Author Topic: Read any good books lately?  (Read 20313 times)

Tom

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Read any good books lately?
« on: October 02, 2019, 09:20:51 AM »
I've read a few books that I think most here would enjoy, specifically "How to read Water: clues and patterns from puddles to the sea" by Tristan Gooley. 

Two others I found very enjoyable were:
"Lost in Shangi-La, a true story of survival, adventure, and the most incredible rescue mission of World War II" by Mitchell Zuckoff. It's about a rescue mission in New Guinea when we knew very little about New Guinea.

"If a Pirate I Must Be..., The True Story of Black Bart, King of the Caribbean Pirates" by Richard Sanders. I found that I had no idea what pirates were like.

So any good suggestions?

clay

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2019, 09:53:19 AM »
I'm enjoying and about midway through the Civilized to Death audiobook.  Giving me some insight into how we went from say wayfinders in wooden canoes to destroyers/aircraft carriers.
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Tom

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2019, 09:56:55 AM »
Clay, I'll check that out. How to read Water goes into Polynesian wayfinding plus some of Arab sailors.
 

nalu-sup

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2019, 09:58:23 AM »
Now that you ask.... I have been debating about how, and even if, I should bring up something on the forum, and your new topic provided such synchronicity that the answer became obvious.
Just yesterday, I finally submitted to Apple iBooks an e-book project that I have been working on daily for a year and a half. Here is a brief description that I submitted to Apple describing this new book titled 'The Spirit of Icarus':
 
"The author uses the Greek myth of Icarus as a metaphor for that internal spirit that drives extreme athletes to pursue adventures not unlike Icarus’s own flight close to the sun. The reader is presented with true stories of adventure, exciting drama, humor, and philosophy from along the Icarus path. The author’s personal life-adventures offer a timeline to introduce many extreme sports, along with stories, quotes, and photos from others who have pursued these paths. This 357-page book, with over 325 enlargeable photos, is divided into four Parts broken up into 25 Chapters. Part I, ‘Mountains,’ includes chapters on ski racing, freestyle skiing, extreme skiing, helicopter skiing and more. Part II, ‘Water,’ explores slalom water skiing, ocean sailing, surfing, and windsurfing in high winds and surf. Part III, ‘Land,’ contains tales of motorcycle adventures. Lastly, Part IV, ‘Air,’ contains stories of parachuting, hang-gliding, and cliff diving. The book closes with a philosophical exploration of the mental challenges and rewards of following the Icarus path."

Once a finished project like this has been submitted to Apple, it can be anywhere from a day to a few weeks before it is released on the iBooks site as an electronic book suitable for viewing on any Apple product. People could check in to the iBook store periodically, or I will come back with a brief notification of when it is available. I think it is a read that most people on this forum would enjoy. Among the 325+ photos, there are a few choice SUP surfing photos provided by Robert Stehlik of Blue Planet Surf, and Andrew Cassidy with Sunova.

When the book is released, there will be the option to read a few free sample sections to see if it appeals to you, so please check it out. Positive reviews are always welcome if you enjoy the book.
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PonoBill

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #4 on: October 02, 2019, 04:48:16 PM »
Cool, Nalu, that's sounds great.

I'm more or less finished writing Riding Anouk. The sequel to Riding Sophia. I'll get it up on Amazon as soon as I remember to.

For books to read, or perhaps better to listen to, there's "Sapiens", "Homo Deus", and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century" by the historian Yuval Noah Harari. Fantastic books, and relevant to the current nihilistic political environment we currently get to enjoy around the world. I've both read the books and listened to them, then read them again, and now I'm listening again.

Sadly, I'm deeply involved in coding again, so I'm reading a lot of books on C and programming for Arduino. Most of you probably just stopped reading right there. I don't blame you. I become very boring whenever I do this, or on any of my physics kicks. Which reminds me, you can't go wrong listening to or reading any or all of Carlo Rovelli's books. Elegant thinking. elegant writing. He reads "Seven Brief Lessons on Physics" himself, and it's a pleasure. If you'd like to think you understand Loop Quantum gravity for perhaps a few days until the spell wears off, then this is how you do that.

