What book is everyone reading at the moment?

[bruto]

You should persevere; Mr. Smollett means you no serious harm, I think.

"Mr. Who?" he inquires sternly.

 

[sackett]

Oh schidd

"Mr. Who?" he inquires sternly.

Oops. Mr. Sterne, of course.

Listen, you can't beat the 18th. century rotundity of

TOBIAS SMOLLETT!

Who can also be a damn good read.

 

[Slimething]

Just bought an e-reader because my eyes have gotten so bad that I need to read in larger type. First book donwloaded and now reading is The Color of Magic by the incomparable Terry Pratchett. I'm reading like I did ten years ago now! My next planned book is In Cold Blood which is supposed to be Truman Capote's masterpiece. After that, fill in with everything I haven't read of Pratchett.

 

[Ness36]

The Tale of Murasaki by Lisa Dalby

A fictional life of the author of the Tale of Genji. It is very well researched and historically accurate.

 

[BTMO]

I just started reading Moby Dick again...

 

[Fireshadow]

I know I'm a bit old for it, but I just read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. It's a "normal kid finds out about an extraordinary world" story a la Harry Potter, but with the backdrop being instead of a hidden world of wizards and witches, it's a world where the gods of Olympus exist and have occasional dalliances with mortals (the main character, Perseus Jackson, being the result of one of those dalliances). I have always had a love for the myths of the Greeks, so this one just grabbed my attention. I recommend it highly. Unfortunately, the library's copy of the second book is currently checked out, so I'll have to wait to continue.

 

[arthwollipot]

I just started reading Moby Dick again...

Why?

 

[soetkin]

By sharing Ahab's obsession, the reader identifies with him, which is a much more interesting and audacious feat for the writer than identification with the likeable, but dull narrator, Ishmael.

I've never been able to identify with Ahab, personally. The more I reread Moby Dick, the more I get irritated by his entire woe-is-me attitude and his obsession with "Vengeance on a dumb brute!" cried Starbuck, "that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous."

Mostly though, I love that book and it's meandering narrative.

 

[JohnG]

I've never been able to identify with Ahab, personally. The more I reread Moby Dick, the more I get irritated by his entire woe-is-me attitude and his obsession with "Vengeance on a dumb brute!" cried Starbuck, "that simply smote thee from blindest instinct! Madness! To be enraged with a dumb thing, Captain Ahab, seems blasphemous."

Mostly though, I love that book and it's meandering narrative.

I suspect a lot of people would become a bit obsessed with a dangerous animal, too if it crippled them and was still on the loose, you know? Identifying (by my definition, anyway) with a character doesn't necessarily mean you like the character or approve of their actions.

 

[Praktik]

Re-reading George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and in last third of book three right now - and really, I'm enjoying this as much as I was the first time around. It had been long enough I guess.

Also got Ronson's The Men Who Stare at Goats and THEM: Adventures with Extremists which I turn to for a little nonfiction now and then.

 

[BTMO]

Why?

I sometimes have trouble sleeping...

Seriously - it is a great book. The language is a bit heavy going, but the descriptions of life on a 19th century sailing ship are just wonderful. There is a chapter dedicated to pretty much every aspect of whaling life, including what it feels like to run your hands through vats of whale goo.

If you can get past Moby Dick himself, and treat it as a rollicking book of the sea, it is fantastic.

 

[NYCEMT86]

World War Z by Max Brooks for the fifth time and Humanity: A Moral History of the 20th Century by Jonathan Glover for a second time. I do highly recommend the audiobook for World War Z, the cast is amazing.

 

[Mr. Skinny]

I'm re-reading Into Cambodia by Keith William Nolan. It's about the American ground and air campaign across the Vietnam border in early 1970.

Nolan is a excellent writer of non-fiction and has done several books on the Vietnam War, which is suprising considering he was probably in diapers when the Vietnam was was actually going on.

Anyhow, I wanted to read it again before my brother sent the book off to one of his old Army buddies who was in the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry, 25th Division that participated in the ground offensive.

 

[Lord Muck oGentry]

Just finished McLevy: The Edinburgh Detective by James McLevy.
Holy Willie as thief-taker.

 

[esquel]

Namaah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey.

 

[Kaylee]

I just finished reading Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes. The book was released in the UK under the title The Diet Delusion: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Loss and Disease. (Why do publishers do that???)

Gary Taubes explains why he thinks the public health data is based on flawed science and politics. He also explains why he thinks a diet that is low in carbs and high in fat is healthier for most people than a diet high in carbs and low in fat.

I’m still reeling and I’ve ended up having more questions after reading the book than before – but I highly recommend it.

Unlike most books intended for the general market he lists his notes and bibliography -- I wish more authors would do the same.

 

[Grizzly Bear]

I've recently been reading three books:

The poems of Altazor by Huidobro
The poems for Poet of New York by Lorca
And Ways of Seeing by Berger

I've never had much of an interest in novels par say, I'm mainly reading these because I got introduced with them in one of my design classes and enjoyed them all enough begin reading theme. If I finish these three soon enough I may begin reading The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs

 

[Piscivore]

Also: Piscivore, if you're still following this thread, I ended up not needing to read that book (Saving Our Children from the First Amendment) for my paper, so I put it down. I may pick it up again someday, but I'd say it's unlikely to be soon. Sorry.

Heh, I almost asked you about it last week. No problem.

 

[maxfrost]

Haruki Murakami's The Elephant Vanishes. One darn good short story after another.

 

[Kaylee]

I just finished reading Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes.

I thought about the book a little more and have had time to google some of the author's assertions. While my few minutes of googling can hardly compare to the author's (alleged) 5 years of research -- I'm not as impressed as I was originally with the book.

I still think its worth reading. Taube mentions many studies and researchers from the past 200 or so years and it's worth it alone for that reason. I also suspect that his explanation of insulin and it's side effects are mostly correct -- and if it is his explanation is easy to understand. But, FWIW, I just don't agree with many of his other conclusions. I can see why the book is controversial.