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Quicksilver
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
30 posts | 39 read | 37 to read
Quicksilver is the story of Daniel Waterhouse, fearless thinker and conflicted Puritan, pursuing knowledge in the company of the greatest minds of Baroque-era Europe, in a chaotic world where reason wars with the bloody ambitions of the mighty, and where catastrophe, natural or otherwise, can alter the political landscape overnight.It is a chronicle of the breathtaking exploits of "Half-Cocked Jack" Shaftoe -- London street urchin turned swashbuckling adventurer and legendary King of the Vagabonds -- risking life and limb for fortune and love while slowly maddening from the pox.And it is the tale of Eliza, rescued by Jack from a Turkish harem to become spy, confidante, and pawn of royals in order to reinvent Europe through the newborn power of finance.A gloriously rich, entertaining, and endlessly inventive novel that brings a remarkable age and its momentous events to vivid life, Quicksilver is an extraordinary achievement from one of the most original and important literary talents of our time.And it's just the beginning ...
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PurpleyPumpkin
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Participating in this month‘s #CoverLove challenge really makes me realize just how many books are on #myneverendingtbr! 😬 #silver

Eggs I agrée ?? it‘s quite revealing 4mo
34 likes2 comments
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Crazeedi
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Catherine_Willoughby Have you read his books? I have two. Still on the #TBRPile 4y
Crazeedi @Catherine_Willoughby I have the 3 volumes of this series, have not read!! Been on my shelf a couple years, embarrassed to say 4y
37 likes3 comments
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Kimberlone
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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I haven‘t been reading much this weekend (since Animal Crossing was released on Friday), but finally getting to posting some recent book hails. I got this bunch of books a few weeks ago from a local thrust store for less than $.50! I‘ve never heard of this Neal Stephenson series, but since the first two books were available in good condition I decided to grab them.

vivastory I haven't read that Stephenson, but I've heard great things about it. It's on my shelves. Great haul! 5y
Kimberlone @vivastory cool! I‘ll read it...eventually...haha 5y
Cortg American Wife is good! It‘s loosely based off of George W Bush. 5y
47 likes3 comments
review
MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Pickpick

I had tried reading this when I was younger, and knew that I had to save it for when I was a little older and wiser. It‘s been sitting and waiting for me for a few years. This was not an easy read, for me at least, as it is complex in it‘s historical facts and events which run very deep. But I‘m glad I finished it, even just for the beautiful writing. I would recommend for fans of the 17th century, Isaac Newton, alchemy, and natural philosophy.

6 likes1 stack add
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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson

“To out-sail a pirate, he insists, is a sweeter revenge than to out-fight him.”

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Aussie_SFF
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Thanks to #theunreadshelf I have made up a turn shelf for the first time ever.

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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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“Rage had taken him. Daniel was not especially susceptible to that passion. But he understood, now, why the Greeks had believed that Furies were angels of a sort, winged-swift, armed with whips and torches, rushing up out of Erebus to goad men unto madness.”

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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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“...if money is a science, then it is a dark science, darker than Alchemy. It split away from Natural Philosophy millennia ago, and has gone on developing ever since, by it‘s own rules...”

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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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“...if only we could jump fast enough, or had a strong enough wind at our backs, we could all be planets.” 🌏✨ #isaacnewton #gravity #planets

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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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“That is why I never use the microscope any more to look at things that were made by men-the rudeness and bungling of Art is painful to view. And yet things that one would expect to look disgusting become beautiful when magnified.” #nature #microscope #beauty #perspective

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MeganPagan
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Love this. I draw a lot of portraits of people and animals. This quote made me think of the style I strive for while I work on each art piece. I guess I try to draw the same way Isaac Newton did according to this book. 🤔#art #drawing #idealism #alchemy #isaacnewton

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Sace
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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I do think I'm going to like this, but apparently I struggle with narration in the present tense. I'm having trouble getting past it for some reason.

Sace Oh...and deckle edges 😡 5y
rockpools I apparently have the same problem with the present tense at the mo. I‘m reading a memoir - but there‘s such a disconnect between the words and ‘what 5-year old author is thinking‘ - it‘s really throwing me off! (edited) 5y
rockpools Deckle edges, on the other hand ... 😉 5y
Sace @RachelO that is odd. Maybe I'm just too persnickety. I want my historical fiction and memoirs in the past tense. 🤣 5y
rockpools @Sace Maybe that‘s it! I‘m sure I have read books where it‘s not a problem, but maybe they were contemporary or thrillers or something, where it wasn‘t so jarring! Will take note in my next hf reads. 5y
44 likes5 comments
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Sace
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Two library holds came in today: The Gown and the tagged book, which is a chunkster. And I'm not doing so well with my #WeeklyForecast Yikes!

