What are you reading

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I am reading "Atlas Shrugged"...with the way the economy is in the USA it somehow seemed liked the right thing to read...

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by M54

I'm reading 'Miss Leavitt's Stars', by George Johnson.
The untold story of the woman who discovered how to measure the universe.
My Hubby bought it for me for our anniversary.

Read that coupla months ago. Really interesting.

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by lacad01

I'll have to get my hands on that given my late Dad was in the Red Army during that period. He had some pretty horrible stories of the campaigns in the Caucasus and Crimea.

Well it's fairly heavy going, but well worth it. When I was a kid we had a neighbour across the street was Hungarian but had flown with the Luftwaffe on the Eastern front. We kids all thought he was a bit 'weird'. Having read this book and others about the Eastern front, I can understand it a bit better.

[pmrid (Peter)]

"The Road" by Cormak McCarthy. I have yet to see the movie but I hear good things. The book was gripping - a one-sitting book that was unlike any I had read before.
Peter

[mac (Matt)]

"The Grand Hotel Babylon", by Arnold Bennett, 1902. Very entertaining and fast moving so far.

[Nesti (Mark)]

Originally Posted by Bassnut

Half way through "If we are anything" by Mark Nesti (our very own IIS "Nesti").

Quantum mechanics for dummys (NO MATH, bonus, ), with a nifty twist on a "universal consciousness" theory. But not the vauge link to new age gear you might expect .

A well ordered, very original explanation of quantum physics (particularly string theory) for the non-expert, leading to a suprising explanation of aspects of new age thinking I have tended to avoid.

Just the tutorial on physics makes this a worthy read, compulsive page turning stuff indeed, and required for what comes next, quite a mind twist. Im not done with it yet, but its well worth the effort so far .

Geez Fred, I'm rapped you like it!

By now you should have progressed much further, if not finished it altogether.

Gotta love the clean (no math) experience. LOL ...until the 'Notes' section at least.

Sorry for a tardy post here, but I've been really busy of late and have only just been able to check-out IIS forum again.

Interestingly, while traveling around promoting the book I sat on a plane next to a gentleman who's a Physicist and works with String Theorists (Mathematicians). What are the odds of that??? We talked for 3hrs non-stop about the concepts, but in a more technically accurate sense, not how I've written it for simplicity. He asked for a copy and I sent him one. Turns out, the idea about there being only one Calabi-Yau facilitating both local and non-local events - which you should have read about by now - took him back...so he called to ask if he could send it off to the Mathematicians he knows for them to read. Scary stuff.

Anyway, happy reading and thanks for your opinion.
(kick-back's in the mail LOL).

Mark

[sebastien]

currently reading the elegant universe by brian greene, on my shelf are some more to be read:-
-the fabric of the cosmos by brian greene
-hyperspace by michio kaku
-parrallel worlds by michio kaku
and -physics of the impossible

[goober (Doug)]

The Illustrated Genesis by Crumb.... amusing.

[hector (Andrew)]

I am reading Dexterb at the moment. The first book follows the TV series quite well but after that.... No for TV thats for sure.

[Nesti (Mark)]

The Speed of Light; Constancy + Cosmos

By David A. Grandy

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The.../9780253220868

[stephenb (Stephen)]

Just finished reading Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner. http://freakonomicsbook.com/

[barx1963 (Malcolm)]

Just started reading Gettysburg by Stephen Sears. Excellent analysis of the battle as well as the lead up and consequences. Its interesting to speculate about the many twists and turns of the 3 days that made up the battle, if things had gone a little differently, the world would be avery different place today. The Confederacy may have survived, very likely the North would have been taken over by the military, possibly even a dictatorship. In all possibility, the US influence on the world aould have been very different.
BTW a very well written history.

[alan meehan (Alan)]

Iam mid way through reading "The Orgin of Life by Paul Davies ,accliaimed physicist,astrobiologist and writer Paul Davies presents evidence that life began billions of years ago klms underground,arguing that it may well have started on mars and spread to earth in rocks blasted off the red planet by asteroid impacts.This solution to the riddle of lifes origin has sweeping implications for the nature of the universe and our place within it, and opens the way to a radicial rethinking of where we came from.this is a brilliant book by an australian author.

[Ric]

That looks like an interesting read Alan, I'll keep an eye out for that book.

Cheers

[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

Just finished "Why we make mistakes"

This is a very interesting read with snippits of various studies in human behaviour:

Example of a pilot noticing that a light wasn't working, other flight crew try to work out why...meanwhile the plane crashes into the ground.

A person asks for directions and part way through a couple of guys walk past with a door, blocking their view as the other person is swapped over. The one answering does not realise it is a different person.

Why we forget passwords, why we think we are above average....

Easy read, only ~200 pages.

[lacad01 (Adam)]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread given the amount of holiday reading I've been doing lately
After seeing the series "The Pacific" wanted to find out more about the principle characters Robert Leckie and Eugene Sledge so finished reading their accounts:
"With the Old Breed", Eugene Sledge
"Helmet For My Pillow", Robert Leckie
"Strong Men Armed", Robert Leckie
Thoroughly recommend these if you enjoyed the series The Pacific and/or are interested in the USMC Pacific campaigns.
Currently reading "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" by John le Carré
BTW, all these I've read on my Kindle - love it

[Mariposa (Amalia)]

I wish I had the time to read something for the pure sake of entertainment, but it's not possible at the moment.
The only books I'm reading at the moment are the ones related to baby development and graphic design, including several software applications,not very entertaining....but must recognise, I've learned a lot from them!

[Stardrifter_WA]

At the moment I am reading Stephen King's latest called 11:22:63 which is about a time traveller that goes back to 1958. It is different and not too bad, but, not as gripping as his previous novel.

Also finished reading Tom Clancy's "Locked On". Although written in collaboration with another author it is still typical Clancy, at his best. It was a fantastic read and I couldn't, quite literally, put it down and read it in just two days. Well, it was too hot outside to do anything anyway.

Previous to that I read:

Angels of Vengeance by John Birmingham.
Zero Day by David Baldacci.
Against All Enemies by Tom Clancy.
The Bourne Dominion by Eric Van Lustbader
The Ares Decision by Robert Luldlum and Kyle Mills

All great reads and all read in the last four weeks, as I am on holidays until February.

OK, so I don't have a life!

[Octane (Humayun)]

Picked up the set of 3 Ansel Adams' classics and am half-way through The Camera.

I was given The Book Thief by Markus Zusak as a gift, after having been shown and subsequently falling in love with the prologue. Can't wait to read that.

H

[mishku]

I'm reading "a briefer history of time" by one Mr S Hawking, and a nifty little number called "Astronomy Hacks"