NFR What Are You Reading

[Dloy]

I most often read mysteries. On a Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache) run now, but I’ve still got Olen Steinhauer waiting. There are others.
Sometimes biographies, Lincoln and Franklin most recently. Also started the history of the Silk Road, an epic that sheds light on the current mid East, if I ever get back to it.

 

[Robert Engleheart]

Finished re-reading Harry Middleton's On the Spine of Time. Next up is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.

Demon Copperhead is typical Kingsolver; good read.

 

[VAGABOND]

Just finished The Life and Fate of Vasily Grossman by John & Carol Garrard.
Grossman was a Jewish Ukrainian born in the town of Berdychiv, about 40 miles west of todays Kyiv in the early 1900s. A supporter of the Revolution and a graduate of Moscow University with a degree in the field of science he turned to writing in the ‘30s and became a member of the Soviet Writers Union
At the outbreak of hostilities between Germany and the Soviet Union he enlisted in the military and was assigned duty as a reporter eventually becoming the Soviet version of Ernie Pyle reporting on the ground from Stalingrad, Kursk, Treblinka, and Berlin. Being on site inside Stalingrad during the battle he began to see how Stalin’s focus in war was to use up as many soldiers as fodder and still win his war. Fewer people fewer problems.
Post WW2 his attempts to report what he saw by writing novels got him in deep shit with Khrushchev and the KGB. Arrested, with all of his manuscripts taken, he became persona non grata basically invisible. It was said Khrushchev disliked him because Grossman never interviewed him while he was comfortably ensconced on the east side of the River Volga during the battle. Grossmans works are finally being published in the west now and are quite interesting
Anyway, Grossman’s story gives great background on today’s war in Ukraine with the Russia / Ukraine / The West three sided history. Stalin’s two terror famines in the 20s & 30s involving Ukraine plays a big part in todays Ukraine’s current F-OFF RUSSIA methodology.
Like most everything involving Russia and literature it’s lengthy (and so was this..sorry). If you’re interested in how we got to this point in the West vs East vs West political sphere it’s a good starting point.

 

[wanderingrichard]

The Velocity of Information, by Perrodin.
How to avoid "Normalcy Bias" with 188 pages on why people do the things they do when things go wrong, and what you can do to avoid making similar mistakes.

 

[VAGABOND]

Just finished “American Prometheus, The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer” by Kai Bird & Martin Sherman. A Pulitzer Prize winner from 2006 that I tried to read in book form when it came out went south when my eyes decided that book form vs E-book was a no go due to font size. Hoping to finally find it as an ebook with less than a 6 month wait period I finally pulled the trigger on it as an audio book.
I mean, sure….what else is going on when you’re staring at (listening to) a 26 hour opus dedicated to the “father of the atom bomb”. If you are approaching the 3/4 century mark, having been born in the 40’s and growing up in the 50’s & 60s (and 60/70/80s….) this book brought back a lot of remembrances from those times, specifically my mother and father being in El Paso when the great light from Alamogordo came that morning. Home from England on the Queen Mary, Dad had a 30 day leave, get married, report to El Paso having been a flight engineer on a B-24, he thought …son, your ass is headed to Japan now. That shit sticks with you mentally when you are told that at 10 years of age and grows exponentially over time. We, my wife and I visited Los Alamos twice in May when we hung in Santa Fe for a week plus. The drive up the mesa is just a prelude to what occurred ther in the 40s and what continues to happen on a daily basis.
Terrific read if you are so inclined about one of the great minds of the 20th century along with a cast of characters out of a period of human history when the door was opened to a segment of science that now cannot be closed. If you are on one side or the other regarding this now everyday fact of life matters not. It’s here, it’s now and it stares us in the face each and every day.
What really interested me, and not just the science, but the fact that all of these incredibly intelligent people are shown warts and all, along with some especially egregious behavior by that supreme wart, JEH, who was overwhelmed with his own self importance.
Looking forward to the movie “Oppenheimer”, with Cillian Murphy later this year.
Anything with “Tommy F…….kin’ Shelby” in it is worth watching as far as I’m concerned.

 

[joefromchicago]

This one from the tv game show 'Funny you should ask':

Comedian Jeff Ross' response to a question about the winner of a "So you think you can stare" contest:

"Yeah, he was looking at the winner of the "So you think you got big boobs" contest.

And one more, on a hotel sign:

Unattended children will be given a Red Bull and a kazoo.

 

[Herkileez]

Just finished Sapiens, a brief history of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which traces the history of the human race from neanderthol, through to present day and beyond. From population of the earth from Africa, the cradle of mankind, throughout Europe/Asia and progressing across to NA and down to SA. The formation of cultures/tribes, agriculture, development of religions and belief systems, culrural, industrial and scientific revolutuions. Where we came from and where he believes we are heading. One of the most profound books I've read...and one I'll need to read again.

