What's the last book you read?

[Guest MormonGator]

1 hour ago, DoctorLemon said:

I just read No Country for Old Men by Cormack McCarthy.  A book with a very good beginning, but goes downhill from there and has one of the least meaningful endings ever.

Next stop: On the Road by Jack Kerouac!

Two great books. 

I finished Submission by Michael Houellebecq. Incredibly disturbing and not LDS approved but I finished it in about three days. Couldn't put it down. 

[Just_A_Guy]

Just finished “Wilford Woodriff’s Witness:  The Development of Temple Doctrine” by Jennifer Mackley.  Lots of great nuggets, though parts got repetitive and at some points one got the distinct impression that the author wasn’t quite saying everything she knew.  Still, I’d recommend it—among other things, it’s the only book I can remember seeing carried by Deseret Book that directly talks about the Second Anointing.

Now about 1/5 of the way into Michael Austin’s “Rereading Job:  Understanding the Ancient World’s Greatest Poem”; which is a surprisingly brisk and engaging read.

Edited January 31, 2018 by Just_A_Guy

[mordorbund]

"Little Britches, Father and I were Ranchers" by Ralph Moody

Only a few conference talks and the Family Proclamation have inspired me as much to be a better father.

@LeSellers @Carborendum

[Guest]

57 minutes ago, mordorbund said:

"Little Britches, Father and I were Ranchers" by Ralph Moody

Only a few conference talks and the Family Proclamation have inspired me as much to be a better father.

@LeSellers @Carborendum

Thanks for the mention.  But I don't know if Le has read it.  Did he mention that anywhere?

[mordorbund]

38 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Thanks for the mention.  But I don't know if Le has read it.  Did he mention that anywhere?

I thought he had, but it looks like I was mistaken.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, mordorbund said:

I thought he had, but it looks like I was mistaken.

I just asked him.  Apparently, he has not.  I found that odd since he reads so much.  And it is what I'd consider a must have in the library of "any TRUE homeschooler" Scottish or not.

[Connie]

3 hours ago, mordorbund said:

"Little Britches, Father and I were Ranchers" by Ralph Moody

Only a few conference talks and the Family Proclamation have inspired me as much to be a better father.

@LeSellers @Carborendum

That's a great book! I didn't care for the sequel, though.

[Sunday21]

You are going to love this! No really!

Former nasa scientist answers absurd questions scientifically.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21413662-what-if

Edited February 4, 2018 by Sunday21

[BeNotDeceived]

The Plant Paradox, by Dr. Steven R. Gundry. 

Not sure which book it bumped, but if I had a list of top 10 books, it would easily be on it.

[Sunday21]

On 2018-01-31 at 1:17 AM, Just_A_Guy said:

Just finished “Wilford Woodriff’s Witness:  The Development of Temple Doctrine” by Jennifer Mackley.  Lots of great nuggets, though parts got repetitive and at some points one got the distinct impression that the author wasn’t quite saying everything she knew.  Still, I’d recommend it—among other things, it’s the only book I can remember seeing carried by Deseret Book that directly talks about the Second Anointing.

Now about 1/5 of the way into Michael Austin’s “Rereading Job:  Understanding the Ancient World’s Greatest Poem”; which is a surprisingly brisk and engaging read.

Does Austin assert that Job was a real person and the biblical record is an accurate report? Or was Job’s story a fable? What is your opinion? 

[Just_A_Guy]

4 hours ago, Sunday21 said:

Does Austin assert that Job was a real person and the biblical record is an accurate report? Or was Job’s story a fable? What is your opinion? 

He doesn’t seem to take a hard-and-fast position as to whether Job was a real person or not; though he does suggest a) that as a matter of “genre” the  book’s value is primarily literary, b) that its thrust  is less the narrative of Job himself and more the issues raised by the discussion between himself and his friends, and c) that the “narrative” of the book, true or not, is something of an ancient near eastern cliche; and that if we pay attention to what the characters actually say it sort of undercuts/satirizes the neatness of the underlying narrative (One example Austin had used is, envision the movie “Cinderella” where, halfway through, Cinderella launches into a soliloquy about what kind of an idiot is this prince who can only recognize her by her shoe size, and who would actually want to live in a stifling palace all day, and why does she need a man at all?  And then down comes Fairy Godmother who says “look, I went to a lot of work to get you ready for that ball, so don’t ask questions—go marry your prince!”  And so Cinderella does, and she lives happily ever after; but we’re left with the nigglig realization that she raised some really good questions and none of them have really been resolved).  Austin also points out that, after about the third chapter of the book, Job isn’t really all that patient and spends an awful lot of time complaining—but that maybe, to some extent, that’s OK.

