What books are you reading today?

[Oceanbeach]

I went to the library today, they have high speed internet and I don't.  If you took AT&T, teamed up with Yahoo, one would expect the real 411 on dial up but I have an ISP which can't find their own server with both hands and a flashlight. 

There was a 2 hour wait to get on a computer so, I found:
Legal Guide to Web and Software Development, How to Get Your Business on the Web, Incorporate Your Business, and Form Your Own Limited Liability Company.  Not very interesting but with no COLA increase this year and possibly not next year either, the outlook on disability living doesn't hold much excitement.     Have the best day
Michael

[leatherman]

we haven't had a book thread for a while

I'm lucky! Having just moved to SC from OH, and living about 1/4 mile from the NC state line, there's a NC library just about 2 miles away and a SC library about 2 miles the other directions. I just recently got cards for both. I checked books out of the NC branch so I didn't get any in SC. I'm already too confused about what state the grocery store is in, and want to make sure I take the books back to the right state library. 

Normally I check out the latest non-fiction and end up with some like the ones you were checking into; but since the big move down through the mountains, I just wanted some nice fiction to read while I get re-acclimated to the South.

I just finished Christopher Moore's "Island of the Sequined Love Nun" - hilarious! Now i'm reading Dean Koontz' "Strange Highways", which I realized I've read once before; but it's nearly Halloween so nothing wrong with re-reading some scary stories. Next on my agenda before I've got to return it is "Stealing myspace: the battle to control the most popular website in america". (well, ok, there was ONE non-fiction in the stack of books  )

[edfu]

"City Boy:  My Life in New York During the 1960s and 70s" by Edmund White (I'm in it!) and "The Letters of Noel Coward," edited by Barry Day (delish!).   

[BT65]

I'm reading Larry King's autobiography, and it's actually pretty interesting.  I read the book "Freakanomics" some months ago, and can't wait to read "Super Freakanomics." 

[BlueMoon]

Mapping The Territory, by Christopher Bram.  It's a collection of non-ficton essays by the prolific novelist.

Not my usual book fare, but Chris and I were in the Boy Scouts together in the late 60s.  I just recently became aware of his literary career and read a couple of his novels. 

I moved away in 1970 and have had no contact with anyone from that time and place since then, so his reminiscences about his Scouting days were a nostalgia trip for me.  He writes well too, so it's enjoyable beyond the personal connection. 

[dtwpuck]

I just finished my third reading of Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.
Now, it's on to the Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.  So far, it's really good. 

[Miss Philicia]

Dada: Art and Anti-Art, Hans Richter

[GSOgymrat]

I'm reading Encyclopedia of Counseling for work and Official Book Club Selection by Kathy Griffin for fun.

[skeebo1969]

  Green Eggs and Ham

[Queen Tokelove]

Goddess, it's been ages since I picked up a book. I could use a trashy novel about now. Is Jackie Collins still writing? I still need to read The Mayfield Witches, I think it's called by Anne Rice. Sigh, one day...

[tokyodecadence]

I'm currently reading a 30-50 theoretical plan of action on how countries can gain energy independence. Good book, even though it's written in layman's terms. Which I suppose is a good thing, since layman's terms makes the sales, right?

[elf]

Oxford Spanish Dictionary
I love it, I just got it from Amazon. 

[veritas]

If you are looking for  a quick page turning read for pure entertainment value, try Dan Brown's new book: "The Lost Symbol". It's in the same vein as "The DaVinci Code". Lot's of neat history about Washington DC. (just finished it).

For political junkies and Kennedy fans: "True Compass" by Edward Kennedy.(just started it).

[madbrain]

I picked up Programming Interviews Exposed last night - http://www.piexposed.com . I left my job at a large company about 6 weeks ago without another one lined up. I have been really enjoying the time off including a trip to visit family in Paris. But I can't afford to quite retire yet at 33. Though I wouldn't mind a few more months off .
As a self-taught software engineer, I have been a little bit stumped by the somewhat academic questions asked of me by a few large companies in the silicon valley I interviewed with recently, despite 14 years professional experience. Hence picking up this book.

