Book nerds, check in. What are you reading these days?

[jane_pippin]

I'm about halfway through "A Fractured Mind" by Robert Oxnam. He was just on 60 minutes last week--maybe you saw him. The book is his memoir of life with Multiple Personality Disorder. It's a compelling story and a quick read.

What about you? What words are you burning into your retinas? (Besides the ones on DU of course).

[Richardo]

1. Guns, Germs and Steel

A little late, I know. But still enjoying it...

[jane_pippin]

4. I'm late on that too, apparently. I've heard the title before, but that's

about it. What's it all about?

[Richardo]

8. Why people is different areas of the world developed at different rates

...and ultimately, how the conquerors came to be the conquerors and not vice versa. He bases it a lot on geography in addition to culture and the development of agriculture and technology. Also, why (for example) European disease wiped out the hunter-gather societies, but not the other way 'round: Diseases in the New World did not decimate the Europeans.

I'm only about 60 pages in, but fascinating so far.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0393317552.01._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_AA240_SH20_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

Jared Diamond's follow up is "Collapse" about why civilizations fall.

[jane_pippin]

17. That sounds great.

Thanks for the description. I'm adding it to my things to read list right now.

[Xipe Totec]

83. Do you recommend it?

I mean as a serious source for research into the XVI century and the conquest of the New World.

I am very interested in the subject and I'm reading "Who Gave Pinta to the Santa Maria?" by Robert S. Desowitz.

[JitterbugPerfume]

93. For what it's worth

I recommend it ---anything by Jared Diamond is wonderful

[TheCentepedeShoes]

95. Got a copy

about 6 weeks ago. It's a great book. Took it to work to read at lunch, had fun watching people's eyes glaze over when I told them what it was about. Most of them just take it from the bible ('splain it to me, Lucygod).

[deadparrot]

100. I got that as a history book award

last spring. :D

Still haven't gotten around to reading it yet, though. It's four hours away at home.

[Ptah]

116. That book was an eyeopener for me.

I felt it gave a good explaination of some
questions I had about the human development.

:thumbsup:

[Kathryn STone]

130. Philip Roth Plot Against America

funny because I am also reading Ghost Light by Frank Rich (the one who does the killer essays for the New York Times)

[terrya]

2. Just started "The Age of Anxiety" by Haynes Johnson.

I checked it out from the library.

It's a fresh (and timely look) at the rise of Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism. Should be an interesting read.

[Richardo]

13. More interesting than, say, 'Pride and Prejudice'?

:hide:

[terrya]

25. Your standard trigonometry textbook is more interesting than that.

God, Jane Austen is such a boring, overrated writer. :puke:

[tigereye]

56. uh, no

Don't agree with ya, there, Terry. She is capable of being rather a sharp social critic, for the time. ;)

Haynes Johnson is really cool.

[khashka]

105. Guns at dawn, terrya!

And to think I once respected you!

Jane Austen understood human relationships. She was also the most vicious, sarcastic bitch this planet has had the grace to see.


You....you....you... I haven't the words.


Shame, terrya, shame.

Khash.

[jane_pippin]

15. Have you read "Naming Names" yet?

I haven't yet, but it's a classic about McCarthyism, blacklisting, and all that.


http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0809001837/qid=1128700575/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-7317985-9499820?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

[Purrfessor]

3. Here are mine...They are all books of short stories.

Welding with Children by Tim Gautreaux
These People Are Us by George Singleton
New Stories from the South 2005: The Year's Best, edited by Shannon Ravenel

[jane_pippin]

21. I love short stories. Have you read "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere"

by Z.Z. Packer? She's an amazing writer. Her style is simple, and uncomplicated but she talks about complicated messy things in her stories. Very beautiful writing.

[Purrfessor]

72. I've read a bit of Z.Z.'s writing.....

but not this particular book. I'll check it out.

[chaska]

85. Read 'Winter Count' by Barry Holstun Lopez. Everyone that I....

recommend it to is astonished. It is extraordinary.

[WCGreen]

5. Fannie Flagg's newest...

A brief History of Everything...
A little book I picked up about the domes of Venice....

[cedahlia]

6. Willa Cather's "My Antonia"

Just started that one. It's been on my "want to read" list for a long time!

And I'm also reading a young adult book called "The Witch's Boy." I work in the children's department of a public library, so I have to keep up with children's lit. (which I throroughly enjoy doing!)

