What Are You Reading Right Now?

[Barb]

This is similar to the music thread in the Misc forum, only now we're talking books.

I just finished reading The Sign of the Book by John Dunning. It's a well-paced mystery featuring a recurring character of his, Cliff Janeway. He's a retired Denver cop who now runs a bookstore and specializes in rare and first edition books. He's being asked to help his girlfriend, attorney Erin D'Angelo, solve a murder that was apparently perpetrated by one of her longtime friends. The plot also involves a cop who abuses his authority, two small-time criminals, and an autistic savant who may be a material witness to the crime.

I'm also reading Confessions of a Teenage Sleuth, a wickedly funny parody of the Nancy Drew mystery series by Chelsea Cain. I was given my first Nancy Drew book at age 10, and have read almost the entire series. But you have to give Cain credit for the part in her parody when Nancy reveals that her beautiful baby boy is actually the product of a one-night stand between her and Frank Hardy. All the classic fictional detectives are here: the Bobbsey Twins, the Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames, etc. All of the classic Nancy Drew characters are here as well.

And I've just completed reading the cliché-ridden MEG: Primal Waters by Benchley-wannabe Steve Alten. It's not as stupid as his first book in the MEG series, but all the same, it's literary junk food. Every now and then, he writes a great scene, but I'm having a hard time remembering any of the character's names or what happened. Basically, the plot involves a big shark eating people, which makes it a perfect beach read.

So what are you reading now, or have read recently?

 

[Roses Ablaze]

I'm reading the Druid of Shannara. I hate to say it, but even though it's by a famous author, it isn't that good of a book. The plot is pretty basic and there seems to be a certain amout of author intrusion.

 

[Barb]

Who is the author? With a title like that, I'm assuming it's sci-fi/fantasy, correct?

 

[tyger]

I think the shannara series is written by Terry Brooks.


Right now I"m reading

Devil in the white city by Erik Larson
Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Naked Pictures of Famous People by Jon Stewart
Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
MOther of Kings by Poul Anderson
Desolation angels by Jack Kerouac
Walden by Thoreau
Why I am not a Christian by Bertrand Russel
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S thompson
The Elizabathean World Picture by E.M.W Tilyard.
~

I do try to umm kill myself and finish these books easily. some of these books I've been reading for months on now.

I also have a set of books by Tagore that are sitting on my shelf that i intend to sometime soon.

 

[Fig]

Right now? I'm working on Gerald Messadié's "L'Homme qui devint dieu" saga. (Title translates for those keeping track to "The Man who became God". It's an attempt at a (relatively) secular biography of Jesus ; still an enlightening read.

Yes, "secular" means that Jesus was saved from the cross, not resurected, among other things. (He does, however, perform healing feats et al).

The latest title I tackled in that series is "L'affaire Marie Madeleine" which deals with the events directly following the (alleged) resurection, with such character as Pilate, Jesus and Saul (and, of course, the ubiquitous these days Mary Magdalen) occupying center stage. It begin roughly one month after the cross, and ends with Saul encountering Jesus in Damas as Jesus is preparing to travel eastward along the silk road to visit the Jews who did NOT come back from the Exile, and went EAST from babylon instead ; settling down in what we call Cashmeer today, on the border between Pakistan and India.

I'll probably taclke his "L'Incendiaire" soon (it's a biography of Saul/Paul).

 

[MistyRocks]

I actually haven't read anything in ages, which is disgraceful considering one of my subjects is English in college. The last book I read was Dubliners by James Joyce and that was for an essay so it doesn't really count, although I did enjoy it. Read Six Existential Thinkers at the same time, which was pretty good too. But now, literally as soon as I walk away from the computer, I'm gonna start re-reading the Chronicles of Narnia cuz there's been so much talk of it lately, what with me being hyped up and arguing with my friend (who's a huge Tolkien fan) about why it's better than the Lord of the Rings (which are also great books)...

(Please excuse any horrible grammer/spelling, I just got home from the pub and saying goodbye to a friend who's heading back down the country for the summer)

 

[Barb]

"Devil in the White City" is great. He also wrote "Isaac's Storm," which I've read. He does copious research for each book and it shows. I just started re-reading "A Year at the Movies" by MST3K writer Kevin Murphy.

 

[YumeHeart]

Nothing at the moment. Soon to start "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke. I love her books! "Inkheart" and "The Thief Lord" were excellent, that is, if you like fantasy as much as I do. I also recently read "Kazunomiya, Prisoner of Heaven" by Kathryn Lasky, and loved it. It's part of the Royal Diaries series, which are meant for like, 12-year-olds, but they actually tend to be very enjoyable and not as watered down as you'd expect.