[BT65]

True Compass is a good book.  Resilience by Elizabeth Edwards is excellent also. I like autobiographies, though.  Some people don't.

[Oceanbeach]

"City Boy:  My Life in New York During the 1960s and 70s" by Edmund White (I'm in it!)

I have an old friend who wrote a book and I am glad he did not include me in "Urban Voodoo, A Beginners Guide to Afro-Caribean Majik."     Have the best day
Michael

[GNYC09]

Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe.
It's nearly Halloween after all...

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[Dale Parker]

I love reading but have never found the time until recently. Now that I'm doing some volunteer work I have the time. I was trying to read my great uncles autobiography but that put me to sleep. It's about his life as a baptist preacher. Now I'm re-reading Greg Louganis's book Breaking the Surfice. Greg is a gay HIV+, gold metal Olympian in swimming from the 70's and 80's. Besides being a great athlete he is quite hot looking.

Madbrian: I was the same as you. Self taught but in Lotus and Excel spreadsheets. My only reading of spread sheets was 4 pages of the introduction to Lotus in a manual. I got bored with the reading, put the book down and then created a spreadsheet that the company used for 18 years before they closed down. One of my bosses at the last company I worked for thought that 3 of us could do with taking an intermediate Excel course. I was so worried about my lack of spreadsheet knowledge that I didn't sleep for 3 nights prior to the course.
  Knowing that I was self taught and wanting to use my lack of spreadsheet knowledge to fire me seemed like the perfect opportunity for him. When we got back he called the other two into his office for an update on how we did. He got quite pissed when he asked them how I did. They told him that the class was over booked and I ended up teaching the back half of the class.
    I still have problems formatting a date but I can do formulas, pivot tables, embed hot links and link spreadsheets together. My pie charts and bar graphs are all colour coordinated and truly a thing of beauty thanks to being gay.

[bear60]

Interestingly enough, Edfu and I are reading the SAME book.  Edmund White was just here in Philly to read from his new book...CITY BOY and I went to see him and then had dinner with him after the reading. The dinner was a fundraiser for Giovanni's Room which is a last survivor gay bookstore... which is having to raise funds for a repair to the building.

[Theyer]

The Girl Who kicked The Hornet,s Nest--Stieg Larsson------The end off Millenninm Trilogy---
A Fine Balance-------Rohinton Mistry

[WildcatCC]

I try to read a book every week or 2. Here are some recent ones that I really enjoyed:

Medicus
Pope Joan
The Strain
City of Thieves
Death. A Life (this was the funniest book I ever read!)
Water for Elephants
Life of Pi
The Four Agreements

[BT65]

Right now I'm reading a pretty good one.  It was written (translated, of course) by Osama bin Laden's first wife and 4th son, who both left (escaped) Afghanistan a few years ago.

Edited for a correction.

[leatherman]

Being the coke addict that I am (the brown fizzy drink of course! ) I'm currently in the middle of "Belching out the Devil" by Mark Thomas (some Brit satirist/TV host/comedian whom I've never heard of here in SC, USA), a book about the "evil" coporate practices of the Coca-Cola company. Although nearly halfway through the book, I would say that it's more about how a multinational corporation stays out of the internal affairs, crimes, and despotic regimes in places around the world like Columbia, Turkey, and El Salvador.

The title refers to a Mayan community that drinks Coke to burp out evil spirits.  and of course, I have been drinking a big tall icy-cold glass of coke while I'm reading. Ahhhhh,  "It's the real thing" and "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" because "Coke adds life" so "Have a Coke and a smile." BURP!

[minismom]

Right now I'm reading "Cross Country" by Patterson.  I'm also reading "The Tale of Despereaux" for a children's reading group that I teach. It is a MOST excellent book!

