What are you reading now?

[jmcclain19]

Thought since it was a new year, we'd start anew with this thread.

Just returned from my lunch break, where I went on a little splurge at Barnes and Noble.

Picked up four books, all of which I am looking forward to reading in the next few weeks.

The First was Perilous Times (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=mHu1X9gbz9&isbn=0393058808&itm=1), about the free speech, or lack there of in times of war, from the post-Revolution era to today. Figured it was a good topic given today's world and it’s a subject I am passionate about. The author is one I've seen before, he's a free speech activist so I'm interested to see what kind of scholarship and what the tone is in the book.

The 2nd and 3rd books, show that I am on a naval/oceanic kick lately. The titles I picked up were To Rule the Waves (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=mHu1X9gbz9&isbn=0060534249&itm=1) about how the British Navy became a global power and Sea of Glory (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?userid=mHu1X9gbz9&pwb=1&ean=9780142004838) about the US Ex Ex, a little known story about the US first major expedition voyage, and how despite going horribly awry at the end achieved some monumental goals.

I also picked up the Lonely Planet: Britain (http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=mHu1X9gbz9&isbn=1740593383&itm=8) travel book for my upcoming (hopefully) trip abroad late this summer.

So what’s everyone else, the regular readers out there and not the not so regular readers, have on their reading plate these days?

[Ravenlord]

my princepals of macrodeconomics book :(

also "The History of Civilization Volume II" by Durant :)
and
"52-Week Baseball Training" by Gene Coleman :gome:

[westofyou]

I just finished The Lesser Blessed (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1550545256/002-9114950-8103219?v=glance) a "coming of age" story in the tradition of the SE Hinton books, except it takes place in the NW Territory and involves Natives. It's a short intense read, like a dusk to dawn road trip.

I also just finished The Lords of the Realm, a good read on Baseball and the labor movement. Next I'm going to read Nobody's Fool or High Fidelity, I haven't decided.

[Redsfaithful]

I just read American Gods (www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380789035/002-3095562-6334444) by Neil Gaiman, and it was ridiculously good.

I'm reading American Pastoral (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375701427/qid=1105997305/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-3095562-6334444) now by Philip Roth. Pretty good so far, I really liked The Plot Against America so I thought I'd try some of his other stuff.

[Redsfaithful]

I also just finished The Lords of the Realm, a good read on Baseball and the labor movement.

Awesome book. I wish everyone who complains about greedy players would read it.

[Puffy]

Super System: A Course in Power Poker by Doyle Brunson.

Championship No-limit and Pot-limit Hold'em: On the Road to the World Series of Poker by T. J. Cloutier, Tom McEvoy

[Sweetstop]

I'm almost finished w/ Edward P. Jones' Pulitzer Prize-winning, historical novel about slavery, The Known World.

In my "read next" stack is Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett, Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama, A Widow For One Year by John Irving (I just saw the film, The Door In The Floor based on the first part of this novel), and Dry, the memoir by Augusten Burroughs, which is supposedly better than Running With Scissors.

[Redsfaithful]

Super System: A Course in Power Poker by Doyle Brunson.

Championship No-limit and Pot-limit Hold'em: On the Road to the World Series of Poker by T. J. Cloutier, Tom McEvoy

Yeah I also just read Winnings Small Stakes Hold Em by the 2+2 people. Good stuff. Where do you play Puffy?

[westofyou]

A Widow For One Year by John Irving

Good book, I think they sliced the story for the movie, dropped a main charactor IIRC.

[Falls City Beer]

my princepals of macrodeconomics book :(

also "The History of Civilization Volume II" by Durant :)
and
"52-Week Baseball Training" by Gene Coleman :gome:

Durant?

Good stuff--his Story of Philosophy got my juices flowin' in high school, made the great philosophers understandable, but never in a condescending or pedantic way. Just a great, great read--if you've not picked it up, it's a super engaging read, IMO.

Right now, James' The Golden Bowl and Lisa Jardine's Ingenious Pursuits, which is about the scientific revolution of the 17th and 18th centuries--pretty good overall. Harold Love's Attributing Authorship, a study on discovering the authorship of anonymous and pseudonymous texts throughout history (amazing stuff, if you're into that sort of stuff).

[pedro]

I'm reading "Streets of Laredo" the last in the "Lonesome Dove" series by Larry McMurtry. I was never big on westerns but after reading several of McMurtry's other books (non western) I decided to give these a try.

Prior to that I went on a Christopher Moore kick (Fluke, Bloodsucking Fiends, Lamb, Coyote Blue & The Lust Lizard of Melancoly Cove) which were all very funny.

I also read "Rule of the Bone" by Russell Banks which I liked.

[Puffy]

Yeah I also just read Winnings Small Stakes Hold Em by the 2+2 people. Good stuff. Where do you play Puffy?

Well, me and my friends play every Friday - $20 buy in. The payouts depend on how many people we get, obviously, but usually we end up with either 7 or 8 people, so usually fist is $90, second is $50 and third is $20.

Then I go to Ebro sometimes - its a greyhound racetrack and they have tournaments every Wednesday and Friday. They run them all day so you can always get into one.

Online I play on Aztec, although I just downloaded Poker Stars. Online is a different game - can't read people as well, plus people do some stupid stuff that you can't really defend against.

[Redsfaithful]

I really need to find a live game. I play on Party Poker, but I bonus ***** a lot too. http://www.bonus*****s.com/ There's a decent amount of money in jumping around from site to site and hitting up their bonuses.

Texas Hold Em is a really interesting game. I feel like I've still got a ton to learn.

[RosieRed]

I am (finally) almost finished with Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. Only about 30 pages left. I'm also almost finished with Killing Dragons by Fergus Fleming, which is about the history of exploration in the Alps.

In my "to read" pile:

The Fifth Book of Peace by Maxine Hong Kingston
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Flyboys, by James Bradley
Shopgirl, by Steve Martin
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith

(The latter two are books I can't believe I haven't read yet. I've owned them both for a long time.)

[pedro]

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon.

really liked that. 'wonder boys' by chabon is great too.

[SandyD]

Starting Schwartz "The Numbers Game"

Finishing "A Whole New Ball Game"

I'd like to read a novel but nothing I have appeals to me right now. Might call for a trip to the bookstore this weekend.

[RosieRed]

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon.

really liked that. 'wonder boys' by chabon is great too.

"Summerland" by Chabon is one of my favorite books I've read in the last year. (The baseball theme and metaphors just sucked me in!)

Has anyone read Joyce Carol Oates' "The Tattooed Girl"? I almost picked it up the other day, then bought a CD instead.

[FreelFanatic]

I just finished (and not to toot my own horn, but in 2 days) "Faithful" by Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King. Of course, I am a diehard "other" Red fan-- not the Nation, or I wouldn't be at this site--but this book was incredibly well-written, and hell, who aside from the Yankee fans can't connect with the drama of this story? True enough, it gave me chills.

[pedro]

[QUOTE=RosieRed]"Summerland" by Chabon is one of my favorite books I've read in the last year. (The baseball theme and metaphors just sucked me in!)

good to know. it's been sitting on my nightstand for a while waiting for some warm weather.

[jmcclain19]

I am (finally) almost finished with Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. Only about 30 pages left.

How did you like it? I've been looking at that book for years on the shelf, always thinking about getting it but never making the final purchase.

[jmcclain19]

Starting Schwartz "The Numbers Game"

That's another one on my "To Read" list, let me know how you like it.

[SandyD]

That's another one on my "To Read" list, let me know how you like it.


Actually, I think there are a few on here who have already read that one, so I doubt you have to wait for my review.

[Redsfaithful]

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon.

That's one of my favorite books. Michael Chabon is great.

