What are you reading?

[Khephra]

I'm skipping back and forth between several books right now.

"Close Encounters with the Religious Right" by Boston
"Leo Strauss and the American Right" by Drury
"George Washington" by Irving
"Angels and Demons" by Brown
"The Gnostic Gospells" by Pagels
"Spiritual Warfare" by Diamond
"Thieves in High Places" by Hightower
"Lullaby" by Palahniuk (I lost my copy a while back and just got a new one so I can finish it.)

[ibegurpard]

1. God you make me feel like such a rube.

I'm reading "Blood and Gold" by Ann Rice...started it about 3 months ago and haven't picked it back up for several months. I just don't read as much as I used to. :(

[Khephra]

3. Don't feel bad

I haven't been able to read or concentrate in general for 6-9 months until just recently. I finally got my second wind and now am just trying to catch up, I guess. That's one reason I can't stick to one book right now.

[frustrated_lefty]

6. Funny.

Ten years ago to now, I read damned near every book written by Jung, Kundera, Kierkegaard, Sartre. I tore into feminist works, starting with Browning, moving on to Daly.

Too much ideology rots the brain, you have to have something else occasionally. Guy Gavriel Kay entertains me these days, he writes good books.

[Khephra]

7. Try George R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series

Like Kay, Martin's fantasy tends to be a bit more...mature in content and storytelling that the average "fat fantasy" works.

[ibegurpard]

8. You know my problem with fantasy?

I like it as a genre, generally, but it's really hard to find a good fantasy that doesn't span like 1200 volumes. I can't make that kind of commitment to a story. I liked Neil Gaiman's "Neverwhere" for that reason. Creative and different and it was over in one book.

[frustrated_lefty]

10. You might like

Gaiman's "American Gods."In paperback.

[ibegurpard]

12. Already read it, thanks!

It was interesting but I preferred "Neverwhere."

[Khephra]

14. Gaiman has several short novels out

"Coraline" is the most recent, iirc.

[Khephra]

11. I agree with you in principle

But Martin and Kay are two of few writers that make it worth going through multiple books. Martin's series is half-way done with the 4rth book of 6 coming out "soon". What makes Martin worth it is the political scheming and rich family history of the characters that we get in bits here and there. It's filled to the brim with secrets revelations about the past of the characters, and you have to really pay attention to get what's happened. The books don't spoonfeed you. One of the things that has made the series so popular is that people are trying to put together all the secrets in the backstory on the net. It makes for some real interesting reading and theorizing.

Martin also isn't afraid to kill off main characters, unlike many fantasy books. It's very brutal at times. I knew I was in for something different when one of the main characters died within the first quarter of book one.

[hyphenate]

37. You might like Connie Willis

Great SF author. I cried a lot at "The Doomsday Book" which is a long one, but it's complete in one book.

As far as longer, epic stuff, Kay is good, but I love Tad Williams's work.

As for what I'm reading right now, Norton's Anthology of English Ghost Stories. I love the old ghost stories--they made the evil and the supernatural more scary because you had to use your imagination more. M.R. James, in particular, is a fantastic old English ghost story author.

[frustrated_lefty]

16. I missed this at first,

thank you, Khephra, I'll give him a shot.

[whirlygigspin]

5. A Political History of Religion

or the Disenchantment of the World by Marcel Gauchet...its hard on the brain! slog slog...hoping it leads to some sort of Gestalt.

Just finished Stupid White Men, fast read, two days.
(I bought it finally, fun read)

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. An interesting small book,

called "Those Devils in Baggy Pants". It is written by a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne who served during World War II. A personal memoir, quite vividly written, recommended to me by a fellow DUer who served in Vietnam with the 82nd.

[La_Serpiente]

4. My books

I just finished



Memnoch the Devil

Now, I am reading



The Vampire Aramand

[frustrated_lefty]

9. Looking at what you have read

try anything by Joseph Campbell.

His "Masks of Gods" series will take at least a few days, if not months. Balance it with something else, though, he'll make your head melt. Really.

[Khephra]

13. "Masks of God" as well as "Hero of a Thousand Faces"

are classics in my household.

:-)

[Richardo]

15. The Singular Mark Twain by Fred Kaplan

About 1/3rd of the way through - he just got back from his trip to the Middle East. Weird to think of Mark Twain in Beirut, Damascus, Jerusalem, etc. Then when you see that he went to places in today's news like Genin and Nablus, it's even weirder.

Good book! :thumbsup:

[Booberdawg]

17. I'm half way through "The Clinton Wars" by Sidney Blumenthal

right now. It's a heavy read, and a good book.

800 pages - so I have a ways to go yet.

[HuckleB]

41. Just ordered that one.

I hope to get through it over the holidays.

[UrbScotty]

18. "LIES and the Lying Liars who Tell Them"

also Joined at the Heart and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy

[trof]

19. "JARHEAD' - Anthony Swofford

A marine's chronicle of the Gulf War (Desert Storm) and other battles.
Surprising, to say the least.

