Author Topic: What are you READING right now?  (Read 762376 times)

Dollar Slice

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1500 on: July 25, 2020, 06:47:06 PM »
Reading Jim Butcher's latest installment of the Dresden Files novels - Peace Talks.  He already has another one slated for publishing later this year per Amazon, so that's two additions to the series after a few years of writing his other series (which I've never really read, oddly, since I like his Dresden Files novels so much)

What's he been writing? I didn't even know he was working on another series, I just figured he was pulling a GRR Martin.

I have a love/hate relationship with his books but I do enjoy the Dresden series, I'm waitlisted for Peace Talks at the library.

sui generis

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1501 on: July 25, 2020, 08:53:22 PM »
Love Phoebe Robinson!

I'm currently reading Cloud Atlas which I avoided reading for years because...I'm not sure how but I got the impression it's a slog and complicated and not in a fun way?  OMG, I really like it and am sad I've waited this long!

LennStar

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1502 on: July 26, 2020, 04:30:44 AM »
Honor Harrington books.

I am not a military person, but I like books with intrigues. Maybe because I am too good a person to ever do one myself :D
I am at book 4 and the formula the books are written seems to be quite repeating though.

chaskavitch

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1503 on: July 26, 2020, 06:38:38 AM »
This thread needs a poke, so I'll go:

Reading Jim Butcher's latest installment of the Dresden Files novels - Peace Talks.  He already has another one slated for publishing later this year per Amazon, so that's two additions to the series after a few years of writing his other series (which I've never really read, oddly, since I like his Dresden Files novels so much)

Also just started the Einstein bio from Walter Isaacson.

@sui generis, Jim Butcher is PROLIFIC.  I'm always impressed how quickly he puts out books.

I really enjoy his Codex Alera series (and it's complete, another plus for me after GRRM).  Still fantasy, but completely different fantasy from the Dresden Files! 

I think he only has a single book in his steampunk series out, but it's also a good read.

TempusFugit

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1504 on: July 26, 2020, 09:27:27 AM »
I also just finished Scalzi’s Interdependency trilogy.  The first two i borrowed from the library but the last one was just released and the library didn't yet have it, so i gave Bezos a few bucks for it.  I figure he needs the money. 

caracarn

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1505 on: July 27, 2020, 08:56:02 AM »
Started reading "The Guarded Gate" by Daniel Okrent.  Is about how the 1924 restrictive immigration law got passed and what led up to it with the eugenics movement and also how eugenics actually spawned Adolf Hitler's extreme beliefs.  This led us to "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" which was an interesting read about the waves of mass suicides in the general populace of Germany in 1945.  I now a lot about history but this was an unknown segment to me.  Written by Florian Huber and translated from German just in the last year or two.  We got through this in 4 days it was so riveting.  Now reading "One Mighty and Irresistible Tide" which moves on to how people fought against the 1924 law and got it changed.  This chain of books is very interesting spanning a similar topic.  The last book was just released and seems very promising.  Right now she is covering the history of the 1924 law so it is a review of what we learned in "The Guarded Gate" but well written so far.

marbles4

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1506 on: July 29, 2020, 08:50:49 PM »
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming.

Just a warn: It is not an uplifting read.

LennStar

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1507 on: July 30, 2020, 04:33:31 AM »
The Uninhabitable Earth: Life after Warming.

Just a warn: It is not an uplifting read.
Nothing about that topic is. If you are interested in this, "climate fiction" is already a genre.

scottish

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1508 on: August 05, 2020, 03:16:48 PM »
I've been rereading a book by John Ringo called "The Last Centurion".    The thing about John Ringo is that he's a great storyteller, but he leans to the right politically.

In this story, Hilary Warwick won the election in 2016 and the world undergoes a pandemic in 2019.    The fatality rate is much more serious than COVID, but it's still a global pandemic.

Mr Ringo gets up on his political hobby horse.   Hilary bungles the pandemic, in many ways exactly like Donald has.    I feel a bit badly for the man right now, he must be suffering from a lot of cognitive dissonance.

