Read any good books lately?
 

http://www.atomicpinup.com/images/Bu..._the_Fruit.jpg

....this probably wasn't one of them....xoxoxoo

playboy..for the articles..honest

oh and by the way, that bed post looks like a knob

I just finished Hemingway's "Sun Also Rises". I didn't really like it. It was ok. Not sure why this book is so popular. Has anyone else read it? I would love to discuss it.

I also wrapped up "The Devil's Horsemen". Freakin' fantastic account of the Mongol's frious domination of the known world. It was shocking to read how close Europe came to coming under Mongol conquest if it wasn't for a lucky stroke. I highly recommend this book.

I have started "Clash of Civilizations" and I already love it. Samuel Huntington is a very thoughtful guy.

What about you guys? Anyone read any of these?

I just finished the last book of The Dresden Files. I love the series and can't wait for the next book to be released.

Excavation by James Rollins

I guess I bought the book for my Sony Reader a while back, but I just read it a couple of weeks ago. It was really entertaining. I doubt I could handle it if it was in movie form, but the book was good. I recommend it if you're into sci-fi.

I really need to pick up a good book soon. There has been a lack of reading lately on my part!

Finished The Twilight Saga. A decent series, but book four was the best because it had a lot more action than the previous three.

Currently reading The Lunatic Cafe: Anita Blake-Vampire Slayer; This series has a lot more action and gore. If anyone is a fan of vampire books, definitely pick this up.

Personally, it's one of my favorites. I think the rich characters (Bill = awesome) and insightful allegories for society really got me right off the bat, but the more I read it the more I discovered nuances in Hemingway's writing that I had missed. Considering the current returning vets and the search to find one's place in the world and regain a semblance of stability, I would think that this book would be particularly poignant now.

This may sound odd, but give it another shot in a few years, when you've been in the military for a while. I'm not in the military, of course, but I suspect that it may gain new meaning for you. Just a thought.

Recently a friend of mine has been reading Tolstoy's War and Peace in Russian, and he said that a lot was lost in the more common translation (which I read a few years ago). I'm trying to find a better translation, but it seems there really isn't one that meets with my friend's interpretation. Tolstoy was always a favorite of mine, mostly because his writing challenged me in ways that I still am tenaciously fighting to comprehend, but it troubles me that something may have been lost in the translation. War and Peace is a singular experience, and something I'll remember all my life. I may have to try and learn Russian to really get it and that's unfortunate. So I've been rereading parts that my friend pointed out as possibly having a different meaning.

I'm also rereading Hamlet. I know it's not a book, but it's just so damned good.

I recently finished "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. Best. Book. EVER.
I don't think I'll ever read another book to top that one, lifechanging. I have just started "The Fountainhead" again for the second time. I had started in two years ago however after my rejection from architecture I stopped out of bitterness. It's much more enjoyable this time around.
Next will be "The Anthem"

Good tip will, you make some good points. I will re-vist in a few years. I love "Old Man and the Sea", it's one of my favorites. But "Farewell to Arms", "Sun Also Rises" just don't do it for me. For me it was the feeling of nothingness, sort of hedonistic let's-all-feel-sorry-for-ourselves we-have-no-direction-in-life-but-we-drink,-eat,-travel-and-party-all-the-time mentality that really annoyed me. I didn't like any of the characters and felt they were unworthy. No redeeming value at all (to me at least). But Old Man was just awesome. I wonder why there's so much disparity between these books. Maybe age.

Good lord will! Reading War and Peace in Russian! Wow, that is awesome dude. Good for you. Keep it up.

I also want to read some Shakespeare. Maybe I will reread "Taming of the Shrew", one of my favorite Shakespeare.

OOh, yeah, I've been meaning to pick some Ayn Rand up to read. Man, my reading list is backed up. What's her style like? Are the books fiction? I didn't know you were rejected from architecture school. Sorry to hear that.

You need to put Sun Also Rises in context, though, which was my point. War can break even great men (and women). While the physical manifestation of war's effect in Sun Also Rises is totally and completely obvious, the effect on the character's souls is deep and profound. It's like the canvas upon which the story is painted.

