What are you reading now?
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Right now I'm reading part of The World Almanac from 2016.
I'm reading the part of the book that has statistics about the physical size of each country in the world...square miles.
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@catseye3 said in What are you reading now?:
Another book that has that same easy style that absorbs you is The Russians by Hedrick Smith. He wrote it based on his experiences as the Moscow NYT Bureau Chief. IIRC, the emphasis was very much on everyday life in Russia, and not so much on politics. (I could be wrong about that, though.)
No you're not wrong. Smith did not venture into politics he focused on everyday life. I still have my copy that I read back when it came out in the late 1970s. One topic that Smith really did not understand though was Solzhenitsyn. Westerners had no clue about what Solzhenitsyn was on about then, nor did they understand him any better when he was in exile. It was only after he returned to Russia in the 1990s did Westerners begin to grasp how much he loathed Western liberalism and democratic values.
Did you know that Smith wrote a follow up book during the late Gorbachev era entitled The New Russians?
I should reread both books just to see how they stand in perspective of what has happened there in the last 30 years.
“Little by little I am learning the art of being quite content by doing very little slowly” ~ Lionel Hardcastle
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I started part 3 of the trilogy ...
Reynolds is a master storyteller.
His works are not easy - they're not "popcorn" - and demand that you pay attention. You know there are some TV shows you can have on in the background and sort of ignore. Then, a month later, you say, "Yeah, I watched that." Some books are like that.
None of the "Revelation Space" books are like that. You have to be attentive so that you can absorb everything he says. There's so much stuff that's intertwined that you must pay attention to every paragraph.
Such a challenge, but so rewarding as well.
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@kluurs said in What are you reading now?:
@george-k let me know what you think of that (Greenlights by McConaughey) - I was thinking about that book.
A fun, easy read. He comes off as a very normal type of person - one not involved with all the hype of the entertainment industry, and is grateful for the good luck in becoming so successful.
Worth a weekend's read - but not truly memorable other than you get some insights into the life of someone who seems to be a genuinely likable person.
"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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I just finished re-reading Icerigger by Alan Dean Foster. Fun read that held up well since I read it as a teen.
Now I am in the first several chapters of A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos. It gives the background of the German pilot that refused to shoot down a defenseless B17 and instead escorted it to the English Channel. It begins totally focused on the German pilot's upbringing and career as a commercial pilot and how he came to enlist and fight first in North Africa and then Sicily. I am hoping it will in turn give as much background on the American pilot of the B17. Good read so far.
Next on the list is what looks very intriguing, First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us by Jeremy DeSilva. I love documentaries, science, history, NOVA, etc. and this seems right in that lane.
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@kincaid said in What are you reading now?:
I just finished re-reading Icerigger by Alan Dean Foster. Fun read that held up well since I read it as a teen.
Now I am in the first several chapters of A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story of Combat and Chivalry in the War-Torn Skies of World War II by Adam Makos. It gives the background of the German pilot that refused to shoot down a defenseless B17 and instead escorted it to the English Channel. It begins totally focused on the German pilot's upbringing and career as a commercial pilot and how he came to enlist and fight first in North Africa and then Sicily. I am hoping it will in turn give as much background on the American pilot of the B17. Good read so far.
Next on the list is what looks very intriguing, First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us by Jeremy DeSilva. I love documentaries, science, history, NOVA, etc. and this seems right in that lane.
Foster ain't Shakespeare, but he can tell a tale.
With the advent of CGI, somebody ought to do a movie based on Spellsinger.
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Speaking of re-reading...
Always thought this one would have made a good movie. You've got the wandering gunman, the feisty farmer's daughter with her family being torn apart by addiction, an arranged marriage, a kidnapping, murder and a climactic gunfight.
BTW, this one is a free read at Faded Page.
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@george-k said in What are you reading now?:
He comes off as a very normal type of person
Let me amend that...
Normal in the sense that he's not full of himself like many Hollyweird types.
Not normal in the sense that he took a boat trip up the Amazon River to see the natives, and wrestled with a guy in Africa.
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@renauda said in What are you reading now?:
Did you know that Smith wrote a follow up book during the late Gorbachev era entitled The New Russians?
I should reread both books just to see how they stand in perspective of what has happened there in the 30 years.
^No, I didn't! And yes, it would be interesting to compare the two. If I ever get serious about my reading again, I will consider doing that also.
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"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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Looks interesting.
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This is just one book out of an entire series. They aren't the best ever written, but you can find most of the series on Abe Books in hardcover for three or four bucks each. Makes for a nice reference set in the shop.
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@george-k said in What are you reading now?:
Audio version or book? I was planning on getting the audio for listening during vacation. If that ever happens.
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@bachophile said in What are you reading now?:
Audio version
Yeah. That's what I'm doing. It's a short book - about 5 hours, so you might want to get something else as well.
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I'm also going through the short stories in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space universe. They're quick little reads and do a lot to fill in the background of the larger books.
Reynolds has done a remarkable job of world-building. The stories are intricate, intertwined and span centuries, frequently within the same book. He doesn't allow magical FTL travel, and he actually has an explanation for the Fermi paradox.
Looking forward to his next book (Inhibitor Phase) coming out in July.
