What Are You Reading? vX.x

[ntndeacon]

I am reading All the Pretty Horse. Most of the way through and I have been enjoying it emmensely

[path12]

Dola, just finished Storm of Swords last night (third in the Fire & Ice series). I'll be picking up the fourth one this weekend for my next read.

Also finished Watchmen a couple weeks back.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by LoneStarGirl

I just got done reading The Shack and Nineteen Minutes both recommended by fellow teachers, both have changed my life in some way

Was The Shack good? I saw it was #1 on the downloadable audible books on iTunes a while back and thought about picking up the book. It sounds like an interesting premise.

[DeToxRox]

Reading three books right now ..

Issacs Storm by Erik Larson. It's a great story about Issac Cline, the Chief Weathermen in Galveston, TX when the Hurricane of 1900 hit that wiped out the entire town. Crazy stuff.

American Tabloid by James Ellroy. A great noir book about the Tabs in the 1950 and on. From the author of LA Confidential.

Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange. By the comedian, it's a funny/pretty sad book about Artie and all his problems/life.

[RendeR]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

Huh. I never put this series together with the Canterbury Tales. Along with TK, this series left me feeling like there should have been something more to it.

Books I've read in the last year and enjoyed:
Two books by Michael Chabon -- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and lay and The Yiddish Policeman's Union. This guy can really, really, really write.
Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge
Spook Country by William Gibson

As soon as they started talking about the pilgrimage and each person having a story I immediately thought Canterbury tales. Its not a bad adaptation of the style but as you say it seems to be leaving something....out.

I've also been told to just hang in there and read all three books and then it will all make sense. So hopefully the more I read the better I'll feel about it.

[bbor]

Originally Posted by path12

How is this? I loved The Terror.

It becomes very supernatural the same as the Terror.The supernatural eliment took away from the story though.Definatly not as good as the Terror.

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Currently/Intend To Read:

Blood Meridian or The Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

hxxp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679641041/ref=cm_rdp_product

So far only about 50 pages in. I have gone from being in awe of Cormac McCarthy's writing to being pissed at what I deem to be superfluous bullshit. Interesting.

And I haven't started these two yet:

City of Thieves by David Benioff

hxxp://www.amazon.com/City-Thieves-Novel-David-Benioff/dp/0452295297/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238115342&sr=8-1

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238115358&sr=8-1

Actually started City of Thieves a day after posting this. REALLY wanted to love the Cormac book but just couldn't get into it. I'll prolly pick up where I left on here in a couple days. But I finished City of Thieves last night. Really liked it. Really loved the interaction between the two main characters. The storyline was dark, but the book had a range of emotions with a few bright spots.

Will definitely be paying attention to David Benioff in the future.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by Scoobz0202

Will definitely be paying attention to David Benioff in the future.

I teach Benioff's 25'th Hour (which, I think, spawned a fairly decent film) but have been considering adding City of Thieves as an option as well. It is a really good and dark book and, like you, I do look forward to more books from him.

[Landshark44]

i finished in the last month-

odd thomas (dean Koontz)- good, nicely written, maybe a tad slow but i enjoyed the writing style

camel club (david baldaci)- good book, but i liked the winner better

the winner (david baldacci)- lottery is fixed, allowing some trailer park chick to win. liked this one a lot

without remorse (tom clancy)- thought this one was great, nothing like old tom clancy. gripping, very good book

lincoln lawyer (michael connelly)- this one was ok, i'm not remembering much about it, though

gone but not forgotten (phillip margolin)- i liked this one a bunch

[mrsimperless]

Currently in the middle of:

Art & Physics - Parallel Visions in Space, Time, and Light by Leonard Shlain

What is Life? by Erwin Schrodinger

Aladdin's Lamp - How Greek Science Came to Europe Through the Islamic World by John Freely

[Scoobz0202]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I teach Benioff's 25'th Hour (which, I think, spawned a fairly decent film) but have been considering adding City of Thieves as an option as well. It is a really good and dark book and, like you, I do look forward to more books from him.

I added the 25th Hour to my list of books I want to read in the future. From the reviews I read it seems like another good one.


Actually, it is a pretty good movie. Spike Lee directed, and it has Ed Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Rosario Dawson among others in it.

[Schmidty]

I'm reading "A Clash of Kings" right now, and I have to say (like I did in the other thread), I'm getting really tired of the style of writing. It gets too much like cheap, dirty romance novel at times. But I'm still liking it ok.