Austin was interviewed by the LDS Perspectives podcast a few months back, and it’s worth a listen.

Edited February 10, 2018 by Just_A_Guy

[Guest]

Sufactants and Cosolvents in NAPL Remediation.  

It's a page turner, let me tell you.  I had no idea that water is actually a self limiting chemical when left to itself.  Otherwise the entire planet would cease to exist.

Amazing stuff.

[mirkwood]

Currently reading Deathwatch.  Prior to that I just finished re-reading the Dresden Files...all of them.

Edited February 11, 2018 by mirkwood

[Guest MormonGator]

Wallis in Love by Andrew Morton. It claims to be this cutting edge, new book about Wallis Simpson and Edward VIII, but in reality it tells us very little that we don't already know. For example, it makes a big deal about her sharp tongue and cruel personality. Yeah, um, duh. We knew this. It doesn't release new letters from Wallis, Edward, Earnest Simpson or anyone from the royal family. It barely talks about the abdication. It has some interesting things about their life after the abdication, but it's a huge disappointment. I've read several books about them and this is not one of the better ones. 

[Connie]

Recently finished Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, which I liked more than I thought I would, and Whatever Happened to Faith by Robert Millet, which is a great book.

[The Folk Prophet]

Just finished Oathbringer and have lost all respect for Brandon Sanderson.

[Guest MormonGator]

23 hours ago, Connie said:

Recently finished Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, which I liked more than I thought I would, and Whatever Happened to Faith by Robert Millet, which is a great book.

 When I read that book the notes I kept were 45 pages long. It was so hard to keep the characters straight. Great book though. 

Edited February 26, 2018 by MormonGator

[mirkwood]

Deathwatch by Steve Parker, not as good as I hoped, but sufficiently entertaining.

[Sunday21]

On 2018-02-24 at 7:35 PM, Connie said:

Recently finished Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, which I liked more than I thought I would, and Whatever Happened to Faith by Robert Millet, which is a great book.

Good for you! I have never got far with Anna Karenina! Knowing the ending does not help! I need a rewrite. 

[Sunday21]

7 hours ago, The Folk Prophet said:

Just finished Oathbringer and have lost all respect for Brandon Sanderson.

So not a recommendation? Because of moral philosophy or bad writing? 

[Connie]

On 2/25/2018 at 8:07 PM, Sunday21 said:

Good for you! I have never got far with Anna Karenina! Knowing the ending does not help! I need a rewrite. 

Never would have finished it if I wasn't listening to the audiobook.

Honestly, she got so whiny toward the end, it was kind of a relief. (I probably shouldn't say things like that)

Edited March 1, 2018 by Connie

[Connie]

On 2/25/2018 at 12:59 PM, The Folk Prophet said:

Just finished Oathbringer and have lost all respect for Brandon Sanderson.

Really? Why's that? I'd honestly love to hear your thoughts. I certainly didn't like it as well as the first two, but didn't think it was THAT bad.

[The Folk Prophet]

On 2/25/2018 at 8:08 PM, Sunday21 said:

So not a recommendation? Because of moral philosophy or bad writing? 

 

59 minutes ago, Connie said:

Really? Why's that? I'd honestly love to hear your thoughts. I certainly didn't like it as well as the first two, but didn't think it was THAT bad.

It was a moral related loss of respect. The book was good. Agreed, not as good as the first two, particularly the second. But he's a moron for randomly, nonsensically, making one of the bridge 4 soldiers gay. It's so obviously a 'gay is ok' political statement, which might be moderately innocuous if it wasn't from a fellow saint who has as one of his primary market bases young, impressionable, and often LDS youth. 

[Connie]

Totally agree. That did absolutely nothing to further the story.

[Sunday21]

The woman in the window. Thriller. Very well writte.