Doing any recreational reading? v.5.8

justine · Post by **justine** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:03 am

I just finished reading I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali with Delphine Minoui.

Nujood is the youngest divorcee in the world. She was forced into a marriage at 9 or 10 by her father. Her husband forced himself on her after agreeing to wait until she came of age. He raped and beat her repeatedly. She found the courage to escape, and paved the way for other young girls like her. Sadly, the practice of marrying off girls as young as 7 continues in at least 6 other countries in addiction to her own Yemen.

It's a short book at only 176 pages, but i highly recommend it.

Geesie · Post by **Geesie** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 3:43 am

I read a history of the construction of St Peter's last week.
I tried to pick up Mason & Dixon this week but my brain isn't really latching on to it after 12 hour shifts.

DEyncourt · Post by **DEyncourt** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:19 am

At the moment I'm about at the middle of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell which is an alternate history of Great Britain at the time of the Napoleonic Wars in which magic takes place as created by the two title characters. I think the author meant to mimic a style of English literature of that period (but I'm not an English major so this is only a guess). The first part of the book is somewhat stilted in that it is written with the assumption that the reader would have a schoolboy's knowledge of the history of magic in Britain up until the start of the book in 1808, so I'm sure that there are bits and pieces at the start of the novel that would make more sense to me now that I have that schoolboy's knowledge, partially supplied by the copious footnotes.

My paperback edition is 1006 pages so I expect to be at this book for a while (though I might pick up something a bit breezier in a couple of weeks if I haven't finished it by then). While it has won a number of science fiction/fantasy awards, I can only recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading alternate histories because this is particularly detailed.

j_tso · Post by **j_tso** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 7:58 am

I'm in the middle of Starting Grid to Chequered Flag by Paul Frere

It's an autobiographical account of Frere's racing career from his start in 1950 to 1960 when he won the Le Mans 24. What I find most interesting is the casualness of racing back then before it turned into a serious hundred million dollar business. Back then you could enter a Formula 1 grand prix because another driver recommended you, but now you'd have to be able to bring in millions in sponsorship money. It's a really old out of print copy that I only picked up because I read his other book Sports Car and Competition Driving.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 11:18 am

I picked up a copy of "The Stainless Steel Rat Returns", but I haven't started it yet.

mmaverick · Post by **mmaverick** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 12:16 pm

I'm reading a wise man's fear it's book two in a series. It's good, but I really have to start reading books once the series is finished. I think I have about 10 on the go right now.

belloq451 · Post by **belloq451** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 2:08 pm

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Don Quixote.

After that's done, it's a toss-up between The City of God by St. Augustine, The Stand by Stephen King, and Consider Phlebas by Iain Banks.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 4:19 pm

mmaverick wrote: I'm reading a wise man's fear it's book two in a series. It's good, but I really have to start reading books once the series is finished. I think I have about 10 on the go right now.

That's something that's irritating me about Sci-Fi/Fantasy right now. It seems like everyone is writing serials, and I might run upon "Volume 4 of the Big Long Epic", and I'm like "so, where's V.1 ?"
And they aren't really put together in ways that you can easily discern the books that belong together. You might have to dig and hunt for the previous books, and in lots of stores (Walmart), you won't find them at all, because they don't keep "old" books, just the last couple of months print run.

jkahless · Post by **jkahless** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:32 pm

I'm reading Pattern Recognition by Gibson. I've got exams on the go right now though, so it's pretty slow going. Interesting book thus far.

Old Yoda · Post by **Old Yoda** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:45 pm

I'm reading A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

justine · Post by **justine** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:21 pm

OldYoda wrote: I'm reading A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

Are you having trouble sleeping?

Donkey Butter · Post by **Donkey Butter** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:31 pm

finished War and Peace about a month ago. Didn't like it as much as Anna Karenina. and I think I'm done with Tolstoy.

I just can't get the line form W&P out of my head. "Sergey Kuzmich, From all sides…" anyone else that read this book get that line stuck in your head?

Old Yoda · Post by **Old Yoda** » Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:46 pm

justine wrote:
OldYoda wrote: I'm reading A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn.

Are you having trouble sleeping?

It is a fascinating revelation of how we got to where we are.

