Author Topic: What ya reading? (Read 161126 times)

DanB · « **Reply #100 on:** Tue, 01 November 2016, 19:03:29 »

Quote from: dgneo on Tue, 26 July 2016, 10:42:24

Finally getting around to Neuromancer by William Gibson.

I would follow that up with Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash, if you have not read it already.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #101 on:** Wed, 02 November 2016, 07:54:27 »

Quote from: DanB on Tue, 01 November 2016, 19:03:29

Quote from: dgneo on Tue, 26 July 2016, 10:42:24

Finally getting around to Neuromancer by William Gibson.

I would follow that up with Neal Stephenson's Snowcrash, if you have not read it already.

Those 2 are the cream of the crop.

For those of us, like myself, who read Neuromancer before I had ever even touched a "personal computer" with my own hands, it seemed far-fetched but plausible. We would not have imagined how quickly these notions would be absorbed into film and the popular culture in general.

Tactile · « **Reply #102 on:** Sun, 06 November 2016, 12:43:10 »

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

fohat.digs · « **Reply #103 on:** Sun, 06 November 2016, 16:40:46 »

Quote from: Tactile on Sun, 06 November 2016, 12:43:10

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

LeGuin is one of my favorite writers. I consider "The Dispossessed" to be her masterpiece, with the original Hainish series being her science fiction pinnacle.

On first read, back in the day, I found her fantasy stuff less compelling, but, now, years later, I think that the Earthsea cycle is some of the best fantasy ever written. I particularly appreciate her conception of magic as a subtle thing to be deftly woven into the fabric of reality, as opposed to the Harry Potter-type stuff where you point a stick and a building blows up.

Tactile · « **Reply #104 on:** Sun, 06 November 2016, 16:45:29 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Sun, 06 November 2016, 16:40:46

Quote from: Tactile on Sun, 06 November 2016, 12:43:10
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin

LeGuin is one of my favorite writers. I consider "The Dispossessed" to be her masterpiece, with the original Hainish series being her science fiction pinnacle.

On first read, back in the day, I found her fantasy stuff less compelling, but, now, years later, I think that the Earthsea cycle is some of the best fantasy ever written. I particularly appreciate her conception of magic as a subtle thing to be deftly woven into the fabric of reality, as opposed to the Harry Potter-type stuff where you point a stick and a building blows up.

This'll be my first from her. A bit shameful, really, since she's a Portland girl & I was born here.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #105 on:** Sun, 06 November 2016, 17:23:14 »

Quote from: Tactile on Sun, 06 November 2016, 16:45:29

This'll be my first from her.

"Semley's Necklace" (aka the first chapter of "Rocannon's World") will lock you in.

Read the original Hainish trilogy: Rocannon's World + Planet of Exile + City of Illusions - and then move on from there.

funderburker · « **Reply #106 on:** Mon, 07 November 2016, 01:55:01 »

Wow, cool to see this thread is live and well. My most active thread yet.

Been reading up on climate change recently because of that Leonardo Di Caprio movie he made.

Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know? by Joseph Romm

Tactile · « **Reply #107 on:** Fri, 18 November 2016, 22:06:59 »

"Tea from an Empty Cup" by Pat Cadigan

Spopepro · « **Reply #108 on:** Fri, 18 November 2016, 22:36:00 »

The Oresteia, or Ὀρέστεια, if you please. Both the Ted Hughes and the Anne Carson* translations back to back. The choices each make are fascinating.

*recognizing that the Carson is a mix of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, so not the pure trilogy.

romevi · « **Reply #109 on:** Sun, 20 November 2016, 20:58:48 »

Quote from: Spopepro on Fri, 18 November 2016, 22:36:00

The Oresteia, or Ὀρέστεια, if you please. Both the Ted Hughes and the Anne Carson* translations back to back. The choices each make are fascinating.

I read two of them and now I don't remember which.

Tactile · « **Reply #110 on:** Fri, 09 December 2016, 10:08:17 »

"The Last Policeman" by Ben H. Winters

Tactile · « **Reply #111 on:** Mon, 19 December 2016, 14:13:30 »

"Babylon's Ashes" by James S.A. Corey

dmbldrk · « **Reply #112 on:** Wed, 21 December 2016, 08:15:11 »

The Color of Magic. Been meaning to read the discworld series for quite a while. Starting to budget time towards reading again. Hopefully I'll make some good progress over the holidays.

