What are you reading?

[Takhisis]

Post-colonial India? The adventures of Inspector Ghote by H.R.F. Keating, or, even better, if only slightly, those of Vishlal Puri by Tarquin Hall.

 

[Thlayli]

Currently reading the following.

For leisure: Abaddon's Gate, the latest hard sci-fi entry by the inestimable James S.A. Corey (a pen name for two co-writers, one of which is George R.R. Martin's assistant, Ty Franck, a solid author in his own right). Sequel to the Hugo-nominated Leviathan Wakes and the non-Hugo-nominated but still good Caliban's War.

Also for leisure, but historically educational: Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The biography of Lincoln's ascendancy through the eyes and lives of his rivals for the Republican nomination and eventual entrants into his cabinet. Well written and enjoyable for the lay reader, while having enough historical trivia to interest the specialist.

For moral education: Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton. This biography I've kind of abandoned for the last month or so, but not because it's not any good; it's a classic. It's also written both to and for the skeptic, which differentiates it from most popular literature on religious topics. Intend on finishing it after the former two.

 

[Antilogic]

Discorwld novels.

Know it's just a typo but Discoworld sounds like an incredible spinoff.



My trip interrupted my regular reading, but I finished the book on the 1960 presidential election just beforehand and felt that it was really good, especially on the primaries. It balanced being info-dense and readable quite well. I'll be posting a longer review of the stuff I've read over in the Tavern thread when I have the chance.

Currently, I'm working on Empire of Liberty by Wood and just eating up the bias with a fork. Also reading The Great Influenza, which looks at the Spanish Flu of the early 20th century, but also has significant portions of the book that are devoted to the science of the immune system and viruses, the historical development of modern scientific medicine, and mini-biographies of the scientists involved in the cure as well. It's fascinating.

 

[Joecoolyo]

The belated birthday present from my mom was all the novels in A Song of Ice and Fire series, so I've begun reading A Game of Thrones.

So far it just feels like a recap of the show. But that's nice, since I've been beginning to forget what happened in the first and second seasons.

 

[Takhisis]

Well, winter's supposed to be coming, I know that for sure, Joe.

 

[Smellincoffee]

A grizzled professor of mine once said, "You can never read too much Wendell Berry". I just read my first work by him, Jayber Crow, and...words don't do its heartrending beauty justice. What a novel, what a work.

 

[Ophorian]

Bertrand Russell's A History of Western Philosophy. The thing's massive.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I recently finished Charles C. Mann's 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created and Terry Goodkind's The Pillars of Creation, and just started David A. Stockman's The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America.

 

[Kozmos]

Ok. Finished Consider Pheblas. I liked how everything went to hell and it was more or less pointless in the grand scheme of things. Now I am trying to decide whether to go on the second novel of the series, try the first of Revelation Space or the first of the Mistborn series just to change the pace from all the SF.

 

[downtown]

I've been plowing through The New New Journalism which I've LOVED. It's exactly what I needed to help get me out of my writing funk. It's an excellent study in some of the best contemporary longform nonfiction writers and journalists.

http://www.newnewjournalism.com/

 

[Masada]

The Windup Girl
The Forever War
Old Man's War
The Ghost Brigades
The Last Colony
Age of Revolution, 1789 - 1848
The Yiddish Policeman's Union

 

[Traitorfish]

Getting yer John Scalzi on, eh?

 

[Tee Kay]

Pearson's The Indian Ocean. I'm only half way through but it's due back at the library tomorrow, so I'll pick up from where I left off in about a month from now.

 

[Kozmos]

Getting yer John Scalzi on, eh?

All very good books in my opinion. He knows how to write SF with humour.

 

[Takhisis]

Then you need to read the tales of Cadet Pirx, Kozmos.

 

[sophie]

I just finished Crazy '08 by Cait Murphy which was a history of the 1908 Major League Baseball season - without a doubt the greatest and most exciting season ever played. It was a fascinating read in that the subject matter was interesting and Murphy certainly did a great deal of research. Some of her points don't exactly jive with the more prominent books on the era though and I thought her writing style wasn't exactly the best - namely she's too prone to going on irrelevant tangents which muddy her point. Otherwise an excellent read though.

Right now for contrast I'm working my way through Bill James' monstrous tome "The New Historical Baseball Abstract" which is a 900 page book documenting the history of baseball as only Bill James can: through frivolous and irrelevant trivia. The latter half of the book is devoted to listing and ranking the 100 greatest players at each position.

 

[Masada]

Getting yer John Scalzi on, eh?

Yeah, I figured I needed a break from my srs reading.

Pearson's The Indian Ocean. I'm only half way through but it's due back at the library tomorrow, so I'll pick up from where I left off in about a month from now.

I thought it was boring

 

[JohannaK]

Sounds interesting. I'm trying to get a list of books to read and all on the subject of African and Asian history. Mainly the Far East, but that may be a good addition. Recommendations?

 

[Kozmos]

Then you need to read the tales of Cadet Pirx, Kozmos.

By whom? I think I'm going to dig into Revelation Space now, the Culture is a bit too lighthearted for me now. Maybe some hard SF will do me good. After that maybe some biopunk.

 

[JohannaK]

By Stanislaw Lem, I believe.