What are you currently reading?

[IrishEyes]

Right now I'm reading a biography of Nellie Bly. I'm on a autobiography & biography kick lately. I recently read books about Sophie Tucker, Mae West, Mary Wollstonecraft, Tina Fey, Sid Caesar and Alfred Smith.

What book are you reading?

[hlthe2b]

1. Sophie Tucker--boy. My parents had a thing for her... I guess she was on Ed Sullivan Show in her

later years... I just can never forget the name though I never really "got it"...

On that score, I read a biography of Tallulah Bankhead (given to me when I named my last dog, Tallulah). Wow, was she SOMETHING! LOL My dog being wildly affectionate was well-named. She was just WILD!

[IrishEyes]

5. Sophie Tucker had a pretty interesting life.

I read her autobiography right after reading Mae West's autobiography. I think that both books were written in the 1940s.

[True Dough]

2. Currently? I'm reading

this thread!

[IrishEyes]

6. I knew someone was going to say that.

[True Dough]

8. Leave it to me!

I'm THAT guy!

[OriginalGeek]

79. Lies!

I'm somebody and I like that guy.

[True Dough]

80. You're a rare breed, OriginalGeek

A rare breed, indeed!

[raging moderate]

3. Jonathan M. Metzl's "Dying of Whiteness."

"How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland." I first became aware of it when some nasty little crypto-Nazi punks crashed a book signing by Metzl at the Politics and Prose Bookstore.

[dewsgirl]

4. I prefer non fiction, just finished Midnight in Chernobyl which was excellent. Right

now I am reading the Couple Next Door. I am taking a break from my usual genre, political non fiction. I must have read 20 political books, in the last 2 yrs. and am getting really burned out.

[Lady Freedom Returns]

7. Vampires in Their Own Words: An Anthology of Vampire Voices by Michelle Belanger

Yes I read a lot of things many wouldn't. I write stories and look for all kinds of inspiration.

[femmedem]

9. Facing Toward the Dawn: The Italian Anarchists of New London

They lived in Fort Trumbull, the neighborhood in New London, CT that was razed in the notorious eminent domain battle, but their history was already nearly forgotten by the time the Kelo case happened.

It's surprisingly relevant today: the immigrant experience, labor movement history. Plus I get to imagine a time when hundreds of people would crowd into a theater to listen to a six hour long debate about the best way to overthrow capitalism and achieve a classless society, and learn about the Columbus Day when the anti-fascists beat up the fascists right before the parade.

(I'm reading this for work--but I do like my job.)

[zanana1]

68. I'm definitely reading that book! Thanks for the post! nt

[femmedem]

76. You're welcome. It's expensive, but I hope you'll be able to get it at a library.

At around $80, it's priced for academic libraries. The author told me he wouldn't pay that much for it himself.

[zanana1]

94. Uh oh. I'll have to save up for it. nt

[Codeine]

105. Good lord, even the Kindle edition is $75.

Still sounds fascinating.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

131. The KINDLE edition is $75????

People keep on trying to convince me I should do all my reading on Kindle (or other e-reader) because it's so cheap. HA!

Even without this somewhat unusual example, I've been noticing lately how very expensive Kindle books are, often more than a regular book. Okay, so I really do appreciate that various ebooks are a true godsend to people with vision problems. I am genuinely grateful that I can read just fine with reading glasses. But I think if I were totally dependent on an e reader I'd be quite pissed at the prices.

I will add that I get most of my books from the library, and all libraries lend books electronically, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad were I dependent on an e reader.

[Codeine]

132. It just went up actually; $77.92.

Only two bucks cheaper than print. Amazon must sense the interest your post has generated.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

134. Crap. Sorry to be responsible for a price increase.

Sigh.

Some years back I kept on checking on line for a particular book from my childhood that I wanted. It was rare and somewhat valuable and typically went for about $75.00. One day some totally naive person posted it on line for, I don't recall, maybe ten or fifteen dollars. You can be sure that I instantly snatched it up and only felt a little bit guilty.

[calguy]

10. I'm currently reading posts on DU

[IrishEyes]

49. Technically not a book.

However, if you are happy then enjoy.

