What books are you reading now?

[Redshirt]

Here are the books I'm reading currently or get around to finishing eventually:

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Coleman.

This is a pretty powerful book, in my opinion. People who get the most out of life are not necessarily people with high IQ's, but people who are good at being aware of their emotions and dealing with them, empathy, social skills, and other interpersonal strengths. It can mean the difference between a failed marriage or successful one, a dead-end career or a rewarding one, and other major life choices. I just wish I found a damn book like this when I was 20.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

I got this book a few years ago and haven't had a chance to read it through yet. But so far, I enjoy the book and agree with much of what he says but with some caveats. I'm not really quite as anti-religious as he is. While I don't think religions are grounded in any sort of supernatural transcendent truth, I think they do sometimes tap into some deep truths of human nature (e.g. "do unto others", human imperfection, etc...). Through thousands of years of social trial and error, it's not surprising. I therefore think that there's wisdom to be found in studying the world religions.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

Admittedly, I haven't read a great deal of this book yet, but I've listened to the author's radio and TV interviews frequently. Essentially, his food advice is "eat food, mostly plants and not too much." By "eat food" he means we should eat "real food", not the processed junk we're used to. When we go to the supermarket (if you can't go to a farmer's market, which is better), try to buy food at the margins (i.e. whole foods) and avoid getting stuff in the centre aisles. If it's food that your great grandmother wouldn't recognize or bacteria won't digest it (i.e. it won't rot), then you should probably stay away from it. He also advises that the government and nutrition scientists are not very reliable sources of information for food advice, given their contradictory findings and unreliable information (kind of like what surgery was in the 16th century -- it has some promise, but you wouldn't go under the knife with it) and having been compromised somewhat by the food industry. Instead it's best to stick with the traditional diets of our ancestors who through thousands of years of trial error, were able to figure out what's healthy for them. It's the reason why people in 3rd world countries (who haven't picked up on western diets) don't often get western dietary ailments like obesity and diabetes.

The book has had a strong influence in my dietary choices. I avoid fast food like the plague, I always gets whole wheat or multi-grain bread, I try to get more fruits, veggies and organic food more often and I try to avoid anything with transfats in it (except for cheese).

The Unofficial Guide to Landing a Job by L. Michelle Tullier

I'm only part way through this book, but so far it has been helpful. It has helped me sharpen by jobfinding skills and focus. Admittedly, I haven't found work yet since finishing my MA degree, but I've gotten some good feedback from my resume and interview skills.

[Christina]

I'm reading "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck. I read it as a kid and barely remembered it but this time through I'm loving it now that I can see it from an adult perspective. I live in the general area that he wrote about so that adds another element of interesting for me. Before that I reread "Cannery Row", "East of Eden" and "Tortilla Flat".

Now that I'm retired I want to read or reread lots of classic literature that I never had time for. I plowed through "Anna Karenina" expecting that somewhere in that 900 pages it was going to get interesting. Other than the parts about the transformation of the Russian economy I thought it was about 850 pages too long. The female characters are the whiniest bunch and I didn't feel any compassion for Anna. I realize that they were different times and women had far fewer options, but all of that high drama sniveling was too much for me. Russian literature is going to the end of the line for now. If that was any example, they use far too many words to say far too little. I love long books but not ones like that.

In between I read about 200 pages of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons.

[Mediancat]

Rereading Harry Turtledove's Southern Victory series -- am now on the eight book, Return Engagement.

Rob

[Notta]

I have Outliers sitting on my desk, a book about how success is less related to motivation than to the abilities of and opportunities offered to your ancestors. I haven't read it yet.

[Ray Moscow]

I'm still reading a bit of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything every night.

[Brianna]

Book six in The Black Company series by Glen Cook

[Mediancat]

Oddly, I love Glen Cook's other series -- the Garrett files, about a hard-boiled detective in a somewhat seedy fantasy world -- but could never get into the Black Company novels no matter how hard I tried.

Rob

[Brianna]

Oddly, I love Glen Cook's other series -- the Garrett files, about a hard-boiled detective in a somewhat seedy fantasy world -- but could never get into the Black Company novels no matter how hard I tried.

Rob

I liked it ok. It got repetitive at the end. I do like the Dead man.

This one loses it's spark at book four imo.

[Pendaric]

I'm reading "The Grapes of Wrath" by Steinbeck. I read it as a kid and barely remembered it but this time through I'm loving it now that I can see it from an adult perspective. I live in the general area that he wrote about so that adds another element of interesting for me. Before that I reread "Cannery Row", "East of Eden" and "Tortilla Flat".


It's one of the most powerful books I've ever read, but also the most depressing by far. Whereabouts have you got to in the story?

Of Mice and Men is also very good, and a bit of a shorter read.

Currently I'm dipping in to 'Asimov's guide to Shakespeare', in conjunction with watching the plays.

I'm also part way through Simon Schama's 'History of Britain' Trilogy - halfway through book 2 at the point when James II was sent in to exile.

[Pendaric]

I'm still reading a bit of Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything every night.

Have you read his other stuff? I've read pretty much everything that Bryson has done.

[Ray Moscow]

Have you read his other stuff? I've read pretty much everything that Bryson has done.

No, it's my first by him. He's a very good writer, and I hope to get to his other books eventually.

[dug_down_deep]

In addition to Russell's History of Western Philosophy and a guide/manual on the Drupal CMS, I'm currently readinglistening to the latest in my journey through the Oz canon, The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Some of these books are pretty good, but a couple of them have really sucked, like The Road to Oz, which spent about 4 chapters describing people showing up to and enjoying a party. And that was the last 4 chapters of the book. Excruciating.

[Christina]

It's one of the most powerful books I've ever read, but also the most depressing by far. Whereabouts have you got to in the story?
I just started it and I'm up to the part where they're on the road in Arizona and they're first starting to hear the rumors that people without money to buy land are being turned away at the California border. They don't believe it yet, or at least don't want to because they have nowhere else to go.

Of Mice and Men is also very good, and a bit of a shorter read.
That's another one that I read years ago and is on the list to read again. I read so many of these in high school but I was too young to appreciate most of them.

A lot of my love of Steinbeck comes from working with homeless people for so long. I spent all day and many nights with them too for a decade and got a view of their world that not a lot of people get to see. He understands them and their way of thinking and he looks through their eyes instead of at them, and he understands their values no matter how screwed up or unrealistic they might seem to the rest of us. The whole section of Cannery Row about the frog hunt had me laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. I could tell at least 20 stories just like that about the wacky things homeless people did at the shelter and the crazy ideas they got for making money. As I'm reading now about people setting out with no real plan, not enough funds to get there, their cars falling apart and the jury rigged repairs on the road to California, it reminds me of countless people at the shelter heading off in barely running cars with no gas money because they heard about someone hiring somewhere else. The times change, but some things about life way below the poverty line don't. I know it's terribly sappy but he loves his characters and I don't know anyone else that liked crazy homeless people the way that I did.

[Pendaric]

I'll not spoil it for you by revealing any of the plot, but don't hold out too much hope for a happy ending.

[Pendaric]

In addition to Russell's History of Western Philosophy and a guide/manual on the Drupal CMS, I'm currently readinglistening to the latest in my journey through the Oz canon, The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Some of these books are pretty good, but a couple of them have really sucked, like The Road to Oz, which spent about 4 chapters describing people showing up to and enjoying a party. And that was the last 4 chapters of the book. Excruciating.

I have to admit to being beaten by 'History of Western Philosophy'. I got about half way through. I didn't make a conscious decision to leave it, I just didn't pick it up again. It's still on my shelf, and I'll probably start again at the beginning at some point.

I did a lot of the Oz books back when I was at school, but I can't remember very much about them now.

[Christina]

I'll not spoil it for you by revealing any of the plot, but don't hold out too much hope for a happy ending.

I already know the history of this area in that time so I have no illusions of a happy ending. If it was it would be kind of formulaic to me and not ring true. It's like reading books about Native American history here. It's not going to end well.

ETA: When I say 'this area" I mean the Salinas and Pajaro valleys. The only mention of Santa Cruz that I recall was a reference to where a hooker was hiding out.

[Puck]

I have Sphere by Michael Crichton on the nightstand right now. I'm only 12 pages in, so I'll give it a chance. Finished Blasphemy by Douglas Preston. Was okay. The ending, although fanciful (like the whole book, really) was a fun ride.

Usually I have the current Maximum PC mag going, too.

[nygreenguy]

Wetlands, Plant physiology, Plant propagation

Hey, textbooks count!

[Goldie]

Well I am in between books...and I'm reading my Sunset Magazine: Western Living.
The article is about the Best 20 small towns in the west.
I love that magazine. :)

[Brianna]

Wetlands, Plant physiology, Plant propagation

Hey, textbooks count!

Oh. I love swamps. If I could live in a swamp I would. Bogs are my favorite. I own a 40 acre swamp that my father gifted me.

:D

[nygreenguy]

Being in wisconsin, you have some great bogs! Wetlands are amazing systems.

[Cath B]

Redshirt, interesting set of books to start the thread with.

My EQ is rubbish!

I've got a lot of time for Michael Pollan. Haven't read In Defence of Food yet but was absorbed by The Omnivore's Dilemma and The Botany of Desire.

I find that the process of gardening and planning meals as far as possible around the grass roots (garden crops, wild foods and local produce) is helping my sanity level following a couple of major bereavements.

I'm reading After the Ice (http://www.amazon.co.uk/After-Ice-Global-History-000-5000/dp/0753813920/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236052534&sr=8-1) by Steven Mithen, which is an overview of a global history of our species from 20,000 to 5,000 BC. Great reading for the wee small hours when I can't sleep.

[PostMortem]

I'm currently reading (at various speeds):

Line Screw (http://www.amazon.ca/Line-Screw-J-M-Yates/dp/077109082X) by J. Michael Yates -
This is the fourth time I've read this book, unfortunately it's out of print now. It's the true story of a poet and Executive at CBC who though a strange occurrence ends up as a prison guard for 12 years. First at Oakalla Prison (Canada's Alcatraz, closed in 1991), then at Vancouver pre-trial (for a while North America's most secure jail), finally working at New Haven a Borstal type facility for young and non-violent offenders. It is a fascinating look inside Canada's prison system, and the fact that it is written by someone who seems to be the very antithesis of our image of a prison guard gives it an interesting perspective. As far as I know it is the only book on the topic of Canadian prison written by a guard. I'm reading it again because if a couple of jobs I'm trying to get don't work out then being a prison guard may be my last option for awhile.

A Man Without a Country (http://www.amazon.com/Man-Without-Country-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/158322713X) and Armageddon in Retrospect (http://www.amazon.com/Armageddon-Retrospect-Kurt-Vonnegut/dp/0399155082) by Kurt Vonnegut -
A Man Without a Country is Kurt Vonnegut's last book before he died and contains many short essays about recent events. Armageddon in Retrospect is a book released after his death and edited by his son. It's made up of letters, speeches, and unreleased short stories.

The Folklore of Discworld (http://www.amazon.ca/Folklore-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0385611005) by Terry Pratchett and Jacqueline Simpson -
It goes though a lot of the 'Round World's' folklore and its influence on Discworld. I love it, but I'm a Pratchett nut!

A People's History of Science (http://www.amazon.ca/Peoples-History-Science-Midwives-Mechanicks/dp/1560257482) by Clifford D. Conner -
It's part of the 'People's History' series. So far though it hasn't lived up to the others in the series, but I'm only about 70 pages in so far.

Starting soon:

Nation (http://www.amazon.ca/Nation-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0385613709) by Terry Pratchett

Watchmen graphic novel (http://www.amazon.ca/Watchmen-Alan-Moore/dp/0930289234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236059400&sr=1-1) by Alan Moore - I want to read it before I see the movie.

