What book(s) are you currently reading?

[bobthedrummer]

I just started "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins.

[AverageJoe]

1. I'm re-reading Theodore Roszak's novel, "Flicker"

It's a great book and I recommend it highly. The storyline revolves around a secret--dark, dark secret--history of the movies.

And, indeed, it's being made into a movie, directed by the same guy who directed "Pi".

[bobthedrummer]

4. I really liked "Pi". I'll be watching for this one to be released.

OTOH, I've been vastly disappointed by screenplays of good reads.

[AverageJoe]

9. Yes, "Pi" is great!

I'm a little worried about how they'll handle "Flicker." It's a rather hefty book with a lot going on. Still, I'm really looking forward to the movie.

Here's the book description a la Amazon.com:


From the golden age of art movies and underground cinema to X-rated porn, splatter films, and midnight movies, this breathtaking thriller is a tour de force of cinematic fact and fantasy, full of metaphysical mysteries that will haunt the dreams of every moviegoer. Jonathan Gates doesn't set out to uncover the secret history of the movies—a tale of intrigue, deception, and death that stretches back to the 14th century. But he succumbs to what will be a lifelong obsession with the mysterious Max Castle, a nearly forgotten genius of the silent screen who later became the greatest director of horror films, only to vanish in the 1940s, at the height of his talent. Now, 20 years later, as Jonathan seeks the truth behind Castle's disappearance, the innocent entertainments of his youth—the sexy sirens, the screwball comedies, the high romance—take on a sinister appearance. His tortured quest takes him from Hollywood's Poverty Row into the shadowy lore of ancient religious heresies. He encounters a cast of exotic characters, including Orson Welles and John Huston, who teach him that there's more to film than meets the eye, and journeys through the dark side of nostalgia, where the Three Stooges and Shirley Temple join company with an alien god whose purposes are anything but entertainment.

[terrya]

2. I just started reading "Anna Kareina"

[Lavender Brown]

3. You need a diarama to keep track of all the characters and relationships

in that one! :o

[terrya]

5. It's a bit slow going, I must admit.

But, in my quest to read the classics, I'll see if I can persevere.

Up next..."Don Quixote". Though I KNOW that one is going to be tough sledding. :-)

[Welsh_Princess]

40. Don Quixote

is an excellent book, and extremely funny. I really should read more of the classics.

[bobthedrummer]

46. Welcome to DU, Welsh_Princess!

I hear that Hugo Chavez is using "Don Quixote" in a clever way too.
:hi:

[Bridget Burke]

6. Two, currently....

While commuting (by bus & rail): "The Game" by Laurie R King. About Mary Russell & her husband--Sherlock Holmes--they met & married after his early "retirement." In this book, they go to India to find the missing agent--Kimball O'Hara. (Yes, Kipling published a fictionalized account of his boyhood.)

At home: "Returning As Shadows" by Paco Ignacio Taibo II. "The Shadow of a Shadow" was my favorite of his politically Left & extremely witty thrillers--the story of 4 friends getting to the bottom of a messy mystery in Mexico City just after the 1910-1920 Revolution. Twenty years have passed & a new mystery is bringing them back together. Mexico's home-grown Nazis are joining with visitors from Germany, perhaps for occult purposes.... I'm reading this one slowly.

[Toby109]

7. Re-reading

"Summer for the Gods". Great book about the Scopes-monkey trial by Edward Larson.

[Tafiti]

68. Don't know if you'd want to read two books...

...on the same subject, but Trials of the Monkey by Matthew Chapman is another great book about the Scopes trial. It's so well written, I was a little upset that it had to end once I finished it.

[Lavender Brown]

8. I'm reading Confessions of a Closet Catholic

by Sarah Littman. It shouldn't take long, as it is a YA book. :)

[tyedyeto]

10. Chain of Command by Seymour Hersch

Recommended reading.

[Mr Rabble]

11. Crossing The Rubicon-

Michael Rupperts disturbing account about how we got to where we are.

fromthwilderness.com

[johnnie]

12. Rereading Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda

I am going to also start The Da Vinci Code because I am in a "book club" now with some friends, and they chose that one. I have never read it so I am finally going to.
I have a few others going, but it's been a bit since I have picked them up.

[peacebuzzard]

21. Hi johnnie.

I have that book on my list "to read"..... :hi: :hi:

[johnnie]

34. Hello back at ya peacebuzzard

Which one?

[livetohike]

13. Just finished Gods and Generals

and getting ready to start Bill Clinton's My Life :-). Also have the Davinci Code sitting on the table and Jim Morrison: Life, Death, Legend.

