books: what are you currently reading?

Started by Caleb, June 21, 2006, 11:58:08 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

There is a local Romanian Orthodox Church around here that keeps bees and sells the honey.  They have a display table with the honey out in front of the church and you can either drop your money in the box, or not. Old school honor system.   It's the best honey I've ever had. 

Quote from: Silence Dogood on August 25, 2024, 04:56:55 PMThere is a local Romanian Orthodox Church around here that keeps bees and sells the honey.  They have a display table with the honey out in front of the church and you can either drop your money in the box, or not. Old school honor system.   It's the best honey I've ever had. 
A place like that probably welcomes volunteers who want to learn the art of beekeeping.

Quote from: Queequeg on August 26, 2024, 09:19:08 AMA place like that probably welcomes volunteers who want to learn the art of beekeeping.
Not ones who are allergic to bees!   :wave

[quote author  =Silence Dogood link=msg=485805 date=1724698044]
Not ones who are allergic to bees!   :wave
[/quote]

:bgrin:
Well, I mostly agree, but my mentor is allergic to bees but she suits up completely and always carries an epipen.
I've been working many hives all spring and summer and haven't been stung yet but I know it's just a matter of time.
Pro tip: (I know, I'm not a pro but)
If you do get stung by a honeybee, their stingers are barbed. So the stinger will stay in your skin. Do not use a tweezers to remove it. There is venom in the stinger, and if you squeeze the stinger, you will pump more venom into your skin.
Instead, use a credit card to flick the stinger out.
And surprise: put a drop of honey on the wound to ease the pain. It's true!

Quote from: Queequeg on August 26, 2024, 02:02:34 PM:bgrin:
Well, I mostly agree, but my mentor is allergic to bees but she suits up completely and always carries an epipen.
I've been working many hives all spring and summer and haven't been stung yet but I know it's just a matter of time.
Pro tip: (I know, I'm not a pro but)
If you do get stung by a honeybee, their stingers are barbed. So the stinger will stay in your skin. Do not use a tweezers to remove it. There is venom in the stinger, and if you squeeze the stinger, you will pump more venom into your skin.
Instead, use a credit card to flick the stinger out.
And surprise: put a drop of honey on the wound to ease the pain. It's true!

All good info.  Next time I stop and get some honey at the Romanian church, I'll try and remember to snap a pic of their setup.  It's pretty cool. 

I'm currently reading Hemingways "A Farewell to Arms", I first read it 50 years ago in high school. I was just young enough to miss the Viet Nam draft and went straight into UC Berkeley.  World War 1 was such a carnage as the generals kept saying "charge" right into the brand new machine guns and mortar shells.
In one skirmish the Brits lost 52,000 men in one day. And the trench warfare was brutal.

My grandfather was in the famous Scottish regiment "The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. He was stabbed by bayonet and poison gassed by the Germans.
He never talked about it but the gas gave him a hump back the rest of his life.

Hemingway's novel is essentially his WW1 story as he was injured and his legs bothered him the rest of his life.
https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

Quote from: 247hoopsfan on August 30, 2024, 10:22:04 AMI'm currently reading Hemingways "A Farewell to Arms", I first read it 50 years ago in high school. I was just young enough to miss the Viet Nam draft and went straight into UC Berkeley.  World War 1 was such a carnage as the generals kept saying "charge" right into the brand new machine guns and mortar shells.
In one skirmish the Brits lost 52,000 men in one day. And the trench warfare was brutal.

My grandfather was in the famous Scottish regiment "The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders. He was stabbed by bayonet and poison gassed by the Germans.
He never talked about it but the gas gave him a hump back the rest of his life.

Hemingway's novel is essentially his WW1 story as he was injured and his legs bothered him the rest of his life.

The only book of Hemingway's I've ever read was The Old Man And The Sea -- a novella, really.  It was one of the first things I grabbed from the library when I got into books and self-education as an adult.  It was an audio version read by Donald Sutherland.  Very good on all accounts.  I found Steinbeck's East of Eden around the same time, which turned out to be a reality-altering experience for me.  That book sparked a road-trip from Texas to Salinas, CA to see the Steinbeck museum.  Great memories. 

Donald Sutherland with that great, baritone voice :+1:
https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

One of my hobbies is to dabble into other languages.  I have found that attempting to learn another language came with the surprise benefit of helping me to love and understand English much better than I did before.  In Western languages like French and Latin, this is particularly true since so many of our words come out of those languages. 

I have been reading The Book of Ecclesiastes in Latin for a good while now and enjoying it very much.  It not only helps my Latin skills but it illuminates the text as I ponder over the lines for a good while, rather than just blazing through like I would in English.  I have a copy where the English appears below the Latin to help me when I get stuck (which is often).  I also find that the English translation taken directly from Latin differs (sometimes greatly) from what the various interpreters have given us for our English Bibles.  The meaning isn't often radically different, but taken from Latin something is often said in a much more archaic way: this makes me look differently at the text and ponder its meaning with fresh eyes. 

