Posted on 07/12/2010 10:39:11 AM PDT by MplsSteve
Hi, everyone!
It's time again for my quarterly "What Are You Reading Now?" survey.
As you know, I consider Freepers to be among the more well-read groups currently on the Internet. Each quart, I like to find out what everyone is reading.
It can be anything...a technical journal, a NY Times best-seller, a trashy pulp novel...in short, anything!
Please do not ruin this thread by posting something inane like "I'm reading this post". It became very unfunny a long time ago.
I'll start. I'm reading a historical biography called "John L Lewis: Labor Leader" by Robert Zieger. I have found it to be a real even-handed look at one of the major figures of the American labor movement during the early to mid 20th Century. The author goes as far to state that some of the problems with today's current labor unions can be traced to John L Lewis's leadership of the UMW.
Well, what are YOU reading?
I am rereading all my SF periodicals : I have 95% of all the issues of F &SF published from January 1980 on, about 75% of IASFM published from January 1980 to somewhere in 2002, and the complete run of Realms of Fantasy (plus a few years’ worth of Analog and Amazing/Fantastic). Some good reading, some classic works, some unintentional humor (eg , when Isaac Asimov proclaimed from on high that there would never be a cable station devoted to science fiction because there weren’t enough sci fi fans in the entire USA), some irritating opinions (Ted White’s public, multi paragraph temper tantrum in print when a reader begged him to-once in a great while-include a “hopeful” SF story among the one dystopia after another) lots of pretty forgettable works, interesting book and movie reviews worth considering re:Netflix and Amazon used books, etc. A little trip to Nostalgiaville
I never really gave EMP much thought until reading that book. Eye opening, and scary as hell. The last third of the book was a little too Road Warrior like. I think a real event would more resemble post earthquake Haiti. But it did give it an exiting finish worthy of a movie.
"The Classical World" by Robin Fox.
I was completely shocked to see this out front on display at Barnes and Noble this weekend!
The lost City of ‘Z’ by Grann. A fascinating book about Percy Fawcett in the Amazon
The Magician’s Death by P.C. Doherty. A Murder Mystery set during the Reign of Edward I of England
The Arctic Grail by Berton. The hunt for the North West Passage and the North Pole. Odd that during the time period of this book, the Arctic opened up several times so that sailing ships could sail almost all the way through the passage. Much more clear of ice than today.
Sky and Telescope when I can. Against the Odds magazine when I can.
Just finshed:
The Poison King by Mayer about Mithradates VI of Pontus.
The Lacquer Screen by Robert Van Gulik a Judge Dee Novel.
IMO, having read ONE SECOND AFTER -- I think that conditions would deteriorate much faster than depicted in the book and that violence & even cannibalism would rise up much sooner.
I am not optomistic about the ability of our modern society to remain civilized for many weeks after a major EMP event.
Yeah, I read that earlier this year..I enjoyed it a great deal..frightening scenario. Just finished “A year of living biblically” and “death eaters”..both nice light summer reading...ready for something a little deeper now.
It adds a whole new dimension to the development of human culture, psychology, and even to religion.
Here are some of the reviews of Bicameral Mind from that site...
"Neuroimaging techniques of today have illuminated and confirmed the importance of Jaynes' hypothesis."
— Robert Olin, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus in Preventive Medicine, in Lancet"This book and this man's ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century. I cannot recommend the book emphatically enough. I have never reviewed a book for which I had more enthusiasm. ... It renders whole shelves of books obsolete."
— William Harrington, in The Columbus Dispatch"Some of Jaynes' original ideas may be the most important of our generation..."
— Ernest Rossi, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience, in Psychological Perspectives"... Scientific interest in [Jaynes's] work has been re-awakened by the consistent findings of right-sided activation patterns in the brain, as retrieved with the aid of neuroimaging studies in individuals with verbal auditory hallucinations."
— Jan Dirk Blom, M.D, Ph.D., in A Dictionary of Hallucinations"Julian Jaynes's theories for the nature of self-awareness, introspection, and consciousness have replaced the assumption of their almost ethereal uniqueness with explanations that could initiate the next change in paradigm for human thought."
— Michael Persinger, Ph.D., Laurentian University, in Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness"The weight of original thought in [Jaynes's book] is so great that it makes me uneasy for the author's well-being: the human mind is not built to support such a burden."
— David C. Stove (1927-1994), Professor of Philosophy, University of Sydney, in Reflections on the Dawn of Consciousness
Exodue.
Not the novel.
Exodus
Think I'm going to start And The Rain Came Down, by S.A. Bailey next.
We owe these men a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. It is also amazing that any of them made it out alive.
I just re-read Pompeii, a novel by Robert Harris.
The hero is an aquaduct engineer and the novel gives a lot of terrific info on the design, building and maintenance of Roman aquaducts and their importance to their civilization.
Lots of good historical info on Pliny the Elder and his libarary (which has been recently discovered and new technology is enabling translation of some of the charred pages.) and living habits and customs.
Okee, here we go:
w/ the kids:
Three Strangers Come To Call, by Janis Kent Percefull
The Twenty-One Balloons, by William Pene du Bois
That Hideous Strength, C.S. Lewis
just me:
Conservatives Without Conscience, by John W. Dean (it’s HILARIOUS)
Symbolic Logic, by Lewis Carroll
Amazing. it is truly a fascinating read
Bram Stoker’s Dracula on my Crackberry via B and N eReader and Gaunt’s Ghosts: The Founding by Dan Abnett (Warhammer 40K, Black Library). Next up is Volume 2 of Sherlock Holmes collection.
It's the fascinating story of the life of a kid who is abused at home, so he heads out to the old west and bounces around. I love it for the reality. It has a religious ending which is ok, too. The ending is separate and does not color the rest of the book, so it would be interesting for all.
It's a great book, and a book which can be easily read. It is chock full of interesting facts and anecdotes most people have never heard - including myself, and I consider myself somewhat of a history buff.
Most school teachers wouldn't like it, though. It doesn't have over half the page space covered with useless pictures and it takes a dim view of the Progressives who have been destroying America for over 100 years. It also calls them out, chapter and verse.
This is a must read. I bought 5 extra copies and plan to give them as Christmas presents to all my adult children and my sister-in-law.
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