[Sequoia]

23. I've read a lot of novels but My Antonia is VERY GREAT!

It's one of those books I wished I hadn't read so I could enjoy it the first time. You know the feeling, you walk into a book store and see the classics and think, geez I've read all those already, sigh.

[Zomby Woof]

28. "My Antonia" is a good one!

:thumbsup: Very moving and written with great affection.

[chaska]

84. I read that in college and loved it. Made my non-reader mother tackle it..

It reminded me so much of her upbringing.

[khashka]

106. My Antonia almost got me expelled from high school

I took it so seriously I went to war....

Khash.

[underpants]

7. The LAst True Story I will ever tell

I haven't actually started reading it yet. I think I will this weekend.

[Richardo]

9. It's great. About as objective a tale as you'll find on the war.

Brutally honest. Crawford does not sugar coat anything. :thumbsup:

[underpants]

14. Cool.

Any other suggestions?

I have My Life sitting on a bookshelf but I don't know if I want to jump into that yet.

Non fiction please.

[Richardo]

16. "Three Nights in August" if you're into baseball much.

I'm a semi-casual baseball fan, and this account of a three game series between the Cubs and Cards in 2003 was great. Tony LaRussa (lawyer, I did not know that) thinks about 4-5 innings ahead. Amazing, with great insights into the 'inside game' and how managers manage. (or manage to manage :))

[Richardo]

18. Also, "Blink" and "Freakonomics"

A great tandem.

[underpants]

29. I had been wondering what the DU impression of Freakanomics was

ABC WNT has a friday feature with them. I was curious.

I saw that when I bought the "The Last True Story...".

[Richardo]

40. I liked it a lot - and now with the Bennet flap I'm sure it will get more

...visibility.

It's a very entertaining book about how incentives affect behavior in unexpected ways.

Example: A day care center starts 'fining' parents who pick up kids late $1 for every 15 minutes late. Result: late pickups increase dramatically. Why? $4 per hour for child care is a pretty good deal. Day care center increases fine to a more exhorbitant amount ($50 or something) and the desired behavior happens: late pickups go down.

[underpants]

51. That's funny

amazing how quickly people do the math whether they mean to or not.

Okay I think I will check it out.

[tigereye]

58. social psychologists would have that answer

It is amazing how people gauge risk and how far their attitudes are willing to change.


sounds interesting.

[DrZeeLit]

113. OMG...we're channeling each other....I'm reading all those same books...

Freakonomics, The Last True Story, and Blink!

Wow.....

[jane_pippin]

19. Here are a few:

"The Problem of the Media" by Robert McChesney--about communication politics of the 21st century. It's fantastic. He gives a great history of the press, how we got the press we have, legislative decisions that affected our media, why we expect certain things from the media, why we don't get those things, and what we can do about it. I highly recommend it. And it's a pretty quick read, except as you read it you'll stop and yell "See, I KNEW I wasn't nuts!" so that will slow it down a bit.

Also:

Kurt Vonnegut's newest, "A Man Without A Country."

Here's another memoir that's on my list but I haven't read yet. My friend told me about it. It's called "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," by Nick Flynn. Here's a link and a description:

"Nick Flynn met his father for the third time when he was twenty-seven years old, working as a caseworker in a homeless shelter in Boston. As a teenager he'd received letters from this stranger, a self-proclaimed poet and con man doing time in federal prison for bank robbery. Nick, his own life precariously unsettled, was living alternately in a ramshackle boat and in a warehouse that was once a strip joint. In bold, dazzling prose, Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (a phrase Flynn senior uses to describe his life on the streets) tells the story of two lives and the trajectory that led Nick and his father into that homeless shelter, onto those streets, and finally to each other."http://www.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall04/005139.htm

[Richardo]

47. One more: 1776

I was surprised - the scope is limited to the military campaigns at Boston, New York and Trenton. I learned a lot and David McCullough is such a good writer.

The parallels of the 18th century 'insurgency vs occupier' to the 21st century version are inescapable.

[underpants]

63. Ah yes much like another piece of literature

RED DAWN!!!

WOLVERINES!!!!!!!

I would assume it was literature or written down in some way ....

Seriously the high schoolers in that movie were referred to as "insurgents" by the Soviet and Cuban occupiers.

[WCGreen]

77. I just picked up his book about the Panama Canal....

Between two oceans....

