What are you reading?

[geonuc]

I am attempting Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe, by Martin Rees. I'm not sure how well this attempt will go.

Why so pessimistic?

[Gillianren]

Why so pessimistic?

Well, as I started reading it, I noticed that I'm not big on the man's writing style. It seems to me as though he's trying to force a popular science tone but doesn't really know how to do it properly. For another, I looked at the table of contents, where each number is listed, and they're mostly not numbers. They're letters, and not all those letters have an actual definable number value. And numbers don't stick well in my head anyway. Reading a page or two on would mean having to refresh my memory. So I've switched to The Pluto Files, which has numbers, but I don't have to remember them.

[Buttercup]

The Trial of Joan of Arc by Don Nardo.

[geonuc]

The Trial of Joan of Arc by Don Nardo.

Your last book was about Joan of Arc.



<KiloPi. Where's my cookie?>

[mahesh]

The Trumpet of the Swan, by E B White!
Couldn't resist. Before passing it over to my baby.
E B White and James Thurber...oh, such graceful writers. I love them.

[AndreasJ]

Grekiska by Eva-Carin Gerö (it's a book about Greek language and culture)

[tdvance]

Just received (but hadn't yet started) "Bringing Down the House" (nonfiction), after a recommendation from a coworker. It's about a group of MIT students who took Las Vegas for a ride with card counting, disguising themselves to get back in after being thrown out for card counting, going to the wrong casino and getting beat up and their money "stolen back" for card counting, etc.

[Buttercup]

Your last book was about Joan of Arc.

Yep. This current title is my 3rd. And 2 additional books about Joan arrived just today.

<KiloPi. Where's my cookie?>

I want a cookie too, but must skip the calories.

[Romanus]

I'm always reading more than one book at a time. It's fun, but it makes for slow-going. Anyways...

Current: Nicholas and Alexandra, by Robert Massie.
World War II: Bombers over Japan (Time-Life Books).

Immediate Future:
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, by Phillip K. Dick.
The Reformation, by Patrick Collinson.
Re-reading Marusek's Counting Heads, so I can start on his recently-released sequel.

[Paul Beardsley]

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said, by Phillip K. Dick.

Ooh, that's a good'un. It's many decades since I read it, but I can remember how good it was.

It also made its way into a couple of Gary Numan/Tubeway Army lyrics, but that's another story.

[slang]

It also made its way into a couple of Gary Numan/Tubeway Army lyrics, but that's another story.

Now there's a couple of names you don't hear often anymore...

ETA: thanks for helping me pick my night-cap song.. down in the park

[Paul Beardsley]

ETA: thanks for helping me pick my night-cap song.. down in the park

Glad to be of service. (Do you need the service?)

(B side joke...)

[Buttercup]

I'm always reading more than one book at a time. It's fun, but it makes for slow-going. Anyways...

Me too.

But in my case it's because unless a particular book is really, really interesting (not often) I've got to switch off with another or yet a 3rd. And besides, I like the challenge of tackling 3 books simultaneously.

[geonuc]

Nicholas and Alexandra, by Robert Massie.

I have this on my 'to be read' shelf. I've already finished Castles of Steel and Dreadnought, also written by Massie.

[geonuc]

I often have three or four books open. I get disinterested easily and am not willing to admit it. Maybe half the time, I'll pick up a half-read book and continue.

Reading has become difficult for me in the last few years. I can't seem to read more than twenty or so pages at a sitting. It doesn't help that my eyes are failing.

[Gillianren]

Actually, I'm less likely to read more than one book at a time than I used to be, though technically, I suppose I still do it--I'm reading The Pluto Files for myself. I'm reading Blood Rites, by Jim Butcher, aloud to Graham. And he listens to audio books when we aren't watching something--at the times when, left to myself, I'd listen to music.

[Romanus]

I've already finished Castles of Steel and Dreadnought, also written by Massie.

I've read Castles of Steel, myself (greatly enjoying it), and am considering Dreadnought. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it as compared to Castles of Steel.

[geonuc]

I've read Castles of Steel, myself (greatly enjoying it), and am considering Dreadnought. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on it as compared to Castles of Steel.

