I would highly recommend the following which I read on a recently flight.

Its not about the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. Great book about the triumph of the human spirit. You don't need to know anything about Lance Armstrong or even care about cycling, there are things in this book that can inspire and teach anyone.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad. This book is about 200 pages of easy to read text and examples and I it will probably change your view about money altogether. It isn't something that'll give you stock tips or any kind of concrete advice, but I found it very valuable as something to think about and build curiosity for other subjects.

Hedgemony of Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance. I haven't completely finished this new book from Noam Chomsky, but I would highly recommend it to everyone. From what I have read so far the book is not editorial in nature, it simply presents the facts and doesn't blame anyone for our current policy. So far I have actually found it very fascinating as it discusses how we got to where we are today (i.e. Iraq) and how that policy can be traced back in history. I'd say this is required reading for both camps.

Currently I'm reading 'Joseph Banks' by Patrick O'brian (Very interesting).
Before that I read;
'Big Sur' by Jack Kerouac (awful)
'The Conquest of Gaul' by Julius Caesar (slightly interesting)
'Snow Crash' by Neal Stephenson (hmmm.... )
'Solaris' by Stanislaw Lem (Good, but a bit dull)
'Slaughter house five' by Kurt Vonnegut (Brilliant! and even better for having been read just after 'The Prince')
'A Christmas carol' by Charles Dickens (short and sweet)
'The Prince' by Niccolò Machiavelli (Astute, amusing and entertaining)

Have you guys ever thought about starting a kinda book club?

I'm delighted that someone else is reading Snow Crash (though possibly a bit dated at this stage), which I think is brilliant and hilarious. You might also enjoy Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which in some respects is even better, and - if you have a lot of time on your hands and are interested in 17th Century European history (and science and religion and politics and commerce and royalty and invention and piracy) - his "Baroque Trilogy" (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System of the World) is amazing.

I'm also delighted that someone else has found The Prince as amusing as I did. I think few people appreciate how thoroughly entertaining it is. I'll have to take another look at Slaughterhouse Five now. (There's a fairly good film version of Slaughterhouse Five, as well, if you ever get a chance to see it - assuming you haven't.)

I just got finished reading Angels and Demons, the prequel to Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code.

A very good book. Interesting twists and turns. Brown also has some very insightful observations regarding science and religion and how they work against one another despite the fact that a person can put faith in them both.

Not to mention, the Illuminati are revealed in the book!

April 1865: The month that saved America, Jay Winik

I know there are several Civil War buffs on the board and this book is a must, or for those who enjoy American history. Excellent read and you quickly realize the precarious situation that was our state of the union.

I just finished Between War and Peace, by Victor Davis Hanson. It's a collection of some of his articles that were written between the liberation of Afghanistan until just after the war in Iraq.

I'm reading Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. I re-read it once a year, for the last 5 years, and I get something new out of it each time. I make it part of my professional reading requirement for my cadets.

I'm also reading An Army at Dawn: The War in Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy, by Rick Atkinson. Great book so far, and I've been impressed by his earlier works, so I expect a good read.

Gates of Fire is one of my all-time favorites, DTOM. At the moment, I am reading The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. I'm about a third of the way through, and it's an excellent read. Not sci-fi at all, which the title would indicate. It's a story about the relationship dynamic between two people.

Recently read Rivers of Blood, Years of Darkness by Robert Conot. It details the events of the LA riot in 1965. A very interesting read.

Also Coming of Age in Mississippi The Autobiography of Anne Moody which describes the mistreatment of blacks and the civil rights movement. A great read.

Always have "Free to Choose" and "Capitalism and Freedom" by Milton Friedman on hand. JK Galbraith's The Affluent Society is the most readable tome of anything I have read concerning economics. Too bad he's a Keynesian.

Books I loved as a kid and need to read again are the John Carter of Mars series by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

The classics:

Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat Why is it his best work was the one they don't make you read in school?

Anything by Dostoevsky. Crime and Punishment is my favorite.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is a must read.

Chomsky and Zinn books, soaked in charcoal starter, fit nicely between the logs in your fireplace.

I am also into anthropology and sorely miss Gould recently read "Our Kind" by the anthropologist Marvin Harris Maybe, I have found a replacement for Gould.

This books sounds like pseudo historical nonsense.

I have been reading:

- The Spanish Republic At War by Helen Graham. (The best book written on Spain in the last 25 years)

- The German Ideology By Karl Marx. (Need I say more?)

I just finished reading Tom Wolfe’s new book, I Am Charlotte Simmons. I don’t know whether or not it’s a great book. Wolfe probably doesn’t compare to Steinbeck, Faulkner or Hemingway, but it’s good to see something besides the latest cookie cutter thrillers, another mindless addition to Tim LaHay’s and Jerry B. Jenkins’ Left Behind series or yet another clone or rebuttal of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code on The New York Times bestseller list.

