What book(s) are you reading right now?

[CraKaJaX]

Finished 'The Stand' this past weekend and went right into 'It'... No, I've never seen the movie so it'll all be new to me. I know what it's about, but that's all I've got! It's another long one, but apparently a very good read....

 

[blankslate]

I finished Ready Player One this last Monday (which I loved) and started The Martian right after and I'm already over 60% through. It's an amazing book and I have high hopes for the movie.

I read the book a few years ago. If they get the right director then maybe the blurb I saw about it being "Willy Wonka meets the Matrix" might not be too far off.


Right now I am reading "Seven Eves" by Neal Stephenson.

It's about the impending end of the world in the near futureafter some unknown space phenomenon shatters the moon into several pieces that are colliding with each other and will eventually smash each other into millions of meteors and meteorites that will cause an extinction event.

So the Human race launches a few thousand people into space hopes to avoid the absolute end of the species.

The title of the book and the inside flap spoils some of the story but so far it's a good read...


.....

 

[disappoint]

I'm currently on a self improvement kick.

1) Jim Rohn's 8 Best Success Lessons.

Jim was the master motivator. A true inspiration. The book is fairly short, but the life lessons that are taught in this book are pretty good.

I especially like the 5th lesson. It's something that I think about daily.

"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. discipline weighs ounces, while regret weighs tons."

2) Tony Robbins "Awaken the Giant Within."

A classic that was first published in 1991. I'm enjoying it so far. I'm trying to keep an open mind, and I'm putting what I've learned from this book into my daily life. Do I agree with everything he says? No. But, I am finding value in a few things he describes in his book which to me is a good thing.

3) Victor Frankl "Mans Search for Meaning."

I have this on Audible. This book was written by Victor Frankl. A Jewish man who was imprisoned in the concentration camps during WW2 for over 4 years. The first part of the book is his account of the terrors he witnessed in the concentration camp. The second part of the book is about his theory on logotherapy. An excellent book that everyone should read at least once in their lifetime. It will make you question what's important, and you'll find yourself being grateful for your life. It's hard to complain about anything after reading this amazing book.

On My List to Read Next:

*The 4 Hour Workweek- Tim Ferris
*The Richest Man in Babylon- George Clason
*The Power of Habit- Charles Duhigg
*Nothing to Envy- Barbara Demick
*Blink- Malcolm Gladwell
*Conquistador- Buddy Levy

Have you read Jim Rohn's Leading an Inspired Life? I think that will be my next book but I have so many other books left to read in my queue first.

 

[OutHouse]

I'm in a hotel in Utah so scanning through the Book of Mormon since I've never picked one up before.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Anyone read House of Leaves? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves

I just got it and it's pretty fucking cool. Unique presentation too.

KT

I think that House of Leaves is one of my all time favorite books. For someone reading it for the first time I warn you that it is not a normal book, it is more of an experiment in comprehension. It might not make much sense to you, but I recommend that you just keep reading, and allow it to pull your curiosity wherever it may. Don't worry about what order to read things in, just read them as you feel interested. Sometimes you will skip way ahead in the book, sometimes you will want to re-read something at the beginning. Eventually you will understand.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Only reading it so I can bitch about how different the miniseries that just started is than the book. Not really doing anything for me.

 

[Muse]

I'm in the middle of "The Martian" and it is fantastic.

I just read the beginning at Amazon until (I think) it skips ahead. Never heard of it before seeing it discussed here this eventing.

Good writing. They have a guide thing, don't know that I'd need that. I'm doing pretty well without a guide. Maybe further on there's some stuff that needs interpretation, don't know. Anyway, I put a hold on it at my local library, I'm 29th in line for 6 copies of the paperback. No hurries. I have plenty stuff to keep me busy in the meantime...

 

[Mai72]

Have you read Jim Rohn's Leading an Inspired Life? I think that will be my next book but I have so many other books left to read in my queue first.

