What's the name of the BOOK you're currently reading....and....?

[Cygnusx2112]

What's on your "on-deck" circle?


I'm finishing up the last 100 pages of Robertson Davies The Depford Trilogy - Fifth Business, The Manticore and World of Wonders.
He's a Canadian writer I never heard of, but I liked the cover and picked it up.

Its sort of a mystery, I guess you'd call it. I'd rate it a 7/10. Anyone ever read it? No spoilers please!


My on deck book --> Bryson "A Short History of Nearly Everything". Wish I had bought the $35 version with all the pictures, but oh well.

[ThomCat]

1. The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

and A Guide to Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.

My on-deck pile is rather kind of big. I will probably put the religion books aside for a bit and move on to either politics or fiction for a bit.

[WCGreen]

64. The Gnostic Gospels is a really good, easy yet in depth read

about the history surrounding early Christianity...

Another book I would suggest is From Jesus to Christianity by L. Michael White...

[ThomCat]

76. Yes, it's a bit too easy.

It is mostly the author talking about his conclusions, and very little about the actual gnostic texts themselves. I have other books that are better. But this one definitely seems to be a good introductory book. I'm going to keep it on my bookshelf to recommend as a introductory books.

[miss_american_pie]

2. Just finished Garrison Keillor's

Good Poems for Hard Times.

And now I need to go book shopping again.

[RetroLounge]

72. Book Shopping?

:rofl:

:hi:

RL

[RedStateShame]

3. "A Long Way Down," by Nick Hornby

Pretty good so far, but I hate to read about a failed musician contemplating suicide, as a failing musician myself. Don't know what's next, but I'm trying to find a copy of "Lullaby" by Chuck Palahniuk at my library.

[WCGreen]

65. It's a pretty good book but not as good High Fidelity...

[BarenakedLady]

4. Still working on "A Confederacy of Dunces"....

On deck is "Thud" and "Wintersmith" both by Terry Pratchett.

[bif]

36. I thought it started out great

then slowly fizzled out.

[azmouse]

5. Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

Meh... It's really dated and not very scary.

I like to read scary books during Oct so up next will be:
Nightmare House by Douglas Clegg

This book seems more silly than scary but it has zombies and vampires:
Gil's All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez

[LostinVA]

9. It is dated, but pretty interesting, except for its twisted look at

Paganism.

[azmouse]

16. Actually what's bugging me the most

is all the references to how much the lead character likes seeing women doing domestic things. I know the book was written in the early 70's but gee whiz... didn't this guy ever hear of women's lib back then?

[Left Is Write]

6. "The Stranger Beside Me" by Ann Rule.

On deck:

Serial Killers: The Method And Madness Of Monsters by Peter Vronsky
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark

[RetroLounge]

73. The Higgins Clark women must fart completed books...

They're so damn prolific. I can't open a box without finding another by one of them.

RL

[haf216]

102. That is a great book.

I have read all of Anne Rule's stuff and that is the best one. Hope you like it!

[datasuspect]

7. "bell system POTS line charge schematics"

copyright 1947.

[ThomCat]

51. Damn, that's exciting.

I can't imagine that even the bell system managed to write too much about POTS lines.

[LostinVA]

8. Righteous : dispatches from the evangelical youth movement , and on deck

A history of the end of the world : how the most controversial book in the Bible changed the course of Western civilization (Kirsch).

I just finished "Bowerman and teh Men of Eugene." Great book.

[dread]

10. Weekend In Munich

Art, Propaganda And Terror in The Third Reich

by Robert S. Wistrich

[Haole Girl]

11. Saving Graces, by Elizabeth Edwards

After I cried my eyes out reading the first 2 chapters (I think, in part, due to flashbacks of Kerry/Edwards losing the Nov. 2004 election) I'm getting through the rest of it better. She is simply an amazing woman...just amazing....always thinking of others, even at a time like this.

I have too many on my "on-deck" circle to even list!

[wildhorses]

12. jane eyre~charlotte bronte...

on deck: the biography of the man who invented Conan the Barbarian

and if not that then the on deck pile is too large to mention

[toadzilla]

13. 9/11 commission report.

we'll see how far I can stomach it, so far I've made it to page 24.
wish me luck.

I was reading haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, but I lost interest. I love some of his books, but Haunted was just stupid.

Keiths book is next.

[underpants]

34. I found that not to be as dry as I expected

it gets a little slow and heavy in the middle but I swear that they wrote jokes in there-the point in the interview with W and Dick when W makes a joke ( a 9/11 joke mind you) about how they must not have been very good pilots cause he knew he was a pilot once......

