What are you reading now?

I didn't see any book threads, go ahead and close if I missed an existing one.

So reading people: What are you reading now, or what are the last few books you've read? Would you recommend them? I'm always looking for new things to read so go ahead and recommend us books you've read in the past as well.

Currently reading:

Buddhism Plain and Simple, Stephen Hagan
The World As Will and Representation, Schopenhauer

Last few books I've read:

The Story of B, Daniel Quinn
The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser

Bought and unread yet:

Memoirs of a Geisha
The World's Religions
The DaVinci Code (now that the bandwagoning is over everyone says this is crap so I'm holding out...didn't see the movie either)

I don't always read so much pseudointellectual faggoty stuff, I'm just feeling introspective lately. I would definitely recommend The Story of B, as well as Daniel Quinn's other books - one of my favorite authors. I also highly recommend The Elegant Universe. Skip Fast Food Nation, parts were interesting but most of it was very dull.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Last book I read was Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind. After I read it and before I picked up the next book in the series (off my desk, I got Faith and the following book last Christmas) I went to amazon.com and read some of the reviews for it and the ones following. It seems he gets more and more preachy and has less and less of the storytelling that put his books on bestseller lists. So I'm hesitant to continue reading because I don't want the series I've been enjoying to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Other things I've been reading off and on:
Nothing in This Book Is True, but It's Exactly How Things Are by Bob Frissell
Everything You Know Is Wrong
The Alphabet of Manliness
Mythology and You
The Odyssey

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Right now I'm reading The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway and Song of Susannah (Dark Tower VI) by Stephen King. Both of them humgonous hard-cover editions from the library, too. I had to keep switching hands when I was carrying them home.

The Hemingway stories are incredible, my favorites so far are "The Short Happy Life of Francis McComber" on the longer side and "Hills Like White Elephants" on the shorter side. What I really love is how at the beginning they may not make much sense or seem to have a point, but by the end it becomes very clear. This is probably a naive realization on my part, but I haven't read many short stories until recently.

Song of Susannah is, as all the Dark Tower books have been for me, a real page-turner. It's somewhat thick, but I've blasted through more than half of it in only a few days. Probably the most notable thing about the book, though, is that King has the balls to use himself as a character in it. It's fantastically self-indulgent, but I think he pulled it off really well, and it's been appropriately built up to.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well I haven't actually received the book yet but I will be reading "A Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood I think the author is for my English class over the summer. I've already read the first few chapters in class and it seems interesting enough. I started reading Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" on holiday last year but I never did finish it, I read loads when i'm on holiday but when i'm at home I just never get round to reading.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Actually, there's already a book thread here.

Originally Posted by pisscart deluxe

The DaVinci Code (now that the bandwagoning is over everyone says this is crap so I'm holding out...didn't see the movie either)

Good. Don't see the movie. Just read the book. It's not the most historically accurate piece ever written, but it sure is entertaining.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Sian

Well I haven't actually received the book yet but I will be reading "A Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Excellent! I just gave that book to my daughter to take with her on a trip to Texas. Just yesterday, in fact.

Oh, and pissy...Memoirs of a Geisha is unbelievable.

I just finished reading In Her Shoes, which is about as unpretentious as it gets. Not the sort of book I usually read, but it was surprisingly good.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Memoirs of a Geisha was fantastic! It's too bad that the film is a piece of shit.

I'm currently reading a bunch of comic books...

FELIPE NO

Right now, I'm slowly moving through The Fabric of Our Cosmos by Brian Greene. Fjordor sent it to me and it's fascinating stuff. (Fjordor's not a bad guy, folks.)


I'm in the middle of Ethics for a New Millenium by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well.

In lighter fare, I've been meaning to finish off Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett so that I can begin Dreamland Piranha, by Dale Brown. Moon sent me that last book in the Box Exchange project, so I had ought to at least give it a shot.

A short while ago, at Skexis's recommendation, I read Odd Thomas, by Dean Koontz, and was surprisingly pleased.

I've also been thinking of hitting up the library for Haven (I don't know who wrote it) and some Machiavelli theory.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm currently binging on science fiction, hence having finished both The Mote In God's Eye and The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I just started reading Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds last night, which is proving much better than it's predecessor in the series.