I love Jim Rohn. I'm watching a video I found on You Tube that dates back to 1981. All of his quotes are right in this video. It's an excellent video. You just need to get past Jim's quirkeness and the video is dated. But the video has a ton of value.

I haven't read leading an inspired life yet. I will put it on my list. Thanks.

 

[Muse]

A few days ago I picked a paperback off my bookshelf that I bought over 50 years ago when it came out:

Irving Kolodin editing a collection of essays, letters, etc. written by famous classical musicians writing about other famous classical musicians.

Book title: The Composer as Listener. Copyright 1958, this edition dated 1962.

It's not a long book but it's stellar (in surprisingly good condition for a 50+ year old paperback, the pages have not really yellowed, the paper must have been extra quality).

No writing about classic music appreciation can inspire like that of the most inspired listeners of them all, the composers themselves. Men such as Berlioz, Mozart, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, R. Strauss writing about Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Bach, Liszt, Chopin, etc. The passion of these men is far beyond question, it's positively tangible. The book is quite educational, eye and ear opening, in some cases somewhat detailed in the nuts and bolts intricacies of classical music. I've picked this up a few times over the years but never got into it as now. Kolodin picked out a lot of the most treasured writings by the most famous classical composers here.

There are descriptions of a day with Beethoven, the inaugural performances of some of his most famous works. Tchaikovsky in a letter and R. Strauss in writings wax poetic and eloquent concerning their passion for Mozart operas.

These writings are from a time when the written word seems to have been dearer than it is in modern times. We have such a plethora of media now, but in those days what was there? They had music, dance, speech, painting, sculpture, architecture, science, religion and the written word.

 

[werepossum]

I read the book a few years ago. If they get the right director then maybe the blurb I saw about it being "Willy Wonka meets the Matrix" might not be too far off.


Right now I am reading "Seven Eves" by Neal Stephenson.

It's about the impending end of the world in the near futureafter some unknown space phenomenon shatters the moon into several pieces that are colliding with each other and will eventually smash each other into millions of meteors and meteorites that will cause an extinction event.

So the Human race launches a few thousand people into space hopes to avoid the absolute end of the species.

The title of the book and the inside flap spoils some of the story but so far it's a good read...


.....

Odd how it's always humans and never dogs, even though everyone agrees that dogs are ever so much nicer.

Just finished the "Wool" omnibus by Hugh Howey. Awesome book.

 

[pyonir]

Just finished the "Wool" omnibus by Hugh Howey. Awesome book.

Check out the Sand omnibus. I enjoyed it more than Wool actually (but really liked Wool too).

 

[werepossum]

Check out the Sand omnibus. I enjoyed it more than Wool actually (but really liked Wool too).

I bought the Sand omnibus as soon as I finished Wool, just haven't yet had time to start it.

 

[clamum]

I picked up "The Martian" a couple days ago off the recommendations here but I haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe after the current book I'm reading.

Right now I'm on book two of the Survivalist series, "Anarchy Rising." I think the first book was the favorite I've read so far of this SHTF fiction I've been reading. The writing quality is way better than the other books I've read, except for maybe one or two. It's kind of hard to explain why... it just reads like the person who wrote it is a professional writer or something. Anyway, if you like or think you might like that type of fiction, I definitely recommend it.

 

[Muse]

Odd how it's always humans and never dogs, even though everyone agrees that dogs are ever so much nicer.

Not everyone's into dogs. Myself, I'm not. I once had a dog when I was around 12, I guess. I loved that dog tremendously, a German Shepard. Unfortunately, it chased cars and was dead by age 2. I was heartbroken, and have not wanted another dog since. Dogs generally impress me as territorial, crude, messy, smelly, loud and offensive. You could say these things about a lot of people however there are people I find a lot nicer, and certainly nicer than dogs. Smarter, too.

