What are you reading?

[Warhawk]

I haven't, and I wasn't really searching this one out. This was the first book of hers that was available on the Libby app to read so I started with that one. I'm reading something else right now, but my next book will be her How the South Won the Civil War. It is already downloaded and waiting on my Ipad.

Just finished this book and again, it is interesting some of the things you learn from a book like this about American history that you would never cover in a classroom.

Another well-written book somewhat focused on the history of slavery, class oppression, racial rights disparity, and efforts to deny certain groups the right to vote in America from the Civil War through fairly recently (maybe 2017 or so). There is obviously some heavy overlap at times with To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party, so if you read both, be prepared for that.

 

[Warhawk]

While waiting for other books to become available on Libby, I read one I downloaded for free from Amazon on the Kindle app (book-of-the-month thing for Prime members - I keep forgetting I have like 15 of those queued up on the iPad). The book was Androne by Dwain Worrell - he has a very interesting concept with a twist in the middle that was pretty cool, but the writing style was just a bit off (hard to describe why, some characters were strange and the lack of explanation on some things, including the meaning of the epilogue, just rubbed me a bit wrong) and there are some serious plot holes in the story (for one: high tech warfare and the military can't track anything they are using during battle ?!?!?). Nonetheless, a story revolving around warfare using remotely-piloted mechs and is only really interesting for the very unique plot device used. I'm glad it was free.

 

[kingsboi]

Doubt: A History by Jennifer Michael Hecht

a great perspective of the history and origin of world religions

 

[Warhawk]

I just finished Fluke by Brian Klaas, who dives into a discussion on random chance, determinism, how seemingly random events can greatly affect both people's lives and whole societies. The examples provided were very illustrative and entertaining to follow (for example: how a couple's vacation caused the deaths of 100,000 people, how someone's interest in meteorology led to advances in computer modeling and developing the concept of the "butterfly effect", how a bout of food poisoning in 1939 led to discoveries in evolutionary biology, and how the first two example I gave affected the last one).

 

[Warhawk]

One of the authors I like, Douglas Preston, took part in a project. The result was the book Fourteen Days, a story about tenants in a Lower East Side (Manhattan) apartment building in the early days of COVID who started gathering on the roof each night to share stories about their lives since everyone in NY was essentially quarantined as conditions spiraled out of control. It is, essentially, a celebration of stories.

The "project" part was that the book was written by the Authors Guild and each of the 14 days of stories were written as a collaboration by several authors - a total of 36 authors contributed, including Preston, John Grisham, RL Stine, and Margaret Atwood. This charitable project has proceeds going to benefit the Authors Guild in order to "foster and empower writers of all backgrounds and stages of their careers".

This book is a different approach to storytelling and quite an interesting read, as each of the 14 days of stories drew from different backgrounds and histories, including Shakespeare, rural Mexico, Florida, the deep South, and even a story set in the Murphys area east of Stockton.

 

[Warhawk]

Just finished this book and again, it is interesting some of the things you learn from a book like this about American history that you would never cover in a classroom.

Another well-written book somewhat focused on the history of slavery, class oppression, racial rights disparity, and efforts to deny certain groups the right to vote in America from the Civil War through fairly recently (maybe 2017 or so). There is obviously some heavy overlap at times with To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party, so if you read both, be prepared for that.

I just finished reading Richardson's most recent book, Democracy Awakening, and it is a truly great read.

After reading To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party and How the South Won the Civil War, some of the material is repetitive as she strives to put things in historical context (and the context is American history), but the focus of each book is different and similar information is often presented in somewhat different ways to help keep the topic fresh.

This book focuses more on recent events than the other two, but is adept at drawing clear parallels to our past in doing so. She is a one of our era's best historians that isn't afraid to point fingers at either party when warranted.

Highly recommended, and if you only read one of these three books, this one may be the best purely because it is the most recent and focuses on democracy itself.

 

[kingsboi]

Material World by Ed Conway

some real eye opening aspects of Earths resources and how its used in every single item, road, buildings, etc. on the planet. Not done yet, but its a great read thus far.

 

[Warhawk]

Material World by Ed Conway

some real eye opening aspects of Earths resources and how its used in every single item, road, buildings, etc. on the planet. Not done yet, but its a great read thus far.

That actually sounds interesting. Thanks!

 

[kingsboi]

That actually sounds interesting. Thanks!

let me know what you think if you decide to give it a read

 

[Warhawk]

let me know what you think if you decide to give it a read

I put a hold on it in Libby. Says it might be a month or so until it is available. I'll definitely check it out. I'm an engineer, so this sounds like an interesting read.

 

[Warhawk]

I also had missed that! Thanks for the update!

BTW, it appears that the production team for this series may already be in line to do The Dark Forest (link, about 80% down).

Needless to say, I've just cleared my calendar for the rest of the year - it could be released any time!

I didn't realize that Prime had a Chinese version of this (3 Body Problem) series already (apparently with subtitles) and a LOT of episodes. I haven't checked it out yet.

Digging into the Netflix series and it seems to be pretty well done. I haven't read the books in a while so I likely can't comment on how close they stick to the source material, but I'm really enjoying it. It's got some faces in there you will recognize.

 

[kingsboi]

I put a hold on it in Libby. Says it might be a month or so until it is available. I'll definitely check it out. I'm an engineer, so this sounds like an interesting read.

what kind of engineer?

 

[Warhawk]

what kind of engineer?

Civil.

 

[kingsboi]

Civil.

do you like what you do?

 

[Warhawk]

I do. I spend most of my time helping design bridge and retaining wall foundations. The real fun part is when I can go watch the piles being driven, footings/pile shafts excavated, etc., and verify that my analyses were correct and then see the finished product afterwards. I've helped design bridge, retaining wall, and other structure foundations for over 25 years everywhere from Crescent City to the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe to Santa Barbara to the San Bernardino desert areas. Each has their own challenges - no two projects are the same.

 

[kingsboi]

I do. I spend most of my time helping design bridge and retaining wall foundations. The real fun part is when I can go watch the piles being driven, footings/pile shafts excavated, etc., and verify that my analyses were correct and then see the finished product afterwards. I've helped design bridge, retaining wall, and other structure foundations for over 25 years everywhere from Crescent City to the Bay Area to Lake Tahoe to Santa Barbara to the San Bernardino desert areas. Each has their own challenges - no two projects are the same.

its the non tedious aspects of a job that keeps the mind fresh and sharp