what are you reading lately?

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

i was drunk and at a book store so i bought a book that just came out on the shootout at the ok corral.

i have no idea where i put it.

How was if?

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I've been to Rome and Venice and my thoughts were going to those two cities and perhaps one other. We are still in the very early stages of planning. I am thinking we will be in Italy for about 10 days, then two days to travel, so a total of 12 days.

Florence FTW. Venice skus.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Strad

http://www.visitflorence.com/itineraries-in-florence/places-inferno-in-florence.html

[Stradling]

Strad

http://www.visitflorence.com/itineraries-in-florence/places-inferno-in-florence.html

Tank, check this out as well, since you are reading the book. Thanks Soto.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

Strad, if you're like me, you were probably underwhelmed by Venice. Florence is the greatest city.

[Stradling]

Strad, if you're like me, you were probably underwhelmed by Venice. Florence is the greatest city.

I was underwhelmed, but since this is going to be a honeymoon, I will probably have to spend a few days there regardless. My favorite part of the city was the street artists and of course Saint Marks Square. We stayed at Hotel Danielle? I think that was the name of the place, which was nice, old, but nice. We have stayed at so many incredible hotels in the past that neither of the ones in Italy really stood out.

[Lhalo]

Strad, if you're like me, you were probably underwhelmed by Venice. Florence is the greatest city.

I like them both. Venice is small but the canals and the architecture are great. The views from the campanile are fantastic and nothing gets you laid easier than a gondola ride. Florence is great but much of the city was lost to WWII. I've climbed the duomo and read a book on how Brunelleschi built it... unfrickenbelievable. The the art and sculptures from the Renaissance era leave you in awe. So much culture.

[Don]

I haven't checked into this thread for awhile. I'm not reading much lately, but I like to dive into some history stuff a few times a year. The last two I read were Empire of the Summer Moon (about the demise of the Comanches), and Stephen Ambrose's book on D-Day. Both fascinating in their own ways. The first for the non-judgmental stance and layout of facts (basically, it's hard to say there was a good side in that conflict). The second for the depth of research.

Also, if you're in to history, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast is just freaking tremendous. The series on the Mongol Empire and the series on WWI are particularly good.

[Mark68]

Recently read The Martian. ​It was hard to put it down. I couldn't wait to see what else was going to go wrong.

 

Can't wait for the movie.

[Mark68]

Also read Bombs Away by my favorite alternate history author, Harry Turtledove. This is the first book in a new series about Harry Truman giving the go-ahead to MacArthur to drop A-bombs on Manchuria.

[Tank]

Tank, check this out as well, since you are reading the book. Thanks Soto.

 

that's great! what a terrific idea for someone to do all that work. thanks, soto.

[Tank]

i bought the illustrated version of the da vinci code, which included pictures of all the different paintings that he referenced. it was awesome.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I like them both. Venice is small but the canals and the architecture are great. The views from the campanile are fantastic and nothing gets you laid easier than a gondola ride. Florence is great but much of the city was lost to WWII. I've climbed the duomo and read a book on how Brunelleschi built it... unfrickenbelievable. The the art and sculptures from the Renaissance era leave you in awe. So much culture.

I think Venice canal gondolas are cliche. What I thought was romantic and very village like was walking the cobblestone streets of Florence and eating at the outdoor cafes. For me, it's Italian Paris.

And the statue of David is pretty incredible, almost better than the Mona Lisa.

[Lhalo]

Also, if you're in to history, Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast is just freaking tremendous. The series on the Mongol Empire and the series on WWI are particularly good.

Thanks for mentioning this. I've been looking for a good history related podcast.

[Redondo]

Must-see Venice spots

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I had to take the wife on one out last trip, I didn't mind so much, but our dude sucked ass, he didn't sing or tell us anything important in Italian. He yelled at someone on his cell phone the whole time. A bit of a waste of 70€ or whatever it was.

