What are you reading the week of August 15, 2010?

[DUgosh]

Highway Robbery by John Billheimer

[Adsos Letter]

1. whoops! Not fiction.

:blush:

[hippywife]

13. That's okay.

We list everything we read in these threads. :hi:

[applegrove]

2. "The Swimming Pool" by Holly LeCraw.

[Staph]

3. The First Man in Rome

by Colleen McCullough -- the first in her Masters of Rome series. Fiction, but based on the events of Rome in the time of Julius Caesar's parents and grandparents, focusing on Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Fascinating!

[hippywife]

14. I read the complete series.

I've always loved learning about the Roman Empire. :hi:

[tulsakatz]

4. the wrecking crew

by thomas frank....

[Chipper Chat]

5. The Winds of War

by Herman Wouk

[mrmpa]

6. I haven't read that in years, it is a fantastic book--

This is my summer to reread what I haven't read in years. I'm reading Dean Koontzs' "The Watchers". Next stop, "Winds of War" and then on to "war and Remembrance".

[MaineDem]

10. Oh, I loved that book!

So much much better than the movie. I should re-read that series again.

[Chipper Chat]

12. I am only into the first 3 chapters.

And I am amazed how perfect Polly Bergen was for the part of Rhoda in the TV miniseries.

[Jim__]

28. I read that when it first came out.

I really enjoyed Wouk's background material on the war. I thought it was one of the best WWII fiction stories written. I couldn't wait to read his follow-up book, "War and Remembrance", but, when it finally came out I was totally disappointed in it.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. Michael Lewis's The Big Short.

Entertaining and readable history of how the Wall Street people created all the economic means of mass destruction,
starting back in late 90's.

Amazingly, they did not seem to see past the next windfall, had very little idea of the financial Frankenstein they created, and no clue how to stop it. Huge unintended consequences, apparently, of their greed.

Lewis is a heck of a writer, his books read like fast paced novels.

[pscot]

31. I'll race ya

I started it last night.

[dixiegrrrrl]

34. I find myself reading some pages twice just to make sure I really heard

what he was saying about how insane the bubbles were.
It has answered one question for me:
MIHOP or LIHOP?
these guys were totally clueless to the wave of consequences they set off. Hubris+greed=blowback,
but each incremental step made sense at the time to them.
Sorta like BP did not set out to destroy the Gulf and the means of living for hundreds of thousands of people,
but they did try to minimize and lie and cover up the consequences of their greed and carelessness.

Lewis is a hell of a writer, eh?

Tho I guess for us poor slobs wayyyyyyyyy down at the bottom of the pecking order, it does not matter if the giants
intentionally tossed a boulder that smashes us or it just accidentally fell. We still get the brunt of it.

[Hardrada]

8. The Foundations of the Nineteenth Century

by Houston Stewart Chamberlain

[Hestia]

9. "Waking the Witch" by Kelley Armstrong

I deserve froth after reading The Passage.

[LWolf]

11. You Don't Even Know Me:

Stories and Poems About Boys

By Sharon Flake

[hippywife]

15. Nothing. *sniff*

I had so many errands to run yesterday, I was too hot and too tired to make the final stop at the li'bary. I do have these books waiting for me to pick up tomorrow, though:


Twenty Years at Hull-House with autobiographical notes by Jane Addams (posted by someone else here.)

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (from scanning the NYT book list.)

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather (from scanning the library's recommended reading list.)

:hi:

[LWolf]

16. Those sound intriguing.

My "to read" list is always way longer than my time allowed.

Tell us about them when you're done!

:hi:

[hippywife]

17. The things I choose to read

usually meander all over the place. LOL

Have you read English River or Dancing at the Rascal Fair by Ivan Doig? They go together and are really, really wonderful books. I learned about them from Diane Rehm on her program last year. They are older books but Dancing at Rascal Fair is her favorite book so they were talking about them. I get so many good book recs from listening to NPR.

What else is on your list? :hi:

[LWolf]

18. Haven't heard of those. I'll add them.

Sigh.

After my current read, I've got a very large pile of young adult books to read; school starts in a couple of weeks and I need to be current on everything my students will be reading, and newer things I want to recommend to them. I read most of what they are choosing, and a wide variety of other stuff to recommend for their personal reading.

I've survived the twilight drama, and it's beginning to die down. Thankfully. The current HOT series for ya readers is "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. The final book in the series comes out in about a week. They were frothing at the bit when we left in June, and several have kept in touch over the summer by email. They don't want to wait for school to start to discuss it.