C5Allroad · « **Reply #113 on:** Thu, 22 December 2016, 02:17:48 »

Currently, "Mr. Mercedes" by Stephen King

rabbitfire · « **Reply #114 on:** Sun, 25 December 2016, 04:27:30 »

Novels from Jin Jong

Tactile · « **Reply #115 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 08:23:37 »

"Tatiana" by Martin Cruz Smith. I'm a big fan of the Arkady Renko novels.

jal · « **Reply #116 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:15:32 »

Currently rereading Blindsight by Peter Watts. In my opinion, possibly the best hard science fiction author currently writing. A first-contact novel that explores a number of philosophical issues in generally depressing ways. Next is a reread of Echopraxia, which continues the story. I wanted to read them back to back; last time I read them several years apart.

I tend to read multiple books in parallel, depending on mood or what I'm doing. But Blindsight is the one that lives in my bag ATM. Other current reads: Pikhal, by Anne & Alex Shulgin (nonfiction about hallucinogenic drugs); Drawn To Trouble, by Eric Hebborn (autobiography of an art forger); The Hunting of the President, by Joe Conason (political nonfiction about the Clinton political war).

And a messy pile of books, printouts, websites and notes about milling machines, electronics, and stepper motor control, because I'm desperately trying to figure out what the hell I'm doing with my new, partly broken milling machine.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #117 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:34:54 »

Quote from: jal on Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:15:32

Blindsight by Peter Watts
Pikhal by Anne & Alex Shulgin
Drawn To Trouble by Eric Hebborn
The Hunting of the President, by Joe Conason

These all look very interesting and I have not read any of them.

Heist · « **Reply #118 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:53:05 »

Just started Cloud Atlas

jal · « **Reply #119 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 10:38:51 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:34:54

Quote from: jal on Fri, 20 January 2017, 09:15:32

Blindsight by Peter Watts
Pikhal by Anne & Alex Shulgin
Drawn To Trouble by Eric Hebborn
The Hunting of the President, by Joe Conason

These all look very interesting and I have not read any of them.

I heartily recommend Peter Watts to anyone who likes hard science fiction. If you're a thinker, he tends to be depressing, and if you're not, you won't like his work. But really first rate, if you like that sort of thing.

Drawn to Trouble might not be all that great, unless you have an interest in the history of art forgery. Hebborn is the ultimate unreliable narrator, so if you're trying to figure out what actually happened, you have to read it with a lot of other books/documentation, and there are still a lot of unanswered questions. He was also insufferably arrogant, and indulges that in spades. Depending on what interests you, some other starting points might be The Man Who Made Vermeers (Jonathan Lopez - well-written history of an accomplished forger, complete with nearly unbelievable cons, detective work and Nazis), False Impressions (Thomas Hoving - a fluffier airport book of famous forgeries; not great, but it hits the high points), or The Art Forger's Handbook (Eric Hebborn again - nuts and bolts techniques for aging paper, mixing period paints, etc. Again, not a great book - these are less recipes than descriptions of what he did, with lots of jumping-off points for self-aggrandizment. But still a fun book. Out of print and a bit notorious, the price is frequently insane, but if you're patient you can find it for a reasonable price.) Generally, most books about art forgery tend to be fluffy general-audience or academic, without much decent stuff in between.

Hunting of the President is a good read. As is obvious from the title, it picks a side. It is well researched and documented and I mostly trust it. Given recent US politics (and more specifically, my complete and utter lack of desire to discuss them here), I'll leave it at that.

Pihkal (there's also a sequel of sorts, Tihkal, haven't read it) is really interesting, hard to describe, and dense. A lot of chemistry that's beyond me (not to mention I that have no desire to get in to drug synthesis) combined with subjective stories of their effects, autobiography and story telling. If you've ever read Gödel, Escher, Bach, think of this as GEB:math::Pihkal:psychedelics. But even that doesn't work well as a comparison.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #120 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 11:15:45 »

I guess my favorite hard science fiction writer is Alastair Reynolds.

