What book is on your nightstand? Readers!

[passedpawn]

The book is so much better than the TV series.

I didn't know there was a tv show. Don't watch much tv except sports. There was a movie a long time ago with Harrison Ford, I did see that, but it's so long ago I just barely remember the basic premise.

[edit] Duh. Now I see the image I posted above says you can watch it on appletv. Didn't notice that when I snipped the image. Also, the main actor in the Apple version has the same last name as the author... wonder if there is a relation there.

 

[SundayBeers]

Reading this right now. Love.


View attachment 736050

I remember watching the film as a kid. Chaotic jungle adventure if i remember correctly?

 

[riceral]

The movie version with Harrison Ford was so-so. It left out many things from the book.

Justin Theroux is the nephew of Paul Theroux.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just read the Hunger Games series with my wife and son, a sort of summer book club kind of thing.

Disappointing IMHO. The first book was excellent, but it seemed like the second was hackneyed and the third was rushed.

And then there was the love triangle thing... Probably just my demographic, but I was trying to figure out whether I was Team Edward or Team Jacob and realized I just didn't give a $&^@.

 

[marc1]

Reading Saberhagen's Swords books. Finished the first 3 books of swords, now onto the books of lost swords. Enjoyable fantasy with magic swords that have massive powers tempered by liabilities.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Just read the Hunger Games series with my wife and son, a sort of summer book club kind of thing.

Disappointing IMHO. The first book was excellent, but it seemed like the second was hackneyed and the third was rushed.

And then there was the love triangle thing... Probably just my demographic, but I was trying to figure out whether I was Team Edward or Team Jacob and realized I just didn't give a $&^@.

You sure your wife didn't give you Twilight in a Hunger Games cover? She's sneaky.

 

[Immocles]

I’m on the eighth book in the Bernard Cornwell Last Kingdom series. Very well written.

I'm a big fan of Cornwell. Uhtred's up there with Sharpe as far as interesting characters. His Arthur trilogy is excellent.

I've just read the four books in his incomplete American Civil War series, main character Starbuck. The last book ends at Antietam in 1862, doubt he'll ever get to the end of the war in '65.

I started the last kingdom series a few weeks ago and I’m hooked. Thanks for bringing it up.

My wife mentioned she had a 5$ freebie book on Amazon to download and asked if i wanted it. I was a big Clive Cussler fan in high school and after a quick google i asked her to download Havana Storm for me. I haven’t touched Cussler in well over a decade, but I missed him. He’s such an easy, quick read with some creative ways of twisting plots. I had no idea he had died. I honestly felt bad when I found out, because he’s an author that kept me reading as a really, really screwed up teenager.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Some coworkers told me I needed to read Asimov's "Foundation," so I bought a copy. I'll start it tonight!

 

[Beerstein]

Reading:

The Peripheral, William Gibson
The New IPA, Scot Janish

 

[Ultryx]

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

 

[soccerdad]

Ken Follett wrote a prequel to The Pillars Of The Earth called The Evening and The Morning. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. My quick synopsis - the women do the brewing - Edgar builds a stone brewhouse - the priests cheat everyone - mead is for the well to do. That's about it. Oh yeah - the Normans have better cider.

 

[Falstaff]

The Marble Faun by Hawthorne. Kind of boring, I like his other stuff better; Seven Gables and Scarlet Letter.

 

[passedpawn]

Ken Follett wrote a prequel to The Pillars Of The Earth called The Evening and The Morning. I'm about 2/3 of the way through. My quick synopsis - the women do the brewing - Edgar builds a stone brewhouse - the priests cheat everyone - mead is for the well to do. That's about it. Oh yeah - the Normans have better cider.

Pillars was one FINE book. One of my faves of all time.

Can you compare the prequel to Pillars?

 

[Falstaff]

Been reading a lot of old Russian novels, such as Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, and Gogol. They mention kvass a lot. Kind of getting me in the mood to try my hand at it, if anyone could point me to a good recipe.

 

[soccerdad]

Pillars was one FINE book. One of my faves of all time.

Can you compare the prequel to Pillars?

I am enjoying the prequel and in some ways it's going too fast. IMO it is not the Epic Saga that Pillars was, but Follett is such a good storyteller that you can't put it down.
One thing I like about the Evening and The Morning is the way in which the story of cultural influence weaves into the telling of the story .. from the influence of the Normans to the fear of the Vikings to the struggles with the Welsh.

 

[Steveruch]

We finally got over to the local.library to get cards.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Not sure if I mentioned it, but my wife, my son, and I just recently read the Hunger Games trilogy together. I thought the first book was excellent, the second book was alright, and didn't like the third book at all--just seemed forced.

My son then read the prequel book, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", and I decided to read it too. It was REALLY good, potentially even better than the first book. Of course I'd recommend not reading it until you've read the original books, because it makes the most sense in full context even though it was set prior in time to the trilogy.

So if you've read the trilogy and you're on the fence regarding the prequel, I give it my thumbs up review.

 

[passedpawn]

Burning through this one right now. Woah, can't put it down. If you like Michael Creighton pace, with world-hopping and end-of-world themes, get this! @betarhoalphadelta

The End of October: A novel - Kindle edition by Wright, Lawrence. Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Burning through this one right now. Woah, can't put it down. If you like Michael Creighton pace, with world-hopping and end-of-world themes, get this! @betarhoalphadelta

Thanks! I just bought it based on that recommendation. Feel like I'm going to have trouble reading anything until football season ends though lol ;-)

 

[passedpawn]

Launching (pun!) into this tonight. Looks awesome. The SpaceX progress is so impressive.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088FQK2K2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[passedpawn]

... but WOW, this one you guys HAVE to read. Finished this late last night (read in in a few evenings). I saw mentions of this meltdown in the news occasionally, but didn't pay attention. I've been involved in several medical startups and this story felt very, very familiar.