[Richardo]

67. Last one: "Assassination Vacation" by Sarah Vowell

See my capsule review here:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=209&topic_id=1612

Excellent.

[jane_pippin]

69. Ohh! Seconded!

She's fantastic! I loved her other books. I just read The Partly Cloudy Patriot, and can't wait to pick up this latest book.

[khashka]

107. Haven t read that yet.....

But really looking forward to it. Does it live up to the hype? I hope so.

Khash.

[DanCa]

10. Several Books infront of me right now

Jon Gidnick's rock n blues harmonica for beginners
Star Trek DS9 Unity by SD Perry my mon wed fri read.
Eberron Crimonson Tailson by Adrian Cole Tuesday Thursday and Sat
Sundays my weekly comics

[hobo_baggins]

11. Im behind, but just started reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

is it any good?

[AllegroRondo]

27. Awesome. But I like anything by Heinlein.

he does tend to get a little preachy about libertarian ideas near the end, though.

[tigereye]

60. funny how you don't realize that when you are in high school

which is when I was obsessed with Heinlein.

[khashka]

108. It's excellent

I first read it as a child.... but many times since.
It formed my political philosophy, my sexual philosophy, my understanding of life....

But then I am one of Heinlein's Children.... And maybe it's hard for a "son" to break away from "daddy".

For good or bad, Bob made me the man I am today. "Mstress" is a good start......

Khash.

[blackcatpgh]

12. I'm waiting for this to come out (in November):

"Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board" (Pub: Feral House)

[RebelOne]

20. 2 books by Dean Koontz

Reading "Velocity" at home and "The Taking" while at the office.

[Guy Fawkes]

91. The Taking sucked. Hard.

You'll hate it when you're done.

[Mizmoon]

22. The History of Eugenics by Daniel Kevles

and all I can say so far is, "DAMN!"

[Sequoia]

24. 13 Seconds: A Look Back at the Kent State Shootings

by Phillip Caputo.

I read his Rumor of War years ago and it gave me nightmares. So when I saw this book at the library I snatched it up pronto.

[Zomby Woof]

26. Library of America's "American Revolution"

A compilation of essays, journals, letters, and documents of the American Revolutionary period, presented in chronological order.

[jane_pippin]

35. That sounds like fun...

Does it have tracts and things like that in it? Is it famous people or regular people or a bit of both?

[Zomby Woof]

45. It's a great mix of both

From the letters of ordinary folk to mid-level functionaries, to the giants like Ben Franklin and Tom Paine.

I like reading the journals of the British officers. Their tone is so wonderfully snotty, and we're "The Rebel Army". :D I expected us to be called "insurgents" at one point.

It is quite illuminating to read their perspective. They saw it as the troublemaking of a few, which could have been fixed easily - as if it were just a big misunderstanding. :-)

[jane_pippin]

53. Thanks for the description!

I can just hear "the rebel army" tone now. One more good read to track down.

[Zomby Woof]

57. You're welcome!

Link to the publisher is here: http://www.loa.org

Non-profit organization, high-quality sewn binding, acid-free paper, cloth covers... for a book fetishist like me, it's one of my very favorite publishers!

[Lilyhoney]

30. I am 1/2 way thru with this one... Snow Crash

Snow Crash
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


The science fiction novel Snow Crash (1992), written by Neal Stephenson, follows in the footsteps of the cyberpunk novels by such authors as William Gibson and Rudy Rucker, though Stephenson breaks away from the typical "techno punk" stories by embellishing this story with a heavy dose of satire and black humor.

Snow Crash (Stephenson's third novel) rocketed to the top of the fiction best-seller charts upon its release and established Stephenson as a major science fiction writer for the 1990s.

Like many postmodern novels, Snow Crash has a unique style and a chaotic structure which many readers find difficult to follow. It contains many arcane references to geography, politics, anthropology, philosophy, linguistics, history, and computer science, which may inspire readers to explore these topics further, or at least consult relevant reference works. The novel explores themes of reality, imagination, thought, perception, and the violent and physical nature of humanity, in the context of a socially-constructed (virtual) reality imposed on a political-economic system in the throes of radical transition.


Background

The story takes place in a semi-America of the future, where corporatization, franchising, and the economy in general have spun wildly out of control. Snow Crash depicts the absence of a central powerful state; in its place, corporations have taken over the traditional roles of government, including dispute resolution and national defense. The United States has lost most of its territory in the wake of an economic collapse; the residual remains of the federal government are weak and inefficient and are used by Stephenson for comic relief.

