What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

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chaz
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

protagonist wrote:
LadyGeek wrote:^^^ Thanks!! :beer As soon as you mentioned Cyberpunk, I instantly thought of Snow Crash and several William Gibson novels (I have a few...). Then, I read your 2nd paragraph. :D

OK, it's on my list (right after I finish the Hellhole trilogy), but I've got to do these series in order. I'll start with Emerald Eyes. From Wikipedia: Daniel Keys Moran

Tip: Scroll down to the book list. The blue links marked ISBN are special keywords for the Wikipedia software. Those links will take you to a list of book sellers.

We use the same software as Wikipedia and do the same thing in the wiki here (several wiki articles have ISBN links): Book sources - just enter the ISBN number and hit Go.

Here's the one for Emerald Eyes: Book sources - Bogleheads
Wiki wrote: * AbeBooks
* AddAll
* Amazon.com (Using this link will result in a small referral fee for us. It does not cost you anything extra.)
* Barnes & Noble
* Book Depository
If you have a Nook, checkout the Barnes & Noble link. (They don't carry this one.)

Canadian residents should use the book source references from our sister Canadian site's wiki, finiki: Book sources - finiki, the Canadian financial Wiki
Emerald Eyes is the first of the Continuing Time series (sort of), and very interesting, very worth reading, but (IMHO) not nearly as good as The Long Run (which is why I suggested TLR first to get you hooked). I read The Long Run before Emerald Eyes (it took me nearly five more years to find Emerald Eyes, as this was all pre-ebay-amazon era!) and I didn't feel at a terrible loss reading them in that order. as there is much in The Long Run that recaps the events of Emerald Eyes without ruining it. But if you are a purist, and committed, yes, by all means start with Emerald Eyes. If you are buying it as an e-book, please buy directly from the author via his website. Friends don't let Friends shop at Amazon. I haven't read these books in over 20 years, but I imagine they probably would withstand the test of time (esp. based on recent reviews).

I just bought his latest in the series (the fourth), which he wrote after nearly a 20-year writing hiatus. I'll let you know what I think.
Coming soon:
http://boingboing.net/2013/09/09/anthol ... -scie.html
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by davebo »

Why Kids Succeed....kinda common sense, but interesting at the same time.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

Just finished re-reading Wolfbane, by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth. A 1959 paperback with brown, brittle pages. I think it might be possible to get one more reading out of it, it has not reached the stage where each page detaches when you turn it, but close. (I'm relieved to see a Kindle edition IS available). This is not great literature, but it is good science-fiction and reminds me again of why I loved SF back then and why I don't like it so much any more. What wonderful narrative drive, what wonderful storytelling, and what good writing in the sense of what Jack London called "strength of utterance." Smart-alecky and funny... sort of like John D. MacDonald, it has a point of view but no great message. The story just sort of rambles--there's a coherent plot but not all that coherent. As I re-read it, I remember again that the ending is unsatisfying.

I also am aware of an luxuriant overabundance of concept--there's enough material for a dozen novels if they'd wanted to stretch it out.

The Snowflake is a set of eight humans floating a tank surrounded by artificial amniotic fluid with their minds connected, because--never mind. But I do wonder the authors of "The Matrix" might have read it.
The Snowflake decided: "I am unfulfilled. Sex does not matter, for immortality is possible to me. Love does not matter, for I have more than love. What matters is increasing my store of sense-data, and taking readings off scales.
Oh, the Good Guys win. And, typical of paperbacks of the era, the cover has no identifiable connection at all with the story
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protagonist
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

nisiprius wrote:J

The Snowflake is a set of eight humans floating a tank surrounded by artificial amniotic fluid with their minds connected, because--never mind. But I do wonder the authors of "The Matrix" might have read it.
That also reminds me of Philip K Dick's "Minority Report" (also a very good Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise movie). A problem I have with a lot of sci-fi is that the plots tend to be so derivative. Unique ones are usually pretty amazing. In general, I like the sci-fi movies better than a lot of the books. I'm not sure exactly why.
Last edited by protagonist on Tue Sep 10, 2013 9:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by gkaplan »

I am about sixty percent through Night at the Vulcan, the sixteenth of the Roderick Alleyn crime novels of Ngaio Marsh. Marsh comes from a theatrical background, and most of her Roderick Alleyn novels have a theatrical setting. This one is no different. Where it does differ is that it is mostly told from the perspective of Martyn Tarne, a nineteen year old would-be actress straight off the boat from New Zealand and penniless, or pence-less, if you will. She walks into a theater in the London west end and is hired as the dresser to the leading lady of a play about to open. From there the story takes off.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by randomwalk »

I recently finished Legacy of Ashes by Tim Weiner.