[JitterbugPerfume]

20. I am in my winter slump

can not get interested in anything The last book I read was LowCountry Boil It is about drug smuggeling in the south A good fast paced read That was a couple of weeks ago though <sigh> Toni Morrisons new book might be good Ann Rice is always good for some light fantasy <sigh> Jitterbug is in a slump

[HuckleB]

35. Sorry to hear that.

"My Name Is Aram" by William Saroyan has helped me through such periods many times.

Take care.

[HuckleB]

29. Jarhead is a great read.

It should be required reading of every high school senior thinking about joining the military. I'm not against joining the military, but I think those kids should be given the full gamut of information about what they're getting into.

[trof]

30. True, Huck.

Forewarned is forearmed.

[RandomKoolzip]

21. Martin Poppoff's Guide to Heavy Metal of the Seventies (sorry.)

Yes, I'm a record collecting geek...

But I'm also reading "THe LIes of George Bush" by David Corn, and "Burning Down the House," about the MOVE bombing in 1985.

[Bertha Venation]

22. I alternate between non-fiction & fluff.

Now it's fluff; a murder mystery by Rita Mae Brown, Outfoxed. Next is Susan MacDougall, The Woman Who Wouldn't Talk -- and after that, if Kathy's done with it, Bushwhacked! by Molly Ivins.

[everythingsxen]

23. A this moment I am reading..

this.

[Catfish]

24. On my bedside table

Finishing "The Sweet Dove Died" by Barbara Pym. After rereading Jane Austen last summer, I thought I'd read the so-called "twentieth century Jane Austen". They are quiet, interesting tales. I'm about 1/3 through Krugman's "The Great Unraveling" and will start E.M. Forster's "Maurice" when I finish Pym. I'm not an anglophile but I do have a strong taste for British authors.

[Nikia]

25. Just bought Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser

He is the author of Fast Food Nation. It should be an interesting read.

[Khephra]

26. I just ordered "Fast Food Nation"

I can't wait to get my hands on it myself.

[Melsky]

50. It's a great book

I don't eat fast food anymore, that's for sure! I will have to see if I can get reefer madness. I didn't know he had a new one out.

[Swede]

27. I read the headlines,and have my people give the gist of what's up.

Just kidding! I'm reading Mountains of Black Glass by Tad Williams,and am half way through The Two Towers by Tolkien.

[mitchum]

28. just finished rereading Wallace Terry's "Bloods: An Oral History...

of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans" I read it when it came out years ago and thought it was fantastic (rivals Michael Herr's "Dispatches") It's even better than I remembered.

[hussar]

31. The feeling good handbook

and it's damn good

[HuckleB]

32. I highly recommend "THE OATH: A Surgeon Under Fire" by Khassan Baiev

It's an incredibly intense and well-done book about Baiev's experiences as a Chechnyan surgeon during the two Russian-Chechnyan wars of the 1990s. That atrocities that surrounded him must be witnessed by those of us who can spread word of what war is truly like. He was chased from his homeland because both the Russians and Chechnyans wanted to kill him for treating the wounded regardless of what side they fought for. Of course, most of the time he treated innocent civilians caught in the middle of it all. He also discusses the process that Putin used to curry Bush to ignore Russian atrocities by labeling the Chechnyans as terrorists. I can't recommend a book more than this one. It's a must read, in my opinion.

Here's the link to it on Amazon for a more thorough review:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0802714048/qid=1070666228//ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i0_xgl14/102-1607923-8939304?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

I'm starting Ian McEwan's "Atonement" tomorrow. I just finished Primo Levi's "Surviving Aucshwitiz / If This is A Man" and "The Drowned and the Saved" back to back.

[Sting]

33. I'm reading...

The Stone Cold Truth by Stone Cold Steve Austin

It's a good book, I tell you what.

[Bozola]

34. Old, but pertinant history

Romans against the Celts - Jimenez
The Gallic War - Caesar

[mobuto]

44. Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est.

I'm reading Marcus Aurelius' Medidations at the moment, myself, and hating it despite its brilliance. Marcus Aurelius is far too much the fatalist, and lacks the self-deterministic can-do optimism of earlier Rome.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

36. Well

Just finished Orwell's 1984 for school...
The pile of half read, in process books on my desk includes:

The Twentieth Wife- Indu Sundaresan (haven't started yet)
The Bush Dyslexicon- Mark Crispin Miller
War on Iraq- Will Pitt
Behind Sad Eyes (Story of George Harrison)- Marc Shapiro
The Scarlet Letter- Nathanial Hawthorne (haven't started yet)
Roots- Alex Haley
Living History- Hillary Rodham Clinton (haven't started yet)

on edit: signed copy of Mellenial Manifesto by Scott Beale

[HuckleB]

38. I just received "Poltically Inspired: Fiction For Our Time" ...

I just received "Poltically Inspired: Fiction For Our Time," edited by Stephen Elliott -- for my birthday.

