Poll of the Day > What book are you currently reading?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Micro
by Michael Crichton

Starlight Enclave

I'm Starting To Worry About This Black Box of Doom by Jason Pargin.

I've not read as much as I would have liked, new job new reading habits.

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy

https://www.amazon.com/Poison-King-Legend-Mithradates-Deadliest/dp/0691150265

I feel like that was the same book I was reading the last time someone asked this question. I haven't been reading a lot for the last month or so.

I just picked up a book at the library called Shadow Raiders by Margeret Weis and Robert Krammes.

I enjoy it, we'll see if it is any good.

I just finished reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan, about to start Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who Knows the Game. No clue if it will be an interesting read

A tale of two cities, Charles Dickens.

Nothing to Lose by Lee Child, book 12 of the Jack Reacher series.

One Dark Window.

Heat 2 by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner

i don't read books

VioletZer0 posted...

I just picked up a book at the library called Shadow Raiders by Margeret Weis and Robert Krammes.

I enjoy it, we'll see if it is any good.

Is that the Dragonlance etc Margaret weis?

Currently reading 2 litrpgs. Path of the berserker (on book 2 currently), and Rogue Dungeon (also on book 2). Neither are great but I've been slowly reading em for a few weeks. I may give up soon since they still have not grabbed my attention. I have book 3 and 4 of All the skills to read when I finally give up.

I finished Darkly Dreaming Dexter the other day. Right now I'm just studying up on my DnD lore.

Mort, by Terry Pratchett.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/2/20579109.jpg

Clench281 posted...

i don't read books

Reading makes you more intelligent

AstroBot posted...

Reading makes you more intelligent

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

AltOmega2 posted...

I wouldn't be so sure about that.

Its gotta be good for something

AstroBot posted...

Reading makes you more intelligent

i do pretty well at weekly trivia even without reading books

Reading is a waste of time and for nerds. Just be like me and lift weights and chug protein all day

Clench281 posted...

i do pretty well at weekly trivia even without reading books

Imagine howd you do with books!

Clench281 posted...

i don't read books

You should.

Books have a special quality where you can read the most amazing book ever, you can look up the author and they're just some guy.

Books can fall into trends obviously but because of the general accessibility of putting pen to paper you can find a lot of unique stories.

jojo part 8

Zoo Nebraska. Its a non-fiction about this guy with a dream and a chimp who tried to start a zoo in the middle of nowhere Nebraska and it ends up all going wrong.

fettster777 posted...

Zoo Nebraska. Its a non-fiction about this guy with a dream and a chimp who tried to start a zoo in the middle of nowhere Nebraska and it ends up all going wrong.

I have a copy of that, but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet.

AstroBot posted...

Imagine howd you do with books!

too busy

I am reading the Marvel Multiverse Role Playing Game Core Rule Book. This is my 3rd time reading through it as I am currently hosting a game for some friends who are Marvel fans and need to be well familiar with the rules.

I also have the X-Men rule book on deck to read next.

The Message. It's sad. He's very good with prose, though.

wolfy42 posted...

Is that the Dragonlance etc Margaret weis?

I wouldn't know, but most lilkely

VioletZer0 posted...

Is that the Dragonlance etc Margaret weis?

I wouldn't know, but most lilkely

I looked it up, it is her. Damn she looks old. Damn I am old. Oh well. Cool she is still writing. I guess the first dragonlance book was released in 84, which is freaking 40 years ago now....so makes sense she isn't a spring chicken anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN5JOnfRxYI

I just finished I Heard the Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven. I'm not sure what I'll read next.

Im also reading The Lost World by Michael Crichton. Sometimes I like to dual wield books.

AstroBot posted...

Reading makes you more intelligent

That's a cliched trope. Technically, reading isn't that much different from other media and therefore might be reasonably comparable. The only advantage to reading over another method might be an improvement in spelling.

Again, it really comes down to what you're reading/watching/listening to/etc. After all, somebody who reads nothing at all is better educated than somebody who reads nothing but newspapers.

Count_Drachma posted...

That's a cliched trope. Technically, reading isn't that much different from other media and therefore might be reasonably comparable. The only advantage to reading over another method might be an improvement in spelling.

Again, it really comes down to what you're reading/watching/listening to/etc. After all, somebody who reads nothing at all is better educated than somebody who reads nothing but newspapers.

