What are you currently reading?

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Re: What are you currently reading?

#101

Post by DEnc »


Picking up today at the library:--

The Order of Time, Carlo Rovelli.
Rovelli is a theoretical physicist presently working in France. "Time flows at different speeds in different places, the past and the future differ far less than we might think and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe."

Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition, Robert Pogue Harrison.
Harrison is a professor of literature at Stanford. "With Gardens, Robert Pogue Harrison graces readers with a thoughtful, wide-ranging examination of the many ways gardens evoke the human condition." I need to check out his podcast too, "Entitled Opinions".
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#102

Post by notFritzArgelander »


Star Dad wrote: Tue Dec 28, 2021 3:33 pm Started reading "War and Peace". After 50 pages I gave up. There was exactly 1 "page-turner" "episode" ... the rest was romantic drivel. I can see why the Russians revolted against the aristocracy.

Currently reading Larry Bond's "Fatal Thunder". India and Pakistan on the verge of nuclear war... terrorists? set off a nuke and the Russians and USA square off with China in the mix as well. There's a definite submarine-centric scenario as are many of Bond's books. A page turner.
I never managed "War and Peace", it just didn't grab me. Although "Anna Karenina" is chock full of romantic drivel, I loved it and read it several times.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#103

Post by John Donne »


Just started reading this mind bender.
It is very intetesting. Unfortunately I have no one to discuss it with. It may need to be discussed to be fully digested.
Screenshot_20211228-124148_DuckDuckGo.jpg
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#104

Post by pakarinen »


"Understanding Stellar Evolution", Lamers and Levesque, IOP Astronomy. Lots of good stuff I've forgotten over the past few decades...
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#105

Post by John Donne »


Screenshot_20211231-025450.jpg
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"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#106

Post by DEnc »


Just started Robert Sapolsky's Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst.

His writing style is informal and at times shockingly blunt, quite a contrast to his academic cred as a neuroscientist (Stanford). So far, a very enjoyable read. Like the fictional Hari Seldon, his academic adventures included the study of primates in the wild, with the aim of better understanding human behavior!
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#107

Post by messier 111 »


I am reading the 4th edition of the backyard astronomer's guide, by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer a brick.
very well documented, several photos and explanation.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#108

Post by notFritzArgelander »


messier 111 wrote: Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:31 pm I am reading the 4th edition of the backyard astronomer's guide, by Terence Dickinson and Alan Dyer a brick.
very well documented, several photos and explanation.
Me too.... but I must say I like the format and style of the 3rd edition better. ;) Good info though.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#109

Post by Pikaia »


I have just finished "Matilda", by Catherine Hanley.
She was the daughter of Henry I, mother of Henry II, wife of Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire, and ancestor of all English monarchs since then. When she was 8 she left her parents behind in England and went to live at the Imperial court, and married the Emperor when she was 12 and he was 28 (he was strapped for cash so he needed her dowry). However, when she was 23 the Emperor died so she returned to England. When she was 25 she was married-off again, this time to a boy of 14 and eventually produced three sons, including the future Henry II.
Unfortunately Henry I's only legitimate son had drowned in the White Ship disaster, when a ship overloaded with 300 people, many of them aristocracy, and a drunken crew sank with only one survivor. When Henry died it was not clear who would be his successor, so Matilda claimed the throne for herself. Unfortunately she was in Normandy when he died and so her cousin Stephen was quickly crowned. His claim was not as strong but he was a man, which counted in his favour. There followed many years of civil war called The Anarchy between the supporters of Matilda and Stephen, which ended when people decided that enough is enough and refused to fight. An agreement was made whereby Stephen was allowed to reign until his death, and he would "adopt" young Henry as his son and heir.
If Matilda had fought for her son to be the next king she might have had more success with less bloodshed, but she came close to being the first female English ruler.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#110

Post by DEnc »


Arriving Today. From Factory to Front Door—Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy
by Christopher Mims

