What Books Have You Read Recently?

[Rubeskies]

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I'm embarrassed to say this but I seem to be having trouble finishing books lately. I start them but I fail to follow through. I wish we had that book club going still. I actually read a couple books during that short stint. How dumb is this? Reading is supposed to be a solitary endeavor. Why do I need to believe someone else is reading with me? [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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Maybe you don't like the books you are reading? Perhaps you might want to try a genre shift? Switch from fiction to non-fiction or poetry. From Literature to creative non-fiction. From Straight fiction to fantasy/sci-fi. From Modern to the classics. (Or visa versa)

[Enrique]

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I'm embarrassed to say this but I seem to be having trouble finishing books lately. I start them but I fail to follow through. I wish we had that book club going still. I actually read a couple books during that short stint. How dumb is this? Reading is supposed to be a solitary endeavor. Why do I need to believe someone else is reading with me? [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

I was also reading more when the Lounge had its book club. I also entered a book club locally in late 2006, but I haven't stepped into one this year.

[Enrique]

Last week I read three:

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

The book is fantastic, specially if you love american football. I learned a lot about offensive linemen and how the game has evolved, but the book goes beyond that as it is the story of a young poor black buy, Michael Oher, who has raised in extremely poor conditions with a drug-addicted mother, 13 siblings and in the worse part of town. By luck he got into a christian school in East Memphis (luck is not a big enough word for this) and after a year was adopted by a millionaire that liked helping poor kids in that school. He has the perfect size to be a left tackle.

A surprising fact in football is that after the quarterback the best paid position in the NFL is the left tackle.
Great book, highly recommended.


Civil War by Millar and Mcniven

The Civil War comic had me very excited, as it related to a situation in today's american government, the dilemma between sacrificing freedom for safety. The superheroes after a 9/11 sort of thing caused by amateur superheroes not being able to contain super villains causes the public to be mad at the super heroes and prompts the government to pass legislation to register superheroes. They have to give in their identity to the government, but in return they get pension and become employees of the government. The Iron Man is the main supporter of the bill, he is housing Spiderman and Spiderman trusts in him, so he is another member of the crew. Reed Richards (from the Fantastic Four) is another main member of the supporters of the bill. The person against it is Captain America. At some point Spiderman changes sides.

I really wanted to read this and I thought it was very good but not excellent. What didn't make it excellent was the ending. The ending was too-happy-end-y for my taste, specially since the side I was rooting for lost (and it lost by surrendering when they were winning).

I heard the news of Captain America dying and was looking forward to reading how it occured, but it doesn't happen in the Civil War comic. It might have been part of the Captain America comic (if it exists, as I am not sure it still exists).
Worth the read if you like Marvel characters.


A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut

As I suspected it had a lot of interesting thoughts in it. As I read more about humanist thought, it seems that is how I would have to characterize myself.
Vonnegut was 82 years old when he wrote this, yet his charisma and comedy are almost intact. He claims he is not funny anymore, but you can feel his positive energy throughout the book, even while he keeps complaining of the path the world is taking.

I think I will read more of Vonnegut's fiction. I'll start with Cat's Cradle.

There are plenty of quotable things from the book, but since I am feeling happy right now, I'll put just this one:
And I urge you to please notice when you're happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what it."

[born2ramble]

Stephen King's On Writing
Fantastic. Reads like a breeze, very informative. It switches back-and-forth between memoir and writing advice, and both sides are captivating. I haven't read anything else by King, but within the first few pages readers can identify him as an astounding writer.

Daniel Pinchbeck's Breaking Open the Head
I was very pleased with this one. About psychedelics, American drug culture, indigenous drug use through religion, and a host of wild experiences. A little "out there" spiritually, if you know what I mean, but still quite informative. He introduces different types of drugs, their history, a little molecular stuff, and a detailed description of what the experience is like and possible uses for psychedelics. Covers some of McKenna's though, Tim Leary, and other figures in the drug cultures. If you're interested in psychelics, its a good read.