Once done with this, I'll likely start reading some more books on social commentary or politics that I've been putting off.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Crash

In lighter fare, I've been meaning to finish off Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett

That's one of my favorite Discworld novels; of course, all the ones with DEATH are my favorites .

I've really slacked off with my reading. It embarasses me, because I have a backlog of about 175 novels to slog through at some point in my life. And to make things worse, I'm re-reading one I've already read! Damn me.

- Faust:: Johann von Goethe
Yeah, I've read it before. But this is a 'new' (not really -- it's an old used book) translation in verse that supposedly retains most of the rhythm and meaning of the original German. And it has nifty illustrations by Harry Clarke, in a handsome cloth binding. It's a 'good' copy, which is why I bought it to supplant my crappy paperback.

- The Devil in Music:: Kate Ross
Bought it for the romantic mystery plot with a strong emphasis on opera. I didn't know it was part of a 'series' (you know, the kind of series that mystery books have, where it doesn't necessarily follow a set order), but it's too late now. I've only read a little bit, so I don't really have an opinion yet.

-So Long and Thanks for all the Fish:: Douglas Adams
Do I really need to say anything about it? I mean, it's Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's witty and brilliant. Yeah. Only have one more chapter on this one. It's unfortunate that I hear Neil Hannon singing every single time I think of the title.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I'm currently reading Shadowmancer by Graham Taylor. It's a little confusing and fairly complex, but I'm doing a decent job of keeping up.

I recently checked out two books from the library, which I will get to after I finish the one. I forget their names right now.

Originally Posted by Arkhangelsk

-So Long and Thanks for all the Fish:: Douglas Adams
Do I really need to say anything about it? I mean, it's Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's witty and brilliant. Yeah. Only have one more chapter on this one. It's unfortunate that I hear Neil Hannon singing every single time I think of the title.

That one happens to be my least favorite of the five-book trilogy. It's not as funny as the rest and doesn't really explain itself. The explanation for how the events in that book can occur isn't given until the next book. Needless to say, I was rather confused as I read it. At one point, I just had to accept that it wasn't going to be explained and just enjoy it as it is...

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Acro-nym

That one happens to be my least favorite of the five-book trilogy.

Well, I really should start from the first book. My experience of the series has been an amalgam of sources: I saw the BBC mini-series and the US movie, then my friend dictated half of the first three books to me, and I discovered that I had bought this book a long time ago because it was .25 at the library. Since So Long... is the only actual book of The Guide that I have, I figured I'd give it a go.

I don't mind it, really. I think it's pretty good (especially the American express thing), but I agree about the explanations kind of...erm...lacking. Someday I'll read the others, but at the moment I don't think I need more books .

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I think I tend to like factbooks more than actual novels, so I finished reading
Native Tongues some time ago, which a bargain hardcover that states
all sorts of intriguing linguistic facts that many people come to false
conclusions over (eg. USA has no official language).

Right now I'm on Chapter 31 - Holidays, Festivals & Celebrations, of the
Ripley's Believe It or Not! Encyclopedia of the Bizarre, so I'm not even
halfway through this other bargain hardcover featuring a storehouse of random
facts.

I would like to eventually read Memoirs of A Geisha considering how the movie is one of my top three favourites ever, and I heard that the two are somewhat different.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Crash Landon

Right now, I'm slowly moving through The Fabric of Our Cosmos by Brian Greene.

This is the same guy that wrote The Elegant Universe! So, I think I should probably read this at some point.

I've never read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I keep forgetting it even exists. And for the Memoirs of a Geisha fans, it's coming soon. I'm just backlogged, I buy a ton of books over a 6 month period and then read them all at once during a couple book binges yearly.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

"Rising Sun" by Michael Crichton. I got his whole collection a couple weeks back for five bucks, so I'm working my way through them. Fourth book so far, 69 pages in. Very weeaboo.

How ya doing, buddy?

In my spare time I am reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. It's the book that the movie Gettysburg is based from. I have about 130 pages left and it's been great.

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Right now I'm reading The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima. Seven year after writing this novel, the author barricaded himself in government offices and he and a friend committed ritual suicide. A pretty interesting fellow. The book, curiously enough, was made into a film in the mid-seventies starring Kris Kristofferson.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, right now, I just got started on Vector Prime. Its a book in the Star Wars universe, following Return of the Jedi. Its part of The New Jedi Order books. Yes, I am indeed a nerd.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

The last book I read was Deception Point by Dan Brown. I though it was pretty good.

Right now I"m reading Shōgun by James Clavell.

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Already Dead: A California Gothic by Denis Johnson. This is the same author who wrote the book that the movie Jesus' Son was adapted from. I think I love that movie. This book is pretty good, so far. I'm not very far into it, but already I can say that the prose is consistently ... I don't know. The descriptions are unique, even odd and perverse, but very endearing and funny. Romantic, I guess, but strangely so. I don't know how great the plot turns out, but so far it's off to a tight, compelling start. I think the characters are all somewhat altered by drugs, either presently or in the past, and I get the impression the same can be said about the author. There's that sort of wonderful, out-of-touch-with-reality quality of a stoner conversation, but the story still seems very well planned out.

Oh, what's it actually about? Well, so far there's a guy who's being chased by a couple thugs hired by a drug dealer to whom he owes money from a trafficking run gone wrong. He's cheating on his wife and growing pot in a secluded canyon. There's also this ex-soldier guy who visits his schizophrenic (I think) military buddy to let him know that he'll die very soon. These two guys' lives collide. There are other characters who are all equally intriguing, but I don't yet know how they fit in.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The last book I read was...

Johnny Got His Gun

I've been reading 1984, but I haven't finished it yet. Oh! And I read a smidge of A Scanner Darkly, but I had to take it back to the library before it was done. =(

I tend to pick up books, read a few chapters and then get bored with them. The book has to be really great for me to read the entire thing.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Right now I'm reading 24 Declassified: Veto Power by John Whitman. For a book based on a TV series, it's not that bad, and for 24 fans, it's a pretty good read.

It takes place about a year after the first book in the series, 24 Declassified: Operation Hell Gate, which was the last book I read before this one. So far, I still like the first one better, as it had a better story (Hell Gate more or less focused mainly on Jack Bauer and was more action-oriented, while Veto Power focuses on multiple characters and has a more political-oriented plot), a better use of the 24 characters (Hell Gate used just about everyone that appeared in CTU during season 1 (Jack, Nina, Tony, Jamie, Milo, Mason, Chappelle, and Richard Walsh were all used) while so far Veto Power has only used Jack, Nina, Chappelle, Walsh, and Paulson (who was just a minor character on the show, as he is here), and a better writing style (the books have different authors, as Operation Hell Gate was written by Marc Cerasini).

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Encephalon

Good. Don't see the movie. Just read the book. It's not the most historically accurate piece ever written, but it sure is entertaining.

I read Angels & Demons and enjoyed it very much. However, I read probably up to Chapter 7 in The DaVinci Code and suddenly lost all my motivation for finishing it. I suppose I should get around to completing it! I refuse to see the movie until I finish the book..

I'm reading Selling Out by Mark Green for one of my summer classes. It's pretty cool. It's basically about how 'big money corporations' have gained and maintained influence in our political system. It explores why anyone who has less than a $20mil budget will always lose during a campaign, which leads to the government caring more about their special interest beneficiaries than society's well being!

FELIPE NO

I'm currently reading Watership Down by Richard Adams. I must have read the novel over ten times already, and I still don't get tired of it. People may think it's a stupid book because it stars rabbits, but it's really quite violent and fascinating.

I've purchased FFVI AC: Reunion Files just recently but I haven't read it all yet. Since it isn't a novel, though, I don't think that counts.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Besides reading crappy economics Heilbroner, I picked up The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho about a month ago while waiting at the Hong Kong Airport.

I can't think of anyways to describe it except classical. A simple, classic story about following your dream, the language is plain but effective in conveying the message and inspiration. I believe everyone should read this book. I haven't finished it yet but I can be safe to say it's well on its way on becoming one of my favorite books.

I also shifted through Scar Tissue by Anthony Kiedis while in the bookstore at Hong Kong. I don't usually like autobiographies by musicans and actors, usually because they're overly pretentious without any real content except on how fabulously rich and awesome they are but Scar Tissue was a highly entertaining read. Like a eating a giant bag of Lay's potato chips with a 2 liter bottle of Coke, it's nothing deep but Kiedis does have a way with words and his story is relatively interesting, if you're into Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Jam it back in, in the dark.