What are you reading the week of March 22, 2009?

[DUgosh]

I had surgery Wednesday, so my return to reading has been delayed. However I am enjoying
Death is a Bargain by Nora Charles.

[panader0]

1. "Down in Houston-Bayou City Blues" by Roger Wood

and "Baby Driver" an "On the Road" style book by Jack Kerouac's daughter Jan Kerouac.

[DFW]

2. 2 biographies of Eric Clapton

one in English and one in German

[monmouth]

3. "Moviola" by Garson Kanin

[Stanchetalarooni]

4. The Kindly Ones / by Jonathan Littell (Author), Charlotte Mandell (Translator)

"Oh my human brothers, let me tell you how it happened..."

Review
“Almost indescribable in its complexity and achievement: narratively powerful and hallucinatory.”
— Maclean’s

“A staggering triumph….”
— Le Monde

“A great work of literary fiction, to which readers and scholars will turn for decades to come.”
— The Times (London)

“The Kindly Ones is a work of art in its conception, admirable in what it sets out to do and in how much it accomplishes. . . . An important work. In that it keeps its eye on the unwavering idea of what it is to be human, it’s masterful.”
— Globe and Mail --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

[givemebackmycountry]

5. I'm re-reading "Pinball" by Jerzy Kosinski.

The story of "Goddard" the biggest rock star in the history of the world that no one has ever seen before, and the woman that wants to kill him.

Twisted and depraved.
Vintage Kosinski.
Read "The Painted Bird" it's remarkable.

This is the guy that wrote "Being There" another classic.

[Wheezy]

6. About to start Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. n/t

[sharp_stick]

7. I just finished

and enjoyed The Yiddish Policemen's Union (Michael Chabon) and am about to begin City of Saints and Madmen (Jeff Vandermeer). I have no idea what to expect from this one it came to me recommended.

[elocs]

8. I don't really read anything anymore, but I do listen to books on cd.

After being online my eyes are not up to anymore reading. I listen to books on cd that I get from the library while I walk so a good book gives me an incentive to walk. In a few minutes I will be finishing "The Last Town On Earth" by Thomas Mullen which is about the flu pandemic of 1918.

[safeinOhio]

9. Deer Hunting With Jesus-

Dispatches From America's Class War by Joe Bageant.
Premo stuff.

[Stellabella]

10. The Curse of the Spellmans

by Lisa Lutz. Third in a series - hilarious!

[Jim__]

11. The Chomsky-Foucault debate on Human Nature.

The debate took place in 1971 (the book was published in 2006) but the discussion could have taken place last week. I tend to agree with Chomsky. His view of human nature is that we are wired to perceive things in certain ways, and that determines the theories that we come up with. Foucault has a somewhat more complicated view of it. My understanding of what he is saying is that we perceive things the way our culture has prepared us to perceive them.

After the discussion on human nature, they discuss politics. Again, I find myself agreeing more with Chomsky than Foucault. Chomsky believes that the fight for human freedom must be tempered by the concept of justice. Foucault believes that justice is just a cultural concept and that when the current power structure is overthrown, the concept of justice will be overthrown with it. He believes the fight is for power. Period.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Bedside book: The Pillars of the Earth

Purse book: Still on that Australian mystery, Chain of Evidence.

[fadedrose]

13. HIGH SEASON by Jon Loomis

I finished it a couple of days ago. It was pretty good. Loomis posts here under "smoogatz" (I think). Am awaiting the next one, MATING SEASON, which comes out in a month or so.

Am now starting THE FAITHFUL SPY by Alex Berenson...so far it's okay...

[azmouse]

14. The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson

I'm likin' it.

[MrCoffee]

15. Dr. Sax - Jack Kerouac

My favorite Kerouac book...this is my 9th time reading it. Love it.

[HamdenRice]

16. Russel Banks, "The Sweet Hereafter" -- so far, disappointing nt

[Rowdyboy]

17. "The City of Falling Angels" by John Berendt.....

[Adelante]

18. Christine Falls by Benjamin Black

This is the pseudonym of the great Irish novelist, John Banville, who won the Booker Prize a few years ago for The Sea.

[Forkboy]

19. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

Funny stuff. :)

I have a book of T.C. Boyle short stories that I'm going to get to after this one, but I'm reading books really slow lately so it may be awhile.