What I'm Reading/Have Read

This page is 'kinda a messy hodgepodge of my reading interests.

Yow! Here it is 2019.  In the last months or so I read another Michener book, Hawaii, since I went to Hawaii, figured a book about the place would be a good idea-it was! Read a book about Modigliani, a sci-fi book called Autonomous, by Annalee Newitz, a book about drugs, robots, and manipulating DNA. Reread some Vonnegut, 'cause I got it on a e-reader, very convenient.  Been reading a lot of comics and graphic novels online, the price is right and they are lots of fun.  Lately it's been, Rick and Morty, Adventuretime, and Rocko's Modern Life.  Great stuff!

It's 6.30.2017 now: I just finished the Century of Progress trilogy a fictional set of books by Ken Follet, a book on the Toyota manufacturing system, and am now reading the book Alaska, by James Michener.

As for what's next....probably back to some Sci-Fi.  I'm thinking of re-reading Farmer's Riverworld series, the Hobbit, Dune, Breakfast of Champions, and some Asimov.  It's been such a long time since I read them. 

I like to read, and I've read a lot of sci-fi. I met my wife at the library.  My parents read to me as a child and they are all large consumers of literature in various genres. My whole family are readers.   My uncle Townsel started my brother and myself off reading Conan and then onto Bradbury,  he gave me a boxed set of Bradbury, great stuff. It had the Illustrated Man, Nine Billion Names of God, Martian Chronicles, and others.   After that I think it was all the Tolkien stuff and that was followed by Dune and a lot of books by Heinlien.  Then Phillip Jose Farmer, and many others.  There was a science fiction book store in Yellow Springs, ran by a pretty grumpy guy,  which was close to where we grew up and it was a great place to to look for books.

8.13.13 Finishing up a K. Follet binge, easy to read, hold your attention, currently reading the Third Twin. Recently read a book, Consider the Eel(they have a strange life cycle), a book on pigeons, a bunch of graphic novels(the library has a lot) , a sci-fi book on Jupiter, and a bunch of others I'm probably not remembering.

I read, with my 6th grade students, a book about Harriet Tubman.  The picked the book, I probably would not have.  I'm glad they did, a most amazing person, beyond belief, she is really worth reading about.  Liz and I visited her house in Auburn NY.  She lived right down the road from Seward, the guy that put together the deal to buy Alaska.  Auburn also has a Tiffany designed church.  My wife and I go to the Finger Lakes in New York just about every year.  Beautiful country with lots of wineries and good food.

Right now(11.15.12) I'm on a Ken Follet binge.  Easy to read, fast paced, historical fiction.  The last year or so I've started reading fiction again.  I was on a real non-fiction bender for about 10+ years.  'Lotta history and layman science stuff.

I'm eventually going to list and write a bit about the books I like.  Right now(10.15.2012 I'm reading Larry Niven's, The Bowl of Heaven.  It's similar to the Ringworld series.  Over the summer I read the Golden Compass series(3 books) and am re-reading the Thomas Covenant series(5 or 6 books) by Donaldson on my Sony E-book.

I'm also reading the book,  Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brulee: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America.   Good book, good story, some sad ending stuff, Jefferson didn't quite live up to his word to release James from slavery as quick as he promised.

It's a great food book, I've read lots of food and candy books.  I'll put those here soon.  I've read most of Michael Pollen books, like, Botany of Desire(Liz and I visited the orchard in Geneva, NY mentioned in the book), In Defense of Food, and most of his other stuff, they're all pretty good. 

I like my e-book, it sure is easy to take 100 books on a trip, and that's nice.  I still get regular books at the library because they get new stuff, you find stuff by accident, and it's free.

I like singular interest books, like Salt, Cod; both by Kurlanksy, they're fun. "The Mild in Dr. Flory's Pocket" a book about the history and process of beginning to mass produce Penicillin. I read a book on Eels and pigeons too.  Eels have a very interesting and mysterious life cycle.  You should look it up sometime.

I've read most of Bill Bryson with his History of the World and Everything(it should be required reading in HS) and a Sunburned Country being favorites.

The Cartoon History of the Universe, by Larry Gonick should be another required reading at the H.S. level.  His drawings and summary of important historical events is astounding, always fun.

Click the link  to the top ten sellers in sci-fi.  It's interesting to see what has sold, I've not read them all. I thought the list and the graphics were nice.