[Cath B]

I'm currently reading (at various speeds):

Line Screw (http://www.amazon.ca/Line-Screw-J-M-Yates/dp/077109082X) by J. Michael Yates -
This is the fourth time I've read this book, unfortunately it's out of print now. It's the true story of a poet and Executive at CBC who though a strange occurrence ends up as a prison guard for 12 years. First at Oakalla Prison (Canada's Alcatraz, closed in 1991), then at Vancouver pre-trial (for a while North America's most secure jail), finally working at New Haven a Borstal type facility for young and non-violent offenders. It is a fascinating look inside Canada's prison system, and the fact that it is written by someone who seems to be the very antithesis of our image of a prison guard gives it an interesting perspective. As far as I know it is the only book on the topic of Canadian prison written by a guard. I'm reading it again because if a couple of jobs I'm trying to get don't work out then being a prison guard may be my last option for awhile.



I've never thought of Canada as a country that had prisons!

[Eudaimonist]

I'm always in the middle of a stack of books, but the one I most recently started is:

Philosophy as a Way of Life: Spiritual Exercises from Socrates to Foucault (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philosophy-Way-Life-Spiritual-Exercises/dp/0631180338/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236068016&sr=8-1), by Pierre Hadot.

"This book presents a history of spiritual exercises from Socrates to early Christianity, an account of their decline in modern philosophy, and a discussion of the different conceptions of philosophy that have accompanied the trajectory and fate of the theory and practice of spiritual exercises. Hadot′s book demonstrates the extent to which philosophy has been, and still is, above all else a way of seeing and of being in the world."


eudaimonia,

Mark

[Mediancat]

I have to admit to being beaten by 'History of Western Philosophy'. I got about half way through. I didn't make a conscious decision to leave it, I just didn't pick it up again. It's still on my shelf, and I'll probably start again at the beginning at some point.


Interesting -- I love History of Western Philosophy; I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and I can pick it up at any time and read for a while and have no problems doing so.

Rob

[Christina]

No, it's my first by him. He's a very good writer, and I hope to get to his other books eventually.

I've read a few. I read "Neither Here or There" when I was traveling through Europe and it was great. I found myself laughing out loud on the train. I'd read each section before I got to the city that he was talking about and then again afterward and it was so funny to see how he nailed it. I also read "The Lost Continent" and that was very good too.

[PostMortem]

I've never thought of Canada as a country that had prisons!

Unfortunately we too have our share of criminals. However, what's so interesting about the book is it blows away a lot of the stereotypes and misconceptions about prison life in Canada. Canadians get most of their info about prisons from U.S. tv shows, news and movies, and it just doesn't reflect the reality of prison life in Canada. I'm not saying it's perfect, far from it. Canada doesn't suffer a lot of the institutionalized problems that prisons in the States have. However, due to demands by a mostly uninformed public to make prison 'tougher' and a desire by many governments in Canada to cut corrections funding Canadian prisons are sliding into a 'warehouse 'em and forget 'em' mentality, which is leading to ever increasing problems.

[dug_down_deep]

Interesting -- I love History of Western Philosophy; I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and I can pick it up at any time and read for a while and have no problems doing so.

Rob
That's the way I'm feeling about it, too. It's a very pleasant read - Russell was good at narrative. There's no hope I'll remember about 90% after I finish it, though. I just don't retain history all that well.

[Ray Moscow]

OK, I've got to take my copy of Russell's history of philosophy off the shelf and start reading it again. I've only read bits of it so far.

[Uthgar the Brazen]

I've got Junot Díaz' The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao next on the pile. It came highly recommended, and I feel I must give my attention to a book whose opening quote is from Galactus.

[alien billie]

Re-reading Pratchett's Lords and Ladies for the zillionth time. Well I say re-reading - I actually mean going to bed and falling asleep whilst staring at the words in the book.

[Joykins]

I'm reading O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series for the first time! :D

[Pendaric]

Couple of hundred pages in to a David Gemmel - Troy, Shield of Thunder.

I've read quite a bit by Gemmel. His first book in particular, Legend, was superb.

[Christina]

I just finished "The Grapes of Wrath". Wow. I don't even know where to start.

[Mediancat]

Just finished a biography of George Thomas, The Rock of Chickamauga. Interesting man, and I learned stuff I didn't know, but not especially well written.

Rob

[Joykins]

I just finished the first book in Jack Campbell's _The Lost Fleet_ series.

I will be back for more.

[Oolon Colluphid]

As some of you know, these days I tend to read a lot via being read to, ie audiobooks. Don't get much reading time, so it's great to go through things while cooking, washing up, at the gym, etc, and I can read in bed with the light off and so not disturb Mrs Colluphid :D (The down side of that is that if I'm on a Pratchett, my laughing wakes her instead.)

So, I'm currently on the final Harry Potter (...and the Deathly Hallows), read by St Stephen (Fry), who is an utter genius as a reader. It's not too bad, but Fry makes it gripping.

And on the occasions I actually get to pick up a real book, I'm dipping in and out of several in the pile by the bed, including John Allan Paulos's Irreligion and some Wodehouse short stories -- most recently the Blandings story Company for Gertrude, which is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

[Oolon Colluphid]

Just finished a biography of George Thomas, The Rock of Chickamauga. Interesting man, and I learned stuff I didn't know, but not especially well written.
Chickamauga? I'd only come across it before as the title of an Ambrose Bierce short story (available here (http://www.classicreader.com/book/1167/1/)).

[Pendaric]

I just finished "The Grapes of Wrath". Wow. I don't even know where to start.

No happy endings, eh Christina? But I still count it as possibly the most powerful book I've ever read. Some of the imagery stays with you.



And on the occasions I actually get to pick up a real book, I'm dipping in and out of several in the pile by the bed, including John Allan Paulos's Irreligion and some Wodehouse short stories -- most recently the Blandings story Company for Gertrude, which is one of the funniest things I've ever read.

I did loads of Wodehouse when I was a teenager. Might just have to pick some up again.

[Christina]

I think I'll read some more Calvin and Hobbes today because I'm not ready to stop thinking about the book I just finished. I may not be ready for days.

Pendaric, the only scene that really got to me was the short chapter where he talks about them destroying all of the food in front of starving and malnourished people so that prices wouldn't go down. I'm so used to poverty and how it affects people both for the better and for worse, but just the thought of that was so sickening I had to stop reading for awhile and just cry. Some things make me feel ashamed to be human. And that last paragraph...just wow. I still don't have words for how powerful that was. It wasn't happy, but it was beautiful.

Now I want to read some more history about the time between the depression and when Latino migrant workers became the norm here.

[Black5]

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali: A biography of her life in Somalia and conversion from a strict Muslim family. An insiders look at growing up in a clan based Somalia society. Although it wasn't the focus of the book what fascinated me was her view of the collapse of Somalia in the 1980's. Very much like a frog in a slowly heated pot of water except their basic lifestyle was much more tolerant to disruptions.

[Mediancat]

Chickamauga? I'd only come across it before as the title of an Ambrose Bierce short story (available here (http://www.classicreader.com/book/1167/1/)).

Also a battle of the American Civil War -- the Union lost, but the loss was prevented from being a rout when Thomas held his command -- together with a few units from the other divisions -- steadfast against wave after wave of Confederate attacks, and managed to repulse all of them, against superior odds, until night fell.

For the stand, he became known as "The Rock of Chickamauga."

Rob

[Christina]

Anyone have any good suggestions for American literature for me to start on next? I'll get to other kinds eventually, but after Anna Karenina I think I'll stay closer to home for awhile. I want to go to the used bookstore today and load up. I think I'll grab a copy of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" too. I read it ages and ages ago but I want to read it again.

[Joykins]

Anyone have any good suggestions for American literature for me to start on next? I'll get to other kinds eventually, but after Anna Karenina I think I'll stay closer to home for awhile. I want to go to the used bookstore today and load up. I think I'll grab a copy of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" too. I read it ages and ages ago but I want to read it again.

Don't know what you've read already but...

Betty Smith _A Tree Grows in Brooklyn_
Walt Whitman _Leaves of Grass_
Mark Twain -- anything :D

[Christina]

Those are all great ideas. I haven't read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" since grade school, Twain was on the list of books that I can't find now, and I forgot all about "Leaves of Grass". I bet I can easily find most of them in one of the used bookstores.

[Goodchild]

I recently finished up Making Money (http://www.amazon.com/Making-Money-Discworld-Novels-Pratchett/dp/0061161659/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236800424&sr=8-1) by Terry Pratchett and i'm starting on Monstrous Regiment (http://www.amazon.com/Monstrous-Regiment-Discworld-Terry-Pratchett/dp/0552154318/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236800450&sr=1-1) by him also. I see a lot of mention of Pratchett in this thread ... damn his books are good, aren't they?

The one book I'd really love to get ahold of is Journey to the West (http://www.amazon.com/Journey-West-4-Boxed-Set/dp/7119016636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236800552&sr=1-1). What I know of the story sounds absolutely fascinating.

[Christina]

Yesterday I pickup up 5 books. I got 'The Innocents Abroad" by Twain, "The Red Pony" by Steinbeck, "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and "Song of Myself". I think I'm going to start with Twain. I need to lighten up after the last one.

[LoneWolf]

I LOVE books. I purchased an Amazon Kindle about half a year ago which has allowed me to TRIPLE the amount of reading I get done. It is hands down the best purchase I have ever made.

I am also one of those people who reads several books at a time, which makes the Kindle very convenient. The books I am currently reading:

Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut

The Best of HP Lovecraft

A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

[LoneWolf]

Of Mice and Men is also very good, and a bit of a shorter read.

Of Mice and Men is one of my favorite books of all times. It is one of the few books that I enjoy reading again and again. This is odd because I hate sad books and this is easily the saddest book I have ever read.


Oh, and on the non-fiction side of the house I am currently reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

[Joykins]

I just read _Veil of Gold_ by Kim Wilkins. An intriguing blend of fantasy, horror, history, and folklore.

[Christina]

I'm only about 75 pages into "Innocents Abroad" and it has me laughing out loud every few pages. It's great so far.

[Brianna]

The Singing (http://www.amazon.com/Singing-Fourth-Book-Pellinor/dp/0763636657)

[Mediancat]

I'm only about 75 pages into "Innocents Abroad" and it has me laughing out loud every few pages. It's great so far.

It stays great pretty much all of the way through.

Rob

[Mageth]

I'm plowing through Thomas Pynchon's Mason & Dixon. Interesting but difficult read. I'm not sure Pynchon's my cup of tea.

I tend to find an author I like and read through most or all of his works. I put M&D down for a while in the middle and read Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. A bloody violent book that is! I've previously read The Road and No Country for Old Men. In my to-read stack I've got three more of his.

In my to-read stack I've got a couple of books by authors I've yet to experience but am looking forward to: John Barth (a book of short stories) and Christopher Priest (The Prestige).

I've also got Richard K. Morgan's Thirteen, but I've read several of his other books, and highly recommend him.

Other authors I've recently been reading include J.G. Ballard (e.g., Crash and Super-Cannes) and James Morrow (e.g., Towing Jehovah). I think I have another of Morrow's books in my stack. Morrow also comes highly recommended.

[Mediancat]

The Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Really, pretty good, for someone who was in no way a professional author, nor had a ghostwriter.

Rob

[Uthgar the Brazen]

The Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. Really, pretty good, for someone who was in no way a professional author, nor had a ghostwriter, and was probably drunk off his arse the entire time.

Rob

fify :D

[Joykins]

Ok, I'm going to be honest about what I've been reading.

