What are you currently reading?

[gregl]

I am finally reading "Moby Dick" after years of putting it off. It is a slog sometimes but really sheds interesting light on the understanding of science at the time.

Bob

Started it four or five times. Let us know if you finish it.

[notFritzArgelander]

I am finally reading "Moby Dick" after years of putting it off. It is a slog sometimes but really sheds interesting light on the understanding of science at the time.

Bob

Started it four or five times. Let us know if you finish it.

I’ve finished it 2 or 3 times.

[pakarinen]

"The Universe from Your Backyard" by Eicher (editor of Astronomy mag, I think). Similar to TLAO, but sketches are from C8s and larger, so they're not really applicable for my gear. Nonetheless not a bad picture book for light reading.

[John Donne]

This is an interesting perspective on the evolution of corporate culture.

[ewomack]

Recently completed (I've read every book in this series starting from Washington; Eisenhower, the 33rd book, since Cleveland's two terms get only one volume, is next):


Also recently finished:


Just started reading (a collection spanning from 1898 to 2014):

[GCoyote]

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Big+Ban ... 1118074558

The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy: Rock, Paper, Scissors, Aristotle, Locke

[notFritzArgelander]

https://www.wiley.com/en-us/The+Big+Ban ... 1118074558

I'm currently reading https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/crai ... -stand.htm

having finished https://idoc.pub/download/the-pre-nicen ... 5zzdvd6eno

and "Atlas Hugged" with which I agree but which is written very, very badly. Not to be recommended. The literary merit was exhausted in the title.

[pakarinen]

"The Blue Nile" by Alan Moorehead. It's a historical account of the search for the source of the Nile River. I'm up to Napoleon's expedition to Egypt. It's quite good IMO. I see he wrote a book entitled "Eclipse" and a trilogy that looks like it's about the fighting in North Africa during WWII, which are both intriguing topics.

Problem is the book is copyright 1962, so I'll have to scour the used book sellers if I want to find his other books.

[Star Dad]

"A Soldier in a new Field" by William H Payne (W H Payne). This is a small run (maybe print to order?) book about a post US Civil War colonel involved in a murder in which the colonel plays the major part of sleuthing. This book is a good story, but the author definitely did not proof read it. There is, I swear, at least one typo per page. And each one stops me dead in my tracks. One such example is something like "he wore a blue stripped suit". Yes, that right - stripped instead of striped. To me, it is super annoying. Almost like he used the word striped somewhere when he actually meant stripped and did a global search and replace. There are large gaps where I suspect there should have been a new paragraph, but just blank spaces... maybe he forgot to hit the return key? It's an unusual size for a book and uses very heavy paper - thus passing the weight test. Other than these flaws it is a good story, just beware of my nits. I'm not usually a fan of murder mysteries, but I know the author - he's a re-enactor - well maybe I should say he puts on a uniform and then sells his book. Not sure I've ever seen him do anything otherwise.

[Pikaia]

Just finished this, which I can recommend, covering the period from the sack of Rome in 410 to the sack of Rome in 1527.

After 1527 it was clear to the people of the time that something had been lost never to return. Perhaps we today recognise something similar in the drastic changes going on around us, with climate change, technological progress, the communication revolution, uncontrollable mass migration and the reformation of cultural values.

[GCoyote]

[Pikaia]

On a similar theme, this describes how geography has shaped world history. It also has better reviews on goodreads.com.

[Pikaia]

A Times Book of the Year.

Highly recommended.

[pakarinen]

Pretty good if you're interested in Mediterranean / Italian history:

[John Donne]

An interesting read.

An interesting read.

[ewomack]

Since my last post in this thread on April 26, I've read the following books:

And I am about 80% through:

Nixon.png (100.37 KiB) Viewed 2348 times

Yes, I've asked myself if I read too much.

[bobharmony]

As requested, I am reporting finishing "Moby Dick". The ending was a bit anticlimactic, especially considering the amount of detail that went into the first few chapters of the book. Also the Whale could have saved himself a lot of time and pain (spoiler alert?) if he had just sunk the Pequod on the first day of the chase instead of waiting until day 3!

Books in progress are Sandburg's biography of Lincoln and "One of Windsor" by Beth M. Caruso, a historical novel focusing on the first witch hanging in colonial Connecticut.

Bob

[GCoyote]

https://maryroach.net/spook.html

[Greenman]

I’m reading Voyager ‘101 objects between the Earth and the edge of the Cosmos’ by Stuart Clark. Good read lots of info with a relaxed style.

[pakarinen]

I discovered the Commisario Brunetti mystery series by Donna Leon. $16 new at the bookstore, but I found a couple for $4 each at Half Price Books. Ciao!