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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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  • G Offline
    G Offline
    George K
    wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 00:17 last edited by
    #449

    More Bosch

    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
    • G Offline
      G Offline
      George K
      wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 00:19 last edited by
      #450

      Oh, between that and the Banks book, I did LeCarre's "Spy Who Came in From the Cold." I enjoyed "A Legacy of Spies" so I thought it might be fun to revisit the premise of LeCarre's penultimate book.

      "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
      • G George K
        9 Feb 2022, 00:04

        Almost finished with "Endurance."

        A very well-told tale which never, ever gets boring.

        It reminds me of "Unbroken," the story of survival of the airmen of a downed B-24 in WWII.

        J Online
        J Online
        jon-nyc
        wrote on 18 Feb 2022, 04:26 last edited by
        #451

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

        Almost finished with "Endurance."

        A very well-told tale which never, ever gets boring.

        It reminds me of "Unbroken," the story of survival of the airmen of a downed B-24 in WWII.

        Glad you enjoyed it. Awesome book.

        "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
        -Cormac McCarthy

        1 Reply Last reply
        • G Offline
          G Offline
          George K
          wrote on 19 Feb 2022, 21:00 last edited by
          #452

          Just finished "Angel's Flight," the Bosch book.

          It was not my favorite. It had a really nice twist about ⅔ of the way through, but the ending was a bit of a disappointment.

          Up next - more Iain M Banks:

          51RHThKGOEL.AC_UY436_QL65.jpg

          "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
          • G George K
            28 Jan 2022, 22:09

            @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

            I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

            Started this today...

            Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

            Bumping this for @Renauda who might find it interesting.

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Renauda
            wrote on 19 Feb 2022, 21:10 last edited by Renauda
            #453

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

            @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

            I love, LOVE, Ben MacIntyre's books ("Operation Mincemeat").

            Started this today...

            Screen Shot 2022-01-27 at 4.53.31 PM copy.jpg

            Bumping this for @Renauda who might find it interesting.

            Read it a few years ago. Really good. A genuine page turner.

            Elbows up!

            1 Reply Last reply
            • G Offline
              G Offline
              George K
              wrote on 23 Feb 2022, 01:13 last edited by
              #454

              Return to "Dune."

              About 100 pages in...so far, meh.

              It seems like the desire to spin-out spin-offs is causing the ability to write creative stories is winning. The words that kept coming to me as I started were "cash cow."

              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.

              G 1 Reply Last reply 27 Feb 2022, 02:20
              • G George K
                23 Feb 2022, 01:13

                Return to "Dune."

                About 100 pages in...so far, meh.

                It seems like the desire to spin-out spin-offs is causing the ability to write creative stories is winning. The words that kept coming to me as I started were "cash cow."

                image.jpeg

                G Offline
                G Offline
                George K
                wrote on 27 Feb 2022, 02:20 last edited by
                #455

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

                Return to "Dune."

                About 100 pages in...so far, meh.

                Actually not too bad. Pretty predictable, and with the multiple storylines (The Sisterhood, the Mentats, the Navigators, the Venport industries) the tale is limber enough to keep your interest.

                Oh, and, of course, Arrakis.

                Got about 100 pages left.

                Popcorn's pretty good.

                *** out of **** stars so far.

                "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
                • G Offline
                  G Offline
                  George K
                  wrote on 9 Mar 2022, 23:29 last edited by
                  #456

                  Taking a deep, deep dive into the "Dune" universe, I finished "Sisterhood" a few days ago. I stand by my original thoughts. A very satisfying tale, and it makes you want to get to the next story.

                  So, today, I finished this:

                  image.jpeg

                  It's basically a continuation of "Sisterhood," and my thoughts are exactly the same. Very satisfying popcorn that makes you want more, so, today, I started this:

                  https://images-na.ssl-imagimage.jpeg es-amazon.com/images/I/91mTFk88YpL.jpg

                  "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
                  • G Offline
                    G Offline
                    George K
                    wrote on 12 Mar 2022, 14:38 last edited by
                    #457

                    I have about ⅔ of the last "Dune" book left, and it's okay. Very predictable in terms of character development, etc. Popcorn, as I said. Not great popcorn, but okay popcorn.

                    When I finish that, I'm going to queue this up:

                    Screen Shot 2022-03-12 at 8.36.37 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
                    • J Online
                      J Online
                      jon-nyc
                      wrote on 16 Mar 2022, 13:46 last edited by jon-nyc
                      #458

                      Just finished this:

                      7C1AA53A-F7F7-4027-AE9E-167C2ACFCB90.jpeg

                      Rather disappointing on account of being so vague. Like critical legal theory texts I’ve read, it tends to be long on complaints about liberal/enlightenment values and short on remedy or policy.

