What book(s) are you reading right now?

[Roy Tucker]

Was on vacation so I got some serious reading time in...

Read "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon. It's been on my stack for a long time and I finally got around to it. Fabulous book, a great and epic tale, and I very highly recommend it.

Read "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck because my son was reading it for his summer English reading assignment (he has to read this, a couple Arthur Miller plays, and an Ayn Rand book). I'd forgotten how good it is and what a political statement it makes.

In the process of reading "Crimson Petal and the White" by Michel Faber. Excellent tale and pretty damn kinky. I was reading it in the van on the drive back from Destin and had to tilt it away from my 11 yr. old. Oh, and this is for book club. Should be a lively discussion with all the ladies.

[Sweetstop]

I recently read "My Antonia" by Willa Cather. My daughter lent it to me after reading it for the One Book One Chicago program. It is a beautiful novel. I'm not sure why I missed it in the past. I've read other Cather such as "So Big".

Also read "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich, which is quite an eye-opener. Doing research for the book, the author attempted to get by on minimum wage...different low-paying jobs, different parts of the country..to see how a good portion of our country lives.
Very sobering.

I'm now reading "The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family" by Mary S. Lovell about those wacky Mitford girls and their crazy politics back before, during and after WWII. Very interesting...personal version of the history of the time.

RT, I read "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" a couple of years ago or so...may have mentioned it here...and fell in love w/ Chabon's style.
I noticed he helped w/ the Spiderman II screenplay.

[RedsBaron]

I read "The Grapes of Wrath" in college many years ago-depressing.
I just finished "The Glorious Cause", Jeffrey Shaara's sequel to "Rise To Rebellion". These two novels tell the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of its prinicipals, particularly Washington and Cornwallis in the sequel. I really enjoyed them.

[Puffy]

Am I the only moron who is working his way through Clinton's book?

Yes, I am reading My Life by President Clinton. I am currently on page 400 and not even half way done. Its really interesting, but like the man himself, I suspect that his fans will love the book, while the detractors will hate it.

I just finished Fraud by Paul Waldman about the Bush lies in the 2000 elections and how his campaign, by playing him off as less than intellectual, used that to their advantage.

I also just finished Franken's book - Lies and the Lying Liars, and once again if you like the man and his humor (and lean to the left) it is a hysterical book.

As for baseball books, Roger Kahn's October Men is a great account of the 78 Yankees in all their dysfunction.

[zombie-a-go-go]

"Alas, Babylon" (Pat Frank) is a nifty, quick read - supposedly it's a "classic," even though I'd never heard of it before... but if HarperCollins says it's a timeless piece of literature, who am I to doubt them? Actually, it was pretty good, although short.

I'm on my second go-through of David Foster Wallace's newest collection of short stories - titled "Oblivion" - right now. The fact that the stories practically require an immediate second read-through to fully understand them says something either about me or him - take your pick.

[jmcclain19]

I have two books I've been trying to read for a while, both H.W. Brands - "The Reckless Decade" and "Lone Star Nation".

I dusted off a little while ago "Smashmouth", Dana Milbank's account of the 2000 election, just for a little amusement.

On Memorial Day weekend I read from cover to cover the John Paul Jones Bio by Evan Thomas.
And I have a copy of Sun Tzu's Art of War next to my bed I've been perusing for inspiration from time to time.

Glad to see that a few people like Guns, Germs and Steel, was thinking about getting that one after I finished my Brands double.

Usually I just stick to history, mostly American and Russian History, but I've actually read a few sporting type books in the last few months.

"Horse of a Different Color" - Funny tale of the trials and tribulations of a Chicago Tribune editor who quit his day job to start a Horse Farm in Kentucky, and ended up birthing the 2001 Kentucky Derby winner. Squires, the author, pokes fun at himself while describing the inner nuances of the Racing world. If you are an animal/horse fan or need an inspirational story, this is one.

"Moneyball" Self-explanatory

"The Meaning of Ichiro" - Probably one of the more intriguing books I've bought in a while. Talking about the history of Baseball in Japan, Ichiro, Nomo and other major Japanese stars migration over. Especially the tales of how Nomo used to sleep with a baseball taped to his hand to get used to his forkball grip and how much Ichiro and his father played into his success both here and how his image conscious wife helped make him what he is now.