I swear they should have inserted ( cricket chirp) in that paragraph as you could just tell that no one thought it was funny and frankly knowing what they know it was quite sad.

There was another little thing in there that I forgot. I actually had to reread it "Are they cutting jokes in here?" I asked myself.

I also found that report to be a good starting point not necessarily the end all.

[Liberalynn]

14. Dance of the Gods

by Nora Roberts! I'd rate it an 8/10 if you like mystery/romance/escapism. Just curious any other Nora fans here? She is a Dem :kick: YAY!

On the On Deck Circle is Christine Feehan's "Dangerous Tides"

I also planning on purchasing Woodward's new book!

[Phillycat]

15. I am on the second book of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy

by Philip Pullman, and I am LOVING it.

Next up is The Discomfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen.

[Cygnusx2112]

19. Awesome books...! Glad you're enjoying them.

I have to add them to my 're-read' pile. I don't re-read too many books
(except for LOTR and the Thomas Covenant books by Stephen Donaldson),
but I think "His Dark Materials" is definitely re-read worthy.

And I loved The Corrections by Franzen. :)

Cheers!

[Phillycat]

21. I've never read them before and it's like finding a diamond

I can't believe how good they are, and I REALLY can't believe they are written for young adults! They are so smart.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

39. You MUST read all of HDM.

One of the best fantasy series EVER.

:thumbsup:

[Phillycat]

47. I am amazed and thrilled so far.

It's wonderful!

[WritingIsMyReligion]

48. THE AMBER SPYGLASS is better than THE SUBTLE KNIFE, even.

Though I think THE GOLDEN COMPASS is the best as far as sheer beautiful yet terrifying imagery goes.

[fizzgig]

70. that is a fantastic series

i'm due for another run through those soon

[RubyDuby in GA]

17. Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her

On deck: the new progressive handbook by George Lakoff (my husband is making me read it)

[cmkramer]

86. I read that over the summer

It's really good. Funny but I've never read a NANCY DREW book in my life. Right now, I've reverted back to my childhood and I'm reading some old BOBBSEY TWINS books.. I've got "Lost In The City" on deck.

Also, I just the other day finished the Harper Lee biography "Harper" and I would heartily recommend it. It has a lot of interesting information about the movie "To Kill A Mockingbird" that I never knew although I imagine many people did. For instance, the original choice to play Atticus was Rock Hudson. Also, Gregory Peck thought the movie was too centered on the children so they ended cutting a lot of scenes that featured the kids.

Most of the book is about her and her family though. One factoid about her father is that while he was relatively racially enlightened by the standards of his day, he wasn't liberal on all issues. For instance, he favored forced sterilizations but ironically was against people doing them voluntarily for birth control reasons. Also, unlike the book, her mother was alive but she had severe mental problems and Harper did not have a good relationship with her.

Anyway, like I said, it's a really good book.

[XNASA]

18. "All the KIng's Men"

On deck? I dunno. Maybe "Chronicles: Volume One" - Bob Dylan

[Rabrrrrrr]

20. "E=mc^2" and "The Sermon as Symphony" and "When Science Meets Religion"

All good stuff!

[Bridget Burke]

22. Re-reading "The Charnal Prince" by Greg Keyes

It's #2 in the Kingdoms of Thorn & Bone series. I just re-read #1, in preparation for #3 "The Blood Knight"--FINALLY released. The final volume is expected in late '07 or early '08. An excellent series so far.

Then "Midnight Lamp" by Gwyneth Jones. Preceding volumes: "Bold As Love" & "Castles Made of Sand." Can rock & roll save the world? Or, at least, England in the near future? Fantasy, Science Fiction, Soap Opera & a bit of Arthuriana. There are a couple more books in this series--still not published in the USA! (But available at Amazon.)

[Hangingon]

23. Boyd: The fighter pilot who changed theart of war by Coram

On deck - Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden

[u4ic]

24. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

At the Hands of Persons Unknown; The Lynching of Black America, by Philip Dray, is up next.

[malmapus]

25. Just finished Time of the Twins

Starting War of the Twins and on deck is Test of the Twins (Dragonlance Legends series).

Margaret Weis / Tracy Hickman

[BreweryYardRat]

26. I'm rereading George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords.

For the Nth time.

[IdaBriggs]

79. The first was definitely the best in that series.

I've been kind of disappointed since -- although its hard to keep up that WOW! from the first book. :)

[hopein08]

27. "Gentlemen in England" by A.N. Wilson...

I tried reading it four of five times before and thought it was horribly boring. But this time it is fantastic. I found it at a used book sale.

On Deck..."The Last 100 Days" by John Toland.