Art forgery is not anything that I want to do, but it seems like the basis for a good read. "The Man Who Made Vermeers" sounds interesting.

"The Hunting of the President" is probably old news to those of us who lived through it, a "Part 2: The Hunting of the President's Wife 20 Years Later" would probably be better and more topical.

I am not a chemist or even a user (at least not in recent decades) but "Acid Dreams" by Lee and Shlain was fascinating.

jal · « **Reply #121 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 12:01:41 »

I like Reynolds a lot, too. Greg Egan is another, but he's one of those you read for the ideas, not the plot or writing.

I'm not a forger either, just one of those random interests I somehow picked up. The Man Who Made Vermeers is probably your best bet.

I'm going through Hunting of the President because it became disturbingly relevant again. I lived through it, too (the first Clinton term was my first opportunity to vote), but had forgotten just how insane some of that was. And I'd be willing to wager that there's a political reporter somewhere typing away a sequel as I write this.

I want to read Acid Dreams, but haven't yet (And my experimentation days are long past, too). Still find this stuff fascinating. I thought of a better way to describe the book - if erowid.org were a coherent book and also included (what I'm told are) reliable synthesis methods, it would be Pihkal.

Seems like you and I have rather compatible reading habits.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #122 on:** Fri, 20 January 2017, 15:08:42 »

I recently finished a rather small but amazingly helpful book by Steven Pinker called The Sense of Style (a title which may be misleading - as in "the sense of smell) about writing and how to assemble and analyze written words. It was incredibly refreshing as it clarified a lot of things to me that have come into common and accepted usage but are still frowned upon by sticklers, as well as how to avoid bad writing in general.

And of course, his magnum opus The Better Angels of Our Nature is a truly monumental work that any serious thinker should read.

Dwarlorf · « **Reply #123 on:** Sun, 22 January 2017, 05:08:39 »

I finished Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebas which was good with a surprising ending. I've just started The Player of Games which is the second book in the Culture series . I'm only at page 54 but I like it a lot because it's quite funny. If this keeps up it'll be better than Consider Phlebas.

FLOCKA · « **Reply #124 on:** Sun, 22 January 2017, 09:44:17 »

Stephen King's Joyland. I'm about 1/4 in and am liking it so far with the introduction of the characters and plot setup. Reminds me a bit of the movie Adventureland.

jal · « **Reply #125 on:** Mon, 23 January 2017, 09:23:12 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Fri, 20 January 2017, 15:08:42

I recently finished a rather small but amazingly helpful book by Steven Pinker called The Sense of Style (a title which may be misleading - as in "the sense of smell) about writing and how to assemble and analyze written words.

I've been meaning to read that for a while. You've prompted me to order it, and it will go on the backlog pile.

Trying to think of other fun books that I think deserve wider reading. One that I found useful for dealing with the inevitable conflict that happens is Verbal Judo[/] by George Thompson. The title sounds like a stupid self-help book, but it is actually quite good. Even though it is mainly about handling conflict, I found it immensely helpful for getting over my inability to sell myself when I was freelance. (I still suck at selling myself, but I'm no longer incapable.) Not really the same thing but topically linked, a book called The Dance of Anger[/] (Harriet Lerner) is a self-help book, but quite good. It is an exploration of how people who are close (concentrates on normal binary-pairing, but it is applicable to any long-term relationships) engage in harmful behaviors that become embedded in the relationship and very difficult to change.

Which, in a warped way, is a nice lead-in to...

Choice and Consequence by Thomas Schelling is a fun one. Technically, it is an academic political economics book, but for an academic text it is a very easy read. It is largely about the application of game theory to lots of different topics (bargaining, organized crime, war, but his most famous example is trying to meet someone in a city without a plan or communications, which gave us the term "Schelling Points". But there's quite a bit more to it. Well written, and if you enjoy thinking about these things, certainly the sort of thing you'll like. And game theory is actually useful in daily life.

Tactile · « **Reply #126 on:** Mon, 30 January 2017, 01:29:32 »

"The Poisoned Pawn" by Peggy Blair

meiosis · « **Reply #127 on:** Thu, 02 February 2017, 05:31:41 »

Book of Skulls by Robert Silverberg

Revitalizing my book collection while taking my sabbatical as my new hobby.