What to do? All three of those books are due back into the library in three weeks. I'm a fast reader, but I spend way too much time on the computer :-).

[Ernesto]

16. fast reader?

You better be if you are going to read "My Life".

[fudge stripe cookays]

14. Just started "The Killer Angels" by Michael Shaara.

I wanted something good to read on the plane for my vacation, and wanted something historical; I may end up finishing it before then. It's well written so far.

I'm also working on "The Burning Tigris", about the Armenian genocide.

FSC

[bookman]

63. Gettysburg

An above average movie based on Killer Angels. I really liked it although I'd skip Gods and Generals.

[fudge stripe cookays]

72. Yep, reprehensor and I were discussing this...

last night.

I saw it several years ago, and was saying I needed to see it again. He's never seen it, and as a Canadian, is distinctly lacking in that historical area.

So we'll check it out again real soon.
FSC

[Mutley]

15. I'm still trying to decide. Anyone have any recommendations?

It's gotta be really good because I finally have some time to read a non-school related book!!!!!

[bobthedrummer]

17. Do you prefer fiction or non-fiction?

[Mutley]

18. I like both

but I prefer fiction.

[bobthedrummer]

24. Maybe some of the posts might help. I mostly read non-fiction today.

on edit: Hey, maybe something by Philip K. Dick???

[Mutley]

27. i'll check him out.

[Ernesto]

19. Working on 2 right now.

Fiction: "BAbbitt" by Sinclair Lewis.. a 1922 satire about the shallow life of your basic repuke real estate agent.
Non Fiction: "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond.. the evolution of human society describing the impact of early technological developments.

[TX-RAT]

20. Super System 2, by Doyle Brunson AKA Texas Dollie

OK, give me a break, I'm playing in another no-limit tournament at the Horse Shoe in July. I need all the help i can get, there will be close to 350 people in this one.

[Left Is Write]

22. Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark.

[jobycom]

23. The Virgin Blue, Tracy Chevalier. I WILL finish it this time. nt

[yellowdogintexas]

57. I loved that book, and all her others too. She is great. nt

[yellowdogintexas]

58. Robin Hobb, Ship of Magic...just started it.

just finished "Garden of Beasts" by Jeffrey Deaver ...great, fun read.

[jobycom]

78. It finally clicked with me last night

I finally starting loving Ella, so I couldn't put it down last night. When I did, the scenes between her and Jean Paul haunted me enough that I couldn't sleep.

I love the way Chevalier writes.

[indy_azcat]

25. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

Amazing how relevant Vennegut's writing is today - especially this diatribe against conservatism and inherited wealth.

[gollygee]

38. Oh that's a good one :)

:hi:

[Jara sang]

26. I'm reading about four books at the same time: "Code Names"

The one that I am paying the most attention to is this one: Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs and Operations in the 9/11 World

[LT TX]

28. Fast Food Nation

I've only read about 100 pages, but it is really good, so far.

[Lannes]

31. Great read so far.

The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster

[Crazy Guggenheim]

29. On and off. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris. It's good.

[Lannes]

41. I read that book

Dont know if you have read it yet but Morris's first book.The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt is amazing,alot better than Rex.Won the Pulitzer.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

43. This is the first one I've read.

[Lannes]

44. You should definetely check it out

It reads like a movie.I couldnt believe all the things he accomplished before he became President and all the obstacles he had to overcome.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

47. That's the kind of ADD President I like!

[welshTerrier2]

30. Sorrow of Empire - Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic

it's written by Chalmers Johnson who recently appeared on a panel discussion on C-Span ...

just started the book but so far it's incredible ... there aren't any pictures though and not a whole lotta laughs ... i thought from the title it was a comedy but so far it hasn't had any jokes ...

[bobthedrummer]

32. I thought "Sorrow of Empire" was a really good book.

You might want to read "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins after that one-they aren't comical at all.

[welshTerrier2]

39. "Confessions was great"

i read Perkins book about 6 months ago ... it's very interesting to view it in the context of what's going on in Iraq ...

[Fleshdancer]

33. I'm re-reading The Di Vinci Code because the new one has pictures

The latest version published has pictures of the various paintings, cathedrals, and random stuff like the barbed belt that Salis wore around his leg. It also has a picture of the Opus Dei headquarters in NYC. Pretty cool stuff.

[Catchawave]

35. Four Trials by John Edwards...

...for the second time. The boy has a clue!

[bobthedrummer]

36. He's also got charisma imo.

[brook]

37. Set in Darkness

a Rebus mystery by Ian Rankin.

