What books are you reading?

[kyrathaba]

I've recently finished the third and final New Crobuzon novel by China Mieville, Iron Council:



For anyone who hasn't read these novels, I recommend them highly.  You should probably read them in this order:

• Perdido Street Station
• The Scar
• Iron Council

Now, I'm reading the first of four novels in The Age of Unreason series by J. Gregory Keyes: Newton's Cannon



Just as some foods are quite calorie-dense, this book is dense in terms of witty conversational repartee and thought-provoking reflections on life.  Keyes is quite skillful in portraying this alternate history.

[kyrathaba]

Finished Newton's Cannon, and have begun the sequel.  I give Newton's Cannon 5 out of 5 stars.  Fantastic!

[IainB]

I am currently re-reading The Deming Method, by Mary Walton and Out of the Crisis by W. Edwards Deming.
Great books, both.

[tranglos]

Just finished War Is a Lie by David Swanson, amazing book. Even if you already know much of the facts, seeing them all compiled into a cogent narrative is a big red pill everyone should swallow once.


Now reading Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann


Kindle editions all, since I have no more space on my shelves.

And re-reading Howard Zinn's A People's History, because I'll be translating it into Polish (gulp!). The first time Howard Zinn will be published in Poland. I have a year to complete what looks like a three-year job to me, and this is in addition to my regular work. I don't think I'll be submitting much of anything for NANY 2013

[40hz]

Finished Newton's Cannon, and have begun the sequel.  I give Newton's Cannon 5 out of 5 stars.  Fantastic!

-kyrathaba (October 03, 2011, 08:43 PM)

Ah! The Age of Unreason series. Excellent books! (Second book: A Calculus of Angels is even better!)

Interesting in that what they're calling 'alchemy' bears many strong relationships to quantum and particle physics in our world. In the end, does it really matter if it's a subatomic particle, a juxtaposition of dimensions, or an 'angelic' power that makes something work - as long as it works?

Not as crazy as it used to sound.

I remember going to a lecture where 'electron spin' got mentioned. The lecturer took pains to point out that what are called particles aren't really what we think of as physical particles. I remember his saying something like " Spin is a way of thinking about it. It's not like there's actually an object that's spinning down there."
 

[superboyac]

I remember going to a lecture where 'electron spin' got mentioned. The lecturer took pains to point out that what are called particles aren't really what we think of as physical particles. I remember his saying something like " Spin is a way of thinking about it. It's not like there's actually an object that's spinning down there."

-40hz (October 04, 2011, 08:39 AM)

Man!!  I had an eerily similar experience when I first started learning about spin in my quantum physics class in college.  I remember that it didn't really quite make any sense to me, like in a  special way though.  It was like I thought "this is...kind of...bullshit", but I wasn't sure if I just wasn't understanding it or something.  It was one of those weird, profound moments in my life.  That spin thing was the first time I realized that they created this concept deductively from just the math of it, rather than observing something and then fitting the math to it which is the more usual scientific way of doing stuff.

Spin is a way of thinking about it.

Such a bizarre statement.  Yet here we are with the result of all of this progress and technology.  And at the very core of it, the very most fundamental part...the electron spin...we don't even know what that really is.

[tomos]

Just finished War Is a Lie by David Swanson, amazing book. Even if you already know much of the facts, seeing them all compiled into a cogent narrative is a big red pill everyone should swallow once. 

Now reading Unequal Protection by Thom Hartmann
Kindle editions all, since I have no more space on my shelves.

-tranglos (October 04, 2011, 07:56 AM)

both sound very interesting, especially the corporation one.

good luck with the translation!

[tranglos]

both sound very interesting, especially the corporation one.

-tomos (October 04, 2011, 10:52 AM)

Chapter 1 in "Unequal Protection" is totally awesome. Hartmann digs into court papers over a hundred years old to trace the origins of the concept that "corporations are persons". The reason this is amazing is that there is zero legal basis for it, and yet it's become so entrenched. Turns out, the whole thing began as a mistake (though likely not what you'd describe as an "honest" one) by a court reporter. The guy wrote a commentary to a ruling which went well beyond what the judge had actually ruled - and that's how it began. As investigative journalism goes, this is first class work by Hartmann.