I've read a bunch of romances by Jo Beverley, Liz Carlyle, Sabrina Jeffries, and Sophia Nash. Literary junkfood.

Then I read a series of fairly-decent quality military sf (The Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell).

Now I'm pondering what to read next, I'm thinking more romances.

[Ray Moscow]

I started re-reading Darwin's Origin, in the first edition this time. (Last time, it was the final edition).

[Mediancat]

fify :D

-- actually, he was writing these memoirs while dying, and in some cases, literally on his deathbed. Drunk, often, yes, but not while he was writing this.

Rob

[Tawny]

I have read a couple of things recently. A chicklit book called Tumbling Through Life, it was written by my friend and I found it surprisingly good. I also read the autobiography of Paul O'Grady which was very very funny. Currently I am deciding what to read next.

[Cath B]

I'm on the last chapter of After the Ice: A Global Human History 20,000 - 5000 BC by archaeologist Steve Mithen (http://www.reading.ac.uk/archaeology/about/staff/s-j-mithen.asp).

Very impressive in its scope and I like the way he takes a proper look at all the continents.

My powers of concentration are not currently focused enough to take in all the detail, but I'm getting a fantastic gist.

I've also just read A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon (author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time) ready for my next Book Group meeting. I found it very disappointing in comparison to The Curious Incident... . It's supposed to be a comedy but I remained unamused and pretty much unmoved. Perhaps it's because I've had more than enough bizarre and unwelcome drama to deal with in my own family of late without taking on a fictional family as well.

[Albion]

I've just finished "Ahab's Wife" by Sena Jeter Naslund, and I'm reading "The Perfect King," a biography of Edward III by Ian Mortimer.

[Tenebrae]

Human anatomy and physiology, microbiology for health professionals, fundamentals of nursing.


I seriously need some fun reading right now

[Criada]

The Birth of the Clinic, by Michel Foucault - Surprisingly good..it was delivered by mistake with a consignment of French textbooks, so I thought I'd give it a go. Only 2 chapters in, but it looks like one I will finish.

The Garden, by Elsie Aidinoff - because my daughter told me to! It's a retelling of the creation story from a very different perspective. Not the greatest writer ever, but a very interesting idea.

Moab is my Washpot, by Stephen Fry - He is one of my favourite people ever, and a brilliant writer, so his autobiography is a treat.

[Christina]

I'm about halfway through "Innocents Abroad" and for the most part I love it but some of his observations and opinions about people of other cultures are pretty shallow and disappointing. I wouldn't go so far as to say racist but a lot of it is very disparaging and Twain isn't coming across to me as someone who can see (or bothers to look) beyond the surface of people that don't meet his cultural standards. It's a funny book, but there are also a lot of cheap shots in it toward poor people that aren't impressing me.

[Daynna]

Currently reading:

The Visitors by Clifford D. Simak
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Visitors_(novel)

Recently finished:

Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
10th book in The Wheel of Time series.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_of_Twilight

I also love Discworld! I am up to Going Postal, but can't find it anywhere in my house. I received it for Christmas from my MIL. I should buy it again. I'm just cheap and know it's here somewhere. :)

I went to Goodwill today and bought 6 nearly new paperbacks for $1 each.

My favorite site atm is http://www.bookmooch.com/
I'm using it to get rid of books I'll never read/didn't like and in turn am mooching books to fill in missing books in my collection.

I'm working on cataloging all of my books at:
http://www.librarything.com/profile/khyren
I don't necessarily like all of the books listed there. I inherited boxes of books when my great aunt passed. I also buy the occasional lot of books on Ebay. The books I don't want are good for giving away on bookmooch.

Okay, enough of my rambling. I love to talk about books. ;)

[Daynna]

Joykins,
I'm not really into romances, but my favorite series of books just happen to be classified as such. Everyone I've recommended them to have gotten hooked. I've given away and replaced the first one countless times since 1993 when I first read it:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It was published as Cross Stitch in the UK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(novel)

[Cheetah]

I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Husseini. I only started reading it because I liked his first book, The Kite Runner, so I'm pleasantly surprised to find that this one is even better.

[Joykins]

Joykins,
I'm not really into romances, but my favorite series of books just happen to be classified as such. Everyone I've recommended them to have gotten hooked. I've given away and replaced the first one countless times since 1993 when I first read it:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It was published as Cross Stitch in the UK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(novel)

Oh, I love those books. LOVE love love love love them. I might dig them up to reread next :D

[Notta]

Joykins,
I'm not really into romances, but my favorite series of books just happen to be classified as such. Everyone I've recommended them to have gotten hooked. I've given away and replaced the first one countless times since 1993 when I first read it:

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. It was published as Cross Stitch in the UK.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlander_(novel)

Oh, I love those books. LOVE love love love love them. I might dig them up to reread next :DI really enjoyed the first two, but thought the later ones were really stretching an already thin story line. But the first two....I had to stop and cool down while reading them!

[Mediancat]

Just finished the American Presidents Series biography of James Monroe. Will next read a collection of short fiction by Howard Waldrop.

Rob

[hecaterin]

the internet.

what?

[RBH]

Currently reading Darwin Slept Here (http://www.amazon.com/Darwin-Slept-Here-Discovery-Adventure/dp/1590202201/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238382387&sr=1-1") and Donald Prothero's Evolution: What the Fossils Say and Why It Matters (http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-What-Fossils-Say-Matters/dp/0231139624/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238382443&sr=1-1), alternating evenings before I fade out.

[Ronin]

"When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops" (http://www.amazon.com/When-Will-Jesus-Bring-Chops/dp/1401301347) - George Carlin.

I just started it, though, so no review yet.

[hecaterin]

OK, seriously, I have several on the go
* Elmore Leonard - Pagan Babies. Fun, shallow, a caper story.
* Gillian Polack - Illuminations. Weird. She's a local, I've met her. This is intriguing but possibly not well enough written to be as deep and complex as she wants. Arthuriana plus lots of meta reading people reading people reading...
* Jonah Lehrer - The Decisive Moment: How the Brain Makes Up Its Mind. Absolutely fascinating, I can tell I'm going to be recommending it to everyone. There's a lot to learn about rationality and decision making in the light of how the brain works. Often its neural nets are good at detecting patterns before you consciously understand them. Sometimes rationality gets in the way; sometimes it's essential to survival.

[laughing dog]

Winseburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson - a pretty depressing description of small town life in midwestern USA at the turn of the century.

[Tangiellis]

Breaking Dawn - Stephanie Meyers
Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines - W. Y. Evans-wentz
Promises in Death - J.D. Robb (finished yesterday)
Writing the Romantic Comedy - Billy Mernit
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita - Paramahansa Yogananda

[Mediancat]

Finished the Waldrop compendium, including his excellent story "A Dozen Tough Jobs," refiguring the labors of Hercules to 1920s Mississippi -- a decade or so before the Coen Brothers did something similar with the Odyssey.

Am now onto a biography of Frances Perkins.

Rob

[Daynna]

Currently reading:

With Violets by Elizabeth Robards
http://www.amazon.com/Violets-Elizabeth-Robards/dp/0061579122/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238884941&sr=8-1

Not really my taste. A faculty member where I work brings me bags of books that her book club reads. I mean tons of books, mostly bestsellers. She lets me keep them for the most part, unless it is one she really enjoyed. This is one she wants back, so now I have to read it so I can return it to her. :)

Ronin, let us know how that book is. I loved him. (now you are obligated to finish it!)

[David B]

I'm reading 'The Wisdom of Birds' - a history of ornothology, that Cath sent me for birthday.

Lots of stuff about an interesting guy called John Ray.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ray

David

[muidiri]

I just finished up the Baroque Cycle and Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson, and I'm now rereading the Harry Potter series. I'm not allowed to read new books during the two months prior to my exam :). I'm also listening to The Clan of the Cave Bear when I commute.

[Daynna]

I'm reading the last (11th) "Wheel of Time" book. I hope that new guy that is taking over hurries with the next one! From what I gather reading his Facebook posts, he is pretty close.

[Joykins]

The 12th Wheel of time book will be issued in 2 volumes, 1 this November, 1 next November. Thus really making 13 but they said this will be the final book so it is the final book goshdarnit.

[Troglodyte]

Not that it really matters...

Recently finished -

- The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future, by Vali Nasr
- God's War on Terror, by Walid Shoebat

Currently in the middle of -

-The Islamist, by Ed Husain
-Istanbul and the Civilization of the Ottoman Empire, by Bernard Lewis

On the docket is -
-Common Sense, by Thomas Paine
-Empyrion, by Stephen Lawhead

And coming this weekend, after I visit our yearly massive county book fair, no telling what finds I might purchace.

All will have to wait though as I begin perusing my library to write lessons for an upcoming class I'll be teaching on Islam to my church.

Eventually I'll get back to rereading The Forgotten Man, by Amity Shlaes, once my sis-in-law finishes reading it.

[BigEvil]

currently reading:

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne

God is Not Great by Hitchens

I have the following book on order:

The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars
by Joël Glenn Brenner

[Christina]

On vacation I finished "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (Stowe), "The Red Pony" (Steinbeck), "The Prince and the Pauper" (Twain) and I'm about 100 pages into "Don Quixote" (Cervantes). I loved all of them. I was reading the first one on the plane and I was crying so hard that I had to set it aside and read something else.

[Goodchild]

I'm currently re-reading my graphic novel collection of Transmetropolitan (http://www.amazon.com/Transmetropolitan-Vol-4-New-Scum/dp/1563896273/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240545670&sr=8-12). Link is to the book I'm currently on.

[Laton]

Currently reading:

Dawnthief - James Barclay. About 1/2 way through this. OK but not great. So far not good enough to make me want to read the rest of the series.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. A bit of fun.

About to start:

Lord of the Silver Bow - David Gemmell

Bad Astronomy and (as soon as it arrives at the library) Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End - Phil Plait

Grapes of Wrath is on the list after that lot.

[Alex]

I used to have a list of books I'd rather eat than read. Bleak House was on it.

It took a couple of months, but I've just finished reading it without getting indigestion.

[farhat]

The Man in the High Castle by P K Dick

The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb

Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein

[Troglodyte]

I read Starship Troopers many, many years ago. I recall it being an enjoyable bit of s.f.

And on a complete tangental: I spent a summer with some Uighurs several years back and they "named" me. Your name nick/handle reminded me of it. Perhat. I was told that Perhat was basically like their version of Romeo. They'd then tease me and say, "Perhat, where is your Shirrin?" (Shirrin of course being Juliet).

[farhat]

I read Starship Troopers many, many years ago. I recall it being an enjoyable bit of s.f.

And on a complete tangental: I spent a summer with some Uighurs several years back and they "named" me. Your name nick/handle reminded me of it. Perhat. I was told that Perhat was basically like their version of Romeo. They'd then tease me and say, "Perhat, where is your Shirrin?" (Shirrin of course being Juliet).

My name comes from the same root. It is my real name.

[Troglodyte]

Cool beans!

[dug_down_deep]

Reading Watchmen, the graphic novel. Going to see what all this fuss is about.

[Monad]

"Of time and the river " by Thomas Wolfe

Just about the most beautiful novel published by an American writer (and that's going up against some major novelists - James, Baldwin, Hemingway, Faulkner and Fitzgerald) - totally stunning prose

[Goodchild]

Reading Watchmen, the graphic novel. Going to see what all this fuss is about.

Don't skimp on parts like "Tales of the Black Freighter", every single bit of the book is worth it.

[dug_down_deep]

I don't skip. I'm too obsessive to do that. :)

[Alex]

I've just finished reading The Fall of France: 1940 by Julian Jackson. If you want to know, and not many people do, how and why France was defeated by Germany in May/June 1940, this book is a lucid and reliable account.

