What are you reading?

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Snowlilly, Aug 21, 2012.

  1. Owain Taggart

    Owain Taggart Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2009
    Location:
    Northern Ontario, Canada
    Sounds like me when I downloaded Moby Dick on there... I haven't touched it yet. :lol:

    There was another one I tried to read a few years ago, The Life and Opinions of Tristam Shandy by Lawrence Stern (Which they made a movie of years ago). I found it very difficult to get into because the story's told in first-person, and the language used in the descriptions made it hard to understand, as it was antiquated enough to have lots of words no longer used. There's something about it being in first-person that makes it that much harder to read.
     
  2. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Moby Dick is a mind bender. I just skimmed Robinson Crusoe and there are definitely some long and convoluted sentences in there. :rommie:
     
  3. varek

    varek Commander Red Shirt

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2009
    Location:
    Danville, IN, USA
    I've just discovered authors Preston and Child, with their Pendergast series and Gideon Crew series. Those books are awesome!
     
  4. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I read my first Pendergast book late last year and now have read all 13 of them as well as two other Preston/Child books - Thunderhead (in which William Smithback and Nora Kelly first meet) and The Ice Limit (which features Eli Glinn who later appears in on of the Pendergast books). I am not sure which Preston/Child I will read next, I might even try one of their solo books.

    I am eagerly waiting for the new Pendergast novel that will be available later this year.
     
  5. Smellincoffee

    Smellincoffee Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    May 20, 2005
    Location:
    Heart of Dixie
    The Burden of Southern History, C. Van Woodward
     
  6. Ashu

    Ashu Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2006
    Im almost done the castle by Kafka and can't figure out what to read next. Im thinking either the hunger artist by Kafka, Dostoevsky or the curious incident of the dog at night time by Haddon.

    Good lord im indecisive
     
  7. mari

    mari Captain Captain

    Joined:
    Dec 8, 2009
    My husband got me an Amazon gift card for my birthday, and insisted I use it to get books (instead of diapers or something practical). I'd actually asked for a new mattress, but he refuses to consider that a present because we'll both use it. So I knocked two more off my wish list - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth (Chris Hadfield, woo...) and Only Superhuman (Christopher L. Bennet). Not sure if that's going to shift the queue, but I have time to decide. I'm now 62% (thanks, Kindle!) through the Wool series. I read a few pages at a time while feeding the baby, so it makes the book last longer. :)
     
  8. PsychoPere

    PsychoPere Vice Admiral Premium Member

    Joined:
    May 25, 2002
    I finished Greenwald's book on Snowden a couple days ago, and am now reading Deval Patrick's memoir A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life.

    According to my Kindle, I'm already 86% of the way through it, so I'll be looking for a new book again soon...
     
  9. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    As it is still painful for me to hold a book (I have a frozen shoulder) I am listening to the Audible version of Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud. It has an introduction by Richard Dawkins talking about the real science in the novel.
     
  10. Velocity

    Velocity Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 19, 2001
    Location:
    In the back of beyond
    Skin Game by Jim Butcher
     
  11. Misfit Toy

    Misfit Toy Caped Trek Mod Admiral

    Joined:
    Feb 11, 2002
    Location:
    Transporter buffer
    Same here. :)
     
  12. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Ouch. Sorry to hear that. Are you getting treatment for it, or is it something you just have to wait to go away?
     
  13. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I had a cortisone injection but it only gave me 2 weeks of relief and the shoulder was extra painful for the first couple of days after I had the injection.

    Now I am on tramadol and panamax and it takes the edge off the pain and least I sleeping better at night. I would say that the pain has reduced from being a 9/10 at times (when I bumped my shoulder etc) to a 6. The tramadol has really help relieve the pain from my spinal arthritis which is an added bonus. The downside is tramadol makes me a little fatigued.

    I have been in pain for about 7 months so i hope that the painful freezing stage will end soon. It could take me up to two years or more to recover completely.
     
    Last edited: May 29, 2014
  14. Kirby

    Kirby Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2003
    Location:
    Alt: 5280
    ^^ That sounds horrible Miss Chicken. I hope your recovery is much faster than two years!

    Right now I'm reading Mookie: Life, Baseball, and the 86 Mets by Mookie Wilson.
    I still remember sitting in my dorm room alone watching game 6 when Mookie got that hit. I was actually rooting for the Red Sox in the series, but switched to the Mets after that game. My wife gave me a signed Mookie/Buckner ball several years ago, and it's one of my favorite pieces of baseball memorabelia.
     
  15. Ashu

    Ashu Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 22, 2006
    I think I'm going to move on to the hunger artist by Kafka this week.
     
  16. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    Damn, that's awful. I hope it's not as bad as that. Would it be possible that massage therapy could help it along? Not only is the pain terrible, but it must be frustrating to not be able to read a book. How about if you get a Nook or a Kindle? Then you could just prop it up.

    As for books, Fate of Worlds was a disappointment. It was billed as the "explosive finale" to both the Ringworld and Fleet of Worlds series. Well, Ringworld wasn't even in it, and no clue was given as to its fate. The "explosive finale" did devastate the Puppeteer worlds and leave them in a pretty awful condition, more like a Summer popcorn movie than a real Science Fiction novel, and was more like a cliffhanger than a finale. There was also an interesting sub-plot about an increasingly aware AI that was left unresolved. A good read up until the end, but ultimately very disappointing.
     
  17. Miss Chicken

    Miss Chicken Little three legged cat with attitude Admiral

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2001
    Location:
    Howrah, Hobart, Tasmania
    I had massage when I had the same condition in my left shoulder in 2005/6. i think it caused more pain though that might be the lack of skill of the massager to deal with the condition.

    This time I have been given gentle exercise by my exercise therapist and I don't think my loss of range of motion has been as great though that might also be due to me using the shoulder more because I am right-handed.

    I am using my iPad rather than laptop at the moment because typing on ht laptop is more painful than using an iPas. i could read books on the iPad or on my Kindle but because of tiredness I refer audiobooks at the movement.

    Back on topic - I have finished the Black Cloud and will start a new audiobook in the morning. maybe someone can help me decide

    1) Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
    2) T he Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
    3) The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
     
  18. C. Cole-Chakotay

    C. Cole-Chakotay Commodore Commodore

    Joined:
    Feb 5, 2004
    Location:
    With Cmdr. D. Chakotay
    I'm reading Protectors by Kirsten Beyer, but think I'll break in and read A Cincinnati Private Eye Protecting Princess Di by Rich McDonough and Deborah Aull.
     
  19. Velocity

    Velocity Vice Admiral Admiral

    Joined:
    May 19, 2001
    Location:
    In the back of beyond
    Sixth Grave on the Edge by Darynda Jones
     
  20. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

    Joined:
    Jun 11, 2003
    Location:
    RJDiogenes of Boston
    I started The Doctor and the Dinosaurs by Mike Resnick (not that Doctor-- Doc Holliday). It's an alternate history that features a few historical characters (Edison, Roosevelt, Geronimo, et al) and it concerns the Bone Wars of the Old West. And magic is real. Also, it's apparently the latest in a series, which I didn't realize before I bought it