[Lindsey]

42. Getting ready to start "Blink"

I havn't talked to anyone who has read it yet but it got really good reviews.

[Pacifist Patriot]

45. Three at the moment.

Goodbye Descartes: The End of Logic and the Search For a New Cosmology of the Mind by Keith Devlin

Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge by Edward O. Wilson

The Roots of the Self: Unraveling the Mystery of Who We Are by Robert Ornstein

[El Fuego]

48. The Devil in the White City.

[bobthedrummer]

50. That one freaked both my wife and myself out.

:thumbsup:

[El Fuego]

54. I just started it!

Sounds like it's going to be good!

[fudge stripe cookays]

73. Amazing book,

especially, if like me, you love Chicago.

If you ever visit, you must go to the Museum of Science and Industry, as it is one of the last portions of the 1893 Exposition still standing.

FSC

[El Fuego]

74. Thanks for the info!

[mark414]

65. excellent

:thumbsup:

[MissHoneychurch]

49. a biography about Maria Pawlowna

she qas the granddaughter of Catherine the Great of Russia and married a German duke at the times of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Napoleon. Very interesting.

[flamingyouth]

51. "Galveston" by Paul Quarrington.

I picked it up in Victoria over the weekend.

[jswordy]

52. Ford Service Manuals, 1969 Mustang, Fairlane, Torino and Mercury Montego

A five-volume set!

[MsAnthropy]

53. "What's the Matter With Kansas"

I got to the end and immediately went back to the beginning and started over--first time in my life I've done that.

[baldguy]

55. The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru

Master of the Senate by Robert Caro

[smartvoter]

56. Fossil Hunter by Sawyer. nt

[NMMNG]

59. "Ethics For the New Millenium"

by the Dalai Lama

and "Buddhism Without Beliefs" by Stephen Batchelor

[aion]

60. From Dawn to Decadence -- Jacques Barzun

From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life by Jacques Barzun.

[mvd]

61. The book to Star Wars: Episode III

Still want to see the movie of course, but I was curious even before the movie opened. I will finish the book before seeing the movie.

[bookman]

62. Nothing's Sacred

...Lewis Black

[Reverend_Smitty]

66. I just read that...it was very funny

but right now I'm reading "1968 : The Year That Rocked the World" by Mark Kurlansky. So far so good

[hippiepunk]

64. Count of Monte Cristo

and Stupid White Men

[Gemini Cat]

67. I'm reading "What's The Matter With Kansas"

Best book I've read so far this year.

[Radical Activist]

71. An extremely important book.

Every Democrat should read it.

[Tafiti]

69. Just started...

...Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. After that, I'm going to lighten things up a little bit and read Bringing Down The House by Ben Mizrach.

[Radical Activist]

70. Antonio Gramsci Reader.

Great stuff.

[Strawman]

75. Just Finished "Spanking the Donkey" by Matt Taibbi

Excellent book.

Just bought Naked by David Sedaris

[bertha katzenengel]

76. Sara Paretsky, _Total Recall_ (nothing to do w/ Schwarzenegger)

a V.I. Warshawski novel.

[happyphantom]

77. 2 books at present

The Agony and the Ecstacy
and
Down and Out in The Magic Kingdom

[UncleSepp]

79. Magister Ludi, Judaism for Dummies, and a manual for a server

My bookshelf is a weird and wonderful place. :-D

[DemocraticBassPlayer]

80. interesting

F.A. Hayeks The Road to Serfdom

[Withywindle]

81. I always have several going at the same time...

Right now it's "The Wimp Factor: Gender Gaps, Holy Wars, and the Politics of Anxious Masculinity" by Stephen J. Ducat, which I absolutely cannot recommend enough to anybody interested in the intersections of homophobia, misogyny, and the appeal of the RW/fascism. (And yes, that includes progressives and liberals who keep talking about who does and doesn't have "balls" and who's a "pink tutu Democrat" and who "bends over and takes it" and other deeply insulting, not to mention played-out, metaphors)

NExt it's probably going to be "Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv, which I'm mildly interested in as a kid who grew totally immersed in nature myself (at the expense of actually learning to deal with people).


On the fiction end, believe it or not, I'm reading "Left Behind." For the camp value and for the "know your enemy" factor. It is utterly, howlingly atrocious--not just ideologically and theologically, but in terms of violating just about every aesthetic value I have about what makes enjoyable, readable fiction. Although it's on about a sixth-grade reading level, it's painfully slow going. I have to keep the antidote handy, so I'm also turning frequently to re-reading bits from an old favorite, "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, definitely the funniest, wisest, and sweetest book ever written about the Apocalypse.