What's Everybody Reading? (Fall 2018)
Entertainment
Posted by glen 5 years, 8 months ago
I've enjoyed these previous threads, so I thought I'd start another: what are you reading this late summer/early fall?
I'm only working on two right now. Here's mine:
Deep Work by Cal Newport. Really interesting book about the benefits of intentionally scheduling distraction-free work. Sounds like a no-brainer, but a lot of really interesting anecdotes and strategies that I've found really helpful. Two thumbs up.
Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and the Business of Life I found David Allen's Getting Things Done method ok, but never really went whole hog on the system. This book gives a more humane and interesting take on his system. Always good to have a healthy dose of perspective when it comes to "work/life balance".
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elancaster65
5 years, 7 months agoBeen playing catch-up on my stack of books.
Transfer of Power by Vince Flynn. Just getting into the Mitch Rapp stories. Rush was right.
Last Sue Grafton book ever! Y is for Yesterday. Bittersweet read.
Harlan Coben, Don't Let Go.
David Baldacci, End Game. Will Robie/Jessica Reel.
Still digging my way through Chesterton's Orthodoxy. Hard to just breeze through it. Takes a while to process each chapter as I have to familiarize myself with 19th Century philosophers!
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. About the black migration from WWI to the 60's from the South to NY, Chicago and L.A. Fascinating read. Highly recommend it.
I usually have a stack of 5-10 that I need to burrow through.
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glen
5 years, 7 months agoWow, great list. I need to check out Warmth of Other Suns. I've never gotten into Sue Grafton, but I may need to give one of hers a spin, as I'm a big fan of detective novels.
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marcanthony.mandin
5 years, 7 months agoI just got done reading White Fang with my Kids, and now we have started HG Wells The Time Machine. Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain are the next in line.
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glen
5 years, 7 months agoOh man, I remember My Side of the Mountain as being one of my favorite books as a kid. Great picks.
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Chet_Manly
5 years, 7 months agoI do the same type of thing with my kids, and I think I enjoy these books just as much as an adult. Cool to know other dads do this too. Hatchet wasn’t around when I was a kid (of which I’m aware) but I’ve heard it is good and look forward to getting into Paulsen’s work.
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marcanthony.mandin
5 years, 7 months agoWe do this as part of our homeschooling. I work full time, but I teach the kids math and reading. It has been great to visit these stories from my childhood. After Reading the book we will watch the movies that go along with them and the kids have to write a report on the difference between the movie and book and which version they preferred. So far the books have won out.
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glen
5 years, 7 months agoI always have a hard time thinking of a movie that was better than the book. There aren't many.
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elancaster65
5 years, 7 months agoFinished most of my stack. Now starting on Alexandre Dumas' "The Man in the Iron Mask" as well as Roald Dahl's "Book of Ghost Stories".
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glen
5 years, 7 months agoI need to check out Roald Dahl again. It's been too long (28 years).
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elancaster65
5 years, 7 months agoOne thing I learned recently about Dahl. Not all of his books are children's books! While I enjoyed his kids books, reading them as an adult you find different takes on things. Then there are his books specifically written for adults about his personal life. Opened up a whole new world of Roald Dahl.
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Chet_Manly
5 years, 7 months agoI have just finished Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willick. That was good; practical and interesting. I bought a copy for my nephew who just went into the service but I thumbed through it and bought one for me as well. It’s putting a face/name to the culture I am trying to stall in my house and for both me and my children.
I’m almost done with Deeper Than You Think by Leonard Read. Read founded the FEE, and libertarian think-tank. It was recommended by a friend and I’ve enjoyed it. The fact that it was written back around 1967 only makes it more interesting of a read now.
I have been cutting through some small Roald Dahl works as well: The Twits, Esio Trot, and a couple others. We took a family vacation and listened to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on cd. The book, in my opinion, is much better than the movie (a common theme we seem to share here). We went by a used book store and found a bunch of other Dahl books very cheap so the kids and I were quite happy about that. I stared reading aloud “Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator” and then I “couldn’t” read aloud for a while so the boy couldn’t wait, picking it up and is reading it on his own... (mission accomplished on my part.)
I also just finished, a couple weeks ago, Olivia Coolidge’s “The Trojan War” because the oldest has to read that this year for school and he has to read some others like “The Bronze Bow” and “Detectives in Togas”. I like to be able to discuss the kids books with them. This aids in retention for them and it tells me if they are actually reading the books.
We also do a bit of poetry through the year so I have a book of poetry by Poe, Lewis Carol, Frost and some others that I will pull out and read, but the kids memorize this poetry and listening to it on YouTube helps them more than me reading it. I just like to have the books and pretend that they are the primary source. But when The Simpson’s do “The Raven” vs dad reading it from a book... there is no contest. YT wins for poetry.
This year I likely wont be able to read any books for my own benefit. But if I am able to swing it, I plan to read The Scarlet Pimpernel that my wife got me for Christmas last year. I do have to read the NSCA’s “Essentials of Strength and Conditioning Training” as I’m starting to get a little gray coming in on the sides of my head, and I’d like to add the letters CSCS to my name having something to back up my “broknowledge” in training. That’s a fun book, but likely not what was meant in the prompt of the conversation.
I have a stack of Chesterton works but I gaurentee that’s not going to be happening for a while. However on occasion, if the stars align and such, I’ll sit down and read a Father Brown mystery or an Elmore Leonard story or something short and worth my time, but with no plan to finish anything beyond that small stint of time.
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jordan
5 years, 7 months ago"The Scarlet Pimpernel" is well worth reading. For some reason, the snuff scene at the end made a major impression on my 6th grade self and has stuck with me these 20+ years. "The Bronze Bow" also gets two thumbs up.
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Chet_Manly
5 years, 7 months agoWell know I’m really interested! I have a few books that made deep impressions on me as a kid, so I’m very curious to get to that part. One of mine was The Count of Monte Cristo (an abridged version), I read the last page and went right back to the beginning. Great to know when other books have a similar impact.
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