What book is everyone reading at the moment? Part 2.

[alex04]

This is a continuation thread from the original here.

Posted By: LashL

The Strangest Man (Farmelo)

 

[Nonpareil]

Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman.

It's a fun read thus far, but my enjoyment is tainted a bit by the fact that dammit Mister Nancy was going to be my name, Gaiman, you preemptive idea-stealing bastard

 

[Spindrift]

Re-reading A Canticle for Leibowitz. Been at least 25 years since I last read it. I remember almost nothing about it but do remember enjoying it. About 2/3's of the way through and am definitely enjoying it.

 

[herrdocjdm]

Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman.

It's a fun read thus far, but my enjoyment is tainted a bit by the fact that dammit Mister Nancy was going to be my name, Gaiman, you preemptive idea-stealing bastard

I enjoyed that one, read it a while ago. I can recall the crazy Russian with the sledgehammer.

I have about 50 pages to go in Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Have to say I enjoyed his Ghostwritten much more.

 

[Tiktaalik]

Reading Agamemnon Must Die, by Hock Tjoa. It's a retelling of Greek history and legend, intertwined, and quite well done. i would have retained a lot more ancient history had it been told this way in school.

 

[turingtest]

Re-reading A Canticle for Leibowitz. Been at least 25 years since I last read it. I remember almost nothing about it but do remember enjoying it. About 2/3's of the way through and am definitely enjoying it.

One of my favorite books of all time; Mrs Grales is an image that has always stayed with me. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I read it...I'm currently re-reading Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, but it really wouldn't be much of a mental wrench to go from one to the other.

 

[xterra]

Turningtest,

When you finish A Distant Mirror, try Tuchman's Practicing History, 1981, a series of essays.

xterra

 

[calebprime]

_God'll Cut You Down: The Tangled Tale of a White Supremacist, a Black Hustler, a Murder, and How I Lost a Year in Mississippi_ -- John Safran

The author is a bit of a prankster, as well as a documentary filmmaker. He's a character in his own book.

Hard to tell, yet, if this will have been worth reading. So far, yes. I haven't read anything quite like this.

 

[calebprime]

_Eminent Hipsters_ -- Donald Fagen

I'm starting with the end, where he describes some time on the road in 2012. I remember that some found this rather off-putting. It all seemed too bleak for them. Ungrateful, even. Well, they're idiots. They can't handle the truth.

Fagen is even more depressed and anxious than I would have thought, which doesn't disturb me, especially. Steely Dan is the only pop group I've ever loved, besides Jimi Hendrix.

I suspect that Fagen is the worse for years of taking antidepressants, but he's still alive and functioning, more or less. I can't prove that, of course.


----------------------

_The Disaster Artist -- My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made_

And, at the other extreme end on the spectrum of artistic achievement, a book that can make any aspiring artist feel good about himself. At least I hope so. I haven't yet started it. On the other hand, it might freak me out. I'm alone for a few days, and in this suggestible state of mind, I might start mixing up myself and Mr. Wiseau.

My son loves to go around saying " I did not hit her. I did naaahht. "

That always makes me laugh. My son is a great source of solace.

He'll hear me groan in the next room. I groan whenever some painful memory comes to mind, unbidden. This happens a lot. He knows this.

"It's ok, Dad", he'll shout from down the hall.

It's not free-floating anxiety. It's free-floating shame. It's the only emotion in any of my memories. Sometimes I wonder if this is unusual, but I don't really care.

 

[jaydeehess]

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

Thought it would be too dry after the first chapter but it draws you in and makes you want to keep reading.
Its a very dark subject, nonfiction, and not for the faint hearted.
Contrary to what the title may imply to some people, it is most definitively not an argument in favour of war.

 

[calebprime]

...

_The Disaster Artist -- My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made_

I'm really impressed with this book. It's much better than it needs to be. Well-researched, well-written, compassionate, and funny.

And, yes, it's a little unsettling to be immersed in the mind of Tommy Wiseau.

 

[turingtest]

Turningtest,

When you finish A Distant Mirror, try Tuchman's Practicing History, 1981, a series of essays.

xterra

Sorry, didn't see this the other day. I'll look for that book; I'm a big fan of Tuchman's, and I think that's the only one of hers I haven't read. History has always been an interest of mine, and Tuchman (as well as other writers like David McCullough, Robert Massie, Antonia Fraser, and Margaret Leech) writes such rich history.

 

[xterra]

Colin Tudge, The Secret Life of Trees. Allen Lane, London, 2005. Penguin Books, London, 2006. Published as The Tree by Crown, New York, 2006. ISBN 0-7139-9698-6

Most highly recommended. His inventory of species is occasionally a bit tedious but his sense of humor makes up for it.

The last section, on why we need trees, should be required reading for every head of government in the world, as well as the heads of agribusinesses.


ETA I will look for some of his other works.

