What are you reading?

[Dukat]

I'm currently reading Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath.

It's about how the human mind reacts to change and why we as people can be stubborn and stick to old bad habits, even when you want to change. It's pretty darn interesting so far.

Now I feel all lazy. I've been reading fiction all spring, but that does sound interesting.

[ShadeTail]

Since we're getting into sorta-self-help books ( ), I'd recommend 'Bullies, Tyrants & Impossible People' by Shapiro and Jankowski. I'm not reading it at the moment, but it is very good for advice on dealing with people you have to work with.

[Codefox]

If we want some self help books, I would highly recommend several books by Micheal Pollan:

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual

A great set of books that talk about the state of food culture in this country and how you can adjust your life to eat healthy and still enjoy your food. Food Rules is the condensed version. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a really interesting read. I really liked that at no point during the books did I feel like Pollan is trying to force you to change. Its more of a "this is the way it is...if you're happy with it then continue on, but if you're not, here's how you can change." For a purely informative and interesting read, Ominivore's Dilemma is the best one.

[tinyapple]

Ever since, we've been wrapped up in Arkham Horror, Blood of Dracula, Chez Cthulhu, or various permutations of Munchkin. We'll try it again one of these days.

Munchkin is all sorts of fun.

[Dukat]

Munchkin is all sorts of fun.

What's your favorite expansion? I really like Munchkin Bites and Munchkin Fu.

[tinyapple]

Munchkin is all sorts of fun.

What's your favorite expansion? I really like Munchkin Bites and Munchkin Fu.

I haven't played that many expansions, just bought the add on cards for original Munchkin a lot, but I did play Munchkin Fu and the Western one (I can't remember the name). I don't know if I really have a favorite though, since I've enjoyed the little references in each one. And I liked seeing the ones Randy of S*P drew and showing my friends the comic that it was based on.

[Codefox]

I finished my re-read of "A Clash of Kings" last night and it was certainly a good thing I re-read it. There was so many times I read something and was like "huh, don't remember that." Some of them were glaringly obvious and others were more subtle descriptions that my mind didn't register in the daze-like state that I read the book in the first time.

I was going to read "The Girl Who Played With Fire" next but I'm really just digging the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series so much that I went ahead and started "A Clash of Crows" immediately after I finished "A Clash of Kings" last night.

[Codefox]

Well I've finished all of the Song of Ice and Fire books for now and I'm actually reading two! I'm reading a collection of HP Lovecraft stories that I haven't read before and I'm also running a book club reading of Peter Hamilton's "Pandora's Star" which is part 1 of 2 of a really great sci fi series. I've read it before so I can say, if you like sci fi, you should read it.

[kmyny]

When this summer A class is done I'll have sweet, sweet time to read something other than my textbook. @_@

EDIT~This class has just been kicked in the face by yours truly. Huzzah! Now to read Arthas by Christie Golden.

[Dukat]

I did a re-read of all my Lovecraft anthologies last year. It was a very different experience from reading them in my early teens. I still enjoyed them but in a completely different way. The creepy factor was way down, but seeing what a huge influence he had on modern science fiction was glaringly obvious.

A couple of weeks ago, I filled in a couple of gaps in what's usually required high school and college reading, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge and Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence. I've always been a sucker for Hardy's fatalism, and it was really easy to see how Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel in 1921. If you're at all interested in the Victorian Era, it's well worth a read. Those two even made an interesting pair, since Hardy's novel was set approximately 20 years before Wharton's, and you could easily see the transition of one era to another contrasted in the two, the move from a mostly agrarian society to the mechanized world of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

I just finished Andrew Offutt's The Shadow of Sorcery, a book I scored in a used bookstore while visiting the French Quarter last month. It featured his character from the Thieves' World Anthology, Shadowspawn, and was a nice light read, always a lot of humor in Offutt's work. If you like fantasy that's grittier and grungier than Tolkein and elves, dwarves, and the like, you'd probably really enjoy Thieves' World. There were twelve original ones, all of them short story anthologies, and I think there have been two or three in a relaunch done back in the early half of this decade. They can be a little hard to locate. I've never had trouble finding at least two or three in any number of used bookstores when I've looked out of curiosity. It was a good concept. Take a lot of the top names in fantasy and sci-fi in the 1970's and '80's, pull them together with a few talented newcomers, give them a collective world in which to play, and stand back and watch the proverbial fur fly. Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey, CJ Cherryh, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andrew Offutt, and Poul Anderson were just a few of the authors who participated in the experiment.

