What Are You Reading? The February Inclement Weather Edition

[Zomby Woof]

Rain has returned to L.A. today and tomorrow. Along with a big cup of coffee, I am re-visiting Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present".


:donut:


What's your latest reading?

[MrCoffee]

1. Sandman Slim - a very strange, very funny, very strange novel by Richard Kadrey

I'm only halfway through, but the guy can turn a phrase.

[MissHoneychurch]

2. Geisha of Gion: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki

http://www.amazon.com/Geisha-Gion-Memoir-Mineko-Iwasaki/dp/074343059X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265388997&sr=8-1

[TZ]

3. I'm reworking my way though a series

about Pre-Columbian America..Kathleen and Michael Gear's "First North American" series.."People of the Lakes". Wonderfully entertaining fiction with some interesting archaelogy and anthropology.

[Call Me Wesley]

4. Not finished yet,

'Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman' by Bill Zehme. Last one was 'Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade' by James Reston, and the next one will be 'Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman' by Haruki Murakami. :hi:

Or I re-read 'Catcher In The Rye.'

[MissHoneychurch]

5. Have you read more books by Murakami?

I read one and tried reading another one. Strange comes to mind. Not sure I get it.

[Call Me Wesley]

8. I love it.

I did peek into a few pages, and his writing style is very attractive to me, but then, I come from a lyricist's point of view. I think we have three books from him around here. :hi:

[Zomby Woof]

12. You damn bookworm

You can't bait me by mentioning the Salinger. ;-) :evilgrin:

:donut: for your trouble!

[Call Me Wesley]

14. Heh!

And did I mention that I hove both 'Catcher In The Rye' in English and German? There are three translations out there, and I have the one from Heinrich Böll. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_B%C3%B6ll

Thanks for the donut! :)

[Zomby Woof]

15. Well, it pays to bribe you

I don't want Heidi coming after my ass if I am mean to you. :scared:

[Call Me Wesley]

16. LOL!

No, she's nice. I'm really nice, too, but I have family, if you get my drift. :rofl:

[Texasgal]

6. Sellevision

but Augustin Burrows. Very, Very funny!

[unpossibles]

7. a series of short stories by Nabokov and just finished "Cloud Atlas" and "The Tin Drum"

ask me anything!

lol.

"Cloud Atlas" was one of the more interesting books I've read in a while.

[mix]

9. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus - Charles C. Mann

In 1491, Charles C. Mann challenges the conventional wisdom that the Americas were sparsely populated continents teeming with wildlife before the Europeans arrived on its shores. Using recent archaeological and anthropological research, he shows how the western hemisphere probably held more people than Europe with Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, having more people than any European city in 1491. He lists the mathematical and scientific accomplishments of the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs, and shows how the Indian tribes of North America were populous and had already removed much of the wilderness to suit their own needs. What the Europeans brought were diseases such as small pox and hepatitis that decimated up to 90% of some native populations. By the time explorers reached central North America, the forests had regrown and the populations of animals such as the buffalo exploded in the absence of the native tribes. 1491 might force a rethinking of pre-European history in the Americas and has received mostly positive reviews. The Washington Post says, "Mann's 1491 vividly compels us to re-examine how we teach the ancient history of the Americas and how we live with the environmental consequences of colonization."

http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/1491/

:thumbsup:

[Zomby Woof]

18. Thanks for the review

That's right up my alley.

[sarge43]

25. Second that. Great read. n/t

[TheMightyFavog]

10. Working on Mankell's Wallander series.

Just finished Faceless Killers, should get Dogs of Riga in thru interloan today.

[BurtWorm]

11. Extra Lives, by Ted Bissell

It's due out in June. It's basically about a grown man's obsession with video games. It's uneven, sometimes extremely good, sometimes not so much. Probably better for gamers than nongamers like me.

Also trying to read Mark Rudd's memoirs: My Life in the SDS and Weather Underground. What I've read is very funny, but I keep getting distracted by books I read for money.

PS: Come to think of it... I'm not sure the guy's name is Ted Bissell. Isn't he Donald Hollinger from That Girl? Yes, he is. The author of this book is actually TOM Bissell, a writer for the New Yorker.

PPS: His name actually was Ted Bessell, and I've just discovered he's dead. I didn't expect that. He was only 61.

[bif]

13. "The Genius" by Jesse Kellerman

A real page turner.

[Gormy Cuss]

17. Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann

A 9/11 novel that begins with people's reactions to Phillipe Petit's tightrope walk between the towers in 1974.

[hippywife]

37. I read that not too long ago

and love it.

I had heard an interview with him on the local NPR affiliate here. Great interview:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kwgs/news.newsmain/article/0/0/1535588/news/A.Chat.with.the.Bestselling.Irish-American.Novelist..Colum.McCann

[Gormy Cuss]

39. Thanks for the link.

I'm not that far into it yet. The current chapter introduces Claire and the other gold star mothers.

[RT Atlanta]

19. Born to Run...

Which has been a fascinating read so far.

I just finished The Third Man Factor, which was also a good read.

I recommend both books.

[Orsino]

20. Finally got around to Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

Crappily written, as usual, with the usual narcissistic villain and usual tenuous symbolic connections and profound ignorance of technology, but there's enough story to have kept me turning pages. In retrospect, I probably should have foreseen that last plot twist, but I found it perhaps the most satisfying thing ever to appear in his work.

[TheCentepedeShoes]

55. Just picked it up at the library today

Thanks :P
Actually, I strongly imagine I will agree with you after I've finished it:hi:

[jonnyblitz]

21. Nixonland by Rick Perlstein. nt

[BurtWorm]

22. Loved it!

Before the Storm is great too.

