What Books Have You Read Recently?

[Enrique]

Trying to mimic the successful thread on recent movies, I think a book thread would be a good idea.

Here are the latest two I've read:

The Progress Paradox by Gregg Easterbrook. Easterbrook is my favorite NFL columnist. His weekly columns on the NFL are the best out there full of comedy and very practical. His touch on how the world is getting better uses his same pragmatism applied to life in general. Life is getting better in every aspect, yet we are not happier, why? This book, with many references, analyzes the problem and is a nice optimistic view of life. An enjoyable book that makes you feel good, but at the same time makes you want to keep improving life. A great read.

The Fig Eater by Jody Shields. The book is very good. It is about a murder in 1910 Vienna. You follow the inspector's investigation. The book has this great atmosphere of 1910 with superstition elements coming from the character Erzsebet (the inspectors wife). A fun read. I probably liked a bit more because Erzsebet is hungarian and since I lived in Hungary for a semester I feel a connection to their culture and love reading hungarian words whenever they pop up.

[SL__72]

The last book I actually finished was The Quincunx, by Charles Palliser. I picked it up at a used book store because it was really big, cheap and had some mentions of Dickens somewhere on the cover. It is an epic novel set in 19th-century English and while it was first published in 1989, it did remind me a lot of some of the 19th century novels I have read, particularly Dickens.

I was impressed that this was Palliser's first novel as it was 800+ large/dense pages and had a rather intricate plot and well thought out plot.

For the most part I really enjoyed it as this is one of my favorite periods to read about, I love epic novels and it was pretty well written. I'd give it a 4/5.

[JohnAndersen]

Catch-22, I really love Heller's style of writing and I dig the wit that is used in the book as well. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it after the first two chapters but it really grew on me

[Dominic]

I'm in the middle of the fourth book in George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire. While it is different than the first three, with new characters and less fighting, I'm still enjoying it....I like all the palace intrigue.

I just finished Barry Greenstein's Ace in the Hole. Good book, if a bit scattershot. Very high-quality presentation. I expecially liked his strategy section and would love to see a whole book on poker strategy by Greenstein in the future.

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

[DerrtySlime]

The Game by Neil Strauss ... amazing read.

[KilgoreTrout]

Just finished Lamb by Christopher Moore. It's a satire/comedy covering the "lost" years of Christ. Moore postulates that Christ's childhood friend, Biff, joined him for 17 years traveling the East. Not Moore's best effort (Coyote Blue and The Island of the sequined Love Nun are far superior), but a charming little book.

Also rereading the first full-length detective novel ever written. Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone builds on Poe's short detective stories (Murders in the Rue Morgue, the Gold Bug, etc.) and expands the genre into an epic, globe trotting, Victorian thriller.

[TheDudeAbides]

I read Lamb last year. I thought it was a clever premise but by the end I found myself wishing he had done more with it.

I'm currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and, even though I haven't finished yet, can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. Brilliantly written, highly imaginitive, and unpredictable.

[katyseagull]

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Just finished Lamb by Christopher Moore. It's a satire/comedy covering the "lost" years of Christ.

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I was going to post about this book at my lunchtime!

It's the last book I read and I would recommend it to anyone. Some of the dialogue is just hilarious. Not bad for a book about Jesus. Some people may find it blasphemous but in my opinion it is touching and full of great lines. Whether you view Christ as the Son of God or just a historical figure, I think you will really enjoy this book. I wish I could write like Moore.

One review I read said that Moore has a "magical tenderness" and I thought that was a good description. Another reviewer said that he has a wit similar to Douglas Adams. Anyway, I highly recommend this book even if you are a Christian.

[katyseagull]

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I'm currently reading Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and, even though I haven't finished yet, can wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone. Brilliantly written, highly imaginitive, and unpredictable.

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Based on your positive review I decided to look this up. It sounds pretty interesting. I think I might go buy it after work. Thanks.

[Wynton]

I'm in the middle of Arthur and George , and really enjoying it so far.

Two prior books were:

Absolute Friends (a disappointment), by John LeCarre
Fortress of Solitude (loved parts of it), by Letham.