                      I’m now about halfway through Derrick Bell’s book:

                      F4AF8595-0724-462D-A9E5-82E420D53AB2.jpeg

                      It’s well written, and even though it is a collection of fictive short stories or parables it’s far more substantive than Delgado and Stefancic’s introduction.

                      It does come across as a bit dated, as he’s describing institutional environments that were mostly gone by the time I started my career. Still a very worthy read.

                      "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                      -Cormac McCarthy

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      • G Offline
                        G Offline
                        George K
                        wrote on 19 Mar 2022, 21:27 last edited by
                        #459

                        I cheated, and continued my dive into the Dune-iverse. Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                        Finished this today.

                        image.jpeg

                        It jumps forward about 10K years from the other prequels (Sisterhood, Navigators, Mentats) and puts you about 30 years before the original book. The Harkonnen/Atreides feud continues.

                        There are 3 in the series, but I'll take a pause for a while.

                        Started this today. Kind of interesting reading this guy's remembrances of early East Germany and his parents' indoctrination into the Soviet line of thinking.

                        image.jpeg

                        More on the author here:

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

                        "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.

                        J G 2 Replies Last reply 19 Mar 2022, 23:38
                        • G George K
                          19 Mar 2022, 21:27

                          I cheated, and continued my dive into the Dune-iverse. Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                          Finished this today.

                          image.jpeg

                          It jumps forward about 10K years from the other prequels (Sisterhood, Navigators, Mentats) and puts you about 30 years before the original book. The Harkonnen/Atreides feud continues.

                          There are 3 in the series, but I'll take a pause for a while.

                          Started this today. Kind of interesting reading this guy's remembrances of early East Germany and his parents' indoctrination into the Soviet line of thinking.

                          image.jpeg

                          More on the author here:

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

                          J Online
                          J Online
                          jon-nyc
                          wrote on 19 Mar 2022, 23:38 last edited by
                          #460

                          @George-K

                          Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                          Yep, one damn thing after another…

                          "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                          -Cormac McCarthy

                          G 2 Replies Last reply 19 Mar 2022, 23:50
                          • J jon-nyc
                            19 Mar 2022, 23:38

                            @George-K

                            Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                            Yep, one damn thing after another…

                            G Offline
                            G Offline
                            George K
                            wrote on 19 Mar 2022, 23:50 last edited by
                            #461

                            @jon-nyc LOL...

                            "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
                            • J jon-nyc
                              19 Mar 2022, 23:38

                              @George-K

                              Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                              Yep, one damn thing after another…

                              G Offline
                              G Offline
                              George K
                              wrote on 20 Mar 2022, 00:01 last edited by
                              #462

                              @jon-nyc the thing that gets me about these books is that they are all, well, boring.

                              I read Bolton's book, and I found it supremely uninteresting. It was one rant after another. It was about three times longer than it needed to be, in my opinion.

                              Hopefully Barr's won't fall to that standard.

                              "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
                              • J Online
                                J Online
                                jon-nyc
                                wrote on 21 Mar 2022, 00:58 last edited by
                                #463

                                I haven’t read any Trump admin memoirs. Or Obama admin for that matter.

                                I did read all the Bush era ones, well at least national security related and finance related.

                                "You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from."
                                -Cormac McCarthy

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                • G George K
                                  19 Mar 2022, 21:27

                                  I cheated, and continued my dive into the Dune-iverse. Was gonna start Barr's book, but...well, you know how it goes.

                                  Finished this today.

                                  image.jpeg

                                  It jumps forward about 10K years from the other prequels (Sisterhood, Navigators, Mentats) and puts you about 30 years before the original book. The Harkonnen/Atreides feud continues.

                                  There are 3 in the series, but I'll take a pause for a while.

                                  Started this today. Kind of interesting reading this guy's remembrances of early East Germany and his parents' indoctrination into the Soviet line of thinking.

                                  image.jpeg

                                  More on the author here:

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

                                  G Offline
                                  G Offline
                                  George K
                                  wrote on 22 Mar 2022, 20:44 last edited by
                                  #464

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

                                  image.jpeg

                                  Finished it this afternoon. Interesting tale, which is much more interesting in the first half than the second. His memories of his education in East Germany, his love affairs, and his recruitment by the KGB were really intriguing.

                                  Some of the training he received (spending two years in Moscow learning English - with an American, not German, accent), his education on tradecraft, etc also made interesting reading. I found his first exposure to West Berlin ("Everything was so colorful, and the people smiled.") almost sad. He recounts going to a restaurant and ordering a beer. When he asked for a bottle opener, the waiter was dumbfounded, and twisted the cap off for him. Apparently twist-off caps were not a thing in East Berlin, and he realized that such simple ignorances of the culture could give away his identity as a foreigner.

                                  I was disappointed that the book didn't get into what he was actually doing for the KGB in his years in New York. The only hint he gave is that when he worked for MetLife (insurance) he photographed some computer code and sent it to Moscow.

