What are You Reading Now?
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Finished Cees Nooteboom and his first novel Philip and the Others published 1953 at the age of 20 in one go. A wistful work about dream and reality.
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. I’m about 3/4 of the way through but haven’t gotten to the part where he invents the sandwich and moves to Cuba to open a cigar factory. 
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I’ve been continuing with my book club to read Patrick O’Brian’s so-called “Aubriad,” this month it is volume 3 (of 20), The Mauritius Command, wherein Commodore Jack Aubrey leads a squadron of ships to attempt a capture of La Reunión and Mauritius from control of Napoleon’s France. A right-ripping tale.
I just recently finished "An Account of the Revd. John Flamsteed" by Francis Baily.
My book is a 1966 facsimile copy of the original written in 1835 with a suppliment written in 1837. Written in the language of the day, it was sometimes a rather heavy slog, but well worth the effort. The actual biography is covered in about 150 pages, followed by a 500 plus page appendix giving letters written by and to Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal of Greenwich Observatory. This is followed by the 1837 supplement concentrating on what could be called the feud between Flamsteed and Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley.
I LOVE these old history books mainly because they often include the old personal letters, because one gets to know the writers almost personally. While there were sources of personal conflict between the three legendary men, I've come to the conclusion that plain old personality differences were the main cause of most of the animosity.
While the long treck through so many old letters written in the language of the day in rather small print was sometimes a bit much, smoking a pipe makes me slow down, and gave me the patience to really enjoy this thing.
My book is a 1966 facsimile copy of the original written in 1835 with a suppliment written in 1837. Written in the language of the day, it was sometimes a rather heavy slog, but well worth the effort. The actual biography is covered in about 150 pages, followed by a 500 plus page appendix giving letters written by and to Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal of Greenwich Observatory. This is followed by the 1837 supplement concentrating on what could be called the feud between Flamsteed and Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley.
I LOVE these old history books mainly because they often include the old personal letters, because one gets to know the writers almost personally. While there were sources of personal conflict between the three legendary men, I've come to the conclusion that plain old personality differences were the main cause of most of the animosity.
While the long treck through so many old letters written in the language of the day in rather small print was sometimes a bit much, smoking a pipe makes me slow down, and gave me the patience to really enjoy this thing.
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Bruce Catton's Civil War. This book combines three of his books in one volume:
1. Mr. Lincoln's Army
2. Glory Road
3. A Stillness at Appomattox
It's a great read; I just wish that the type was larger!
1. Mr. Lincoln's Army
2. Glory Road
3. A Stillness at Appomattox
It's a great read; I just wish that the type was larger!
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Re-reading this one the third time. Bedside book. One of my faves
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Just started reading "Mind of the Raven: Investigations and Adventures with Wolf-Birds".
Just started "The Statregists' and it appears it'll be endlessly fascinating. Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill, Mussolini and Hitler are analyzed. Their histories as fighting men and how the experiences formed their WWII philosophies and decisions. Any WWII or war history aficionados should check it out.
I just finished listening to the LibriVox production of JM Barrie’s My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke. It’s an uneven collection of essays, overall very funny but a bunch of indecipherable asides. The performances by the volunteer readers are varied as one might imagine, but I applaud the effort and can recommend it overall as a lovely companion to a few bowls of delicious tobacco. Definitely made me want to track down a tin of Arcadia Mixture, which apparently was Craven Mixture, now long gone. (Word is that McClelland’s version of Arcadia was apparently not at all a match, and that C&D’s Yale Mixture is closer.)
Also, don’t miss the illustrations as seen in the Project Gutenberg edition:
www.gutenberg.org
Also, don’t miss the illustrations as seen in the Project Gutenberg edition:
My Lady Nicotine: A Study in Smoke by J. M. Barrie
Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by volunteers.
I am reading Lily Harper Hart's "Witch is The New Black". It is a charming detective series which is based in New Orleans and features a detective who is a shape shifter and a civilian female who is a witch.
Thomas Hardy (anonymous), Far From the Madding Crowd.
I am reading one of the "Harper Harlow" mysteries. These stories are charming in a sort of innocent way. The 28-year-old Harper is "ghost hunter". She is a rare human who can see and talk to ghosts. The books are authored by Lily Harper Hart. The mysteries run about 200 pages, and you can usually figure them out yourself. Cast of characters is Harper, her boyfriend Jared (a 30-year-old police detective, and Zander her staunchly gay best friend, later they are by a fourth person who is Zander's boyfriend. The sex in the books between Harper and Jared is definitely there but well-toned down and is never explicit.
5/5
https://www.amazon.com/sspa/click?i...2160bccb35&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw
5/5
https://www.amazon.com/sspa/click?i...2160bccb35&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9kZXRhaWw
Next up in my listening. "The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," a series of radio plays produced by Jim Frank Productions out of the Seattle area. A collection of mostly original stories inspired by references in the original Holmesian canon. As I've found before, Holmes and Watson make nice companions to an evening on the patio with a pipe in hand.
