Books

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/35451

Presently; Foucault's Pendulum, next 'Heart of the Comet' (Benford, Brin). After that Robert B. Parker or maybe S.J. Cannell. Also editorial comix and a 3 year collection of Heavy Metal.

I read "Heart of the Comet" years ago. Enjoyable read.

"Foucault's Pendulum", it's a long book, do you want to know what happens in the end?

I swap books at an online book club www.paperbackswap.com . I am currently reading Olympus by Dan Simmons It is the second half of a set of 2 the first was called Illium. It is set in 3k years in the future when man has Techno-evolved to the level of greek gods. And indeed they travel through time and thusly they are the greek gods. So it is also set 3k years in the past and revolves around the seige of Troy. The Illiad and the Odessy are played out with with a sci-fi twist, the "gods" wielding the full power of quantum mechanics. Good read.

no good tv this time of year.

comics? no.

magazines? only consumer reports.

Music? alternative, provided by www.cd101.com currently The Buzzcocks are palying.

I enjoyed the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons. I'll have to give Olympus and Illium a try.

I've not found a good book that captured me for awhile now.

The last things I read of any worth you of the site might love were by Henry Petroski, - The Evolution of Necessary Things, or Pushing the Limits.

Guns, Germs and Steel, and Collapse by Jared Diamond ought to appeal to this crowd.

Einstein History and Other Passions, by Kenneth Knowlton, as well ought to be of appeal and challenging for readers on this particular site.

All of the books by Nevil Shute will challenge, and entertain this set of readers.

My foundations are in literature, and I feel strongly that Absolam Absolam is the greatest poem I've ever read.

(This particular poem is about how the great tragedy of living is to live according to incorrect ideals, and is not anymore science than War and Peace.) Many here seem attracted to Ayn Rand. The descriptions of Tesla in Atlas Shrugged are introductory to technocratic salvations we dream of.

For the Bio Med guys I would suggest Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis.

Presently

When Rivers run dry

"New scientist", a weekly magazine that reports on the latest in science and technology. It's pitched a fairly low level and can be a bit gushy as it chases the middle market but it's often full of gems, including some really fascinating bits of history.

I used to read exclusively Sci-fi or text books, but in the not to distant past have expanded my reading enjoyment to other areas. Books/authors I've enjoyed:

Jack DuBrul - the adventures of Philip Mercer (sort of a cross between a modern Day Indiana Jones and James Bond with a back ground in geology). Easy read, good entertainment, but with some depth if you want to look for it.

Dan Brown - all 4 were enjoyable.

Stephen Ambrose - Undaunted Courage (about Lewis and Clark's expedition)

David McCullough - 1776; John Adams

Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game series and Ender's Shadow series; Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus;

Carl Hiaasen - Skinny Dip, Sick Puppy, Skin Tight, Strip Tease - Entertaining author...mystery type books (at least the one's I've read). As a native Floridian I find his settings of South Florida (particularly Miami area) fun as I've been to many areas he mentions and am familiar with the local politics he describes and includes in his stories.

Those Carl Hiaasen books are laugh out loud sorts of reads. I spent a few years living in Fort Lauderdale, and Mr. Hiaasen certainly does capture some of the nuttiness.

People do do some crazy stuff down there.

Alligator Alley

Now that reminds me of my boyhood when I was growing up in Florida, only then the saying was "The Everglades holds a lot of bodies." And yes, that was long before the Alley was paved or even passable in some spots when it rained!

Ah, those were the days, swamp buggies, skimmers, skeeters, cinch bugs. I do not miss them in the least!

I always liked the John D. MacDonald books about Travis McGee and The Busted Flush. There was a lot of "Florida" in those stories.

Ken Leigh

Carl has a way of mixing a good crime series with a comical and eccentric villains (or a villain who has comically bad luck).

Uncompromised Faith by S. Michael Craven, NavPress

I prefer reading the journals of explorers and discovery. I find that in many cases historians have their own agenda, or rather, an intellectual prejudice, when it comes to being objective. Recently, One River, by Wade Davis.

Other than that I'll read anything ..........at least once.

I've enjoyed Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet.

Lately, I find it more enjoyable to return to the readings of my youth. Fortunately, Gutenberg had just invented the printing press, so...

I have re-read several works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: the entire Sherlock Holmes novels and stories (for about the fifth or sixth time), one Professor Challenger book, The Lost World (the only one I can find in the local library -- will have to broaden my search), and the historical novels, The White Company and Sir Nigel. Also by Conan Doyle, I would also recommend The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard.

Not long ago, I re-read several of the Hornblower books by C.S. Forester.

