What book(s) are you reading?

[London_Dungeon]

I'm a bibliophile. Maybe a bibliomaniac. Someone once told me you know you're a bibliomaniac when you buy another copy of a book you already have because it's easier than finding the original. I'm guilty of that. A few times, actually.

So I thought it would be interesting to see what you fellow RougSci users were sticking your noses in between - literary wise!

I'm currently juggling Shit Magnet by Jim Goad, A General Intriduction to Psychoanalysis by Freud, The Natural History of Stupidity, and The Revenge Encyclopedia by Paladin Press (it sucks).

Now it's your turn. You DO read, don't you???

[festergrump]

I'm in the process of rereading the entire John Carter of Mars (Barsoom) series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I'm currently in the middle of The Chessmen of Mars.

So very glad I am that they decided not to make a movie based on the books, they likely would ruin everything. (probably cast Sandra Bernhardt as Dejah Thoris, sitting on a dead thoat smoking a Pall Mall non-filtered cigarette and saying something along the lines of, "C'mon, John. You gonna rescue me, or what?"... LOL!

I hate when they fuck up a good story by making a horrible movie out of it.

[joffe]

A French military manual. "TTA 150 , Titre IV, Le Combat". I'm planning on reading all the interesting manuals (this is a series of 20 manuals) in the series, as I'm in a nostalgic mood right now - dreaming about my years in uniform.

[TreverSlyFox]

Hmmm, just finished:

Clash of Titans by Walter J. Boyne (Naval Operations of WWII)

The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman


Just Started:

Bodyguard of Lies by Anthony Cave Brown (The War of Deception that Hid D-Day from Hitler)

Re-Reading:

FM 7-8 Infantry Rifle Platoon and Squad

[London_Dungeon]

joffe and TreverSlyFox,

You two might want to check these sites out:

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6453/doctrinea.html
http://www.stevespages.com/page7c.htm

Lots of good stuff for free.

[Hirudinea]

A French military manual. "TTA 150 , Titre IV, Le Combat". I'm planning on reading all the interesting manuals (this is a series of 20 manuals) in the series, as I'm in a nostalgic mood right now - dreaming about my years in uniform.

If the manuals are useful, with information not avaiable elseware, would you consider translating them for upload?

[TreverSlyFox]

London_Dungeon,

Great Links, Thank You.

[joffe]

London_Dungeon. thanks for the links.

Hirudinea. You'l find better US manuals out there. If you want to read it, you'll find the 2001 edition here. Personally, I prefer the 1980 edition. But that's purely for nostalgic reasons.

http://bstatfacile.free.fr/IMG/pdf/TTA150_Titre04.pdf

Replace titre04.pdf with 05 and so on to get the rest of the manuals. You wont find titre X,though (mines et explosifs), this one is classified.

[slarter]

I just received my copy of "Fundamentals of Shaped Charges" by Walters and Zukas. Took me weeks to track down a copy for less than $300.00.

Also reading "Hell's Gate" by David Weber.

[thelasttrueone]

I'm reading Asimov on Chemistry (interesting but not instructive) and I just finished Hells Angels by Hunter S Thompson.

[Barnacles]

I am reading " The Fabric Of The Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality" By Brian R. Greene.

It is a great book about quantum physics, string theory stuff like that. Very well written ande enjoyable read, you get lots of "Eureeka" moments while reading it. It is the sequel to " The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory".

I've read other books like this by Hawkings and always have been into this kind of stuff. I rememeber being allowed to teach a grade 13 physics class in grade 9 after I started getting into this stuff and my teacher saw what kind of heavy stuff I was into as a hobby...

In the process of printing out some of Vogels Organic Chemistry books to hardcopy, I am going to "read" those soon. I love reference manuals mmmmmmmmmmmm. I could make a bed out of them I love them so much. MUAHAHAHHAHA must have all reference. LOL a little joke between a buddy and I.

[totenkov]

Currently reading the Fountain Head, by Ayn Rand and Rashomon.

[Alexires]

I just received my copy of "Fundamentals of Shaped Charges" by Walters and Zukas. Took me weeks to track down a copy for less than $300.00.

Also reading "Hell's Gate" by David Weber.

To users like slarter, be sure to check the FTP as you might find a copy of something you are looking for, and you don't need to wait weeks for it to come in.

[Caesium]

I'm currently reading a collection of Cicero's defense speeches, Plato's "Republic" and "A Short History of Philosophy" written by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins, all of them published by Oxford University Press. My current bedtime book is "With Fire and Sword" by a brilliant Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz.

[Hirudinea]

Hirudinea. You'l find better US manuals out there. If you want to read it, you'll find the 2001 edition here. Personally, I prefer the 1980 edition. But that's purely for nostalgic reasons.

http://bstatfacile.free.fr/IMG/pdf/TTA150_Titre04.pdf

Replace titre04.pdf with 05 and so on to get the rest of the manuals. You wont find titre X,though (mines et explosifs), this one is classified.

