What are you reading?

I have finished 1776 by David McCullough.

It was a magnificent account of Washington's military defeats - and ultimate triumph - during that awful year. His army went through nearly indescribable difficulties and sufferings to win America its freedom from Britain, and McCullough manages to tell this story in flowing prose which reads like a novel. We owe those soldiers so much. The people who spit on our founders' graves today should read this and reconsider.

I am now reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson.
 
mikeT said:
Sadly, I'm not reading anything right now.

At some time in my early thirties, I stopped having the desire to read for fun. My job entailed reading and writing things daily, and I attributed a good chunk of this loss of desire to it. Since then, I've come to recognize a few other factors which probably led to it, as well. I used to be a voracious reader; I miss the excitement of starting a new book, or getting back to one I'd been enjoying.

However, to help the thread, I'll post what I read last:

Reamde, by Neal Stephenson. I'd asked a friend for suggestions, and said I wanted something fun or exciting, rather than informative. He recommended this book, warning that I shouldn't be intimidated by its length (1000+ pages)

I'm posting to this thread both to support it, and also to help me find the desire to try reading again...
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I understand that. I could read a book in a night, not able to put it down. Now I find it hard to push myself to read.

I enjoyed Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal, he had a section in the back for comments on how forgiveness was understood. It is interesting to see the different editions and how that understanding has changed. It is also interesting to see how it is understood by those of various religious backgrounds.

The most interesting one was the one written by one of the men Simon spoke to, he was a prisoner in Nuremberg whose name escapes me. He said something like no one can ease another person burden but you have lightened mine. I mean Simon was a prisoner in the camps an this is what his enemy said about him. It says a lot about Simon.
 
balshan said:
I understand that. I could read a book in a night, not able to put it down. Now I find it hard to push myself to read.

I enjoyed Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal, he had a section in the back for comments on how forgiveness was understood. It is interesting to see the different editions and how that understanding has changed. It is also interesting to see how it is understood by those of various religious backgrounds.

The most interesting one was the one written by one of the men Simon spoke to, he was a prisoner in Nuremberg whose name escapes me. He said something like no one can ease another person burden but you have lightened mine. I mean Simon was a prisoner in the camps an this is what his enemy said about him. It says a lot about Simon.
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Thank you for the thoughtful post, balshan. :)
 
mikeT said:
Sadly, I'm not reading anything right now.

At some time in my early thirties, I stopped having the desire to read for fun. My job entailed reading and writing things daily, and I attributed a good chunk of this loss of desire to it. Since then, I've come to recognize a few other factors which probably led to it, as well. I used to be a voracious reader; I miss the excitement of starting a new book, or getting back to one I'd been enjoying.

However, to help the thread, I'll post what I read last:

Reamde, by Neal Stephenson. I'd asked a friend for suggestions, and said I wanted something fun or exciting, rather than informative. He recommended this book, warning that I shouldn't be intimidated by its length (1000+ pages)

I'm posting to this thread both to support it, and also to help me find the desire to try reading again...
Click to expand...
I too recognise this feeling. I find it hard to commit to a new author even when recommended to do so. I am overcoming this by returning to books I read and enjoyed a very long time ago. I am seeing them with fresh eyes and with greater knowledge of the world, and I'm getting a lot out of it. I am currently rereading " The Integral Trees" by Larry Niven. For some reason this was never published in the UK, so I discovered it on my first visit to America aged 17. Apart from enjoying the story again, I am also revitalising fifty year old memories of travelling though Georgia by Trailways and exploring Washington DC.
 
Temujin said:
I am currently rereading " The Integral Trees" by Larry Niven. For some reason this was never published in the UK, so I discovered it on my first visit to America aged 17. Apart from enjoying the story again, I am also revitalising fifty year old memories of travelling though Georgia by Trailways and exploring Washington DC.
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Are sure it was not published in the UK? I read it in the eighties, I think from a library (in the UK). Took me a while to understand the title - longer than reading the book! Niven was one of my favourite authors back in the eighties.

Nowadays I borrow library books on my phone, which means I can read when waiting in a queue or whatever. Currently reading "In the lives of puppets" by TJ Klune. Not an author I had heard of, but not a bad book; a reverse Pinocchio.
 
I am currently reading Conceived in Liberty by Murray N. Rothbard, which is about early American history.
 
I abandoned the Rothbard book quickly because it was pretty dry and I heard negative reports about the author's reliability and objectivity.

I am now reading George Washington's writings. They're mostly letters. I'm up to the early Revolutionary War period.
 
I'm currently reading Ron Chernow's biography of George Washington, Washington: A Life.

I have not finished Washington's writings yet. I thought I should read this to get more background about what is going on. I may return to the writings and letters of Washington when I've completed this biography.
 
Torin said:
What are you reading? :)

I'm hoping people will respond to this thread more than once over time as they read different books. The Books subforum here moves very slowly, so ideally this thread will serve as one place for "water cooler discussion" between members of the forum community.

I'll reply below to kick off the thread.
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Six Ideas That Shaped Physics - Unit R: The Laws of Physics Are Frame-Independent

Thomas A. Moore

____
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Currently not reading any non-fiction. For my fiction I'm reading "The Year's Best Science Fiction - Eighth Annual Collection" edited by Gardner Dozois. "Every sf reader who likes short stories . . . probably know that this is the best place to look for a good overview of the previous year." (The New York Review of Science Fiction.)
 
Torin said:
I have finished 1776 by David McCullough.

It was a magnificent account of Washington's military defeats - and ultimate triumph - during that awful year. His army went through nearly indescribable difficulties and sufferings to win America its freedom from Britain, and McCullough manages to tell this story in flowing prose which reads like a novel. We owe those soldiers so much. The people who spit on our founders' graves today should read this and reconsider.

I am now reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson.
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Franklin's "Edict of the King of Prussia" and "Rules by which a great empire may be reduced" were quite interesting insights into the catalysts for the US revolutionary war.
 
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