Further, while I understand what Wolfe is saying, I’m having trouble putting it all in context with today’s college campus. I received my bachelor’s degree in 1965, my masters in 1970 and took other post graduate courses until the mid 1980s. My last stop in academia was some courses in vocational rehab at the University of Wisconsin Stout in the summer of 1984. Additionally, I never lived in a college dorm and never even thought about joining a fraternity. So, I don’t know whether the characters like hillbilly genius Charlotte Simmons, “cool” frat boys like Hoyt Thorpe and Vance Phelps, scholarly nerds like Adam Gellin or jocks turn serious scholar—Jo Jo Johanssen are characteristic of current academic institutions or are stereotypical characters.

Charlotte Simmons from the mountains of North Carolina achieves a perfect 1600 on her SAT and graduates with a 4.0 GPA as valedictorian of her small town high school. She receives a full scholarship to the fictional Dupont University in Pennsylvania. At midterm Charlotte is making all As. Then she goes to a fraternity formal with the coolest of the cool, Hoyt Thorpe. Thorp seduces Charlotte. “Knocks the dust off her,” meaning she lose her long guarded virginity to Thorpe in a hotel room. Thorpe promptly ditches Charlotte.

Charlotte’s mother is a rather dour religious woman who allows for no deviation from the norms she has set. During Christmas break Charlotte goes home depressed, can’t talk to anyone, feels guilty about not living up to her values and returns to Dupont and final exams in a state of deep depression.

Charlotte had been making straight As Then come the finals. She can’t concentrate, has no energy and her grades plummet. A fictional Nobel laureate Victor Ransome Starling teaches her course in neuroscience. At the beginning of the semester, Starling is so impressed with Charlotte’s intellect, that he offers her a job in his laboratory. Charlotte is making A+ in neuroscience at Thanksgiving, but ends up getting a D in the course.

I don’t want to give away the whole story, but Charlotte comes out of the depression just as the second semester begins.

One of my problems with the book is that the characters aren’t likeable. Although, I feel sympathy for Charlotte and a kinship with Adam, I don’t find either of them likeable characters.

Despite all this, the book holds some poignancy. A friend in my high school graduating class had some experiences that paralleled those of Charlotte. She finished high school, was an accomplished artist and learned to speak fluent Spanish. After graduation from the University of Texas, she got a teaching job. Then during vacation, her mother, who was every bit as rigid as Charlotte’s, was combing he hair and said, “I don’t know what you’ve been doing, but it shows in your face." Then she got into a bad marriage to a man of equal rigidity to her mother. Next came a divorce and from there, she’s been in and out of therapy, in and out of the state mental hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas, and in and out of half-way-houses for the last 30 years—a life destroyed, a life wasted.

I wonder how the characters in this book will turn out. Will the arrogant and cool Hoyt Thorpe someday run for President, dismissing his unruly past with words he remembered from a President in his youth, “when I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible?” Will Charlotte reclaim her academic excellence or suffer recurring bouts of depression? Certainly Wolfe has left enough ends untied that a sequel is possible.

Bof-- I have been wanting to read that book. I heard Wolfe interviewed on the NPR Diane Rehme (sp?) show. It sounded really interesting. Apparently he did spend a significant amount of time on a college campus doing research for the book and says it is based on what he saw and learned. I have been thinking of picking it up-- that is if I can pull myself away from the cookie cut legal thrillers that I happen to be addicted to!

I got away from political reading for a bit when I discovered that an author by the name of John Gregory Betancourt had gained permission from the family of Roger Zelazny to write a new trilogy in the setting of Zelazny's Amber.

The Trilogy is about the birth of Amber, a prequel to the two 5 books stories written by Zelazny (All ten books in one large book availible Here.

I quickly purchased the first book: The Dawn of Amber and devoured it in a day. Then I got my hands on the second book: Chaos and Amber and ravaged it as well. Wanting more I searched Amazon and discovered that the third book: to Rule in Amber was out and quickly ordered it. I await it's arrival in the most impatient of ways.

For those who do not know, Roger Zelazny, a renowned SF writer, wrote two 5 book series starting with "The Nine Princes of Amber" in the late 70's. The setting is unique. In these books, there is a place called Amber and a place called the Courts of Chaos. Both are at opposite sides of the "Universe" and both are the only places that are "Real". Everything else, every world, including our own exists between them and is a "Shadow" of them. These worlds seem real but are not, at least not to the level of the two above. As a result they can be manipulated by those of the blood of either side who have learned to do so. Shadow is endless and anything you can imagine exist in it. Our world now is a shadow, our world where you have blue hair is another shadow, our world where you rule your own country is another shadow, etc.

The true fun of these books is the Family of Amber. A group, enpowered by their bloodline to do anything nearly anywhere and yet then stay focused on petty political battles amongst themselves until the King disappears, then it turns nasty as they all maneuver for the throne even in the face of total destruction as the forces of the Courts of Chaos bear down on them bent of destroying Amber.

Zelazny's writing is griping and intense. Drawing you into a host of mysteries the moment you open the book. John Gregory seems to almost channel the spirit of Zelazny in his writing.

I STRONGLY recommend the two Amber series by Zelazny and the new Amber Trilogy by Betancourt.

I finally got around to picking up 1984 by George Orwell a couple of days ago, finished it yesterday...Would have finished it sooner, but I needed a few hours to mourn the Jet loss...I'm picking up Atlas Shrugged today.