As for Zinn, he did to me what he had done to thousands other people - made me into an activist. I love Howard Zinn, but "People's History" is a difficult book to translate. I lobbied for its publication for two years, so it's a clear case of "be careful what you wish for because it might come true"

[kyrathaba]

Kindle editions all, since I have no more space on my shelves.

I buy Kindle editions for the same reason 

[rjbull]

Just finished:

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick.
Two lives, two centuries apart, living in the same house, obsessed by the same question.
How far would you go to prove there's life after death?
This is fairly billed as a modern gothic thriller.  I'm glad I finished it before Christmas: it's macabre, gruesome, and chilling.  It's also well-written.

Just finished:
Outrage by Arnaldur Indriðason.
If you're a fan of Nordic thrillers, this is (one of) the Icelandic offering(s).  It's a bit different from the earlier ones; Erlendur has gone to the Eastern Fjords, leaving Elinborg to solve the mystery.

Current book in progress:
Snuff by Sir Terry Pratchett.
'Nuff said? 

[Carol Haynes]

Just finished reading Feynman by Ottaviani & Myrick.

See (UK): http://www.amazon.co...aviani/dp/1596432594
or (US): http://www.amazon.co...aviani/dp/1596432594

I have to say I felt disappointed when I opened the book to find it was one long cartoon strip but having read it I found it absorbing, quite brilliantly written, inspiring and witty.

Pretty sure Richard Feynman would have approved.

Impressed that they managed to get quite a lot of physics into the book.

If you are interested in science and/or Richard Feynman it is definitely worth a read.

If you aren't interested in science it is a good biography of, perhaps, one of the greatest minds of the 20th century - esp. as he simply didn't think or work like other people.

One moving anecdote that I wasn't aware of before reading this book is that of his sister's interest in science at a time when girls weren't expected to do anything other than marry,  cook and drop sprogs. Feynman was horrified by this attitude and encouraged his sister, taking her out one evening to watch the Aurora Borealis. She was captivated and having become a scientist against the odds made a study of the Aurora her life's work - such was her brother's inspiration. Many years later Feynman was asked to get involved in research into the Aurora himself but declined saying that was his sister's field and he didn't want to tread on her toes.

[daddydave]

I remember going to a lecture where 'electron spin' got mentioned. The lecturer took pains to point out that what are called particles aren't really what we think of as physical particles. I remember his saying something like " Spin is a way of thinking about it. It's not like there's actually an object that's spinning down there."

-40hz (October 04, 2011, 08:39 AM)

Man!!  I had an eerily similar experience when I first started learning about spin in my quantum physics class in college.  I remember that it didn't really quite make any sense to me, like in a  special way though.  It was like I thought "this is...kind of...bullshit", but I wasn't sure if I just wasn't understanding it or something.  It was one of those weird, profound moments in my life.  That spin thing was the first time I realized that they created this concept deductively from just the math of it, rather than observing something and then fitting the math to it which is the more usual scientific way of doing stuff.

Spin is a way of thinking about it.

Such a bizarre statement.  Yet here we are with the result of all of this progress and technology.  And at the very core of it, the very most fundamental part...the electron spin...we don't even know what that really is.

-superboyac (October 04, 2011, 10:00 AM)

"Spin is a way of thinking about it." -- Funny how "media spin" has kind of the same meaning: it is adding a layer of interpretation, a way to think about it, a way you want someone else to think about something, for good or for evil. Spin is the scientist's "spin" on what is actually happening.

All I remember from college about electron spin is four letters: s, p, d ,f...shells of probability, something. Didn't have an aha moment, myself.

[superboyac]

daddydave, yes, those orbitals (s,p,d,f) are fascinating!  I used to love that stuff, it really motivated me to learn more about chemistry and quantum physics, even though the actual work and math exercises (pain in the ass) took the fun out of it.  If I'm not mistaken, those orbital shapes were first described mathematically using the Schroedingers equations, and THEN it was observed physically.  Just amazing stuff.

