š Finished the āDemon Copperheadā audiobook by Barbara Kingsolver. Book and narration are both excellent. Iāll have to read āDavid Copperfieldā in the future to compare.
Read moreš Next dead tree book is āAllow Me To Retortā by Elie Mystal. I like to mix up my fiction and non-fiction. This one is a collection of very opinionated essays. It might be a challenge.
Read moreš Finished āFuture Home of the Living Godā by Louise Erdrich. It is set in Minnesota so Iām familiar with many of the places. Excellently written, but as with most dystopian fiction it leaves much unresolved at the end.
Read moreš About ready to start reading āThe Future Home of the Living Godā by Louise Erdrich. I have a couple of her other books that I havenāt started yet. This one is from the public library. Iām at the point where I donate books to the library when Iām done with them.
Read moreš Current audiobook: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. About 2/3 of the way through. Thereās always a train wreck around the corner at this point.
Read moreCurrently reading: The World by Simon Sebag Montefiore š. Borrowed this from our local library. At over 1000 pages Iām only going to hit highlights this time around. Lots of interesting stories here. Will likely borrow again.
Read moreCurrently reading: The Man from the Future by Ananyo Bhattacharya š. This is an audiobook. I listen to this while doing dishes or some other chore that doesnāt take a lot of mental energy. Decent narration for the topic. I wonder what he would have accomplished if he had not died at 53.
Read moreCurrently reading: Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen š. Just started. I pick up a book of his about every 6 months or so. Random note: this one has typewriters.
Read moreHow did I not find out about Standard ebooks until a week ago? Iāll be reading forever.
Read morešIām about 2/3 of the way through the audiobook āFaraday, Maxwell, and the Electromagnetic Fieldā by Nancy Forbes, narrated by Patrick Lawlor. I thought it was going to be a bit of a slog, but it has turned out to be quite entertaining.
Read moreStarting to record books with Epilogue. Catching up with 2022. Queuing 2023.
Read morešJust finished the audiobook āTroyā written and narrated by Stephen Fry. Loved the narration in this one.
Read moreFinished āSimply Gƶdelā. Brought back memories of studying computability theory in grad school. I might dig out the old books.
Read moreStarting Simply Gƶdel by Richard Tieszen. Itāll be interesting to see how it works as an audiobook. š
Read moreFinished Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. I had never read it before. Though dated Iām not sure itās possible to overstate its importance. š
Read moreš Todayās reading: One chapter of Le Guinās interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, the latest Science News, skimming IBM i Security: Administration and Compliance, an article from the Tampa Bay Times on the death trends for pedestrians on Pinellas county roads.
Read moreFinished reading: Naturalist: A Graphic Adaptation by Edward O. Wilson š
Read moreCurrently reading: From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History by Kenneth J. Hammond š
Read moreCurrently reading: Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way by Ursula K. Le Guin š
Read moreFinished reading: It Canāt Happen Here (Signet Classics) by Sinclair Lewis š
Read moreFinished reading: The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by Cheri Baker š
Read moreFinished reading: The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by Cheri Baker š
Read moreFinished reading: EndTimes by Bryan Walsh š The subject matter is grim, especially on the existential threats we create for ourselves. The book was released in 2019, and accurately predicted the way the science-denying Trump administration would āhandleā a pandemic. Fortunately, while SARS-COV-2 was serious, it wasnāt the big one. Other anthropogenic topics covered are the AI apocalypse, nuclear annihilation, climate change, bioterrorism. Add to that the natural existential threats of supervolcanoes and asteroid impacts and you have a book that makes for some interesting reading.
Read moreFinished reading: Figuring by Maria Popova š The funny thing about all of Popovaās writings such as BrainPickings is that you want to take notes. Lots of notes. She works from a wealth of sources, although she obviously has favorites, and you want to see just how all this stuff is connected. This holds true for this book as well. I didnāt avoid that temptation at first, and it made the book slow-going.
Read moreš Itās not all work and no play. Iām also reading The Case of the Lady in the Luggage by @cheri.
Read moreTECH RESOURCES
I like having tech books around as reference and for ideas (Ruby, Python, Linux, security, style, ā¦). I tried various books apps to use them: bad idea ā no way to leaf through them easily on ereaders, although desktop isnāt too bad. I tried hardcopy which is better but bulky. The real problem is obsolescence. Both of the forms are subject to that. I was a big user of Lynda, but video is just too damn slow to pick up on essentials, and it is also horrible for browsing, and itās gone into the trashcan since LinkedIn bought it.
Read moreš Iām reading Popovaās āFiguringā. I do not understand Emily Dickinson. Perhaps with time?
Read moreJust finished the audiobook āThe Wave in the Mindā by Ursula K. LeGuin, an excellent set of essays on the crafts of writing and reading. The narration by Christina Moore was flawless. Iām keeping a print copy around to mark up. š
Read moreJust finished the audiobook of āA Dance with Dragons.ā Looks like Iāll have to wait quite a while (like years) for books 6 and 7 of āA Song of Ice and Fireā. Hope I make it. šš
Read moreThe only books Iāve read more times than Dune are LOTR and Stranger in a Strange Land.
