Update on Reading

 Added five new books since early December. I finished three of the books and left two of the non-fiction as not completed, what I like to call "I have read enough". The fiction books were the first two from His Dark Materials trilogy. I just started the third. The three non-fiction books included two science books and one history book. 

I have been using Goodreads,com to keep track of what I am reading and there are other friends from Facebook that I can share information. You can create multiple reading lists, set goals for the year, follow favorite authors (which includes announcements of new books) and read many reviews. There are also lists of almost everything including new books by genre, favorite books of fellow readers, and a monthly summary of your progress.

Here is a short recap of the most recent books I have read...

1. The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass was written by Philip Pullman in 1995. I gave the book a 3.5 on the BJ scale (Great to Excellent). This book was #34 in my list. It is Book 1 in His Dark Materials Trilogy. I had been watching HBO's take on the books. I had finished season 1 and was halfway through season 2 when I decided to start reading the books. I have now caught up (in reading) to the HBO series and plan to read the third book before the season 3 comes out later. I have always had the dilemma of should I read a book before I see the filmed version. Most times, the book is always better because there is more in the books. A mini-series follows a book better because they may have 8 hours to tell the story versus 2 hours for a typical theater release. There have been a few films that were better than the book.

2. From Eternity to Here

From Eternity to Here was written by Sean Carroll in 2010. I give the book a 2.0 (Good). It is Non-fiction book about time in our universe, and became very confusing and   I did not finish it. 

I guess I did not have the Time or the patience to finish it.

Sometimes these kind of books get farther into the details then what I want, so I just stop reading.

3. The Subtle Knife

The Subtle Knife was written by Philip Pullman in 1997. I give this book a 3.0 (Excellent). It was Book #35 in my list. It is Book 2 in His Dark Materials Trilogy. The HBO season 2 covered this book, and just completed airing in early January.

4. The Wright Brothers

The Wright Brothers was a historical novel written by David McCullough in 2015.  I give this book a 3.0 (Excellent). I bought the book on a whim because I was told growing up that the brothers were distant cousins. When I started working on my family tree, I discovered that the maternal Grandmother of my paternal Grandmother was named Martha A. Wright (b. 1833). She married Joseph Sargent (b. 1816) and one of their children was Jennie Rosalthea (b. 1862). Jennie married James Hervey Orvis (b. 1857) and had 6 children, one being my grandmother Lois (b. 1894). Lois married Albia Provoncha. Martha would be my Great-Great Grandmother.

I was never able to find a connection between Martha and Wilbur & Orville, but there probably is. Maybe when I retire I will try doing more research. Oh, I am retired.

The book, is well written and has photos too. A lot of the story is gathered from the diaries and letters written by the brothers, their sister Katherine, and their father, a Bishop in Dayton Ohio.

5. Knocking On Heaven's Door

Knocking On Heaven's Door was written by Lisa Randall in 2012 I gave the book a 2.0 (Good)

It is a Science book, good read early on but I could not finish. Later chapters held no interest for me. Dr. Randall seems to like to pontificate her ideas. On Goodreads, other reviewers had the same thoughts as me. She may have been paid by the chapter. Someday, when my brain is ready for it, I may try to read some of the later chapters again.

From Wikipedia:

"Lisa Randall (born June 18, 1962) is an American theoretical physicist working in particle physics and cosmology. She is the Frank B. Baird, Jr. Professor of Science on the physics faculty of Harvard University.[1] Her research includes elementary particles, fundamental forces and dimensions of space. She studies the Standard Model, supersymmetry, possible solutions to the hierarchy problem concerning the relative weakness of gravity, cosmology of dimensions, baryogenesis, cosmological inflation, and dark matter.[2] She contributed to the Randall–Sundrum model, first published in 1999 with Raman Sundrum."

Keep reading! 

BJ