[westofyou]

That's another one on my "To Read" list, let me know how you like it.

I really liked it, Alan has a natural style that doesn't come off as too academic or awash in awe. Godd history piece, you'd like it Josh.

[jmcclain19]

I really liked it, Alan has a natural style that doesn't come off as too academic or awash in awe. Godd history piece, you'd like it Josh.

Good call Sandy.

Thanks, I love Schwartz columns in BA, so I bought the book, but I haven't read it yet. I'll make sure to lug it on my vacation next week. Thanks for the tip.

[Roy Tucker]

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I couldn't quite describe the book so I got this from Amazon:

"This book is quite simply a comic masterpiece, a novel brimming with original characters, absurd situations, and at its heart a blustery, vulnerable mama's boy named Ignatius J. Reilly. He is one of the most startlingly original characters in modern fiction, and his efforts at hitting the job market after his mother smashes their car will leave you in stitches.

A word on the history of the novel is worth mentioning here. The author, John Kennedy Toole, committed suicide in 1969, and his mother found the hand-written manuscript in her son's papers. She brought them to a publisher, who dreaded having to read even a portion of the work and to notify Toole's mother that it stunk. Instead, he was blown away by Toole's draft, and the rest is history. The novel earned him a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1981, and it is universally hailed by critics."

[Sweetstop]

I've read A Confederacy Of Dunces several times over the years. Good book.

[Roy Tucker]

I've read A Confederacy Of Dunces several times over the years. Good book.
My wife read it for her other book club and said "you would really like this book, read it". I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not.

[HotCorner]

This post

[Roy Tucker]

Also read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. If you want to know about, well, *everything*, read this book.

[Sweetstop]

My wife read it for her other <a href="book%20club" onmouseover="window.status='book club'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">book club</a> and said "you would really like this book, read it". I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not.



I take it you and your wife don't always agree where books are concerned, eh, Roy?

[savafan]

I'm almost finished with "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets". I held off reading those books for so long, but now I'm enjoying them.

[RosieRed]

How did you like it? I've been looking at that book for years on the shelf, always thinking about getting it but never making the final purchase.

I really liked it. A little textbook-like at times, but the theories and explanations in the book make a whole lot of sense, and were mostly new to me.

Makes me want to read his new book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

[Roy Tucker]

I take it you and your wife don't always agree where books are concerned, eh, Roy?
My wife and I are the classic opposites-attract couple. I'm a wild man from way back when who hasn't met anything he won't try once. She is a nice Catholic girl. I was looking to settle down. She took a walk on the wild side. Somehow we hooked up. It's been an interesting 20 years.

[Doc. Scott]

Travel guides (see location to the left)- both Rick Steves, everyone's favorite Ameridork (although I might end up looking like him when I'm older, so I should shut up) as well as Let's Go Europe.

Anyone ever tackled this book (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0195219279/qid=1106075663/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl14/002-5405911-6488029?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)?

This (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1594200335/qid=1106075811/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-5405911-6488029) is really good. I wish more American businesspeople and government officials were paying attention.

[Sweetstop]

My wife and I are the classic opposites-attract couple. I'm a wild man from way back when who hasn't met anything he won't try once. She is a nice Catholic girl. I was looking to settle down. She took a walk on the wild side. Somehow we hooked up. It's been an interesting 20 years.


:) Sounds familiar. If you look in the dictionary under 'impulsive' there is a picture of my husband. On the other hand, I must analyze a thing to death before possibly deciding change might be worthwhile. Wait until it's 35 years. ;)

[SandyD]

Roy and Sweetstop, there's a book "Managing Ignatius" which is real-life stories of "Lucky Dog" vendors written by a guy who actually managed them.

[TeamCasey]

I've read A Confederacy Of Dunces several times over the years. Good book.

I think I'm going to give it a whirl. I've been looking for an additional item to buy from Ebay to qualify for free shipping. This sounds up my alley.

[TeamCasey]

Also read "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson. If you want to know about, well, *everything*, read this book.

Did you like it? I really enjoyed his "A Walk in the Woods".

[cumberlandreds]

I'm reading The Longest Winter by Alex Kershaw. It's about a group of about 18 men that were captured during The Battle of The Bulge. It's a good read if you are interested in WWII and the harships our troops faced in Europe. My dad was caught up in The Battle of The Bulge so that is why I am particulary interested.
Kershaw also wrote The Bedford Boys. Has anyone read that one? It sounds good.

[Chip R]

Flyboys, by James Bradley
I read that book when I was visiting my mom over X-mas (A friend of her's loaned it to her). It gives a really good history of Japan and their ways of thinking.

As for me, I'm currently reading:

Thomas Jefferson An Intimate History by Fawn Brodie
Huey Long by T. Harry Williams
The Powers That Be by David Halberstam

[Roy Tucker]

Did you like it? I really enjoyed his "A Walk in the Woods".
I enjoyed it, in a geeky science-for-the-masses way. If you like Brian Greene string theory books, you'll like this. I think it would be great for HS kids. It's not like his other books.

Chip, I liked "Flyboys" too. I read where some thought his whole history of the cultures of the two opposing countries that led to the racial attitudes was too stereotypical, but I think it was thought-provoking. Read Halberstam's book some years back and thought it was good. When was that originally published? It's been out a while I think.

[Chip R]

Chip, I liked "Flyboys" too. I read where some thought his whole history of the cultures of the two opposing countries that led to the racial attitudes was too stereotypical, but I think it was thought-provoking. Read Halberstam's book some years back and thought it was good. When was that originally published? It's been out a while I think.
Yeah, I thought it was going to be more about the guys on the island but I enjoyed the history lesson about Japan and the USAF.

TPTB was published in 1979. It's about the 3rd or 4th time I've read it.

[Falls City Beer]

Reading "Don't Think of an Elephant" by George Lakoff (can't get off of politics these days). Lakoff is a Berkeley linguist who's analyzed the way conservatives and progressives frame debates (cut to the short - the Republicans won).

The crux is that most conservative operate under a "strict father" frame and most liberal/progressives under a "nurturant parent" frame.

Fascinating stuff and a quick read. Highly recommended.

Don't Think of an Elephant is definitely on my "to read" list. A former professor of mine highly praises this guy's work. Glad you enjoyed--it will only hasten my resolve to grab a copy.

[jmcclain19]

Just picked up The Numbers Game by Alan Schwartz, Baseball America columnist.

After Moneyball, this makes my second baseball book I've taken the time to read and I've not been disappointed. Some crazy colorful characters and lots of old time baseball history. Amazing how some of the stat nomenclature got its start over 100 years ago yet you'd think it's a recent revelation.

[pedro]

barrel fever by david sedaris

[Redsfaithful]

Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff.

And I just got done reading House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. It was one of the most unique books I've ever read, and I'd recommend it to everyone. It's difficult, but worth it.

[paintmered]

American Raiders by AF Col. (ret) Wolfgang W. E. Samuel.

[MWM]

I just started reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo. It's the first fiction book I've read in several years.

[westofyou]

I just started reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo. It's the first fiction book I've read in several years.

Here's another you can read when you aren't watching Barny Miller or Sanford and Son. ;)

http://www.valleybooks.net/valleybooks/images/items/182.jpg

[jmcclain19]

I just started reading The Godfather by Mario Puzo. It's the first fiction book I've read in several years.

I found it to be much more entertaining than the movie.

Kind of a mix between the First and second movies, and filled with all sorts of great side stories. However, the Puzo series declines, in some cases sharply, when it comes to the sequals.

[Sweetstop]

Barack Obama's memoir...the man has a way about him.

[pedro]

http://www.valleybooks.net/valleybooks/images/items/182.jpg

I dated Peter Benchley's niece when I was in high school. Her family had a house at the beach in NJ. Never met him though.

