We Cannot See". Fantastic! Well written, great story...read it. Really, you have to read it.

Currently reading:
"Les Miserables". I've seen the movie (omg great movie!). Only 17% through (yes I'm reading on Kindle), but I like it so far. Hugo is in no special hurry to tell this tale - it's as if hurrying it would diminish his point. Makes me wish I could still read in French so I could read the original.

Which movie? The '98 one with Liam Neeson or the newer one? Academia has ruined leisure reading for me, but I really liked the '98 adaptation.

 

[Enigman]

Just finished An equal music and now reading Lord of the flies.

 

[WWGD]

Still reading "Crucial Conversations" on how to have productive exchanges in emotionally-charged situations. The methods don't come naturally easy
to me, though I am trying to change as much as possible.

 

[gfd43tg]

Art of War by Sun Tzu

 

[nuuskur]

Double integrals of Fichtenholz's Mathematical analysis :D

 

[cobalt124]

In the rare opportunities I have to read I'm slowly working my way through The God Delusion, also Acts of Worship by Yukio Mishima, primarily shadowing the interests of my youngest son, a rampant Dawkins advocate. He came across Mishima due to his obsession with Manga/anime.

 

[Borg]

I've been reading the Wall Street Journal this week - one of my neighbors moved and forgot to stop his subscription.