A good family friend had his right leg blown off by an IED in Baghdad. When he was recovering, he had to ask himself questions that I can't even fathom. The fundamental and visceral change in his life was something that would completely excuse what may appear as him feeling sorry for himself. Adding to his injury the fact that he had to take lives and saw terrible things... it creates a singular state of mind that you really can't find elsewhere. As for redeeming... you'll have to figure that out for yourself.

And yes, Old Man is probably one of the best pieces of literature ever written.
No, I'm not reading it in Russian, my friend is. He's sending me notes on what he sees are differences that were lost in the translation (boy would that make a great Russian Lit dissertation). I'm reading along and studying what the minor differences mean to the overall themes.
Careful with Rand. She's really popular among many readers, but her philosophy tends to get shat upon by philosophers. It's funny, she touts a certain hyper-rationality but just ends up demonstrating her strong and deep-running biases. And she has a holier-than-thou attitude that makes me look like the most humble, unobtrusive person in the world. Imagine a 70 page speech by a god-like main character that supports her philosophy and is being dragged down by those who don't agree with her... You might want to read up on objectivism before diving into Rand.

Reading another of Hemingway's stories, a short story called "Big Two-Hearted River", actually gives The Sun Also Rises a good contextual background. If you haven't read it, and you consider yourself a Hemingway fan, you ought to.

Awesome! I'll pick that up tomorrow. :thumbsup:

Gracias, senorita. http://forums.roempire.com/images/sm...s/sombrero.gif

Don't worry, I am an experienced reader and have critical analysis reading skills. But thank you.

The Anita Blake series is wonderful-up to a point. After probably the 6th or 7th in the series, it degenerates into how many people she can screw per chapter. Good if you like that (certainly titillating at times), but I fell in love with the whole idea of investigating paranormal crime scenes as a legit, well-known occurrence.

I just re-read Songs of Distant Earth, by Arthur C. Clarke (better known for his 2001 Space Odyssey). Beautiful, evocative, hopeful yet mournful, it is one of my absolute favorites.

Bravo. Don't let someone mislead you, Rand is an excellent writer and her stories are fabulous.

I should note it's one of my favorites. It's the story that turned me on to Hemingway.

I wasn't saying she was a bad writer. Reactions to her work tend to be extreme. Either people absolutely adore Rand or can't stand her. Personally, I don't like her writing, but that's just my opinion.

RANT by Chuck Palahniuk.

Entire story is told in the form of an oral history gathered from the people related to the protagonist.

As far as subversive mind-fuck reads go, I'll rate this as one of my favourite! It's only the second of Palahniuk's books that I've read, but it betters Fight Club in some respects, simply because it attempts much more...

I haven't ready any good books lately.... I've unfortunately read the whole Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I used to be a fan, but he's accomplished a feat I never thought possible. He's crapped on every story I've ever read by him, and now I no longer enjoy his old stuff. I would have never tired of The Stand, It, Salem's Lot, or The Talisman, but now those universes have collapsed in on themselves and are no longer open to me. Waahhhh, heh

Does anyone know of any good new horror authors? There doesn't seem to be a lot out there lately, and the quality is pretty thin.

On a side note I've read some Hemingway, and all I got from the stories was a feeling of impotence and entitlement. Maybe I need to reread, it has been a few years. A certain amount of ageing is required sometimes..... It is probably about time to read something challenging again, anyway. I've been reading mostly fluff.

Good call; Rant, Choke, Fight Club, and Diary are all solid Palahniuk novels. If you have the stomach, read Haunted; it was the first time in my life reading a story made me almost vomit.

Just reread Hey Nostradamus! by Douglas Coupland. It tells the story of four people affected by a school tragedy. It is excellent.

I'm in the middle of my favorite novel ever written ever, as well as my second favorite collection of short storys: High Fidelity by Nick Hornby and The Informers by Brett Easton Ellis respectively.

High Fidelity is to 20 something men who are the 90's breed of introspective that Catcher In The Rye was to 16-20 somethings who were of the same ilk. It is the story of twenty something Rob's backlash in response to his break up with Laura. He rediscovers his life by re-examining the break ups that changed his life.

"Confederacy of Dunces" I picked up after hearing that it was a good beach book. It's simply amazing. John Kennedy Toole's gift for dialect writing is wonderful. The story about the book is even amazing. Toole committed suicide and his mother spent the next ten years trying to get his book published.

