Bob-Dubery
Bah! I've got a growing stack of half-read must-finish books.
Add to this Gambling by Mike Atherton. Yes, Captain Grumpy can write, indeed he is one of THE best writers on cricket at the moment. This book examines the history of gambling and the reasons why people gamble. Pretty interesting and very readable.
Also How Music Works by David Byrne. The early sections of this book speculate that music may be shaped by the environment in which it is played (except for Wagner who created a performance space ideally suited to the music he wanted to create), that acoustics in different types of venue might mitigate against key changes or drum beats - or encourage them.
domhatch
Shibbibilybob wrote
Psean wrote
X-rated Bob wrote
I'm currently re-reading two previously enjoyed books
2) This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J Levitin. Levitin is a neuro-scientist, a sound engineer, a session player and a record producer and that set of qualifications and experiences has led him to write a most interesting book. It looks at things like how we perceive music, what makes music interesting, why the heck we have music in the first place, and how our tastes are formed. Oh and why a resolution from the dominant 7th chord back to the root is so satisfying.
Sounds really interesting. Will check this one out some time for sure.
Hahahah what timing. I was given (loaned) a copy of that last night ?
innerestin. levitin is quoted in 'outliers' by malcolm gladwell, which is what i've currently finally got around to reading. outliers is massively more appealing and interesting than i imagined. so much so that i purchased his latest - david and goliath - for the wife's birthday. she's a fan.
Shibbibilybob
I've heard Outliers is awesome! I just finished Tipping Point, also by Malcolm Gladwell and really enjoyed it.
Currently I am around half way through Guns, germs and steel, by Jared Diamond, which I am sure must have had a mention somewhere in the several pages of this thread.
It is a fantastic book that attempts to make sense of the factors that lead to some civilisations embracing technology and others shying away...and the effect that this has had on modern people from different areas.
Squonk
Absolutely nothing - which is strange for me because I have always had a book to read since I got into "The Secret Seven" all those years ago ???
I hope this phase passes as it's difficult going to sleep without having a good read first....
Bob-Dubery
Simon Winchester - The Man With The Electrified Brain
I'm a big Winchester fan, but this is quite different from his other books. It's autobiographical and deals with a strange mental breakdown he suffered. I'm finding it a most uncomfortable read. I'm guessing there's a happy outcome, but I don't know if I can stick with it long enough to find out.
PS: The Atherton book was a great read from start to finish.
Wizard
Sir Ranulph Fiennes - Cold.
Autobiography of his adventuring life.
Incredible man.
http://www.amazon.com/Cold-Extreme-Adventures-Lowest-Temperatures/dp/1471127826
For the lovers of adventure stories & human endurance beyond belief.
A big read as it includes amongst the story a history of most polar explorations.
Loving it.
Bob-Dubery
Wayward Daughter by Sophie Parkes.
This is a bio of Eliza Carthy, daughter of two greats (in their field): Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. She went into the family business.
I'm not done with it, but there's already some cautionary tales of life with the major labels. Carthy had initially recorded with the small, specialist, independent Topic label in the UK and had a track record of bringing in albums on time and under budget (not that Topic budgets were huge in the first place). Then she signed with Warner Brothers... oh boy! The things that can happen unless the label has you at the top of their list of priorities. Like taking the finished tapes and sending them to Paris to get Lee Sklar to redo the bass parts (not her decision). They hired a whole studio for the bass player. Watch what that does to the finances for the project. Especially when they fire the promotional team just before the record is released.
Carthy didn't suffer some of the other assorted indignities visited upon female artists - like having a personal trainer just turn up at your house one day, on your dime but without your prior knowledge - but the story of her second album from Warners shows how things can go wrong, how the labels treat somebody who isn't selling platinum and how things can spin out of control even if you try to keep track of what is going on.
RobbieZ
I just finished the book from Dan Brown; “Inferno”. If you did not read “The last symbol”, which I think was Brown’s best book, please do read “Inferno”. If you did, you will be disappointed, or at least I was. The story line is the same, just places and names that basically was changed.
Shibbibilybob
I've been very slowly reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guns,_Germs,_and_Steel
An incredibly interesting book that has no doubt been mentioned somewhere else in this thread.
If I had my way this kind of book would be compulsory reading for any person wishing to call themselves an adult.
Bob-Dubery
Mike Atherton - Glorious Summers and Discontents
A collection of Atherton's newspaper writings (mostly from the Times) over a decade or so. The section on Kevin Pietersen is 6 years old now but eerily familiar. On this evidence Atherton must be one of the very best contemporary sports writers, and part of his greatness is that he never forgets (or lets us forget) that games are played by humans.
G-Man
IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation by Edwin Black.
This book is so fascinating, it reveals how Germany was able to identify and persecute so many millions with the surreptitious support of IBM. I could see this being made into a movie or a series like House of Cards.
Bob-Dubery
G-Man wrote
This book is so fascinating, it reveals how Germany was able to identify and persecute so many millions with the surreptitious support of IBM.
Hollerith cards?
Bob-Dubery
Geoff Emerick - Here, There and Everywhere.
Mostly deals with his time as studio engineer for The Beatles. Emerick was the engineer on Revolver and Sgt Pepper as well as the double-A sided single "Strawberry Fields"/"Penny Lane" (but that is by no means the entirety of his CV). The Paul love gets a bit much at times, but some of the anecdotes and descriptions of recording methods are fascinating (and he gets into the engineering hall of fame just on the basis of the aforementioned records).
G-Man
X-rated Bob wrote
G-Man wrote
This book is so fascinating, it reveals how Germany was able to identify and persecute so many millions with the surreptitious support of IBM.
Hollerith cards?
Yes, cards that only ibm was licensed to manufacture and sell. It's fascinating how they curtailed boycotts and trade bans.
aja
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
So far so good, very interesting and enlightening yet somehow disorganised; as though the author jotted down random daily thoughts.
http://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555
Wizard
Aja: watch the TED talks by Kahneman. Really good stuff in a quick, easy to consume format.
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aja
Wizard wrote
Aja: watch the TED talks by Kahneman. Really good stuff in a quick, easy to consume format.
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Will do, thanks! +1karma
