Right now I'm reading

buckethead · Post by **buckethead** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 3:31 pm

Nafod, sounds good. Can you give an example of "super interesting"?

Turdacious · Post by **Turdacious** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:01 pm

Riddle of the Sands, by Erskine Caldwell. Basically a Victorian spy novel with a heavy sailing component. One of those 'guys on an adventure find themselves in the middle of a conspiracy' novels. Apparently it had a big impact on British preparation for WWI, that part was pretty cool but you have to wait until the end for that payoff. Pretty good, but those more comfortable with the nautical element than I am may enjoy it more.

beefheart · Post by **beefheart** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:12 pm

I'm presently reading Baudolino by Umberto Ecco. I think that we are still living in Medieval times.

johno · Post by **johno** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 4:12 pm

The Genius of Dogs

Interesting research on canine intelligence & how researchers test for various aptitudes & talents in different animals.
Cool speculation on how dogs & humans evolved together.

WildGorillaMan · Post by **WildGorillaMan** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 6:27 pm

I just finished reading the Gentleman Bastards books by Scott Lynch.

I actually began with the second novel, Red Seas Under Red Skies because it promised pirates. I then went back and read the first one, Lies of Locke Lamora, and then the third, Republic of Thieves.

It's about a troupe of con-artists in a Renaissance city state low-fantasy setting. Think Ocean's Eleven in 15th Century Italy with a lot more violence.

If you like this sort of thing it's a gripping read.

nafod · Post by **nafod** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:55 pm

buckethead wrote:Nafod, sounds good. Can you give an example of "super interesting"?

Here's a good review of it...pretty much 'what he said'.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc ... ld/361611/

I'm getting introduced to a ton of new authors who were famous in their time but now not so much, and new insights on books I've read (what was going on in the author's life, how it was informed by previous authors) and lots of comments by authors on other author's works. How novels have evolved, where science fiction and other forms fit in. Just neat reading if you like books.

Dunn · Post by **Dunn** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:14 pm

Fiore Dei Liberi's "Flos Duellatorum"

http://www.thearma.org/Manuals/Liberi.htm#.U7W5VPldUVA

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:55 pm

Kirk wrote:Huh, somehow I didn't realize there were 5 books. I'm on #3 and thought it was the last one.

4th about Batu, 5th about Kublay and Hulegu.

That khazakstan's "Golden horde" trilogy starts when Batu already old, so it will be sequel of some sort :)

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 9:58 pm

WildGorillaMan wrote:I just finished reading the Gentleman Bastards books by Scott Lynch.

I actually began with the second novel, Red Seas Under Red Skies because it promised pirates. I then went back and read the first one, Lies of Locke Lamora, and then the third, Republic of Thieves.

It's about a troupe of con-artists in a Renaissance city state low-fantasy setting. Think Ocean's Eleven in 15th Century Italy with a lot more violence.

If you like this sort of thing it's a gripping read.

I have this trilogy in audiobooks, not listened yet.

Right now listening "1984" after Smet so often mentioned it :))

Bud Charniga's grape ape · Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:21 pm

Currently re-reading The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, who died a few months ago.

It's, in part, a travelogue of Matthiessen's trek in the Himalayas, accompanying the naturalist George Schaller, to try to find a species of rare sheep, as well as the titular leopard. He made the trip on the heels of his wife's death from cancer; the book is also a meditation on death and memory.

It's Matthiessen's best book, and I find it quite moving.

Pinky · Post by **Pinky** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:28 pm

I recently read Microeconomics: A Very Short Introduction by Avinash Dixit.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who's never taken an economics course, wants a brief refresher or is otherwise interested in a short, readable introduction to microeconomics. I'm going to require some of my students to read it this year. It's not as flashy as other books written by (or with) economists for the general public, but it's shorter and will probably teach you more about economics.

Holland Oates · Post by **Holland Oates** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:31 pm

Dresden Files Skin Game

Motherfucking book crack

WildGorillaMan · Post by **WildGorillaMan** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:35 pm

nafod wrote:I'm reading this right now, a book about books, and it is super interesting. Perfect for picking up and reading 5-10 pages or going on a long chug. From the book's intro...

The 700-year history of the novel in English defies straightforward telling. Geographically and culturally boundless, with contributions from Great Britain, Ireland, America, Canada, Australia, India, the Caribbean, and Southern Africa; influenced by great novelists working in other languages; and encompassing a range of genres, the story of the novel in English unfolds like a richly varied landscape that invites exploration rather than a linear journey. In The Novel: A Biography, "Michael Schmidt does full justice to its complexity.

