What are you reading?

[Qingdai]

Speaking of well written juvenile literature (which I know Null said that he was not in touch with) may I recommend Suzzane Collins, The Hunger Games series?

It's a sparsely written account of a dystopic future, where people are separated into districts based on the production of that district, each year there are games where the contestants are randomly selected. The third one (Mocking Jay) just came out and I'm excited to read it.

[Nullifidian]

Aside from the various things on my reading challenge list, I'm currently reading:



Since this is the first book in the Cadfael mystery series, I might be able to read it for credit in the reading challenge if I can get them to accept it as the group read for February. Each month consists of one themed reading and one themeless, and February's theme is "first in a series". Anyway, on the 1st I'll nominate it, and keep my fingers crossed.

Otherwise, I'll just go with my first selection of Persuasion for the group read.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Sentimental Imperialists: the American Experience in East Asia by John Curtis, James C. Thomson, Jr and Peter W. Stanley.



Even though it's 30 years old, this is still an outstanding analysis of US/East Asian interactions from the sailing of the Empress of China through post-Viet Nam, and the mutual (mis)perceptions and misunderstandings of all concerned. Looked, but no second edition has come out in the meantime -- that would a really interesting read too.

I read the assigned parts of this for a class in the late '80s, going back now and enjoying all of it. It's seriously falling apart, unfortunately; the first 1/3 of it has all come unglued and the rest is about to. Thinking about taking it apart and bringing it to Kinko's to get a plastic spine run through it.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Qingdai

Speaking of well written juvenile literature (which I know Null said that he was not in touch with) may I recommend Suzzane Collins, The Hunger Games series?

It's a sparsely written account of a dystopic future, where people are separated into districts based on the production of that district, each year there are games where the contestants are randomly selected. The third one (Mocking Jay) just came out and I'm excited to read it.

I just added that to my list last week, based on a favorable review at LGM. [Thanks] for the second opinion.

[freemonkey]

C Street: The Fundamentalist Threat to American Democracy

[Ensign Steve]

Originally Posted by Adam

Finished and highly recommended.

I got this on audiobook based on your recommendation, but I only heard a little bit of it on the plane before I snoozed. Not the fault of the book, I just like to sleep on planes. Well, maybe a little bit the fault of the extremely British guy with the extremely soothing voice doing the reading. Anyway, I liked what I heard and I will probably finish it in the car or someplace where I'm mostly guaranteed not to narc out.

[SharonDee]

I finished reading the Dan Brown book and now I'm out of new material. The guy I work with has promised me the next two Hyperion books by Dan Simmons but he didn't bring them today. I am seriously jonesin'!

I'm rereading Marley & Me and between this and The Lost Symbol, my brain is turning to mush. I think I'll go to the library after work and see if I can't find something in case John fails me again. I'll be using this thread for ideas, natch.

[freemonkey]

Originally Posted by SharonDee

I finished reading the Dan Brown book and now I'm out of new material. The guy I work with has promised me the next two Hyperion books by Dan Simmons but he didn't bring them today. I am seriously jonesin'!

You can get lots of free and cheap books for your Kindle. Like this 1930's zombie thriller by L. Ron Hubbard.

[SharonDee]

Thanks, freemonkey, but I needed reading material that could handle extreme cold. It's one of the areas in which dead-tree books beat out e-books.

But my dealer coworker has come through for me at last. I have two paperbacks--never read! pristine spines!--of Dan Simmons's Ilium and Olympos. The dense prose Simmons writes guarantees that I won't be bothering my dealer coworker again any time soon.

[mulebear]

Originally Posted by SharonDee

Thanks, freemonkey, but I needed reading material that could handle extreme cold. It's one of the areas in which dead-tree books beat out e-books.

But my dealer coworker has come through for me at last. I have two paperbacks--never read! pristine spines!--of Dan Simmons's Ilium and Olympos. The dense prose Simmons writes guarantees that I won't be bothering my dealer coworker again any time soon.