[darjeeling]

I'm reading Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh. It's interesting so far, but I sometimes get the urge to slap him for being so naive.

[VoxRat]

Marcia Bartusiak: The Day We Found the Universe (http://www.amazon.com/Day-We-Found-Universe/dp/0375424296)

But I'd better read it fast; I borrowed it from someone who borrowed it from the library.

The day in question is January 1, 1925. When a paper by Edwin Hubble was read at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science - together with the American Astronomical Society - demonstrating that the universe was several orders of magnitude larger than previously suspected.

[BigEvil]

Has anyone read "The Brother Gardeners" (http://www.amazon.com/The-Brother-Gardeners/dp/B002361NIM) By Adrea Wulf?

Listened to a radio interview with her last night and she made it sound fascinating. Is it worth reading?

[Matty]

Collapse by Jared Diamond
My zillionth attempt at Universe In A nutshell by Hawking and its looking like i'm getting to a similar point to before before my brain just gives up and flashes a "impossible to visualise, get some physicist to explain it to you in easier words" warning.

and the world according to Jeremy Clarkson. Which is great. Hes a dick, clueless about science and something of a total global warming denier as a guy who drives overpowered fast cars for a living would be , but he IS funny as fuck and has some bloody good points about the likes of the OHSA, the hypocrisy of much of the green legislation in the UK and Americans.

[Lisa0315]

19 Minutes, I forget the author.

[Mediancat]

The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
The Oedipus Cycle
The Journals of Lewis & Clark
The Voyage of the Beagle
Ethics, Spinoza
Cardenio, by, allegedly, Shakespeare
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
A Zoo In My Luggage, the Whispering Land, the Bafut Beagles, Three Singles to Adventure, the Drunken Forest, The Whispering Land, My Family and Other Animals, Gerald Durrell

Will and Ariel Durant, The Age of Faith

Biographies of Richard Nixon, Adlai Stevenson, Henry Wallace, Paul Robeson, and Casey Stengel

Stars and Stripes Forever, Harry Harrison
Almost America
Unsolved Mysteries of American History
Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson,
Manhunt: The 12-day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
The End of Faith, Sam Harris
If the South Won Gettysburg
Peterson's Guide to Mexican Birds

-- big book sale last weekend.

Rob

[Cath B]

In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan

[diana]

Just finished Generation Kill, by Evan Wright

Now reading The New Golden Age: The Coming Revolution against Political Corruption and Economic Chaos, by Ravi Batra

d

[Oolon Colluphid]

Andrew Marr's A History of Modern Britain (audiobook of course), which has been quite an eye-opener about stuff I was only vaguely aware of, such as how the US shafted Britain by suddenly ending lend-lease immediately the war ended.

[Mediancat]

--from the list of books from the book sale, I have read (parts of) the poems of Yeats; Cardenio, and I was unconvinced by the editor's attempts to make me believe it was Shakespeare; Three Singles to Adventure; and the first volume of the Adla Stevenson Biography. I am currently reading Unsolved Mysteries of American History.

Rob

[Christina]

I'm still working my way through Don Quixote because it's another 900+ pager. I love it so far. He's crazy in the most perfectly delightful way. If you've got it, you might as well make the most of it ;)

[dug_down_deep]

Any my update: Watchmen is frigging fantastic. Nearly done with it.

[David B]

I've just started 'God is Not Great' - which is giving a whole new meaning to the term 'preaching to the choir':D

So far, though, I'm impressed with his writing skills and his examples.

I bought another couple of books, too

Manjit Kumar 'Quantum' and Derren Brown 'Tricks of the Mind', so they will be following on.

David

[Oolon Colluphid]

Tricks of the Mind is excellent, David. Brown is not the greatest writer in the world, but he knows whereof he speaks.

[Ray Moscow]

I just finished River Out of Eden by Dawkins. Good, light reading.

[dug_down_deep]

Finished Watchmen. Great book, though I enjoyed the mystery and the journey of the plot much more than I enjoyed the resolution of the plot. The big event left me cold, when I should have been feeling a lot more, I think. Moore is great at weaving synchronicities.

[Daynna]

Now Reading:

The Space Between Us (http://www.amazon.com/Space-Between-Us-Novel-P-S/dp/006079156X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241226727&sr=8-1) by Thrity N. Umrigar
and
Destination: Void (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_Mental_Core) by Frank Herbert

[Jobar]

2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People With The Courage To Doubt by James A Haught. Soon I plan to start a thread and post some of the incredibly powerful quotations from it. :)

[Daynna]

Jobar, I have that book. Haven't picked it up in a decade. Maybe I should. :)

[Utu]

On Truth, Harry Frankfurt

On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt

My Hot Dog Fell on the Floor of the Barbershop, Harry Frankfurter*

Evolution: The triumph of an idea, Carl Zimmer

The Creationists, Ronald Numbers

The Holy Reich: Nazi conceptions of Christianity, 1919-1945, Richard Steigmann-Gall



*Not a real book to my knowledge. The others are legit and I'm actually reading them. The Holy Reich by Steigmann-Gall currently has my attention.

[diana]

I've just started 'God is Not Great' - which is giving a whole new meaning to the term 'preaching to the choir':DI had the same reaction to that book, David. For that reason, I found it quite distasteful. Some of the examples/arguments struck me as Argument From Special Case. That was the first Hitchens book I read, and it didn't leave me with any desire to read any more. He's reputedly one of the leading intellectuals of our time, but the book, IMO, fell far short of such prestigious expectations.

d

[Oolon Colluphid]

2000 Years of Disbelief: Famous People With The Courage To Doubt by James A Haught.

Jobar, I have that book. Haven't picked it up in a decade.
Yours is the previous edition, called 1990 Years of Disbelief. Amirite?

[Matty]

Gawd, you loit and your cerebral stuff, i just finished Clive Cussler - Iceberg, one of the early one where Dirk is a nsaty bastard as opposed to the slicker hero of the later books. KInda like the new bond vs moores. Like the way he systematically breaks all the arms and legs of the bad guy when he gets him alone for 5 minutes towards the end. (he had it coming)

Had to read that becasue Universe In A Nutshell just fucked with my head again. :)

FWIW as far as Hitchens goes, i find the Portable Atheist, a collection of writings he put together with decent intros etc, a great pick up put down book lots of cool writings from an atheist or agnostic perspective. Plenty of the usual suspects but a more comprehensive than your usual quotes collection.

[LoneWolf]

Matty, are the Dirk Pitt novels worth trying out?

[Matty]

heh depends who you ask.

I thoroughly enjoy them as fun page turners but then Dirk is basically James Bond crossed with Jacques Cousteau so the whole diving and kicking ass thing rather appeals to me.

I would pick some up if for no other reason than you can usually find them for next to nothing in the second hand stores, but yeah. they are fun if you like the intrepid far fetched adventure bit.

Dirk Pitt, whadda guy. :)

[Bright Life]

I'm s...l...o...w...l...y reading

The Temple of My Familiar (http://www.amazon.com/Temple-My-Familiar-Alice-Walker/dp/0671683993). It's really an easy read, but me brains is all screwed up right now, so I can't really read more than a couple of pages at a time without an invisable knife stabbing me in the eye.

And, yeah, it hurts...

[Christina]

I read that years ago and I loved it. It's still in with my books so I'll have to read it again one of these days.

[LoneWolf]

heh depends who you ask.

I thoroughly enjoy them as fun page turners but then Dirk is basically James Bond crossed with Jacques Cousteau so the whole diving and kicking ass thing rather appeals to me.

I would pick some up if for no other reason than you can usually find them for next to nothing in the second hand stores, but yeah. they are fun if you like the intrepid far fetched adventure bit.

Dirk Pitt, whadda guy. :)

Thanks. It sounds like something I might be interested in. I like the dash of SCUBA thrown in, I’m a diver myself.

I have a pretty varied reading taste. I tend to alternate fiction and non-fiction as well as popular works and classics. You’re just as likely to catch me reading Ulysses as you are to catch me reading the latest Dresden Files book. I might give old Dirk a try.

[BigEvil]

Just finished "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" by Max Brooks

My son made me read it (I didn't want to, sounded dumb.) To my surprise, it was quite good. Very good, in fact.

[Ray Moscow]

I'm inching my way through The Earth, by Richard Fortey.

And I started Dawkins' Climbing Mount Improbable.

[Lisa0315]

Cold Sassy Tree - Olive Ann Burns

[David B]

I finished 'God is not Great', and rather enjoyed it. Lots of little historical snippets that I didn't know about, too.

I also looked for critical reviews, and found a couple criticising some of these snippets as wrong or insufficiently researched, though these reviews were tellingly silent concerning the many historical snippets that are seemingly accurate.

Yeah, sure, since I am an atheist (not believing in any god as the term is generally used), and also one convinced that belief in the supernatural is something of an atavistic trait that people would be better without, he was preaching to the choir in my case.

Well worth reading, I thought, and I'd be particular interested in hearing what believers made of it, if any have read it, or read it in the future.

David

[Bright Life]

I'm s...l...o...w...l...y reading

The Temple of My Familiar (http://www.amazon.com/Temple-My-Familiar-Alice-Walker/dp/0671683993). It's really an easy read, but me brains is all screwed up right now, so I can't really read more than a couple of pages at a time without an invisable knife stabbing me in the eye.

And, yeah, it hurts...

Invisible...Stupid brain swelling! I've been typing phonetically quite a bit.

Also, I started reading the graphic novel, "V for Vendetta." It's a favorite movie, but I'd never read the source material.

[Christina]

This was weird. When I posted and told you that I liked the Alice Walker book I thought that if you did too you would probably like Barbara Kinsolver as well, especially her The Poisonwood Bible. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=poisonwood+bible&sprefix=pois) I went on Amazon last night to order something and because I had clicked on your link it recommended that Kingsolver book to me. Amazon is almost never useful in it's recommendations to me.

[Matty]

hehe


"if you like Eric Clapton - The Blues you might also like the eponymous album "Blue" by retarded UK boyband Blue that really really need lining up and shooting almost as bad as those wankers from Westlife"

Without the judgemental and cursing bits, i actually had that recommendation before. Yeah i laughed.

I've also had three of my Bible reviews revmoved for some fucking reason. Just becasue i said that if you like a weird plot with holes in continuity and a quirky and morally questionable protagonist, and which can change your life in profound ways if you let it, youd be "much better spending your 10quid on the Dice Man than this shit" :)

[dug_down_deep]

Invisible...Stupid brain swelling! I've been typing phonetically quite a bit.
Are you alright?

Also, I started reading the graphic novel, "V for Vendetta." It's a favorite movie, but I'd never read the source material.
I just finished Watchmen, by the same author. Based on that, I'll be reading the one you're reading, too. The movie was -meh- for me.

[Bright Life]

This was weird. When I posted and told you that I liked the Alice Walker book I thought that if you did too you would probably like Barbara Kinsolver as well, especially her The Poisonwood Bible. (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b_0_4?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=poisonwood+bible&sprefix=pois) I went on Amazon last night to order something and because I had clicked on your link it recommended that Kingsolver book to me. Amazon is almost never useful in it's recommendations to me.

That's pretty nifty.

[Bright Life]

Invisible...Stupid brain swelling! I've been typing phonetically quite a bit.
Are you alright?

Also, I started reading the graphic novel, "V for Vendetta." It's a favorite movie, but I'd never read the source material.
I just finished Watchmen, by the same author. Based on that, I'll be reading the one you're reading, too. The movie was -meh- for me.

It's just a bit of sequellae from a student-induced concussion. That was part of the RL drama.

[diana]

Now reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, about the doomed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914.

d

[David B]

Now reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, about the doomed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914.

d

I haven't read the book, but I'm familiar with the story.