TempusFugit

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1509 on: August 05, 2020, 04:11:50 PM »
I've been rereading a book by John Ringo called "The Last Centurion".    The thing about John Ringo is that he's a great storyteller, but he leans to the right politically.

In this story, Hilary Warwick won the election in 2016 and the world undergoes a pandemic in 2019.    The fatality rate is much more serious than COVID, but it's still a global pandemic.

Mr Ringo gets up on his political hobby horse.   Hilary bungles the pandemic, in many ways exactly like Donald has.    I feel a bit badly for the man right now, he must be suffering from a lot of cognitive dissonance.

Someone gave me that book years ago and I've never read it.  No reason other than it just never made it to the top of the heap.  Maybe I'll give it a shot. 

PDXTabs

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1510 on: August 05, 2020, 04:13:33 PM »
One Day by David Nicholls and Atomic Habits by James Clear.

SunnyDays

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1511 on: August 05, 2020, 04:20:51 PM »
I read Cloud Atlas a few years ago and enjoyed it too.  Life After Life by Kate Atkinson has a similar theme.

Currently reading The Goldfinch and also The Horses in My Life by Monty Roberts.  (His father was a sadist - sent his best friend the childhood horse to the glue factory.  Evil man.)

PDXTabs

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1512 on: August 05, 2020, 04:27:59 PM »
I also just finished Scalzi’s Interdependency trilogy.

I've listened to every Scalzi book that is out on audiobook, and I enjoyed every one.

scottish

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1513 on: August 06, 2020, 05:52:58 AM »
I've been rereading a book by John Ringo called "The Last Centurion".    The thing about John Ringo is that he's a great storyteller, but he leans to the right politically.

In this story, Hilary Warwick won the election in 2016 and the world undergoes a pandemic in 2019.    The fatality rate is much more serious than COVID, but it's still a global pandemic.

Mr Ringo gets up on his political hobby horse.   Hilary bungles the pandemic, in many ways exactly like Donald has.    I feel a bit badly for the man right now, he must be suffering from a lot of cognitive dissonance.

Someone gave me that book years ago and I've never read it.  No reason other than it just never made it to the top of the heap.  Maybe I'll give it a shot.

I have to warn you that the book is also a little racist and full of climate change denial.    It seems oddly dated for something only 12 years old.

I'm a red panda

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1514 on: August 10, 2020, 07:23:52 AM »
The Gratitude Diaries by Janice Kaplan.

It's decently interesting. I got it at a conference a few years ago, but have run out of physical books to read and figured I should read it and declutter it.

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1515 on: August 14, 2020, 09:57:16 AM »
My wife was recently cleaning out a closet at her parent's house, and found some books from her college days. One that I picked up is Mao Zedong by Jonathan Spence.

Definitely interesting to learn about the early life and motivations of a man that literally changed the course of history and influenced current living conditions/culture for ~18% of the humans living on Earth. It definitely seems like he's a little crazy/extreme and he did some horrible things, but it's still interesting to learn. It's also a quick read. I'm like halfway through, so far I recommend.

LennStar

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1516 on: August 14, 2020, 10:48:01 AM »
My wife was recently cleaning out a closet at her parent's house, and found some books from her college days. One that I picked up is Mao Zedong by Jonathan Spence.

Definitely interesting to learn about the early life and motivations of a man that literally changed the course of history and influenced current living conditions/culture for ~18% of the humans living on Earth. It definitely seems like he's a little crazy/extreme and he did some horrible things, but it's still interesting to learn. It's also a quick read. I'm like halfway through, so far I recommend.
After that get a book on Xi Jiping, the current leader.
It's an incredible story, nearly as baffling as Maos, and there are a lot... connections.

