Eye of the Dragon
by Stephen King

It's an old one, but it's still one of his best books.

Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
by Mark Kurlansky

I love it so far. Mind you, I'm living in Eastern Canada, so it kinda hits close to home.

Just finished the whole Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Took me three weeks, second time reading all but the first two (Read those several times) and still could not put them down. It all makes even more sense now.

Note: The LAST line is the FIRST line!!!! AAAHHH!!! GGRRRR!! (someone knows what i mean here)

Also reading From the Corner of His Eye by Dean Koontz. I LIKE it! I've read alot of Koontz and he just seemed like a cheap Stephen King, same storylines and plot twists in all his books ( the extra smart dog, the mossberg shotgun, someone with special forces training, aliens, etc., etc.) but this is really great.

Currenlty burning my way through all of Kurt Vonnegut's books, since they were all I had to read right now (got a lot more now) But I'm really enjoying his books, just absurd enough to be fantastic.
Also just recently finished Memoirs of a Geisha, pretty good book, hollywood will destroy it of course:)
Also now going through project gutenburg and going through all those old books.

The Key To Rebecca by Ken Follett. Love his books. Can't wait for the sequel to The Pillars Of The Earth to come out; I think I have a several year wait :(

Currently reading Incubus Dreams by Laurell K. Hamilton and Angels and Demons by Dan Brown.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Great book.

just finished, last week, robert putnam's <i>bowling alone</i> If you're interested in the social sciences AT ALL, I recommend this read, although it's very dense and sometimes dry.
[How many of your neighbor's names do you actually know ?]

Now, I'm on metamorphsis by franz kafka.


For school [modern american lit. class] We finished hemingway's the sun also rises.

Now, still in the 1920's, fitzgerald's the great gatsby is upon us. [the second i'm reading it].

<i>Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries</i> by Ramsey Macmullen
It's for a paper I have to write in my Ancient Christianity class.

Just finished the first three of Larry Niven's Ringworld novels. Great books only because your mind never forgets the fact that you are reading about a giant ring around a star--something that you brain can not imagine all at once, only small parts of it.

I have to read Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck and I hope that will be good. It's cutting into my re-reading of Battlefield Earth by Hubbard (READ IT!!!! THE MOVIE BUTCHERED THE NOVEL AND FOREVER GAVE IT A BAD NAME!!) and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing though.

Just read The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon (part of my read something from all the classic writers-project). I might just be stupid but I found it a bit hard to follow occasionally (or maybe the translation was bad).

Just finished Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris and started on A Man In Full by Tom Wolfe. So far it's excellent and the book by David Sedaris was hilarious. After I finish that one it will be one to Collapse by Jared Diamond.

One of the most fascinating things about that book was that it was written by a man. He really portrayed women accurately.

Currently reading Dean Koontz's Frankenstein, Book One: The Prodigal Son. Dean doesn't write literature, and some of his earlier books were quite formulatic, but I don't care... This is reading for entertainment, and so far this book is doing the job. It's a great fast moving story about a serial killer... (the name Frankenstein isn't by accident -- the tagline is you only kmow half the story.)

It was apparently going to be a miniseries on USA Network, and Koontz didn't like where USA was taking it, so he bailed on the project and wrote the books instead.

If you liked that, read the Santaland Diaries by him.. it's a riot...

Philip K Dick - Our Friends from Frolix 8
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Gene Wolfe - The Knight

Yes, I read multiple books at one time, and it is mainly for the time of day and how I feel when I read.

Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen. Pretty good so far.

I'm currently re-reading Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand and Between Planets, by Robert Heinlein. I'm about five pages away from finishing Between Planets, and then I will start reading The Probability Broach, by L. Neil Smith.

I'm currently reading all my University texts ;)

Haha, but leisure reading:

A Brief History of Time - Stephen Hawking

I should be reading my school material and books, but I'm hooked on Live From New York by Tom Shales & James Andrew Miller, and slowly reading The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs on the side. Both are fantastic, and I HIGHLY recommend both to anyone, especially those who love a good laugh and/or story.

Double Image - David Morrell (the guy who wrote First Blood; he writes action/suspense novels that are really quick entertaining reads)

just finished Road to Mars by Eric Idle, good book for those who like humour.

Just started Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, prolly finish before the week is out. It's quite an entertaining book.

Jesus on Mars by Phillip K Dick. Nice cheesy sci fi with a bit of theology. I've got Songs of Distant Earth by A C Clarke queued up next.