I went to a reading for this book a while back at Powell's. The stories I've read or heard are beautifully done. I suspect that many folks around here would enjoy this book.

[Johnyawl]

39. DU at the moment

[Ramsey]

40. Journey to Avalon

On my bedside table in various degrees of readership:

Journey to Avalon by Barber & Pykitt
This is a great book about the true historical origins of King Arthur who was a post-Roman Dark Ages Silurian king of South Wales. It debunks a lot of the fairy tale Camelot notions.

Memoirs of Cleopatra by George
I think this was was on my list the last time we did one of these threads, but it's about 1400 pages long! It is a fictional (obviously) first person account of Cleopatra's life. Ceasar was just murdered and Cleopatra returned to Alexandria to await the new leader of Rome.

The Mabinogion Tetralogy by Walton
These are the myths and legends of Wales, including tales of King Arthur and the Song of Rhiannon. This book is also about 1500 pages long, but it has lots of little short tales, so you can pick it up a nd read a few at a time.

Big Lies by Joe Conason
Great read!

Seabicuit by Hillenbrand
This is a great book for a horse racing fan! Trying to finish it before the movie comes out on DVD.

A Cook's Tour by Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain is a chef in New York who wrote a great memoir about the behind the scenes going's on in the restaurant biz. This book chronicles his travels around the world seeking out ever stranger and grosser things to eat.

Art and Physics by Shlain
This book is just amazing. It discusses the links, conscious and unconscious between artists and scientists of different eras. Really fascinating.

[mlawson]

42. I'm proofing the novel I've written. A publisher wants the complete

manuscript!!!

A qualified :bounce: here. There is no deal, yet.

[A-Schwarzenegger]

55. Good luck, mlawson!!!

[SiobhanClancy]

43. Jimmy Carter's novel "Hornet's Nest"

It's about the American Revolution. I just started it,so don't know how good it is.
Also reading "The Kennedys:America's Emerald Kings"/Maier
and "The Teammates" by David Halberstam (about Ted Williams,Johnny Pesy,and Dom DiMaggio)

[populistmom]

45. My Anatomy and Physiology lab text

Fun reading will come after Dec. 22nd (except for the time I'm wasting here). ;)

[HuckleB]

46. What you studying to be?

[populistmom]

47. I'll be going to nursing school

Hopefully, next Fall. I had enough previous credits, so mainly I just needed a few more sciences and I should be able to do the clinical alone without any added coursework.

[HuckleB]

49. Right on!

Welcome to nursing! I should be finishing my masters in March, and hopefully I'll be a fully certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner come June.

Good luck!

Where you going to school?

[buddhamama]

48. "The Hidden Room"

by Corrie ten Boom. Her and her family were part of the 'underground' system in Holland that helped Jews escape during the German occupation. The Hidden Room refers to a secret room where they had to hide in case of discovery. Eventually,Corrie's entire family was arrested and sent to prison camps.

good book

[Melsky]

51. The Death of the West by Patrick J. Buchanan

It's a library book, I didn't buy it.

It's even worse than I thought it would be. He claims that white Christians are the indiginous population of America. White people are not breeding fast enough, and we will be taken over by the third world. It's the liberals fault.

I don't usually read right wing books, but this was on the New Books shelf at the library and I was curious. I wonder if it was bulk purchased and donated to the library. They must do something with all those bulk purchase books.

[45th Med]

52. Children of the Matrix - David Icke

Just started it. Looking to get all the Zacharia Sitchin books this weekend.

[AlFrankenFan]

53. Lots at once

"Why Not Me" by Al Franken (for the millionth time)
"Winning Back America" by Howard Dean
"When You Ride Alone You Ride With bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us To Help Fight the War on Terrorism" by Bill Maher
"Pudd'nhead Wilson" by Mark Twain

[southerngirlwriter]

54. just bought the new novel by

Anne-Marie MacDonald. I loved her debut, "Fall On Your Knees."

[Hubert Flottz]

56. Ask Ashcroft!

He sees you when you're sleeping!
He knows when you're awake!
He knows if you've been good or bad!
And he sings and handles snakes!(Sundays)

[jpgray]

57. The Poetic Edda

A good collection of Norse mythological and didactic poetry.

[chefgirl]

58. At the moment

Still working my way through 'The Great Unraveling' by Paul Krugman. Great read, but I get so pissed off, I have to put it aside from time to time.
Just finished 'Timeline' by Michael Crichton. A pretty good read, but its not hard to see how they probably butchered it to make the movie.
Today I'm going to start 'The Surgeon' by Tess Gerritsen. The story of a serial killer who performs 'surgery' on his live victims. Promises to be pretty grisly. :scared:

-chef-