Great picks Fred. I hope you can get to all of your picks. The Victorian Internet looks like it could be an interesting choice. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Entangled Life is super - I completely enjoyed it. I read it a bit ago - do enjoy. I think I may read The Body I like Bill Bryson's books. I don't own it so it will be awhile - I am embracing the read what you own or comes from the library in 2024. Your selections are interesting as usual. Thank you.
That's good to know! I've heard a lot of people saying good things about Entangled Life. Happy to hear that you're taking part in the read what you own challenge - I'll be taking part as well :)
Interesting choices, Fred. And good wishes for the challenge. In my November list: African Europeans, by Olivette Otele. A survey from the 3rd century CE to the present, with attention to dual-heritage families where influence from both sides of the Mediterranean is ongoing. Looks intriguing. Our Oldest Companions: The Story of the First Dog, by Pat Shipman. Doggos! Genetics! Co-evolution! What’s not to like? Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language, by Esther Schor. I have a longstanding respect and fascination for a lot of late 19th and early 20th century utopians, who dreamed so well and mostly perished horribly as the new century ground on. I’m curious to see what light Schor can shed on this movement.
Those look great. Very much looking forward to non fiction November and will be tying it in with a World War I event and historathon Q4 so a lot of history but also have some great travel books I want to read. I have hundreds of unread books so am aiming for 100 in the read what you own challenge in as short a time as possible because I will have book buying withdrawal symptoms 😊
Wow, good luck with the challenge! I've got 45 unread books and will be doing a 40 book challenge. I've read how World War I started, but not the details of the war. The travel books sound like great ideas :)
I'm accidentally participating in nonfiction November. I'd like to read Entangled Life someday but it's not on my TBR this month. I have quite a few books but the nonfiction I'm looking forward to most is The Last Days of Roger Federer by Geoff Dyer. It's about artists and athletes and their decisions to retire.
The Last Days of Roger Federer sounds interesting. it's crazy how people in their 30s retire from sports. I mean I get it, but what do they do afterwards?
I'm really hoping to get to Entangled Life in November, it sounds absolutely fascinating! Oooh not seen that Bill Bryson one before, I really enjoyed his Short History of Nearly Everything as he is a really engaging writer, will be great to hear what you think if you get to it
Hey Fred! Great picks, as usual! I have never heard of any of these before. Things like the telegraph, that we barely even think about, must've been such an amazing development back then and had such a profound impact on how people could communicate. Honestly, I don't even have a concept of how it worked. :0. The Entangled Life cover is so beautiful and another topic I don't know much about, but looking forward to your thoughts to see if it would be interesting to pick up. And The Body (a guide for occupants, haha) sounds really interesting! I've read "A Walk in the Woods" and "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson and really liked his writing. I hope you really enjoy all of these books and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on them down the road. :)
I agree, the telegraph must have revolutionized communication during the Victorian times. Good to hear more about Bryson's style of writing - I'm looking forward to reading his book :)
Oh man! I'm reading Entangled Life right now! That's my next review! Haha I had this feeling that I recently saw this book on someone's channel. Was it yours? If so, I thank you for putting this book in my head. It's very good! Like up there in the Ed Yong realm of nature writing.
I wish I could give you thoughts, but I've not read any. The closest of read is A Brief History of Time and The Fabric of the Cosmos, but I don't consider these "astronomical" books per se.
@ReadbyFred Neil Tyson has some interesting ones. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is pretty good. So is A Brief Welcome to the Universe. That one does has some confusing (for me) material in it. Lawrence Krauss's The Edge if Knowledge and Sabine Hossenfelder's Existential Physics are good. I also really likes Astroquizzical by Jillian Scudder. Very entry-level friendly. There's also a brief(er) history of time, and it's very similar to the first one. Carlo Rovelli and Michio Kaku have some good stuff, but they're more theoretical physics than astro. These next few, I haven't read yet, but they have great critical receptions: The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg, A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence Krauss, Death by Black Hole by Neil Tyson, and The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll. And man, looking through that last one, it's full of very complicated-looking maths. Thank you for reminding me about these books. I really want to read the First Three Minutes by Weinberg. He won the nobel for physics, and is highly revered in his field.
Oh! I loved Entangled Life and I think you will as well!
Thanks! I'm hoping so :)
Sounds like some super interesting stuff! I admire your commitment to read all of these historical books 🤗
Thanks Kris, though it's not really hard for me - nonfiction is my preferred genre :)
Great picks Fred. I hope you can get to all of your picks. The Victorian Internet looks like it could be an interesting choice. Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! I'll likely only be able to get to The Victorian Internet and Entangled Life, but am hoping to start The Body in November. :)
Entangled Life was great! I really liked that one! ❤
It was a good read :)
I do have to say “old versions” of communication is fascinating
It was way better than the carrier pigeon :) It must have been a paradigm shift in the Victorian era.
Im a solid fan of Entangled Life! I read it a while back and think of it often.