A tale of perseverance in difficult circumstances, and succeeding that is hard to beat.

Was it Nansen who had a tale that could pretty much match it in the North? I think so.

In earlier times, Bligh's survival after the mutiny on the Bounty was also impressive, but without the cold.

And Blondie Hasler's various exploits at sea were remarkable in their own way, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frankton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondie_Hasler

Shackleton was a great man, I think.

David (starting 'Tricks of the Mind' - Derren Brown)

[diana]

Now reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, about the doomed trans-Antarctic expedition of 1914.

d

I haven't read the book, but I'm familiar with the story.

A tale of perseverance in difficult circumstances, and succeeding that is hard to beat.

Was it Nansen who had a tale that could pretty much match it in the North? I think so.

In earlier times, Bligh's survival after the mutiny on the Bounty was also impressive, but without the cold.

And Blondie Hasler's various exploits at sea were remarkable in their own way, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Frankton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondie_Hasler

Shackleton was a great man, I think.

David (starting 'Tricks of the Mind' - Derren Brown)Wow. Your knowledge of what I'd consider obscure history astounds. :)

I know nothing of Nansen and Bligh, and knew nothing of Hasler until I read the Wiki blurbs. This is just random reading, recommended by a colleague (who volunteers to teach one or two classes a year in our department, but who is the official USAFA historian; why she doesn't volunteer in the history department, I know not). She teaches Shackleton's story as an example of effective, even outstanding, leadership.

I can see why. He had his faults (not glossed over in the book), but he was a remarkable leader.

What's Tricks of the Mind about?

d

[Monad]

currently reading:

Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne

I'm reading that now - bit disappointing actually - I expected something with more substance to it.

I'm also reading:

Lynch and Granger's Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Brain-Origins-Future-Intelligence/dp/1403979782)

Which I have mixed feelings about - the Neuro stuff is great and very up-to-date (as you would expect from the authors). However the Evo aspects are ...strange...they attempt to revive the old "Boskop man" debate, possibly unsuccessfully and possibly naively (Hawks tears them off a strip over it) but I must admit despite Hawks I find it intriguing.

and

Eric Kandel's In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Memory-Emergence-Science-Mind/dp/0393329372/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241685507&sr=1-1)

which is awesome and fits well with arguments I have made on Talk Rational over the importance of Freud to modern psychology.

[David B]

I haven't got very far with 'Tricks of the Mind' yet, but I find the author engaging.

He makes his living as a mentalist, performing astonishing tricks, who has frequently been asked about how he does it. So he's written a book that I don't expect to give everything away, but should have a lot of interest in it.

...many of you approach what I do with intelligent scepticism and a sense of fun; others of you might read the Daily Mail...

There was a lot of his work on youtube, that now seems largely removed (pity!)

Like Randi, he does not have a high regard for those who use the sort of skills he employs to give an impression that something supernatural is going on, nor does he have a high regard for religion.

Tricks of the Mind is Derren's first book intended for the general public. It is a wide-ranging book in which Brown reveals some of the techniques he uses in his performances, delves into the structure and psychology of magic and discusses hypnosis. He also applies his insight to the paranormal industry, looking at the structure of beliefs and how psychology can explain why people become 'true believers'. He also offers autobiographical stories about his own experiences as a former Christian, and discusses his scepticism about religion, allegedly 'psychic' mediums and sundry other belief systems.

David

[diana]

That sounds like a great read, David. I'll be looking forward to your recommendation.

d

[diana]

Now reading The Downfall of Capitalism and Communism, by Ravi Batra

d

[Monad]

"Midnight at the well of souls" - first in the WellWorld saga by Jack Chalker

any scifi fans who have not read these try and get hold of them - they are top notch sci fi and also very witty, a blast to read, highly irreverent and as polymorphically perverse and multi sexual as you could possibly get

[Pendaric]

'Rubicon', by Tom Holland.

I previously read his book 'Persian Fire' about the Persian/Greek wars and was sufficiently impressed to give this one a try. I'm just at the stage where Sulla has risen to power.

[Christina]

I got through the first half of Don Quixote and decided to take a break before I dive into part II and read something else for a while. I'm enjoying DQ but 500 pages at a time is enough. Now I'm reading Wharton's "House of Mirth" and I love her wry sense of humor and descriptions.

[farhat]

Just finished The full facts book of cold reading by Ian Rowland and Man in the High Castle by P K Dick. Currently reading Manias Panics and Crashes by Kindleberger and Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

[diana]

Just finished The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. I haven't decided which book on the pile to read next.

d

[Christina]

I just went to the used bookstore and got a bunch of things:

"Of Mice and Men", "The Pearl" and "The Winter of Our Discontent" by Steinbeck, "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, "Elmer Gantry" by Sinclair Lewis, "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton, "Mosquitos" by Faulkner, "Puddinhead Wilson" by Twain and Howard Zinn's "People's History of the United States.". I wanted to read Page Smith's US history series along with it and compare their perspectives because Page was one of my favorite people in the world, and then I realized that his was 8 huge hardcover books. I'll borrow them from his kids or find them in the library.

I read "Of Mice and Men" when I got home and I'm not sure which one is up next. It might be Henry James because Joe will be here all weekend in case I give myself the creeps.

[Gooch's Dad]

Christina, that's a nice bunch of books! I love Steinbeck, he's one of my favorite authors, and it reminds me so much of the California I grew up with (which is fast disappearing). I think you'll like Zinn's book too, I really enjoyed that one, and need to get a new copy of it.

I just went through a bunch of books in a couple of weeks. I read "The Assyrian" by Nicholas Guild, which is a great bit of historical fiction, set in the Neo-Assyrian empire of the 6th century BCE. I then ordered the sequel, "Blood Star", from the local library--it's a rather rare book, and is only available for $80 or more from used book dealers. The sequel ended up being even better than the 1st book!

I also picked up an SF book that I read years ago, John Barnes "Finity", which I've been trying to find again for several years, but couldn't remember the title. It isn't given very good reviews online, but I still enjoyed it on the 2nd read.

Then I reread Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" for the 3rd or 4th time--always a good read! I'm working on another SF book now, "Superluminal" by Vonda McIntyre, which is just ok.

Oh yeah, somewhere in there I quickly read "Angels and Demons". What a piece of utter crapola.

[Mediancat]

The Complete Chronicles of Conan, Robert E. Howard.

Rob

[Copernicus]

Anathem by Neal Stephenson. This is one of the best SF novels that I've ever read, and I've been reading SF since childhood.

The setting appears at first to be on a world of people who are mired in a medieval religious tradition not unlike that of the Roman Catholic Church. You quickly learn that things are not as they appear, and you keep learning that throughout the entire novel. Stephenson mixes multiple themes and ideas together in a witty tour de force: religion, science, politics, quantum mechanics, chaos theory, the nature of consciousness, geometry, philosophy, linguistics, multiple worlds, directed acyclic graphs, orbital mechanics, martial arts, and too many other things to mention. He ties it together so well, that I give it my highest recommendation.

[Ray Moscow]

The Complete Chronicles of Conan, Robert E. Howard.

Rob

OK, I've got to go back and read some Conan again. I really loved those books as a teenager.

I pretty much modeled my life after Conan. :D

[Garrett]

^ So you refuse to think things through and instead just attack as you wield your sword like pointing your finger? ;)

[Cath B]

I'm absorbed by The Lion in the North, John Prebble's 1973 account of a thousand or so years of interaction (often bloody) between Scotland and its neighbour to the South.

I thought I had a reasonable albeit superficial grasp already, but realise there are many gaps even in my knowledge.

Alas, poor Berwick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed#Struggles_for_control_of_Berwick)!

It's unfortunate folk so often caught up in border skirmishes.

[Christina]

Christina, that's a nice bunch of books! I love Steinbeck, he's one of my favorite authors, and it reminds me so much of the California I grew up with (which is fast disappearing).
I think that he's my favorite too. I can't count the number of times where I have to stop, put it down and think about what he just said. I'm so close to that area that I can picture it easily but what I really love is how he sees the poor. I see so many of the homeless people and families that I've known in his characters. The part about the frogs in Cannery Row had me laughing so hard that it hurt because it was so much like the goofy things that my clients used to do to make money. I read "Of Mice and Men" yesterday and I still don't know what to say about it.

I figure that since I have so much free time now I can read all of the great books that either I never read or was so young when I read them that I didn't really get why they were so great.

I think you'll like Zinn's book too, I really enjoyed that one, and need to get a new copy of it.
I'm sure that I will. I remember that Page used to roll his eyes at it and say that it was very good for something completely one-sided but at least it was a different side than the usual BS. I don't know if Page was known outside of academic circles or how his work is thought of by other historians but he made me laugh when he got that way. They've got his massive set of books on Amazon in used paperbacks, which at least I'd be able to lift. As much as I loved him I think it's probably far more than I ever wanted to know and Zinn's is just one book.

Then I reread Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" for the 3rd or 4th time--always a good read!
I've read a few of his books and liked them but I haven't read that one. What's the subject?

[Bright Life]

How did you like Of Mice and Men? It's my second-favorite book.

[Christina]

I loved it even though the ending was so sad. The two of them reminded me so much of these 2 homeless guys that I used to know that had paired up like that for all of the same reasons that I couldn't help but love them. I still have this bleak feeling about how it ended even though it was the kindest thing that George could have done at that point. There aren't happy endings for people set adrift in the world with nothing to anchor them and no one to love them but at least they had each other and their dream to stave off the loneliness and fear. Maybe what George did seems like murder to others but I think that the parallel between Candy and his dog made it clear what Steinbeck was getting at.

[Alex]

The thoughts and opinions of William Shakespeare are a mystery. No information has been discovered that gives us direct access to his "philosophy of life" - if he had one. His plays of course contain an immense amount of material from which some aspects of a Shakespearean "world-view" might be inferred.

At the moment I'm reading Shakespeare the Thinker by A J Nuttall, which is a very scholarly and well written discussion of the questions that absorbed this highly intelligent playwright throughout his life.

[Mediancat]

The Complete Chronicles of Conan, Robert E. Howard.

Rob

OK, I've got to go back and read some Conan again. I really loved those books as a teenager.

I pretty much modeled my life after Conan. :D

In regards to ethics, women, violence, or amount of clothing worn?

(And yes, I'm enjoying it, occasional pulp excesses aside. Howard, I think, isn't given the credit he's due sometimes for being one of the progenitors of modern fantasy.)

Rob

[diana]

Just finished Running with Scissors, a truly surreal romp. Now reading The Devil Wears Prada.

d

[Ray Moscow]

^ So you refuse to think things through and instead just attack as you wield your sword like pointing your finger? ;)

The approach does have its merits.

TBH, I've actually never used a sword on anyone. But I do practice sword stuff as a martial art.

[Cath B]

The thoughts and opinions of William Shakespeare are a mystery. No information has been discovered that gives us direct access to his "philosophy of life" - if he had one. His plays of course contain an immense amount of material from which some aspects of a Shakespearean "world-view" might be inferred.

At the moment I'm reading Shakespeare the Thinker by A J Nuttall, which is a very scholarly and well written discussion of the questions that absorbed this highly intelligent playwright throughout his life.

I recently enjoyed A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro
(http://www.amazon.com/Year-Life-William-Shakespeare-1599/dp/0060088745)

[dug_down_deep]

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger

It's on the Amazon list I'm working my way through of the 100 best novels (eta: not novels, fiction, duh) of the 20th century. I'm in the 1950's, and recently finished Lolita. Up next - The Tin Drum.

[David B]

'Tricks of the Mind' was well worth reading.

