What's the last book you read?

Before Christmas, I read Jeffrey Toobin's "The Nine" (about SCOTUS) and Eric Clapton's autobiography. I highly recommend both!

What's the last book you read, and was it any good?

Bake

The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. And it is very, very good. :)

Did I ask what you're CURRENTLY READING? Noooooooooooooooooooooooo. I asked what was the LAST book you read.

:rofl:

What's with the elf avatar (I guess that's what that is, unless it's Peter Pan) - I've seen that one popping up all over lately.

Bake

In that case, it was Just Revenge: An Argument Against The Death Penalty (I'm a student)

It's not an elf, it's the actress Audrey Tatou, from the film Amelie. :)

JUST KIDDING PEOPLE!! THIS IS THE LOUNGE!!!

Bake

It's far more political than I thought it would be. What did you think of that Iowa corn farmer who said he was growing corn for the military-industrial complex? He saw right through the bullshit.

and it was GREAT!

But in a totally non-judgmental way, of course!

:hi:

Bake

was the Complete Stories of Truman Capote. Currently reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman (and loving it!)

BEFORE going on to what you're currently reading!

Bake

on standardized tests and depositions.

I've discovered the joys of Neil Gaiman's writing.

I started with the Sandman series, then read Neverwhere, Good Omens and Stardust. I've loved them all, and American Gods even more than the others.

a book of excerpts from some of A. J. Liebling's books. It's still good reading years after the pen was put to paper.

I started reading them all over again.

His last book,btw.

By far, one of, if not my FAVORITE, author. I think I've read all of his works. His Amber series was a masterpiece. Lord of Light was some of the best fiction I've ever read. And, if you've never read "A Rose for Ecclesiastes", you're missing out.

Lord Demon, while not his best work, was an interesting bit on Oriental culture, with a bit of magic thrown in.

Highly recommend it.

I always put a plug in for "Doorways in the Sand" which I enjoy reading evey single time. I read one of his anthologies, "Last Defender of Camelot" a month or so ago as an antidote to having seen "Damnation Alley" at a friend's house.

but it's the most recent Timothy Zahn Star Wars book. :)

I know, I'm a geek.

It's the first step toward recovery!

:hi:

Bake

Why would I want to recover? Geek is the new cool.

no-goodnick brother of the late brilliant humorist Veronica Geng. Not a bad autobiography. He doesn't mask his resentment of his sister's success and his parents one bit. Entertaining.

Before that, "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. Quite good. Talked to a woman who did her doctoral thesis on McCarthy, though, and she said that while she liked it, it struck her as one of his books that was written as though it were going to be made into a movie.

Before that, "The Black Dahlia Avenger," a true crime book in which a former LAPD homicide detective gradually learns that his own father was the killer. A bit repetitive, because the author has quite a case to make, but riveting for people familiar with the famous unsolved case.

...The way this woman wrote is like a miracle. Confident and pure and brilliant and mad. Perfect.

How did she KNOW how to write that stuff? She got IT. Whatever IT is, she got it.

...in this thing. Get me out!"
The porter stood watching him and didn't move.
"Jesus," Haze said. "Jesus."
The porter didn't move. "Jesus been a long time gone," he said in a sour triumphant voice.

Steven Mitchell's new translation/recasting of the 3500 yr. old Babylonian (i.e., Iraq) epic. A lot more engaging than it sounds! :hi:

and really enjoyed his expansion (or maybe I should say, "filling in the gaps") of the story. Great notes, too.

by Philippa Gregory.

Absolutely fabulous book. Very entertaining, and somewhat historically accurate.

I got it for Christmas ironically enough and technically I'm not finished with it but I'm on the last chapter

Formulaic and boring. He should stick to food and travel.

It was great! About an 18-year-old guy who finds out he has a year to live, and he doesn't tell anybody.

Now I'm reading Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti.

by Thomas F. Monteleone.

Good book. VERY creepy.

Now I'm reading her book on writers and writing 'Negotiating with the Dead.'

Blind Assassin was amazing (thanks m_a_p...)

The current one is quite good also.

:hi:

RL

by Barbara Cleverly. A mystery set in India in the 20's, actually the part of India then that is Pakistan now. It's the first book of hers that I've read, am going to get another one when I go to the library on Sat.

I had read it several years ago and it's a fun read. I love Terry Pratchett.

But somebody's gotta do it! Good for you!

Bake

It's the third book in the Golden Compass trilogy. Good stuff. Very imaginative series and a bit meatier than the Harry Potter series. It was deemed rather controversial, due to it's anti-church stance, but that didn't bother me one bit. :D

Before that I read "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. Excellent book! :thumbsup:

I'm reading Fair Game right now. All the redactions are annoying.

now I'm reading "A Prayer for Owen Meany". It's been on my list a while now.

Highly recommended!

I am now reading A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin.

Someone on DU recommended the series before Christmas, so I picked up the first book a couple of weeks back. Great stuff! He certainly doesn't mind killing off his major characters, does he? I'm almost afraid to turn the page sometimes.

good

By Christopher Moore.

It's hilariously awesome, as usual for his stuff. :D

Hoosier Statesman.

I'm on a personal reading project, one comprehensive biography (birth thru death) of each President in order.

I found one book that worked for each President until Harrison. His biographer wrote 3 volumes. Statesman dealt with Harrison's life from after the Civil War (no chickenhawk, this Repub!) up to his election as President.

I read it in jail doin time for a crime my dog did not commit. :D

:hi:

Searching for the Sound:My life with the Grateful Dead

A great read, and very timely for today. Never mind that it was written forty years ago...