It will help you a lot understanding today's China.

caracarn

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1517 on: September 08, 2020, 11:01:25 AM »
Just finished "Rigged: America, Russia, and One Hundred Years of Covert Electoral Interference" by David Shimer.  I encourage everyone in the US to read this before the election if you can.  Very fascinating and also wonderful to see a plan at the end for how to attack this that is reasonable and thought out.

BuffaloStache

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1518 on: September 08, 2020, 01:49:10 PM »
...
After that get a book on Xi Jiping, the current leader.
It's an incredible story, nearly as baffling as Maos, and there are a lot... connections.

It will help you a lot understanding today's China.

I'll add that to my list, thanks! But it may be a couple of books until I get to that.

Recently just got Memoirs and Misinformation from the library (came much earlier than I expected for being such a new book!). I'm ~20 pages into it and enjoying it so far. Definitely a unique concept to write an autobiography that is marred with fiction.

sui generis

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1519 on: September 08, 2020, 02:27:35 PM »
I'm reading Affluence Without Abundance: What We Can Learn from the World's Most Successful Civilization based on a recommendation on this very thread by @koshtra nearly a year ago.  So glad I'm finally getting to it!

Also, listening to the Hunger Games prequel Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I'm a little embarassed to admit it but I just love slipping back in to the Panem world and it's a totally great escape read, which I have really been looking for!

MudPuppy

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1520 on: September 08, 2020, 03:25:51 PM »
Just finished The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne, which is possibly one of the best books I’ve ever read. Just started The Poppy War by RF Kuang.

Warlord1986

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1521 on: October 03, 2020, 07:06:53 PM »
'Far From the Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy. I read it after watching a film version with Matthias Schoenaerts, who is a snack. The movie was better than the book. The book featured men meeting a woman and immediately asking to marry her, the dumbest character to ever curse literature with her presence, side characters who were astounding in their blithering idiocy, and some unbearably tedious prose. The movie toned all of that down. The book cranked it up to eleven. I read it so you don't have to.

MudPuppy

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1522 on: October 04, 2020, 05:49:54 AM »
We appreciate your deeds.

Poppy War was good! Now onto In His Majesty’s Service. Looking forward to this one as well, since I’m a sucker for a dragon.

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1523 on: October 04, 2020, 11:11:20 AM »
That is SUCH a good book series.

bbqbonelesswing

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1524 on: October 13, 2020, 08:54:42 AM »
I'm currently reading The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789. Pretty good so far.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22889768-the-quartet

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1525 on: October 13, 2020, 10:37:06 AM »
I just read Eoin Colfer's Highfire in one sitting, and it had me cracking up basically continuously. Highly recommended. That sucker had better be a movie in 5 years (if movies are still a thing in 5 years).

LennStar

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1526 on: October 14, 2020, 04:10:02 AM »
I just read Eoin Colfer's Highfire in one sitting, and it had me cracking up basically continuously. Highly recommended. That sucker had better be a movie in 5 years (if movies are still a thing in 5 years).
Sounds like it is not very different from that Artemis series then :D

I am just reading the book girl series again. It's the most horror-like I can stand and I just can't get enough of Tohko.
Such a pity that even books (that she refers to) that are considered classic in the East aren't translated to western languages except maybe english.
Just take Miyazawa Kenji's "Night on Galactic Railroad". I was actually curious about that book before I ever heard the title or the author's name, simply because it was referenced in so many anime that I thought that can't be an accident. Now thinking about it, I think "Book Girl" was where I found out about it lol
There is still not a single work from the author that has been translated to German afaik.
Japanese often know Alice in Wonderland, but Night on Galactic Railroad, which even has some similarities, is completely unknown in Europe.
« Last Edit: October 14, 2020, 04:11:35 AM by LennStar »

sui generis

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1527 on: October 24, 2020, 07:26:39 PM »
I've been reading The Witches: Salem, 1692 (Stacy Schiff) for a couple of weeks and I'm pretty sure I'm giving up on it.  I haven't abandoned a book in maybe like 20 years, but this book really is too long to waste that much of my life on.  I was so interested in the topic and heard it was well-researched, but the writing is awful.  The construction of chapters and even individual (interminable) paragraphs is just terrible.  What a disappointment!