Now on 'Quantum' by Manjit Kumar. So far it is very readable, easy to follow, with much of interest about Einstein, Planck etc - haven't got to Bohr yet - and their ideas.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/quantum-by-manjit-kumar-1051783.html

David

[Alex]

I recently enjoyed A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare: 1599 by James Shapiro
(http://www.amazon.com/Year-Life-William-Shakespeare-1599/dp/0060088745)

I've read that one, Cath. I found the account of how the players stole the Theatre by dismantling and carting it off during the Christmas holidays very amusing.

[dug_down_deep]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Tik-Tok of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I'm 6 chapters in, and so far it's pretty derivative of some of the previous Oz books.

[Daynna]

Copernicus,
Last year on the bus a kid sitting next to me was reading Anathem. He saw I was reading too and we discussed our books. I added Anathem to my wishlist but never got around to picking it up. I'll be sure to seek it out!

[diana]

Any Place I Hang My Hat, Susan Isaacs

d

[Matty]

Then I reread Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" for the 3rd or 4th time--always a good read!
I've read a few of his books and liked them but I haven't read that one. What's the subject?

his attempt to cover the Appalachian Trail with his obnoxious and chronically unfit mate Steven Katz (who also features in the European travels one Neither Here Nor There )
its a good one. Apprently rto be made into a film too . cool.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Walk_in_the_Woods:_Rediscovering_America_on_the_ Appalachian_Trail


Bil Bryson is one of my favourite LOL authors. The Thunderbolt Kid had had me shooting coffee out of my nose on a (thankfully not too crowded) train once. :)

[LoneWolf]

I am currently reading:

Frankenstein – by Mary Shelley (for my ENGL 303 class)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War– by Max Brooks
Fellowship of the Ring – by JRR Tolkien
The Black Echo – by Michael Connelly

[SallyAnne]

The final Harry Potter installment.

[Rilx]

Up next - The Tin Drum.
I gave it up after ten pages. You'll find out why. Good luck, though.

[Daynna]

I am currently reading:

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War– by Max Brooks


:joy:

I loved it. The effect of the book sneaks up on you later at unexpected times (showering, riding bus). You start thinking of defense plans against the zombie hordes.

[Notta]

I've just discovered Irish writer John Connolly, and I can't put down his books. I read 10 hours straight starting last evening and through the wee hours of the morning. God, what prose!!

[BigEvil]

I am currently reading:

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War– by Max Brooks


:joy:

I loved it. The effect of the book sneaks up on you later at unexpected times (showering, riding bus). You start thinking of defense plans against the zombie hordes.

My son had forced me to read it. I was pleasently surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

[Oolon Colluphid]

I've just discovered Irish writer John Connolly, and I can't put down his books. I read 10 hours straight starting last evening and through the wee hours of the morning. God, what prose!!
I've not gotten around to his Charlie Parker books, but I was very impressed* by his ghost story collection Nocturnes. Not exactly pastiches of The Greats (Monty James, Aickman etc), but it's clear that Connolly is well familiar with and fond of them. And yes, he's a superb stylist.

* As I have mentioned elsewhere, I collect ghost stories.

Meanwhile, I've finished Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain and Pratchett's Carpe Jugulum (both as audiobooks -- I get through far more books while cooking, washing up etc than ever I do with a book in my hands these days).

Marr was fascinating, especially on the earlier stuff. I found that once he got to more recent times, he seemed to be simply reminding me of what I already knew, but up to mid-Thatcher -- ie before I was old enough to properly pay attention and understand -- I was impressed how he brought characters to life who I only really knew the names of, especially Wilson and Callaghan. And his sections on culture, music etc have been useful, since I'm now discovering more of The Kinks' stuff than the few radio-played hits everyone knows.

Chappy who read it was excellent too -- sounded just enough like Marr to 'feel' like it was Marr, but he was rather good at unaffected impersonations when quoting (except for Thatcher, understandably), catching their voices just nicely enough to add to the experience.

Carpe Jugulum reminded me just how good Pratchett is. I'd been a fan from back when there were only three Discworld books, with Mort being the first new one (wish I'd bought those early hardback first editions!). I kept up with each as it came out, devouring them.

Then, depth struck. From around Soul Music on, the books started to be About Big Subjects (which was fine), and Less Funny As A Consequence (which was less fine). Still enjoyed them, but the edge was taken off. Then, Hogfather, which is well known to be pretty weak. And I stalled. Finally got around to Jingo, which was quite good but unmemorable (that is, I don't remember much about it). And after another long break, I found The Last Continent to be quite a slog, especially since I've never liked Rincewind much.

Somehow, another seven years or so slipped by, with me buying the books, but them moving from bedside pile to shelf, unread, one after the other.

But I'd *cough*torrented*cough* all the unabridged audiobooks a while ago. And, browsing for my next choice, Pratchett occurred to me, and I figured I could spare a few days listening more than I could spare a couple of months inching through with reading.

And it was worth it. I've always loved the Witches, and being a horror fan, having vampires (sorry, vampyres) was a definite plus. Only a handful of really laugh-out-loud bits, but great fun.

So now, I've resisted the urge to move straight onto The Fifth Elephant (despite the great Sam Vimes being in it), and instead am doing Pratchett's Nation. Which is so far the best thing I've heard since Coraline (very, very, very recommended, btw) a few months back.

Oh, and I'm part-way into Jeremy Paxman's On Monarchy, as a real, physical book. It's interesting and entertaining, but it'll take some time to get through -- if I don't forget about it and pick up something else, as is my wont.

ETA: Almost forgot -- I go through books so fast now (by my own, reading rather than listening, standards). Jonathan Cecil read me the first Blandings Wodehouse novel Something Fresh. A good few hearty chuckles and a general feeling of taking a lovely warm bath in gloriously-turned phrases, but not my favourite, mainly because there was comparatively too little Lord Emsworth and The Efficient Baxter... except for one genius set-piece involving those two, a dark staircase, a tray of cold ham and a rifle...

[Christina]

I'm probably about 3/4 of the way through the Henry James stories and they're OK but I doubt I'll be looking to read anything more of his soon. Is sticking a comma in every few words whether it belongs there or not some sort of literary device? I thought the way that I sprinkle them around was bad but the way that he did that made some parts very annoying to read.

[Alex]

I'm probably about 3/4 of the way through the Henry James stories and they're OK but I doubt I'll be looking to read anything more of his soon. Is sticking a comma in every few words whether it belongs there or not some sort of literary device? I thought the way that I sprinkle them around was bad but the way that he did that made some parts very annoying to read.
The stories of Henry James are "difficult" to read. You have put up with his meticulous punctuation and the long convoluted sentences by which he tries to convey the "stream of consciousness" in his characters. It's a taste in literature that I've never acquired. However, I did get through The Europeans and The Portrait of a Lady - which are relatively "easy" to read.

Edith Wharton deals with similar themes, but her novels are accessible and beautifully written. In my opinion, she's superior to Henry James. Her best story, The Age of Innocence, was made into an excellent movie - directed by Martin Scorsese. The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome have also be made into good movies.

[Christina]

I finished "The House of Mirth" a few weeks ago and loved it and "Ethan Frome" is sitting in the pile on my desk. I've been watching for "The Age of Innocence" at the used bookstore for a while but they haven't had it yet.

There is only James story left in the book and I'm so looking forward to finishing it and starting something else that I don't know why I want to finish it in the first place. Reading isn't supposed to be a chore.

[diana]

Atheist Universe, by David Mills. So far, I'm finding it well written, although still with a bit of an edge. He's articulate and makes good arguments. Loaned to me by my neighbor--a new friend down the road. :)

d

[dug_down_deep]

The Scarecrow of Oz by L. Frank Baum. 9th in the canonical series, and Baum's favorite. It's starting out pretty good, compared to some of the others.

[Daynna]

Right now I'm reading:

Monster Island (http://www.brokentype.com/monster/) by David Wellington. Only just now discovered it was free online. I have the actual book. It's about zombies. :)

Last night I finished:

The Lies of Locke Lamora (http://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Scott-Lynch/dp/055358894X/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_k2a_1_txt?pf_rd_p=304485601&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-2&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0553804677&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0MXZHA7MB6A5EZGSP0SH)by Scott Lynch.
An EXCELLENT first novel. I would classify it as fantasy, though the fantasy is a little on the light side.

[Copernicus]

Right now, I'm reading Boris Akunin's The Turkish Gambit, an episode in his Erast Fandorin series. Erast Fandorin is Akunin's version of a Russian Sherlock Holmes/James Bond character who operated in the 19th century Russian Empire. I've read most of his other works (in English translation), and they are well-written and entertaining.

[Christina]

I finished the James book and I didn't like it. The stories themselves were interesting (sort of) but it goes on the pile with Russian literature for having a style that's too ponderous for me to enjoy.

I started in on Zinn's People's History of the United States and I'm only a few chapters into it but I like it so far. Ethan Frome is next up in the fiction pile.

[Ray Moscow]

I've been re-reading 99% Ape (http://www.amazon.co.uk/99%25-Ape-How-Evolution-Adds/dp/0565092316), a really good text that's part of the OU course I'm doing.

But after a couple of glasses of wine last night and seeing the scientific concepts start to get a bit fuzzy, I switched to Robert Price's The Da Vinci Fraud (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Da-Vinci-Fraud-Stranger-Fiction/dp/1591023483/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1245072526&sr=1-1). As usual, Price is a lot of fun.

[Alex]

After watching an adaptation of Anna Karenina (for BBC television), I decided, on a whim, to read the book and bought a copy from Amazon. It's over a thousand pages long and has a cast of about 150 characters.

I don't read much fiction and having failed to finish War and Peace, I don't know whether I shall persevere with Anna. Since I'm always occupied with two or three books at the same time, maybe Anna Karenina is a book too far.

[Ray Moscow]

I enjoyed War and Peace, but I never got around to reading Anna Karenina. My wife liked it, though.

[Christina]

I read all 900 or so pages of it 2 months ago and at around page 850 I finally figured out that it wasn't going to get any better. I thought that the parts about the Russian peasants and economy interesting but the story itself could have fit in 50 pages. I won't be reading any more Russian literature for a while.

I finished Ethan Frome and just started Elmer Gantry. I read a chapter or so of Zinn's book most days too.

[Alex]

Ethan Frome is outside Edith Wharton's usual setting for a story - no analysis of Gilded Age hypocrisy in it. A fairly ordinary man is crippled, figuratively and literally, by his illicit passion. It's a grim tale.

[Christina]

Yes, it was grim but the way that she used the bleak winter atmosphere as a backdrop and how it wound through Ethan's character and pain was really effective and haunting. You almost get the sense that she believes that real love must be painful and illicit to be all consuming. Like the symbol of the sled ride, it had to end in disaster and punishment.

[Alex]

I think I mentioned before, there's an excellent movie adaptation of Ethan Frome which looks like it was photographed in New Hampshire. I bought the DVD and I've watched it several times.

Liam Neeson plays Ethan.

[dug_down_deep]

I've enjoyed War and Peace myself, but for obscure reasons.

Right now I've just begun The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, and (on the mp3 player) Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum. Both are starting out good.

So Rilx, you quit after the first chapter? I'll admit that scene was a bit like something out of a bad late-night Cinemax movie, but I love the heavy involvement of the narrator with the shape of the narrative. That's my kind of thing when it comes to fiction. I can listen to simulated insanity for hours and hours and not get bored.

[diana]

I just finished Any Place I Hang My Hat, by Susan Isaacs. I enjoyed her storytelling style. She has quirky, often funny, but always appropriate metaphors, and the story was pretty good.

Now I'm into Why People Die By Suicide, by Thomas Joiner.