By the way, I love Bill Bryson's books!!!!! I laughed until I cried at "Notes from a Small Island", "I'm A Stranger Here Myself" and the other book I read of his about Australia.

[Cygnusx2112]

30. Hopein08 - do you consider Bryson accessable?

Like Sagan was in Cosmos?

I started too many science books and had to put them down because they were a little "beyond" me, including:

The Elegant Universe -Brian Greene
Godel, Escher and Bach -Douglas Hofstadter

I'm hoping he's not too challenging.

[hopein08]

52. I can't really say with any fairness...

I haven't read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" even though I fully intended to, promptly forgot, and now have added it to my list.

But I just look Bryson up on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bryson) and that is the only science book that he's written.

Of his books, I have read...

1. "The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America"
2. "Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe"
3. "Notes From A Small Island"
4. "I'm A Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away"
5. "In A Sunburned Country"
6. "Made In America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States"

#3-#5 on the list are the ones I remember best because they were HILARIOUS!!! I'd categorize them as travel/humor as they are all about his travels in England, America, and Australia (respectively).

I hate to say it, but I haven't read any of the books that you mentioned on science. History and travel are much my reading of choice.

This probably doesn't help you but I thought I'd offer it anyway!

[Kutjara]

54. "Perdido Street Station" by China Mieville

On deck is "Vellum" by Hal Duncan.

[Giant Robot]

28. "House of Chains"

by Steven Erickson.

Also slowly going through "Mindfulness and Acceptance" whose editors I can't remember right now.

[Rambis]

29. Fleshmarket Alley Ian Rankin

goo stuff so far

[bif]

31. "The History of Love"

And I don't know what's next. Maybe "The Life of Pi."

[GalleryGod]

32. State of Denial.

[mark414]

33. Capote's In Cold Blood

but give me a break for it taking me so long, i'm young.

it's one of those books that you know you should read but you never get around to it - then about a month ago i saw the movie "Capote" and realized that yes, i have to read this book.

after this i have a couple stories from james joyce's "dubliners" that i need to finish

but in the on deck circle is a book called "original wisdom" by robert wolff, he is a psychologist who goes to live with an aboriginal tribe in Malaysia and wrote about it.

[fizzgig]

71. i was not too impressed by that book

but then again, i read it when i was 15 and maybe i should give it another chance

[EFerrari]

90. Definitely! I"m reading Truman Capote by Plimpton and

it's excellent.

Next, John Dean's new book.

I don't ever seem to read novels any more. :shrug:

[murielm99]

91. I read that last summer.

Every summer, I read at least one of those books that you should read but never get around to. I also read the Bounty Trilogy over the summer. Those books were surprisingly good.

[Ariana Celeste]

35. I'm in between books at the moment...

I finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky a couple of weeks ago (excellent book). I am going to start my next one probably this weekend.... maybe tomorrow. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin.

[Cygnusx2112]

38. Ariana...

I finished Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky a couple of weeks ago


I thought about giving myself a challenge with C & P. Can he maintain your interest for that long? Is it a compelling read?
I'd hate to get a couple hundred pages in (like I did with Atlas Shrugged) and realize I don't like the book...

But then not be able to bail since I couldn't say I had read it all and therefore have an opinion...

[Ariana Celeste]

46. It certainly kept my interest...

More often then not, when I am reading a book, I will skim through a page here and there, you know? With C & P I didn't skim through a single page. It's not full of action, but more about the main character's mental state throughout the story. The characters all seemed very real to me, there was no simply bad vs. good chars. in C & P.
Dostoevsky had a very good grasp on psychology for his time... and it shows... I will definitely be reading more Dostoevsky in the future.

Anywho... I couldn't tell you whether or not you would enjoy it... everyone has their preferences! But I can say I was pleasantly surprised and couldn't put it down. :)

[BornagainDUer]

37. I'm reading "How Wall Street created a nation".

A good story about the the creation of Panama to get the Panama Canal built.

[cspanlovr]

40. I'm reading Seduced by Hitler. I want to know how a whole

country can become as sick as its leaders. It's well written and interesting, but its so dark.

[SeattleGirl]

41. Flags of our Fathers

Not too far into it yet, but so far, it's very good.

Nothing on deck yet.

[Cygnusx2112]

42. Just got that for my birthday! :)

[SeattleGirl]

50. Cool!

I love reading about the people involved in something, and this was definitely a big "something".

[huskerlaw]

43. Tears of the Giraffe ~ Alexander McCall Smith

because it's fun and easy...and work is too intense for anything cerebral at the moment.

