Author Topic: What are you reading right now?  (Read 82675 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,845
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #25 on: December 18, 2020, 02:28:28 am »
I don't have anything against it, per se.  I just have a genetic hearing-loss condition and it's easier to read than to try to watch/understand a show on TV when I miss half the dialogue. 

@Polly Ticks

HUH??

SAY WHAT??

They have this new thing now called "closed captioning". I am in my 70's,was an avid hunter and shooter as a child (got my first shotgun when I was 8!),was a Special Forces weapons man for almost 6 years in the army,and served a tour and a half in VN before getting medi-evaced.

After I got out of the army,I went to gunsmith school,and became a professional gunsmith,even building custom rifles and pistols/revolvers and developing custom loads for customers weapons.


I serisouly doubt your hearing is worse than mine.

One other good thing about closed-captioning with a ROKU (and I assume other streaming devices) is you can adjust the size of the font,the background color (if you want one),and even the style if you find one that "works" better for you than the others.

Great stuff. If I didn't have it,I'd have to throw my teebee out in the yard.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2020, 02:30:03 am by sneakypete »
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,845
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #26 on: December 18, 2020, 02:31:51 am »
Once I find an author I like, I tend to try to read everything that person has written, as the local library probably could attest. The preferred genre is suspense/mystery fiction. My favorites - at least, at the moment - are Ruth Rendell and Dean Koontz, but I've gone on streaks of trying to find everything available from Jonathan Kellerman, James Patterson, David Baldacci, Dick Francis, P.D. James, Georges Simenon, Agatha Christie and Patricia Cornwell. The last two I read (this week) were John Le Carre's "Our Kind of Traitor" and Koontz's "False Memory."

 Alas, the libary is temporarily closed, although I think I can order books online and pick them up at the curb.

@mountaineer

Love ALL of them,and am slightly ashamed to say I only recently started reading Patricia Cromwell. GREAT stuff!
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,845
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #27 on: December 18, 2020, 02:33:41 am »
I'm with ya on that ... no paranormal stuff for me either.

@bigheadfred @libertybele

I just tell people I don't like it.

After all,nothing scares me but Dims and Rinos.
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #28 on: December 18, 2020, 02:44:18 am »
I am not familiar with that one, but I love reading speculative fiction and have more than a couple YA titles on my (real-world and digital) bookshelves.

75 now. These books don't take me long.

This is a new series with book two now available.

Several other authors that I read their book series.

Alan Dean Foster and Orson Scott Card are other faves.

I read on a fire tablet with Kindle Unlimited. Our little local library is fairly LDS. Not many books  there worth reading or I have read them.

The last time I went to the library I shoveled snow. Seriously. They thought that was great.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #29 on: December 18, 2020, 02:53:23 am »


Louis L'Amour   western author,anything he ever wrote is as good as it gets.
The only book of his that I read was "Last of the Breed". about a Native American pilot that gets shot down in the Soviet Union. He is captured and manages to escape. He is hunted by  oned of the captors and has to use all of his training from the military and a relative to evade capture. Loved it.
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline verga

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 9,702
  • Gender: Male
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #30 on: December 18, 2020, 03:01:21 am »
I have been buying used copies of the Patrick McManus books and reading them piece meal. IO am also reading/ rereading some of the classics on my Kindle. Just finished "Around the world in 80 days" and am about 1/4 of the way through "20,000 Leagues under the sea." I love the way Verne applies Scientific principles and details to his stories. I am also brushing up on my chess by rereading some bookson that. 
In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.
�More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.�-Woody Allen
If God invented marathons to keep people from doing anything more stupid, the triathlon must have taken him completely by surprise.

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #31 on: December 18, 2020, 03:05:32 am »
@bigheadfred @libertybele

I just tell people I don't like it.

After all,nothing scares me but Dims and Rinos.

