It's March 2017 Already- What Non-Fiction Are You Reading?

It's March 2017 Already- What Non-Fiction Are You Reading?

Still reading John Steinbeck's A Russian Journal.

Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson

I just started The Fabric of Reality. Tags: epistemology, physics, metaphysics, biology, philosophy of science, math, virtual reality

The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene.

>5 ThomasWatson:

Hey, Thomas. Are we both reading similar books, or are you just recommending that one to me as a more recent treatment of some of the topics and ideas in the Deutsch book? I was led to The Fabric of Reality, by the way, by an appended citation in the science fiction novel Brasyl.

Started The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts by
Joshua Hammer.

I'm reading Vimy by Pierre Berton for a book club.

JulieLill: I wish that book had more about the librarians!

>I'm not familiar with the book by Deutsch, so I can't compare it to the one by Greene. If you're interesting the concept of a multiverse, The Hidden Reality, which I just finished over the weekend, is one I would recommend checking out.

I haven't read Brasyl but the sci fi group here talks about it often enough that I've put it on my list.

>8 LynnB: I'm about half way through the book and boy did it take a turn from saving books. I am enjoying it but I didn't realize I was getting a primer on Middle East terrorism.

Coming back to say that, unfortunately, I found Steinbeck's book on Russia "dated"; would be of interest more to folks specifically into Russian history, or with a strong interest in 40s Europe.

I'm reading The Right to be Cold: One Woman's Story of Protecting her Culture, The Arctic and the Whole Planet by Sheila Watt-Cloutier.

I'm reading Innocent at home which is a 60s book about travelling in America, and The Air b'n'b story which is a NetGalley advanced review copy and pretty well done so far.

I'm almost 1/2 way through Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith. This is right up my alley, but I'm disappointed by some bad writing, imprecise language and the overly simplistic approach. It isn't all bad, but I wanted something deeper and more scientifically rigorous.

>14 Bookmarque: Looks like something that would have interested me. To bad it didn't live up to its potential.

I just finished A Wilderness of error about the Jeffrey MacDonald case. I had read a lot about it when the Joe McGinnis book first came out but this one appears to be far more balanced looking it.

Finished The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts by Joshua Hammer. I really enjoyed this and had a hard putting it down.

It's not a total waste, Sylvia, but it's more simplistic than I anticipated. Could be all on my end.

>7 JulieLill: Haven't read the book yet but have read several articles about the brave librarians. Amazing story

Just finished INSOMNIAC CITY
New York, Oliver, and Me Its not just a love story to Oliver Sachs, but to NYC as well.

I'm reading The Massey Murder: A Maid, her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country by Charlotte Gray.

I'm between non-fiction books at the moment, but I'm planning on shortly starting on Isky: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding by Max Stone. I won it in the Early Reviewers, and it looks like a good book; Iskenderian is an interesting man.

I recently finished reading Spice: The History of a Temptation by Jack Turner, which was very interesting but a slow read that was hard to get through.

I'm reading The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough.

Just started The Hidden Reality by Brian Greene - an introduction to the various theories of the multiverse. I expect to have my mind blown!

I decided to take advantage of the lull between nonfiction books to read Ernest Hemingway: Man of Courage by Kurt Singer and Jane Sherrod. So far it's pretty interesting.

Finished The Inkblots, an LTER book. In telling the story of Herman Rorschach and his test, the book also gives a glimpse into the other persons involved in originating psychological theory and the field of psychotherapy as it's been practiced and viewed from then to the present. It's an engaging and interesting story.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou
5/5 stars
This is the first autobiography of Maya Angelou in which she tells the story of her life from birth to young adulthood and the birth of her son Guy in the early 40's. I was blown away with her writing and her recollection of a severe and difficult life growing up in America as an African American child and young woman. She is an amazing writer and I am looking forward to reading more of her books.

>25 snash: That books sounds interesting! Adding to my reading list.

>25 snash:
That is one book that I really would like to read! I've entered for it every time it popped up in the Early Reviewers, but never won it. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It looks so interesting. :-)

I'm reading The Modern Writer and his World, a book on English literature published in the 1950s which gives a fascinating insight into attitudes of that time.

>29 LyzzyBee:
That book sounds fascinating indeed, I'll have to look into some time. :-)

I finished Ernest Hemingway: Man of Courage by Kurt Singer and Jane Sherrod. It was a very good and informative look into the famous author's life, and I enjoyed it.

Will Not Attend: Lively Stories of Detachment and Isolation by Adam Resnick
4/5 stars
Comedy writer Adam Resnick, who has written for David Letterman and Saturday Night Live, now writes about his life in a series of essays that are fabulously funny and yet disturbing. I could not help but laugh through these stories and some hit very close to home. Recommended to those not afraid of dark humor.

Started Max Perkins: Editor of a Genius by A. Scott Berg.

>30 SDaisy: I'm not sure how hugely available it is, I picked it up in a second hand book place. If you get it, get the 3rd edition, which has info on the Angry Young Men and their like.

I reread Generations in 2017 to see if the future is panning out as predicted. Many predictions seem right on although I don't see Millennials as civic minded but rather narcissistic. Maybe they just haven't been galvanized by purpose yet.

>32 LyzzyBee:
Thanks! :-)

I read and liked The Legendary Miss Lena Horne by Carole Boston Weatherford, a beautifully illustrated juvenile biography.

I just wrapped up The Serpent Symbol in the Ancient Near East and posted my review. I'm glad to have this one in my library.

Started on Isky: Ed Iskenderian and the History of Hot Rodding by Max Stone last night. So far it's super good!

I'm reading Chronicles Abroad: Berlin, which are "tales of the city" (some fiction, some nonfiction) by several famous people. It's edited by John Miller and Tim Smith.

I'm reading The Romanovs 1613-1918 by Simon Sebag-Montefiore.

Half way through Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World by Joan Druett. An engrossing true adventure.

Maude by Donna Mabry
3.5/5 stars
This is the story of Maude, a woman born in the late 1800s and written by her granddaughter. The reader is taken on a nonstop journey that was Maude's life-from losing her parents early and then her first husband, marrying her second husband because of the social mores at the time and dealing with the major events in her life time from WWI, the flu epidemic, the depression and WWII. Life was hard for Maude but she kept her spirits up and kept going. A fast read and a very interesting look back at a woman's life in the 1900s. And no more complaining about house work for me!

>40 nrmay: Did not know that the Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island was based on a true story. Glad to hear your rating and review when done with the book.

I've just started Mail Obsession which is about a man visiting each postcode district in the UK and finding an obscure fact about each. I do like a "quest" book and this seems to be a good one.

>43 LyzzyBee: Sounds interesting!