What are you reading?

[Savannah]

On to Bossypants, by Tina Fey.

[theCryptofishist]

History of the End of the World. Interesting. I'm up to American milleniarianism. Wacky country. It's got me wondering about the city on the hill. Or on the playa...

[BAS]

A Border's going out of business ad. I've got mixed feelings about that... (YAY! More cheap books! Oh no, now the chain bookstores are having trouble... ...is it time to get a Kindle [or other reader]?)

[Eric]

Thread revival time!

Current book: 1493, a facinating look at what happened to the world post-Columbus (by the author of 1491, which I can't recommend highly enough)

[gaminwench]

OOh, Eric... good one(s)...

[pizzamancer]

Just finished the Art of Money Getting by PT Barnum. Short and packed with great advice. Well worth the read (especially if you have a kindle, it is free)

I just finished the first two chapters of REAMDE by Neal Stephenson. They are for free on his fb page as well. The hard cover should arrive tomorrow. Judging from the first 50 pages, this could be his best book yet.

[Drawingablank]

Reading a lot of Carlos Castenada lately - Journey to Ixtlan atm.

A Border's going out of business ad. I've got mixed feelings about that... (YAY! More cheap books! Oh no, now the chain bookstores are having trouble... ...is it time to get a Kindle [or other reader]?)

Yah the actual printed book industry seems to be dying. I knew things were getting bad last year when my agent went from nagging me to write - to telling me not to write as she was unsure she could sell any books in the current market. Not that I was ever all that prolific a writer.

[theCryptofishist]

I found it interesting when someone said that the kindle revolution seemed to be effecting mass market over hardbound books. Not sure if I believe it, but it gives me hope.

[Packoderm]

I'm not reading anything now. I just finished the Gaea trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) by John Varley, and I'm now ruined for all books. Just like living my first burn all over again, I'd give anything to have not read the trilogy so I can read it again from afresh. The man at the used book store (who ALWAYS recommends winners) warned me that happened to him with the trilogy, and I'll be damned if it didn't happen to me.

[trilobyte]

Originally from Michigan (where Border's hailed from), I always saw them as the shitty chain store that came in and destroyed whatever neighborhood bookstores had existed before. I shed no tears for them - who knows, maybe their vacancy will open the doors for new indie booksellers, or for that cool coffeehouse that's got a few books to maybe get a few more.

I still enjoy a physical book, but have reached the point where I prefer digital. I've read more works of fiction (ie not-manuals) in the 6 months since getting an iPad than I have in 5 years combined and expect the trend to continue. I just started re-reading Douglas Adams' Restaurant At The End Of The Universe, and after that will likely finish the rest of the series (again), such great stuff.

[Drawingablank]

I'm not reading anything now. I just finished the Gaea trilogy (Titan, Wizard, Demon) by John Varley, and I'm now ruined for all books. Just like living my first burn all over again, I'd give anything to have not read the trilogy so I can read it again from afresh. The man at the used book store (who ALWAYS recommends winners) warned me that happened to him with the trilogy, and I'll be damned if it didn't happen to me.

Damn, now I have to go dig my copies out for a reread - yes they are awesome.

[Fufa]

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

A rather thick fiction book about a fugitive living in India. It's interesting that the main character is based off of the author himself, who escaped a maximum security prison while serving time for an armed robbery. He then spent over a decade living as a fugitive traveling around the world, though most of the time was in India, establishing a free clinic for those living in the slums of Bombay (while also doing a lot of mafia and other illegal business on the side of course). He eventually got caught, served the rest of his time, and then wrote this book.

I get the sense that he developed the character truly through himself and his own experiences, and that a lot of the plot is from real things he did. It makes for a very real feeling book, if you know what I mean.

[Quaneshia Honeycooch]

[quote]Current book: 1493, a facinating look at what happened to the world post-Columbus (by the author of 1491, which I can't recommend highly enough)[/quote]

Eric, reading that at the moment as well after having heard the author on NPRs [i]Fresh Air[/i].

A truly awesome work of non-fiction.

[Isotopia]

I'm finding 1493 as riveting as I found Guns, Germs and Steel.

Pretty compelling read for thos interested in the historical consequences that came about after Columbus discovered himself in America.

[Eric]

I'm finding 1493 as riveting as I found Guns, Germs and Steel.

Pretty compelling read for thos interested in the historical consequences that came about after Columbus discovered himself in America.

Have you read 1491 by him as well? It's a synthesis of modern knowledge about pre-Columbian America- absolutely fascinating.

[theCryptofishist]

I read 1491, really enjoyed. Loaned it out years ago. Maybe I should check on its status. Good to know there's more out there.

[Eric]

I read 1491, really enjoyed. Loaned it out years ago. Maybe I should check on its status. Good to know there's more out there.

