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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

    @LuFins-Dad said in What are you reading now?:

    How are the Audio versions of these?

    The later Bosch books are read by Welliver. They're good.

    Aqua LetiferA Offline
    Aqua LetiferA Offline
    Aqua Letifer
    wrote on last edited by
    #700

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

    @LuFins-Dad said in What are you reading now?:

    How are the Audio versions of these?

    The later Bosch books are read by Welliver. They're good.

    The earlier ones narrated by Dick Hill are very good, but he does interpret the characters different from the shows (or from Welliver). But they're solid.

    There's a third guy who sucks, though.

    Please love yourself.

    1 Reply Last reply
    • bachophileB Offline
      bachophileB Offline
      bachophile
      wrote on last edited by bachophile
      #701

      3ba17843-aad0-4279-a3a1-adee6065f81c-image.jpeg

      If u know the John Corey series, this is the latest installment. Very New York. The usual John Corey sarcasm.

      Actually and by amazing coincidence, it just came out before the gilgo beach murderer was arrested. The book fictionalizes that case.

      1 Reply Last reply
      • JonJ Offline
        JonJ Offline
        Jon
        wrote on last edited by
        #702

        I’ve got two audiobooks going, I’m switching back and forth depending on the background task. The Shirer requires a bit more attention be paid.

        IMG_0533.jpeg

        I have read his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich I believe 3 times. Like that book, this is also quite interesting and informed by his personal experiences as he lived in Paris from 1925 until the early 30s, and then later when he had to leave Germany.

        IMG_0534.jpeg

        This is a good casual read, he’s had an interesting life.

        jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
        • George KG Offline
          George KG Offline
          George K
          wrote on last edited by
          #703

          Binging along...

          Finished this yesterday...

          image.jpeg

          And about halfway through this today...

          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
          • Aqua LetiferA Offline
            Aqua LetiferA Offline
            Aqua Letifer
            wrote on last edited by
            #704

            @George-K very much enjoyed both. If you get to Desert Star, be interested to hear how you liked it.

            I'm currently on:

            B10075A5-C8BB-4C93-A824-C8899F3C658C.jpeg

            Please love yourself.

            1 Reply Last reply
            • bachophileB Offline
              bachophileB Offline
              bachophile
              wrote on last edited by bachophile
              #705

              1cebf532-a353-49b0-8c9a-277e5e0718a2-image.jpeg

              jon-nycJ 1 Reply Last reply
              • taiwan_girlT Offline
                taiwan_girlT Offline
                taiwan_girl
                wrote on last edited by taiwan_girl
                #706

                Just happened to read two books that are set in the Midevil times.

                The first:

                alt text

                Kind of a fun book. Not too difficult or "academic". Takes a look at different topics in 1300's England; eating, lodging, markets, etc. Very easy read.

                The second one is much more interesting

                alt text

                The story of the painting of the Sistine Chapel in Rome by Michelangelo.

                Quite fascinating and interesting story about how it happened. Michelangelo really was quite a genius. (On a side, I have always heard a story that he painted this while on his back. Not true. LOL Also quite interesting was how to paint on fresco).

                Recommended!!

                George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                • taiwan_girlT taiwan_girl

                  Just happened to read two books that are set in the Midevil times.

                  The first:

                  alt text

                  Kind of a fun book. Not too difficult or "academic". Takes a look at different topics in 1300's England; eating, lodging, markets, etc. Very easy read.

                  The second one is much more interesting

                  alt text

                  The story of the painting of the Sistine Chapel in Rome by Michelangelo.

                  Quite fascinating and interesting story about how it happened. Michelangelo really was quite a genius. (On a side, I have always heard a story that he painted this while on his back. Not true. LOL Also quite interesting was how to paint on fresco).

                  Recommended!!

                  George KG Offline
                  George KG Offline
                  George K
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #707

                  @taiwan_girl if you enjoyed Mortimer's book (and I haven't read it, yet), you might also like Bryson's At Home: A Short History of Private Life .

                  Bryson is an engaging author who has a knack for making what we consider mundane things fascinating. In this book he writes about how life has changed from the times when today's conveniences and conventions became common.

                  In these pages, the beloved Bill Bryson gives us a fascinating history of the modern home, taking us on a room-by-room tour through his own house and using each room to explore the vast history of the domestic artifacts we take for granted. As he takes us through the history of our modern comforts, Bryson demonstrates that whatever happens in the world eventually ends up in our home, in the paint, the pipes, the pillows, and every item of furniture.

                  For example:

                  “Dining tables were simply boards laid across trestles, and cupboards were just what the name says – plain boards on which cups and other vessels could be arrayed. But there weren’t many of those. Glass vessels were rare and diners were generally expected to share with a neighbour. Eventually cupboards were incorporated into rather more ornate dressers, which have nothing to do with clothing but rather with the preparation, or dressing, of food.

                  In humbler dwellings, matters were generally about as simple as they could be. The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched on the diners’ knees when food was served. Over time, ‘board’ came to signify not just the dining surface but the meal itself, which is where the ‘board’ comes from in ‘room and board’. It also explains why lodgers are called ‘boarders’ and why an honest person – someone who keeps his hands visible at all times – is said to be above board.”

                  “Seating was on plain benches – in French, bancs, from which comes ‘banquet’. Until the 1600s chairs were rare – the word itself dates only from about 1300 – and were designed not to be comfortable but to impute authority. Even now, of course, the person in charge of a meeting chairs it, and a person in charge of a company is the chairman of the board – a term that additionally, and a little oddly, recalls the dining habits of medieval peasants.”