                                  3/5 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
                                  • G George K
                                    3 Feb 2022, 00:32

                                    @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

                                    So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.
                                    Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

                                    Yeah, it was okay.

                                    Not "blow me away I want MOAR" away, but a pleasant-enough waste of a few hours where you don't feel like you wasted a few hours.

                                    Nice twists in the last ¼ of the book.

                                    I was going to start this (and got about 10% of the way through it), but got, well, not bored, but "I'm not ready for this again," so I gave up - for now.

                                    61cParSJTJL.jpg

                                    I think I'll do some more Bosch instead.

                                    LuFins DadL Offline
                                    LuFins DadL Offline
                                    LuFins Dad
                                    wrote on 22 Mar 2022, 21:34 last edited by
                                    #465

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

                                    @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

                                    So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.
                                    Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

                                    Yeah, it was okay.

                                    Not "blow me away I want MOAR" away, but a pleasant-enough waste of a few hours where you don't feel like you wasted a few hours.

                                    Nice twists in the last ¼ of the book.

                                    I was going to start this (and got about 10% of the way through it), but got, well, not bored, but "I'm not ready for this again," so I gave up - for now.

                                    61cParSJTJL.jpg

                                    I think I'll do some more Bosch instead.

                                    Wait, I haven’t seen that. New series?

                                    The Brad

                                    G 1 Reply Last reply 22 Mar 2022, 21:37
                                    • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad
                                      22 Mar 2022, 21:34

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

                                      @george-k said in What are you reading now?:

                                      So far, it's VERY James Bond-like. Interesting, perhaps unrelated opening, flashback to past missions, etc.
                                      Oh, and it was written by someone I knew, back in another life.

                                      Yeah, it was okay.

                                      Not "blow me away I want MOAR" away, but a pleasant-enough waste of a few hours where you don't feel like you wasted a few hours.

                                      Nice twists in the last ¼ of the book.

                                      I was going to start this (and got about 10% of the way through it), but got, well, not bored, but "I'm not ready for this again," so I gave up - for now.

                                      61cParSJTJL.jpg

                                      I think I'll do some more Bosch instead.

                                      Wait, I haven’t seen that. New series?

                                      G Offline
                                      G Offline
                                      George K
                                      wrote on 22 Mar 2022, 21:37 last edited by George K
                                      #466

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

                                      Wait, I haven’t seen that. New series?

                                      https://www.amazon.com/s?k=great+schools+of+dune&crid=3219Y7CC5ONGO&sprefix=great+schools+o%2Caps%2C140&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_15

                                      THey're a lot of fun.

                                      What I'm enjoying is how Herbert and Anderson are able to take the concepts of the original book and weave them into a pretty good tale.

                                      Some of the stuff seems to be "filler," like popcorn.

                                      But it's not bad popcorn.

                                      "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.

                                      LuFins DadL 1 Reply Last reply 22 Mar 2022, 21:41
                                      • G George K
                                        22 Mar 2022, 21:37

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

                                        Wait, I haven’t seen that. New series?

                                        https://www.amazon.com/s?k=great+schools+of+dune&crid=3219Y7CC5ONGO&sprefix=great+schools+o%2Caps%2C140&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_15

                                        THey're a lot of fun.

                                        What I'm enjoying is how Herbert and Anderson are able to take the concepts of the original book and weave them into a pretty good tale.

                                        Some of the stuff seems to be "filler," like popcorn.

                                        But it's not bad popcorn.

                                        LuFins DadL Offline
                                        LuFins DadL Offline
                                        LuFins Dad
                                        wrote on 22 Mar 2022, 21:41 last edited by
                                        #467

                                        @George-K that’s right, for whatever reason, I didn’t dig into those books. I’m sure they were fine, but I kind of felt like the prequel part was done with the Butlerian Jihad story. It laid the foundations for the guild, Bene Geserit, gholas, etc… That was all I needed… Same with the House books.

                                        The Brad

                                        G 1 Reply Last reply 22 Mar 2022, 21:52
                                        • LuFins DadL LuFins Dad
                                          22 Mar 2022, 21:41

                                          @George-K that’s right, for whatever reason, I didn’t dig into those books. I’m sure they were fine, but I kind of felt like the prequel part was done with the Butlerian Jihad story. It laid the foundations for the guild, Bene Geserit, gholas, etc… That was all I needed… Same with the House books.

                                          G Offline
                                          G Offline
                                          George K
                                          wrote on 22 Mar 2022, 21:52 last edited by
                                          #468

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

                                          Same with the House books.

                                          I did "House Atreides" this week. It was okay. It reminded me of the Flash Gordon (Buster Crabbe) shows - "Tune in next week to find out...."

                                          Yeah, I don't really need that.

                                          Still fun.

                                          I think I might have to revisit Herbert's sequels, which I haven't read since the early 1980s.

                                          "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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