What are you reading right now?

[RockyMountainOySker]

i've been reading 'naked' by david sedaris. i don't think he is as funny as a lot of people do, but he is such a good writer and i can not get enough of his stories.

I've read that book and had the same thought as you. Didn't make me laugh as much as people said it would, but he is a great writer.

 

[carlfense]

I got talked into reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's ok. I'm not a big thriller fan. Sort of like a Dan Brown book with slightly better writing.

 

[RockyMountainOySker]

I got talked into reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's ok. I'm not a big thriller fan. Sort of like a Dan Brown book with slightly better writing.

I read all three of in this series and really enjoyed them. The first book starts off really slow for about the first 200 pages. Then the rest of book 1 through the last move quickly. Great page turners for a quick read, in my opinion.

 

[Cactusboy]

I started reading "Scorecasting" last night. The example they use in the introduction was about little league softball and how they put the worst player in right field cuz he was least likely to touch the ball there, but then teams figured it out and started hitting that way, so they put the kid at catcher cuz there was no stealing allowed and whatnot.

Then they started talking about the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl and how Mike Carey, the referee, could have blown the play dead because Eli Manning was basically "in the grasp" of the defender. The whole first chapter is about how fans will react worse to a bad call than a no call. They call it ommission bias. Pretty interesting so far.

I've read that book and really liked it. However I don't buy in the what they say about "being in the zone" in basketball. They say if you made your last shots or not has no affect on if you'll make your next shot. I'd like to see if these guys can actually play BB. I was a streaky shooter in high school...especually my Jr year. I know for sure there was a better chance of the ball goin through the hoop in the game I scored 22 in a half vs the game I was around 2-10. "The zone" is a real thing. If you make your next shot has to do a lot w/ confidence..and if you just made your previous 4 jump shots your confidence will be higher.

 

[Cactusboy]

I started reading "Scorecasting" last night. The example they use in the introduction was about little league softball and how they put the worst player in right field cuz he was least likely to touch the ball there, but then teams figured it out and started hitting that way, so they put the kid at catcher cuz there was no stealing allowed and whatnot.

Then they started talking about the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl and how Mike Carey, the referee, could have blown the play dead because Eli Manning was basically "in the grasp" of the defender. The whole first chapter is about how fans will react worse to a bad call than a no call. They call it ommission bias. Pretty interesting so far.

I had to bump this because there was mention of the "defense wins championships" mantra in another thread.

In this "Scorecasting" book, they break down how it's not entirely true that defense wins championships. It's basically pretty even between top-notch offenses winning titles and top-notch defenses winning titles. So they are both even valued.

I thought that was interesting considering we have defensive guru as a head coach here at DONU.

That book is the Freakonomics of sports books.

 

[Cactusboy]

I girl that's a good friend of mine strongly recommended this book to me so I bought it and read the first 50 pages or so. I just didn't like it at all.

I kept thinking...

1 - These kinds of stories are only funny if they are about you...or someone you know.

2 - What are the chances that these are mostly made up?

I felt guilty for supporting they guy by buying his book. I'm all for having fun when your young or even old when your single. Partying....chasing women, etc etc. But there should be some etiquite/ethics in how you do it ALSO...it's understandable if you maybe "screw over" a girl...but it should be VERY few and far beween.. I understand it's all for fun etc...but if there is a guy that deserves a beat down it's this guy.

 

[Cactusboy]

Last books I've read...

Are You Smart Enough to Work at Google - Good book but not as good as I was hoping.

Blink - Not as good as Outliers or Tipping Point(both EXCELLENT)

Steve Jobs - Good biography and very honest. I probably think less of Jobs after reading it...but I only knew good stuff about him prior.

9-11 Was There an Alternative - Great book.

Confidence Men - Great book

Born Standing up - Steve Martin - average to good

Last novels

The Catcher in the Rye

Dragoon Tattoo trilogy

Huck Finn

Tom Sawyer

Catch 22

 

[Cactusboy]

Here is one I bought but haven't started yet.

I'm not a "hoarder" but have some tendicies like always having a little pile or 2 of things that I'll deal w/ later....and having clothes in my closet from 15 years ago.

 

[holvy83]

I girl that's a good friend of mine strongly recommended this book to me so I bought it and read the first 50 pages or so. I just didn't like it at all.

I kept thinking...

1 - These kinds of stories are only funny if they are about you...or someone you know.

2 - What are the chances that these are mostly made up?

I felt guilty for supporting they guy by buying his book. I'm all for having fun when your young or even old when your single. Partying....chasing women, etc etc. But there should be some etiquite/ethics in how you do it ALSO...it's understandable if you maybe "screw over" a girl...but it should be VERY few and far beween.. I understand it's all for fun etc...but if there is a guy that deserves a beat down it's this guy.

Well I think that is the point he is trying to get across, he is a complete d*ck and he is not apologizing for it, so he succeeded in a both ways, one in wanting to see him beatdown and the other can't stop laughing.

