Tuesday 20 December 2011

Books, books, books, books…

I’ve been trying to limit my pile of holiday reading this year.

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I thought reading books on my iPad would help reduce the stack. But I suspect I’ve overdone it again.

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So what’s on your holiday reading list this year?

22 comments:

Mark Hubbard said...

How long does a battery charge last for on an iPad, and does the battery decay over time?

(I can get up to a month charge out of my Kindle reading for about an hour each night with the cover light on).

Peter Cresswell said...

You pretty much need to charge it every day, even if you're reading on black screen.

Which at least makes you put down your reading and go out side every so often while it recharges.

Or at least, to the fridge. :)

The Tomahawk Kid said...

Books are way too easy to purchase on the ipad (or kindle) as I see you have discovered Pete

Peter Cresswell said...

Way, way, way too easy. Not, mind you, that that's a bad thing.

Peter Cresswell said...

And very easy to use the dictionary. Very essential if you're reading James Joyce. :-/

Kiwiwit said...

Good selection - especially on the iPad. I have: Arguably - Essays by Christopher Hitchens, Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson, Knocking on Heaven's Door by Lisa Randle, The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins, Mark Steyn's After America, The Thomas Sowell Reader, Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson, Readme by Neal Stephenson, The 4 Percent Universe by by Richard Panek, Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark by John Tauranac, Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City by Michael A Lerner, The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes...for starters.

WWallace said...

To answer your question, I have 2 books on my reading list for this summer:

We are all Weird, by Seth Godin

about the opposite of mass marketing = treating people as different

Oblivion, by David Foster Wallace

because someone I respect recommended it.

Anonymous said...

The top of my list includes Janet Frame's autobiographies, the Iliad, Shogun and multiple anthologies of poetry from Cilla McQueen. Also, trying to track down Jeffrey Eugenides most recent novel, The Marriage Plot. I'm wary of the synopses I've heard, but will try it as I loved his other works.

- Penelope

Mark Hubbard said...

Hey up: Alan Bollard?

Peter Cresswell said...

Yep. Alan Bollard.

Discover just how clueless he is--and how far removed he was from really knowing what was going on in the Crisis he likes to think he averted, rather than caused.

Anonymous said...

On the subject of books, can anyone suggest a comprehensive but readily readable work on the Korean War?
I am reading Brian Cox on physics, Hitch by Hitchens, the stories of Saki (again!) and a "the Outsider" (again) by Colin Wilson, the short stories of Tennessee Williams and that ought do it until mid-January.

Chris R.

Peter Cresswell said...

Saki! He should be on everyone's reading list. :-)

Plenty of other good suggestions to follow up too.

Liberty Scott would be the man to ask about the Korean War. Or Mr Winefield.

Anonymous said...

Thanks PC. I am also interested in reading of the moral dilemma which faced those working on the Manhattan Project following the defeat of Germany. After the 3rd Reich was knocked off, the race for a nuclear weapon faded and the imperative turned to smacking Japan to give the Russians notice to stay out of the Pacific.

Chris R.

Anonymous said...

How about the Bible?

Your knowledge of it is selectively peripheral.

Thats why I like your architecture posts. You seem to know what you're talking about there.

Happy Christmas

George

Falafulu Fisi said...

Kiwiwit, there are 3 video lectures by Lisa Randall here you can watch. Here is the first one:

Warped Extra-Dimensional Opportunities and Signatures

The links for the other 2 videos are shown below that same page from that link above for her first video.

It would be good watch prior to reading her book, Knocking on Heaven's Door.

Anonymous said...

Fisi: Thank you for the link. Lisa Randall's "Warped Passages" is a great read too.

Chris R.

Kleefer said...

I'll be reading A Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons by George RR Martin (first three in the series were outstanding but I've heard these two are a lot weaker), and maybe a couple of Tad Williams books if I get the time amidst all the other goings-on.

As an aspiring fantasy author I am reading as many books in the genre as I can manage! However, reading Martin made me realise my own novel is sorely lacking in rape and incest, which I consider to be a good thing!

Anonymous said...

I've just reread 'The Mystery of Capital' by Soto. Everyone should read this book.

I tried reading Les Misérables, but found it too sad to keep reading. I'll give it another go soon.


-David

Karen B said...

What? No whiskey this year?

Andrew B said...

Hmmm, I recognise some of these from last year! http://pc.blogspot.com/2010/12/oh-dear.html

Dave Mann said...

I have just discovered Kindle on my Android phone thingy and its amazing (as Tomahawk said) how easy it is to access quality writing on these things.

Over the festive period I'll be reading Shantaram by Gregory Roberts, Siamese nights and The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux and starting on the complete works of H G Wells.... all on my PHONE, FFS! Crazy!

Merry Christmas everybody.

Anonymous said...

Bit busy before Xmas to get here, so for what its worth sharing now:
- Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
- Creative Inc by M.M. Ilasco & J.D. Cho
- ReWork by J. Fried & D. H. Hansson
- The Origin of Everyday Moods by Robert E. Thayer
Creativity by M. Csikszentmihalyi
- Becoming Places: Urbanism, Architecture, Identity, Power by Kim Dovey
- Cultural Amnesia by Clive James

Agree about ease of buying - itunes music is the same.