Tactile · « **Reply #128 on:** Wed, 08 February 2017, 10:25:22 »

Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty

Puddsy · « **Reply #129 on:** Wed, 08 February 2017, 17:41:08 »

A Personal Matter by Kenzaburo Oe. Nearly done, just gotta read the last 30 pages when I get a minute.

Presumably to be followed by the ever-present meme of a book, DFW's Infinite Jest.

Lots of history textbooks, too. College has been very kind to me on the book front.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #130 on:** Fri, 17 February 2017, 15:31:34 »

Very excited!

Just got in The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu. Haven't started yet, but it is sure to be good.

His The Master Switch is a must-read, too, if you haven't read it.

hanoipho · « **Reply #131 on:** Sat, 18 February 2017, 05:25:36 »

Harry Potter

)

funderburker · « **Reply #132 on:** Sat, 18 February 2017, 06:35:00 »

Eloquent Ruby by Russ Olsen

Been working with Rails for like seven months but still have some problems wrapping my head around Ruby idioms. Started reading this yesterday and just want to get a cup of Joe and read this all weekend. It's real easy to read and understand.

thatsmrdoctortoyou · « **Reply #133 on:** Sat, 18 February 2017, 11:03:36 »

Grunt by Mary Roach.

Pretty interesting read so far (only a few chapters in). Lots of history of military medicine including some quite interesting military requirements for everyday objects. Shirt buttons for instance - I had no idea the amount of regulation/research/testing the military put into an everyday button... I guess at that point I should just call it an 'everyday' button, more like a 'military extreme-duty, built-Ford-tough' button.

Anyway, its a good read for anyone interested in medicine, military or just like Mary Roach's style of writing; Stiff is one of my favorite reads of all time simply due to Roach's style.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #134 on:** Sat, 18 February 2017, 11:26:18 »

Quote from: thatsmrdoctortoyou on Sat, 18 February 2017, 11:03:36

or just like Mary Roach's style of writing; Stiff is one of my favorite reads of all time simply due to Roach's style.

She is really funny but gets to be too much after a while. I heard about Grunt on NPR and have almost started it a couple of times. Gulp is good, too.

Blanched_Almond · « **Reply #135 on:** Sun, 19 February 2017, 05:50:18 »

Just some random online stuffs.

Tactile · « **Reply #136 on:** Sun, 19 February 2017, 16:01:12 »

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith. I don't usually re-read books but read this in 1984 so I don't think there will be too many spoilers. And I've enjoyed the series so much it'll be fun to return to the beginning.

ArchDill · « **Reply #137 on:** Mon, 20 February 2017, 01:09:30 »

Start With Why by Simon Sinek

sek1ne · « **Reply #138 on:** Mon, 20 February 2017, 01:12:25 »

Quote from: FLOCKA on Sun, 22 January 2017, 09:44:17

Show Image

Stephen King's Joyland. I'm about 1/4 in and am liking it so far with the introduction of the characters and plot setup. Reminds me a bit of the movie Adventureland.

I did not know that this had even been released. I'll have to head over to the library and see if they have it. Have you finished it?

FLOCKA · « **Reply #139 on:** Mon, 20 February 2017, 21:25:15 »

Quote from: sek1ne on Mon, 20 February 2017, 01:12:25

Quote from: FLOCKA on Sun, 22 January 2017, 09:44:17
Show Image

Stephen King's Joyland. I'm about 1/4 in and am liking it so far with the introduction of the characters and plot setup. Reminds me a bit of the movie Adventureland.

I did not know that this had even been released. I'll have to head over to the library and see if they have it. Have you finished it?

