Which book are you reading now? Volume XIV

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hobbsyoyo said:
So basically let Max Brooks remained them in the style of World War Z?
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Yeah, hadn't thought of it, but that's actually a good example of the kind of thing I was imagining. I've read a bunch of online web serial-esque alternate history stories that take the "fictional non-fiction book" idea, but I guess there are at least some more mainstream books that use that concept.
 
After a long break, started reading again uni papers on Goedel's theorems. A bit better this time, with some effort (naturally, that word is horrible :) ) I think I will be able to be fully aware of what they are, how they work and what their use can be. It is - other than for purely intellectual reasons - also useful practically, given I very well can then do some seminars on it in Athens (or, god help me, even Thessalonike...).
If I wasn't so lazy - also megalomanic, but I don't view the latter as negative, at least for me; though it forces an aversion to anything requiring effort - I would have managed to comprehend it already.
 
I am reading about a dozen books in parallel.

When I get bored with one, I switch to another:

For instance I am reading:

Cross Bones

by

Kathy Reichs

So far; I'd say it is dubious plot with stereotypical
characters, but it is exquisitely well written.

Her research must have been quite interesting.
 
I am also reading some biography of Isaac Newton, by Richard Westfall.
It seems he would have been destined to be illiterate for life - if it wasn't for his ancestor marrying up to the Askew family.
Those Askews possibly had more sheep than the Newtons, more importantly though they had a relative who went to university.
 
Started reading His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (2006). Historical fantasy, set in the early 19th Century, in which dragons are real and are members of many nations' militaries. Kind of "Dragonriders of Pern in the Napoleonic wars." Pretty good, so far. Well-written. It breezes along. No idea whether other supernatural elements exist in Novik's world, or just dragons.
 
Olav Audunsson: I. Vows Epic fiction about Medieval Norway in 4 volumes. It has started off really well. I'm reading the most recent translation.
 
Ended Neuromancer by William Gibson. Disliked it. IMHO worst book I have read this year.
How to explain it...
I understand the influence the novel had on science fiction. Cyberpunk genre started here, okay.
The story jumps from place to place and situation to situation awkwardly, in addition characters are hollow and I failed to emphatise with them.

Maybe I am loosing some context, I don't know, in any case this book was not written for me.


Going to start Rhythm of War, 4# book of The Stormlight Archive by Brian Sanderson. He is a sure asset for me.
 
Josu said:
Ended Neuromancer by William Gibson. Disliked it. IMHO worst book I have read this year.
How to explain it...
I understand the influence the novel had on science fiction. Cyberpunk genre started here, okay.
The story jumps from place to place and situation to situation awkwardly, in addition characters are hollow and I failed to emphatise with them.

Maybe I am loosing some context, I don't know, in any case this book was not written for me.


Going to start Rhythm of War, 4# book of The Stormlight Archive by Brian Sanderson. He is a sure asset for me.
Click to expand...

I tried to read it earlier this year and gave up. I didn't see the appeal either. The characters imo are not there as characters in fiction (with some purpose) but as crude reflections of autonomous people in some personal fantasy of the author. Maybe it just wasn't for us, but to me it seemed cheap...
 
Anyone want to recommend a book about the Eastern Front of the First World War?
 
I'm rereading Against a Dark Background by Ian Banks and Truth and Fear by Peter Higgins, both good books, but after a year with a lot of time at home I'm running out of books to reread.
Bought The Women From Sarajevo by Phillip Kerr today (first time I've been to Cardiff this year). Just need to hold out for a month then should have some nice new books to read :dance:
 
EgonSpengler said:
Anyone want to recommend a book about the Eastern Front of the First World War?
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"Guns of August" might be a good place to start. It is not limited to the eastern front though.
 
Birdjaguar said:
"Guns of August" might be a good place to start. It is not limited to the eastern front though.
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It is worth remembering that "Guns of August" is an old book, written in 1962, and our understanding of the conflict and its start has changed a lot since then.
Plus, if I am remembering Dachs right, there was a lot of criticism at the time of publication and now that Guns of August played a bit fast-and-loose with the facts to create a compelling narrative (Tuchman is an excellent writer), and that Tuchman relied too much on British and French documents to illuminate the decision making of other governments. The book's focus on the 'sleepwalker' narrative was very timely in 1962 where everyone realized just how close the world had come to 'sleepwalking' into another world war with the Cuban Missile Crisis. However, to achieve the 'sleepwalker' narrative, Tuchman had to largely ignore the fact than many (all?) of the European powers were interested in going to war and made decisions to that effect.

I don't have any recommendations for Great War books, let alone Eastern Front, but I would caution against reading Guns of August for information about the war, and instead read it for its literary/historiographic importance.
 
Zkribbler said:
Er...The dark comedy Good Soldier Schweik, albeit the author died before finishing it.
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"In Berlin the situation is serious, but not hopeless. In Vienna the situation is hopeless, but not serious" ^_^
(not a quote by the book, afaik - haven't read the book though I know some of the plot)
 
Here is my 2020 list:




1 The Economic Consequences of the Peace (Keynes)

A better read than I expected.

2 My Opposition

Untrustworthy

3 The Ship (Forester)

Interesting as a snapshot of the writer

4 Countdown 1945

Helps me understand the timeline

5 The Rise of the GI Army

Very helpful

6 Napoleon & His Court (Forester)

Again, an interesting look at the author

7 The Woman’s Hour

Very interesting

8 Too Much & Never Enough (Trump)

A very strange & unhappy family. Not well-written.

9 The Scourge of War

An accessible biography of Sherman

10 The Splendid and the Vile

“Popular history.” I got little from it.

11 The General (Forester)

A good & important work, unlike the other two.

12 The Impending Crisis of the South & How to Meet It

Like most books of this era, a tough read. In fact, tougher than most.

13 Knitlandia

An interesting subject & a good writer.

14 Trump’s Brain

Most every prediction was wrong.

15 Every Drop of Blood

Excellent

16 Last Call

Forgettable

17 An Impeccable Spy

Best book of the year

18 The Downfall of Money

Important

19 Maddow

Intrusive & unsettling

20 The Infernal Library

An interesting examination of parallel lives.

21 Victory of Eagles

Cheap fantasy
 
I'm just about done with Spillover, which covers the investigations into the origins of ebola, AIDS, etc and the insights these zoonotic diseases can give us for the future. It's a bit dated now since SARS has resurfaced in the form of SARS-Cov-19.
 
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