Y'know, I don't know why it was classified as "science fiction". It's NOT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_on_Zanzibar

and yes it was good.

Essays about New Orleans. Excellent stuff, and bittersweet, as it was published just before Katrina, and he talks about how New Orleanians joke about expecting "the big one". :cry:

Also just finished Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd--I'm a sucker for any inside scoop on George Harrison.

Now in the middle of Death and the Maidens, about Shelley's influence on all the Wolstonecraft girls (apparently they were all in love with him and the oldest killed herself). A bit more scholarly than I expected, but still good.

**Copyrighted term used with express permission of the licensee, R. Giuliani.

Excellent!

Bake

Nice post, Bernie!:applause: :applause: :applause:

Very sobering.

In the last month, i've re-read John Grisham's "The Bretheren", "The Chamber", "A Time To Kill", and Stephen King's "Pet Sematery"

Figured i had better squeeze in any 'light' reading i was going to do before the semester gets started, and i have to write some insane analysis of Lord Byron or William Blake.

When I read it I kept saying, "THAT'S why I went to law school!!!!" Good one!

Bake

by Barbara Kingsolver


It was great .I love all of her writing.

So, I just finished Eragon and am currently reading Eldest. I have to admit I am enjoying these more than I thought I would. They are pretty well written considering the age of the author. He was 15 when he started writing the first book.

I guess I am a geek. I also enjoyed the Harry Potter books. It is fun reading books with my daughter.

Tracy

The last book I read, see I listened to your question, was Body Surfing by Anita Shreve, she's one of my favs.

However, you lose the bonus for pointing out that you followed instructions. I knew a kid in elementary school just like you ... we all hated her ... "teacher's pet!"

:rofl:

Bake

By Alice Kuipers...very different book...made me cry

Wanted to read it before I saw the movie. It's pretty bleak, but a good read.

Excellent. Bonus points for you!

Bake

yeah, it was good

Right now I'm reading "Wicked" and my son's friend bought me "Son of a Witch" to read when I'm done...

It was fascinating.

It's Good.......

I know, I'm several years late... But I loved it and now I'm reading "World Without End" by Follett..which is not a sequal but takes place in the same town as Pillars 200 years later. Good as well.

by Ayi Kweh Armah. I'd describe it as an African Sartre "Nausea"-esque depiction of 1960s Ghana portrayed through one man's experience as he struggles to reconcile his conscience and ethical compass with the increasingly corrupt environment he finds himself immersed in. Good book.

A novel by a Hungarian author, originally written in German, in French translation (Le Nageur). It's long, lyrical, not in my native language, and I don't get much time to read, so it's slow going, but enjoyable.

On edit: Zsuzsa, not Zsazsa

Bible for King James. Pretty interesting.

Currently reading "Antony And Cleopatra" by Colleen McCullough. Looks like the final book in her 'Masters Of Rome' series. Although I could be wrong; I thought "The October Horse", dealing with Caesar's assassination, would be the last. Incredible well-researched historical fiction.

Let me know how you liked it when you finish it. Perhaps I'll get it for my mom.

during the reign of James I. And a fairly well detailed investigation of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and the repercussions it caused for English Protestants and Catholics alike. The book did an excellent job of placing the translation and publication of the King James Bible in the proper historical context.

Angela's Ashes last month.:blush:

I have to read so much tech and professional stuff I seldom read fiction anymore, unless you count the government economic reports as fiction...:rofl: I crack myself up sometimes. I want to read Kite Runner and A 1000 (something or other dreams suns-I can't remember).

Loved it.

Series (In addition to the Freethinker book I mentioned above), I'm about a 1/3 through Endymion - I enjoyed the first two very much and this one is different (not sure if it's a plus or a minus) but still good and I'm looking forward to reading the Ilium/Olympos books.

I hope to get to it soon.
I've heard it's even better than Ilium and I really enjoyed that. I'm about halfway through Olympos.
Summer of Night is another book by Simmons that I'd recommend.

....ahhhh, so many books, so little time.

Smoke, Mirrors and Murder


Angels And Demons was okay. I liked it better than The DaVinci Code, FWIW. It was fast-paced but predictable.

I've almost finished the first case file in Smoke, Mirrors and Murder.

That sounds interesting

http://www.amazon.com/Ronnie-Autobiography-Wood/dp/0312366523

by Pullman was the last one I finished.

I'm currently reading "Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism" by Susan Jacoby

I highly recommend both.

A good read. Charming story and characters.

It won the Man Booker for 2007. It was okay. I love her use of language but I didn't care that much for the construction of the novel.The topic of family secrets, suicide, child abuse has been done to the death so I guess I found it sort of boring.

Mz Pip
:dem:

804 pages of letters exchanged among the six Mitford sisters from the early teens through 2003. Fascinating.

to my daughter the other night.

for myself, I can't honestly remember. It's been so long.

it was so/so, the only redeeming quality, was that it was loosely tied to the Dark Tower series.

By David Sedaris. Fucking hilarious, I'd recommend it to anyone on a down day

edit for spelling. As usual

"The War for Righteousness: Progressive Christianity, the Great War, and the Rise of the Messianic Nation," by Richard Gamble.

It was excellent...not a page-turner, but good, good insight into our nation and the meme used to support American entrance into WWI.

Next is a re-read (about my 4th time, I think) of Robert Kaplan's "To the Ends of the Earth." Kaplan's "Eastward to Tartary" is also excellent.

He really missed the boat in his conclusions in "Soldiers of God" however.