What are you reading now? (Chapter 2)

[JimC]

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

Good clean fun - magic meets policing in London

[Jason]

Just finished Empires of the Sea by Roger Crowley, now reading The Enemy at the Gate by Andrew Wheatcroft

[cronus]

Flora's Gems : The Little Book Of Tulips....

[Sean Hayden]

Between East and West, The origins of modern Russia: 862-1953

I want the transition to be as smooth as possible...

[JimC]

Between East and West, The origins of modern Russia: 862-1953

I want the transition to be as smooth as possible...

Was that meant to be 1862, or are they going back a fuck of a long way?

[Sean Hayden]

A fuck long way. But it's concise. It's a short history. You're hit with a lot of facts and then some consolidating analysis.

[Svartalf]

Lot of Lovecraftian stuff... namely the Necronomicon (a collection of stories centering around the infamous text) and the Tindalos Cycle (a collection centering around Frank Belknap Long's most famous contribution to the mythos, what inspired it, and what other authors have made of it)

[Sean Hayden]

Still reading Russian history, but yesterday I had to pick up another book that caught my eye: Code Version 2.0. I'm excited about it and can't believe I've never seen another book on the same subject.

"Code counters the common belief that cyberspace cannot be controlled or censored. To the contrary, under the influence of commerce, cyberspace is becoming highly regulable world where behavior will be much more tightly controlled than in real space. We can--we must--choose what kind of cyber-space we want and what freedoms it will guarantee. These choices are all about architecture: what kind of code will govern cyberspace, and who will control it. In this realm, code is the most significant form of law and it is up to lawyers, policymakers, and especially average citizens to decide what values that code embodies."

-exciting stuff

[Jason]

Just started The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon Vol. 1 of 6

[Sean Hayden]

-meh, you've read one peoples history, you've read'em all...

[Svartalf]

it's not the history, it's the telling.

[Hermit]

it's not the history, it's the telling.

Certainly so in Gibbon's case. He was not so much a historian, certainly not on in today's mould, as he was a story teller – a weaver of words. For example:

The provinces, long oppressed by the ministers of the republic, sighed for the government of a single person, who would be the master, not the accomplice, of those petty tyrants. The people of Rome, viewing, with a secret pleasure, the humiliation of the aristocracy, demanded only bread and public shows; and were supplied with both by the liberal hand of Augustus.

[laklak]

Got a book recommended by Amazon because I wanted something along the lines of The Man In The High Castle, called "The Fuhrer's Daughter". Don't bother, it sucks balls. Poorly written young adult fiction, I managed about 3 chapters and gave up. Lots of angsty looks and exclamation points.

[Sean Hayden]

Got a bookstore gift card for ma birthday --Agents of Dreamland https://geekundspiel.com/home/2017/3/9/ ... -dreamland and The Design of Everyday Things https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Desig ... day_Things so far.

[Tero]

Finishing up the Elvis Cosello book I've had since january. In the last 50 pages this event comes up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYzQG9ICJE
Diana (who was soon to be Mrs Elvis after that) sings in well enough, but it is worth watching for Willie's phrasing. Elvis does an acceptable vocal.