Much of the territory lost by the government has been carved up into a huge number of sovereign enclaves, each run by its own big business franchise (such as "Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong" or the various residential burbclaves). This arrangement bears a similarity to anarcho-capitalism, a theme Stephenson carries over to his next novel The Diamond Age. Hyperinflation has devalued the dollar to the extent that trillion dollar bills, Ed Meeses, are little regarded and the quadrillion dollar note, a Gipper, is the standard 'small' bill. For large transactions, people resort to alternative, non-hyperinflated currencies like yen or "Kongbucks" (the official currency of Mr. Lee's Greater Hong Kong).

The Metaverse, Stephenson's successor to the Internet, permeates ruling-class activities, and constitutes Stephenson's vision of how a virtual reality-based Internet might evolve in the near future. Although there are public-access Metaverse terminals in Reality, using them carries a social stigma among Metaverse denizens, in part because of the low visual quality of the avatars (the Metaverse representation of a user). In the Metaverse, status is a function of two things: access to restricted environments (such as the Black Sun, an exclusive Metaverse club) and technical acumen (often demonstrated by the sophistication of one's avatar).

Examples of Metaverse-like "worlds" in reality are There, Second Life, The Palace, Uru, and Active Worlds, which is based entirely on Snow Crash.

[CBGLuthier]

54. Magnificent novel

Just one of the best of its genre.

And without a doubt the best opening pages ever written. :-)

[Lilyhoney]

73. I am enjoying it.

As a matter of fact, I am about to go sit in the sun and read it some more rite now.

Glad you liked it.

[LSK]

31. reading Al Franken - Rush Limbaugh is a big fat liar

[trackfan]

32. Italy Illuminated by Biondo Flavio

and A History of Italy and Her Invaders, or The Barbarian Invasions of the Roman Empire by Thomas Hodgkin

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

33. "Call of Cthulu" by Lovecraft

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

34. "Alan Turing: The Enigma" by Andrew Hodges (nt)

[aePrime]

36. Ooh, how is it?

Or is that not decidable?

Ha! I crack myself up. But really, how is it?

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

41. Quite good when it gets to the nerdy stuff.

A bit boring when it gets too "human" (spending a long time on Turing's personal life and feelings).

And the part about his proersecution and death is just too sad -- I haven't touched it. :(

[Burma Jones]

37. Livy's "The Early History of Rome"

I took two years of Latin in College and hadn't revisited this great book in a long time.

I'm reading it in English.....

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

38. Dupe (nt)

[bikebloke]

39. 1491 by Charles C. Mann

Recent discoveries that have revised Native-Americana pre-Columbus scenario. Interesting. Just finished it last night. Then cracked open a popcorn read for the long weekend, The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks.

[GrpCaptMandrake]

42. The Aubrey/Maturin Series

by Patrick O'Brian.

Needed a break from the politics. So I instead immersed myself in a 16 volume series that turns on the war and politics of the early nineteenth century. Go figure.

Kinda like the Hardy Boys for grown-ups, with the added bonus of sailing ships and broadsides and laudanum addiction.

[GalleryGod]

43. NAMATH

A great read; for those who don't know who he is or what he did, that's ok,too.

[auburngrad82]

44. Che, the Life, Death and Afterlife of a Revolutionary

edited by Joseph Hart.

[chaska]

86. Is it good?

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

46. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

thanks to a recommendation on DU. Loving it!

[woofless]

48. I happened upon "Shantaram" in the local library

and enjoyed it as much as anything I have read in years.


woof

[CBGLuthier]

49. Muddle Earth

By the late John Brunner. Was the last thing published before his death. pretty good and funny so far, about a man unfrozen in the future to find all the attempts to recreate the past earth to be pretty badly done.

As an example they have Sherlock Holmes and the Biker Street Irregulars.

A movie director is attempting to make the film "Gone with the Birth of a Kane by Northwest" in Hollyrood.

And no, that isn't a typo.

Pretty good so far should be finsihing it this afternoon. :-)

[noonwitch]

50. The City Of Falling Angels by John Berendt

It took him 10 years, but he has finally written another book to follow "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil".

This book is about Venice, Italy, and about the burning of the opera house there in the 90s. I'm about 80 pages into it. Like his first book, he moved to the city and got to know various residents, comments on things he sees, and chose to go there in the off-season, when the tourists aren't there.

