What book is on your nightstand? Readers!
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Soulshine2
Well-Known Member
the issue of Cigar Aficionado with Danny Devito on the cover.
Ooh, sexy.
The New IPA: Scientific Guide to Hop Aroma and Flavor by Scott Janish
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Reading The Terror by Dan Simmons. The book uses real names and ships of the quest for the Northwest Passage, but adds an ice monster of some sort that is beginning to wreak havoc now that the ships are locked in ice.
I have a bunch of stuff by Dan Simmons, just getting into it now. Quality writing for horror, kinda verbose but we'll see.
https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Novel-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316008079
I have a bunch of stuff by Dan Simmons, just getting into it now. Quality writing for horror, kinda verbose but we'll see.
https://www.amazon.com/Terror-Novel-Dan-Simmons/dp/0316008079
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^^ I'm also about half way through another of his, Carrion Comfort. Secret supernatural mind control clan, with roots in germany, hiding now in modern society. Lots of gore. Not so scary actually. Not sure I'll finish.
Soulshine2
Well-Known Member
it keeps the spiders away at night
I have been hoping that for 15 years.
Do any of you do audio books? I have a hard time finding spare time to dedicate to sitting and reading something but do enjoy listening on my work commute. The problem with this is that I can't make it the only thing I concentrate on (people in this city are horrible drivers) so anything with a lot of characters, or stories that jump around a lot are difficult to follow.
The last few I listened to were The Martian (before I saw the movie), and Doctor Sleep.
My wife suggested the Outlander series and I made it through Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber before it got too hard to follow while driving. The Game of Thrones series was out from about halfway through the first book.
The last few I listened to were The Martian (before I saw the movie), and Doctor Sleep.
My wife suggested the Outlander series and I made it through Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber before it got too hard to follow while driving. The Game of Thrones series was out from about halfway through the first book.
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I listen to them every now and then. If I have a LONG drive it's a great way to kill the time. I find podcasts far better for city driving and other times when you can't give it 100%.
Funny you should mention GOT - years ago, I got the first book on audio and just could not keep up with the characters and story lines. I must have restarted it 5 times.
Name of the wind by Patrick rothfuss
I’ll be restarting this since I apparently lost the damn book sometime in 2015. I found it earlier this week with my airplane ticket from Munich shoved in it as a bookmark. I remember enjoying it half or so I read, but clearly forgot all about it. It’s a robust one, too.
Up next on the kindle is Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
I’ll be restarting this since I apparently lost the damn book sometime in 2015. I found it earlier this week with my airplane ticket from Munich shoved in it as a bookmark. I remember enjoying it half or so I read, but clearly forgot all about it. It’s a robust one, too.
Up next on the kindle is Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
ApolloSimcoe
Well-Known Member
Grist Mill Road by Christopher J. Yates
Wife and I are both finally starting GoT...
Another series we pray gets finished
Sorry.
Also if you adventure on the interwebs, it is A Song of Ice and Fire yo the book people and they are particular on that i I remember.
Those books.... so good.
"Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!", Richard P. Feynman
LOL... The first book is A Game of Thrones, so I felt I could get by with it... Of course, getting ready to start book 2, so I'll have to be more careful ;-)
Finished Recursion by Blake Crouch. Very similar writing style to Dark Matter, similar physics paradoxes uncovered.
Good read, pretty quick (started/finished it on a flight from Chicago to LA). I'd recommend it if you're into his style.
Good read, pretty quick (started/finished it on a flight from Chicago to LA). I'd recommend it if you're into his style.
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Yep, fast read. Got pretty nuts at the end, didn't it.
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That was a good book, but unnecessarily long. ~800pp. It was fascinating. The second half of the book went much faster than the first. Most of the volume was incredible character development. I would not recommend it for casual readers who want in&out books.
Reading the following now. I've been putting it off for a long time. So far, light enjoyable reading with a nice pace.
Imhoppy
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Not long ago, I read "Sailing Alone Around the World", a memoir by Joshua Slocum. After a 3 year voyage, ending in 1898, he completed a single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop Spray. He was the first person to sail around the world alone.
One interesting note...When he was passing by Tierra del Fuego, he was warned that he might be attacked by some indigenous Yahgan Indians in the night, so he sprinkled some tacks on the deck. He was awakened in the middle of the night by yelps of pain. He was proud of resourcefully defending himself.
Excellent adventure story and an awesome read.
He set sail in 1909 to the West Indies and was never heard from again.
Robert65
Major Obvious (recently promoted)
Interesting column by Ross Douthat Tuesday in the New York Times about his currently reading Watership Down to his daughters and recognizing its relevance to current events.
‘Watership Down’ and the Crisis of Liberalism https://nyti.ms/2MVKOlS
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I couldn’t read that article. Spoilers!! But of course it’s a political analogue like Orwell’s animal farm. It’s far more delightful(so far, anyway).
Wayne1
Well-Known Member
Just finished "The Lager Queen of Minnesota" by J. Ryan Stradal. EXCELLENT read. It take awhile to get into the beer business, but it is a very accurate portrayal of brewing. Also an ode to Midwestern women and their families.
