Currently: Michael Crichton - State of Fear

last read: Richard North Patterson - Balance of Power

Balance of Power was an interesting look into some of the arguments for and against gun control as well as a somewhat (for me at least) disturbing look at how things work in D.C. Very good read as long as you can get past the first 100 pages or so, it starts really slowly.

Oh, since I was stuck without a selected book to take on the last business trip I grabbed McNally's Chance by Vincent Lardo off my shelf - not sure how it got there. I'm about half way through it. Different from what I normally read, but the lead character reminds me of our own Simply Red for some reason.

I just joined that crowed a few days ago as well. Guess it is supposed to be this fall, but fall 08' was apparently what he was shooting for this time last year.

Picked up Ben Okri's The Famished Road. It won the Booker, so it should be good. I decided I need to read something a little bit more artsy after 4000 pages or so of gritty fantasy.

Finished Watchmen, loved it

"Me of Little Faith" - Lewis Black

Post-colonial lit continued:

Anita Desai, Baumgarten's Bombay

I am reading 'One Second After' and it is scaring the hell out of me.

It is about the effect of an attack on the U.S.A. using an EMP(or rather three EMPs). The electro magnetic pulse ruins most electrical gadgets; computers and anything controlled by them, data storage, modern vehicles and planes, electricity generators,water supply, medical equipment, phones and radios.

I am thinking of stocking up on food and ammo.

further continuations:

Anita Desai, Fasting, Feasting.

Purchased "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game" from amazon. I am anxious for it to get here so I can read it. Anyone ever read this? If so, what was your thought about it?

Yes, I've read it.

It's been a while, but from what I recall, it's a very fast read and pretty damn interesting.

The background stuff about the NFL's evolution is pretty solid and Michael Oher's story is definitely interesting. I'll be rooting for Oher in Baltimore, as if that team needed any more help.

What is it missing? Vignettes about Collins' sexuality and development as a woman.

"The Downhill Lie" by Carl Hiassen. Funniest book I've read in a long time. A writer returns to the game of golf after giving it up for 32 years.

I'm rereading the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix.

Reading Lost Boy,Lost Girl by Peter Straub

"The Ax" by Donald Westlake.

Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Need a suggestion. I have been trying to broaden my literary horizons; lately I have read several classics, some fantasy, some sci-fi and I have always liked the canned horror type stuff. I have even done a western (that I saw here). I need a suggestion for something different. Different genre maybe that I have not been exposed to. The tastes of the people on the planet are pretty diverse and eclectic. Any suggestions?

I just read The Pillowman, by Martin McDonagh. It's a play, that's different. It's a quick read but it's very good. It's about a guy in a totalitarian state that gets interrogated by police because there have been murders that mimic some stories he'd written. Give it a read, it's good. They go into detail of what the stories were.
I would also recommend The Southpaw, by Mark Harris which is a fictional baseball book. Very well written. It's pretty widely respected. As well as You Know Me Al, by Ring Lardner- another fictional baseball book by a very good writer. It's a funny book, too. And I'll throw in another baseball book, The Natural, by Bernard Malamud. Much different than the film.

I would also say, Candide by Voltaire which is a funny satire. I would say to get one with footnotes because some of the jabs he takes aren't obvious unless you realize what he's referencing. And maybe a compilation of short stories by Anton Chekov.

Those are all good and fairly diverse I would say. I would recommend The Pillowman, definitely though. Most libraries will have a copy.

Edit- McDonagh, the guy that wrote The Pillowman, is the same guy that wrote the movie In Bruges. It's the same sort of dark humor. So if you've seen that and liked it, you'd probably like the play.

Excellent blaise! I thank you for your suggestions, and I think I will start with The Pillowman. I haven't read a play in a long time, and it sounds entertaining.

Just picked up Patriot Reign from the library. Should be an interesting, easy read.

I'm reading the last (fifth) of the Thrawn Star Wars books. Entertaining read.

Just picked this up at Half-Price books:

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Mission-S...2505215&sr=8-1

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...hL._SL500_.jpg

Search my past posts in this thread.

picked up The Road yesterday, by Cormac McCarthy. Started reading it a little bit before bed last night, I think I'm gonna enjoy this one. Plus the movie comes out this winter and will be even more excited to watch it.