Yes, I'll read just about anything I find lying around. (But this is quite interesting.)

d

[Christina]

I think I mentioned before, there's an excellent movie adaptation of Ethan Frome which looks like it was photographed in New Hampshire. I bought the DVD and I've watched it several times.

Liam Neeson plays Ethan.

Thanks. I just found it on Netflix so I stuck it in the top of the queue.

[laughing dog]

I just finished Graham Greene' Our Man in Havana - a superb ironic tale of the cold war and of love.

I am currently reading Soccer and American Exceptionalism - an explanation why soccer has not taken hold in the psyche of the US. It is a rather frustrating book, since it fluctuates between interesting and boring.

[Rilx]

So Rilx, you quit after the first chapter [of The Tin Drum]? I'll admit that scene was a bit like something out of a bad late-night Cinemax movie, but I love the heavy involvement of the narrator with the shape of the narrative. That's my kind of thing when it comes to fiction. I can listen to simulated insanity for hours and hours and not get bored.
Yes, I don't like that kind of style. If it hadn't been in the beginning... if I'd first got better touch with the general idea I may not get bored with that chapter.

[Alex]

Last night I read the first chapter of Anna Karenina - which was very short. So now I'm on page 3; only 965 pages to go.

I also read the Introduction by someone (not the translator) who managed to write a critical essay on the novel without saying anything that I can remember this morning. Sometimes I think it's better to finish the story before bothering to read the Introduction.

[Christina]

I think I disliked it primarily because the female characters were so weak and/or selfish. I understand that those were different times and women had very few options but I couldn't feel any pity for Anna. She was self-absorbed, unrealistic and expected to have her cake and eat it too but somehow we're supposed to see her as tragic. What was tragic to me was that she didn't seem to have any common sense at all. Maybe I'm just not romantic enough to consider love to be a good enough reason to be that self-indulgent.

[Faerie]

The year of living biblically - AJ Jacobs

I finished it over the weekend, some humerous moments, and overall an interesting read with old testament facts and the poring over some 700 rules imposed to the religious bible reader. It was entertaining enough to spend a weekend reading it.

[Ray Moscow]

I think I mentioned before, there's an excellent movie adaptation of Ethan Frome which looks like it was photographed in New Hampshire. I bought the DVD and I've watched it several times.

Liam Neeson plays Ethan.

Thanks. I just found it on Netflix so I stuck it in the top of the queue.

It also stars Patricia Arquette in her extremely hot, pre-Medium phase.

And it's a good movie, if rather sad.

[Oolon Colluphid]

Terry Pratchett's Nation was really rather good. Rarely outright funny, but thoughtful and entertaining, and nicely atheistic / humanistic.

Now after a gap of a week (my daughter borrowed my mp3 player to take on her school trip to the Isle of Wight), I'm nearing the end of (what would be, were they not mp3s) disc 8 of 10 of Kurt Vonnegut's Galapagos. I read it years ago, but Nation reminded me of it in a number of ways, so I thought I'd give it another go.

Brilliant idea, having the story narrated by a ghost, so as to be able to comment on what humans 'have become' a million years after the story's main setting. And Vonnegut knew his evolutionary theory, at least well enough for his purposes -- though I doubt that, even with such strong selection pressures, a million years would be long enough to sculpt a seal-like critter from a bipedal ape. I can't help thinking that we are too committed to using our hands to have them converted to flippers; even if swimming were so important, I would think we'd use them to grab fish, rather than try to catch them in our 'beaks'... perhaps an intermediate phase as seaweed-gnawers à la the marine iguanas would help evolve suitable jaws. Still, a damned fine book.

[dug_down_deep]

Yeah, that was a good one. I still haven't picked up the posthumous Armageddon in Retrospect by Vonnegut, and your post has reminded me of its existence. So thanks for that.

(Cool - you can read a whole short story from that book on Amazon. link (http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000216281))

[laughing dog]

Lewis Black - Me of Little Faith which contains his views on various religions. It is an easy read. One of my favorite parts
"I went from serious meditation to serious masturbation. I found they both do their job. They calm you down."

[Christina]

I just finished Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry. I bet that evangelical Christians and fundamentalists are still pissed off about that one. I think that I'm going to start Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent next.

[BigEvil]

I just finished Sinclair Lewis's Elmer Gantry.

I read that book back in the 80's. It was being strongly reccomended by many columnists as a responce to the rise of Falwell and Robertson. A very powerful book. It is over 75 years old and still contains all its relevancy. Back in the 80's, alot of TV stations were playing the movie version of the book starring Burt Lancaster.

[Oolon Colluphid]

Galapagos completed, I'm now ploughing through Simon Schama's A History of Britain, and am up to Simon de Montfort and the rebellion against Henry III... an episode that was entirely left out of History when I was at school (we skipped from 1066 (and all that) to the Tudors for some reason).

[Pendaric]

Schama is pretty good. I have the DVD set of 'A History of Britain' as well as the books.

[Tawny]

Schama is pretty good. I have the DVD set of 'A History of Britain' as well as the books.Me too, it is one of my favourite books ever. I prefer him to David Starkey, I have his books too.

I am currently reading 'A Walk in the Woods' by Bill Bryson. Light and easy to read.

[dug_down_deep]

Listening to The Tin Woodman, by L. Frank Baum, on mp3 downloaded from Librivox.org. This 12th book in the series remembers the Tin Woodman's back story, and has him searching out the Munchkin fiance that he stopped loving after he lost his heart. It's a pretty interesting diversion for the Oz series, which so far (in my reading) hasn't looked back much as it moves forward.

Also, I started reading Vital Circuits: On Pumps, Pipes, and the Workings of Circulatory Systems (http://www.amazon.com/Vital-Circuits-Workings-Circulatory-Systems/dp/0195082699), by Steven Vogel. I picked this book up in a thrift store several years ago for probably a dollar, and it seems to be experiencing some sort of popularity that increased the value to $20-35 for the paperback. (I find that cool because I used to trade in used/rare books.) Anyway, I thought it might help me to understand what's going on in my veins, having recently experienced a clot.

[tjakey]

The Appeal by John Grisham: Utterly, completely disappointing. Not that it wasn't well written, but if I want to see the bad guys get away completely unscathed while the good guys get fucked every way possible, I'll just read the newspapers.

I won't be wasting time on any Grisham books any time soon. I know the world is completely corrupt, I don't read "fiction" to add to the carnage.

But that's just me, your mileage may vary.

[Christina]

I finished The Winter of Our Discontent. I think that it was my least favorite of his books that I've read so far. Maybe the morality lesson was too blatant and direct for me where usually he's more subtle and evocative, or maybe I just missed a level. I'll re-read it again some time.

[Rilx]

I liked The Winter of Our Discontent second best of Steinbeck. The first is East of Eden. What's appealing me is people struggling in borderlines of humanity, where ideas face reality.

BTW, I just watched an excellent movie, To Kill a Mockingbird.

[Christina]

I think that The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden were a tie for first place for me. I'm always most drawn in when he focuses on people struggling at the extreme margins of society as well as the borderlines of humanity. I loved Cannery Row because he could see the humor in how the people that lived there saw themselves without denigrating them. The whole frog adventure had me in stitches because my homeless clients did the same kind of funny things. It also amazes me how well he evokes the atmosphere of the Salinas Valley area that he writes about. It's not far away from me and I love driving around there when I'm reading one of his books.

I watched To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time since I was a kid a few weeks ago. It made me want to read it again.

[Rilx]

I liked Cannery Row, Sweet Thursday, Wayward Bus, ... when I read them decenniums ago. Still, even then they seemed to belong to some earlier pre-war world which really didn't exist any more.

My positive attitude to Americans is definitely due to Steinbeck.

[Free in Freeport]

I just finished The Repatriate: Love, Basketball, and the KGB by Tom Mooradian.

Very good! He was a classmate of my mothers in high school.

[Oolon Colluphid]

... I'm now ploughing through Simon Schama's A History of Britain, and am up to Simon de Montfort and the rebellion against Henry III...
Part One (up to 1603) completed, and it was so good that I'm already up to Charles I in Part Two. I'm a bit bothered that with only 170-ish years being covered in 18 discs (compared to roughly 1800 in 13 CDs for Part One), this one might be in more depth and I might lose interest -- I liked the whistle-stop nature of the first book. But I expect Schama can pull it off.

Forgot to say (I said I'm getting through books so fast (but my usual standards) these days!) that before Schama, I did the final 'Sally Lockhart' Pullman book, The Tin Princess.

Well written and entertaining, naturally, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. I found the character of Adelaide rather implausible. I'm sure street urchins can scrub up well intellectually, but I doubt they can do so so fast. Illiterate prostitute to amazingly capable stateswoman in, what, about a year? It didn't help that I didn't like her much, admirable though she was.

And the ending smacked of countless horror films where the monster, thought dead, comes back for one final go before being dispatched... and it felt like the credits rolled a bit too soon after that.

It also didn't help that the reader for this one was some woman or other who was, frankly, a bit shit. Her street-London accent for Adelaide oscillated between the East End, Birmingham, Dublin and the west country.

Good old Jim Taylor, and the book-ending appearances by Sally, though, made it worthwhile.

[Christina]

I finished Twain's Puddn'head Wilson on Monday. It was an interesting take on race relations but he has an odd way of sticking up for blacks while drowning them in stereotypes at the same time. Maybe I'm still irritated at all of the racist things he wrote in "The Innocents Abroad". Yesterday I read Steinbeck's The Pearl. As usual I loved it but I'm still thinking about it. The main message was straightforward but I think that there was another subcontext that I'm not sure I fully grasp. There were so many references to how Kino was being driven and almost obsessed by a sense of determination not to be taken advantage of and to get the life that he wanted for his family, and that was his 'man song'. I'm not sure if Steinbeck was simply a product of his times and saw gender roles in stereotypical ways or if there is some essence in the novel that men instantly recognize that is more about being male than just being a strong adult.

Has anyone read Faulkner's The Mosquitoes? It's the last one in my pile and it has a musty smell that I hate and I don't want to smell it unless the book is worth it.

[diana]

Darkly Dreaming Dexter,, by Jeff Lindsay--the novel upon which the Showtime series Dexter was based.

d

[Christina]

I just finished Willa Cather's Oh Pioneers and liked it. I had to set aside all knowledge I had of first the Native Americans and later the dust bowl years to appreciate how powerfully she conveyed the spirit and challenges of starting a new way of life in an untouched land. It was also nice to read about a female character that doesn't whine. I have a new big pile on the table to choose from so I'm not sure what I'll read next.

[Daynna]

Darkly Dreaming Dexter,, by Jeff Lindsay--the novel upon which the Showtime series Dexter was based.

d

That ones on my list to read!

I just finished Going Postal by Terry Pratchett and To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer. Now reading Odd Hours by Dean Koontz. The Odd Thomas series is vastly different than any of his other writings.

[diana]

I just finished it, Daynna, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. It's different from the series, which we can say is loosely based upon the books, but I don't think it's better. If you do read it, I'll be interested in your reaction to it.

Now reading a brief overview of The Arthurian Tradition, by John Matthews.

d

[Garnet]

I just finished Columbine by Dave Cullen. This is not the kind of book I would normally read, but the review of it by someone on another board peaked my interest. If this book is accurate, and I think it is, then almost everything I "knew" about the Columbine shootings was wrong. It is not an easy read. While the author did not err on the side of gratuitous depictions of the violence, he matter of factly reports the shootings and the suicides of the killers which makes it particularly gruesome in parts. I thought the writer did an excellent job of pulling out the facts of the situation as well as portraying the emotions and struggles of the victims, the families, the students, the staff and yes, the killers. The portrayal of Eric Harris is particularly disturbing to me and has made me much less sanguine about noises I hear in my own neighborhood in the wee hours of the morning. Somehow, firecrackers going of at 2:30 am, as happened this morning, don't seem so harmless anymore.

