What are you reading?

[FloridaJudy]

I just finished the *Life of Pi*

Several people that I respect had recommended it to me. My instinct was to splutter "A cautionary tale about a teen stranded in a life-boat with a Bengal Tiger? Give me a break!"

I was wrong. This is a marvellous novel!

Huck Finn meets the Old Man and the Sea. Pi's take on Christianity is just as looney as mine, as just as down-right weird...

[Lizz612]

1. Reading list

"Black Holes & Time Warps Einstein's Outrageous Legacy" by Kip S. Thorne. I love science books, I'm just that much of a nerd.
Plus 4 textbooks for classes. I read "Life of Pi" a few weeks ago, that was a wonderful book, the island was so neat! So scary, but neat!

[LWolf]

2. I'm reading kids' novels

to refresh my memory while I write lesson plans to use with them.

Last night: Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. An old favorite, but I haven't read it in years. I met him while I was a librarian.

Tonight: Shiloh. Phyllis Naylor. A tear-jerker boy and dog story.

[einsteins stein]

5. Hatchet is a great story

I like the part where he learns how to catch "fool birds."

Each of my boys has read this book, then asked for a hatchet for their birthday :-)

[LWolf]

12. I really like all of Gary Paulsen's stories.

He was one of my boys' favorites a dozen years ago or so, and we read many of them!

[peacefreak]

41. I hope that

The Giver & Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry are on your list.

spelling edit

[LWolf]

72. They sure are!

As an ex-school librarian, I can tell you that my list is very long...

and rereading and sorting through them is delightful.

[blondeatlast]

47. Might be a little old for your classes, but try "Staying Fat for Sarah

Byrnes," even if just for pleasure. Hilarious and tragic--Chris Crutcher's very underappreciated best.

[LWolf]

91. I'll add it to my list!

Thanks. :hi:

[loudnclear]

3. The DeVinci Code

Great book! Watch out though, you may be burned at the stake for reading it and finding it plausible.

[Enraged_Ape]

67. Me too! It's great!

I can't put it down. I have it on my PDA so I read it just about everywhere.

I don't know how many of its premises are true, but it certainly certainly provides food for thought. I know I'll certainly be reading other books to fill in the blanks, and how many popular fiction stories today inspire one to do that?

[chefgirl]

93. The Da Vinci Code is wonderful.....

and 'Angels and Demons' is just as good, IMO.
I definitely suggest reading that one too.

Right now I'm in the middle of 'Digital Fortress' which is his only other book. Not quite as good as the other two but still a fun read.

-chef-

[FloridaJudy]

68. The DaVinci Code

Read it. It's delicious brain candy, but not all that challenging a work. I'm a sucker for puzzles; give me one of those logic problems (John lives in the green house. The woman with the lamborgini lives next door to the guy with the iguana), and I'll stay out of trouble for *hours*.

None of what it proposes is all that shocking to those of us who've read the Gnostic Gospels. We've always believed that Jesus was far more complicated than most of His followers gave him credit for!

And that Mary Magdalen was much, much more than a prostitute!

Given all that, I still spent the last third of the book screaming at the protagonists "Wake up you fools! The answer to the second ridde is freaking obvious!! Does it have to hit you on the head???"

Caring that much about what happens to characters in a lousy novel probably means that novel wasn't so lousy.

[Room101]

4. Culture of fear By. Barry glassner

:)

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. Great book!

I am currently reading "Defying Hitler" by Sebastian Haffner.

[einsteins stein]

7. Anything by James Patterson

I'm going through his Alex Cross series right now.

College reading takes up all my serious reading energy -philosophy and computer science texts are not exactly light reading.

When I read for pleasure, it's usually thrillers, crime fiction, legal crime thrillers, etc... you know...pulp.

[Lefty48197]

8. Just finished Hillary's book

Eric Alterman's "What Liberal Media?" is next.
After that? Franken? Sid Blumenthal?