On deck:
-Water for Elephants: A Novel ~Sara Gruen
-The Memory Keeper's Daughter ~Kim Edwards

[GoddessOfGuinness]

44. Blue Shoe, by Anne Lamott and Herbs and the Earth, by Henry Beston

Next up, Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier, and The Grass Harp, by Truman Capote.

[seemunkee]

45. The Ice Master: The Doomed 1913 Voyage of the Karluk

After that I'll finish up The Hopes of Snakes

[WritingIsMyReligion]

49. Right now for school it's "1984."

:scared:

We just got through with Lord of the Flies.

I just finished reading The Tempest on my own time today. And I've been rereading Memoirs of a Geisha in whatever spare time I can get.

[jus_the_facts]

53. Just finished Richard Matheson's I Am Legend and Hell House.....

....gonna re-read Richard Bachman's The Regulators...which is Stephen King's pen name...he said Matheson was one of his inspirations to write so I'm goin' to read it again...s'been a long time and I can read SK over and over and over. :)

[Lars39]

55. Well-read bunch, aren't we?

I'm bookmarking for winter reading. :)

[TOhioLiberal]

56. What I'm reading...

'The Worst Person in the World' by Keith Olbermann, also 'The One Percent Doctrine' by Ron Suskind.

On deck: 'Fluke' by Moore. I'm too lazy to get up and verify what his 1st name is.

[reyd reid reed]

57. I'm reading "The Memory Keeper's Daughter"

And I've got "City of Fallen Angels" waiting.

:hi:

[RevolutionaryActs]

58. Eragon by Christopher Paolini

It's pretty good, but there are more than a few elements of it that remind a little too much of Lord of the Rings. :shrug:
But I love Lord of the Rings, so I guess that isn't a bad thing. :rofl:

[femmocrat]

59. State of Denial by Bob Woodward

On deck.... Fooled Again, Mark Crispin Miller and I would like to read Olbermann's book.

[qnr]

60. The Little Book of Scientific Principles, Theories & Things - Surendara

Verma.

Though I'm alternating with Beginning GIMP, From Novice to Professional, and Write Great Code Volume 2: Thinking Low-Level, writing High-Level

[Mojambo]

61. The End of Faith by Sam Harris

I just haven't had much time to dig into it yet.

I'd like to pick up Thom Hartmann's latest, Screwed, next.

[Mutley]

62. I'm readin' two

"The Lais of Marie de France" for school.

And "If I Never Get Back." That one's slow going because most of my free time is spent reading school stuff. x(

[ncrainbowgrrl]

63. My Pet Goat- I thought I'd see what all the hype was about.

:evilgrin:

[WCGreen]

66. Right Now... A Team of Rivals.... and a novelization of the

Superman Myth....

Both good reads...

I always read a non fiction and fiction bbok at the same time...

[XemaSab]

67. Just (like 10 minutes ago) finished "Royal Flash."

On deck I've got "black like me," "the far pavilions," "travels of marco polo," "in the night room," "travels with nomads," "don quixote," "the nature of paleolithic art," another book about mongolians, "before the european challenge," "kim," "art of war," "pilgrim at tinker creek," "a rum affair," and "our lady of the forest."

And another Flashman book.

I wonder which one I'll read first. :D

[NMMNG]

68. Currently I'm reading

I Think There's A Terrorist In My Soup: How to Survive Personal and World Problems with Laughter - Seriously


I have a bunch of books on deck but I think the next one I read will be The Human Story: Our History, from the Stone Age to Today

[LSK]

69. 1776 - then State of Denial

Actually Im reading both.

[WCGreen]

84. I really enjoyed 1776...

It read like a Novel, not a history book...

[Drum]

87. I like the sound of that...

as that brave period in our history gives me faith we can rebuild.

Who wrote it...details please?

Thx, Drum
:hi:

[WCGreen]

92. David McCullough...

He hd written several outstanding History Books including a wonderfull Biography of John Adams....

[Drum]

99. Thanks WCGreen!

:thumbsup:

[fizzgig]

74. i'm still journeying through the great book of amber

as far as on deck goes, i keep looking at 'neurotica: jewish writers on sex' and 'memoirs of a geisha'.

of course, if i'm feeling a tad lazy, i might say screw it and go for another trip through middle earth or his dark materials

[RetroLounge]

75. I have about 1/2 dozen books started

100 years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia-marquez
Little Beauties - Kim Addonizio
In Favour of the Sensitive Man - Anais Nin
Fortunate Son - J.H. Hatfield
Silent Passengers - Larry Woiwode
Why did you have to get a divorced and when can I get a hamster - Anthony Wolfe.

After these, not sure if I have any books handy, might need to go shopping...

