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Whatcha readin now? (book, books, reading, read) (3 Viewers)

Just finished Beat the Reaper.

Holy crap - Buy. This. Book. It is a breezy read (I consumed it in 3 hours or so). Awesome story and filled with all kinds of obscure facts. One of the most original and well written books I have read in years.
:thumbup:
If you read it please chime in with your opinion. I'd be very interested in another take on it.
What a fun read. Quirky, grisly, funny, repulsive.
Reading this now. It is a fun easy read.
Agree with the above.Is adding stuff to the water bottles in hospitals in order to bill it at a higher rate true?

 
Just got done reading NutureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson.

This is one of the better books I've read in a long time. Each chapter covers recent research on child development, each with counter-intuitive findings. For example, why is the wussification of kids (over coddling, everyone wins in sports, etc) back firing? It's more of a social science book than parenting book.

If you liked Freakonomics or Malcolm Gladwell stuff, I highly recommend. If you liked these and are also a parent, definitely put this on your list.
:goodposting:
On a super long waiting list through the library for this, but might break down and buy it with the gift cards I got. Right now I am back into novels and am getting around to reading McCammon's Boy's Life.

 
Just finished Beat the Reaper.

Holy crap - Buy. This. Book. It is a breezy read (I consumed it in 3 hours or so). Awesome story and filled with all kinds of obscure facts. One of the most original and well written books I have read in years.
:banned:
If you read it please chime in with your opinion. I'd be very interested in another take on it.
What a fun read. Quirky, grisly, funny, repulsive.
Reading this now. It is a fun easy read.
Let us know what you think of the ending. :banned: I'm reading King's Under the Dome currently, and am finding it a bit of a slog.

 
I'm currently reading Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, the National Book Award winner for 2009.
This was a thoroughly entertaining read. It's written in the form of individual chapters that act as short stories told from the point of view of multiple different New Yorkers in 1974. In the end they all interweave, with the tightrope walk across the World Trade Towers forming a connection between the tales. Some of the stories worked better than the others, but the book was overall very well done.Also finished Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (picked it up on recommendations here). It was a very fast read, and although I had to suspend my disbelief more than a few times, I enjoyed this a lot. Looking forward to the Scorsese film adaptation.

Now reading: Snow by Orhan Pamuk

 
Reading Scourge of God be SM Stirling. It is the sequel to Sunrise Lands. I really like this series. Very gritty realistic view of a future world without technologies provided by internal combustion engines or electricity. It is funny that you get to a point where it feels like a medieval novel and then they'll order a cheeseburger and fries at an Inn.

 
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Right now I am back into novels and am getting around to reading McCammon's Boy's Life.
Loved this book.I need some help identifying a book/author that I read several years ago. It was set in New Hampshire (I think) a couple of hundred years ago. I think the town or territory was being fought over by Canada & the US and they decided to secede. IIRC, the author was being compared to Cormac McCarthy but I can't for the life of me remember his name.

Ring any bells?

 
The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson

Solid middle book of a trilogy. The first book in the series was great and this one was quite good. I have high hopes for the final book. Really solid magic system and likable main protagonist. The relationship side of the story is the only thing that brings it down. Too much obsessing over their relationship.

The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.

Executive Power - Vince Flynn

I really don't like Flynn's politics, but his books aren't half bad. I kind of wish that Mitch Rapp's wife would get taken out so he can go back to the no-holds-barred assassin he used to be versus the tortured guy trying to satisfy his urge to be in the thick of it with his wife's demands that he stay out of harm's way. Decent throwaway read.

A Voyage Long and Strange - Tony Horwitz

Excellent account of early North American explorers, starting with the Vikings around 1000 A.D. and ending with Plymouth landing. I'm continually amazed when I read recent history books with how much they contradict the stuff I learned in AP History just 15 years ago. Overall, very good, though the authors attempts to follow the explorers trails wasn't nearly as interesting as the factual history. Any recommendations of books on the American colonization (1600-1700) would be appreciated. I don't want boring long-winded history lessons, but interesting up-to-date perspectives in a readable format.

 
Just got done reading NutureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson.

This is one of the better books I've read in a long time. Each chapter covers recent research on child development, each with counter-intuitive findings. For example, why is the wussification of kids (over coddling, everyone wins in sports, etc) back firing? It's more of a social science book than parenting book.

If you liked Freakonomics or Malcolm Gladwell stuff, I highly recommend. If you liked these and are also a parent, definitely put this on your list.
Partway through this book now. So far, I really like what I'm reading. Already trying to apply the praise stuff (Chapter One) with my kids. I'm not one of those ultra-competitive parents who pushes their kids to be the best or first of everything, but I'd certainly like to avoid turning them into one of the whiny, self-entitled 20 year olds running around out there right now.
 
roadkill1292 said:
James McPhearson's Battle Cry of Freedom so I don't make a complete idiot of myself in the Civil War thread.
Been meaning to read this ever since my Gettysburg trip last year, haven't got around to it.Currently reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, pretty good so far.

 
D_House said:
Also finished Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane (picked it up on recommendations here). It was a very fast read, and although I had to suspend my disbelief more than a few times, I enjoyed this a lot. Looking forward to the Scorsese film adaptation.
I loved reading this...but did not like the ending AT ALL. That was uber stupid.
 
Just finished a Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Wow!!! I enjoyed the first two well enough, but the third book really has me enthused!

Thanks to those who recommended this series in this thread.

 
Just finished a Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Wow!!! I enjoyed the first two well enough, but the third book really has me enthused!Thanks to those who recommended this series in this thread.
I read the first book, it was pretty awesome. I'm waiting for the series to be finished before reading the whole thing.
 
Just finished a Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Wow!!! I enjoyed the first two well enough, but the third book really has me enthused!Thanks to those who recommended this series in this thread.
I read the first book, it was pretty awesome. I'm waiting for the series to be finished before reading the whole thing.
I'm tellin ya, good luck.I'm right there with you...and I started reading the books because of a thread I read here a few years ago...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...According to GRRM's blog, he managed to finish a first draft of a chapter on Tyrion yesterday. OH HOW EXCITING! ONE WHOLE CHAPTER, MAYBE!Ugh.
 
Just finished a Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Wow!!! I enjoyed the first two well enough, but the third book really has me enthused!Thanks to those who recommended this series in this thread.
I read the first book, it was pretty awesome. I'm waiting for the series to be finished before reading the whole thing.
I'm tellin ya, good luck.I'm right there with you...and I started reading the books because of a thread I read here a few years ago...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...According to GRRM's blog, he managed to finish a first draft of a chapter on Tyrion yesterday. OH HOW EXCITING! ONE WHOLE CHAPTER, MAYBE!Ugh.
Can't you just enjoy the books he's already written?
 
shuke said:
Psychopav said:
Just finished a Storm of Swords, the third book in A Song of Ice and Fire series. Wow!!! I enjoyed the first two well enough, but the third book really has me enthused!

Thanks to those who recommended this series in this thread.
I read the first book, it was pretty awesome. I'm waiting for the series to be finished before reading the whole thing.
I'm tellin ya, good luck.I'm right there with you...and I started reading the books because of a thread I read here a few years ago...and waiting...and waiting...and waiting...

According to GRRM's blog, he managed to finish a first draft of a chapter on Tyrion yesterday. OH HOW EXCITING! ONE WHOLE CHAPTER, MAYBE!

Ugh.
Can't you just enjoy the books he's already written?
,seriously?
 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.

 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I haven't read it, but a book would have to be pretty horrible for me to give up after only 10 pages. At least go 30.
 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I haven't read it, but a book would have to be pretty horrible for me to give up after only 10 pages. At least go 30.
I can't remember where I saw it (and can't find it online), but I vaguely recall a tongue in cheek "rule" along the lines that you should read x number of pages of a book where x = 100 - your age, before quitting.
 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I haven't read it, but a book would have to be pretty horrible for me to give up after only 10 pages. At least go 30.
It wasn't that it was horrible. But based on the first ten pages and the synopsis, I knew that I had no desire to read this book right now.I occasionally run across a book that I abandon only to add it back to my to-be-read list because I anticipate that my interest in it will be piqued at some later time.

But my first impression was that this is one of those books that people read just to cross it off their list (like I once did with The Sound and the Fury), and I don't have the patience for those any more.

I'm not of the Beat generation and have no romantic notions of hitting the road and wandering, so I'm guessing that Kerouac isn't for me.

 
Just finished Crossers by Phillip Caputo, an outstanding book about a man, morning the loss of his wife who was on one of the planes during 9/11, escapes from the Northeast to Arizona and reconnects with his maternal family who have been ranching on the Arizona-Mexico border for generations. The book weaves together two stories, one about the life of the man's grandfather who was an old west throwback who fought in the Mexican revolution with that of the modern family struggling to raise cattle while dealing with drug smugglers and desperate Mexicans crossing the border.

If anyone is familiar with Caputo then you know he's a top notch writer and he really brings his a-game with this one. Highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/Crossers-Philip-Capu...6086&sr=8-1

Starting One Second After by William Forstchen, a book dealing with the aftermath of nukes exploded in the atmosphere to have the EMPs take out American's power grids and electrical devices.

 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I haven't read it, but a book would have to be pretty horrible for me to give up after only 10 pages. At least go 30.
It wasn't that it was horrible. But based on the first ten pages and the synopsis, I knew that I had no desire to read this book right now.I occasionally run across a book that I abandon only to add it back to my to-be-read list because I anticipate that my interest in it will be piqued at some later time.