I think I'm a little bit odd in my reaction to Ayn Rand. I like her books, but I think her philosophies about government are a bit odd.

Little known trivia: Allen Greenspan was madly in love with her when he was a young man. Hard to imagine either of those two being emotional about anything.

I'm on a Chuck Palahniuk tear. Fight Club, Choke, Stranger Than Fiction (Essays), and now Snuff. Next, after this, will be Haunted. I like his style. He wrote alot about how he puts together a book in Stranger Than Fiction, and I recognize a lot of his methods in Snuff and Choke. As an aspiring writer, this is more research than entertainment.

I tried to get into Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, but it is just TOO deliberate for me. Everyone keeps saying how amazing it is, but if I pick up that book again and something doesn't happen in the next 10 pages, I'm going to burn it.

I'm not trying to tell the mods how to do their jobs, but why do we have a Book Club thread stickied in this forum if we're then going to have other "what are you reading" threads?

Just finished The Dance of Time by Eric Flint & David Drake. Much better than the last book but not the best in the series.

Is Hamilton's latest book (Blood Noir) worth buying?

For those into Chuck Palahniuk I recommend Invisible Monsters and Survivor (a personal favorite).

The Raw Shark Texts, by Steven Hall. It was a great book. Starts out with dude waking up, not knowing who his or where he is, but he finds a note from the "First Eric Sanderson."

If you read "Neverwhere" the ride is somewhat similar, meaning, you're in world part of you knows to be almost believable.

The website is pretty cool, too: raw shark texts

Currently I'm working on Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. I love it.

I just finished Snuff. I've got mixed feelings. I enjoyed the piece, but felt that it could have been a little more engaging. I found myself laughing at the absurdity, but rarely caring about the drama. There are twists and revelations and overtures, but it still manages to feel methodical.

Oh, just remembered something else...

Small Favor, by Jim Butcher.

Latest in the Dresden Files series of books; for those of you who haven't heard of the books (or haven't seen the awful TV series adaptation), imagine Harry Potter grown up, living in a dingy apartment, struggling to make ends meet as a supernatural private eye.

2 of the best things in the world: Hard-boiled detective fiction, and dudes throwing fireballs ;)

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...2.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Think Oceans 11 meets fantasy.

I enjoyed both it, and its sequel.

Fun reads to be sure.

I just finished "Calculating God" by Robert J Sawyer, best known for the Neanderthal Parallax and The Terminal Experiment. Normally I absolutely adore his writing. Common themes are atheism, rationalism and logic, and social change. If I ever was able to hone my writing skills in science fiction, I hope my works would read like his.

Calculating God, however, was painful to read. It starts out as a brilliant science fiction, but suddenly takes a turn for the fantasy with the introduction of theistic alien species and even a special guest star: god.

Check out this quote:
Calculating God - Google Book Search

That sounds like.... intelligent design!? My hope was that this theme was intended as satire, but really his timing couldn't have been worse. That point is central to the plot and ruined the whole work for me.

Sawyer lives pretty near to me in Toronto. I started to rad the Neanderthal series... Maybe I'll checkout this one.

I didn't like Snuff all that much either. It was okay, just not great.

Snuff was the first Chuck book where I guessed the "twist" way before it happened. Usually he uses extreme/absurd situations to reveal an underlying moral "truth", but I didn't feel it was very strong in this book.

http://www.textbooksrus.com/book_pic...0375703764.jpg

such a great mind fuck as well as a truly exhilarating story

house of leaves is awesome! very unique!

I am currently reading "The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot" by Naomi Wolfe. I just read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck.

Thanks for the heads up. I am reading Twilight now and am on the second book. So far I really like it.

I've read the first 3 Harry Potter books. My impression so far is this: Good stories, ham-fisted storytelling. I'm really hoping the next few break out of the mold a little bit here.

I'm about halfway through Herman Wouk's War And Remembrance. I wonder just how many people actually read the entire book.

FINALLY finished In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. This book took a lot of determination to complete. It is so dense and rich with detail and backstory that it can be tedious at times. Still, you're compelled to read as the events unfold. There is a lot of praise for this book floating around, but I hope that it is not the pinnacle of literary works, as some people claim. Otherwise, I better not bother reading much else. For my next book, I'd like to read something that moves a little faster.