 

[GSG]

I started reading "Scorecasting" last night. The example they use in the introduction was about little league softball and how they put the worst player in right field cuz he was least likely to touch the ball there, but then teams figured it out and started hitting that way, so they put the kid at catcher cuz there was no stealing allowed and whatnot.

Then they started talking about the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl and how Mike Carey, the referee, could have blown the play dead because Eli Manning was basically "in the grasp" of the defender. The whole first chapter is about how fans will react worse to a bad call than a no call. They call it ommission bias. Pretty interesting so far.

I've read that book and really liked it. However I don't buy in the what they say about "being in the zone" in basketball. They say if you made your last shots or not has no affect on if you'll make your next shot. I'd like to see if these guys can actually play BB. I was a streaky shooter in high school...especually my Jr year. I know for sure there was a better chance of the ball goin through the hoop in the game I scored 22 in a half vs the game I was around 2-10. "The zone" is a real thing. If you make your next shot has to do a lot w/ confidence..and if you just made your previous 4 jump shots your confidence will be higher.

I agree with you. I think when you're in "the zone," it focuses your mind and body to work better in unison, causing your shot to be in better form, therefore causing you to make more shots.

 

[knapplc]

Finished The Prince and the Pauper the other night. Good story by Twain, kind of like watching a good popcorn movie today. Nothing challenging, just fun.

Started Sailing Alone Around the World after finishing The Prince and the Pauper. So far it's pretty good - more interesting than I thought it would be from reading the back cover. He rebuilds a boat, and then mostly on a lark, he sails off around the world. For a guy with a third-grade education, he's a pretty good writer.

 

[Cactusboy]

I girl that's a good friend of mine strongly recommended this book to me so I bought it and read the first 50 pages or so. I just didn't like it at all.

I kept thinking...

1 - These kinds of stories are only funny if they are about you...or someone you know.

2 - What are the chances that these are mostly made up?

I felt guilty for supporting they guy by buying his book. I'm all for having fun when your young or even old when your single. Partying....chasing women, etc etc. But there should be some etiquite/ethics in how you do it ALSO...it's understandable if you maybe "screw over" a girl...but it should be VERY few and far beween.. I understand it's all for fun etc...but if there is a guy that deserves a beat down it's this guy.

Well I think that is the point he is trying to get across, he is a complete d*ck and he is not apologizing for it, so he succeeded in a both ways, one in wanting to see him beatdown and the other can't stop laughing.

and I didn't think it was funny at all...because of the points numbered above. And I like a lot of low brow comedy....and the girl that highly recommended it to me isn't a low life...she's the HR manager for the Phoenix Coyotes. A big part of it is I can't stand douche bags...and probably even more so if they embrace their douche baggedness. I mean...I'm sure the Situation from Jersey Shore could tell a bunch of stories like this too.

Would you guys still like this book if you found out they weren't true stories? Because often times a movie is a lot better just because it's true...sort of like Hoosiers.

 

[Cactusboy]

I started reading "Scorecasting" last night. The example they use in the introduction was about little league softball and how they put the worst player in right field cuz he was least likely to touch the ball there, but then teams figured it out and started hitting that way, so they put the kid at catcher cuz there was no stealing allowed and whatnot.

Then they started talking about the David Tyree catch in the Super Bowl and how Mike Carey, the referee, could have blown the play dead because Eli Manning was basically "in the grasp" of the defender. The whole first chapter is about how fans will react worse to a bad call than a no call. They call it ommission bias. Pretty interesting so far.

I've read that book and really liked it. However I don't buy in the what they say about "being in the zone" in basketball. They say if you made your last shots or not has no affect on if you'll make your next shot. I'd like to see if these guys can actually play BB. I was a streaky shooter in high school...especually my Jr year. I know for sure there was a better chance of the ball goin through the hoop in the game I scored 22 in a half vs the game I was around 2-10. "The zone" is a real thing. If you make your next shot has to do a lot w/ confidence..and if you just made your previous 4 jump shots your confidence will be higher.

I agree with you. I think when you're in "the zone," it focuses your mind and body to work better in unison, causing your shot to be in better form, therefore causing you to make more shots.

and if you miss a few shots or more in a row you def aren't as confident and it's common to over think your next shots. How many times after a guy airballs a free throw do you see him shoot the next one too hard? Sure at the end of the season his average will be about the same as it was last year...but that doesn't mean prior shots don't influence your next shot.

 

[Husker_x]

Finished The Prince and the Pauper the other night. Good story by Twain, kind of like watching a good popcorn movie today. Nothing challenging, just fun.

Started Sailing Alone Around the World after finishing The Prince and the Pauper. So far it's pretty good - more interesting than I thought it would be from reading the back cover. He rebuilds a boat, and then mostly on a lark, he sails off around the world. For a guy with a third-grade education, he's a pretty good writer.

Speaking of Mark Twain, a friend of mine showed me this...uh...odd clip from a children's show.

You know...for kids.

 

[RednScarlet]

Always up for more on this story.

This is a good book dealing with some info not covered by other books on the subject.

Will it change your mind? Probably not.

I'm reading this when the History channel is not showing one of those 'Alien' shows...