But my first impression was that this is one of those books that people read just to cross it off their list (like I once did with The Sound and the Fury), and I don't have the patience for those any more.

I'm not of the Beat generation and have no romantic notions of hitting the road and wandering, so I'm guessing that Kerouac isn't for me.
Doh! I read your initial post as The Road instead of On the Road. It being the latter, yes I have read it and 10 pages is plenty. :confused:

 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I haven't read it, but a book would have to be pretty horrible for me to give up after only 10 pages. At least go 30.
It wasn't that it was horrible. But based on the first ten pages and the synopsis, I knew that I had no desire to read this book right now.I occasionally run across a book that I abandon only to add it back to my to-be-read list because I anticipate that my interest in it will be piqued at some later time.

But my first impression was that this is one of those books that people read just to cross it off their list (like I once did with The Sound and the Fury), and I don't have the patience for those any more.

I'm not of the Beat generation and have no romantic notions of hitting the road and wandering, so I'm guessing that Kerouac isn't for me.
Doh! I read your initial post as The Road instead of On the Road. It being the latter, yes I have read it and 10 pages is plenty. :D
:shrug: :rolleyes: I did the exact same thing and was going to ask WTF Jack Kerouac has do with it.
 
Just finished Beat the Reaper.

Holy crap - Buy. This. Book. It is a breezy read (I consumed it in 3 hours or so). Awesome story and filled with all kinds of obscure facts. One of the most original and well written books I have read in years.
:blackdot:
If you read it please chime in with your opinion. I'd be very interested in another take on it.
What a fun read. Quirky, grisly, funny, repulsive.
Reading this now. It is a fun easy read.
It's a fun book. A comic book without the illustrations. As an FYI...this is being made into a movie and Leonardo DiCaprio is slated to be the star. Could be all kinds of awesome.
 
Read the first ten pages of On The Road and put it aside. I can't seem to muster any interest in the book.

Is this one of those books that aren't very good but everyone is expected to have read it? Maybe I just don't have the right frame of mind right now, but I think I'm taking this one off my list.
I've been lambasted for calling On The Road overrated drivel here. Move on.
 
Just finished Beat the Reaper.

Holy crap - Buy. This. Book. It is a breezy read (I consumed it in 3 hours or so). Awesome story and filled with all kinds of obscure facts. One of the most original and well written books I have read in years.
If you read it please chime in with your opinion. I'd be very interested in another take on it.
What a fun read. Quirky, grisly, funny, repulsive.
Reading this now. It is a fun easy read.
It's a fun book. A comic book without the illustrations. As an FYI...this is being made into a movie and Leonardo DiCaprio is slated to be the star. Could be all kinds of awesome.
I picked up a hardcover edition of this online for $4. Looking forward to it based on the reviews here.
 
Finished Arcadia and Dead Souls. Both very good, although the latter is on another level of greatness. I'll be reading that one again and again.

Started Giles Goat-Boy. And my next book club book sounds like something I'll surely hate: The History of Love

 
Just finished Crossers by Phillip Caputo, an outstanding book about a man, morning the loss of his wife who was on one of the planes during 9/11, escapes from the Northeast to Arizona and reconnects with his maternal family who have been ranching on the Arizona-Mexico border for generations. The book weaves together two stories, one about the life of the man's grandfather who was an old west throwback who fought in the Mexican revolution with that of the modern family struggling to raise cattle while dealing with drug smugglers and desperate Mexicans crossing the border.

If anyone is familiar with Caputo then you know he's a top notch writer and he really brings his a-game with this one. Highly recommend.

http://www.amazon.com/Crossers-Philip-Capu...6086&sr=8-1

Starting One Second After by William Forstchen, a book dealing with the aftermath of nukes exploded in the atmosphere to have the EMPs take out American's power grids and electrical devices.
Finished One Second After. Really good albeit very depressing at times with the speed in which civilization collapses. Recommend for those fans of the genre.Starting Day by Day Armageddon by J. L. Bourne. A zombie book! :ptts:

 
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On the non-fiction side, I'm reading Half the Sky, a book about worldwide female repression.

It's pretty depressing stuff at times (and at times fairly graphic and nasty), but it's a depressing that needs to be talked about.

For example: you learn how gang violence in West Africa mixes with patriarchy to make rape one of the most effective tools of war.

Women are basically property, and thus virgins are pure gold. Instead of shooting rival men, many militia-gangs now target women in villages. They gangrape them (often finishing the job with objects, causing internal hemorrhaging) then leave. However, unless the woman has a male witness to the act, she's deemed promiscuous by her village and her family is forced to "honor kill" her (usually via public stoning). Often times the father and/or brothers commit suicide after. Hence it's a much more brutal, emotionally scarring, and debilitating way to crush your enemies.