[jane_pippin]

55. Ooh, that just came out about a week or so ago, right?

I didn't think I'd like the other book but I ended up loving it.
So far so good with the new one? Or is it too early to tell?

[Left Is Write]

52. I am reading MHC's "The Second Time Around", and I'm re-reading

"Valley Of The Dolls."

[chaska]

59. Just finished 'Fire in the Belly' by Sam Keen....

Every man should read this book. Women would enjoy it too.

I just started 'The Last American Man' by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is fascinating. Again, this is one men should not miss.

Review:

"By the time Eustace Conway was seven years old, he could throw a knife accurately enough to nail a chipmunk to a tree." That was all it took to pull me into Conway's life. Here is a man who makes his clothes out of buckskin, sleeps in a tent for 17 years, and sets records for cross-country horse rides. Gilbert tells us about his accomplishments, but also tells us about the man: brilliant but unsuccessful with relationships, from his father to his many female friends. Conway's desire to spread the word about a simpler life has actually cost him the simpler life he once led. His endless phone calls and public speaking addresses now eat up the time he could be spending on the trail or in the field, but he feels the sacrifice is worth it if he can save us from ourselves.

As soon as I finished The Last American Man, I wanted to know more and was surfing the web to find out more about Turtle Island, Eustace Conway, and Elizabeth Gilbert. If you are a fan of adventure non-fiction (Jon Krakauer, for instance), give this book a try.

[tigereye]

61. lessee

Belle Ruin, the new Martha Grimes

work related books about Asperger's Disorder, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce, by Judith Wallerstein

poetry by Frank O'Hara and Anna Akhmatova

The Cerebral Code by William H. Calvin, a neurophysiologist
(fascinating and pretty accessible book how he believes "thoughts" are developed in a neurological context.)

[Parrcrow]

62. Shake Hands with the Devil by Romeo Dallaire

about the Rwandan genocide. Dallaire was the commander of the UN Peacekeeping force there at that time. The book is a severe indictment of western indifference to the slaughter in Africa.

[Mrs. Venation]

64. Until I Find You

by John Irving. He is one of my favorite authors.

[jandrok]

65. I'm reading "The Captured", by Scott Zesch.

It documents Indian abductions in the central texas Hill Country during the mid-to-latter part of the 1800's. Fascinating stuff. Most of the captives were young, and some were integrated into the tribes to live as Indians. The book does a gteat job of dissecting the captivity narrative in an attempt to understand more about these people and what they experienced. Most of the captives were recovered, but they had varying degrees of difficulty regaining their footing in white society.

[Politically_Wrong]

66. 'Your Call Is Important To Us"

"The truth about bullshit"
Good read...

[grace0418]

68. Just bought the new McSweeney's. Just finished Middlesex, Created

in Darkness by Troubled Americans, and The Pharmacist's Mate. I tend to read a few books at once. I really enjoyed all three of the books I just finished. Haven't started McSweeney's yet but I will this weekend.

[Der Blaue Engel]

70. Choir Boy by my friend Charlie Anders

It's about a boy who starts taking female hormones to keep his pre-adolescent singing voice.

http://www.charlieanders.com/

[LostinVA]

71. Sundown Towns -- Lowen's newest one

[skygazer]

74. "Son of a Witch"

A sequel to "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire. I'm almost done with it and really enjoying it. I don't read a lot of fiction but I loved Wicked and was so happy to see he'd done a sequel.

[Omphaloskepsis]

75. I'm reading two books right now.

Agile Web Development with Rails and Freakonomics.

[Fox Mulder]

76. For the Halloween season, I'm reading Interview With the Vampire.

:)

[leftofthedial]

78. Tularosa

Michael McGarity

[Melissa G]

128. Have read all the McGarrity books..

Just finished the latest tho I can't recall the title...
enjoyed it as always.. a reliably good read.
mg

[ignatius 2]

79. Chain of Command..Seymour Hersh

n/t

[Pithlet]

80. I just finished Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

I loved it.

[GreenPartyVoter]

81. Reading as many STTNG books as I can in a row. :^)

[NMMNG]

82. I'm halfway through "Little Altars Everywhere" by Rebecca Wells

And perhaps 1/3 of the way through "Stop the Next War Now" by the co-founders of CodePink Women For Peace. This is an excellent book I recommend for all.