Quote from: Silence Dogood on September 02, 2024, 09:01:26 AMOne of my hobbies is to dabble into other languages.  I have found that attempting to learn another language came with the surprise benefit of helping me to love and understand English much better than I did before.  In Western languages like French and Latin, this is particularly true since so many of our words come out of those languages. 

I have been reading The Book of Ecclesiastes in Latin for a good while now and enjoying it very much.  It not only helps my Latin skills but it illuminates the text as I ponder over the lines for a good while, rather than just blazing through like I would in English.  I have a copy where the English appears below the Latin to help me when I get stuck (which is often).  I also find that the English translation taken directly from Latin differs (sometimes greatly) from what the various interpreters have given us for our English Bibles.  The meaning isn't often radically different, but taken from Latin something is often said in a much more archaic way: this makes me look differently at the text and ponder its meaning with fresh eyes. 

Veni,Vidi, Vici ! 😎
Latin used to be widely taught in public high school through the 1950's.  Both my parents had studied it.  These days they barely teach English!
Ecclesiasties is a fascinating book with Solomon's quest to understand the meaning of life.  My parents had me memorizing Bible verses almost as soon as I could talk, one of them was Ecc 12:1. I have passed that on to my children and grandchildren.  And now I am living in the rest of chapter 12 with the poetic description of old age in verses 1-7.  Such beautiful poetry.

Vigilante, custodite fidem


https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

Quote from: 247hoopsfan on September 02, 2024, 11:06:30 AMVeni,Vidi, Vici ! 😎
Latin used to be widely taught in public high school through the 1950's.  Both my parents had studied it.  These days they barely teach English!
Ecclesiasties is a fascinating book with Solomon's quest to understand the meaning of life.  My parents had me memorizing Bible verses almost as soon as I could talk, one of them was Ecc 12:1. I have passed that on to my children and grandchildren.  And now I am living in the rest of chapter 12 with the poetic description of old age in verses 1-7.  Such beautiful poetry.

Vigilante, custodite fidem



Wow, a man after my own heart! Pax Vobiscum!

That's strange as I was pondering Eccl. 12 just this AM.  The bit about the coming days when "ye shall have no pleasure in them" just hit me out of nowhere as I unloaded the dishwasher (quietly as not to wake up my wife - she loves to wake to an unloaded dishwasher).  The value and beauty of poetry is immeasurable, really, but one of the benefits of hiding it away in your heart is how it will pop up and speak to you at sundry and various times in life.  People who do not read miss this along with a million other benefits that make life richer and more meaningful than one can imagine. 

https://www.memoriapress.com/articles/top-10-reasons-studying-latin/

^^^ Here is an article you might want to tuck away for later.  I go back to it now and again when my interest in Latin and stamina for my studies begins to wane.  I love the idea of the author (RIP) where she says, "Latin is not dead; it is immortal."  That is how I feel.  Watching the modern butchery of the English language is sad and disheartening, but it's still possible to dig deep and enjoy language for oneself.  It can only ever enrich life.   

That's a great article, so many of our English words are rooted in Latin, and we are speaking it without even realizing it.
I actually spend more time looking at Hebrew and Greek. I do a lot of Bible study and some speaking at my church.  The King James translators did a fabulous job, but single words can't fully express the meaning found in Hebrew and Greek. For example "love" in the NT.  Is it storge, phileo, Eros, or agape? We have to add adjectives to fully convey the meaning, like familial, brotherly, sexual( where we use the Greek erotic) or sacrificial ( which is our highest calling as Christ- like).
I was raised evangelical, so I was never in masses. But the beauty and solemnity of the Latin is often compelling, like this one. As long as you can understand the meaning!
https://youtu.be/JTbs51Bs_4w?si=c-Hw_GanYVSmCf3V
https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

I'm rereading 1776 by David McCullough (RIP).  This is a deep dive into the year 1776 (really starts in 1775 with Bunker Hill, etc).  Lots about battles and dates, which aren't my favorite part of history, but there is also a ton of great insight into the time and the players involved.  This is a great popular history book to keep by the easy chair. 

I'm doing the audio version read by McCullough.  I've seen several interviews with him over the years and get along well with his style. He was pro-American without being chest-pounding and silly about it.  He knew America was and is a great though imperfect country.  We seem to have lost that balance in recent times in our country. 

I've read or listened to audio versions of most of his books and I enjoyed 1776 too. David McCullough brought history to life through his writing and lectures.

I saw him speak twice at Chautauqua Institution in western NY. If you haven't already done so, make sure you read his book about the Wright Brothers. It took less than 66 years from their first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC in December 1903 until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in July 1969. Neil Armstrong took a piece of the Wright Flyer along for his flight to the moon on Apollo 11.

Quote from: teh on September 07, 2024, 12:51:20 PMI've read or listened to audio versions of most of his books and I enjoyed 1776 too. David McCullough brought history to life through his writing and lectures.