[UTUSN]

11. "currently" as in two weeks ago and stuck 1/3? "Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Je

Jesus" by Joseph ATWILL - stumbled on it via YouTube, fascinating:

(although I see there is a "debunking" YouTube out there, too)

[csziggy]

12. The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books

About Hernando Columbus, his father Christopher and Hernando's collection of books with his organizational method. I've learned more about the father than I wanted to know, but it is an essential part to understanding the son. Hernando basically created the body of myths about Columbus and his achievements so the story of his father is very much the story of his own life.

A good review of the boo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-story-of-christopher-columbuss-son-the-ultimate-completist/2019/03/12/7438f79e-44f6-11e9-aaf8-4512a6fe3439_story.html?utm_term=.12f6cb38c6de

Someone on DU recommended the book and so far I am finding it very interesting.

[First Speaker]

13. I'm reading Alison Weir's *The Wars of the Roses*...

...a subject that, quite frankly, has taken up a little too much time out of my life. Also: Fredric Brown's *The Fabulous Clipjoint*--a classic noir novel--Harold Bloom's *Macbeth: a Dagger of the Mind*, and Gerhard Weinberg's *A World at Arms*, by far the best one-volume history of World War Two I've ever read.

[Desert_Leslie]

74. Recommendation

Another really fabulous book about the war: "The Second World War" by John Keegan

I bought it thinking I would read a couple of chapters that interested me, only to read the entire book in one sitting (ending at 4 a.m.) It's that good.

I've read a few of his other books too -- "The Face of Battle" "The Price of Admiralty"

Uniformly excellent (in my humble opinion)

[First Speaker]

82. That's an old favorite of mine, too...

...and *The Face of Battle* would be my first choice, if I were teaching a military history course. When I was young, I knew a man who had been thru the Somme. He didn't like talking much about it, but he did once give me his opinion of Haig. It was...colorful.

[eppur_se_muova]

89. "Uniformly" ?

Are we having fun ?

[Codeine]

104. Keegan is great, as long as you ignore his

politics. He’s a master of tactical snippeting, as is Paddy Griffiths.

[Codeine]

103. Alison Weir is wonderfully readable.

She takes some shit for that, but she’s a great first introduction to a subject, especially if you’re an American ungrounded in the complexities of the War of the Roses and the Tudors.

[Totally Tunsie]

14. Something catty and frivolous, but such fun...

"Madness Under the Royal Palms", subtitled "Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach", by Laurence Leamer.

It explores the early days of Palm Beach society, and what makes all those millionaires click. Yes, before you ask, the doturd is mentioned for a bit ~ I'm just not there yet.

[ProudLib72]

15. Brave New World

Yep, I had never read it before. I knew about it, just had different interests at the time. Then a student came in for tutoring for a literary analysis essay on Brave New World. At the point, I understood I had to read it.

Had to stop reading Geek Love to read BNW, so now I will probably go back to that.

[Laffy Kat]

16. Years ago when everyone else was re-reading, "1984" I read "Brave New World"

Read it for the first time. Between the two, I think BNW is much more on the mark of where we are now than "1984". What do you think?

[ProudLib72]

17. That is a difficult question to answer

I think that there are definitely elements of both present today. You look at the major themes in each:

1984 = 'Big Brother is Watching', 'Doublespeak', various ministries that are named the opposite of their functions, maintaining the State through ideological mind games.

BNW = Stability through a highly ordered society without want or need, ideological indoctrination from birth, capitalism taken to its extreme, unneeded technology for the sake of adding complexity (to promote capitalism it seems).

I see various analogues in our present day society, and I'm sure that the authors were using what they saw in their society at the time they were writing. Isn't that what makes good sci fi, to take what exists and extrapolate?

[rwsanders]

21. I still think Fahrenheit 451 ranks with the other two

Did we discuss this before or was it someone else?
We named our Golden Retriever "Clarisse McClellan" after the girl in the book!

[ProudLib72]

24. I want to take a job as a fireman when it comes to RW authors

Put me in a salamander!

[Laffy Kat]

58. Sorry to take so long to respond to your insightful comments.

Some of the most powerful parallels to come up for me between where we are heading today and BNW is the intellectual shallowness of the population, obsession with celebrity, discouragement of critical thinking, any form of curiosity, or one-on-one conversation. Then there is the widely used drug Soma in BNW to keep the citizens calm. Almost everyone I know, myself included, is on some form of anti-depressant and/or anti-anxiety drug.

But you're right, there are many overlaps with "1984".

