Book Talk

What books are you reading now? Doesn't matter what kind, what subject, whatever. It'll just be fun to see what everyone's reading. I'd certainly like to get more reading material in. I'll start: I'm currently starting The Blind Watchmaker, by Richard Dawkins, as I'm currently writing a report discussing evolution and I spotted it in the library while doing research.

Let's start a list of the popular (and unpopular) science books you recommend. Perhaps we can all get some worthwhile reading material out of this. I'll start: Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene: good intro to modern physics Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker: a look at modern psychopharmacology and the effects of psychiatric medicine. Well-written and researched. Why People Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer. Engaging, amusing, and enlightening. The Last Man on the Moon, by Gene Cernan. Cernan landed on the Moon on Apollo 17, and this book is his memoir of the entire Gemini, Mercury and Apollo programs. Great if you like space exploration. Wha…

Which formats do you use? Which is your favourite? Which won't you use, and why? Let battle commence!

A fascinating book for anyone that might have questions on religion and arguments pertaining to theism and deism.

Hello Everyone, This is William here from Kenya and I like to read books , listen music , watch movie and play games. I like to read Novel book , Story book and Historical book. Some favorite book of mine are All the King's Men,The Big Sleep,A Clockwork Orange,A Passage to India,The Golden Notebook,Dark Reign,Secret Invasion,The Final Night,The Doll's House,Ancient History Books,Books on the Age of Discovery etc. Tell here about your favorite book.

Hey guys..... In some recent conversations here, I made an offhand remark about how I thought a classic well-known novel mentioned in a post was hugely Overrated. Just my two cents, of course. But it started a bit of an exchange on the topic of Overrated books. I've always found this subject to be hugely entertaining and providing for some spirited discussions in the past. So how about it? What allegedly classic Novels do you feel got way too much kudos or acclaim? What Novels come to mind for you when you hear the term Overrated? Allow me to throw in first...... The Great Gatsby.....F Scott Fitzgerald 100 Years of Solitude.... Gabriel Marq…

Something that doesn't make sense to me is the size of textbooks and technical books. If you look at technical books from the mid-1900s, they were human friendly sizes. For example, the 2nd edition of University Physics by Sears & Zemansky which was published in the 1950s is split into 2 volumes and it's lighter and smaller than the modern editions. (However, the content remains mostly the same.) Unlike it's modern version, it was clearly meant to be held by a human. Any speculations on why this trend occurred?

So... we all know we're all a bunch of readers here, whadya get whadya get whadya get?!?! Here's a short list (at least until I finish unpacking the car and refresh my memory): Reality Show, by Howard Kurtz. Interesting narrative, just published in October, of the last ten years in the American network news biz, focusing mainly on the change of anchors at CBS, NBC and ABC. It's not getting a lot of great reviews, but I've read about half of it so far and find his insider angle and objective analysis to be really valuable. Kurtz is the media observer for the Washington Post. Your Movie Sucks, by Roger Ebert. Some of Ebert's best work are his reviews of th…

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, the Fall of a Science, and What Comes Nextby Lee Smolin In this groundbreaking book, the renowned theoretical physicist Lee Smolin argues that physics-the basis for all other science-has lost its way. The problem is string theory, an ambitious attempt to formulate "a theory of everything" that explains all the forces and particles of nature and how the universe came to be. With its exotic new particles and parallel universes, string theory has captured the public's imagination and seduced many physicists. But as Smolin reveals, there's a deep flaw in the theory: no part of it has been proven, and no one knows how to…

Inspired by the banned books thread. i read Blood Brothers . A play about twins separated at birth, lots of superstition and the differences in how different parts of society are treated IIRC. Very good, I really enjoyed it. Even thought about going to see the musical a few times. And Of Mice and Men. Novel about Lenny Small and Lenny Milton, displaced ranch workers. The teacher read most of this and did the voices, so this was really enjoyable too. Didn't really understand it until a while ago when I read an excellent summary of it on Quora. Been thinking about reading it again.

I found this book really fascinating(I finished it in one day), probably because I've never been exposed to the information before. I was raised in a Baptist household, so I wasn't really exposed to the mainstream scholarship such as what was presented in this book. However, it really makes sense. Just thinking about what the Bible is makes it completely obvious, imo. The Bible isn't an inerrant book written by God; It's an anthology written by several anonymous authors from different parts of the world to different audiences. They didn't write their books with the intent that they be compiled into a holy anthology. It should be obvious that each book be read for …

i go through the content of this book. i wanna buy it. how do you think ? anyone read it ?

It's the first book in the teen vampire trilogy. I'm almost done with it and I must admit I'm hooked. I just took a peek at the movie trailer and it looks good!! The book is not scary and I see why teens (and adults) are so fascinated by it. It's kind of like "The Breakfast Club" for dead teens. LOL! Has anyone else been reading this?

