What are you reading now?
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@bachophile said in What are you reading now?:
a number of years ago an alleged papyrus from the first century was discovered which purported to imply Jesus was married and it turned out to be a forgery.
It’s the story of a Harvard professor and how academia was fooled, and in general about the role of women in the early Christian texts.
Ah thanks. I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing. I can't remember the name right now. Hard for me to finish, as it talked about lots of things I have no background or knowledge in.
wrote on 10 Oct 2020, 01:03 last edited by@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing.
Was it one of Bart Ehrman's books?
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@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing.
Was it one of Bart Ehrman's books?
wrote on 10 Oct 2020, 01:36 last edited by taiwan_girl 10 Oct 2020, 01:37@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing.
Was it one of Bart Ehrman's books?
I am pretty sure no. I looked up his books.
EDIT: I found it!!!!! "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing.
Was it one of Bart Ehrman's books?
I am pretty sure no. I looked up his books.
EDIT: I found it!!!!! "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"
wrote on 10 Oct 2020, 01:59 last edited by@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
"The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"
Ehrman is a most interesting guy. He grew up in Wheaton, IL, in a very religious family. He attended religious-based schools all his life, and became the chairman of religious studies at (I think) Duke. Then, upon reflection, he became an atheist.
I've always found it interesting that the chairman of a religious studies department can be an atheist. On one hand, it gives him a position of objectivity, on the other, you have to wonder whether if, as an atheist, he has any standing as chairman of a department that's devoted to religion.
(waiting for @Ivorythumper to chime in!)
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wrote on 10 Oct 2020, 03:03 last edited by
Educated beyond his intelligence.
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@taiwan_girl said in What are you reading now?:
I read a book like that a years ago that supposedly said the same thing.
Was it one of Bart Ehrman's books?
I am pretty sure no. I looked up his books.
EDIT: I found it!!!!! "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail"
wrote on 10 Oct 2020, 04:46 last edited by@taiwan_girl that sounds like one of those da Vinci code spinoffs.
This is about serious scholarship and a screw up at Harvard divinity school ( which actually banked on da Vinci code populism to push a forgery) and its repercussions.
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wrote on 13 Oct 2020, 19:48 last edited by
More pulp....
Reynolds has written a huge saga based on the "Revelation Space" universe. I've not read any of them, but they look intriguing. This book consists of two short stories, "The Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial." Though not written first, they are chronologically first in the tale.
Thought I'd give it a shot.
The first story was great. Nice, self-contained introduction into the rest of the saga. Looking forward to the others.
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More pulp....
Reynolds has written a huge saga based on the "Revelation Space" universe. I've not read any of them, but they look intriguing. This book consists of two short stories, "The Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial." Though not written first, they are chronologically first in the tale.
Thought I'd give it a shot.
The first story was great. Nice, self-contained introduction into the rest of the saga. Looking forward to the others.
wrote on 22 Oct 2020, 22:01 last edited by@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Reynolds has written a huge saga based on the "Revelation Space" universe. I've not read any of them, but they look intriguing. This book consists of two short stories, "The Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial." Though not written first, they are chronologically first in the tale.
Great, hard, HARD, sci-fi.
I've read the first four short stories/novellas in the "Revalation Space" universe.
"Great Wall of Mars" sets up the universe with the background of the "Conjoiners." The next three stories expand on the premise.
One of the reasons I decided to go chronologically rather than in order of publication is that some of the characters that appear in later novels are introduced in the short stories/novellas.
Each is about 90 minutes or so, and are really fun.
Gonna take a break from this and dive into the next of the "Dune" prequels: The Machine Crusade.
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wrote on 22 Oct 2020, 22:14 last edited by
@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
When did he write that? Seems like a reference to Tweety.
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
When did he write that? Seems like a reference to Tweety.
wrote on 22 Oct 2020, 22:19 last edited by George K@jon-nyc said in What are you reading now?:
When did he write that? Seems like a reference to Tweety.