Yeah hard to pass it up when you're with your lady. If Strad has been with his lady there before, I'd keep that part short. Florence is incredible and across the bridge to Tuscany is very nice too.

[Lou]

Strad, if you're like me, you were probably underwhelmed by Venice. Florence is the greatest city.

Couldnt agree more.

[ten ocho recon scout]

nice! where in italy are you going?

its a fantastic country (no surprise there)

i was thinking about heading out there next month, take my cuter half to italy and croatia.

second worst pizza i ever had in my life was in rome though, go figure

lol, the best italian food i had in italy was made by asians at a hole in the wall in venice

Have you been to croatia already?

[mrwicked]

How was if?

 

i will let you know..

once i find it.

im at the tail end of my gut remodel, so the crib is a clusterf*ck.

who knows where anything is.

[mrwicked]

lol, the best italian food i had in italy was made by asians at a hole in the wall in venice

Have you been to croatia already?

 

i have - it's absolutely f*cking amazing.

dubrovnik is one of my top 3 favorite cities in the world.

i back-packed around eastern europe and the balkans for a couple months a few years ago.

she's never been.

there is a ferry that goes between split, croatia and ancona, italy i took (i flew back home out of rome).

takes only about 10 hours, was chill.

if you do it overnight you don't need to waste a day traveling or waste the money on a hostel/hotel for the night.

Edited August 28, 2015 by mrwicked

[Tank]

I had to take the wife on one out last trip, I didn't mind so much, but our dude sucked ass, he didn't sing or tell us anything important in Italian. He yelled at someone on his cell phone the whole time. A bit of a waste of 70€ or whatever it was.

 

i proposed to my then-girlfriend on a gondola in long beach, some place called gondola getaway. she said yes.

[Tank]

60% of the time it works every time.

 

27 years later, so far so good!

[Lou]

A lot of idiotic posts about baseball

[red321]

For you sci-fi fans...story bundle is offering a plethora of books (6) for the sum of name your price...if you pay at least $15 you get 5 bonus titles as well. All of the titles are winners, or finalists, for the Philip K. Dick Award.

 

https://storybundle.com/pkdaward

 

 

We couldn't be more excited to present The Philip K. Dick Award Bundle: A collection of 11 Philip K. Dick Award winners and finalists! The award is presented annually with the support of the Philip K. Dick Trust, and was inaugurated in 1983 after the untimely death of the iconic science fiction author, Philip K. Dick, whose work has been adapted into major motion pictures such as Blade Runner, Total Recall, and Minority Report.

Our curator Lisa Mason is one of the five judges for the 2016 award, and she's chosen some tremendous books to round out the bundle. Visit the majestic city of the Ascendants in Elizabeth Hand's Aestival Tide, the spooky abandoned storage closet down the hall in Kathe Koja's The Cipher, rock-n-rolling San Francisco in 1967 in Lisa's own Summer of Love, a Martian colony with a terrible secret in Lewis Shiner'sFrontera, the visionary far future in Walter Jon Williams' Knight Moves. We know you're going to love these winners and finalists honored by the Philip K. Dick award!

[red321]

amazon has another Kindle sale today...some great titles, especially if your are a sci-fi fan

 

Some great books for the Kindle on sale today.

 

The Last Policeman (and other books in the series) is a great set of books about society and how it reacts in the face of upcoming destruction

 

The Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is usually listed as a top 100 sci-fi book

 

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

 

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

 

Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

 

and books by Octavia Butler

 

http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=lp_7533915011_gb1h_img_c-2_0222_23b8bcea?rh=i%3Adigital-text%2Cn%3A7533915011%2Cn%3A7533915011&ie=UTF8&smid=A3T7DQBB0CKEM6&node=7533915011&tag=kinjadeals-20&ascsubtag=26f0d4382d5892345ebcea00af98303b19db6192&rawdata=%5Br%7Chttp%3A%2F%2Fio9.com%2F%5Bt%7Clink%5Bp%7C1735924951%5Bau%7C5856732741879800112