[BoydsOfSummer]

The Universal Baseball Association,Inc.
J. Henry Waugh,Prop. by Robert Coover

Part of my mission to read all the baseball books I should have read years ago.

[RedRoser]

I've only got one favorite book, so I read it over and over.
It's entitled "Redszone.com" and has multiple "authors"!!! :mhcky21:

---'Roser

[RedsBaron]

I recently finished James Webb's "Born Fighting," which is about the Scots-Irish. I'm trying to decide whether to go back to David Hackett Fischer's "Washington's Crossing," which I'm part way through, or start Jeff Shaara's "To The Last Man," a historical novel of WWI.

[ochre]

I just read American Gods (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380789035/002-3095562-6334444) by Neil Gaiman, and it was ridiculously good.

I'm reading American Pastoral (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375701427/qid=1105997305/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-3095562-6334444) now by Philip Roth. Pretty good so far, I really liked The Plot Against America so I thought I'd try some of his other stuff.

Gaiman rocks.

[zombie-a-go-go]

The Coming of Conan by Robert E Howard (collected works).

[Roy Tucker]

Reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

It's the one of the citywide books for the Cincinnati library book club. We're reading it for our neighborhood book club.

[ochre]

books I am reading.

[Roy Tucker]

I grokked Michael Valentine Smith.

[TRF]

PHP and MySQL a Visual Quickstart.

i'm such a geek.

[pedro]

PHP and MySQL a Visual Quickstart.

i'm such a geek.

dude, i read that. good stuff. really.

[TRF]

dude, i read that. good stuff. really.

Seems good so far. I'm implementing a php based CMS at the school i work for, and I've been hacking it like crazy.

[pedro]

Seems good so far. I'm implementing a php based CMS at the school i work for, and I've been hacking it like crazy.

nice. I've been a 4GL programmer for the last 10+ years and never really delved into scripted languages. I think PHP has a real elegance to it.

[TRF]

Take a look at phpwebsite. Developed by Appalachian State. They have done som good work, but what the opensource community has added to it is what makes it great. It's nearly on a par with major pay CMS products.

[ochre]

oh yeah. I almost forgot. I am reading this book all ninja like at the borders near where I work:

[TeamBoone]

"A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett. Believe it not, it's pretty good (IMHO).

[Crash Davis]

oh yeah. I almost forgot. I am reading this book all ninja like at the borders near where I work:

Edited: Name of the book is "Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs." I thought the picture would copy when I quoted the post, but no luck.

I loved that book. I've read a few times now, and I just got my girlfriend to read it while we were on vacation last week. She laughed out loud every few minutes for awhile.

It's a book of essays, basically on the culture of Gen Xers. I believe he calls is a "low culture manifesto." Essays include: Why all Gen X women have a crush on John Cusack; also essays on Saved by the Bell, The Real World, The alleged Soccer Phenomenon, etc., etc.

[Crash Davis]

Reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

It's the one of the citywide books for the Cincinnati library book club. We're reading it for our neighborhood book club.

I really liked this book, but I couldn't get my girlfriend to read it.

It's a good read, but I also liked it for the history and insight on Afghan culture.

[westofyou]

I really liked this book, but I couldn't get my girlfriend to read it.

It's a good read, but I also liked it for the history and insight on Afghan culture.

It's sitting next to our bed, my wifes friend gave it to her.... she's not interested in it at all... doesn't want to dealve into the treatment of women in the ME... but then she rants at Jane Austin charactors too.

[ochre]

the treatment of women in the Middle East is a tough topic to broach. I had a Syrian teacher that tried to explain some of the ways of their culture to us, but it is tough to understand. And Syria is fairly liberal in its treatment of women compared to some other Muslim cultures.

[jmcclain19]

Been a while since this has been bumped.

A friend recommended the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

I was skeptical, but I wasn't disappointed. It's a great piece of fiction. Brown plays a little too fast and loose with factual history in some spots that somewhat ruined it for me, but it's a good piece of fiction writing, that's for sure. I would recommend it, I plowed thru it fairly quickly.

Just bought a book called "The Disney Wars" about the turmoil going on in the last couple of years at Disney. Usually I don't read Business books like this one but it seems interesting so I'm willing to give it a whirl.

I also got in the mail my copy of the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which is a must for any minor league baseball junkie like myself. Much more info than what's listed on the website about every team's top 30 prospects. The System wide Depth Chart is a great touch.

[Roy Tucker]

I really liked this book, but I couldn't get my girlfriend to read it.

It's a good read, but I also liked it for the history and insight on Afghan culture.
I missed this when posted. I agree about the Afghan culture aspect of it. The class structure trumps all other flesh and blood ties.

I wouldn't think women would have a problem with this book. My wife liked it. There were few women in the book and they mostly play a secondary role.

Reading Lolita in Tehran would be a good companion book for this book.

[reds1869]

Curently I'm enjoying John XXIII by Thomas Cahill; all of his books are excellent works of popular history with some degree of scholarly merit. I'm also reading The Head Game by Roger Kahn.

[rdiersin]

Been a while since this has been bumped.

A friend recommended the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

I was skeptical, but I wasn't disappointed. It's a great piece of fiction. Brown plays a little too fast and loose with factual history in some spots that somewhat ruined it for me, but it's a good piece of fiction writing, that's for sure. I would recommend it, I plowed thru it fairly quickly.

Just bought a book called "The Disney Wars" about the turmoil going on in the last couple of years at Disney. Usually I don't read Business books like this one but it seems interesting so I'm willing to give it a whirl.

I also got in the mail my copy of the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which is a must for any minor league baseball junkie like myself. Much more info than what's listed on the website about every team's top 30 prospects. The System wide Depth Chart is a great touch.


If you liked the DaVinci Code, you might like Angels and Demons as well. But I liked his first book, Digital Fortress the best. Its interesting, and is about a cryptographer in the NSA. As for myself I am about to start reading Saturday by Ian McEwen.

[Roy Tucker]

Just read...

- The Great Gatsby - Fitzgerald - read it with my son for his HS class. I thoroughly enjoyed it and probably got a whole lot more out of it than he did. So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

- In the Land of the Lawn Weenies and Other Warped and Creepy Tales - David Lubar - read it with my youngest. It was surprisingly good for a kids book.

- Atonement - Ian Mcewan - Awesome book. Can't wait to read Saturday.

[BuckU]

Hopfully nobody has yet to comment on this in this particular thread, but has anybody else read the David Wells book? I know it's a couple years old but I just finished it up and that is a really good read. Some of the stories he tell are hilarious. Not much on his time in Cincinnati but reading his stories involving Kirk Gibson & David Cone are great.

5 out of 5

[jmcclain19]

I took rdiersin's advice and picked up Angels and Demons. Haven't cracked it open though.

Still in the midst of Disney War. Reads like a soap opera book. Hard to believe that Eisner was someone who was so brilliant at one time then so dumbfounded later in his Disney career. Great King Lear type story though.

[Jaycint]

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It's about the last guy alive after the world has been taken over by vampires. Pretty good stuff and part of the inspiration for George Romero to make Night of the Living Dead.

[MWM]

I'm currently reading "Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia" by John Dickie. I'm about halfway through and it's a really good book.

[RosieRed]

I'm reading "The Worst Journey in the World (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786704373/002-5253684-2296034?v=glance)" by Apsley Cherry-Garrard. The author was a member of R.F. Scott's tragic expedition to the South Pole.

The book is often called "the best adventure book ever written," or something similar. I'm about a third of the way through it, and really enjoying it so far.

