So, whatcha reading?

[TeamBoone]

I really really liked "Angels", but I started "Da Vinci" a few weeks ago and put it down. Not sure why. I'm going to restart it tomorrow, though, and knock it out next week. I'd definitely like to get through it before the movie.

I'm like CRF, I couldn't put Da Vinci down. It hooked me in from the beginning. It was the first book by him I'd ever read. Afterward, I went out and bought some of his others... I haven't read Angels & Demons yet but I did read Digital Fortress and liked it very much as well.

Regarding Grisham, I loved The Firm... second to The Pelican Brief. I don't think his recent books hold a candle to his earlier ones.

[Crash Davis]

I'm looking for a good read on the history of Africa since the beginning of European exploration and colonialism. I've read King Leopold's Ghost, but I'm looking for something a bit more comprehensive. Any suggestions?

If anybody has a suggestion for a good book on the history of Europe (East & West) over the past 400-500 years, I'm looking for something like that as well. I know Jacques Barzun has one on Western Civilization, and that may be my best bet...but I was looking for other options.

Thanks.

[OldRightHander]

I'm currently reading Utah Beach by Joseph Balkoski. It's a nice non fiction account of the amphibious and airborne landings on June 6. It has a lot of excerpts from eye witness accounts. I also just finished The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell, a good historical novel set in 9th century England. A couple weeks ago I read Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman which is about the early years of Henry II's reign and his squabbles with Thomas Becket. I would recommend any of the above.

[Nugget]

A little more expansive that just the history of Europe but covers most of the western society and that's Paul Johnson's History of the Modern which is 1815-1850 his Modern Times. For American History his History of the American Peoples is a great read as well.

[Jaycint]

Book Of The Dead, The Complete History of Zombie Cinema by Jamie Russell

[Betterread]

[QUOTE=Crash Davis]I'm looking for a good read on the history of Africa since the beginning of European exploration and colonialism. I've read King Leopold's Ghost, but I'm looking for something a bit more comprehensive. Any suggestions?

If anybody has a suggestion for a good book on the history of Europe (East & West) over the past 400-500 years, I'm looking for something like that as well. I know Jacques Barzun has one on Western Civilization, and that may be my best bet...but I was looking for other options.

Thanks.[/QUOTE

It depends on the type of historical writing and scholarship you prefer. If you want a style that discusses its sources and gathers and analyzes data to support its conclusions, you must often endure a dry, dense academic writing style that takes concentration. I find Richard Pipes various books on Russian history to be written for a general audience yet still displaying good scholarship and so I have enjoyed them. Barzun's book is written in a light, readable style and emphasizes historical cultural achievements. Its probably not going to challenge any cultural norms you hold but it provides plenty of avenues for further reading.

[Crash Davis]

In a cool little downtown Savannah bookstore I stumbled upon the Africa book for which I was searching. "White Nile" by Alan Moorehead, published in 1960 and about the mid to late 19th century search for the source of the Nile and the opening of Central Africa. Livingstone, Burton, Stanley, Speke, Baker, Gordon, et al. are covered along with many other interesting characters. This was a great read, and I stumbled on a few other books related to the topic...so I'll be back downtown next week looking for some filler material.

"White Nile" covered the area from the Nile to Zanzibar. "King Leopold's Ghost" covered the whole Congo region. Now I just need to find something interesting to cover the rest of Africa. I wouldn't mind a book that goes into more detail on the skirmishes leading up to and involving WWI in Africa.

What does Robert Redford call it in Out of Africa? "Just spoiled rich kids fighting over toys." Something like that.

[nycredsfan]

Sorry to drag out an old thread, but has anyone on here read Haruki Murakami? Kafka on the Shore was the first of his books that I have read and have since spent the last six months reading through the rest. Holy smokes is he good.

Other books I have read recently and would recommend: In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders, Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace, Apex Hides the Hurt by Colson Whitehead, Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster

Again, sorry for the old thread, but I missed it the first couple times around love to see what people are reading (one of the true joys of riding the subway everyday).

[SunDeck]

I'm still reading O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series. I'm on the 14th book. Don't know what I will do after that. This is some of the best writing I have ever encountered.

[westofyou]

Still sifting slowly through Until I Find You : by John Irving (fiction just doesn't pull my strings lately)

Pennant Race by Jim Bronson
Branch Rickey by Arthur Mann

The Devil In The White City is in the cue

[pedro]

I just read "Little Green Men" by Christopher Buckley. It was ok.

Before that I read "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" by Mark Haddon which I liked and "A Long Way Down" by Nick Hornby which was good too.

[Puffy]

A book called, "Warlords: An Extraordinary Re-Creation of World War II Through the Eyes and Minds of Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, And Stalin"

Tells the story thru each man's eyes. Good stuff.

[nycredsfan]

Still sifting slowly through Until I Find You : by John Irving (fiction just doesn't pull my strings lately)

Pennant Race by Jim Bronson
Branch Rickey by Arthur Mann

The Devil In The White City is in the cue

The Devil In the White City was very good. Along the same lines, I recently read Manhunt: The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer and found it quite entertaining.

[RichRed]

Still sifting slowly through Until I Find You : by John Irving (fiction just doesn't pull my strings lately)

Pennant Race by Jim Bronson
Branch Rickey by Arthur Mann

The Devil In The White City is in the cue

I LOVE Pennant Race. My mom bought it for me at a yard sale for about 50 cents when I was a kid and I read it at least five times. Kind of an early-1960s Ball Four with tamer language.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Concepts in Biology, it's a real page turner.