Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 397

poohbear_nc · 08-11-2010, 11:20 AM

I've just started "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements" by Sam Kean. It's a delightful romp through the Periodic Table using historical anecdotes/literary references, etc. to explore the wondrous structure encapsulated in the large chart we remember from high school chemistry! It was amazing to realize how much of the Table I still remembered!

Bilbo1967 · 08-11-2010, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I've just started "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements" by Sam Kean. It's a delightful romp through the Periodic Table using historical anecdotes/literary references, etc. to explore the wondrous structure encapsulated in the large chart we remember from high school chemistry! It was amazing to realize how much of the Table I still remembered!

Oooh - I got that recently, but haven't started it yet. Nice to see it recommended

Quake1028 · 08-11-2010, 11:50 AM

Currently Reading:

The Long Goodbye (book club here)
The Book Thief (book club another board)

TC Beacham · 08-11-2010, 02:43 PM

Just finished my first Lisa Gardner book - THE NEIGHBOR: A Detective D.D. Warren novel. Really kept me interested and guessing!

Can anyone recommend another Lisa Gardner title?

Rumpelteazer · 08-11-2010, 05:36 PM

Last night I finishes Jim Butcher's "Grave Peril" (Dresden Files #3). It was darker than the first two and I suspect a turning point in the series.

Today I read the first two chapters of Justin Cronin's "The Passage", which looks promising.

DixieGal · 08-11-2010, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DixieGal

Now I'm starting another book that is an old story but told from a unique perspective. It is The Last Days of Jericho by Thomas Brookside. I got it for the Kindle app because it is one of the freebies in the "Deals for Kindle" thread. It is a look at the fall of Jericho from the inside. I think it might be good.

Finished Jericho, now beginning something lighter. Pratchett's Moving Pictures. After a couple of heavy books, it is time for some Discworld chuckles.

thinkpad · 08-12-2010, 03:28 AM

Finished Chandlers Long goodbye, now reading Norrøna (Norse religion/mythology). I found Chandler so so, but I'll save the discussion for the book club.

Quake1028 · 08-12-2010, 09:10 AM

I'm finding the book so-so as well. I have really no desire to push forward more than an hour or so a day.

Libby Cone · 08-12-2010, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlparker

You mean "had a thing...." I noticed on the Wiki page that he died in June.

I bought the book after reading his obituary; he was a big influence on David Foster Wallace (whose "Infinite Jest" is sitting on my coffee table, waiting to be unwrapped). I finished it, and found it haunting.

pilotbob · 08-12-2010, 11:08 AM

I'm still reading _Pride and Prejudice_ and seem to have gotten into it. Although I'm not sure why I am enjoying a book about gossip and some woman trying to get her 5 daughters married off.

BOb

Ea · 08-12-2010, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm still reading _Pride and Prejudice_ and seem to have gotten into it. Although I'm not sure why I am enjoying a book about gossip and some woman trying to get her 5 daughters married off.

I guess that shows the quality of the book

FlorenceArt · 08-12-2010, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm still reading _Pride and Prejudice_ and seem to have gotten into it. Although I'm not sure why I am enjoying a book about gossip and some woman trying to get her 5 daughters married off.

BOb

I feel very strongly that subject matter is overrated, as far as enjoying books is concerned. I'm always baffled by the type of post that goes: "I want to read books that are about the future, but not any kind of future, only space exploration. And no romance, please. Oh, and there must be a dog in it."

WT Sharpe · 08-12-2010, 11:29 AM

I'm a big fan of the old Pat Novak For Hire radio show. The writer, Dick Breen, really had a way with words! The language has been dubbed 'Chandleresque,' but from what I've seen, he's much funnier than Chandler. I wish manuscripts of that show were available in ebook form.

Here's a few Novakisms:

"Somebody had used to her badly, like a dictionary in a stupid family."

"Stop posing. You couldn't follow an elephant across a basketball court."

"It was like washing your kid's face and finding out he was ugly to begin with."

"And you're going to tell me he's dead, Hellman?"
"No, I'm not going to tell he's dead, Novak. He might be a soft breather."

"You couldn't find a tractor on the back porch."

"She was at least 50, because you can't get that ugly without years of practice."

"The street was deserted except for a couple of winos, near the corner, trying to buy back 1926 at a dollar a jug."

"You start with trouble, and it never stops. It's like offering to buy aspirin for a two-headed boy."

"I woke up with a head the size of Rhode Island. I rolled over and tried to get up, but I was about as strong as a moth in a wind tunnel. The room was dark and I couldn't see very well. There was a stale, musty odor, could have been a marathon dancer's dressing room, with a little fixing up, the sort of place you wouldn't be found dead in. There was a guy lying next to me who didn't feel that way about it. One look at the guy and I could see he was dead from the crew cut down. Somebody had wrapped a towel around his throat and forgot to say 'when'."

