What book is everyone reading at the moment?

[baskett_case]

I am rereading the Grimm Fairy tales, a more original translation. My next German course is based on these stories, which interestingly as not, are mostly French tales, at least according to my teacher.

 

[parrotslave]

Between the Bridge and the River by Craig Ferguson. His writing style took a little getting used to, but so far it is pretty good for a first novel.

 

[Aurelian]

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

 

[Spidey13]

I just started on How We Believe by Michael Shermer.

 

[Jon.]

Just finished Lost Christianities by Bart Ehrman - I found his observations at the end about how early Christians were less tolerant than their pagan neighbours to be quite interesting. The whole book, of course, was a fascinating study of how certain writings come to be designated "holy" or "heretical".

Just started Generation X by Douglas Coupland. He's a local boy made good, so I figured I should find out what all the fuss is about.

 

[Hourglassmemory]

"Northen Lights" from the "His Dark Materials" triology by Philip Pullman.

 

[Terry]

"Vitals" by Greg Bear. Interesting concept.

 

[joyrex]

Accelerando by Charles Stross. Quite a light read thus far.

 

[the_snowpooch]

Just finished "The Invaders Plan" by L. Ron Hubbard.

Absolute crap, even for sci-fi.
I approached this book with an open mind - I wanted to see if there was any literary merit to Hubbard's work. It becomes clear at about the 30 page mark that not only is Hubbard a TERRIBLE, hackneyed writer who loads his work with awful, transparent satire but that there is something wrong with the guy. His obsession with evil psychiatrists is so profound that you have to wonder if he wrote this in response to something his own shrink said to him. Trust me, the paranoid rants are disturbing (or should I say "enturbulating"?).

A pile of steaming dung. I have now made it a point to pick up any copies of L. Ron's work from thrift stores (they're full of them) to keep by the front door should any Jehova's Witness or Mormons decide to call.

 

[Darat]

Just finished "The Invaders Plan" by L. Ron Hubbard.

Absolute crap, even for sci-fi.

...snip...

...even for sci-fi -

...snip... I have now made it a point to pick up any copies of L. Ron's work from thrift stores (they're full of them) to keep by the front door should any Jehova's Witness or Mormons decide to call.

I know door-stopping evangelicals can be annoying but I don't think even they deserve that!

 

[Ginarley]

Just finished Sagan's Billions and Billions, quite emotional at the end where Ann Druyan is writing but otherwise is typically inspirational and eloquent.

Now its onto Bertrand Russel's Why I am not a Christian which I am thoroughly enjoying so far and James Howard Kunstler's The Long Emergency.

 

[Axiom_Blade]

Just finished "The Invaders Plan" by L. Ron Hubbard.

You have my sympathy. I used to read anything (and I mean anything), but even I couldn't make it through all TEN BOOKS of that series. I did make it up to #4 or #5, though...then I just couldn't take any more.

Reading Nine Princes in Amber by Roger Zelazny now.

 

[Ian Osborne]

You have my sympathy. I used to read anything (and I mean anything), but even I couldn't make it through all TEN BOOKS of that series. I did make it up to #4 or #5, though...then I just couldn't take any more.

You got a little further than me, then.

What I really hate about Mission Earth is that judging by the first three books, you could condense the series into a three-volume affair without losing anything of note. It's more padded than a skinny teenager's bra on school disco night.

And to make matters worse, it's really predictable too. You can see the next plot twist coming a mile off, then read 60 or 70 pages without it actually happening yet.

 

[RebeccaBradley]

The Religion

Just finished The Religion, by Tim Willocks, dramatizing the Muslim siege of the Hospitaller Knights of Malta (aka "The Religion"). Just about the bloodiest book I've ever read - and not just blood, lots of other bodily effluents as well. God is on both sides, of course, which ramps up the violence quotient considerably; and an official of the Inquisition creeps around complicating things. A few bodice-ripper elements, but altogether violent, sexy, grotesque and compelling. Thick enough to choke a horse, and yet I couldn't put it down until it was finished, which meant neglecting all duties for two days.

 

[ryoko126]

I'm reading, Elizabeth Castro's: HTML For the World Wide Web 5th Edition. I'm about to go nuts trying to learn all this html, and CSS.

 

[3point14]

Diamonds 'Guns, Germs and Steel'

It's pretty good, if a little repetitive in places, although the repetition is probably helping me remember it. The arguments all seem to hang together, but if anyone knows of any books offering alternative viewpoints on the same thing, I’d love to know.

 

[RebeccaBradley]

Diamonds 'Guns, Germs and Steel'

It's pretty good, if a little repetitive in places, although the repetition is probably helping me remember it. The arguments all seem to hang together, but if anyone knows of any books offering alternative viewpoints on the same thing, I’d love to know.

These are sort of complementary rather than alternative, but they cover other aspects of the invasion of the Americas:

Stolen Continents, by Ronald Wright
American Holocaust, by David E. Stannard

On the "germs" aspect, a classic (even seminal) study is Plagues and Peoples, by William H. McNeill.

 

[3point14]

These are sort of complementary rather than alternative, but they cover other aspects of the invasion of the Americas:

Stolen Continents, by Ronald Wright
American Holocaust, by David E. Stannard

On the "germs" aspect, a classic (even seminal) study is Plagues and Peoples, by William H. McNeill.

Thanks!! URA*

 

[RebeccaBradley]

Thanks!! URA*

Cheers!

 

[catbasket]

"The Killing Joke" by Anthony Horowitz, picked up at the library just because i used to be a fan of the band Killing Joke. It's very entertaining/amusing:

"Let me see if I understand you correctly," Sylvie said. There was a note of tiredness in her voice. "You decided to find out where jokes come from. For some unaccountable reason, you set off across England, asking questions. And now, you think, jokes have decided to come after you?"

"An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman. A blind man on a bike. Elephants in the fridge."

"Do you have any idea how mad that sounds?"