What Books Have You Recently Purchased?
- Thread starter AquaBlue
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Hubby and I went to a gun/knife show last Saturday and bought a couple books. The one I'm reading now is Improbable Warriors, Women Scientists and the U.S. Navy in World War II, by Kathleen Broome Williams. I especially enjoy the chapter about Grace Hopper because I met and interviewed her when I was in the Navy. 
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AquaBlue
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pagedancer
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Just read through two Jasper Fforde books: The Eyre Affair and The Fourth Bear (wow, I just realized they rhymed - ouch). Now, I'm working through True Night Falls, the sequel to Black Sun Rising by C. S. Friedman. At least, that's when I'm not reading textbooks for school.
AquaBlue
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Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje
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Yes, that's a good one.
AquaBlue
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The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
Across the River and Into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers by David Bartholomae (non-fiction)
The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante
Across the River and Into the Trees by Ernest Hemingway
Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers by David Bartholomae (non-fiction)
The Divine Comedy: Inferno by Dante
kokonut
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Received a free book "Talking Hands" from Rebecca J. Davis, Senior Publicity Manager
for Simon & Schuster for a book review response. Interesting read.
Intelligent Thought:Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement by John Brockman
The Agile Gen: How Nature Turns on Nurture by Matt Ridley.
for Simon & Schuster for a book review response. Interesting read.
Intelligent Thought:Science versus the Intelligent Design Movement by John Brockman
The Agile Gen: How Nature Turns on Nurture by Matt Ridley.
AquaBlue
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The 2009 Booker Prize Winner Announced!
Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (fiction).
Synopsis
Set in England in the 1520s, Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor.
Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.
Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall (fiction).
Synopsis
Set in England in the 1520s, Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor.
Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.
From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage.
I am trying to get back into reading more books as I miss it. It's basically like a giant movie in your brain.
I didn't buy this book, but I got it from the library. I guess it counts. I recently took out a book for young adults called "Feed" by M.T. Anderson. I found it very interesting and thought-provoking. It constantly had my mind thinking.
Here is the synopsis: The story depicts a future in which the Internet has evolved into the "Feednet"; a computer network to which the brains of American citizens are directly connected by means of an implanted computer chip called a "Feed", which about 73 percent of Americans have set in their brain. Privacy has become a thing of the past; Corporations are free to monitor and manipulate citizens' thoughts, people's thoughts are interrupted by the mental equivalent of pop-up ads, sometimes to a debilitating degree, and the government can even subpoena one's memories. The corporations and conglomerates responsible for the feed participate in data mining by monitoring the purchases and interests of those with the feed, and using this information to fit individuals into consumer profiles. People can "M-Chat" each other (a form of evolved Instant Messaging) on closed channels, effectively creating a form of telepathy. In addition, the Feed chip is implanted at such an early age that it actually takes over the running of many brain functions as the child matures. As a result, certain sites on the Feednet allow users to go "In Mal"; deliberately cause their feed chips to malfunction, causing physical and mental sensations similar to some illegal drugs.
The natural environment has also undergone extensive damage; atmospheric conditions no longer allow the natural formation of clouds and the sky is filled with artificial Clouds™ and the ocean has become so acidic that whales are sheathed in plastic coverings. Sexual reproduction is no longer possible. As a result, all women undergo in-vitro fertilization and have their children custom tailored to their liking.
The corporations responsible for the Feed have an immense power in the future America. They run the school system, which is now known as School™. Throughout the book, they appear to hold the true power in America, leaving the president virtually helpless as the Global Alliance, a coalition of countries, threatens to go to war with them.
It dealt a lot with consumerism. It made me wonder if society will eventually turn out to be that way. The author also seemed to be very critical of the US (he is American) in the environmental sense (since in the book (it is a futuristic novel) everyone has to stay inside bubbles to avoid the Earth's toxic environment, which the author blames on the US corporations' carelessness).
If any of you have kids around 16 who are avid readers, suggest they read this book. The book does contain a lot of obscenities, but when you think of the fact that it is futuristic you understand why there are so many obscenities. "Crap", a century ago would have been a taboo word to say anywhere. Here, the "f-word" is a rather taboo word and one which you do not wish to hear in public. But, if you think about it, a century from now words like "shit" will probably end up being like "crap".
I didn't buy this book, but I got it from the library. I guess it counts. I recently took out a book for young adults called "Feed" by M.T. Anderson. I found it very interesting and thought-provoking. It constantly had my mind thinking.
Here is the synopsis: The story depicts a future in which the Internet has evolved into the "Feednet"; a computer network to which the brains of American citizens are directly connected by means of an implanted computer chip called a "Feed", which about 73 percent of Americans have set in their brain. Privacy has become a thing of the past; Corporations are free to monitor and manipulate citizens' thoughts, people's thoughts are interrupted by the mental equivalent of pop-up ads, sometimes to a debilitating degree, and the government can even subpoena one's memories. The corporations and conglomerates responsible for the feed participate in data mining by monitoring the purchases and interests of those with the feed, and using this information to fit individuals into consumer profiles. People can "M-Chat" each other (a form of evolved Instant Messaging) on closed channels, effectively creating a form of telepathy. In addition, the Feed chip is implanted at such an early age that it actually takes over the running of many brain functions as the child matures. As a result, certain sites on the Feednet allow users to go "In Mal"; deliberately cause their feed chips to malfunction, causing physical and mental sensations similar to some illegal drugs.
The natural environment has also undergone extensive damage; atmospheric conditions no longer allow the natural formation of clouds and the sky is filled with artificial Clouds™ and the ocean has become so acidic that whales are sheathed in plastic coverings. Sexual reproduction is no longer possible. As a result, all women undergo in-vitro fertilization and have their children custom tailored to their liking.
The corporations responsible for the Feed have an immense power in the future America. They run the school system, which is now known as School™. Throughout the book, they appear to hold the true power in America, leaving the president virtually helpless as the Global Alliance, a coalition of countries, threatens to go to war with them.
It dealt a lot with consumerism. It made me wonder if society will eventually turn out to be that way. The author also seemed to be very critical of the US (he is American) in the environmental sense (since in the book (it is a futuristic novel) everyone has to stay inside bubbles to avoid the Earth's toxic environment, which the author blames on the US corporations' carelessness).
If any of you have kids around 16 who are avid readers, suggest they read this book. The book does contain a lot of obscenities, but when you think of the fact that it is futuristic you understand why there are so many obscenities. "Crap", a century ago would have been a taboo word to say anywhere. Here, the "f-word" is a rather taboo word and one which you do not wish to hear in public. But, if you think about it, a century from now words like "shit" will probably end up being like "crap".
society's_child
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Relentless by Dean Kootnz. He's my favorite author. I'm so accustomed to his style of writing that it's pretty difficult for me to read other non-fiction novels.
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Yesterday, I grabbed the chance to purchase 2 books. I haven't got a chance to read it yet but I will on Thursday to pass the time while riding on the airplane en route to California.
The Time Traveler's Wife (That book is also made into a movie which is currently out in theaters, I believe)
The 2nd book I purchased is - Memory Keeper's Daughter
The Time Traveler's Wife (That book is also made into a movie which is currently out in theaters, I believe)
The 2nd book I purchased is - Memory Keeper's Daughter