What's Your Current Book, and What's Next on Your Reading List?

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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses various books that participants are currently reading or plan to read next, encompassing a mix of fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, and personal reflections on the reading experience. The scope includes casual reading, academic texts, and recommendations for books with themes related to science and philosophy.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant is reading "God in the Equation" by Powell and finds it acceptable after a long break from physics/cosmology books.
  • Another participant is intrigued by "Quincunx" but is unsure about its overall theme, having chosen it based on its cover.
  • Several participants mention reading textbooks due to time constraints, indicating a focus on academic material.
  • One participant enjoyed "Angels and Demons" but noted its inaccuracies.
  • Another is juggling multiple academic texts, including Lanau's Mechanics and Bohm's Quantum Theory, while struggling to find time for leisure reading.
  • One participant expresses enjoyment of "Men of Mathematics" while also reading "Frankenstein" for school.
  • Another mentions reading "Dune" and finds it good, while someone else is reading "The Second Sex" by Beauvoir.
  • Discussion includes various opinions on Dan Brown's works, with some participants defending their entertainment value while others question the originality of the plots.
  • One participant shares thoughts on "Moving Mars" by Greg Bear, highlighting its political themes and speculative advancements in quantum physics.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions on the books mentioned, with some enjoying Dan Brown's novels while others critique their literary value. There is no consensus on the quality or originality of Brown's work, and various preferences for reading material are evident.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention time constraints affecting their reading choices, and some express uncertainty about the themes or quality of the books they are reading.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in diverse book recommendations, particularly in the realms of fiction, science, philosophy, and academic texts, may find this discussion valuable.

  • #61
I'm re-reading "In Search of the Dark Ages" by Michael Wood.
 
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  • #62
arildno said:
Thief. :mad:
:-p
Ya snooze, you lose.
 
  • #63
Danger said:
:-p
Ya snooze, you lose.
If you want to preen and strut about, you're welcome.
 
  • #64
Thank you. I believe that I will... right after I finish my lunch. (Well, after I finish my post-lunch smoke.)
 
  • #65
Dan Brown's "Digital fortress", about an unbreakable code able to resist the so-called "brute force attack"

I took up this book after I finished "The Da vinci code". Great ending! Who was to imagine that the skeleton of Mary Magdalena was buried in the Louvre. Maybe I'll watch the film, though some countries are pressing to ban it, for example India and South Korea
 
  • #66
meteor said:
Dan Brown's "Digital fortress", about an unbreakable code able to resist the so-called "brute force attack"

I took up this book after I finished "The Da vinci code". Great ending! Who was to imagine that the skeleton of Mary Magdalena was buried in the Louvre. Maybe I'll watch the film, though some countries are pressing to ban it, for example India and South Korea

Just spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet :rolleyes: . I'm going to see the movie on Friday, can't wait! :biggrin:

~H
 
  • #67
I'm waiting on a physical geography book I bought off eBay to arrive. I wish I was blessed with patience. :frown:
 
  • #68
Just finished How to Solve It. Next up is An Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning.
 
  • #69
Da Vinci Code is one of those books I will never read, nor will I read Dan Brown's other books.

I am currently reading "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" to my son, which is a re-read for myself.

Otherwise, I have a list of non-fiction and technical books that I am reading and a list of fiction books as well. I generally read books on history, human behavior, thought, philosophy and religion, as well as scientific and technical books.
 
  • #70
Why is everyone saying that they'll never read the Da Vinci Code...?
 
  • #71
yomamma said:
Why is everyone saying that they'll never read the Da Vinci Code...?

Because the movie is coming out, there is no reason to lose days reading 400 pages. :-p
 
  • #72
heartless said:
Because the movie is coming out, there is no reason to lose days reading 400 pages. :-p

exactly what i was thinking. i'll only waste 2hrs rather than a few days which would be better spent on other stuff.
 
  • #73
yomamma said:
Why is everyone saying that they'll never read the Da Vinci Code...?
Several people recommended it, but after they described the plot, I decided that it was not a story I would care to read. But that's me.

Nor will I go see the movie.
 
  • #74
Hootenanny said:
Just spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it yet :rolleyes: . I'm going to see the movie on Friday, can't wait! :biggrin:

~H

Me and my friends were planning to watch this as well. Before the government came and banned it .

In fact, I've always wondered, if the government can ban films for hurting the sentiments of certain religions, why doesn't it ban religious films and documentaries for hurting the sentiments of the non-believers?
 
