What book(s) are you reading?

[RyCo1983]

Battle Cry of Freedom James McPherson

Good read.
I finished it over the winter.

Reading some Stephen R. Lawhead at the moment...Pendragon Cycle.

 

[Buster Bluth]

Due from Amazon tomorrow:

Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Thomas Piketty)
Thomas Jefferson: Author of America (Christopher Hitchens)
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Reza Alsan)
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (Bart Ehrman)

Summer reading is about to be intense.

 

[pkt77242]

Due from Amazon tomorrow:

Capital in the Twenty-First Century (Thomas Piketty)
Thomas Jefferson: Author of America (Christopher Hitchens)
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Reza Alsan)
How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee (Bart Ehrman)

Summer reading is about to be intense.

I have heard that the Piketty book is great.

I also really enjoy Ehrman's books, let me know what you think of that one.

 

[irish1958]

Fiction: An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
Non-fiction: The Believing Brain by Michael Shermer
For Fun: irishenvy.com

 

[Emcee77]

Just started book 2, Deadhouse Gates.

I tried reading the first one last summer, but got turned off. Tried it again, and the last half blew my mind in a good way. I got upset with myself for not pressing past the things that turned me off in the first place.

The first one gets good at the end, right?? When the mission in Darujhistan starts you kind of can't put it down. Let me know how Deadhouse Gates is.

 

[NDBoiler]

Almost done reading Ronald Reagan's autobiography, An American Life. Very interesting to read the personal correspondence included, especially between Reagan and the USSR leaders. Also found a lot of prophetic things regarding US foreign and domestic policy that are very accurate today.

 

[pkt77242]

Just started book 2, Deadhouse Gates.

I tried reading the first one last summer, but got turned off. Tried it again, and the last half blew my mind in a good way. I got upset with myself for not pressing past the things that turned me off in the first place.

Out of curiosity what about it turned you off? I have now finished the first 2 books and am about 1/4 the way through book 3.

 

[ShawneeIrish]

Furious Cool Richard Pryor and the World that Made Him
David Henry & Joe Henry

 

[NDBoiler]

Almost done reading Ronald Reagan's autobiography, An American Life. Very interesting to read the personal correspondence included, especially between Reagan and the USSR leaders. Also found a lot of prophetic things regarding US foreign and domestic policy that are very accurate today.

Finished this one and started The Story of Christianity vol. 1 by Justo Gonzalez. So far not too bad, seems like a well researched book.

 

[Emcee77]

Has any one read all of In Search of Lost Time (or Remembrance of Things Past)?

I'm looking for a new book and I thought about picking it up ... till I realized it is literally thousands of pages. Might read the first volume but reading the whole thing is just not realistic. Unless it goes as fast as George R. R. Martin, which I doubt, it might take me years.

 

[IrishLion]

The first one gets good at the end, right?? When the mission in Darujhistan starts you kind of can't put it down. Let me know how Deadhouse Gates is.

I've got about 100 pages left of Deadhouse Gates, and it has been pretty good. I feel like the main purpose of the book is to continue to build the expansive world (there are only a select few characters in this book that were also in book one) and to create a perception of how huge the upcoming storylines really are. Several storylines from this book are about to intersect and hopefully have some epic implications, so we shall see.

Out of curiosity what about it turned you off? I have now finished the first 2 books and am about 1/4 the way through book 3.

The part with Hairlock and his significant "character development." I just thought it was goofy and cheesy at first. However, after giving it another try and getting through it, I now realize that I was completely wrong. If anything, it does a tremendous job of making the reader understand just how intricate and "gritty" the characters' world is and how intricate the magical system can be that Erikson created, and just how batshit (in a "realistic" way, in terms of their world) things can go. A major plot point for Erikson is that magic is not easily mastered, and it's not always a sure-fire trump card when the plot gets thick for main characters.

I also get frustrated at times because the characters say and think so much about big-time plot points and history and vast implications that you aren't privy to (yet) as the reader. Most books do this, but the extent at which Erikson does it can be daunting. I was frustrated with Gardens of the Moon until all of the character and story arcs pieced together so neatly late in the game in Darujhistan. The same is happening with Deadhouse Gates; I was getting a bit confused and feeling lost until realizing that most of the characters are on a crash course for the same geographic location. I should have known, but it was hard to see and I got impatient waiting for it to happen.

It's like Erikson and his characters are all telling secrets and talking in code, and the reader isn't in on any of it until the very end. It's a tremendous piece of writing and world-building, but the first two books represent one of the more difficult storylines I've had to sift through and piece together. I'm enjoying it thoroughly, but it makes A Song of Ice and Fire seem pretty easy to follow lol.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Much like A Song of Ice and Fire, book 3 is the best in the series. If you've enjoyed the first two, Memories of Ice will blow you away.

 

[koonja]

Much like A Song of Ice and Fire, book 3 is the best in the series. If you've enjoyed the first two, Memories of Ice will blow you away.

Do you have a God damn time turner?

How do you have 14 kids under 4, work as a full time attorney, have a wife, know all possible combination and outcomes of Skyrim characters, moderate a message board, and read books?

While you're at it, why don't you devise the ultimate and undetectable bag man scheme for ND to use. Ty'son Williams needs some traveling cash!

 

[IrishLion]

Much like A Song of Ice and Fire, book 3 is the best in the series. If you've enjoyed the first two, Memories of Ice will blow you away.

I'm looking forward to getting there. A professor at the school I work at told me the same thing when he saw Deadhouse Gates in my office.

It actually makes me wonder how Erikson could have possibly gotten 10 books out of this series when the first two have already had such high plot implications relative to the characters. Do the same characters recur once you get to book 3 and beyond, or are other books in the same fashion of Deadhouse Gates (different area, different people, same "big picture" implications)?

