Books? What are you reading?

[helstab]

Right now I'm readying

Kim Stanley Robinson's
The Year of Rice and Salt.

Black death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. What if the plague had killed 99% of the population instead? How would the world have changed? A look at the history that could have been through the eyes of soldiers, kings, explorers, and philosophers, slaves, and scholars. Islam and Buddhism are the most influential and practiced religions, while Christianity is merely a historical footnote.

The book follows a couple characters over a span of 700 years. Theses characters cosmic paths are bound and they meet each other in bardo(pergatory)in death. And follow each other in each life. they don't remember their previous lives, but the characters share similar traits and the first letter of their name stays the same. Its pretty weird.

Its starts off with a slave and a Mongol soldier. They die and become Indian women. Die and one becomes a tiger and the other a guy that lives by the tiger. In each life they play an important role to each other. CRAZY book.

[aurelialuz]

wow, that sounds like a cool book.

i'm trudging through T.E. lawrence's 'seven pillars of wisdom.' great reading but at page 469, it's starting to wear on me.

but i took a break from that last night to re-read parts of zappa's book. highly highly reccomended.

alex

[helstab]

yeah the only problem with this book is just when you get to know a character... BOOM he/she is dead... 100 years later they are back as someone else. I love it when I read it but its hard to pick up after putting it down.

This author wrote the Mars triology. which is AMAZING. I cant explain how good this trilogy is. If you ever though about the colonization of mars and the fate of earth this is the book. It is SOO good its scary. This guy is just too smart.

Red Mars
Green Mars
Blue Mars

SO SO SO good. There is nothing better when it comes to the idea of colonization. Check it out NOW!

[JGriffin]

I'm reading "Flowers in the Dustbin: the Rise of Rock and Roll 1947-1977" by James Miller. Pretty good basic history book.

I've read "The Beatles' Recording Sessions" and "The Beatles' Gear" books a bunch lately.

I'm also still worming my way through "A History of God," by Karen Armstrong, which is a discussion of various views of God as they developed through the history of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. That's one that I have to put down for a few days pretty regularly--mostly because I've been working so much lately I haven't got the brain space for theological history by the time I have time to read.

I also have a book of Ibsen stuff that sits on my nightstand waiting for me to get around to it.

[trashy]

Yeah, I read "History of God". Jesus! (No pun intended). I felt like my brain was going to tell me to fuck off the whole time I was reading that. Like in protest. Karen Armstrong must be a genius.

Right now I'm reading "Nausea" by Jean-Paul Sartre. It's not bad. I just finished "Henderson the Rain King" by Saul Bellow. That book was great; made me laugh.

[Shawn Simmons]

I just finished "Under the Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. THAT is a crazy ass book. It blew my hair back. I highly recommend this book.

Shawn

[marqueemoon]

I just finished Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". I'd definitely recommend it.

[durasoundrecordingco]

Wow Helstab, thanks for the info. Those books sound like really great reads.

I'm working on Alistair Reynolds' "Redemption Ark" and Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation". I like to read the heavy non-fiction, but I have to ease it up with the heavy Sci-Fi.

Next up: "One Market Under God"

[wing]

books? what are those?

[DUC]

Books are... I was going to explain, but it was way too complicated. And I'm drunk.

BTW, rock n' roll trivia on Howard Stern with Hank, the Angry Drunken Dwarf was amazing. Isn't he like dead?

I mean, this guy was smoking two bottles of vodka and killing the producer.

[I'm Painting Again]

I just finished Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". I'd definitely recommend it.

i did not like that one so much..what did you like about it?

i like Gilgamesh the Summerian poem, i like the new andrew george translation..penguin..O Shamash, turn your face to the Supplicant!

[bedbug]

Shakey: Neil Young's Biography by Jimmy McDonough. 700 freakin' pages!

[Monkeyfist]

I'm knee deep in Hunter S. Thompsons: Fear and Loathing in America. This book requires true grit, and I am chock full of that man! And before that I read Nick Hornsby's(?) High Fidelity (good f'n book!).

[marqueemoon]

I just finished Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". I'd definitely recommend it.

i did not like that one so much..what did you like about it?

i like Gilgamesh the Summerian poem, i like the new andrew george translation..penguin..O Shamash, turn your face to the Supplicant!

I just like the economical use of language. It was not too flowery, but still had a lot of good imagery.

[No Wave Casio Kitsch]

I'm knee deep in Hunter S. Thompsons: Fear and Loathing in America. This book requires true grit, and I am chock full of that man! And before that I read Nick Hornsby's(?) High Fidelity (good f'n book!).

Yes, Yes...High Fidelity is a very enjoyable read. Incidentally, the location of the store in the movie of same name is an empty storefront, BUT....the store mentioned by Dick ("I found such and such limited edition japanese import only over at Vintage Vinyl this weekend..") is a real store. I had to go check it out and, no big shocker here, it's filled with 90% old old vinyl and a few CDs such as $50-$100 Radiohead and Weezer bootlegs.

Yesterday I started reading one of Al Franken's books as well as John Berendt's Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil.