Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse

The New Coffee Room

  1. TNCR
  2. General Discussion
  3. What are you reading now?

What are you reading now?

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General Discussion
907 Posts 31 Posters 62.4k Views
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • C Catseye3
    15 Oct 2022, 18:17

    @Renauda Do you know about this fellow?

    My Journey Through the Best Presidential Biographies
    https://bestpresidentialbios.com/about/

    Stephen Floyd writes, "Given my fascination with the presidency and love of great writing, in 2010 I began collecting the best biographies of each of the presidents. In late 2012 I embarked on a quest to read them all – beginning with George Washington.

    This site was initially created to log my journey and organize my thoughts. But 260 presidential biographies later it has evolved into something a bit larger…"

    R Offline
    R Offline
    Renauda
    wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 18:21 last edited by
    #585

    @Catseye3

    I didn’t but I do now. Thanks for the link.

    Elbows up!

    1 Reply Last reply
    • R Renauda
      15 Oct 2022, 17:50

      Just started

      bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

      C Offline
      C Offline
      Copper
      wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 20:07 last edited by Copper
      #586

      @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

      Just started

      bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

      click to show

      Grant wins

      R J 2 Replies Last reply 15 Oct 2022, 20:12
      • C Copper
        15 Oct 2022, 20:07

        @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

        Just started

        bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

        click to show

        Grant wins

        R Offline
        R Offline
        Renauda
        wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 20:12 last edited by Renauda
        #587

        @Copper

        It’s okay, I knew that already from my childhood collection of Civil War cards.

        I know you and George would probably remember those.

        Elbows up!

        G 1 Reply Last reply 15 Oct 2022, 20:17
        • R Renauda
          15 Oct 2022, 20:12

          @Copper

          It’s okay, I knew that already from my childhood collection of Civil War cards.

          I know you and George would probably remember those.

          G Offline
          G Offline
          George K
          wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 20:17 last edited by
          #588

          @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

          I know you and George would probably remember those.

          Harrumph.

          "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.

          R 1 Reply Last reply 15 Oct 2022, 20:24
          • G George K
            15 Oct 2022, 20:17

            @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

            I know you and George would probably remember those.

            Harrumph.

            R Offline
            R Offline
            Renauda
            wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 20:24 last edited by Renauda
            #589

            @George-K

            C’mon George, at least we were there when the cards came out. Seems to me I still had some of those Confederate dollars that were included with the cards and bubblegum stick in each pack, kicking around when was in high school. Don’t know what ever happened to them.

            Elbows up!

            1 Reply Last reply
            • C Copper
              15 Oct 2022, 20:07

              @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

              Just started

              bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

              click to show

              Grant wins

              J Online
              J Online
              jon-nyc
              wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 20:47 last edited by
              #590

              @Copper said in What are you reading now?:

              @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

              Just started

              bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

              click to show

              Grant wins

              Ha. I can tell you didn’t finish your reading.

              click to show

              Cancer wins

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

              G 1 Reply Last reply 15 Oct 2022, 21:15
              • J jon-nyc
                15 Oct 2022, 20:47

                @Copper said in What are you reading now?:

                @Renauda said in What are you reading now?:

                Just started

                bfe2cfe9-50be-4698-a346-b0a410d78dee-image.jpeg https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41q3Og+QQgL.jpg

                click to show

                Grant wins

                Ha. I can tell you didn’t finish your reading.

                click to show

                Cancer wins

                G Offline
                G Offline
                George K
                wrote on 15 Oct 2022, 21:15 last edited by George K
                #591

                @jon-nyc perhaps....

                click to show

                The Cigars won.

                "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
                • C Offline
                  C Offline
                  Catseye3
                  wrote on 18 Oct 2022, 17:59 last edited by Catseye3
                  #592

                  576e28d9-9e9b-48a5-a861-16e95aeb5090-image.png

                  This book has me entirely enthralled. Life has ceased for me until I find out what happened.

                  It's not a chick book, but I kind of feel like it's better suited to women. Maybe it's the sort-of Austenish flavor; maybe it takes more patience to read than the pace of modern life. I don't know. But it's super!

                  Don't take my word for it. It has 4,294 stars at 4.0. And as you see from the cover, it's a Booker Prize nominee.
                  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JMFFCYL/ref=kinw_myk_ro_title

                  Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  • G George K
                    15 Oct 2022, 00:54

                    That was typical Connelly. Good story, and perhaps a bit more involved than his other tales.

                    (This is not a "Bosch" book, by the way).

                    Having read "All The Old Knives" and being disappointed by it, I really wanted to give Steinhauer another shot. He's written a series of books based on one character. So, I started this today.