In 2010. Pick your POTUS.
"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.
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wrote on 22 Oct 2020, 22:20 last edited by
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@jon-nyc said in What are you reading now?:
When did he write that? Seems like a reference to Tweety.
In 2010. Pick your POTUS.
wrote on 23 Oct 2020, 00:45 last edited by@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@jon-nyc said in What are you reading now?:
When did he write that? Seems like a reference to Tweety.
In 2010. Pick your POTUS.
Yeah but the bird cage in particular.
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wrote on 2 Nov 2020, 19:39 last edited by bachophile 11 Feb 2020, 19:40
Just finished this, deeply painful romance, good also if u r interested in WWI historical fiction with a lot of WWI medical history. But in the end, a love story. By the author of the piano tuner, which I also enjoyed.
Now just starting this
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Reynolds has written a huge saga based on the "Revelation Space" universe. I've not read any of them, but they look intriguing. This book consists of two short stories, "The Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial." Though not written first, they are chronologically first in the tale.
Great, hard, HARD, sci-fi.
I've read the first four short stories/novellas in the "Revalation Space" universe.
"Great Wall of Mars" sets up the universe with the background of the "Conjoiners." The next three stories expand on the premise.
One of the reasons I decided to go chronologically rather than in order of publication is that some of the characters that appear in later novels are introduced in the short stories/novellas.
Each is about 90 minutes or so, and are really fun.
Gonna take a break from this and dive into the next of the "Dune" prequels: The Machine Crusade.
wrote on 8 Nov 2020, 23:48 last edited by George K 11 Aug 2020, 23:49@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Gonna take a break from this and dive into the next of the "Dune" prequels: The Machine Crusade.
Finishing this up (hope to be done tomorrow).
It's a great tale, and a worthy sequel to "The Butlerian Jihad." I know it'll leave a lot of things unresolved until the final book of the trilogy, but I've enjoyed it.
There are some flaws (some disposable characters that waste a lot of space - introduced and then gone), but it picks up nicely from the first book.
When I dove into this, I found it fascinating that Xavier Harkonnen is such a hero. I can't wait to find out what the story about the Harkonnen/Atreides feud is all about.
If you haven't read "Dune," it might be a bit of a heavy lift, because there are so many points at which you go "Oh! Yeah! That explains what happened there...." But as a standalone, it does have its merits, particularly when joined with the first book. Looking forward to #3.
"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.
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wrote on 10 Nov 2020, 02:30 last edited by
Good story, but very much a place holder for the last part of the trilogy.
Gonna take a Dune break and dive into Revelation Space (Alistair Reynolds). I did the first stories of this universe (short stories, all) and liked what he's setting up.
I'm going to go chronological, not in terms of publication, but in terms of the story.
So, up next:
Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a law enforcement officer with the Panoply. His beat is the multifaceted utopian society of the Glitter Band, that vast swirl of space habitats orbiting the planet Yellowstone, the teeming hub of a human interstellar empire spanning many worlds. His current case: investigating a murderous attack against one of the habitats that left 900 people dead, a crime that appalls even a hardened cop like Dreyfus. But then his investigation uncovers something far more serious than mass slaughter---a covert plot by an enigmatic entity who seeks nothing less than total control of the Glitter Band. Before long, the Panoply detectives are fighting against something worse than tyranny, in a struggle that will lead to more devastation and more death. And Dreyfus will discover that to save what is precious, you may have to destroy it.
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wrote on 13 Nov 2020, 16:11 last edited by
For Mik --
Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America's Youngest Sommelier
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TF91YMC?_bbid=17064396&tag=bookbubemail12-20
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Gonna take a break from this and dive into the next of the "Dune" prequels: The Machine Crusade.
Finishing this up (hope to be done tomorrow).
It's a great tale, and a worthy sequel to "The Butlerian Jihad." I know it'll leave a lot of things unresolved until the final book of the trilogy, but I've enjoyed it.