I have terrible nightmares. No use feeding the beast.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #32 on: December 18, 2020, 03:16:09 am »
The only book of his that I read was "Last of the Breed". about a Native American pilot that gets shot down in the Soviet Union. He is captured and manages to escape. He is hunted by  oned of the captors and has to use all of his training from the military and a relative to evade capture. Loved it.

Oh man! I grew up on Louis L'Amour. BEST_THING_EVER. His westerns are easy reading and usually about 150 pages.... And I can't put them down... Burn through a whole book in three hours or so... Over 100 of them, and I will personally endorse every single one. Especially the Sackett books.

I am currently looking for a complete commemorative set in leather . I mean it. They're great!!

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,397
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #33 on: December 18, 2020, 08:55:53 am »
I have read tons of books and used to have the entire Hardy boys collection.

I do watch tv. Docs mostly. Prime or YT.

Dick Francis was one that I have read most of his books.

All the Classics. Took class lit in college. And a poetry course. I love Robert Frost.
I was a huge Hardy Boys fan...Never had them all, but most. I had some Horatio Alger then, too, and a lot of Twain and Conan Doyle. Just reading technical stuff lately, mostly.
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline Gefn

  • "And though she be but little she is fierce"-Shakespeare
  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,177
  • Gender: Female
  • Quos Deus Vult Perdere Prius Dementat
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #34 on: December 18, 2020, 02:51:12 pm »
The only “horror” author I can stomach is Poe.

Stephen King’s little book “On Writing” is excellent but it’s obviously not scary.

For some reason I do enjoy true crime if I’m in the mood. Give me something by Ann Rule, on a rainy day and I’m happy.
G-d bless America. G-d bless us all                                 

Adopt a puppy or kitty from your local shelter
Or an older dog or cat. They're true love❤️

Offline mountaineer

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 78,108
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #35 on: December 18, 2020, 04:30:28 pm »
Ann Rule is good, too, @Gefn ! Probably the best in the true crime genre.
Support Israel's emergency medical service. afmda.org

Offline libertybele

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,522
  • Gender: Female
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #36 on: December 18, 2020, 04:39:19 pm »
I was a huge Hardy Boys fan...Never had them all, but most. I had some Horatio Alger then, too, and a lot of Twain and Conan Doyle. Just reading technical stuff lately, mostly.

I was a huge Nancy Drew fan and I when I finished all of those books I began reading the Hardy Boys.
Romans 12:16-21

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Offline Smokin Joe

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,397
  • I was a "conspiracy theorist". Now I'm just right.
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #37 on: December 18, 2020, 04:42:21 pm »
I was a huge Nancy Drew fan and I when I finished all of those books I began reading the Hardy Boys.
When I ran out of Hardy Boys, I read some Nancy Drew books, too.  :beer:
How God must weep at humans' folly! Stand fast! God knows what he is doing!
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

C S Lewis

Offline mountaineer

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 78,108
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #38 on: December 18, 2020, 04:45:35 pm »
It was a natural progression, Bobbsey Twins to Nancy Drew to Hardy Boys.  :laugh:
Support Israel's emergency medical service. afmda.org

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #39 on: December 19, 2020, 12:14:53 am »
When I ran out of Hardy Boys, I read some Nancy Drew books, too.  :beer:

Me too.

I like history novels. Gulag Archipelago is a must.

I even took a stab at Plutarch's Lives. Et tu...teehee
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline Cyber Liberty

  • Coffee! Donuts! Kittens!
  • Administrator
  • ******
  • Posts: 79,867
  • Gender: Male
  • 🌵🌵🌵
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #40 on: December 19, 2020, 12:18:33 am »
Me too.

I like history novels. Gulag Archipelago is a must.

I even took a stab at Plutarch's Lives. Et tu...teehee

I liked The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe, said to be among the very first stories in the
Detective Genre.  Mrs. Liberty has the collected set of Agatha Christie.
For unvaccinated, we are looking at a winter of severe illness and death — if you’re unvaccinated — for themselves, their families, and the hospitals they’ll soon overwhelm. Sloe Joe Biteme 12/16
I will NOT comply.
 