The book traces the process of fabrication, shipping, and delivery of a USB device, outlining the tangled web of the global supply chain. The author began the research for the book just when COVID hit, and the pandemic is embedded in the story. Some tidbits from just the first three dozen pages:--
  • ...it costs $2.00 to ship a TV from Vietnam to the US.
    ...container/ship technology was streamlined during the Vietnam War, when Uncle Sam needed to ship ALOT of materials to the battle zone.
    ...Salmon caught off of Scotland are shipped to Asia for filleting, and then shipped back to Scotland for consumption.
    ...a bunch of mind-bongling, hard-to-grasp facts describing the scale of global commerce and the tools and materials that support it.
    ...mention is made of a third mate on container ships who posts videos of his professional life. I think this is his YouTube site, but I'm not sure. In any case, there are some interesting videos here:--
    https://www.youtube.com/c/JeffHK?app=desktop
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#111

Post by GCoyote »


The Swerve
How the World Became Modern

https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Swerve/

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Re: What are you currently reading?

#112

Post by John Donne »


GCoyote wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 6:02 pm The Swerve
How the World Became Modern

https://wwnorton.com/books/The-Swerve/

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I read this a few years ago.
Fascinating read ! 👍
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"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#113

Post by ewomack »


Just finished this bilingual art book on one of Japan's most famous Manga characters:
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I've been reading this off and on (it's a long one):
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And I just starting reading this one (I read this years ago and am curious how it will read in the present):
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#114

Post by SparWeb »


The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/205 ... dy-problem

Members of the Sky Searchers Forum will surely be fascinated by the complex orbital dynamics of the aliens' home planet (with 3 suns).

The book also has many other fascinating moments, such as a description of a primitive computer built without any electronics that will stagger the imagination.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#115

Post by davesellars »


Having to do a considerable amount of serious reading for my Masters so I enjoy reading something rather lighter when I can...

I'm currently reading Starlight Nights:The Adventures of a Star-Gazer by Leslie Peltier - Is a great read so far.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#116

Post by GCoyote »


Any metaphor will tear if stretched over too much reality.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#117

Post by pakarinen »


"When Egypt Ruled the East". It was a required text when I took Ancient Egyptian Religion for an undergrad distribution requirement. Stupidly, I recycled my own copy years ago and had to buy a used one online. This used one has the typical mildewed old book smell so I have to destink it.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#118

Post by John Donne »


An interesting history.
20220422_145310.jpg
SCOPES :ES127 f7.5, SW100 f9 Evostar, ES80 F6, LXD75 8" f10 SCT, 2120 10" f10 SCT, ES152 f6.5.
MOUNTS: SW AZ/EQ5, MEADE LXD75, CELESTRON CG4, Farpoint Parallelogram.
BINOCULARS: CL 10X30, Pentax 8X43, 25X100 Oberwerks.
EP: Many.

"I am more than a sum of molecules.
I am more than a sum of memories or events.
I do not one day suddenly cease to be.
I am, before memory.
I am, before event.
I am"
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#119

Post by gregl »


Just finished Operation Mincemeat: The True Spy Story That Changed The Course Of World War II, by Ben Macintyre. Got it from the on-line part of our library.

From the Wikipedia entry: "Operation Mincemeat was a successful British deception operation of the Second World War to disguise the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. Two members of British intelligence obtained the body of Glyndwr Michael, a tramp who died from eating rat poison, dressed him as an officer of the Royal Marines and placed personal items on him identifying him as the fictitious Captain (Acting Major) William Martin. Correspondence between two British generals which suggested that the Allies planned to invade Greece and Sardinia, with Sicily as merely the target of a feint, was also placed on the body."

The body was then dumped in the ocean off the coast of Spain where it could be found and the documents could find their way to German intelligence, thus fooling them that the Allies were going to invade via Greece rather than Sicily.

Well written, an interesting story, and a fun read in a strange way.
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Re: What are you currently reading?

#120

Post by bobharmony »


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
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