What are you reading?

jalfa

jalfa

Starter
#31
#31
Capt. Factorial said:
While Henry James has a tendency to write way too much about way too little, I found Portrait to be worth finishing -- one of my main complaints about books is the unsatisfying ending, and I thought James pulled the ending off. Some books you finish off and put down. Others you close, hold in your hands for a minute, and just let it all sink in, and Portrait of a Lady was one of the latter for me, however excruciating it was in the middle.
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Well, as of now, I've been able to finish exactly half of the novel and it has been one of the most dragging reads I've had. In pretty much every book that I've ever read I've hit a groove at some point and managed to read a lot of text in one go (this was even the case with To the Lighthouse, despite all the stream-of-consciousness business) that hasn't been the case with Portait. For some reason I seem to not be able to get interested in any of the characters or the dynamics of the story. Add to that my dislike for James' way of writing, way too much about way too little fits quite nicely, by the way, and I just can't seem to get on with it. As of yet, I have always finished a book that I've started to read, so there's still hope, but it has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time now.

Capt. Factorial said:
Ulysses...well, if you're trying to avoid excruciating that's not exactly the place to go. But definitely worth reading.
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Well, I was being a bit facetious with that. I mean yes, I do own a copy of Ulysses and I will read it at some point. But having just finished dealing with The Waste Land only to start all over again, but with a waste land stretched over 1300 pages, would probably rank in the top 10 most insane things I've done in my life. However, I do like modernist literature a lot (I'd have gone mad if I didn't), so I just might embark on it anyway, just to see where the first 100-or so pages lead me.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#32
#32
jalfa said:
As of yet, I have always finished a book that I've started to read, so there's still hope, but it has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time now.
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So far Anna Karenina has been the only book I have tried to read and just stopped part way through. Twice. Maybe the third time will be a charm in the future? For some reason this book is just hard for me to get through....
 
Dime Dropper

Dime Dropper

All-Star
#33
#33
Currently reading "Seven Troop" by Andy McNab. Has alot of great books. I love true (as in non-fiction) war books.

I read alot of history books. I'm not into fantasy stuff, be it through books or film. I like my stuff within the realms of possibility. That said, most things I read are true. The only non-true books I've thoroughly enjoyed are the series by Mildred Taylor. My favourite books of all time.
 
Capt. Factorial

Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
#35
#35
Warhawk said:
So far Anna Karenina has been the only book I have tried to read and just stopped part way through. Twice. Maybe the third time will be a charm in the future? For some reason this book is just hard for me to get through....
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I understand that pain. I really didn't like Anna Karenina, but it may be the only book that has made me cheer out loud while reading (you didn't get that far).

The book I've failed on (3 times, and I don't plan to try again): Gravity's Rainbow.
 
VF21

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#36
#36
Robert Heinlein - except at the very end of his life/career - was an extraordinary author. One of my favorite books has always been "Stranger in a Strange Land." I hadn't read it in years and found it for 10 cents at a yard sale last weekend. I'm thoroughly enjoying it once again...
 
Bricklayer

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#37
#37
Warhawk said:
I have started reading "The Runes of the Earth", a continuation of the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever; this series is labeled "The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant". I haven't gotten too far into it yet but the book has grabbed me like the ones before it did. Highly recommended for those liking fantasy yarns.

I read the Chronicles and Second Chronicles (3 books each) as a youth as well as one or two times since and may have to re-read them yet again after starting this book. ;)
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I read those as a kid -- well, the first two series. But as I recall by the end he had
died/been elvated up to become the keystone in the...something or other. the embodiement of white gold I guess.
. Is this truly a new series somehow taking up his story again all these years alter?
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#38
#38
Bricklayer said:
I read those as a kid -- well, the first two series. But as I recall by the end he had
died/been elvated up to become the keystone in the...something or other. the embodiement of white gold I guess.
. Is this truly a new series somehow taking up his story again all these years alter?
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You are correct with your spoiler. It is a new series; a continuation of the same story. I have read the first two books (the other two(?) in the series have not been published yet). It takes place in the same town and in the Land, however, at least in the books so far, it focuses on Linden Avery. I don't want to give away anything else even with spoiler tags.

Edit - FWIW, the two books in the new series so far are "The Runes of the Earth" and "Fatal Revenant".
 
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tradepeja

tradepeja

Starter
#41
#41
I'm 19 and I'm reading The Fountainhead.

The worst (best?) part is, I didn't know I was a walking stereotype until the Simpsons came on with a thing about the book and Time did a piece on that.

Either way, it hasn't deterred me. Definitely a mindf*** of a book. Makes you think at the very least.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#42
#42
Just started digging into Nelson DeMille's "Lion's Game" and it has been very fun to read so far. Really enjoying it. Kinda spooky (as the book was written in 2000) to see references to the Twin Towers in NY being taken out (that is not the subject of the book, just some musings by the main character)........
 
kennadog

kennadog

Dog On It!
#43
#43
Just finished Kathry Reichs Devil Bones. I love her books. Now I'm tackling Caputo's book Acts of Faith, abook of fiction set in the 90s period of the Sudanese civil war.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#45
#45
Warhawk said:
Here's a book recommendation for those of you looking for something different:


The Great Influenza: The story of the deadliest pandemic in history

http://www.amazon.com/Great-Influenza-deadliest-pandemic-history/dp/0143036491/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197920107&sr=8-1

Mixes history and medicine with a bit of politics and war for a look at the great influenza pandemic of 1918.

