Whatcha reading?

[DocZaius 65]

Finally, a book forum!

What are you reading right now?

[Hellraiser97 181]

Just finished Red Rising.  Not a bad book, but after having read the Hunger Games and a few others of that genre, it seemed kind of just more of the same.  Going to read the next book to see if it gets more interesting as I think it sets up an cool universe.

[Bat Guano 359]

Getting into Ready Player One. Yeah, I'm late to the party; wanted to read it before seeing the movie.

[SimonBolivar 10957]

Ready Player One is really fun to read and the audiobook is great.

I thought Red Rising 1 was better than Red Rising 2, but I haven't read past that point.

Currently reading this:

It's a deep dive into Turkish Culture and I'm sure I'm missing references left and right, but it's very good even in translation.

 

[Hellraiser97 181]

39 minutes ago, SimonBolivar said:

Ready Player One is really fun to read and the audiobook is great.

 

I found it hilarious when Will Wheaton read the line calling Will Wheaton an old geezer

[TwiceHorn 31429]

Homicide:  A Year On The Killing Streets by David Simon.  While also doing my second run through The Wire.

It's ok.  Some amusing stories and you can see characters from The Wire in it.  But there's something about the way it's written that rubs me wrong.  It's not the writing per se, I think it's the organization.  It cuts back and forth between stories and characters in a way that's distracting and hard to follow.

[TexArcher 37761]

Craig Johnson: The Cold Dish (Walt Longmire #1).

[Damor 1236]

Currently:  Why We Sleep

Pretty fascinating explanation of what we do and don't know about sleep.  It'll make you take it much more seriously, particularly if you have kids.

Recently finished: The Self-Driven Child

I'm usually not much for pop science (despite the two books I've listed), but I have a newly minted teenager I'm trying not to murder.  Very interesting discussion of the physiologic basis of adolescent stupidity and how to not let it stress you out.  Getting the wife to read it now so that we can team up, as some of the recommendations here require some guts to institute in the face of the way things are 'supposed to be' these days.  It serendipitously dovetails nicely with the sleep book, particularly with regard to anxiety.

Up Next:  Caesar by Colleen McCullough

A friend at work gave me a copy of this.  I've never read any of her stuff, but it sounds like I'm about to go down the rabbit hole.

 

[kevwun 15757]

That reminds that I have a book about Marcus Agrippa that I need to get to.  For such an important person in Roman history, there are almost no books about him.

Edited April 7, 2018 by kevwun

[usmc0331horn 953]

Getting into some baseball books I've been meaning to read. Read Smart Baseball yesterday and also started on Jane Leavy's book on Mickey Mantle.

[kevwun 15757]

If you haven't read Summer of '49, it is a great one.

[usmc0331horn 953]

14 hours ago, kevwun said:

If you haven't read Summer of '49, it is a great one.

I read it when I was really young but might just have to read it again. I'm reading Ball Four for the first time now.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4738]

[gyroprotagonist 2592]

trying to finish Railsea by China Mieville.  Just not as good as some of the previous ones like Perdido Street Station

[Masshole Horn 769]

I'm reading book 2 of The Dresden Files, have 3 and 4 downloaded from the library.  Great for reading on the train.

[mrsmacgowski 0]

On 4/8/2018 at 9:36 PM, usmc0331horn said:

I read it when I was really young but might just have to read it again. I'm reading Ball Four for the first time now.

Give "The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes, and History at the College World Series" by McGee a read if you haven't yet.  I've been wanting to re-read that in light of Augie's passing.

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

Someone posted in the movie thread so I'm re-reading this:

 

[demos 3002]

Bout to finish the last of the Karla trilogy.

[Sidney Sherman 66]

Dune. 

12 Rules for Life.

Both excellent reads. I originally picked up Dune and put it back down after 10 pages because it wasn't really fun enough, but after getting through 3/4 of the book recently, it is beautifully written. Very serious and interesting, but it took a podcast talking about the technology of dune to force me to actually read the book. Glad I did, it is awesome. 

Recommended SciFi:

http://www.rudyrucker.com/wares/

http://www.nealasher.co.uk/

 

[zman13 178]

Finished it a few days ago. Really good book on the Donner party and goes into the details about the decisions they made, the advice the listened to/ignored, the arguments they had about which path to follow. Amazing how much they endured on their journey across the country and it ends in disaster because of a few bad choices at the end.

[usmc0331horn 953]

On 4/10/2018 at 11:19 AM, mrsmacgowski said:

Give "The Road to Omaha: Hits, Hopes, and History at the College World Series" by McGee a read if you haven't yet.  I've been wanting to re-read that in light of Augie's passing.

Thanks for the rec. That's sounds fantastic.

[Scheiss Meister 8407]

I just started The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story by Elliott West.  I am on a history of the American West kick right now, and I have long wanted to know more about this chapter of it.

I just finished Jedediah Smith: No Ordinary Mountain Man by Barton H. Barbour.  I enjoyed it, and learned more about the period when trapping in the Rockies and the rest of the west was at its zenith.  Those were some hard, tough men.