Okay...I lied. After finishing Between Planets I began reading Heinlein's Starman Jones.

I've just opened up The Book of the Courtier by Baldesar Castiglione. The author was a diplomat and Papal Nuncio to Rome in the early 1500's (the book was written in 1528) and it defines the essential virtues for those at Court. Discussing noble behaviour, the duties of a good government and the true nature of love - according to the cover blurb. Hope I learn something.

Between reading all my required books for class, I have 3 books going at the same time- the classic TH White The Once and Future King, Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom, and Carl Sagan's The Dragons of Eden. I just don't have enough time to sit down and finish any of them, well perhaps Morrie, so I'm just reading a little at a time until spring break or summer when I can finish them all.

Just finished Assemblers of Infinity by Kevin J. Anderson (and another writer, but his name slips my mind).

Good sci-fi story. Goes into the advantages/disadvantages of nanotechnology, but the ending was kind of lacking. I'd recommend it.

I'm reading Kingdom of the Grail by Judith Tarr. She's absolutely amazing, an incredible writer whose ability to suck me into the world she's writing about and completely take me over is astounding.

I'm currently reading The Horse and the Boy by C.S. Lewis as well as Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein.

Also reading From Socrates to Sartre: The Philosophic Quest by T.Z. Lavine for class.

102 Minutes : The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
by Jim Dwyer, Kevin Flynn
-------------
This book is a lot harder to read that I thought it would be -- it's well written, it's well researched, but there are parts that are so infuriating, you just want to scream... Why? It's also go moments of such compassion and poignancy. At no point do the authors make the claim that the FDNY and NYPD didn't do all they could, but the book introduces you to the ordinary people who worked together and who banded together to help where they could. I would like to believe we all have enough goodness and humanity to assist an injured person down 50+ flights of stairs or that we would "stay with a friend" who was wheelchair bound till help arrived as well as a few other moments scattered throughout the book...

Long Walk to Freedom - Nelon Mandela.

Sweet book, though Mandela doesn't waste much time explaining context at points, so it would be hard if you had no education on South African history to begin with. He is a competent, no nonsense writer, but the power comes from the events.

Choke by Chuck Palaniuk(the writer of fight club)

"The Manhattan Hunt Club" by John Saul; "Celeste" by V.C. Andrews; Tilted Forum Project threads (daily, for a few hours at least)

About to go on a business trip and am bringing Factotum by Charles Bukowski and Che's Motorcycle Diaries, along with some trash scifi.

At the recommendation of a friend, "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand and "Love is a Dog From Hell" by Bukowski.

So far both are great, I can honestly say that I've never read anything like either of those books.

Elmore Leonard's "Be Cool"

Churchill on leadership....Stephen F. Hayward

Confederacy of dunces...John Kennedy Toole

I've finished Starman Jones and I'm now reading The Da Vinci Code.

The Abs Diet

i am currently reading Tuesday's with Morrie, on a suggestion from a friend. it's a pretty good book so far, but i can tell, it's going to be so freaking sad. :-(

I'm reading the Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. I love historical novels. :)

Hocus Pocus -- Kurt Vonnegut

After finishing "The Sportswriter" - which I wasn't a big fan of - I finally got around to reading and thoroughly enjoying "Confederacy of Dunces" (yet another Pulitzer Prize winning novel in my quest to read them all). I should finish "Confederacy..." this evening and I then will begin reading "Saturday" by Iam McEwan.

After that...maybe Rabbit is Rich.

The Naked Ape - Desmond Morris

Really, really liking it too. 38 years old and still rings true, even if a few things've changed.

The Dharma Bums - Jack Kerouac

Rama Revealed by Arthur C. Clarke.

took a break from reading my Jonathan Kellerman mysteries to try this. Not bad for pulp fiction.

I remember reading that series after playing the game... Liked most of it pretty well. :thumbsup:

Has anyone ever read A Game Of Thrones by George R.R Martin?

There are three so far in The Song of Fire and Ice series. Best books I have ever read! Amazing, please if no one here has ever read them, read them! You will not be disappointed.

Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson

Eon by Greg Bear

Eon is a great book! Blood Music by the same author is also very good and a bit easier to get your head around. The ideas are slightly less huge.

Just finished "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell. Loved it.

Now I'm reading "Sirens of Titan" by Kurt Vonnegut and I can't help but chuckle to myself as I read it. Very funny, wonderful way of looking at things. Kurt certainly hits the spot other authors can't.