 

[xterra]

Sorry, didn't see this the other day. I'll look for that book; I'm a big fan of Tuchman's, and I think that's the only one of hers I haven't read. History has always been an interest of mine, and Tuchman (as well as other writers like David McCullough, Robert Massie, Antonia Fraser, and Margaret Leech) writes such rich history.

Antonia Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots was so much more than I had anticipated. I was quite moved at Fraser's empathy and admiration toward her subject. It helped that she had such a subject, of course.

It seems that the book was in part an answer/reaction/response to her mother's biography of Elizabeth I.

 

[Chuck Guiteau]

One of my favorite books of all time; Mrs Grales is an image that has always stayed with me. Come to think of it, it's been a while since I read it..

Heartily agreed! One of the greatest Science fiction books of all time! What was it," 1lb pastrami, some bagels..." (I forget the rest).
In that same vein (the distant future) you might also like "Half Past Human", by Dr Thomas J. Bassman a/k/a T.J. Bass and it's sequel "The Godwhale".
I'm currently re-reading "Creatures of Light and Darkness" by Roger Zelazny. Not up to "Lord of Light", but it has a brief section on the Steel General, one of my favorite recurring characters in his works.

 

[tsig]

War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning

Thought it would be too dry after the first chapter but it draws you in and makes you want to keep reading.
Its a very dark subject, nonfiction, and not for the faint hearted.
Contrary to what the title may imply to some people, it is most definitively not an argument in favour of war.

Not available in the US due to copyright issues.

 

[turingtest]

Antonia Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots was so much more than I had anticipated. I was quite moved at Fraser's empathy and admiration toward her subject. It helped that she had such a subject, of course.

It seems that the book was in part an answer/reaction/response to her mother's biography of Elizabeth I.

Fraser's biography of Cromwell is as empathetic, toward a character who seems a little harder to empathize with.

 

[turingtest]

Heartily agreed! One of the greatest Science fiction books of all time! What was it," 1lb pastrami, some bagels..." (I forget the rest).
In that same vein (the distant future) you might also like "Half Past Human", by Dr Thomas J. Bassman a/k/a T.J. Bass and it's sequel "The Godwhale".
I'm currently re-reading "Creatures of Light and Darkness" by Roger Zelazny. Not up to "Lord of Light", but it has a brief section on the Steel General, one of my favorite recurring characters in his works.

"Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels- bring home for Emma."

I'll check out some of those other titles; I've gotten to where I read almost exclusively non-fiction (history), but I'm always open for change.

 

[Son of Inigo]

Antonia Fraser's Mary Queen of Scots was so much more than I had anticipated. I was quite moved at Fraser's empathy and admiration toward her subject. It helped that she had such a subject, of course.

Read that one a couple of years ago and remember enjoying it much more than I thought I would as well.

Finished a couple of books recently.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. It was an E-library book. Wow. He crushed every argument I have ever used, or heard used, to 'prove' god, or at least used to explain why we needed to worship him. By god, I mean the one of the christian bible. It really helps in my transition from fully 'saved' christian, to atheist. First time I have used that word to describe myself. I no longer believe in the god of the bible, nor any other god. I am an atheist*

The Myth of a Guilty Nation by Albert Jay Nock, Nock presents a case against the popular notion that Germany, and Germany alone, was the cause of WW1. Nock firmly points the finger of blame on French-Russian-English imperialism.

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui. Another E-library book. True story of a young (10 yrs old) Yemeni girl forced to marry a much older man, and then has the courage to ask for a divorce.

Why Is Sex Fun?: The Evolution Of Human Sexuality by Jared Diamond. And yet another E-library book. I like reading E-library books. I have previously read Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Collapse, so thought I would give this a go. Only a couple chapters in, but so far a good read.

* Will I receive a membership card in the mail? And what about the free toaster? I swear I read somewhere that all new atheist will receive a new toaster. How do I go about claiming that? I love me some yummy warm singed bread.

 

[KDLarsen]

Recieved a gift card to an online book seller, so I picked out a book that I should probably have read earlier in the year (since Norway celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Eidsvoll constitution back in May):
Rasmus Glenthøj - Skilsmissen (The Divorce), which details the situation in Denmark-Norway after the Treaty of Kiel, which forced Denmark to cede Norway to Sweden, thus ending near 300 years of Dano-Norwegian coexistance. Should be an interesting read.

This sounds fascinating. I'd ask you for the title of the work; but I infer that it's in Danish -- no English translation?

Correct. IIRC it was published by the local historical society, so I'd imagine the demand for a translation is quite low. In any case, the work was compiled by Martin Bo Nørregård og Jonas Schlutz Thygesen, after the letters and diaries of Thyge Thygesen (1892-1958). The Danish title is "Kun legetøj i deres hænder".

Edit: Looks like there are more books like it, which I'll also have to pick up. Good thing my local library is well stocked

Edit2: Seeing as we're also in the History section, I'm sure someone would love to see the front page of the book, depicting an Imperial German soldier of 1914/15: