What swanky things are you reading?

[lashbear]

I'm reading Mrs Beeton's cookbook.

[flippyshark]

I've got a whole shelf of atheist literature, of which The God Delusion has the shiniest cover. (It's also highly quotable.) My favorites on this particular shelf are Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett, and The Reason Driven Life by Robert Price. (The latter is a chapter by chapter refutation of the best-selling evangelical tract The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren.)

I hang out over at richarddawkins.net, and on pretty rare occasions I post there, but I doubt I'll ever feel like an insider among that crowd. There's lots worth reading, watching or listening to there, however.

On another track, I finished The Road, and enjoyed it all the way through, while feeling just a tad underwhelmed by the ending, at least from a narrative point of view. It was a little more optimistic and hopeful than I expected, which is fine, of course. But it's the bleak stuff that's going to stick with me. I'm looking forward to the movie, which does not seem likely to me to be a mainstream hit.

[ToriBear]

I am reading Deadline by Chris Crutcher, Generation Dead by Daniel Waters, The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith, Faerie Path by Frewin Jones, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Been going back and forth between these five books, but more on Vampire Academy, Deadline and Faerie Path.

They are pretty good books, course, the Generation Dead and Deadline are slow and are a bit boring, but, I read it when I feel like it, since I want to find out what happens in the end.

[wendybeth]

I've got a whole shelf of atheist literature, of which The God Delusion has the shiniest cover. (It's also highly quotable.) My favorites on this particular shelf are Breaking the Spell by Daniel Dennett, and The Reason Driven Life by Robert Price. (The latter is a chapter by chapter refutation of the best-selling evangelical tract The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren.)

I hang out over at richarddawkins.net, and on pretty rare occasions I post there, but I doubt I'll ever feel like an insider among that crowd. There's lots worth reading, watching or listening to there, however.

On another track, I finished The Road, and enjoyed it all the way through, while feeling just a tad underwhelmed by the ending, at least from a narrative point of view. It was a little more optimistic and hopeful than I expected, which is fine, of course. But it's the bleak stuff that's going to stick with me. I'm looking forward to the movie, which does not seem likely to me to be a mainstream hit.


I loved 'The Road'. To tell the truth, I didn't find the ending to be at all hopeful or optimistic- it just sort of spoke of the idea of hope even at the end of all things. I am very much looking forward to the movie.

I just realized that since you added spoilers, I probably should have as well, but since the book has been out for quite some time I don't think we're giving too much away.

[Kevy Baby]

[COLOR=Purple][B]I am reading Deadline by Chris Crutcher, Generation Dead by Daniel Waters, The Vampire Diaries by L.J Smith, Faerie Path by Frewin Jones, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead. Been going back and forth between these five books, but more on Vampire Academy, Deadline and Faerie Path.I'm sensing a theme here, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

[frodo potter]

I just got The Dictionary of Imaginary places today. This is my second copy, my first having been stolen by an ex girlfriend. :(
It is a reference book containing descriptions or locals from fantasy literature of the last two hundred years. :cool:
The book has descriptions of places from Abaton, a town that moves around the world and has never been visited, (described by Thomas Bulfinch in 1892) to Zuy, a elfin kingdom in the Netherlands. (described by Sylvia Townsend Warner in 1972)
The book is a great jumping off point for getting to know some great fiction you never would have stumbled across otherwise. For example if not for its description I never would have read Titus Groan or At the Earth's Core.:)

[Ghoulish Delight]

Why Evolution is True (http://www.amazon.com/Why-Evolution-True-Jerry-Coyne/dp/0670020532) - Gerry A. Coyne

Not that I needed convincing, but this book, so far, is doing a stellar job of summarizing the preponderance of evidence in support of the theory of evolution, and how said evidence demonstrates conclusively that the theory is sound and testable, no more "in crisis" (as the ID/creationists would have you believe) than the theory of gravity.

It recounts how paleontologists have, over and over again, predicted the existence of certain fossil traits they'd expect to find in fossils of a certain age, only to discover precisely what the theory predicted. How isotope dating has been proven to be accurate by other independent forms of dating.

So even for someone like me who has no doubt of the veracity of Darwin's theories, it's been delightful seeing it laid out in detail, with concrete examples and illustration. It's given me a bit more incite into the particulars of HOW evolutionary scientists have gone about confirming and refining the theory, something about which I've only had vague assumptions.

[libraryvixen]

Tori, may I suggest "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary Pearson? I had my teens read this for our book club and they love it! We're discussing it on Monday!

[Andrew]

I have the newest Dresden Files book by Jim Butcher but somehow have not yet managed to pick it up. The two main times I read are at lunch and before bed; I've been going to the gym on my lunch break and going to bed earlier so I guess I'll have to figure something else out.

[Not Afraid]

I need to go out and get "Loving Frank" to continue with my FLW studies in preparation for another Chicago trip.

[3894]

I'm going to gas on about this because I think many of you will enjoy this book. Really, how many biographies of 18th-19th century private figures are page-turners? Dancing to the Precipice: The Life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin, Eyewitness to an Era by Caroline Moorehead (Harper, 2009) is vivid, shocking, and entertaining.

(Advance apologies for the cutesie recipe but it's the shortest way to share this 400+ page biography.)

Ingredients:
The court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
The Great Terror
America at the time of Washington and Jefferson
Paris under the Directoire and then under Napoléon
Regency London
The battle of Waterloo
The Italian ducal courts
Meticulous research
Beautiful writing

Sprinkle with friends like La Rochefoucauld, Joséphine, Lafayette, and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and plenty of trials and tribulations (besides the historical upheavals, it all begins with a shrewish grandmother in a long liaison with her uncle the archbishop).

Enjoy!

[Kevy Baby]

Are there any pictures? I have a hard time with books without pictures.

[3894]

Are there any pictures?

You betcha.

[Morrigoon]

Just finished reading Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw. I'd be very interested to hear if anyone else has read it, and what you thought of it. I rather enjoyed it and its refreshing take on morality.

[Betty]

Just starting to read The Hunger Games (http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Games-Suzanne-Collins/dp/0439023483)by Collins.

It was a recommended book to my teen daughter and she just finished and really enjoyed it. It seemed like something I might like too.

Here's part of the summary:

UpûIn a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

[Deebs]

The Lives of Animals (http://press.princeton.edu/titles/6543.html) by J.M. Coetzee.

[lashbear]

Today I'm reading THE WILDER LIFE: MY ADVENTURES IN THE LOST WORLD OF LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE BY WENDY MCCLURE (http://www.bookslut.com/nonfiction/2011_03_017428.php)

Having loved the Alison Arngrin book, this is another fun read for me as an avid Little House fan.

Tell you more when I finish.