And on an even more technical level, most people read and write every day through internet comment sections and forums anyways. When people say "Reading makes you smart", do they mean just books? How does the medium change the value of literacy?

Salrite posted...

And on an even more technical level, most people read and write every day through internet comment sections and forums anyways. When people say "Reading makes you smart", do they mean just books? How does the medium change the value of literacy?

Syntax

Astral Worship by J. H. Hill M.D.

I'm about to start reading Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance, lets see what the buzz is all about

Salrite posted...

How does the medium change the value of literacy?

Because it tends to shape the content of what you're reading.

Reading an actual non-fictional book that has gone through a publisher, editing, and potentially peer review is going to be infinitely better for your brain than reading two thousand Tweets from idiots, even if the word/character count is exactly the same.

"Literacy" is often seen as being more than just "the ability to read". It takes into account what you're reading. If everything you're reading is helping to better you as a person in some way (improving your critical thinking, problem solving, practical skills, or just general knowledge), it's vastly more valuable than someone who reads the exact same number of words for the exact same amount of time, but spends all of that time reading clickbait articles and forum posts on racial supremacist message boards (or incel boards, or batshit conspiracy theorist boards, or quack medicine boards, etc).

(Pause to insert "obsolete video game message boards" here)

Even mindless escapist fiction can theoretically have value, if it brings you joy and helps stir emotional responses in you. But if the information you're reading is mostly shit, you're not benefiting from it as much as you would from reading something better. And the Internet (especially social media) tends to amplify the worst aspects of writing, because there's very little filter keeping back the tidal wave of shit. Whereas the fact that it's slightly harder to get books published can act as at least somewhat of a fecal strainer.

This is why some people will say that the current generation (by which I mean the overall cultural zeitgeist, not specific cohorts like Gen X, Zoomers, etc) is one of the most literate that has ever existed, but is also simultaneously incredibly illiterate. Because pretty much everyone reads constantly - but most of what most of those people are reading is basically shit.

And your brain works like a computer - garbage in, garbage out.

I just finished reading Secret Journey to Planet Serpo: A True Story of Interplanetary Travel by Len Kasten. Very interesting stuff that relates to the supposed secret space program. It's more like a documentary than a science fiction novel.

Next I'm reading Hyperion by Dan Simmons, so far so good, and more of a regular sci-fi novel.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Because it tends to shape the content of what you're reading.

Reading an actual non-fictional book that has gone through a publisher, editing, and potentially peer review is going to be infinitely better for your brain than reading two thousand Tweets from idiots, even if the word/character count is exactly the same.

"Literacy" is often seen as being more than just "the ability to read". It takes into account what you're reading. If everything you're reading is helping to better you as a person in some way (improving your critical thinking, problem solving, practical skills, or just general knowledge), it's vastly more valuable than someone who reads the exact same number of words for the exact same amount of time, but spends all of that time reading clickbait articles and forum posts on racial supremacist message boards (or incel boards, or batshit conspiracy theorist boards, or quack medicine boards, etc).

(Pause to insert "obsolete video game message boards" here)

Even mindless escapist fiction can theoretically have value, if it brings you joy and helps stir emotional responses in you. But if the information you're reading is mostly shit, you're not benefiting from it as much as you would from reading something better. And the Internet (especially social media) tends to amplify the worst aspects of writing, because there's very little filter keeping back the tidal wave of shit. Whereas the fact that it's slightly harder to get books published can act as at least somewhat of a fecal strainer.

This is why some people will say that the current generation (by which I mean the overall cultural zeitgeist, not specific cohorts like Gen X, Zoomers, etc) is one of the most literate that has ever existed, but is also simultaneously incredibly illiterate. Because pretty much everyone reads constantly - but most of what most of those people are reading is basically shit.

And your brain works like a computer - garbage in, garbage out.

This is true, but not always the case. I've seen plenty of thought provoking online comments and plenty of published-mindless drivel. Just reading your post is probably more mentally beneficial than a lot of "books". And in fact, I'd argue that it is more beneficial for the fact that we're able to have a two-way conversation. With books, there is no opportunity for debate. You just consume what you are given.

Salrite posted...

With books, there is no opportunity for debate. You just consume what you are given.

Perhaps not with the author in most cases, but assuredly with other readers of the same book.

I finished Mort a couple days ago (which was my 55th book for the year) and now I'm reading The Farthest Star by Rebecca Mickley. It's book #4 in the Farthest Star series.