Simmons' is a great writer capable of many different styles. Against my initial judgment of his Hyperion books, I ended up thoroughly enjoying the series. I also, in spite of the ending, loved The Terror and had a lot of fun reading his over the top thriller Darwin's Blade.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get into Illum (and thus did not start Olympus), and his novel about Dickens (Drood) was tedious.

I've heard very good things about Carrion Comfort, yet I keep putting off reading it. I should remedy that soon.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Adam

the Dark Tower reread I've decided [I'm] doing this year.

2 down, 5 to go.

The Drawing of the Three features a character who uses the word "mockie" in 1980's NYC. I checked Robin Furth's excellent The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, but there is no information regarding whether or not this character believed that he absolutely need not be held accountable for his use of the slur.

[SharonDee]

Originally Posted by mulebear

Unfortunately, I couldn't get into Illum (and thus did not start Olympus), and his novel about Dickens (Drood) was tedious.

Oh dear, that sounds discouraging. I got through the latter (mostly because I was ashamed of having just given up on his The Crook Factory) and it was quite a slog. I'll be very disappointed if these two are also hard to get through. But the first two Hyperion books were interesting so ...

[Doctor X]

A long, long time ago, a mentor recommended John Burton's The Collection of the Qur'ān as an introduction to how the book actually came together.

Finally found a copy.

--J.D.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Originally Posted by Doctor X

A long, long time ago, a mentor recommended John Burton's The Collection of the Qur'ān as an introduction to how the book actually came together.

Finally found a copy.

--J.D.

You are probably already aware of this, but if not, The Atlantic did a great piece a few years back on the discovery in Yemen of some of bits of what may be some of the oldest existing copies of the Koran, and it talks a bit about the historical development of the book.

[Doctor X]

I am, at it is a shame that article seems to be the only discussion of the subject in English.

--J.D.

[Crumb]

[Ymir's blood]

Excellent book.



I need to get back and finish several of my most recent entries. Not doing so good in the reading department, lately.

[Kyuss Apollo]

Just got a copy of Purcell's "Connecticut in Transition: 1775-1818."

Not a first edition, of course. Dust cover does has a big missing chunk, might retire it for now just while I'm reading it.

Snow day tomorrow, should be able to put a nice dent in it.

[mulebear]

Since delivery of our Kindle DX is probably going to be delayed by weather conditions, I decided to dig through the books I haven't started yet. The book I found is one I bought for Sonoma Bear with the intention of reading it after him, but I never got around to it.



I'm enjoying it, though I've only read the first two articles.

[Adam]

3 down, 4 to go.

I know a lot of people think The Wastelands is one of the better books in the dark Tower series, but it's probably my least favorite of the lot. There's nothing wrong with it, as such, it's just...I dunno...a lot of it seems really derivative. I think at least some of it is probably intentional, as the jumbled mix of borrowed weirdness does fit the "heap of broken images" subtitle of the book's second half, it just doesn't really work for me.

[wildernesse]

Finished The Nearest Exit by Olin Steinhauer, which I enjoyed. It is a spy thriller and the sequel to The Tourist. I haven't read The Tourist, but it is probably good, too.

Currently reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

[Ymir's blood]

Started reading secret santa gift, Vile Victorians last night.

[lisarea]

I am reading The Age of Wire and String, based in large part on how consistently angry and stupid the bad reviews of it were. Also on my dismal attention span of late. I'll pick up a book, read 50 pages or so, forget I was reading it, then re-find it six or seven years later. This one is a little easier to pick back up, so that's good.

I'm really loving it, though, and I think I'll read Notable American Women next. Or sometime in the not too distant future or whatever.

[Doctor X]

Originally Posted by lisarea

I'm really loving it, though, and I think I'll read Notable American Women next. Or sometime in the not too distant future or whatever.

You should be fine, it cannot be more than 10 or 12 pages. . . .

show spoiler

--J.D.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by Doctor X

You should be fine, it cannot be more than 10 or 12 pages. . . .

show spoiler

--J.D.

It is fiction, prominently featuring an unreliable narrator.

show spoiler