I'm ashamed to admit that I stopped midway... I've been re-reading old textbooks to prepare for a certification exam and it's completely sapped me of the will to pleasure-read. I would definitely pick it up, especially if you're getting it for free from the library. It's a short book (<300 pgs) so you should be able to get through it much faster than I have :-[

nickheller · « **Reply #140 on:** Mon, 20 February 2017, 21:31:46 »

this thread

funderburker · « **Reply #141 on:** Tue, 21 February 2017, 01:22:51 »

Quote from: nickheller on Mon, 20 February 2017, 21:31:46

this thread

Nice one, Nick.

iMav · « **Reply #142 on:** Tue, 28 February 2017, 22:30:08 »

Currently reading Acts and Ezekiel. I try to read some in the morning and some in the evening. It doesn't always work out, however.

romevi · « **Reply #143 on:** Tue, 28 February 2017, 23:06:28 »

Quote from: iMav on Tue, 28 February 2017, 22:30:08

Currently reading Acts and Ezekiel. I try to read some in the morning and some in the evening. It doesn't always work out, however.

Currently my second run from Genesis to Revelation. Forgot how long Psalm 119 was. $:-\$

Shapey Fiend · « **Reply #144 on:** Wed, 01 March 2017, 06:53:26 »

Blindness by José Saramago

Maybe a hundred pages into this. Really enjoying it. It's a sort of post apocalyptic scenario in which people are being struck down by contagious blindness. The writing style is pretty odd all these pagelong paragraphs and none of the characters have actual names but it's very tense and readable at the same time.

Before that was Masters of Doom, which definitely delivers. The level of research the guy did is phenomenal. Makes the parts written from the first person of Romero and Carmack work way better than I'd expect. The best videogame book I've sampled along with maybe The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers.

The book I read before that was Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky. The best thing I've read in a year or two. It's a beautifully written scifi novel with an a very elaborate zoology bent. Half the books from a human perspective and the other halves from genetically engineered super spiders switching back and forth chapter to chapter.

gallowgeek · « **Reply #145 on:** Wed, 01 March 2017, 09:02:33 »

I am currently reading Thinking fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It's about Psychology and it relates to everyday life.

Tactile · « **Reply #146 on:** Thu, 16 March 2017, 08:47:54 »

High Noon: The Hollywood blacklist and the making of an American classic by Glenn Frankel. I've read many times that John Wayne saw in High Noon a liberal political statement and hated the film for it. Some years later Wayne and Howard Hawks put together Rio Bravo as a conservative polical response to High Noon.

I'm not good with politics. I've watched these films and, even knowing what I was looking for, I can't see a "political statement" in either one - if it's there it's lost on me. Glenn Frankel is a pretty well respected film historian so I'm looking forward to learning more about this film and the political climate of the time.

jal · « **Reply #147 on:** Thu, 16 March 2017, 10:31:21 »

I talked about High Noon with my grandmother, who of course lived through that period.

The red scare was really intense at the time. It is hard for a lot of folks who weren't alive at the time to understand it, but I think there are clear comparisons to things going on now - at the risk of politicizing (not easy to avoid in this sort of discussion), it is not that different than the panic over Muslims today in some circles. (When looking at the similarities, it is worth noting that a lawyer named Roy Cohn was a close collaborator of Joe McCarthy's, and later became something of a mentor to Trump, after a stopover as Nixon's lawyer.)

Anyway, as I recall, the director of the movie was targeted as a communist by the whisper campaigns that were going on at the time. Being subject to those rumors brought everything you did under scrutiny, so plot points were looked at in the worst-possible light. Really, it probably didn't matter what the plot was - it could have been all flags and apple pie, and people would find sinister intent. Again, not too different than politics now, except that we haven't quite reached the same fever pitch. Yet.

Over the long term, nations tend to have semi-predictable recurring events. The U.S. really enjoys periodic ~~witch~~ ~~slave-organizer~~ ~~Japanese~~ ~~commie~~ Muslim hunts. (I know I'm missing a few.) Not to say other countries don't do similar things, but ours have their own special twang.

robertdane101 · « **Reply #148 on:** Tue, 04 April 2017, 01:29:53 »

These days I am reading a book Outliers. It is a book about success. Can everyone become successful? Yes, but how? Well, read the book to know that.

funderburker · « **Reply #149 on:** Tue, 04 April 2017, 05:20:15 »

Quote from: robertdane101 on Tue, 04 April 2017, 01:29:53

These days I am reading a book Outliers. It is a book about success. Can everyone become successful? Yes, but how? Well, read the book to know that.

Half way through myself. Interesting read, huh?

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Author Topic: What ya reading? (Read 161126 times)