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

[nekokami]

@yvan, I've been meaning to say, since you're such a Cherryh fan, check out http://www.solstation.com/. There are some extremely cool 3-D star maps there (not suitable for e ink, though!)

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by nekokami

@yvan, I've been meaning to say, since you're such a Cherryh fan, check out http://www.solstation.com/. There are some extremely cool 3-D star maps there (not suitable for e ink, though!)

I'm afraid not to a phoneline surfer either!

[nekokami]

Oops. But you can also download the files and run it locally. And it really does help to see where the stars are.

[yvanleterrible]

That would be nice, especially while reading Asimov's Foundation. He uses many common star systems. But I wonder where Trantor is?

[NatCh]

It's just there, a bit to the right of the core.

[nekokami]

The thing about Cherry's works is that she did mostly use real stars (even if she was a bit off on where they were sometimes). I had an interesting conversation with her brother, David Cherry, about the time they put together a map of Union/Alliance space that ended up getting used in a boardgame by Mayfair Games (I have that game, too!)

I have a copy of that map on my personal laptop, but it's in the shop with a busted power switch at the moment. (Good thing I have my iLiad to play with!) I think it appears in several of the books, anyway.

[LaughingVulcan]

Currently reading:
Winning by Jack & Suzy Welch (yep, the free excerpt that came with the reader hooked me!)
Foundation by Asimov <- Oddly enough, never had read it...
The Gripping Hand by Pournelle/Niven/Barnes <- Read many times. Enjoying again.
The Three Musketeers
In Fisherman April Issue in p.

[Dave Berk]

Currently reading (on the reader):
Lies of locke lamora (LG was right, it does improve towards the middle)
a Study in Scarlet (compliment of sir arthur and harryT)
Walt Disney - Biography (compliment of Sony Connect Store 50$ credit)

[johnnaryry]

I just downloaded Cory Doctorow's "Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town", which is available as a free download in multiple formats (eReader, iSilo, MobiPocket, plain text, printable PDF, HTML, Plucker, iPod, etc.).

I'm also reading "Geek Mafia" by Rick Dakan and Hamish MacDonald's novel "doubleZero."

--ryan

[memobug]

I just read "In Cold Blood" on the Sony Reader, downloaded from CONNECT. Needless to say, it was very good. I did find one typo; the word, "blamed" appeared like this "bLarned" in two different chapters, but compared to the probably 60 typos in "1984," it was excellent copy.

For some reason I am sensitive to those misspellings.

Regards,

Matt

[johnnaryry]

Originally Posted by memobug

For some reason I am sensitive to those misspellings.

Me too...

--ryan

[Bob Russell]

I'm reading "Failure is Not an Option" from Sony Connect. It's written by Gene Kranz, one of the early members of the space program who wrote the procedures for the early Mercury missions, the became the assistant flight director and so forth. He's probably most famous for being the Apollo 13 flight director.

So far, this is one of the best books I've ever read. Maybe that's hyperbole because it's fresh in my mind and I'm enjoying it so much now, but really it is that good.

He's writing from a position of authority and first hand experience in one of the most exciting projects/programs you can imagine. There's a lot of detail, so you need to really want to know about the space program, but if you are interested, this is a must read. (With the caveat that I'm only about 15% into the book, so it is possible it becomes a dud later, but I really doubt it will!)

Connect says it's "The thrilling story of NASA's Mission Control teams that guided the 'Apollo' spacecraft through successful lunar landings is recounted by 'Apollo 13' flight director Gene Kranz." But it starts out with the first manned Mercury flights, and the whole description is fascinating and mind blowing. It's almost surreal, it's so out of the ordinary. It makes you want to be a part of something that will change the world.

There's not a lot of discussion about the Russian space program, which was way ahead of NASA, but it was referred to by him in the beginning because apprently it was pretty intimidating to be racing such an advanced team with proven successes already, especially when they had been having a lot of problems getting rockets to fly right and had never put a man into space. He probably didn't know too much about what they were doing, though, because he says that the defense dept didn't really want to share with civilians on the space program how much they knew from their intelligence sources. I wish there was an equivalent book about the Russian space program also. It would be fascinating to see the same thing done by a whole other group of people independently.

[astra]

Just finished Hearts in Atlantis and started The Dark Tower VII by S. King .
The former is not typical S. King though. It is more like a real life novel than any fantasy/mystery/horror stuff. I was a bit surprised. Still liked it though...

[Gravitas]

Currently reading "The Courtship of Princess Leia" in paperback whilst I await the arrival of my sony reader.

I've only read one C J Cherryh, something about a female warrior tracking back through some stargate type things (it's been a while), I enjoyed it though.

recommendations :-
"Gates of Fire" - Steven Pressfield, story of the 300 Spartans at Thermoplyae, much better than the recent '300' film.

[Alexander Turcic]

Currently reading Black Order (Sigma Force novel). Pure action and lots of fun if you want to read something without using your brain too much. According to HarperCollins: Combining the historic scope of The Da Vinci Code with the relentless thrills of today's best action novels, James Rollins's Black Order is a classic adventure -- an ingenious and breathtaking tour de force that explodes with revelations . . . while offering a startling new view of our place in the grand scheme of existence.