 I've got a stack of books on my bedside table that I was hoping to get to before the holidays (so I could ask for their sequals as gifts).  But, life happens and I'm just getting started.  Earlier, I read "Behind the Bedroom Wall" also for my children's group.

Mike, you're another Patterson fan, yes? 

Mum

[leatherman]

Right now I'm reading "Cross Country" by Patterson. ...Mike, you're another Patterson fan, yes? 

yes! funny you should bring that. I had read that book earlier this yr living up in OH; but my Mom came home with it in paperback the other day and I coudl hardly remember what happened so I re-read it. Mom deseperately wanted to talk about it, so I had to put down the Coke book and uber-speed read through the thing to get her off my back. LOL Luckily, Patterson books tend to be written anymore to be gobbled up like that anyway Not giving any of it anyway, cause it was still a Det Cross book, we weren't all that happy with it. It, like most of those that he is "co-writing", seemed a little flimsy, pretentious and not quite all believable.

http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Unabashedly-Bookish/The-James-Patterson-Factory-and-the-Appeal-of-Plot/bc-p/340435

When Patterson "writes" a book, he writes about a 60-page plot summary and sends it off to one of his staff writers, who fleshes out the text for him.  Staff writers mail him copy, and he edits it and sends it back.  Patterson has modeled his factory process off of the Hollywood film system.  Patterson's writers follow just a few stylistic rules: keep chapters short, use short sentences, and drive the plot forward with every word.

However, with the book deal he signed back in sept 09 two more Alex Cross books are coming, "I, Alex Cross" and "Alex Cross' Trial". Plus three more Women's Murder Club books. And even though I ragged on "Cross Country" some, you know I'll still be wanting to read all of these other ones because he made me care about Alex Cross and Lindsay Boxer.  ROFL

Oh, and I read a few other books this last week. "The Overcoat and Other Stories" by Nikolai Gogol was only so-so as the stories were written around 1840-1850 or so. I was "researching some music online" (that means illegally downloading LOL) and was on some Russian kid's web blog that had a banner across the top of what I took to be famous Russians. I can't read Russian, so I was just guessing about that. Well one of those guys, this Nikolai Gogol looked just like my Randy! (Randy's mom freaked out when I emailed her a pix) I googled and wiki-ed and found out who he was, ordered a booked through the library, and read it. Bleh! The stories were okay I guess for 1850 but I guess I'm a too sophisticated reader here 160 yrs later, so the stories seemed very juvenile.

I also read "The Ground Truth" by John Farmer, the senior counsel to the 9/11 Commission, which tried to explain how what really happened and the story of what happened don't quite match (Cause like is human nature, people fudged the truth so they didn't look like they screwed up their jobs ), and "One Nation Under Fear" by Bob Cesca which I thoroughly emjoyed as I believe there to be entirely too much fear-mongering about everything these days.

For fun, I've got some Trek books to read next , and one last non-fiction, "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban undermines the military and weakens America" by Nathaniel Frank. I'll finish those off through the weekend and head back to the library. It's really cool now living here so close to the state line. There's a Charlotte/Mecklenburg Cty NC branch about 5 miles away that we paid $35 to get yearly access and a Fort Mill/York Cty SC library 5 miles the other way that I can access for free as a resident. WooHoo! I just have to remember which ones I checked outta where though. ROFL

[WildcatCC]

I love the Alex Cross character in the James Patterson books. Good writing, good reading.

Also the Alex Delaware character in James Kellerman's books. He also has that gay lieutenant Milo Sturgis - an irascible, hardened cop. 

[leatherman]

I've never read any of the Jonathan Kellerman "Alex Delaware" books; but once again, my mom just passed one of those off to me claiming that I just had to read it. LOL Since we're sharing the NC library account, that's in her name, I explained I'd be glad to let the library books go overdue (and she could pay the fine) if I really, really had to read that book this very weekend. ROFL Since it's a paperback she bought, she graciously conceded that I could finish the Coke book first ; although she suggested I could renew the gays in the military book and just return the Trek books unread.