CP

Thieves World Edited by Lynn Abbey

They're back! While the old characters at best make cameos its still got the down n dirty Sanctuary feel. Excellent fun for you fantasy fans. The anthology is pretty entertaining and most of the stories are great to read.

Also Asimov's Foundation has been filled out by 3 of the best in sci fi. Im reading backwards as David Brin is my favorite sci fi writer. Foundation's Triumph is a pleasure so far. brin has done great justice to Asimov's work

I've recently begun listening to books on tape. I listen on the drive to and from work and recently listened to two books while on a business trip in which I had a long drive.

John Grisham's The Juror. Great book!

Toni Morrison's - Song of Solomon - Different but good.

Richard North Patterson - No Safe Place - A political suspense - Great read!

I've read some great books in the last couple of years, so I thought I'd pass on the titles.
My favourite novel is War of the Worlds by HG Wells but this is a personal thing and I wouldn't recommend it as a great book. I like it for my own reasons.

My other favourite books are the Master and Commander novels by Patrick O'Brian. These start with Master and Commander, and over the course of 21 novels describe the adventures of a British naval captain Jack Aubrey and his friend spy/ surgeon Stephen Maturin, during the course of the Napoleonic wars. As most people will know, there was a film made last year which was based on these books, starring Russel Crowe, but this is a sad adaptation which does the books no justice at all.

Another interesting historical novel, is Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem which tells the tale of the last Roman legion defending the border to Germania. Once again, it was a template for a film, in this case 'Gladiator' also starring Russel Crowe, but in this case the film made no further use of the book than to use the name of the main character. In EITS the story is bleak, desperate but well written. For anyone who is a fan of the Roman empire, I would also recommend I Claudius and Claudius the God by Robert Graves.

Moving to science fiction. John Brunner's novel Sheep look up is a very scary description of the future. Though its written in the 1970's it does quite an accurate job of predicting the world we live in today. Its not a happy read though.

Slaughter house 5 by Kurt Vonnegut is much better though. Phasing from fact to fiction with deliberate ease, this book is the most damning argument against war I've ever read, of all the books I have on my list here, this is the one I'd put at the top of the pile for others to read.

Perdido Street Station on the other hand, is pure fantastical escapist candy. If you like baroque, convoluted worlds where reason and rationaity are discarded for arcane machinary and thaumaturgical incantations, then this is a book which ought to open your eyes. China Miéville is a flawed author, but this is his best work, and its a very good read indeed. I won't recommend his other works because I don't like them very much, but this one is a must for all fantasy and sci fi fans.

Back on terra firma again, The Prince by Nicollo Machiavelli is a very interesting book for people who like to debate politics. Machiavelli describes with easy skill all the detail's and principles of how to govern and rule.

My last recommendation is one of the best; Fup by Jim Dodge. Its a short, funny and well written story about three friends. Tiny, Grandaddy Jake and Fup the duck.

I just started reading the Master and Commander series...so far, so good. If you like that, you should take a look at the Horatio Hornblower series, which is very similar (and recently made into a miniseries). The basic storyline of Hornblower chronicles the life of Admiral Nelson...I found it one of the best written series I've ever read. I've also read Slaughterhouse 5 (have you seen the movie?). Vonnegut is definitely a different style. Kind of like Catch-22...constantly using irony to make his points. If you've never read him, I suggest giving him a try.

A couple other series I enjoyed (a long time ago...when I had time to read books :-)) was the Thomas Covenant series by James Donaldson. It is a sci fi series, but with a definite twist. The 'hero' doesn't believe he is, and doesn't really want any part of it. Otherwise, very similar to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Again, very well written.

Another all-time favorite was the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Don't start these if you don't have some time available! Although each book is pretty long, Asimov is also a master of drawing you in, and creating enough immediate intrigue that you always want to finish reading just a little bit more....Although this falls into the sci-fi category, I think it is more a social commentary (something that sets Asimov apart).

All my recent reads are of the Dr. Suess variety, as I am teaching my daughter to read!

I've been reading:

'The Master and Margarita'

by Mikhail Bulgakov (wrote during the Stalinist era in Russia)

It's a gothic horror set in Stalinist Moscow, where the Devil turns up and - does - um - bad stuff. It also intertwines with the tale of Pontius Pilate after he condemned Jesus to death and how he wins redemption.

It is a fantastic book and one I would definitely recommend. It is also an oddity in that it was published at all. It does poke (macabre) fun at the regime in Russia at the time and yet the Soviet regime managed to 'miss' the book entirely (normally the book would not have been printed and the writer would 'disappear' for a while).

Oh goodie! Now perhaps YOU can explain that book to me (Blast from the AD Past).

I started reading a biography of Laura Bush, but it was so dull I've stopped.

id lke to voice my opinion while im here, i read my first kurt vonnegut book a few months ago in sschool , and i really enjoyed it, it was"HARRISON BERGERON" i was also assigned an essay of my thooughts about the book, i actually enjoyed writing this essay , and can email it to those who would like a copy, or if many people want one i might post it in a few days, its a great book and im contemplating picking up another book by him any suggestions?

