What are you reading?

I thought it was interesting that the CIA report estimates the probability of a hot war between two or more great powers as less likely than ever. I tend to agree; war in the 21'st century is more on the model of Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, or Somalia than what we've seen before.

I think the one "doomsday" scenario that's conceivable enough to merit serious consideration is a collapse of the global ecosystem due to runaway climate change. It seems that most climatological models give a roughly 1-5% probability of the world's average temperature rising by 10-20 degrees Centigrade, which would be genuinely catastrophic -- the most populous regions today would become uninhabitable, and the rise of countries like Brazil, India, and China would be cut short as billions would die and tens of millions more would become refugees. It's a low probability, but still high enough that we shouldn't dismiss it out of hand. I have rolled 00's on d100 at inopportune moments...
 
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I've finally finished my Terry Goodkind series. Perhaps not the most spectacular or the best books I read, but it was good entertainement. I've also begun in the 'last' book of the Dwarves from Markus Heitz. It's so funny to see a preword where the author thanks a certain forum member.
I would really like to be able to read it in German, but I don't want to do the effort of learning it. I want the knowledge without the hard work. Perhaps I will find a way soon to help myself with this problem.
 
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I've also begun in the 'last' book of the Dwarves from Markus Heitz. It's so funny to see a preword where the author thanks a certain forum member.
Muahahahaha. This forum member must be omnipresent. :harl:
 
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Nice avatar, Jaz. Your hubby got around to actually using his nice new strobes, I take it? ;)
 
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Not quite... this is just another pic from the testing session. Hubby thought it was garbage, but I actually like garbage pics (if garbage = overexposed) :p.
 
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I like it more than the other one you posted. Overexposed is great, if you make it look like it's meant that way. ;)
 
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I'm rereading the Narrenturm trilogy. Novels about the Hussite Wars by Andrzej Sapkowski. The one who wrote the books The Witcher is based on. He is a great writer! The story is great and the way he writes is very entertaining.
 
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Hussites ?

They placed at least two marks in Germany :

- Furth im Wald, the "Drachenstich" there has remotely to do with them.
- Bernau near Berlin, they have some kind of festival every year about them, sort of.

Interesting is the *huge* distance between both. You know where Berlin is, and Furth im Wald is in Bavaria, close to the eastern border.
 
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@Alrik: I think everyone has some talent or gift for something, even if it's mundane(mine is growing things.) While I never got to be the great novelist or poet I wanted to be in high school, I have a kick-ass garden and can write really long forum posts, so I don't despair. I think the odds are high you will find ways to express yourself and to explore what's meaningful to you if you stay open and keep trying. There is more than one definition of success. :)

We went to the dollar book store today--one of our favorite splurges--and stocked up on books--(buy fifteen, get five free--can't beat it. That's why our house is stuffed wall to wall with paperbacks like some NYC cat-lady or something.) Anyway, I picked up some Gore Vidal(1876) Jack London, Giants in the Earth, Jane Smiley's Greenlanders--which I've read but it's been years--and assorted silly books, so I'm set for awile. Life is good.
 
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Nothing much:
Read The Witcher book released in the US in late April.

Read all of the Falco mystery novels that I own by Lindsey Davis in May/June (c. 14).

Read some of the Steven Saylor Gordianus the Finder novels that I own in Junes, c. 6 out of 10? (I own all of the series to date, but some of them are stored away and I was too lazy to dig them out.)

Read the first Star Risk novel by Chris Bunch, and started on the 2nd. (Not the greatest...)

Currently halfway through the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, but running out of steam, even as short as they are.

i.e. I expect that I'll shortly be looking around for something else, but I really wish that they'd just shotgun out all of the Witcher books already translated into English right away instead of piecemealing them. At least they're not doing somewhat overpriced hardback to incredibly overpriced paperback with something like a 2y wait. (Actually The Last Wish was towards the low end of paperback pricing in the US, surprisingly enough... only c. $6 IIRC rather than the assinine $8.)

I remember when paperback were about $2, and not that many years ago. Paperbacks have suffered a staggering rate of price inflation in the last 20y, something like 400% fairly evenly spread across the time period. I always find it amusing to own an older copy of a paperback with a price on it of like $2.75 or $3.25 and then see a new reprint priced at $7.99.
 
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I have books I paid 50 cents for brand new; how do you think I feel these days!! :)
 
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@cutterjohn: I loved the witcher books! I actually found them before it became a game. There was an excerpt in a "Children of Tolkin" collection. Then I bought the 2 books which were translated to german at this time. And I just love the way Sapkowsky is writing. The hussite war trilogy I mentioned earlier is also by him. Again it is great writing. I really hope they are now translating all the other witcher books to german or english, so I can read them.
Chris Bunch remembered me of a book I read by him and Allan Cole (I think). It was called "The Far Kingdoms" if I remember correctly. Quite liked it in those days... Don't know if I would like it now though.
 
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I'm reading Jan Guillou's Tempelriddaren (the knight templar in english). Its the second part of his crusades trilogy. The main character is Arn Magnusson. a young man who is forced by a cruel fate to become a knight templar. The first part tells about childhood and youth in sveden..and all those disputed between various svedish nobles. Intresting stuff. and ofcourse his training and what lead him on that harsh path. Great reading so far, if you like historical novels, don't miss this. :)
 
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There is also a german version of the trilogy. With strangely translated titles by the way. So after the pile of books, which are waiting for me, it sounds good. Noted.
 
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We are used to strangely translated titles here in Germany.

It seems as if people try their best to produce the most ugly titles for translated book, trust me.


And remember that "Divine Divinity" was a German invention. I think this says it all.
 
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Just finished Dan Simmons The Terror, interesting fictional novel about the fate of the actual Franklin Arctic expedition lost in the mid nineteenth century. A good story and lots of interesting detail about Arctic survival and state of the art nineteenth C technology.
 
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I'm finally reading Max Brooks' "The Zomibe Survival Guide", it's really quite fascinating how he manages to be so serious about the issue. Not very far into it yet but from what I've seen so far I can recommend it for anyone who finds the concept of zombies interesting.
 
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Can I spam the paperback release of my brother's fantasy / new weird book? Book, reviews

Coming out on 30th september, thankfully without the crappy cover of the hardback release.
 
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I bought a few more volumes of Lucifer. I like it a lot -- it's not quite as good as Sandman at its best, but a good deal better than Sandman at its weakest. I like the variety of art styles and artists paired with the single voice in writing, and the beautifully complex, intertwined plot threads.

Plus, it just doesn't get any cooler than Lucifer.
 
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