What are you reading? March 2008

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I am going to be rereading Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged this month. Next month, I'm getting into the Teddy Roosevelt biographies.

World War Z! My girlfriend lent it to me as I've never read it. Once I am done with that it's the next StarCraft book.

I'm getting through the graphic novel Watchmen written by Alan Moore. It's a little slow but in a good way. It's dense, but very entertaining. You don't see that a lot in graphic novels.

I think I'm going to re-read Watchmen now. And finally finish the book I've been reading all last month. It's good but I haven't felt like reading it outside my very short lunch breaks. If I get the LUA book I want for my birthday, I'll read that too.

B.F. Skinner's beyond Freedom and Dignity.

Night Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko

Tales of H.P. Lovecraft - selected and edited by Joyce Carol Oates

Tad Williams' Otherland series.

I just got done with the Gunslinger series again. I started the first book at the beginning of January and finished the seventh 2 weeks ago. I love that story.

Do you ever find yourself reading a story you love, and as you approach an event you know is going to turn out badly you think to yourself "Maybe...just maybe it will turn out differently this time." Totally irrational but I do it all the time.

I was thinking about picking up one of the fantasy reccomendations from the recent thread on the subject.

American Shaolin based off of Bill Harris's recommendation. I'm about 100 pages in and enjoying it.

After that, World War Z as I bought it a couple months ago and I keep hearing about how great it is.

And finally Book 2 of the Dark Materials trilogy. I'm willing to bet I'll finish all three books in March.

A forum thread.

"The Brand Gap" by Marty Neumeier and "Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions" by Dan Ariely.

The Shakespeare Wars: Clashing Scholars, Public Fiascoes, Palace Coups - Ron Rosenbaum

As a fan, I'm finding this book to be a fascinating read about how Shakespeare has been interpreted, edited and published over the past 400 years. I was never aware that there was such heated deliberation over what he actually wrote vs. what was simply added in by various publishers to "fill in the blanks", or edited out due to cultural trends/prejudices, etc.

The content is a bit thick but Rosenbaum is a kick-ass writer that makes it all very entertaining and user friendly.

I'm currently finishing up rereading Snow Crash. Not sure what I'll pick after that.

All Tomorrow's Zombies

"American Fascists - The Christian Right's War On America", by Chris Hedges, just finished that. Charlie Stross' "Halting State". Iain M. Banks new one, "Matter". "Captain's Fury" by Jim Butcher. And also "The Dragon's Nine Sons" by Chris Roberson.

Ulairi, have you ever read "Once An Eagle", by Anton Myrer? Something of a counterpoint to Rand's work.

Just finished T.C. Boyle's The Inner Circle, about Alfred Kinsey - both his ground-breaking sex research and his insatiable appetite for virile young men. It's also a keen, beautifully written exploration of the tug-of-war between love and sex. (Especially sex.)

Trying to decide what to read next. On the nightstand: Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle or Boris Akunin's Special Assignments. On the one hand: Awesome Sci-Fi. On the other: Russian crime drama. It's a tough pick.

DeepSea wrote:

Do you ever find yourself reading a story you love, and as you approach an event you know is going to turn out badly you think to yourself "Maybe...just maybe it will turn out differently this time." Totally irrational but I do it all the time.

I have a lot of examples of this, but the one I find to be most universal (movie, though, not book) is Goose's death in Top Gun.

Pratchett's Making Money

Just finished the third book in Nick Sagan's Idlewood trilogy. With a couple of exceptions, he manages to hit that sweet spot of realistic characters in a fantastic situation that is always entertaining.

The Count of Monte Cristo

psu_13 wrote:

The Count of Monte Cristo

Good freakin' luck on that one. Let me know if you get halfway, I'll light a candle in your honor.

And finally Book 2 of the Dark Materials trilogy. I'm willing to bet I'll finish all three books in March.

Just finished that and heading into the third. The second book really picks up the story and turns it into something interesting. I almost didn't continue after being disappointed in the first, but I'm very glad I did.

Bad News for McEnroe by Bill Scanlon. Before I had 2 back surgeries, I was a very active tennis player, especially in the late 70's and 80's. This is a book about what it was like to be a tennis pro during those glory days. in other words, the life I wanted! Pretty fascinating, but also pretty light reading.

Finishing The Preacher graphic novels, finally, and also Slaughterhouse Five.

I'm putting a cap in Niall Ferguson's The War of the World, an overview and analysis of conflict and genocide in the first half of the twentieth century. This is to be followed by Frederick Lewis Allen's The Big Change, an account of the same time period with America as the focus.

Any thoughts on the historical validity of these authors' views? I've just been taking the material at face value as I don't think I have the background to recognize bias or agenda.

Ulairi wrote:

I am going to be rereading Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged this month.

good lord, why?

Currently on a King kick, which I think was stated in the other reading thread. Read DUMA KEY... read THE DEAD ZONE, THE LONG WALK, THE RUNNING MAN, and BAG OF BONES in the last two weeks.

Robear wrote:

"American Fascists - The Christian Right's War On America", by Chris Hedges, just finished that. Charlie Stross' "Halting State". Iain M. Banks new one, "Matter". "Captain's Fury" by Jim Butcher. And also "The Dragon's Nine Sons" by Chris Roberson.

Ulairi, have you ever read "Once An Eagle", by Anton Myrer? Something of a counterpoint to Rand's work.

I'll add it to the stack. It looks to be a hefty book so it may be my spring break reading.

Recently finished The Golden Compass, reading Snow Crash now and have the whole Foundation series ready to go!

Chiggie Von Richthofen wrote:
psu_13 wrote:

The Count of Monte Cristo

Good freakin' luck on that one. Let me know if you get halfway, I'll light a candle in your honor.

Can't be as bad as the Gormenghast (sp?) trilogy... i think i managed to get several chapters into the first book before i very carefully laid it on my bookshelf for it to look pretty and thick for any guests that might glance its way.

I've not been reading much due to time constraints but i've always had a fascination with hypnotism and so (having been given vouchers for christmas) i bought Derren Brown's Tricks of the mind. It's fairly interesting if nothing else and gives you a decent insight into his character and drives...

Slogging through A Clash of Kings after people here talked me into finishing the first book. I did, they were right, the end was great, but now I'm about 100 pages into the second book and it's back to slogging. Sigh.

Also reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac (classic fiction), Cracking Creativity by Michael Michalko (general non-fiction), and Rails for Java Developers by Stuart Halloway and Justin Gehtland (for my technical fix).

KaterinLHC wrote:

Trying to decide what to read next. On the nightstand: Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle or Boris Akunin's Special Assignments. On the one hand: Awesome Sci-Fi. On the other: Russian crime drama. It's a tough pick. :)

The Man in the High Castle is a book I've had for years and years and never read all the way through. I know I should like it, I know it's an important work in the genre, but I must confess, I just cannot get through it. "It's not you Phil, it's me..." May be someday, if I live long enough, I'll get to it, but for now it's in my pile of shame...

I just finished Joe Haldemans' Camouflage, which was pretty good except for a weak ending. I will be reading Neal Asher's Polity Agent as soon as it arrives.

Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson, with the Confusion and the System of the World to follow.

Perdido Street Station is waiting in the wings, as is Defending the Island.

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