Flynlow said:RossD said:I'd like to read a Star Wars 'universe' book. Does anyone have a suggestion on where to start?
Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire", and the following two novels if the first grabs you.
Thats what I order! I am glad to get a recommendation. Thanks!
Another Cold War spy book. This was a very interesting look at the work that went on by the US and USSR to try and spy on each other.
"Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit"
I've always had a strong interest in automotive styling and design. I designed and scratch-built seven model cars for the Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild back in the 1960s (my avatar is the one from 1967). Harley Earl was a legend to us, as were his protégés Bill Mitchell and Chuck Jordan. This book was recently given to me by a friend for loaning him another one of my models for a fantastic Fisher Body Craftsman's Guild exhibit in his car museum FBCG exhibit. Thanks Jeff. Great book. I enjoyed it immensely.
ASTOUNDING: John W Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, L Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction by Alex Nevala-Lee
This is effectively the story of American science fiction from the late '20s to the late '70s, which was profoundly influenced by John W Campbell and his editorship of Astounding magazine.
The book concentrates on 3 of the biggest-name authors, the editor, and their complex relationships. Although it concentrates on these 4 men, it touches on dozens of other well-known names and includes tons of background and insight into the genre. It is, errr, astoundingly well-researched and quite readable.
Although it acknowledges both strengths and shortcomings of everyone involved, what really comes to light is how these character traits left their mark on American SF. Hubbard's life story is particularly... interesting, to say the least. Highly recommended if you are an SF fan.
Anybody have a Paperwhite that can chime in if it was worth it or not?
I really enjoy reading, but I spend inordinate amounts of time trying to track down which books to get at the library. I like the idea of being able to download a book I want to read vs waiting for the paperback to be returned to the library.
On the flip side, if I had something like an ipad, I'd probably get distracted by instagram, facebook or reddit, and I'm trying to get away from that stuff.
Paperwhite? Or just paper?
In reply to pheller :
I’m not a fan of ebooks considering how I normally read. That’s personal to me though
But we have the local library system bookmarked on our computer and we just put hold requests on anything we want to read. When they get a copy in we get an email and have a few days to go pick it up. Usually every other Saturday we stop in and grab the latest holds, and browse a bit.
The Sailfish: Swashbuckler of the Open Seas
Authored by Jim Bob Tinsley
In the late 40's Jim Bob and the Missus caught a mess of Sailfish (9?) one day off Stuart Florida. He became fascinated by them and researched their habits, habitats and ways to catch them. It is interesting reading.
In reply to pheller :
I have a paperwhite and I love it. I also have a Kindle Fire as well but don't like to read books on it. The screen on the paperwhite is much nicer for reading and there is nothing else for distraction. I just download the next book I want from the library website when I finish one.
Currently reading 2140 New York by Kim Stanley Robinson. I read his Science in the Capital series a few years back and enjoyed it. I read mostly using the Kindle app on my phone.
I did pick up Einstein's Shadow: A Black Hole, a Band of Astronomers, and the Quest to See the Unseeable by Seth Fletcher in hardcover and that's also good but I'm not reading it quite as quickly.
pheller said:Anybody have a Paperwhite that can chime in if it was worth it or not?
I really enjoy reading, but I spend inordinate amounts of time trying to track down which books to get at the library. I like the idea of being able to download a book I want to read vs waiting for the paperback to be returned to the library.
On the flip side, if I had something like an ipad, I'd probably get distracted by instagram, facebook or reddit, and I'm trying to get away from that stuff.
Paperwhite? Or just paper?
Use it and love it except our library gets limited digital copies of books, so I find myself on several month long waiting lists for titles, and by the time they come my way I've usually moved on to something different. It's so much easier to read than a phone or tablet outside that it's worth it to me.
I've recently read:
scardeal said:I've recently read:
- Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
One of these days I should read this. Robert Pirsig was my dad's roommate in college. I have heard about the book my whole life, but never read it.
Type Q said:scardeal said:I've recently read:
- Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
One of these days I should read this. Robert Pirsig was my dad's roommate in college. I have heard about the book my whole life, but never read it.
I wouldn't bother, but that's just me. It's not actually focused enough on the zen of maintenance part to entertain a gearhead, and it's excessively dense through the bulk of the philosophy part considering just how badly Pirsig wimps out on that at the end.
Duke said:Type Q said:scardeal said:I've recently read:
- Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
One of these days I should read this. Robert Pirsig was my dad's roommate in college. I have heard about the book my whole life, but never read it.
I wouldn't bother, but that's just me. It's not actually focused enough on the zen of maintenance part to entertain a gearhead, and it's excessively dense through the bulk of the philosophy part considering just how badly Pirsig wimps out on that at the end.