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1528 on: October 29, 2020, 11:15:54 AM »
I fucked up and bit off a piece of a whole bunch of books - The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb, Pretty Good Number One by Matthew Amster-Burton, The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, and A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Oops.

The Art of Frugal Hedonism is terrific. It's my favorite FI book by far - actual frugality, I Don't Give A Fuck dumpster divin' attitude and excess capitalization a la MMM, a really good focus on what makes you happy rather than convention, and a great sense of humor. That book is WAY underappreciated in the community, maybe because it was written by an Australian and because they come from the permaculture world and not the personal finance world. But man is it good - everyone should check it out.


LennStar

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1529 on: October 30, 2020, 05:11:47 AM »
I fucked up and bit off a piece of a whole bunch of books - The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb, Pretty Good Number One by Matthew Amster-Burton, The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, and A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Oops.

The Art of Frugal Hedonism is terrific. It's my favorite FI book by far - actual frugality, I Don't Give A Fuck dumpster divin' attitude and excess capitalization a la MMM, a really good focus on what makes you happy rather than convention, and a great sense of humor. That book is WAY underappreciated in the community, maybe because it was written by an Australian and because they come from the permaculture world and not the personal finance world. But man is it good - everyone should check it out.
Permaculture would make it more interesting for me. There are some very interesting videos on youtube, especially those about India and rain catching, what a tremendous difference a few ditches and lakes can make. Here is the first hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMnbeW3F8A

CowboyAndIndian

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1530 on: November 02, 2020, 04:40:03 PM »
I fucked up and bit off a piece of a whole bunch of books - The Art of Frugal Hedonism by Annie Raser-Rowland and Adam Grubb, Pretty Good Number One by Matthew Amster-Burton, The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, and A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold. Oops.

The Art of Frugal Hedonism is terrific. It's my favorite FI book by far - actual frugality, I Don't Give A Fuck dumpster divin' attitude and excess capitalization a la MMM, a really good focus on what makes you happy rather than convention, and a great sense of humor. That book is WAY underappreciated in the community, maybe because it was written by an Australian and because they come from the permaculture world and not the personal finance world. But man is it good - everyone should check it out.
Permaculture would make it more interesting for me. There are some very interesting videos on youtube, especially those about India and rain catching, what a tremendous difference a few ditches and lakes can make. Here is the first hit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDMnbeW3F8A

Start with part 1 (you gave a pointer to part 2). Here is part 1 https://youtu.be/-8nqnOcoLqE. He calls it the biggest permaculture project in the world. I would watch at least the first 3 parts of the 5 part series.

I was blown away by this. The Pani Foundation gamified the whole permaculture idea and put village against village with a final award for one village who achieved the most in 45 days. They put together a bunch of tools and workshops that a simple subsistence farmer could understand.

The before and after pictures are unbelievable.

« Last Edit: November 02, 2020, 04:44:20 PM by CowboyAndIndian »

TempusFugit

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1531 on: November 21, 2020, 02:51:27 PM »
Reading Isaacson's biography of Albert Einstein.  Quite entertaining if you like technical sciency stuff.  I'm moving through this much faster than I normally would for a biography.

I've also read his Benjamin Franklin biography some years ago, which I recommend. 

chaskavitch

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1532 on: November 22, 2020, 06:31:07 AM »
I'm rereading the Stormlight Archives, since book 4 came out last week.  My husband is about halfway through book 3 for the first time, I'm very glad he ended up liking the series. 

maisymouser

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1533 on: December 11, 2020, 12:24:04 PM »
Hopping onto this thread. It's been a big reading week for me. Read the books below AND watched their corresponding movies.
  • The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
  • Push (Sapphire)

I'm also in the middle of Secondhand by Adam Minter, detailing the global thrift store economy. Also in my queue: Stephen King's "If It Bleeds", some books on bread making, and The Secret Life of Bees.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1534 on: December 11, 2020, 01:41:32 PM »
Books that I read because I'm stuck at home during a pandemic: How to manage your home without going crazy by Dana K White, The Home Edit Life by Clea Shearer, and Homebody by Joanna Gaines. Can't fully recommend any of them.

