What Are You Reading Now?

[Parrot Head]

Just started listening to Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath book on audible. Pretty interesting so far. I think he would approve of BYU's "Go Fast, Go Hard" approach this season.

I recently finished reading this. It didn't wrap up as cleanly as I remembered the others doing, but it was a good read and brought some research and numbers behind some things many of us are familiar with. I think he may approve in some way of Ether 12:27.

[UVACoug]

I recently finished reading this. It didn't wrap up as cleanly as I remembered the others doing, but it was a good read and brought some research and numbers behind some things many of us are familiar with. I think he may approve in some way of Ether 12:27.

Just finished it this week. I agree that it wrapped up in a weird way. He seemed to lose his theme a bit in the closing chapters, but it was an interesting book.

[UVACoug]

Not sure this belongs in this thread, because you really have to listen to this (rather than read it) to get the most out of it, but I am currently listening to an excellent series of lectures on Shostakovich by Robert Greenberg on Audible:

http://mobile.audible.com/productDet...B00DC3XUMC&s=s

If you are interested in Shostakovich at all, I recommend it.

[SteelBlue]

So, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was very good and I recommend it. However, over the Holiday weekend I picked up and read The Orphan Master's Son because it won the Pulitzer for fiction this year. It is absolutely a must read.

Adam Johnson demonstrates the horrors of life in North Korea, while showing us the humanity in the general populace and how trapped they are in a horrible situation. If it is even half as bad as portrayed in the novel, it would still be heartbreaking.

[SteelBlue]

Recently finished A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, and The Surrendered by Chang Rae Lee. Lee's novel was particularly interesting. It's about 3 main characters whose lives intersect at an orphanage in South Korea just after the Korean War. The chapters dealing with their lives pre-war and during their time at the orphanage were excellent. Unfortunately 1/3 of the book, the portion dealing with their later lives in the 1980's, didn't work for me. Although beautifully written, I found that portion of the plot less interesting and overly dramatic at times. I think those chapters may have cost Lee the 2011 Pulitzer for which this book was a finalist.

Egan's book was the winner that year, though it seems a somewhat controversial one. It was an interesting look at the passage of time and its effects on a loosely connected group of people, many of whom, unfortunately, were assholes. One entire chapter is done in power point, which many found genius and some thought inane. I liked it. One thing I forgot to mention is that HBO bought the rights to this book and are doing a pilot for a series. Think "Shameless" but with a higher class of people.

[Omaha 680]

Conquering Gotham. It details the Pennsylvania Railroads struggles and ultimate success in building the first tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers into Manhattan and also the construction and demolition of the original Penn Station. Fascinating read and made me even more sad that I never got to see Penn Station.

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[Jeff Lebowski]

However, over the Holiday weekend I picked up and read The Orphan Master's Son because it won the Pulitzer for fiction this year. It is absolutely a must read.

What about all of us that raved about the book here? That wasn't a good enough reason for you?

[BigPiney]

What about all of us that raved about the book here? That wasn't a good enough reason for you?

He never listens to me.

[SteelBlue]

Ha, I thought I searched first, my bad. Btw, did you guys see the headline yesterday that Kim Jong Un ousted a top military commander? That has a whole new meaning to me now. The guy is probably in Yodok, eating moths and jerking off an ox as we speak.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Ha, I thought I searched first, my bad. Btw, did you guys see the headline yesterday that Kim Jong Un ousted a top military commander? That has a whole new meaning to me now. The guy is probably in Yodok, eating moths and jerking off an ox as we speak.

A few months ago there was a story about how he had a few people strapped to explosives and blown to bits. One was his old girlfriend, IIRC. Sadly, I think the book is fairly accurate.

[Blueintheface]

Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell/Patrick Robinson

A very good read.

[bluegoose]

I read The Road over thanksgiving. It has been sitting on my shelf for the last several years waiting to be read. Having heard just enough about the story to know how dark it was, I knew I didn't want to necessarily read it while I was relaxing on the beach during vacation. Late fall and early winter seemed like a good time to I give it a go.

I haven't enjoyed McCarthy's writing style in the past, but I loved reading this book. It was a total page turner for me. Watching the walking dead has turned me into a little bit of an post-apocalypse guy, so I was enthralled by his ability to take it up to a whole new level with complete world annihilation. Realizing that it is a work of fiction, I would love to have learned more about what caused the devastation. You know, so I can be better prepared when it actually does happen.

[Omaha 680]

Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell/Patrick Robinson

A very good read.

My wife can't wait for the movie. She loves Marcus Luttrell AND Taylor Kitsch. I can't compete.

[snowcat]

Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell/Patrick Robinson

A very good read.

I just started this.

[falafel]

I read The Road over thanksgiving. It has been sitting on my shelf for the last several years waiting to be read. Having heard just enough about the story to know how dark it was, I knew I didn't want to necessarily read it while I was relaxing on the beach during vacation. Late fall and early winter seemed like a good time to I give it a go.

I haven't enjoyed McCarthy's writing style in the past, but I loved reading this book. It was a total page turner for me. Watching the walking dead has turned me into a little bit of an post-apocalypse guy, so I was enthralled by his ability to take it up to a whole new level with complete world annihilation. Realizing that it is a work of fiction, I would love to have learned more about what caused the devastation. You know, so I can be better prepared when it actually does happen.

Loved that book and never want to read it again.