What ya reading? Version 425108

[troutman]

Originally Posted by peter12

I find his new stuff to be terrible, it's so blunt and crude. His older literary critique stuff shows him to be the true man of letters that he is and also exposes the philosophical foundations of his humanism far more than his atheist polemics.

The book I'm reading sounds very much like the book you are reading. It is not God Is Not Great. It is a review of essays going back to ancient Greece.

[icarus]

Originally Posted by Hesla

I also have liked Cormac McCarthy - The Road and No country for Old Men.

Anyone have any recommendations..... I know it is pretty broad.

thanks

Why don't you pick up Blood Meridian?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by icarus

Why don't you pick up Blood Meridian?

The Border Trilogy is on my list as well. My brother read it and said it was the best of McCarthey's work, hands-down.

[CaptainCrunch]

I'm reading my first fiction book in a lot of years.

Fate of the Jedi Outcast.

Its actually not that bad.

[Kipper is King]

I just finished off Patrick Rothfuss's "The Name of the Wind".

A well respected friend recommended it to me, and I am not normally a fantasy reader but I went out and bought it.

With the university setting for much of the novel, and the use of magic (called "sympathy" in this case), it may seem hard to shake Harry Potter comparisons when reading this novel. Don't let that discourage you- in my opinion it is better written than Harry Potter by a wide margin, in part due to the fact it was not written under the pretense of being children's literature. The reviews for the book have been gushing (some even say it approaches LotR- that could be questioned), and rightfully so. Rothfuss has created a work that strikes great balances- between humour and seriousness, action and tranquility and also characterization versus leaving things unknown for an upcoming sequel.

If you are a fantasy fan, I highly recommend this book, and if you are not, I recommend it even moreso! This totally quenched my thirst for reading something different! :woot:

[metallicat]

I am reading Uncommon - Finding Your Path To Significance by Tony Dungy.

[flip]

Spectrum by David Wise. I'm also on book 7 of Preacher, book 2 of Justice and Superman/Batman book 1: Public Enemies. I just finished the Jim Lee 12 issue run on Batman called Hush. That was absolutely amazingly well written and drawn.

[missdpuck]

Killer Poker Online 2 . Not that it 's helping.

[jammies]

I'm reading King's The Stand for the fourth or fifth time.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by jammies

I'm reading King's The Stand for the fourth or fifth time.

Can't "stand" King. The Stand was okay, but fell prey to his usual cliches.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by peter12

Can't "stand" King. The Stand was okay, but fell prey to his usual cliches.

Although he's technically a crappy writer I enjoy his books. I enjoy shows like Law and Order if I remind myself of what Michael Chabon says in the intoduction to Best American Short Stories 2005. Since our culture operates from cliches and stereotypes we get the entertainment we deserve.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by peter12

Can't "stand" King. The Stand was okay, but fell prey to his usual cliches.

I'm actually reading his "Graveyard Shift" as we speak. Not because I wanted to though. I'm in an English Lit: Pop Culture class, and we're on horror right now. I've gotta write a paper on popular horror writers and society's general odd love of horror movies/books and being scared, and I'm focusing on King since he's got so many books.

[Flamesoholic]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I'm actually reading his "Graveyard Shift" as we speak. Not because I wanted to though. I'm in an English Lit: Pop Culture class, and we're on horror right now. I've gotta write a paper on popular horror writers and society's general odd love of horror movies/books and being scared, and I'm focusing on King since he's got so many books.

I read "Night Shift" from King when I was 10 and still to this day "The Boogeyman" story scares the bejeeus out of me. In fact so much so that I'm quite positive that it was a factor in my decision to turn all of my closets into wardrobe-like things when I bought my first house. I didn't even realize what I was doing until a friend pointed out that I didn't have any ordinary "closets" once I was done renovating.

Right now I'm reading "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah. This is a horror story in it's own right, but sadly it's the true life memoirs of a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Absolutely horrifying what these children face.

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Flamesoholic

Right now I'm reading "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah. This is a horror story in it's own right, but sadly it's the true life memoirs of a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Absolutely horrifying what these children face.

I read that last summer. One of the best books I've ever read. He made it feel like you were right along with him.

btw you may have seen this before, but here he is on The Hour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4yhPSQEzo

--after watching this, I can't even picture someone so soft-spoken, eloquent(and young!!) doing some of the things he did(and witnessed) in the book. So sad what goes on over there.

[Flamesoholic]

Originally Posted by Sainters7

I read that last summer. One of the best books I've ever read. He made it feel like you were right along with him.

btw you may have seen this before, but here he is on The Hour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K4yhPSQEzo

--after watching this, I can't even picture someone so soft-spoken, eloquent(and young!!) doing some of the things he did(and witnessed) in the book. So sad what goes on over there.

He came to Calgary last year to speak, I really wanted to go but I couldn't get out of work. From what I heard from a friend who went, it ran her through an emotional gamut like she had never thought possible. Listening to him in person definitely changed something within her.

I really think everyone should read this at some point in their life, really puts things into perspective as to how fortunately we are here.

Thanks for the link, I haven't seen it yet.

[driveway]

I've met Ishmael Beah on a couple of occasions. I found the hardest thing, the second time I met him anyway, was how much everyone else wanted to talk about his experiences. The first time was at a writing symposium, so it made sense, but the second was in a much more public, less professional environment and as soon as people found out who he was it was like everyone had to offer their condolences or something.

Anyways. I'm reading Anathem by Neal Stephenson right now. I'm nearly done and the book has had a pretty profound effect on me, though I am dissapointed that not very much of Stephenson's wit made it into this book.

Off to bed to read it right now.

[Cowperson]

I'm wading through a bunch of Rex Stout novels right now, his Nero Wolfe eccentric genius.

Primarily psychological murder mysteries written in the 1920's and 1930's - the versions I'm reading - and nice, light summer reading while sipping a beer under the deck brolly. You have to marvel at a detective who never leaves the house and downs a case of beer a day.

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/rexstout.htm

Then it will be Peter Hamilton, The Neutronium Alchemist.

http://www.sfreviews.net/pfh_neutronium_alchemist.html

Cowperson

[missdpuck]

Two horror novels I would like to re-read are "Night In The Lonesome October" by Richard Laymon and ""The House that Jack Built" by Graham Masterton. Entertaining reads if you like horror.

[peter12]

I'm reading "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. i really enjoy his writing. As well, I've been wading through a collection of essays by Michael Oakeshott on Rationalism and Politics. Not for everyone, but I'm a strange one.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by peter12

I'm reading "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck. i really enjoy his writing. As well, I've been wading through a collection of essays by Michael Oakeshott on Rationalism and Politics. Not for everyone, but I'm a strange one.

East of Eden was good, although not as good as the Grapes of Wrath in my opinion. I really like Steinbeck as well. While I liked The Pearl and Of Mice and Men I thought they were too short for Steinbecks writing style. I like it when takes the time and the pages to tell his story. I liked Cannery Row the best of the shorter novels that I have read of his.