What book(s) are you reading right now?

[Doc Savage Fan]

For those who enjoy SCIENCE fiction, I recently read The Martian and The Three-Body Problem and would recommend both.

 

[boomerang]

I'm a few chapters into Adios, America: The Left's Plan to Turn Our Country Into a Third World Hellhole

It's an eye-opener.

 

[SpunkyJones]

Just got 'Armarda' by Ernest Cline. Haven't started yet.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Just got 'Armarda' by Ernest Cline. Haven't started yet.

I am very interested in this book, I loved Ready Player One, but I have like 8 other books on my list before I get to it, so I haven't bought it yet. Please update us on what you think when you finish it.

 

[SMOGZINN]

I guess I should add something about what I'm currently reading:

Three Slices by Kevin Hearne, Delilah S. Dawson, and Chuck Wendig. For those that don't know, this is an anthology of 3 short stories each set in the author's main world and focusing on tyromancy, the divining the future through the medium of cheese. I bought this for the short story A Prelude to War by Kevin Hearne which is a short story set directly after the events in the most recent Iron Druid book Shattered and is the intro to the next book Staked.

For fans of the Iron Druid series I will say that this is more of the same, is as good as anything Hearne has written, and that is a very good indeed.

The bad is that the events in this story are important enough that I feel that Staked will have to at least have a quick recap of the events in A Prelude to War for readers to understand what is going on. I fully expected this story to be something like the one that was in The Chapel Perilous, Or that in Two Ravens and One Crow that is some little backstory that is entertaining, maybe even relevant to the events in the books, but not necessary for the plot. A Prelude to War feels more like the first chapter of a new book then a short story of it's own.

Overall it feel pretty cheap putting important plot developments in a short story that is part of a different book, but I ate it up anyway.

The other two stories I don't know too much about, I've only read the first of the two, Not My Circus, Not My Monkeys by Delilah S. Dawson, about her character Criminy Stain. I have enjoyed well enough, and if her books are like this story I might even pick one up to read, but it is not going to be a priority.

 

[Muse]

Finished Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild a few days ago. Mixed feelings, wonder if I got to it all, not sure. Have mixed feelings about Krakauer, who is kind of a ghost figure in this. Presumably, as the writer his singular motivation is to bring you to the reality of the story, but he's something more/other than that. You figure that out by and by. After a while he strays, strays a lot, and to me it came as a shock. He suddenly leaves our subject behind and has another, and he does this a few more times, portraying other men who more or less left civilization behind and went off into the wilderness, deciding to never return, to live in the wilderness, their nirvana, their sanctuary, their realm, the city dwellers be damned. At one point he suddenly and without warning or explanation (this did seem egregious in some measure) out of the blue, starts telling his own story of how he decided to attempt a climb of a perhaps virtually unclimbable mountain at age 23, a solo effort, the "Devil's Thumb" in Alaska, the north face of which had probably never been attempted for its difficulty and danger. He describes this in great detail for a whole chapter. Just what all this meant to him in this context you wonder. You can draw your conclusions, and you're forced to, somehow I had the feeling that Krakauer himself wasn't sure of his feelings, his attitude, even his motivations, and thoughts like that colored my experience reading the whole book. What he never divulged for the most part was his experience in deciding to write the book, and his relationships with the people he obviously interviewed at great length, Chris McCandless's family, and the many people McCandless knew and touched in his oddysey. Clearly, those experiences of Krakauer were pivotal, had everything to do with the nature of what you were reading, but he was loath to discuss them except very briefly and tangentally on occasion. Maybe he wasn't conflicted, maybe the stance he chose as the writer was consciously chosen to be most effective, but that wasn't clear to me at all.

Krakauer wrote the piece in Outside magazine that brought McCandless's adventure to broad attention shortly after McCandless corpse was discovered in the abandoned bus on the Stampede Trail. Subsequent to that edition of the magazine being published, there was a lot of controversy and attention from various parties, and some people who had encountered McCandless on his way to his unaccompanied rendezvous with nature came forward. Eventually, the book took shape. Just how, when even the idea of writing a book came to Krakauer he doesn't even hint, IIRC. It's spooky.

