What'cha Reading?

[Jaguar]

The Verdicts on Elizabeth Holmes, by Juries R. Us

 

[SgtP3pper]

Going to start the Harry Potter series again from book 1.

 

[SD45T-2]

Four Hours of Fury

https://www.amazon.com/Four-Hours-Fury-Airborne-Operation/dp/1501179373

 

[Indigo Rodent]

Currently reading:
To Fight or Not to Fight? Organizational and Doctrinal Trends in Mounted Maneuver Reconnaissance from the Interwar Years to Operation IRAQI FREEDOM - Robert S. Cameron, Ph.D.
Started reading it in mid-2021 and slowly reading bit by bit. I'm 87% finished.

Numbers, Predictions, and War: Using History to Evaluate Combat Factors and Predict the Outcome of Battles by Trevor N. Dupuy. Bought it in 2013 and have never read most it. Bought it to see if I can finish it this time.

A catalogue or Rembrandt's prints.

Recently finished reading:

The Silence of the Girls - Pat Barker.

 

[Indigo Rodent]

I started reading:
Lessons Learned From the Use of the Machine Gun During the Russo-Japanese War and the Application of Those Lessons by the Protagonists of World War I by LCDR Daniel J. Kenda.
Looks like a short light read.

 

[Burning Paradigm]

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. More of an emotional roller-coaster so far than I expected.

I finished Perdido Street Station by China Mieville recently. Damn good fantasy/sci-fi blend. I like his idea of a fantasy genre separate from the heavy influence of Tolkien (nothing against Tolkien, but a bit of diversity is nice).

Also, A History of God by Karen Armstrong and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius were some of my recent non-fiction reads.

 

[AlanWeb]

Right now I'm reading a lot of literature about programming. It's very interesting, and I think I need to study programming and work in this field. The most amazing thing I learned is about universal IP. I used to see in books and on forums the number 192.168.1.1, and it turns out that this is the address

 

[SD45T-2]

The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey: Whittle, Richard: 9781416562955: Amazon.com: Books

The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey [Whittle, Richard] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Dream Machine: The Untold History of the Notorious V-22 Osprey

www.amazon.com

 

[Lexicon]

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of The Three, by Stephen King.

Constant Reader/lifelong fan that I am, I’ve never read this series, despite owning it for decades. Always something disrupting my reading/commitment, and I’d always found it markedly difficult to get into the first installment, The Gunslinger.

I got through that one via audiobook recently, & wish I’d done it sooner. It picked up toward the end. I’m on the second now; also an audiobook. As I’ve said before, I prefer my actual books, but with less downtime right now, I’m happy to get the ball rolling this way, too.

 

[The Cat]

Mostly the writing on the wall...

Apparently we've been weighed, measured, and found wanting...​

Kind of a bummer.​

 

[Red Herring]

I am currently trying to get back into the habit and have four started books at my bedside:

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Enlightenment Now! by Steven Pinker
The Jacob Books by Olga Tokarczuk
The Snake in Wolf's Fur - The Secret of Great Literature by Michael Maar

 

[Lexicon]

The Dark Tower: The Drawing of The Three, by Stephen King.

Constant Reader/lifelong fan that I am, I’ve never read this series, despite owning it for decades. Always something disrupting my reading/commitment, and I’d always found it markedly difficult to get into the first installment, The Gunslinger.

I got through that one via audiobook recently, & wish I’d done it sooner. It picked up toward the end. I’m on the second now; also an audiobook. As I’ve said before, I prefer my actual books, but with less downtime right now, I’m happy to get the ball rolling this way, too.

Burning through The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands (3rd book), now. Actual book, except I switch to the audiobook when running errands/listening while I drive.

 

[Lexicon]

Burning through The Dark Tower: The Waste Lands (3rd book), now. Actual book, except I switch to the audiobook when running errands/listening while I drive.

Just finished The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. Brutal stuff. Same process as the others, switching between the physical books & audiobook.

I just attempted to start the audiobook for The Dark Tower V: Wolves of The Calla.
It’s so bad. Not the story, but the new actor doing the audiobook.

Apparently Frank Muller (original actor who’d done the 4 preceding novels) died before the series finished. What a loss for the world of audiobooks. Never heard a more engaging voice actor for an audiobook. Stephen King dedicated the 5th installment to him.

This new guy.. I don’t know his name. Or, I heard it, but forgot.
Fuck. He is awful. Limited inflection changes or dialect or tone shifts when reading for characters. And the spit. I can hear the spit gathering in his mouth when he speaks. It seriously gets gross after awhile. Apparently he’s done over a thousand audiobooks. Those poor sight-impaired people with no other options. I hate spitty speakers. I bet the mic was soaked after each recording session.

