Jump to content

What Books Are You Guys Reading?


Recommended Posts

As it turns out, I almost started Infinite Jest today, but decided that I'd wait until May 4th when my finals are over, but I'm excited to read it again.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • Replies 978
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Posts

It's fun to look up that race and see how they all turned out.

I finally started reading Moneyball yesterday. I'm about halfway through and so far it's great. I'm really happy I'm finally reading it.   It's fun to insta lookup all the players they talk about

Done and done. Man, that was epic.

I am having a hard time with this book. I usually read before bed and sometimes before work if I have a little time, that's like 2 pages with this book. I often just find myself not messing with it. I probably need to carve out a few hours to do some damage to it. I'm around 110 pages and still don't have a friggin' clue what the hells going on. It's also very tedious writing and I often find myself re-reading lines and text to see if I missed something or if there was anything that might be remotely important about it. The footnotes suck as well. They often are obvious, explaining a medical symptom or something. Others are 6 pages. BTW, there is a massive footnote that's a dozen pages or so, #304 that has been noted already under #304sub. Should I read that whole thing now or wait? Please to god I hope this picks up because I have a stack of books calling my name.
It's a young man's book.I wasn't actually sure what to do with the references to future foot notes, but I never bothered reading ahead in them. By page 200 you should have a pretty good idea whats going on, and everything will start to flow a bit better.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Snowcrash, eh?I really enjoy Neal Stephenson's writing. It's dense yet fluid, serious yet playfully humourous, knowledgable yet not pedantic. My summer reads will likely be the 2nd and 3rd books of the Baroque Cycle. Cryptonomicon was an absolute pleasure to read and may very well have had an influence on the LOST creators.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Rereading James Herriott's book, now I have to go buy the rest of them...I spent all day crossing out his name and writing in Speedz just in case I get asked to be in the secret santa one year...

Link to post
Share on other sites
Snowcrash, eh?I really enjoy Neal Stephenson's writing. It's dense yet fluid, serious yet playfully humourous, knowledgable yet not pedantic. My summer reads will likely be the 2nd and 3rd books of the Baroque Cycle. Cryptonomicon was an absolute pleasure to read and may very well have had an influence on the LOST creators.
Sounds like some recommendations in there for me. I started out this year planning to read 50-100 books. Now not only do I have grad school in August, but it turns out I will be teaching two undergraduate writing courses, so I have to show up on campus in late June to prepare for that. That will cut into my reading time, I'm afraid.
Link to post
Share on other sites
Just finished "Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said" by Philip K. Dick. Man, PKD was so awesome. I think this one was written just before he started to really lose his shit and the book kind of walks that line too... but I guess all his books do that a bit. The plot starts with a famous singer/talk show host waking up to find out that no one recognizes him or even knows that he exists any more.
This sounds awesome. I've not read any PKD books yet but I have seen films based on his works of course, and I watched a documentary about him which was just fascinating. What book would you recommend as a first PKD? Something I'm familiar with from a film, or one like the book you just read, which would be completely new to me?
Link to post
Share on other sites

The Complete Works of SakiBest taken in small doses. His good stories are among the best ever written, but when he misses it's like a drunken rambling uncle with alzheimers. I'd say it's about 1/5 great, 2/5 OK, and the rest just pointless.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Is anyone on this "Shelfari" website? I just found out about it. Basically you just tell it what you've read or want to read and it makes a little bookshelf for you and helps you keep track etc. I made a profile, even though I'll probably forget about it soon. For example you can see my sparse little 'shelf' here: http://www.shelfari.com/straightnochaser/shelfWell, if anyone else joins you should add me as a friend and maybe it'll be fun. Otherwise don't worry about it, ok?

Link to post
Share on other sites
Is anyone on this "Shelfari" website? I just found out about it. Basically you just tell it what you've read or want to read and it makes a little bookshelf for you and helps you keep track etc. I made a profile, even though I'll probably forget about it soon. For example you can see my sparse little 'shelf' here: http://www.shelfari.com/straightnochaser/shelfWell, if anyone else joins you should add me as a friend and maybe it'll be fun. Otherwise don't worry about it, ok?
Okay, I signed up and played around with it a little. I go through about 50 books a year and forget more than remember so this will be a great place to look up books i've read and store books I want to read and get ideas from others. Pretty cool and thanks, you're a peach.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Web Analytics 2.0: The Art of Online Accountability and Science of Customer Centricity by Avinash Kaushik.I find his aesthetic forced and the storyline slightly derivative, however, the loftily styled narrative makes for easy bedtime reading.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
anyone have any books on ancient rome to recomend? i've been getting an itch after listening to the history of rome podcast religiously.
You will LOVE The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, by Gregory(?) Wilkin. It's not history in the same vein as the History of Rome podcast, which I also love (to mix ancient cultures, it's the Platonic form of podcasts). But it's about how Roman philosophers interacted with this new philosophy in their midst and how the dialogue shaped both sides.You might also like Cruelty and Civilization: The Roman Games by Roland Auguet; obviously, about the gladiator games, chariot races, tossing of various folks to various beasts, and the Roman culture of fun and games. I used it as a source in writing my book and I believe it's in my inventory of excess books I'm selling on Amazon.
Link to post
Share on other sites

