Just finished 'The Cold War' by John Lewis Gaddis. I found in to be written in easy to understand language while at the same time being extremely compelling. Pete
Okay, so I did it again... I set aside a book shortly after starting it, picked up another book, and read it. I've set aside gonzo marketing. I picked up a young reader book: It was a fun, fast read, at first, it felt a little condescending, but then I remembered it was written for a younger audience. Surprisingly dense with mythology references... The author seems to have done his research. Then, my school library started culling. A dime per paperback. My TBR list is growing... Now I've picked up and started on H.G. Wells' Food of the Gods. I'm enjoying it, so far.
time to kickstart this thread again. Just finished Creepers by David Morrell. I was looking for escapism. Nothing deep, nothing literary. Here's what you need to know before you pick up a copy: Pros- interesting plot involving an urban exploration group. They're out to explore a creepy old hotel in Asbury Park. It's a simple plot that holds lots of promise. But then... Cons- shallow characterization. Everyone's a walking, talking stereotype. This wouldn't be so bad if the plot didn't depend so heavily on a series of extremely contrived Amazing Coincidences. So shallow characters + extremely contrived plot = a not so great book, even if you're just looking for light escapist reading. I knew nothing about the author until I finished the book and looked up reviews online. He's the guy that wrote Rambo. I think this book could be accurately described as "Rambo explores a creepy hotel." If anyone wants my copy you can have it, although it would be really nice if you would send me a book, too. I'm in a reading mood these days.
Just finished the Robert Parker westerns: Appaloosa, Resolution and Brimstone. Excellent stuff and I'm not usually into the western genre. Now reading the latest Sue Grafton, "U is for Undertow."
Recently finished H.G. Wells' Food of the Gods. It was interesting. It was written at a time when language was still quite formal, and had a quaint "old world" feel to it, but the story structure was much more modern and contemporary. It was kind of a weird mesh of old and new that was a little unsettling at first, but once I found the rhythm of the book, I found it to be a quite enjoyable read. If you've not read it, I should warn you that modern readers might find the ending rather abrupt, but I found that it was appropriate. I followed that up with The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall. The book was a loaner from someone at church that felt inspired by it and thought I would enjoy it, too. It was pretty much what I expected. I guess I'm jaded, but sometimes "message" stories just leave me feeling a little flat. If Hallmark movies are your sort of thing, you would probably love this book. If you read a lot of Christian fiction, you probably would find it a pleasurable read. It was well written, if not predictable, and it carried a good message. I found that it did challenge me to evaluate myself in a few areas, and I suppose that's a good thing. Check it out, it's a quick read. Now I'm working on Rudyard Kipling's Kim. But I fear my reading will slow down as I focus more on my 200 movie challenge. * *note the image shown for this cover is not necessarily the same cover available for sale on the subsequent link.
Reading Oscar Wylde's Portrait of Dorian Gray. Listening to the audiobook of Chuck Klosteram's Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story.
just found this thread, did anything ever come of the swap idea? I'm currently reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values from Robert M. Pirsig.
nope. nothing came of it. I've got a few stacks of previously read paperbacks I'd be willing to send your way. send me a PM if you're interested in working something out. As for what I'm reading: Apologia Pro Vita Sua by John Henry Newman. The Catechism of the Catholic Church Second Edition. And... Father Elijah by Michael D. O Brien.
well that's unfortunate, i thought this would be an interesting idea, let me take a look on the shelf and see what i've got
More Hemingway finished Islands in the Stream, The Snows of Kilimanjaro and started one other book of short stories I can't recall right now...
My current read I'm mostly a sci-fi nut, all the heady stuff, like Clark, Niven, Asimov, Herbert, but there's tons of other stuff I'm a fan of, too. Currently, I'm back to reading Koontz: the XP books he wrote about Christopher Snow. I started that set today, and I'm remembering all the details from the last read, which was totallly awesome. Just finished the Odd Thomas series; that one's a lot of fun. Before that, I read Space by James Michener. I'm into big, epic stories, so anything with either lots of books in the series or long books to read is a must in my library. Mostly fantasy, sci-fi, or military related, in the vein of W.E.B. Griffin to Ken Follett. Basically anything totally immersive, so much so that the world around me ceases to be. Don't know what I'm going to read when I'm done with the 2 Koontz books, though. Been reading since I was 3, so I've covered a lot of territory. My Ma passed a little over a year ago, and part of my inheritance was all of her books (minus one or two my father wanted). It took me nearly three years, but I managed to get her to read the Odd Thomas books, just a year or so before she passed, and she all all four, so those definitely have a special meaning for me (she never cared for thrillers or scary titles, took me nearly a decade to get her to read Green Mile and the Stand). I'm thinking of getting back into Follett, which she had a bunch of, and I now have. Don't know, though. If anyone's got epic stories in mind, let me know, and I'll check my list to see if I've already read it (like I said, I've been reading since I was 3, so that's more than two and a half decades spent in front of a book, ruining my eyesight).
Epic, just epic. Can't get enough of that world, spent two months reading all of them (I think there's at least ten).
See, here's the thing: it's only fiction! I personally thought to book was very good, if a little stilted at the end. But, the biggest problem I had was how much controversy it created by it's use of the Catholic Church as antagonist. Too many people took the story far too seriously, when it was only a work of fiction, which the author clearly states at the beginning of the book in the preface (this was in the preface of the 1st edition I've got, so the author knew some wouldn't like the story). I myself have views in my faith that aren't the social norm in my community, but I was able to interpret the story as a work of fiction, not one making a direct attack on the Church.
Finally finished Kipling's Kim this last weekend. It was interesting. I've heard it described as "an embarrassing novel" because of how it presents the British occupation of India. As you read it, though, you can just imagine the Indian countryside. It's a little "trodgy" for my modern, unsophisticated eyes, but I found my way through and discovered an interesting story about a young boy finding a father figure in an old, Chinese Buddhist monk. It is interesting to note, too, that Kipling's presentation of Buddhism and Islam mainly only highlighted the similarities of both religions to more conventional Christianity. Of course, I could have been reading a subtext into it that wasn't there. Now, I've started on Hunt at World's End.
happy097:happy097 Hilarious! I just finished World Without End sequel to Pillars of the Earth It's a good read. goshawk
I just finished "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin. The author is one of the discoverers of Tiktaalik - the "missing link" between fish and land dwelling creatures. The book is about the evolutionary transitions that led from fish to reptiles to mammals to humans. Written for the layman and really an excellent read IMO. Now I'm reading "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History" by James Carroll a former priest. The book explores the history of relations between the Catholic church and the Jews from the days of Jesus through various antisemitic phases to the present. He tends to ramble a bit about his personal experiences and feelings but the historical writing is well done and extensively footnoted.
I felt the same way. A decent read with good suspense and a few nice twists that let me down a bit at the end. I really don't know why people get exercised about stuff like this. I mentioned the book to one of my fellow lectors at church and he made it clear he would never read it and thought it was a shame that anyone would. I suspect he ratted me out to our priest. Luckily father George is less fanatically catholic than some of his parishioners.
