What are you reading?

Discussion in 'Geek Cave: Computers, Tablets, HT, Phones, Games' started by OJneg, Sep 30, 2015.

  1. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Just read Outcaste: A Novel

    The power, lifestyle and hypocrisy of those people (ahem, read men) was amazing, and this woman was their undoing. There is at least one other telling of this story, but I don't think it has been translated into English.
     
  2. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    I read this in high school like a lot of people, but I'm guessing it'll hit a little differently now than it did back then.
     
  3. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    When I read Richard Wright’s Black Boy and then Native Son years ago I found them really formative regarding race perception. It was really my first deep dive into the depths of the culture that came out of oppression that can drive decisions and the lives of people of color.
     
  4. Superexchanger

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    A friend of mine gave me her copy, and at her insistence I'm diving in. Heard tons about this book/series over the years and it was recently wrapped up to some acclaim, so hey, why not.
     
  5. Skyline

    Skyline Double-blindly done with this hobby

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    Ah, cool. I read Wolf Hall ages ago. I remember appreciating it, but also thinking that it dragged in spots. I think the problem was more with me than the book...you have to be in the right head space for that sort of novel.
     
  6. Superexchanger

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    Right, I'm with you on that. I feel the same way about half way through. I haven't read fiction in many years so this is a bit daunting as a reentry, but so far rewards my patience as often as testing it.

    This is dumb as hell but I often listen to chamber music while reading this, and it really does help settle me into the needed headspace.
     
  7. Grattle

    Grattle Friend

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  8. hikergrl

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    Just finished Neal Stephenson's "Fall" - I really enjoyed it. The characters were well developed and a great story. I found it to be one of the "easier-to-read" Stephenson books (they are all rather a time commitment!).

    Googlebooks has a 100 pg preview:
    https://www.google.com/books/edition/Fall_or_Dodge_in_Hell/a6ZtDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
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    Quote from publisher: "In his youth, Richard “Dodge” Forthrast founded Corporation 9592, a gaming company that made him a multibillionaire. Now in his middle years, Dodge appreciates his comfortable, unencumbered life, managing his myriad business interests, and spending time with his beloved niece Zula and her young daughter, Sophia.

    One beautiful autumn day, while he undergoes a routine medical procedure, something goes irrevocably wrong. Dodge is pronounced brain dead and put on life support, leaving his stunned family and close friends with difficult decisions. Long ago, when a much younger Dodge drew up his will, he directed that his body be given to a cryonics company now owned by enigmatic tech entrepreneur Elmo Shepherd. Legally bound to follow the directive despite their misgivings, Dodge’s family has his brain scanned and its data structures uploaded and stored in the cloud, until it can eventually be revived.

    In the coming years, technology allows Dodge’s brain to be turned back on. It is an achievement that is nothing less than the disruption of death itself. An eternal afterlife—the Bitworld—is created, in which humans continue to exist as digital souls."
     
  9. hikergrl

    hikergrl Friend

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    Returning "Fall" to the library resulted in a great discussion with the librarian sharing authors we liked. He suggested Iain Banks (wrote Sci Fi using Iain M. Banks and other novels as Iain Banks).

    I've just finished "The Crow Road" by Ian Banks - really, really enjoyed it, great phrasing/language. First sentence is (almost Kafka-ish): "It was the day my grandmother exploded." After a few pages you discover how this happens and its really quite credible.
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    And am now reading "Matter" by Iain M Banks (I believe its the 8th "Culture" novel, as the library did not have any of the earlier books in series!).
    upload_2020-9-22_21-26-36.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2020
  10. DigMe

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    His books definitely vary greatly in the ease of reading dept. The Baroque Trilogy was quite a commitment. I found Anathem and Cryptonomicon were challenging to stick with at times too (but ultimately rewarding). I’ll have to file away Iain M. Banks in my mental file cabinet for when I’m finished with my current books. Finishing up Stephenson’s Zodiac tonight which was a quick read. Have a couple of military history books lined up next. Have you read The 4-book Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons? If not it gets a strong recommendation from me.
     
  11. Superexchanger

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    I came across Kid A quite young and it entirely passed me by how transformative the record was, given the context of the release (world's then greatest guitar band, "saviors of rock", producing something so alien in the face incredible pressure to move the genre beyond OK Computer, which was probably impossible anyway).
    Just on the merits though, it lodged itself in my brain and never left. It never will.

    This book is a neat document of the time and context for Kid A, and the state of the band at the time. It's full of anecdotes from the writer's experiences with Radiohead's discography and history (not always interesting), but I'd still recommend it if this album means anything to you.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2020
  12. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    Finished reading every one of Neal Stephenson’s novels. I have also read all of William Gibson’s novels. Any recs for new authors that you think may appeal to me based on those two? Gibson is one of my faves. I love everything he’s written.
     
  13. exsedol88

    exsedol88 New

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    Started reading Radical Candor as professional development for work. Ironically, it's the book my employer made its college interns read, but it is particularly applicable to upper level engineers and managers working on software development teams.
     
  14. Kernel Kurtz

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    I quite enjoyed this one, being a big fan of short stories of the horror genre. His writing stands fine on its own merit, but you can definitely see a resemblance between his work and the work of his father (Stephen King).
     
  15. dematted

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    weimar.jpg

    I've been reading "The Weimar Republic: The Crisis of Classical Modernity" in my spare time. It's a compelling historical study that brings together cultural, intellectual, and political history to tell the story of how a society that was in many respects culturally and socially modern succumbed to reactionary authoritarianism.
     
  16. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    sounds strangely familiar...
     
  17. bobboxbody

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    I'm on book 2 of the Takeshi Kovacs series, Broken Angles. I like the series so far, the first book was a nice mashup of hard-boiled detective and cyberpunk/Sci-Fi. Book two has more of a political slant. I watched the first season of the Netflix adaptation and didn't really like it, the books are more enjoyable for me.
     
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2020
  18. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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    One of the books worth mentioning that I've recently consumed is The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu (English translator of The Three Body Problem). Really nice collection of Sci-Fi / fantastical short stories; the self-titled tale I found to be really touching and has stayed with me.

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    I also started on the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson - interesting but written in a very verbose style. Taking my time with that... in the meantime started reading Hyperion to see what all the fuss is about; great so far.

    [​IMG]
     
  19. SalR406

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    I was looking to learn more about USA/China relations and this was recommended to me. Just started...
     
  20. squishware

    squishware Friend

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    Jordan Peterson - 12 Rules for Life
    Fully Recommended for anyone breathing.
     
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