Ask Slashdot: What Are You Reading This Month? 312
An anonymous reader writes: Hey folks! Could you share what are some books (or book) you're reading this month? Maybe it's the book you've already started, or you intend to begin or resume later this month? Thanks!
What are you reading? (Score:5, Funny)
Right now, I'm reading Slashdot.
What are you reading? (Score:2)
Right now, I'm reading a comment about some guy reading Slashdot.
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I just started reading Iain M. Banks' final Culture novel The Hydrogen Sonata. I'd been putting it off since he announced his cancer diagnosis and impending death, because ... well, because there just weren't going to be any more of them. Ever. And that was just unbearably sad to me.
But now that my own health has become so problematic, I realized that I might very well wind up depriving myself of what was pretty much guaranteed to be a great read by one of my all-time SF authors. So, what the hell.
It's very
The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 3 (Score:5, Insightful)
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Currently Writing a Book (Score:2, Insightful)
I haven't been doing much reading because I've been hard at work writing a book. It's a sequel to my first novel (Ghost Thief [ghostthiefnovel.com] if you don't mind a shameless plug). I'm currently over 72,000 words on the sequel and there's probably another 8,000 words (at least) until I hit the end.
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I am also writing a book, kind of. 20 years ago I haphazardly began a process that I eventually intended to become an epic series of stories (epic in the original sense of a bunch of interconnected smaller stories) once I had my life well-enough sorted to work on them well, to make them my life's work, my magnum opus; and failing that, this year I decided to finally put some real effort into it anyway even though I still really don't feel like I'm in the right headspace to be writing properly.
I'm basically
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I've seen your line in your sig and keep meaning to check it out. Sample downloaded!
I'm supposed to be writing a lighthearted handbook on health and fitness, but I got halfway through, got distracted, and now keep tinkering with other ideas instead of finishing it up. I've been filling time listening to the Self Publishing Podcast, which--coming from 2102--is already a little dated, but also still somewhat entertaining and informative. (And a little disgusting, as two of the authors on the cast are producin
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Thanks. Let me know what you think of it - even if you don't go past the free sample.
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Definitely. I didn't write mine thinking I'd get on the best seller list. (Not that I didn't engage in some imaginings of what that'd be like, but it was a "If I won the lottery, what would I do" sort of thing.) I wrote it because I like writing and wanted to publish a book. Personally, if my book makes back what I spent during the publishing process (about $300), then I'll consider it a success. Meanwhile, I'm writing my second book and have an idea for a kids book that I want to write with my 10 year old
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So... your metric when writing a book is the number of words?
I could easily write a script in a few minutes that could write thousands of books per second with thousands of words per book. Would that make the script a better author than you?
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It's self-published so I don't need to worry about what the publisher wants. The 80,000 word thing is my own personal target, but if there's one lesson I learned from my first book, it's that the book will be as long as the book wants to be. My first book started out as a short story to ease me back into writing after a self-imposed hiatus. It turned into an over 64,000 word novel that's the first book in a trilogy.
"The Guns of August" by Barbara Tuchman (Score:4, Interesting)
From 1962, the Pulitzer Prize winning account of how World War I started.
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Crazy how all the WW1 era monarchs were cousins and went to war with each other to prove their nation's honor
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Read that one last year.
Right now, rereading Mote in God's Eye. Pournelle just died, so it seemed like the thing to do.
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Just read Margaret Macmillan's essay The Rhyme of History [brookings.edu] wherein she mentions Kennedy's actions in the Cuban Missile Crisis:
"The young and relatively untried U.S. president was urged by virtually his entire top military leadership as well as many of the civilians in his administration to confront the Soviet Union vigorously, up to the point of invading Cuba and so risking an all-out nuclear war. Standing up to them, he opted instead for negotiations with Moscow and, in the end, preserved the peace. It wa
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Revolt of Angels (Score:2)
Anatole France
Blood, Sweat and Pixels (Score:2)
From the publisher's website:
"Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-hand
Reading... (Score:4, Insightful)
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Ted Chiang (Score:2)
After watching "Arrival" on an airplane, started reading the other short stories at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
Pretty neat stuff, kinda like reading Neal Stephenson with smaller words. He's very good with trimming unnecessary prose... actually finished reading the story "Arrival" was based on in less time than it took to watch the movie!