[hunter]

99. Terry Gilliam's movie Brazil is closer to our current reality than either book.

Crazy. Who could have imagined Trump?

It must be something in the water.

[Harker]

37. It's an interesting book to

compare and contrast with "1984."

[ProudLib72]

39. It's interesting that both are "dystopian"

1984 is all about repressive State apparatuses. BNW is all about stability through conditioning and drugs. You know how "Room 101" is every person's living Hell? Compare that with the islands they send intellectuals to in BNW. Shoot, the Controller even says he envies those who get sent to islands. He gives them a choice of island to be sent to. The characters' existence is not nearly so horrific until you realize that all of society is created in bottles.

I keep mixing up 1984 with the movie Brazil.

[Harker]

42. As a numismatist...

you've found them flip sides of the same coin, I think?

That's how I've always viewed them. Which is more realistic depends on when and where you are, I suppose.

[ProudLib72]

44. 1984 is the obverse of BNW

And, yes, I would say that which one fits best all depends on place and time.

BNW came out in 1932. What was the driving force behind it? We know good and well why Orwell wrote. I should probably read up on the background to Huxley.

[reACTIONary]

54. Brave New World seems to have been inspired...

... at least in part, by the sensibilities of H.G. Wells. In another of his novels, more a roman a clef, the HGW character pontificates on a future where babies are born in glass jars. Apparently he heard such stuff from him.

[kairos12]

18. Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11

[area51]

19. I'm reading

Jade Dragon Mountain.

[murielm99]

20. I read a book about Nellie Bly and

Elisabeth Bisland's race around the world. I can't remember the title, but it was a good book.

[rwsanders]

22. The Gray Whale: Eschrichtius robustus

Its a summary of gray whale research up to 1980. Journal articles.
Eye of the Whale by Dick Russell is more readable and is a great summary of current research. Great book.

[Hotler]

23. A.I.S.C. Steel Construction Manual, 14th edition. nt

[Chalco]

25. Lake Success, The Apology, The Tender Bar nt

[redstatebluegirl]

26. The Papers of John Marshall

It is fabulous! 2 volumes I bought at an estate sale a few weeks ago.

[cilla4progress]

27. Sapiens, by Yuval Harari

It's a survey of "the history of humankind from the evolution of archaic human species in the Stone Age up to the twenty-first century, focusing on Homo sapiens. The account is situated within a framework provided by the natural sciences, particularly evolutionary biology." Wikipedia.

It reportedly received mixed reviews from experts in the field, but I find quite readable for a text covering such a broad range of time and species experience!

[Backseat Driver]

28. Pressure Cooker - Why Home Cooking Won't Solve

Our Problems and What We Can Do About It - Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton, Sinikka Elliott - Oxford University Press 2019


Socioeconomic issues and family food choices in a changing world- Pretty interesting stuff with plenty to chew on.

Haha - edited for my fudgy fingers typos

[trev]

29. Philip Roth's "The Human Stain."

I love Roth's writing, although I'm not thrilled with the plot of this one. I think my favorite of his is Deception--a story with no narrative, just dialogue.

[BarbaRosa]

30. Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling

Working on upping my BBQ game.

[JimGinPA]

31. 'Presidents of War' - Michael Beschloss

The last few I read;

'The Threat' - Andrew McCabe
'Elevation' - Stephen King
'Becoming' - Michelle Obama
'The Reckoning' - John Grisham
'Fear' - Bob Woodward

[PETRUS]

32. "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World," by Anand Giridharadas

The book isn't flawless (few books are, I guess), but I think it should be widely read (maybe especially by Democrats).

[chowder66]

33. The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London—the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.

Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine and Mary-Jane are famous for the same thing, though they never met. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They wrote ballads, ran coffee houses, lived on country estates, they breathed ink-dust from printing presses and escaped people-traffickers.

What they had in common was the year of their murders: 1888. The person responsible was never identified, but the character created by the press to fill that gap has become far more famous than any of these five women.

For more than a century, newspapers have been keen to tell us that "the Ripper" preyed on prostitutes. Not only is this untrue, as historian Hallie Rubenhold has discovered, it has prevented the real stories of these fascinating women from being told. Now, in this devastating narrative of five lives, Rubenhold finally sets the record straight, revealing a world not just of Dickens and Queen Victoria, but of poverty, homelessness and rampant misogyny. They died because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time—but their greatest misfortune was to be born a woman.