And this line from the review at Amazon is my biggest complaint about the book as well:

As other reviewers have noted, the book's weakness is a tendency towards melodrama, as in the far-too-often repeated tag line "This was influenza. Only influenza." After a while, you think to yourself, "Yes, we get it. Give it a rest."

There is no question about The Great Influenza being a monumental work. It's so good that you just have to overlook the bits of melodrama that pop up from time to time.

Other than that I found this to be a very interesting read.

John M. Barry spells out this connection in fascinating detail in The Great Influenza. In his meticulous description of the dire consequences that resulted when short-term political expediency trumped the health of the public during the 1918 influenza pandemic, Barry reminds his readers that the government response to an epidemic is all too often colored by the politics of the moment. Barry is neither a scientist nor a professional historian, and some of the details he gives on virology and immunology are clearly targeted at a nonmedical audience, but physicians and scientists will find this book engrossing nonetheless. The influenza pandemic of 1918, the worst pandemic in history, killed more people than died in World War I and more than the tens of millions who have died, to date, in the AIDS pandemic.
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Just as a follow up on this thought, I noticed this today:

Study: Swine Flu Resembles 1918 Virus

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,532020,00.html


WASHINGTON — The new H1N1 influenza virus bears a disturbing resemblance to the virus strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, with a greater ability to infect the lungs than common seasonal flu viruses, researchers reported on Monday.
Tests in several animals confirmed other studies that have shown the new swine flu strain can spread beyond the upper respiratory tract to go deep into the lungs — making it more likely to cause pneumonia, the international team said.
In addition, they found that people who survived the 1918 pandemic seem to have extra immune protection against the virus, again confirming the work of other researchers.
"When we conducted the experiments in ferrets and monkeys, the seasonal virus did not replicate in the lungs," said Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin, who led the study.
The H1N1 virus replicates significantly better in the lungs."

more.....
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Warhawk

Warhawk

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#46
#46
Started reading Shadow of the Giant (the last Ender's Game novel so far?) and am cruising through it. I need to go back and read the whole series in one stretch as I forget stuff that happened in earlier books......good stuff, though!
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#48
#48
Warhawk said:
Digging into "Cemetary Dance" by a couple authors I like - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
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OK, done with that one too. Not quite as good as some of their others, I think, but still pretty entertaining. Not sure what to dig into next (I have a few books here in a stack), but I also have a big test coming up in a couple months I need to start studying for......ugh.
 
S

sdballer

Starter
#49
#49
Two recommendations:

1. Fiction: The George RR Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire. My favorite fantasy series and a soon-to-be HBO series. If you aren't a fantasy fan, still check it out. Its less about magic and trolls and more of an exploration of how war/intrigue/etc. impact a kingdom of very different, memorable and "grey" characters.

2. Non-fiction: Disney Wars. A look at the tumultuous Michael Eisner years at Disney. Truly a fascinating look at one of the most powerful companies in the world.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#51
#51
sdballer said:
Two recommendations:

1. Fiction: The George RR Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire. My favorite fantasy series and a soon-to-be HBO series. If you aren't a fantasy fan, still check it out. Its less about magic and trolls and more of an exploration of how war/intrigue/etc. impact a kingdom of very different, memorable and "grey" characters.

2. Non-fiction: Disney Wars. A look at the tumultuous Michael Eisner years at Disney. Truly a fascinating look at one of the most powerful companies in the world.
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Thanks for the recommendation - I added the first book to my Amazon list.
 
jalfa

jalfa

Starter
#53
#53
At the moment I'm re-reading Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle, as my final term paper will be about the book (something about the volatility of reality, it's pretty fun to write actually). Apart from that, I'm on Oliver Twist, at the moment, which is pretty great. Love Dickens' writing style, even though I find it impossible to read too much of it at a time.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#54
#54
sdballer said:
Hope you enjoy them. They can be a bit adult in nature so if you are easily offended, proceed with caution.
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Yeah, no worries there. But thanks for the heads-up. I'll check out the first one sometime and then dig into more if I like it.
 
Warhawk

Warhawk

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#55
#55
Levee Owner's Manual for Non-Federal Flood Control Works

Yeah, I know, really exciting, but it is work-related.....
 
Emma

Emma

Starter
#56
#56
1. Fiction: The George RR Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire.


I will check it out. And for others, you must read the Earthsea novels by Ursula K. Leguin. Very deep stuff. It's nautical / nature themed magery, love stories, adventure etc... And the stories don't necessarily have to be read in order. All are relatively short and potent, they succeed at sucking you away from reality. Most are able to be read in a day or two, and I came away from them extremely satisfied. I have two sets and I will re-read them soon.
 
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