[Roy Tucker]

Just read "102 Minutes" by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn. It's about the 102-minute span between the moment Flight 11 hit the first WTC tower and the moment the second tower collapsed, all from the viewpoint of the people in the tower. A searing and powerful read. I had to stop reading sometimes because it was just too much.

[Crash Davis]

Currently in the middle of too many books. I was almost through "Down and Out in Paris and London" by George Orwell when an Amazon package arrived.

Now I'm into the following, about half-way through each of them:

"The Air-Conditioned Nightmare" by Henry Miller

"The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You to Read" Tim C. Leedom, Editor

"Fargo Rock City" by Chuck Closterman

"Revolutionary Road" by Richard Yates

"The Born Again Skeptic's Guide to the Bible" by Ruth Hurmence Green

[zombie-a-go-go]

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It's about the last guy alive after the world has been taken over by vampires. Pretty good stuff and part of the inspiration for George Romero to make Night of the Living Dead.

If you like I Am Legend, do yourself a favor and never ever ever see the movie based upon it - The Omega Man, starring none other than Charlton Heston! :laugh:

If you like Matheson's stuff, you should give Harlan Ellison a try (if you haven't already).

[zombie-a-go-go]

Oh yeah, and right now I'm reading Lords of Madness - The Book of Aberrations by Richard Baker. ;)

[flyer85]

The Gulag Archipelago

[Jaycint]

If you like I Am Legend, do yourself a favor and never ever ever see the movie based upon it - The Omega Man, starring none other than Charlton Heston! :laugh:

If you like Matheson's stuff, you should give Harlan Ellison a try (if you haven't already).

Thanks Zom, I had heard that The Omega Man was quite horrible, lol. I will have to give Harlan Ellison a try.

[Roy Tucker]

Thanks Zom, I had heard that The Omega Man was quite horrible, lol. I will have to give Harlan Ellison a try.
Also, rent out the DVD "A Boy and His Dog", based on a novella by Ellison. It's quite good.

Vic and Blood.

[Jaycint]

Also, rent out the DVD "A Boy and His Dog", based on a novella by Ellison. It's quite good.

Vic and Blood.

I read the Vic and Blood graphic novel sometime back and I really enjoyed it. Didn't even realize I had stumbled across some Ellison already. Thanks for the tip on the dvd, I'll be sure to check it out.

[Roy Tucker]

I read the Vic and Blood graphic novel sometime back and I really enjoyed it. Didn't even realize I had stumbled across some Ellison already. Thanks for the tip on the dvd, I'll be sure to check it out.
You bet.

I wish the term "graphic novel" had been coined back in my day. It would have sounded a lot better if I had told my folks I was reading a graphic novel instead of a comic book.

[SunDeck]

I try to read but I fall asleep. Honestly.
When does this end? When my kids are in highschool keeping me awake at night because they have driver's licenses? I think my mom made it through the entire western canon when my brothers and I were teenagers.

[SunDeck]

Thanks Zom, I had heard that The Omega Man was quite horrible, lol. I will have to give Harlan Ellison a try.

Charleton Heston in a gold jump suit. What could be bad about that?

[Jaycint]

Charleton Heston in a gold jump suit. What could be bad about that?

There is also a 1964 film called The Last Man on Earth that is based on I Am Legend and it stars Vincent Price as- you guessed it- the last man on earth. As to whether or not it is as bad/worse/better than Omega I can't say.

[Larkin411]

I really liked it. A little textbook-like at times, but the theories and explanations in the book make a whole lot of sense, and were mostly new to me.

Makes me want to read his new book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

I'm currently reading that one. So far I like it, although some parts are a little redundant(which is sort of the point I suppose). I definitely know more about soil erosion than I ever thought I would.

[SanDiegoRed]

Fubar:A novel of deception By Ron Carpol This is one of the funniest, raunchiest books I have ever read. Pick it up!

[reds44]

Im reading "Juiced" we wall know what that is. I have to do a book report on it, but the book is really pointless.

[jmcclain19]

Just finished up "Secret Life of Lobsters" by Trevor Corson on a recent weekend trip.

I took several books with me, figuring I would be flipping back and forth, but I couldn't put it down, to be honest.

The book intersects the life of lobsters, lobster fisherman and the scientists who study lobsters, all in a tight area known as the Gulf of Maine over a 10-15 year period. As you can imagine, those interests go in conflicting directions.

I found it light, funny (sometimes laugh out loud funny at lobster behavior) with just enough science in it to quench that bug but not too much to make it overwhleming. There is a huge section on Lobster mating and housing that was fascinating as well as just bizarre.

That book turned me onto another book, "Cod" by Mark Kurlansky, because cod, and the lack of them in the gulf of maine, is discussed at length in the Corson book.

I've read another Kurlansky book, "Salt", and this is very similiar.

Kurlansky has an interesting proposition in the book, that the pursuit of cod by the portuguese, the Nordic and the Basque people, would have meant that they discovered the Labrador coast off of Canada long before Christopher Columbus set sail.

I'm not a big fisherman, but Cod was another page turner, a short book.

Oddly enough, or perhaps, ironicly, I was in a bookstore here in town and I had the chance to meet Clive Cussler, who's a famous fiction writer about shipwrecked boats. Talking with him, even though I'm not a fiction reader, I picked up the first of his new "Numa" series of books, "Serpent" and I'm reading it now. Different than non-fiction, that's for sure. Characters strike me as a little too perfect, model-esq and blemish free for my taste, but the story line is solid.

[Larry Schuler]

Screenwriters Workbook by Syd Field

[cincinnati chili]

Been a while since this has been bumped.

A friend recommended the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.

I was skeptical, but I wasn't disappointed. It's a great piece of fiction. Brown plays a little too fast and loose with factual history in some spots that somewhat ruined it for me, but it's a good piece of fiction writing, that's for sure. I would recommend it, I plowed thru it fairly quickly.


I think I'm in the minority on this, but I found it to be one of the worst written bestsellers I've ever read in my life. Great story, and I'm sure the movie will be compelling, but found the writing to be embarrasingly clumbsy and square. Dan Brown went to my high school.

[alex trevino]

"Around the Bloc" about an american who spends a few years living in ex communist bloc countries. pretty interesting so far.

[Ravenlord]

Baseball Uncensored-Johnathan Story
Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups
Sea of Swords-RA Salvatore
and as always, The Bible

[pedro]

A Man in Full - Tom Wolfe

[BoydsOfSummer]

The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers -Rob Neyer,Bill James

and

Contents Under Pressure
30 Years of RUSH at Home and Away -Martin Popoff

[cincinnati chili]

A Man in Full - Tom Wolfe

Liked it.

Anybody read "I am Charlotte Simmons?" Thinking about getting it on tape for a 15 hour drive.

[rdiersin]

Liked it.

Anybody read "I am Charlotte Simmons?" Thinking about getting it on tape for a 15 hour drive.

I've been think about it too, but I haven't heard particularly good reviews.

Right now I am reading Curve Ball by Bennet and Albert.

[MWM]

Just started Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam. When I finish that I've recently got a copy of A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein I plan on reading.

[Sweetstop]

Benjamin Franklin, An American Life - Walter Isaacson

Recently finished the wonderful Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation of Tolstoy's Anna Karenina

[registerthis]

"Terror and Liberalism" by Paul Berman

"Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" by Noam Chomsky

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Phil Steele's 2005 College Football Preview (Volume 11)

[pedro]

Liked it.



I like it too. I had a hard time getting through the Conrad parts. The first time I tried to read it, I got bored and stopped. But I gave it another go and I'm glad. It is kind of cool for me b/c I've lived in Atlanta and the Bay Area and I know all the places they are talking about. Makes it that much more interesting.