Now reading The Healing by Jonathan Odell.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

I was reading some real dreck (though highly recommended dreck) last night, wasting my time when I should have been sleeping.

Paolo Coelho. Gag me with a spoon.

I should read less and watch more television. It's efficient.

Reading is fun, but it is seriously over-rated, whereas television is seriously under-rated.

Especially now that you don't need cable, or even rabbit ears, and commercials are no longer an issue.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

protagonist wrote:I was reading some real dreck (though highly recommended dreck) last night, wasting my time when I should have been sleeping.

Paolo Coelho. Gag me with a spoon.

I should read less and watch more television. It's efficient.

Reading is fun, but it is seriously over-rated, whereas television is seriously under-rated.

Especially now that you don't need cable, or even rabbit ears, and commercials are no longer an issue.
You don't have to choose.

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Houston_investor »

I've got a few I'm going through:

"Security Analysis" by Graham/Dodd. Just 100 pages or so to go.

"Ancient Greece" by Thomas R. Martin

"Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith. This is a work in progress, only about 11% through on my Kindle. I read it in between the others.


And a petroleum geology textbook.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by SJG »

Just finished "This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral" by Mark Leibovich. An insider view of how Washington really works. Funny and discouraging at the same time. If you feel the need to be more cynical about national politics, this is the book for you.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

VictoriaF wrote:
protagonist wrote:I was reading some real dreck (though highly recommended dreck) last night, wasting my time when I should have been sleeping.

Paolo Coelho. Gag me with a spoon.

I should read less and watch more television. It's efficient.

Reading is fun, but it is seriously over-rated, whereas television is seriously under-rated.

Especially now that you don't need cable, or even rabbit ears, and commercials are no longer an issue.
You don't have to choose.


Victoria
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"Paper Doll" by Robert Parker.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

Just finished The Hucksters, by Frederic Wakeman, a 1946 novel about an "ad-man." I found it extremely evocative of an era not too removed from the time and place where I grew up. I forget what directed me to it. Interestingly, the phrase "Madison Avenue" is not mentioned, although in the late 1950s it was to become emblematic of the trade. It was a little scandalous at the time because although it is not the slightest bit erotic, it had a degree of frankness about casual sex and extramarital relations that was less between-the-lines than others; from what I've read online, it had to be considerably changed to be made into a movie.

Some things that caught me eye:

a) The frequent mention of "ulcers." I'd forgotten about ulcers as the modish medical malady of the era. Getting them was a mark of prestige because it was believed that they were common in executives and caused by the stress of decision-making, whereas the happy worker-bees didn't get them due to their carefree existence with all decisions comfortably being made by their superiors.

b) The way in which socially powerful institutions and geographic centers associated with power change over time. "His suite faced south, and far downtown he could see the towers of Wall Street. Ever since 1929 he had always thought they looked like a graveyard..." Indeed. In 1946, the great recovery of the stock market had just barely begun.

The novel implies that the poles of power are in New York and in Hollywood. "Radio," which is a very very very big deal, is controlled from New York but produced in Hollywood. The status mode of transportation is "the Century" (Twentieth Century Limited from New York to Chicago) and either the "Chief" or the "Super Chief," with a good deal of writing about the social subtleties and distinctions between them.

