What books are you reading right now?

I was reading those 10-11 years ago then lost track of them. I should dig them out and get a refresher.

 

Started reading a book I've meant to read for quite a while, Howard Zinn's "People's History of the United States" - Reading with a critical eye, mind you. I've heard enough praise and scorn to sufficiently poison the well, yet I still feel it deserves to be read.

Just finished The Wise Man's Fear, World War Z, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy so I wanted something a bit more serious for my next book.
--- merged: Nov 15, 2011 8:23 AM ---

Atlas Shrugged... Heh.

 

Last week a temporary charity book shop opened in an empty shop near us. They give away books that would otherwise go to landfill. Inside they stamp it and ask when you have finished, please pass it on. No restriction on how many. I picked up Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho - someone I had never heard of. Its turned out to be a most enjoyable read so far.
The re-homing books ladies said 'tell your neighbours'. What a very good idea. There was a donation tin on the counter - and later I shall probably drop them off some biscuits to go with their tea as they are volunteers and deserve to know they are appreciated.
Do any of you have similar schemes in your areas?

 

Just finished the latest Terry Pratchett book - Snuff. Lot darker than his other books, but still very good. Not as funny as previous books, but very hard to put down. Really enjoyed it. For those of you who have not tried his books you are missing out on one of the best modern day authors. I would recommend reading the Guards books first as I find then brilliant, also enjoy the Witches ones as well.

 

I haven't had the chance to read Snuff yet, although I was kind of surprised that he wrote another Vimes book. The end to Thud! seemed like the perfect way to wrap up Vimes as a character reading to little Sam ("Is that my cow?" "HARUMPH!")

 

He'll be OK by Cecilia Lashlie
http://www.harpercollins.com.au/boo...to-Good-Men-Celia-Lashlie/?isbn=9780732284503
It was recommended to me - it is a non-fiction book about raising boys. I'm enjoying it so far.

 

Candide by Voltaire

 

thinking of reading Atlis Shrug. suggestions??

 

I have been considering books on Project Gutenberg. Mainly what to download to the iPod to read as it feels a bit easier than being tied to a computer screen even if it only has a 4" screen.
edit: just noticed that I still have that opera tab open on the desktop, I must have been browsing recently on the much larger LCD monitor.

 

Finished The People's History of the United States. I don't know what to think. It wasn't an awful lot of new information, just all at once it was really depressing. One quote that stuck with me was from the beginning where he quotes Kissinger stating history is the memory of states... It's nice to see some memories that others would rather be left buried.

Started Carl Sagan's Contact, a sci-fi book I've been meaning to pick up for a while. It's got a strong female lead as a scientist, something that's quite refreshing.

 

You are not as smart as you think.

 

thanks for the help. ive herd its a real good book. someone said there is a movie about it also. i didnt know that

 

I just finished devouring the Dresden Files. Excellent series though I wasn't as fond of the last one. Now I'm on to The First Law trilogy by Joe Abercrombie.

 

I found it to be very tedious and not as particularly awe inspiring as many Randians make it out to be. It probably doesn't help that before I read it I heard Christopher Hitchens, a favorite author of mine, make some rather unpleasant remarks about it and colored my reading.
--
I wanted to pitch a site to you all: www.goodreads.com . It's a tad like pandora but for books. You enter and rate books that you've read or would like to read and it suggests similar books to you, I've found a few good books so far as well as quite a few books that I've forgotten I wanted to read.
--
In the last week or so I've been in manic reading state, I've read:

The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism is Harming our Young Men - Ok book, a bit dated(10 years old for a 'current events' type book) and too personal but makes the worthwhile point that we ought not to help girls get ahead by throwing boys under the bus and provides some evidence that it's exactly what we were/are doing. Written by a woman, interestingly enough. If you're interested I would try to find a more up-to-date book on the same subject.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Good book, took me a about a quarter of the way into it to really get into it but was then enthralled until nearly the end. Could have done without the last few days description, it read more like the start of another book (no idea about the next book) than then end of the one I just read. Highly recommended (I'm probably going to read it again soon).
The Time Machine - A classic and a short one at that. Well worth the time if you haven't read it (this was my third time).
Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It - Presents some solid arguments for cutting carbs form the diets and is long on citations along with not being afraid to get a bit technical with the science (a far cry in depth from my undergrad studies, but appropriate for a general audience). Perhaps a bit preachy and at times the author is trying too hard to win the argument. It's as though he's going to convince you through the strength of rhetoric than of evidence and it put me off a bit, but the conservative version of his message is sound enough for my liking. Worth the read.
The Call of the Wild - Jack London is an author I enjoy, this book is brief enough that even if you don't like it you won't have lost much time on it.

I Just started The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined by Steven Pinker. Not much to say so far as I'm only a chapter in. A bit of a tome and so far more dry that anything else on the list but it's not quite fair of me to pass judgement yet.