:thumbsup:

(Nauseatingly good, if you know what I mean.)

[mix]

40. I need to get that, soon. How do you like it? nt

[SecularMotion]

23. The Pleasures And Sorrows Of Work by Alain de Botton

http://www.alaindebotton.com/work/index.asp

[sarge43]

24. Sunny, mid twenties through the weekend

Reading Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

How to make good doin' artisan bread. My husband will be doing the fixing and baking, but I'm interested in the details and background. Also, checking off the recipes such as Red Wine and Cheese Bread - yeeessss -- with chili or beef stew

[frogmarch]

26. The Heretic's Daughter

by Kathleen Kent. It's about the Salem witch trials. I'm finding it especially interesting, because some of my ancestors were among the "witches" and their accusers.

The book is very well written.

[lizziegrace]

27. Fun stuff!

I'm going to find Lelapin's copy of the Zinn book.

Lelapin got me the funniest book for Christmas, "B is for Bad Poetry". It's hysterical. I'm also researching some Quickbooks issues so I'm reading the QB manuals. :yawn:

[Zomby Woof]

29. Excellent

*blinks* :hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

28. About to start "City of God" by Paulo Lins.

It's the basis for the movie.

I just finished Christopher Buckley's "Supreme Courtship" (political satire) and Russell Banks' "The Darling," which was amazing. I heard Scorsese is going to direct the movie, so that should be interesting.

[SteppingRazor]

30. Just finished The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and A Feast of Crows...

so I'm actually between books right now, which is kind of a rarity.

[redqueen]

31. Human Anatomy & Physiology

by Elaine Marieb & Katja Hoehn.

Thrilling stuff, really.

[Zomby Woof]

32. Sounds like a muscular read

You'll need to keep tissue handy - make no bones about it!

[redqueen]

33. *groan*

:P

[Ikonoklast]

53. I see it got on your nerves.

:P

[Zomby Woof]

54. I like jokes in the same vein as mine!

:D

[RFKHumphreyObama]

34. In the Line of Fire: A Memoir by General Pervez Musharraf

Very well-written and interesting and contains some interesting insights about the thuggish behavior of the * Administration after 9/11. Coming from one of the Bush Administration's staunchest allies in the Asia-Pacific region, it is quite revealing

[huskerlaw]

35. I'm on a Haitian-themed kick...

"Brother, I'm Dying" by Edwidge Danticat. So far, I highly recommend.

I should re-read "A People's History," it's been a while.

[6000eliot]

36. Villette by Charlotte Bronte.

[hippywife]

38. One of my favorite books

of all time. Definitely worthy of re-reading. :hi:

[barb162]

41. "Tuesdays with Morrie"

by Mitch whatever from about ten years ago. Excellent.

[yellowdogintexas]

42. The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

[femmocrat]

43. Senator Kennedy's autobiography, True Compass. n/t

[Zomby Woof]

45. Good one

[applegrove]

44. Game Change

[area51]

46. "The Machine Crusade" by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson (n/t)

[RushIsRot]

47. A biography of the Apache Chief Cochise.

[fNord]

48. Schrödinger's cat by Robert Anton Wilson......

I love this book. read it dozens of times. always makes me smile

Love, lies, theology, hash, theoretical quantum mechanics, sex, mysticism, economics, Acid, parallel universes, German philosophy, and a cat, all as filler for a 500+ page dick joke

seriously, this book is great

[mnhtnbb]

49. Commitment by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love)

where she reviews the history of marriage as an institution and tells her personal story
of having her SO, whom she met in Bali (Love portion of the memoir), detained by Homeland
Security and deported with the advice that the only way for them to unite and live together
in the U.S. would be to get married.

[Jersey Devil]

50. "Last Night in Twisted River" - John Irving

OK, in the 1950s a 12 year old kid accidentally kills his father's girlfriend ("Injun Jane") with an 8" iron skillet after mistaking her for a bear while she was on top of his father making love. Even stranger than "The World According to Garp" if that is possible, but very entertaining.

[Sisaruus]

51. The Islands, Universe, Home by Gretel Ehrlich

She is one of my favorite authors; this is one of her older books that I finally ordered. Her writing is mesmerizing.
She's got a new book - In The Empire of Ice - being released in April that explores the ecology and culture of the Arctic Circle (her prior books about the cold climate zones include The Future of Ice and This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland).

I should probably mention that I traveled to the Arctic Circle for my last two vacations.

[JitterbugPerfume]

52. I am re-reading Howard Zinn too ZW,

"A Peoples History " is a really amazing book. I also laid aside Richard Dawkins "The Greatest Show on Earth" a while back, and I am finishing it now . Dawkins is a really fascinating writer. This book explains evolution in a way that even a tea party person could understand it , if said tea party guy could read the big words.:hide:

[Odin2005]

56. "The History of the Medieval World" by Susan Wise Bauer.

It's the sequel to her excellent book The History of the Ancient World. Bauer is an excellent history writer, right up there with Barbara Tuchmann, Thomas Cahill, and Arnold J. Toynbee.

[trackfan]

57. Momus

by Alberti

[MiddleFingerMom]

58. I luxuriated in this passage for the entire evening.

.
Whole grain wheat, raisins, wheat bran, sugar, salt, malted barley syrup
.
It was delicious.
.

.

[Zomby Woof]

59. You are a person of outstanding fiber

[MiddleFingerMom]

60. My best and hardest laugh of the day. Thanks, n/t

[TrogL]

61. John Le Carre

Just finished A most wanted man, now I'm on Single and Single