Krakauer knew that the reader likely already knew that McCandless didn't make it out of his Alaskan retreat alive, that he'd tragically died of starvation, so he divulges this straightaway. He doesn't withhold much of anything, but he does withhold a little, enough to keep you in some suspense concerning just how and why McCandless died. There were many people who developed irrational attitudes concerning McCandless subsequent to his death, Krakauer makes that clear. There was some speculation, much disagreement about what may have happened. McCandless's journal entries were fairly sparse, so piecing together the story wasn't easy. Krakauer tries to illustrate all this, editorially embellishes on this, gives his interpretation of events, and this is intrinsic in the way he weaves the tales in the book. I think he may indeed have been closer to the truth of the matter than anyone else, which one would expect since he obviously pursued the matter more than anyone else, presumably was in a position to be the most objective and had access to the most information. In any event, this was obviously his goal, at least in part.

 

[pyonir]

Nice review, Muse. I loved the book, but it's been a while since I've read it...so I can't really have an informed conversation about it.

I can say I think Krakauer is a bit of an...odd? different?...type of writer. I think when he decides to write something he immerses himself in it. More than people realize. It feels like he wants to know every emotion and event that the person he is writing about experienced...and almost experience them himself. Either that is his method of research...or he feels he needs to do that in order to write an accurate portrayal.

Try giving Into Thin Air a read. It's more personal and it might give a bit more insight into Krakauer.

After that, hell, I'd recommend any book he's written. I thoroughly enjoy his writing.

 

[Omar F1]

Jerusalem The Biography - by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Long read, around 650-pages that took me 3-months and I'm about to finish it. I enjoyed each and every page of it though.

Highly recommended for anyone interested about the region history and the endless conflicts/wars it witnessed. A must read for Arabs.

 

[Brainonska511]

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey (pen name of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck).
Was in the mood for some SciFi and it fits the bill. Pretty well written and an engaging story.

I just finished reading this a few days ago. It started off fine, but the ending seemed a bit rushed. I'd probably give it a 3/5.

 

[clamum]

I finished The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East yesterday. Pretty good book. Plenty of details but I don't think it went overboard with unit numbers and things like that.

So yesterday I looked over my Amazon Wishlist and picked up Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings. I've read several of Hastings' books and love them so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one.

 

[Oyeve]

Re-reading the Dark Tower series.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I recently started How the Scots Invented the Modern World because it happened to be sitting prominently on a shelf in the library of the beach house my family rented. And while it's not really great for light reading material (such as one might typically indulge in on a beach vacation), it's actually pretty fascinating to see how the Scottish enlightenment had far-reaching ramifications throughout the UK, Europe and America. I didn't finish it, but anyone with a passing interest in Scottish history through the 17th-20th Century would do well to give it a look.

 

[Muse]

Nice review, Muse. I loved the book, but it's been a while since I've read it...so I can't really have an informed conversation about it.

I can say I think Krakauer is a bit of an...odd? different?...type of writer. I think when he decides to write something he immerses himself in it. More than people realize. It feels like he wants to know every emotion and event that the person he is writing about experienced...and almost experience them himself. Either that is his method of research...or he feels he needs to do that in order to write an accurate portrayal.

Try giving Into Thin Air a read. It's more personal and it might give a bit more insight into Krakauer.

After that, hell, I'd recommend any book he's written. I thoroughly enjoy his writing.

Yes, I'd heard about Into Thin Air, put a hold on the ebook last night with my library. I read the hardback edition of Into the Wild, which was a mistake. The ebook would let me look up the words I was having difficulty with and they were probably in triple figures. A lot of those terms are from nature, and I just don't have the experience. I could guess a lot of the time. I wasn't about to keep reaching for a dictionary for them, I've been spoiled by my Kindle for that.

I reread the ~2 page introductory notes that Krakauer had for Into the Wild last night. It's clear to me that this book is very worth rereading.

 

[pyonir]

Yes, I'd heard about Into Thin Air, put a hold on the ebook last night with my library. I read the hardback edition of Into the Wild, which was a mistake. The ebook would let me look up the words I was having difficulty with and they were probably in triple figures. A lot of those terms are from nature, and I just don't have the experience. I could guess a lot of the time. I wasn't about to keep reaching for a dictionary for them, I've been spoiled by my Kindle for that.