Read moreAlso waddling my way through this. Love the narration. š
Read moreQueued
Read moreListening to Stephen Fry read Mythos. Very entertaining. š
Read moreš So Far, So Good Ursula K. LeGuinās final book of poems. Each one a gem. #mbmay
Read morešIf you havenāt read Aldo Leopoldās A Sand County Almanac. Read it. Read it now. #mbmay
Read moreWhy, sometimes Iāve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. The White Queen š¬
Read moreRead the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them at all. Henry David Thoreau š¬
Read morešAlso finished Atwoodās The Handmaidās Tale. I should have read this years ago.
Read morešFinished the audiobook of The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. Loved the narration by Bill Homewood. It was a bit commitment since the book runs about 55 hours. I was expecting a bit of a swashbuckler, but instead found a morality tale of the dangers of omnipotence without omniscience.
Read moreLOCAL BOOKSTORES - FAIR TRADE BOOKS IN RED WING, MN
I admit that Iāve been getting most of my books from Amazon or from our library as ebooks. They are convenient for reading in bed or while traveling, but those are the only advantages. There is nothing to mark up and, worse, there is nothing to share. I had a short list of books I wanted to buy that friends had recommended and decided to stick with paper this time. I could get that from Amazon as well, but there are still a few independent bookstores left in the area, including one in Rochester.
Read moreMy dear friend, Craig, wrote this plant book. Itās getting quite a good reception. Craig teaches at University of South Florida and St. Petersburg College. You can follow his tales of Florida gardening on his blog: There Were No Fences. #mbfeb
Read moreCatching up on the āclassicsā. Took a break from The Handmaidās Tale to read On The Road. I liked Kerouacās style, so it wasnāt a slog. Interesting in its time I suppose. š
Read moreIn progress are āThe Handmaidās Taleā (Kindle), a graphic novel that purports to be a sequel to āTreasure Islandā (Libby on iPad), a very entertaining audiobook version of āThe Count of Monte Cristoā (iPhone), and several print books in various stages of consumption. š
Read moreNow starting āOn The Roadā. Donāt know how long Iāll last through Kerouac, but I found the first few pages to be pleasantly and surprisingly interesting. š
Read moreBTW. I just discovered the Libby app for obtaining books from our public library. Easy to use for a 14 day loan and a really decent eReader to boot. š
Read moreFirst book of the year finished. Nancy McLeanās āDemocracy in Chains.ā Recommended for US readers. š
Read moreš Books in progress Frankenstein, Mary Shelley (ebook) The Poetās Corner, compiled by John Lithgow (audiobook) The Cruel Ever After, Ellen Hart (paper) So Far So Good, Ursula K. LeGuin (paper) You Come Too, Robert Frost (paper) Figuring, Maria Popova (paper)
Read morešFinished the Audible āBen Franklinā. Narration was good. The book seemed quite thorough and well organized. Ben is a complex character, not always consistent in matching word with deed. Sounds pretty human to me.
Read morešStarting āThe Cruel Ever Afterā by Ellen Hart. Physical paper.
Read moreš Finished āReckless Daughterā. I enjoyed the book, but it kind of leaves you hanging about Joni Mitchell since it ends in 2017 with her recovering from her aneurysm. However, I saw a photo of her out and about fairly recently so I assume her recovery is progressing. One tidbit: I didnāt realize that Prince was a huge fan of Joniās.
Read moreCurrent Audible Book: āBenjamin Franklin: An American Lifeā. š
Read moreCurrently reading āReckless Daughter: A Portrait Of Joni Mitchellā.š
Read moreI am thoroughly enjoying Le Guinās So Far So Good. Iām dipping into it, reading a poem every couple of days. Iām normally not a poetry reader and I am selecting poems at random. There do appear to be two sections of poems that are meant to be read in order: So Far and The Night Journey; I havenāt touched those yet. š
Read moreJust about to dip into Ursula K. LeGuinās So Far So Good. Iām wondering if writing poetry is a craft you can learn or if it is a talent you nurture mostly on your own. Enlighten me, you poets out there. š
Read morešNext up on my reading list: Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography, when I can locate it.
Read moreš I loved Treasure Island as a kid. Still do. I keep wanting to recommend it to my grandson, but heās still grappling with the concept of reading for fun. I realize my sample size is quite small. Is the current crop of middle schoolers indifferent to books?
Read morešI usually try to keep two books going. One from Audible and one on the Kindle. Currently listening to Ellis Peterās The Pilgrim of Hate and reading Mary Shelleyās Frankenstein.
Read morešFinished the Audible version of The Three Musketeers a while back. Impressive narration by John Lee and a great story to boot.
Read morešFinished N. K. Jemisinās The Obelisk Gate, and so on to another book. Iāll read The Stone Sky in a bit, but Iām going to tackle Bruce Cattonās Terrible Swift Sword first. Itās the second volume in his Centennial History of the Civil War. I read this quite some time ago, but memory fades.
Read morešPicked up The Obelisk Gate again after having set it aside for nearly a year. I was getting too deeply invested in the characters, so I left it for a time. Now Iām back to enjoying it. Anyone else left a book you liked for a while and then come back to it? Why?
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