[IrishEyes]

41. That sounds interesting.

[chowder66]

45. I'm only a chapter + in and it is interesting. I'll probably devour it over the weekend. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

137. Sounds great. May I ask where you bought it?

[chowder66]

138. Amazon. nt

[JonLP24]

34. A Lie Too Big To Fail by Lisa Pease

I haven't finished it but the last two chapters look really good. Deals with hypnosis & alleges the agent that inspired Mission Impossible may have been involved don't know yet.

Either way it appears to be the most detailed & sourced book I have seen on the RFK Assassination.

[Midnight Writer]

52. I am reading this, too. A couple of years ago I read The Probe magazine series by her.

[Bradshaw3]

35. New York

By Rutherfurd. I had read his "London" earlier and really enjoyed it. Multi-generational stories tied in with history and the physical changes of the city and area over hundreds of years.

[radical noodle]

110. I'm reading Sarum

also by Rutherfurd. I bought it years ago when it was a best seller, but I never quite got around to reading it. Now that I'm retired, I have the time to really get into it. I think all his books are the same style, a little like the Michener books.

[in2herbs]

36. I'm currently reading 5 books but intent on this one: "The Last Camel Charge: The Untold Story of

America's Desert Military Experiment" by Forrest Bryant Johnson. The book is non-fiction and describes the U.S. military's experiment using camels instead of mules and horses on the deserts in the Southwest after the Mexican-American War in 1848.

[eppur_se_muova]

90. That was a great read ! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was amazed to learn how much ground a camel can cover at top speed, and how much weight one can carry. Horses pale by comparison.

[Harker]

38. Traleg Kyabgon's

Karma: What it Is, What it Isn't, and Why it Matters.

[Hangdog Slim]

40. The New Jim Crow

Subtitled: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander. It's been on my list for awhile and I'm about half way through. It's a tremendous piece of scholarship and extremely well written. It's also quite disturbing and I recommend it to anyone interested in equal justice and civil rights.

[PETRUS]

72. That's an excellent book, and one I think everyone should read.

I also highly recommend "The Color of Law" (by Richard Rothstein) for further reading about institutional racism in the US.

[Generic Brad]

43. This thread in the DU Lounge

I could be reading a book, but they don't allow for interactive snark.

[IrishEyes]

48. One of the benefits in my mind.

Sometimes a lady needs a break from the interactive snark.

[Chellee]

46. We Have No Idea - A Guide to the Unknown Universe

by Jorge Cham & Daniel Whiteson

[IrishEyes]

50. I quickly read that as I have no idea.

I thought you weren't sure what you were reading. That books sounds interesting.

[Chellee]

55. LOL!

They say that the universe consists of 5% stuff we know, 27% dark matter, and 68%...we have no idea.

[reACTIONary]

47. Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Treatise_of_Human_Nature

[rownesheck]

51. The Heart of Everything That Is.

It's about Red Cloud.

[elfin]

53. "Our Man" by Packer about Richard Holbrooke

So well written about a quixotic, mercurial genius who was at the center of nearly all major diplomatic events from Viet Nam to his death.

Am only about 1/4 through and revisiting such pain about Indochina and such rage about internecine politics and such glimmers of hope all at the same time.

Recommend it, even if you don't reach the same conclusions as the author. Lots of juicy Washington gossip to accompany real-time horrific events.

[MLAA]

56. Warlight by Michael Ondaatje (author of The English Patient)

I thoroughly enjoyed it. What a writer!

[lordsummerisle]

57. These Truths

by Jill Lepore
It's actually quite a slog and I may have to get the Cliff Notes on it if I have to return it to the library before I finish it...

[B Stieg]

59. Assemlage Theory by Manuel Delanda

[CaptainTruth]

60. Right now I'm reading this message, on DU.

[ancianita]

61. El Norte by Carrie Gibson, sort of a Zinn treatment of Spanish history/culture in the Americas.

It's powerful, and re-arranges my brain about Julian Castro.

