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

[Renate]

I just finished "When the Sleeper Wakes", H.G. Wells.
Jeez, what a crappy book in so many different ways.
First, the racism is jaw-dropping.
(I think it's good that we keep stuff like it was and not clean it up.)
Also, it's just tedious. Lots of description of walking through yet another room with doors and bridges and decorations.
Then there's no particular interesting political or philosophical point or thought.

[Hasdrubal_Lector]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

I read "THe Horse, The Wheel and Language" some years ago. What I enjoyed about Proto is that because it's more recent, it incorporated more recent research and scholarship and the author wasn't afraid to highlight areas where the scientific consensus has moved on from when Anthony wrote his book. Spinney's book also has a MUCH stronger focus on linguistics, whereas Anthony's ius more on the material culture. I enjoyed Anthony's book but Spinney's, thanks to its much stronger focus on words (and fewer photos of potsherds) was a delight

Fortson's textbook is almost exclusively about the languages, culture only mentioned in the context of the linguistic developments. The question I asked the author of Proto that triggered my getting Fortson was about an issue of language.

I enjoyed both too. Spinney's book on the Spanish Flu, "Pale Rider" is also a nice read. It is a bit lighter than John Barry's "The Great Influenza" which is a very good read. The title, "Pale Rider", is a reference to the obvious but also Katherine Anne Porter's short novel, "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" which is a very good read. It's part of a trilogy of short novels. The trilogy is also called "Pale Horse, Pale Rider" KAP has a similar style to Eudora Welty who is just an amazing writer, IMO. Welty was influenced by Porter, I think I read that somewhere.