I just picked up "Make Love* *The Bruce Campbell Way" by Bruce Campbell. For those who don't know Bruce; he was in all "Evil Dead" movies as well as "Bubba Ho-Tep" and is currently on "Burn Notice". He is a very funny writer.

I'll have to check that out. I've got "If chins could kill : Confessions of a B movie actor"

Hiassen is one of my favorite popular authors. So funny and capable of creating some truly bizarre characters.

Been reading:
The Famished Road by Ben Okri (didn't like)
Blink by Gladwell (loved)
Falling Man by Don DeLillo (it's not White Noise, but it's very good).

I haven't checked out either but there are also audio versions available where Campbell reads it himself.

Oh, I also read the Majesty's Dragon series.

Alt.history of Napoleonic War with... dragons.

Pretty entertaining.

Naomi Novik?

I love that series. Temeraire.

Yeah, those are the ones. Really cool, unique working of the dragons into the storyline. I actually quit at Black Powder War, but I'll probably finish the next one sometime later. Just got a little burnt out.

This is a good formula. Take something already awesome, add dragons. MEGA AWESOME!

Holy shitballs. When is Hollywood going to read this?

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/o...g?t=1242524907

Cool picture. The coolest part about the series is that dragons have basically become warships in their own rights. They have captains, flight crews, ground crews and such.. at least in Europe. In Asia, they're completely different. It's a really unique, cool workup of draconian culture that the author creates.

BTW,

Just looked at the wikipedia page for the Temeraire series. Evidently Peter Jackson has the rights to the film and is planning on making the movies.

At least it's in good hands.

Yeah, he's had the rights for a couple of years IIRC. That's actually what got me to read it in the first place (well, when I say "read" I mean "listen on audiobook").

It's a really well-done series, she brings you totally into that world.

Wow, I need to check into this.

What is it with us nerds and dragons?

WE ****ING LOVE DRAGONS

How many of you shelled out $7.50 for that Eragon shitfest? Show of hands?

I've never read any of those, although I did catch part of the movie on HBO some night.

Apparently the series is nothing at all more than a retelling of the original Star Wars trilogy...but with dragons!

The main selling point being "it was written by a teenager!"

What was your issue with The Famished Road?

It has ****ing dragons.

They could retell "Pretty Woman" with Dragons, and I'd be there.

The surreal/magical moments didn't ever really make sense to me or point to any real deeper meaning/truth. I appreciated them, but they didn't seem to have any real substance to them. I know that I'm probably wrong in that, and if I'd bothered to read criticism and analysis of the novel, I'd probably have understood it better... that being said, I wasn't really in the mood for something in that vein when I was reading it.

LMAO

Two things could improve "Pretty woman". Nudity and of course, dragons...

I want to see Costanza score if they remake it. Poor bastard.

Haven't read many books lately, but got this book while in the hospital .. the darwin Awards by Wendy Northcutt funny and true .....

Just finished "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro and thought it was pretty outstanding.


About to start reading Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk. I have been meaning to get around to his books for a while now and this will be the first of Palahniuk I have read.

Just finished "The Forgotten Man"...excellent well written historical look at the 30's Depression, the moves made by FDR and the people involved.

I would say read it...its a good read and in todays economy a lot of similarities.

I've only read Lullaby and Fight Club. I like his stuff, but I don't love it. His general hatred for all things human gets to me after a while.

Anyone ever read The Paradox of Choice by Barry Shwartz?

Brilliant book - highly recommended.

Michael Downs -- "House of Good Hope"

I guess I forgot my current books.

I'm reading 1984. Yes, the book I failed to read when it was assigned in high school.

And then after that going with James Rollins' The Last Oracle.

Tonight was Curious George Goes to the Movies.

We've read it a dozen or more times, but the classics never get old.

cormac mccarthy - no country for old men

it is ****ing awesome.

I gave up for now on the Wheel Of Time series. Too much spinning in place for far, far too long.