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  • #75
My current books

I'm currently reading PW Singer's "Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry".

---
Aside, did ya'll know that there are over 10,000 privately hired military contractors often engaged in armed combat with US air support assets in security positions across Iraq?

With 10,000 that makes them (the Private Military Corporations [or PMCs]) the second largest military force in Iraq behind the US 130,000 troops, but well above the even the British force in southern Iraq?​


I'm also reading "Empire of Debt" by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggins (who, btw, write a great newsletter, entitled "www.dailyreckoning.com" discussing international economics and the US stock market).

The book makes two arguments: that the US is an empire (even though they concede that the US probably does not think it is an empire) and that the way the US empire has grown so expansive since WWII [or really since 1971 (when Nixon and the Federal Reserve took us off the gold standard in 1971) is that through unsubstantiated credit-driven purchases and deficit spending.

They argue that while the US is an empire, it is an awkward and perhaps unknowing role that is made possible because of the ridiculous monetary policies that are the basis of our international system (ie, our ability to print money at a whim, lose money out the asses to trade and budget deficits and through private mortgages and credit loans, and to profilegate the entire debacle through even more printing of money). They also argue that this system is ultimately incredibly absurd and clearly unsustainable. It's a pretty good book. They're dead on about the inherent problems of a non-gold standardized Federal Reserve, but I kinda find their coverage of history rather simplistic - which is intentional on their part.
 
  • #76
Just an observation:

Every single one of Dan Brown's books involves a young intrepid professor being thrust into an adventure with a distressed and highly educated female.

All of them.
 
  • #77
Dan Brown's got a formula, his books are readable, doesn't mean they're any good, but they're readable...

Just started on The Flood by David Maine.

Pretty good - Yahweh tells Noe about the forthcoming flood, and Noe pisses himself :biggrin:

Nice adaptation of the old tale, so far...
 
  • #78
siddharth said:
Me and my friends were planning to watch this as well. Before the government came and banned it .

In fact, I've always wondered, if the government can ban films for hurting the sentiments of certain religions, why doesn't it ban religious films and documentaries for hurting the sentiments of the non-believers?

I can watch it after all

Controversial Hollywood film The Da Vinci Code has been cleared for release in India after protests by Christians.

Censors gave it an adult rating but said disclaimers stating it was fiction were needed at the beginning and end.

What irony :smile: :smile:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4995122.stm"
 
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  • #79
yomamma said:
Why is everyone saying that they'll never read the Da Vinci Code...?
Hmm..because it is unoriginal and badly written?
 
  • #80
jhe1984 said:
Just an observation:

Every single one of Dan Brown's books involves a young intrepid professor being thrust into an adventure with a distressed and highly educated female.

All of them.
And don't forget, they all start start with someone being murdered. And there is an (H)assassin who tries to kill the professor and/or the woman. :biggrin:
 
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  • #81
Badass assins are bad assassins.
 
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  • #82
What was that you were saying, arildno? :-p
 
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  • #83
Some half-assed joke, I think. Rather asinine, now that I review it. :frown:
 
  • #84
as soon as my GRE is over, I am going to resume my complete collection of sherlock holmes...
BTW, i enjoyed Dan Brown's books, although less so after each successive one because they were TERRIBLY formulaic.
 
  • #85
jasc15 said:
as soon as my GRE is over, I am going to resume my complete collection of sherlock holmes...
BTW, i enjoyed Dan Brown's books, although less so after each successive one because they were TERRIBLY formulaic.
Same here. I bought a two-volume set of the all the short stories and novels. I've read the first two novels and the first two short stories, and plan to continue after my exams are over, which, btw, starts in about 23hrs and 45 mts.
 
  • #86
arildno said:
Hmm..because it is unoriginal and badly written?
so it was unoriginal...SOMEWHAT poorly written...it was still interesting...and at the least entertaining
 
  • #87
Well, the physical geography book arrived today and I'm looking forward to reading through it; so far it looks good. However, it was published in 1976. Have there been any major breakthroughs in physical geography since then, or can I trust that the information in the book will be accurate? :rolleyes:
 
  • #88
Geographer said:
Have there been any major breakthroughs in physical geography since then
Mount Fuji has been torn down to make way for a Starbuck's. Other than that, not much.
 
  • #89
I got To Kill A Mockingbird today from the school...they make us read too much...

Anyway, I'm not that far into it as to comment yet...
 
  • #90
i never really liked to kill a mockingbired. i know a lot of people who did though. i found it a bit boring.
 

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