ravenlee Even meteorologists get taken by surprise sometime! Go where the wind takes you. 5y
Sace @ravenlee I'm trying not to obsess over plans, TBRs and my list. Reading is fun not an obligation. I wish I had more time to read! 5y
CoverToCoverGirl The Gown is really good, start that one first! Lol (edited) 5y
Sace @CoverToCoverGirl lol! That's exactly what I did. It's first on my list. And of course a THIRD hold came in 🙄 5y
CoverToCoverGirl Oh gosh! I know how that feels. You wait forever for some books then, poof they all come in at the same time - feast or famine 🤷‍♀️ 5y
61 likes5 comments
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Reading_E
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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KimHM
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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This is my fourth start. This time I‘m doing it 😜📚😜📚😜📚

MeganPagan This is my second start. I don‘t think I was old enough or wise enough to finish it the first time I started it years ago haha. Hope you got through it this time! 5y
KimHM Alas, @MeganPagan, 😞. And it‘s not even that I don‘t enjoy it. I do! It‘s just so . . . Extra. 5y
MeganPagan I totally get it. I‘ve found I really have to slow down from my usual fast-paced reading to fully comprehend it. The writing is very complex with many layers even in just a sentence. But I‘m determined and I‘m going to finish it dang it! It will feel like a huge accomplishment haha. 5y
9 likes3 comments
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bookcollecter
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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JoScho Thanks for playing 🖤 6y
Aimeesue Quincy! 😵🔍🔍🔍 I haven't thought about that show in ages! 6y
bookcollecter #JackKlugman is one of my favorite actors. I love his passion 6y
See All 6 Comments
bookcollecter @JoScho You are welcome ! This one WAS tough ! 6y
JoScho It was! I am dreading X and Z! 6y
bookcollecter I think q is harder lol 6y
51 likes1 stack add6 comments
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LittlePixels
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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I'm supposed to be out shopping, and I'm sitting in the parking lot de-stressing by #hidingandreading - yeah, that's how my day went. Gonna take a lot of reading to erase this one, but thankfully this #doorstop is up to it. 😜 Thanks for being my refuge, Littens. 😘

AileenRR The car can be a cozy place to read 😊 6y
wanderinglynn Hiding & reading is one of my favorite things to do, particularly when stressed or anxious. Hope your day gets better & less stressed. 💜 6y
LittlePixels @AileenRR It really is! It's sad but true that sometimes those few stolen moments are the highlight of my day. 😜 6y
LittlePixels @wanderinglynn Yeah, I may have done this a few times before. 😉 And thanks, the brief respite helped a lot! 📚 6y
21 likes4 comments
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goodbyefrancie
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Day 6 of #Riotgrams #DuologiesTrilogiesandMore

Quick pic from hubby's portion of the Library (yes, I let him have a little shelf space). 😁

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kwmg40
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson

#readathon wrap-up: 10.5 hours reading (3 of those on audiobook). Finished I'll Be Watching You by Charles de Lint and Frost in May by Antonia White. I listened to half of Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams and I got through a few more pages of the enormous Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson.

All in all, a very enjoyable and successful readathon! Many thanks to the organizers.

Kristelh Congrats 7y
kwmg40 @Kristelh Thanks! I was happy to see other LT members here doing the readathon. 7y
13 likes2 comments
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PurpleyPumpkin
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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This is on my #neverendingTBR. And it has #compasspoints on it! Well, some of them anyway. #day16 #jubilantjuly

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theladygreer
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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King of the doorstop, this guy. I think Quicksilver might actually be the shortest of this trilogy. #riotgrams

Laalaleighh I made it through the first third of this book. 8y
20 likes1 comment
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Reading_E
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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One of my most treasured possessions - the Baroque Cycle trilogy. I love this edition! #deckleedge #feistyfeb

22 likes1 stack add
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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Still reading this... it is long and tough going but still think I like it. Mostly this is an excuse to post a picture from the Boston Public Library. I was there two weeks ago.

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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Pasted on a Bookshelf at Commonwealth Books.

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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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Today found me reading at Russell House Tavern in Cambridge MA (Harvard Adjacent). Huge coincidence that I am reading Quicksilver while wandering in the same geographic location. Just a couple of hundred years later.

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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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I don't usually post twice in one day, but when you come across a word like this you have to share.

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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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On the road again.

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ATB
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
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More rink parking lot reading. Waiting for the boy to emerge from hockey practice.

review
hof1991
Quicksilver | Neal Stephenson
Pickpick

Read alike to other long historical series. Dorothy Dunnett. Patrick O'Brian. The series is a couple thousand pages of delicious historical exposition. Newton, Hook and the gang kickstart science. For those who like historical fiction that is fact based and not romantic.