If you liked Castles, you'll probably want to read Dreadnought, although I found the latter to be a little tiresome at points. Still, I'm glad I read it. Dreadnought deals with the events and personalities leading up to the first world war. You'll learn plenty about Bismark, for instance, and the relationship between Queen Victoria and her grandson, Kaiser William II. That was all fascinating to me as I was fairly ignorant of that time period prior to reading the book. The tiresome part is that you will be told much more than perhaps you wanted to know about every player on the scene: all the British prime ministers and German chancellors and all the supporting cast.

Castles of Steel is also about personalities of course, particularly the British admirals, but because it also gets into the war strategy, it was more interesting to me.

[Alasdhair]

Currently re-reading Good Omens by Pratchett & Gaiman; I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed it...

[schlaugh]

Finished The Hundred Days and now moving on (although backwards in time) to The Commodore. Both by Patrick O'Brian.

Waiting in the wings is David McCullough's 1776, the Illustrated edition. Lots of maps, period artwork, pull outs, copies of letters from Abagail to John, George to Martha, etc. Making history come alive...sort of...

[Tinaa]

I'm reading Bio of a Space Tyrant vol 3: Politician by Piers Anthony. Found it in a used book store. I had read the previous volumes years ago. Never did get to this one though.

[gzhpcu]

Just started reading Little Pancho: The life of tennis legend Pancho Segura. Everybody speaks of Pancho Gonzales, but Pancho Segura was a great player too. Gonzales' first name was actually Riccardo and Segura's was Francisco. But both were called Pancho, the name white Americans in the 50's gave to anyone South of the border. Segura didn't mind. Gonzales did. Segura integrated better, Gonzales remained a rebel deeply resentful of the class snub. Segura was short and bow-legged, Gonzales was tall and athletic. Great book for tennis nuts like me...

[Nick Theodorakis]

I was reading a book I found on clearance for a dollar at the Half Price Bookstore, the First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen, and didn't realize that it was part of a series until I got to the "end" and nothing was resolved. Now I'll have to look for the Second Book of Swords, etc.

Nick

[dhd40]

Reading has become difficult for me in the last few years. I can't seem to read more than twenty or so pages at a sitting.

Try Steven Pinker´s "HOW THE MIND WORKS". You´ll read 100 pages or more at a sitting. I´m on page 521 (The Meaning of Life) after three days

[geonuc]

I was reading a book I found on clearance for a dollar at the Half Price Bookstore, the First Book of Swords, by Fred Saberhagen, and didn't realize that it was part of a series until I got to the "end" and nothing was resolved. Now I'll have to look for the Second Book of Swords, etc.

Nick

I found it to be a good series.

[geonuc]

Try Steven Pinker´s "HOW THE MIND WORKS". You´ll read 100 pages or more at a sitting. I´m on page 521 (The Meaning of Life) after three days

You say that without knowing why I'm having difficulty reading?

[Gillianren]

The Rise of True Crime: 20th-Century Murder and American Popular Culture, by Jean Murley.

[Romanus]

RE Geonuc:
Thanks for the capsule review. That's about what I figured; though I find Bismarck and Wilhelm II fascinating historical characters, I think I prefer my straight-up military campaigns.

[dhd40]

You say that without knowing why I'm having difficulty reading?

That´s true, I don´t know why. If there´s something wrong with your eyes I really apologize.

[redshifter]

I'm reading Bio of a Space Tyrant vol 3: Politician by Piers Anthony. Found it in a used book store. I had read the previous volumes years ago. Never did get to this one though.

I really enjoyed that series! I read those a good 20 yrs. ago.

Finished all the 'Hutch' novels by Jack McDevitt, now reading "Dies the Fire" by S.M. Stirling. It's the first in a series about the goings on in the Willamette Valley and a part of Idaho (it's following two separate groups of people) after a strange phenomenon causes a worldwide electrical blackout (think world-wide permanent EMP). Gunpowder burns too slow to push a bullet, so guns don't work anymore either. Pretty entertaining so far, though it does require a suspension of reality with the whole 'no electricity AND no guns' thing--though that's the case for a lot of sci-fi...

Also reading school texts about software documentation and document design.