I very rarely read books by or about celebrities as I have little interest in their lives.

However, I am very much impressed by Brett Butler's Knee Deep In Paradise. If she did indeed write this book on her own, which I believe is what she says, then IMO she missed her calling as a writer. Her writing is intelligent & eloquent, yet assessible.

I now have 8 books out from the library. I think i'm in over my head

I finished War And Remembrance, not an easy read (quite long, slow in parts, at times very preachy). While I enjoyed it, I don't think that I'll be tackling The Winds Of War any time soon.

Just finished "Lullaby" and have started "Stranger than Fiction", both by Chuck Paluhniak.

I finished Songs In Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris. It's not one of the better written books that I've read, but it did keep me turning the pages, anxious to see what happened next. Parts of the ending were entirely too convenient, & she left many loose ends.

Finished A crooked vein by Warren Ellis. I would recommend it to everyone I met. I'm currently reading A beginner's guide to reality by Jim Baggot, philosophy and such. Good so far.
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I liked The fountainhead more than all her other stuff, one of the best books ever, along with A prayer for Owen Meany. I thought anthem was kinda....sucky, trite, bad sci-fi.

an index of my dullness, but also a very interesting book:

maurice merleau-ponty: nature: course notes from the college de france

I just reread Ender's Game. It's the perfect "I'm really brilliant and special" ego food for young children, but it's equally entertaining as an adult.

Finished The Aviary Gate by Katie Hickman. I really liked the sort of framing story she used in the novel.

Also finished Ian McEwan's Atonement. Really, really enjoyed it. I basically couldn't put it down once I got into it. The ending felt a bit contrived, but I liked the psychological aspects of the novel in general.

Now I'm working on McEwan's On Chesil Beach.

I just finished "Twilight." And while it took me a while to get into (mainly because I couldn't bring myself to care about the main character) after I got to know and invest in the secondary characters, I entered into the world that is Forks. I just started "New Moon" and I finally got invested in the main character. So, yeah, they count as good books, or at least I plan on finishing the series (it's just four books).

I am halfway through that right now, after about two years of saying I was going to read it soon. It was slow to get going, but I'm into it now. Quite intersting.:thumbsup:

I just read Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman, and was enthralled. I read it in nearly a sitting. Take that epic exploration into the human side of every superhero that was Watchmen and add the humor of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, and you have Grossman's excellent debut novel.

I wasn't able to read while school was in, so as soon as school let out I went kind of book crazy.

What I've read so far:
Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman - cute at times, but not as good as I was led to believe. meh
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri - beautiful, simple, realistically poignant short stories, my favorite kind of fiction reading
shhhh, I'm not supposed to waste my time on this kind of trash, but: I'm with the Band by Pamela Des Barres - not very good, I quit before she lost her virginity - her writing was too cutesy and cloying
I've read bits and pieces of about a dozen other books - short stories mostly, too many to mention
What I'm reading now:
Annie Leibovitz At Work - an xmas gift that I didn't expect to enjoy nearly as much as I am; it's given me a whole new appreciation of Ms. Leibovitz and her work

with school about to start up again in less than 2 weeks I am wishing I had made better choices...oh well.

Murrow: His Life and Times
 

Murrow: His Life and Times, by A.M. Sperber

It's taken me quite a while to read this Edward R. Murrow biography that runs 705 pages (not counting 54 pages of notes, a 5 page bibliography, 4 pages of acknowlegments, & a 22 page index). I don't regret reading this book, but I feel compelled to admit that I could only read it in small parts, needing to let it sit for days, sometimes weeks, before I was able to continue.

While the journalist in me admires Sperber's thoroughness, the reader in me finds this book very dry. Sperber spends way too much time focusing on Murrow's early start prior to helping create/form radio and television news.

Most TFPers have grown up with the internet, in the age of information. Although I was four years old when Murrow died on 04-27-65, I recall him being revered in the news media. When I studied journalism in the '80s, most of my professors were old enough to have been influenced by Murrow.
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Hmmm...I didn't want these two reviews in the same post, but it seems that I have experienced an automerge.


The Greatest, My Own Story, by Muhammad Ali with Richard Durham

In a previous post I wrote that I rarely read books by/about celebrities, and this book is a great example of why: TGMOS is filled mostly with self-congratulatory bullshit. If this book is accurate, Muhammad Ali was one of the most egotistical athletes ever, in any sport in any era.

