What BOOK are you reading right now?

That's interesting, k!

(I think Screech was responding to your "slight disturbance", then! Yeah, that's what it was! :wink: )

One thing I loved about the story (Orpheus Lost, for any of you who might be confused about which book we're talking about ...) is the "rightness" of the ending. It was a huge relief that (amongst other things) Cobb Slaughter was still a decent person (beneath the surface of his evil, frightening adult self) to "redeem" himself & make things right. But what a journey to get there! His twisted motives, his competitiveness, his jealousy & resentment! What a character!

The Canon: Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
I plan to order this book even as my pile of yet to read books grows taller. Since I never had the opportunity to become a scholar, this will help me understand more about the sciences I never studied. ---BBB

The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science
by Natalie Angier

Editorial Reviews - From Publishers Weekly

Pulitzer-winning science writer Angier (Woman: An Intimate Geography) distills everything you've forgotten from your high school science classes and more into one enjoyable book, a guide for the scientifically perplexed adult who wants to understand what those guys in lab coats on the news are babbling about, in the realms of physics, chemistry, biology, geology or astronomy.

More important even than the brief rundowns of atomic theory or evolution?-enlivened by interviews with scientists like Brian Greene?-are the first three chapters on scientific thinking, probability and measurement.

These constitute the basis of a scientific examination of the world. Understand these principles, Angier argues, and suddenly, words like "theory" and "statistically significant" have new meaning.

Angier focuses on a handful of key concepts, allowing her to go into some depth on each; even so, her explanations can feel rushed, though never dry. Angier's writing can also be overadorned with extended metaphors that obscure rather than explain, but she eloquently asks us to attend to the universe: to really look at the stars, at the plants, at the stones around us. This is a pleasurable and nonthreatening guide for anyone baffled by science.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Pulitzer Prize-winner Natalie Angier (Woman: An Intimate Geography), a science journalist at the New York Times, was writing an article on whale genetics when her editor suggested that she define the term mammal for her readers and confirm that mammals are animals. That was the last straw for Angier, who nevertheless writes with respect for The Canon's intended audience.

She incorporates imaginative metaphors, concise analogies, and jokes into her writing, which result in clear and accessible explanations of complex ideas. A few critics were annoyed by the scientific "sugarcoating" and the dizzying pace of the book, but most were impressed by Angier's lucid prose and clever word play.

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson.

I'd never read any Bryson. Kept hearing how fantastic/laugh-out-loud funny he is.

I don't get it/him.

"The Years of Extermination" by Saul Friedlander.

Nazi Germany and the Jews, 1939-1945. (848 pages)

Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet.
The memoir of an autistic savant who also has synesthesia.

Stars in their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign by Shelby Foote.

I visited the Gettysburg battlefield site on my very recent vacation trip of meandering along the East Coast and bought the book in their gift and souvenir shop. Riveting reading, particularly once you're familiar with the topography and have walked those positions on the ground. Foote has a gift for making the most complex stratagems easily understandable to the layman.

Beth, notes from A Small Island, is Brysons second worse book. (The top of his baaad heap is "The Theory of Everything -something like that). Notes from a small Island is about as dull as he can get. His "In a Sunburned Land" and "A Walk in THe Woods" are his best. Start with "AWalk in the Woods".
Bryson can be very entertaining and, then surprise you with a pice of crap like "Notes..."

Just finished cormack McCarthy's "No Place for Old Men" , This is a book that runs out of steam about 2/3 in. It really gets going well and then just loses its way after a singular event leaves us with no compass.

I found Foote on that great Civil War documentary on PBS...didn't he look and sound like a Southern general?.

Well, he's a Missisippian by birth and upbringing, Pan. If I have one criticism about the book I'm reading, it's that he tells the story largely from the Confederate point of view. It's fair and balanced, all right, but you get the feeling that all that Meade's Union forces were doing was reacting to the Confefederate threats as they became apparent. But, come to think of it, that's probably pretty accurate, historically. Meade had just taken command of the Army of the Potomac from Hooker and this was his first engagement as commander of so large a force. He did well, all things considered. But it was really Lee's battle to lose. And he lost it.

A Walk in the Woods was the only Bryson book I liked...

Well I really liked Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance anyway, finished it a while back. I often think about the classical/romantic, abstract/concrete divides in life and the frustration and alienation I see in people with technology for example. The author mentioned at the start that it was of no association with Zen Buddhism itself but I guess that was just to cover himself as it clearly draws inspiration from a number of sources, eastern thought being one. The central idea of the book is ultimately compared with the Tao of Taoism and for myself and my understanding the comparisons seemed very telling so that was good. You definitely get a bit of a taster for elements of eastern thought reading this anyway. I've actually got my hands on loads of interesting books just recently one of which is called The Tao of Physics which explores the supposed parallels between mysticism and modern physics so that carries on nicely!

A Time For Trumpets-The Battle Of The Bulge by Charles B McDonald

a fascinating look at the last great battle of WW II for the US army

sometimes it's pitiful how mankind wastes so much talent and bravery in the name of war.

I just ordered eleven used books from Powells.com ($57. total). This should keep me quiet for a while.

Moving along in A Suitable Boy, now to page 1215..

Panz, you can say that again --

sometimes it's pitiful how mankind wastes so much talent and bravery in the name of war.

Great book, isn't it, osso?
Just checked & my copy has 1349 pages, so it looks like the end is in sight! You're gonna be stunned when that happens! :wink:

Pride and prejudice by Jane Austen






ehh.. I dont really like it
I rarely bail on books, but I am thinking I am going to on this one..

Sushi for Beginners, by Marian Keyes

It was in a bag of Penguin books that I won recently. I didn't realize Penguin published 'girlie' books. It's not bad summer reading, but not what I expected from a Penguin.

Get a dvd of the A&E version with Colin Firth and then read the book afterwards.

About to go read another chapter in Nathaniel Philbrick's "Mayflower".

Um, reading.... (reaches for most recent book) Wildlife Watching With Charles Eastman by Michael Elsohn Ross. (unit on ecosystems).

When I go to used book stores, there are two whatchacallits (the binding) that I look for first - Penguin, and Soho. Well, also a raven on yellow, but I haven't seen those for decades. Well, that's me, what about you?

I've not seen much Penguin piffle, however well I like a given penguin book or don't. I hate to see them devolve, if they are doing that.