I just finished reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

Very interesting stuff, put together in a compelling narrative. The central contention is that it is a central feature of humanity that we all make snap, subconscious judgements all the time. It's a truism that we decide whether or not we like someone new in the first few seconds of meeting them, but Gladwell goes much further, investigating how a wide variety of other areas (like racism, taste tests, police shootings, speed dating, job interviews, card tricks, military exercises and lots of other stuff) are influenced, negatively or positively, by our innate ability to notice tiny things immediately.

One fun item talked about glass ceilings in business, and about the one that nobody ever talks about trying to change - height. The world's boardrooms contain massively disproportionate numbers of people over six feet two inches tall - a discrepancy at least as statistically remarkable as the lack of black or female faces. There is a huge glass ceiling to the 50% of the population that are under the average heights of 5'9" for men and 5'4" for women, yet shorties have yet to get any recognition that they are an oppressed minority. AS someone of resolutely average height who is currently finding it hard to find another job, this rang some bells for me

It isn't perfect - at times it reads less like a book and more like the voiceover script for the likely television series (probably co-funded by the BBC and the Discovery Channel). He has the habit of re-capping stuff several times in the same chapter, which reads as if he's mentally deciding where the commercial breask should go, but aside form that, it's very easy to read for a book that covers such a lot of ground, much of which is dusty sceintific research, which in turn he makes sound interesting and exciting.

All-in-all, I'd recommend this book to anyone - well worth the time.

It's surprising how many people have not read that book. It's truly a classic,
yet apropos for the times we are living in.




I agree. It's a well-written novel, to say the least.



It's a very straight-forward "how-to-rule" book. Considering the time in which
it was written, it is another book that seems to transcend centuries.

Another book I found absolutely hilarious is Candide by Voltaire.
It is a very humerous take on "philosophical optimism."

Currently, I'm enjoying a more truthful look at U.S. history: A People's
History of the United States, by Howard Zinn.

Which reminds me, has anyone else read America: The Book, by Jon Stewart...Hillarious, God Bless Jon Stewart.

CP

Another good book along those lines is Sun Tzu's Art of War for Managers which I'm currently reading. I have read numerous translations of this in the past, but this book puts everything in an interesting context.

I'd also highly recommend Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate (A Progressive Guide to Action) for the progressive crowd. Dr. Lakoff is a fascinating guy and I'll have the opportunity to hear him speak in a few weeks.

And of course you'll notice those are links to Powells.com not Amazon

It seems that prices are about 20% higher at Powells. Just an FYI.

And some things in life are more important than money...

I just finished The Kite Runner, Khaled Hossini's first novel. This is an excellent book, and you often have to remind yourself you aren't actually reading a personal memoir. Truly informative insight into the days of Revolution, invasion, and subsequent turmoil in Afghanistan...written from the perspective of a young teenage boy coming of age. Well developed plot and characters. Aspects of betrayal, guilt, fear, love, redemption. Two thumbs up.

Now, after Julian's endorsement, I'm on to Blink. Mr P is almost finished with it, and found it fascinating as well.

After reading the mixed reviews of Richard North Patterson's new novel Conviction I know why I liked it so much. It encourages liberals and angers conservatives.

Here is a smpling of the reviews.

1. From a 2 Star Review



<snip>

2. From a 3 Star Review



<snip>

3. From a 5 Star Review



<snip>

From Another 5 Star Review

CONVICTION is an intriguing legal procedural in which the death penalty debate is incredible, extremely complex and in all honesty wordy (not a one sitting thriller by any stretch even for a reviewer with a multiple book a day habit). Surprisingly with that deep look and with solid courtroom drama, the cast never fully seems real as the law takes on a life of its own superseding any character. Those interested in understanding why the former Illinois Governor halted capital punishment should read Richard North Patterson's strong view on the death penalty, just set aside plenty of time and don't run for DA of Governor of Texas.

<snip>

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-...onDate&n=283155

My Take

I normally read books based on interest and if the writer is entertaining, well that’s an added bonus. This book has provoked a few conservatives and given liberals something to like. ‘Cmon guys, even if you don’t agree with Patterson, he has to be better than Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity. Sure, he’s on a soapbox, but damn it someone needs to be. I like the way Artemise put it in another thread:



Patterson’s book is not about executing people for crimes they committed before their 18th birthday, but about but a more complex problem of how banning execution of mentally retarded people as applied under Atkins v. Virginia--a case that also drew a Scalia dissent.

The problem is defining mental retardation. Patterson has his facts straight on this issue. First is the definition of retardation itself. There are three elements:

1. I.Q. Mental retardation generally requires an IQ of two standard deviations below the mean or below 70. The problem is that intelligence tests have a standard error of measure (SEM). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, for example, has a SEM of + or – 2. A person scoring 71 would not be retarded, but the true I.Q. would be 69-73 with 95% confidence and 67 to 75 with 99% confidence. Patterson mentions what is called the practice effect. This simply means that people tend to score higher with repeated administrations of a test,

2. Deficiencies in adaptive behavior. This generally means ability to perform those tasks necessary for daily living.

3. The retardation must be documented before one’s 18th birthday under Atkins. As one who worked with mentally retarded children and young adults for 25 years, I can assure you that Patterson has done his homework.