[Jaycint]

Holy War Inc. by Peter Bergen

[Falls City Beer]

Under Western Eyes--Conrad

Star Dust--Frank Bidart

Humphries' Lucretius

[Chip R]

I can't believe I'm still reading this book from January: :eek:
Huey Long by T. Harry Williams

I read a page or 3 before I go to bed.

Currently reading:
The League - The Rise and Decline of the NFL by David Harris

Just finished:
Politician - The Life and Times of Lyndon Johnson by Ronnie Duggar
The Running Mate - Joe Klein
You Call It Sports, but I Say It's a Jungle out There: The Best of Dan Jenkins
MASH Mania - Richard Hooker

I think I'm going to pick up The Brethren by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong again.

[flyer85]

Juiced
The Case Against the Fed
What Has the Goverment Done to Our Money

[registerthis]

What Has the Goverment Done to Our Money
Do you REALLY want to know this???

[15fan]

Right now?

uh...redszone.com. ;)

Seriously, I'm working through "The Last Best League". Former Deac Jamie D'Antona is one of the main subjects.

As is current Reds farmhand Tom Pauly.

[SandyD]

"Pennant Race" by Jim Brosnan

[SunDeck]

Simenon, "Maigret and the Fortuneteller"

[Redsfaithful]

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.

[Stewie]

Just started reading "1776" by David McCullough.

Just finished Jerry Crasnick's "License to Deal" and before that was Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49," which I am most certainly going to have to read again to better understand what was going on.

[Rychian]

I have fallen in love with Mclaren's books. They are a christian fiction trilogy basically trying to explain postmodernity through a story. It is a great approach to such a difficult subject.

A New Kind of Christian
The Story We find ourselves in
The last word and the word after that

I just pounded the 2nd book in 3 days and am very much looking forward to the 3rd. I cant say enough about them. I read the 1st one 3x.

Go Get em.

Tom

[cumberlandreds]

I'm reading "Beachhead Don". It's a collection of AP news reports and features that were written by Don Whitehead. He was a Pulitizer prize winning writer during the Korean War but got his start writing for AP during WWII. He went ashore with the US Troops in Italy and D-Day. Also credited with first story from a liberated Paris. Lot of interesting stories that wouldn't make the regular history of WWII. Highly recommend for anyone who likes reading about WWII.

[jmcclain19]

Just started reading "1776" by David McCullough.

Just finished Jerry Crasnick's "License to Deal" and before that was Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49," which I am most certainly going to have to read again to better understand what was going on.

I bought 1776 right after it came out, but I have to (strangely) be in the mood to read it and that just hasn't struck me yet. I love McCullough though.

Let me know how you like it Stewie.

[jmcclain19]

I think I'm in the minority on this, but I found it to be one of the worst written bestsellers I've ever read in my life. Great story, and I'm sure the movie will be compelling, but found the writing to be embarrasingly clumbsy and square. Dan Brown went to my high school.

I think clumsy and sloppy are good ways to describe it. I did love the concept of the story, and that kept me reading, but the execution of it was sloppy, no doubt.

[jmcclain19]

Back to what I've read, I just finished Scout's Honor, and posted my review of it over on the "Scouts Honor" thread.

I bought a book this weekend on homebrewing your own beer, actually the "Homebrewing for the Complete Idiot" so that's what I'll be polishing off this weekend. That's my latest kick.

I also want to start "The Historian" in the next few days. I bought it, and have heard glowing and not so glowing reviews of it, so I have to check it out for myself.

[BoydsOfSummer]

My best friend and I got into brewing our own beer about 10 years ago. We had a blast. Nothing like kicking back on the front porch listening to a game whilst pounding a few of your own creations. And pay no mind to that dust at the bottom of the bottle,it's good for you,drink it down!

[MartyFan]

I am reading a few books right now...sounds kind of snobby but Ilove to read...which is why I am always here.

So, what am I reading? Here goes.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller...good book, though I just started reading it...it talks about the culture of the church...its flaws and where the church can go from here to remain relevant.

Network Marketing for Dummies by Zig Ziglar...It goes through the A-Z glories and pitfalls od network marketing.

My wife and I recently signed up for our first experience with a company and I have to say to this point I enjoy it more than I thought I would but it is tougher than I thought it would be. Check out our website at http://www.ecolifeohio.com (sorry for the shameless plug)

Finally I am reading the Bible...I have to admit this is a tough one for me...It used to not be but lately it is like pulling teeth to be able to set time aside to read...nonetheless...I am trying.

[Betterread]

I just finished "The Emperor's Children" by Claire Messud.
Well-written, very good dialogue, although the many of the characters were satires, especially Marina. The definitive depiction of the entitlement mentality of a group of "creative", well-educated young adult New Yorkers.

[vaticanplum]

I just finished "The Emperor's Children" by Claire Messud.
Well-written, very good dialogue, although the many of the characters were satires, especially Marina. The definitive depiction of the entitlement mentality of "creative", well-educated young adult New Yorkers.

I loved this book to pieces. Not in the oh I'm supposed to love it kind of way, but I really cried kind of way.

[Ltlabner]

The Killing Zone - How and Why Pilots Die
Think Like Your Customer - Bill Stinnett
The Longest Jounrey (Fredericksburg to Chancellorsville)- Shelby Foote - I just started this one.

I finished "The Conspiricy Reader" by Al HIdell and Joan D'Arc of Paranoia Magazine a month or so ago. Wacky, wild stuff there.

[pedro]

July, July - by Tim O'Brien . I like it so far. Lots of characters to keep up with though.

I also just finished the new Chuck Klosterman book which was pretty funny.

[marcshoe]

After having to put it down for a long while because I just didn't have time, I've again started reading Joseph Ellis' His Excellency. It's not a long book, I just found myself unable to read anything that didn't have to do with school when I started grad classes.

[BoydsOfSummer]

The Iceman--Confessions of a mafia contract killer, Phil Carlo

Richard Kuklinski's story. You might have seen the documentaries on HBO.

According to him he was in on the Hoffa and Paul Castellano hits. I find some of it a bit far fetched, since most serial killer types are a bit narcissistic, but the dude knows/knew where a lot of dead bodies are located.

[Sweetstop]

Just finished George Eliot's Middlemarch. Memorable characters, most intelligent writing. I love it.

Now reading Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's and A Christmas Memory (which I always read this time of year).

[RollyInRaleigh]

Just started reading "The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream."

[Hoosier Red]

Just started reading "1776" by David McCullough.

Just finished Jerry Crasnick's "License to Deal" and before that was Thomas Pynchon's "The Crying of Lot 49," which I am most certainly going to have to read again to better understand what was going on.

How do you like 1776?
I'm reading "John Adams" and asked for "1776" for Christmas.

[SunDeck]

I thought 1776 was very good. Showed how razor sharp the line between success and failure really was during that year, and it humanized Washington in a way that our history lessons never did.

I just finished Golden Ocean by Patrick O'Brian. That's finally it, the last of his seafaring novels for me, twenty in the Aubrey-Maturin series and those few he wrote prior to that. Now I'm reading other authors from the same genre- historical novels of the Age of Sail. Alexander Kent's Bolitho series this week, maybe Hornblower next week. It's hard to find anything as good as O'Brian, though.

[Matt700wlw]

Right now, I'm reading this thread

[pedro]

"You Suck" - by Christopher Moore

[Falls City Beer]

The English Civil War by Diane Purkiss

[RichRed]

The Catcher was a Spy: The Mysterious Life of Moe Berg by Nicholas Dawidoff

[Dom Heffner]

This thread. Various authors.

[Redsfaithful]

Winning Results With Google Adwords by Andrew Goodman.

Fun times.

[paintmered]

This thread. Various authors.

You too?

[SunDeck]

Dudley Pope- Ramage series.