[PurdueBrad]

I just finished a few books in the last couple days.

Odd Man Out by Matt McCarthy- Interesting book about his time in the minors. A bit Ball-Fourish but not quite as satisfying. I do question him a bit as a narrator in that he seems to avoid all the petty events that everyone else gets involved in but overall, a very good read about an Ivy Leaguer trying to make it in baseball.

The Billion Dollar Game- Tells the story of everything surrounding the Super Bowl and how the league, the sponsors, etc. pull it off. Not a bad read, feels a bit shallow at times, but good.

The Hard Way by Lee Child- It's one of the Jack Reacher novels which, while sort of repetitive, I do enjoy. I thought this was one of the better ones though.

Too Fat to Fish- Just started this so I'll hold off any judgements thus far.

[Subby]

Watchmen - my first graphic novel - pretty incredible so far.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Subby

Watchmen - my first graphic novel - pretty incredible so far.

That was one of best reading experiences I've ever had. I read it in like a day and a half, which for me is very fast.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

That was one of best reading experiences I've ever had. I read in like a day and a half, which for me is very fast.

I agree. I think I've read it about a dozen times now since I first read it about 20 years ago. Still great and I still get something different out of it every time I read it.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I teach Benioff's 25'th Hour (which, I think, spawned a fairly decent film) but have been considering adding City of Thieves as an option as well. It is a really good and dark book and, like you, I do look forward to more books from him.

I'm a big fan of Benioff. He actually wrote the screenplay for 25th Hour, and has written many screenplays since. He also has a collection of short stories, When The Nines Roll Over, which is quite good as well.

[terpkristin]

Finished up both Wheel of Time Book 1 (The Eye of the World) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Now moved onto WoT Book 2 (The Great Hunt) and a Connor Grey book, Unquiet Dreams.

Still thinking about reading Dune with my online reading club but can't get it for the Kindle and doubt that when I go to the bookstore tomorrow I'll find it for less than $10. If I don't, I'll try to remember to grab the copy from my folks' house when I get back down there for Easter.

/tk

[Autumn]

Isn't the library an option?

Enjoy the Wheel of Time. It gets wonky at the end but the first set of books is a lot of fun.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Isn't the library an option?

Normally, maybe, though I have a tendency to forget I have library books out (I read a few books at a time and tend to lose track of which is where etc). However, right now I'm out of town on travel, so library is not an option.

Originally Posted by Autumn

Enjoy the Wheel of Time. It gets wonky at the end but the first set of books is a lot of fun.

I've actually read the series before, this was to be my attempt at a re-read through prior to the release of the final tome this fall. However, I just read that the final tome (A Memory of Light) will now be split into 3 books, one released this year, one next, and one the year after (tentative schedule). Quite frustrating, though now that I've decided to start this re-read, I'm committed to it and will hopefully remember enough come next fall to feel up to speed on the series. Brandon Sanderson: Splitting AMOL

/tk

[Autumn]

Oh thanks for that tidbit. I hadn't heard that. But it's almost so expected as to be a joke. That series has been stretching on for a decade now, of course they'd stretch it out more. I didn't think there was any way Jordan or Sanderson could fit all the plot points into one book anyway, but they seemed determined.

On the other point I find it interesting how few people it seems use libraries these days, even among readers.

[Lathum]

I read lots and lots of history textbooks.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Finished up both Wheel of Time Book 1 (The Eye of the World) and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Now moved onto WoT Book 2 (The Great Hunt) and a Connor Grey book, Unquiet Dreams.

Still thinking about reading Dune with my online reading club but can't get it for the Kindle and doubt that when I go to the bookstore tomorrow I'll find it for less than $10. If I don't, I'll try to remember to grab the copy from my folks' house when I get back down there for Easter.

/tk

Finished WoT Book 2 and moved onto 3 (The Dragon Reborn), again in audio. I found a copy of Dune for $8 so picked it up. Read the first 60 pages and it's boring the hell out of me. They've foreshadowed fairly well what's going to happen and I just don't care about the characters at all. I really want to read the book but I look at it on the nightstand and it's just unappealing. Whereas with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo I couldn't put it down, I just don't even want to pick up Dune. My audio subscription with Audible just gave me my 2 free monthly credits, I MAY be persuaded to pick up the audiobook but right now, just don't care.