[khashka]

87. As of right now.....

Martin Day's "The Sleep Of Reason" - we've emailed each other since his first book was trashed by reviewers. This one is spectacular. His writing is confident and compassionate. I can barely bear to turn the page..... I don't want it to end.

"The Dead Men Diaries" - I'm liking it, but slightly disappointed. Still, I was seriously jonesing for more Benny stories. And now I got 'em.

"Sexual Landscapes" by James Weinrich - if you can find it, read it. (No, it's not porn!) It's about evolutionary biology and all the variations in human sexuality. It's very chatty and easy reading and eye-opening.


"Gender Outlaw" by Kate Bornstein. I read this at least once every year. She's wise, she's funny and I think she's right. It's about transgenderism, homophobia, learning how to be a woman in a man's world. Doesn't sound like your kinda thing? Think again. Everyone should read it.

Starhawk's "Dreaming The Dark" - there is not much I can say about it. Just read it.


Khash.

P.S. Has anyone read "Biological Exuberance" - I'm interested, but I'll have to special order it and as of today I have one dollar and four cents... so, well... But if it's as good as I've heard I'll sell blood or something.

[hippywife]

88. Just finished

White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son by Tim Wise.

Starting The Power of Nonviolence:Writings by Advocates of Peace with introduction by Howard Zinn.

[BlueIris]

89. "Cheap Psychological Tricks," by Dr. Perry Buffington.

It's actually meant as humor, but has some good, pragmatic, well, psychological tricks you can play on employers, coworkers, spouses, S.O.s and friends. Since achievement, personability and versatile job skills aren't getting me anywhere, I'm going to try manipulation, obviation and subterfuge.

[Guy Fawkes]

90. Just got Pratchette's "Thud!", I want "Everything is Illuminated."

Oh, and I just finished "Me talk pretty one day" by David Sedaris. It was great. Realy great.

[jane_pippin]

115. I think the Everything is Illuminated author has a new one out now

or at least soon.

"Me Talk Pretty One Day" is the funniest book I've ever read. The only book that's made me laugh out loud every time I've read it. You should pick up "Holidays on Ice" because it has the story of his stint as an elf for Santa at Macy's. It's hilarious.

[JitterbugPerfume]

92. Sweet Thursday by J Stienbeck

and Ducks Flying Backwards by Tom Robbins

[AccessGranted]

94. Dean Koontz

He's about all I've been reading lately....

[Chovexani]

96. She Captains

She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea, by Joan Druett. It's a great read so far, about swashbuckling women in maritime history, both real and fictional, from pirate queens to women who posed as men to fight in the navy. It was a bargain bin purchase at Barnes and Noble but it's a very fun and interesting book. :)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684856913/104-5528662-3597545?%5Fencoding=UTF8&s=books&v=glance

[Merrick]

97. "Ham On Rye" - Bukowski

Three word review: Simple. Depraved. Good.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

98. Life of Pi. Awesome

[Xavi]

99. Heavier than Heaven

I just finished it for the second time. Its a biography on Kurt Cobain. The end makes me cry.

[deadparrot]

101. "The Politics of Truth," by Joe Wilson.

In celebration of recent events. :)

[jonnyblitz]

102. 2 books: "a walk on the wild side" by nelson algren and

"the last true story i'll ever tell, an accidental soldier's account of the war in iraq" by john crawford. both good books. I always read two at once.

[jonnyblitz]

103. dupe-delete

[skoppa]

104. Right now I'm reading George R. R. Martin's...

..."A Song of Ice and Fire" series. I also just finished Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. BOTH OF THESE ARE GOOD SEIRES!

[yellowdogintexas]

111. I just finished Volume II of ASOF, getting ready to start #3

should be finished with it by the time Vol 4 is released, just a few more weeks, YAY This is actually my re read of the first three books.

It has been a long long wait!!!!!!!!!



I will be getting the 11th Jordan book eventually; I was so pissed off with Twilight of the Gods that I swore off Jordan forever, but I must relent. I have too much time invested in those damn books not to see them through to the end. One hopes for more than glacial speed in the next volume.

Funny, Martin doesn't cover time really fast but he makes so much happen in that little stretch of time that you feel like you have run a race when you finish one of his books.

Try Robin Hobb's books next after you finish Martin. Which volume are you on?

