What're You Reading These Days?

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What're You Reading These Days?
« on: February 23, 2017, 07:38:41 am »
Hello everyone, Crionarx here, back in action, back in the saddle. Wondering what everyone was reading these days, assuming you're reading something. Here's some of what I'm reading, some of my reviews and some recommendations.

Goodnight Punpun:The story of a strange shape-changing, mute bird boy growing up, his experiences and the things that shape how he thinks and lives as told by a narrator. Heartfelt, tear-jerking and at times shocking. If you like manga this isn't one to miss, its being released in big, three volume per book releases.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt: Do you like Gundam? Or just mecha in general? This one is for you. Fantastic art and chunky mecha designs tell a story about revenge, those injured in war and jazz. One I've really looked forward too. Being released in two volume per book books.

Area 51 An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base by Annie Jacobsen: Super good, its like there's a revelation on each page. If you're into conspiracy theories, aerospace engineering, or just want a really good book to read then I really recommend this.

Cells At Work: A manga about anthropomorphic cells in the human body (focusing on a bloodthirsty white blood cell and a clumsy red blood cell) that teaches you little bits of human biology while the cells deal with problems that happen to it on a regular (and not so regular) basis. Very funny, good art style and designs for the different cells and bacteria, a very clever and unexpected pickup and read. I got the second volume and was charmed enough that I had to order the first from Amazon.

Nurst Hitomi's Monster Infirmary: Now on its fifth volume. Monster is somewhat of a misnomer, as the kids don't think of themselves as monsters and there are very few traditional monster girls and boys in the series besides the main character, a cyclops nurse. Definitely has fanservice, though not as much as other series, and has lots of clever storylines involving the interesting characters the author comes up with, everything from a girl that can eat anything that starts to date a boy that can regenerate to a girl that becomes flat and can suddenly access the 4th wall. The latest volume had a rather nice treatment of a character that didn't see themselves as a boy or girl that surprised me. Recommended if you like monster girls/boys.

Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye: An ongoing comic series that just ended, while some basic knowledge of transformers is needed, prior knowledge of previous events is not as the series is pretty stand alone (and you can always check the tongue-in-cheek transformers wikipedia. The art is super good characters and writing are amazing and hilarious, and really stand out on their own, this is definitely no comic meant to sell toys, this is a comic meant to be a comic. I use a cover from this series as the background to my phone. If you like transformers or want a different comic to read I definitely recommend this one.

Re: What're You Reading These Days?
« Reply #1 on: February 23, 2017, 04:34:16 pm »
I'm currently listening to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory as an audiobook. It's quite informative about how death is handled in modern US society, and also in other cultures, past and present. It is also a memoir about the author's career. You also learn how when someone dies, funeral homes try to squeeze money out of you. If you're morbid you'd like this book. I discovered that I'm less morbid than I thought I was, but I'm still enjoying it. It's very informative.

Re: What're You Reading These Days?
« Reply #2 on: February 28, 2017, 02:17:36 am »
The Hive and the Honeybee by L. L. Langstroth, a foundational text in modern apiculture.  What I find most charming is how that mid-1800s scientific style of writing is so reminiscent of Lovecraft's works.

The Beekeeper's Handbook for more modern data.

Mastering Linux Network Administration so my internal networks are configured correctly.

Mastering VMware vSphere 6 so my virtual server is configured right, which will help me accurately criticize cloud environments I encounter.

Re: What're You Reading These Days?
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2017, 08:47:55 pm »
uhh in progress right now on my kindle is

Execution by Hunger: about the ~1930s intentional starvation of about six million people by the USSR

The Great Good Thing: andrew klaven, a jew, realizes in his 40s that Christ is best

Dog Whistle Politics: leftist book that talks about undercurrents of racism that supposedly powers the conservative right. Doesn't bother to address the dog whistle politics of the left though.

The "S" Word: pretends that socialism is something other than a muderous cult.

The Less You Know, the Better You Sleep: the Russian apartment bombings, and their links to Putin

Righteous Indignation: Andrew Breitbart saves the world before he dies (is killed by Media Matters)
Shit Ass

Re: What're You Reading These Days?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2017, 07:30:07 am »
A little bedtime reading for me these days: 2017 Chemical Fish Control for Field Fish, Pastures, Rangeland, and Noncropland.