Author Topic: What are you READING right now?  (Read 762370 times)

lizzzi

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #150 on: April 20, 2014, 07:11:42 AM »
Thought I'd try the Kindle Lending Library. Bleh. Meh. Couldn't find anything I was looking for--didn't realize until I did a little research that it is full of indie-published stuff…not really the top of the list titles…although they have Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Once you click and borrow a book, that's it for the month. If you hate it, too bad. I borrowed a Jane Austen spin-off called The Forgotten Sister: Mary Bennett's Pride and Prejudice, by Jennifer Paynter. I've read 10 percent so far, and will finish it. Too early to tell, but it has some unusual characters and so far the setting plunks me right into the middle of Jane Austen's England, with no jarring anachronisms. I never thought Mary got a fair shake, so like to read the spin-offs that paint her more charitably and give her a happy ending.

pachnik

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #151 on: April 20, 2014, 07:44:14 AM »
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

If you like twists and turns in a plot, this one has got them.  I love the agricultural setting too. 

renaite

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #152 on: April 20, 2014, 07:58:37 AM »
I tend to read a few at once and switch around. Currently reading:
  • Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds (Scott Berkun)
  • Life, the Universe, and Everything (Douglas Adams)
  • Toward Rational Exuberance: The Evolution of the Modern Stock Market (B. Mark Smith)


FunkyStickman

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #153 on: April 20, 2014, 02:43:43 PM »
I tend to read a few at once and switch around. Currently reading:
  • Mindfire: Big Ideas for Curious Minds (Scott Berkun)
  • Life, the Universe, and Everything (Douglas Adams)
  • Toward Rational Exuberance: The Evolution of the Modern Stock Market (B. Mark Smith)

Love Douglas Adams. I've read almost everything he'd published. I love his Dirk Gently books.

renaite

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #154 on: April 20, 2014, 08:18:43 PM »
Yeah, I'm finally reading the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, with all 5 books in it. I am really enjoying his writing! Great laughs and I am amazed at how many crazy things he described that are basically today's technology. I added some Dirk Gently books to my "to-read" list - they sound great! Thanks for mentioning.

Squirrel away

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #155 on: April 21, 2014, 01:23:35 AM »
I'm going to read Snarl by Celina Grace today.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6177458.Celina_Grace

El Limon

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #156 on: April 22, 2014, 06:39:09 AM »
The Dark Tower book 4, taking forever but fun.

oldtoyota

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #157 on: April 25, 2014, 02:45:26 PM »
I, too, like to read several at once and switch around.

Black Swan, Nassim Taleb
Cherry, Mary Karr
The Adversary, Emanuel Carrere
a bio of Maimonides
Antifragile, Nassim Taleb

Just finished
Linchpin, Seth Godin
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

arebelspy

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #158 on: April 25, 2014, 09:21:28 PM »
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

Who was the translator?
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

1967mama

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #159 on: April 26, 2014, 12:26:04 AM »
"How Much Is Enough?" by Robert and Edward Skidelsky


wtjbatman

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #160 on: April 26, 2014, 12:28:19 AM »
Thought I'd try the Kindle Lending Library. Bleh. Meh. Couldn't find anything I was looking for--didn't realize until I did a little research that it is full of indie-published stuff…not really the top of the list titles…although they have Hunger Games and Harry Potter. Once you click and borrow a book, that's it for the month. If you hate it, too bad. I borrowed a Jane Austen spin-off called The Forgotten Sister: Mary Bennett's Pride and Prejudice, by Jennifer Paynter. I've read 10 percent so far, and will finish it. Too early to tell, but it has some unusual characters and so far the setting plunks me right into the middle of Jane Austen's England, with no jarring anachronisms. I never thought Mary got a fair shake, so like to read the spin-offs that paint her more charitably and give her a happy ending.

I've found some real diamond in the roughs with indie books. There are probably a dozen authors (or more) that I follow now because of some free or cheap ebook I got for my Kindle.

Squirrel away

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #161 on: April 26, 2014, 01:28:40 AM »
I'm going to read Snarl by Celina Grace today.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6177458.Celina_Grace

That book was terrible!:0 I need to be more picky about my reading choices.


oldtoyota

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #162 on: May 02, 2014, 07:51:22 AM »
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

Who was the translator?