There are some flaws (some disposable characters that waste a lot of space - introduced and then gone), but it picks up nicely from the first book.
When I dove into this, I found it fascinating that Xavier Harkonnen is such a hero. I can't wait to find out what the story about the Harkonnen/Atreides feud is all about.
If you haven't read "Dune," it might be a bit of a heavy lift, because there are so many points at which you go "Oh! Yeah! That explains what happened there...." But as a standalone, it does have its merits, particularly when joined with the first book. Looking forward to #3.
wrote on 13 Nov 2020, 16:26 last edited by@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Gonna take a break from this and dive into the next of the "Dune" prequels: The Machine Crusade.
Finishing this up (hope to be done tomorrow).
It's a great tale, and a worthy sequel to "The Butlerian Jihad." I know it'll leave a lot of things unresolved until the final book of the trilogy, but I've enjoyed it.
There are some flaws (some disposable characters that waste a lot of space - introduced and then gone), but it picks up nicely from the first book.
When I dove into this, I found it fascinating that Xavier Harkonnen is such a hero. I can't wait to find out what the story about the Harkonnen/Atreides feud is all about.
If you haven't read "Dune," it might be a bit of a heavy lift, because there are so many points at which you go "Oh! Yeah! That explains what happened there...." But as a standalone, it does have its merits, particularly when joined with the first book. Looking forward to #3.
Yeah, the Harkonnen/Atreides story is definitely interesting. I also enjoyed the Norma development...
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Good story, but very much a place holder for the last part of the trilogy.
Gonna take a Dune break and dive into Revelation Space (Alistair Reynolds). I did the first stories of this universe (short stories, all) and liked what he's setting up.
I'm going to go chronological, not in terms of publication, but in terms of the story.
So, up next:
Tom Dreyfus is a Prefect, a law enforcement officer with the Panoply. His beat is the multifaceted utopian society of the Glitter Band, that vast swirl of space habitats orbiting the planet Yellowstone, the teeming hub of a human interstellar empire spanning many worlds. His current case: investigating a murderous attack against one of the habitats that left 900 people dead, a crime that appalls even a hardened cop like Dreyfus. But then his investigation uncovers something far more serious than mass slaughter---a covert plot by an enigmatic entity who seeks nothing less than total control of the Glitter Band. Before long, the Panoply detectives are fighting against something worse than tyranny, in a struggle that will lead to more devastation and more death. And Dreyfus will discover that to save what is precious, you may have to destroy it.
wrote on 8 Dec 2020, 23:55 last edited by@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Great tale. Wonderful world-building that expands on the short stories that I read before. Long and intricate, without being confusing.
I'm going to go thru the "Revelation Space" universe in chronological (not published) order. The short stories and novellas have given enough background to make it understandable.
But...up next, to finish the trilogy:
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wrote on 9 Dec 2020, 00:34 last edited by
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@George-K said in What are you reading now?:
Great tale. Wonderful world-building that expands on the short stories that I read before. Long and intricate, without being confusing.
I'm going to go thru the "Revelation Space" universe in chronological (not published) order. The short stories and novellas have given enough background to make it understandable.
But...up next, to finish the trilogy:
wrote on 18 Jan 2021, 03:02 last edited by@george-k said in What are you reading now?:
Finally, FINALLY, finished this.
Great tale which, considering the source material ("Dune") set thousands of years in the future from this story, does a great job of setting the foundation of so much of what becomes canon in "Dune."
The Mentats
The Bene Gesiret (though not named as such)
The Atreides / Harkonnen feud
The "are you a human" concept.
The origin of the "Freemen," Fremen of Arrakis.
The origin of House Corrino.Thoroughly enjoyed the trilogy, though the ending seemed a bit rushed in the last 100 pages.
A good, rollicking sci-fi tale.
If you're up to a commitment, read the whole trilogy. It's fun. At my age, I enjoy popcorn.