It is available on line here, chapter by chapter.

user · Post by **user** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:45 am

I've got People's History, too. I picked up a copy right after he died. Like most books right now, I've read a little then put it down meaning to get back to it later.

What I've read was very interesting and enlightening.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:15 am

I cant read like I used to. My eyes get tired much sooner, and I end up putting the book aside. [/old guy rant]

Might be a good argument for e-books. Can you increase the font size on a Kindle ? (surely!)

Ribtor · Post by **Ribtor** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:23 am

Donkey Butter wrote: finished War and Peace about a month ago. Didn't like it as much as Anna Karenina. and I think I'm done with Tolstoy.

I just can't get the line form W&P out of my head. "Sergey Kuzmich, From all sides…" anyone else that read this book get that line stuck in your head?

You mean Tolstoy's "War, What is it Good For"?
Not a fan.
Anna Karenina is the best fiction I've yet read.

I just finished Robert Ludlum's "Parsifal Mosaic".

I try to read a book a week.

justine · Post by **justine** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:43 am

DukeofNuke wrote: I cant read like I used to. My eyes get tired much sooner, and I end up putting the book aside. [/old guy rant]

Might be a good argument for e-books. Can you increase the font size on a Kindle ? (surely!)

Yes, you can increase the font size.

"Adjustable Text Size
Kindle has eight adjustable font sizes to suit your reading preference. You can increase the text size of your favorite book or periodical with the push of a button. If your eyes tire, simply increase the font size and continue reading comfortably. Now every book in your library can be large print."

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:44 pm

Cool,

(I'd still prefer an iPad)

ScifiterX · Post by **ScifiterX** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 1:52 pm

I have a bit of a backlog due to school and such. Among my unread items I own are Dragongirl by Todd McCaffrey (HC), Catacombs: A Tale of the Barque Cats by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (HC), and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (Kindle). I also keep checking out and returning Catalyst: A Tale of the Barque Cats by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (HC).

I don't have a Kindle but the Kindle Apps work fine.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 2:06 pm

I like Anne McCaffrey.
I thought "The Crystal Singer" books were better than (what I read of ) the Dragonriders.

ScifiterX · Post by **ScifiterX** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:00 pm

They were but she has not written anything I would've consider bad by any stretch. The Pern series is just a bit more complex than most people can track. 26 (soon to be 27) canonical novels (including those authored and co-authored by her son Todd), a several short stories in a number of anthology works, and 5 companion books and supplemental materials not authored by the McCaffrey's covering more than two millennia are a lot to digest.

DEyncourt · Post by **DEyncourt** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 4:23 pm

One thing you might note about Anne McCaffrey is that in an interview many years ago she somewhat proudly noted that her input into her "co-"authored books was to make some changes in a book which was largely written by the other writer in a McCaffery-like style. I was very dismayed to hear that and it makes me wonder about most such co-authored books where there is a well-established and beloved author's name appearing above (and often in a much larger font than) his or her co-author's name like this for example:

user · Post by **user** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 6:25 pm

I never bother with those titles anymore.

Although Card did co-write a real good one about a sentient monkey.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:36 pm

anybody read "The Gaea Trilogy" by John Varley ?

ScifiterX · Post by **ScifiterX** » Thu Jun 23, 2011 11:16 pm

Not yet

Ender · Post by **Ender** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 2:49 pm

These are the books that I'm reading right now (I'm anywhere from a third to halfway through all of them):

A Game of Thrones
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
White Teeth
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Brain Rules

DEyncourt · Post by **DEyncourt** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 4:35 pm

DukeofNuke wrote: anybody read "The Gaea Trilogy" by John Varley ?

I did and enjoyed it immensely even though I had to wait years between the publications of Titan, Wizard and Demon.

I have picked up just about every title that Varley has published and at his best I think he is among the best SF writers (please note: I did not add "currently writing"). There might be some who will object to some unconventional ideas he has regarding sex--some of which appears in the Gaea Trilogy--so if this is a hot button issue for you then you should bypass this and any novels/story collections taking place in the Ophiuchi Hotline universe (which has nothing to do with the Gaea Trilogy). To be clear: these are the only writings of Varley where this might be a problem.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 4:52 pm

A 50 foot tall Marilyn Monroe having sex with King Kong and immediately giving birth to a circus parade is "some unconventional ideas he has regarding sex" ...