Started reading A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin yesterday. I've been really looking forward to reading this.

Cool! Thanks for the recommendation. I've been looking for a new author, after having run Robert A Heinlein and Larry Niven out of books. I may start picking up other Bear books. :)

Thanks again!

1968
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...45455819&itm=5

Spectacular book.

Just finished "A Man in Full" by Tom Wolfe

Spectacular book until the end, which just plain sucks.

If you like the Rama series, I suggest the Ringworld series by Niven.

It has that same "eh-ness" for character development and plot but the idea of a giant Ring around a star never leaves your mind--much like the giant black cylinder hurling somewhere out of the system at god knows how fast.

Also I finished, Grapes of Wrath and was that ever a bizarre novel. The ending wouldn't let me think clearly for a couple of days. I did though love the ideas of Jim Casy, they're alot like that of Thoreau's.

Very good book, just easy to loose track about whats going on.



Just started to read Black Hawk Down. Pretty graffic in places but a very good read.

Bleccch
 

GOD I hate that book. Thank goodness it was short.

The Time Machine

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality - Brian Greene

I really liked his Elegant Universe book and the subsequent NOVA series on PBS, so, I thought I'd pick the new one up and give it a go. So far, so good. :)

breakfast of champtions by kurt vonnegut

Heh... just finished Shadow of the Giant, the latest in the Bean series. For those that don't know, the series is a shoot-off of the Ender's Game series that focuses on Bean. And don't worry, it's infinitely better than either Xenocide or Children of the Mind.

It was pretty good, even if I called some stuff from the very beginning. More than anything I'm interested in seeing how he brings about the last in the series using this as a base... I've an idea, but I don't want to go throwing it about in case I end up being wrong. (Though I don't know that I'd feel really good about it if I got it right...)

diary by chuck palanuik

Had to loan "Saturday" to my wife. So now I'm reading "Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel".

That's the next book in line. Hopefully by the summer i'll have time again, only just heard about it from a chance meeting with someone. At the moment apart from reading all my uni books i escape to the ends of the Universe with the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, have to get this one before the film comes out. Though not avoid information about the film but thus far have managed, 2 more weeks or so and should all be done.

John Keel - The Complete Guide to Mysterious Beings

God's Politics by Jim Wallace.

So far a very good book and the man takes a well thought out, rational approach to possibly the stickiest conversation piece of all: religion and politics. Im not religious, and I love his approach, so that says a lot.

ibrahim al-koni: the bleeding of the stone

excellent novel by a highly skilled writer.

I'm reading "The Killing Dance" by Laurell K Hamilton. She is such a good author, her character kicks so much ass. Definitly recommend the series.

Four Past Midnight by Stephen King has been sitting on my tower here for months.. Not that it's not good (Stephen is the King!) I just have too many things to do.

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.

right now i'm reading a book on Genesis that my ex-girlfriend suggested i read. i'm a philosophy geek, so i think it's pretty interesting. besides, Genesis is like my most favorite book of the Bible. after that i'm going to read a book called "The God Gene" which discusses the possibility of there being a gene that predetermines a persons faith.

London: Edward Rutherford - talk about an epic. Good book, but i liked Sarum better.

"I am Charlotte Simmons," by Tom Wolfe

Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray and next is
Tolstoy's War and Peace. ... yee... ha...

One wonders the existence of threads such as this, what function do they serve? Does anyone actually go through each post reading the arbitrary titles?
(we'll see if anyone responds to this, and that will answer part of the question)

I just finished James Dickey's "Deliverance"--yes, the book THAT movie was based off of. It was all right. I didn't really care for Dickey's poetic style.

Now I'm reading Goethe's "Faust." I love Mephistopheles...he's so funny.

Next is Flannery O'Connor's "The Violent Bear It Away."

I'm also reading a book on Hindu philosophy. I think Faust would have been better off if he were a Hindu...his search for knowledge would just be considered a form of yoga and perhaps he would have even been able to attain Brahman.

I love school.

I do, because I like to see what other people read and people also usually include their opinion of the book with it. It's like a mini-review.

Zeraph: it's tough to come into the thread when it's 17 pages, but if you've been with it the whole time you read as you go and see suggestions and so forth.

Myself, I'm finally reading The High Lord, the last in Trudi Canavan's Black Magician trilogy. It's been a little tough to start because I read the first two 4 months ago, but I'm back into it now. It's an enjoyable (if quick) read.

just finished "The Partner" by John Grisham. the best "worst" ending ever. totally unexpected. highly recommended

cabal by clive barker

My tenth Wilbur Smith novel so far, The Burning Shore.

