What are you reading the week of June 27, 2010?

[DUgosh]

Whitewash by Alex Kava

[Goldstein1984]

1. "Hayduke Lives!" by Edward Abbie

and "Interventions" by Noam Chomski

[panader0]

5. Abbey

I'm just finishing 'In The Heart Of The Sea', a book by Nathanial Philbrick about the wreck of the Essex, a whaling ship in 1817. The true life account was the inspiration for Melville's 'Moby-Dick'. It's not my usual reading, but quite interesting.

[Goldstein1984]

6. I like a diversion, too

My default escape is back to Shakespeare. I think he had everyone and everything pretty well figured out 400 years ago.

As a biologist and environmental engineer, my usual reading is related to those fields. I was just down in the Gulf of Mexico, and I got a firsthand look at what a joke the spill response is. I came back home and sent fat contributions to several radical environmental NGOs.

As the world appears to me to be disintegrating, I'm becoming more radical, and my reading is reflecting that.

I had an interesting experience: I was in Barnes & Noble, about to buy a small stack of books, and a friend who is one of the managers there pulled me aside and suggested that I should pass on my discount and pay cash for two of the books in my stack so that I leave no record of purchase. My son is in military intelligence, and I told him what had happened and what books were involved, and he just said, "You have a good friend, there."

[JitterbugPerfume]

9. Hayduke Lives is a good one!!

[sharp_stick]

2. Two books

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle and Team of Rivals by Doris Goodwin.

Both were available at really nice prices the last time I was at Costco.

[eyeofdelphi]

3. The Blind Assassin

by Margaret Atwood

[JitterbugPerfume]

10. A wonderful book!

Have you read any more of her work?

[Curmudgeoness]

4. Re-reading Zinn's "People's History of the US"

Kind of depressing to realize the government has always been this way, and always will be this way.

[AngryOldDem]

27. I just finished that, and my reaction was the same as yours.

Keep the foot on the neck of the lower classes, while letting them think they're actually getting something from the elite. Pretty good scam that's been going since 1492.

I was awed, however, at the number of "powerless" people who risked their lives to make things better, even when the odds were so against them.

[Dr. Strange]

7. The University by Bentley Little

[applegrove]

8. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson.

[JitterbugPerfume]

11. Still reading the Taylor Branch book about Clinton

Might start Tortilla Flat by my man John Steinbeck.

The Clinton Tapes is really good but I am slow to get into it for some reason.

[JitterbugPerfume]

13. changed my mind Travels With Charley

instead of Tortilla Flat

[fadedrose]

12. SHOOT TO THRILL by P. J. Tracy (eom)

[fadedrose]

23. Finished this one..

I liked all the parts with the detectives & cops. Monkeewrench (the company) is wearing a little thin on me. Too many suggestions of things that might, will or did happen without them saying so.

I liked the book and the characters (some new ones) but it's not up to the preceding books, imo.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. This week's purse book--Second Violin

a WWII-era thriller that takes place in London among interned "enemy aliens."

I finished The Remains of an Altar last night, so I still haven't decided what my new bedside book is.

[Onceuponalife]

15. One More Sunday by John D. MacDonald

This is my first MacDonald book. Anybody else read him and care to recommend any good ones? He seemed to have a long career. I know he wrote a mystery series but I'd rather just read his crime fiction...thx.

[abluelady]

16. The Library Came Through This Week

And I'm reading "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." I can't believe my relationship with Lisbeth is ending. :(

[closeupready]

17. Two things: "The Siege of Krishnapur" and "Brimstone"

The first is deep, and the second is sheer entertainment.

[fadedrose]

18. About BRIMSTONE....

I looked it up at:

http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/C_Authors/Child_Lincoln.html

and I see that there are 4 previous books in the series...would I do better to just get BRIMSTONE, or should I start with the first one, RELIC? I wonder if all the books are as enjoyable.

Thanks....

[closeupready]

19. You can read each of the Pendergast books separately - they are all standalone.

There ARE minor references to things in prior books, but you need not really understand what they mean. Heck, I'm reading all their books in order, but so much time has elapsed since the last Pendergast book I read that even I don't quite remember what these references pertain to. So, no, you don't need to read the books in any particular order.

As to which are enjoyable (up to Brimstone), their books are all rather formulaic, but I don't care - I really enjoy the techno/sci-fi/thriller stories - all action, little romance, fast-moving.

To rank the P/C books in personal favorite order:

1) Riptide
2) The Ice Limit
3) Cabinet of Curiosities
4) Thunderhead
5) Mount Dragon
6) Still Life with Crows
7) Relic
8) Reliquary

Riptide is not, IIRC, a Pendergast book, but a hell of a lot of fun. Surprised they didn't make a movie of it, it's that good. :) Enjoy.

By the way, each author has written a number of solo books, and they are also very enjoyable. I think writing as a duo results in slightly better work product, though.

[RayOfHope]

22. Have you read Fever Dream yet?

I finished it several weeks ago. I thought it was fairly different from the others. Lots of backstory.

[RayOfHope]

21. The Pendergast books are some of my favorite, EVER. I hope you enjoy them

as much as I have! Cabinet of Curiosities is creepy but so very good.

[hippywife]

20. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie simply because

I have no recall of ever reading it before. :)

I went to the library on my way home and picked up four books so I'm now loaded for bear. :rofl:

[hamerfan]

24. Re-reading The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

by Junot Dîaz.
After the first reading I wasn't even sure if I liked the book or not. Now I know I like it and the footnotes add some "fun Facts" of the history of the Dominican Republic.

[hippywife]

25. Green Darkness by Anya Seaton

as recommended by grasswire.

[LWolf]

26. I read this back in the 70s, when I was a teenager,

several times. It really whetted my appetite for English history, fiction and non-fiction.