What book is everyone reading at the moment?

[Sceptic Realist]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and all the squals rolled into one). Some of the funniest stuff I've ever read.

 

[lily0107]

The Initiate, by "his pupil".

Woo from the 1920's--Ive been thrift shopping again (shhhh..I'm supposed to be culling!)

 

[SoBitter]

Just started Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, and I'm 3/4 of the way through Atlas Shrugged. It's better than I thought it would be, but I would never read it again. The message has been stated so many times that I'm frustrated by the lack of creativity in the storyline.

 

[Soapy Sam]

I just came across an old paperback copy of "The Double Helix" , which I last read thirty years ago. It's still pretty shocking for a book about science. Watson always was pretty controversial.

 

[Lilith]

Just finished "Spook" by Mary Roach (has anyone read this one, or her other book "Stiff"? They're both wonderful. Not so sure about her new book - "Bonk"! But I'll buy it.)

I am now reading some short stories in "Best Ghost Stories of Sheridan Le Fanu". The beau is reading "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction" - it's great to hear him laughing so vigorously!

 

[-Fran-]

Poked around in some old book boxes in a second hand store yesterday and found Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore in a 1953 pocket edition, and I Am Legend by Richard Matheson* in a 1954 pocket edition. Started to read the latter yesterday.


*Aren't there a new film made from this book?

 

[Lilith]

I just came across an old paperback copy of "The Double Helix" , which I last read thirty years ago. It's still pretty shocking for a book about science. Watson always was pretty controversial.

Any opinions on Crick's "The Astonishing Hypothesis". Gee, if he was wrong, he's now aware of it!

 

[Worm]

The Science of the Discworld - Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart and Terry Prachett.

Popular science book which uses the Discworld as a lens to explain much of the current thinking about science.

The second time I've read it, and it's just as good the second time around.

 

[Professor Yaffle]

Just finished Bodies by Jed Mercurio. Reading it made me thankful that I had never considered a career in medicine.

 

[zeusbheld]

short stories ---> "Blood and Soap" by Linh Dinh
------------------> "How We Are Hungry" by Dave Eggers

nonfiction-------->"Dirty Dealing: The Untold Truth About Global Money Laundering, International Crime and Terrorism" by Peter Lilley

screenwriting---->" Save the Cat!" by Blake Snyder.

i highly recommend both collections of short stories. the money laundering book is good for what it is. the screenwriting book is short, an easy read, and very useful for what it is, as long as you bear in mind that the author writes formulaic movies for children (and adapt the techniques he recommends accordingly, if you choose to use them).

can't seem to read only one thing at a time, he says as he types this while watching Deadwood.

 

[lupus_in_fabula]

"The Children of Hurin" by Tolkien

Did you like it? Would you recommend it?

 

[aofl]

The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk. It's very good. I started reading his Winds of War but got bored during a lull in the action and picked up Caine. So far a very very good read.

A

 

[gumboot]

I finally got hold of the last book in Jack Whyte's Camulod Chronicles - a historically authentic interpretation of the Arthurian Legend. Have loved the previous installments, book nine hopefully maintains the same quality.

 

[KoihimeNakamura]

I'm reading Leap in the Dark, a book about the War of American Indepedence, it's causes, and some of the immediate aftereffects (1760-1790)

 

[wafonso]

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, Douglas Adams. Sadly, I think this is the last D.A. book I haven't read yet.

 

[Chris Haynes]

For ultimate geeky nerdiness, and because I am intrigued by the history of the formula I am reading:
Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula, Cures Many Mathematical Ills

I must confess this was prompted by Thing's very annoying puzzle here:
http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=106642 ... which made me drag out my copy of A History of Pi ... where I learned there a books on "e, the natural logrithm", and "i, the imaginary number" and others, including the one on e^iπ+1 = 0.

 

[dudalb]

I am having a lot of good,cheap,cheesy Pulp Magazine era fun with the reprints they are doing of the "Doc Savage" and "The Shadow" pulps from the thirties.
They are also doing it in a neat format. It is full size..a little more then 8 1/2 by 11,the same size are the original pulp magazines..and they are using the same page layout and illustrations as from the 1930's original. The only difference is they are using a clearer,more modern type for the text for ease of reading.
They are complete and unexpurgated...unlike the Bantam reprints of Doc Savage in the 60's which cut a lot out...and you get two issues ..two complete novels...in a single volume for $12.95..a good deal.
"THe Shadow" uses the original Covers, with "Doc Savage" you have a choice between the original 30's covers and the covers of the 60's Bantam reprints.
They are not being printed in chronological order. The editors..wisely,imho, are going with a more selective apporach, reprinting what they feel are the best of the adventures,since the quality was pretty uneven,a lot like comics.
They come out six times a year.
Fun Stuff,Maynard.

For more details..www.nostalgiaventures.com

 

[Wildy]

Raymond E. Feist, Wrath of a Mad God

 

[Francesca R]

I just finished Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Being aware of its reputation and the notes that its widespread use as a school English Lit text have given rise to, reading the novel proper was something of a let down, but I don't think that's Golding's fault. Also I read The Beach (Alex Garland) some years ago which was influenced by it, and backtracking to the roots of another novel isn't usually all that rewarding. I guess it was a case of "fill in the blanks" rather than discovery.

 

[Polaris]

First Blood, by David Morrell. Having recently gone on a Rambo movie binge (including commentary - the Stallone commentary on the first one is amusing, and the only one worth listening to), I decided to read the book to scope out the character before he became a cultural icon.

And yeah, much different tone from the first three movies.