What are you reading now?
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wrote on 8 May 2021, 16:07 last edited by
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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.
wrote on 8 May 2021, 16:21 last edited by@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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wrote on 11 May 2021, 17:46 last edited by
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wrote on 12 May 2021, 12:28 last edited by
Looks interesting.
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wrote on 12 May 2021, 12:31 last edited by Jolly 5 Dec 2021, 12:31
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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wrote on 12 May 2021, 13:56 last edited by bachophile 5 Dec 2021, 13:56
@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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@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.
wrote on 12 May 2021, 14:03 last edited by@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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wrote on 12 May 2021, 14:16 last edited by
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.
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wrote on 15 May 2021, 14:37 last edited by
To Whom It May Concern:
There are occasional convos here about college admissions. I'm posting this for those who may want to pursue the topic.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Z43V2RY?
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wrote on 18 May 2021, 22:40 last edited by
Evangelizing Alastair Reynolds "Revelation Space" books - again.
Having gone through all of the RS books (and, believe me, they're LONG and complicated), I decided to re-read the short stories that flesh out some of the stuff in his books.
Having done that, I thought it might be fun to re-read "The Prefect" (or, as he renamed it, "Aurora Rising"). It's set before the events of the main trilogy which he published first.
What a great tale.
In terms of complexity and world-building, it is, IMO, on the order of Dune. The re-read adds SO much to the understanding of what's going on.
Highly, highly recommended. This is hard, HARD, sci-fi, however. It's intricate, complex and demands your total immersion.
Also, these are long books - 500-600 pages each. Totally worth the effort.
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wrote on 19 May 2021, 00:04 last edited by
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wrote on 19 May 2021, 00:40 last edited by
The author is a classmate of a friend.
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wrote on 21 May 2021, 03:08 last edited by
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wrote on 21 May 2021, 03:37 last edited by
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wrote on 21 May 2021, 12:24 last edited by
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wrote on 21 May 2021, 13:27 last edited by
@george-k said in What are you reading now?:
@loki is this a new Larson?
I think 2020. It’s amazing. I have read so much Churchill but am learning more. Mostly what makes it so good is that you have a fiction writer take on non fiction and you just don’t want to put it down… even though you know the ending.
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@george-k said in What are you reading now?:
@loki is this a new Larson?
I think 2020. It’s amazing. I have read so much Churchill but am learning more. Mostly what makes it so good is that you have a fiction writer take on non fiction and you just don’t want to put it down… even though you know the ending.
wrote on 22 May 2021, 03:47 last edited by@loki I have read some of his other books and they were really good.
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wrote on 22 May 2021, 04:10 last edited by
I wouldn’t call Larson a fiction writer. He writes almost exclusively non fiction.
