What are you reading now?

[lonewolf]

Yep, we don't know exactly when or how but over the span of a couple of million years, we all came "out of Africa" to populate the entire globe..

[gm]

For just plain old entertaining fiction reading, anyone ever read some of them by Greg Iles ? I recommend them.

Love his stuff, Steve. Very well-crafted stories that make it hard to put the book down.

[26mi235]

Lord of the Rings -- to my 2nd grader. It is a little bit above his head and early so not that exciting so it is good at putting him to sleep, but it will take a long time to go through it. I have not read it since the 70s, I think.

[gh]

Lord of the Rings -- to my 2nd grader. It is a little bit above his head and early so not that exciting so it is good at putting him to sleep, but it will take a long time to go through it. I have not read it since the 70s, I think.

having done extensive readings (out-loud version, that is), you'll have them completely mesmerized when you get to the Ents in volumn 2. Well, so long as you do a passable Treebeard imitation that is

[26mi235]

Lord of the Rings -- to my 2nd grader. It is a little bit above his head and early so not that exciting so it is good at putting him to sleep, but it will take a long time to go through it. I have not read it since the 70s, I think.

having done extensive readings (out-loud version, that is), you'll have them completely mesmerized when you get to the Ents in volumn 2. Well, so long as you do a passable Treebeard imitation that is

You have to bark out his parts don't you?

Having read the Thurin/Hurin book this summer, I wonder if I will pick up things differently? I suspect that I should read the Silmarillion (reading to my son is going very slowly, but he goes to sleep nicely )

I have been at a bit of a loss for what to read, as the time is not ripe for several things that I have started.

[jamese1045]

Okay, we had the thread on the number of hours read. But what exactly are you reading?

I am reading Rex Stout's "Death of a Doxy", a Nero Wolfe mystery and
the DK "World War I".

By the way, I had a good idea what it meant but I looked it up to be sure.


–noun . 1. an immoral woman; prostitute.
2. Archaic. a mistress.

[Origin: 1520–30; of obscure orig.]

When I'm not working on my concordance of Finnegan's Wake , I'm reading I, SNIPER by Stephen Hunter. I appreciate a strong story and attention to detail You sort of need some background and interest in guns, of course; but this is a cracking good story per se. I say per se because it's got the larger-than-life non-ex-marine as hero(s) pulling off amazing derring-do. And shooting. I mean I was a pretty good ratkiller when I was a tadpole on a ranch, but these cats, these snipers have racked op nearly a hundred--recorded--kills.

Well, never mind that there's some overblown heroism and marine corp hoorah, just read it for good story-telling and a welter of gun and shooting details.

p.s. my wife doesn't want t me to take the book out of the house or let anyone know I read such burgoise trash--hell, I can't even spell burgeoiuse....

[gh]

Sniper was great; turned into a fairly decent action flic with Mark Wahlberg called Shooter

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822854/

There are sequels to the book, but I've never read.

[gh]

Somebody with a lot of time on their hands could try this: reading the entire OED!


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/books ... ker-t.html

[26mi235]

I am reading Oxygen; I am not sure what I expected but this is different.

One interesting item concerns the diffusion of Oxygen into tissues and into the cell powerhouse. Oxygen, of course, is a very dangerous substance and has to be carefully managed in an organism. If the concentration is not limited to very low levels the cells get trashed (Daisy can weigh in here). Basically, organisms have evolved to deal with the concentration of Oxygen that they face. The cover has a dragonfly from an era with a concentration of 35% (vs 21% now); the size is twice as large because the body can be bigger since the Oxygen can diffuse further in.

Now go to track, particularly distance running. animals that have lived many generations at altitude probably have less 'filtering' to the cells with the lower partial pressure of Oxygen. When the pressure is higher (sea level) are there negative consequences? I also remember reading that populations in three high-altitude regions, Tibet, Peru, and Kenya?, had different adaptations (Heamotocrit (sp?) in Keyna,...)

Anyone have any insights/comments.

[Conor Dary]

Somebody with a lot of time on their hands could try this: reading the entire OED!


