What Are You Reading Now?

[SteelBlue]

also, i think the book is mostly about this: https://nautil.us/the-kekul-problem-236574/

Just finished Stella Maris. Several portions of this essay appear in the text. Thanks for the heads up, I felt like an insider.

[BigFatMeanie]

The Big Short by Michael Lewis (who also wrote Moneyball).

[PaloAltoCougar]

The Big Short by Michael Lewis (who also wrote Moneyball).

I love all of his stuff and am very excited about his next one. Not sure if I've already mentioned this, but in a Freakonomics podcast last month, he spoke about how he spent months in the Oakland A's office, appearing to most there as just another employee, before writing Moneyball. He said he's been doing the same thing at a different company for the past half year or so, but when pressed by the host he said he couldn't reveal it. It turns out the company was FTX and he spent lots of time with Sam Bankman-Fried. Expect a book late next year, no doubt followed by a movie. Should be fascinating.

[Mormon Red Death]

Finally getting around to The Coddling of the American Mind. Halfway in, it's a compelling and breezy read.

I just finished it. Kind of amazing the shit that happened at evergreen university. As for the parenting stuff I couldnt agree more with the authors. I am extemely thanful for my neighborhood situation. My kids will play outside on the weekend from 8 am till dark. We've stuck to our guns and not let them go inside much and its been so beneficial. I got this message from the neighbor in back of us whose kids play with mine all the time.

Good morning! So I have to share because I though this was super sweet! G was chatting with me at bedtime about J and M. He said he was going to really miss them at the birthday party but he was also happy that they got to come to his birthday party with family because they are like family to him. He also said he thought it was good that they were going on a trip because they should get to have fun too! It’s so great that they get to grow up together

[falafel]

I love all of his stuff and am very excited about his next one. Not sure if I've already mentioned this, but in a Freakonomics podcast last month, he spoke about how he spent months in the Oakland A's office, appearing to most there as just another employee, before writing Moneyball. He said he's been doing the same thing at a different company for the past half year or so, but when pressed by the host he said he couldn't reveal it. It turns out the company was FTX and he spent lots of time with Sam Bankman-Fried. Expect a book late next year, no doubt followed by a movie. Should be fascinating.

Wow! That will be interesting.

[Scott R Nelson]

I just finished Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. It was written in 1912 and the time period of the book is 1871. I throw in a classic everyonce in a while. It was a bit of work to get through. I had no idea what to expect. The first sentence in the Wikipedia article on the subject sort of summarizes it:

Riders of the Purple Sage is a story about three main characters, Bern Venters, Jane Withersteen, and Jim Lassiter, who in various ways struggle with persecution from the local Mormon community led by Bishop Dyer and Elder Tull in the fictional town of Cottonwoods, Utah.

Interesting to read a book where the Mormons are the bad guys. I'm wondering if books like this influenced non-Mormons in a negative way.

I've been grabbing books from Project Gutenberg in the format that is compatible with my Kindle Fire. I have another half dozen "classics" to get through in between more recent books.

[SteelBlue]

I just finished Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. It was written in 1912 and the time period of the book is 1871. I throw in a classic everyonce in a while. It was a bit of work to get through. I had no idea what to expect. The first sentence in the Wikipedia article on the subject sort of summarizes it:
Interesting to read a book where the Mormons are the bad guys. I'm wondering if books like this influenced non-Mormons in a negative way.

This sounds similar to the plot of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet. Conan Doyle beat up on the Mormons pretty hard going after the Danites and polygamy.

[SteelBlue]

Re-read The Invention of Morel by Adolfo Bioy Casares. This novella fascinates me and I think I liked it even better on the second reading, seeing clues I'd missed the first time around. I believe it was at least some of the inspiration for the tv show Lost. Highly recommend.

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[SeattleUte]

I read Stella Maris. I liked it better than The Passenger. In fact, one of the best novels I've ever read. Don't believe the media that you need to read the Passenger with or before Stella Maris. Stella Maris stands on its own no problem. These novels were prefect reads after I read The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes.

I finally read a Bronte novel, Villette. It was probably the one for me to read, as it's set in Belgium, is somewhat French, pretty dark, and sort of an unorthodox romance. I really liked it, even though it's not in line with my tastes. Like a lot of admired Nineteenth century novels, it has some anachronisms. But regardless of presentism, this weakens the novel in my view as some, like Moby Dick, don't have anachronisms.

I read a great non-fiction book, Chip War by Chris Miller. I can't say enough good things about this book. it is effectively a sequel to The Making of the Atomic Bomb.

I finally read The Unbearable Lightness of Being. My reaction is mixed. I think it has some extraordinary passages and insights. There is also some very bad stuff. It has not really aged well, and I can understand why. Not least is some anochronisms about ideal male-female relationships. When I was in college, there was a mania for the novel. I think it needed to be shorter. It was in the New Yorker. I haven't read that abridged version, but maybe that was the right thing. (The film is unbearable but I really like Daniel-Day Lewis, otherwise.)

[SteelBlue]

Demon Copperhead, the new Barbara Kingsolver. I’m only about 30 pages in but this one is a slam dunk recommendation. Its narrative structure is based on Dickens’ David Copperfield if the title didn’t lead you immediately there. The reading experience so far has reminded me very much of The Nix.

[BigPiney]

Demon Copperhead, the new Barbara Kingsolver. I’m only about 30 pages in but this one is a slam dunk recommendation. Its narrative structure is based on Dickens’ David Copperfield if the title didn’t lead you immediately there. The reading experience so far has reminded me very much of The Nix.

Excellent. David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel.

I have this on my Kindle already, I'll have to start soon.

[SteelBlue]

Excellent. David Copperfield is my favorite Dickens novel.

I have this on my Kindle already, I'll have to start soon.

I don't do audio very well so I'm reading kindle too, but this is definitely a book that with the right reader would be a fantastic audiobook.

[falafel]

Demon Copperhead, the new Barbara Kingsolver. I’m only about 30 pages in but this one is a slam dunk recommendation. Its narrative structure is based on Dickens’ David Copperfield if the title didn’t lead you immediately there. The reading experience so far has reminded me very much of The Nix.

Is it necessary to have read the Dickens novel?

[SteelBlue]

Is it necessary to have read the Dickens novel?

No. I haven't read David Copperfield so I'm sure there are plenty of allusions flying over my head, but Demon Copperhead has been one of my favorite reads in a long time so far. I just passed the 50% mark.

[falafel]

No. I haven't read David Copperfield so I'm sure there are plenty of allusions flying over my head, but Demon Copperhead has been one of my favorite reads in a long time so far. I just passed the 50% mark.

Nice. Thanks for the rec.