I saw him speak twice at Chautauqua Institution in western NY. If you haven't already done so, make sure you read his book about the Wright Brothers. It took less than 66 years from their first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC in December 1903 until Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in July 1969. Neil Armstrong took a piece of the Wright Flyer along for his flight to the moon on Apollo 11.
I've not read his book on the Wrights, but I do have some more of his stuff in the queue on my library app -- what a wonderful resource! McCullough seemed like a neat guy.  I always enjoyed all the interviews and lectures I'd seen of him.  I also loved how he would hole up in his little backyard office and write on a typewriter.  I guess he'd hand in his work to some editor's office and someone would have to then retype the entire thing on a computer. 

I've always found it interesting not only what authors write, but how they write.  A couple interesting examples:  John Steinbeck wrote all his books via longhand using Blackwing pencils.  He would sharpen a dozen of them, line them up on the desk, and use each one till the tip was blunted; then he'd sharpen all twelve and start the whole thing over again.  C.S. Lewis wrote all his books using a dip pen, writing only four or five words at a time between each dip.  He believed the slow pace this created went perfectly with his thoughts and allowed him to capture exactly what he meant to say at just the right speed. Tolkien wrote all his stuff by hand too.  I think he used fountain pens.  I've seen photos of some of his manuscripts and there is also some video of him demonstrating his calligraphy where he uses a fountain pen. 

All very interesting stuff to me.  YMMV.

KING SOLOMON'S RING
by Konrad Lorenz

(Book overview from amazon)
 The book's title refers to the legendary Seal of Solomon, a ring that supposedly gave King Solomon the power to speak to animals. Lorenz claims that he likewise achieved this feat of communication with several species. He accomplished this by raising them in and around his home and observing their behavior. King Solomon's Ring describes the methods of his investigation, and his resulting findings about animal psychology. Lorenz's findings include the surprisingly refined social system of the common Eurasian jackdaw, the uncanny behavior and bodily features of the tiny water shrew, and the surprisingly complex interactions of seemingly unintelligent aquarium fish. He interlards his narrative with anecdotes based on his unusual methods, without which he could not have made many of his observations. King Solomon's Ring dispels several common misconceptions about animals' intelligence, but at the same time points out many of their similarities with humans, although some of these similarities come from speculative extrapolations (in fact, Lorenz has been criticized for excessive anthropomorphism). King Solomon's Ring also addresses the issue of keeping pets. Lorenz praises the benefits that a pet owner derives from his pet, however, he also describes the hazards that an animal can pose to the inhabitants and material contents of a house, and the ways in which a pet's captivity can make it miserable, and explains how to avoid each of these causes for discontent. A few of the findings it presents have found their way into common knowledge since its publication, such as the phenomenon of imprinting. 'It is one of the best and most penetrating non-technical books about animals and animal nature that has ever been written ... every sensitive reader will agree that the book is a work of humanity, wisdom and balance as well as of delightful humour.' – W H Thorpe

Starry Messenger
by Neil deGrasse Tyson
2022 Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year

With still many pages to go, I'm enjoying this book, having read several others from this particular author.
He can be a bit pompous yet there's no denying that he's quite brilliant.
The following review was written by Scott Woods and edited to the extent that I agree with him.

In his latest book, "Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization", Tyson finally delivers the book I wanted 20 years ago. At the same time,

"Starry Messenger" offers an astrophysicist's takes on war, religion, race and more through a scientific lens, and it doesn't come off nearly as Vulcan as it sounds. Tyson allows for some skin in the game on the issues. And while he does lean into that thing he does these days where he oversimplifies an issue to a logical consideration without any concrete concern for its real world application, he manages to pull the nose of the plane up the majority of the time to keep from being outright offensive.
It's not perfect – plenty of fodder for arguments to be had here. But at least the on-ramps are about 1000 times more researched than the arguments I'm used to getting into.

If you don't like Tyson as a person or a scientist, this book probably won't change your mind. For me, it is the book I've been waiting for him to write. And despite my issues with it academically, I'm glad it exists.

Re-reading CS Lewis classic "The Great Divorce." If you are interested, let me know and I can give you a link to an online version.
https://soundcloud.com/247hoopsfan

1971 Yamaha FG200 (My original guitar)
1996 Yamaha DW5S
2002 Yamaha LL500
1990 Goodall Rosewood Standard
2007 Larrrivee JCL 40th Anniversary
1998 Larrivee OM5MT
1998 Larrivee D10 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"
1998 Larrivee D09 Brazilian "Flying Eagle"

Thanks to Queequeg for the tip on "Starry Messenger" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I could kick myself because he was doing speaking engagements in Pittsburgh and Buffalo last week and I missed both of them. His Star Talk series is also fun to watch.

I just started reading "On Freedom" by Timothy Snyder that my son sent to me. Next week, I will be seeing author and historian Heather Cox Richardson and author and Atlantic magazine contributor Tom Nichols in person. Nichols is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College.


I'm not currently reading it, but I'm looking forward to reading Alex Van Halen's new book 'Brothers' that just dropped this week.  To go along with the book, he also released an instrumental this week online that he and Eddie did some time ago.  It's a great song.  I'm sure there is tons of unreleased material in the VH vault that people would love to hear. 

Powered by EzPortal