The ephemerality of things that seem permanent. "One thing about the Chief, east or westbound is that it never changes. That's what a man likes about this extra-fare, extra-exclusive, super-deluxe commuter special that makes Toots Shor's handy to Romanoff's, that connects Sunset Boulevard to Wall Street. The Chief never changes."

c) The popular interest in psychoanalysis; the protagonist's boss is an early adopter. (Charles M. Schulz's lampooning of it, which Lucy and her "Psychiatric Advice $0.05, The Doctor Is [In]" was very much of the fifties).

d) The income tax. "The Old Man was sure to say that the only program with Figaro as Income Taxitis--that he wanted a vacation simply because he was in the ninety percent tax bracket and couldn't make any more money." Don't forget that ninety-per-cent bracket the next time someone complains about income taxes.

e) The way in which the "teletype" was used, EXACTLY like email--if you were an ad agency executive commuting between New York and Hollywood.

f) A curious reference to something called "cumulative stock." And taxes, again: "He explained about stock. How you could declare capital gains on stock held over six months, and only pay a twenty-five percent tax on it. Also you could let cumulative stock, such as K and M stock, just sit and increase in face value until one day you woke up with a fortune on your hands."

g) "So, when the market crashed the second time in 1933, it was only natural that the boys from Beautee would come to good old Harry to borrow cash..." I was very interested in this because I'm interested in what I call the "second crash of 1937," but don't know whether he was mistaken about the year or whether 1933 was perceived as a "crash" at the time, too.
Last edited by nisiprius on Sat Sep 14, 2013 4:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by gkaplan »

I'm about two thirds of the way through Archive 17 by Sam Eastland. This is the third in the Inspector Pekkala series. Pekkala was first a special investigator for Czar Nicholas and then his personal investigator. After the Bolsheviks murdered Nicholas and his family, they exiled Pekkala to a remote part of Siberia to work as a tree marker. For nine years, Pekkala was virtually unseen by anyone. Then Stalin "rescued" him to work for him as his personal investigator.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

"How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business" by Douglas W. Hubbard.

I am annoyed that he dumbs down statistics and replaces them with look-up tables and graphs. Hubbard knows his material, but his intended audience is management types with a knee-jerk trepidation of mathematics. Nevertheless, the book is useful for learning new ways of understanding and approaching measurements and for conveying information to people fearful of statistics.

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by HomerJ »

Steinbeck's East Of Eden.

Re-reading it now. Forgot how good it is.

The 11-year old who manipulates people by day but prays to God at night, "Please let me good. I don't want to be mean." sums up a lot of mankind.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

"The Woods" by Harlan Coben.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

Pound Foolish, by Helaine Olen.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by MP173 »

I am still working thru "The Fifties" by Halberstram and am really enjoying it. Each chapter is a look at a specific political, social, or cultural event with roots in the 1950's. The book is brilliantly written and a great review of the decade in which I was born, yet have very little knowledge about.

For instance, the author explores...Truman, McCarthyism, Eisenhower/(Nixon), Korean War, Cold War, Atomic Bomb, Hydrogen Bomb, Elvis, Brando, James Dean, Brown v Board of Education, Civil Rights, Emmit Till, The Great Migration North, Company Man, Viet Nam, CIA early successes, et al.

Whattabook! Still have 200 pages and 10 chapters next. Peeking ahead I see Rosa Parks leading off the next chapter.

Ed
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by stratton »

J. K. Rowling's Cuckoo's Calling. Pretty good.

Down and out ex-military policeman is a struggling private eye. Gets celebrity case that police have determined is a suicide.

I can say she couldn't have written this at the time of the first Harry Potter book. Her writing skills have grown immensely since then.

Paul
...and then Buffy staked Edward. The end.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Ged »

nisiprius wrote:Just finished re-reading Wolfbane, by Frederik Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth.
Fred Pohl passed away Sept 3. He was the last of the 'Golden Age' sci-fi authors left.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/books ... d=all&_r=0
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by gkaplan »

stratton wrote:J. K. Rowling's Cuckoo's Calling. Pretty good.

Down and out ex-military policeman is a struggling private eye. Gets celebrity case that police have determined is a suicide.

I can say she couldn't have written this at the time of the first Harry Potter book. Her writing skills have grown immensely since then.

Paul
Paul, I just requested this book from my library. I'm 72nd in the queue.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

stratton wrote:J. K. Rowling's Cuckoo's Calling. Pretty good.

Down and out ex-military policeman is a struggling private eye. Gets celebrity case that police have determined is a suicide.

I can say she couldn't have written this at the time of the first Harry Potter book. Her writing skills have grown immensely since then.

