What book is everyone reading at the moment?

[hcmom]

"Maskerade" by Terry Pratchett.

I'm about half-way through the Discworld books now.

 

[cgordon]

Erm ...

Currently reading:
Misquoting Jesus (Ehrman)
History of American Freethinkers (Jacoby)
Homebrewer's Garden (Fisher)
Destiny's Forge (Niven-Chafe)
Guns, Germs and Steel (Diamond)
The Turtle Moves (???)
Willie & Joe: The WWII Years (Stars and Stripes compilation of the work of Bill Mauldin)

Recently finished:
The $64 Tomato (Alexander)
A Cooks's Tour (Bourdain)
The Quotable Atheist
Nation (Pratchett)
Escapement (Lake)
Devil's Chaplain (Dawkins)

On the reading table waiting to be opened:
Outliers
Fleet of Worlds
Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists (Barker/Dawkins)
Everything You Know About God Is Wrong: The Disinformation Guide to Religion (Gaiman)

 

[tomwaits]

I found that one a bit more difficult than the Silmarillion.
But if you liked Silmarillion (which I did), there is some enjoyment in Unfinished Tales too, imho.

Well, you have to be familiar with the Silmarillion to read Unfinished Tales or else you'll be completely lost. However, I think the greater detail it gives (so far) to stories such as the Children of Hurin makes it a little more accessible. And argh, why didn't Christopher Tolkien include the map of Beleriand in the book?

 

[Wildy]

The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson

I finished and enjoyed Snow Crash a few weeks ago.

 

[Malkuth]

Graham Hancock - Fingerprints of the Gods

 

[Wildy]

Raymond E. Feist - Rides A Dread Legion

 

[EeneyMinnieMoe]

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Great novel but one thing constantly stands out. As with Henry James' Washington Square, you can't thinking that if this book were written in the modern age, it would be about child abuse.

Look at the plot. A neglected child of a swamped mother of nine and drunk and unemployed father is sent to wealthy relatives who promise to take care of her as a favor but resolve from the get-go to never treat her as their own. She ends up unloved, neglected, ignored, is denied education past a certain point and used for household chores by her aunts and then nearly married off by her uncle to a man she doesn't love.

In this day, the police and child services would be called.

 

[Dave_46]

Worlds in Collision. I found my old copy from thirty odd years ago and thought I'd give it another try. I didn't finish it the first time, and I doubt I'll finish it this time.

Dave

I was right. I gave up about a quarter of the way into it. Again.

Dave

 

[EdipisReks]

Dan Simmon's Drood. almost done with it. fantastic book. i've been reading it on my iPhone, with the Kindle app, which has convinced me to buy a Kindle at some point.

 

[EdipisReks]

The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson

I finished and enjoyed Snow Crash a few weeks ago.

two my of favorite books, those. In The Beginning was the Command Line is, if now a bit obsolete, one of my favorite essays, i suggest checking it out, if you haven't read it. i'm glad Zodiac is back in print as, despite some rather major chemistry errors, it's a fun, fun read.

 

[sackett]

Man in the Modern Age, Karl Jaspers. Remarkable. There's something to disagree with on every page.

 

[PrincessIneffabelle]

I'm currently reading The Pluto Files by Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson and re-reading The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett.

I've also got the new book, Nation, which I'll be starting next week.

 

[hcmom]

I'm currently reading The Pluto Files by Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson and re-reading The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett.

I've also got the new book, Nation, which I'll be starting next week.

I recently used "Nation" to turn my son onto Terry Pratchett, and he lent it to one of his teachers to do the same.

 

[Marquis de Carabas]

Going After Cacciato - Tim O'Brien; Cacciato decides to go AWOL in Vietnam to walk to Paris. Sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[kurious_kathy]

"Seeking And Finding God" by Dave Hunt.

This book is very good and offers many insights to satisfy every intellectual.

 

[Aitch]

Barbara Kafka still on the bedside table.

Main book, starting this PM, is Conjugal Rites by Paul Magrs. Looking forward to it.

 

[ArmillarySphere]

The Far Side of the World, by Patrick O'Brian. Annoyingly, I've lent the next few books in the series to a friend who lives out of town, so I'll have to stop after this.

On the list:
Matter, by Iain Banks
Collapse, by Jared Diamond

 

[RobRoy]

Deadeye Dick by Kirt Vonnegut. Re-reading actually. It spoke to me from the bookshelf, reminding me of all the good times we had.

 

[jenspen]

The Far Side of the World, by Patrick O'Brian. Annoyingly, I've lent the next few books in the series to a friend who lives out of town, so I'll have to stop after this.

Oh no! Maybe you could go back and start at the beginning again till the friend returns them. Most people (me) think the second, third or fourth voyage is even better.

 

[jenspen]

Donald E. Westlake "Watch your back". I think he has allowed himself to be even funnier than usual in this late Dortmunder novel.

Kate Atkinson "Not the End of the World". I usually dislike reading short stories but KA's characters are so bursting with life and her outlook is so funny and weird that I'm finding these absorbing, and rationing my reading of them.

Philip Ball "Bright Earth: art and the invention of colour". This is a re-read because I found it so fascinating the first time. The evolution and chemistry of colour. Some gorgeous illustrations.

Joanne Baker: "50 Physics ideas you really need to know". I read a chapter from time to time - it's about my level (2 years of physics in high school, the boredom nearly killed me) and I feel I'm a better person for subjecting myself to this experience.