Maxwell Staniforth. I know there is one that is supposed to be better. Have you read the "better" one?

oldtoyota

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #163 on: May 02, 2014, 07:56:41 AM »
Just finished:

The Adversary by Emmanuel Carrere.
--Disturbing and creepy. It's a true story about a man who murders his family to hide the lies he's been living for 17 years. This book gave me chills.

The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Taleb
--Book of aphorisms on all sorts of topics.

I was reading the Mary Karr book for a second time. I don't think I'll get all the way through it this time around as I want to focus on the books I have in hand that I've not read yet.


arebelspy

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #164 on: May 02, 2014, 09:54:12 AM »
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

Who was the translator?

Maxwell Staniforth. I know there is one that is supposed to be better. Have you read the "better" one?

I have read several translations.  I'd have to look at that one to see if it was one I had read.

"Better," is, of course, subjective.
I am a former teacher who accumulated a bunch of real estate, retired at 29, spent some time traveling the world full time and am now settled with three kids.
If you want to know more about me, this Business Insider profile tells the story pretty well.
I (rarely) blog at AdventuringAlong.com. Check out the Now page to see what I'm up to currently.

oldtoyota

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #165 on: May 02, 2014, 10:43:10 AM »
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius

Who was the translator?

Maxwell Staniforth. I know there is one that is supposed to be better. Have you read the "better" one?

I have read several translations.  I'd have to look at that one to see if it was one I had read.

"Better," is, of course, subjective.

Of course.

Why do you ask? Do you have a favorite translation?
« Last Edit: May 02, 2014, 10:49:54 AM by oldtoyota »

SisterX

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #166 on: May 02, 2014, 11:50:38 AM »
Yeah, I'm finally reading the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, with all 5 books in it. I am really enjoying his writing! Great laughs and I am amazed at how many crazy things he described that are basically today's technology. I added some Dirk Gently books to my "to-read" list - they sound great! Thanks for mentioning.

I just finished "The Complete Hitchhiker's Guide" a month or so ago.  Loved it!
Making a note about Dirk Gently for myself for later.

Currently reading: "Titanic: the ship that never sank?" by Robin Gardiner

Just finished "The Corinthian" by Georgette Heyer, about to start "Your Money or Your Life" by Dominguez.  (I finally got it through ILL!)

Theadyn

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #167 on: May 02, 2014, 02:28:35 PM »
"A FightingChance" by Elizabeth Warren

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #168 on: June 13, 2014, 11:30:40 PM »
I just finished a thriller called "Now You See Me (Lacey Flint novel) by SJ Bolton.

it was a good, scary page turner :)

am reading my kids a book called Dogsong about an Eskimo boy who takes a journey on a dogsled in the "north". its very poetic and interesting.

RetiredAt63

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #169 on: June 14, 2014, 03:07:56 PM »
"Out of thin air" by Peter Ward.

Full title Out of Thin Air: Dinosaurs, Birds, and Earth's Ancient Atmosphere  Yes, being retired has not changed my life as a science geek.  Excellent book.  I always knew birds have much more efficient lungs than mammals do, now I have an idea as to why.

sheepstache

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #170 on: June 14, 2014, 06:18:10 PM »
I'm finishing a Mary Renault book which I didn't totally love, but I've really enjoyed some of her others like The Last of the Wine and The Mask of Apollo.  Very good, critically-acclaimed novels taking place in ancient Greece.  The way the characters see the world seems like a very good guess at how it might have been.  Like, a small thing, but the descriptions of a world seen only in natural light and firelight rings true.  And the author doesn't make them naive, as though everyone is going off and praying to Zeus; the religious framework shapes their world view, but they don't relate to their gods the same way modern people do and also there are varying levels of cynicism.  And there are clever precursors of the Christianity/Axial Age stuff on the horizon if you catch them.  And she ties other abstract philosophical ideas easily into the story.

+1 to Dirk Gently books!

Also just finished Christopher Browne's book on investing.  Mostly it was skimming because he, like a lot of others who teach value investing, is mostly trying to hammer home the temperament aspect.  But a couple chapters definitely had some interesting explanations for things I hadn't understood as well before.   

Duchess of Stratosphear

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #171 on: June 14, 2014, 07:06:38 PM »
I just finished The Sixth Extinction. I recommend it. 