[cumberlandreds]

1776 by David McCullough. So far so good. Looks like a lot good insights to the times in 1776.
I just finished "Luckiest Man" by Jonathan Eig. Highly recommended book! I enjoyed it very much with great details about Gehrig's illness.

[registerthis]

This thread. Various authors.

I found it pretentious and overrated myself.

[registerthis]

Currently reading:

"State of Denial" - Bob Woodward
"We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" - Philip Gourevitch
"Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road" - Neil Peart

[dabvu2498]

"State of Denial" - Bob Woodward


Ditto. Plus The Thomas Jefferson Reader by Thomas Jefferson, The Blind Side by Michael Lewis and All the Laws but One by William Rehnquist.

[Dom Heffner]

I found it pretentious and overrated myself.

Today's literature is in sad hands and sorry shape.

[pedro]

Today's literature is in sad hands and sorry shape.

On the contrary I think there is still quite a lot of good literature being written.

[Dom Heffner]

On the contrary I think there is still quite a lot of good literature being written.

On this thread? :)

[pedro]

On this thread? :)


No, we're proving that 1000 monkeys with a 1000 typewriters couldn't reproduce shakespeare's works, but that another story.....

[Dom Heffner]

No, we're proving that 1000 monkeys with a 1000 typewriters couldn't reproduce shakespeare's works, but that another story.....


ks;;/so'ps
pswpnsgap;pp[ajmngvfp;k

My monkey typed that. Dickens is running scared.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Currently reading:

"State of Denial" - Bob Woodward
"We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families" - Philip Gourevitch
"Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road" - Neil Peart


Reading Ghost Rider also.

[kbrake]

Just finished 3 Nights in August.

Just started Boss of Bosses The Fall of the Godfather: The FBI and Paul Castellano

[creek14]

The Timeline History of Islam.

[Redsfaithful]

Ditto. Plus The Thomas Jefferson Reader by Thomas Jefferson, The Blind Side by Michael Lewis and All the Laws but One by William Rehnquist.

The Blind Side is great, but I'm a big Michael Lewis fan. I'm really interested now to see how Michael Oher's career progresses.

[Sweetstop]

bits and pieces of The Portable Dorothy Parker
Adam Gopnik's Paris to the Moon
The Dark Side of Genius, The Life of Alfred Hitchcock - Donald Spoto
Run River by Joan Didion

[registerthis]

Reading Ghost Rider also.

What do you think? I'm finding it to be somewhat disappointing. It's much more of a straight-up travel narrative than what I was expecting.

[BoydsOfSummer]

Yeah, it's turning into a travel log. I'm finding it harder to pick up. Especially since I'm getting the baseball jones and picked up a couple baseball books that I'll probably start.

My buddy is a complete RUSH freak and he didn't get all the way through it either.

[registerthis]

Yeah, it's turning into a travel log. I'm finding it harder to pick up. Especially since I'm getting the baseball jones and picked up a couple baseball books that I'll probably start.

My buddy is a complete RUSH freak and he didn't get all the way through it either.

His prose is so rigid, it annoys me sometimes. He has a hard time expressing the pain he's going through, but can go on for pages about the spruce pines that he's riding by. And I really don't need to know what he ordered at every single restaurant he stopped at.

[GoGoWhiteSox]

I'm reading Oscar Peterson's autobiography, A Jazz Odyssey. For those of you who don't know who he is, he is one of the greatest jazz piano players who ever lived, and he's among the select few living jazz legends.

[Doc. Scott]

Why, Ball Four, of course. Like every year around this time.

[paintmered]

I just finished "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell this past weekend.

[marcshoe]

Renaissance poetry for a class project. Currently, early John Donne. Metaphysical stuff.

[Betterread]

House of Meetings by Martin Amis. Ambitious topic, ambitious writing, and yet...less than the sum of its parts. Worth reading as Amis can record the bitterness and betrayals of jealous, competitive men in such clear and vivid prose that sets him apart from current writers. However, I still wait for him to reach the level of work he attained in "The Information".

[SunDeck]

I just re-read Treasure Island over the last couple of days. Man, it's such a great book. Why I had to read the Pearl in 7th grade and not Treasure Island is a mystery to me.

[Falls City Beer]

I just re-read Treasure Island over the last couple of days. Man, it's such a great book. Why I had to read the Pearl in 7th grade and not Treasure Island is a mystery to me.

I agree. Stevenson's a great writer. Jekyll and Hyde is a marvelous book, despite its pigeonholing as kitschy sci-fi.

[westofyou]

I just re-read Treasure Island over the last couple of days. Man, it's such a great book. Why I had to read the Pearl in 7th grade and not Treasure Island is a mystery to me.

Because the teachers grew up in the era of post modern literature is the likely answer.

We always had to choose 1 of 3.

Example freshman year

First Blood
Red Sky in the Morning
The Pearl

I read em all anyway.

Me?

I'm reading

"You're missing a Great Game" by Whitey Herzog.

[SunDeck]

Because the teachers grew up in the era of post modern literature is the likely answer.

We always had to choose 1 of 3.

Example freshman year

First Blood
Red Sky in the Morning
The Pearl

I read em all anyway.

Me?

I'm reading

"You're missing a Great Game" by Whitey Herzog.

The Pearl, in particular, is probably one of the greatest reasons I didn't like literature as a teenager. I thought "If this is supposed to be great, then I must be stupid, because I don't get it."

Of course, it turns out that there is a lot of other great literature...and that I am just as stupid as I thought I was in the first place. Only now, I just know how to find good stuff to read that suits me.

The idea of choosing is great- your teacher was smart or mine was lazy.

[westofyou]

The idea of choosing is great- your teacher was smart or mine was lazy.
Mariemont in the 70's had a very progressive program, lots of great teachers who would hone in on your interests if you didn't buy into what they threw up there for the masses.

Of course they all went on strike when the parents wanted to control the curriculum tighter and got fired, but I had already left.

[Falls City Beer]

Of course they all went on strike when the parents wanted to control the curriculum tighter and got fired, but I had already left.

"You're the trained one, but WE know better."

Why I no longer teach high school, right there: parents.

No offense, guys. (Well, maybe a little).

[westofyou]

"You're the trained one, but WE know better."

Why I no longer teach high school, right there: parents.

No offense, guys. (Well, maybe a little).

My wife and pedro were both still in school at the time, my parents yanked Pedro out and sent him to private school, My wife said that the rest of the year and part of the next she doesn't recall learning a thing.

[SunDeck]

Why I no longer teach high school, right there: parents.


Also the reason I am secretly hoping my son decides he doesn't like basketball.

[pedro]

My wife and pedro were both still in school at the time, my parents yanked Pedro out and sent him to private school, My wife said that the rest of the year and part of the next she doesn't recall learning a thing.

The actual quote from the sub which I told my Mom & Dad about (though I don't remember it was probably a weak attempt to explain why I didn't have any homework)

"I don't care what you kids do but keep your books open and be quiet in case the principal comes by"

I was at Cincinnati Country Day within a week.

Later, when I was in High School in California our teachers did a series of "one day strikes". I think they did it six separate days. When we'd get to school, the administration would make us all sit in the gym all day. After the first time that happened we'd just bail if we saw the teachers picketing. It was actually a lot of fun.

[Sweetstop]

Our answer for poor public school's available to our children was a good Montessori school. A board of committed parents; strong administrator and dedicated teachers. It was one of the best things we ever did for our children.

[Hoosier Red]

Now reading "The money men"

Just finished "How Soccer Explains the World."

[pedro]

I just finished "You Suck" by Christopher Moore. I liked it.

[15fan]

The Politics of United States Foreign Policy, 4th ed.

(It's for class...)