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/books ... ker-t.html

There is a Sherlock Holmes story, The Red-Headed League, where Professor Moriarty concocks a plot to break into a bank through an adjoining business, by getting the owner out with a cock and bull story about a will and a pointless job of copying encyclopedia from A to Z.

This sounds just as useful.

[jeremyp]

Don't know if he's been mentioned before, but I heartily recommend Peter Hessler. He writes about China, non fiction. "Country Driving," "Oracle Bones," and "River Town." He's funny, insightful, and shows a China we know little about. He has driven across China, lived in villages, factory towns, Beijing, and he looks at China from a personal story view. After reading these books you won't see China as such a big threat.......yet. I'd recommend starting with his most recent: "Country Driving."

[kuha]

Don't know if he's been mentioned before, but I heartily recommend Peter Hessler. He writes about China, non fiction.

And he is/was a runner! Some good bits about running in China in at least one of his books...

[Conor Dary]

Don't know if he's been mentioned before, but I heartily recommend Peter Hessler. He writes about China, non fiction.

And he is/was a runner! Some good bits about running in China in at least one of his books...

He is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer. I have read quite a bit of his stuff in the New Yorker.

[jeremyp]

Don't know if he's been mentioned before, but I heartily recommend Peter Hessler. He writes about China, non fiction.

And he is/was a runner! Some good bits about running in China in at least one of his books...

He is also a former Peace Corps Volunteer. I have read quite a bit of his stuff in the New Yorker.

Haven't got to the running bit yet. I knew about the Peace Corps. I was in it as well (Indonesia/Thailand), but was amazed that China, of all countries, would let them in.

[Friar]

I had a three musical autobio week. Lieber/Stoeller, Kooper, and the current best seller Life by Keith Richards.
My only answer as to why he's still alive to complete Life, is a sturdy gene pool/luck. The book was a bit different than I'd expected. A pleasing conversational style but nothing special in terms of content.

[IanS_Liv]

After the Ice, a history of the human race between 20,000BC and 5,000BC by Steven Mithen. It's a big hefty book, but if you're interested in prehistory, the beginnings of agriculture, etc, it's well worth a read. It draws together information from archaeological digs around the world about the development of the human race over those 15,000 years up until civilisation, writing and history begins.

[Cooter Brown]

ANY book by Bryson should be mandatory reading.

Just finished his new one, At Home. Like his other books, it's difficult to put down. the first chapter is about the Crystal Palace. As an amurkin, I had no idea it was a actual structure and not just a place for track meets.

Now I'm on to Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter which is my first book on my new Kindle.

[mike renfro]

Just before the Xmas break, I read "Just Kids" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo". Both were pretty good. I was a Patti Smith fan back in the day, and the sad story of her and Maplethorpe was interesting. The Girl was well written for the genre and I will read the other two. The town of Stragnas, where some of the action takes place (suburb of Stockholm) is where my brother lives in the summer. Next up will be the current "Wheel of Time" volume. Hernia time

[gh]

I just read The Mother Tongue (English & How It Got That Way) by Bryson. For at least the third time. I picked it up to reference an obscure word and got hooked and ended up reading the whole thing. Bryson really is addictive.

Have now moved on to The Knife Man (Blood, Body Snatching, And The Birth Of Modern Surgery). It's a biography of renowned 18th-century pioneer John Hunter, by Wendy Moore. Only a couple of chapters in, but I'm hooked. Fascinating character, and Moore is really bringing him to life.

[gh]

I may terminate that book early! A few more sections like the one I just endured on the era's procedure for lithotomies (removal of bladder stones)....

I thought I was reading A Dummy's Guide To The Inquisition, by Torquemada.

(and if you're thinking Al Swearengin's stone in Deadwood, you ain't even close!)

[Cooter Brown]

Tough Trip Through Paradise by Andrew Garcia.

It's a memoir that probably was never meant to be published. It was supposedly found in a trunk after Garcia had died. Garcia was a settler of Montana in the late 1800s. It's an unbelievably detailed first person account of pioneer life and a quickly disintegrating Indian culture. There's more adventure and tragedy in this book than pretty much any dozen westerns you could name. It may be up there with Blood Meridian as one of the greatest westerns ever written.