Paul
I enjoyed it.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

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chaz wrote:"Paper Doll" by Robert Parker.
I've read most of the Parker books, and enjoy them.

After Robert B. went to his reward, I picked up "Lullaby," the Spenser novel by Ace Atkins. I read the first quarter of it and put it down. The book wasn't bad, and it was close to Parker, but it wasn't ... Parker.

I think it's next to impossible for a writer to "get" another writer's style in its totality. A jillion years ago one of my favorite mystery writers observed:
... I did not invent the hardboiled mystery story and I have never made any secret of my opinion that Hammett deserves most or all of the credit. Everybody imitates in the beginning. What Stevenson called playing the "sedulous ape." I personally think that a deliberate attempt to lift a writer's personal tricks, his stock in trade, his mannerisms, his approach to his material, can be carried too far -- to the point where it is a kind of plagiarism, and a nasty kind because the law gives no protection.

Somebody who read [Roy] Huggins' book told me that it was full of scenes which were modeled in detail on scenes in my books, just moved over enough to get by. I didn't seem to notice it myself. ...

My ideas have been plagiarized in Hollywood and I have been accused of plagiarism myself. ...Unconscious plagiarism is widespread and inevitable. Throughout the play "The Iceman Cometh," Eugene O'Neill uses the expression "the big sleep" as a synonym for death. He is apparently under the impression that this is a current underworld or half-world usage, whereas it is a pure invention on my part. If I am remembered long enough, I shall probably be accused of stealing the phrase from O'Neill, since he is a big shot. ...

If I seem to write at too great a length about all this, it is because I am very interested in the subject. Yet curiously enough, when I had a radio program last year, and when the only thing I had to sell was a character [Philip Marlowe], it was found impossible to get a writer who could deliver that character or to write dialogue that sounded like him. As long as this is so, why should I worry? ...

Yours always,
Ray[mond Chandler]
Chandler, I think, is on to something. Atkins can almost write and deliver a Robert B. Parker novel. Almost.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

steve roy wrote:
chaz wrote:"Paper Doll" by Robert Parker.
I've read most of the Parker books, and enjoy them.

After Robert B. went to his reward, I picked up "Lullaby," the Spenser novel by Ace Atkins. I read the first quarter of it and put it down. The book wasn't bad, and it was close to Parker, but it wasn't ... Parker.

I think it's next to impossible for a writer to "get" another writer's style in its totality. A jillion years ago one of my favorite mystery writers observed:
... I did not invent the hardboiled mystery story and I have never made any secret of my opinion that Hammett deserves most or all of the credit. Everybody imitates in the beginning. What Stevenson called playing the "sedulous ape." I personally think that a deliberate attempt to lift a writer's personal tricks, his stock in trade, his mannerisms, his approach to his material, can be carried too far -- to the point where it is a kind of plagiarism, and a nasty kind because the law gives no protection.

Somebody who read [Roy] Huggins' book told me that it was full of scenes which were modeled in detail on scenes in my books, just moved over enough to get by. I didn't seem to notice it myself. ...

My ideas have been plagiarized in Hollywood and I have been accused of plagiarism myself. ...Unconscious plagiarism is widespread and inevitable. Throughout the play "The Iceman Cometh," Eugene O'Neill uses the expression "the big sleep" as a synonym for death. He is apparently under the impression that this is a current underworld or half-world usage, whereas it is a pure invention on my part. If I am remembered long enough, I shall probably be accused of stealing the phrase from O'Neill, since he is a big shot. ...

If I seem to write at too great a length about all this, it is because I am very interested in the subject. Yet curiously enough, when I had a radio program last year, and when the only thing I had to sell was a character [Philip Marlowe], it was found impossible to get a writer who could deliver that character or to write dialogue that sounded like him. As long as this is so, why should I worry? ...

Yours always,
Ray[mond Chandler]
Chandler, I think, is on to something. Atkins can almost write and deliver a Robert B. Parker novel. Almost.
I've enjoyed all the Spenser stories by Robert B. Parker.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

chaz wrote:I've enjoyed all the Spenser stories by Robert B. Parker.
I've enjoyed them all, but... you know how someone said "Sherlock Holmes may not have been killed when he went over the Reichenbach Falls, but he was never quite the same man after?" Well, the Spenser novels did descend into formula, and occasionally almost into self-parody, and if I had to draw a line I'd say it was when he stopped using titles that were obscure literary references and changed to snappy two- and one-word titles. I think the last literary-reference title was Pale Kings and Princes.