I've also listened to "Outland" by Dennis Taylor, read by the inimitable Ray Porter. Mr. Porter can transport you to places you can't possibly be, as so he amply demonstrated in "the bobiverse" series, also by Dennis Taylor. If you haven't experienced the Bobiverse you have a treat coming, similar in engagement level to "The Martian". When I have all four grandsons in the truck on a long drive and I'm tired of hearing them I put on the Bobiverse, and all conversation stops.

I read constantly, with my screaming ADHD it's the only way I can sit still for longer than five minutes. But I read a lot of technical shit that no one cares about, and I reread old favorites like Bernard Cornwall's books, and Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novels. With my shit memory anything I haven't read for a couple of years is all brand new again. 

« Last Edit: October 02, 2019, 05:08:18 PM by PonoBill »
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southwesterly

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #5 on: October 02, 2019, 09:14:44 PM »
I'm re-reading Larry McMurtry's "Anything for Billy".

McMurtry is my favorite author of all time and this is one of his best.

It reads as easy as drinking a glass of water. Kinda like a drive-in movie playing in my head.
« Last Edit: October 02, 2019, 09:20:18 PM by southwesterly »

Badger

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #6 on: October 03, 2019, 01:54:56 AM »
Eckhart Tolle's "The power of now" and "A new earth".

If there is any hope for the future of mankind, this is it. I also highly recommend watching some of his lectures on YouTube.
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nalu-sup

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #7 on: October 03, 2019, 02:15:05 PM »
My new book that I mentioned earlier on this thread, 'The Spirit of Icarus', is available on Apple Books as of today. If you are looking for a good read, please check it out. Here is a direct link: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-spirit-of-icarus/id1482057008 If for some reason the link does not work, you can search it on Apple Books by title or John Crews as the author.
You can access a free sample download, or order the book if you like what you see. If you enjoy the book, please consider posting a nice review. There are many fun surf and ski adventure stories, with quality photos, and bits of humor and philosophy thrown in. I hope you like it.
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Weasels wake

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #8 on: October 03, 2019, 04:17:48 PM »
Two excellent ones if you have the guts to go beyond the headlines.
"Unfreedom of the Press" by Mark Levin
"Ball of Collusion" by Andrew McCarthy
It takes a quiver to do that.

PonoBill

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #9 on: October 03, 2019, 04:18:24 PM »
I'm re-reading Larry McMurtry's "Anything for Billy".

McMurtry is my favorite author of all time and this is one of his best.

It reads as easy as drinking a glass of water. Kinda like a drive-in movie playing in my head.

Great writer.
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PonoBill

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2019, 06:50:40 PM »
I'm enjoying and about midway through the Civilized to Death audiobook.  Giving me some insight into how we went from say wayfinders in wooden canoes to destroyers/aircraft carriers.

Thanks, Clay, I just started listening to this. Excellent. If you like this and you haven't listened to Sapien, Homo Deus, and 21 Lessons, then get thee to Audible. You will love these books. Very challenging, but superb.

It WILL make you a little less tolerant of fundamental stupidity--I'm already at the far end of the spectrum, so I'm kind of immune. My wife pointed out to me recently that while she can shrug off stupid statements as "consider the source", I get irritated. I don't necessarily try to educate people, but my body language is probably all I need. I have the "my god you're a fucking idiot" glare down to an art form. Practice makes perfect.
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clay

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2019, 08:52:57 PM »
denada
Aloha, I welcome and appreciate all responses of positivity and good feeling.

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Caribsurf

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Re: Read any good books lately?
« Reply #12 on: October 06, 2019, 06:03:03 AM »
For some light funny reading, I highly recommend “ So, Anyway...” by John Cleese of Monty Python fame.  Found it in a used book store and haven’t put if down...very entertaining and funny.
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