Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 957

pdurrant · 10-09-2012, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Snuff by Terry Pratchett.

Another excellent discworld book, featuring Sam Vimes

Next up: Prince of the Blood by Raymond E. Feist.

The start of the sequel to the trilogy that began with Magician, set 20 years after.

And I find that Magician/Silverthorn/A Darkness at Sethanon and Daughter of the Empire/Servant of the Empire/Mistress of the Empire have all recently become available as ebooks. They are next on my "to be bought" list.

I have read Prince of the Blood, many years ago, but this is a revised edition.

John F · 10-09-2012, 07:27 AM

Currently reading: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu
On deck: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

HomeInMyShoes · 10-09-2012, 09:03 AM

Finished up Diane Duane's Deep Wizardry which was a great story and just finished Charles Stross's Halting State. A very entertaining read.

Dazrin · 10-09-2012, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maianhvk

It's like How to train your dragon, then? Even better.

I will have to take your word for that, but thanks for pointing me towards those books. Even if they aren't like the movie, I should at least try one.

Latinandgreek · 10-09-2012, 01:46 PM

I'm reading Rick Riordan's newest book, The Mark of Athena. Great fun, as usual. I'm also reading a book on the history of the english language called "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue". Very interesting.

alansplace · 10-09-2012, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreams

I'm popping in after a beautifully quiet afternoon on the patio during which I was able to enjoy a classic cozy mystery, The Window at the White Cat by Mary Roberts Rinehart (also available in MobileRead's Patricia Clark Memorial Library).

I enjoy reading about the differences in how things are handled from that era to this one. The whole surface politeness would be alien to many today, although I believe the political corruption and all-boys' club aspect hasn't changed over time.

It was worth putting off my laundry and cleaning to read this, but now I have to catch up with what I put off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I really loved that book, as I did the author's Topper. I may do a rare re-read one day, or maybe just delve into something else by Thorne Smith.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Finished up Diane Duane's Deep Wizardry which was a great story and just finished Charles Stross's Halting State. A very entertaining read.

Thanks to you all! I've just added The Window at the White Cat, Topper and Deep Wizardry to my TBR.

sun surfer · 10-09-2012, 02:20 PM

Finished The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling (4/5) and then read in quick succession Arms and the Man, a play by George Bernard Shaw, (2/5) and Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (3/5), the last two both being less than a hundred pages each.

Now I'm on A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll, which is also pretty short, and I'm really enjoying it! It's a book of mathematical logic problems, but imagine you're doing logic problems with a witty comedian writing the questions and answers.

I've been reading other Carroll works, including other puzzle works, and I'd say this is his best I've read of this type. I didn't find the word-problem puzzles of his nearly as interesting, even though I'd probably generally prefer word problems to mathematics problems. He seems to be at his funniest and most comfortable here, and the problems are short and straightforward and don't get lost in the haze of being so old. I'd say if you like maths and puzzles and Carroll, this is really a little hidden gem of his.

The really funny parts come in the answers, which take up half the book, because apparently these problems were first published either weekly or monthly in a newspaper and so people could send in answers, which he would "grade" and then publish with the correct answers and a list of "winners" that answered correctly in I suppose the next edition of the newspaper. I find myself looking more forward to reading the answers than the questions! The title of the book is even taken from an answer someone sent in on the first puzzle, sent in by "Simple Susan" and "Money-Spinner" together, where they write a poem answering the question and it ends with "the tale is tangled now no more".

First of all, it's interesting when you see unexpected traces of modern human behaviour in things from the past, and the answerers' pseudonyms are so similar to our internet posting screen user names with their randomness and anonymity. People write in to him named "Bo-Peep", "Bog-Oak", "The Old Maid", "Vendredi", "Omega", "Waiting for the Train", "Bradshaw of the Future", "Rags and Tatters", "Crophi and Mophi", "Money-Spinner", "Spear Maiden", "Nairam", "Vis Inertiae", "Yak", "Dinah Mite", "A Nihilist", "Scrutator" and so on and so forth. LOL, those could just as easily be a group of posters' screennames posting in a forum here! And Carroll will often use those names as if they're their real names in the way he addresses them and also make jokes on them.