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

9. An AP american history textbook

why thank you for asking, no it's not by choice either. :eyes:

[leftist_rebel1569]

21. (sigh) me too....

:(

[BurtWorm]

51. What subject in US History are you studying these days?

[IranianDemocrat]

79. Catcher in the Rye.

.

[prolesunited]

10. Recently finished

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood and working on Lies by Al Franken. Also picked up The Radical Reader, which is compendium of writings of leaders of American democratic movements, from Thomas Paine on the Revolution and Susan B. Anthony on suffrage to Malcom X on Black power and Bugliosi on the S.C. decision. That one is going to take a while to wade through, but it looks quite interesting.

[BurtWorm]

53. Bugliosi's book on SC decision is superb!

Everyone should read it. It's not as daunting as it seems at first, except you may have to stop every so often to scream at the top of your lungs.

[1monster]

11. I'm on the last chapters of LIES AND THE LYING LIARS WHO TELL THEM.

Then on to LIVING HISTORY.

[Wwagsthedog]

13. Benjamin Franklin, An American Life by Walter Isaacson

In many ways, Ben was more progressive than many in politics today. He was one of the first to take privatization in the reverse direction from where the retards currently in power are taking us. According to the author, Ben got several of his ideas from Cotton Mather (Salem witch trials) sermons and writings.

[BurtWorm]

55. Have you read American Aurora?

I recommend it to everyone. It's about Ben's grandson, Benjamin Bache, and his trials as editors of the early Republic's most radical newspaper. It's eye-opening.

[populistmom]

14. Just finished Franken's book

Now I'm busy reading an Anatomy & Physiology text since I am in school again.
I'll be reading for pleasure again in a couple of months.

[SmileyBoy]

28. I read Franken's book in TWO DAYS.

Seriously. I was friggin addicted to it. 250 pages one night, the rest of it the other night.

[populistmom]

73. Me too

Quick, but interesting read.

[thom1102]

94. I am going to Central...

Studying Biology, and Physics, working towards BSED in Physics (teaching degree for high school physics) Where are you going?

[HawkerHurricane]

15. What am I NOT reading right now...

I'm currently in the middle of a collection of Science Fiction short stories...
Fantasy short stories...
Big Lies by Joe Conason...
Callahaghan's Key by Spider Robinson...
Dungeons and Dragon's Dungeon Master's Guide (version 3.5)...
Champions 5th edition...
and the daily paper...

[BurtWorm]

56. How many books do you take with you when you're at sea?

And where do you keep them?

[HawkerHurricane]

65. As many as will fit

in my locker!!!

One area of my locker (call it 1/5th) I dedicate to 'entertainment':
Books, Magazines, Games...

[lynndew2]

75. If you want one of the best sci-fi reads ever

Robert Forwards "Dragons Egg" is beyond excellent!!

[curse10]

16. Wuthering Heights

re-reading it :-)

[Wickerman]

17. Echo of War

by Grant Blackwood. Suspense thriller in the lines of Clancy. Techno thriller? Good stuff, well researched, page turning.

[scarlet_owl]

18. I think I might re-read

the Harry Potter books. I just love them! I work with kids and it is nice to have a common ground. I'm going to read Al Franken's new book whenever the library decides it is going to order more copies. It looks like they only ordered one, and there is a waiting list.

[Ramsey]

19. Memoirs of Cleopatra

A fictional account, of course.

Also reading Seabiscuit, Lying Liars and Big Lies. Among other sundry Neil Gaiman short stories and food magazines.

[FloridaJudy]

77. Read Elizabeth Scarborough's *Channeling Cleopatra*?

Marvelous book! I fell in love with that ancient not-so-Egyptian queen.

Scarborough won both the Hugo and Nebula awards for her Science Fiction novel about a nurse in Viet Nam: *The Healer's War*. The fact that this novel is now out of print is the saddest commentary on literary and political standards in this country that I can think of.