Castillo del Cyber Autonomous Zone ~~~~~>                          :dontfeed:

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #41 on: December 19, 2020, 12:23:42 am »
I liked The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe, said to be among the very first stories in the
Detective Genre.  Mrs. Liberty has the collected set of Agatha Christie.

The wife has a ton of V C Andrews.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #42 on: December 19, 2020, 01:00:38 am »
My grandson wants the new Harry Potter, but he looked and they are all sold out. Bummer. If he had grandparents who cared they would have bought a copy weeks before the surge....

He is going to be stoked.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline libertybele

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 56,522
  • Gender: Female
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #43 on: December 19, 2020, 01:03:45 am »
My grandson wants the new Harry Potter, but he looked and they are all sold out. Bummer. If he had grandparents who cared they would have bought a copy weeks before the surge....

He is going to be stoked.

Awesomeness!!  The look on his face I'm sure will be priceless.
Romans 12:16-21

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, do not claim to be wiser than you are.  Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.  If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all…do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Offline bigheadfred

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18,511
  • Gender: Male
  • One day Closer
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #44 on: December 19, 2020, 01:13:30 am »
Awesomeness!!  The look on his face I'm sure will be priceless.

He is such a good kid. 11 years old. His other g-pop is working to get the rest of the ones my grandson doesn't own. But the kid has read them all. What kind of kid just wants a book for Christmas?

My mom is suffering from onset dementia. Her birthday is the 21st. I Always sent her a book for her b day. Religion type books--commentaries, etc. or history. She was never a stick in the mud and the last book I gave her was Gary Wayne's--'Genesis Six'.
She asked me name my foe then. I said the need within some men to fight and kill their brothers without thought of Love or God. Ken Hensley

Offline sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,845
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #45 on: December 19, 2020, 03:14:54 am »
The only book of his that I read was "Last of the Breed". about a Native American pilot that gets shot down in the Soviet Union. He is captured and manages to escape. He is hunted by  oned of the captors and has to use all of his training from the military and a relative to evade capture. Loved it.

@verga

They are ALL writen with that same care and attention to details. Trust me.

Wait until you "meet" the Sackett's.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2020, 03:16:10 am by sneakypete »
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline jafo2010

  • Moderator
  • *****
  • Posts: 5,525
  • Dems-greatest existential threat to USA republic!
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #46 on: December 19, 2020, 04:36:46 am »
Wow....looks like this has taken off like a rocket.  I find it very interesting that everyone here enjoys reading.  Usually, when I meet someone new that I click with we get on the subject of books, and I often ask who are your 2,3, 4 favorite writers?

Like sneakpete, I am a big W.E.B. Griffin fan.  Years ago, I met a salesman for one of the tech companies trying to sell me something, and he was a West Point grad, and we got on the subject of books.  He asked me if I was familiar with Griffin, I said no, he said you have to read him, he is great.

He suggested I read The Corps, a series of books by Griffin.  I loved them.  And I have read everything he has written to date, and I am sorry to say, he has not published anything in 2019 and 2020 is a blank so far too.  He was publishing two books a year.  And like Clancy, he had another working with him, in his case his son.  I do not know why they haven't come out with anything over the last two years.  I am afraid W.E.B. perhaps has health issues.

I love the characters he builds.  My favorite series is a more recent one, By Order of the President, I believe is the first book in the series.  Loved it.  For me, perhaps more than any other writer, he is great at developing characters in his books, and he infuses humor in his books that has me laughing here and there through the book.  His latest series is my least favorite, which covers the timeframe right after the end of the war in Europe, WWII.

Several folks mentioned they love historical fiction.  Griffin is great, and I am so happy to see so many interested in the same here.  Since this is a site dedicated to politics, it only makes sense we all would have an interest in historical fiction. 

I would like to make another suggestion too.  Since so many are interested in historical fiction, maybe we can also launch a book reading effort on historical fiction, where those interested, we all pick a historical fiction book and read it together and discuss it online.  Let me know if any of you want to consider that as an idea!

