tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post1540575563338941197..comments2024-02-05T05:15:04.759-08:00Comments on Wandering Scientist: Weekend Reading: The You Tell Me EditionCloudhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-51382724881595186422012-08-13T12:42:38.977-07:002012-08-13T12:42:38.977-07:00Let's see:
Short fiction: try Kelly Link. I&#...Let's see:<br /><br />Short fiction: try Kelly Link. I've also bought a bunch of old ghost stories for dirt cheap: M.R. James, Saki, and Algernon Blackwood in particular.<br /><br />Non-fiction: I read a lot of history. e-book hits include: Peter the Great by Robert Massie (he's a little too sympathetic to his subject but does an outstanding job painting the settings), The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk (or his Foreign Devils on the Silk Road), Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff, A Grand and Bold Thing by Ann Finkbeiner (about building the Sloan telescope), Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick, and Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.CyndiFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05405982629283290587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-3018179844403140022012-08-12T13:20:50.275-07:002012-08-12T13:20:50.275-07:00Aww! I love that you and your husband have so much...Aww! I love that you and your husband have so much awe and respect for each other. Well deserved on both sides, I'd say.<br /><br />When I'm in the mood for non-fiction shorts, I head over to longform.org, which has links to long magazine articles and the option to send the articles to Kindle (I tend to save them on Instapaper.com and turn them into EPUB books for reading on my Nook). It's usually pretty easy to find interesting articles on a broad range of topics, and some of the articles really are shortened pieces that are later turned into books. For example, I recently read a longform featured article about <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/09/19/050919fa_fact_grann?currentPage=all" rel="nofollow">The Lost City of Z</a>, a condensed version of the later-published book of the same title. It was a great article, but I don't know that I would want to read a whole book on the topic.Autumnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14150617283056545848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-88438383132302453752012-08-12T08:41:27.392-07:002012-08-12T08:41:27.392-07:00DH is reading a book of short stories called Armou...DH is reading a book of short stories called Armoured. He's enjoying it.<br /><br />I have short stories for kindle on my amazon list but nobody has bought them yet... a book of Georgette Heyer short stories and some short stories by Jim C. Hines. (And some by Scalzi, of course.)<br /><br />(I have been gushing about my DH to the disgust of all who will listen for about 18 years now. I am the luckiest person alive. Especially with the way he takes the baby-who-isn't-hungry-but-still-wants-to-fuss so that I can sleep.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-48242473987267460152012-08-11T22:12:42.621-07:002012-08-11T22:12:42.621-07:00Thanks for the ideas, everyone! And yes, I do like...Thanks for the ideas, everyone! And yes, I do like Sci-Fi. I don't read much pure Romance, but am otherwise fairly eclectic in my taste.<br /><br />And I'm glad a couple of you at least didn't mind the gushy stuff. My husband and I have been together for over 10 years now, and have been married for a little over 7 of them, if you're curious.Cloudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09317847285050447789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-87866553937490584902012-08-11T20:48:27.167-07:002012-08-11T20:48:27.167-07:00Do you like science fiction at all? That's wha...Do you like science fiction at all? That's what I read, mostly, so I can only offer help in the genre. But I do prefer short stories. <br /><br />I start by going to Amazon and sorting by genre, then by price, then by most popular. Short stories are usually .99 - 1.99, so looking by price helps narrow the field. Then I check the reviews. That's how I found the "Wool" series by Hugh Howey, a self-published series of novellas that I really liked (and read on our New Zealand trip!)<br /><br />I also always enjoy the Year's Best Science Fiction anthologies, and would recommend the Year's Best series of your preference if you like non-fiction writing -- there's science writing, environmental, etc.<br /><br />I use the anthologies to identify new writers I like, then hunt them down on Amazon or in the library.<br /><br />There's a cheap grouping called the science fiction megapack that contains some classic gems from the 50s and 60s. Some are also horribly dated and sexist though.Beckynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-46389936653125354052012-08-11T19:43:30.143-07:002012-08-11T19:43:30.143-07:00I can't help with the books, since my current ...I can't help with the books, since my current focus has been all about finding German children's books I can read, but, I think it's really really sweet that you wrote a short gushy post about your marriage=) <br /><br />(As someone who was in a really really bad marriage, and now has a boyfriend with whom I have a really wonderful relationship, I admit to regularly gushing - I figure my friends who heard me process all the bad stuff also deserve to hear the good, right? AND, it's really reassuring to me to hear that you can still think your spouse is a badass several years into marriage).Hollynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-6591016300594165952012-08-11T19:41:50.714-07:002012-08-11T19:41:50.714-07:00You know, in all the strong relationships I've...You know, in all the strong relationships I've observed, it's struck me how the two people have obvious and public respect and admiration for each other. It's clear when you talk to them, either together or even individually. It's clear even when one person is "complaining" about something the other is doing - it's about the specific action, not a general "my husband is so lazy" or whatever. I think that's a really big deal.<br /><br />I think one of the things we forget to do once we've been with someone for ages is actually compliment them on that stuff we think is great every now and then. It seems like it should be "obvious" but day to day life beats us down a lot, so a sincere compliment can brighten my outlook for days :)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15212690454989568626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-63205641392823592502012-08-11T13:30:33.135-07:002012-08-11T13:30:33.135-07:00Have you tried Lee Barnett's short-short stor...Have you tried Lee Barnett's short-short stories in his "Fast Fiction Challange" volumes? Neat.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-51171929627792251972012-08-11T09:04:42.715-07:002012-08-11T09:04:42.715-07:00Check out David Foster Wallace's essays and sh...Check out David Foster Wallace's essays and short stories, if you haven't already. Consider the Lobster (the book, not necessarily the essay) is a good place to start.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29235839.post-54684171281365617422012-08-11T05:34:07.700-07:002012-08-11T05:34:07.700-07:00I've just read Nick Earl's latest collecti...I've just read Nick Earl's latest collection of short stories 'Welcome to Normal' - it was really enjoyable.zenmoonoreply@blogger.com