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

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Luffy

The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco - 2/5

It is wishful thinking on my part that my review would capture, firstly, and then later, the mood of my bewilderment and disappointment respectively. The Name Of The Rose is an ode to ignorance. As the saying goes, never attribute to malice what can be attributed to ignorance. This medieval tale doesn't feel like a contemporary book, which is the aim of most historical fictions.

For much of the beginning, politics and theology dominate the proceedings. As this story is a mystery at its heart, its disheartening to report that the best deducting by our heroic detective is carried out right when he and his Watson of a chronicler are setting foot in the abbey. This place is where multiple murders are committed. I zeroed in on the most likely culpable person. I thought, wrongly, that the book would contain red herrings. If the latter were there, they never left the abbey's kitchen. Twists, as we understand them in modern vernacular, are sharply lacking here. There is no evidence of brilliance from our detective duo. Indeed, the bumbling clumsiness, physical even, serves the plot to achieve an actual and symbolic destruction of a repository that has served God and no one else.

The point of this book is left open to interpretation. I like to consider the setting of the time and lieu crucial to the underpinnings of what's a simple story at its heart. The key symbol here is the library. It's ironic that the older it gets, the more the rare, handwritten and hand drawn books appreciate in value. At the same time, the content of those books would decrease in accuracy. Relentlessly so. Seen from our eyes, the cherished knowledge of the Dark Ages is nothing but ravings and gibberish. There is also no pity for the girl that Adso sleeps with. Both he and us will never know her name, only her fate. She will be burned at the stake. I know the title of the book doesn't refer to the peasant girl as the Rose. But in that book, she is the only one who comes closest to clearing the meaning of the title.

That review interested me enough to check out its Goodreads page to see how others view the book. It seems most of them liked it considerably better than you did, with the exception of one person I saw in my brief perusal who gave it only one star. I've downloaded a sample, but have no idea when I'll get to it.

[AstoundingBruce]

I am currently reading Scam School Book 1:Smoke by Brian Brushwood. It is a multimedia collection of bits from his web series Scam School. Some of the tricks and scams are more clever than others, which I suppose is to be expected. Still, it has a lot of fun information all in one place. If you have ever lost a bar bet, or just wished you could make one, this is probably a book you will enjoy.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

That review interested me enough to check out its Goodreads page to see how others view the book. It seems most of them liked it considerably better than you did, with the exception of one person I saw in my brief perusal who gave it only one star. I've downloaded a sample, but have no idea when I'll get to it.

Well, at Goodreads, I rarely agree with books that are rated above 4.00 stars. This happens a lot with me with the UF genre. As for TNOTR, I liked the bits that I couldn't comprehend. I do recommend it for lovers of historical fiction. If only the mystery was cleverer...

[sakura-panda]

Finished reading Reinventing Leona by Lynne Gentry; I enjoyed it but do not expect that it is a book I will read again. I have started Villette by Charlotte Bronte. Since I enjoyed Jane Eyre and The Professor, I thought I might as well read this one too.

[MickeyC]

Just finished American Sniper and it was a Very fast read. Next up One Rough Man by Brad Taylor

[DMcCunney]

The current reads here are three by historian Eric Hobsbawm:

The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Empire (in progress). They are independent books, but can be read as one extended historical inquiry.

The Age of Revolution covers the period from 1789 to 1848, and deals with two great revolutions and their impacts: the French Revolution, which toppled the monarchy and the aristocracy, and sounded the death knell for absolute monarchs and the rise of democracy, and the Industrial Revolution in Britain, which fundamentally changed the nature of European economies. While separate events in separate spheres, they influenced and reinforced each other.

The Age of Capital covers the period from 1848 through 1875, and deals with the rise of the industrial economy and the beginnings of the capitalist system, as economic changes transformed agrarian economies, and many who formerly worked the land moved to cities to become the basis of an industrial labor force. It coincided with the rise of the middle class, and a new upper class whose wealth came from manufacture and trade, not the ownership of land that had been the basis for the nobility.

The Age of Empire covers the period from 1875 through 1914, and the rise of the nation-state, beginning with just what was meant when you said "nation", with the main selector being "speaking a common language". An assortment of new nations arose during the period, like Belgium (formerly part of France, and later the United Netherlands), and Serbia and Bulgaria (formerly part of the Ottoman Empire.) It also saw the creation of what is now thought of as Germany, under the domination of what was then Prussia, with the political questions of just what German speaking areas would be included. The end result of this process would be World War I and even more dramatic change.

