Just finished the extremely large Albert Einstein biography by Albrecht Fosling. This was quite good. It took time with the reader to explain the physics, and covered his personal and political life. It was also helpful to dispel many rumors and myths.
Duke said:David S. Wallens said:In reply to Duke :
I should get that next?
It's a pretty quick read, and maybe not as insightful as The Time Machine. But entertaining.
Cool. I’ll have to check it out. Did more photography (and yard work) than reading this weekend.
"The Bear Went Over the Mountain" about the Soviets in Afghanistan. Just started it. Very academic if you're into military tactics.
Just finished "Trap Line" by Carl Hiassen, and again, it was zany and interesting, but more or less the good guys win and the bad guys lose. It's too simplistic to be a intriguing and not silly enough to be funny.
Finally got my audiobook app set up with my local library membership.
Listening to The Hot Zone.
Ebola scary.
Just finished (a lot of driving lately) the audiobook of Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy.
You know what? It wasn't as good as I remembered.
Finished "A Tan and Sandy Silence" by John D MacDonald. This was amazing. Not only is the character development impeccable, not only is the hero flawed and broken, not only does the plot twist and turn in a way that can't be predicted, but you have several bonus conversations toying with various complicated societal problems between the characters. The author takes those opportunities to explore rather deep issues, and does it from multiple points of view without ever reaching a conclusion. It's genius.
Don't read a lot of novels, but this one came with a lot of recommendations.
"The Covenant of Water" by Abraham Verghese. The story of the lives of 4 generations of an Indian family from the Kerala region of India. I gained lots of knowledge on the culture and history of India, with a lot of medical/surgery info thrown in. Verghese is a doctor at Stanford Medical School and his ancestors are all from that region of India so it all makes sense.
I can imagine Hollywood buying into it.
It's a re-issue of the 1991 Yates bio of the man. I didn't read it then, but it got a boost from the recent movie, which was based on the book. I didn't see the movie, so I thought I'd finally read the book. So far, about half-way through, I'm struggling. Too much detail about individual races throughout the twenties, thirties, and forties. I'm hoping it improves, because I generally liked Yates's editorial style from his early years, and enjoyed his other books.
Smithology by Sam Smith
In reply to Slippery :
Nice, I love Sam's writing. I know he left R&T a few years ago and jumped to Hagerty. But I haven't seen him on Hagerty lately, and I miss him.
Schismatrix Plus by Bruce Sterling. It's my third go-around with this book. Fun science fiction.
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:Duke said:bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) said:I am rereading "Atlas Shrugged"
As a Canadian I find it very prescient, and actually pretty entertaining as well. But so wordy.....I have been reading it for weeks and I am ready to move on
Be careful mentioning anything positive about Ayn Rand around here.
It is just a book I'm reading. For enjoyment. That's the focus of this thread so far as I know. No need to go down any rabbit holes.
Ha ha ha 
I read Atlas Shrugged because it looked like it was about trains and I like trains!!! The cover got me.
So I have been traveling for work a lot so listened to audiobooks of the three main books of the Imperial Ranch Series by Anne Lekie.
It may be a better read as there are sooo many characters I would lose track of who was who in the audiobook and since I was listening while driving it wasn't easy to bookmark then rewind and figure this or that out. So I re-listened to the whole first book after the first chapter of Ancillary Sword and after that I found it to be very satisfying sci Fi. The supporting characters sometimes were too thinly developed but I think it was intentional to give that feeling that in life we may know of someone that interacts with our life but never know them deeply.
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr.
It has been on my list for about a decade; so many books so little time...
It is actually much better writing than I expected at about halfway through the brief couple hundred pages. Mid century Sci-fi and fantasy are my happy place and the post apocalyptic religious foolishness hits the sweet spot nicely.
Been reading too much historical non fiction lately and this feels like a really fun playthrough of a Fallout game.
I'm reading another book of Raymond Carver short stories. Has anyone read him?
In reply to Purple Frog :
Cool, I definitely plan to read this one.
Just finished this. I love historical books which cut through the noise and rumors and do real research to present a real story. Like most, this one is honestly more dull (Rasputin's story, not the book) than the rumors would haver you believe. It's amazing how weak the Tsar was and how silly Alexandra was. A neat read, highly recommend.
In reply to tb :
A Canticle For Leibowitz is a great book.
Duke said:Currently reading The Expanse VI - Babylon's Ashes.
[...]
I guess it was necessary in order to inject some major new conflict into the system, but I am enjoying it less than previous story arcs.
Finished Babylon's Ashes the other night. It was solid, and brought an end to the character / story arc I didn't really like, so that's good.
The Expanse writing is always very readable, and it was entertaining, but WOW, there was a huge deus ex machina / hand wave at the end. Really pretty disappointed in that move by the authors. I hope they don't do it again.
Currently reading a couple of Expanse short stories that fall between books 4, 5, and 6.
Next up is a volume of Ken Liu short stories. I haven't read any of his work, but I've heard good reports, so I figured I would try some.
Just finished a book which came highly recommended, raising a modern day knight by Robert Lewis.
It's okay. If you're a Christian man who reads the Bible with his family, it's all pretty obvious. It's a bit light, took about two hours to read.
Came to briefly mention the most recent audiobook, but realized I am one behind.
Finished: "In Plain Sight" by CJ Box. This was weird. It took too long, and was a bit weird. A taxidermist stuffing his own Mom was unexpected, but didn't really have any plot associated with it. I'm not sure I liked it, but it had good qualities.
Just now I finished: "Death and the Conjuror", which was a Sherlock Holmes redux, with a magician as part of the story. It was not good. Do not recommend. The character development was shoddy, little details were added in as you went, so you couldn't solve it alongside the plot. It was as if you described a Sherlock Holmes novel to a ghost writer and he just whipped one up in a few weeks.
Just finished "The Demon of Unrest" by Erik Larson. Larson has written "The Devil in the White City", "The Splendid and the Vile", and "Dead Wake" and others. I've always enjoyed his stuff and found this newest one to be just as good. It a deep study into the beginning days of the Civil War and many of the personalities involved.
He is really good at making history a fascinating story.
I just started Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain. So far a great read and I can see myself finishing this one quickly. It reads just like his narration from his TV shows and now I am thinking I will start re-watching some of those when I finish the book.
Joan has a great literary style. I appreciate the subjects of her essays because I grew up in that era. While her style is great, anyone who can't connect with the era probably won't be as appreciative.
In reply to Purple Frog :
I am getting Demon of Unrest for my birthday, it looks really good.
I just finished Chop Suey: history of Chinese food in America. It was a slow read but interesting, Yong Chen is originally from China moving here in the 80s to study, and has a different perspective on some things than I had learned. He also goes into how much China's culture changed since he left. They're basically a completely different country than they were in the 80s.
Today I started learning about the development of the Moon Buggy continuing my series of books my friends think are weird. Really though, what is more American than going to the moon, and bringing our car?
You'll need to log in to post.