Can't really get into the Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore, which is disappointing because I loooved one of his books and have never found another as good.

Couldn't get into Good Clean Fun by Nick Offerman either, which is also disappointing because I was having master woodworker fantasies.

Favorite book that I've read and actually finished recently: Joyful, by Ingrid Fetell Lee.

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1535 on: December 11, 2020, 02:08:20 PM »
Did you read Fool by Christopher Moore first? Serpent is the second book of a series (currently a trilogy).

MonkeyJenga

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1536 on: December 11, 2020, 02:52:35 PM »
Did you read Fool by Christopher Moore first? Serpent is the second book of a series (currently a trilogy).

Yes, but it's been years. Part of it is that my brain is so fried from election work that I can't adjust to the language.

PDXTabs

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1537 on: December 11, 2020, 02:53:53 PM »
Post-Corona by Scott Galloway

bbqbonelesswing

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1538 on: December 12, 2020, 03:00:34 PM »
I'm currently reading The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789. Pretty good so far.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22889768-the-quartet

I enjoyed The Quartet so much that I read another of Ellis' books right after; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. I'd recommend both to anyone interested in US history.

Today I wrapped up The Art of Frugal Hedonism. As others here have said, it was a fun read. It was nice to hear how much fun the authors seem to be having with life despite spending very little.

Now I'm making my way through 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline.

sui generis

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1539 on: December 12, 2020, 03:53:29 PM »
I'm currently reading The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789. Pretty good so far.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22889768-the-quartet

I enjoyed The Quartet so much that I read another of Ellis' books right after; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. I'd recommend both to anyone interested in US history.

Today I wrapped up The Art of Frugal Hedonism. As others here have said, it was a fun read. It was nice to hear how much fun the authors seem to be having with life despite spending very little.

Now I'm making my way through 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline.

Those sound great.

I just started Steinbeck's East of Eden. I live quite close to the Salinas Valley (the "salad bowl of America"), where it is set, so this is already fascinating to me.

bbqbonelesswing

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1540 on: December 13, 2020, 09:05:19 AM »
I'm currently reading The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789. Pretty good so far.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22889768-the-quartet

I enjoyed The Quartet so much that I read another of Ellis' books right after; Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. I'd recommend both to anyone interested in US history.

Today I wrapped up The Art of Frugal Hedonism. As others here have said, it was a fun read. It was nice to hear how much fun the authors seem to be having with life despite spending very little.

Now I'm making my way through 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed by Eric H. Cline.

Those sound great.

I just started Steinbeck's East of Eden. I live quite close to the Salinas Valley (the "salad bowl of America"), where it is set, so this is already fascinating to me.

I loved East of Eden- such a fantastic story. Before reading that I had just read some of his shorter stories like The Pearl and Tortilla Flat. I found it really impressive that Steinbeck could pull off both a long epic like East of Eden, or a nice short story you can finish in an afternoon.

SunnyDays

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1541 on: December 13, 2020, 10:00:43 PM »
Currently rereading Spiritwalker by Hank Wesselman.  He’s an anthropologist who unexpectedly and inexplicably began having what he terms “shamanic journeys” while living in Hawaii.  I ‘m quite enjoying it again and may buy the follow up book Medicine Maker, as reviews for it are positive.

LaineyAZ

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1542 on: December 14, 2020, 08:59:57 AM »
"Shrill" by Lindy West.  Her memoir of growing up fat, with a love of music and comedy.  Review describes it as "advancing feminist politics through humor."