                  "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
                    #708

                    Finished "The Night Fire" (Bosch and Ballard) this afternoon. Good, but very typical, Bosch/Connelly stuff.

                    "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
                      #709

                      I've been a fan of Reynolds for several years. His "hard" sci-fi has always been dense and at times difficult. Concepts span from one book to another and stuff that doesn't make sense is explained in subsequent books. His "Inhibitor Series" is a huge work.

                      He is an astrophysicist, so much of his writing is grounded in "real" science. For example, his description of a "space elevator" is fantastic.

                      So, I started this today:

                      Screenshot 2023-08-07 at 7.40.52 PM.png

                      The story focuses on Geoffrey and Sunday Akinya, a brother and sister who are members of a powerful African corporate family. Following the death of their influential grandmother Eunice, the siblings begin investigating a series of cryptic messages that Eunice left across the Solar System over the previous century, during her voyages to Pythagoras Crater, Phobos, Pavonis Mons, and the Kuiper Belt.

                      Much, much easier reading than his other works. I'm just "a bit" into it, but it's quite engaging.

                      "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
                      • JollyJ Offline
                        JollyJ Offline
                        Jolly
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #710

                        Currently...

                        alt text

                        “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

                        Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • bachophileB bachophile

                          1cebf532-a353-49b0-8c9a-277e5e0718a2-image.jpeg

                          jon-nycJ Offline
                          jon-nycJ Offline
                          jon-nyc
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #711

                          @bachophile said in What are you reading now?:

                          1cebf532-a353-49b0-8c9a-277e5e0718a2-image.jpeg

                          Let us know if you like it.

                          Also, how was the book on Pilate?

                          Only non-witches get due process.

                          • Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
                          bachophileB 1 Reply Last reply
                          • jon-nycJ jon-nyc

                            @bachophile said in What are you reading now?:

                            1cebf532-a353-49b0-8c9a-277e5e0718a2-image.jpeg

                            Let us know if you like it.

                            Also, how was the book on Pilate?

                            bachophileB Offline
                            bachophileB Offline
                            bachophile
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #712

                            @jon-nyc the pilate book was very hard to read, and i eventually gave up on it. there is very little source material on pilate and most of the book seemed to be a lot of conjecture and guessing.

                            otoh, kertzer is amazing. well written, easy to read...and significantly, its based on a lot of new material just released, as Pope Francis has allowed the release of secret archival material which was kept under wraps for many years.

                            so i highly recomment kertzer, the other book, was simply not good.

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            • George KG Offline
                              George KG Offline
                              George K
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #713

                              Screenshot 2023-08-20 at 5.08.01 PM.png

                              Book 2 of the "Silo" trilogy by Hugh Howey. The first book was an interesting, though somewhat predictable, take on post-apocalyptic sci-fi.

                              This book is set in the past, describing the events that led to Wool. Much more engaging, with some interesting twists. I'm about ⅓ of the way through it and enjoying it. Later in the book, it ties in with the events of Wool.

                              "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
                                #714

                                I hope to finish off the trilogy this weekend. I'm about halfway through the final book.

                                Good story overall, and the last two books are better than the first, which seems to be more of a preamble than anything else.

                                Nevertheless, all the mysteries appear to be exposed in this final chapter.

                                If you're looking for some not-too-difficult sci-fi (unlike Alastair Reynolds), this series might suit you.

                                Screenshot 2023-08-26 at 8.58.00 AM.png

                                "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
                                • JollyJ Offline
                                  JollyJ Offline
                                  Jolly
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #715

                                  alt text

                                  “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

                                  Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  • JollyJ Offline
                                    JollyJ Offline
                                    Jolly
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #716

                                    alt text

                                    “Cry havoc and let slip the DOGE of war!”

                                    Those who cheered as J-6 American prisoners were locked in solitary for 18 months without trial, now suddenly fight tooth and nail for foreign terrorists’ "due process". — Buck Sexton

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • MikM Away
                                      MikM Away
                                      Mik
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #717

                                      I listened to Foundation on the way west. Hadn’t read it since 75. Fabulous story. The tv series loses the beauty of the book entirely.

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

                                      George KG 1 Reply Last reply
                                      • MikM Mik

                                        I listened to Foundation on the way west. Hadn’t read it since 75. Fabulous story. The tv series loses the beauty of the book entirely.

                                        George KG Offline
                                        George KG Offline
                                        George K
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #718

                                        @Mik said in What are you reading now?:

                                        The tv series loses the beauty of the book entirely.

                                        No kidding. The TV show isn't bad sci-fi, it's just not Asimov's Foundation. It takes the concept of pre-history and goes from there, to a completely different direction.

                                        I re-read Foundation about 4 years ago. What a great tale.

                                        Meanwhile...

                                        IMG_3623 Large.jpeg

                                        IMG_3624 Large.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
                                          #719

                                          I'm a huge Reynolds fan. I enjoyed the first book of this trilogy, so I started the 2nd today.

                                          Screenshot 2023-09-01 at 8.09.23 PM.png

                                          Chiku Akinya, great granddaughter of the legendary space explorer Eunice Akinyaand heir to the family empire, is just one among millions on a long one way journey towards a planet they hope to call their new home. For Chiku, the journey is a personal one, undertaken to ensure that the Akinya family achieves its destiny among the stars.

                                          "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
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