<><><>

The good news? I just discovered there's at least one Boston Blackie ebook available, and I'm going over to Amazon now to download it. Boston Blackie was another of the great radio detective shows (although some incarnations of that show were far superior to others)!

bjones6416 · 08-12-2010, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlorenceArt

I feel very strongly that subject matter is overrated, as far as enjoying books is concerned. I'm always baffled by the type of post that goes: "I want to read books that are about the future, but not any kind of future, only space exploration. And no romance, please. Oh, and there must be a dog in it."

What a perfect way of putting it! Good example of that is "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Um, I don't read books about racing cars. Except I read that one, and loved it.

edbro · 08-12-2010, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bjones6416

What a perfect way of putting it! Good example of that is "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Um, I don't read books about racing cars. Except I read that one, and loved it.

I don't read books about rain but I also loved that book. Life from a dog's perspective!

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Hey hey! I found the first Kindle 3 bug!	WilliamG	Amazon Kindle	22	02-14-2012 05:28 PM
Advice on Action	jaxx6166	Writers' Corner	5	06-25-2010 12:29 AM
Hey! From Reading - P.A. that is.	GlenBarrington	Introduce Yourself	3	01-01-2010 09:00 PM
Seriously thoughtful Affirmative Action	Jaime_Astorga	Lounge	39	07-07-2009 06:24 PM

08-11-2010, 11:20 AM	#5941
poohbear_nc Bah! Humbug! Posts: 63,516 Karma: 135239851 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	I've just started "The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements" by Sam Kean. It's a delightful romp through the Periodic Table using historical anecdotes/literary references, etc. to explore the wondrous structure encapsulated in the large chart we remember from high school chemistry! It was amazing to realize how much of the Table I still remembered!

08-11-2010, 11:50 AM	#5943
Quake1028 Guru Posts: 917 Karma: 9155462 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampa, FL Device: See signature	Currently Reading: The Long Goodbye (book club here) The Book Thief (book club another board)

08-11-2010, 02:43 PM	#5944
TC Beacham Great Beach Reads! Posts: 202 Karma: 300000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle 2	Just finished my first Lisa Gardner book - THE NEIGHBOR: A Detective D.D. Warren novel. Really kept me interested and guessing! Can anyone recommend another Lisa Gardner title?

08-11-2010, 05:36 PM	#5945
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,334 Karma: 27919658 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	Last night I finishes Jim Butcher's "Grave Peril" (Dresden Files #3). It was darker than the first two and I suspect a turning point in the series. Today I read the first two chapters of Justin Cronin's "The Passage", which looks promising.

08-12-2010, 03:28 AM	#5947
thinkpad David Posts: 1,808 Karma: 8916183 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Norway Device: Kindle, E.Edge (sold), Irex Iliad (retired)	Finished Chandlers Long goodbye, now reading Norrøna (Norse religion/mythology). I found Chandler so so, but I'll save the discussion for the book club.

08-12-2010, 09:10 AM	#5948
Quake1028 Guru Posts: 917 Karma: 9155462 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampa, FL Device: See signature	I'm finding the book so-so as well. I have really no desire to push forward more than an hour or so a day.

08-12-2010, 11:08 AM	#5950
pilotbob Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,832 Karma: 11844413 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Tampa, FL USA Device: Kindle Touch	I'm still reading _Pride and Prejudice_ and seem to have gotten into it. Although I'm not sure why I am enjoying a book about gossip and some woman trying to get her 5 daughters married off. BOb

08-12-2010, 11:29 AM	#5953
WT Sharpe Bah, humbug! Posts: 39,072 Karma: 157049943 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Chesapeake, VA, USA Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Pro, & a Samsung Galaxy S9.	I'm a big fan of the old Pat Novak For Hire radio show. The writer, Dick Breen, really had a way with words! The language has been dubbed 'Chandleresque,' but from what I've seen, he's much funnier than Chandler. I wish manuscripts of that show were available in ebook form. Here's a few Novakisms: "Somebody had used to her badly, like a dictionary in a stupid family." "Stop posing. You couldn't follow an elephant across a basketball court." "It was like washing your kid's face and finding out he was ugly to begin with." "And you're going to tell me he's dead, Hellman?" "No, I'm not going to tell he's dead, Novak. He might be a soft breather." "You couldn't find a tractor on the back porch." "She was at least 50, because you can't get that ugly without years of practice." "The street was deserted except for a couple of winos, near the corner, trying to buy back 1926 at a dollar a jug." "You start with trouble, and it never stops. It's like offering to buy aspirin for a two-headed boy." "I woke up with a head the size of Rhode Island. I rolled over and tried to get up, but I was about as strong as a moth in a wind tunnel. The room was dark and I couldn't see very well. There was a stale, musty odor, could have been a marathon dancer's dressing room, with a little fixing up, the sort of place you wouldn't be found dead in. There was a guy lying next to me who didn't feel that way about it. One look at the guy and I could see he was dead from the crew cut down. Somebody had wrapped a towel around his throat and forgot to say 'when'." <><><> The good news? I just discovered there's at least one Boston Blackie ebook available, and I'm going over to Amazon now to download it. Boston Blackie was another of the great radio detective shows (although some incarnations of that show were far superior to others)!

Advert

Advert