Still also reading Unquiet Dreams, which isn't quite as enthralling to me as Unshapely Things was, but is still entertaining enough. I've started listening to Blink, too. I'm about halfway through. It's a book that I have to listen to in pieces, though, like take a break after each section.

/tk

[tarcone]

Started reading Iowa Baseball Confederacy by W.P. Kinsella again.

This book is fantastic. Great story that revolves around baseball. It isnt a baseball story though. I really enjoy this book. And since I grew up in the area of where the book takes place, I get to enjoy some of the landmarks and guess about where things take place. A great read and I highly recommend it.

[ntndeacon]

Just finished reading Matthew Pearl's second novel...The Poe Shadows. It takes place in Baltimore right after Poe's death. it is sort of a literary Mystery.

[Matthean]

During my vacation I polished off "The Watchmen," which comes across as a book that didn't blow me away after the initial read like it's reputation suggest, but will get better the more times I reread it. I also went through the first graphic novels of "Fables" and "Y: The Last Man." Both made me instantly want to grab all of the rest of the current graphic novels, but I don't want to drop that much money on them right now. "Y" probably gets the nod for the book that will keep me more interested, but not by much.

Working on "The Enemy Within" by Kris Lundgaard. It's basically a contemporary take on two old theological books on the subject of indwelling sin that were difficult to weed through and the author wanted to tackle the subject in a way to make it easier for others to digest.

[OldGiants]

Originally Posted by ntndeacon

Just finished reading Matthew Pearl's second novel...The Poe Shadows. It takes place in Baltimore right after Poe's death. it is sort of a literary Mystery.

I read that over the summer. My sister gave me that and the Dante Club. Poe was good, but I preferred Dante. I'd recommend both.

I'm finishing up Philip Kerr's latest (to appear in the US, that is) Bernie Gunther novel. The first three books take place in Nazi Germany, the fifth finds him fleeing to Argentina, and now he is in Peron's Argentina with former SS men. Great insights into Berlin and Germany during the war and how Argentina fits in. If you like Pearl, Kerr is more recent history with the macabre tints of the Dante book in particular all throughout.

Kerr also wrote a book about Isaac Newton that is equally tremendous in a Neal Stephenson kind of way.

[MrDNA]

Agreeing with Scoobz here on Blood Meridian - McCarthy writes pretty well, but there's no damn reason to read it. It all felt like tacked on BS with nothing to tack it on to.

I love the book Rowech is reading, Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea. If you have any interest in logic, math, history, blah, blah, blah, this is a must read. It's exactly what the title says and it's pretty amazing how controversial zero has been over the millenia.

I'm currently (re)reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. I was too young for it the first time I read it and got bogged down by the depressing subject matter (it's about how he had to raise his kid brother after both his parents died of cancer) - now I am able to enjoy the transcendent aspects and just bathe in the amazing language use.

[molson]

For the start of baseball season I've finally broken out Ball Four and Summer of '49. Should be good contrast.

[Peregrine]

I just finished reading Dave Cullen's "Columbine" - pretty much the final word on the massacre, and just a masterwork in terms of analyzing what happened before and after, and why. He explodes a lot of the myths that have built up around it, many based on early media reports or sloppy investigation that were never corrected.

[Calis]

Oddly enough I am in the process of re-reading Blood Meridian. I read it years ago and decided it was time to go through it again.

I have a much different opinion of it than others in the thread though. It's easily one of my favorite books. I wouldn't call it enjoyable, it's a brutal read and there's not really a likable character in the book or even a plot to speak of. It hit me pretty hard though, and I agree with the mentions I've seen that it's a successor to Moby Dick. It touches on the same themes, and in a way that kept me reading much more than Moby Dick did.

That said it's definitely not a book I'd recommend to people or expect many people to like. I'm interested now in the historical references McCarthy used which were supposedly pretty extensive and while some are considered unreliable I'd love to learn a little more. There's a book called I believe Notes on Blood Meridian that has a collection of essays about the book and the history that is pretty highly respected but when I first checked it was out of print and selling for around $400. Looks like it is back in print now though.


The book I read before that was Child of God also by McCarthy and it was another disturbing, dark read, and pretty quick. It was one of his earlier works. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but I'm not sure I gleamed much from it. Usually when I finish a McCarthy book I'm hit with some major theme or idea that gnaws away, but this one I didn't. Creepy though.

