What books are you reading right now?

I do not doubt anything that you wrote. I'm going strictly by the foreward that ACC wrote for the book. IIRC, the novel was published after the movie was released. Whether or not it was released in response to confusion over the movie, or to cash in on the hype, or was planned all along, I don't know.

 

The Boys in the Boat -- the story of the Univ. of Washington blue collar eight-oar rowing team that takes on the ivy leaguers, the upper class Brits and the Nazis in their quest to win the gold in the 1936 Olympics. You dont have to know anything about rowing (I dont) to appreciate the feel good story.

 

I cleaned out our back bedroom a couple weeks ago, and found a box of books that somehow didn't make it onto shelves. As a direct result of this, I've been rereading The Stand. Probably my second favorite King book, and also seems highly appropriate since I've been playing Plague, Inc so much.

 

Term Limits, by Harlen Coben, very taut thriller.

 

I finished They Shall Not Have Me by Jean Helion, which I read just after finishing Anus Mundi. TSNHM is about the experiences of a French soldier in a German POW camp; AM is about a Polish prisoner in a German concentration camp. Apparantly there were many differences between how the two camps treated prisoners.

Oops, gotta go.

 

Finally picked up a copy of John Dies at the End.

Just finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It took me awhile to fight through. I really liked the premise, but I didn't like the way it was written. Overall, I don't recommend it.

 

I love the idea of the book, but the actual reading of it was painful. A lot of mixed feelings.

 

I threw a light read into the mix, Taking Flak by Dante (Dan) Pastorini, the former NFL QB. I don't normally care for "celebrity" autobiographies because most of them contain a lot of self-centered bullshit, and TK is no exception. I did enjoy this read for some of the insider info on the Houston Oilers, and some insight into his "all out, full speed, all of the time" personality.

I almost forgot, the book is autographed, it'll make a nice addition to my collection of signed books.

A side note. I once saw Dan out running at Memorial Park, where I was a regular. It was chilly and he was wearing a Pastorini Racing Team jacket with his name plastered all over it (don't try to tell me he didn't have a less conspicious jacket). Quite a few folks looked at him while he was warming up (his intention, no doubt), but no one spoke to him. I actually felt a little sorry for him (how the mighty have fallen), but I didn't speak to him. I should've shook his hand and thanked him for his time with the Oilers; he did sacrifice his body for what was in most of his time here a really lousy team.

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I'm now reading A Son of the Circus by John Irving.

Somewhere on TFP I listed the many JI novels that I've read. From what I can tell so far, this is not going to be an "easy" read as far as novels go.

 

OK, so I'd now read Arthur Clarke's 2001, and 2010, so I figured that I should complete the series. I've now completed 2061 and am now reading 3001. The quality is, sadly, going downhill with each book.

 

The Shining

 

Next on my reading list.....for $.99, I figured what the hell.

Love at Absolute Zero - physicist uses the scientific method to attract a soul mate.

Might be more for Rogue.

 

An interesting read. I only recently read it, and I now know why King 'purists' were so upset over the original film.

I have an early HB w/ DJ (cost me a $1.00) & I did a lot of research on 1st editions. My copy isn't marked 1st Ed, and doesn't have any of the numbers/codes to match. It also doesn't have any of the numbers/codes for the Book Club Ed. Yet many things about it match both Editions. If I have a 1st Ed, or an advance copy, it has some $$$ value.

 

Fun story (that I might have told before, now that I think about it) : my brother and I watched the '97 television remake of The Shining, and laughed our asses off. Mom walked in and asked what we were watching, expecting a comedy of some kind, I suppose. She had this sort of shell-shocked, slightly terrified look on her face when she realized what we were watching. "Okay, so my kids are psychos....." Shortly after that, we rented The Silence of the Lambs. We didn't laugh at that one.

***

Finished up The Stand, and also read Simple Country Wisdom, which was sub-titled, "501 Old-Fashioned Ideas to Simplify Your Life." There wasn't too much in the way of "simplification," but there were some decent tips, and it gave me some ideas for decorating and such.

At the moment, I'm tying up loose ends with books I started and haven't finished yet-- the 999 horror collection, as well as Twelve Years a Slave.

 

I enjoyed John Dies at the End.
This Book is Full of Spiders is good too.

 

Peter F. Hamilton - The Reality Dysfunction

Book 1 of the Night's Dawn Trilogy. ( The Reality Dysfunction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

 

I enjoy Peter F. Hamiltons writing.
Right now I'm reading Battle Earth: The Third Trilogy (Books 7-9) by Nick S. Thomas

 

Re-reading Brian Sanderson's The Way of Kings, in preparation for reading the new second book in the cycle, Words of Radiance. Enjoying it very much-- he's a terrific storyteller, and his worlds are very creative.

Also re-reading, for professional purposes, Abraham Joshua Heschel's God in Search of Man, and Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity.

 

A Son of the Circus is turning out to be a slow read. John Irving states, at length, his purpose was not to write a book about India and he is no expert on the country and its peoples. IMO he has succeeded is writing like many Indian authors--Too many characters with too much detail unnecessary to the story. I don't claim to be knowldgeable of all Indian authors by any stretch of the imagination, but I do feel somewhat qualified to make that statement.

On that note, has anyone made it through A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth? I have, and would like to have my time back.

 

I'm not a sci-fi guy, but this sounds like McGiver stranded on Mars so I giving it a shot.

The Martian.