Books you've read recently

[worth]

Somewhat related to the topic:

One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday.

In 2004, a National Endowment for the Arts report titled "Reading at Risk" found only 57 percent of American adults had read a book in 2002, a four percentage point drop in a decade. The study faulted television, movies and the Internet.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayof....ap/index.html
http://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/07/21/the-book-on-books/

[Drunk Skunk]

The last book I finished was Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. Currently, I'm reading The Wheel Of Darkness by the same authors, as well as 'Salem's Lot by King.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

RE: Hitchens--he's a guy who even when I agree with him, which isn't always, invariably makes me want to punch him in the face. Haven't picked up his new book, but the title makes it sound bombastic and prone to overstatement, which would pretty much be his MO. If anyone's totally compelled by it, let me know--I might have to change my mind and read it.

I'm right now in the middle of Spook Country by Willam Gibson. Pretty much vintage Gibson--cyberpunk without really being sf... if you liked Pattern Recognition, you'll like it. I'm a fan of his weird, layered writing style, and pretty much like all of his work.

I recently read Kenneth Fearing's The Big Clock. An older book, but I highly recommend it.

Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good for You. I was a johnny-come-lately to that one, but I liked it--although it was a little dodgy at times, argumentatively, you have to love someone who does an indepth cultural analysis of Grand Theft Auto as though it were Proust (which, he argues, it kind of is....)

I also re-read John Barth's The Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor last week. An old favourite.

[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by worth

Somewhat related to the topic:





http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayof....ap/index.html
http://www.buzzmachine.com/2006/07/21/the-book-on-books/

Wow. A whole year without books.... that would be hell.

[Five-hole]

Originally Posted by kermitology

Personally I just finished The Black Book by Orhan Pamuk. And my goodness was that a tough read. Originally written in Turkish, and translated to English, the book is a Nobel Prize winner and it's so swamped in imagery that you get bogged down in it. It's beautiful in terms of literature, but just so slow and hard to read, and though I'm an engineer, I pride myself on my literary understanding, and reading ability.

I picked that one up too, got about 100 pages in, ran out of most of my reading time and realized I probably wasn't going to finish it. Gave it to my sister who's a bookaholic.

[Ford Prefect]

Non-fiction ... Rule By Secrecy, by Jim Marrs, and A Game As Old As Empire, edited by Steven Hiatt.

Fiction ... Standard Of Honor, by Jack Whyte. (Book two of his Templar trilogy)

[Crazy Flamer]

Just finished a book called "Who Moved My Cheese?" Great book on how to deal with impending change in your life. A pretty easy read too.

[JohnnyFlame]

"The Naming of the Dead" by Ian Rankin is one of the latest books I've read. Not the first "Rebus" novel by Rankin I've read and won't be the last --great character!!

[SeeGeeWhy]

Books on the go:

The Sacred Balance - David Suzuki. I am not far into it so far, but it is pleasant enough. It is a mix of science, natural cycles, and how far our global culture is from where it used to be only a short while ago.

A Thousand Barrels a Second - Peter Tertzakian (sp?) - Discusses the challenges of an energy dependend world, and where oil fits in. Very interesting read.

The Seven Habits of Effective People - Personal Development material. Not very different from most books on the subject - which means that it can either be totally inspiring, dry, or depressing depending on the mood you are in when you read it. The material can be hard to grasp, but the authors of such books would argue that it is difficult because you don't want to get it.

[llama64]

I'm reading through "From Hell" by Alan Moore. Really tough to go through, but so far has been good.

I recently finished reading Watchmen also by Alan Moore. Great book, even if you don't like graphic novels. It's interesting how you can take the political debate of the eighties, replace a few nouns (Reagan -> Bush) and end up with the same rhetoric.

[4X4]

I just took a flight the other day and I had only a few minutes to pick a book. I found a book that I've always meant to read, but simply never did... 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

Only about a hundred pages in, but I really wish I read it as a kid. I can tell it's going to be a fun fantasy to read.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Crazy Flamer

Just finished a book called "Who Moved My Cheese?" Great book on how to deal with impending change in your life. A pretty easy read too.

Oh god... our entire department was given a copy of that when we were outsourced. So far, the only thing it has done is make a good paperweight.

[FireFly]

The Cider House Rules and The Time Traveller's Wife. Both fantastic books though I thought The Cider House Rules started rather slow and ended rather abruptly. The Time Traveller's Wife was a fantastically written novel, very unique in it's presentation. Loved it from beginning to end.

[peter12]

I've been working a series called "The Hinges of History" by a Catholic writer, Thomas Cahill. The series starts with "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and moves onwards from there.

It's a really interesting and revisionist take on the development of the Western World over the past 3000 years.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by kermitology

You have to have the right frame of mind for reading Hitchens. He's an egomaniac, so you have to keep that in close mind. He makes compelling arguments, and he's very believable, if only because he sounds so smart. But some rebuttles to his book say that he takes things out of context. To that I have to ask, who doesn't?

He definitely makes good points, or at least brings interesting ideas to the table. But I find the style of this writing in this book compared to his articles to be jumpy and lacking structure. Although sometimes his scathing wit is interesting to read.

Originally Posted by Iowa_Flames_Fan

RE: Hitchens--he's a guy who even when I agree with him, which isn't always, invariably makes me want to punch him in the face. Haven't picked up his new book, but the title makes it sound bombastic and prone to overstatement, which would pretty much be his MO. If anyone's totally compelled by it, let me know--I might have to change my mind and read it.

I agree. He had a chapter titled something along of the lines of "why the new testament is worse than the old testament." The previous chapter being about all the bad things in the old testament, and the following one talking about the inconsistances and inaccuracies about the new testament. Felt like the chapter heading was stretching for no reason.

[CaramonLS]

Just finished 'Perdido Street Station' and 'The Scar' by China Mieville.

Both are amazing reads if you like fiction books in the fantasy genre.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by FireFly

The Cider House Rules and The Time Traveller's Wife. Both fantastic books though I thought The Cider House Rules started rather slow and ended rather abruptly. The Time Traveller's Wife was a fantastically written novel, very unique in it's presentation. Loved it from beginning to end.

Time Traveller's Wife sounds interesting, but I'm leary of it simply because it's been recommended to me by about eight people, all of them women... At the best of times, I'm leary of a book that a large number of people rave about. I've picked up the notion that it's a particularly girly book, the sort best suited for book clubs. Last time I made that mistake was when I went and read some Diana Gabaldon.

[FireFly]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Time Traveller's Wife sounds interesting, but I'm leary of it simply because it's been recommended to me by about eight people, all of them women... At the best of times, I'm leary of a book that a large number of people rave about. I've picked up the notion that it's a particularly girly book, the sort best suited for book clubs. Last time I made that mistake was when I went and read some Diana Gabaldon.

maybe that's just because men are scared of it? i wouldn't say it's an especially girly novel, although it does have moments. I think it's a novel that both men and women can relate to. Is it a love story? Well, sort of. If you can get past that though, it really makes you think differently about what it would be like to time travel though. I wouldn't classify it as a romance novel.

[Sylvanfan]

My wife read the Time Travellers wife too and she absolutely loved it. So theres another female reccommending that book. I haven't read it...but who knows maybe I will.

[albertGQ]

I recently read Jughead with Archie Double Digest.

Big Moose had an important football game coming up, but if he didnt' pass his history test, he wouldn't be allowed to play in the game. So the whole gang helped him study for it and he passed with a C-. Riverdale ends up winning the game