I read that book young, certainly before finishing high school. I read it again every few years and keep copies at home and on board. Slocum is a personal hero, one of those historical figures that I would meet if that was possible. He wrote some other short works including Voyage of the Liberdad.
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Added to my kindle - thanks!!! I've read a bunch of similar sailing adventure books and love them. Not sure how I missed this one (maybe I didn't
). By the way, this is a public domain book, so there's a bunch of versions by different publishers. Some have very few illustrations, and some have a lot. I bought the Penguin Classics version based on reviews.
https://www.amazon.com/Sailing-Alone-Around-Joshua-Slocum-ebook/dp/B07Z9LLNQM/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1571835663&refinements=p_27:Joshua+Slocum&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=Joshua+Slocum#customerReviews
Hmm... Never heard of "Watership Down", which is strange as apparently it's a long-standing cultural icon.
So it's on the Kindle now... Add it to the list.
Imhoppy
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Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage , by Alfred Lansing, first published in 1959. This is, bar none, the most incredible and epic feat of human endurance imaginable.
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Shackleton's "Endurance" became trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea and then drifted northward, held in the pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915.
Eventually the ship was crushed and sunk, stranding its 28-man crew on the ice. After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island.
Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile (1,300 km) open-boat journey in the "James Caird" to reach South Georgia. Polar historians regard this voyage of the exhausted crew in a 22.5 foot long lifeboat through the "Furious Fifties", known for their 60-foot waves and hurricane-force winds, as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever completed. The crossing of South Georgia Island to reach the Grytviken Whaling Station is in itself one of the greatest inspirational adventures of all time.
From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life.
If you love and crave thrilling adventure stories, this is the grandest and most unbelievable journey ever!
The Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914–1917 is considered to be the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Shackleton's "Endurance" became trapped in the ice of the Weddell Sea and then drifted northward, held in the pack ice, throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915.
Eventually the ship was crushed and sunk, stranding its 28-man crew on the ice. After months spent in makeshift camps as the ice continued its northwards drift, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited Elephant Island.
Shackleton and five others then made an 800-mile (1,300 km) open-boat journey in the "James Caird" to reach South Georgia. Polar historians regard this voyage of the exhausted crew in a 22.5 foot long lifeboat through the "Furious Fifties", known for their 60-foot waves and hurricane-force winds, as one of the greatest small-boat journeys ever completed. The crossing of South Georgia Island to reach the Grytviken Whaling Station is in itself one of the greatest inspirational adventures of all time.
From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life.
If you love and crave thrilling adventure stories, this is the grandest and most unbelievable journey ever!
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I agree!, this was perhaps the greatest true-life adventure story ever told. Frozen in ice, avoiding the incredibly aggressive leopard seal, elephant island, rowing across the sea in the small boat, even scaling a frozen mountain. Incredible, and the Lansing version of the story is very well written.
I was especially impressed by the photographer who, against the wishes of Shackleton, saved the images that grace the center of the book. Those glossies are a real treasure. A picture's worth a thousand words, and when you see them you'll be stunned, especially considering their provenance.
It (really) gives me a warm feeling to know that others are still reading these stories.
Right now I'm reading an amazing book about the rescue of around 500 (mostly) American airmen shot down over Yugoslavia during World War II. This was the first I have ever heard of this operation and WWII has always fascinated me. It really shows the gratitude and sacrifice of the Yugoslavian peasants who kept these airmen hidden and alive at great cost to themselves. It's called The Forgotten 500. I'm also reading The Book of Jasher, one of the books not chosen for inclusion in the Old Testament(lots of them out there) and a book on the geology of Arizona. i enjoy light and entertaining books like these to keep my brain operating at at least a minimal level.
estricklin
Well-Known Member
Some I've read lately:
The Cider House Rules
Matilda
Under the Dome by Stephen King
American Gods
The Phoenix Project
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
The stand out:
Currently Reading The Two Towers and have A Christmas Carol on deck. I've considered Watership Down quite a few times myself, but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. Will definitely be downloading a sample of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.
I think I've mentioned it in this thread before (not sure), but if you love sailing adventures, this book is amazing:
The Cider House Rules
Matilda
Under the Dome by Stephen King
American Gods
The Phoenix Project
A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
The stand out:
Currently Reading The Two Towers and have A Christmas Carol on deck. I've considered Watership Down quite a few times myself, but haven't pulled the trigger on it yet. Will definitely be downloading a sample of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage.
I think I've mentioned it in this thread before (not sure), but if you love sailing adventures, this book is amazing:
“Heroes” by Stephen Fry
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This just came out. I'm deep into the Kindle version. I find it very thought-provoking. I'm lucky to have a friend who love to discuss such things.
RevA
Well-Known Member
Currently reading Gail z Martin - War of Shadows and Bernard Cornwell - The Fort that's not work related.
Just finished Wildcrafter brewing and Brew like a Yeti, fantastic books.
Just finished Wildcrafter brewing and Brew like a Yeti, fantastic books.
RevA
Well-Known Member
Currently reading Gail z Martin - War of Shadows and Bernard Cornwell - The Fort that's not work related.
Just finished Wildcrafter brewing and Brew like a Yeti, fantastic books.
Just finished Wildcrafter brewing and Brew like a Yeti, fantastic books.
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