Thanks for the link, I like the little cartoon soldiers, but I can't read french, so I wanted to know if there was info in the manuals worthy of translation into English and you said no.

[festergrump]

I'm in the process of rereading the entire John Carter of Mars (Barsoom) series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I'm currently in the middle of The Chessmen of Mars.

Nobody said they had to be textbooks or good chem-related books. I should feel stupid, maybe, but I don't... I find certain fantasy books to be therapeutic. Especially those wriiten way back when. It's "novel" (pardon the pun) to see the visions those authors had so many years ago...

London_Dungeon, is it okay to also ask what what fiction books folks are reading in this thread, or are you opposed to that? :o I'm all for learning about some good sci-fi I've never read, and the populous here would have a really good opinion, I think, on what's good, stimulating reading. :)

[thelasttrueone]

Fester, if you like sci fi you must have heard of Orson Scott Card. If you have never checked it out Flux is a good, quick read. It is a collection of his short stories that got him his start in sci fi. Very good fantasy and very insightful stuff.

[festergrump]

Thanks for the heads up, TLTO... Short stories are great for things which require you to wait patiently, like doctor's offices (another pun I cannot escape from) :o...

I'll look into FLUX. Thanks! :)

[Thorald]

I just finished Re-Reading 'Executive Orders' by Tom Clancy.

It's a great book, although a long one I would recommend it!

[Chapel]

I am currently reading "On Thermonuclear War" by Herman Kahn.

The inventor of my all time favorite word "Megadeath".

[AUK2k7]

I just finished reading "Brave new world" by Adous Huxley and "1984" by Orwell for the 2nd time. I get the feeling that if you mix the two societies in the novels you get todays world, Big Brother watching you and yet at the same time a massively materialistic world full of dubious sexual exploits (I prefer the latter society). I am about to read “Catch-22” by Joseph Heller and begin reading vol. 4 of the encyclopedia of explosives.

[-=HeX=-]

I am about to read 1984 and am starting chemistry of propellants and explosives again tonight. That being if I can access a computer to read it. I just read the lord of the rings series again and have bought the lord of the flies.

By the way, I am going on a semi hiatous for around 2 more weeks again, but I will drop in every so often. Keep up the great work.

[Hinckleyforpresident]

Reading:
The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
The Mind of the Market: Compassionate Apes, Competitive Humans, and Other Tales from Evolutionary Economics - Michael Shermer

About to start reading:
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
I am a Strange Loop - Douglas Hofstadter

[London_Dungeon]

London_Dungeon, is it okay to also ask what what fiction books folks are reading in this thread, or are you opposed to that?

Anything goes!

P.S. Sorry for the delayed response.

[Unsunghero]

I am currently reading Pseudodoxia Epidemica, after finishing religio medici by Sir Thomas Browne. After that I'm going to calm down with some Dean Koontz (the good guy).

Then on to the critique of practical reason by Immanuel Kant (I read a critique of pure reason VERY good), then onto the 3rd critique "A critique of judgement"

I would suggest these books for people that like to think, well, deep. Kant's stuff is highly complicated though, I find myself reading some pages 3 or 4 times over and/or looking back to the referencing of the rest of the book.

[Cuprum]

I'm reading Unintended Consequences by John Ross. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it.

It's a welcome change, especially after reading some of Tom Clancy's books. While Clancy's characters support cover-ups to protect corrupt cops, as shown in Without Remorse and Clear and Present Danger, Ross' would likely introduce the pigs to the business end of an icepick.

[Kaydon]

About to start: The Prometheus Deception by Robert Ludlum.

[slarter]

I'm reading Unintended Consequences by John Ross. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it.


GREAT book! I read it twice and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. :)

[billybobobrain]

The Shadows Of Power, James Perloff
None Dare Call It Conspiracy, Gery Allen

Orson Scott Card is also good.

[megalomania]

I grabbed a bunch of books for the summer to try to find some new stuff that I wouldn't ordinarily read. I am also doing something I never do, start reading a new book before I finished the previous.

I am in the middle of Thirteen (TH1RTE3N), The Handmaid's Tale, and Criminal Paradise. I just finished the 48 Laws of Power last week and I started in on The 33 Strategies of War.

I have been stuck on TH1RTE3N for awhile. I keep reading it before I go to bed, fall asleep, lose my place, and end up rereading stuff.

I don't read scientific and technical books like I would a novel, from cover to cover. I don't think that's the way most of these books should be read. I have so many it is impractical anyway. I skim through them and only read the parts that interest me for the moment.

[JekyllandHyde]

I have recently finished reading:

The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli
The Art of War - Niccolò Machiavelli

[London_Dungeon]

The Art of War - Niccolò Machiavelli

TAOW was written bu Sun Tzu.