Like I said, grim stuff.
In the same vein, I recently read Infidel, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidel_(book), by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It's an autobiographical story of a Muslim Somali woman, her youth in Somalia and her moving to various countries in Africa and the Middle East, escaping the turmoil of her home country, where she must live by strict Islamic rules. Eventually she finally goes to the Netherlands and becomes a member of Dutch Parliament. She is very blunt in her criticism of Islam, but it should be noted that the Islam she was raised around is the fundamentalist Islam and she somewhat discounts the more secular interpretations of the Koran. Still a very interesting read, though.
 
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Paul of Dune, and then Winds of Dune. Looking forward to the book #17 later this year.

Herbert's kid does a good job, imo.

 
Paul of Dune, and then Winds of Dune. Looking forward to the book #17 later this year.Herbert's kid does a good job, imo.
That's the first time I've ever heard someone say that. Every comment I've ever read basically curses Herbert's kid for ruining Dune in his attempt for an easy money grab.
 
Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy - Very good book, but not my favourite McCarthy novel. Definitely not a light read, some of the imagery/scenes are downright disturbing. I can't imagine what the movie will be like, should the project come to fruition. I have what's probably a pretty elementary question about the end though.

mytagid = Math.floor( Math.random() * 100 );document.write("

Is there a general consensus on who/what The Judge is? Seems to be supernatural or the Devil, but from the few McCarthy books I've read, that doesn't really seem to be a style that McCarthy uses, thus my confusion.

*** SPOILER ALERT! Click this link to display the potential spoiler text in this box. ***");document.close();

The Road, Cormac McCarthy- Outstanding book. But, I have a feeling if you're a man and you have a son, it may have more of an impact on you. Depressing and uplifting at the same time. I think your opinion of the book will likely be influenced if you are naturally an optimist or a pessimist.

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini - Good book. Very much in the vein of The Kite Runner, with this one focused on a female lead character.

 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
 
Paul of Dune, and then Winds of Dune. Looking forward to the book #17 later this year.Herbert's kid does a good job, imo.
That's the first time I've ever heard someone say that. Every comment I've ever read basically curses Herbert's kid for ruining Dune in his attempt for an easy money grab.
I'm easy, I guess. Series like Dune...I want more. The kid rides his dad's notes and gives a solid story. As long as he and Anderson pump them out, I have no complaints.In particular, the Butlerian Jihad series of 3 was wonderful, IMO. I'm sure critics killed them :lol:
 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
Gunslinger Series imo. I pretty much love all King stuff, but I don't see much love for Desperation and its twin book. Good reads.

 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
Gunslinger Series imo. I pretty much love all King stuff, but I don't see much love for Desperation and its twin book. Good reads.
The Stand is the best one of his that I've read, but I haven't read much of his recent stuff. Prefer the old stuff.
 
Over the last two months read the "Codex Alera " series by Jim Butcher - excellent fantasy series for those waiting for the Martin to finish or the new Erikson novel to come out. Six Books in all , I enjoyed every one .

Reading the "First Law Trilogy " by Joe Abercrombie - Another excellent series so far- halfway through book two .

Also starting " Clemente: The passion and grace of baseball's last hero by David Maraniss- I thoroughly enjoy books about the older era baseball players ever since I read Cobb by Al Stump

Planning on buying a Kindle with winnings from football , then I will probably rarely ever watch tv..

 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
Gunslinger Series imo. I pretty much love all King stuff, but I don't see much love for Desperation and its twin book. Good reads.
The Stand is the best one of his that I've read, but I haven't read much of his recent stuff. Prefer the old stuff.
M-O-O-N, that spells great book :goodposting:
 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
The Stand is my favorite book ever.
 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
What would you say King's best books are? I've read Pet Sematary, IT and Duma Beach
I'd recommend The Stand, The Dark Tower series, The Shining, the newest - Under The Dome as good entry points if you're talking novels.But I think the best introduction to King is through his short story collections. There's a ton of them - Skeleton Crew, Night Shift, Different Seasons (this is the one that the film Stand By Me was taken from), Four Past Midnight, Nightmare & Dreamscapes, Hearts In Atlantis, etc....

 
MacArtist said:
The Eyes of the Dragon - Stephen King

Kind of a miss for me. It was a quick read so it wasn't too painful, but the story was just dull. I get that he was trying to just write a simple fairy tale style story, but it wasn't the least bit compelling.
IMO, as a huge Stephen King fan, this is easily his worst book by far. If you haven't read his other books, please don't judge him on this one book.
No worries of that happening. I've read 15-20 of his other books and am actually slowly reading all of his novels/collections (non-audio) in publication order. Next up is Thinner from 1984.
 

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