Interesting note--I found TGMOS while on one of my thrift store forays. The hardback book published in 1975 originally listed for $10.95, but the price sticker shows that Foley's (which was a local department store chain) had marked it down to $1.00.

Just read:

"Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It" by John Entine.

Pretty good read, although he spent way too much time going over the history of blacks in sport (for anyone who has read about Jesse Owens, Jack Johnson, Joe Louis, etc before it gets very repetitive). But when he got into the science of it, it was quite interesting.

Now reading:

"Pandemonium" by Andrew Nikiforuk. Really snappy writer who tells us about many of the emerging viruses out there - not Ebola etc but viruses infecting our food supply (bord flu, CJD, etc). Interesting read.

Right now I'm trying to get through "Working" by Studs Terkel. It's pretty interesting.

The next book on my list is "Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes" which could either be interesting or excruciating.

I've been involved in political activism working on the Obama campaign and now that that's succeeded I've been trying to educate myself for the future to best apply my efforts to a cause. In my research I came across a book called "Thinking Big" (great video for it here: Thinking Big) that is like the cliff's notes for the progressive movement - it's published by a group of progressive organizations, some of the best in the country - and written by leaders of these groups. Highly recommended - no matter your political affiliation - as it's a dense read of solutions to current crises and I feel a more informed citizen having read it.

I finished off Watchmen by Alan Moore a week or so ago. I devoured it. I enjoyed it so much I made my SO read it; he too could not put it down. Great stuff; Moore is a master.

Watchmen was excellent. If you liked that, I recommend Soon I Will Be Invincible. I went from Watchmen to this immediately because I couldn't get heroes-n-villains into my veins fast enough.

Soon I Will Be Invincible is that same human exploration of a superhero with the dark and lighthearted humor that made Dr. Horrible so entertaining.

Philip Roth...hmmm.
 

Zuckerman Bound A Triology and Epilogue is three novels (The Ghost Writer, Zuckerman Unbound, & The Anatomy Lesson) and a novella (Epilogue: The Prague Orgy) by Philip Roth, in one volume.


I've read the first two novels, and am almost through with the third one, and I'm still not sure to what to make of Roth's writing. Overall his writing is quite good, but his aversion to paragraphs and frequent tangents greatly bother me. I don't understand the constant & overly lengthy tirades on being Jewish (maybe if I was Jewish?).

If anyone here at TFP has some insight on Roth's writing, I'd certainly appreciate hearing your thoughts.

I've placed it on hold at the local library. :D

As it just came up in conversation, I recently finished reading two books: Hyperspace by Michio Kaku and The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. These books are about the latest theories in physics, specifically the search for an understanding of String/M-theory. What? Theoretical physics doesn't come up often in your conversations?

Hyperspace was a very good generalization of the problems between the two contemporary views of the universe, namely the special theory of relativity (used at large scales) and the Standard Model (quantum mechanics, used at small scales). Using many colorful and useful analogies, such as a overly snug bed sheets and sitting atop of a spherical prison to explain the principles of false vacuums, the read is really enriching to see the universe in whole new modes.

The Elegant Universe was even better. Greene does a fantastic job, and goes even further to demonstrate the problems in physics and the solutions string/m-theory actually accomplishes. The descriptions are very vivid and even the layman can become fluent with the principles described. I would recommend this to any physics enthusiast. In addition, there is a Nova special, hosted by Brian Greene, about the work in his book.

Hyperspace and The Elegant Universe complement each other very well.

Actually, we were just talking about theoretical physics last night at my house...of course, I live with two engineers. I'll have to check these out; I find that the documentaries on the Science Channel don't always do a good job of explaining the theories they present.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I thought I would read the short story to see if there are any differences between the story and the movie and there was a few, but I enjoyed the short story and the movie.

Watchmen

I had to read the graphic novel before the movie comes out in March (or whenever they decide on an actual date). I was shocked about what happened to a certain city where a certain character decided to cause a certain event to happen. I do not want to spoil it for those who haven't read the novel.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...7/The-road.jpg

Just straightforward storytelling, but what a great fucking book.

I read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. Love, love, love, love, love.