[skelepunk]

I did a re-read of all my Lovecraft anthologies last year. It was a very different experience from reading them in my early teens. I still enjoyed them but in a completely different way. The creepy factor was way down, but seeing what a huge influence he had on modern science fiction was glaringly obvious.

A couple of weeks ago, I filled in a couple of gaps in what's usually required high school and college reading, Thomas Hardy's The Mayor of Casterbridge and Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence. I've always been a sucker for Hardy's fatalism, and it was really easy to see how Wharton won the Pulitzer Prize for her novel in 1921. If you're at all interested in the Victorian Era, it's well worth a read. Those two even made an interesting pair, since Hardy's novel was set approximately 20 years before Wharton's, and you could easily see the transition of one era to another contrasted in the two, the move from a mostly agrarian society to the mechanized world of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

I just finished Andrew Offutt's The Shadow of Sorcery, a book I scored in a used bookstore while visiting the French Quarter last month. It featured his character from the Thieves' World Anthology, Shadowspawn, and was a nice light read, always a lot of humor in Offutt's work. If you like fantasy that's grittier and grungier than Tolkein and elves, dwarves, and the like, you'd probably really enjoy Thieves' World. There were twelve original ones, all of them short story anthologies, and I think there have been two or three in a relaunch done back in the early half of this decade. They can be a little hard to locate. I've never had trouble finding at least two or three in any number of used bookstores when I've looked out of curiosity. It was a good concept. Take a lot of the top names in fantasy and sci-fi in the 1970's and '80's, pull them together with a few talented newcomers, give them a collective world in which to play, and stand back and watch the proverbial fur fly. Robert Asprin, Lynn Abbey, CJ Cherryh, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andrew Offutt, and Poul Anderson were just a few of the authors who participated in the experiment.

Thank you. I read the Thieves' World anthology a few years ago, loved it, then lost my copy. I've been trying to remember the name of the damn thing ever since.

[Dukat]

Thank you. I read the Thieves' World anthology a few years ago, loved it, then lost my copy. I've been trying to remember the name of the damn thing ever since.

You're welcome. This link gives a general overview and the names of the twelve books that comprised the original series in case you're looking for a specific one of them.

[Codefox]

I'm also reading through the anthology of Sherlock Holmes, btw. I figure a couple books of short stories at the same time is a good idea depending on my mood and the time of day Funny thing...I think the only Holmes I ever read was "Hounds of Baskerville" and "Speckled Band". Not sure how I missed it but I've read quite a bit of them now and I love them. The movie was what got me to finally pick up the anthology. I knew I'd like it though. I've always loved "House" and Dr. House is heavily influenced by Sherlock Holmes.

[g33x0R]

William Gibson, `Spook Country'.

Re-reading actually, but it's that good. It's a semi-sort-of sequel to `Pattern Recognition' so you might want to read that first. Both, but especially the second one, pick up on the world-wide weirdness since 9/11 beautifully.

From the blurbs on the inside cover;
`[A] dazed, mournful quality... [An] evocation of post-9/11 displacement, the sense of a world in which nothing seems fixed or reassuring... one of our vital novelists.' -- Newsday
`Although wearing the trappings of a thriller, Spook Country is essentially a comedy, albeit a dry, dark, and disturbing one... Gibson's new novel is both cool and scary.' -- San Fransisco Chronicle

I especially like his explanation for dropping SF for the time being; said he couldn't imagine anything weirder than what's actually been going on in the world, and switched from making stuff up to pure research... at least for now. I'm hoping for more SF, but would probably read anything from him.

I probably picked this one off the shelf due to some recent experiences cleaning a couple of banks. No hassles really, but when the armoured-car people have come by to do things with the ATM, I couldn't help noticing the bullet-proof vests or the extreme caution with which they do *everything*. Nothing specific, just an overall feeling.

Of course, if I had to carry that kind of cash around, I'd be pretty paranoid too.



Cheers,

Patrick.

[Tarvok]

Currently reading Human Action, by Ludwig von Mises.