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Which Book Are You Currently Reading?

Kirino

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Great Expectations for a literature class. I've often heard people say Dickins is dry and boring, but I've found it surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable so far, and I think it's aged well.

Aside from that, Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk by Massimo Pigliucci. Although it digresses away from its stated subject at times, it's an informative and broad look at the philosophy of science and its history, written by a fairly qualified and well-known writer on the topic. I'd recommend it.

Prisoners of Geography
Tim Marshall

This is a book about how geopolitics is shaped by the constraints and necessities of physical geography. This is a topic I find endlessly fascinating (there are some excellent Youtube channels that discuss it like Wendover Productions and The Caspian Report) and this book is a smoothly-written, well explained look at the subject.

Want to know why Russia invaded the Crimea? Why Europe came to dominate the world? Why Africa has struggled to develop despite its abundant resources? What China's long-term game plan is?

Look at the geography. The rivers, mountains, deserts, forests, climate, and coastlines. That's where the answers are. That's where they've always been and where they always will be.

I'm a fan of both channels and have a pretty strong interest in geopolitics, so this'll definitely be high on my list.
 

YIGAhim

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Great Expectations for a literature class. I've often heard people say Dickins is dry and boring, but I've found it surprisingly entertaining and enjoyable so far, and I think it's aged well.
Oh that book was sooo boring to me. We had to read 2 books for English last year, and that one counted as 2 JUST because our teacher hated it too
 

pyjamas5189

Secretly a cat
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Oct 8, 2016
Randomly the james herriot series. Hes a vet that practiced in the 60s the books are just stories from his time in practice but they are so well written and suprisingly hilarious. Acquired taste though i guess
 
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Deleted member 14134

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did you read the mistborn trilogy before starting this one? im 1/4 of the way through way of kings and feels like a completely other author
I read the original mistborn trilogy but haven't touched the new one yet. I think he's going for a slightly different tone here then in mistborn. Also mistborn was the first actual series he wrote (the standalone Elantris came before) so I think his writing has improved a bit since then. I definitely see the connection between the two. I'm about half way through and Kaladin seems somewhat similar in character to Kelsier. The action (particularly in the first chapter with Szeth) seemed very Sanderson like.
 
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Feb 28, 2018
I read the original mistborn trilogy but haven't touched the new one yet. I think he's going for a slightly different tone here then in mistborn. Also mistborn was the first actual series he wrote (the standalone Elantris came before) so I think his writing has improved a bit since then. I definitely see the connection between the two. I'm about half way through and Kaladin seems somewhat similar in character to Kelsier. The action (particularly in the first chapter with Szeth) seemed very Sanderson like.
yeah im enjoying kaladin so far. i cant say that i was into the mistborn trilogy because of what happens to Kelsier at the end of the first book until really the last book. i really enjoyed all the characters as they matured and im hoping this new one still has that enjoyment as they develop. let's see!
 

Castle

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Michael Crichton's The Lost World

It's boring me. I only just got to the island and I'm already so weary I'm ready to quit. It's like Crichton is trying to write an actual story with this one, whereas his usual thing is to have simple characters with a straightforward plot to showcase the science behind the scenario. Lost World doesn't seem to have much in the way of scientific theory this time. The closest it gets is to extinction as it relates to chaos theory and some hints about environmentalism maybe. It's exactly nothing like the movie and the movie is a steaming pile. AFAIK Crichton never wrote another sequel in his life, so it's a little telling that The Lost World was little more than an excuse to base a terrible sequel to a blockbuster movie off of. I'll keep with it and see how it goes, but I've darn near had enough already.
 

Castle

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Now I'm working through Clive Cussler's Corsair

After a slow start it's picked up, but only after the big bad did something nasty and now I just want to read about all the terrible ways they pay for it. I know. I'm vindictive like that. This is my first Cussler book actually. I've been meaning to check out his work for a while now. He's sorta like Tom Clancy but with a focus on adventure and without all the political intrigue. Cussler also focuses a lot on vehicles in his work. Any conceivable vehicle ever. From sports cars and formula one racers, to viking long ships and all manner of air, land, and water going craft modern and historical. The military escapades are often backed up by some ancient legend about lost treasure or some such. The bad guys in Corsair are suitably nasty, which is to be expected of jihadists, and the action can be awfully brutal. I usually detest depictions of physical action in books because it can be so difficult for the author to convey an exact image of the situation, but Cussler is pretty good at it. It's the best action I've ever read in a book, probably. The characters are all pretty dull though, which is a shame because a high stakes action thriller really needs you to care about the characters. The story premise is far out in the way it blends ancient history with modern military stuff, but it's believable. It doesn't even go into Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider magic shenanigans so it remains pretty grounded while still being exceptional and exciting.

If you're a fan of military action with the occasional spy stuff (I understand his other books deal in espionage) and especially if you've got a thing for cars, boats, or military craft, Cussler's a good read.
 

InsomniacAttack

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Haven't posted in this thread in a while, so here's the books I've read recently:

The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Great read; heart-pounding depiction of the personal side of war and the effects it can have on a person's psyche. It's on the short side, so it's a perfect read-a-few-pages-before-bed book. The language was a bit dated at points, but was never impossible to understand. 8/10.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The definition of a page-turner. I read Blink over the summer and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I borrowed my dad's copy of Outliers, and was captivated by Gladwell's unique writing style once again. The stories in this book are fascinating and Gladwell makes a compelling argument for the secrets to being successful using a collection of such stories. I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially those who don't enjoy reading as much as they used to (Gladwell reintroduced me to reading for fun). 9.5/10.

Currently reading Wild Animus by Rich Shapero
I picked this book up while walking home from class a couple weeks ago partially because it was free, and also because it was advertised as a "psychedelic adventure novel". I'm about a third of the way through it, and it is an interesting read thus far. I'll update this post once I've finished it.
 

YIGAhim

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The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
Great read; heart-pounding depiction of the personal side of war and the effects it can have on a person's psyche. It's on the short side, so it's a perfect read-a-few-pages-before-bed book. The language was a bit dated at points, but was never impossible to understand. 8/10.
Did not get very far into that before I lost interest. Glad you liked it
 

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