Read any good books lately? Rate them here

[Mr.Obvious]

I finally finished Jurassic Park today.
Somewhere in the second half it starts diverging from the film's plot, and that's where I started enjoying it more.
Makes me think the book was very good, but I couldn't shake the first half from the amazing film, and thus was initially too harsh on it.

8/10

[Ravenshire]

Currently reading the "Alex Benedict" series by Nebula Award winning author Jack McDevitt. Alex Benedict is an antiquities dealer in the far (15,000 years or so) future. The stories are part sci-fi, part mystery and part action. It's also kind of fun/weird to read a tale of something that, within the story timeline, happened 9,000 years ago, in the 27th century.

[vorlon13]

Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.


halfway (m/l) through. A very good read, and almost incredibly informative. IANMTU, Al Franken could have beat Trump (a claim he does not make BTW, I am inferring it) for president by his Minnesota proven ability to run a taut and efficient campaign.

And like Al, I don't believe Mitch McConnell laughs so hard in the capitol cafeteria at Al's jokes that milk comes out his nose.

[Ravenshire]

Started "Perdido Street Station" by China Miéville and had to stop a little less than half way. Way too much detail and way too many things happening to keep track of while working. I'm going to have to postpone it (the premise is incredibly intriguing) until I can get to it on my Kobo.

So, I did a re-read of "Airman" by Eoin Colfer. It's one of his stand alone novels about a young man who is born in an air balloon, unjustly accused of murder and treachery, becomes an Airman and eventually wins the day. Yes, all the tropes are there, but it's so well written that it absolutely works. Really fun read.

[Kernel Sohcahtoa]

I've just finished reading Daniel Solow's How to Read and Do Proofs, 6th edition.  Overall, this book really helped me get underneath mathematical ideas and propositions: after reading this, I gained the confidence to get my hands dirty and try additional proofs in some of my other books, which previously had me perplexed.  More importantly, Solow's book  gave me greater insight into the mathematical thought processes that are involved in writing and reading proofs (IMO, completing proofs is analogous to solving a puzzle and reading proofs reminds me of following origami diagrams, as multiple steps are often omitted between sentences).  For example, the condensed proofs that are often seen in textbooks are often the result of a detailed analysis of the proof by the author, where he or she asks a series of key questions and utilizes definitions, previous knowledge, facts, etc., in order to develop a logical series of statements that eventually produce the conclusion.  Oftentimes, the author works forward from facts given in the hypothesis of the proposition and backward from the conclusion, so that the forward process and backward process meet somewhere in the middle (Solow calls this the "forward backward method"), which then allows the author to write the complete proof from beginning to end .

With that said, if you are interested in gaining a better understanding of why math works or are just interested in proofs or problem solving, then I highly recommend this book, as there is an online solutions manual along with online lectures, which often elaborate on areas that may have been covered too vaguely in the text. 

Live long and prosper.

[Joods]

Mary: The summoning and Mary: Unleashed.

Both were based on the old folklore of Bloody Mary. The author did a fantastic job of spinning this tale into a page turner that kept me up all night reading.

[Athene]

A harrowing tale of a disaster-prone young man who's torn between lovers; A ravishing, well-to-do brunette, and a down-to-earth blonde. The dichotomy represented by his youth (and hence his youthful optimism), and the old, broken-down, vintage jalopy he drives is nothing short of brilliant.

I would share the title, but frankly I think you'd all find the subject matter a bit too cerebral.

[OYSTERPRICK]

Memories of a European: From Brazil, Land of the Future to The World of Yesterday The Last Writings of Stefan Zweig

Stefan Zweig one of my favourite.
perhaps too much european for american readers.
i found it useful to understand why, how the two world wars did happen.

[Whateverist]

Not read it but ran into some random guy at the bus stop on Friday claiming he's going to be publishing his new book very soon, that he's been described as the "new Tolkien" and that his books will make me want to give up on any other science fiction/fantasy books!

They're really THAT good!!  Apparently...

I told him I'd wait for the movies...

Why the fuck do the loons think sitting at a bus stop, quietly reading my book, is an invitation to talk to me??

Wait.  You mean it doesn't?  Hmmm.  I wonder if that means it is also not okay to take IT OUT at such times.

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In other news, I've just fallen head over heals down the rabbit hole which is Elena Ferrante's "My Brilliant Friend", the first of four novels which make up her Neapolitan Quartet. I hear it is getting made into a series by one of the premium channels.

It is making me think about the role a friend with some capacity for insanity plays in the lives of the normals around them. I think we have a few of those on these boards.

[Mr.Obvious]

I read 'De zwarte weduwnaars'. A translation of 'Tales of the Black Widowers', a collection of Isaac Asimov's stories, but non sci-fi.
They are pretty good.
Stories revolve around a dining group called the black widowers, based on 'the trapdoor spiders'. Every month they gather, eat and cross-examine a guest the host brings. At the start of the series the guest they bring has a problem. The group is intrigued and tries to solve it. This continues throughout the series.
The group sometimes comes up with outlandish possible solutions, but its the impeccable waiter, who often presents a much simpeler solution in the end and solves it. (Though sometimes its quite outlandish, to be fair.) I saw a few of the conclusions coming, but it was fun to read. And you get the feeling the characters really are all different and have history together.
Would love to read the rest of his collection of these stories. 8.5/10 for a great light-hearted read.