[Buzzrock 14901]

Started rereading the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. GoT-level epic sci-fi. Gonna take me forever because it’s over 3,000 pages all in, but damn it’s good stuff.

[Dick Tremayne 103]

Just finished Subversives by Seth Rosenfeld. It was very interesting and tied some things together that I wasn't previously aware of. 

 

Just started The Path to Power by Robert Caro. I've been wanting to read this for a long time. I've heard only positive things about it and so far I agree.

 

 

 

 

[noharleyyet 2838]

Just finished James Lee Burke's latest..."Robicheaux" About to start "The Disappeared"..CJ Box

[Doc Holliday 199]

Just started Consider Phelbas and by just started, I mean, I haven't read a single word, moved my bookmark to it and it's sitting in my passenger seat of my truck.

Edited April 12, 2018 by Doc Holliday

[Buzzrock 14901]

Just started Consider Phelbas and by just started, I mean, I haven't read a single word, moved my bookmark to it and it's sitting in my passenger seat of my truck.

I loved that book. The sequel, not so much.

[Doc Holliday 199]

13 hours ago, Buzzrock said:

 

I loved that book. The sequel, not so much.

 

Started it last night.  Starts off well!  I was surprised.  Was kind of dreading all the backstory, fill in the gaps, set the stage and having that draw on for 2-8 chapters.  So far I am digging it. 

[TwiceHorn 31429]

So I started reading this after seeing the movie.

 

It's quite different, with a heavy focus on the relationship between old friends.  About halfway through, it's really quite enjoyable.

[Disco Missile 456]

I just read Annihilation by Vandermeer. I was very, very surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I can't think of a book to compare, but it reminds me of the movies the Sphere and Event Horizon. Several parts make more sense after rereading, because he plants things that aren't explained until later in the book. Later you remember a detail that seemed unimportant that makes sense.

I ordered the next two in the series before I put Annihilation down. I read it in two days, lol.

I haven't seen the movie but the synopsis doesn't sound like they followed the book very closely.

Edited April 18, 2018 by Disco Missile

[TexasBuckeye 43]

I've been reading "American wolf : a true story of survival and obsession in the West". 

It's the story of the rise of a Yellowstone wolf, and what her life and death tell us about the struggle for the American West. They were reintroduced in 1995.

[TwiceHorn 31429]

19 hours ago, Disco Missile said:

I just read Annihilation by Vandermeer. I was very, very surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
I can't think of a book to compare, but it reminds me of the movies the Sphere and Event Horizon. Several parts make more sense after rereading, because he plants things that aren't explained until later in the book. Later you remember a detail that seemed unimportant that makes sense.

I ordered the next two in the series before I put Annihilation down. I read it in two days, lol.

I haven't seen the movie but the synopsis doesn't sound like they followed the book very closely.

I seem to have detected that you are an "adventurous" reader.  I did not care for Annhilation.  Seemed to build a fair amount of suspense to no end.

 

I will strongly recommend The Ritual, though.  I really enjoyed it.

[Felix 607]

On 4/11/2018 at 8:15 PM, Buzzrock said:

Started rereading the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Peter F Hamilton. GoT-level epic sci-fi. Gonna take me forever because it’s over 3,000 pages all in, but damn it’s good stuff.

Really enjoyed this one.  I actually listened to it because it was too long to read during my limited down time, but I could listen on my commute.

 

Just finished All The Light We Cannot See based on the movie thread and now I'm reading 20000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Imagine that!

Edited April 20, 2018 by Felix
addition

[TexArcher 37761]

Finally giving David Sedaris a go.  Picked up Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day.

[Disco Missile 456]

On 4/18/2018 at 6:21 PM, TwiceHorn said:

I seem to have detected that you are an "adventurous" reader.  I did not care for Annhilation.  Seemed to build a fair amount of suspense to no end.

 

I will strongly recommend The Ritual, though.  I really enjoyed it.

I suppose I am. I spend about half of my time reading things I'm pretty sure I'll like. The other half is split between books I've read but still enjoy, and new stuff I'm trying out.

I liked Annihilation because it was a rare type of horror/suspense sci-fi that really works when executed well. I thought Vandermeer did a masterful job of depicting a descent into madness type narrative, where the reader could never be certain about anything and many things only made sense in retrospect. Contrast that with King's blunt presentations, and I appreciate the subtlety. Vandermeer also has a really polished prose style, and every sentence and word choice reinforces the overarching narrative. I think Annihilation left so many questions at the end that a sequel was a near certainty.

I just read Authority and now I'm reading Acceptance. Authority was slowww until the last chapter or two. The suspense wasn't there because you already knew what the characters are dealing with. It was more of wanting the main character to figure it the %$#@ out and move the story along. It had more of a Body Snatchers or The Thing vibe to it, but wasn't as well executed as Annihilation. It felt like some of the Thomas Harris books. Unsettling with tons of bureaucracy and frustrations where the protagonist is contending with multiple forces all fighting for control while the true menace lurks and escapes notice because of all the petty rivalries. I didn't enjoy it, but it added some pieces that Annihilation left out.