Re: Ted Chiang (Score:2)
Haha, I also saw arrival on a plane and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.
Safehold (Score:2)
Safehold series by David Weber
Post-apocalyptic science fiction novel series (9 books so far).
Wikipedia Link (with spoilers): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
It has Science-Fiction, technology discovery, war-tactics. Be sure to have the maps handy for each book: http://www.davidweber.net/down... [davidweber.net]
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If you like David Weber's work and Science Fiction in gereral, you could download a sample of (*cough* *cough* ... almost all *cough*) books from the Baen Library from ebooks dot thefifthimperium dot com
Do buy the physical books / eBooks if you like them.
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Seconded. I started the "Oath of Swords" series this way. I'm currently in the middle of the third book, "Wind Rider's Oath"
H.P. Lovecraft (Score:2)
Various (Score:2)
Read Dennis E Taylor's Outland, liked We Are Legion, We Are Bob better.
Just finished Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon, always like his writing in any book.
Now reading Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. Kind of slow starting but the ideas and descriptions of an existence in space without planets is pretty interesting.
Re:Various (Score:4)
Jim Butcher is a good writer. I like his style too. I just finished reading the entire series of Dresden novels, again, to keep it fresh in my mind while waiting for Peace Talks.
Bobiverse series. Loving it... (Score:2)
Entire Vince Flynn, Mitch Rapp series (Score:2)
Currently reading (Score:2)
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds and am having some trouble getting into the swing of the story. It has taken me a few weeks just to make it 100 pages in... though now I am getting a little more used to the writing style and the story is picking up a bit..... I guess it doesn't help that archeology is not my cup of tea either...
Prior to this, I finished up Peter Hamilton's "Fallers" series with "A night without stars" (excellent!)
And prior to that I read James Corey's "Babylon's Ashes" which is another
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The books of 'Alastair Reynolds' are worth it.
Don't give up!
Till roughly 2010, I have all of them.
The Complete Guide to Asperger's Syndrome (Score:3, Interesting)
by Tony Attwood.
Discovering I have asperger's (now known as high functioning autism) was one of the (if not THE) most life-changing events of my life (no joke). Not only has this book helped me understand myself, but I'm hoping it'll help me cope with all my still significant social and dating issues. I'm 1/3 of the way through, so we'll see. Any hints and tips from fellow aspies welcome.
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If I would follow your advice, it would bring me into serious trouble with my fiancee. :)
But I note your suggestions for the time when my silver back bonus is wearing off
John Le Carré (Score:2)
I'm in the middle of John Le Carré's latest. It's his first George Smiley novel in something like 25 years, and supposedly it is the final farewell to the character. I'm quite enjoying it so far.
Re:John Le Carré (Score:2)
Whoops, I might want to mention that the book is called A Legacy of Spies.
Re:John Le Carré (Score:2)
Alex Shvartsman is my newest find (Score:2)
Fiction: I'm currently reading a set of short stories by Alex Shvartsman, titled "Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories." He's a fun writer. Some of the stories are ideas I've seen before but there's a broad breath of stories, including classic scifi, fantasy, and magical realism. I also am rereading the Alcatraz v. the Evil Librarians which is made for about 10 year olds but is absolutely hilarious and well done (which shouldn't be surprising since the author, Brandon Sanderson is in general an
DRM-free Comics from Image Comics (Score:2)
"Kingsman: The Secret Service" by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons (differs quite a bit from the movie, but I guess Samuel L. Jackson as the baddie has more pull than some random 23 yo whiz kid...)
"After Death" volume 1-3 by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire (still haven't read volume 3)
Probably "Black Magic" volume 1 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott (after reading the next 2 issues a refresher after the long hiatus couldn't hurt)
"Lazarus: Cull" by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark and Santi Arcas (plus what's been released of
The Hercules Text (Score:3)
I am half way through The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt. After that I had planned to read a few more of his stand alone works, Eternity Road and Moonfall but I'm thinking of diverting to read some Jerry Pournelle's works. I'll probably start with Footfall since it has been on my "to be reread list" for almost a decade. From there who knows? I'm looking at a whole list of Pournelle that deserve to be re-read.
