They don't think it be like it is but it do.

11 hours ago, Dusty Chalk said:

Seriously thinking about reading Napoleons Buttons —anyone recommend/disrecommend?

I bought a copy for my dad a few years ago (and I read it last year) – it's one of his favorite books. It's well written and full of those anecdotal science/history stories that stick in your mind. My takeaway from the book is that science can change humanity, but it doesn't do much for scientists, sometimes. Many of the inventors/discovers were considered failures in their lifetimes and they suffered through enormous hardship.

We were also intrigued by the role serendipity has been accorded in numerous chemical discoveries. Luck has often been cited as crucial to many important findings, but it seems to us that the ability of the discoverers to realize that something unusual has happened—and to question why it occurred and how it could be useful—is of greater importance. In many instances in the course of chemical experimentation an odd but potentially important result was ignored and an opportunity lost. The ability to recognize the possibilities in an unexpected result deserves to be lauded rather than dismissed as a fortuitous fluke. Some of the inventors and discoverers of the compounds we discuss were chemists, but others had no scientific training at all. Many of them could be described as characters—unusual, driven, or compulsive. Their stories are fascinating.

 

Oh, yeah, definitely reading this.

It's World Book Day! Currently reading:

The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin

 

Market Forces by Richard Morgan

Still working my way through Oathbringer.  Fantastic.  The parts with...

...Shallan getting killed repeatedly are hilarious.  “Oh, bother.”  But then he puts her through the emotional wringer and had me weeping.  Good times.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/us-cell-carriers-selling-access-to-real-time-location-data/

This is pretty disgusting. The cell phone carriers are selling their user's real time location data to anyone who wants it.

It is supposed to require the consent of the user, but we all know there are plenty of slimy ways of getting consent, like say burying it into a lengthy TOS contract that no one is ever going to read.

The state of privacy in the 21st century is just sickening.

The Dark Forest (Three Body Problem Book 2). 

Just outstanding! I liked it even more than the first book. 

Consider it an absolute must read if you enjoyed the Three Body Problem. 

i liked the first and third book better then the second.

i think part of it might be related to the translation by Ken Liu, which just felt better/more natural to me then joel martinsens work.

i didn't think about it when reading the dark forest, but something just felt a bit off.

when i started reading death's end it became immediately apparent though, as it recaptured that missing essence from the dark forest.

 

Edited June 10, 20188 yr by bjarnetv

The Dark Forest (Three Body Problem Book 2). 
Just outstanding! I liked it even more than the first book. 
Consider it an absolute must read if you enjoyed the Three Body Problem. 

Never heard of it looks cool.

Out if curiosity the cover says it's grounded in cutting edge science. I love Michael Crichton books for that vreason books like Prey and Sphere and Jurassic Park.

Would this be something for a Crichton fan?

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^ Yes. It is more hard sci-fi than it is fantasy sci-fi.

Crichton fan here as well.

Finally finished this monster after struggling to get through it for nearly two years. It is the most challenging book I've ever read. I went though it with a plot guide and character map and still got lost all the time.

That all being said, I think its the best work of fiction I've ever read by an American author. It is stunningly brilliant. Time and time again I was left in utter awe of Pynchon's writing ability. IMO he is without equal in his mastery of prose, humor, depravity, and esoteric postmodern deep-dives.

It is a slog to get through but it rewards those who invest the time and mental energy and accept the challenge.

I'm working my way through Gravity's Rainbow as well.

I am also using the guide and this:

Full immersion baby!

I am only about 10% in but I totally agree: challenging and brilliant.

I can actually feel Pynchon rewiring my neurons as I read...

What the fuck kind of books are you guys reading that require study guides and devoting years of your lives to?

I am reading Russka by Edward Rutherford and I have not had to hire a support staff to get me through it.

Oh I totally understand the challenge of books like this. I'm definitely going to buy it.

I'd like to read it as well. The most challenging book I've read was called Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett. I needed a dictionary to look up a few words per page and a note pad to pull together sentences that had many commas in them, causing me to get lost at times.

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On 6/14/2018 at 11:43 PM, VPI said:

What the fuck kind of books are you guys reading that require study guides and devoting years of your lives to?

I am reading Russka by Edward Rutherford and I have not had to hire a support staff to get me through it.

Lollers.  Tell them what you said about that Tim Powers book...The Stress of Her Regard, was it?  Or was it Hide Me Among the Graves?  

I remember some nonsense about vampires that turn into squirrels when they get injured.  Maybe some ghosts?

Aldebaran by Léo – gorgeously illustrated and brilliantly written

Fitting for the 4th,

The Register has read the The President Is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson so you don't have to

 

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/04/clinton_cyberthriller_book_review/

Did I mention I finally finished Oathbringer?  Egad, that was stupendous.  I love being surprised.  

Also, I've been trying for that "perfectly tousled" look with my hair.

On 7/15/2012 at 4:06 PM, blessingx said:

Anyway, just sent Free Will by Sam Harris and The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined by Steven Pinker to the Kindle. Starting the former now.

 

x2

The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

Really enjoying it so far.

EDIT:  finished it -- fantastic!  I've had that relationship with a woman (well, other than the dragon and murder-wedding).  Now on to book 2.

x2

Wow. Steven Pinker. Thanks for the reminder. He wrote The Language Instinct.

My mind was blown from reading that learning g about how lNguage works and where it comes from. I also just learned tons of random tidbits dropped in that book regarding every day Life.

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Well this is fun

 

Well this is fun

I listened to Alec Baldwins podcast with guest Michael Wolff, the author of Fire & Fury: Trump in the White House. Real eye opener. He says no one listens to Trump. Everyone in his staff since day one saw this as a netbliss for all of them and their individual businesses.

 

I'll buy the book soon. Great funny podcast episode.

 

https://castbox.fm/vb/65705235

 

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