Books: Book(s) you are Currently Reading | Part 3

[Thucydides]

Really liking it so far. The prose is just incredible. Gibbon has a very funny and subtle sense of humour as well. The narrative seems to mostly focus on the politics and intrigues of the emperors but there are also digressions into topics such as military and economic history and roman everyday life. The book probably won't stand up totally to modern research on antiquity and the 18th century worldview of Gibbon frequently shines through. But that is to be expected from a work this old.

Thanks . I plan on getting to it in 2022 , at least the first volume . I’ve heard he was one of the best prose writers , ever.

Enjoy .

 

[Saitama]

I'm on a litrpg/gamelit/wuxia kick, currently reading:

He Who Fights with Monsters 3
Party Hard - Pixel Dust book 1
Death Cultivator
The Second Realm - Ten Realms book 2
A Dungeon's Soul

 

[sdf]

Chapaev and the emptiness

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Babe Ruth]

Cover represents it's contents pretty succinctly.. it's focused on documenting the changing Christian perceptions of the resurrection of the body from (around) the year 200 thru 1300s.
It's a subject I've been thinking about after attending a couple of recent funerals..

 

[Troy McClure]

Here's a shameless plug for a comic book a friend wrote. It's an alternate history where the Native Americans were able to somewhat stop the westward expansion in the 1800s based on the idea that Tecumseh survived his wounds at Blackhawk’s War and went on to form a full confederacy of native tribes. The story starts in 1860 and both the native nation and the US are growing toward civil wars, but neither can afford to have them. The bits of it I've been able to preview are good fun.

If this topic interests you, you might like it.

 

[Babe Ruth]

I don't read much fiction, but I like this cover art, and the story features an Edgar Allan Poe relic (I'm a fan), so.. I'm about 50 pages in, and it kinda feels like a tale from the crypt.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Observations & reflections on life, written by Charles Lindbergh's wife (Anne), back in the '50s. Lots of beach/sea analogies..

 

[crobro]

Stranger in a strange land

 

[Babe Ruth]

Recently finished the mini-series 'The Thing About Pam', and wanted to learn more about the case. Co-authored by one of the lawyers involved (Schwartz), so it has some additional insights in to the case & the initial miscarriage of justice..

 

[barriers]

I'm wrapping up Cixin Liu's Three-body trilogy. Thoroughly enjoying it, particularly book 2. I do not have high hopes for the Netflix series based on it that is currently being developed but I sure hope I'm wrong.

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Spring in Fialta]

A little over halfway through this one.

 

[Babe Ruth]

I've been married a long time, guess I instinctively had a positive & traditional view of marriage. But with declining birth rates & divorce courts that have been hostile to husbands & fathers for decades, I get why more men are skipping marriage. Author lays out reasons why marriage is becoming less appealing & relevant to men. And I think it's valuable this book was authored by a woman, so it doesn't come off as just the rant of a bitter, divorced guy, etc..

 

[Hockey Outsider]

"Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks" (Marlis Butcher, 2021)

Marlis Butcher is the first visitor to explore all 47 of Canada's National Parks. This book is an account of her adventures.

Many of Canada's National Parks are easily reachable. (Around half are no more than a few hours away from major Canadian cities by car, and many of them have a well-developed infrastructure for tourists). Others, particularly those in the Arctic, are virtually inaccessible. Many of the northernmost parks can only be reached by boat or plane, and have no facilities whatsoever. (I don't know if this statistic is still accurate, but I had read many years ago that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have set foot in Ellesmere Island's Quttinirpaaq National Park).

Each chapter discusses a different park. This isn't a travel guide; it's her reflections on each of her visits. The chapters range in length from 3 to 20 pages. Not every tale is riveting (there isn't much that can be said about a day hike in an urban park). My favourite chapters were the ones about the vast, barren Arctic landscapes. I'm not sure how many Canadians have ever set foot in any of the three territories (my guess would be less than 1%), but Butcher provides interesting stories about the wildlife, the Indigenous people, and the overwhelming vastness of the untouched land. Butcher is a good writer and tries to be descriptive about what makes the terrain (and wildlife) unique in each park. There were several dozen colour photographs, which was a good inclusion.

Butcher is adventurous, but not a professional explorer. She juggled her quest to visit every park with her marriage, and a successful career. Although she hikes, cycles and canoes, she's not an athlete. She tries to have a positive attitude, but she also talks frankly about the challenges faced (including the logistical hurdles of getting to the remote Arctic parks, hiking over a mountain pass during a severe storm, facing bitterly cold temperatures, and routinely being swarmed by mosquitos). Butcher shows that visiting every National Park is achievable for a "normal" person, as long as they're willing to endure some hardships along the way. (The two biggest challenges for a reasonably fit person, I think, would be the cost of transportation for numerous trips to the Arctic, and foregoing travel elsewhere in the world).

The chapters are organized geographically. I think the book would have flowed better if they had been arranged chronologically. It felt strange for her to talk about completing her quest two-thirds of the way through the book, and then, later on, talk about her first memories of visiting certain parks as a child. Had the book been organized chronologically, it would have given the reader a better sense of how her sense of adventure developed over time, and perhaps a clearer picture as to how and when she decided to make this her life's goal. (Also, I didn't see any compelling reason for Butcher to talk about all of the parks within a given area sequentially. In fact, spreading out similar parks would have made the book flow better, as it felt repetitious reading several consecutive chapters about similar geographies).

This was an enjoyable read. Not every chapter is gripping, and the order is puzzling, but there are lots of good stories in here. Butcher succeeds in showcasing Canada's geographic diversity. It's hard to imagine someone reading this book and not wanting to, at least to some extent, explore the National Parks.

 

[Babe Ruth]

Brief handbook for early apostles. Biblical scholars believe it was put together around the years 40-50. So it would predate the written Gospels. A look into the earliest instructions/guidance to Christians.

 

[barriers]

Here's a shameless plug for a comic book a friend wrote. It's an alternate history where the Native Americans were able to somewhat stop the westward expansion in the 1800s based on the idea that Tecumseh survived his wounds at Blackhawk’s War and went on to form a full confederacy of native tribes. The story starts in 1860 and both the native nation and the US are growing toward civil wars, but neither can afford to have them. The bits of it I've been able to preview are good fun.

If this topic interests you, you might like it.

Just wanted to bump this. I thought it sounded neat and threw in $5 for a digital comic. The kickstarter has nearly reached it's goal and only needs about $120 more pledged by Friday to meet it.

 

[Troy McClure]

Just wanted to bump this. I thought it sounded neat and threw in $5 for a digital comic. The kickstarter has nearly reached it's goal and only needs about $120 more pledged by Friday to meet it.

Thanks. I know the guys involved hope they can make it work. They've got some great plans for this story.

 

[Troy McClure]

Delete

 

[Babe Ruth]

LA in a dystopian provincial future (sounds about right). Bermejo is my favorite, current, graphic novel artist; I'm really liking the art in here. But the story/dialog is kinda convoluted, jumps around. The futuristic gladiator scenes/artwork is cool.

 

[Spring in Fialta]

 

[Thucydides]

I spent a lot of time in and around the Portapique area in my late 20s - lots of good hiking trails out that way . I still remember the day this happened , and because the cops never put out an alert I was at one point minutes away from the gunman as he rampaged through neighbourhoods. One of the most batshit crazy things to ever happen in Canada .

 

[Thucydides]

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]