Not that I mind too much, but I didn't realize moving down here that not only would I read my regular amount of books; but that I'd also have to read along with my Mom's literay list too. At least, I've already flatly drawn the line with her husband - I refuse to read those westerns and historical novels that he reads. I already read the Dan Brown/Clive Cussler/et al spy books that he likes.

[hwy11poz]

... I still need to read The Mayfield Witches, I think it's called by Anne Rice. Sigh, one day...

That title doesn't sound quite right - my Anne Rice books aren't in front of me, but I think it's "The Witching Hour". It's been years now since I read it, but it was wonderful and I think I will re-read it soon now.

Just finished Dan's Brown's "The Lost Symbol" and also like the Alex Cross books by James Patterson. I'm ashamed to say I haven't read as much lately - I've turned into a Mafia Wars addict on myspace.

I also quite liked "A Density of Souls" by Anne Rice's son, Christopher Rice, who is gay. It was his first book and also had some disturbed characters - like mother, like son I guess.

[Oceanbeach]

Goddess, it's been ages since I picked up a book. I could use a trashy novel about now. Is Jackie Collins still writing? I still need to read The Mayfield Witches, I think it's called by Anne Rice. Sigh, one day...

Oh My Queen,

We have a full moon which is void in course with a lunar eclipse on New Years Eve this year.  I am dusting off my spell books to write a productivity spell for the upcoming year.     Have the best day
Michael

[GNYC09]

That title doesn't sound quite right - my Anne Rice books aren't in front of me, but I think it's "The Witching Hour". It's been years now since I read it, but it was wonderful and I think I will re-read it soon now.

yup, you're right.  I tried to read "The Witching Hour" once but only got through 150 of the 1,038 pages (no exaggeration!).  

And, yes, those Jackie Collins books were a fun.  Lucky Luciano was the name of the lead character I think?

[randym431]

I don't read much.
But I do listen to audiobooks a lot at work on my mp3.
I work nights, so i can get away with it.
One audiobook I just finished was the one by the Dave Letterman
band leader Paul Shaffer "We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives".
I really liked it. A lot of in site to the Vegas night life back in the rat pack days.
And on Paul's parents, his SNL days, and getting on Letterman.
A lot of entertainment history.

One hard copy book I just finished was "R.I.P."
It wasn't really a book book in that its mostly LAST WORDS AND SAYINGS
on celebrity and the famous head stones, or their last communication before passing away.
Also some head stone writings from long long ago.
A lot of humor in the book too.
Did you know in the old days, 1800's and before, it was typical to put "something"
on everyones head stone. If the deceased had given no last words, the friends or family
made up something. It was also a common way for "acquaintances" of the deceased
to get even with an less than liked deceased person.
Some of the head stone writings were down right mean and nasty on a persons stone
that was thought to be a nasty bad unlikable person. Funny but really nasty.
Like I said, a lot of humor there.

And last words or communication, usually witnessed by family on death watch.
One famous actress (can't remember which one off hand) her last words
were to her maid in the room. The dying bed ridden actress ask the
maid to hand her her hair brush. And then she was gone.
A famous writer wanted to be placed in a chair looking out at the sunset. Then he was gone.
Several people seen beautiful light, or heard faint calming music, that they mentioned just as they passed. One famous historian said "did you hear that?", and died.
Pretty interesting...

[Oceanbeach]

It was also a common way for "acquaintances" of the deceased
to get even with an less than liked deceased person.
Some of the head stone writings were down right mean and nasty on a persons stone
that was thought to be a nasty bad unlikable person. Funny but really nasty.
Like I said, a lot of humor there.

My fathers last words were to criticize me.  He damned me for not replacing the fuel pump with factory equipment.  We shaked and baked him so there was no tombstone to have fun with     Have the best day
Michael
(who was an acquaintance)