BOOKS

[Bill Profile E-mail BillWebsite]

My fantasy genre reading is much like yours, Jeff, since many of the books come from you.

Here are my reads year-to-date:
- "The New Atheism" by Victor Stenger
(another bash religion book rather than a boost to atheism)
- "Downshadow" by Erik Scott de Bie
(disappointing Realms fantasy, as you said)
- "The Atheist's Way" by Eric Maisel
(doesn't bash religion, focus on making real meaning in life)
- "The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches, Book 1" by Robert Stanek
(interesting, but need to read again to follow the characters and story)
- "Pint-Sized Ireland" by Evan McHugh
(journal of an Aussie traveling Ireland seeking the perfect Guiness)
- "Core Performance Endurance" by Mark Verstegen
(written more for the athlete than the regular schmoe, like me)
- "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown
(another Prof. Robert Langdon action mystery)
- "How to Train Your Dragon: Book 1" by Cressida Cowell
(roughly based on the movie)
- "The Neuro Revolution" by Zack Lynch
(hypes controlled neurochemical enhancement)
- "The Dreaming Dark" trilogy by Keith Baker
(Eberron-based fantasy, very well written)
- "The Art of Peace" by Morihei Ueshiba
(I believe Bud gave me this last Christmas?)
- "Solar Power for Your Home" by Dan ramsey
- "The Golden Apple" by Kathy Aaronsen
(very good business relationships book)
- "Packing for Mars" by Mary Roach
(entertaining view of challenges of sending humans to Mars)
- "Shadowbred" by Paul S. Kemp
(bk 1 of Twilight War trilogy - dark fantasy, but very well written)

Currently reading:
- "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand, and
- "Shadowstorm" by Paul S. Kemp (thank you, Jeff)

[Jeff Profile]

IMPRESSIVE list!

On the comical aside:
Packing for Mars---- Good separation of the contribution is essential.


Back to the list...WOW WOW

You have been a busy man.

[Bill Profile E-mail BillWebsite]

My goal the past couple years has been to read 20 books. Fell short last year.

[Jeff Profile]

Even if I finish my 5 books I am currently actively reading,
I'd have to finish 6 more to make that goal.
Keep up the good job.

[Bud]

I don't think I 've read any non-technical books in the last 10 years.

[Jeff Profile]

Bud,
You have a 8+ hour a day job.
You exercise multiple times a week.
You are taking Guitar lessons and
practicing many times a week.
So, when will you add hours to read?
Jeff

[Bud]

Bud,
You have a 8+ hour a day job.
You exercise multiple times a week.
You are taking Guitar lessons and
practicing many times a week.
So, when will you add hours to read?
Jeff

Or do anything else, for that matter. It's starting to get really fucking old.

[Jeff Profile]

Finished reading "The Time Machine" by H.G.Wells, and I
was not disappointed. All the movie bastardisations have
left me wondering where they took dramatic lisence and
now I know.

Let me say that the book is better and perfect for the time
it was written in.

[Bill Profile E-mail BillWebsite]

Nice review, Jeff! I'm definitely going to read it again.

[Jeff Profile]

Have you read any good books lately Bill?


Or, if anyone else is reading this thread?

[Bill Profile E-mail BillWebsite]

I don't list it as a "good book", but I did read A.C. Grayling's "The Good Book: A Humanist Bible" earlier this Summer. I guess I'm just too monumentally naive to understand it because I was monumentally disappointed. The bulk of it was a historical reference to the Persian and Roman empires. The relevance to humanism in the tales completely eluded me because the tales were about conquest and war. There was some wisdom in the early and later chapters, but overall it wasn't what I expected.

"On the Grid" by Scott Huler, on the other hand, while much more mundane was more interesting. It dealt with all the major facets of our grid-based life that we take for granted, our infrastructure: wastewater, tap water, electricity, phone service (including cellular), trash, recycling, etc. A simple, local approach, the author humbly looks into all these practically invisible entities from a citizen's eye. Quite interesting.

[Bud]

Well, I just bought Mastering Regular Expressions, but I haven't read it yet.

[Bill Profile E-mail BillWebsite]

Well, I just bought Mastering Regular Expressions, but I haven't read it yet.

Cool! If I were more of a programmer, I'd actually be very interested in reading that. Looks good.

[Bud]

Well, I just bought Mastering Regular Expressions, but I haven't read it yet.

Cool! If I were more of a programmer, I'd actually be very interested in reading that. Looks good.

Actually, you don't need to be a programmer. Regular expressions are extrememly useful for document writing, searching, all sorts of things that are not really programming.

Of course, they're useful for programming too. Maybe you can read it and explain it to me.

[Jeff Profile]

Bill,
Regarding the Humanist Bible, I have not read it but I don't think
you are naive. I sounds to me like you had great expectations
of this work and it simply fell extremely short.

What would you have added and what would you have
left out?

"On the Grid" sounds quite informative.

Bud,
Interesting book, a little beyond me in many ways.