[RosieRed]

For the Michael Chabon fans who haven't read "Summerland" yet, I *highly* recommend it. Delightful book, great writing, wonderful characters, etc. (Plus it has a baseball theme!)

Not to give away too much, but one of my favorite scenes from the book was the story of a princess who was punished for instituting the designated-hitter rule.

[Roy Tucker]

Sweetstop,

- I'll have to check on My Antonia. I think my son read that for school too. It rings a bell.
- Jeez, it makes absolute perfect and orthogonal sense for Chabon to have helped with Spidie II.

z-a-g-g, I read "Alas Babylon" back in 5th-6th grade during the height of my "we're all going to die in an atom war/duck and cover" phase. That and "On the Beach" and "Tomorrow". Wow, I haven't thought about that book in years. Like 40 years. Whoa.

RB, I read those 2 Shaara books and enjoyed them both. Throughout "The Glorious Cause", I kept thimking, "I thought we won this war, why are we getting our butts kicked so badly".

[jmcclain19]

Originally Posted by Puffy

Am I the only moron who is working his way through Clinton's book?

Yes, I am reading My Life by President Clinton. I am currently on page 400 and not even half way done. Its really interesting, but like the man himself, I suspect that his fans will love the book, while the detractors will hate it.

Puffy, I got it as a gift, but I didn't get more than a few pages before I stopped. Just too rosy colored for me.

Actually, if you haven't read it yet, I'd read Joe Klein's "The Natural", it's a much more interesting account of the events.

I've always found the much less bias political books more interesting than the slanted ones. I've often disagreed with Klein's columns, but I still like and respect his writing.

Much like I've found one of my favorite bios was of the first George Bush "Life of a Lone Star Yankee". If you have any interest in his life, that is one of the better ones to read.

[RedsBaron]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

RB, I read those 2 Shaara books and enjoyed them both. Throughout "The Glorious Cause", I kept thimking, "I thought we won this war, why are we getting our butts kicked so badly".

Yeah, the books, especially the second one, really makes you appreciate how George Washington was the indispensible man in the Revolution. I really enjoyed both books.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Raisor

Chip, have you read his John Adams bio? One of the best bios I've ever read (and it won the Pulitzer a couple years ago, too)

I got it for my birthday. My mom asked me what I wanted and that was the only book I could think of. I'm reading it now and am finding it very enjoyable. Thanks for the recommendation. I'm also re-reading "Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks" by Mick Foley and "The Best and the Brightest" by David Halberstam.

[gratefulred]

Just finished Vonnegut's "Breakfast of Champions"

Now reading Jon Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven"

[Yachtzee]

I'm on my last books before sell my soul to Law School case books. I chose a couple baseball books:

"Pennant Race" by Jim Brosnan. An insider's view of the 1961 Cincinnati Reds' run for the pennant, as 'Broz' was a key reliever for the Redlegs. Nice follow up to "The Long Season."

"The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers" by Bill James and Rob Neyer. More of a historical reference that a statistical analysis. The book started when James and Neyer were having lunch and discussing Harvey Haddix, when the notion came up, "We know his stats, but what pitches did he throw?". I'm sure the regular readers of James and Neyer know all about it, but for those not into stats, it is a nice look at the different pitches that have been thrown in the major leagues and the pitchers who threw them.

[Sweetstop]

Originally Posted by Roy Tucker

- I'll have to check on My Antonia. I think my son read that for school too. It rings a bell.
- Jeez, it makes absolute perfect and orthogonal sense for Chabon to have helped with Spidie II.

The man has a remarkable vocabulary! I'll bet it's been awhile since you've used orthogonal in a sentence? Roy, I'm sure you would enjoy "My Antonia." It's a bit unusual in that Cather makes the narrator a life-long male friend of the title character, a beautiful immigrant woman who comes to the plains of Nebraska as a girl in the later part of the 19th century.

[Puffy]

Originally Posted by Yachtzee

I'm on my last books before sell my soul to Law School case books.

Read all you can this summer cause once first semester starts you will have NO time for any additional reading!!

Seriously, its not that bad - and some advice for ya. You'll hear alot of people try and sell you the virtues of case summaries. Worthless! The only thing they are good for is if you get called on in class - otherwise they really do nothing. Of course thats just my opinion, but I don't know of anyone who was doing them beyond second semester of my 1L year.