Right now I am re-reading Mark Twain. Just finished The adventures of Tom Sawyer and am reading (for the first time, actually) Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

Not sure where I will go next, possibly Fahrenheit 451 by Robert Heinlein.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Robert Heinlein did not write Fahrenhite 451, Ray Bradbury did.

But, don't feel too bad, I get things mixed up all the time. Comes from having eight decades of memories to deal with. Besides, I had to google it to make sure my memory was right.

Ken Leigh

Oh, now I really do feel bad! I googled "Robert Heinlein Fahrenheit 451" to make sure I spelled his name correctly.

But on the other hand, I always liked Ray Bradbury better than Robert Heinlein!

Thanks for setting me straight, Kenneth.

I have to disagree. I always found Heinlein's Future History series fascinating reading and I have all of them in my library, all well thumbed and most in hard-back. The same with Clancy's Jack Ryan, all in hard-back and all read at least three times from one end to the other and with repeats of certain parts of each book more times than I remember.

I have all of Dan Brown's books in hard cover, although to be honest, the first one wasn't all that great, IMHO.

Now, picture books and anthologies, where to start? Trucks, automobiles from the 30s, 40s and 50s. Marilyn, at least fifty books about and showing her. Bettie Page - at least twenty five hard covers of her delectable pelf. Bridges. Covered bridges. Out houses. Barns. Sheds. Tunnels. Clocks, antique and otherwise. Pocket watches, especially railroad watches. Tools, old and new. Heavy equipment. Trains, mostly steam and HO models. Yes, airplanes too, especially from the early days.

Then there's The Cat Who series by Braun. I have them all and have read them sequentually at least four or five times.

I especially like stories about colonial times in New York State, the western, central and Mohawk valley areas. Arch Merril's A River Ramble, Washington Irving, J. Fenimore Cooper, Walter D. Edmonds' Drums Along The Mohawk and Chad Hanna, just to name a few.

And the list goes on.

None of my law books nor technical books are listed because there is not space enough to hold them all. And I don't feel like typing that much. Now if I had Dragon Naturally Speaking, I might be tempted.

Or not.

Ken Leigh

Well, it really isn't disagreement, is it? Your personal tastes are different than mine, that's all.

I usually find that a series of books, like Clancy's, that go beyond a trilogy, to be too predictable. That doesn't mean that they aren't well written and exciting. It just means that I get tired of them. I found this with Michael Jecks' Knights Templar series, too. But very often, these books will find their way into my summer reading.

Of course, as I wrote that, I began thinking of exceptions: Dorothy L. Sayers series of books featuring the detective, Lord Peter Wimsey, the Hornblower series that I mentioned in an earlier post, The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durell, and there are likely others that have slipped my mind now.

Which all goes to prove my original point -- it isn't disagreement, it is all a matter of personal taste. And those differences create some lively and enjoyable discussions -- like this one!

I will never have the chance to walk on the moon or fly out to Mars or Venus. I probably won't live to see teleportation nor any of the myriad of things that are still thought of as science fiction.

Start believing Re-birth, everything you will be able to do.

"Which all goes to prove my original point -- it isn't disagreement, it is all a matter of personal taste."

See my signature below. (Translation) "In matters of taste, there can be no dispute"

My prior 'signature' was a little rough, and was not applicable to all my comments. Re; "Ignoramus illegitimate non carborundum" (Don't let the ignorant bastards grind you down") Duh! I get all my Latin from T-shirts. Wish I had studied it.

For those who like literature, I can highly recommend Mark Helprin. This guy can put more in a paragraph than most authors can put in a short story. And his short stories are over way too soon. 'Pacific and Other Stories' is a good intro. His 'Soldier of The Great War' has been lauded as some of the finest literature of contemporary fiction. 'Winters Tale' will keep you awake on a midwinters night.

I read a book or two a week. My list of authors and titles will be recognizable to the majority of you. Kick back, grab a cuppa, and read. Does not matter what. As you get closer to your area of interest, books will jump off the shelves at you.

I remember such enjoyment when a boy reading of the exploits of Simon Kenton and other literature of the period.

The Frontiersmen: A Narrative; ISBN 0-945084-91-9. Simon Kenton: His Life and Period, by Edna Kenton.

• Crain, Ray. Simon Kenton: The Great Frontiersman. Available in either hardback or paper back; Published June 1, 1992; ISBN 0-9641149-5-X
• Clark, Thomas D. Simon Kenton: Kentucky Scout; Originally published 1943; 1971 paperback reprint edition, Jesse Stuart Foundation; ISBN 0-945084-39-9.
• Thank you for the memory a reread is in order

Amen!