What has TMD been reading lately?

[Bardo]

So what's the last book you've read or what are you reading now*? Is it good? Does it suck? Would you recommend it?



(* excluding mandatory reading as may be assigned in class or via court order...)

[Clown of Tresserhorn]

Anything by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Especially 100 years of Solitude). Also, House of the Spirits by Isabelle Allende was really good (although we had to read it in High School). The last book I read was like a year ago. I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but I'm a math major, so my personal favorites are:

Data Structure and other objects using C++,
NonLinear Dynamics and Chaos, and ofcourse,
Statustucs fir Engineers and Scientists.

[Fall-Titan]

If anyone out there has yet to read something by Tim O'Brien, i suggest you find one of his books and give it a chance. All of his books may seem simliar at just the glance of the cover but trust me they arent.

His most popular book would be The Things They Carried which is a good place to start, but If I Die in a Combat Zone and Going After Caciato are both excellent as well

[Moxlotus]

The Social Contract-it sucked because I disgreed with half of the points Rousseau made.

[Kasuras]

Recently:

-Anne Rice - Interview With The Vampire
-Bram Stoker - Dracula
-Mary Shelley - Frankenstein

All because I had to read them for school, currently reading The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, not for school but because I liked the first book.

[Nightfall]

If anyone out there has yet to read something by Tim O'Brien, i suggest you find one of his books and give it a chance. All of his books may seem simliar at just the glance of the cover but trust me they arent.

His most popular book would be The Things They Carried which is a good place to start, but If I Die in a Combat Zone and Going After Caciato are both excellent as well

The Things They Carried is excellent.  The year I was a freshman at college all of us incoming first-years were required to read it.  It was awesome.  He is also a local author for me, having grown up just a county away.

THe last book I finished was "Shaman's Crossing" by Robin Hobb.  I love Hobb, and while this book was slow to start I really enjoyed it by the end.

I'm currently reading "House of Chains" by Steven Erikson.  It is the 4th book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen series.  Excellent high fantasy.

[Matt]

The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
the Postsecret book

[Bardo]

(Since Matt put it on the table.)

I'm reading Jarhead (by Tony Swofford) at the moment. The cover makes it look like another hack genre piece, but on the inside, its reminds me of Celine with a little Bukowski and Camus thrown in for good measure. War novels aren't my thing, but I'm really digging it.

[Lunar]

I generally try to balance something heavy with something light...

light would be Star Wars or RA Salvatore, heh...Dan Brown, Tom Clancey or others of similar feel are generally great to pass time..

for heavy I just finished up with Quest: The essence of Humanity by Charles Pasternak...it deals with everything from evolution and early civilizations to DNA mapping and cultural influences in modern times...very amazing for an all inclusive book, generally you need to read a seperate book on each of these issues, but Pasternak did a great job of melding the entire thing into a solid work.

I also like reading Joeseph Campbell when I get a chance and im about halfway through his essays in Myths to Live by.

The last novel I read was Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, pretty good, but similar feel and not quite as enjoyable as Slaughterhouse Five..still, I love his writings...im sure a lot of you have read some of his stuff..

Catch 22 is of similar note, and is highly reccomended for those who have not yet gotten to this read.

[Klep]

Let's see.  Since the week before Christmas I have read all 7 Narnia books, the latest Redwall book (High Rhulain), Isaac Asimov's Complete Stories Volume 2, a compilation of Heinlein's Future History stories called The Past Through Tomorrow, Carpe Jugulum by Terry Prachett, and I am now getting into a couple of books by Steven Brust, which I will probably follow with all of the Foundation books and the robot stories that precede them.

The Redwall books are, of course, primarily intended for children, but I fell in love with them when I was a child and have no reason to cease reading them now.  Sadly, the Narnia books were a lot shorter than I remembered them being.  I was dissapointed that I was already done with them after 2 days.

Heinlein is great and Asimov is my favorite author, period.  The Volume 2 compilation was a Christmas present from my dad which I'm very grateful for, as it's been out of print for quite a while and has a number of very good stories in it, including The Bicentennial Man.