I'll loan you my 1493 when we have dinner since you're the one who made it possible for me to get it! It's as interesting as 1491, with the big difference being that we already know a lot of the post-Columbian information.

[theCryptofishist]

WEEEEeeee!

[pizzamancer]

REAMDE just showed up. 1000 pages of virgin Neal Stephenson goodness.

[theCryptofishist]

The Great Influenza. Very well written, although it focuses on the doctors and medical aspects. I might have preferred something more of a social history. But I doubt that there are two books this good on the subject.

[Elliot]

Hey, may I drop in here? I just browsed thru the thread and would like to make a comment. Sometime back there was discussion about Vladimir Nabokov's famous/infamous Lolita. Because of the alarming topic, it can indeed be difficult to enjoy the excellent writing. But there is my point -- excellent writing. Nabokov did a ton of it. So don't let Lolita turn you off from Nabokov.

I just finished D.H. Lawrence's Sons And Lovers. It is somewhat the same situation as with Nabokov -- Lawrence wrote one book that (temporarily) made him notorious -- but my conclusion is the opposite. You have hopefully all read Lady Chatterly's Lover -- a wonderful book that (in my opinion) suits men as well as women. But this Sons And Lovers was not the least bit enjoyable. Nothing positive in it. All angst from cover to cover. It is very well written, of course, but I almost regret struggling thru the whole thing. Too depressing.

Finally, I recently read Earth by David Brin. It is a science fiction yarn, including some war (of sorts), so it is probably best suited for men, but I found it a darn good yarn.

[pizzamancer]

I found it interesting when someone said that the kindle revolution seemed to be effecting mass market over hardbound books. Not sure if I believe it, but it gives me hope.

Yep. There is so much more good stuff to read out there in kindle land. It isn't all polished and shiny like a best sell is, but with the ease of publishing on the kindle, the selection is huge. I still pre-ordered Stephenson's latest book for my library, but I am reading it on my kindle. I never realized how much nicer it is to use than an actual book, until the other day when I picked up a paperback. I am a convert (although I like the K3 over the new ones).

[Lassen Forge]

The Great Influenza. Very well written, although it focuses on the doctors and medical aspects. I might have preferred something more of a social history. But I doubt that there are two books this good on the subject.

I read one once... I'll see if I can find it.

What's amazing is the stories from the survivors... how they survived, the number of young people who went into health care to try to stop this from happening again. I saw a candlestick phone at an antique store once with a glass mouthpiece - found out they sold those so it could be removed, BOILED, and replaced to kill germs. And the survivor stories - People who hid under their porch or in their attic to keep from coming into contact with people (my grandfather-in-law survuved this way with his aunt - out of a household of 12 they were the only survivors, and less than a hundred in a town of a few thousand)... the smell of death... everywhere.

Too bad that generation is soon to be long gone, because their stories could save us from the next H1N1 strain that comes thru...

[Bin Noddin]

Nine Lives by Dan Baum http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/22/books ... wanted=all

[OregonRed]

How to do Discourse Analysis by James Paul Gee, Metaphors We Live By by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, The Elements of Dramatism by David Blakesley, and An Introduction to English Semantics and Pragmatics by Patrick Griffiths.

Guess who's back in school?

[Irreverent Moniker]

Re-reading Brian Greene's Fabric of the Cosmos,

[Sic Pup]

I ran out of of reading material (that interests me enough to crack open anyway). Since I pass the library on my daily walk I popped in and Bobblehead Dad caught my eye on the new non-fiction shelf.
I've spent the better part of the day reading it (and teary-eyed). I usually don't go in for schmaltzy stuff but this one resonates with me. It correlates the authors childhood experiences with his adulthood fight against cancer and the life lessons he's learned.
If you pick it up make sure you have tissues handy.

I'm really looking forward to this, I'm first on the list of holds at my library. Just a reminder to Klosterman fans it's release date is 10/4.

[theCryptofishist]

Typically, when someone starts talking about "the community" I roll my eyes. I find it a misguided attempt at self-delusion, a desperate stab at puffing oneself up. If I say anything, It's likely to include the term "Dunbar's number." Rebecca Solnit's A Paradise Built in Hell actually has me thinking I may be too harsh.
It is an examination of what happens after large disasters, and the joy and community people find when they are suddenly tossed out of their day to day world. She talks about people joining together to get whatever needs doing done. She talks about "elite panic" and how the power structures not only have difficulty responding in appropriate ways, but actually actively try and suppress everyone, trying to return social relations to what they had been. I found it very interesting and touching.

[Savannah]

Fishy, that sounds like a really interesting book; you've piqued my curiosity. I'll see if my library has it.

[theCryptofishist]

I picked it up at the remainder table for $7. That's almost affordable...