Where'd you ever get that idea ?!

ukimalefu · Post by **ukimalefu** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 5:58 pm

DukeofNuke wrote: A 50 foot tall Marilyn Monroe having sex with King Kong and immediately giving birth to a circus parade is "some unconventional ideas he has regarding sex" ...

Where'd you ever get that idea ?!

Rule 34?

Err... I mean... What!?

StaticAge · Post by **StaticAge** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:58 am

In the past few months, I read Visit From the Goon Squad, Bangkok 8, The Lock Artist, Blackout & All Clear, LA Rex, Zero History, and a bunch of stuff like various works by Donald Davidson, John McDowell, Max Scheler, and Heidegger etc.

On the bed table now is Bangkok Tattoo, a psychology textbook on attention (the Attentive Brain), and works by Davidson and critical essays on Kierkegaard, and MG Piety/ Marylin Foley's latest, and a rough draft of a novel by a friend.

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:48 pm

Everyone should read "Under The Roofs Of Paris", aka "Opus Pistorum" by Henry Miller.

Post by dv » Sat Jul 09, 2011 9:40 pm

I bought a Kindle. Spent some time on isohunt and am now reading a lot of things... a lot of a lot.

Today I read Tom Clancy's SSN, Stuff White People Like, and 1/2 of a book on body language. I'm now trying out Starship Titanic.

Warin · Post by **Warin** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:18 pm

I am working my way through all 15 books of the Deverry cycle by Katharine Kerr, currently on number 11, The Fire Dragon. Brilliant series of fantasy novels in a pseudo-Celtic world where magic is real. I can whole heartedly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy.

I'll be starting "A Dance with Dragons" as soon as I can get it on Tuesday

blurt · Post by **blurt** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 11:55 pm

I've been a non-fiction reader almost exclusively since childhood. An ex-girlfriend coaxed me into reading the works of Tom Robbins, and it has provided some insights into human nature.

In that spirit, I'm currently reading The Fort, by Bernard Cornwell. It's depressingly predictable. Military men would do such predictable things. I haven't finished it yet, though.

justine · Post by **justine** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 1:10 am

DukeofNuke wrote: Everyone should read "Under The Roofs Of Paris", aka "Opus Pistorum" by Henry Miller.

Why?

DukeofNuke · Post by **DukeofNuke** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 10:37 am

justine wrote:
DukeofNuke wrote: Everyone should read "Under The Roofs Of Paris", aka "Opus Pistorum" by Henry Miller.

Why?

Have you read it ? (I should have mentioned it is "Adults Only" )
It is a rare combination of literature by pornography. It's also a great party game.
Ask someone to open to any page and begin reading aloud . Embarrassment and hilarity ensues .

justine · Post by **justine** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 12:34 pm

DukeofNuke wrote:
justine wrote:
DukeofNuke wrote: Everyone should read "Under The Roofs Of Paris", aka "Opus Pistorum" by Henry Miller.

Why?

Have you read it ? (I should have mentioned it is "Adults Only" )
It is a rare combination of literature by pornography. It's also a great party game.
Ask someone to open to any page and begin reading aloud . Embarrassment and hilarity ensues .

I haven't read it. I wanted to know why you said everyone should. I'd never even heard of it, that's why i asked.

Alexander Supertramp · Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:46 pm

I'm reading Those Guys Have All The Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Miller and Tom Shales.

It's an almost 800-page overly-detailed look at the history of ESPN, told mostly through interviews with the people involved. And it's awesome.

blurt · Post by **blurt** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:02 pm

DukeofNuke wrote:
justine wrote:
DukeofNuke wrote: Everyone should read "Under The Roofs Of Paris", aka "Opus Pistorum" by Henry Miller.

Why?

Have you read it ? (I should have mentioned it is "Adults Only" )
It is a rare combination of literature by pornography. It's also a great party game.
Ask someone to open to any page and begin reading aloud . Embarrassment and hilarity ensues .

I'd like to go to one of your parties. I'd definitely bring the SO. She's shameless.

mmaverick · Post by **mmaverick** » Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:50 pm

I'm also listening to the Dresden books for the billionth time.

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