books: what are you currently reading?

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

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Mike
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Quote from: StringPicker6 on September 10, 2022, 09:55:31 AM
I had to return The Artist's Way the the library since it was due, and then went out and bought a copy. It's a fantastic book if anyone wants to discover or re-discover their inner artist.

I read that book many moons ago.  Loved it.  The book was so successful that Julia Cameron now has a good number of books in "The Artist's Way" series.  I bet all of them are good.  What were some of your take-aways from the book?

Yes, she wrote many more, but I was advised to just read her first, since the others tend to repeat what she teaches. For me, the biggest take away was to free my mind again to think independently.  I was 18 years old when the internet started gaining steam in 1994. So I remember my brain pre-internet vs. todays internet, smart phone and streaming tv world. This book helped me remember how to be a creative thinking person again. I realize just now that I'm writing this on the internet...  :arrow
Larrivee P-03
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2023  Larrivee L-09

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Both interesting and (more importantly) accessible to those with some, but limited scientific background.

I recently got the Word of Promise Audio Bible read by a cast of famous actors (Michael York, Jim Caviezel, et al) and I've been enjoying it.  It's not a dramatized or shortened version, but the actual text being read word-for-word, but with actors doing the different parts.  There is some great string music going in the background too.  One of my favorite parts is that no one chimes in and says when it's a new chapter (there were no chapters and verses in the original Bibles), but they only announce the name of the book at the start of it.  I downloaded mine through Audible.  I had been going through it via my public library's app but it kept crashing due to the size of the book (I guess).  Anyway, I wanted my own copy anyway.  Highly recommended if you're so inclined. 

Based on this thread's recommendation, I just started reading A Gentleman in Moscow today. So far, I'm enjoying the first 25 pages.
Larrivee P-03
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THE MEANING OF IT ALL: THOUGHTS OF A CITIZEN SCIENTIST
by theoretical physicist Richard Feynman [1918-1988]
This volume is a collection of his lectures. Good and pretty easily digestible (even for me).

from amazon:
Many appreciate Richard P. Feynman's contributions to twentieth-century physics, but few realize how engaged he was with the world around him -- how deeply and thoughtfully he considered the religious, political, and social issues of his day. Now, a wonderful book -- based on a previously unpublished, three-part public lecture he gave at the University of Washington in 1963 -- shows us this other side of Feynman, as he expounds on the inherent conflict between science and religion, people's distrust of politicians, and our universal fascination with flying saucers, faith healing, and mental telepathy. Here we see Feynman in top form: nearly bursting into a Navajo war chant, then pressing for an overhaul of the English language (if you want to know why Johnny can't read, just look at the spelling of "friend"); and, finally, ruminating on the death of his first wife from tuberculosis. This is quintessential Feynman -- reflective, amusing, and ever enlightening.

Not so much reading as listening, but it's time for my yearly go-round with THE GIFT OF THE MAGI by O. Henry via audiobook, and A CHILD'S CHRISTMAS IN WALES by Dylan Thomas (and read by Dylan Thomas).  If you're interested in Thomas's Wales story/poem/memory, here is a good link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HoxycLmMOk&list=LL&index=16 

I'm enjoying audiobooks, too. And thanks for the Dylan Thomas link, Silence.  :thumb

Currently listening to this series of lectures.
Einstein's Relativity and the Quantum Revolution [Modern Physics for Non-Scientists] by Richard Wolfson, Ph.D. Professor, Middlebury College

Here's one recent review (not my own).
The instructor does an excellent job of communicating the ideas behind relativity and quantum mechanics. This is not a technical course - it is primarily presented qualitatively and provides many tangible examples. I believe it helped me to better visualize the ideas and for that I am thankful. It is dated; but I do not think that detracts because the ideas are timeless.



The Creative Act: A Way of Being
About the Author
Rick Rubin is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time and the most successful producer in any genre by Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with artists from Tom Petty to Adele, Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys to Slayer, Kanye West to the Strokes, and System of a Down to Jay-Z.

Quote from: Queequeg on March 30, 2023, 09:42:21 PMThe Creative Act: A Way of Being
About the Author
Rick Rubin is a nine-time GRAMMY-winning producer, named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time and the most successful producer in any genre by Rolling Stone. He has collaborated with artists from Tom Petty to Adele, Johnny Cash to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys to Slayer, Kanye West to the Strokes, and System of a Down to Jay-Z.

Have you watched his conversations with Paul McCartney? They're on Youtube.   

Quote from: ducktrapper on March 30, 2023, 10:48:38 PMHave you watched his conversations with Paul McCartney? They're on Youtube.   
No. I heard about them but didn't know they were available on youtube.
Much obliged.  :thumb

I'm currently reading some old detective novels by Georges Simenon and his French police character Maigret.  Short books and a fun escape to pre WWII Paris.   :beer
Larrivee P-03
Epiphone USA Texan
2023  Larrivee L-09

Walden... Trying to slow down, get back to core values. Simplicity, quiet, creation, and Creator.
Remember when the music came from wooden boxes strung with silver wires...

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I have been trying to get my mind to slow down, simplify and get back to core values also, Hooked.  Looks like I need to grab my copy of Walden.  Thanks for the tip!
Larrivee P-03
Epiphone USA Texan
2023  Larrivee L-09

I think I read Walden back when I was first getting into books and seeking to slow down, get back to a more natural way of life, etc.  The bit about most men leading "lives of quiet desperation" is very memorable and very well-stated.   I've only read a couple books so far this year.  For me it's mostly been podcasts and lectures geared toward history.  It's just where my mind is at right now.  I've also been working a lot of hours and exercising regularly.  All that takes a narrowing of the focus for me to keep me on the path.  I'll get back to books though, always do. 

About half way through Stephen Hawking's A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME.
Intellectually, this guy was probably on a par with Einstein.

"The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams"
by Stacy Schiff.

Every town in the colonies had a militia. These towns were all linked together by the 1775 version of the internet - the Committees of Correspondence. Horse back riders moved news and information up and down the East Coast. The vast majority of colonists opposed the tyranny being imposed upon them by a distant government. Together they rose up, risking their lives and fortunes. The end result was the birth of a new nation.
Rob

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I'm rereading THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH by CS Lewis.

Quote from: Silence Dogood on May 02, 2023, 03:26:21 PMI'm rereading THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH by CS Lewis.
And if you haven't done so, also Voyage to Venus and Out of the Silent Planet.
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