But the funniest parts come from the way he explains the answers of the people who sent in incorrect solutions. He doesn't exactly make fun of them, but his attitude is always of such light humour that I end up giggling through all the wrong answers. For instance, on a question about the fewest numbers of guests possibly at a party, where they're all family members such as "my brother's father's uncle's wife" and so on, one person named "Sea-Breeze" who Carroll says is the " very faintest breath that ever bore the name!" sent in an answer saying that it was simple, that the fewest number could just be achieved by many incestuous intermarriages, to which Carroll acts shocked and says, "'Wind of the Western Seas', you have had a very narrow escape!".

Or another one where "Bee" and "Ayr" sent in answers: "Bee's arithmetic is faulty...<gives Bee's answer and its faults>...But Ayr's state is still more perilous still: she draws illogical conclusions with a frightful calmness" which set me giggling for reading all of Ayr's frighteningly calm illogical conclusions.

Another answer from "Crophi and Mophi" on a problem about a town square with 20 houses on each side: "...Crophi and Mophi make the bold and unfounded assumption that there were really 21 houses on each side...'We may assume,' they add, 'that the doors for Nos. 21, 42, 63, 84, are invisible from the centre of the square'! What is there, I wonder, that Crophi and Mophi would not assume?"

And the funniest, to me, of all so far, which set me laughing on and off thinking about it for a good half hour at least, comes in a later answer where someone named "Scrutator" has sent in a critique on a former puzzle that was already answered: "A remonstrance has reached me from Scrutator on the subject of Knot 1, which he declares was 'no problem at all'. 'Two questions', he says, 'are put. To solve one there is no data: the other answers itself.' As to the first point, Scrutator is mistaken; there are...data sufficient to answer the question. As to the other, it is interesting to know that the question 'answers itself', and I am sure it does the question great credit: still I fear I cannot enter it on the list of winners, as this competition is only open to human beings."

pdurrant · 10-09-2012, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

Thanks to you all! I've just added The Window at the White Cat, Topper and Deep Wizardry to my TBR.

I strongly recommend reading So You Want to be a Wizard before Deep Wizardry.

Both are available from Diane Duane's website if you're outside the USA. She ocassionally has discounted sales, so it might be worth signing up to her newsletter and waiting.

alansplace · 10-09-2012, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I strongly recommend reading So You Want to be a Wizard before Deep Wizardry.

Both are available from Diane Duane's website if you're outside the USA. She ocassionally has discounted sales, so it might be worth signing up to her newsletter and waiting.

Will do, thanks! Does she DRM the books * from her website?

* [never mind, I found out on the site that they aren't DRMed]

tecweston · 10-10-2012, 01:16 PM

Just Finished:

- In the Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill - a decent short story about a brother and sister that get lost in a field of grass. This also includes previews of King's The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, and Joe Hill's new novel N0S4A2, so definitely worth the $4.

Currently Reading:

- The Passage by Justin Cronin (second time) (33%)
- The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Web Weaver by Sam Siciliano (30%)

WT Sharpe · 10-10-2012, 01:45 PM

I just finished Mobileread Book Club's chilling October selection, Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu. What wonderful selections to get us ready for Halloween! Both this one and the October runner-up, Grave Robbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) by Jeff Strand, are quite entertaining.

Joshua.P · 10-10-2012, 05:24 PM

Currently reading an abridged version of Les Miserables. A good book, but I feel a lot more could be cut.

alansplace · 10-11-2012, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

Now onward to read The Dresden Files #8, Proven Guilty!

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

Thanks to you all! I've just added The Window at the White Cat, Topper and Deep Wizardry to my TBR.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I strongly recommend reading So You Want to be a Wizard before Deep Wizardry.

Both are available from Diane Duane's website if you're outside the USA. She ocassionally has discounted sales, so it might be worth signing up to her newsletter and waiting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

Will do, thanks! Does she DRM the books * from her website?

* [never mind, I found out on the site that they aren't DRMed]

Ok! I finished re-reading Proven Guilty earlier today. It was really really a great experience!

(brought tears to my eyes multiple times!)