I was already familiar with at least some of what Hobsbawm covers, but he tied things together and pointed out relationships and connections I hadn't considered. There were places where I raised my eyebrows (mostly in matters of economics) and said "That's not how I would define those terms...", but they were indications of a differing viewpoint, and not a fundamental disagreement.

The forces involved and the issues created are things still playing themselves out today. If you have an interest in how we got to where we are, Hobsbawm is highly recommended.
______
Dennis

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Anyway, next up: Analog SFF for March 2015. Bought in December 2014!

Which was up to its usual standard - an enjoyable set of SF/Fantasy stories.

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm also reading my latest purchase, a set of detective stories about Julius Katz and his mysterious AI assistant, The Julius Katz Collection by Dave Zeltserman

Which I enjoyed a lot. He now has a novel featuring these characters, and it's going on my wish list.

Next up: The Time of Troubles by Harry Turtledove. My oldest bought unread ebook, from May 2005.

[Dngrsone]

Currently reading The Leopard's Daughter by Lee Killough in between class assignments.

[DrNefario]

My last few reads:

Galactic Patrol by EE "Doc" Smith - Poor. Hasn't aged well at all. Clunkily written, with way too many exclamation marks, and very few actual setbacks for our super powered Lensman.
Songs of the Earth by Elspeth Cooper - Solid mainstream fantasy; volume 1 of 4. Didn't do anything to lift itself out of the crowd, in my opinion, but decent enough that I'd happily read the next one.
Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos - I read and enjoyed the first book in this series a few weeks ago, and this follow-up maintains the good work. A very enjoyable chunk of military SF from amazon's own imprint, which I'd probably never have read without the Kindle Lending Library.

Back to crime next, with Punishment by Anne Holt, I think.

[WT Sharpe]

Just started A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush. It's obviously not an objective look at George Herbert Walker Bush, but to its credit, it doesn't pretend to be, nor did I expect it to be.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

and then The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Hoping to start reading this tonight!

Well, that didn't happen, in fact I'm completely off script... (surprise, surprise) Ha!

I've been in a manga mood lately and am now reading Volume 3 of the Kitchen Princess series. The series has been simple and sweet, but interesting enough to keep me reading. The artwork is pretty, and the chapter splash pages are amazing. I really wish they were in color.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Just started A Portrait of My Father by George W. Bush. It's obviously not an objective look at George Herbert Walker Bush, but to its credit, it doesn't pretend to be, nor did I expect it to be.

I liked it. Not high literature, but still a decent read.

I'm reading A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft.

[AstoundingBruce]

I just finished Believe in Me by Mishael Austin Witty. I don't normally read romance, but I was hooked in the first few pages. I enjoyed the cat-and-mouse play between Trina and Kurt, and I admit the twists and turns surprised me. Of course, since this isn't my usual fare, I can't promise it will surprise most readers.

The ending seemed hurried, but it was emotionally satisfying. If I have one complaint, it is that the font (both style and point size) changed throughout the book. At first I thought this might indicate a change in the point-of-view, but it seems to be a glitch. I hope this will be fixed in future editions.

[Stitchawl]

I've just finished John Sandford's lates Virgil Flowers book, "Deadline,' the 8th book in the Flowers series, and yet another good read. This one didn't have the suspense of most of the other books, but it was filled with great Flowers behavior and dialog, brings back many of the series' characters from both the 'Prey' series and the 'Flowers' books, and kept me turning pages. As usual, Sandford keeps me waiting for the next book!

I've just started James Patterson's first of the series "Private," and I'm really surprised at the poor writing style this book is delivering, especially with its dialog. Very amateurish for Patterson. I usually enjoy his writing. This book is jumping around with half a dozen different sub-plots, and I'm really hoping he has some intention of bringing them together some how, but I'm getting the feeling that this is a collection of ideas that he'd been thinking about for separate books but couldn't flesh them out so tried to use them in this fashion. I'll finish the book, but if it doesn't improve will not continue with the series.


Stitchawl

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

My last few reads:

Lines of Departure by Marko Kloos - I read and enjoyed the first book in this series a few weeks ago, and this follow-up maintains the good work. A very enjoyable chunk of military SF from amazon's own imprint, which I'd probably never have read without the Kindle Lending Library.

Back to crime next, with Punishment by Anne Holt, I think.

Angles of Attack (Frontlines Book 3) by Marko Kloos is will be available April 21, 2015.

http://www.amazon.com/Angles-Attack-...sin=B00OIBPIZO
Apache