I am Legend by Richard Matheson

It is fantastic. Last man on Earth with Vincent Price was so much better (plot wise) than the latest incarnation with Will Smith. I must give Smith credit for his fantastic job in the first 2/3s of the movie. It wasn't his fault Hollywood felt the need to water down a fantastic epiphany about the nature of normalcy. Just read the book.

I just finished reading The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell

I like all the Wallander books & I love Wallander as a character - bad tempered, emotionally akward, plauged by self doubt, sometimes irresponsible and selfish, overweight, intelligent not especially brilliant - but through a mixture of stubborness, focus, and sheer effort of will - he always solves the crime!

A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
 

A Fine Balance is a novel set in India starting in 1975 which takes the reader into the lives of four Indians, a widow, an uncle & his nephew, and a college student.

I found the book to be well-written, but the content would stand out even if AFB had been poorly written. Many adjectives could be used to describe the content of AFB, but the two I chose over all others are disturbing and depressing.

I can't claim to know a lot about India, its culture and/or history. What I will say is if this novel is even remotely close to what has happened (still happens?) in India, then India was (is?) one of the most fucked-up countries in the world. I don't usually resort to cursing in my posts re books, but AFB definately struck a nerve.


This sounds more suitable to a blog entry, but I feel compelled to make this disclaimer regarding my bias against Indians in general. Please keep in mind my bias is based on my limited exposure, and I don't mean to group all Indians together even though it is tempting. My wife has worked for and with several Indians over many years, and I spent time a fair amount of time around those Indians via her job. I have never, so far in my life, met a more cold-hearted, corrupt, I-don't-give-a-shit-about-you-what's-in-it-for-me?, cheap, elitest, and demanding group of people.

I just started reading The Road too and it is fantastic. I am also re-reading my favorite book ever, Crime & Punishment. I haven't picked that book up in a long time but it's such a great one.

I just finished the Sandman series by Neil Gaiman. Some of it I liked, some of it I didn't.

Before that I read:
In the woods and The likeness both by Tana French. Both are detective novels set in Ireland. They were both OK. I didn't like either ending. \

The Penderwicks : a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy by Jeanne Birdsall. I read it to my daughter. I thought it was dull.
The midwife's apprentice by Karen Cushman. I read this to my daughter as well. It was more entertaining than the Penderwicks.


I'm currently reading:
The invention of Hugo Cabret : a novel in words and pictures by Brian Selznick. My daughter and I are about 1/2 way through. I like it.

I am reading The Shipping News, again. Annie Proulx's Pulitzer winning novel.

It is so difficult say it's my absolute favorite, but it makes my top ten list for sure.

The Shipping News - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I really enjoyed that book. I didn't like the movie at all.

I've got three books open at the moment: A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (well-written and imaginative, but a little too pulpy for my taste), Hardboiled & Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto (given to me by a friend, pretty good so far-dreamy tone that reminds me of Kafka), On the Beach by Nevil Shute (just started but I'm pretty sure I'm going to love this).

Agreed, it really spoke to my paternal instincts.

Pastwatch, The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card.
It was a great read and I'm not even all that into sci-fi, and completely not into history, so if you like either one, you'll love this book. The characters are real, complex, and allow you to quickly become engaged in the tale.

I totally agree on The Road!

Also read Reunion by Alan Lightman. It made me cry, beautiful story.

The Watchmen, & House of Sand and Fog
 

The Watchmen, by John Altman.

I very much enjoyed the book, even though I found parts of it to be unbelievable. FWIW I have a difficult time with 'suspension of disbelief,' which is one reason why I rarely read spy/intrigue novels.

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House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III.

A very good read, although the story unfolds almost too fast, but this isn't an 800 page novel. The ending was unsatisfying, it seems as though the author intentionally left the ending open for a follow-up novel.



I'm about start Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone, & I hope that I enjoy SCU as much as I enjoyed I Know This Much Is True.

I just finished The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. The term 'a real page turner' definately applies to this novel. Gerritsen doesn't clutter the story with unnecessary characters and subplots, and gives just enough information at the right time to keep you wanting more.

I'm looking forward to reading more of her novels.

