Cryptonomicon
Neal Stephenson
With this extraordinary first volume in what promises to be an epoch-making masterpiece, Neal Stephenson hacks into the secret histories of nations and the private obsessions of men, decrypting with d...
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Comment from [Reddit user] with 7 upvotes on /r/books/
Started
The Map That Changed the World, by Simon Winchester
The story of surveyor, engineer, and geologist William Smith, who created the first geological map of England. His map showed the consistent layering, which he was able to identify and distinguish using characteristics of the rocks themselves, as well as the distinct types of fossils that consistently appeared in each layer.
Continuing
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
I only got another 100 pages or so this past week. I went on a weekend trip and didn't want to lug this book around with me.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 6 upvotes on /r/books/
Started
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, by Sheri Fink
Fink does a terrific job of piecing the events together and helping us to know the people involved in these terrible events.
I started this because I need to have something very different on the side while I'm reading this monster of a book:
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
As with Anathem, it bogs down from time to time, which is why I need something else on the side. Stephenson has a lot of big ideas, and he's ambitious about sharing them. I'll be reading this for a while.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 6 upvotes on /r/books/
Finished
Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital, by Sheri Fink
This followed a 2 act structure. The opening act told the story of the hurricane, the flood, the chaos, and the mix of heroism, ineptitude, and worse, that ruled the day. The second act told the story of the murder investigation of the medical staff, and concluded with a discussion of ethical issues in allocating resources for medical care disaster settings and euthanasia in general.
The first act was a bit difficult to follow, perhaps because the records are so spotty. Plus, there were so many characters that I had trouble keeping track of who was who. The murder case involved patients on a floor leased by a different hospital that treated severely ill patients, so there was a big cast of nurses, doctors, administrators, and patients from essentially two hospitals. The second act was a lot easier to follow, as the two investigators held the story together.
Overall, it was a powerful and important read. Fink is a medical doctor with experience in disaster and war zones, so she has an appreciation for the conditions. It became clear in the second act where she stands on what happened at Memorial.
Started
Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan
I requested this from my library a month or two ago, and it came in the day I finished Five Days. I'm about 1/3 through. Good story so far, with terrific writing.
Continuing
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
I have to prioritize Washington Black, as I have a deadline for it, while I own Cryptonomicon. I'm almost half way through and I'm beginning to see how the stories fit together. It's typical of Stephenson: big and full of ideas, perhaps longer than it needed to be. I can't just read a Stephenson book. I need something on the side. A good read nonetheless.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 5 upvotes on /r/books/
Finished:
Washington Black, by Esi Edugyan
This was terrific. I loved the story, characters, and writing. Wash's experience as a slave is foundational to the story, but the story is much more than that.
Continuing:
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
Still working through it. Stephenson loads his books with ideas and characters. This is no different. I've been dedicating the past few days to it, but it'll take me a while longer, as I'll pick up something else in a few days to read on the side.
Listening:
For my commute, I'm listening to Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman. I was happy to see it available from my library. It's a joy to hear Neil himself reading these stories. Highly recommended.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/
Finished:
The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology, by Simon Winchester
Winchester is a very good writer, and I learned some history and geology I didn't know. Started well, but the later chapters seemed a bit anticlimactic. Still a worthwhile read.
Started:
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra
This is staggeringly good so far. Set during the Chechen war is brutal and beautiful.
Continuing:
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
Got slogged down during some cringy parts dealing with the love lives of a few major characters. I'm hoping I'm through that. Still glad I'm reading it.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 4 upvotes on /r/books/
I finished Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson
Classic visionary Stephenson. Cryptocurrency didn't work out exactly as he imagined in this book, but it was written 20 years ago. The book could easily have been half as long without losing anything, but that's not how Stephenson writes. Worth reading.
Got about half way through A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, by Anthony Marra
This was a great book to read alongside Cryptonomicon. Opposite in so many ways. The writing is beautiful, and it tells the stories of people who suffer through the brutal war in Chechnya who love deeply despite (or perhaps because of) the pain and destruction around them. It is beautiful.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 3 upvotes on /r/books/
Started and finished American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Great read-- had me hooked from the beginning and it lived up to the hype!
In between library borrows I've been working on Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson, as well as Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, by Richard Rhodes which was lent to me by a colleague. I finished his previous book on the making of the atomic bomb, which was phenomenal, but a bit of a slog so I am breaking this one up with some fiction reading.
Just got Hyperion, by Dan Simmons from the library so I'll be starting that later tonight.
Comment from [Reddit user] with 2 upvotes on /r/books/
Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson This is a book I have heard a lot of hype over. I was a massive fan of Snow Crash and have a bachelors in Mathematics. I've been meaning to read this book for a while. But I have been concerned over the size of the book as I have been reading books in about 6 days the past few weeks and this will slow my pace. Also, I've heard so much good that I was scared it wouldn't live up to the hype. So far it is even better than the hype.