Still working on Bogle's Little Book of Common Sense Investing, but it's the pre-crash edition (cuz that's what the library had). Has anybody read the updated one?

RetiredAt63

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #172 on: June 14, 2014, 07:25:33 PM »
Which one?  My library has three books by that title, one by Elizabeth Kolbert, one by Richard Leakey, and a novel by Leonard Freeston.  I have put holds on the first two.

I just finished The Sixth Extinction. I recommend it. 


Michael792

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #173 on: June 14, 2014, 08:17:20 PM »
Tactics of the Crescent Moon: Militant Muslim Combat Methods by H. John Poole

Splendid

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #174 on: June 14, 2014, 08:21:39 PM »
Just finished reading Ranger's Apprentice (The Ruins of Gorlan) by John Flanagan. Picked it up dirt cheap at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Very good! I highly recommend it for those of you with school-age kids, especially if they're not particularly fond of reading. It's very engaging and moves along at a good pace.

Michael792

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #175 on: June 14, 2014, 08:56:40 PM »
Just finished reading Ranger's Apprentice (The Ruins of Gorlan) by John Flanagan. Picked it up dirt cheap at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Very good! I highly recommend it for those of you with school-age kids, especially if they're not particularly fond of reading. It's very engaging and moves along at a good pace.

One of my favorite books/series ever!

Wolf_Stache

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #176 on: June 15, 2014, 09:51:12 AM »
Mainspring by Jay Lake. I picked it up after I heard about his passing away last week. I met him at Orycon last year. He was an amazing person.

sheepstache

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #177 on: June 19, 2014, 09:19:08 PM »
Ha, y'all will like this.  Reading a science fiction anthology and one of the stories is about a future where everybody lives in a mall.  School, churches, dentists, etc.are all inside malls.  Plus stores, of course.  People constantly spend money.  It's told in typical blase teenager style.

Quote
It sucks going to St. James [private school]--not just because of the weekday Masses and the dress code, but because of the view out the window during the commute.  Ruins line the highway, old rotting shells of places run by stupid people who thought their businesses could survive outside of a mall.

People under 18 can access "their" money through weekly loans that come due upon adulthood.

Quote
Teen funds are my right, he thinks, feeling his face redden with inexplicable anger.  Everyone has the right to a little bit of spending money, even if sixty dollars doesn't buy a damn thing.  Teen funds teach responsibility.  They keep the mall up and running.  Everyone benefits. Why would the mall do anything to hurt us?


One of my other favorite skewerings of consumerism in science fiction is Philip K. Dick's short story "Foster, You're Dead."  (http://www.american-buddha.com/dick.phildickreader.17.htm)  A young boy suffers tremendous anxiety because his family can't afford the newest in bomb shelters.

HappierAtHome

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #178 on: June 19, 2014, 09:50:37 PM »
The Fictional Woman, by Tara Moss. Well worth reading.

Also: finally up to the Brandon Sanderson Wheel of Time books. His style is okay so far. I'm enjoying the faster pace since about book ten where it picked up a lot. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds, finally, after starting the series as a teenager and never finishing it.

SisterX

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #179 on: June 20, 2014, 11:33:54 AM »
The Fictional Woman, by Tara Moss. Well worth reading.

Also: finally up to the Brandon Sanderson Wheel of Time books. His style is okay so far. I'm enjoying the faster pace since about book ten where it picked up a lot. Can't wait to see how it all unfolds, finally, after starting the series as a teenager and never finishing it.

I finished reading the whole Wheel of Time series after putting it down at book 10 to wait for it all to finish.  I was not disappointed.  :)  Sanderson has a slightly different style, but it worked well to finish of the series.  Hope you enjoy them too!

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #180 on: June 22, 2014, 01:13:10 AM »
I'm reading The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody, by Will Cuppy. It reminds me a lot of Where are the Customer's Yachts in style (and it's equally old), though the subject matter is totally different.

It's a solid 3-4 hours total - I read half of it last night before bed and will likely finish it this morning.

mrgrump

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #181 on: June 22, 2014, 01:18:58 AM »
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt by Edmund Morris.