:P

[joffe]

London Dugeon - you definitely have some reading to catch up on.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Prince-Niccol%C3%B2-Machiavelli/dp/160459361X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218637659&sr=1-6

But there's even more. I've probably made it known that I have a weakness for French military history.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-War-Baron-Jomini-Special/dp/0976072661/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1218637813&sr=1-1

[London_Dungeon]

I stand corrected!

I've read The Prince as well as Tzu's AOW, and was aware Machiavelli wrote Discourses, but never knew he did an AOW.

[Jacks Complete]

Currently reading "The omnivore's dilemma" which is, if you'll pardon the pun, serious food for thought. Also dipping in and out of "50 weapons that changed the world" which I got for £3 from a remainder book shop. Some interesting perspectives in that, perhaps especially the arguments as to the effectiveness of them at the time of introduction (Operational Analysis, though the author doesn't call it that)

[megalomania]

I bought the Art of War (by Sun Tzu) several years ago now, and I have had it sitting on my desk for almost as long, but I have yet to get around to reading it. I started it once, maybe 9 months ago, but it has a 120 page introduction by the translator about the historical context of the book that I just don't want to wade through.

I actually kept it at work for a while, but someone complained to my boss that "that is inappropriate reading material for the work place" and I had to take it home. This was actually too funny to get upset over. I actually took it back home because I was concerned someone might steal the book, even though in that place reading material would be the last thing taken. Word was out though, there was a controversial book sitting on the shelf... best not to tempt the sticky fingers. I splurged for a nice hard cover edition you see.

Obviously the complainant was an uncultured rube with no idea of the historical importance of this book. That's why he was a company executive... We have only el presidente Bush to blame for the culture of fear and paranoia that has ingrained the collective psyche of the sheeple thanks to the War of Terror. That a mere book with the word "WAR" on the spine should cause a stir is a good indicator of where our society is headed.

[-=HeX=-]

Mega: In schools these days they try to restrict our reading also. Last year I had my copies of 'Bravo Two Zero' and 'The one that got away' (Andy Mc Nab and Chris Ryan, respectively) confiscated for 'Reading age inappropriate material' which 'Was not on the syllabus' and 'Had explicit content' during a free class. While other people were on their cell phones or causing trouble, I was singlrd out because I was reading books about *gasp* war (somebody, please, think of the children!).

An associate in another State Sheeple Indoctrination Facility recieved a detention and had his parents phoned because he was reading an excerpt from COPAE at lunch and had in his bag a printout of a file from a crapbook about boiling bleach to make KClO3. I also have been given out to by my english teacher for handing up a 'Disturbing and violent' essay, albeit he admitted it WAS extremely well written. (The subject matter was the shooting of a 12 year old meth addicted mugger, seen from the shooters perspective).

These experiences show me how uneducated those who attempt to educate us can be! It also shows how certain material cannot be read in public anymore for fear of reprisal by the sheeple.

Right now I am reading the works of Urbanski (again), and the ebook 'A Princess of Mars' (cant recall the title, it was set on 'Barsoom', Festergrump mentioned them in this thread I believe).

[iHME]

Thank god we don't have people whining about what we read at school.
I have been reading rather violent books Since fifth grade (11 years old) mainly Sven Hassel and books about the winter and continuation war. The only one of them that has ever shocked me was "The Partisans Are Attacking" it told about Soviet-Russian terror crews who raided civilian villages on the Eastern border, killing every one, women children everything.
It was based on the survivors accounts. Fun fact: Once the Russians skinned a Finnish women alive to demoralize the pursuers, well they ran practically day and night to catch em and killed every single one :)

I used to read books on boring classes at school, books that I had previously printed on a school printer books like P.A Lutys works. I don't do it any more just to make sure.

I'm currently reading:

- The $50 and Up Underground House Book By Mike Oehler
- Kings Chemistry Survival Guide By Jarred B. Ledgard
- Advanced Chemical Weapons Design and Manufacture by Tim Tobiason
- Crystal Sets To Sideband by Frank W. Harris
- I also read the 4 fires of "Resident Evil" novels, not the most hardcore entertainment but I liked the first ones.

[megalomania]

Hmm, I don't recall ever bringing my controversial books to school, such as the Poor Man's James Bond. I spent my study hall time napping, when I actually had study hall. I think the best book they made us read was Fahrenheit 451. I believe my school had a goal to specifically promote so-called controversial literature (from the perspective of a religious soccer mom in the south, not what we would consider controversial) and it got its book list from a university English dept.

[Positron]

William Gibson: Necromancer :eek:

[Alexires]

And that is fantastic book. I love Gibson's work.

"...Burning through the night like livewire voodoo..."

[Hinckleyforpresident]

I just read Little Brother by Corry Doctorow. It's about a hacker kid fighting back against the DHS in a SHTF situation. It's a must read, IMO.

It's also free to download (legally too!) from authors site.

http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/