In addition, I did find the book entertaining. The fictional Justice Anthony Fini is a thinly veiled caricature of Justice Scalia.

Illustrative of Patterson’s rather transparent contempt for Scalia/Fini is the passage below.



In the afterwards Patterson writes:



I think Patterson has achieved his goal. At the end he provided a short bibliography. Some of the sources are included online.

I have not gone into detail about the book‘s plot or characters. If you are inspired to read it fine. If not, that’s fine, too.

My only real criticism is that the book should have been set in Texas instead of California. While California has the nation’s largest death row, Texas actually executes people on a rather routine basis.

My rating *****

Edited to correct typo.

Life is so good, by George Dawson.

It's a book about a 103 year old Black man that didn't even learn to read until he was 98. It's a biography that teaches through his story alone. He grew up as a poor farmer's son, and worked by the sweat of his brow... put all of his children through college and kept a great attitude throughout.

It's a great dose of perspective and allows us to think about what's really important. I'd rec to anyone that needs a "feel good" book. It's about $12-14 paperback.

What a great topic!

I've heard that Angels and Demons is better than the DaVinci Code.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War changed my life. I would not have been able to trick my wife into marrying me without it.

I am one of those people who has 4 books laying around the house ranging in topics from How To books, to political and social theory. The reason that there are so many is because none of them are interesting enough to me read straight through. You'll rarely if ever see an unfinished novel or best seller laying around though.

The most recent nonfiction book that I really enjoyed was Devil in the White City, a historical look at the Chicago World's Fair in the 1890's, and the triumphs and atrocities that occured. It reads like a novel. Nonfiction is stranger than fiction sometimes. I found myself asking, "how did I not know this already?" numerous times while reading it.

Fiction: Odd Thomas was a good read. I think that it is by Dean Koontz.

Now you have me intrigued. I actually really like Richard North Paterson. Except I haven't liked some of his recent books. But now-- a caricature of Scalia-- I can't resist reading this book.

I just picked up and am enjoying Judge Andrew Napolitano's [from...The Great State of New Jersey] new book "Constitutional Chaos". Any and all who value personal liberties should get this book, it's amazing, scary and very informative. Napolitano should really write more books.

CP

I've been reading like no other for the past few months and here's in incomplete list of good books:

A Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark
1984 by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt

Others coming if I can remember them.

I have been reading Anne Rice for the past few weeks. I am currently reading "The Vampire Lestat" it has such a charming and charismatic romance to it. The way it is written alone has me falling in love with the characters. You should give them a try, everyone, You would love them; if you don't mind some violence.

Anne Rice rating- *****

The Vampire Lestat rating- *****

Since my last post I've read:

Solaris by Stanislaw Lem. Classic non English sci fi, I found this to be a thought proving book but a slightly dull read. 4/5

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. An early, classical, cyber punk novel that has become somewhat dated I thought. I wish I'd read it ten years ago. 3/5

The Conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. Very disapointing. I was hoping for an insight into the history of the time but instead I discovered Julius was much given to blowing his own trumpet. 2/5

Jospeh Banks by Patrick O Brian. The autobiography of one of the great botanists of the 19th century. Again I was hoping for historical input, and again I was slightly disapointed. I got a fairly good idea who Banks was but not much of an understanding of the times he lived in. 3/5

Cats cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I saw it mentioned in a film and since I'd read 'Slaughterhouse 5 only a few months previously, I thought I'd give it a try and see if Vonnegut could impress me a second time. He did, though this story was no where near as powerful as SH5. 3/5

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac. A horrible book I had to put down after I'd gotten three quarters of the way through. 1/5

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. Run of the mill, classical victorian adventure with all the romantic attachments one comes to expect of the genre. A good and entertaining read, though a bit cumbersome in parts. 3/5

Swastika Night by Katherine Burdekin. An excellent book, written prior to the second world war that takes a good hard prophetic look at the implications of national socialism and the glorification of brutality and masculinity. 4/5

The Keeper of the Isis Light by Monica Hughes. A childrens sci fi from my own childhood that I have unearthed and returned to for nostalgic reasons. A good read for a child to learn about tolerance. 4/5

Babel 17 by Samuel R. Delaney. Sci fi. I found it dull and difficult to read 1/5

Iron council by China Miéville. Miéville seems to have been cursed by his second novel, 'Perdido Street Station' for the two books he has had published since have both been failed attempts to build upon its success. 2/5

Fatherland by Robert Harris. A murder mystery novel set in a 'what if' revisionist historical setting of a post war world where the Nazi's won. Very entertaining and impossible to put down. 5/5

Hussein by Patrick O'Brian. A wandering, meandering dream like book that follows the life of an Indian Mahout in his trials and adventures in his quest to find the treasure he needs to marry his sweet heart. O Brians first novel. 3/5

Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. An excellent novel that jumps from world war two code breakers to the world of tomorrow, following the exploits of several characters over the decades. 4/5

Marooned on Splatterbang by Nicholas Fisk. Another book from my childhood revisited. This one failed to retain its charm. 2/5.