The Girl - by Meridel Le Sueur
 

Meridel Le Sueur - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taken from the introduction-Written by Linda Ray Pratt:

"As a member of the 'Workers Alliance', Le Sueur worked on behalf of the
women she met during the Depression. In her note about the creation of
The Girl, she tells us that she was part of a writers' group that,
"met every night to raise our miserable circumstances to the level of sagas,
poetry, cry-outs."

"The novel is divided between those who embrace life and protect it and those who violate life and repudiate the bonds of community."


I must thank Ourcrazymodern?, for recommending this read.

Towards the end of the book, we took turns reading aloud to each other,
over the phone.

The Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis.

If you had told me that I would enjoy a book (actually books) aimed at young adults, I would have laughed at you. That said, I found TCON to be very entertaining.

I recently completed the third installment of Chelsea Cain's series, Evil at Heart. I am not one for suspense or horror but this trilogy has me hooked. My roommate reads Cain and suggested I at least try it.
I hate to characterize it through comparison as it feels like deadening it, no pun intended as it's a novel about a serial killer.

I adore Arturo Perez-Riverte and Mary Doria Russell.
I try to grab Riverte when I find him on the shelf, I loved the twists and terms of Club Dumas. Yes, Ninth Gate was very loosely based upon it but I assure you, you'd barely know they were the same as the movie chose to pursue a small theme within the multi-layered work. The book is far superior.

Russell's work is some of the most mature I have read in its exploration of human feelings without turning the novel into an emotional rollarcoaster, which isn't my preferred read anyway.
Her duo The Sparrow and Children of God explored outer and inner space with joy.

I want a good tale to transport me without a catharsis.

I'm just finishing up Ender's Shadow again. I know Card's a bit of a loon, but I've always had a soft spot for Bean.

Pfft, I'm in college. I don't have time for books.

I just started reading World War Z. It's weird, though. When I read it high, the book is awesome. Sober, the book is just okay. I guess I just need to smoke before reading this every time.

I read World War Z a couple months ago. It was much better than I expected. It enjoyed it more after the first 100 pages or so.

Ahh, well I'm on page 90 so maybe it'll start getting better soon.

It can be work to enjoy a novel when there is no protagonist or significant character development.

I agree. I got the audio book for when i get bored of reading. the audio book is read by actors so the feel of the book is well translated without loosing any words. Recommended if you get bored. :thumbsup:

College came close to killing my love of reading. For many years after I finished college I wouldn't read books, anything longer than a magazine article made me cringe.

I've been poor lately and having to re-read books to hold myself over. This is one of my favorite series and the first 3 books are great. It's one of those "alt-history" series that basically asks the question; What if we lost the last 500 years of tech? Gunpowder, electricity, steam engines, and most modern technologies disappear in a instant and the survivors of a changed world have to live in the "old way".

I've been trying to get snowy to read this series for awhile. It takes place in the town she lives in and the college she attends. She would laugh her ass off at what the do to their beaver mascot in a neo-feudal world.

Twilight Saga

[QUOTE=LordEden;2715303]
I've been poor lately and having to re-read books to hold myself over. This is one of my favorite series and the first 3 books are great. It's one of those "alt-history" series that basically asks the question; What if we lost the last 500 years of tech? Gunpowder, electricity, steam engines, and most modern technologies disappear in a instant and the survivors of a changed world have to live in the "old way".

I have really enjoyed this series and am now waiting for the new one to come out in paperback (I don't like hardcovers much). I recently read the first nantucket series he wrote about what happened to nantucket. I read the change novels never realizing that it was an offshoot of this series. Both were very good reads.

I am now taking a break from the alt history, I listened to "The Lost Symbol" on CD the first book I have tried that with and enjoyed it and am now reading Dean Koontz "Life Expectincy" (sp)

Next up I think will be Eric Flints "1632"

Don

Fall on Your Knees - Ann-Marie MacDonald
RandomHouse.ca | Books | Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Fabulous. Absolutly fabulous. I was enthralled, couldn't put it down. I loved it, love, love loved it. I recomend it highly.

A lot does read books of course, I think somehow its hard to get the best you would ever find interesting.. but mostly you like those that you first read :D so not as hard as I thought then..haeheh

The Master Butcher's Singing Club - Lousie Erdrich

A lyrical gem.
Sometimes she gets a tad carried away and almost writes off the page,
but it's kind of a joy to watch her have fun doing that.

http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/h...0066209777.jpg