[The Lone Liberal]

20. Three books

The Great Unraveling

Synchronicity, through the eyes of science, myth and the trickster

Stingray Shuffle

[realFedUp]

22. Charlie Wilson's War

This whole Afghanistan thingy went right past me
at the time.
Good book by George Crile.

Joe Conason's book was very detailed and good.

[mitchum]

23. Last weekend...

"It Wasn't Pretty, Folks, But Didn't We have Fun: Esquire in the Sixties"

"Man Ray: American Artist"

"The Pursuit of Oblivion: A Global History of Narcotics"

"Pentimento"

"Ladies Man"

[jburton]

24. Jim Hightower's latest

Thieves in High Places

typical Hightower so far...hellraisin' with a sense of humor

[devilgrrl]

25. The Comedians by Graham Greene

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140184945/qid=1063684714/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/104-0601772-4799944

I recently finished 'Big Lies' by Smokin' Joe Conason and 'The Exorcist' by William Peter Blatty. Also, I bought copies of "The Killer Inside Me' by Jim Thompson and 'Weapons of Mass Deception' by Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber. :-)

[Insider]

26. four agreements by don miguel ruiz

good stuff, reading each paragraph twice...

but it could have fit on the back of the cereal box IMHO. :-)

[SmileyBoy]

27. I'm chipping away at "Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich" by William Shirer.

At this moment, I'm doing about 50 pages or so before I go to bed every night. I'm up to page 175 or so, right when Hitler is trying to get the Chancellorship.

[hedgetrimmer]

29. treasury of childrens literature ...don't ask who from it is in the boys

sleeping den and i'd hate to wake the wild things, where ever they are...

[smallprint]

30. my lefty history books

Lockdown America by Christian Parenti. Kind of like Fast Food Nation but about prison.

Cartoon History of the Universe vol 3 by Larry Gonick. Not as good as #s 1 and 2, but I still love it.

Understanding Power, by Noam Chomsky. This is a compilation of talks and interviews-- I find myself going back to this over and over again-- it is such a gold mine. Plus, the footnotes are online!


Happy reading, everybody!
:hi:

[newyawker99]

57. Congrats smallprint!! 200 posts

:toast:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. I finished The DaVinci Code a couiple of days ago

and am currently working on The Number One Ladies' Detective Agency, which sounds corny, but is actually a lot of fun, being the story of an independent woman in Botswana who takes an inheritance and opens a detective agency. I enjoy reading mysteries that take place in other cultures, and this is an enjoyable example.

But both Discover and Scientific American came in the mail today, so they will be occupying my attention for a few days.

When it comes to political books, I have trouble knowing when to read them. I can't read them before bed, because they get me too angry, and then I can't sleep.

[leftofthedial]

32. your post, right now

But "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" by Christopher Moore (again)

and Hillary's book.

[greatauntoftriplets]

37. Say hi to Steve for me.

:wave:

[leftofthedial]

61. Steve is a trip

and Theo is such a perfect antihero.

This book is taking the blues off of me big time.


:toast:

[leftofthedial]

88. As long as I don't have to get out the weed whacker!

LOL

[Rowdyboy]

33. Going through a Doug Preston/Lincoln Childs phase...

Currently nearly through Relic (it stinks) and about to start Mount Dragon.

[laconicsax]

34. Just finished Brave New World

Currently reading 3 books on the clarinet, and will be starting Animal Farm when I'm done.

[Guaranteed]

35. Nice....

What'd you think of it in relation to our society today?

[prolesunited]

39. Re-read 1984

and you will have hit the dystopian trifecta.

[Kamika]

36. mirror universe trek books by shatner yeah baby

yeah

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

38. Two books

Breakfast of Champions (read it years ago and appreciate it more today)

Artemis Fowl (reading it with my nine-year-old daughter)

[MercutioATC]

40. Alexander Kent "Bolitho" series.

Not as good as O'Brian, but then nobody is (and I've read the 20-volume Aubrey/Maturin series 3 times in the past 2 years).