[Kind of Blue]

62. The Holographic Universe by Michael Talot

From the Back Cover
Nearly everyone is familiar with holograms—three-dimensional images projected into space with the aid of a laser. Two of the world's most eminent thinkers believe that the universe itself may be a giant hologram, quite literally a kind of image or construct created, at least in part, by the human mind. University of London physicist David Bohm, a protégé of Einstein and one of the world's most respected quantum physicists, and Stanford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram, an architect of our modern understanding of the brain, have developed a remarkable new way of looking at the universe. Their theory explains not only many of the unsolved puzzles of physics but also such mysterious occurrences as telepathy, out-of-body and near-death experiences, "lucid" dreams, and even religious and mystical experiences such as feelings of cosmic unity and miraculous healings.

[trusty elf]

63. Austen Henry Layard's "Nineveh and Babylon"

about his second expedition to uncover the remains of Assyrian palaces. Absolutely fascinating.

[Kacy]

64. Barkskins: A Novel by Annie Proulx

Historical saga spanning 300 years in the US with two main family groups, one white and one indian. Environmental impact of tree cutting/forest razing over the centuries is what ties everyone together. Great history of the US, UK, and New Zealand.

I recommend it.
Over 700 pages, but it read fast.
Got great reviews.
She wrote “Shipping News” and “Brokeback Mountain”.

[zanana1]

69. Barkskins is a great book!

I have Canadian roots so it was especially interesting to me. A story that reflects our times and civilization in general.

[WestLosAngelesGal]

65. Rusty Nail and also, W is for Wasted

Rusty Nail (Jack Daniels Mystery, #3) by J.A. Konrath
W is for Wasted (A Kinsey Millhone Novel) by Sue Grafton

The Konrath mystery is compelling. I can hardly put it down. It's fast-paced, compared to the Grafton mystery, but I am enjoying both novels. Both of the authors are longtime favorites.

[Glorfindel]

66. "Cari Mora" by Thomas Harris

Next up: "The Hope" by Herman Wouk.

[zanana1]

67. I'm reading "Mitla Pass" by Leon Uris

I love historical fiction. I learn some history and I get a story!

[iscooterliberally]

70. I was on a pirate kick for a while.

I read 'Under The Black Flag' by David Cordingly. It was a quick and easy read and very interesting. I bought another book by Baylus Brooks called 'Quest For Blackbeard'. This book is a hard read and I haven't finished it yet. I recently went off on a tangent and read a book about Robert Johnson by Peter Guralnick. Robert Johnson wrote and recorded a bunch of blues songs that were later discovered by Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. This was a short book, but it was very interesting since I like music too. I have to get back into this Blackbeard book though. It's a very detailed history book and shows the pirates in a much different light.

[Codeine]

71. Alternating between a re-reading of Stalingrad

by Anthony Beevor and Bernard Cornwell’s “Lords of the North”, the third book in the Saxon Chronicles series.

After those two I’ve got a couple of Arnhem books to read together, one by Beevor and one by Simon Forty. They aren’t with me so I’m not 100% on the titles.

As ever this reading list is occasionally broken up by comic books, wargame rules, and occasional consults into various Osprey Publishing sourcebooks on particular subjects related to whatever longer books I’m reading.

[DDySiegs]

73. I am reading "The Man Without Qualities" ("MWQ")

MWQ is the great political/philosophical novel of the Austrian writer Robert Musil. It is set Vienna in 1913 and deals with disintegration of Austro- Hungarian empire which was soon to be the result of WW I. Its main character Ulrich is the man without qualities. In the disintegrating society that was Austria, he is dealing with the nearly impossible conundrum of how to define himself.

Although this work is over 1100 pages in length, Musil, who worked on it for over 20 years before his death in Switzerland in 1942, never completed it. This is probably why Musil did not get a Nobel prize. MWQ is often spoken of in the same breathe as Proust and Joyce. MWQ is difficult but very much worth the effort.

[Desert_Leslie]

75. The Forest Unseen

I thoroughly enjoyed this nonfiction book -- surprisingly enthralling: "The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch in Nature" by biologist David George Haskell

From Amazon:

"A biologist reveals the secret world hidden in a single square meter of old-growth forest -- a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the Pen/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award"

"The premise of this book is simple but the result is fascinating. The author, a naturalist, picks a small patch of old-growth forest in Tennessee and visits it three or four times per month over the course of a year."

[Auggie]

77. Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr

Awesome man

[Cousin Dupree]

78. Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End. Serious book about a serious topic.

And Calypso by David Sedaris for laughs out loud.