Just ugh. Maybe it’ll be tolerable in the car with the sound of the motor kind of blurring the spit. If not, it’s back to the hardcover completely for me.

 

[SD45T-2]

Thud Ridge: https://www.amazon.com/Thud-Ridge-Thunderchief-Missions-Vietnam/dp/0859791165

Broughton has a terrifically vivid (and sarcastic) writing style and some chapters are incredibly stressful and aggravating to read. The whole book reflects his anger and frustration with the convoluted campaigns and incoherent rules they were tasked with. It's also something of a love letter to the planes he got to fly in the course of his career, from the P-47 to the F-106.

 

[The Cat]

Count down on...

 

[Totenkindly]

This guy?

George Guidall is widely recognized as the world's most acclaimed and prolific audiobook narrator. Awards: Audie Award for Best Male Narrator, Audie Award for Short Stories/Collections, Obie Award for Performance.

I hated Wolves of the Calla as a book so much it almost stopped me from finishing The Dark Tower series, and it took me nine months to power through the book. I can't imagine listening to an audio book of it. As weird trivia, the serial killer Ed Kemper has recorded over 5000 hours of audio books for the blind.

I don't really use audiobooks. I might have looked into it if I were still driving long distances to work, but I'd rather just read them myself if I'm just sitting around.

I'm still pushing through Donaldson's "Fatal Revenant." After not reading much for years, reading 100 pages a day of tight print is a bit of a return to form. I'm glad the book got better after an initial eh start.

 

[Lexicon]

This guy?

Yeah! That’s the guy! He’s not terrible, but he’s no Frank Muller. And I guess other people have a higher tolerance for spitty sounding speech, haha.

To be fair, I was really bummed that Muller couldn’t finish the series, and I probably would’ve hated anyone, moving on. Or maybe I’m just telling myself that, to force myself to get used to the wet speech...

I hated Wolves of the Calla as a book so much it almost stopped me from finishing The Dark Tower series, and it took me nine months to power through the book. I can't imagine listening to an audio book of it.

I’m still trudging through this one!
I own the actual book version, but I’ve been so busy, that switching between audio & print has been working better for me. Especially with this one that’s been a bit slow-going. I feel like I’m getting through it a little faster, at least.

As weird trivia, the serial killer Ed Kemper has recorded over 5000 hours of audio books for the blind.

I’d heard before that he’d done a ton of audiobooks for the blind, but I hadn’t ever heard any actual excerpts until now. Jeez, of all the possible book samples, they do Flowers in The Attic?!

I don't really use audiobooks. I might have looked into it if I were still driving long distances to work, but I'd rather just read them myself if I'm just sitting around.

They’re great for road trips (World War Z was particularly fun on a road trip), or general long commutes, but yeah, I’m with you. I prefer reading, it’s more immersive. My mind tends to activate a dreamy film reel when I read; I don’t quite get the same depth from listening. Someone’s imagining the tones and texture for me, to an extent.

And it needs to be a physical book, not an e-reader, but that’s just me. Something more satisfying about the weight of it, the ink on rough paper, the pleasure of turning the pages. Crisp and new, or dog-eared and loved. E-books can’t replicate that.

That said, I have a hip surgery next month— so I plan to bring whatever book of The Dark Tower I’m on as an audiobook for the hospital stay, rather than a regular book. Less to carry, since the tablet’s a multitasker.
...maybe a re-reading of Misery would be more on-theme, what with the hobbling, and all.

I'm still pushing through Donaldson's "Fatal Revenant." After not reading much for years, reading 100 pages a day of tight print is a bit of a return to form. I'm glad the book got better after an initial eh start.

After not reading consistently for years, I had to jump in with really short stories first, before catching my stride, but it’s still slower than before. I wouldn’t have been able to start with dense fantasy right away and stick with it. It’s like my imagination and attention span have atrophied, ha. 100 pages a day is impressive.

Man... I used to tear through novels in a day or two as a kid. There just isn’t time or headspace enough for that, now.

 

[SD45T-2]

Raven Rock: The Story of the U.S. Government's Secret Plan to Save Itself - While the Rest of Us Die by Garrett Graff: https://www.amazon.com/Raven-Rock-Governments-Secret-Itself-While/dp/1476735409

Apparently it's often bought together with Command and Control by Eric Schlosser, which I've already read. It's fascinating stuff (at least to me) and has the side effect making me want to listen to a bunch of Megadeth.

 

[Aquarelle]

 

[Aquarelle]

And