Currently reading
The Jack Vance Treasury
The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way
Nerve
Banker (The Dick Francis Library)
Twice Shy
Wizard: The Life and Times of Nikola Tesla: Biography of a Genius
Straight: The Surprisingly Short History Of Heterosexuality
Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health
Parasite Rex (with a New Epilogue): Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures
The Templars: History & Myth
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
I adore these absolutely fabulous books!
Ready Player One
Are you a child/teenager of the 80s? Were you a geek of any description? If so, this book is a must read. I recommend going with the audio version for the fabulous narration by the rocking Wil Wheaton.
The Gates
This was fabulous. It's a middle grade level hitchhiker's guide crossed with Terry Pratchett footnotes crossed with the demons of Hell crossed with particle physics and the LHC at CERN. Absolutely brilliant.
I Shall Wear Midnight: A Story of Discworld (Discworld Novels)
Such a phenomenal wrap up to the Tiffany Aching story arc. I laugh out loud, I sniffle a bit, and get that heart overflowing feeling at the end that I only get for a really really really good book.
Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From the Ozark Mountains to Fukushima
Phenomenal book. One of the best this year. And unlike some of the other related books I've read, this one is written by someone who understands all the physics (he's worked in the field for decades). Although he is fairly detailed about the physics, it's _so_ well written. My only ""gripe"" is that this book is so information dense that I'm going to HAVE to reread this one. Oh darn!Update: and now I have! It was just as good the second time.
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why
According to my records here, I've listened to this 4 times since 2009. It's still awesome and I think everyone should read it. It's both fascinating and I think useful although I hope to never have to utilize any of the usefulness.
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The Shepherd's Crown (Discworld, #41)
It's almost painful to give this book 3 stars. It's THE LAST DISCWORLD BOOK EVER. And I liked it, and it finished off the Tiffany Aching series nicely but it's just not as good as earlier Pratchett (much like ""Raising Steam""). Lots of cameo moments and attempts to tie up loose ends but the the level of prose just isn't there. But still 3 stars for Pratchett is probably 4 for almost anyone else! GNU Sir Terry Pratchett
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
I adore this book and have had it in paper for years. I picked up the audio on sale sometime last year (2 years ago?) and finally listened to it. Great narrator and it's just as good as I remembered. I think that's because I strongly resemble the author although my choice of genre/subject (with the exception of a shared obsession of Arctic/Antarctic exploration) is quite different. :)
The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World
There is some fairly hard core (for the layperson) particle physics in this book but I think it's explained really well. I loved the book but I did spend a summer as an undergrad at CERN so YMMV. :)
The Rhesus Chart
Well bloody hell. That didn't end the way I expected it to (and that's not a bad thing!). Unsurprisingly as Case NIGHTMARE GREEN continues to approach, the Laundry series continues to get darker. I don't want to say too much because this one in particular really needs to not have anything approaching spoilers. But argh! What I actually said when the audio ended (BTW the audio version kicks some serious butt) was ""Well sh*t"". I cannot wait for the next one (late next year alas!). Well played again Mr. Stross!
The Daemon Prism
This was amazing. The trilogy just kept getting better. In some ways, it reminded me of Bujold's Chalion books and that is high praise indeed! My only regret was the wretched narrator they used for Dante in this book.
The Pioneer Detectives
This is an absolute little gem if you're interested in astronomy/NASA/relativity etc. Very very neat.
The Beekeeper's Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America
Fascinating and scary.
The Privilege of the Sword
Narration by Kushner herself (and additional cast) is 5 stars all the way. Definitely naming on reading the other Riverside books now.