                    "Milo Weaver used to be a “tourist” for the CIA—an undercover agent with no home, no identity—but he’s since retired from the field to become a middle-level manager at the CIA’s New York headquarters. He’s acquired a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn, and he’s tried to leave his old life of secrets and lies behind.

                    But when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into one of Milo’s oldest colleagues and exposes new layers of intrigue in his old cases, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who’s holding the strings once and for all."

                    bigTouristcover.jpg

                    G Offline
                    G Offline
                    George K
                    wrote on 20 Oct 2022, 17:20 last edited by
                    #593

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

                    bigTouristcover.jpg

                    Though this was a "meh" book, I thought the concept and world that Steinhauer described was interesting. So, being curious, I thought I'd pick up the first of 3 sequels.

                    image.jpeg

                    About ¼ of the way through it, and so far, it's a much better book, and a much tighter story. The events of "The Tourist" set up the situation in "The Nearest Exit," but the story isn't really dependent upon it.

                    "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 25 Oct 2022, 23:34
                    • C Offline
                      C Offline
                      Catseye3
                      wrote on 22 Oct 2022, 17:22 last edited by
                      #594

                      34263b85-d32b-4f0b-8c3b-9be521a013ff-image.png

                      Amazon: "But despite the odds, these underwater warriors accounted for almost 60 percent of Japanese shipping losses, and were a major factor in winning the war. 16 U.S. submarines - and one German U-Boat - that saw action during WWII are now open to the public. Most have been restored and authentically equipped.

                      Final Patrol takes a fascinating look at these subs and the personal stories of the brave sailors who lived, fought, and often died in them. Now, visitors can climb into these cramped steel cylinders, peer through their torpedo tubes, and imagine diving under the sea - perhaps for the last time - to stalk a fanatical enemy who threatened our nation's freedom."

                      4.5 stars, 68 ratings. $1.99.

                      https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IATDEM?_bbid=90553873&tag=bookbubemail1-20

                      Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

                      R 1 Reply Last reply 22 Oct 2022, 19:15
                      • C Catseye3
                        22 Oct 2022, 17:22

                        34263b85-d32b-4f0b-8c3b-9be521a013ff-image.png

                        Amazon: "But despite the odds, these underwater warriors accounted for almost 60 percent of Japanese shipping losses, and were a major factor in winning the war. 16 U.S. submarines - and one German U-Boat - that saw action during WWII are now open to the public. Most have been restored and authentically equipped.

                        Final Patrol takes a fascinating look at these subs and the personal stories of the brave sailors who lived, fought, and often died in them. Now, visitors can climb into these cramped steel cylinders, peer through their torpedo tubes, and imagine diving under the sea - perhaps for the last time - to stalk a fanatical enemy who threatened our nation's freedom."

                        4.5 stars, 68 ratings. $1.99.

                        https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004IATDEM?_bbid=90553873&tag=bookbubemail1-20

                        R Offline
                        R Offline
                        Renauda
                        wrote on 22 Oct 2022, 19:15 last edited by
                        #595

                        @Catseye3

                        Looks interesting. Submariners are a whole t’other breed of warrior.

                        Elbows up!

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        • C Offline
                          C Offline
                          Catseye3
                          wrote on 24 Oct 2022, 15:23 last edited by
                          #596

                          000e4ce1-3441-449d-be5f-c75bf4885676-image.png

                          "From breaking wild horses in Colorado to fighting the Red Baron's squadrons in the skies over France, here in his own words is the true story of a forgotten American hero: the cowboy who became our first ace and the first pilot to fly the American colors over enemy lines."

                          $1.99. 638 ratings at 4.5 stars.
                          https://www.amazon.com/Horses-Dont-Fly-Memoir-Cowboy-ebook/dp/B01DRX7UNQ/ref=sr_1_1?crid=8YD4RP4DLZ36&keywords=Horses+don't+fly&qid=1666624938&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjkzIiwicXNhIjoiMS43MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuODAifQ%3D%3D&s=digital-text&sprefix=horses+don't+fly%2Cdigital-text%2C143&sr=1-1

                          Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace. – Mike Ditka

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          • G George K
                            20 Oct 2022, 17:20

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

                            bigTouristcover.jpg

                            Though this was a "meh" book, I thought the concept and world that Steinhauer described was interesting. So, being curious, I thought I'd pick up the first of 3 sequels.

                            image.jpeg

                            About ¼ of the way through it, and so far, it's a much better book, and a much tighter story. The events of "The Tourist" set up the situation in "The Nearest Exit," but the story isn't really dependent upon it.