I'll probably continue with McCarthy. I have a friend who swears by Suttree, and seems to think he could spend the rest of his life just rereading that one and analyzing it.

[cthomer5000]

Just finished Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters.

I didn't love it, but at the same time I blew through it in a few longer-than-usual reading sessions and found myself wanting to continue. So I guess I liked it more than I think I do... if that makes sense.

I really enjoyed 'Rant' by him a few months back, which is what got me to read this in the first place.

Up now is Stephen King's The Eyes Of The Dragon.

I needed a couple works of fiction in a row after going quite a while reading nothing but non-fiction.

[cthomer5000]

Anyone else here use swaptree.com?

[Peregrine]

Hmm pretty neat site, I will have to check it out.

[3ric]

"Dreaming Void" by Peter F Hamilton, loved his previous series "Pandora's Star" and "Judas Unchained". Large scale space opera at its best.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Hmm pretty neat site, I will have to check it out.

Yeah, it's pretty nice if (like me) you're someone who couldn't care less about having a bookshelf to show off. It only costs you whatever it costs to ship your book during the trade.

It's a pretty reasonable medium between the restrictiveness of a library and the cost of buying all your own books.

[terpkristin]

Think I'm fighting a little bit of a bug, my stomach's been kind of sensitive and I've been tired. Thus, instead of going to the gym this morning, I finished Unquiet Dreams on my Kindle2 and the next book on the Kindle will be Daemon, a book I'm reading for the Sword and Laser online fantasy and sci-fi book club.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through WoT3, The Dragon Reborn, listening to it from Audible. Also, after giving up on the print version, I'm listening to the audio version of Dune, which many have assured me is a good way to "read" the book, as it's got different voice actors for the characters. We'll see, I guess...

/tk

[LoneStarGirl]

Originally Posted by Raiders Army

Was The Shack good? I saw it was #1 on the downloadable audible books on iTunes a while back and thought about picking up the book. It sounds like an interesting premise.

The Shack was a book that took me three weeks to read because I had to keep putting it down and thinking about my own personal relationship with God. After I read it the first time I had to read it again to make sure I picked up on all the important parts, but I would recommend it to anyone, and I will be reading it every 6 months or so.

[LoneStarGirl]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I just finished reading Dave Cullen's "Columbine" - pretty much the final word on the massacre, and just a masterwork in terms of analyzing what happened before and after, and why. He explodes a lot of the myths that have built up around it, many based on early media reports or sloppy investigation that were never corrected.

I would love to read that book, but my library doesn't have it.

[LoneStarGirl]

I just started the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare because a lot of teachers told me they were great. I am 3/4ths of the way done with the first book, City of Bones, and I am finding parts of it to be too comparable to Harry Potter. And since I am a huge Harry Potter book fan (at least I am a fan of the last 4 books in the series) I don't think the City of Bones is as good. But I can't seem to put the book down so I will probably read the whole series soon and decide then if i really enjoyed it or not.

[rowech]

I'm reading "Mere Christianity" by CS Lewis. Never read anything by him but the book is basically his logical arguments as to why he concluded Christianity is correct.

[BreizhManu]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

Just finished Chuck Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters.

I didn't love it, but at the same time I blew through it in a few longer-than-usual reading sessions and found myself wanting to continue. So I guess I liked it more than I think I do... if that makes sense.

That's how it works with Palahniuk, you rarely enjoy the book but you keep on reading
He really is a damn good writer.

Curretly reading Lullaby from him.

[Raiders Army]

Originally Posted by LoneStarGirl

The Shack was a book that took me three weeks to read because I had to keep putting it down and thinking about my own personal relationship with God. After I read it the first time I had to read it again to make sure I picked up on all the important parts, but I would recommend it to anyone, and I will be reading it every 6 months or so.

Ah thanks. I'll probably read it while I'm in El Paso. I downloaded Afraid on my Kindle for my first real "buy" since it was only $1.99. The Shack will be my first full-price buy.

[MacroGuru]

Let's see...

I finished in the past little bit

Hunt For Red October
Rollback
Talon of the Silver Hawk (Rereading from here up to the newest Feist)
King of Foxes

and I am just beginning, The Bourne Identity...