Anthony Storr's The Essential Jung
A great compilation of Jung's thought. Jung wrote extensively throughout his life, up until the very day of his death at 82. An introduction to his main ideas, including: the anima, animus, the shadow, schizophrenia, neurosis, general psychotherapy and analytic psychology, synchronicity, and a host of other ideas. You won't agree with everything he says (perhaps very little), but Jung is quite open-minded and the work is overall very thought-provoking.

Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra
On of several Nietzsche books I've gotten into, this one was incredibly enjoyable. Psychology, philosophy, human nature, a history of culture, language: I can never put my finger on just what I like about Nietzsche, but he always hits home on a deep level. Very stimulating and thought provoking, as usual.


Currently reading some of Douglas Rushkoff's work, finishing up Damasio's The Feeling of What Happens, and digging into A Conspiracy of Fools, about Enron's fiasco. (Plus reading for summer classes, woohoo.)


PS: I vote to revive the book club! I'm in!

[RJT]

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I'm also re-reading Robert Penn Warren's classic, All the King's Men. What a phenomenal book.

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I hear this so often. One of these days…

[Enrique]

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PS: I vote to revive the book club! I'm in!

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I second that.

[Sniper]

Whats everyone got lined up to read this summer?

[Tigermoth]

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Whats everyone got lined up to read this summer?

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A few Sklansky books.

I'm half-way through Crime and Punishment and My Silent War, and I have been for months. Should finally finish those if I get some spare time.

I'll probably also read Anansi Boys by Neil Gaimon and Bringing Down the House by Ben Mezrich.

And, I am not ashamed to admit, the newest Harry Potter as soon as it's out.

I probably won't have time for a quarter of this, but I'll try anyway.

[Blarg]

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Whats everyone got lined up to read this summer?

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This is embarassing. I'm getting so distracted, and so busy usually, that I'm only doing justice to articles and short pieces in books, nothing lengthy.

I got Anthony Bourdain's collection of short pieces, "The Nasty Bits," I think it's called, and have read a few of those, and am enjoying it, like I enjoy all his stuff.

I also got Malcolm Gladwell's Blink, and am about 50 pages into that.

I also got "How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker," by Penn Jilette. It purports to be be a lifelong cheat friend of his, and I haven't gotten more than like 20 pages into it, but it's fun so far. Gamblers and crooks always make for great reading.

I have also got some audiobooks I want to go through. I've made it most of the way through The Dark World of H.P. Lovecraft Volume 3, but I've already ready those stories before, so I got it just for the fun of a creepy audio presentation. Horror is incredibly good for that kind of thing.

I've got Orson Scott Card's "Ender's World," which is good so far, but I'm in the habit of only putting these things on when I'm sleepy, so it's hard to make any headway before falling asleep!

Other audiobooks I have include Master and Commander, Imperial Life in the Emerald City(non-fiction about Iraq), The Adventure of English(historical look at the language), and My Life in France, an autobiography by Julia Child that gets great reviews but is read by someone who supposedly didn't take the time to learn how to pronounce the French words sprinkled throughout the text. That's disappointing, because it might teach me all the wrong pronunciations and make me look like a fool if I dare venture to use those words in the future. I'll have to be careful.

In regular books I've also been poking through a cool collection of military strategy classics collected in one volume, including The Art of War, Frederick the Great's guide to his generals, Napoleon's writings on war, and some ancient manual of arms the Romans used which is supposedly one of the most influential books of its type ever written, and was used by all Europe.

Anyway, I have a whole lot on my plate, especially considering that I'm working 7 days a week. We'll see if I make much progress. I also have tons of stuff to read for work, which should take priority over almost all of this.

[dethgrind]

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In regular books I've also been poking through a cool collection of military strategy classics collected in one volume, including The Art of War, Frederick the Great's guide to his generals, Napoleon's writings on war, and some ancient manual of arms the Romans used which is supposedly one of the most influential books of its type ever written, and was used by all Europe.

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You should check out Robert Greene's 33 Strategies of War: http://www.amazon.com/33-Strategies-...dp/0670034576/

Kind of like Art of War and The Prince but with way more research and historical examples, plus a lot more time to draw examples from. It's also not strictly about war, taking examples from politics and sports and other places, so its more fun to read. Awesome book.