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Old 06-08-2017, 02:03 PM   #441
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Just starting Hawkins' A Brief History of Time. Have never read it.

Recently watched The Theory of Everything and a documentary on Einstein so kinda have the theoretical physics bug going right now.
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Old 06-09-2017, 11:15 AM   #442
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Thank You for Being Late, which is Thomas Friedman's most recent book, is well worth it. It's kind of a catch-up for anyone who has had their head stuck in the sand and will seem slow to anyone who really follows tech, but it gets into some legit good insights in the second and third thirds of the book.
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Old 06-09-2017, 12:35 PM   #443
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I am halfway through A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Excellent book that deals with and ties together multiple topics.
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Old 06-11-2017, 11:45 PM   #444
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Oh cool, was looking for a literature thread of some sort.

Wanted to really get back into recreational reading. It's great for the mind, and I miss the feeling of being immersed in a good book, to the point where you don't want to put it down.

I've never watched GoT, but I was thinking about getting into the book series. Was going to pick-up A Song of Ice and Fire when I had the chance.
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Old 06-12-2017, 02:00 AM   #445
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I am halfway through A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. Excellent book that deals with and ties together multiple topics.
Everything written by Bryson is excellent but that is one of his best. I also really like "At Home".
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Old 06-12-2017, 05:23 AM   #446
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Everything written by Bryson is excellent but that is one of his best. I also really like "At Home".
Thanks. Will add that to the list!
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Old 10-24-2017, 10:43 AM   #447
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Finally reading "A Time Of Gifts" by Patrick Leigh Fermor

Found it in a used book store this summer (I am sometimes cheap) and just got around to reading it.

What a book! It is the story of his travel from Holland to Constantinople in 1933 when he was just 18. This book takes him down the Rhine, and then along the Danube to Budapest. So eloquent, erudite, and interesting.

Travel book? Yes. But if you are interested in the history of western and central Europe, this book is for you. Architecture, art, funny adventures. But mostly it is his intelligence that shows through so clearly.

I have spent many months travelling by foot like him, but also by bus train car and motorbike along the Rhine and Danube so maybe that is another reason the book resonates with me. Some of my favourite, happiest, wildest, most cherished memories occurred a stone's throw from these two rivers.

The author had quite an astonishing time in the second world war in Crete. He kidnapped a German general. I was first introduced to him when reading "The Way Of Herodotus" by Justin Marozzi. In that book the author made a pilgrimage almost, to the home of Fermor in Mani, Greece.

Oddly, recently, I watched a food program on BBC, the host ate his way from Venice to Istanbul I think. Great show. That show travelled to the home of Fermor also.

Anyway, highly recommend. And now I must find the second book.
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Old 10-24-2017, 10:50 AM   #448
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^ cheapness has nothing to do with it - used books have character.
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Old 10-24-2017, 11:05 AM   #449
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Finally reading "A Time Of Gifts" by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Great book. Fermor was quite a character. Not only a tireless hiker, but he seems to have had remarkable personal charm - a valuable trait when you're often relying on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter.
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Old 10-24-2017, 11:23 AM   #450
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I just finished Tune In by Mark Lewisohn, the first of a planned trilogy recounting the story of the Beatles in an obsessively thorough fashion. It's quite literally a day-by-day account of the lives of the four Beatles, and the early years of their partnership. 944 pages, and it takes us only to the recording of their first hit single, Please Please Me, in 1962!

Now I'm on to Hugo award winning (1982) Downbelow Station by C.J. Cherryh. Intrigue and political manoeuvring in a strategic space station. Cherryh is a late discovery for me, but a very pleasant one. Her writing and characterization are among the best in the field. Not exactly a page-turner, but pretty intense and plausible SF.
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Old 10-24-2017, 11:50 AM   #451
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I think I was fortunate over the weekend and found a copy of “The Sister Brothers” at the library. Couple of pages in so far and it is a pleasurable read.

Also recently finished “Kitchen Confidential”. Good book, especially enjoyed the “What do you know about me?” story. I actually chuckled at that, as with books you can see how things end a bit in advance and don’t get genuinely surprised much.

Going to try to find some classic sci-fi later on.
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Old 10-24-2017, 01:55 PM   #452
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Picked up today:

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Old 10-24-2017, 02:13 PM   #453
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Just finished a copy of Ken Reid's Dennis Maruk biography. Decent hockey book. Reading Gratoony the Loony about crazy old goalie Gilles Gratton. Terrific read on the nutty guy who had the coolest goalie mask of all time.
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Old 10-24-2017, 04:36 PM   #454
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I think I was fortunate over the weekend and found a copy of “The Sister Brothers” at the library. Couple of pages in so far and it is a pleasurable read.
I read that one a few years back and it's pretty good. It does pretty well in defying the standard western tropes.
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Old 10-26-2017, 09:16 AM   #455
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Read the 3rd book in The Broken Earth series, great fantasy series!

And book 3 in The Stormlight Archive is coming out this month!!
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Old 10-26-2017, 05:39 PM   #456
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I've been going hard on Jack Reacher novels lately. I've read four of them in the last month. They are exactly what I need right - escapes into a different world. Quick reads, but I love them.
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Old 10-26-2017, 05:57 PM   #457
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Old 10-26-2017, 08:08 PM   #458
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I’m reading Blitzed by Nicholas Ohler.... it’s very interesting, I’m just hammering through it.
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Old 10-27-2017, 12:24 AM   #459
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I finally got around to reading Ready Player One. It was an engaging read and I enjoyed the world building and pop culture references. I had an issue with the lack of tension though. Wade was pretty much an internet superman who knew everything and whenever it started to look like he was in a bit of trouble he always had the solution or an ex machina would come along. I still enjoyed this and am looking forward to the movie but I just don't get all the hype.

One book I did really like was All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders. This was a weird one that combines science fiction and fantasy while having a first half coming of age story followed by a second half that is very mature, dark, and dystopian. The genres are blended seamlessly and I could not put this one down.
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Old 10-27-2017, 12:25 AM   #460
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Verdict? I absolutely loved Pillars of the Earth but World Without End was just average.
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