Back to the list on this thread so far, there are a number of writers I loved mentioned.  Griffin I mentioned.  I also love Clancy, Baldacci, Child, Koontz, and others.  One interesting note on Clancy.  I loved Clancy, but as most of you may know, he died in October, 2013, and some of his best work, has been since he died.  His ghost writers have taken over, and there are three I believe so far cranking out two books per year.  I enjoyed almost all of them, but Command Authority sticks in my head from about five years ago or so.  Great book.

I take on a new writer, I tend to read their books chronologically if I can.  Several of you have mentioned Louis L'Amour, and I think he will be my next writer.  He was prolific if I recall from looking in the past at his list of books.  So a lot to read there.  Plus, I am curious about Sharon Kay Penman.  Never heard of her, so I will check her out too, and perhaps read her and L'Amour, alternating books as I go.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2020, 04:40:59 am by jafo2010 »

Offline sneakypete

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 52,845
  • Twitter is for Twits
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #47 on: December 19, 2020, 04:40:31 pm »

Several of you have mentioned Louis L'Amour, and I think he will be my next writer.  He was prolific if I recall from looking in the past at his list of books.  So a lot to read there.   

@jafo2010
 
You just can't go wrong with L'Amour if you like reading books about history that are so captivating it's hard to put one down once you start reading it.

Do yourself a favor and try to read each series in order. If you don't,you will miss a lot of the references in later books of that series. This is maybe especially true of "The Sacketts" books. For example,it is even split into "regular" Sacketts,and "Clinch Mountain Sacketts",who are an entirely different breed and prone to violence at the drop of a hat. Still painfully honest and faithful,but nobody to screw with.

Quote
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackett
« Last Edit: December 19, 2020, 04:42:26 pm by sneakypete »
Anyone who isn't paranoid in 2021 just isn't thinking clearly!

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #48 on: December 19, 2020, 04:53:54 pm »
My grandson wants the new Harry Potter, but he looked and they are all sold out. Bummer. If he had grandparents who cared they would have bought a copy weeks before the surge....

He is going to be stoked.

For Sci Fi Fan... My favorite series is Donaldson - The Thomas Covenant Unbeliever series... Probably pretty heavy for a kid... Late teen or more... But I would put it right up there close to Tolkien. Complicated... very good.

Dragon riders of Pern - Anne McCaffery Mid Teen and up... Excellent story, easy reading.

the Pelbar Cycle - Paul O. Williams. Mid Teen and up... More of an after-armeggedon thing, and the reiscovery of old (our) technology... not reallly fantasy, but the story line and characters are serious. He builds an awesome world from the dregs of our own...

Great series...  All of them.

Offline roamer_1

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 43,289
Re: What are you reading right now?
« Reply #49 on: December 19, 2020, 05:05:26 pm »
Several folks mentioned they love historical fiction.  Griffin is great, and I am so happy to see so many interested in the same here.  Since this is a site dedicated to politics, it only makes sense we all would have an interest in historical fiction.

Not really 'historical fiction' But I was a very big fan of Clive Cussler wrt his first books... Of 'Raise the Titanic' fame... And a later movie, 'Sahara'... The unstoppable Dirk Pitt and his sidekick Al Giordino always lead you down a rollicking tale, and no matter how implausible, there is always an historical element, and classic cars.  I lost interest in the later ones... but the first six novels or so are excellent.

Quote
I take on a new writer, I tend to read their books chronologically if I can.  Several of you have mentioned Louis L'Amour, and I think he will be my next writer.  He was prolific if I recall from looking in the past at his list of books.

120 or so all told... Very easy to read short stories, about 150 pages... And within the first 5 pages you will have escaped this realm to the sights and smells of the old west... Excellent stories best read in order, but they all stand alone... If you want to escape for an afternoon, there is no better way.

Zane Gray comes close in the same genre. Not quite as good to me, but that is largely because the character interchange in the L'amour books... They are loosely interlaced where Zane's are not.