Early last week I finished reading "Astronomy for the Layman," by Frank Reh. It's a 1936 book, and for the most part, if you've read one or two outdated astronomy 'science" books from a certain period, you've read them all. However, what sold me this one is that he goes on for more than a hundred pages talking about the constellations... My first astronomical love. Not real heavy on the mythology, which is fine by me, but things that an amateur can step outside and see. I love this stuff. And to give the book a certain charm from the past, he describes the sky as shown by a lecturer in a planetarium (a wonder of the day,) with one of those old lighted arrow pointers they used to use.
This isn't a rare or valuable book by any means, so I intend to improve it for myself by adding more star names to the rather crude charts. And I'd like to think that might charm some future reader when the book gets REALLY old. "Hey, look what some guy did in here with a fountain pen..."
This isn't a rare or valuable book by any means, so I intend to improve it for myself by adding more star names to the rather crude charts. And I'd like to think that might charm some future reader when the book gets REALLY old. "Hey, look what some guy did in here with a fountain pen..."
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The Indoctrinated Brain:
"written by Michael Nehls, MD, PhD, and Naomi Wolf, is a thought-provoking book that exposes the subtle yet insidious ways in which our brains are being manipulated and controlled. The authors argue that a global attack on mental freedom is underway, and that our brains are being damaged by various factors, including: ...
Issues that are verboten to state here on our forum...
"The Indoctrinated Brain is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex interplay between neuroscience, sociology, and politics. It offers a unique perspective on the global attack on mental freedom and provides practical advice for individuals seeking to maintain their autonomy and critical thinking skills."
Personally, I find it fascinating and am enjoying it very much. I have an appropriate background to understand much of the otherwise complex explanations regarding the human experience. I will likely immediately re-read it upon completion, which is something I very rarely do, but I would like to incorporate more of it to memory than simply to have read and understood it.
I'd like to give some copies as gifts but have too few friends that I think could properly digest it... Right now most of my friends are happenstance acquaintances with random points of similarity and social interactions that fulfill my current "needs" for friendship.
Perhaps in future years when I find I may have been able to retire and have greater time on my hands, I'll seek out deeper friendships with whom I can share deeper issues such as are found within this book.
Also:
The Grand Biocentric Design
In which all my wonderings about Quantum Physics and the implications upon the human experience are evaluated and answers postulated. (The 3rd of a series of 3 separate books, written over several years as things evolved. If you're a newbie to the topic, begin with the first.)
But sometimes I'll be found listening to audiobooks of Sherlock Holmes, or watching some old series of same, or Hercule Poirot or similar. And soon I'll be listening to some spooky stories while in my garage smoking my pipe with the chill air of the night & sky from the open door...
I'm all over the place.
"written by Michael Nehls, MD, PhD, and Naomi Wolf, is a thought-provoking book that exposes the subtle yet insidious ways in which our brains are being manipulated and controlled. The authors argue that a global attack on mental freedom is underway, and that our brains are being damaged by various factors, including: ...
Issues that are verboten to state here on our forum...
"The Indoctrinated Brain is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complex interplay between neuroscience, sociology, and politics. It offers a unique perspective on the global attack on mental freedom and provides practical advice for individuals seeking to maintain their autonomy and critical thinking skills."
Personally, I find it fascinating and am enjoying it very much. I have an appropriate background to understand much of the otherwise complex explanations regarding the human experience. I will likely immediately re-read it upon completion, which is something I very rarely do, but I would like to incorporate more of it to memory than simply to have read and understood it.
I'd like to give some copies as gifts but have too few friends that I think could properly digest it... Right now most of my friends are happenstance acquaintances with random points of similarity and social interactions that fulfill my current "needs" for friendship.
Perhaps in future years when I find I may have been able to retire and have greater time on my hands, I'll seek out deeper friendships with whom I can share deeper issues such as are found within this book.
Also:
The Grand Biocentric Design
In which all my wonderings about Quantum Physics and the implications upon the human experience are evaluated and answers postulated. (The 3rd of a series of 3 separate books, written over several years as things evolved. If you're a newbie to the topic, begin with the first.)
But sometimes I'll be found listening to audiobooks of Sherlock Holmes, or watching some old series of same, or Hercule Poirot or similar. And soon I'll be listening to some spooky stories while in my garage smoking my pipe with the chill air of the night & sky from the open door...
I'm all over the place.
5/5, I really enjoyed this book. A dark history of four siblings that are intertwined in tragedy from the 1950's to the 2000's
Rereading The Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfus (fantasy). Currently on book two, Wise Man's Fear. Hoping he finishes the 3rd book soon to wrap up the trilogy. Been waiting 8+ years...
Not sure what to move on to next. For some reason, nonfiction has felt extremely ponderous the past 2 months. Might have to do with information overload with what's been going on in the world lately. During this same time, nonfiction has been light, effortless, and very enjoyable so I'm gonna ride that wave for a bit. Will probably move on to Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series. 20-novel series of nautical fiction (the book that the Russell Crowe movie Master and Commander was based on is part of this series).
Not sure what to move on to next. For some reason, nonfiction has felt extremely ponderous the past 2 months. Might have to do with information overload with what's been going on in the world lately. During this same time, nonfiction has been light, effortless, and very enjoyable so I'm gonna ride that wave for a bit. Will probably move on to Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey-Maturin series. 20-novel series of nautical fiction (the book that the Russell Crowe movie Master and Commander was based on is part of this series).
Read a few of them through our library and both wife and I enjoyed them. Haven't accessed them all though...