As just mentioned above, I'm selling off some books on Amazon, thinning my library of books I've read and don't love enough to keep. Lately, I also listed a bunch of books I've owned for years and not gotten around to reading. I figured if they sold, then I'd read them before shipping if I was still interested.Well, in a sudden run, I sold 15 books last week. Thirteen of them were books I decided on the spur of the moment to read after all. Since I'm supposed to ship fairly immediately, that meant I basically dropped everything and read thirteen books in seven days, an unusually intense run even for me. They were:The Happiness Trap, Russ Harrisabout Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, a self-help/psych book. Meh.Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, Thich Nhat Hanhalways good Buddhist writer50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know, Adrian FurnhamI love the "50 [blank] Ideas" books. They're like a British version of a [blank] for Dummies series, which is to say they're not for dummies but aimed at college-educated laypeople. I've read the books on Psych and Genetics and found both very good. Even read, I'm not selling them. They're going into my keeper library because they're such good general references.Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture, Jan Ellen Lewis & Peter Onuf, Eds.OMG, I loved this book! I was selling it because I'd owned it for years and hadn't gotten around to reading it. As soon as I finished it, though, I put another used copy in my cart, because I want to keep this one -- and of the 100-plus books I've sold, that's the only time I've done that. If you're at all curious about the Jefferson/Hemings relationship, this book is the place to start and finish.Acedia & Me, Kathleen Norrismemoir/self-help about depression and spirituality. Not bad, a little repetitive. Could have been shorter.Citizens, Simon Schama900-page history of the French Revolution. Da noiv of that buyer -- making me read a 900-page book in two days!Mr. Jefferson’s Women, Jon KuklaMore about Jefferson, this time all his major relationships. The book above is far better.Spook Country, William GibsonMy husband's. I read it quickly. Okay, liked Snowcrash more.Certain Trumpets, Garry WillsMeh.The Burgermeister’s Daughter, Steven OzmentMeh.Voudou Visions, Sallie Ann GlassmanVery good if you're interested in voodoo. Obscure topic, but I like syncretic faiths.The Greatest Stories Never Told, Rick BeyerBite-sized history bits. Breezy and enjoyable, but mental bubble gum.Coming to Our Senses, Jon Kabat-ZinnMindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and general meditation/Buddhism/self-help/psych. Good, but at 600 pages, could have been shorter.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
I am having a hard time with this book. I usually read before bed and sometimes before work if I have a little time, that's like 2 pages with this book. I often just find myself not messing with it. I probably need to carve out a few hours to do some damage to it. I'm around 110 pages and still don't have a friggin' clue what the hells going on. It's also very tedious writing and I often find myself re-reading lines and text to see if I missed something or if there was anything that might be remotely important about it. The footnotes suck as well. They often are obvious, explaining a medical symptom or something. Others are 6 pages. BTW, there is a massive footnote that's a dozen pages or so, #304 that has been noted already under #304sub. Should I read that whole thing now or wait? Please to god I hope this picks up because I have a stack of books calling my name.
How are you making out?I just started it and I am the same point that you were above.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Comfortably Numb: How Psychiatry is Medicating the Nation, by Charles Barber.Outstanding examination of the evolution of Big Pharma, the history of psychiatric approaches to depression, the explosive growth of antidepressant use, and non-drug alternatives. Unlike many polemicists on the issue, Barber is balanced. He spent years working with hardcore mentally ill -- homeless, treatment-resistant, schizophrenic, and those who were frequent fliers at inpatient asylums, and he's not anti-drug: he says he's seen the remarkable turnarounds people can make on the right drug. But he believes drugs are wildly overprescribed (and statistically ineffective) for the "worried well," people who are functional but relatively mildly depressed (relative to his clients, that is). I've known many people on the antidepressant merry-go-round, taking one drug after another or several in combination, and I've taken them myself. Everyone who takes an antidepressant should read this book.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 4 weeks later...

Girl With a Dragon TattooI read it in four days, two of which were normal work days for me. I was reading quickly because I wanted to watch the movie. The book is very good, and I'll be reading the next in the series, after I take a little break.I've also started reading the Walking Dead series.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Girl With a Dragon TattooI read it in four days, two of which were normal work days for me. I was reading quickly because I wanted to watch the movie. The book is very good, and I'll be reading the next in the series, after I take a little break.I've also started reading the Walking Dead series.
I just heard it was movie, *sigh* I mean why make it a movie? It's already a BOOK!Anyway, excellent series with the followiing 2 books being better which is rare. Definately some of my favorite fiction/mystery. Sucks the author died though.Oh, and i've been meaning to give kudos to Harlen Coben and his Myron Bolitar series. The latest book Caught was excellent (though not Myron) it is set in the same town and some characters are the same.
Link to post
Share on other sites
I just heard it was movie, *sigh* I mean why make it a movie? It's already a BOOK!Anyway, excellent series with the followiing 2 books being better which is rare. Definately some of my favorite fiction/mystery. Sucks the author died though.Oh, and i've been meaning to give kudos to Harlen Coben and his Myron Bolitar series. The latest book Caught was excellent (though not Myron) it is set in the same town and some characters are the same.
The movie was very good, some story lines were simplified, but the violence was not.
Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

Announcements


×
×
  • Create New...