What book(s) are you reading now?

[mvd]

I'm reading The Year Of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I'm about a third of the way through. He's a charismatic author, and the book is educational and funny. As a progressive Christian, I think this shows how outdated and irrelevant to today's world many of the Bible commands are. My philosophy is to largely follow the teachings of Jesus with some guidance from the rest where things aren't clear. Fundies will point out things that contradict Jesus.

So what are you reading?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Great book! I read that a couple months ago, and loved it!

For many of the same reasons that you do.

My only beef with his year long project is that he never entered the community aspect of either faith by becoming part of a worshiping community. I really wish he hadn't gone it alone through the whole process and had experienced that part of the faith as well (yes, I realize he had helpers - and some damn good ones, too - but there was never a true community that he was part of through the process).

I just finished reading Zipporah, a fictional biography of Moses' wife, which is wonderful.

[mvd]

25. I agree, but he did go to..

that Simchat Torah party. My sense is that he's becoming more educated about religion, but so far not much about politics. He knows Scalia supports "strict interpretation," but doesn't know him enough to know that this is a ruse.

[Reverend_Smitty]

2. I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert

because every now and then I need a break from serious books and to enjoy something really funny!

[terrya]

3. "The Gravedigger's Daughter" by Joyce Carol Oates

I posted in the Fiction forum that I've never read anything of Ms. Oates. I got some great suggestions (thanks, everyone who contributed), but last weekend, I saw this book on the shelves at the local library branch. What a terrific book...and writer.

[SeattleGirl]

4. Just finished Orwell's "1984", and started John Dean's "Broken

Government."

It's been over 30 years since I read "1984" so in a way, it was like reading it for the first time. Yikes! Very scary reading it in light of the events of today.

I've already read "Worse than Watergate" and "Conservatives Without Conscious" by John Dean, so I decided to tread "Broken Government." I really liked his other two books, so I'm looking forward to reading this new one.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. The Best After Dinner Stories; I Am America; Take This Bread; Academy Zappa

[underpants]

6. "The Big Con" by Johnathan Chait

How supplyl-siders hoodwinked Washington. Very good read-he is a New Republic DLC guy so he is crazy on the Clinton thing but still a very good read.

[Merrick]

7. Love in the Time of Cholera - in Spanish

I've been working on improving my Spanish, and reading untranslated Marquez is a good way to do it if you already have a good foundation.

[ceile]

15. I keep hearing ads for a movie of that book.

Do you think it'll be any good? Sounds like an interesting story.

[Merrick]

22. Yeah, I saw a preview a month or so ago

according to it's IMDB page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484740/, it's releasing in the US in a few weeks. Unfortunately, it only has a 6.9 rating so far, which isn't bad, but isn't too hot, either. The book is really good though, so be sure to read it before you see the film so the movie will seem that much worse - per usual.

[Sugar Smack]

8. The Bone People, by Keri Hulme.

She's part Maori and part European. The heroine's name is Kerewin; she's a thirty something tough-girl who inherited a lot of money & lives in a stone tower by the sea. Two people, young Simon and old Joe, enter her life and stay.

There's a song she sings. It's about a boy who's maybe ten, violent past, mute, but finds a supply of liquor at his new friend Kerewin's house and is found (by her) in an untidy heap on the floor. Later, she's in a New Zealand bar & improvises this tune:

"E wine,
puts a fog upon the mind,
drowns down those hard old memories
to a thin blear line
e wine.....

E wine,
through the cloud I see
him walk away from me,
but I'm gone beyond the caring time,

E wine,
e wine...

E wine,
just a shade that's left behind
caressing this hard bottle as I please,
drinking my shadow blind,
E wine...e wine...e wine..."

The song really reminds me of bridgit and her spirit.
:D

[BurtWorm]

9. La Peste by Albert Camus

slowly, in French. And Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne, slowly, in English.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

10. I bought Bill Clinton's "Giving"...

But haven't opened it up yet.

[stuntcat]

11. I'm on the last chapter of Catcher in the Rye

I have a lot of old lit. to catch up on and re-read what I forgot too. I might read a newer book, Ishmael next though.