[skoppa]

120. I am about half way throuhg the volume III..

...and I can't wait for the fourth to come out. A friend of mine told me that the end of the 3rd is really good and surprising, so I can't wait.


I agree with you on the Jordan books, he needs to make things happen. This series is my 2 time read because I've been waiting for the 11th to come out.

Thanks for the recommendation on Robin Hobb's books because I don't know what to read next.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

109. Just fiction right now, from the library -

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason (halfway through), Shoulder the Sky by Anne Perry, and Bad Men by John Connolly(haven't started either yet). Gotta get busy, all due by next Friday. Can renew online or just hop across the street - branch library is across the road from where I work - I'm in heaven!!

[Z_I_Peevey]

110. Just fininshed The Genius Factory

by David Plotz. And I'm about halfway through Wild Ducks Flying Backwards by Tom Robbins.

A Fractured Mind sounds interesting. I'll have to seek that one out.

[Hardrada]

112. The Destruction of the European Jews

by Raul Hilberg. A three volume set. I'm finishing vol. 1. I'm a fast reader so should be through with all fairly soon. I have always wondered how that actually happened.

[DrZeeLit]

114. Freddy and Fredericka by Mark Helprin

I'm lovin' it....

[Bullwinkle925]

117. Here are mine..............

Just completed:

"A Million Little Pieces" - James Frey (BEFORE Oprah selected it for her current book club I might add!!)

"Desert Queen"- Janet Wallach

"Back When We Were Grownups" - Anne Tyler


Now started:

"Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire" - J.K.Rowling (Yes, I'm behind).

"A Game of Thrones" - George R. R. Martin

[Ptah]

118. A Montana series:

Gabriel Du Pre Mysteries by Peter Bowen
are enjoyable.

I read every one that I can find.


:thumbsup:

[Melissa G]

129. Me too! Big Fan of that series!!! Wish there were more! n/t

[Shine]

119. I just finished reading a most heart-warming book called....

Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories That Heal, by Rachel Naomi Remen, MD.

I recommend this book HIGHLY. It's a collection of true stories that draws on the concept of "kitchen table wisdom"-- the human tradition of shared experience that shows us life in all its power and mystery and reminds us that the things we cannot measure may be the things that ultimately sustain and enrich our lives. It address all the spiritual issues: suffering, meaning, love, faith, and miracles in the language and absolute authority of our own life experience.

Great, great book. I laughed, I cried. Truly beautiful.

Shine

[Blue_In_AK]

121. I'm finishing up The Bush Dyslexicon

which was given to me as a prize by LynnSynne for coming the furthest to the DC march. :)

[jane_pippin]

124. I just saw that the other day but didn't get it. Is it good? n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

125. It's fascinating...

I enjoyed it very much.

[tenshi816]

122. Enron : Anatomy of Greed - The Unshredded Truth from an Enron Insider

Can you imagine how short this thread would be on FR?

[Nikia]

123. I just finished Prague by Arthur Philips

It is a novel set in Budapest.

[nothometoday]

126. Rise and fall of the third reich

again.

[BreweryYardRat]

127. Re-reading.

David Weber and John Ringo's "March to the Sea."

And Plato's Republic, but it's for class, so it doesn't really count.

[tarkus]

131. "Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James

Though I prefer his later masterpieces, his earlier works are significantly easier to read but still incredibly well written. I guess I have to read "Portrait..." if I want to consider myself a true Jamesian.

[Maestro]

132. Two books

Gung Ho! about creating a great working environment for organizations and Mis Siete Putasby Gabriel García Márquez. I am not sure of the English translation. I think it would be something like My Six Whores.

[Scoots]

133. Disposable People

By Kevin Bales. Read it last summer, and I highly recommend it. Haven't read much else since classes started up again.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

134. Just finished Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

Basically, it's a sci-fi story about corporate employees who take the surnames of the companies they work for. They all become involved in a corporate conspiracy involving murder as a marketing tool. I don't want to go into too much detail because it might give the plot away, but it's a really good read.

[clyrc]

135. Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange by Susanna Clarke

It's a novel about magic, magicians, and fairies in 19th century England, and it is lots of fun. When I was back in the states this summer I got some horror novels to read during October, but I read them all in September and now I've had to move on.

[Chomskyite]

136. Me

Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis
Generation Kill by Evan Wright
Imperial Ambitions by Noam Chomsky
John by Cynthia Lennon