​

 

[notaspeyguy]

Heard of this one ^^^ glad to hear it's good, I feel like I'd stop reading about the time the 18th century came around as my interest wanes at about that time, save for the NA fur trade era....I just finished for the 3rd time now "Children of Ash and Elm" by Neil Price...an unapologetic and objective non-fiction study of the Viking Era by who I feel is one of the world's foremost authorities on the period...I'll be buying more of his work when I can stop buying fly tying materials

 

[mark wlker]

+500 pages on the gruesome murder of Elizabeth Short.
"Black Dahlia Avenger"
Recommended if you're into some true murder mysteries.

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

The Wager.
Good book so far. Especially if you like shipwrecks and cannibalism and scurvy and mutiny on the high seas.

 

[Scott Salzer]

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, from the early 70's is a good read on the atomic bob development.

 

[iveofione]

Brighter Than a Thousand Suns, from the early 70's is a good read on the atomic bob development.

Atomic Bob-wasn't he the guy with the huge willy that starred in '60's porn movies?

 

[J Watrous]

I recently finished Negley Farson’s “Going Fishing”. Similar to, but better than Hemingway and the author sounds like he would have been an awesome person to hang out with.

 

[Scott Salzer]

Ya got me, Ive.....

 

[Driftless Dan]

I'm a big sci-fi fan, but pickings at my local library are getting thin. in the New Books section for Sci Fi and Fantasy, 75% are the latter. Of the remaining, about half are LGBTQ-oriented. I imagine that this focus is caused by whoever buys books for the library. I've asked for a little better proportion of fantasy and sci-fi, but no results so far.

So, I started reading a few mysteries. My step mom recommended J.A. Jance, who writes detective novels, and C.J Box, who writes adventures of a Wyoming game ranger. Both are good, and their books are easy reads. So I guess I'm branching out.

Today, however, I got "Anger is an Energy," the autobiography of John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten. He's sorta the Frank Zappa of the UK, IMO.

I also got an anthology of Japanese poetry, from the 5th century until the modern time, so that should be interesting, although it doesn't have the poems of the guy I was looking for, Mimaya, a Zen master. He's the "one hand clapping" guy." Here's the story"

When Mamiya, who later became a well-known preacher, went to a teacher for personal guidance, he was asked to explain the sound of one hand. Mamiya concentrated upon what the sound of one hand might be. “You are not working hard enough,” his teacher told him. “You are too attached to food, wealth, things, and that sound. It would be better if you died. That would solve the problem.” The next time Mamiya appeared before his teacher he was again asked what he had to show regarding the sound of one hand. Mamiya at once fell over as if he were dead. “You are dead all right,” observed the teacher, “But how about that sound?” “I haven’t solved that yet,” replied Mamiya, looking up. “Dead men do not speak,” said the teacher. “Get out!”
I though that was pretty funny.

 

[wanderingrichard]

Just started Asimov's Foundation series. Had picked it up years ago bit it never held my interest. Maybe it'll stick this time.

 

[VAGABOND]

Just finished Sapiens, a brief history of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, which traces the history of the human race from neanderthol, through to present day and beyond. From population of the earth from Africa, the cradle of mankind, throughout Europe/Asia and progressing across to NA and down to SA.

Thanks Herk. Need to check that one out. Sounds like you found that interesting. A book relating to yours that I read back in the winter, FOSSIL MEN, The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind by Kermit Pattinson was dedicated to the initial segment of your aforementioned read.
It’s based on University of California Paleontologist Tim White’s search for the origin of mankind in the northern Great Rift Valley in the warfare ridden area of what is now Ethiopia. A member of the Leakey family is involved. Interesting from the perspective of how competitive so many of these incredible intelligent people are and how they are able to connect the dots back 4+ million years ago.

 

[Robert Engleheart]

Thanks Herk. Need to check that one out. Sounds like you found that interesting. A book relating to yours that I read back in the winter, FOSSIL MEN, The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind by Kermit Pattinson was dedicated to the initial segment of your aforementioned read.
It’s based on University of California Paleontologist Tim White’s search for the origin of mankind in the northern Great Rift Valley in the warfare ridden area of what is now Ethiopia. A member of the Leakey family is involved. Interesting from the perspective of how competitive so many of these incredible intelligent people are and how they are able to connect the dots back 4+ million years ago.

On a somewhat related topic:

Oregon could be oldest site of human occupation in North America, UO find indicates

Ice Age evidence shows people lived in Oregon 18,000 years ago, long before the Clovis culture and far earlier than previously thought.

www.oregonlive.com

 

[Herkileez]

On a somewhat related topic:

Oregon could be oldest site of human occupation in North America, UO find indicates

Ice Age evidence shows people lived in Oregon 18,000 years ago, long before the Clovis culture and far earlier than previously thought.

www.oregonlive.com

Interesting...In "Sapiens" (and others), it's suggested the 1st humans to inhabit NA walked across the ice bridge from Siberia to Alaska, then gradually populated east and down the coast and south into South America.

 

[Dloy]

Since the ice bridge was in place nearly twice that far back, you can bet there were even older communities. They just haven’t found the PBR trail yet. Seems like the local high school might want a new mascot.