[vaticanplum]

The Pearl, in particular, is probably one of the greatest reasons I didn't like literature as a teenager. I thought "If this is supposed to be great, then I must be stupid, because I don't get it."

God, we had to read the Pearl too. I totally forgot it existed until now. What is wrong with these teachers?

[GoGoWhiteSox]

I'm reading

"You're missing a Great Game" by Whitey Herzog.
Great book. I've actually read it a couple of times myself.

[Yachtzee]

God, we had to read the Pearl too. I totally forgot it existed until now. What is wrong with these teachers?

Count me in for having to read "The Pearl" in school. Vaguely remember it. I'm not even sure if I finished it.

Did anyone else have to read "The Good Earth," or as we called it, "Everybody Wang Lung Tonight?"

[hebroncougar]

Prayers for the Assassin. I like alternative history books, mysteries, and baseball books. This is kind of an alternative history. It's set in 2042 (so I guess it's alternative future), and about 1/2 of the U.S. has become an Islamic Republic. Interesting read. Just finished "if I ever get back", where a guy travels back in time and travels around with the 1869 Reds.

[RichRed]

I'm reading "Great Day in Cooperstown" which details the startup of the Hall of Fame, centered around the inaugural induction ceremony with Ruth, Mack, Wagner, Big Train, etc.

Has anyone read this one? It's infuriating! I can't remember when I've been so disappointed in a baseball book I was so looking forward to. The main reason is that it's loaded with typos and grammar errors. Maybe that's not a big deal to some people but it drives me insane. I almost lost it when I saw "was became" in the middle of a sentence. It's like no editor ever laid eyes on this thing.

Oh, and at one point, he had Christy Mathewson speaking at the ceremony. Neat trick considering Mathewson had died 14 years earlier.

[registerthis]

This is kind of an alternative history. It's set in 2042 (so I guess it's alternative future)

As opposed to actual future?

[minus5]

The Beatles by Bob Spitz. Pretty good read so far.

[WebScorpion]

Catch-22.
I'm finding there are many things I didn't understand when I was a teenager. It's a much better read now that I've experienced some of the things referred to within the work.
I had the opposite experience with Jack London...Call Of The Wild and White Fang were much more fulfilling when I was younger.

PS - I also highly recommend Confederacy of Dunces.

[pedro]

I just finished "How Evan broke his head and other secrets" by Garth Stein.

I liked it a lot. (I read it in 3 days)

http://www.garthstein.com/evan/index.php

[SunDeck]

Frank Mildmay, or, The naval officer (Marryat)
Black Tower (PD James)

[WMR]

Just finished re-reading "Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "The Demon" by Hubert Selby Jr.

Some of the darkest, most well-written fiction of the 20th century, IMO.

"The Demon," especially, is something to behold.

On "The Demon"-

A major American author of a stature with William Burroughs and Joseph Heller. - Los Angeles Times

Harry White is a man haunted by a satyr's lust and an obsessive need for sin and retribution. The more Harry succeeds - a good marriage, a good corporate job - the more desperate he becomes, as a life of petty crime leads to fraud and murder and, eventually, to apocalyptic violence.

Author of the controversial cult classic, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Hubert Selby began as a writer of short fiction. He plunges the reader head-first into the densely realized worlds of his protagonists, in which the details of daily life rub shoulders with obsession and madness. Although fundamentally concerned with morality, Selby's own sense of humility prevents him from preaching. He offers instead a passionate empathy with the ordinary dreams and aspirations of his characters, a brilliant ear for the urban vernacular and for the voices of conscience and self-deceit that torment his characters.
"Selby's place is in the front rank of American novelists ... to understand his work is to understand the anguish of America." - The New York Times Book Review

http://www.amazon.com/Demon-Hubert-Selby-Jr/dp/0714525995/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8659394-0249434?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174510196&sr=8-1

Wikipedia on Hubert Selby Jr.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Selby_Jr.

[Strikes Out Looking]

As the product of the Hamilton School System and a victim of the 1980 strike in which we did nothing for the months of October and November, it is amazing I can even read. But I digress,

I've been reading Stephen Hunter's books (thrillers--but unlike Tom Clancy, Hunter is an excellent writer) and the Dortmunder books by Donald Westlake (comedic mysteries). I just finished the Kite Runner which was very good and mentioned earlier in the thread.

I'm big on lists and I am working my way through the Pulitzer Prize winning Novels. I'm into the 1920's, and so far all that I've read have been good. Before I started the Pulitzer list, I went through the top 100 English language novels of the 20th century. I was able to read about 90&#37; of them, I couldn't get through about 10 of them.

[asboog]

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

[creek14]

RedsZone

[marcshoe]

Tempting Faith by David Kuo.

A book about religion and politics! I can't say another word about it on this board. :D

[Degenerate39]

I was suppose to be reading Fahrenheit 451 for Honors English 11 but I haven't started it yet.

[Hoosier Red]

I was a big fan of Fahrenheit 451 as I remember.

I'm currently reading "The gift of the Jews" It the second in a series called "The Hinges of History" by Thomas Cahill.

Aside from the author sounding full of himself with the series title, I do like the book.

[Degenerate39]

I was a big fan of Fahrenheit 451 as I remember.

I'm currently reading "The gift of the Jews" It the second in a series called "The Hinges of History" by Thomas Cahill.

Aside from the author sounding full of himself with the series title, I do like the book.

I've read a little bit of it, I have a test Monday when we return to school, and it's not that bad.

[OSUmed2010]

I just finished Frank Zappa's autobiography and started reading Moneyball.

[gonelong]

Upon the recommendation of RANDY IN CHAR NC I am reading ....

Wooden
A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

GL

[westofyou]

"Nobody's Fool"

Richard Russo

[HumnHilghtFreel]

I just finished Frank Zappa's autobiography

How was that? I might have to check it out.

[westofyou]

How was that? I might have to check it out.

I heard it was destined to take the place of THE MUD SHARK in your mythology

[Falls City Beer]

How was that? I might have to check it out.

I tend not to like autobiographies, but it's pretty irresistibly hilarious.

His "death by nostalgia" theory is prescient.

[dsmith421]

"Nobody's Fool"

Richard Russo

A small classic, that one. Had me in stitches.

[kbrake]

Reading 1776 right now and loving every page of it.

[OSUmed2010]

How was that? I might have to check it out.

It's great! You get some really great stories about what he was like growing up, stories from the road, and tons of insight into his weird head. I'm not really into his music that much, although what I've heard, I've liked a lot. Anyway, it's a fast read and very entertaining.

[vaticanplum]

I'm enjoying a nice light book called "Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation", about underprivileged kids in the Bronx. It's terrifyingly sad. And I've only just started it.

[rdiersin]

Salt: A World History. Just starting it really, but it has been pretty interesting so far.

[dabvu2498]

I'm enjoying a nice light book called "Amazing Grace: The Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation", about underprivileged kids in the Bronx. It's terrifyingly sad. And I've only just started it.

Kozol tells an amazing story. And it's sadly true. I highly recommend his other works as well.

[RollyInRaleigh]

Upon the recommendation of RANDY IN CHAR NC I am reading ....

Wooden
A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

GL

I hope you like it. It's an easy read that speaks to the character of John Wooden. Timeless truths.

[Roy Tucker]

I've been reading Stephen Hunter's books (thrillers--but unlike Tom Clancy, Hunter is an excellent writer) and the Dortmunder books by Donald Westlake (comedic mysteries).

I'm a big Stephen Hunter fan. Earl and Bob Lee Swagger are great characters. The opening line to "Dirty White Boys" is hilarious.

Hunter also writes great movie reviews at the Washington Post.

[919191]

I just finished Frank Zappa's autobiography and started reading Moneyball.

Is that The Real Frank Zappa Book? I read that a few years ago. Pretty interesting. I like his theory on the fall of communism.

