Books. What are you reading?

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Phantom Major · December 18th, 2007, 4:14 pm

currently working on The Game by Neil Strauss very informative book which certainly backs up a few of my theories about women.

#22 Post by **Batmaniak** » December 18th, 2007, 5:03 pm

I've been on a rock biography kick as of late. Currently reading the Zepplin bio "Hammer of the Gods" by Stephen Davis. Just finished the "Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx, "White Line Fever" by Lemmy, "So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer's Life" by Jacob Schliter of Semisonic, and a fake biography of a fake band; "Too Much, Too Late" by Marc Spitz.

I've always got a stack of books going, and I've got a bunch more in the "next" pile including "Shakey" - Neil Young's bio, "Scar Tissue" by Anthony Keedis and "Slash" by, well, Slash...

Zombiezilla · #23 Post by **Zombiezilla** » December 18th, 2007, 5:10 pm

I'm interested in the Slash book. I guess he is pretty harsh on some LA bands, some of whom were not expecting it.

modeljunky · #24 Post by **modeljunky** » December 18th, 2007, 6:01 pm

Batmaniak wrote:
I've always got a stack of books going, and I've got a bunch more in the "next" pile including "Shakey" - Neil Young's bio, "Scar Tissue" by Anthony Keedis and "Slash" by, well, Slash...

My cousin read Scar tissue....said it was great...
The only Rock biography I ever read was Soul Rebel, about Bob Marley..
very good book...

DETHSTRYKER · #25 Post by **DETHSTRYKER** » December 18th, 2007, 6:56 pm

Just got through with Asimov's I, Robot. Starting on 2001: A Space Oddity... Odessey by Arthur C Clarke. then will hit the Iain Banks books./

Monkeywiz · #26 Post by **Monkeywiz** » December 18th, 2007, 7:06 pm

Iain Banks publishes under Iain Banks for fiction and Iain M Banks for Sci Fi, both are good, I enjoy the Sci Fi more, but some of the plain fiction is great too, in fact it was a fiction book of his I picked up whilst bored waiting for someone to finish work when I read the first line of 'The Crow Road' "It was the day my grandmother exploded." that got me interested.

ManthingVT · #27 Post by **ManthingVT** » December 19th, 2007, 6:17 am

Currently, I'm reading The Angel Of Darkness by Caleb Carr, which is the follow up to The Alienist. Both are fantastic books.

I have read Carrion Comfort, Summer Of Night and Song of Kali (?) by Dan Simmons also many years ago and agree he is great and his work is very distinct. I have the Hyperion books (or at least the first couple), but never read them.

Previously, I read the last Harry Potter book. And I was reading the dark Tower series but took a break ( I still need to finish the end of Wizard and Glass).

I listened to the follow up to The Davinci Code on CD a few months back too, which was good.

I have a habit of dropping books easily if they don't really grab me and sometimes going back to them years later. It keeps the reading productivity down a bit I suppose, but at least it keeps me from forcing myself to read just to finish a book. I used to work in publishing in Manhattan and got my pick of review copies and such, so I have HUNDREDS of fantasy, S-F and Horror novels to choose from.

MVT

Misellus · #28 Post by **Misellus** » December 19th, 2007, 7:46 am

ManthingVT wrote:Currently, I'm reading The Angel Of Darkness by Caleb Carr, which is the follow up to The Alienist. Both are fantastic books.

I've read both and enjoyed both. Don't forget to read "Killing Time" by Caleb Carr. It's sci-fi instead of historical fiction, but good.

And yes, it was one of the influences for me to use to name

M-

Todd P. · #29 Post by **Todd P.** » December 19th, 2007, 7:50 am

I just finished The Intruder, a school integration novel by Charles Beaumont. I had to dig to find a 50-year-old used paperback copy of that one online; the book fell apart page by page as I read it. Beaumont was a terrific short-story writer, best known for the stories that led to some of the most memorable Twilight Zone episodes. The Intruder was interesting but not great. I guess that's why it's long out of print. I also recently acquired a DVD of Roger Corman's movie based on the novel but haven't watched it yet.

My daughters and I are now in the final chapters of a much, much better race-relations novel from the same era: Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. That's my all-time favorite. The words "Hey, Boo" always give me a chill.

#30 Post by **razorwyre1** » December 19th, 2007, 10:59 am

time means i only can do audiobooks, but thats ok, cause theyre great for multi-tasking. ive recently finished:
lamb; and the stupidest angel, both by christopher moore (excellent)
dexter in the dark (will upset fans of the tv series)
i am legend (great story hindered by the 50s attitudes.... especially those towards women)

i go through audiobooks like an elephant goes through peanuts.

Zombiezilla · December 19th, 2007, 12:34 pm

ManthingVT wrote:Currently, I'm reading The Angel Of Darkness by Caleb Carr, which is the follow up to The Alienist. Both are fantastic books.