 

[Whiskeyjack]

It actually makes me wonder how Erikson could have possibly gotten 10 books out of this series when the first two have already had such high plot implications relative to the characters.

Erikson apparently sold it to Tor as a 10-book series, which is one of its best features-- the Malazan Book of the Fallen is free from the narrative bloat and inconsistency you find in series where the author initially sketched out a shorter story arc (Jordan, Martin, etc.).

Do the same characters recur once you get to book 3 and beyond, or are other books in the same fashion of Deadhouse Gates (different area, different people, same "big picture" implications)?

Three features a lot of convergence (which is one factor that makes it so good), but then 4 and 5 step back again to explore new areas, characters, etc. before converging again in the later books. For instance, House of Chains focuses exclusively on Karsa Orlong for a good chunk, and gives a lot of his backstory.

 

[Emcee77]

Do you have a God damn time turner?

How do you have 14 kids under 4, work as a full time attorney, have a wife, know all possible combination and outcomes of Skyrim characters, moderate a message board, and read books?

While you're at it, why don't you devise the ultimate and undetectable bag man scheme for ND to use. Ty'son Williams needs some traveling cash!

Haha I've often wondered the same thing about Whiskey. There are not enough hours in the day for me to learn as much as he knows.

 

[Jebediah Springfield]

An Apology for Raymond Sebond

 

[Bluto]

Hollywood Nocturnes by James Ellroy.

Not my favorite but entertaining nonetheless. What's interesting is how squeaky clean and innocent the image of 1940's and 50's America is in terms of the periods portrayal in popular culture. Then you read something like this or Last Exit to Brooklyn...

 

[#1rish]

So I'm reading this fiction action thriller, and the antagonists have a bunch of destructive bombs all over the country waiting to be detonated. One of the locations they're focusing on is Notre Dame Stadium haha

 

[IrishLion]

Much like A Song of Ice and Fire, book 3 is the best in the series. If you've enjoyed the first two, Memories of Ice will blow you away.

Finished Deadhouse Gates. The end of the Chain of Dogs? Wowwwwwwww.

Started Memories of Ice. The prologue? Wowwwwwww.

Finally starting to feel like Erikson is actually going to let me in on some of the history that his characters are always talking about but never explaining!

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Cecil A. Hewett's - English Historic Carpentry (fantastic book on historical joints/structures used in timberframed buildings).

Wolfram Graubner's - Encyclopedia of Wood joints (another great book that shows wood joinery beyond my capability, although I hope to get there soon!).

 

[RuntheBall]

Just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire and will probably move onto The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest next. They are the 2nd and third parts of the trilogy that started with the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

After that is The Post Office Girl and The Royal Game both by Stefan Zweig.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Finally finished After Virtue by (ND prof) Alistair McIntyre. It's a challenging read, but was very rewarding for me. One of the best works of moral philosophy I've ever read.

Tried to get into Confessions by St. Augustine but, once again, I just can't seem to penetrate it. It's foiled me 2-3 times already. Might need to find a different translation.

Just started Tremendous Trifles by GK Chesterton, and I'm devouring it. Easily my favorite author, and reading a book of short essays is very easy and enjoyable (especially compared to my normal fare). Highly recommended.

Introduction to Christianity by Pope Benedict is on deck.

 

[BabyIrish]

Finally finished After Virtue[/It' by (ND prof) Alistair McIntyre. It's a challenging read, but was very rewarding for me. One of the best works of moral philosophy I've ever read.

Tried to get into Confessions by St. Augustine but, once again, I just can't seem to penetrate it. It's foiled me 2-3 times already. Might need to find a different translation.

Just started Tremendous Trifles by GK Chesterton, and I'm devouring it. Easily my favorite author, and reading a book of short essays is very easy and enjoyable (especially compared to my normal fare). Highly recommended.

Introduction to Christianity by Pope Benedict is on deck.

I'm reading Discernment of Spirits by Fr. Timothy Gallagher. It's helping my day by day decision making. Excellent read

 

[Buster Bluth]

Started Ralph Nader's Unstoppable today. I'll probably finish it by the end of the week. Two chapters down, it's an easy read but not exactly as deep as I was hoping for.

I finished Christopher Hitchen's biography of Thomas Jefferson last week. I would highly recommend that. His vocabulary...holy shit.

I think I'm doing Hitchen's take on Thomas Paine next.

 

[Old Man Mike]

C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength.

 

[jimmymac]

Just finished Liar's Poker and now reading Flash Boys, both by Michael Lewis. Last week reread Unbroken and sped through Boys in the Boat-- all great books.

 

[IrishLion]

Any of you fine people out there still reading through Malazan Book of the Fallen?

I'm almost through the fourth book, House of Chains. I can not stress enough how glad I am that I gave this series a second chance after quitting halfway through the first book last year.

 

[gkIrish]

I bought the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series yesterday. Anyone read it? I really have no idea what to expect.

 

[ClausentoTate]

Just finished reading HHGTTG for the first time last week, actually. Pretty good Edit: Very good! If you've seen the movie, you've pretty much got the jist of the story already. The movie actually takes a lot of material from the other books, which makes me want to keep reading about that universe.

I was in a comedic mood so I read Confederacy of Dunces after Hitchhiker's since it's supposed to be the funniest book ever written... Not for me. Lots of crazy circumstances and lots of irony, but didn't have me laughing out loud as much as some other books. When the entire prologue is about how the author committed suicide and the book was found afterward, it was really hard to get into the book.

Damn it Martin, finish the next Game of Thrones already!