5 stars. Get it!

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
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Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos) trial is underway right now, for those that follow the news. If you want to know the the whole story, read this book. Well written, will keep you up at night.

 

[estricklin]

Just read the Hunger Games series with my wife and son, a sort of summer book club kind of thing.

Disappointing IMHO. The first book was excellent, but it seemed like the second was hackneyed and the third was rushed.

And then there was the love triangle thing... Probably just my demographic, but I was trying to figure out whether I was Team Edward or Team Jacob and realized I just didn't give a $&^@.

My experience was basically identical, although I enjoyed the 2nd book quite a bit, the third was a let down. I waited a long time to read the prequel because I had very low expectations for it, when I finally read it I loved it.

Some of the stand outs I've read lately:
Sam Walton: Made in America
The Demon Under the Microscope
Cockpit Confidential
Insomnia

This was a hidden gem for me:

Also highly recommend:

Has anyone read any Tom Clancy books? Thinking about pulling the trigger on one of his series.

 

[estricklin]

Not sure if I mentioned it, but my wife, my son, and I just recently read the Hunger Games trilogy together. I thought the first book was excellent, the second book was alright, and didn't like the third book at all--just seemed forced.

My son then read the prequel book, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", and I decided to read it too. It was REALLY good, potentially even better than the first book. Of course I'd recommend not reading it until you've read the original books, because it makes the most sense in full context even though it was set prior in time to the trilogy.

So if you've read the trilogy and you're on the fence regarding the prequel, I give it my thumbs up review.

My experience was basically identical, although I enjoyed the 2nd book quite a bit, the third was a let down. I waited a long time to read the prequel because I had very low expectations for it, when I finally read it I loved it.

Some of the stand outs I've read lately:
Sam Walton: Made in America
The Demon Under the Microscope
Cockpit Confidential
Insomnia

This was a hidden gem for me:

Also highly recommend:

Has anyone read any Tom Clancy books? Thinking about pulling the trigger on one of his series.

Edited, wrong quote.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Has anyone read any Tom Clancy books? Thinking about pulling the trigger on one of his series.

I read a lot of Tom Clancy in my late teens / early twenties or so. Good reads for that genre.

I think the seminal works were the Jack Ryan series. I never read any of the "add-on" books in the Jack Ryan genre written by other authors, of which there were many though.

 

[day_trippr]

This is light reading to break up the mounds of sci-fi anthologies I've been pounding the last couple of years.
Our local library has a digital relationship with a State-level library having Kindle-compatible lending and I had this one on reserve since May.
It finally came through this morning and odds are I'll be done with it tomorrow.
Can't...stop...reading it!

Cheers!

 

[hout17]

 

[Knightshade]

Not sure if I mentioned it, but my wife, my son, and I just recently read the Hunger Games trilogy together. I thought the first book was excellent, the second book was alright, and didn't like the third book at all--just seemed forced.

My son then read the prequel book, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes", and I decided to read it too. It was REALLY good, potentially even better than the first book. Of course I'd recommend not reading it until you've read the original books, because it makes the most sense in full context even though it was set prior in time to the trilogy.

So if you've read the trilogy and you're on the fence regarding the prequel, I give it my thumbs up review.

Oddly...I re-read the trilogy a couple of months ago as well. Mostly because my wife had been given the prequel to read from a friend and since she was already reading a book (and is a ridiculously slow reader) I burned through the trilogy, so I could read the prequel. Your assessment of the trilogy is spot on with mine, however we diverge in opinion on the prequel.

Without giving too much away, I really liked the first third or so of it. Answered a lot of questions, some time was taken for character development which I appreciated. The middle half I felt kind of dragged on more than it needed to...and the ending....man it felt rushed and left me asking questions which obviously couldn't be answered. Middle portion pace of the book should have been maintained, but perhaps made a bit shorter so no you don't have so many...but why..but what about..

 

[Knightshade]

I've had the same set of books on my nightstand for probably the past 6 months. When something really grabs my attention...I'll devour it in a couple days. When not so much...I pick and peck at it for months on end. The only ones here that I've read all the way through already are How to Brew and Yeast. Beer Bible I usually read a chapter or so every couple of days. I have Red Rising on the kindle which I'm kinda going through some parts quick, then dragging through others.

 

[passedpawn]

View attachment 744079

This is light reading to break up the mounds of sci-fi anthologies I've been pounding the last couple of years.
Our local library has a digital relationship with a State-level library having Kindle-compatible lending and I had this one on reserve since May.
It finally came through this morning and odds are I'll be done with it tomorrow.
Can't...stop...reading it!

Cheers!

Loved it. But why does the awesome friendly alien have be a friggin spider (I hate spiders!).

 

[day_trippr]

Aww...As space spiders go, "Rocky" seemed pretty chill

So, word has it that Ryan Gosling will play Doctor Grace. I think that could work - especially at that 2/3rds point in the movie where we leaned Grace was less than "all in" on ending up on the ship. Agonizing over stuff is in Gosling's wheelhouse.

No word on who plays Rocky I'm worried the CGI will be dicey and if they try to go low budget may simply not convince through all of the inevitable close-up interactions....

Cheers!