I have read Carrion Comfort, Summer Of Night and Song of Kali (?) by Dan Simmons also many years ago and agree he is great and his work is very distinct. I have the Hyperion books (or at least the first couple), but never read them.

MVT

I loved The Alienist but found Angel more forced. What's the kids name, Stevie? Since he becomes the main character and was a kid Carr had to find ways of keeping him around the proceedings to move the story forward, which lead to odd situations where he was in the heating ducts and such. I just wish he had kept the main character the same as the first book.

I've tried to read Dan Simmons Sci-Fi stuff, but in all honesty Sci-Fi confuses me something terrible. So many phrases and words that you are expected to just know. I spend twice as long reading Sci-Fi as I do anything else just because of how many times I have to re-read everything.

Everybody can quit pointing and laughing now.

FromBeyond138 · December 19th, 2007, 1:21 pm

Im currently reading Yellow River by I.P. Freely.

#33 Post by **Batmaniak** » December 19th, 2007, 1:59 pm

FromBeyond138 wrote:Im currently reading Yellow River by I.P. Freely.

Didn't he write "Rusty Bedsprings" under the pseudonym "I.P. Knightly"?

gothiken · #34 Post by **gothiken** » December 19th, 2007, 2:04 pm

working in a library I have the best of both worlds

im reading "No country for old men" by cormac mccarthy

I loved the Border trilogy....

The Crossing.. one of the most disturbing yet compelling books
ive read

FromBeyond138 · December 19th, 2007, 4:12 pm

Batmaniak wrote:
FromBeyond138 wrote:Im currently reading Yellow River by I.P. Freely.
Didn't he write "Rusty Bedsprings" under the pseudonym "I.P. Knightly"?

Ahhh yes, another classic.

Cliff Green · #36 Post by **Cliff Green** » December 19th, 2007, 8:50 pm

I have read Carrion Comfort, Summer Of Night and Song of Kali (?) by Dan Simmons also many years ago and agree he is great and his work is very distinct. I have the Hyperion books (or at least the first couple), but never read them.

MVT[/quote]

I
I've tried to read Dan Simmons Sci-Fi stuff, but in all honesty Sci-Fi confuses me something terrible. So many phrases and words that you are expected to just know. I spend twice as long reading Sci-Fi as I do anything else just because of how many times I have to re-read everything.

Everybody can quit pointing and laughing now.

[/quote]

I 'm not laughing at you. I have read hundreds of sci-fi books over the years, and some authors are just plain confusing. I read the entire Simmons Hyperion series, and had to choke through more than a few chapters. The whole thing confused me to the point of having to go back and reread complete chapters in order to comprehend his jerky narrative.
I now avoid his books like the plague.

Other sci fi authors who are somewhat perplexing, at least for the first read, are Asimov's Foundation series, and David Brin's last 'Uplift " trilogy. Incidently, Brin's previous Uplift novels ' Brightness Reef", and " The Uplift War", are IMHO, some of the best science fiction novels ever written. Highly recommended.

Zombiezilla · #37 Post by **Zombiezilla** » December 19th, 2007, 9:07 pm

Poul Anderson's books confused me. I struggled with them though due to the raves for Harvest Of Stars, and I got through it and found it enjoyable. I remember very little about it now though.

Scott_Sheltz · December 20th, 2007, 1:05 am

I am reading Gettysburg a Study in Command by Coddington. Great book on the battle

dschoemaker1 · December 20th, 2007, 3:28 am

I'm listening to (Robert Jordan) The Dragon Reborn books - I'm on book 2 - driving to/from work. With a 20 minute drive this should take me through 2008. I belong to Audible's book club so I automatically buy them on the 18th of the month for the next 9 months. (If your a listener you owe it to your wallet to check out Audible's plans - I've "saved" over a thousand dollars in the last three years) I sure hope his Estate gets this series wrapped up by the time I get to the last current book. {Fantasy}

Reading, I just (tonight) picked up House Harkonnen, which is the umpteenth Dune book. Part 2 of a trilogy which covers the 50 or so years pre-Dune. Not as well written as Frank Herbert's originals, but still a good space opera read and I really like the backfill on the different sects. {Science Fiction}

My bathroom book is Superman Doomsday, the hardcover compendium. {Just darn fun}

2007 saw the end of a long American Revolution kick where I read everything I could on the American Revolution; Ron Chernow's Alexander Hamilton, John Adams and 1776 to name a few. It was fascinating how different the authors viewed the "other" founding fathers as compared to the one they were writing about. Some of these guys absolutely hated one another and clearly misunderstood their "rivals" motivations. {Biography/Historical}

Reading/Painting Figs are my two hobbies. My wife knows she can never go wrong buying me a book on painting/color theory.

modeljunky · #40 Post by **modeljunky** » December 20th, 2007, 4:34 am

The last audio book I bought was Junky, by William Birroughs, read by himself

I like to listen to it when I paint...