1967mama

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #182 on: June 22, 2014, 03:49:17 PM »
"Love and Respect" by Emmerson Eggerich

avonlea

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #183 on: June 22, 2014, 05:01:00 PM »
A Bigger Prize by Margaret Heffernan

lizzzi

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #184 on: June 22, 2014, 05:31:37 PM »
Star Trek Enterprise, Kobayashi Maru, by Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels. I get sick of the real world, but there is always something interesting going on in the Star Trek universe.

RetiredAt63

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #185 on: July 01, 2014, 12:58:11 PM »
The Sixth Extinction, by Richard Leakey.  Oldish, but good.

mxt0133

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #186 on: July 01, 2014, 01:14:58 PM »
The Distribution Age by RALPH BORSODI available online at:

http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0303critic/030308borsodi.dist.age/030308toc.htm

It was written in 1920's and it's eerie how much he got right about our production capacity out growing domestic and international demand.  This lead to the rise in marketing costs.  It is interesting how we got where we are all because of 'profit'.


boyerbt

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #187 on: July 01, 2014, 02:28:17 PM »
I too like to read a few at once and switch around. Currently reading:

- $20 Per Gallon - Chistopher Steiner
- NYPD Red 2 - James Patterson
- Bananas : how the United Fruit Company shaped the world - Peter Chapman.

ProfWinkie

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #188 on: July 05, 2014, 01:26:03 PM »
Rereading World War Z

1967mama

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #189 on: July 05, 2014, 09:49:52 PM »
"Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" recommended on one of the forums here.  Content is excellent, and love her hilarious writing style!

RetiredAt63

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #190 on: July 06, 2014, 05:59:20 AM »
+1

I am half way through, and really enjoying it.  I have also found a few recipes to try.

"Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" recommended on one of the forums here.  Content is excellent, and love her hilarious writing style!

lizzzi

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #191 on: July 06, 2014, 08:49:43 AM »
White Devil, A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America, by Stephen Brumwell. It is about Robert Rogers and his Rangers during the French and Indian War. It's non-fiction, but really an engrossing read--a page-turner.

Wolf_Stache

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #192 on: July 06, 2014, 09:14:32 AM »
Rosehead by Ksenia Anske. Its a horror novel about a rose garden that eats people.

grantmeaname

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #193 on: July 06, 2014, 04:32:47 PM »
The Big Short. I liked Liar's Poker, also by Lewis, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy this too. [humblebrag]I'm going to read it tomorrow during the five hours I'm waiting for the Tour de France to pass by me[/humblebrag].

Annamal

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #194 on: July 06, 2014, 08:22:40 PM »
Just finished "Raising Steam" by Terry Pratchett which may, depending on his health, be the last Discworld novel (he was diagnosed w. early-onset Alzheimer's some years ago but apparently is doing much better than originally predicted.) Usually I read books in bits and pieces as I have time, but I actually spent a Sunday afternoon on the couch w. the book in honor of the many hours of pleasure Mr. Pratchett and his characters have provided over the years.

Apparently he is currently working on the fifth Tiffany Aching book (but his health is failing).

I am currently re-reading (well actually relistening since I am doing it via audiobook) to chunks of Discworld and appreciating them very very much.

I got a huge part of my sense of humor from reading  Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett (and Margaret Mahy) and am imensely greatful to them.

Noodle

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #195 on: July 10, 2014, 07:28:54 AM »
Apparently he is currently working on the fifth Tiffany Aching book (but his health is failing).

I hope he finishes it! The witches are my favorite Discworld characters...

Mythili Iyer

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #196 on: July 16, 2014, 01:13:10 AM »
Currently, I am reading the Allan Quatermain adventure stories by H. Rider Haggard. The most famous of the Quatermain stories is “King Solomon’s Mines”. These stories can’t be beat for pure action with a touch of the supernatural sprinkled in here and there. I read these source of stories when I was in high school and figured it was time I revisited them.

fallstoclimb

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #197 on: July 16, 2014, 08:38:42 AM »
Lonesome Dove, and How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street.  Am loving both of them.

Malaysia41

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #198 on: July 16, 2014, 08:51:36 AM »
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.  Over the years I've read articles on the different habits, but never the book. I stopped myself buying it on Amazon and looked for a free version online.  Found it!  Reading a PDF of it on my ipad. 

Cressida

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Re: What are you READING right now?
« Reply #199 on: July 16, 2014, 07:40:15 PM »

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!