It's an intense hybrid; A futuristic, post-apocalypse story with elements of political and social evolution, "survivor," and Greek mythology; Theseus and the Minotaur, to be exact. And relationship conflicts. The mythological elements are subtle; while I'm familiar with Theseus, I might not have picked them up if the author hadn't pointed them out. The action keeps the boys tuned in, and the relationship dilemmas keep the girls obsessed.

[hippywife]

19. That's right!

I forgot you were a teacher. Sorry to add to your already extensive list of required reading. LOL

[LWolf]

20. I'm not sorry.

I often wish, though, that there were two of me. One to work, and do all the other things I must, and one to just read. :D

[hippywife]

21. That WOULD be ideal. LOL :0)

[Onceuponalife]

22. River God by Wilbur Smith

This will be my first book by the author of the Courtney family series of books. River God takes place in ancient Egypt.

[closeupready]

24. I have that on my bookshelf.

Haven't been able to start it though. Check back in here if you enjoyed it.

[Onceuponalife]

46. It was entertaining

Nothing great but the characters were easy to like and well worth a read.

[closeupready]

23. "Subterranean" by James Rollins.

Good adventure-type story and exciting pace, but the style is rather simplistic in the sense that if, for example, he is describing a beautiful sunset, he writes, "John looked at the beautiful sunset."

Oh well, it's genre, and he does it well. :)

[fadedrose]

25. HIGHWAY ROBBERY, read it & have it marked on my list as "good" eom

[fadedrose]

26. WHERE ARMADILLOS GOTO DIE by James Hime

Thought this was pretty good, the third in Himes' series. Jeremiah Spur, former Texas Ranger is a joy to travel with....I liked the first book, THE NIGHT OF THE DANCE, but didn't care for the 2nd book as much, SCARED MONEY.

[DUgosh]

45. Highway Robbery

I finished it just in time for a start of a new week, but I really liked Contrary Blues, Owen Allison # 1 better. I loved the characters in Contrary.

[fadedrose]

27. Starting BETRAYED by Robert K. Tanenbaum (eom)

[fadedrose]

42. Didn't care for this at all..

Nothing like the first 17 or so "Butch Karp" books.

Somewhat anti-liberal, leans to the right a bit much for me...

[AngryOldDem]

29. "The Mammoth Cheese" by Sheri Holman.

Interesting tale involving a lying president, Jeffersonian politics, a Chautauqua Society history impersonator, a family farm in trouble, and unrequited love. The "mammoth cheese" involves a re-creation of the cheese sent by a New England farmer to celebrate Jefferson's election back in 1801. (And that was news to me -- I thought the only cheese of that nature was sent to Andrew Jackson.)

She is doing a remarkable job of keeping all these disparate plot lines in the air. I'm enjoying it, and becoming a fan of her books.

[pscot]

30. The Big Short (my hold finally came in)

and the Girl Who Played With Fire. I'm not sure how I like this one. When a writer burns a couple of pages listing the Ikea names of all the products a character buys, I'm inclined to start skimming ahead.

[sea_dream]

32. The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint

  I just finished this book by Brady Udall whose book The
Lonely Polygamist has been on recent recommended lists.  Edgar
was published several years ago and I am happy that I found
it.  I am an avid reader and it is on my top 20 or maybe even
my top 10 list of all time favorites.  Excellent!

[dimbear]

33. "Cartagine in fiamme" di Emilio Salgari

the Italian Jules Verne. Remarkable how he prefigures the American pulp years. Also known as the father of the spaghetti western. Sad life, tho.

[hippywife]

35. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Only just started it last night and only made it to page 13. So far it's interesting. :hi:

[bluethruandthru]

38. I just started this as well.

I agree...so far pretty interesting. I think it's time for me to crawl into bed and read a bit more!

[hippywife]

39. Just getting ready to turn off the puter

and do the same. :D :hi:

[abluelady]

36. "Union Atlantic" by Adam Haslett

[japple]

37. Italian Fever by Valerie Martin. Very good so far. eom

[hippywife]

40. I've read two of her books:

Property and Trespass not too long ago. You'll have to tell me how this one is. :hi:

[Wolf Frankula]

41. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Wolf

[peaches2003]

43. An Elizabeth George

Needed an Inspector Lynley fix.

[bluethruandthru]

44. Always a good choice! n/t