                            G Offline
                            G Offline
                            George K
                            wrote on 25 Oct 2022, 23:34 last edited by
                            #597

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

                            About ¼ of the way through it, and so far, it's a much better book, and a much tighter story. The events of "The Tourist" set up the situation in "The Nearest Exit," but the story isn't really dependent upon it.

                            See, I'm the type of person who likes the whole goddamned story.

                            "Nearest Exit" was a much better book than "The Tourist." More satisfying, less obscure, and the characters were really fleshed out well.

                            The ending was good, but left enough threads in the air that I was hankering for more.

                            So the other day, I started #3 in the "Milo Weaver" series. It's gotten so-so reviews because some found it confusing and difficult to follow.

                            If you're going to find spy stories convoluted, stay away from Steinhauer (and LeCarre).

                            Yeah, this is convoluted, and I find it difficult to keep track of all the Chinese names. But, the overall arc has been good, and Steinhauer's trying to tie up the loose ends of "The Nearest Exit."

                            I find myself getting into a rhythm of his books, and I'll probably continue with the fourth, and final, book in the "Weaver" stories.

                            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 30 Oct 2022, 23:17 last edited by George K
                              #598

                              Unfortunately, "An American Spy" was not what I was hoping for. There's a lot of edge-of-your-seat action, and lots of suspense, double-crosses, etc.

                              But...it's nothing more than a vehicle to set up the fourth, and final, book of the Milo Weaver story.

                              I found all of the Chinese characters' names confusing, and the wheels-within-wheels story was just a bit too complicated for its own good. It's like "All The Old Knives" on steroids.

                              So, someone recommended more Alastair Reynolds. This is a standalone book. I'm only about 10% into it, and it's typical Reyonlds. It has a totally new take on a far-flung future. Humanity is no longer what it was. The protagonist, an "angel" pathologist named Quinllan, has to leave his home.

                              Why? Who's put him in danger?

                              Typical Reynolds. Mind-boggling imagination and wholly unique worlds.

                              image.jpeg

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

                              "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
                              • kluursK Online
                                kluursK Online
                                kluurs
                                wrote on 31 Oct 2022, 01:42 last edited by
                                #599

                                c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

                                I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

                                G 1 Reply Last reply 31 Oct 2022, 01:43
                                • kluursK kluurs
                                  31 Oct 2022, 01:42

                                  c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

                                  I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

                                  G Offline
                                  G Offline
                                  George K
                                  wrote on 31 Oct 2022, 01:43 last edited by
                                  #600

                                  @kluurs said in What are you reading now?:

                                  c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

                                  I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

                                  @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

                                  Still haven't gotten around to it.

                                  "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.

                                  bachophileB J G 3 Replies Last reply 31 Oct 2022, 11:00
                                  • G George K
                                    31 Oct 2022, 01:43

                                    @kluurs said in What are you reading now?:

                                    c0eb1b86-52a1-41c9-964c-743fa6cda7a9-image.png

                                    I haven't finished this one - but it is excellent. I'll have to read his lates book Cell next.

                                    @bachophile recommended "The Emperor of All Maladies" to me a long time ago.

                                    Still haven't gotten around to it.

                                    bachophileB Offline
                                    bachophileB Offline
                                    bachophile
                                    wrote on 31 Oct 2022, 11:00 last edited by
                                    #601

                                    @George-K still do

                                    havent yet got to this one

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    • bachophileB Offline
                                      bachophileB Offline
                                      bachophile
                                      wrote on 31 Oct 2022, 11:01 last edited by
                                      #602

                                      35eef64c-f0ba-4359-840d-1853b6920736-image.png

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      • Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                        Aqua LetiferA Offline
                                        Aqua Letifer
                                        wrote on 8 Dec 2022, 23:46 last edited by
                                        #603

                                        @George-K You read any of these? I'm in the last bits of this one:

                                        CB4AC420-F2E3-4C82-885F-4E622B759E0F.jpeg

                                        Please love yourself.

                                        G 1 Reply Last reply 9 Dec 2022, 00:13
                                        • Aqua LetiferA Aqua Letifer
                                          8 Dec 2022, 23:46

                                          @George-K You read any of these? I'm in the last bits of this one:

                                          CB4AC420-F2E3-4C82-885F-4E622B759E0F.jpeg

                                          G Offline
                                          G Offline
                                          George K
                                          wrote on 9 Dec 2022, 00:13 last edited by
                                          #604

                                          @Aqua-Letifer no, I haven't. I might pick up a Ballard book just to see how it dovetails with the Bosch books.

                                          Still plowing through Interview with the Vampire - getting boring, I might add.

                                          "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.

                                          Aqua LetiferA 1 Reply Last reply 9 Dec 2022, 00:17
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups