Books

[Zapranoth]

What are you reading?

Here're my most recent:

1.   _On the Take_ (Jerome Kassirer, MD) -- a well-written investigation into Big Pharmaceutical influence on docs.   Depressing, but very interesting, and it certainly is what I need to know.

2.   _Trial by Fire_ -- a Justice League of America graphic novel (forget the author) -- buying a copy of this for the plane this weekend.  That one looks cool.

[LilCerberus]

I just finished reading "Hell House" by Richard Matheson.

It's probably been about ten years or so since I read a book, but I recently found out that's why bathrooms are arranged the way they are.

It certainly was a far cry from the movie.

[dean]

On the shelf [though I'm sporadically reading since I'm short on time] is:

"Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way"

"The Zombie Surivival Guide" and it's sequel "World War Z"

"The Donnie Darko Book"

"The Making oF Bladerunner"

All were christmas pressies/things I've picked up this week and I've been kind of flipping through all of them, trying to decide which one to commit to when I do get a bit more time [it's been a buzy 2 weeks]

[Viktorcrayon]

My favourite authors are:

Chuck Palahniuk (Fight club)

Hermann Hesse

Charles Bukowski


I recently finished House of leaves, wich was a very strange, yet fascinating book. Reading Robert Crumbs autobiography now. Odd man.

[Yaddo 42]

Recently finished:

Memoirs of an Amnesiac - Oscar Levant

Islam in Focus - Hammudah Abdalati

Little Green Men - Christopher Buckley

Nova - Smauel R. Delany

Reading in the bathroom: The Robber Bridegroom - Eudora Welty

Top 3 candidates to read next:

Rumpole of the Bailey - John Mortimer

The Watcher and other stories - Italo Calvino

Don't Fence Me in - Various. An anecdotal biography of late humor columnist Lewis Grizzard.

Any suggestions of which to pick?

Fixed spelling, naturally.

[CheezeFlixz]

I always enjoyed Lewis Grizzard, the last book I read of his many years ago was "Don't Bend over in the Garden Granny, them taters got eyes" another arthor Bill Bryson reminds mw a little of him as far as his down home style goes. So I read a lot of Brysons' books too.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I'm reading Cinderella's Big Score: Women of Punk and Indie Underground by Maria Raha. Good stuff so far. 

[Derf]

At the moment, I'm reading The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore. I love everything he's written so far.

Just finished a bunch of Terry Pratchett books. Can't go wrong there: Discworld rules!

I'm also reading the Southern Vampire series by Charlaine Harris and the Vampire Files series by P.N. Elrod. And I'm not really even a vampire fan; these are just good series.

On the shelf: which shelf? I've got too many books to even begin to name.

Favorite authors: Those above, Vonnegut, Emily Bronte, the obligatory Shakespeare (though I'd call him a poet/playwright rather than an author), many others.

[Andrew]

I am just finishing up the latest "The Year's Best Science Fiction" - the series edited by Dozois.  Think that it is the 23rd in that series.  I also noticed that "Startide Rising" is available again, which is a science fiction novel I like a lot.  Might be time to pick it up and reread it.

[ulthar]

Just finished a re-reading of Green Ice, a novel by Gerald A. Browne; this one is about emerald smuggling out of Colombia and has been one of my guilty pleasures for years.

Currently reading Creation and Time by Hugh Ross in preparation for a class I will soon be teaching on the Evolution vs. Intelligent Design debate.

Read Into the Light by Dave and Jaja Martin a couple of months ago.  Very entertaining non-fictional account of their two year voyage to Iceland, the Faroes, and Norway aboard their 35 ft. sailboat, along with their three children.

Just before that, read Journey of a Hope Merchant by Neal Peterson.  Neal grew up in South Africa under apartheid and went on to compete in two BOC/Around Alone singlehanded around-the-world sailboat races.  HIs stories are fascinating (like the time he had to hand-pump 20 minutes out of each hour halfway across the Atlantic, and the US Coast Guard tried to force him to abandon his vessel and he refused).  Neal now lives not too far from me, and we have chatted a few times on IRC.  Very, very cool guy.

A lot of my reading is children's books and references these days....

[Shaggs[Pl]]

Recently I read:

- "Guillotine and the cross" by Warren H. Carol. It's about the French Revolution. Actually it could be called "Catholic Holocaust" because it's mainly about catho's situation during this time. But even that it's very good book.

- "120 days of Sodom" by De Sade. I don't like the libertine's philosophy (It's sometimes similar to the left-side "toleration-warriors" way of thinking) but I've seen the movie, so I'm reading the book. To be honest I recommend see some SM porno than read that 

[raj]

Currently reading Where the Evil Dwells by Clifford D. Simak.

I'm also part way through vol. 2 of Origin of the American Revolution: 1759-1766 and Growth of the American Revolution: 1776-1775
By Bernhard Knollenberg

[Shadow]

I'm partway through The Runelords by Dave Farland aka Dave Wolverton.

I usually read in spurts, devouring several books in a row and then tapering off to a much slower pace for a couple months. Right now I'm in slow mode.

[Yaddo 42]

Cheezeflixz, my sister gave me the Grizzard book after she read it. I was a huge fan at one time, even saw him on stage once. I cooled when I got older, and gave up on him during his last two years of writing when he got very bitter and repetitive. I couldn't read one more column blaming everything he didn't like in America on Swiss cheese and mushrooms on hamburgers and the Beatles replacing Elvis as the biggest pop stars. I'm interested to see what the people who were closest to him have to say, but there is an air of hero worship around him even to this day.

Derf, I'm a huge Pratchett fan. A friend loaned me Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore, I read it about the time I started reading Pratchett (can't bring myself to refer to him as PTerry on a regular basis). I hated PD, since the plot was obvious and stitched together (to me) and found the humor rather mild after Pratchett. Does he get better?

[CheezeFlixz]

Cheezeflixz, my sister gave me the Grizzard book after she read it. I was a huge fan at one time, even saw him on stage once. I cooled when I got older, and gave up on him during his last two years of writing when he got very bitter and repetitive. I couldn't read one more column blaming everything he didn't like in America on Swiss cheese and mushrooms on hamburgers and the Beatles replacing Elvis as the biggest pop stars. I'm interested to see what the people who were closest to him have to say, but there is an air of hero worship around him even to this day.

I enjoyed his lighter stuff and books, I never lived anywhere where his story ran so I only read a few of his books . You might want to check out Bill Bryson for lighter quick reading I always get a kick out of his books. Other wise I'm reading rather dry history books or reference books.

I say start with this one ...
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail
or
I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away

any are a good choice really.