I'll follow up when I'm done with Acceptance. From what I've heard it answers a lot of the questions left by the first two books. Part of me hopes not, because answering those questions will kill part of what makes it work. 

[austingirl 2191]

I usually have a couple of things going at one time. Always some kind of smut to balance out the heavy stuff, and the heavy stuff right now is this:

[Texas Town 18]

On 4/6/2018 at 4:09 PM, Hellraiser97 said:

Just finished Red Rising.  Not a bad book, but after having read the Hunger Games and a few others of that genre, it seemed kind of just more of the same.  Going to read the next book to see if it gets more interesting as I think it sets up an cool universe.

I had the same reaction while reading parts of Red Rising. I stuck with it and recently finished the series - glad I did. I thought each book was better than the last.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Just finished this.  I found it a pretty compelling book.  People often forget that it took Hitler 16 years to get from a rabble rouser to WWII.  The Germans were the proverbial frogs in a boiling pot.  This book looks at the view of Americans there for the crucial period of transformation of the Nazis from radical fringe party to all powerful.  If you don't think it can happen here, read this.  It's the playbook.  

 

Just started on this one on a friend's recommendation.  It's a collection of essays that are quite interesting.  

[kevwun 15757]

Finally started Dreadnought.  So good.  I am going to read Castles of Steel next and then probably everything Massie has written because he's such a great writer.

Edited April 27, 2018 by kevwun

[Chad Fuck 17658]

I have a copy of Dreadnought.  It hasn't made it to the top of the pile yet.  Is the flow pretty good, or is this tome going to make it a 6 month slog?

 

[kevwun 15757]

It is a very easy read.  It's one of those history books that reads like a novel. The last two books I've read where tough reads, so it's a welcome change.

Edited April 27, 2018 by kevwun

[usmc0331horn 953]

Just bought Lawrence Wright's new book God save Texas. Looks like an interesting read.

[After irth 1243]

On 4/25/2018 at 12:27 PM, Chad Fuck said:

Just finished this.  I found it a pretty compelling book.  People often forget that it took Hitler 16 years to get from a rabble rouser to WWII.  The Germans were the proverbial frogs in a boiling pot.  This book looks at the view of Americans there for the crucial period of transformation of the Nazis from radical fringe party to all powerful.  If you don't think it can happen here, read this.  It's the playbook.  

 

Just started on this one on a friend's recommendation.  It's a collection of essays that are quite interesting.  

Larson never disappoints in his ability to explore and present so many little oddities in history. And yeah...soooo much going on in that one. All a bit mind-blowing. 

[thrillhammer 683]

Just finished American Wolf, about the wolves in Yellowstone.  Exceeded my expectations.   

Started a novel called We are Not Ourselves.  Don't know anything about it, bought it on a hunch.  

[Chad Fuck 17658]

On 5/2/2018 at 2:05 PM, thrillhammer said:

Just finished American Wolf, about the wolves in Yellowstone.  Exceeded my expectations.   

Started a novel called We are Not Ourselves.  Don't know anything about it, bought it on a hunch.  

I always have to mention this book when Yellowstone comes up because it is fascinating, not in a morbid or macabre way, but in a "what the fuck were they thinking" way.  A compelling study into death-by-misadventure.  Should've been titled "Yellowstone ain't Disneyland" or "This Ain't No Foolin' Around."  

[zman13 178]

Mostly through this non-fiction history of factories. Really interesting insights into how something so prevalent today is barely 300 years old. Goes into the beginnings in England, the advances in the US and how the idea of factories made it's way to the Soviet Union and other areas.

 

[Hefeweizen 5308]

Finished Dobie's Tales of Texas. It was fantastic.

Now reading legacy of spies by le Carre. First book by him I've enjoyed in a long time.

[demos 3002]

Been reading this. Really interesting about the development/evolution of their assassination program, covering successes and failures and how each impacted it.

[Baboontyme 2809]

On 5/6/2018 at 7:37 PM, demos said:

Been reading this. Really interesting about the development/evolution of their assassination program, covering successes and failures and how each impacted it.

Interesting. I'm looking for some books for my 76 year old Dad to read as he's going to be laid up with surgery and saw this one and wasn't sure if it would be up his alley or not. How does it portray Israel overall? Positive, negative, neutral? 

Here's what my mom told me about the kind of books he likes. I already have the Comey book and a couple of others picked out. Any other recs would be appreciated. "Books about politics, prob would read Comeys book, Michael Connelly type mystery adventure, world issues, historical figures biography"

 

Edited May 9, 2018 by Baboontyme

[kevwun 15757]

If he really likes political books, you should get him started on Caro's LBJ books.   There's nothing better than them.

Edited May 9, 2018 by kevwun