[jb5150]

81. Parliament of Whores by P. J. O'Rourke

I realize that P. J. has become quite the douchbag these days (and maybe he was always a little that way), but he was a very funny writer back in the day, that day being 25 years ago. Seems like the older, and wealthier he got, the bigger asshole he became. In his defense, at least for now, he's not a fan of our current idiot in chief.

[Adsos Letter]

83. Millennial Dreams and Apocalyptic Nightmares

Millennial Dreams and Apocalyptic Nightmares: The Cold War Origins of Political Evangelicalism by Angela M. Lahr.

How the Cold War became a vehicle for evangelical influence on Conservative politics. Reading this in conjunction with Paul Boyer's When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture.

[TrogL]

84. Triton - Samuel R. Delaney

Not a straightforward narrative. The book’s multi-layered with umpteen things going on at the same time.

[Codeine]

101. A challenging read but worth it. nt

[mnhtnbb]

85. I have two books going at the moment

Both from the library.

Commander in Cheat -- How Golf Explains Trump by Rick Reilly. Lawrence O'Donnell gave it a good review one night recently. OMG. The guy cheats at everything golf. I played some when I was younger. There is quite a code of honor among golfers, which is self-enforced. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book and the author (wrote for Sports Illustrated for years) is right now going through how Trump inflates the values of his golf courses for financial purposes and seriously lowballs the value of the courses for tax purposes. He cheats at everything: moving his ball, taking gimmee's, under reporting his score, moving his opponent's ball. He always rides alone in a cart and apparently takes off down the fairway as soon as he's hit--always tees off first--and that's part of how he is able to change the lie of his ball or move an opponent's ball by getting there way ahead of the rest of his foursome. The author quotes all kinds of people who've played with Trump reporting these stories of how he cheats (and lies about it). His caddies report how he cheats. The guy is one giant cheater.

The other book I'm reading--just started a series--is a mystery set in Charleston. First book is The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. I'm going to Charleston next week for several days of their Spoleto Festival and I enjoy reading novels set in places where I've traveled. My husband and I started going to the Spoleto Festival about 2012, and went for 5 years. We used to stay in a little cottage that was on the property of one of the big homes south of Broad and we'd walk along Tradd Street going to/from events.

[locks]

86. Daring Democracy

Igniting power, meaning and connection for the America we want by Frances Moore Lappe and Adam Eichen

[welivetotreadonkings]

87. The Uninhabitable Earth.

I suggest everyone voting in the Dem primary to do the same.

[PETRUS]

95. I read that last week.

I've been trying to convince others to read it, but most people just don't seem to want to face it.

[welivetotreadonkings]

97. Scary stuff

[PETRUS]

98. Indeed.

My wife and I often share what we learn as we're reading. When I picked up this book, she told me "I don't want to hear it."

[welivetotreadonkings]

118. Lol sounds similar to me and my significant other

[alfredo]

109. On a more hopeful note "The World without us"

It shows how the earth will recover after we screw ourselves into extinction. Some of the big losers are domestic animals that have been bred for our wants, not the animal’s needs. They may have a hard time without us to protect them.

[dem in texas]

88. Book on Qunnah Parker

Empire of the Summer Moon- Rise and Fall of the Comanches, The Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American history

Just got it, books about early Texas and the Southwest are my favorite reads.

[eppur_se_muova]

91. An excellent read. nt

[eppur_se_muova]

92. Just finishing up "A Very Courageous Decision" by Graham McCann ...

It gives the history of the British TV comedies "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Prime Minister". Maybe a bit too verbose for some, but leaves one with a real sense of how exceptional were the accomplishments of the writers and actors. Learned some interesting details of how the BBC differs from American TV, and learned some things about Ms. Thatcher that made me cringe all over again. I had recently bought the DVDs of YPM and finished watching them before reading the book, which really put me in the mood to pick up the book again, after setting it down for a long hiatus. It was an entertaining read, but not lacking in serious content, and I kind of needed some non-technical reading to break the drudgery.

The same author has written a book about "Fawlty Towers", and I might be interested in locating that.

[locks]

96. Billly Budd, Sailor

By Herman Neville. The Central City Colorado operas this summer will be Billy Budd and Madama Butterfly.

[hunter]

100. I'm working my way backwards through Gardner Dozois "The Year's Best Science Fiction" editions.

I used to read this series regularly until our kids were born.

