Whatcha reading now, pals?

[Metcarfre]

So I haven't really read a lot of late. But yesterday I was out at the mall with the family and decided I needed to pick up a couple books and get back into reading. I haven't read decent sci-fi in a long while, so I snooped around a bit and picked up Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein, and A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Both classic works of sci-fi from the same era.

I also looked at Ender's Game, (which I haven't read for some reason...), but I figured that it's pretty easy to pick up a used copy somewhere, and put it off for another day.

Finished Troopers today; good stuff. The way it's written, it's very hard to tell it was originally published in 1959.

Anyways, just wondering what everyone else is up to reading of late, and if they have other recommendations?

[Danzama]

didn't i do a thread like this? anyway, i finished Articulate Jim by Yahtzee so i'm not reading anything, i'll post back tomorrow

[Tim]

I just finished Patriot Games and started Cardinal of the Kremlin, both by Tom Clancy.

His early stuff is really good, so long as you don't mind his old-fashioned right-wing sensibilities.

[Theremin]

When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops by George Carlin.

One of those nicely cynical comedy books.

[Trymantha]

I have been listing to the Harry Potter audio books, the UK version so its read by Stephen Fry and therefore Awesome.

[goat]

Under the Dome by Stephen King

not bad, very much in his style, but I read so much last week I think I still need a little time off from it before I finish it.

My girlfriend is trying to get me to read some Palahnuik afterwards, which I think I might do.

[Frosty]

This Gaming Life by Jim Rossignol.

It ain't bad so far.

[sdhonda]

Just finished Intellectuals and Society by Thomas Sowell.

[davefp]

I haven't read anything in a while, but if you're looking for SciFi then I recommend Iain M. Banks' Culture series.

[Bananafish]

An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine by Claude Bernard, it's pretty interesting reading about the Vitalist movement at the time, their opposition to vivisection, and Bernard's reasoning for it.

e: Oh, hey it's on Google Books

A physiologist is not a man of fashion, he is a man of science, absorbed the scientific idea which he pursues; he no longer hears the cry of animals, he no longer sees the blood that flows, he sees only his idea and perceives only organisms concealing problems which he intends to solve. Similarly, no surgeon is stopped by the most moving cries and sobs, because he sees only his idea and purpose of his operation. Similarly again, no anatomist feels himself in a horrible slaughter house; under the influence of a scientific idea, he delightedly follows a nervous filament through stinking livid flesh, which to any other man would be an object of disgust and horror.

If I remember correctly Bernard would bring home stray dogs and perform vivisections on them, it made his wife so angry that she took their daughter away and spent time saving strays.

[Evil Jim]

I'm reading a few books, which is getting complicated.

First is continuing Alhzazred: Author of the Necronomicon by Donald Tyson, as mentioned in the other thread. I'm over halfway through its 666 pages so I just need to commit it to a few more reading opportunities here & there instead of dinking around & I'll have it finished. It's quite good if you're into Lovecraft & the history of his Mythos.

Next up is The God Delusion, by Richard Dawkins. A friend of a friend mentioned she was reading it & I remembered I hadn't finished it yet. So what with the two major religious threads that have been going on the past few weeks I started it again.

Also up is What Turns Us On, by Iris & Steven Finz, a collection of stories, fantasies & personal recollections from actual people about the things that turn us on. It's not so much of a study tho' & could be considered erotic nonfiction but it's definitely not intended as straight-up porn. This was recommended by the girl I'm dating as a topic of discussion & a way to explore each others interests. I hope she stops loaning me books tho' because I really want to finish the others before I forget what they're about.

[Bananafish]

If you're religionterested here's a recent New Yorker article studying different books with varying takes on the life of Jesus

[TheRocket]

I'm still reading Stephen Colbert's: I Am American And So Can You

Still. From a couple years back. Getting through it a paragraph here and there.

I'm actually trying to read a bit of the bible every night, too.

Other than that.. ARCHIE COMICS IN THE BATH FTW.

Don't judge me.

[TomBrend]

Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum (the first person to do so)

partway through Stranger in a Strange Land, but put it down for a while. Almost done with The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, but also put it down for a while.

[GreigKM]

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, just started it, so I can't offer an opinion yet.

[sdhonda]

Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg, just started it, so I can't offer an opinion yet.

The original short story was in the collection of SF stories I was reading the other day (though I was reading it for something else).

[Bananafish]

Gonna buy all these books and drop some spoilers itt

[MarkVI]

As a grad student, I tend to read mostly mathematics texts and papers, and for fun I'll look at a competition problems book before I go to sleep

For normal stuff though, I recently started Shogun, which I've heard great things about.

Also, I've never actually read Alice in Wonderland or Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. And after seeing the new Alice in Wonderland movie, I decided to pick it up. Unfortunately I only managed to read about 15 pages before I got caught up with other things so I'll have to restart that venture.

[King Kool]

I picked up a bargain book called Friday Night Bites, and it kinda stinks. I didn't read the first one, but I read a different vampire novel called Staked because I though it would be the anti-Twilight, but since the next book in that series starts EXACTLY where the last one left off, it sorts of robs me of closure. So I tried to pretend this was the sequel to that book, but in a different city with different characters, kinda like the sequels to Anaconda.

[It's My Delorean]

I'm currently reading the earliest BattleTech book I have, which I picked up secondhand; Warrior: Coupé by Michael A. Stackpole.

I too try to Read the Bible everyday.

And though I'm not reading it at the moment, and it's recommended age range is for 9-12 yr olds, I heartly suggest the Deltora Quest series. It a good fantasy series that's a good light and cheery read.

[iamafish]

I just finished reading 'Interpreter of Maladies', a collection of short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, a Bengali (Indian for the uneducated) who was born in London and brought up (and now lives) in America. My girlfriend (who is also Bengali) bought it for me. It was very enjoyable.

I have just started re-reading Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan, book 6 of the Wheel of Time. I had been re-reading the entire series, but recently took a break to do some revision reading (which involved re-reading the Aeneid, by Virgil) and then to read the book i talked about previously.

[Smeghead]

1634 The Baltic War by David Weber and Eric Flint
<.< >.> ...ok so I've been stuck on that book for 3 years now!

Instead I'm currently reading Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett

[ThrashJazzAssassin]

Right now I'm re-reading The Mission Song by possibly my favourite author, John le Carre. It's brilliant.

While in South Africa I had a hankering for SF, and picked up the Author's Definitive Edition of Ender's Game (partly because I really wanted to read it, partly because everything published in SA or the UK was twice as expensive as it would be at home). I highly recommend that you track down a version of the book containing the introduction Orson Scott Card wrote for this edition, metcarfre, because it's really interesting in its own right. His discussion about literature is very insightful, and it's also fascinating to read about the impact the book has had on so many people, particularly since when he wrote it Card only intended Ender's Game to set the scene for Speaker for the Dead.

Oh, and the book itself is great, too.

[Keab42]

I'm just finishing off Alexandria by Lindsey Davis for my book group, then next up is the first 6 novels set post-series of Star Trek DS9

[Master Gunner]

I'm just finishing up Beautiful Losers by Leonard Cohen (again), it's basically like a 60's Canadian version of Fight Club, with most of the fighting replaced by sex.