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The New Coffee Room

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  3. What are you reading now?

What are you reading now?

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  • George KG George K

    @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

    bigTouristcover.jpg

    Though this was a "meh" book, I thought the concept and world that Steinhauer described was interesting. So, being curious, I thought I'd pick up the first of 3 sequels.

    image.jpeg

    About ¼ of the way through it, and so far, it's a much better book, and a much tighter story. The events of "The Tourist" set up the situation in "The Nearest Exit," but the story isn't really dependent upon it.

    George KG Offline
    George KG Offline
    George K
    wrote on last edited by
    #597

    @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

    About ¼ of the way through it, and so far, it's a much better book, and a much tighter story. The events of "The Tourist" set up the situation in "The Nearest Exit," but the story isn't really dependent upon it.

    See, I'm the type of person who likes the whole goddamned story.

    "Nearest Exit" was a much better book than "The Tourist." More satisfying, less obscure, and the characters were really fleshed out well.

    The ending was good, but left enough threads in the air that I was hankering for more.

    So the other day, I started #3 in the "Milo Weaver" series. It's gotten so-so reviews because some found it confusing and difficult to follow.

    If you're going to find spy stories convoluted, stay away from Steinhauer (and LeCarre).

    Yeah, this is convoluted, and I find it difficult to keep track of all the Chinese names. But, the overall arc has been good, and Steinhauer's trying to tie up the loose ends of "The Nearest Exit."

    I find myself getting into a rhythm of his books, and I'll probably continue with the fourth, and final, book in the "Weaver" stories.

    image.jpeg

    "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

    The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • George KG Offline
      George KG Offline
      George K
      wrote on last edited by George K
      #598

      Unfortunately, "An American Spy" was not what I was hoping for. There's a lot of edge-of-your-seat action, and lots of suspense, double-crosses, etc.

      But...it's nothing more than a vehicle to set up the fourth, and final, book of the Milo Weaver story.

      I found all of the Chinese characters' names confusing, and the wheels-within-wheels story was just a bit too complicated for its own good. It's like "All The Old Knives" on steroids.

      So, someone recommended more Alastair Reynolds. This is a standalone book. I'm only about 10% into it, and it's typical Reyonlds. It has a totally new take on a far-flung future. Humanity is no longer what it was. The protagonist, an "angel" pathologist named Quinllan, has to leave his home.

      Why? Who's put him in danger?

      Typical Reynolds. Mind-boggling imagination and wholly unique worlds.

      image.jpeg

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_World

      "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

      The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • kluursK Offline
        kluursK Offline
        kluurs
        wrote on last edited by
        #599

        c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

        I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

        George KG 1 Reply Last reply
        • kluursK kluurs

          c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

          I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

          George KG Offline
          George KG Offline
          George K
          wrote on last edited by
          #600

          @kluurs said in What are you reading now?:

          c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

          I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

          @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

          Still haven't gotten around to it.

          "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

          The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

          bachophileB jon-nycJ George KG 3 Replies Last reply
          • George KG George K

            @kluurs said in What are you reading now?:

            c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

            I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

            @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

            Still haven't gotten around to it.

            bachophileB Offline
            bachophileB Offline
            bachophile
            wrote on last edited by
            #601

            @George-K still do

            havent yet got to this one

            1 Reply Last reply
            • bachophileB Offline
              bachophileB Offline
              bachophile
              wrote on last edited by
              #602

              35eef64c-f0ba-4359-840d-1853b6920736-image.png

              1 Reply Last reply
              • Aqua LetiferA Offline
                Aqua LetiferA Offline
                Aqua Letifer
                wrote on last edited by
                #603

                @George-K You read any of these? I'm in the last bits of this one:

                CB4AC420-F2E3-4C82-885F-4E622B759E0F.jpeg

                Please love yourself.

                George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer

                  @George-K You read any of these? I'm in the last bits of this one:

                  CB4AC420-F2E3-4C82-885F-4E622B759E0F.jpeg

                  George KG Offline
                  George KG Offline
                  George K
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #604

                  @Aqua-Letifer no, I haven't. I might pick up a Ballard book just to see how it dovetails with the Bosch books.

                  Still plowing through Interview with the Vampire - getting boring, I might add.

                  "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                  The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                  Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply
                  • George KG George K

                    @Aqua-Letifer no, I haven't. I might pick up a Ballard book just to see how it dovetails with the Bosch books.

                    Still plowing through Interview with the Vampire - getting boring, I might add.

                    Aqua LetiferA Offline
                    Aqua LetiferA Offline
                    Aqua Letifer
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #605

                    @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

                    @Aqua-Letifer no, I haven't. I might pick up a Ballard book just to see how it dovetails with the Bosch books.

                    If they're anything like these, they're 50/50 with every other chapter written from Bosch or Ballard's perspective. Other than that, pretty much more of the same so if you like the other books, these are good, too.

                    Please love yourself.

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    • MikM Offline
                      MikM Offline
                      Mik
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #606

                      82173B7A-502E-42AD-976F-1A3828FDE00D.jpeg

                      “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                      Doctor PhibesD 1 Reply Last reply
                      • MikM Offline
                        MikM Offline
                        Mik
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #607

                        Also

                        alt text

                        “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • Catseye3C Offline
                          Catseye3C Offline
                          Catseye3
                          wrote on last edited by Catseye3
                          #608

                          I just bought this. New writer for me.