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Hercules Text was meh. Eternity Road was better, as are Infinity Beach and The Cassandra Project.
You also might want to look into the Alex Benedict novels and the Patricia Hutchins novels.
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I'm struggling with the Hercules Text. I'm halfway through it and not really impressed. I have Eternity Road and the next Alex Benedict novel, Coming Home, in the queue. There is a new Patricia Hutchins novel coming out next year that I'm looking forward too. Infinity Beach was the first McDevitt book I read., or was it The Engines of God?
Variety of detective novels and non-fiction (Score:2)
Y is for Yesterday - Sue Grafton
Pale King and Princes - Robert Parker
Going Deep - John Holland
A history of the attack submarine
The Cake and the Rain - Jimmy Webb
Biography of the 60s/70s song writer
The Taking of the K-129 - Josh Dean
Another telling of the CIA's Glomar Explorer's attempt to raise a Russian nuke submarine from 15000-foot depth
Ansible books (Score:2)
I picked up a copy of O'Reilly's "Ansible: Up & Running" this weekend. At a meetup last night, I got a very strong recommendation for "Ansible for DevOps," so that will be the next item on the list. Both seem to be well liked by others who've read them.
Joe Abercrombie, First Law series (Score:2)
Just finished Hyperion (Score:2)
If you ever look for sci-fi on amazon you'll see hyperion in like every list. It never looked that great to me but eventually I gave in and read it. It was... interesting. But I'd say thumbs down. The storytelling is top notch. But the book goes on and on and spins all these increasingly crazy stories together until your like "how could they possibly tie this all together" and then after a very loooong read, everything is coming to a head and it just ENDS without resolving or revealing anything.
1. That's su
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A perfect summary of Hyperion.
I have all the books.
They are probably the only books I own, that I only have read once and probably never read again.
The Stone Sky - N K Jemisin (Score:2)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm reading _The Count of Monte Cristo_ for the first time at age 50. I'm sure glad I started reading it; I think it's great. You can get it legally for free online since it's in public domain. I downloaded it to a kindle.
“And now,' said the unknown, 'farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been heaven's substitute to recompense the good - now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!”
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What's amazing is that book was loosely inspired by stories of his father. Alexandre Dumas (author) was half black - his father, a black man, was born in Saint-Domingue (Haiti now) in 1762. He became one of the most courageous and respected soldiers achieving almost unbelievable feats. Went to Egypt, Malta, etc. Racism came back in force with Napoleon and he died in very poor circumstances. All statues of him were destroyed in WWI and WWII if I recall, and now no one seems to remember him. The book "The Bla
The Sacred Universe (Score:2)
Earlier this month, I read Thomas Berry's book The Sacred Universe.
It encompasses about 30 years of thought from Berry, who is a priest interested in trying to find a new moral and ethical framework based upon our understanding of the universe through science. He outlines what he sees as several of the key stories provided by the world's historical religions and shows how we can recast many of these stories in light of our modern understanding of the physical world.
The book also discusses some of th
Suzanne Summers (Score:3)
The Gods Who Walk:Book One of the Antembra Trilogy (Score:2)
First book in an epic medieval fantasy.
It's good. Full of fun adventures.
http://a.co/7HUB5Hf [a.co]
Jeff VanderMeer's (Score:2)
Stephen Fry (Score:2)
More than one book (Score:2)
Barnaby Rudge
"De chaos van het slagveld" an in-depth analysis about the evolution of the Belgian army in the trenches in WWI
Sandman, "The Kindly Ones"
"American Gods"
Capital in the 21st century. (Score:2)
I'm slogging through Capital in the 21st century.
I don't understand how this got to the top of the bestseller lists. It's shelf fodder.
currently (Score:2)
The Case Against Sugar (Score:2)
It's really quite interesting, and if you're a food nerd (or really anyone) it's hard to read it and not feel like we've been lied to our whole lives.
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That's because we have been lied to all our lives. It's a major reason we here in the US are suffering from obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and a host of other ailments related to poor nutrition, bad eating habits, and processed foods full of salt, sugar, and bizarre chemicals designed to make the processing companies wealthy and the people who eat that shit unhealthy.