:D

RL

[trof]

77. COBRA II

Kind of slogging through the build-up to war.
Haven't gotten to the juicy bits yet.

Next I want to read something by Edward P. Jones.

[IdaBriggs]

80. The Timothy Zahn book?

Or the other one? :)

[trof]

88. By Michael R. Gordon & Gen. Bernard E. Trainor

[IdaBriggs]

78. Been re-reading Zenna Henderson's "People" books.

Finished "Pilgrimage" earlier this week, and last night "No Different Flesh." I'll be starting "Holding Wonder" later today, but I can't find my copy of "The Anything Box." Grrr....

[elehhhhna]

81. The West Indies and the Spanish Main, by Anthony Trollope

prepping for a long-delayed trip back to Grand Cayman in April.

[Ekirh]

82. Well I just finished All the King's Men .. .

as for on deck.. I won't know until I get to the book store and nab something else . .

It wans't until the past few months I got back into reading... it's been so long . . why the fuck did I stop.

[terrya]

83. "State of Denial"

I wasn't going to buy it at first, but what the fuck. I'm as hypocritical as anyone else, I guess.

After "SOD", I'll be reading "The Way We Live Now" by Anthony Trollope, one of the 20 or so Barnes and Noble Classics I bought when B&N had them at 50% off.

[Gatchaman]

85. Jupiter by Ben Bova

Just fininshed reading Mercury, also by Bova. His "planets" books take place in the near future, with global warming and authoritative religious governments ruling the world. I'll probably move to something lighter after Jupiter.

[Phillycat]

89. I cannot confirm or deny rumors...

that I may or may not have purchased a $35 book on symbology in Italian Renaissance Art this morning.

Barnes and Noble, you're killing me! *shakes fist*

[greendog]

93. "Hooked"...

..."Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume" Stephanie Kaza: Editor.

Not sure what's next.

[blondeatlast]

94. "Winkie" by Clifford Chase--difficult to explain, Powell's blurb follows:

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-0802118305-0

Just finished "Conservatize Me," I highly recommend this funny one--again, the Powell's link follows:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-0060854014-3

On deck? Hard to say, since I buy books for a library--it changes nearly every day, sometimes more!

[Blue_In_AK]

95. I just bought "Hubris" by Corn and Isikoff

and "Fiasco" by Thomas Ricks for us to read on the plane this week when we fly to New Orleans.

[KayLaw]

96. Peg Bracken

All of a sudden I want everything she wrote. I love her book about travel, "But I wouldn't have missed it for the World." I'm crazy about her; she's so smart!

[Deja Q]

97. 'The Keep it Simple Series Guide to the Kama Sutra'

Well, you asked. I'm hardly going to lie and say "The Misadventures of Daffy Duck"...

[khashka]

98. Stupid boy! Try "Our Bodies Our Selves"

Just saying. Check it out. Every thing you need to know about women.Except what they tell you. I also highly recommend the Joy of Lesbian Sex - every man should read it.


I'd drop the Kama Sutra. It's not a sex manual. It's a religious text.

Khash.

[querelle]

100. The Black Death by Phillip Ziegler

On deck:

The Hidden War by Artyom Borovik
Last Exit To Brooklyn by Hubert Selby Jr.
The Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing

Q

[PVnRT]

101. The Shape of Things to Come by H.G. Wells

n/t

[yellowdogintexas]

103. Currently: "Lost in a Good Book" hilarious!!!! Jeffrey Fforde...

Second in a series, 1st is "The Eyre Affair"

nightstand/bedtime read is "Victoria's Daughters" as in Queen Victoria

Next up:

Warsaw Requiem By Bodie Thoene 6th in a series of umpteen novels about prewar Europe, Palestine, Holocaust, escaping from same, etc. Great series!!! I hunted all over creation for this book finally scored a used one from Amazon.

I will be immersed in this series until I get through the whole set, unless I get depressed by the atmosphere and have to come up for some humor in which case I will dig up another book by Fforde.(Well of Lost Plots is the next in series), or another Alexander McCall Smith..just read #1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Another Recommendation: The Anasazi Murder Mysteries, a trilogy by Kathleen O'Neal Gear and W. Michael Gear. These were riveting! Great Southwest setting, parallel story lines, archaeology, murder, mayhem ..fantastic.

[Fox Mulder]

104. I'm reading The Worst Person in the World: And 202 Strong Contenders

Up next: The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne and then I'm going to re-read Real Ghosts, Restless Spirits, and Haunted Places by Brad Steiger

[TimeChaser]

105. "Son of a Witch" the sequal to "Wicked"

Up next is "When Darkness Falls," the third in the Obsidian Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey and someone else :D