[Lindsey]

42. I'm loving "Excuse me Your Life is Waiting"..

and then on my list is the DaVinci Code and I have a friend who's raving about "Life of PI" so I might give it a try. ...so many books..so little time!

[MercutioATC]

49. I read really fast so my problem is getting books in a timely manner..

I usually buy from Amazon.com, but I've occasionally had to go with the local Borders because Amazon couldn't get it to me fast enough. I find that I have to "ration" new books or I runout way to quickly.

[buddhamama]

43. "The First Circle"

by Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

I am also reading his "One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich"

fitting for our times.

[FlashHarry]

44. Lies, and the Lying Liars that Tell Them

I'm a DUer! What did you expect?

[CO Liberal]

45. This Thread in the DU LOunge

:-)

[Interrobang]

46. Re-reading "The Joys of Hebrew" by Lewis Glinert

Also, I just finished rereading "Angry Candy" by Harlan Ellison.

I haven't had too much time for reading recently because I've been studying math to prep for the GRE which I write in a month.

[blondeatlast]

48. "Demon in the Freezer" When you work at a library, it's impossible

to keep up with everything you want to read. And I work in Collection Development--we get the book journals hot off the presses!

[BurtWorm]

50. Simultaneously reading

Big Lies, by Joe Conason

Bend Sinister, by Vladimir Nabokov

The Clash of Fundamentalisms, by Tariq Ali

The Red and the Blacklist, by Norma Barzman

And a while back I started and have not gotten around to finishing:

Omon Ra, by Victor Pelevin

Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen

The Quiet American, by Graham Greene.

[bif]

52. Rings of Saturn-W.G. Sebald

The writer of "Austerlitz". Not for everyone. Incredible books. Thoughtfu,l philosophical ramblings. If you like books that really make you think, Sebald is your guy. Unfortunately he didn't start writing untillate in life, wrote four brilliant books and was recently killed in a car accident. What a pity.

[northzax]

54. playboy, penthouse, road and track

you people are way too freakin serious about this listing of 'trohpy' books. so I'm reading internet porn, playboy for the pictures, forum for the articles and lowrider for the centerfold.

edited for egregious spelling mistakes. more coffee for me boss, cause I'm not as fucked up as I want to be...

[XNASA]

58. The Silmarillion and Franken's new book.

Talk about contrasting styles.

[hel]

59. a user's guide to the brain

by john ratey.

Very interesting book. I usually prefer fiction but this book has everything I ever wondered about how our brains work.

[mvd]

60. I've started What Liberal Media

Really have to catch up on the good political books.

[LynneSin]

62. Your post

:laugh:

Sorry, it just kinda amusing!

[TrogL]

63. Wittgenstein

Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus

http://www.kfs.org/~jonathan/witt/ten.html

[rucky]

64. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

it's a book by Dave Eggers. Forgot the title, tho.

[Aristus]

66. 'Don Quixote.'

I'm loving it, too. Great read.

[Crowdance]

69. The Scar by China Mieville

It's dark and twisted, and full of surprises. Wonderfully written, with inventive and fearless use of adjectives. His Perdido Street Station was also a great read.

[xJlM]

70. Y'all read all that intelligent stuff

I just finished re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy for the first time in about twenty-five years, and I'm working on A Sorrow In Our Heart - The Life Of Tecumseh at the present moment.

[ScreamingMeemie]

71. They Cage the Animals at Night.

Heartbreaking true story of life in an orphanage.

[jus_the_facts]

74. Darwin's Children......sequel to Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear.....

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:




DARWIN'S RADIO has won the prestigious Nebula award for best novel by the Science Fiction Writers of America.


DARWIN'S RADIO has won the ENDEAVOR award, a juried prize for the best novel of
speculative fiction!

DARWIN'S RADIO has also been honored with a
nomination for the Hugo Award!

[Capn Sunshine]

76. "Death and the Language of Happiness"

By John Straley. Set in Alaska. great characters.