Now that they are grown up and moved away I figured I could catch up.

It will take many years, especially since there are so many other books to read.

[Codeine]

102. Those books were a staple of mine for a long time.

Not sure why I drifted away from them, to be honest.

[PETRUS]

106. Started a new book last night:

"How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States," by Daniel Immerwahr. Only 87 pages in, but so far it's fascinating.

[KBlagburn]

107. White House Diary...Jimmy Carter

[Lucky Luciano]

108. Eigenvectors of Some Large Sample Covariance Ensembles

https://arxiv.org/pdf/0911.3010.pdf

Eigenvectors of some large sample covariance matrix ensembles

Olivier Ledoit, Sandrine Péché
(Submitted on 16 Nov 2009)

We consider sample covariance matrices SN=1pΣ1/2NXNX∗NΣ1/2N where XN is a N×p real or complex matrix with i.i.d. entries with finite 12th moment and ΣN is a N×N positive definite matrix. In addition we assume that the spectral measure of ΣN almost surely converges to some limiting probability distribution as N→∞ and p/N→γ>0. We quantify the relationship between sample and population eigenvectors by studying the asymptotics of functionals of the type 1NTr(g(ΣN)(SN−zI)−1)), where I is the identity matrix, g is a bounded function and z is a complex number. This is then used to compute the asymptotically optimal bias correction for sample eigenvalues, paving the way for a new generation of improved estimators of the covariance matrix and its inverse.

[Codeine]

133. Picked that up for beach reading this summer.

The mysterious symbols are very relaxing.

[DFW]

111. I got lazy

I picked up an English translation of a book my wife read in German. The original was in Swedish, which I can read at least as well as German, but I just felt lazy this time: "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared"

[They_Live]

112. Man And His Symbols

Carl Jung (and others)

[Spiggitzfan]

113. Books

Philosophy and the Dark Tower is expected to be released on May 30th. Until then just fillers, short stories.

[NJCher]

114. Just finished Bad Blood Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

by the Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou. This woman Elizabeth Holmes played the 1 per cent for suckers and she played plenty of well-known Democrats, too. She bilked Wal-mart and many of our other favorite one-percenters.

She conned Hillary and she conned Joe Biden, too, into believing in her (I don't know that they invested $$; they appeared with her publicly and praised her).

Holmes was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in June of 2018. Since that time, she's been prancing around with her younger boyfriend by about 10 years, acting like she hasn't a care in the world.

Her premise for her product was so stupid that even I, an English teacher, knew it wouldn't play when I heard about it. You don't have to be a genius to figure that out and how she was able to get by with her scam for 10 years is a very interesting story indeed. In fact, it's so interesting that I may use it as the text for a class I'm proposing. I won't spoil it, though. Read the book and find out how she did it!

[Magoo48]

115. Ok,

The Dispossessed— Ursula K. Le Guin
and
Desert Solitaire— Edward Abbey

[yellowdogintexas]

116. City of Endless Night Preston and Childs

a fairly recent Pendergast novel

[NNadir]

117. Back Issues of Environmental Science and Technology, The Chemistry of Materials, and...

...Industrial Engineering and Chemistry Research, among other favorite journals and the ever popular best seller, U-Th SERIES NUCLIDES IN AQUATIC SYSTEMS edited by S. KRISHNASWAMI and J. KIRK COCHRAN.

[3catwoman3]

119. I am almost done with Michelle Obama's book.

She is a very fine writer. I was captivated before I finished the preface.

[ChazII]

120. What my son is reading.

My son is currently reading Stephen King: Dark tower III The Waste Lands. The reason I'm posting this and not him is because he is a Conservative and I won't let him join DU.

[IrishEyes]

122. My mom has two conservative children

She can't figure out how that happened. She has always been a very politically active liberal democrat. At least, one of her children is a liberal democrat.

[ChazII]

123. IrishEyes

Hi IrishEyes hope you are doing well! I'm Jay, ChazII's son. I asked for permission to post, she said yes, just let them know who you are first. I said yes. i just wanted to let you know that even though I am a conservative, i am not a far wing nut jobs, that will tell you, everything you do is wrong, it a matter of opinion. We'll agree to disagree. I don't watch faux News Religiously. I watch CNN, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, etc. I listen to both sides, research before I make my opinion. I will probably be one of the most level-headed conservatives you might meet. I will never bash your opinions. I will respect you and your beliefs.

