What are you currently reading?

[Harpo]

How does it read so far? I'd be interested in knowing your opinion once you're done with it, because I might want to buy it.

I'll let you know. Unfortunately, I keep 3-4 books going at once. The others are about conscious eating and horseback riding. I'm also trying to get through several Teaching Company videos on religious studies. Eclectic and scattered.

[Christo]

Started it last week. Well written ! But will take some time ...

Let us know your findings!  I bought the book immediately, but can't find time to read it ... 

[Bu]

[Renfield]

Not his best, but still... 

[Bu]

Not his best, but still... 

Maybe not his best one but I read the first 100 pages or so in a few hours and I think it a good novel so far.  Some great Bukowskian moments in Factotum, but I don't think I could quote or reference any quotes here without getting censored..................

[Valentino]

Lebrecht: Maestros, Masterpieces and Madness.

He sure could tell a good story. This is 

[Brian]

A short story collection by Tobias Wolff, Our Story Begins. The stories are all very good, but they're also all very depressing.

[karlhenning]

Bought History Play: The Lives and Afterlife of Christopher Marlowe by Rodney Bolt anticipating that it will be good.



Bought it remaindered, and at a discount, so that, if it is not much good, the sting will be minimal.

[DavidRoss]

Scott Turow, The Laws of Our Fathers -- A "legal thriller" that transcends genre.

[Frumaster]

How does it read so far? I'd be interested in knowing your opinion once you're done with it, because I might want to buy it.

It is a great read, I finished it a few months ago.  It focuses more on music's effects on people with special conditions rather than common people as do a number of other books related to music and the brain.  He tries to demonstrate the significance of music to humankind through some heartwrenching cases and anecdotes.  Very smoothe read.  I also highly recommend the audiobook version - the reader was excellent.

[greg]

Got a pdf of Plato's Complete Works. It's 1800 pages long! 
I'm only on page 7, with a fun dialogue between Plashizzle and Euthypimp, so this one might take a while to get through.... but, at least I have the feeling I'm starting where I should.

[Elgarian]

Got a pdf of Plato's Complete Works. It's 1800 pages long!

Wait till you see the Ideal pdf, of which that one is a mere shadow.

[Lethevich]

Jean Prouvé (Peters, Taschen)

The Building of Liverpool Cathedral (Kennerley) - am I that predictable? A remarkable treasure-trove of historic photographs.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Jean Prouvé (Peters, Taschen)

The Building of Liverpool Cathedral (Kennerley) - am I that predictable? A remarkable treasure-trove of historic photographs.

Interesting. I was in Liverpool in 1987 to attend a Brian concert with the RLPO and Sir Charles Mackerras. In the afternoon my friends and I visited the cathedral. Very futuristic.

[Lethevich]

Interesting. I was in Liverpool in 1987 to attend a Brian concert with the RLPO and Sir Charles Mackerras. In the afternoon my friends and I visited the cathedral. Very futuristic.

A fine reason for a visit I didn't like the place at first, until I got an impression of the ambition and sheer size of the thing. It is indeed deceptively modern (especially from the exterior) and its importance is underlined when it is compared to another similarly scaled neo-gothic cathedral in Truro, which is a monstrosity (on intellectual grounds), really... It must rank as one of the most important gothic revival buildings in that regard, due to it not copying or pandering to anything, but also wholeheartedly embracing the spirit of the revival rather than allowing its gothic features and spirit to become superficial (as at Guildford - which really does look like a power station - perhaps ironic that Liverpool's architect, who also designed Battersea Power Station, was able to do such a fine job).

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

A fine reason for a visit I didn't like the place at first, until I got an impression of the ambition and sheer size of the thing. It is indeed deceptively modern (especially from the exterior) and its importance is underlined when it is compared to another similarly scaled neo-gothic cathedral in Truro, which is a monstrosity (on intellectual grounds), really... It must rank as one of the most important gothic revival buildings in that regard, due to it not copying or pandering to anything, but also wholeheartedly embracing the spirit of the revival rather than allowing its gothic features and spirit to become superficial (as at Guildford - which really does look like a power station - perhaps ironic that Liverpool's architect, who also designed Battersea Power Station, was able to do such a fine job).

I see what you mean. I just looked at some pictures and I find it slightly menacing....

[Lethevich]

I see what you mean. I just looked at some pictures and I find it slightly menacing....

Hehe! Because your embedded picture did not show at first, I assumed you were speaking of Liverpool's one Here was what I typed to that, until I noticed the url in your quote: Yeah, little looms as impressively as it does. The problem is not just the site, but also that the town council misguidedly demolished a lot of housing surrounding it rather than renovating them - they gave its scale some context, which on that bare hill is much needed, both to humanise it, and to give it a sense of proportion. While it's a massive construct, with that context removed, it could be any size, and from some photographed angles almost looks toy-like.

Regarding Truro, the main feeling I get from seeing it is what a horrible waste of beautiful stone and money - daft in every respect, which given its location is an even bigger shame. Its setting resembles the way the great French cathedrals are situated, only in this instance, this unusual location (for this country) it is simply highlighting English style architecture at its worst, formally "correct" but somehow with nothing done well The angle you link it from is one of the few fine ones (the front being particularly terrible). From the side it looks like Chartres, but with everything done wrong:




It looks like it should be hammering out a distress signal in morse code, as it's listing badly. But now I am just whining :3 I am good at that!

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

It looks like it should be hammering out a distress signal in morse code, as it's listing badly. But now I am just whining :3 I am good at that!

Your whining is very entertaining. Yes, you really have got talent. 

Thanks for all the info!

[Daverz]

Recently finished:

The Third Reich at War.  Suprisingly, this really did have much that was new to me about this much written about period of history.  Richard Evans is an excellent writer.

The Algebraist.  A fun Iain M. Banks romp.

Working my way through:

Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days, stories from Alastair Reynolds's "Revelation Space" universe.

Started on:

The Meaning of Quantum Theory: A Guide for Students of Chemistry and Physics by Jim Baggot.  Covers some of the philosophical issues and different interpretations of QM.  Looking forward to the meatier parts of the book.

Need to get back to:

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild.  Picked this up for airplane reading but got distracted after getting home.   This book also makes me want to read some Conrad.

As usual, I have a huge backlog of books to read, technical, fiction, and popular non-fiction.  I really should spend less time online.

[Renfield]

Wait till you see the Ideal pdf, of which that one is a mere shadow.

Thanks for that: I needed the laugh!