"Disinherited" (re-reading) Dale Van Every-the story of the ripoff of the American Indian

which EVERY AP History student should commit to memory.....

[alfredo]

78. 'Shame' By Rushdie

Excellent book.

Franken is up next, and then on to points unknown.

[ForrestGump]

80. Just finished "Stone Monkey," by Jeffrey Deaver

I think. I mean, I think that's the dude's name. Good book. A ripping good yarn. Not a dull moment!

[Bossy Monkey]

81. Just finished rereading The Tailor of Panama

Cautiously recommended, as it's a tragic farce, never easy to pull off (for a writer) or to get through (for a reader). Checked out November 1916 from the library; not sure I can go through with this. I read all three volumes of The Gulag Archipelago, but 1,000 pages of history of a revolution since repudiated, part of a series never to be completed, is looking a trifle iffy to me.

[Blue-Jay]

82. I'm reading a few right now...

Just finished Franken's book
Just finished Drinking Midnight Wine by Simon Green (it was OK)
Reading Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje (beautifully written)
Reading Ilium by Dan Simmons (signed copy!)
Re-reading A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (recommended)
Re-reading the Mark Twain autobiography (recommended)

Does anyone else read a bunch of books at the same time? All my friends think I'm weird for doing that, but I'm constantly in the middle of anywhere from 3-6 books.

[mitchum]

84. Oooh, "Coming Through Slaughter" is a beautiful book...

I recommend it to everyone (even if they absolutely detested "The English Patient")

[Shanty Oilish]

83. Not Peace But A Sword

by Vincent Sheehan, 1939. European situation on the eve of WW2. I like eyewitness history.

[jab105]

85. The Great Unraveling./

Paul Krugman...

[dobak]

86. oh man...

Currently reading:

"Monsters of God" by David Quammen - A wonderful book about man-eating predators and their place in modern society and out past culture/literature.

"The Crimson Petal and the White" by Michael Faber

"The Glory of Their Times" by Lawrence Ritter - Oral history of baseball players from the 1900's thru the 1920's

Recent issues of "The Nation", "The Progressive", and "Harpers"

Recently finished:

"The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair

"Lies and ....." by Al Franken

"Big Lies" by Joe Conason

"The Killer Inside Me" by Jim Thompson

"Thomas Jefferson" by Richard Bernstein

"Old Man and the Sea" and "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway


-----

I work at a bookstore, so I tend to be a bit of a book freak

I read about 10-12 books a month

[Raenelle]

87. Al Franken and William Manchester, The Glory and the Dream

both very satisfying BTW.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

89. A signed first of The Maggot by Fowles

Gets better every time.

[oustemnow]

90. Just finished rereading Day of the Locust by Nathaniel West

Great Hollywood book, should be required reading in every scriptwriters' class, along with What Makes Sammy Run?

I need to pick up some new reading material; I'm thinking about Conason's latest.

[MissMillie]

92. Joe Conason

"Big Lies"

[SPQR]

95. Plutarch on Sparta

and The Ten Thousand, a novelization of Xenophon's Anabasis, which I just finished. Also Franken's book. This was supposed to be my "Year of Ancient Authors Only", but I got bogged down in Livy. (The Hannabalic War was great, but my god, the Macedonian Wars...) So I may have to make it my "Year-and-a-half of Ancient Authors Only", which is going to severely cut into my "Year of Dickens Chronologically". It's tough having a theme, let me tell you.

By the way, The Ten Thousand is excellent. It's a first novel by Michael Curtis Ford, and if you like historical novels, he's one to look out for. He's also written Gods and Legions, which I'm looking forward to reading as well.

[kskiska]

96. An Execution in the Family by Michael Rosenberg

son of "The Rosenbergs." He writes about his life after his parents' execution when he was 6. He was adopted by leftists, attended progressive schools and summer camps, was involved in SDS campus activities at Univ. of Michigan, and has created a foundation for children of imprisoned parents.