[westofyou]

Salt: A World History. Just starting it really, but it has been pretty interesting so far.

I've been wanting to read that book, pick it up every now and then and browse it. Food and Spice history is very interesting, especially since it drove so much of the worlds travel and expansion.

[Roy Tucker]

Salt: A World History. Just starting it really, but it has been pretty interesting so far.


Haven't read this, but I did read Kurlansky's "Cod". Very interesting book and I recommend it. "Salt" has been on my list for a while now.

[texasdave]

Chuck Klosterman IV:A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas. This is mainly a collection from his days at Spin, but since I never read that magazine it is all new to me. This is my third Klosterman book and all three are actively entertaining. (Oops, I just stole one of his favorite adverbs) It is a light, enjoyable book to read.

[rdiersin]

Food and Spice history is very interesting, especially since it drove so much of the worlds travel and expansion.

Especially with salt, I think, because of its added benefit with preservation. Its interesting, and I recommend it so far.

Roy: I have been wanting to read Cod as well. Maybe that will have to be next.

[RichRed]

It's that time of year so I just finished The Last Best League about the Cape Cod League and am now reading Jim Brosnan's diary of his 1959 season with the Cards, The Long Season. An interesting prequel of sorts to his book about the Reds' 1961 season, Pennant Race.

[Chip R]

One of the books I'm reading now is "The Ticket Out Darryl Strawberry And The Boys Of Crenshaw". An interesting book about what some people felt was the best high school baseball team ever. I was reading yesterday how Strawberry basically blew all the money he earned in baseball which was around $30M.

[gonelong]

I hope you like it. It's an easy read that speaks to the character of John Wooden. Timeless truths.

It was a quick, enjoyable read. Timeless truths indeed.

It does make one feel a bit behind on the old life schedule! :laugh:

GL

[pedro]

I'm reading "Summerland" by Michael Chabon.

Recently I also read "Vernon God Little" by DBC Pierre which I thought was pretty good.

[pedro]

A small classic, that one. Had me in stitches.

I'm a big fan of Russo. I've read them all. "Straight Man" was probably my second favorite after "Nobody's Fool".

[pedro]

Salt: A World History. Just starting it really, but it has been pretty interesting so far.

I've been wanting to read that and "the Big Oyster" and "Cod" as well.

[rdiersin]

I'm a big fan of Russo. I've read them all. "Straight Man" was probably my second favorite after "Nobody's Fool".


I haven't read Straight Man or Nobody's Fool yet, but I did enjoy Mohawk and Empire Falls. Maybe I better give those two a try.

Oh, and I have to agree with you on Vernon God Little. It was a good read.

[nycredsfan]

You Don't Love Me Yet by Jonathan Lethem- So far I'm disappointed, but it's probably hard to live up to the standards of Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude every time out.

I recently finished Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. I really enjoyed it. It's quite funny and Ferris does a great job with dialogue for a first novel.

[WMR]

I was suppose to be reading Fahrenheit 451 for Honors English 11 but I haven't started it yet.

Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but who cares...

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/

Excellent, excellent "resource" (haha)

[WMR]

I got all you guys beat.

Right now I am reading:

"Corporations and other business associations statutes, rules, and forms."

It's a real page turner I tell ya. :help:

[Degenerate39]

Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this, but who cares...

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/

Excellent, excellent "resource" (haha)

Yeah, I've heard of it. I used it for 'Fallen Angels' a few months ago. The teacher's tests are more detailed than Sparknotes I'm afraid so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll probably end up reading Sparknotes again though.

[marcshoe]

Sparknotes is good as a help if you can't understand the book, but for this one, I'd say just read it. It's a great, accessible book.

[WMR]

Oh I agree, tixe.

A book that everyone should read.

[Yachtzee]

J.C. Bradbury - "The Baseball Economist"

[dsmith421]

Haven't read this, but I did read Kurlansky's "Cod". Very interesting book and I recommend it. "Salt" has been on my list for a while now.

His "Basque History of the World" is also fascinating and goes a lot of places you might not expect.

[Roy Tucker]

I'll confess. Work has been rough lately so all I want to read is junk books.

So I've been on a Jeffrey Archer binge of late. Read "False Impression", "Kane and Abel", "The Prodigal Daughter", "The Eleventh Commandment", and now "The Fourth Estate". The library is my friend.

Not the deepest books in the world but tales that you can lose yourself in without bending your brain too hard.

[Chip R]

I got all you guys beat.

Right now I am reading:

"Corporations and other business associations statutes, rules, and forms."

It's a real page turner I tell ya. :help:


I'm waiting for the movie to come out.

[Yachtzee]

I'm waiting for the movie to come out.

I have it on audiobook, narrated by Ben Stein.

It's not quite as thrilling as "Wills, Trusts, and Estates" though. Of course in that book, you know someone gets it in the end. :)

[Falls City Beer]

Native Son--Richard Wright

It's been a while since I've read it and it's still exhilarating as hell.

[vaticanplum]

Native Son--Richard Wright

It's been a while since I've read it and it's still exhilarating as hell.

I love that book.

[jmcclain19]

I've been wanting to read that and "the Big Oyster" and "Cod" as well.

I've read Salt & Cod - still haven't gotten around to The Big Oyster yet. Both were excellent books - really a unique history/natural science books.

I also heartily recommend The Secret Life of Lobsters by Trevor Colson.

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Lobsters-Scientists-Unraveling/dp/0060555580

Probably one of my favorite books of the last several years - I'll never look at Lobsters the same way again.

[jmcclain19]

I just cracked open Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen about Magellan & his trip around the globe. Been eyeballing it at the Bookstore for a while now - when it hit the sale rack this week I picked it up.

[kbrake]

Getting ready to start Baseball Between The Numbers....sure someone on here has read it. Whats everyone think?

[westofyou]

Getting ready to start Baseball Between The Numbers....sure someone on here has read it. Whats everyone think?

I've browsed through my copy, at times I find it too dry. It's also a rehash of many of the things BP has espoused for years, so if you're a regular reader of the site you'll find some repeating.

[westofyou]

I just cracked open Over the Edge of the World by Laurence Bergreen about Magellan & his trip around the globe. Been eyeballing it at the Bookstore for a while now - when it hit the sale rack this week I picked it up.

Spoiler----











The little manifest destiny feller gets it before he gets home.:mooner:

[kbrake]

I've browsed through my copy, at times I find it too dry. It's also a rehash of many of the things BP has espoused for years, so if you're a regular reader of the site you'll find some repeating.

Thanks WOY. No I'm not a reader of the site so hopefully its all new to me. It was marked down to 5$ at our campus bookstore so I figured it was worth a shot.

[westofyou]

Thanks WOY. No I'm not a reader of the site so hopefully its all new to me. It was marked down to 5$ at our campus bookstore so I figured it was worth a shot.

It's a good book, it will probably be a good reference book for debates about the game.

[marcshoe]

Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton

[jmcclain19]

Getting ready to start Baseball Between The Numbers....sure someone on here has read it. Whats everyone think?

I agree about WOY's comment about it being a little dry - the best part is you don't have read it as a serial story - just read the introduction & first chapter, then from then on, pick a chapter that sounds interesting and skip around. The Ricky Henderson/Pete Incavilia story was a good read, as was the Billy Beane Post season chapter. The Mario Mendoza story is as well.

I've only been a BP reader for about 15 months or so - and I found it a great introduction to baseball statistical analysis.

[jmcclain19]

Spoiler----

The little manifest destiny feller gets it before he gets home.:mooner:

You totally ruined it for me :p:

[Jpup]

"The Hardcore Diaries" by Mick Foley

[pedro]

Just started "The Big Oyster" tonight.