...A few novels ask to be re-read and become living parts of memory that affect how we hear, speak, see, feel and act. Those novels and their authors are this book’s quarry

You know, sooner or later we'll have to stop calling them "novels."

The Crawdaddy · Post by **The Crawdaddy** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:53 pm

Ed Zachary wrote:Dresden Files Skin Game

Motherfucking book crack

Sitting on my night stand for after I finish A Storm of Swords

You fuckers read too much serious shit. I'm guessing work isn't intellectually stimulating.

WildGorillaMan · Post by **WildGorillaMan** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:17 pm

The Crawdaddy wrote:
Ed Zachary wrote:Dresden Files Skin Game

Motherfucking book crack
Sitting on my night stand for after I finish A Storm of Swords

You fuckers read too much serious shit. I'm guessing work isn't intellectually stimulating.

This. By the end of the day I just want some mind candy.

Dunn · Post by **Dunn** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:43 pm

Ed Zachary wrote:Dresden Files Skin Game

Motherfucking book crack

So fucking good.

Holland Oates · Post by **Holland Oates** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 12:03 am

I heard he's working on a new series and another Dresden short story collection so we probably won't have another stand alone book for 1 1/2 to 2 years.

The Crawdaddy · Post by **The Crawdaddy** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:13 am

Ed Zachary wrote:I heard he's working on a new series and another Dresden short story collection so we probably won't have another stand alone book for 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Shit. Fucker needs to straighten out his priorities.

Boris · Post by **Boris** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:41 am

I'm working on a few right now:
"The Incredible Shrinking Man" by Richard Matheson - everything by this guy is amazing imho.
"The Plateau Effect" - It's okay and there are some good sections, but I probably won't read it cover to cover. It reads too much like the pop-science books that are so popular today (like Freakonomics, Gladwell, etc...)
"Wheelmen: Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the greatest sports conspiracy of all time" - haven't cracked this yet. I don't expect to be surprised by anything, but looking forward to it.

The Crawdaddy wrote:
Ed Zachary wrote:Dresden Files Skin Game

Motherfucking book crack
Sitting on my night stand for after I finish A Storm of Swords

You fuckers read too much serious shit. I'm guessing work isn't intellectually stimulating.

My students love this series. I read the first one and thought it was fun. Might have to keep at it.

Holland Oates · Post by **Holland Oates** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 1:45 am

The first 2 are the weakest but it gets it better.

Bobby · Post by **Bobby** » Sat Jul 05, 2014 7:58 am

The last 2 weeks `ve read the following:
-Spartan up! by Joe De Sena,founder of the spartan race.Interesting.
-American badass by Dale Comstock
-Back in the fight by Joe Kapacziewski.Book about a ranger who loses his leg in the war against terror and his fight to get back into the regiment.
-Always faithful.always forward by Dick Couch.About the training of MARSOC marines.
I am curently reading:Zulu,Zulu,Golf by Arn Durand.Memoirs about Arns time in Koevoet,a south african police unit that hunted terrorists/freedom fighters (take your pick) in Southwest Africa/Namibia.

Wild Bill · Post by **Wild Bill** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:00 am

Ed Zachary wrote:I heard he's working on a new series and another Dresden short story collection so we probably won't have another stand alone book for 1 1/2 to 2 years.

Jim Butcher – The COMPLETE Dresden Files Collection

Spoiler: show

Downloaded :)

Protobuilder · Post by **Protobuilder** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:36 am

Ed Zachary wrote:I heard he's working on a new series and another Dresden short story collection so we probably won't have another stand alone book for 1 1/2 to 2 years.

He started writing 'Peace Talks' last week. Actually, I would like to see a few more shorts involving people like the Kights and Thomas and Molly.

Blaidd Drwg · Post by **Blaidd Drwg** » Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:26 am

The Crawdaddy wrote:You fuckers read too much serious shit. I'm guessing work isn't intellectually stimulating.

No Fugn Shit....I have to read a ton of work crap on a short cycle of read/digest/regurgitate/manipulate. My give a fuck fort reading is totally busted. I've taken to reading more poetry than anything else and mostly self indulgent Bukowski shit.

Y'all who read for fun must be excessively good people.

Fuzzy Dunlop · Post by **Fuzzy Dunlop** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:50 pm

Not sure if anyone caught the ad-blast for this. Sorry for posting marketing crap, but this seems like a good deal if you read a lot.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/18/amaz ... unlimited/

IGX

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