Now, I'm going to give Diane Duane a try with the first in her Young Wizards series, So You Want to Be a Wizard, New Millennium Edition. Part of the reason I want to try it is I'm thinking of it for my Grandson (12 years old) for Christmas! He's already read all of Harry Potter so it seems like it might be a good fit for him.

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Quake1028 · 10-11-2012, 09:41 AM

Finished up:

Squeeze Play: Noir Masters Triple Threat
Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (Oct 2012)

Still reading:

The Legend of Huma (81%)
Amped: A Novel (42%)

pilotbob · 10-11-2012, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alansplace

Ok! I finished re-reading Proven Guilty earlier today. It was really really a great experience!

(brought tears to my eyes multiple times!)

Now, I'm going to give Diane Duane a try with the first in her Young Wizards series, So You Want to Be a Wizard, New Millennium Edition. Part of the reason I want to try it is I'm thinking of it for my Grandson (12 years old) for Christmas! He's already read all of Harry Potter so it seems like it might be a good fit for him.

Attachment 93889

I head alot of kids that like Harry Potter also like Fabelhaven. Although I haven't read any of them.

10-09-2012, 07:27 AM	#14342
John F Wizard Posts: 1,729 Karma: 5977713 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo Glo	Currently reading: Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan le Fanu On deck: Black Swan Green by David Mitchell Last edited by John F; 10-09-2012 at 11:47 AM.

10-09-2012, 09:03 AM	#14343
HomeInMyShoes Ginormous Intergalactic Posts: 9,937 Karma: 33625427 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: junkyard Device: Kindle3	Finished up Diane Duane's Deep Wizardry which was a great story and just finished Charles Stross's Halting State. A very entertaining read. __________________ Reading Lists: 2011 \| 2012 \| 2013 “Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.” - Diane Duane

10-09-2012, 02:20 PM	#14347
sun surfer keep calm and carry on Posts: 1,259 Karma: 6665144 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: the shade of the morning sun Device: ipad mini & sony 950	Finished The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling (4/5) and then read in quick succession Arms and the Man, a play by George Bernard Shaw, (2/5) and Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (3/5), the last two both being less than a hundred pages each. Now I'm on A Tangled Tale by Lewis Carroll, which is also pretty short, and I'm really enjoying it! It's a book of mathematical logic problems, but imagine you're doing logic problems with a witty comedian writing the questions and answers. I've been reading other Carroll works, including other puzzle works, and I'd say this is his best I've read of this type. I didn't find the word-problem puzzles of his nearly as interesting, even though I'd probably generally prefer word problems to mathematics problems. He seems to be at his funniest and most comfortable here, and the problems are short and straightforward and don't get lost in the haze of being so old. I'd say if you like maths and puzzles and Carroll, this is really a little hidden gem of his. The really funny parts come in the answers, which take up half the book, because apparently these problems were first published either weekly or monthly in a newspaper and so people could send in answers, which he would "grade" and then publish with the correct answers and a list of "winners" that answered correctly in I suppose the next edition of the newspaper. I find myself looking more forward to reading the answers than the questions! The title of the book is even taken from an answer someone sent in on the first puzzle, sent in by "Simple Susan" and "Money-Spinner" together, where they write a poem answering the question and it ends with "the tale is tangled now no more". First of all, it's interesting when you see unexpected traces of modern human behaviour in things from the past, and the answerers' pseudonyms are so similar to our internet posting screen user names with their randomness and anonymity. People write in to him named "Bo-Peep", "Bog-Oak", "The Old Maid", "Vendredi", "Omega", "Waiting for the Train", "Bradshaw of the Future", "Rags and Tatters", "Crophi and Mophi", "Money-Spinner", "Spear Maiden", "Nairam", "Vis Inertiae", "Yak", "Dinah Mite", "A Nihilist", "Scrutator" and so on and so forth. LOL, those could just as easily be a group of posters' screennames posting in a forum here! And Carroll will often use those names as if they're their real names in the way he addresses them and also make jokes on them. But the funniest parts come from the way he explains the answers of the people who sent in incorrect solutions. He doesn't exactly make fun of them, but his attitude is always of such light humour that I end up giggling through all the wrong answers. For instance, on a question about the fewest numbers of guests possibly at a party, where they're all family members such as "my brother's father's uncle's wife" and so on, one person named "Sea-Breeze" who Carroll says is the " very faintest breath that ever bore the name!" sent in an answer saying that it was simple, that the fewest number could just be achieved by many incestuous intermarriages, to which Carroll acts shocked and says, "'Wind of the Western Seas', you have had a very narrow escape!". Or another one where "Bee" and "Ayr" sent in answers: "Bee's arithmetic is faulty...<gives Bee's answer and its faults>...But Ayr's state is still more perilous still: she draws illogical conclusions with a frightful calmness" which set me giggling for reading all of Ayr's frighteningly calm illogical conclusions. Another answer from "Crophi and Mophi" on a problem about a town square with 20 houses on each side: "...Crophi and Mophi make the bold and unfounded assumption that there were really 21 houses on each side...'We may assume,' they add, 'that the doors for Nos. 21, 42, 63, 84, are invisible from the centre of the square'! What is there, I wonder, that Crophi and Mophi would not assume?" And the funniest, to me, of all so far, which set me laughing on and off thinking about it for a good half hour at least, comes in a later answer where someone named "Scrutator" has sent in a critique on a former puzzle that was already answered: "A remonstrance has reached me from Scrutator on the subject of Knot 1, which he declares was 'no problem at all'. 'Two questions', he says, 'are put. To solve one there is no data: the other answers itself.' As to the first point, Scrutator is mistaken; there are...data sufficient to answer the question. As to the other, it is interesting to know that the question 'answers itself', and I am sure it does the question great credit: still I fear I cannot enter it on the list of winners, as this competition is only open to human beings." __________________ apple trees and honey bees and snow white turtle doves