 

[Captante]

"Three-Cornered War" - John Dalmas

http://smile.amazon.com/Three-Corne...1436568570&sr=8-1&keywords=Three+Cornered+War

 

[Muse]

I picked up "The Martian" a couple days ago off the recommendations here but I haven't gotten to it yet. Maybe after the current book I'm reading.

I read several preview pages at Amazon and enjoyed it, was impressed. The author has a good imagination and an obvious grounding in basic science. When my library supplies it I'm certain I'll have no trouble getting into it. I've read a lot of science fiction and this strikes me as top notch

 

[Pheran]

I've finally started the epic saga that is Malazan Book of the Fallen. I'm in the middle of Gardens of the Moon, which is a re-read for me, but after that it's all new. I will be following this reading order.

Regarding Gardens of the Moon, I'd forgotten how nice a job Ericson does at this point on a dark fantasy world chock-full of politics with plenty of shades of gray. Magicwise, though, this is pretty much the opposite of Game of Thrones, with plenty of mages and even gods interceding directly in the story.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Currently: http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Making-Hate-You-Misconception/dp/0306823586

Next up: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Days-D-Randall-Blythe/dp/0306823144

 

[clamum]

Still reading "The Survivalist" series by Arthur Bradley (first book is only $.99 from Amazon, check it out!). I'm on the last book now though. It would be great to see this turned into a movie, or trilogy, by a competent director and cast.

Anyway, I just ordered the following from Audible as I had 4 credits built up:
- Wool Omnibus Edition (Wool 1 - 5) By Hugh Howey (after reading others' recommendations from this thread)
- Inside the Nazi War Machine: How Three Generals Unleashed Hitler's Blitzkrieg Upon the World By Bevin Alexander
- How Great Generals Win By Bevin Alexander
- Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills By The Great Courses

I nearly picked up "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition" by The Great Courses instead of "Your Deceptive Mind" but I'll get around to the music one eventually. Man, these Great Courses audiobooks are fantastic.

 

[clamum]

I finished "The Survivalist" series a couple days ago. Damn, I did not want it to end! Haha.

Several weeks ago I picked up "The Martian" by Andy Weir based on peoples' reactions/recommendations to it here. I finally started reading it a couple days ago and while I wasn't immediately impressed or engrossed in it, I definitely am now. I can see why it was made into a movie. The story is great with all the technical details (well, great for nerds like myself I guess) and there's a lot of funny parts where I've laughed out loud. Watney's designation of "pirate-ninjas" for "kilowatt-hours per sol" got me laughing pretty good. I'm really looking forward to the movie now, especially since Ridley Scott is helming it!

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Finishing up the second Uplift Trilogy now.

http://www.amazon.com/Heavens-Reach-Second-Uplift-Trilogy/dp/0553574736

 

[Naer]

Zeitgeist movement defined

 

[Ban Bot]

Paul Within Judaism edited by Nanos and Zetterholm.

9 articles by Pauline scholars (mostly) proposing Paul's faith and teachings fall within the boundaries of Judaism and did not constitute a new religion as much as religious reform and in Paul's view eschatological fulfillment in his day. Addresses issues such as circumcision, gentile status, gender, etc.

 

[KeithTalent]

Paul Within Judaism edited by Nanos and Zetterholm.

9 articles by Pauline scholars (mostly) proposing Paul's faith and teachings fall within the boundaries of Judaism and did not constitute a new religion as much as religious reform and in Paul's view eschatological fulfillment in his day. Addresses issues such as circumcision, gentile status, gender, etc.

Booooring.

KT

 

[xSauronx]

Since there's been some Wool talk, heads up that Wool/Shift/Dust are all on sale for $3 each on the Kindle store right now. So you can get the entire series for $9. Hugh is trying to spur sales to get a movie made.

so this is in the kindle lending library for nada, as well. so .... i will dig into that in the next week or so.

just read "american gods" by neil gaiman, which i had gotten on a kindle sale a while back for a couple of bucks.

it is good, and i went through it in a few days, but i liked Good Omens [gaiman/pratchett] much more.