EDIT: I forgot I also read Eragon and Eldest by Chris Paolini.  He's a remarkable young author, and those first two works are quite worth the read.  I've been looking forward to Eldest since Eragon came out a couple years back, and now I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[Bardo]

The Redwall books are, of course, primarily intended for children, but I fell in love with them when I was a child and have no reason to cease reading them now.

I make a point to get up early and watch Redwall on PBS every Saturday morning. I catch endless shit from my woman about it, but, eh, you do what you have to do.

But mice with swords and archery skills? Sweet!

[Jacob Orlove]

Whoa, there's a new redwall book? I'll have to read that at some point.

Anyway, great books I've read recently include Cloud Atlas (amazing), everything by Robin Hobb (also amazing), and Snow Crash (really good).

Other recently read books include Angels & Demons (which I thought was inferior to The DaVinci Code), and The Big Time, which I just didn't like.

[Lou]

I've read the latest High Times issue at least 3 times.

[Machinus]

Understanding Analysis
The World is Flat
Small Java: How to Program

blech

[RThomas]

I stopped buying the Redwall books after The Legend of Luke, so I don't know how many have come out since then, but I've always loved the series and look forward to reading the recent ones.

I just finished Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman, and am in the middle of Mockery of Justice by Cynthia L. Cooper and Sam Reese Sheppard.  The first half is pretty enjoyable, to be honest.

[Moxlotus]

Catch-22 would have been good if they cut pages 250-350.  It just dragged on and on and on during that time.  The first 250 pages and the last 50 were good.  It would have been a better read if it just cut some stuff, although I understand the author was trying to make many statements.  

Slaughterhouse Five was boring and I hated the format.  I thought the book was terrible.  We analyzed the book in class and I still thought it was boring.

The Ice Age Cycle by Jeff Grubb was amazing.  It was a really, really enjoyable read.  I've read the Artifact Cycle and Invasion cycle twice, and the rest once (omg Masque cycle SUCKS!).  Ice Age cycle was definitely the best.

[Lunar]

aww man...I think vonnegut is amazing...maybe you just dislike his style...I think its brilliant personally, heh..maybe analyzing it in class is part of the problem...over analysis of somethings leads to dislike and puking...part of the reason why I dropped my history of modern art class

I also didnt find any problems with 250-350 in catch 22...but then again I find dostoyevski fun to read...so who am I to comment on what others find boring, heh...

[Vegeta2711]

I think anytime I want to read something new I just decide to re-read Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow.

[jpmeyer]

Last week I read Welcome to the Desert of the Real by Slavoj Zizek, Defining Cult Movies : The Cultural Politics of Oppositional Taste editted by Mark Jancovich, and Subculture: The Meaning of Style by Dick Hebdige

[Harkius]

Currently working on:

Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar (it's AWFUL!!!)
Unintelligent Design (Also bad...tossed it across the room a couple of times)

Recently Finished:
X-Men: Dark Mirrors (Interesting and good, but not fantastic. If you are looking for a good X-Men book, go pick up Christopher Golden's trilogy...it's fantastic!)
Darwin's Balck Box by Michael Behe (As a TRAINED biochemist and molecular biologist, let me say, once and for all, this guy is misguided and misleading. Potentially intentionally misleading)


VERY Highly Recommend:
The Descent by Jeff Long
This is one of the foremost books that I recommend to mixed audiences for reading. It is a little light without further thought and introspection, but if you are willing to sit through a little fluff, you will be rewarded. The chapter on the Butterfly Collector is, I think, what makes this book so fantastic and separates it from the crap in its genre, like Esau and Neandertal. VERY, VERY good.

Harkius

[Revvik]

James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

[Bardo]

James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

Have you read Shogun? I read it when I was a senior in high school and absolutely loved it.

Slaughterhouse Five was boring and I hated the format.  I thought the book was terrible.  We analyzed the book in class and I still thought it was boring.