[Shakespeare]

12. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Kingsolver and Light by M. John Harrison.

Enjoying both immensely.

[redqueen]

13. Re-reading Weaveworld by Clive Barker.

Got bogged down in Mason & Dixon, so I'm taking a break with some lighter fare. :)

[Dr. Strange]

19. I haven't read Barker for a while.

And I never read Weaveworld. Is it good?

[redqueen]

20. Well yes, I think it is very good.

I'm a fan of Barker's though... but yes, it's one of my two favorites by him. (The other being Imajica.)

[ghostsofgiants]

14. "Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb" by Mike Davis

"Al Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam" by Jason Burke
"Directing Actors" by Judith Weston (Slightly different from the other two, haha.)

[ElizabethDC]

16. Snobs by Julian Fellowes

I'm re-reading it, actually. It's a witty novel about British social climbing and was written by the author of the screenplay of Gosford Park.


The Year of Living Biblically sounds very interesting - it's on my list of things to read.

[ceile]

17. "The Big Killing" Robert Wilson

Read "A Small Death in Lisbon" a few years ago and loved it, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Good so far.

[seemunkee]

18. Travels with Herodutus by Ryszard Kapuscinsk

The travels of a Polish jounalist in the 1960's to India, Sudan, Egypt. He carries, reads and compares Herodutus's Histories to his own journey.

Just finished Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger. A brit who lives and travels through the Empty Quarter of the Arabian desert living with the Bedu right after WWII. He was the first "Christian", re:European, that many of the Bedu and other tribes had ever met.

[femmocrat]

33. Those both sound like great books! Thanks for the reviews.

[Rambis]

21. Ken Bruen "Blitz" Irish author from Galway

I have read 3 novels so far and enjoy his writing style- Fair play Ken!

[MrCoffee]

23. The Gum Thief - Douglas Coupland's latest

just started it last night...read 2 pages and fell sound asleep. not the book's fault, just really wiped out.

[Adsos Letter]

24. Just finished "The Year of Decision: 1846" by DeVoto...

and just starting "The Armada" by Mattingly...Graduate reading list.

[azmouse]

26. The Lunatic Cafe by Laurell K. Hamilton

It's odd but I'm enjoying it.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

27. From the last trip to the library:

Chaco Canyon by Brian Fagan
and some mysteries
The Summoning God by Kathleen and Michael Gear
The Man from Tibet by Clyde B Clason
The Last Full Measure by Hal Glatzer
Murder on the Oceanic by I Forgot (the book is at the office for lunch reading)

[BlueIris]

28. "Stranger Things Happen," by Kelly Link.

Short stories. Very Roald Dahl-esque.

[Thirtieschild]

29. The Holographic Universe

[SoxFan]

30. A Problem From Hell

A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, by Samantha Power.

Also...

That Neutral Ireland: A Cultural History of Ireland During the Second World War, by Clair Wills.

And of course, a book about the high strangeness of the Men In Black.

[femmocrat]

31. Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier.

I'm taking a break from political books for awhile. It's really good and interesting. I read about half of it last weekend and could finish it this weekend.

[ulysses]

32. Gossamer by Lois Lowry and Roll of Thunder...

Kid lit is both vocation and avocation these days.

[Presidentcokedupfratboy]

34. "On the Road"

After reading ABOUT the book for so many years, I thought I should actually read THE book.

Oh yeah, and the Colbert book is a hoot...

[seemunkee]

38. Did you get the original scroll edition?

[RetroLounge]

35. Refresh, Refresh by Benjamin Percy

Short Stories. Finished the first one and was blown away. Saw him read a few weeks ago. Really good new writer...

RL

[Starbucks Anarchist]

36. Company by Max Barry.

Just finished Ham On Rye by Bukowski.

[Initech]

37. Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You)"

[MissMillie]

39. I finally got around to reading "Wicked"

so far so good

[qanda]

40. Am I the only one who reads manuals and "how to" books?

I am currently reading books on Pro Tools, Reason, Home Networking and Motif XS.