Books: Book(s) you are Currently Reading | Part II

[Thucydides]

@halincandenza how is that so far?

so far so good. It’s a bit dense, but interesting. Not a very long book. - 270 pages or so.

 

[End of Line]

so far so good. It’s a bit dense, but interesting. Not a very long book. - 270 pages or so.

I've found myself with books like that and end up getting frustrated bc I like a lot of information. 270 pages isn't long enough to cover those topics.

 

[Thucydides]

I've found myself with books like that and end up getting frustrated bc I like a lot of information. 270 pages isn't long enough to cover those topics.

yeah it’s not a super in-depth book, but he does provide a clear understanding of events that have led to the USA present political situation. I thought it was pretty good , deserving of the Pulitzer for sure.

I’m reading another Pulitzer finalist and enjoying it a lot.

 

[Thucydides]

I've found myself with books like that and end up getting frustrated bc I like a lot of information. 270 pages isn't long enough to cover those topics.

what are some of your fav non fiction books?

 

[End of Line]

what are some of your fav non fiction books?

Oh god lol. I'll give you a couple.

- A Look Over My Shoulder - Richard Helms autobiography - Richard Helms

- Greeks & Romans Bearing Gifts: How the ancients inspired the Founding Fathers - Carl J. Richard

- Wild Bill Donovan: The Spymaster who created the OSS and Modern American Espionage - Douglas Waller

- The Sampson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy - Seymour M. Hersch

- The Secret State: A History of Intelligence and Espionage - Col. John Hughes-Wilson

- State Department Counterintelligence: Leaks, Spies, and Lies - Robert David Booth

- The Red Web: The Kremlin's War on the Internet - Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan

- Chinese Intelligence Operations - Nicholas Eftimiades - Published by the Naval Institute Press

 

[End of Line]

yeah it’s not a super in-depth book, but he does provide a clear understanding of events that have led to the USA present political situation. I thought it was pretty good , deserving of the Pulitzer for sure.

I’m reading another Pulitzer finalist and enjoying it a lot.

Good to hear regarding the length. I just feel that a book that covers those topics deserves a more in depth look imo. Like, I read a biography of James Angleton and it was roughly the same amount of pages but left me wanting more simply because of his position as the counterintelligence chief of the CIA. For obvious reasons most of the work he's done is still relatively considered TS-SCI so operational details are void. But it did dive into how much he knew about Oswald and covered his tracks relating to the information.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Won't read all of it but will nibble on it for a little while between moves.

 

[Thucydides]

Won't read all of it but will nibble on it for a little while between moves.

have you read John Cheever before ? I never have but feel like I should .

 

[Spring in Fialta]

have you read John Cheever before ? I never have but feel like I should .

Very little which is funny because his Goodbye, My Brother is one of my all-time favorite short stories.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Picked this up on Monday because a youtuber who reviews a lot of fantasy novels I like recommended it. I finished it in less than 3 days because I couldn't put it down for a moment. Absolute adrenaline rush. Very emotion packed, and the action scenes are very exciting. The plot is set in a bronze-age world separated into castes (Royal, Noble, Lesser) and the protagonist Lesser-caste Tau, seeks to become the best warrior in the Queendom in order to get revenge on a Noble. The major stumbling block is that Nobles are physically better than lesser caste. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and some have access to magical gifts that widen the gap even more. The author writes a really unique and interesting magic system that really adds dynamic to the story.

If I had to nitpick, it'd be twofold: 1. that certain characters have extreme plot armour and survive multiple times after putting themselves in very stupid positions; and 2. it follows a trope where the main character sustains major injuries (broken ribs...etc) and is able to recover and be in perfect shape in the exact right amount of time for the next major plot point.

Really great book for anyone looking for some good fantasy.

 

[Babe Ruth]

I really like this book's physical makeup.. it's small format, 5 by 7 inches, about 100 pages. And each chapter is separated by a cool, black & white image of stained glass..
Each line of The Lord's Prayer is elaborated on..

 

[Thucydides]

 

[End of Line]

 

[Nizdizzle]

A man (Thomas Senlin) and his wife go to visit the famous Tower of Babel on their honeymoon. The tower is made up of rings/layers like a wedding cake, and each layer is almost like a themed city unto itself. The plot picks up as Senlin is separated from his wife Marya in the massive crowds at the Tower. Senlin then has to navigate the confusing and daunting rings of the Tower to find his wife, which ends up being nothing like his cherished guidebook he has studied his whole life.

Pretty good book so far. The protagonist (Thomas Senlin) starts off as a pretty unlikable character. He is pretentious, reserved, and generally just boring. The book very quickly tosses him into situations that are completely out of his element and it is fun to see how he reacts. I believe its a 4-book series and the final one is set to come out this year. It'll be nice to finish a book series rather than add to the queue of series where I'm waiting for the next one (A Song of Ice and Fire, Storm Light Archive, Kingkiller Chronicles, Gentleman Bastards, The Burning).

 

[Chaels Arms]

View attachment 348023

Please let us know what you think of this one. I was thinking about purchasing it as I really liked The Devil in the White City.

 

[bojaboo0220]

masterpapers

 

[kihei]

Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad, one of his marvelous travel journals. I'm not going to Europe this spring, but he still is.

 

[brokeu91]

I’m rereading “The Truth” by Terry Pratchett. My god that man was a genius.

 

[Chili]

Steinbeck: A Life in Letters

It's like an autobiography, he includes so many thoughts in his letters. He didn't like using the phone even before his fame so he wrote lots of letters to friends, family, publishers, etc.

Great for reading stories behind some of his best known books.

 

[punk_o_holic]

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
After I have
The Last High by Daniel Kalla

 

[Babe Ruth]

Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad, one of his marvelous travel journals. I'm not going to Europe this spring, but he still is.

I'm a lifelong Twain fan..
I drove to Virginia City, Nevada c. 2006. There was a whole book store there devoted (mostly) to selling Twain books. It was cool, I bought a little stack of his stuff. I think Twain worked as a reporter in Virginia City @ some point.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

Another re-read

 

[End of Line]

Please let us know what you think of this one. I was thinking about purchasing it as I really liked The Devil in the White City.

Absolutely will do.

 

[Thucydides]

Another re-read

I think I need some Bukowski in my life soon. Loved this book.

 

[Babe Ruth]

About the widening social & financial gap/divide between upper & lower economic classes in America. Subject I'm really interested in, and have taken to heart in a way.. But what can you do..