I just realized... Parker's detective is not-Edmund Spenser. Was Chandler's was not-Christopher Marlowe???

Did they write who-Donne-its?
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by steve roy »

Parker wrote a PhD dissertation on Chandler's work. Parker riffed on Chandler's not-Christopher. Down to the wise cracks.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by vesalius »

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

vesalius wrote: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
The book's on my library list so your comments are interesting to read.

Re Bogleheads, here's a somewhat related thread:
http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... =11&t=2234
Last edited by Fallible on Sun Sep 15, 2013 1:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Tycoon »

vesalius wrote: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
What a coincidence, I'm reading this very book right now.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by lightheir »

Tycoon wrote:
vesalius wrote: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
What a coincidence, I'm reading this very book right now.
Prob not coincidence - that book has been making the rounds of all the major news stations. I was going to read it myself, and then, surprisingly, I listened to the authors' TED talk on a podcast and was sufficiently underwhelmed that I put it off, but I do realize that some people are much better thinkers/writers than speakers (kind of the point of her book) so I'll likely read it soon. I'm actually an ex-extreme-introvert that suddenly flipped it around out of necessity in college, and since then, I've been known to be an extrovert. Weird how life works.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

SamB wrote:"Throw Them All Out," by Peter Schweizer. Make sure your toilet works before attempting this short book. You will be heaving a lot. It documents the insider stock tips, land deals, and cronyism in government. If you do not believe in passive investing, this book is for you. It is a road map for successful active investing.
But wait....even if you DO believe in passive investing, are your investments not susceptible to the same insider stock tips, land deals and cronyism? Or is your argument that you are well enough diversified that your healthy investments will balance out your scummy ones? I suppose that might be true, depending on how deep the infection goes. If the whole system, or a massive chunk of it that cannot be excised, is gangrenous, then it should be avoided altogether, no?
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

lightheir wrote:
Tycoon wrote:
vesalius wrote: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
What a coincidence, I'm reading this very book right now.
Prob not coincidence - that book has been making the rounds of all the major news stations. I was going to read it myself, and then, surprisingly, I listened to the authors' TED talk on a podcast and was sufficiently underwhelmed that I put it off, but I do realize that some people are much better thinkers/writers than speakers (kind of the point of her book) so I'll likely read it soon. I'm actually an ex-extreme-introvert that suddenly flipped it around out of necessity in college, and since then, I've been known to be an extrovert. Weird how life works.
There are only two types of people in the world. People who divide people into two types, and people who don't. (laughing...)
galectin
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by galectin »

I just finished A Few Good Men by Sarah Hoyt, the prequel to her Darkship Thieves and Darkship Renegades. Good reads, all.
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Phineas J. Whoopee
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Phineas J. Whoopee »

protagonist wrote: There are only two types of people in the world. People who divide people into two types, and people who don't. (laughing...)
There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by carolinaman »

I recently purchased "Dropping Acid, The Reflux Diet" by Dr Jamie Koufman.

I have cronic acid reflux and despite eliminating bothersome foods from my diet, it has persisted. My doctor told me to avoid reflux, but he did not tell me how to do that (I do not think he could). This book does that. So far, so good. The diet has forced me to change my diet, eliminating some food and drink. But is not a limiting diet as there is a lot of stuff I can eat. It is just different. I definitely recommend it for anyone with acid reflux.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:
protagonist wrote: There are only two types of people in the world. People who divide people into two types, and people who don't. (laughing...)
There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
That's funny.
vesalius
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by vesalius »

lightheir wrote: Prob not coincidence - that book has been making the rounds of all the major news stations. I was going to read it myself, and then, surprisingly, I listened to the authors' TED talk on a podcast and was sufficiently underwhelmed that I put it off, but I do realize that some people are much better thinkers/writers than speakers (kind of the point of her book) so I'll likely read it soon. I'm actually an ex-extreme-introvert that suddenly flipped it around out of necessity in college, and since then, I've been known to be an extrovert. Weird how life works.
Interestingly, another point in the book is that your experience is not all that weird at all.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by Fallible »

