What is the last book you read? What book are you reading right now? and How often?

[coreshot-tourettes]

Current:
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmund Morris
Fucking hilarious and engaging book about Theodore Roosevelt's rise to the Presidency.

Last:
John Adams, by David McCullough
Pretty good book about John Adams's life

[DharmaBum]

Just started the Dharma Bums (again) by Kerouac.

Yeah, that one was somewhat inspirational for me.




Currently reading Sacred Summits: John Muir's Greatest Climbs.

I've heard that Paul Auster has a new book coming out, or just out recently. That will be next on my list.

2nd the John Adams bio...read that last summer and really enjoyed it.

[DJ2]

Quartered Safe Out Here -- the war memoirs of George MacDonald Fraser

[StraightFlush]

Last:

The Cold Six Thousand by James Ellroy - Crime/fiction set in the 1960's.

Current:

Bringing Down The House by Ben Mezrich - How six students took Vegas for millions.

[vinzclortho]

working on The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy, just finished book 1: All the Pretty Horses and going to start working on book 2: The Crossing probably next weekend.


Really a fun read! I got inspired to read his work by watching No Country For Old Men a couple times. I definitely dug the book although some of the Spanish conversations I didn't understand and some the descriptions of places and things I didn't get either as I'm a New Englander and the things he's describing are in west Texas. I mean as far as I know, an arroyo was a young pitcher for the Red Sox when they won the WS in 2004.

In all seriousness though, I really enjoy McCarthy's work and am stoked I still have another 600 or so pages of books to read.


Also read The Sunset Limited by McCarthy in about an hour and 1/2, odd but cool little screen play.

[BeanDip4All]

reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Polan.

Very interesting read on the problems of industrial agriculture, benefits of local food production and sustainability.

Would highly, highly recommend.

[Griz]

Just started my summer fiction kick again - reading a collection of short stories by Mark Helprin called The Pacific. Some great stuff in there on love and beauty.

[Daywalker]

reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Polan.

Nice. Definitely on my list but haven't gotten around to it. Did you ever read The China Study?

Last Book:
Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond). Re-read to prepare for...

Current Book:
Collapse (Jared Diamond). I really enjoy the knowledge contained in Diamond's books and the way in which is presented. I realize that some of what he says is his interpretation, but he always states assumptions and what they are based on.

[BestofShow]

Current - "Blink" by Malcom Caldwell
Discusses unconscious vs. conscious decision making. Makes you look at all interactions in a new way.
I read another book last year by Gladwell - "The Tipping Point" also a good read.

Last read - "Blind Side" by Michael Lewis.

[SuperGaper]

Blackwater- by Jeremy Scahill. Very interesting profile of Blackwater and it's founder... quite the profitable endeavor with very little accountability for it's actions.

The Coldest Winter- by David Halberstam. Excellent account of the largely forgotten Korean Conflict. A study in MacArthur's (and his staff of yes men's) hubris.

Legacy of Ashes- by Tim Weiner. A history of the CIA who it seems didn't realize much success, especially in the early years. USSR had our number from the get go, and attempts to manipulate the goings on in Eastern Europe and China were met with the deaths of many valiant people.

Hog Pilots, Blue Water Grunts- Robert D. Kaplan. Follow up to Imperial Grunts, his profile of Special Forces in Yemen, Mongolia, Colombia, the Phillipines, Iraq and Afghanistan. In this book he chronicles the day to day lives and attitudes of sailors, A-10 pilots and others stationed all over the world.

[dookeyXXX]

Just finished Wormwood, a collection of short horror stories by Poppy Z. Brite.

Am wading through Brite's The Value of X novella (the precursor to her New Orleans cooking/restaurant books Liquor, Prime, Soul Food), and just started Dishwasher.

[Schmear]

I recently finished Five Skies and Out Stealing Horses. I recommend both.

[Obstruction]

The Papers of Samuel Marchbanks
A collection of very short pieces by Robertson Davies writing as his wity and curmudgeonly alter ego. I really like having this type of book bedside when I only want to read two or three pages.

I agree with pechelman Davies knows how to use the language.

Also been going through Adrian Mckinty's Dead Trilogy (Dead Yard, Dead I Well May Be, and Bloomsday Dead). Fast paced crime stuff with a ruthless Northern Irish protagonist. Good stories, funny in spots plenty of tension.

[Sparky]

Quartered Safe Out Here -- the war memoirs of George MacDonald Fraser

Fecking excellent read, very good writer.

[Stone-Free]

"Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" - by Richard Louv

[Obstruction]

Fecking excellent read, very good writer.

GMF passed away in Jan. of this year as I greedily awaited more Flashman. Requiem et Pax

[RedWolf]

Finished the Dharma Bums, starting The End of Oil: On the Edge of a Perilous New World by Paul Roberts tomorrow.

Last Book:
Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond). Re-read to prepare for...

Current Book:
Collapse (Jared Diamond). I really enjoy the knowledge contained in Diamond's books and the way in which is presented. I realize that some of what he says is his interpretation, but he always states assumptions and what they are based on.

GG&S was my first Diamond book, and I really enjoyed it. What do you think of Collapse thus far? I think it'll be one of the next that I pick up...

[ICEHOCEY77]

Just finished the last lecture, it was alright.


Don't have a new book yet, other than trying to study for the GMAT.


Think I'll pick up the Clapton autobiography.

[GBB]

The Omnivore's Dilemma and Collapse are both extremely interesting books.

I need to pick up some of the books mentioned in this thread.

[Hugh Conway]

All the King's Men. A must read.

[Daywalker]

GG&S was my first Diamond book, and I really enjoyed it. What do you think of Collapse thus far? I think it'll be one of the next that I pick up...

I'm really enjoying it so far. It draws interesting parallels to today's society without being outwardly alarmist. I'm about a 1/4 of the way through and am finding there are not as many "leaps" (in assupmtion) but it also lacks a bit of the "hmmm" factor of GGS. One of the things I really liked about GGS was that I learned something new every paragraph or two. That being said, it's reading great and I think it's just a slightly different topic & style.

[adam]

Last finished One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, I liked it.
Introduction to Metaphysics by Martin Heidegger

Not as tedious as I thought it would be so far.

[Superstar Punani]

Last Book:

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku
Quantum physics, parallel universe, hyperspace and shit like dat.

Current Books:

Disclosure : Military and Government Witnesses Reveal the Greatest Secrets in Modern History by Stephen Greer
Real life X Files shit. UFOs, coverups, reverse engineered technology.Tin foil hat optional.

Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis by Mark Bowden
Bowden (better known for Blackhawk Down) details the shit that went down based on firsthand accounts from captives and their captors. This makes you feel like you were right there.

[Jer]

Last: The Zombie Survival Manual

Now: Some Army/Marine manual on counter insurgency written by some General dude.

[Fellin34]

Last: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly really an amazing book and a quick read.

Now: All the Pretty Horses. No Country For Old Men, the movie, intrested me in more Cormac McCarthy. just started so i'll let you know