                          Amazon: "In 1954, at the start of the Cold War, the Soviet military offered four political prisoners their freedom if they participated in an experiment requiring them to remain awake for fourteen days while under the influence of a powerful stimulant gas. The prisoners ultimately reverted to murder, self-mutilation, and madness.

                          None survived.

                          In 2018, Dr. Roy Wallis, an esteemed psychology professor at UC Berkeley, is attempting to recreate the same experiment during the summer break in a soon-to-be demolished building on campus. He and two student assistants share an eight-hour rotational schedule to observe their young Australian test subjects around the clock.

                          What begins innocently enough, however, morphs into a nightmare beyond description that no one could have imagined—with, perhaps, the exception of Dr. Roy Wallis himself."

                          When it comes to horror I love slow gradual escalation peppered with small shivery surprises, a la King.

                          6be42a59-e260-4ed5-88b6-adba5a769167-image.png

                          Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

                          George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                          • Catseye3C Catseye3

                            I just bought this. New writer for me.

                            Amazon: "In 1954, at the start of the Cold War, the Soviet military offered four political prisoners their freedom if they participated in an experiment requiring them to remain awake for fourteen days while under the influence of a powerful stimulant gas. The prisoners ultimately reverted to murder, self-mutilation, and madness.

                            None survived.

                            In 2018, Dr. Roy Wallis, an esteemed psychology professor at UC Berkeley, is attempting to recreate the same experiment during the summer break in a soon-to-be demolished building on campus. He and two student assistants share an eight-hour rotational schedule to observe their young Australian test subjects around the clock.

                            What begins innocently enough, however, morphs into a nightmare beyond description that no one could have imagined—with, perhaps, the exception of Dr. Roy Wallis himself."

                            When it comes to horror I love slow gradual escalation peppered with small shivery surprises, a la King.

                            6be42a59-e260-4ed5-88b6-adba5a769167-image.png

                            George KG Offline
                            George KG Offline
                            George K
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #609

                            @Catseye3 ooh. that looks like fun.

                            "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08

                            The saying, "Lite is just one damn thing after another," is a gross understatement. The damn things overlap.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • MikM Mik

                              82173B7A-502E-42AD-976F-1A3828FDE00D.jpeg

                              Doctor PhibesD Offline
                              Doctor PhibesD Offline
                              Doctor Phibes
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #610

                              @Mik how was the Dave Grohl book?

                              I was only joking

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              • George KG George K

                                @kluurs said in What are you reading now?:

                                c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

                                I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

                                @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

                                Still haven't gotten around to it.

                                jon-nycJ Offline
                                jon-nycJ Offline
                                jon-nyc
                                wrote on last edited by jon-nyc
                                #611

                                @George-K said in What are you reading now?:

                                @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

                                Still haven't gotten around to it.

                                I’m actually re-listening to it now. You’ll love it. Great history. Not just of the medicine but public policy.

                                Only non-witches get due process.

                                • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • taiwan_girlT Offline
                                  taiwan_girlT Offline
                                  taiwan_girl
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #612

                                  alt text

                                  The story of the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary. One of the biggest volunteers to the project was actually a US guy in a English criminal insane asylum. (He was there for murder)

                                  Actually, it was quite an interesting book. Really enjoyed it and did not know the history behind the writing of the book.

                                  CopperC 1 Reply Last reply
                                  • taiwan_girlT taiwan_girl

                                    alt text

                                    The story of the writing of the Oxford English Dictionary. One of the biggest volunteers to the project was actually a US guy in a English criminal insane asylum. (He was there for murder)

                                    Actually, it was quite an interesting book. Really enjoyed it and did not know the history behind the writing of the book.

                                    CopperC Offline
                                    CopperC Offline
                                    Copper
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #613

                                    @taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

                                    Actually, it was quite an interesting book.

                                    The movie was out a few years ago

                                    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professor_and_the_Madman_(film)

                                    taiwan_girlT 1 Reply Last reply
                                    • CopperC Copper

                                      @taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:

                                      Actually, it was quite an interesting book.

                                      The movie was out a few years ago

                                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Professor_and_the_Madman_(film)

                                      taiwan_girlT Offline
                                      taiwan_girlT Offline
                                      taiwan_girl
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #614

                                      @Copper Hmm. Did not know that. Will have see if I can watch it.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                        Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                        Aqua Letifer
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #615

                                        329D11E3-1C25-446D-B543-8AA7FDAB47F1.jpeg

                                        Astonishingly, not a kook book.

                                        When medieval Vikings used their words for "elf," they didn't mean slender, thin people with pointy ears. And "dwarf" didn't mean stout, beer-drinking short people with braided beards. They weren't races at all. This book basically explains what they meant when they used those words.

                                        He uses the word paranormal to try to help modern readers get into the mindset of medieval cultures. We hear "paranormal" and think "X-Files," which is a modern example of what it looks like when people believe in superstition.

                                        Please love yourself.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        • jon-nycJ Offline
                                          jon-nycJ Offline
                                          jon-nyc
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #616

                                          Finished The Gene today.

                                          I’ll start this at the gym tomorrow:

                                          65342548-94AD-476B-82FC-CA0437B93C67.jpeg

                                          Only non-witches get due process.

                                          • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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