[KR...]

Quote:

Originally posted by Sentral Dogma anyway, I'm reading The Elegant Universe by Brain Greene. About Super-string theory. Physics for the masses(no equations).

I been wanting to read that one as well, let me know if it's worth it

 

[kwkarth]

Just finishing up "Hacking Matter" by Wil McCarthy. Interesting read about programmable atoms, quantum dots and such. ...at the flick of a switch: A wall becomes a window becomes a hologram generator... Coming to a someday near you soon. Maybe sooner than we think...

With the flick of a switch, my 600s become 650s, become HP-1s, become Orpheus...

 

[stuartr]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rizumu I have read classics, I was forced to when I was younger. Certainly not all of them. Anyway, you should read what you like and read a lot of it. Why restrict yourself to older books that someone has deemed "classics"? Just my take on it.

You are right of course. The fact that people are reading anything other than email and the tv schedule is always a pleasant surprise. I would agree that the abitrary classics aren't necessarily better. I guess what I meant is that you should read the classics in the genre you like. If you like Sci-Fi or adventure, read Asimov, Bradbury, Jules Verne, H.P. Lovecraft (more horror/gothic), Frank Herbert. If you like mysteries or spy novels, read Conan Doyle or Frederik Forsyth's the Day of the Jackal. If you read the classics before modern stuff, you will invariably see its influence rippling through. Also, I would imagine that if you went back to those books you were forced to read when you were 14, you will find they are a whole lot better when you tackle them when you are older, wiser, and able to relate to them. You will start to see why they are assigned in the first place. At least that's my view anyway.
Happy reading.

 

[wasifazim]

..just started Michel Faber's "The Crimson Petal and the White"..I realize this sounds cliched, but it really is a 'page turner'..

- w

 

[Sentral Dogma]

KR..., about the Elegant Universe

this is the second time I'm trying to read it. The first time i got about halfway, and i have to reread the beginning because, well, i forgot most of what i read. The fact that I couldn't get through it the first time means something, but the fact that I'm still trying to read it means something as well. It's not technically difficult, but its geared towards the bench-scientist(good for me). I can take the wilder concepts pretty well, as I am pretty open minded.

The thing is I can always blow right through fiction. Non-fiction for me goes in spurts. But i think it was my lifestyle that stopped me from reading the whole thing; now that i have 3 hours of train commuting each work day, I have lots of reading time. Actually, subtract about 15-30 minutes from that for looking at chicks, when going from like 42nd st through 14th st.

Anyway, its interesting and recomended.

 

[RacerX]

Just finished "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larsen. Fascinating non-fiction book about a serial killer operating in turn of the century Chicago at the time of the World's Fair. It's a lot like Caleb Carr's "The Alienist," but tragically, true.

I'm currently reading "Shadows Bite" by Stephen Dedman. It's a fun read about vampires, magic, Yakuza, murder and martial arts all set in the goth underworld of Los Angeles. Not a deep read, but clever dialogue and breezy storytelling make it a lot of fun. It's the sequel to "The Art of Arrow Cutting."

 

[daycart1]

Quote:

Originally posted by MD1032 I just started reading a new book called "Hyperion". Seems like a cool book so far. Guess LOTR will have to wait!

Do you mean the one by Dan Simmons? Most Sci-fi fantasy is not very well written, but the Hyperion trilogy is fabulous! You're in for a fine experience!

I just finished the biograpy of Chopin by Adam Zamoyski. It is carefully documented, but written as a very engaging narrative.

 

[daycart1]

Quote:

Originally posted by SteeleBlayde Reading absolutely nothing until Tor finally catches up with production deadlines, GRRM finally writes his book, and Jordan finally finishes his damn series!

Yeah, I'm waiting for the Jordan too. I thought the last one was pretty lame....almost a thousand pages of messing around trying to think of the next big happenings. I hope the next volume delivers. I'm so anxious to see these, I get them in hardback. Then you have to wait about a year for the paper to come out and another year for the next volume

And when is that damn Grrrrr Martin coming out with the next installment of the fire-and-ice series??

 

[pigmode]

Taiko by Eiji Yoshikawa.

Its an historical novel principly centered on Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but in the telling, much of the tale follows the life of Oda Nobunaga and to a lesser extent, Tokugawa Ieyasu. (Say WHO?!?)

It takes place in the late 16th century, when all of Japan had already been in a constant state of civil war for almost 100 years.

 

[fractus2]

The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorki.

Took scrypt's recommendation. Says on the back Gorki's greatest play.

 

[jaskin]

Just finished The Palace Thief by Ethan Canin and most recently Life of Pi by Yann Martel

 

[Fastjack]

Quote:

Originally posted by daycart1 And when is that damn Grrrrr Martin coming out with the next installment of the fire-and-ice series??

LOL Everybody who has ever read a single volume of that series is really mad at Martin for being so damn slow. It hurts to think I still have to wait several years for the last (fifth) book. I've had the third lying around unread for months now. I don't want to reread all the old ones whenever a new one comes out so I guess I'll just WAIT for the last.

Oh, yeah the topic: I'm reading Everythings Eventual by Stephen King. It's a collection of short stories. Not as good as his other short stories, though.

 

[DanG]

I'm working on The Bell Curve by Herrnstein and Murray after our little debate in the Take It Outside forum over IQ trends within groups. Really quite fascinating and illuminating as to the nature and value of intelligence testing (psychometrics). I recommend it highly.

Before that, I read Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, which I believe was his last novel. Hardy is very descriptive -- somewhat like Dickens -- but the sketches of the surroundings are seminal to the novel. I'd recommend it if you're not afraid of some heavy fiction which is very depressing.

 

[geraco]

What, no Stephen King fans? I just finished King's Dreamcatcher and From a Buick 8, and I am halfway through his compilation of short stories Everything's Eventual: 14 Dark Tales. What can I say, I love the guy's work.

Later.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Just finished Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card, am well into Ender's Shadow. This is my first time reading these classics, and I have to admit to enjoying them immensely. Sci-Fi.

I read Ender's Game in one day, a record for me.