This is, quite frankly, the single best popsci book I've ever read. Most books introducing science to the public talk in analogies, so they're often simplified to the point of being useless and/or wrong. This book, however, doesn't do that. It doesn't shy away from the math. In fact, aside from the first chapter, there's at least one equation on just about every page. Susskind doesn't assume that you know any math, though, so he walks the reader through the math. He teaches the reader how to follow (and if you're a quick study, do) basic derivatives, integrals, and multivariable derivatives/integrals. He makes the actual physics accessible (without being condes…

Hey guys A few days ago, I have been chatting with an old friend of mine who told me, that he has written a novel… he just finished it and now he is wondering, how his book should get published. I am really green to this, therefore I didn’t know what to say and couldn’t tell him, what he has to do now. He is looking for the most convenient arrangement and has already asked some mates for advices… they suggested, that he should choose between self-publishing or a publisher. He has done some research on the topic but is still timid. The main problem is, that self-publishing sounds rather expensive and risky, but finding a publishing house (or an agent?) is a…

What books should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in reading?

I'm in 12th grade, getting ready to go into college to get my major in physics, getting ready to take the placement exams for my classes, and I'm sitting here thinking: Man my school gives really crappy math education. (The physics teacher is awesome, though.) So this is the predicament I find myself in. I really don't want to take college algebra. For me, that's just unacceptable. While I have a really good understanding of algebra, my knowledge in trig suffered tremendously because of the terrible work ethic of my teacher. (We talked about polar coordinates for about three weeks longer than needed.) So I'm looking for a good trig (and algebra, if you don't mind)…

Would prefer a nuclear apocalypse, but any kind is A-OK to me.

So if any of you remember correctly I posted about a year ago on my book. I cringe thinking about my old writing style... I really intended to write a whole book from a robotic mockumentary point of view. Anyways here is the beginning of the first chapter. Right under 1,000 words so please read . My story is flawlessly original and awesome, I just want to know if my writing style captivates your interest at all enough to want to continue reading. Thankyou! Somewhere unbeknownst, to the rest of the world. Sat thirty-five scientists in seven rows, blindfolded, and restrained to cold metal chairs. Footsteps were heard entering the room. “Welcome,” a mans voice, a deep bu…

For you bibliophiles familiar with the works of one of the greatest literary figures of the 20th century, I found this very illuminating The School of Life video on the life and time of George Orwell. The video discusses the seminal quality of Orwell's Animal Farm and 1984, which contain several prescient parallels to our society and current political environment. I recall his works being required reading from high school thru college.

Here's a really stupid question, I know that already. But still; Hypothetically, let's say I want to learn to read French. Would it be even realistically possible to simply buy something like Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables and dig in? For a few chapters, I imagine you'd need a dictionary, but would you get the hang of it after a while? Regardless of the answer above, would it be any different depending on what language I feel like learning, and what languages you already know? I can imagine knowing, for example, Dutch would make it easier to learn Afrikaans, but would probably be quite useless if you're aiming to be fluent in Japanese.

I am looking for books which are not just typical math. books by just giving least theory and difficult exercise. I am looking for a book that develops the real thinking ability and along with it covers problem soling skills by providing interesting questions. If you know about a book covering only one or two chapters of the following list, I will still love to read that. Syllabus PERMUTATIONS AND COMBINATIONS Fundamental principle of counting. Permutations and Combinations, derivation of formulae and their connections and simple applications. MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION Principle of Mathematical Induction and its simple applications. BINOMIAL THEOREM AND ITS …

It seems the philosopher A. C. Grayling has come out with "The Good Book," an edited collection of works which attempts to be a sort of Bible for atheists: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Book-Humanist-Bible/dp/0802717373/ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/03/grayling-good-book-atheism-philosophy I'm not sure what to make of it. So far the only reviews on Amazon aren't very illuminating; the only negative review comes from someone very annoyed at Grayling's attempt to replace the Bible, and the positive reviews have very little substance. It's a fascinating idea, though. Anyone get a copy? It's at the top of my list, although I'll be waiting for a f…

I'm going through the above book but sadly it's riddled with errors and typos. One possible error I'm slightly unsure about is as follows: 1/2(8m/s^2 , 33m/s^2)(1.0sec)^2 = (8m, 33m) Is this calculation correct? I don't think it is because the 1/2 hasn't been taken into account. Thanks Gareth

Have any of you read, or own, "On the Shoulders of Giants" by Stephen Hawking. This book differs from most of his written works in that instead of talking about string theory and other troubles with unifying all of physics, he instead talks about past scientists and all the landmark books/written works that have contributed to our understanding of the universe today. The 5 scientists he talks about are Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein. And the book is basically a compilation of their original works, as they wrote them back in the day. All works that ultimately gave birth to physics and the modern understanding of our universe in general. It is one of…