[IrishEyes]

124. Sorry to have upset you so much.

I love my conservative brothers. I did not mean to make you feel like I'm insulting you. My family is very political and we discuss politics all the time. My mother only jokingly asks where she went wrong. In the same way that she would ask where she went wrong if one of her children were a New York Yankees fan. My brothers are good people. We just disagree politically. We debate politics all the time. I respect their opinions just like I respect your or anyone else's opinions. I don't bash peoples opinions. I always respect peoples beliefs.

I did not call you or anyone else a right wing nut job. I never said anything about Fox News, CNN, Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, etc.

[ChazII]

130. IrishEyes

Jay here, you didn't upset me, I misread your post, I'm sorry, that happens to me sometimes. Have a good night my friend!

[ChazII]

135. Hi,

Some folks here at DU already know that Jay was diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma. The same type of tumor that John McCain had. The surgeon was able to remove 80%+ which is good. However, it is in the part of the brain that controls cognitive skills. Sometimes Jay misunderstands what the writer means. It grows more difficult for him to distinguish what the writer is trying to say. Thank you for reaching out to my son in a kind way.

I allowed to him make a few postings because he was given a 15 month life expectancy by one of the doctors. The cancer was the first blow but such a short time he took very hard. We are fighters and know we will beat this. I wanted you to know that as a mom, I appreciate the kindness in your reply to him.

[GetRidOfThem]

121. TrumpNation...

Author argues he never really was a billionaire. He is cinvincing (the author, I mean)

[Brother Buzz]

125. The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Boy howdy, I just started reading it after waiting forever to get my copy from the library. I just finished the first chapter, and I can say with authority, "It was worth the wait"!!!!

The Library Book

by Susan Orlean


On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. As the moments passed, the patrons and staff who had been cleared out of the building realized this was not the usual fire alarm. As one fireman recounted, “Once that first stack got going, it was ‘Goodbye, Charlie.’” The fire was disastrous: it reached 2000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who?

Weaving her lifelong love of books and reading into an investigation of the fire, award-winning New Yorker reporter and New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean delivers a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling book that manages to tell the broader story of libraries and librarians in a way that has never been done before.

In The Library Book, Orlean chronicles the LAPL fire and its aftermath to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives; delves into the evolution of libraries across the country and around the world, from their humble beginnings as a metropolitan charitable initiative to their current status as a cornerstone of national identity; brings each department of the library to vivid life through on-the-ground reporting; studies arson and attempts to burn a copy of a book herself; reflects on her own experiences in libraries; and reexamines the case of Harry Peak, the blond-haired actor long suspected of setting fire to the LAPL more than thirty years ago.

Along the way, Orlean introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters from libraries past and present—from Mary Foy, who in 1880 at eighteen years old was named the head of the Los Angeles Public Library at a time when men still dominated the role, to Dr. C.J.K. Jones, a pastor, citrus farmer, and polymath known as “The Human Encyclopedia” who roamed the library dispensing information; from Charles Lummis, a wildly eccentric journalist and adventurer who was determined to make the L.A. library one of the best in the world, to the current staff, who do heroic work every day to ensure that their institution remains a vital part of the city it serves.

Brimming with her signature wit, insight, compassion, and talent for deep research, The Library Book is Susan Orlean’s thrilling journey through the stacks that reveals how these beloved institutions provide much more than just books—and why they remain an essential part of the heart, mind, and soul of our country. It is also a master journalist’s reminder that, perhaps especially in the digital era, they are more necessary than ever.

[IrishEyes]

127. That sounds interesting.

I will have to add it to my list.

[Kilgore]

126. Ringworld Engineers

By Larry Niven

[guillaumeb]

128. City of Brass, by S Chakraborty

Speculative fiction.

[elfin]

129. Our Man - about Richard Holbrook

On my Kindle - Excellent.

Off Kindle -

The Day That Never Comes - Caimh McDonnell - Irish mystery, hilarious and profane.

Plus -- the Washington Post edition of the Mueller Report.

[sinkingfeeling]

136. The Mueller Report.

[RobinA]

139. Rebecca

by Daphne du Maurier. Never read it. VERY well written. Not sure what's coming next. Possibly Bad Blood if I can get it from the library. I'm also looking at a Phil Spector bio.