[mump boy]

i only really read history books this year so far i've read

A biography of Julius Ceasar by Adrian Goldsworthy (really interesting one of those people you've always known but realise you don't really know anything about)

Biogrophy of Jean Harlow called Tarnished Angel by David Brett (one again really interesting but one of the worst written books i've ever read)

A novel called Heartstone by CJ Sandson it's a kind of detective story set in Tudor times

and She Wolves the stories of 4 women who rules england (somewhat tenuously) before the first official Queen Mary I and her better known sister Elizabeth I



next i've got biographies of Stalin to finish and then We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

[lonewolf]

Just finished a non-stop reading of the the Stieg Larsson trilogy..Girl With Dragoon Tattoo, Girl Who Played With Fire and Girl Who KIcked Hornets Nest.. riveting and ultimately satisfying stuff..
Question for the Swedish posters: Are the geographical and place references accurate or fictional?

[jeremyp]

Just finished a non-stop reading of the the Stieg Larsson trilogy..Girl With Dragoon Tattoo, Girl Who Played With Fire and Girl Who KIcked Hornets Nest.. riveting and ultimately satisfying stuff..

Next try the movies, way more satisfying.

[Friar]

Did the new bio's on Jim Thorpe, Karen Carpenter, Bobby Fischer. Big talents with a few problems.

[kuha]

Right now? This minute?

"Ornithology" by Robert Ridgway, published in 1877 as part of the official Report of the Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel.

It's research for something else...but surprisingly (to me) interesting...

[dukehjsteve]

Ken Follett's new 1st volume of a projected trilogy, " Fall of Giants. " Period covered is 1911-1920.

Not exactly War and Peace, but entertaining light reading.

Last week I finished up Ron Chernow's biography of George Washington. First rate.

[mump boy]

Just finished Johnathon Franzen's Freedom which i enjoyed but found unconvincing, in the middle of Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, it's semi autobiographical, about a australian convicted bank robber who escaped and went to india to live in the slums of Bombay. Also reading biography of Lillian Gish

[gh]

52 Pickup. Every once in a while there's no better tonic than a vintage bit of Elmore Leonard. Speaking of Leonard, is there any author who can remotely compare with him in terms of number of books turned into movies?

(this one became a Roy Scheider/Ann-Margaret vehicle in '86)

[Vielleicht]

«Standard Korean Language, Book I»...y'all know what it's for...

[26mi235]

I finally read "Making of the Atomic Bomb" It was much more comprehensive than I had anticipated. It starts in the 1800s and weaves through a number of the scientists, in particular the sections with Bohr were interesting. (almost 900 large pages)

Now, on to another prize winner - the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt - and How to Pick a Peach.

[Flumpy]

I'm reading Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt about the outrageous miscarriage of justice known as the case of the West Memphis Three.

The whole thing beggars belief.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Memphis_Three

[gh]

Was so enamoured at the no-brainer-enjoyment of the last Elmore Leonard that I banged off two more, Swag and The Switch.

Still debating how cerebral to get for the long flight to Daegu and back next week (and some sleepless nights on the ground).

ps--this on Leonard from Wiki <<...Commended by critics for his gritty realism and strong dialogue, Leonard sometimes takes liberties with grammar in the interest of speeding along the story. In his essay "Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing" he says: "My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." He also hints: "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip."[5]...>>

[Avante]

Always have two books going on at the same time. One at work....breaks/lunch...and one beside the bed.

At work...A Flame of Pure Fire...by Roger Kahn.

It's about the trials, tribilations and times of boxer Jack Dempsey. The heavyweight Dempsey, there was another one. Great read!

Beside the bed...Christophe King of Haiti...by Herbert Cole.

Amazing story.

[AS]

As I'm in NYC, I've been reading novels set here:

Currently: Siri Hustvedt's "What I Loved" (wow, her and hubby Paul Auster are a power couple of novel-writing!).
Just finished: Sam Lipsyte's "The Ask" and Jospeh O'Neill's "Netherland" (both impressive, but Hustvedt has upped the ante)

In non-fiction land, I finally got around to Matthew B. Crawford's "Shop Class as Soulcraft" (front half is captivating and convincing... but he gets a bit too repetitive after a while)