What Are You Reading Now?

[Scott R Nelson]

Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage

My sister talked me into reading Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing. It was written in 1959 and wasn't all that popular back then, but became much more popular a few decades later. They came out with a new version (added a forward or something) for the 100th anniversary of Shackleton's trip.

The Endurance was the name of the ship that Ernest Shackleton had built to take to Antarctica in 1914 in his attempt to be the first to cross the continent. They sort of got stuck in the ice and spent 16 months either hanging out in the ship or in tents until they finally drifted to open water and they could sail to civilization. The whole trip was nearly two years and not a single man was lost, unlike quite a few other Arctic and Antarctic expeditions back then. I had heard the story before, but the details are fascinating.

This is definitely a good book in the non-fiction category. If you think your life is difficult, read about some true hardship and how they overcame adversity with so much going against them.

[BigPiney]

I finished Shuggie Bain last week. This book was really good. Set in the slums of Ireland in the 80's. This was kind of a coming of age book, similar in a way to The Nix or The Goldfinch.

This won the Booker Prize and I think it was well deserved. I highly recommend it.

[SteelBlue]

I finished Shuggie Bain last week. This book was really good. Set in the slums of Ireland in the 80's. This was kind of a coming of age book, similar in a way to The Nix or The Goldfinch.

This won the Booker Prize and I think it was well deserved. I highly recommend it.

Really looking forward to this one. Planning to read it soon.

Just finished David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green. It was the last of his fiction I hadn’t yet read. Mitchell is mind-blowingly talented. Can’t recommend him enough. Anything by him, just start.

[BigPiney]

Really looking forward to this one. Planning to read it soon.

Just finished David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green. It was the last of his fiction I hadn’t yet read. Mitchell is mind-blowingly talented. Can’t recommend him enough. Anything by him, just start.

I also liked The Sun Collective. For some reason I really enjoyed it.

[Scott R Nelson]

After reading a book based in the late 1930's (Gone Fishin' by Walter Mosley), I decided to read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck again. It was published in 1939.

I liked it the first time I read it in high school. I wasn't required to read it for an English class, I just decided to read it. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had been required to make a book report about it. So I'm doing it again, partly to see the commonality between their time and our time. I'm still in the (way too long) introduction right now, written by someone that I don't enjoy nearly as much as Steinbeck.

[BigPiney]

After reading a book based in the late 1930's (Gone Fishin' by Walter Mosley), I decided to read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck again. It was published in 1939.

I liked it the first time I read it in high school. I wasn't required to read it for an English class, I just decided to read it. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had been required to make a book report about it. So I'm doing it again, partly to see the commonality between their time and our time. I'm still in the (way too long) introduction right now, written by someone that I don't enjoy nearly as much as Steinbeck.

I always skip the intro.

[LiveCoug]

After reading a book based in the late 1930's (Gone Fishin' by Walter Mosley), I decided to read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck again. It was published in 1939.

I liked it the first time I read it in high school. I wasn't required to read it for an English class, I just decided to read it. I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much if I had been required to make a book report about it. So I'm doing it again, partly to see the commonality between their time and our time. I'm still in the (way too long) introduction right now, written by someone that I don't enjoy nearly as much as Steinbeck.

I did East of Eden for the first time a couple weeks ago. It was solid

[Bo Diddley]

My brooding on the human condition lately has lead me to read some of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Thoreau, and even some Shakespeare. I feel like I need to get paper copies so I can mark them up. Just finished Hamlet, and I'm working my way through Emerson's Representative Men. Who else would you add to that reading list?

[SteelBlue]

Haven't checked in here for a bit. Some of my reading since I last reported:

By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano: Read this after being floored by 2666. Great but not 2666 (and wasn't supposed to be)
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: This one is selling like crazy and she signed a 7 figure deal with HBO for a mini-series. Good but they hype made it impossible to live up to for me.
A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist by Dickens: I read Christmas Carol every Christmas but hadn't ever read twist. Love me some Charles Dickens. Can't go wrong.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: Hadn't read this since HS when I remember loving it. This time around I was annoyed by everyone and their drama but still appreciate the art.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: My first time reading and I loved it.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte: This completed my brief foray into the world of the Brontes. Honestly, this one was on track to being my favorite, started out so strong. But faded into Victorian nonsense at times and Charlotte ended up being the winning Bronte for me.
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende: Fantastic. Once I've been meaning to read for decades. What a debut.
A long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende: Was interesting to read both her first and most recent back to back. This one wasn't as good as her debut but definitely worth the read. Both were quite timely when it comes to the current political situation in the US and perhaps are a look at our future to some extent (if we don't get our collective shit together quickly).
Dead Souls by Sam Riviere: No, not that Dead Souls. this one was a galley that sounded amazing but ended up being so esoteric that unless you are a poet struggling to make ends meet, it really just didn't apply to you. A cool project and he's quite talented but man he's writing for a tiny audience here.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: Her first novel since Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I enjoyed the hell out of this one. Divisive probably, some will love it but huge fans of the massive tome may feel slighted. I think she pulled off something pretty interesting.
Never Let Me Go by kazuo Ishiguro: Another one I've been meaning to get to for a while. It lived up to the hype. Highly recommend.
Candide by Voltaire: Fantastic. First reading of it somehow. Sue me.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera: Interesting philosophical novel. Still thinking about it.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I forgot to mention that I read Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Fantastic, mind-blowing book. Everything you think you know about Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire is probably wrong. The guy was a genius and people generally prospered under Mongol rule. Open access to world markets, more humane laws, freedom of religion, lower taxes, etc. Highly recommended.

[falafel]

I recently read The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Steven Baxter. Sci Fi/Fantasy aren't really my thing, but this is sort of "light" Sci Fi. The idea is that there are infinite (maybe?) parallel earths that have developed and evolved that are just a "step" away from our earth. A very small number of people have known about them throughout history and can step between them naturally, but the rest of humanity learned about them when a scientist published plans for a box that anyone can make that will allow you to step to these other worlds. Suddenly scarcity of resources, land, food, etc. is no longer a real concern and people begin leaving for new earths as pioneers. Fun to think of the impact to society, government, relationships, etc.

I am now reading the second in the series, The Long War.

[clackamascoug]

I forgot to mention that I read Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Fantastic, mind-blowing book. Everything you think you know about Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire is probably wrong. The guy was a genius and people generally prospered under Mongol rule. Open access to world markets, more humane laws, freedom of religion, lower taxes, etc. Highly recommended.

Read that about three years ago - still can't get over the killing of his brother.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Read that about three years ago - still can't get over the killing of his brother.

Definitely a man of contradictions. Later he forgave his most bitter enemy after years of fighting. And one of his first acts was to outlaw kidnapping and theft.

[Clark Addison]

I forgot to mention that I read Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. Fantastic, mind-blowing book. Everything you think you know about Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire is probably wrong. The guy was a genius and people generally prospered under Mongol rule. Open access to world markets, more humane laws, freedom of religion, lower taxes, etc. Highly recommended.

Is it still true that he was the Wilt Chamberlain of the 13th century? That's the only one that would shake me.

Thanks for the recommendation. Ever since listening to Dan Carlin's podcast on him, I have wanted to read some more, but have never gotten around to finding something.

[clackamascoug]

Is it still true that he was the Wilt Chamberlain of the 13th century? That's the only one that would shake me.

Thanks for the recommendation. Ever since listening to Dan Carlin's podcast on him, I have wanted to read some more, but have never gotten around to finding something.

1 of every 200 men in the world - are descended from Khan - 0.5%. More than 16 million.

https://www.discovermagazine.com/the...f-genghis-khan