vesalius wrote:
lightheir wrote: Prob not coincidence - that book has been making the rounds of all the major news stations. I was going to read it myself, and then, surprisingly, I listened to the authors' TED talk on a podcast and was sufficiently underwhelmed that I put it off, but I do realize that some people are much better thinkers/writers than speakers (kind of the point of her book) so I'll likely read it soon. I'm actually an ex-extreme-introvert that suddenly flipped it around out of necessity in college, and since then, I've been known to be an extrovert. Weird how life works.

Interestingly, another point in the book is that your experience is not all that weird at all.
Now I'm getting even more eager to read the book (on wait list). I was considered an extrovert growing up, but in college I discovered I was also an introvert. I wonder whether this isn't true of most of us and if this might be what the author is referring to.
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by spin_echo »

Recently discovered David Drake after reading all of the John Scalzi books (Old Man's War, etc)
Just finished Redliners
current reading The Tank Lords
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

protagonist wrote:
lightheir wrote:Prob not coincidence - that book has been making the rounds of all the major news stations. I was going to read it myself, and then, surprisingly, I listened to the authors' TED talk on a podcast and was sufficiently underwhelmed that I put it off, but I do realize that some people are much better thinkers/writers than speakers (kind of the point of her book) so I'll likely read it soon. I'm actually an ex-extreme-introvert that suddenly flipped it around out of necessity in college, and since then, I've been known to be an extrovert. Weird how life works.
There are only two types of people in the world. People who divide people into two types, and people who don't. (laughing...)
There are two types of people in the world: those who watch television and those who read. One of these activities is rated; the other one is over-rated.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
I saw this joke at least 10 times.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by chaz »

VictoriaF wrote:
Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
I saw this joke at least 10 times.

Victoria
I only saw it 01 time.
Chaz | | “Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons." Woody Allen | | http://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

chaz wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
I saw this joke at least 10 times.

Victoria
I only saw it 01 time.
We are XOR 11 apart,

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
protagonist
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by protagonist »

vesalius wrote: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

The book makes a strong case that the introverted individual is usually the most thoughtful and under appreciated in a group. The quiet introvert is often the most cooperative, creative, and reflective in their approach to life. Extroverts, on the other hand, are often more competitive, quick to act and judge, and emotional. The book list examples of introverts being better investors, but the examples are certainly not bogleheadish. Purely conjecture, but I would expect that introverts are relatively more common here than they are in the general population.

The book also dispels some of the common perceptions we have regarding effective ways to think and act. For example, brainstorming is usually not a very productive activity for groups. Introverts usually don't participate in brainstorming activities. Too often, group participants will suffer from evaluation apprehension, which is the fear of looking stupid in front of one's peers. The book is not at all about completely impuning extroverts and holding up introverts as the ideal, but given how the US has moved so much toward personality and away from character it is overall a very good book that gives a different perspective on work, education, love and family.
There are two types of people. People who don't classify people into two types, and social scientists.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by randomwalk »

I recently finished The Healing by Jonathan Odell.

Now reading Enemies by Tim Weiner.
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by nisiprius »

VictoriaF wrote:
chaz wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
I saw this joke at least 10 times.Victoria
I only saw it 01 time.
We are XOR 11 apart, Victoria
Do the 111 of us understand unary?
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.
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VictoriaF
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by VictoriaF »

nisiprius wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
chaz wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:
Phineas J. Whoopee wrote:There are only 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.
-- A t-shirt I saw somebody wearing one day.
PJW
I saw this joke at least 10 times.Victoria
I only saw it 01 time.
We are XOR 11 apart, Victoria
Do the 111 of us understand unary?
Yes. That's how we take care of number one.

Victoria
Inventor of the Bogleheads Secret Handshake | Winner of the 2015 Boglehead Contest. | Every joke has a bit of a joke. ... The rest is the truth. (Marat F)
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Re: What Book Are You Currently Reading? Part V

Post by LadyGeek »

Please stay (0x03 && ON) topic.
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