What Are You Reading Right Now....

[Holly]

Originally Posted by huxley
i think you just did make a comment!!!!!!!

ah...but not about any religious or political aspects...simply saying a book sparked debate is completely allowed.

[Bruce M. Morris]

Originally Posted by Marbean

"A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett

Great book! Makes you want to get underway immediately..

[Champuu]

Currently reading "Doubt" a history by Jennifer Michael Hecht. Reads like a hitory book from Zeus and Hera to the current day. Very interesting, but reads like a research paper.

One of my favorites, I finished awhile ago but it is worth listing IMO is "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. Great story, easy to read, can be a bit graphic at times but one of my favorites.

Champuu

[Digital Prophet]

Oh well if we are listing books we read recently allow me to toss out:

The Red Tent - Anita Diamant

That is one awesome book. Not only is it biblical fiction it tell a fascinating story that parallels and at time intersects that stories of the bible. But what this most interesting to me was that it is a story that is probably 95% centered around women.

Let me be the first to say that women characters that are written by women writers are strange things for male readers. But an excellent book none the less. I couldn't put it down.

Oh and of course:

The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte

Or really any of his books. I have yet to read one that wasn't fantastic. Good stuff right there baby.

And no bookshelf is complete without:

I'm Just Here for the Food - Alton Brown

If you ever wanted to learn why you cook good or how to cook better and also would like a smile whilst you do it then this is the man to go to. Alton, hollow be thy name.

Prophet out.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by Digital Prophet

Oh well if we are listing books we read recently allow me to toss out:
snipped

Oh and of course:

The Flanders Panel - Arturo Perez-Reverte

Or really any of his books. I have yet to read one that wasn't fantastic. Good stuff right there baby.

snipped

Prophet out.

You are spot on about Perez-Reverte. But I have to rate his _Club Dumas_ his finest to date. Interestingly, you can actually take the book walk in Paris he describes.

But I do find his Captain Alatriste series too imative of Patrick O'Brian.

[deanna]

I also enjoyed Digital Fortress more than Da vinci code and Angels and Demons. Deception Point is also good.

Currently I am reading 7 Deadly Wonders by Matthew Reilly.

[Gordon]

I read the Club Dumas quite recently. Fun read though the film was pretty bad, dropping the entire Dumas thread for a start.

Read Past Mortum and Dead Famous both by Ben Elton in the last couple of weeks. I'd recommend them both, though Dead Famous was better. Also read Going Postal by Terry Pratchett which was a return to form for him.

Made the mistake of reading '1st to die' by James Patterson. Trite, crappy, one dimensional characters. Boring. I can't believe people buy this crap. (serves me right for traveling for 60+ hours this month)

Sahara by Michael Pallin was good - his travel writting always brings me along mentally.

Also read Jamie's Dinners by Jamie Oliver. Some good looking simple recipes in there.

Soft by Rupert Thomson was an interesting take on the dangers of subliminal advertising.

Lonely Planet guide for portrait photography (Australian edition) had some good insights and gave me some good ideas.

Been a busy month for reading. Everything is in boxes, so not reading much of anything at the moment, though did flick through W Magazine this morning.

Starting 'the left hand of darkness' by Ursula Le Guin this weekend (first thing to fall out of a box :) )

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by bullsparade

Be sure and read Angels and Demons from Dan Brown and Digital Fortress. I really preferred them over Da Vinci Code. I like the puzzle pieces Dan leads his readers into and all the above titles involve encrytpion and deciphering.

Wow - I have totally the opposite point of view. I think I read Dan Brown backwards through his writing career fro Da Vinci Code about a year ago. His style devolves, his characters devolve, his plots become even more obvious and trite.

Da Vinci Code was an interesting and entertaining puzzle book which happens to have gotten some people in a tiz, but the rest of his books were really immature in style. If you want a good read involving encrpytion & deciperhing along side a good treasure hunt, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is excellent. Though it continues his style of not being able to finish a story particularly well, it is a fantastic, layered and enjoyable read.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Wow - I have totally the opposite point of view. I think I read Dan Brown backwards through his writing career fro Da Vinci Code about a year ago. His style devolves, his characters devolve, his plots become even more obvious and trite.

Da Vinci Code was an interesting and entertaining puzzle book which happens to have gotten some people in a tiz, but the rest of his books were really immature in style. If you want a good read involving encrpytion & deciperhing along side a good treasure hunt, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is excellent. Though it continues his style of not being able to finish a story particularly well, it is a fantastic, layered and enjoyable read.

Neal Stephenson in my opinion in _Snow Crash_ wrote the abolutely finest example of what the opening first page of a novel should be if it's to meet L'Amour's idea that it should grab you by the collar and punch you in the gut.

But other things. if you like Cryptonomicon, take a look at Umberto Eco's _Foucault's Pendulum_.

[johnastovall]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Wow - I have totally the opposite point of view. I think I read Dan Brown backwards through his writing career fro Da Vinci Code about a year ago. His style devolves, his characters devolve, his plots become even more obvious and trite.

Da Vinci Code was an interesting and entertaining puzzle book which happens to have gotten some people in a tiz, but the rest of his books were really immature in style. If you want a good read involving encrpytion & deciperhing along side a good treasure hunt, Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is excellent. Though it continues his style of not being able to finish a story particularly well, it is a fantastic, layered and enjoyable read.

If _Da Vinci Code_ was capable of putting people in a tiz, I hope those tized never read the non-fiction (proported) by Baigent it was based on. They will surely have apoplexy.

Dan Brown is more of typist than a writer.

[LoungeLizard]

This thread!

On the flight back from California today, I read "Perfect Exposure".

[Mike G]

Originally Posted by jeffkohn

Just finished Stephen King's "Cell"

I just finished that one not long ago, what'd you think?

[jeffkohn]

But other things. if you like Cryptonomicon, take a look at Umberto Eco's _Foucault's Pendulum_.

Foucault's Pendulum was very good, lot of really subtle humor although a fairly dense read for fiction (for me anyway). I must confess part of the reason I never bothered with Da Vinci Code is because from the description it sounded a bit like he took the conspiracy theories from Foucault's Pendulum and just added some anti-Catholocism to the mix. Maybe that's completely off-base but I also figured that with all the hype Da Vinci Code was pretty much guaranteed to be a letdown...

[jeffkohn]

(re: Stephen King's "Cell")

Originally Posted by nitromike

I just finished that one not long ago, what'd you think?

Not his best work, but not his worst either. Certainly better than "From a Buick 8" for instance and for fans of his writing it's worth a read.

To me King's books are really more about the characters than the story. I thought the characters in "Cell" were fairly well written but not quite believable sometimes; they just didn't seem quite as real as in some of his best books. The ending was a bit lame IMHO, if it was his intention to give the reader some hope he didn't suceed (not for this reader, anyway).

Oh and I'm sure there will be a movie and it will be absolutely dreadful.