That's great to know! So far it's been a fascinating read :)
Entangled Life is super - I completely enjoyed it. I read it a bit ago - do enjoy. I think I may read The Body I like Bill Bryson's books. I don't own it so it will be awhile - I am embracing the read what you own or comes from the library in 2024. Your selections are interesting as usual. Thank you.
That's good to know! I've heard a lot of people saying good things about Entangled Life. Happy to hear that you're taking part in the read what you own challenge - I'll be taking part as well :)
Entangled Life is a great book!
That's great to hear! I'm looking forward to reading it :)
I read a book called The Mother Tongue: English, and How it Got that Way by Bill Bryson and I really enjoyed it.
Thanks, I've heard a lot of good things about Bill Bryson's work.
Interesting choices, Fred. And good wishes for the challenge.
In my November list:
African Europeans, by Olivette Otele. A survey from the 3rd century CE to the present, with attention to dual-heritage families where influence from both sides of the Mediterranean is ongoing. Looks intriguing.
Our Oldest Companions: The Story of the First Dog, by Pat Shipman. Doggos! Genetics! Co-evolution! What’s not to like?
Bridge of Words: Esperanto and the Dream of a Universal Language, by Esther Schor. I have a longstanding respect and fascination for a lot of late 19th and early 20th century utopians, who dreamed so well and mostly perished horribly as the new century ground on. I’m curious to see what light Schor can shed on this movement.
Hmm, your comment got "held for review" - not sure why. Your list of books sound great! Good luck with y our November reads as well :)
@@ReadbyFred Hmm. No idea might have triggered the hold. Thanks, in any event!
Those look great. Very much looking forward to non fiction November and will be tying it in with a World War I event and historathon Q4 so a lot of history but also have some great travel books I want to read. I have hundreds of unread books so am aiming for 100 in the read what you own challenge in as short a time as possible because I will have book buying withdrawal symptoms 😊
Wow, good luck with the challenge! I've got 45 unread books and will be doing a 40 book challenge. I've read how World War I started, but not the details of the war. The travel books sound like great ideas :)
Nice selections!
Thanks Vin! I'm looking forward to getting to all three :)
I'm accidentally participating in nonfiction November. I'd like to read Entangled Life someday but it's not on my TBR this month. I have quite a few books but the nonfiction I'm looking forward to most is The Last Days of Roger Federer by Geoff Dyer. It's about artists and athletes and their decisions to retire.
The Last Days of Roger Federer sounds interesting. it's crazy how people in their 30s retire from sports. I mean I get it, but what do they do afterwards?
I'm really hoping to get to Entangled Life in November, it sounds absolutely fascinating!
Oooh not seen that Bill Bryson one before, I really enjoyed his Short History of Nearly Everything as he is a really engaging writer, will be great to hear what you think if you get to it
That's awesome that you may be reading Entangled Life in November as well :)
I knew I had heard of Sheldrake’s book somewhere but I misremembered the source! I’m also going to try to read that in November.
That's great David! I've had it for a while now and am looking forward to getting to it :)
Hey Fred! Great picks, as usual! I have never heard of any of these before. Things like the telegraph, that we barely even think about, must've been such an amazing development back then and had such a profound impact on how people could communicate. Honestly, I don't even have a concept of how it worked. :0. The Entangled Life cover is so beautiful and another topic I don't know much about, but looking forward to your thoughts to see if it would be interesting to pick up. And The Body (a guide for occupants, haha) sounds really interesting! I've read "A Walk in the Woods" and "In a Sunburned Country" by Bill Bryson and really liked his writing. I hope you really enjoy all of these books and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on them down the road. :)
I agree, the telegraph must have revolutionized communication during the Victorian times. Good to hear more about Bryson's style of writing - I'm looking forward to reading his book :)
Hi Fred!
Hello! :)
Oh man! I'm reading Entangled Life right now! That's my next review! Haha I had this feeling that I recently saw this book on someone's channel. Was it yours? If so, I thank you for putting this book in my head. It's very good! Like up there in the Ed Yong realm of nature writing.
Hah, I'll hold off on watching your review until after I've read the book, but I'm glad to hear it's very good :)
Thoughts on astrophysicists books?
I wish I could give you thoughts, but I've not read any. The closest of read is A Brief History of Time and The Fabric of the Cosmos, but I don't consider these "astronomical" books per se.
@ReadbyFred Neil Tyson has some interesting ones. Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is pretty good. So is A Brief Welcome to the Universe. That one does has some confusing (for me) material in it. Lawrence Krauss's The Edge if Knowledge and Sabine Hossenfelder's Existential Physics are good. I also really likes Astroquizzical by Jillian Scudder. Very entry-level friendly. There's also a brief(er) history of time, and it's very similar to the first one. Carlo Rovelli and Michio Kaku have some good stuff, but they're more theoretical physics than astro. These next few, I haven't read yet, but they have great critical receptions:
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene, The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg, A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence Krauss, Death by Black Hole by Neil Tyson, and The Biggest Ideas in the Universe by Sean Carroll. And man, looking through that last one, it's full of very complicated-looking maths. Thank you for reminding me about these books. I really want to read the First Three Minutes by Weinberg. He won the nobel for physics, and is highly revered in his field.