[the_meanstrosity]

I'm currently reading the Ender series from Orson Scott Card. It's a book I had always meant to read, but always had another book or series to read so I kept putting it off. So far I'm really enjoying it as I just recently finished Ender's Shadow.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

I'm currently reading the Ender series from Orson Scott Card. It's a book I had always meant to read, but always had another book or series to read so I kept putting it off. So far I'm really enjoying it as I just recently finished Ender's Shadow.

I only read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow (and loved both). I'd be really interested in your opinions of the rest of the books. They always seemed a little...too deep for me, from the outside (never tried to read any of them).

/tk

[the_meanstrosity]

The books after Ender's Game and before Ender's Shadow were solid. Not nearly as good as Ender's Game, but it's tough to top that book. I liked Speaker of the Dead probably more than Xenocide and Speaker of the Mind. I'm going to start reading Shadow of the Hegemon today sometime. I'll let you know what I think after I've read it.

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I only read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow (and loved both). I'd be really interested in your opinions of the rest of the books. They always seemed a little...too deep for me, from the outside (never tried to read any of them).

/tk

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by the_meanstrosity

The books after Ender's Game and before Ender's Shadow were solid. Not nearly as good as Ender's Game, but it's tough to top that book. I liked Speaker of the Dead probably more than Xenocide and Speaker of the Mind. I'm going to start reading Shadow of the Hegemon today sometime. I'll let you know what I think after I've read it.

Ender in Exile is his newest one, it goes a little deeper than what I am used to him going, but it was one of his better Ender books.

[Scoobz0202]

I have the Ender series on my list of to-read, but it will probably be awhile till I get to them.

Currently reading:

The Painter From Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein - Only about 60 pages in but so far so good.

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Painter-Shanghai-Jennifer-Cody-Epstein/dp/0393335313/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240252568&sr=8-1

On the bedside table to be read after the previous book:

A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss - I read his recent book, The Whiskey Rebels, and thought it was an outstanding book and left me wanting to read more of David Liss.

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Conspiracy-Paper-Ballantine-Readers-Circle/dp/0804119120/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240252590&sr=8-1

The Kings of New York by Michael Weinreb - I don't even play Chess, but thought the book looked interesting. Hopefully it's good...

hxxp://www.amazon.com/Kings-New-York-ebook/dp/B000R4LH7Y/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240252601&sr=8-8

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

Think I'm fighting a little bit of a bug, my stomach's been kind of sensitive and I've been tired. Thus, instead of going to the gym this morning, I finished Unquiet Dreams on my Kindle2 and the next book on the Kindle will be Daemon, a book I'm reading for the Sword and Laser online fantasy and sci-fi book club.

I'm about 2/3 of the way through WoT3, The Dragon Reborn, listening to it from Audible. Also, after giving up on the print version, I'm listening to the audio version of Dune, which many have assured me is a good way to "read" the book, as it's got different voice actors for the characters. We'll see, I guess...

/tk

Well, I'm still reading Daemon. It's a light read and entertaining enough, but lately at night I've been finding myself playing Fairway Solitaire or Final Fantasy VI (I'm re-playing my favorite FF game) while watching TV instead of reading.

Finished up The Dragon Reborn, I think right before I left for round 2 in Vernon. I'm ~1/2 way through The Shadow Rising now, the 4th in the Wheel of Time series.

I gave up on Dune. I could NOT get into it. It felt really slow to me, and I found myself saying what was going to happen next literally 30 minutes before the narrarator finally got to the action of it happening. Even with voice actors, I didn't care about the characters. I feel like this is a loss, as I've heard it's quite good, but 3 tries and I'm out.

I finished listening to Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. It was pretty good, if repetitive. His examples were interesting, but he really just skimmed the surface of his point, using mulitple examples to prove the same thing.

Next up might be Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA. It sounds interesting, but it's the type of book that can be fairly biased. I probably will get it in audio, as it was a recommendation awhile back from Dvorak on This Week in Tech. He also recommended Confessions of an Economic Hitman, which I enjoyed, and I do like the narrarator on the audio version, so we'll see.

Whatever I read next, it's going to be something far away from the fantasy or sci-fi genres. Until I finish my re-read of WoT, I'm probably going to avoid most high fantasy, as I find it pretty easy to get my storylines confused. I think at this point I'm leaning towards non-fiction, triller, or beach fiction (you know, stuff like Confessions of a Shopaholic, things you get to not tax your brain too much while at the beach).

/tk