I just finished re-reading Terry Brooks' Word and Void trilogy so that I can start on his new Genesis of Shannara trilogy. Just started Armageddon's Children last night. Not exactly War and Peace but it's entertaining.

I just finished Blind Side based on recommendations here and I thought it was quite entertaining/interesting.

I'm currently reading Douglas Feith's "War and Decision: Inside the Pentagon at the Dawn of the War on Terrorism". It's a surprisingly well written, very interesting book that explains the Bush administration decision-making process from the point of view of a top official in the Pentagon. Feith explains the administration thinking on the GWoT in a way that the administration's communcations experts seemed incapable of doing for the better part of 8 years. He exposes many of the false allegations made against the Bush administration during that time but doesn't shy away from leveling criticism (including self-criticism) where he believes it's warranted.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...SH20_OU01_.jpg

The last two things I read were both plays:
The Pillowman, by McDonagh and The Wild Duck, by Ibsen. Both were good for different reasons. I would recommend the Pillowman definitely though. Very imaginative with great dialogue and pretty intense.

Great book. My favorite by Orwell is <i>Animal Farm</i>, but 1984 is a close second.

Latest book I've been reading: <i>Atlas Shrugged</i>

Unfortunately someone else put it on hold at the library, so I cannot renew. Think I'll just buy a copy.

Right now I am on A Canticle For Leibowitz (thanks for the suggestion, Adept Havelock). Unfortunately, the local library did not have this in a paper copy. I am listening to it on tape. That part sucks because the only place I have a consistent ability to listen to a tape is in my truck (yeah, they still built those with cassete players and cd players).

When



That was, though the reference didn't exist yet, the moment I wanted to put a book in the freezer like Joey did with Misery on Friends.

Got two going right now -

The Last Oracle by James Rollins, and

The Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

You read?

I have a Kindle. It reads to me.

I bet it does.

I
bet
it
does.

Gives me time to make sure I don't color outside the lines, and all.

I thought your cool mommy helped you with that?

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

&

Re-re--reading (for the 3rd time) Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. What a great read.......

This conversation has come to a proverbial fork in the road. Instead of choosing which path to take (which both will undoubtedly lead to dark and bad places), I am going to take the Tao/Buddhist-like and Powerman 5000 stance, and pretend that None of it is Real.

You, friend, are such a chicken.

FYI - I currently am reading Same-Sex Marriage Pro and Con: A Reader, by Andrew Sullivan.

Doesn't that sound fun?

Yep, a real gay old time.

I'm not supposed to post because I am just a NooB but - MAN you people read some great books! I have a small library but now you've just cost me a lot of money on amazon used books to read some of these!

I personally just finished ;

Mountain Man: A Novel of Male and Female in the Early American West :rolleyes:
I was underwhelmed. However, since I am currently researching that time period in order to write "The Last Rendezvous", perhaps I my vision is clouded.

Lonesome Dove: A Novel (23rd time, I just keep going back to it) :) :) I love the way he brings a reader into the reality of the book.

Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls: True Stories of Castaways and Other Survivors :clap: A GREAT READ :clap: You should try it :clap:

"The Beautiful and the Damned" -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
"Curious Case of Benjamin Button" -- F. Scott Fitzgerald (haven't seen movie yet)

"Absalom, Absalom" -- William Faulkner

Dan Simmons-Summer Of Night

I'm reading Playing for Pizza by John Grisham. Pretty good book

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I read it last night in a single 3 hour sitting. Cool story of a family's life as told by their dog, a self aware lab mix who dreams of being reincarnated as a race car driver.

Read it!

I have been on a Philip K Dick run as of late.

Ubik - Damn good.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep - Really enjoyed it but it did drag at times.
Time Out of Joint - About half way though and it has been ok but showing potential.

That is an amazing book, and would make a great movie if done by someone with a brain in their head.

My autographed copy of that book is one of my prized possessions. I wish Bruce could get the John Travolta treatment ala Quentin Tarantino.

Finally got Neal Stephenson's System of the World from the library. It's been a couple of years since I read the first two in the Baroque Cycle, so I'm a little lost at this point. Looking forward to immersing in it, though. Love me some Stephenson.

Can't recommend this one enough.