[Daynna]

That's too bad. I love the tv series.

[Faerie]

The History of the end of the world - Johnathan Kirsh - he's basically picking apart revelation, and speculating about the author, laying bare the culture of the day is an eye opener of note. Studying how many wars was initiated simply because of the book, and debunking the prophesies therein. Only about quarter way through, its tough reading for me as its quite in-debth. Enjoying it though.

[diana]

That's too bad. I love the tv series.Me too. I think the original author didn't have a great deal of talent yet, but he had a really cool idea. The writers of the series took that cool idea and, which a great deal of talent, too his characters and morphed them into the characters we love. They used his basic plot also, at least in the first book, but their treatment of it is far more believable and satisfying than the original author's.

It's a quick read. You might still want to skip through it for interest's sake--and because I'm just one person with one opinion which means almost nothing in the grand scheme of things.

d

[willynilly]

I am just starting Twilight, my friend mailed me the series.

[diana]

Le Morte D'Arthur, Vol 1 - Sir Thomas Mallory (edited by Janet Cowen, published 1969)

It's a bit like reading the KJV. Some of the words and expressions are archaic and take some getting used to, but the phrasing is poetic, IMO. And the stories are far more engaging. I'm fascinated with the uncomfortable marriage of Celtic myth and Christianity in Mallory's tales.

d

[Ray Moscow]

I just finished it, Daynna, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. It's different from the series, which we can say is loosely based upon the books, but I don't think it's better. If you do read it, I'll be interested in your reaction to it.

Now reading a brief overview of The Arthurian Tradition, by John Matthews.

d
I met John and Caitlan Matthews at a seminar a few years ago. Interesting people.

[Garrett]

Just finished Red Poppies by Alai. It's a novel about Tibet at the end of their chieftain way of life and the coming of the communists. Well written, cultural differences are presented the way you'd perhaps describe your trip to the grocer, and if the imagery and violence doesn't quite reach that of, for example, novels about Marco Polo that I've read, in a way it cements how rough and different things were not so long ago especially in the eastern world.

Good novel. If I encounter another book by Alai, I'll give it a chance.

[Preno]

Literary Lapses by Stephen Leacock. Short, but very funny.

[diana]

I just finished it, Daynna, and I'm not sure I'd recommend it. It's different from the series, which we can say is loosely based upon the books, but I don't think it's better. If you do read it, I'll be interested in your reaction to it.

Now reading a brief overview of The Arthurian Tradition, by John Matthews.

d
I met John and Caitlan Matthews at a seminar a few years ago. Interesting people.He sounded like it. Based on what I read, he's a scholar of Arthur lore and also into mysticism and seances to evoke the spirits of Arthur, etc. (speaking of "uncomfortable marriages").

d

[Oolon Colluphid]

... I'm now ploughing through Simon Schama's A History of Britain, and am up to Simon de Montfort and the rebellion against Henry III...
Part One (up to 1603) completed, and it was so good that I'm already up to Charles I in Part Two. I'm a bit bothered that with only 170-ish years being covered in 18 discs (compared to roughly 1800 in 13 CDs for Part One), this one might be in more depth and I might lose interest -- I liked the whistle-stop nature of the first book. But I expect Schama can pull it off.
Phew! Finally got through all 18 discs of Part 2. As I thought, it was indeed in a lot more depth. Mostly interesting, though in places too much -- I could have done without knowing the ins and outs of Christopher Wren's umpteen designs for the new St Paul's, for instance.

Needed a break, so am now doing Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant. Many a giggle so far; seems like our Tel was on good form for this one.

[Valheru]

Bomber Command by Max Hastings.

Brilliant book and gives excellent, in-depth insight into the real inside workings of the RAF and specifically their European bombing campaign during WWII.

[Sam Hunter]

I’m fascinated by the Special Operations Executive, a British organisation during the Second World War.
Anyway, I bought the book, ‘Mission Improbable: A salute to the RAF women of SOE in wartime France’ by Beryl E. Escott from the Amazon.co.uk Marketplace. I had to buy a secondhand copy because I think it’s out of print.
When I picked it up this morning to start reading it, I found some letters inside the front cover. They were to a woman named Dorothy, who I presume is the previous owner of the book, from the author. There is also one from another woman who I think was involved in research for Escott’s books.
Just something unusual that happened. I’m now interested to know who Dorothy is.

Don’t know what the book is like but I’ll let you know when I’ve read it.

[Valheru]

I love books that give you a true, and different, perspective on what is popularly written, and which debunk many popular myths.

For example, the idea that Window was the saving grace for the Lancs, Wimpies and Stirlings. It wasn't... maybe for the raid on Hamburg and for a few weeks afterward. The irony of it was that it only made the Luftwaffe hone their night fighter tactics to utter lethality, much more lethal than the flak belts ever were.

Or how effective, supposedly, the Trenchard plan or Pointblank were.

[muidiri]

For those of you who enjoy historical fiction of a scientific bent, I would highly recommend The Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson, comprised of Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World. With characters such as Newton, Leibniz, Boyle, Hooke, and Huygens, it's hard to go wrong. Not to mention all the major political figures that make appearances. They're all portrayed very accurately, and it's a really interesting look into one of the most important times in our scientific history. I recently finished reading them again.

For giggles, you can follow it up with Cryptonomicon, by the same author... which includes the descendants of the main characters during both WWII and modern times.



*Do you guys get amazon kick-backs if I link these?

[dug_down_deep]

Yeah, Amazon links would be cool.

In my reading list from Amazon, I'm wrapping up the 50's with Wise Blood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wise_Blood) by Flannery O'Connor.

[Matty]

Cosmos - Carl Sagan
Notes from a Big Country - Bill Bryson
Colour of Magic - Terry Pratchett

[Christina]

I started Silas Marner about 2 weeks ago but then I got all caught up with making plans for the trip and then I hurt my eye so I'm only about 50 pages into it. So far I love the fairytale style of his writing.

[Garnet]

It was pouring down rain here yesterday and it just so happened that I had picked up two books from the library earlier this week that I'd had on hold for a while.

The first book I read was The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite by David Kessler. Dr. Kessler is a former head of the FDA and is known for taking on the tobacco companies. In this book, he delves into the physiological and psychological causes of over eating and how the food industry plays upon our natural cravings for salt, fat and sugar. He coins the term "hyper conditioned overeating" to describe how some of us respond to food. In the end, his advice boils down to what I've always known: change your habits, eat less and exercise more. However, his explanations of the reasons for overeating make a lot of sense to me and might make it just a little easier for me to make those changes.

The second book I read was Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing by Arnie Bernstein. I saw a review of this book on my local library website and since I'd just recently read about Columbine, I picked it up. When I first moved to Michigan, the Columbine shootings were still a topic of conversation. Those conversations were usually peppered with oddly furtive references to the school bombing in Bath, Michigan.

The writer of this book did extensive research and interviewed the few remaining survivors of the bombings. Eighty years ago, a disgruntled member of the Bath school board, Andrew Kehoe, loaded the basement of the Bath consolidated school with hundreds of pounds of explosives and set them up to blow at 8:45 in the morning on the last day of school. Only part of the explosives detonated as planned and the result was that about half of the school was blown to bits, 36 children and 2 teachers were killed. If all the of explosives had gone off as planned, the entire school would have been leveled and it is highly likely that everyone inside would have been killed.

Prior to the bombs going off in the school, he killed his wife and blew up his own house and farm buildings. In one of his acts of cruelty, he wired together his horses legs to that they could not escape the barn and burned to death.

After the bombs went off in the school, Kehoe drove over to the school and called the superintendent over to his truck. He then set off an explosion in the truck that killed himself, the superintendent, another adult and another child.

A total of 58 people were injured but survived the day.

The author not only reported the facts he also relayed the emotional and visceral impacts as relayed to him through survivor interviews and other writings. He writes of the sounds, the smells and the sights. There are parts that are gruesome and there are some disturbing pictures. He describes people responding to the disaster in different ways. Some going immediately to help, pulling children and teachers out of the rubble, tending to victims and parents. Others, the author calls them tourists and ghouls, did not come to help but to watch and many of them, to cart off souvenirs. In one particularly gruesome aside, the author writes of an unknown man who went up to the exploded remains of Kehoe's truck, while children were still being pulled from the rubble, and took a piece of Kehoe's intestines that had ended up wrapped around the remains of the steering wheel. The tourists clogged up the roads in and out of town within hours of the event and for several weeks after wards.

While the author did not sensationalize the events, he did not sanitize them either. The book was both disturbing and compelling.

[munnki]

I'm currently reading - The Scramble for Africa - by Thomas Pakenham - nice trip through Africa's colonial period...

[Ray Moscow]

I started Richard Fortey's new fossil book: Fossils: The Key to the Past (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/about-us/news/2009/may/fossils-book-is-key-to-the-past.html)

I think it's basically an update of his earlier "fossils" book.

[Oolon Colluphid]

Needed a break, so am now doing Pratchett's The Fifth Elephant. Many a giggle so far; seems like our Tel was on good form for this one.

The Fifth Elephant was excellent, best Discworld since Maskerade IMO (I'm strictly reading them in publishing order, as I used to before I got about 15 behind!). So good I've moved straight on to The Truth.

[DMB]

I'm currently reading - The Scramble for Africa - by Thomas Pakenham - nice trip through Africa's colonial period...
I have that book. I can't say I've read it, I have skimmed and dipped into it. Pakenham has a propensity for producing what George III described as a "damned thick square book" (addressed to Edward Gibbon).

*Aside* strange how 18th-century royalty had a propensity for remarks like this. I think the full quotation is: "Another damned thick square book. Always scribble, scribble, scribble, Mr Gibbon!"
And Josef II's "Too many notes, my dear Mozart!"

[DMB]

I started Silas Marner about 2 weeks ago but then I got all caught up with making plans for the trip and then I hurt my eye so I'm only about 50 pages into it. So far I love the fairytale style of his writing.
<cough> her. (George Eliot was a pen name.)

[DMB]

Le Morte D'Arthur, Vol 1 - Sir Thomas Mallory (edited by Janet Cowen, published 1969)

It's a bit like reading the KJV. Some of the words and expressions are archaic and take some getting used to, but the phrasing is poetic, IMO. And the stories are far more engaging. I'm fascinated with the uncomfortable marriage of Celtic myth and Christianity in Mallory's tales.

d

One of my favourite books since I was a teenager.

[munnki]

I'm currently reading - The Scramble for Africa - by Thomas Pakenham - nice trip through Africa's colonial period...
I have that book. I can't say I've read it, I have skimmed and dipped into it. Pakenham has a propensity for producing what George III described as a "damned thick square book" (addressed to Edward Gibbon).

*Aside* strange how 18th-century royalty had a propensity for remarks like this. I think the full quotation is: "Another damned thick square book. Always scribble, scribble, scribble, Mr Gibbon!"
And Josef II's "Too many notes, my dear Mozart!"

Heh.. aye... however, in many parts it reads like Haggard's King Solomon's Mines... from English fops talking about 'the' Negro... to Leopold's interesting idea of altruism (I hadn't previously realised it demanded quite so much death and poverty)... and the general chicanery of upper class twits from Germany through France and England...but yes, 'tis big and chunky... although it's a novella compared to Gibbon...
;)

[Christina]

<cough> her. (George Eliot was a pen name.)

See, now you ruined all of Preno's fun. He's in charge of pointing out my spelling errors and other signs of illiteracy. The reason that I'm reading all of these classics now is because my education included a lot of computers and very few decent books, so you can expect many more signs of ignorance. Better late than never...