[TaoPhoenix]

Books! Nom Nom Nom...

Rather than list which books I am "actually reading" I'll list links to my personal library that I recently began typing up online! The chance of me reading any particular one at any particualar day resembles Quantum Field theory!  Here are the first few sets.

http://www.freevoteu...re/RawBookList1.html
http://www.freevoteu...re/RawBookList2.html
http://www.freevoteu...re/RawBookList3.html

[Carol Haynes]

daddydave, yes, those orbitals (s,p,d,f) are fascinating!  I used to love that stuff, it really motivated me to learn more about chemistry and quantum physics, even though the actual work and math exercises (pain in the ass) took the fun out of it.  If I'm not mistaken, those orbital shapes were first described mathematically using the Schroedingers equations, and THEN it was observed physically.  Just amazing stuff.

-superboyac (December 28, 2011, 09:36 AM)

I love Feynman's comment (loose paraphrase):

"Students don't understand this stuff - hell I don't understand this stuff, anyone who says he does is lying or deluded. It just works - nature knows what she is doing."

If you have time on your hands (and a compelling desire to hit yourself on the head with a brick) try this series of lectures by Feynman:

http://www.vega.org.uk/video/subseries/8

Probably about 5 hours of viewing - very entertaining as well as bewildering.

[kyrathaba]

Here are the books I read in 2011:

    Velocity, by Dean Koontz
    Shadowfires, by Dean Koontz
    One Door Away From Heaven, by Dean Koontz
    Night Chills, by Dean Koontz
    Marker, by Robin Cook
    The Ends of the Circle, by Paul O. Williams
    House of Thunder, by Dean Koontz
    Ring, by Stephen Baxter
    The Shadows of God, by J. Gregory Keyes
    Empire of Unreason, by J. Gregory Keyes
    A Calculus of Angels, by J. Gregory Keyes
    Newton’s Cannon, by J. Gregory Keyes
    Iron Council, by China Mieville
    Printcrime, by Cory Doctorow
    Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville
    The Omega Point, by Whitley Streiber
    Plague Ship, by Andre Norton
    By the Light of the Moon, by Dean Koontz
    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
    The Gap Cycle: Forbidden Knowledge, by Stephen R. Donaldson
    The Gap Cycle: A Dark And Hungry God Arises, by Stephen R. Donaldson
    The Gap Cycle: The Gap Into Madness, by Stephen R. Donaldson
    The Gap Cycle: This Day All Gods Die, by Stephen R. Donaldson
    Mission Earth: The Invaders Plan, by L. Ron Hubbard
    Foundation, by Isaac Asimov
    The Forge of God, by Greg Bear
    Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
    Calculating God, by Robert J. Sawyer
    The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie
    Before They Are Hanged, by Joe Abercrombie
    Last Argument of Kings, by Joe Abercrombie
    The Kingkiller Chronicles: The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
    The Kingkiller Chronicles: The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss
    Blindsight, by Peter Watts
    Anathem, by Neal Stephenson
    The Kinshield Legacy, by K. C. May
    The Door Through Space, by Marion Zimmer Bradley (c1961)
    Deathworld, by Harry Harrison

[IainB]

@kyrathaba: Crikey! That's some list. Thanks for posting it.
I looked through it - recognized most of those titles. I think I have read roughly 90% of those books/stories. I shall follow up some of them with interest.

I am reading an interesting book at the moment, as I explained in a separate post Re: Thoughts in remembrance of 911

But her question - "...why did Hitler hate the Jews so much?" - was what got me reading Mein Kampf. I wanted to be able to understand his rationale for what he did, and explain it to her. I told her that was why I was reading it, and that I had not actually wanted to read it, though I had been steeling myself for the time when I would have to.
I am reading this English translation, here, if you want to take a look: Adolf Hitler - Mein Kampf (James Murphy translation).pdf

I am finding myself quite fascinated by its cold, insidious horror. It seems reasonably lucid, coherent, and well-written.

