What are you reading?

[number9]

Get most of my stuff on Kindle these days, Her Majesty was on my case about all my hard back books when we moved into our own house.

Look into apps like Libby which connect to your local public library: you can actually "borrow" Kindle books this way. And you can be a member of multiple libraries at once (e.g. Massachusetts' public libraries are in a network), which means you can borrow books from any of them.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Look into apps like Libby which connect to your local public library: you can actually "borrow" Kindle books this way. And you can be a member of multiple libraries at once (e.g. Massachusetts' public libraries are in a network), which means you can borrow books from any of them.

You can also add the Navy and DoD's MWR lending library to Libby. Lots of goodness.

 

[number9]

You can also add the Navy and DoD's MWR lending library to Libby. Lots of goodness.

I didn't know that. Thanks!

 

[hlg6016]

I'll look into that. I already use the library network to access Chilton manuals for car maintenance.

 

[Random8145]

There are also services where you pay a certain amount monthly and then have access to thousands of books digitally.

 

[Random8145]

I managed to keep a bunch of my coffee table books (Remember them) but the paperbacks went to recycle. Boxes and boxes.

Coffee table books are still a thing. Some books are just much better experienced physically.

 

[hlg6016]

Truth, Momma and the girls used to just plant me at the bookstore and fetch me again a couple hours later when I took them out to the mall. Sadly they seem to be disappearing.

 

[number9]

I just finished Silent Running: My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine by VADM James Calvert. I found it in my grandfather's stuff (he was RAN ~1941-45) when I was back in Australia visiting my parents.

It was a very good read; I was particularly interested by his impressions of Fremantle (my home town) during WW2.

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

Might I suggest, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics and Marcus Aurelius' Meditations (neither are by any means light reading).

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

Just started David McCullough's biography of the Wright Brothers. Kind of re-confirmed my opinion that, while they were undoubtedly hard workers and self-taught intuitive geniuses*, Orville and Wilbur were also two of the most boring human beings of the 20th century.

* For example, two seasons into glider experiments at Kitty Hawk, they realized that all the data they had been given on airfoil theory and wing sections from the day's leaders of the field were totally useless. They discarded it all and invented modern aerodynamic engineering by intuition and farting around after working in the bicycle shop all day, and with nothing more high school educations and reading a hell of a lot. A lot of very smart people were trying to figure out powered flight...it was damn near the equivalent of someone today building a cold fusion reactor in their garage.

Also finished P.T. Deutermann's latest novel, Sentinels of Fire. Told from the point of view of the new XO of a radar picket destroyer off Okinawa in 1945, who's starting to realize the popular and respected Captain is coming apart under the strain of the kamikaze raids.

I had to re-read that. I thought P.T. Deuteronomy wrote it

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

Look into apps like Libby which connect to your local public library: you can actually "borrow" Kindle books this way. And you can be a member of multiple libraries at once (e.g. Massachusetts' public libraries are in a network), which means you can borrow books from any of them.

There's no such thing as too many books! They can be read, used to make a fort and along with a skillet can and will be used as an impromptu weapon. 🤣

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

Just read this, really enjoyed it.

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This is next:

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In High school Thucydides was mandatory reading (for good reason I see).

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

I’m all in favor of Christians actually reading and understanding their own foundational text. I think it offers little in the way of professionally relevant value or insight.

I would ask @trakanon for the top five lessons or principles about leadership that he finds within the text that are unique to the Bible, and not readily apparent in other secular philosophical works.

Actually, both Socrates and Aristotle seem to have a "christian" theme in their works, despite being pagans. Socrates was and still is seen by scholars to be a type of "Christ"; with much of his work and life paralleling the Bible. Yes, unless it's a long time hobby or you had mandatory religious classes (of various religions, and ideologies you had to cross reference) you need a lot of work, digging, patience and some knowledge of the original languages scripture was translated into (along with understanding the context of the eras in which they were written. The meaning of words and phrases change over time; if you're over 20 you've seen this in you life time). Also, ALOT of things (meaning, detail etc.) get lost in translation (A personal pet peeve of mine).

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

Yeah, the writing is the most difficult part for me, plus the fact that my vocabulary was built when I was in 7th grade, so that can be frustrating, but I can pull off a more or less native accent since I learned it when I was 6. My parents just threw me into the public school for 1st grade - sink or swim style learning. Sometimes I dream in French, which is entertaining.

I love being from Oregon. It is so full of quirks and astounding natural beauty. Sometimes, it seems like Narnia. I try to do a summer road trip every year to explore the geology on the East side. I'm a big fan of Bend, which is probably where I'll settle once this Navy thing runs its course.

Yup. I feel that. English, Some Greek, German and baby Russian, thrown into a Greek only school in 6th grade sink or swim "you should fully be able to comprehend the 'new greek' translation of Homer's works and X, Y, Z Lit. author without help" XD right .....

 

[SemperFiFamilialLoyalty]

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Moved on to America's War for the Greater Middle East after realizing I have a pretty big knowledge gap about everything that got us to where we are today (didn't touch this stuff at all in high school or college). I'm enjoying it for the most part and finding it pretty approachable for such a wide span of history. As a side benefit, Andrew Bacevich is setting me up for success on the GRE verbal portion thanks to his occasionally turgid writing style.

I don't know how to feel about this becoming history now... To me it was just yesterday. ouch.