Just finished Digital Fortess, by Dan Brown. Meh...it was...okaaaay. I found it very...predictable.

Confederacy of Dunces

I just finished the latest Brian Greene book I mentioned earlier.

I must say it was oh, so hard to get through. I'm a pretty intelligent guy, but jeez-a-lou.

I've decided to go fluff next and am about halfway through Dune: The Battle of Corrin.

After that, it's a quick romp through the Hitchhiker's Guide before going to see the movie on the 29th.

Survivor by Chuck Pahluniahaiueukcuuekcueck

I'm reading my 5th Wilbur Smith novel, "Monsoon," - just started it this week. A wonderful exciting read! He's so much more interesting than some writers of his caliber. As this is fiction...I am also reading another book based upon reality. That book is called "Black Elk Speaks" by John G. Neihardt. It is the life story of a Holy Man from the Oglala Sioux Indian Tribe and it's based upon 6 generations of tribal tales and teachings including information told to the author by Black Elk. It encompasses the various tribes reactions and spiritual significance after the tragedy at Wounded Knee.

aha - TFP members reading the same book currently ! :cool:

I've knocked out about 150 pgs or so thus far, don't want to say anything for spoilers, other than its getting better than anticipated and the reader's relationship with ignatius is such a love/hate one. :icare:

breakfast of champions - my last read - was very good, although IMO, I thought the ending was a swerve and a minor letdown...

Vernon God Little by D.B.C. Pierre. Those Chuck Palahniuk out there will really enjoy this one. It's about a kid whose best friend decidedes to shoot up the school at their small texas town and is accused of being an accomplice.

Jared Diamond's latest grand-theory-of-humanity book, Collapse. It's okay for those who liked Guns, Germs, and Steel (I'm not such a big fan).

Also I must highly recommend The Time Traveller's Wife as the last best book I read.

Any David James Duncan fans out there, btw? (River Why, Brothers K)... he's my fave.

I started in on Flannery O'Connor's "And The Violent Bear It Away." I don't know how I feel about it yet.

I'm wrapping up Faust by Goethe...I'm going to use Faust to write a paper on Hindu philosophy. Yes, it will be a very interesting paper--my argument is that Faust would have been better off as a Hindu, and there are various reasons why this is true, which I won't get into here.

Right now I am reading, "Buddhism for non-believers." I don't remember the author off-hand. But it is really good, it really changed my view on what Buddhism is all about, and about Buddha himself. Very interesting coming from an Agnostic point of view.

I started pushing myself to try new authors semi-randomly.
Thus I am reading Casual Rex by Eric Garcia about dinosaur private detectives in a modern L.A. where humans and human-sized dinosaurs live side by side. The setting sounded silly at first but the writing is fantastic.

I came across some unread works by one of my favorite authors, Alan Dean Foster. I am currently on Lost and Found.

And over the next 3 weeks I am reading 395 pages of Fundamentals of Managerial Economics 7e by Mark Hirschey. It is hard to understand the meaning behind all the numbers and graphs he throws out. Macroeconomics 6e by Roger A. Arnold was far better. Why is it so rare to find a textbook that is easy to learn from?

Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell (the author of Tipping Point, which I plan on getting my hands on soon). Both really interesting reads so far.

just finished "xenocide" by Orson Scott Card....also working on "Franny and Zooey" by JD Salinger.

i think i like F&Z a lot better....but there's always a time and place for mind candy reading.

What book are you reading right now?
 

I searched and couldnt find a thread like this... and thought there should be one...

Right now I am reading "The Conquest of Mexico" by Hugh Thomas. I'm only about 50/60 pages in, but so far its fascinating. I saw some documentaries about Cortes a few years ago, and always wanted to learn more about him and his conquest since then. Certainly in the documentary I saw "Conquistidors" - he was painted in a very ambivalent light... on the one hand, a conquerer, a butcher, a destroyer of nations... but on the other hand a visionary, a colosal gambler, driven by his God and his desire to deliver people to the Holy Roman church...

perhaps it just means that those who commit violence in what they believe are the interests of good are far more dangerous than those who act out of petty motivations such as greed or agression

the millenium problems: the seven greatest mathematical problems of our time

**i haven't figured out how to solve them yet :)

Couldn't find? This is always on the first page here..

What are you reading right now?