10-10-2012, 01:16 PM	#14350
tecweston Comic book artist Posts: 530 Karma: 1079133 Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Detroit Device: Nook STR, iPad, iPod touch	Just Finished: - In the Tall Grass by Stephen King and Joe Hill - a decent short story about a brother and sister that get lost in a field of grass. This also includes previews of King's The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep, and Joe Hill's new novel N0S4A2, so definitely worth the $4. Currently Reading: - The Passage by Justin Cronin (second time) (33%) - The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Web Weaver by Sam Siciliano (30%) __________________ My webcomic The Sundays - Me on Twitter

10-10-2012, 01:45 PM	#14351
WT Sharpe Grand Muckity-Muck Posts: 26,628 Karma: 70641104 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindles: Paperwhite/K-3/Touch, Sony PRS-600, iPod (audio books), iPad1	I just finished Mobileread Book Club's chilling October selection, Carmilla by J. Sheridan LeFanu. What wonderful selections to get us ready for Halloween! Both this one and the October runner-up, Grave Robbers Wanted (No Experience Necessary) by Jeff Strand, are quite entertaining. __________________

10-09-2012, 01:46 PM	#14345
Latinandgreek Warrior Princess Posts: 4,876 Karma: 8504847 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505; PRS-350, PRS-T1, iPad 2, HP Touchpad	I'm reading Rick Riordan's newest book, The Mark of Athena. Great fun, as usual. I'm also reading a book on the history of the english language called "Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue". Very interesting.

10-10-2012, 05:24 PM	#14352
Joshua.P The Dark Knight Posts: 97 Karma: 497090 Join Date: Apr 2012 Device: Kindle Keyboard	Currently reading an abridged version of Les Miserables. A good book, but I feel a lot more could be cut. __________________ Or perhaps he's wondering why someone would shoot a man, before throwing him out of a plane?

10-11-2012, 09:41 AM	#14354
Quake1028 Guru Posts: 818 Karma: 8798808 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampa, FL Device: See signature	Finished up: Squeeze Play: Noir Masters Triple Threat Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine (Oct 2012) Still reading: The Legend of Huma (81%) Amped: A Novel (42%) __________________ Current iPad 3 32GB White Wi-Fi Past Kindle Fire - returned \| iPad 2 16GB White Wi-Fi - sold \| Kindle 3 Wi-Fi - Wife \| nook - Brother \| Kindle 2 - Mother in Law

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