The Net by Loren J MacGregor. Boring. 1/5

Girl with a pearl earing by Tracy Chevalier. A fairly easy an innocent book about a maid who works in the household of the Dutch master Vemeer where her presence causes some domestic tensions. 3/5

Darwin among the machines by George Dyson. An intelligent look at the evolution of machines and how we relate to them. 3/5

I rarely read fiction these days since Stephen King ran out of ideas and just started making his novels 700 pages long.

I did enjoy Beyond The Down Low: Sex, Lies and Denial in Black America by Keith Boykin, a African American activist, educator, writer and former Special Advisor to President Clinton on gay and civil rights issues. It's part rebuttal to a noxious and crude little piece of crap called, On the Down Low about black men who have sex with men, but do not identify themselves as "gay" AND still have sex with their wives or girlfriends.

It's...complicated.

Boykin's book is well-written and researched and is an unflinchingly honest examination about the blame game being played regarding HIV/AIDS in the black community and living an "invisible life" as a black gay man in a white world that won't let you in and a black world that won't let you come home.

Wow nighttimer-- you are a stephen king fan? I am too. He is the best darn "story teller" out there. I love his writing. I do hate how the plot lines seem to devolve out of control in recent books. But the writing-- is outstanding.

And devil's advocate-- you can't find a better author than Orwell. 1984 is one of my all time favorites. Again the writing in that book is incredible.

I just got a pretty cool book called The Time Travelers Wife. I adore books that have a time traveling theme and this one has a very interesting take on that theme. It is pretty recent and was on the NY times best seller list. I don't usually veer away too much from my legal fiction genre-- but this one is worth it.

HEY ALL!

im bookworming through two series

no, make that three:

Xanth series by Peirs Anthony- very unique in how all the books are closely binded togeather by generations of the fictional families-good short-reads!

Enders Game by Orson Scott Card- what sci-fi fan hasn't read this series? iim working on Xenocie right now

Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind- a book easy to get very involved in- my sister was just recently complaining loudly about how *spoiler-dooont read if you dont want to know* every main character dies in like two sieries books ahead of the one im reading!
i think im into the fifth one at the moment..

ahh, well.
those are my claims!

The books I have just finished with are:

1. Did the Greeks Believe Their Own Myths? by Paul Veyre (I believe). Horrid bit of French intellectualism. All cleverness, no substance. I rue the day I purchased this book.

2. Law Collections from Mesopotamia and Asia Minor by Martha T. Roth. Great stuff! Did you know that the Hittites made it a capital crime to have sex with a cow, a sheep, a pig, or a dog -- but NOT with a horse or mule? Now that's interesting! Something to bring up at the next cocktail party.

3. The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society by Jack Goody. The best of the three. How writing impacts social organization.

And believe it or not, all three books are part of the a single study I'm carrying out.

I've just started a book by Jim Wallis titled "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left doesn't Get it". Its pretty poignant thus far.

I forgot another goot favorite of mine:

If I Pay Thee Not In Gold by Peirs Anthony and Mercedes Lackey- very well put togeather!

I just skimmed through this topic. It is encouraging to see that there are so many serious readers out there! My own reading in the past year has been dominated by trying to understand the political, enconomic and environmental crisises we face. I will list some of the books I've read on these topics at the end of this post. When I was younger I read a lot of science fiction with a focus on certain authors like Azimov, Arthur C. Clark and Kurt Vonnegut. I still occassional read a recommended sci fi book. I also read the Tolkien books about 30 years ago and still dip into them occassionally. I've read and enjoyed most of Mark Twain's books and have read but not always enjoyed most of the other American classics. I like histories and, in particular, American civil war history. I've read broadly in my own field of economics from Karl Marks to Keynes to Milton Friedman. I read a lot of books and articles that interpret cutting edge science for the serious lay reader and particularly enjoy cosmology. I'm afraid I've read very little contemporary literature except for a book here and there strongly recommended by by wife or nephew, both avid readers.

The following are most of the books I have read in the last year, many of them as part of a discussion group.

American Dynasty: Fortune, Aristocracy, and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush, by Kevin Philips, House of Bush, House of Saud: The Secret Relationship between the World's Two Most Powerful Dynasties by Craig Unger, Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward, Against All Enemies by Richard A. Clarke, The New Pearl Harbor: Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11 by David Ray Griffin, Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War Cabinet James Mann, The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace with America's Military by Dana Priest, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic by Chalmers Johnson, The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan, Homefront: A Military City and the American Twentieth Century by Catherine Lutz, The Problem of the Media: US Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Robert McChesney, Drugs, Oil, and War: The United States in Afghanistan, Columbia, and Indochina by Peter Dale Scott, Full Spectrum Dominance: US Power in Iraq and Beyond by Rahul Mahajan, Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror by Anonymous [Michael Scheuer], Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences of America's Growing Dependency on Imported Petroleum by Michael T. Klare, Generation Kill: Devil Dog, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War by Evan Wright, Hegemony or Survival, America's Quest for Global Dominance by Noam Chomsky, The Party's Over by Richard Heinberg (an excellent book on Peak Oil), Hubbert's Peak: The Impending World Oil Shortage by Kenneth S. Deffeyes, Winning the Oil End Game, by Amy Lovins et al (the best study of efficiency and alternative energy potential, available on line at the Rocky Mountain Institute), Democracy Matters by Cornel West, Chain of Command by Seymour Herst, The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power by Daniel Yergin (a comprehensive but uncritical history of the oil industry), High Tide: The Truth about Our Climate Crisis by Mark Lynas, The Long Summer: How Climate Changed Civilization by Brian M. Fagan, Meltdown: The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists, Politicians, and the Media by Patrick J. Michaels (a global warming contrarian), The Two-Mile Time Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future by Richard B. Alley, The Discovery of Global Warming by Spencer R. Wert (the best book for an overview), Boiling Point: How Politicians, Big Oil and Coal, Journalists and Activists Are Fueling the Climate Crisis -– and What We Can Do to Avert Disaster by Ross Gelbspan, and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jred Diamond

