What are you reading?

[USS Firefly]

I am reading everything. I'm doing a freelance job where I read high school level books, primarily academic nonfiction on specialized subjects (biographies, cultural studies, science, history, etc.), with a few fiction titles peppered in. I'm writing reading comprehension questions for each book. I've been averaging 5-7 books a day. It's a really cool job overall, and I've learned a lot. Some of the books have been surprisingly sophisticated and interesting (the biography of Steve Jobs was an unexpected highlight, as was that of Verdi), but I admit my brain is turning to mush.

Today I've read biographies of Darwin, Lincoln, and Einstein, and a nonfiction book about the history and culture of the Vikings. I'm going to try to get in one or two more books before bed.

Can I have your job?

 

[thestrangequark]

Can I have your job?

It is pretty sweet. Today's books have been exceptionally fun so far. A series of lit crit texts, each coming in at about 200 pages on an 11th/12th grade reading level. So far today I've done John Steinbeck, J.R.R. Tolkein, and T.S. Eliot. Going to read two or three more books tonight if I can.

 

[Velocity]

Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World -- And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling

 

[KimMH]

It is pretty sweet. Today's books have been exceptionally fun so far. A series of lit crit texts, each coming in at about 200 pages on an 11th/12th grade reading level. So far today I've done John Steinbeck, J.R.R. Tolkein, and T.S. Eliot. Going to read two or three more books tonight if I can.

Sounds awesome, but also exhausting!

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

I am reading some books on ancient Babylon. A friend and I had a talk about it and now I am curious about more details on it. Like were the hanging gardens really there and was the tower of babel really there too. I like to do research and learn. Love ancient history!!

 

[bryce]

The Delirium Brief by Charles Stross. A computer programmer turned low rent James Bond turned host for The Eater of Souls, battles government bureaucracy and tentacled (and other) horrors from the nastier parts of multiverse.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE LOCUS AWARD 2018

Bob Howard's career in the Laundry, the secret British government agency dedicated to protecting the world from the supernatural, has involved brilliant hacking, ancient magic and combat with creatures of pure evil.

Now the Laundry's existence has become public, and Bob is being trotted out on TV to answer pointed questions about elven asylum seekers. What neither Bob nor his managers have foreseen is that their organisation has earned the attention of a horror far more terrifying than any demon: a government looking for public services to privatise. There are things in the Laundry's assets that big business would simply love to get its hands on . . .
Inch by inch, Bob Howard and his managers are forced to consider the truly unthinkable: a coup against the British government itself.

 

[TheSeeker]

I'm almost done book 2 of the Mistborn series, The Well of Ascension.

I can tell the books are on my mind becasue I've worked a lot of overtime in the last few days and find myself wishing I could burn some pewter.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Finished Button Man, which was really good. Even better when you realize the author wrote about his grandfather. The man went into the garment industry, faced off against mob-run unions, was almost killed, but ended up with one of the most successful garment companies supplying some of the major department stores.

Now onto Star Wars as if written by Shakespeare, by Ian Doescher. Verily, A New Hope.

 

[May 20]

I'm currently reading Kingdom of Ash, the last book in the Throne of Glass series. I started the series because my son was reading it, but I've really enjoyed it.

 

[Velocity]

I've been reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I am 2/3 of the way through and have lost all interest in it. I don't think I'll bother finishing it.

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

The Trials of Apollo book 4 The Tyrant's Tomb. Any other Percy Jackson fans?

 

[May 20]

Yep. I ordered that for my daughter, who is a huge fan for Christmas. I will eagerly read it either when she finishes it or when she goes back to school in January.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

Doing my annual reading of A Christmas Carol.

 

[Owain Taggart]

The Whole Art of Deduction: The Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes by Lyndsay Faye. Pretty good collection of Holmes stories. But I needed something that wasn't a hardcover to take with me over the holidays and so...

Over the holidays I'll be reading The Dog Master, by W. Bruce Cameron, yes the guy who wrote a Dog's Purpose. This one is about how early man tamed the wolf into what we know now as the Dog.

 

[May 20]

Over the holidays I'll be reading The Dog Master, by W. Bruce Cameron, yes the guy who wrote a Dog's Purpose. This one is about how early man tamed the wolf into what we know now as the Dog.

My son and I read A Dog's Purpose and the sequels. We loved them. I will have to check into The Dog Master. Thank you!

I finished Kingdom of Ash. I enjoyed it well enough; it was a fitting end to the seven-book series. I will read The Devil in the White City next. I'm not sure I'm actually looking forward to it, but my son is reading it for school and asked me to read it with him.

 

[Owain Taggart]

My son and I read A Dog's Purpose and the sequels. We loved them. I will have to check into The Dog Master. Thank you!

He's become one of my favourite authors. He has a real keen sense of writing from a Dog's point of view. I liked the sequel less as there were some annoying characters, in particular the mother with the way she was written, but I felt A Dog's Way Home, one that doesn't have any relation with the two others was actually a better book. Note that The Dog Master is actually under the Forge imprint as it's considered fantasy. Can't wait to dig into it

 

[Mrs. Silvercrest]

I got a cute book from my mom for Christmas called the Library Cat.

 

[May 20]

Is the cat named Dewey? I read his story. It was very good. If you like cats and libraries, you will probably love it.

I am about 1/4 of the way through The Devil in the White City. I am enjoying it more than I thought I would based on my son's descriptions.

 

[Miss Chicken]

Just finished listening to Into the Storm: Two Ships, a Deadly Hurricane, and an Epic Battle for Survival by Tristram Korsten, narrated by Dan Woren.

The two ships were the El Faro and the Minouche. The hurricane was Joaquin in 2015. I think the sinking of the El Faro is well known in the USA as it was an American ship and 28 of it 33 crew were Americans (the other 5 were Polish). The sinking of the Minouche is less well known. It was a ship sailing under a flag of convenience (Bolivian flag) . Its crew was mainly Haitian, the captain was born in the Phillipines but lived in Guatemala.

The outcomes for the two crews was vastly different and this mostly came down to the actions of the two captains.

I was quite impressed with the US Coast Guard rescuers who came to the aid of the Minouche crew especially of the rescue swimmer, Ben Cournia.

 

[Miss Lemon]

I'm reading The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard. Not sure yet if I'm going to read all five of them...