 

[Roses Ablaze]

I have to start reading "Anthem" at some point, as there will be questions about it on my English final (which is in less than a week).

 

[Barb]

"The Thief Lord" got excellent reviews when it was released, however, I've yet to find it at my local library. I'm dying to read it.

 

[Barb]

Just finished a collection of short stories by Sue Miller entitled Inventing the Abbotts. The title might be familiar, since that particular story was made into a film starring Jennifer Connelly a few years back. Her stories are good and deal primarily with class distinctions in America.

And Todd McCafferty, Anne's son, has written a new Pern novel that I want to read.

 

[Jo-Jo]

I've just finished Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw and The Liar by Stephen Fry, and I'm rereading The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In theory, I'm also tracking down the books I'll need for next year... I've somehow ended up doing a course on women's lit, so hopefully lots of stuff by Jane Austen and so on. (Note to anyone studying English: choosing your future courses based on which titles you most like the sound of is a BAD PLAN.)

 

[Barb]

Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker trilogy--if in fact it can be called that--is extremely funny. You'll love it. A course on women's lit sounds interesting. I was trying to think of some women writers whose work I loved and I came up with: Jane Austen, Anne McCaffrey, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Bronte, Sue Miller, Joyce Carol Oates, Sara Paretsky and Patricia Cornwell.

 

[Fig]

Right now I'm hammering my way through the Inuyasha of written fantasy fiction (Aka "This is the series that never end...it goes on and on my friend..."), ie The Wheel of Time.

Not the absolute best series ever, but I'm rereading it in preparation for Knife of Dreams, the eleventh (and, in theory, next to last) book (coming this autumn).

Plus it gives me something to do while waiting for Half-Blood Prince to finally come out.

 

[peanutbuttermewtwo]

Well, i just got back froma con, so my literary level is waaaayyy down. I read all of Kodocha (Miho Obana) and enjoyed everything but the final book, which nearly ruined the whole series for me. I'm not big into manga anymore, but I'm falling in love with Canadian comics.

Scott Pilgrim!
Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim!

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life (Brian Lee O'Malley) absolutely rocks my comicky socks. It's brilliantly funny, especially if you've been to the city it's set in and can laugh about inside jokes (such as the male lead wearing a "Canadian Girls Kick Ass" T-shirt, or the eight-year-old ADD-stricken Chinese drummer, Trasha, having been discovered playing Drummania at the Pacific Mall). I know this is a poor description, but in all honesty, it cracks me up. read it, or read Lost at Sea, which is less hysterical, but equally awesome.It makes me sad I only bought one copy, because I've now realized it's the perfect gift for my brother and I really, really want to keep it...

I do read real books, though. I just finished a biography of Douglas Adams, a book on CG art, The Grim Pig (a newspaper industry parody) and a few trashy Jenny Carroll novels about psychic girls, princesses in New York, and ghosties. And all of Tsubasa/XXXholic, and the first couple .Hack books (sucked. I'm disappointed). I'm going to try and pick up the new Harry Potter to take to my camp job with me, and, of course, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is coming out...

 

[Jo-Jo]

Plus it gives me something to do while waiting for Half-Blood Prince to finally come out.

41 more days!!! ^___^

 

[Argy]

I just finished 1984 for school, and I must say that it is now my favorite book. I feel I could start reading it again and not be bored. I just started reading the fourth novel of Slayers by Hajime Kanzaka. I've also been working on progressively reading through the articles in Everything You Know is Wrong by Disinformation.

On the agenda for early summer:
Outfoxed by Alexandra Kitty
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

 

[Barb]

The "Everything" book is wild. They had a lot of information that was never published or reported on; makes you wonder how fictional '1984' really is. Right now, I'm randomly reading Ray Bradbury's Zen and the Art of Writing. Basically, it's a writing guide. Stephen King also has one that I found informative called On Writing.

 

[Artistshipper]

Pyramid Scheme, Eric Flint & David Freer
Le Miserables, Victor Hugo
Hell's Faire, John Ringo
Mutineer's Moon, David Weber
History of the United States, Boorstin & Kelly
Miracle At Midway, Gordon W. Prague

 

[A Concerned Solomon]

Men At Work - George F. Will
The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower - Stephen King
The Stand - Stephen King
Bored of the Rings - The Harvard Lampoon