I do the same thing on my Kindle.

I reread the ~2 page introductory notes that Krakauer had for Into the Wild last night. It's clear to me that this book is very worth rereading.

I have always planned on re-reading it...but just have soooo many books on my to-read list that I'm very interested in it's hard for me to actually re-read a book.:\

 

[xochi]

Read the Girl on the Train last week, I enjoyed it.

This week it was On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. Highly enjoyable, you don't have to be an aspiring writer to like this.

 

[Muse]

I do the same thing on my Kindle.



I have always planned on re-reading it...but just have soooo many books on my to-read list that I'm very interested in it's hard for me to actually re-read a book.:\

I heard that my dad used to reread his favorite books... a lot! I didn't know how into books he was until later. There's a bunch of stuff he read I should read.

I got a touch screen Kindle because looking up words on my previous Kindle was such a pain. Quick lookup is terrific, but the best improvement was the far superior screen/lighting that the Paperwhite has (mine's Version 2). It's very arguably better than reading on paper.

I just started "The Boys in the Boat." Very promising start (into it around 20 pages). I have 3 weeks until my library's boogie man taps me on the shoulder. There's lots of holds on it, so I won't get a renewal!

 

[clamum]

I was killing time at Barnes and Noble yesterday and picked up Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944. I was going to buy it on my Kindle just before I bought Catastrophe, but it wasn't available on Kindle. So I realized that at B&N and sure enough I looked and they had one copy. WOOT.

 

[norseamd]

Jerusalem The Biography - by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Long read, around 650-pages that took me 3-months and I'm about to finish it. I enjoyed each and every page of it though.

Highly recommended for anyone interested about the region history and the endless conflicts/wars it witnessed. A must read for Arabs.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Proto-Semitic/šalām-

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/سلام#Arabic

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/שלום#Hebrew

Most hypocritical name ever.

 

[norseamd]

I finished The Fall of the Ottomans: The Great War in the Middle East yesterday. Pretty good book. Plenty of details but I don't think it went overboard with unit numbers and things like that.

So yesterday I looked over my Amazon Wishlist and picked up Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War by Max Hastings. I've read several of Hastings' books and love them so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one.

I was killing time at Barnes and Noble yesterday and picked up Das Reich: The March of the 2nd SS Panzer Division Through France, June 1944. I was going to buy it on my Kindle just before I bought Catastrophe, but it wasn't available on Kindle. So I realized that at B&N and sure enough I looked and they had one copy. WOOT.

Know any good books or websites for basically anything on the East African or Southwest Asian theatres of World War 2 possibly?

 

[Pheran]

If anyone is still looking to pick up The Martian, it's on sale for $2 right now. Highly recommended. A Game of Thrones (first book) is also on sale for $2.

 

[Muse]

If anyone is still looking to pick up The Martian, it's on sale for $2 right now. Highly recommended. A Game of Thrones (first book) is also on sale for $2.

Thanks for that, just picked it up. It's in my queue at the library, I can cancel that.

I just started "The Boys in the Boat." Very promising start (into it around 20 pages). I have 3 weeks until my library's boogie man taps me on the shoulder. There's lots of holds on it, so I won't get a renewal!

I posted that 6 days ago, I'm 1/2 way through it now. It's uneven, but a lot of it is just terrific. I'll have no problem finishing it. I have the hardback edition. The author lives outside Seattle, so he knows the territory. Has taught writing too.

 

[Arcadio]

I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo. Very entertaining so far.

Can anyone recommend some good children/teen books?

 

[Pheran]

I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo. Very entertaining so far.

Can anyone recommend some good children/teen books?

Without additional direction, I'll just throw these out:

Harry Potter
Percy Jackson
His Dark Materials
Warriors
Wonder
Hunger Games
The Hobbit
Chronicles of Prydain

 

[unokitty]

Focuses on the years after the Japanese surrender.

Makes the hypothesis that the war in Asia didn't end with the Unexpected Japanese surrender. That the Japanese garrisons in SEAsia, Korea, and China still remained in place... And that decisions made by Western Powers caused the war to morph and surface later in different Asian places with different names...

Uno

 

[unokitty]

... Can anyone recommend some good children/teen books?

You may want to look at Kenneth Oppel's work.

Uno