Books!

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tlombard
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Re: Books!

Post by tlombard »

pioneer98 wrote:I'm reading the series of science fiction books called the "Remembering Earth's Past" series by Chinese author Liu Cixin. I finished the first two books called "The Three Body Problem" and "The Dark Forest". I'm halfway through the last book called "Death's End". The books explore one solution to the Fermi Paradox we've talked about in the "Space" thread. Each book is longer, and better, than the previous one IMO. Here is some basic info but don't read this if you want to go in with zero knowledge:
[SHOW]
The series imagines a galaxy where life is common, and the reason we haven't encountered it yet is because advanced civilizations destroy lesser ones to remove threats to themselves. Therefore, the wise thing to do is to keep very, very quiet so you aren't found. The first book is basically about the events that lead up to us making radio contact with an advanced alien civilization and some of the things that happen afterwards. The second book is about how the world reacts to the news that an advanced alien civilization is making a 400 year journey to come and destroy us, and how we plan to fight for survival when they arrive. It follows one of the main plans of response through that book and what happens when first physical contact is made. The 3rd book starts during the same era as the second book, when the aliens are still hundreds of years away, but it follows a parallel story about one of the other response plans. Then it moves into the long term aftermath after the first physical encounter.

The first book is interesting since it explores these ideas, but it is the weakest of the three IMO. But once the foundation of that first book is in place, the second book is free to build a really great story on top of it. Both the first and second book did miss a thing or two about how we would react to this kind of news, IMO, but that is kind of nit picking. The 3rd book is the longest at over 600 pages. I'm a little over halfway through it. So far it is even better than the second book. If anything, it can start to get exhausting because the author is so good at keeping the tension going over hundreds of pages. The author is very good at exploring the emotions of the characters in the various difficult situations he created for them.
Disappointing that the series isn't available on Kindle Unlimited.

Right now I'm reading Legacy (First Colony Book 3) by Ken Lozito but I'm struggling a bit because I have read a lot of other books between the first two and this one. I finished the second one before the third was published and I just now got around to this one. I think I need to go back and read some of the second (and maybe first) book again just to get back up to speed. Thankfully the fourth in the series is out now so I also have that downloaded so I can move to that one as soon as I finish this one in the next couple days.

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pioneer98
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Re: Books!

Post by pioneer98 »

I finally finished "Death's End". Overall I liked it but it was a bit too long IMO. Some of the twists and turns of the plot did not really add much to the overall story. It could have been a really tight like 450 page book instead of 600.

Freed Roger
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Re: Books!

Post by Freed Roger »

the McCain tangent discussion on Vietnam, Burns documentary reminded me of book I read years ago by Karl Marlantes -who was profiled by Burns.

Matterhorn.
war time novels (fiction) aren't really my interest, but this was a good one.

also thumbs up for more Vietnam related.
McCain's "Faith of my Fathers

"Heart of a Soldier" by James Stewart on Rick Rescorla

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Tim
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Re: Books!

Post by Tim »

Leaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek

Not something I would typically read, however I am undergoing a job change and this seems applicable.

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pioneer98
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Re: Books!

Post by pioneer98 »

Tim wrote:Leaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek

Not something I would typically read, however I am undergoing a job change and this seems applicable.
I just don't trust that guy. Most of his videos I see on social media are simply him telling Baby Boomers to fear Millennials. But he presents it as a more "intellectual" argument rather than a political one (like Fox News does). In the end, it's just a different flavor of the eternal cottage industry called "Kids these days".

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Jocephus
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Re: Books!

Post by Jocephus »

pioneer98 wrote:
Tim wrote:Leaders Eat Last - Simon Sinek

Not something I would typically read, however I am undergoing a job change and this seems applicable.
I just don't trust that guy. Most of his videos I see on social media are simply him telling Baby Boomers to fear Millennials. But he presents it as a more "intellectual" argument rather than a political one (like Fox News does). In the end, it's just a different flavor of the eternal cottage industry called "Kids these days".
and his last 3 tweets are some of the most generic bs i've ever read

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Re: Books!

Post by Michael »

Jocephus wrote: and his last 3 tweets are some of the most generic bs i've ever read
No lies detected

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Books!

Post by lukethedrifter »

My reaction if my boss said those things to me
Image

Freed Roger
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Re: Books!

Post by Freed Roger »

This was good. Medicine Walk, by Richard Wagamese.

https://www.amazon.com/Medicine-Walk-Ri ... 1571311157

Felt bad (not really but) , I've been using this and the the other book thread recommendations, and hadn't contributed much.

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heyzeus
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Re: Books!

Post by heyzeus »

Image

Shteyngart is one of my favorite authors, but this book is a mixed bag. It's about a hedge funder billionaire who flees his marriage and special needs kid in NYC to take a Greyhound across the country to find himself and his romanticized/idealized ex, set on the dawning of the Trump era. There's a lot of insufferable talk about expensive watches, and the protagonist is an unlovable dolt, but it tells a good story of America today and offers some hope of redemption. 7/10, would mildly recommend.

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