Current book being read/just finished

[Troy Loney]

Girl with Dragon Tattoo

You know, I'm on the second book and I really have no want to finish this. It's seriously plodding over descriptive crap for the majority of the book. The first book was the same way for about 150 pages of payoff. This is what was a world wide success? What the ****, it's not that good.

If the second book is anything like the second movie, I have no interest in reading it. I really enjoyed the first book and the first movie.

[eddysnake]

anyone ever read Life of Pi?

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Pi-Yann-Martel/dp/0156027321

[Shyster]

I read too much to keep up with this thread. Recent reads include:

Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara. If you like WWII history or are a fan of James D. Hornfischer’s books on naval battles, then this book is a must-read. Commander Hara over the course of WWII skippered the IJN destroyers Amatsukaze and Shigure and the light cruiser Yahagi, and in many cases was on the other side of the battles described in Hornfischer’s books. For example, as skipper of the Amatsukaze he was on the other side of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (described in Hornfischer’s Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal) and participated in Battle of the Java Sea (described in Hornfischer’s Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston). Writing after the war in the 1950s Hara was blunt in writing about his own performance and the performance and problems of the Japanese Navy, and he pulled no punches on describing his mistakes and the strengths and weaknesses of his fellow officers. A really good book.

Temporary Duty by Ric Locke. A sci-fi novel about a pair of enlisted sailors who are assigned to an alien spaceship as part of humanity’s first contact. It’s a nice story and only $2.99 for the Kindle. I very much hope a sequel is forthcoming. I picked it up because it’s one of the 2012 nominees for the Prometheus Award, an annual award given by the Libertarian Futurist Society for works of libertarian-leaning fiction. Don’t be scared away by that fact; it’s not overtly political or in-your-face.

Now reading A Concise History of the Common Law by Theodore Plucknett, which, despite its name, is 828 pages in length.

[Chefpatrick871]

I think dean koontz has a new odd Thomas book coming out. Kind of excited for that, really enjoyed the series so far.

[Pavement]

I read too much to keep up with this thread. Recent reads include:

Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara. If you like WWII history or are a fan of James D. Hornfischer’s books on naval battles, then this book is a must-read. Commander Hara over the course of WWII skippered the IJN destroyers Amatsukaze and Shigure and the light cruiser Yahagi, and in many cases was on the other side of the battles described in Hornfischer’s books. For example, as skipper of the Amatsukaze he was on the other side of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal (described in Hornfischer’s Neptune's Inferno: The U.S. Navy at Guadalcanal) and participated in Battle of the Java Sea (described in Hornfischer’s Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston). Writing after the war in the 1950s Hara was blunt in writing about his own performance and the performance and problems of the Japanese Navy, and he pulled no punches on describing his mistakes and the strengths and weaknesses of his fellow officers. A really good book.

Temporary Duty by Ric Locke. A sci-fi novel about a pair of enlisted sailors who are assigned to an alien spaceship as part of humanity’s first contact. It’s a nice story and only $2.99 for the Kindle. I very much hope a sequel is forthcoming. I picked it up because it’s one of the 2012 nominees for the Prometheus Award, an annual award given by the Libertarian Futurist Society for works of libertarian-leaning fiction. Don’t be scared away by that fact; it’s not overtly political or in-your-face.

Now reading A Concise History of the Common Law by Theodore Plucknett, which, despite its name, is 828 pages in length.

Japanese Destroyer Captain sounds good Shyster. I'll need to get a copy.

I'm reading The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. It's about a young soldier on the Eastern Front in WW2. He's half french/half german and is originally in a transport and supply unit. Really horrifying but interesting to read an account of a German soldier. Makes you really think about how senseless war really is.

[LeopardLetang]

So I got on to that good reads thing. The recommendations thing doesn't seem to be working, is that browser issue or do I need to keep detailing my profile?

it didn't work for me for a while. it kept "loading" or something. i ended up just clicking away at refresh like a moron (not the standard browser refresh button but whatever the equivalent on the actual site was) and it immediately worked. but it seems pretty trivial anyway. maybe eventually if i add enough books it will work better but for now every book it recommends is solely based on my adding one singular book. for example it suggests i read (random contemporary book) because i added (random contemporary book.) so in other words it's no better yet than simply hovering over a book you add and seeing what's recommended based only on that book. i've only added 50 some books so far though so it may get better. mixing genres would be good. something like, we know you've read a lot of biographies but taking into account your historical readings on china, how about this biography on mao? rather than, try another contemporary book because you read house of leaves.