Well, techinically it's not "reading" but I am "listening" to the audio-book recording of The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy by Byron York. I heard York a few months ago on a local NPR station talking about the book and I found him extremely fair and balanced (yes, really) in his presentation.

I called in to ask York a question. Something that had always bothered me about organizations like America Coming Together, MoveOn.org and the other liberal 527 groups that worked to defeat George W. Bush was how overwhelmingly white and elitist they seemed. Though these groups raised millions of dollars in the fight to beat Bush and certainly bolstered John Kerry's candidacy, there seemed to be little to no outreach to Black and Latino voters. Though these traditionally Democratic loyalists had no love for Bush, Kerry never seemed overly interested in mobilizing and energizing this important base.

York agreed and said that he attended numerous MoveOn.org rallies and other liberal groups and was struck by how few Blacks he ever saw at them. Additionally, these groups did not seem to pay much attention to issues of concern to racial minorities. York said Move On and America Coming Together seemed to believe that dislike of the Bush Administration would be enough to bring all aspects of the Democrat base together in November 2004.

It's a good book for conservatives to understand that though George Soros, Michael Moore, Move On and other liberal activists came up short in the goal of defeating Bush, the stage has been set for them to have a major impact on the 2006 and 2008 elections and beyond.

For liberals and progressives, it's a even-handed exploration as to how these activists convinced themselves (and many of us as well) that their resentment and desire to get rid of Dubya extended to the majority of American citizens. Not quite the way things worked out.

Here's a review from the website, Pop and Politics that echoes my sentiments. I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in how the American political paradigm may have been altered now and forever.

However, if all you are looking for is an honest representation of the facts and some reasonable analysis, you may have to dig a bit deeper in the aisle. “The Vast Left Wing Conspiracy” by "National Review" White House Correspondent Byron York is an excellent example of how one can write about the current political atmosphere without sinking to the depths of fear mongering, name-calling, or the ever popular smearing.

As the subtitle, “The untold story of how Democratic operatives, eccentric billionaires, liberal activists, and assorted celebrities tried to bring down a President -- and why they’ll try even harder next time,” indicates, this is the nuts and bolts story of how during the 2004 Presidential Election, organizations such as MoveOn.org and America Coming Together (ACT) became somewhat of a force to be reckoned with.

The book also covers the birth of progressive radio station, Air America, the battle at the box office between Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” and Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ,” and the creation of liberal think tanks that patterned themselves after conservative ones such as the Heritage Foundation. It also explains just who George Soros is and why he became such a known commodity in the election cycle despite not actually being involved in the political process at any level.

http://www.popandpolitics.com/articles_det...?articleID=1512

Just read "Mr. Paradise" by Elmore Leonard, the best author going today for "pulp fiction".

A very good light read in my opinion. Plus, it's set in Detroit.

With respect to "great books", I haven't read many of those lately. But, I did read a pretty interesting one that had some great ideas that could start about 8 different threads.

The book was entitled "The Code of the Executive, Forty-seven Ancient Samurai Principles Essential for Twenty-first Century Leadership Success" by Don Schmincke.

This book was translated from ancient Japanese texts and applied to modern times.

A thin book full of thick ideas.

I have read Star Trek: The Return, Star Trek: Avenger, Star Trek: Spectre, and Stargate: First Amendment.

They are pretty good.
I am currently reading Star Trek: Gateways

Recently read: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Oh, this man is absolutely the most hilarious writer I've ever read. I was laughing out loud literally every five minutes. His imagery is fantastic and his wit is sharp as can be. The stories from his time in France were my favorites but I also liked some of the earlier stories about his family. I can't wait to read Naked and Barrel Fever!

Just finished: Michael Connelly's The Closers. It's the 11th tale in the detective Harry Bosch series and one of his best to date. I thoroughly enjoyed it (have read all but one of Connelly's books, and have read all of the Bosch novels) and I'd highly recommend it to fans of crime/detective novels. The characters are always interesting and with each new book in the series, we learn a little bit more about the passionate and not-always-by-the-book detective. From Publishers Weekly's editorial review:

LAPD detective Harry Bosch, hero of last year's The Narrows and other Connelly thrillers, is back on the force after a two-year retirement. Assigned to the Open Unsolved (cold cases) unit and teamed with former partner Kiz Rider, Harry's first case back involves the killing of a high school girl 17 years before, reopened because of a DNA match to blood found on the murder gun. That premise could be a formula for a routine outing, but not with Connelly. Nor does the author rely on violent action to propel his story; there's next to none. In Connelly/Bosch's world, character, context and procedure are what count, and once again the author proves a master at all.

