What Are You Reading Now?

[BigFatMeanie]

Again, maybe there is a better thread but Hulu is coming out with a series based on Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos:

[Northwestcoug]

I'm really enjoying N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth triology. I finished 'The Fifth Season' and am halfway through 'The Obelisk Gate'. All three books of the trilogy won the Hugo award in 3 consecutive years, the first time that's happened. She's a solid writer. Normally I hate first person narration but I don't mind it here.

I wouldn't have picked this up normally had my daughter forgotten it at our house years ago. If you're a fantasy fan it might not be on your radar. I recommend it.

[SteelBlue]

I'm really enjoying N. K. Jemisin's Broken Earth triology. I finished 'The Fifth Season' and am halfway through 'The Obelisk Gate'. All three books of the trilogy won the Hugo award in 3 consecutive years, the first time that's happened. She's a solid writer. Normally I hate first person narration but I don't mind it here.

I wouldn't have picked this up normally had my daughter forgotten it at our house years ago. If you're a fantasy fan it might not be on your radar. I recommend it.

I read The Fifth Season, liked it a lot.

[chrisrenrut]

I’m half way through Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It has 6 character storylines across different times lines. It took a bit to get interesting, but it’s now to the point where I am invested in the characters and storylines. There are just enough hints to build anticipation on how they will relate to each other at the end. And I like Doerr’s lyrical style of writing.

[BigPiney]

I'm listening to Mel Brooks' new book. It is a great jaunt down memory lane. I need to rewatch his movies.

One fun story was when he was getting the cast for Blazing Saddles together, he actually talked to John Wayne about being the Gene Wilder part. John said he loved the script, but that it was too dirty.

[PaloAltoCougar]

I'm listening to Mel Brooks' new book. It is a great jaunt down memory lane. I need to rewatch his movies.

One fun story was when he was getting the cast for Blazing Saddles together, he actually talked to John Wayne about being the Gene Wilder part. John said he loved the script, but that it was too dirty.

Ooh, I'll have to get that as I love Mel Brooks. It would have been fun to see The Duke performing this scene (one of my favorites), although Gene Wilder was superb.

[Clark Addison]

I have a hard time with favorites. I don't have a favorite color, food, song, band, pet, restaurant, friend, or pretty much anything else. My preferences and favorites changes month to month or day to day. (this makes password recovery questions difficult). But every time I watch Blazing Saddles, I think "This may be my favorite movie"

[BigPiney]

Ooh, I'll have to get that as I love Mel Brooks. It would have been fun to see The Duke performing this scene (one of my favorites), although Gene Wilder was superb.

He reads it and it is fun.

Another fun story. While writing High Anxiety, he had a standing friday lunch date with Alfred Hitchcock where they would review the script every week as it progressed.

[Pelado]

I have a hard time with favorites. I don't have a favorite color, food, song, band, pet, restaurant, friend, or pretty much anything else. My preferences and favorites changes month to month or day to day. (this makes password recovery questions difficult). But every time I watch Blazing Saddles, I think "This may be my favorite movie"

I too hate "favorite xxx" as security questions. But, to be honest, it does make me a little sad that you don't consider me your favorite [imaginary internet] friend.

[SeattleUte]

I recently finished “The Alexandria Quartet” by Lawrence Durrell. This is a series of short novels about British and French diplomats and writers and their women and Egyptian Jews and Copts in Alexandria, Egypt set in the 1930s and WWII. They were wildly popular in the 50s-70s and still have a cult following. The Modern Library ranked the Quartet as a whole the 70th best novel in the 20th century. Durrell was repeatedly speculated as Nobel Prize recipient.

[chrisrenrut]

I’m half way through Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. It has 6 character storylines across different times lines. It took a bit to get interesting, but it’s now to the point where I am invested in the characters and storylines. There are just enough hints to build anticipation on how they will relate to each other at the end. And I like Doerr’s lyrical style of writing.

Sorry to quote myself, but I finished and the finish was satisfying. The storylines intersections were resolved. Throughout the book the characters all experience so much strife and pain. There are no fairytale endings for them, but their conclusions all seem to fit.

Negative reviews all seem to complain about a slow and confusing start, which I can see. But many books are like that. Get through the world building in the first 100 pages and you are hooked. And again, I love Doerr’s prose. Very descriptive without coming across as forced.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Recently finished "We Were the Lucky Ones" based on a true story about a Jewish family in Poland that somehow survived the holocaust mostly intact. Written by a granddaughter. Remarkable story.

[Non Sequitur]

Had to drive to Cody, Wyoming and back over the weekend and listened to The Kind Worth Killing. It won't be nominated for a Pulitzer, but it was 10 hours of solid highway entertainment.

[happyone]

Last year I ended up reading 70 books - mainly history, but with some fiction

My favorites - in no particular order

Non Fiction

The Great Influenza
The Zealot and the Emancipator
Congress at War
In the Kingdom of Ice
The Anglo Saxons

Fiction

The Eagle's Claw - Jeff Shaara's look at the Battle of Midway
Gaius Valerius Verrens - a nine book series set in Imperial Rome

These novels begin with Boudicca's revolt in 60 AD and end with Agricola's victory at Mons Graupius in 85 AD (actual events). Between the two the main character is at most of the hot spots in that period of Imperial Rome, from Boudicca's revolt, the coming of Christianity to Rome, the death of Nero, the Jewish revolt and finally back to Britain for the final three novels of the series and Agricola's campaign to finally subdue the Natives (didn't work)

Currently reading Ken Follett's newest thriller

Never

[happyone]

A couple of books I've read this year

Walk in my Combat Boots - While the Prolific James Patterson is listed as the author, this is really a collection (47 first hand accounts ) of veterans of America's War on Terror. The ranks of the contributors range from Pvt's/Spec's to a Major General. The stories are from both male and female veterans, military specialties range from the Grunts and Dats on the pointy end of the spear, to medical people, supply types, pilots, intel types are all included - a good cross section of the modern military. Veterans are full time active duty and reservists called to a active tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. People who only did one term to careen soldiers. The stories retell both experiences in the Middle East to what happened when they returned home.

There are some fantastic stories recounted, including that last American to speak to Sadam before he was executed - a Reserve Major General who was commanding all medical assets in Theater and also was a dentist in civilian life. He was fitting Sadam for a crown when the iraqi's executed him - Sadam never got his crown. One story is ripped from the headlines - For those who don't remember the hostage situation in Texas recently, the hostage taker was attempting to release "The Lady of Al Qaeda - Aafia Siddiqui." She had attempt to kill he interrogators and was imprisoned at an AFB near Dallas. One of the people in the room when she made her attempt tells his story. Since this was published before the incident, Paterson got lucky

I think this is a 4+ star read.


Tecumseh and the Prophet - This is the story of the Shawnee War Chief Tecumseh and his brother, know to whites as "The Prophet" as they attempted to put together a coalition of Native tribes to prevent US taking Indian lands in the Old Northwest - now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, in the early 1800s. Tecumseh comes of almost Chivalaric in his "goodness', his while opponents, esp the future president William Henry Harrison - not so much. Again a 4+ star read