About Face (Score:2)
The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper
Just some classics (Score:2)
Just started Master and Margarita (Bulgakov)
The Once and Future King (T.H. White) is next
Charlie Chan. (Score:2)
I've got a longstanding interest in the pulp and popular fiction of the 20s and 30s, and right now I'm working my way Earl Derr Bigger's Charlie Chan novels. These are very controversial today because of the issue of cultural appropriation, and probably also because of their association with the movies in which European actors in yellowface played the detective.
Because of the movies, many younger Asian Americans reject the Chan stories out of hand as racist without even looking at them. And indeed Biggers g
Just a Geek (Score:2)
By Clevernickname / Wil Weaton
Some of what I've read in the last couple months (Score:2)
Hard Luck Hank 1, 2, & 3. [goodreads.com]
'The Warmth of Other Suns' by Isabelle Wilkerson
'Half Way Home' by Hugh Howey
'Empire of the Summer Moon' by S. C. Gwynne
The Passage series by Justin Cronin
The MadAddam series by Margaret Atwood
'1491: New Revelations of Americas before Columbus' by Charles C. Mann
'Underground Airlines' by Ben Winters
'White Trash: The 400 year untold story of class in America' by Nancy Isenberg
'Lovecraft Country' by Matt Ruff
-email me for ebooks
Sci-Fantasy (Score:2)
The Wicked Day (Score:2)
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Try the Camulod Chronicles (I think it's called the Dream of Eagles Cycle or something in the US) by Jack Whyte.
Arthurian legend, told as historically plausible, and the first novel starts two or three generations before Arthur is even born, with Britain still under Roman rule, and the warning signs and portents of the fall of the Empire spurring some citizens to start making plans.
last three read (Score:2)
In order of how much I liked them:
"News of the World" by Paulette Jiles.
excellent
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
excellent
"The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin
good
Also, I recently re-read the "The Death Gate cycle" by Weis and Hickman
fun read. dumb fun, but fun
Battlefield Earth (Score:2)
A Legacy of Spies (Score:2)
Merde (Score:2)
I've just (a few minutes ago) finished the second of Stephen Clarke's books about an Englishman living in France: A Year in the Merde, and Merde Actually.
They are a somewhat-less-than-usually-starry-eyed view of life in France for the expat. He turns some phrases wonderfully, and there are a few laugh-out-loud moments.
About 400 pages each, but large type so they are quick reads.
DADOES (Score:2)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [openlibrary.org] ... what with a new Blade Runner movie coming out in a few weeks.
It's not a long book. Next up: Ready Player One [openlibrary.org]
Westerns (Score:2)
in no particular order (Score:2)
Democracy is a textbook in drag, but has some worthwhile chapters near the end.
Taste of Persia is interesting, but this isn't the easiest cuisine to crack in
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Democracy for Realists
Cut and paste error.
also s/many optimum/maybe optimum
Nothing heavy (Score:2)
NPR's 100 Science fiction books (Score:2)
Underground Airlines (Score:2)
It's been a while since I read something that wasn't a tech manual, user guide, or related to hardware or software.
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Known as Kindle or a number of other options if you don't want to turn paper pages.
Re: The Forever War (Score:2)
Second the forever war. Old man's war is maybe better but they're both very unique and interesting. I like how the telling of the forever war is a bunch short scenes. It really gives a sense of the time/culture streaming past as the main character stays unchanged, like a stone in the tide.
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I really liked Time Enough for Love and its life positive message. Here is a guy who lived forever, was tired of it and wanted everyone else to appreciate the short lives that they had.
With Dr. Jerry's passing, it may be time for a re-read of Mote and Gripping Hand.
I've done that.. (Score:2)
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Try the Dark Tower books too. Then miss the movie - It's a train wreck.
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There was definitely some overlap, particularly early on, but obviously any place where science has given us answers, it supersedes philosophy. Most of the areas it covers now have to do with human experience: politics, morality, logic, and investigations into knowledge and meaning. It can be dry, dense, and cryptic, but also fascinating. I highly recommend starting the subject with a guide, like a class, so that you can have someone who knows the field summarize and distill the topics. It usually makes it
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Heh. I read that a few months ago, possibly because of an earlier Slashdot book club comment. Thoroughly enjoyable, and deeply funny - some of it just naturally, some of it for its differing take on the Harry Potter world.