I fucking love Slaughterhouse Five. In fact, my last username, Bardo Trout, was partly an homage to Vonnegut's alter ego, Kilgore Trout. I've read the book at least four times.

Speaking of which, the book I read just prior to starting Jarhead, was Vonnegut's newest and probably last book, A Man Without a Country; which was simply gorgeous.

[Jacob Orlove]

James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

Have you read Shogun? I read it when I was a senior in high school and absolutely loved it.

I read Shogun, Tai-Pan, King Rat and Noble House, and if you liked any one of them, you'll probably really like the others. Stay away from the other stuff he wrote, though.

[Matt]

Two books I've wanted to read for a long time but never got the gumption to do so are Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, both by Jared Diamond.

[Revvik]

James Clavell's Tai-Pan.

Have you read Shogun? I read it when I was a senior in high school and absolutely loved it.

I read Shogun, Tai-Pan, King Rat and Noble House, and if you liked any one of them, you'll probably really like the others. Stay away from the other stuff he wrote, though.

I've heard Whirlwhind (?) was nowhere near as good.  Now that I'm not working 56+ hours per week, I'm all set to continue reading these.

[vartemis]

I picked up a ton of books while vacationing in Florida, most of em from the Japanese exibit in Epcot.  Im reading:

Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - likely going to end up putting it down as its a great read and I need to dedicate more time to it.

The 47 Ronin by various - great quick read.  it gives a brief synopsis of the legend in the beginning, but the bulk of the book is photographs of the woodblock art that has ended up all over the world.

Saviors by ??? - the magic novel... yes i know im behind.  I just cant seem to get into it.  Its almost ready to be delagated to the "bathroom book"

I read a ton more comics/graphic novels than actual books.  I'm gonna plug some of the new stuff I picked up.

DMZ by Brian Wood - Brian Wood is a genius.  There isn't a single book he's written that is bad.  The basic premis of the series is this: Manhattan has been destroyed.  It is now No-Man's Land, known the the DMZ.  A young guy wants to become a journalist and gets trapped in DMZ.  He learns that what the gov't tells you about the place, and what really goes on there are 2 totally different things.

Fell by Warren Ellis - its a cheap $1.99 comic with a great story.  All stories are self contained.  Detective Fell gets transfered to a new town, and it's about the interesting people and cases he has.  It's 2 bucks, pick one up and try it out.

Desolation Jones by Warren Ellis - Jones is an ex-british spook banished to california.  Without giving away too much, it involves government experimentation, drug dependant protaganists, and a missing canister of hitler porn.

Thats about all I can think about.  I'll post here again next month with the gems I find.

j

[Dante]

Whoa, there's a new redwall book? I'll have to read that at some point.

everything by Robin Hobb (also amazing), and Snow Crash (really good)

I got Snow Crash for christmas, but it got buried in my bedroom...got to dig that out. 

did you like the ship trilogy more/less/the same as the Fitz-based Robin Hobb novels?

My latest reads (both started and finished last night actually) were Straken by Terry Brooks and Busting Vegas.

Last week I read Overdo$ed America.  If you live in America, you should read this book.  Frankly, most people should read this book...

[kirdape3]

Tai-Pan was the best book out of the Asian Saga.  Shogun was also amazing, but Tai-Pan was so well written that half the time you can feel yourself on board the clippers and on Hong Kong.  Gai-Jin was much less good (written well after the rest of the series), King Rat was at the beginning of his literary career and it showed (written in 1962), and Noble House was about on par with Gai-Jin.

Whirlwind I never could get into - I'd get 200 pages into it and my interest wouldn't stay in.  I probably should grind it out to find where the book gets interesting, but right now I'm not sure what classic I should read - Amazon.com may just get an order from me, but what I have no clue.

[Machinus]

Two books I've wanted to read for a long time but never got the gumption to do so are Collapse and Guns, Germs, and Steel, both by Jared Diamond.

Guns, Germs, and Steel was an awesome work. I highly recommend it.

[ShivanGoat]

Finished Men Who Stare at Goats last week. Now working on Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Two thumbs up for both.