I found it a real slog for all the hype it gets among the small cross section that involves motor vehicles and books that explore deeper ideas.
Perelandra by Lewis is great as is the rest of the series.
I recently re read “The Foundation trilogy” by Isaac Asimov...Came away impressed once again.
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. I have been wanting to read this for a long time so I made it a New Year's Resolution. Over 1200 densely packed pages. English translation but they left in French and Latin phrases, which means I need to stop and look up the translation every 5 pages or so.
How Buffett does it.
Thin Air: A Novel, by Richard K. Morgan.
I didn't realize this was the second book in the series, and got about 100 pages in before I did. I'm almost done now. It stand on its own, but now I know how the first book is going to end. This doesn't bother me as much as it might, because the first book will still be a good read.
The Ferrari engine thread.
Again.
Just read "The Life We Bury"
Good book!
I'm about 1/2-way into this story of the early days in the NASA space program. I'm continually impressed with what was accomplished with the technology of the time.
Failure is Not An Option is a great book if you are a space program fan of the 60s. It helps you appreciate the people involved and how they didn't have a clue but decided to figure it out and do it. I was lucky enough to be alive and aware when the Mercury missions were taking place, followed Gemini and stayed up late the night they walked on the moon with Apollo. Grainy black and white TV - it was great. A different era.
My last read was " In Search of Schrodinger's Cat." If you have a science bent and like to think while you are reading - I would recommend. It's about the world of subatomic particles. No - it doesn't take a PhD to read and enjoy, nor is it meant to be an academic text. It does have some history to it -which is not my favorite stuff - but is necessary to understand a little about the topic. A bit of science in your background will help you read and understand some really strange stuff that 99% of the population doesn't have a clue exists and makes the world go round. It's not fiction - a little theory and a bunch of fact. I uttered a few holy e36m3's while reading.
Enjoy.
1SlowVW said:Duke said:Type Q said:scardeal said:I've recently read:
- Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Pirsig
One of these days I should read this. Robert Pirsig was my dad's roommate in college. I have heard about the book my whole life, but never read it.
I wouldn't bother, but that's just me. It's not actually focused enough on the zen of maintenance part to entertain a gearhead, and it's excessively dense through the bulk of the philosophy part considering just how badly Pirsig wimps out on that at the end.
I found it a real slog for all the hype it gets among the small cross section that involves motor vehicles and books that explore deeper ideas.
Perelandra by Lewis is great as is the rest of the series.
I recently re read “The Foundation trilogy” by Isaac Asimov...Came away impressed once again.
DOOOOOOD! I'm reading "The Foundation Trilogy" by Isaac Asimov!! I'm about to begin "Foundations and Empire" now (great read so far)
Related note: Big bleh on "Zen and the Art...". I was expecting something to read that was more along the lines of "Vermin" from "AdvRider", and got a wheezy "get off my lawn, you kids these days..." instead.
Obligatory link to Vermin's site: http://cackchronicles.com/rides/zen/
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde. Sort of a fantastical dystopian future (I think it's our future, still reading), but quite silly, and lots of fun.
Also just read Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which is the only thing by Salman Rushdie I've read; I had no idea that he did silly and fun, and does them very well. It just felt like he was having a ball with words half the time.
Gary said:"How to Build a Car," by Adrian Newey.
This book is superb. Adrian is an engineer's engineer. If you're technically inclined, which I believe a lot of us here are, you will appreciate this book. But even if not, Adrian wrote this book much like an autobiography, with a bit of reference to aerodynamics, which he explains elegantly in layman's terms. So it's easily readable. Personally, I had lost interest in F1 over the past 30 years, for various reasons. After reading Adrian's book, I now have a better understanding of what I missed during that time.
I'd just added this to my to-read list the other day after it was mentioned, I think, on Ross Bentley's Speed Secrets podcast.
In technical reading, if interested in motorcycle roadracing tech, I highly recommend John Bradley's "The Racing Motorcycle, Vol 3", which is a guide to setup, with thorough explanations of the relationships of all the setup items, and how they really affect bike behavior. Well-written, clear, and make a lot of really interesting things easier to understand. I've probably actually learned more in terms of core principles from Vol 3, setup, than from Vol 1, which is a guide to design. I'm hoping enough people buy 3 to encourage him to finish the job of restoring Vol 2 (construction), whose printing info was partially lost, to print. His explanations of top-out springs and damping have helped me with my understanding of some stuff on four wheels as well, even if it wasn't directly related.
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson. It's an entertaining read even if I'm over 400 pages into it and still haven't figured out the plot.
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