Don't be misled, it's not a "har har everything's funny" story, it's more of an inside look at the comedy scene and social media from someone who is experienced with navigating being fat and opinionated in a culture that loves its females to petite and on the quiet side. Some descriptions of her experience with trolls on the internet are hair-raising.

maisymouser

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1543 on: December 14, 2020, 11:47:17 AM »
"Shrill" by Lindy West.  Her memoir of growing up fat, with a love of music and comedy.  Review describes it as "advancing feminist politics through humor."

Don't be misled, it's not a "har har everything's funny" story, it's more of an inside look at the comedy scene and social media from someone who is experienced with navigating being fat and opinionated in a culture that loves its females to petite and on the quiet side. Some descriptions of her experience with trolls on the internet are hair-raising.

I first heard of that book on This American Life, where she was interviewed and read an excerpt of Shrill. It was a good listen.
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/589/tell-me-im-fat

Warlord1986

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1544 on: December 20, 2020, 11:59:41 AM »
'Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World' by Thomas Madden. I've read it before, and it's worth a re-read. Istanbul is on the bucket list, and my favorite part of the book deals with the Byzantine Empire. <3

caracarn

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1545 on: December 23, 2020, 07:16:18 AM »
We just finished "The Soul of America" by Jon Meacham in 6 days.  Could not put it down as it was to brilliantly written, and while a condemnation of our lack of current leadership was done so in a classy and indirect way, so that as an intelligent person you totally got the point without it being a Trump-bashing book.  Also learned a lot with deeper dives into things like McCarthyism that I had not known that were very intriguing. 

We are now reading "State Secretaries of State" by Jocelyn Benson the Secretary of State from Michigan.  Also very insightful, but it is basically a textbook so be aware of that if you decide to seek it out, but after the election we have just gone through, I wanted to know more about this obscure job and this book she wrote through her professorship at Wayne State is really well done.

sui generis

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1546 on: December 23, 2020, 03:13:09 PM »

We are now reading "State Secretaries of State" by Jocelyn Benson the Secretary of State from Michigan.  Also very insightful, but it is basically a textbook so be aware of that if you decide to seek it out, but after the election we have just gone through, I wanted to know more about this obscure job and this book she wrote through her professorship at Wayne State is really well done.

She was on Dahlia Lithwick's law (and recently, election)-focused podcast this past weekend.  It was good to hear from her directly: https://slate.com/podcasts/amicus/2020/12/jocelyn-benson-michigan-supreme-court

TempusFugit

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1547 on: December 24, 2020, 01:34:21 PM »
Malcolm Gladwell's Talking to Strangers on the Libby app. 

Anyone who doesn't know about the Libby app should check it out (oooh, pun).  Libby is a library app that allows you to use your own local library membership to get access to a larger national library.  I've now read 4 books on it (you can also read on your Kindle).   

iris lily

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1548 on: December 24, 2020, 03:46:26 PM »
My Dark Vanessa, a novel about a 15 year old girl who is sexually abused/has an affair (choose your phrase) by her middle aged teacher. It is fascinating to watch her understanding change about his role in the years after.  Her feelings of power and  control are intoxicating, and her acknowledgement of those feelings feed her guilt in participating in it. She crafts a “ love story” view of them together which he encourages to keep her silent and not report him.

It is interesting to see how she handles her thoughts and feelings juxtaposed with today’s culture of 0 tolerance for sexual abuse.

Nabokov’s Lolita figures prominently in this novel as a touchstone.

Kris

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #1549 on: December 24, 2020, 04:04:42 PM »
My Dark Vanessa, a novel about a 15 year old girl who is sexually abused/has an affair (choose your phrase) by her middle aged teacher. It is fascinating to watch her understanding change about his role in the years after.  Her feelings of power and  control are intoxicating, and her acknowledgement of those feelings feed her guilt in participating in it. She crafts a “ love story” view of them together which he encourages to keep her silent and not report him.

It is interesting to see how she handles her thoughts and feelings juxtaposed with today’s culture of 0 tolerance for sexual abuse.

Nabokov’s Lolita figures prominently in this novel as a touchstone.

This book is next up in my library holds. I will be interested to see if I like it.