-IainB (December 31, 2011, 10:21 AM)

By the way, I am reading the book with the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader, which has some good highlighting and note-taking features, which I have not used before, and which notes can be saved with the file. So I am saving the file as a separate annotated copy (i.e., together with its notes).
I usually make notes about a book I am studying, but they are often handwritten on paper sheets, and to be doing it this way is the first time for me with AAR. The notes you make are searchable in AAR too. Quite handy. I shall be interested to see if/how they appear in Qiqqa (my document reference management system).

[berry]

Recently finished "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall. I found it very educational and entertaining, but I'm a used-to-be runner.

Currently "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson. Also very interesting. Quite a fascinating character.

Finished "A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire". Great. Holding off on "A Clash of Kings" lest it spoil the HBO series which so far has done the book proud.

cheers

[kyrathaba]

Crikey! That's some list. Thanks for posting it.
I looked through it - recognized most of those titles. I think I have read roughly 90% of those books/stories. I shall follow up some of them with interest.

@IainB: Thanks! I post books-read as I finish them, here on my blog.

[IainB]

Recently finished "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall. I found it very educational and entertaining, but I'm a used-to-be runner.

-berry (December 31, 2011, 09:27 PM)

Did you ever read "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" by Alan Sillitoe? I liked that a lot, and it motivated me to start cross-country running when I was about 12 years old. I ran over several of the Welsh hills in Snowdonia National Park (where I lived).

[Shades]

@IainB:
The song from Iron Maiden is great too   

[panzer]

George R. R. Martin: Dying of the Light
Good idea, but I didn't like the characters much...

[40hz]

Two books by Peter Mayle:

What books are you reading?

A Dog's Life - first person narrative from the dog's point of view. The thoughts and reminiscences of a dog of dubious parentage living in Provence. Part Mark Twain, part Boswell, part Jerome K. Jerome. A fun little read if you like this sort of thing. (I do.)

If, like me, you have a logical turn of mind, a self-indulgent nature, and a frequently dormant conscience, there is a certain aspect of human behavior that can put an immense strain on the patience. It's spoken of, always in sanctimonious tones, as moderation - not too much of this, not too much of that, diet and abstinence and restraint, colonic irrigation, cold baths before breakfast, and regular readings of morally uplifting tracts. You must have come across all this and worse if you have any friends from California. Personally, I'm a great believer in the philosophy of live and let live, as long as you keep your proclivities to yourself. Follow the road of denial if that's what you want, and all I'll say is more fool you and spare me the details.

What books are you reading?

Chasing Cezanne: A Novel - one of the better art theft caper (with a touch of humor) stories out there. Great characters, fun plot, perfect pacing, elegant locations, pretty women, a bon vivant art forger, and Mayle's trademark urbane and witty verbal exchanges.

Pick one or both. Either is the perfect way to pass and hour or two, snugged up in your favorite chair, while nursing a nice glass of something special on a quiet winter's afternoon with the house completely to yourself...

Ah! Such bliss...

 

[rjbull]

"Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen"

-berry (December 31, 2011, 09:27 PM)

I heard part of a program on BBC Radio that suggested that the Greeks who rowed triremes might have been the greatest every athletes - and that their like has died out.

Finished "A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire". Great.

-berry (December 31, 2011, 09:27 PM)

That's been out for some years, but seems to be getting very popular.  My county library stock has multiple copies, at least one of which has its home at the branch I use, but it's never on the shelf and there's a constant waiting list.

[berry]

"Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen"

-berry (December 31, 2011, 09:27 PM)

I heard part of a program on BBC Radio that suggested that the Greeks who rowed triremes might have been the greatest every athletes - and that their like has died out.

-rjbull (January 02, 2012, 01:46 PM)

I don't doubt that. The greeks strove for arete in athletic performance. The "Hiddent Tribe, Superathletes" is referring to the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, noted for their endurance running.

Finished "A Game of Thrones: A Song of Ice and Fire". Great.

-berry (December 31, 2011, 09:27 PM)

That's been out for some years, but seems to be getting very popular.  My county library stock has multiple copies, at least one of which has its home at the branch I use, but it's never on the shelf and there's a constant waiting list.

-rjbull

I believe the surge in popularity is due in large part to the HBO series, which is quite excellent so far.

cheers