Right now I'm reading: the second book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, entitled The Drawing of Three. Perhaps oddly, I'd never read a Stephen King book until someone recommended the Dark Tower series to me. King is a gifted writer and his word choice is superb. I'm barely starting this one, so I dont have much to say about it other than that I am excited to get into it if it's anywehre near as enjoyable as the first.

I'm also planning to read Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case concurrently with King's book. I've had this book sitting on my shelf for far too long considering the high praid it's gotten from friends. From Publishers Weekly's editorial review:

Hiassen gets back to his roots with this (almost) straight-ahead mystery, but doesn't skimp on the funny stuff as he follows the adventures of Jack Tagger, down-on-his-luck journalist relegated to the obit beat at a smalltown Florida daily. While researching a death notice, Jack stumbles by accident upon an actual news story: former rocker Jimmy Stoma has drowned while diving in the Bahamas, and his widow, wannabe star Cleo Rio, can't convince Jack that his death was accidental. The mystery offers Jack a way out of his job-related death fixation ("It's an occupational hazard for obituary writers memorizing the ages at which famous people have expired, and compulsively employing such trivia to track the arc of one's own life") and toward his increasingly lusty feelings for Emma, his 27-year-old editor (" `Bring whipped cream,' I tell her, `and an English saddle' "). But when things turn violent and Jack suddenly has to defend himself with a giant frozen lizard, he enlists the help of his sportswriter friend Juan Rodriguez and teenage club scene veteran Carla Candilla to try to find out why someone is killing off has-been sleaze rockers. A hilarious sendup of exotic Floridian fauna in the newspaper business, the novel offers all the same treats Hiassen's fans have come to crave.

What's next on my reading list:

Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - from the amazon editorial review:

The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted.

Akhentaten: Dweller in Truth by Naguib Mahfouz (Nobel prize winning author)- from the amazon editorial review:

Nobel-winning Egyptian novelist Mahfouz (The Cairo Trilogy) appropriates, to wonderful effect, the craft of the biographer in these 14 elegant fictional testimonies on the brief but dazzling reign of the "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten and his enigmatic queen, Nefertiti.

The Roald Dahl Omnibus: Perfect Bedtime Stories for Sleepless Nights by, of course, Roald Dahl - a compilation of Dahl's short stories. From the B&N website:

This volume is a diabolical collection of 28 of Dahl's best stories. Shiver to classics like The Man From the South, Taste, Royal Jelly and The Great Switcheroo and hard-to-find gems like Poison, The Wish and Neck. It's the perfect remedy for a sleepless night. Here's what the critics are saying about The Roald Dahl Omnibus: "A story teller in the tradition of Poe and Hawthorne, Dahl has the master of plot and character possessed by great writers of the past, along with a wildness and wryness of his own.''--Los Angeles Times "The reader looking for sweetness, light, and subtle characterization will have to try another address. Tension is his business; give him a surprise denouement, and he'll give you a story leading up to it. His name in this instance is Roald Dahl. ''-- The New York Times Book Review.


Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire - I've been wanting to read this book for a LONG time but haven't yet picked it up from the bookstore because it's either not in stock or I don't have the money for it and whatever else I happen to be buying at the time. I was intrigued by the story after I saw the Broadway musical featured on the Today show well over a year ago. I can't wait to read it!

Summer is the season for reading and true to from I've added a few more books to the reading list.

Reading Heinlein's Job: A comedy of Justice is an experience. The usual character-driven Heinlein humor shining through in good form.

Political books can be a real hit-or-miss. I've learned this through painful experience and the occasional gem.

Jeffrey Sachs' The End of poverty is a hit.

Even if you don't agree with his conclusion the book is a relentlessly reasonable explanation full of easy-to-states and examples as well as very informative looks at some the the biggest global economic issues.

I defy you not to like it.

I recently finished "A Short History of Everything" by Bill Bryson. It's kind of a mini-biography of the memorable (and less memorable) minds of science. I highly recommend it!

I just started "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" per recommendation of my brother. Hilarious so far - Douglas Adams is fantastic.

I just finished re-reading Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon, which I'd first read several years ago. This was prompted by the fact that I finally finished his massive Baroque Cycle - eight books in three volumes - which consumed over a year's worth of my leisure reading. Having finished Cryptonomicon (which features a number of descendants of the characters in the Cycle (you'd recognize Shaftoes, Waterhouses, and Gotos, as well as earlier Qwghlmians, moif), it occurred to me that I'd never recommend the Baroque Cycle - Quicksilver, The Confusion, or The System of the World - here, where there was at least an outside chance that one or two people might be interested.

In February, when I finally turned the last page of the third volume, I posted a fairly comprehensive review of all eight books in my LiveJournal, which can be found here.

To spare all of you, I'll just re-post my introductory and closing paragraphs. Should they spark your interest, you can read a lot more about the books by following the link above.