[the wicked child]

Corv and wf both insist that Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter is awesome so going to read it. :scared:

[Froggy]

Corv and wf both insist that Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter is awesome so going to read it.

but can you really trust either of their judgements since corv is an idiot, and wf likes corv?

[nocera]

Current: Breakfast of Champions

Just Finished: Confederacy of Dunces

[eddysnake]

finally got around to finishing the last hunger games book. Don't know why everyone hated this one, I liked it better than the 2nd, not as much as the 1st, but close. Going to be interesting to see how hollywood changes this on film, it's dark, bleak and depressing.

Picked up Life of Pi, looking forward to it, sounds interesting: Ang Lee is making it into a movie as well, looks beautiful

The son of a zookeeper, Pi Patel has an encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior and a fervent love of stories. When Pi is sixteen, his family emigrates from India to North America aboard a Japanese cargo ship, along with their zoo animals bound for new homes.

The ship sinks. Pi finds himself alone in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again. The Japanese authorities who interrogate Pi refuse to believe his story and press him to tell them "the truth." After hours of coercion, Pi tells a second story, a story much less fantastical, much more conventional--but is it more true?

[the wicked child]

Corv and wf both insist that Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter is awesome so going to read it.

but can you really trust either of their judgements since corv is an idiot, and wf likes corv?

Well, neither of them were living the High life last night, so there's that.

[Troy Loney]

So I got on to that good reads thing. The recommendations thing doesn't seem to be working, is that browser issue or do I need to keep detailing my profile?

it didn't work for me for a while. it kept "loading" or something. i ended up just clicking away at refresh like a moron (not the standard browser refresh button but whatever the equivalent on the actual site was) and it immediately worked. but it seems pretty trivial anyway. maybe eventually if i add enough books it will work better but for now every book it recommends is solely based on my adding one singular book. for example it suggests i read (random contemporary book) because i added (random contemporary book.) so in other words it's no better yet than simply hovering over a book you add and seeing what's recommended based only on that book. i've only added 50 some books so far though so it may get better. mixing genres would be good. something like, we know you've read a lot of biographies but taking into account your historical readings on china, how about this biography on mao? rather than, try another contemporary book because you read house of leaves.

Yeah, it did the same thing. It would just load forever until now when I log in it shows up. It did end up suggesting a book that I read and really enjoyed, so I guess that's a good sign.

[Rylan]

Napoleon's Buttons is a good read for the science/history enthusiast. I recommend it. :

[pens9192]

Airframe by Michael Crichton. Love it.

[eddysnake]

Life of Pi. Highly recommend it. I'm nearing the end and it has been really great. It's got some great dry humor, and plays out like a thriller/adventure story like I've never read before. very spiritual and visual book. Who thought a book about a kid being stuck on raft with a bengal tiger could be so interesting?

[KennyTheKangaroo]

currently reading "meet you in hell" aka the story of carnegie and frick. good book. big jagoffs.

[Shyster]

Now reading Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts by Justice Antonin Scalia and Bryan Garner. This is the second book they have authored together. The first was Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges.

[mikey287]

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins, a rare foray into fiction for me...terrific book.

[AlexPKeaton]

I'm reading "I, Claudius", which is a fictional autobiography of the roman emperor Claudius. It is extremely good, but probably only if you are into roman history as I am.

[Shyster]

I took a break from interpreting legal texts to read The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. First published in 1974 and a winner of the Nebula, Hugo, and Locus awards, the The Forever War tells the story of William Mandella, a conscripted space marine in mankind’s war against an alien species. Due to the time-dilation that comes from the relativistic effects of high-speed space travel, each mission undertaken by Mandella—which takes only months from his perspective—lasts several centuries on Earth. Each time Mandella returns, he finds Earth and mankind drastically different from the way he left it, and eventually becomes a form of living fossil. The novel is thought to be a commentary on the author’s military service during Vietnam and how even a short time away from the United States seemed to result in large cultural shifts. This is a great book and a classic of science fiction.

[Rylan]

When Shyster shifts gears, he really shifts gears.

[the wicked child]

About half way through Abe Lincoln. It's definitely interesting.

[legame]

A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility.

Bought it for my Armenian girlfriend a few years ago and just getting around to reading it myself.

[60sixx]

I'm all about the fiction....

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Different. Good....so far.

[nocera]

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins, a rare foray into fiction for me...terrific book.

Tom Robbins is great. Still Life with Woodpecker is one of my favorite books.

Current book: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

Just finished: Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut