What are you reading? What was the last book you enjoyed?

2940044533356_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG


16112272.jpg


6c31bc5654971473a5e502d5abf8ff9a.jpg

The Edge of life is the best of the three here but the other two weren't that bad either. They are currently free on Amazon and are pretty short. Good for a lunch break fix. I enjoyed his style, I think I'll give one of his longer works a try and see how it goes.

2940045204170_p0_v1_s260x420.JPG



I've become a fan of John F.D. Taff and look forward to reading more from him. i was intrigued by this story but once I got into it I realized I had seen the movie based on the events, An American Haunting with Donald Southerland. That didn't matter though. This book is well told and really nothing like the movie. The way Taff "brings the Witch to life" is what makes the book work. It's basically a fictionalized story based on the actual events of the Bell Witch. It's a pretty quick read and well worth it.
 
Last edited:
Sliver by Ira Levin

101692a.jpg


Book about some strange goings and happenings in a sliver apartment building in NY. It's a Levin book so secrets are revealed and it's suspenseful enough.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

9780062255686_p0_v2_s260x420.JPG


This book does have similar themes than other of Gaiman's novels (think: danger and fantasy mixed with reality from a child's perspective), but the character development and overall story made it unique. I enjoyed it.

The Other Brain: From Dementia to Schizophrenia, How New Discoveries about the Brain Are Revolutionizing Medicine and Science by R. Douglas Fields

51IEGkkLKHL._SY344_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg


I LOVED this book. The book focuses on the Glia Brain Cells which historically have been ignored in favor of Neurons, which only make up 15 percent of the brain. Fields chronicles the history of how Glia have been studied and how recent research have indicated that having a better understanding can help in addressing mental illness, brain degenerative disorders, mood, among other brain functions.

Embassytown by China Mi?ville

embassytown-china-mieville.jpg


This is a rather strange book that deals with a place called Embassytown where different species meet, including humans and an alien race named Ariekei. The book largely deals with the differences in languages and how the species with languages so differently with each other manage to speak. The book also deals with the power and the strength of language to over power people's minds and lead to violence. Just as nerdy a book as it sounds, but I liked it. ;)
 


Dark Summit provides a look at the tragic events of the 2006 Everest season, the second most deadliest since humans started trying to climb it. The book focuses on the death of one climber who was passed, while he was dying, by 40 other climbers on their way to the summit, and the rescue of another who was helped by a team that aborted their own summit attempt to assist him. It does a good job at providing a neutral, factual accounting of the actions of those on the mountain, and leaves it up to the reader to answer the moral questions regarding helping stranded climbers above 8000m, colloquially known as "The Death Zone."

Not my favorite Everest book, and certainly not one I'd recommend to readers who aren't familiar with the events of Everest's deadliest season in 1996. To them, I'd recommend reading Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, a more powerful account of events on Everest as Krakauer was on the mountain, himself caught in the storm that claimed several climbers' lives that year. It provides a necessary context regarding the over-commercialization of guided expeditions taking on unprepared clients. For anyone familiar with the immense dangers of high altitude mountaineering and an interest in the events of the 2006 season, it's certainly worth a read.
 
Last edited:
17412804.jpg


Great read. It can be confusing at times, as the author jumps from place to place, and even firefight to firefight. However, the first person accounts from both soldiers and dutch civilians and resistance are riveting.
 
The Boys From Brazil-Ira Levin

99894.jpg


Creepy novel about Nazi refugees trying to restart the Nazi regime. Interesting.

Flowers for Algernon- Daniel Keyes

18373.jpg


Sci-fi story about a young mentally retarded man who gets an operation to make him smart. I enjoyed this, but it was rather depressing.

The Rest is Noise- Alex Ross

392563.jpg


I LOVED this book! :D This book details the history of various composers (mostly classical, but with some Jazz) and how they influenced each other and both shaped & were shaped by their society.
 
Reading "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand. Great book so far. Have to see what else she ahs written.
 
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

968827.jpg


Pretty creepy science fiction story about the beginnings of human cloning and how a group of young people who've survived a holocaust and trying to maintain such process of cloning to keep society alive.

The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Rootsby T.J. Wray, Gregory Mobley

363506.jpg


This deals with the history of how the devil has been represented in scripture and how his image has evolved and has influenced and been influenced by surrounding culture. Interesting discussion of the devil. evil:

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire S?enz

12000020.jpg


A YA novel about two teens who seem very different at first, but become friends. More of a book dealing with character than plot, but the characters keep it interesting.

Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar

6448772.jpg


This book details the history of Quantum Theory starting with Planck and then looking at contributions from Einstein, Born, Bohr, among others. Works really well as a history book about how the Quantum Theory has progressed and how it influenced science.

Survivor (Patternmaster) by Octavia E. Butler

256890.jpg


This a book set in Butler's Patternmaster universe (I haven't read the others, but will). It deals with a group of missionaries who moved into an alien planet that's having wars and problems of it's own. Butler apparently disliked this novel so much that it's out if print, but I thought that it was a decent enough sci fi novel.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman

5544.jpg


A collection of musings from Physicist Feynman in which he talks about different events from his life. He's funny at times, informative, and agree with some other readers of this book, that he does come off as pompous and obnoxious at times.
 
51flxdzcvbL.jpg


Interesting book about Dave Mustaine (He got kicked out of Metallica just before their success) very interesting life story, i usually read real biographies only, life is too short now for fantasy :P
 
51VBtIu7KEL.__.jpg

In The Woods by Tana French - Joe Hill gave this a really nice write-up on his blog some time ago and I got it as an X-Mas present this past year. It won a bunch of awards, including the Edgar, the Barry and a Macavity, so I figured I was in good hands. It's a murder mystery set in Ireland and follows a male and female detective looking into the murder of a young girl at the site of a strange appearance involving the male detective when he was a child. The first 80-85% of this books is brilliant. Really gripping, well written police procedural. The two detectives have good banter and French does a really good job developing the relationship and history of the two of them. And then, at the 81-86% mark, the male detective turns stupid and almost ruins the entire book. I won't say anything else about it, but it was frustrating. Overall, it's still a very good book. I just wish it would have gone differently.

I actually just picked up the sequel, The Likeness, a couple days ago when I found out that it's told from the POV of the female detective. Probably start on it soon, too.


51dCRSN1-NL._.jpg

Chew Vol. 8 - Family Recipes - This is such a fun, funny comic. 8 Trades in and still going strong, with an animated series in production right now. Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning he absorbs the memories of anything he eats and he uses it to help solve crimes. And if you think that power is weird, you haven't seen anything yet. Seriously, get on this book now so you can say you were a fan of it before it becomes all huge.


51JdbqEQUgL._.jpg

Superior Foes Of Spider-Man Vol. 1 - Probably my favorite superhero comic of the last year. About a bunch of Spider-Man's lesser bad guys who band together to try and become something more. And fail miserably. It's laugh out loud funny.
 
adgy-san said:
51dCRSN1-NL._.jpg

Chew Vol. 8 - Family Recipes - This is such a fun, funny comic. 8 Trades in and still going strong, with an animated series in production right now. Detective Tony Chu is a cibopath, meaning he absorbs the memories of anything he eats and he uses it to help solve crimes. And if you think that power is weird, you haven't seen anything yet. Seriously, get on this book now so you can say you were a fan of it before it becomes all huge.
Click to expand...

Chew Vol.1 (Issues 1-5) is part of the Humble Image Bundle, which it looks like is still on through May 12.

http://www.humblebundle.com/
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Now Chirping

  • No one is chatting at the moment.

Share this page

Back
Top