Jump to content

What Book Are You Reading?


Wolfbane

Recommended Posts

On 4/18/2020 at 3:15 PM, NADman said:

Dead Wake, Thunderstruck and Isaac's Storm by Erik Larson in the last couple of weeks.

I give them 5 stars.

Devil in the White City is a must-read for any Chicagoan.  It got me hooked on Larson.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now this is a topic I can sink my teeth into. I spend more time reading and writing than perhaps anything else. I am a nerd by choice and oddly strange by confession. Most of what I do and read resonates with few others and a lot of my humor and opinions are very different from my peers. With that said, I am currently nearing the end of :

The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God by Tim and Kathy Keller

 

https://www.amazon.com/Meaning-Marriage-Facing-Complexities-Commitment/dp/1594631875/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1587391362&sr=1-1

 

A handful of books on deck:

 

IMG_4066.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't keep novels around the house once read,  they are either returned to the library or dropped off at the friends of the library bookstore.  Though I have kept 3 for various reasons and have re-read two of them recently during this time. All still good.

Enders Game - Orson Scott Card

Lord of the Rings, Return of the King- Tolkien

Robots of Dawn- Asimov

 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

71odNf1GmkL.jpg

 

See https://thefederalist.com/2014/01/17/the-death-of-expertise/ for a preview of this subject.  I find it's a timely discussion of a recent aspect of our recently emerging world society that is overdosing on our information-rich environment (i.e., the now-accepted wiki-world views of easy information).  This is the root problem the book explores. The book looks like it's the real deal (I haven't gotten very far into it yet), (EDIT:  I don't recommend the book now that I've read it because it has very little backup for the author's assertions) ...it's written by a guy that teaches [foreign policy] at the Naval War College.  It looks a little light on technical subjects (like typical psychology--decision sciences), but heavy on political environment and policy making worlds. 

 

BTW: another really interesting read on the subject of expertise (much better, IMO, than Thinking: Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - the Nobel prize winner):.  This is the real book that the book Blink ripped off by Malcolm Gladwell, and who did such a poor job plagiarizing...badly, and whose fallout from doing it badly is the subject of the above book.  Gary Klein's first real book is not a new book (1999), but it's still the leading book on the subject, IMO:

 

41VfJMqMiCL._SX317_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

 

Chris

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, mikebse2a3 said:

Let us know your thoughts on the book after you’ve had some time reading it...

 

The first portion of the 1000+ page book is historical, and rather encyclopedic, but quite interesting. The most intriguing part to me is the realization that my own father, who was born in 1922, witnessed first-hand so much of the progress that took place even before the days of electronic amplification.

 

I'm in chapter 5 right now. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

That book is interesting.  It's really two books--one written by a horn historian (about 40% of the book) which is the most complete reference that I've seen on early horns and compression drivers, and the other by a academic.  Both serve their purpose.  Taken in bite-sized doses over time, the second part of the book is very much like Beranek's Acoustics or Olson's Acoustical Engineering, albeit updated with information from the last 70+ years.  I've found useful information there, but I also find that I need to ruminate on each section a bit to digest the usefulness of the information for my own use.  Much of it reads like a college textbook (just like the other two books I mentioned were).  I assume that the material came from the second author's class notes, etc.

 

Chris

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Greg, when you get to chapter 24 (System Considerations) of the Horn Loudspeaker book, let me know.  This should be the punchline for the entire book, and well...

 

By the way, in chapter 15 of the Horn Loudspeaker book are some discussions of horn directivity vs. the different kind of horn profiles.  This is an interesting discussion--and supremely important...from my knothole.

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Chris A said:

Greg, when you get to chapter 24 (System Considerations) of the Horn Loudspeaker book, let me know.  This should be the punchline for the entire book, and well...

 

By the way, in chapter 15 of the Horn Loudspeaker book are some discussions of horn directivity vs. the different kind of horn profiles.  This is an interesting discussion--and supremely important...from my knothole.

 

Thanks, Chris. It's been slow-going. I've been on furlough from work recently, but had so many other chores lined-up that I've only managed about 100 pages. So chapter 24 may also mean 2024!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Working on reading all 25 of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels. My goal last year and this year is one book per week. Made it last year and I’m at 26 already this year, I should be able to make it again. I prefer paper books, but with all libraries closed here, I’ve been reading ebooks. Also a few Roman history thesis and audio musings. This internet thing might catch on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, MC39693 said:

Working on reading all 25 of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels. My goal last year and this year is one book per week. Made it last year and I’m at 26 already this year, I should be able to make it again. I prefer paper books, but with all libraries closed here, I’ve been reading ebooks. Also a few Roman history thesis and audio musings. This internet thing might catch on.

If you haven't already, give John Sandford's "Prey" and "Virgil Flowers" series a shot.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/20/2020 at 7:39 AM, cincymat said:

GRANT, by Ron Chernow.

 

Good read.

 

B67F251E-9260-4FCD-8971-55D3B1D03226.thumb.jpeg.989b5817c8fb57024b8706edb634d21a.jpeg

 

Cincy

Finished watching the Discovery Channel program from this book. Endlessly fascinating and very well done production. I am now reading "Don't know Much About The Civil War". I found out there's a lot I don't know about the Civil War.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nothing for the head here.  John Sanford, Jeffrey Deaver, Robert Parker.  Found a used paper back The Art of War by Sun Tzu on ebay for $2.  Didn't read the add closely enough and when it arrived it was the "chump change edition" about 40 pages!

  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...