What BOOK are you reading right now?

Finished The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest), #69, I think on that NPR Top 100 list (I only have 60 or so books to go lol).

Currently reading The Land of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll (thanks, dj!!). Delicious.

"The Land of Laughs is a book for anyone who has ever believed that a favorite book could be a safe place to go when things get hard." --Neil Gaiman

I'm reading a book I bought about twenty years ago and never got around to reading, Those were the days I ripped through hundreds of books about italy and some that I had bought got skipped, though over time I've pretty much read the missed ones.

So - man, I'm sorry I waited. I could have enjoyed this long ago and read it a second time by now. It's part of the science book series sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The book is In Praise of Imperfection, My Life and Work, by Rita Levi-Montalcini, nobel prize winner in medicine in 1986, for her work on Nerve Growth Factor. Starts, after an interesting introduction, with her life with her family in Turin, where she was born in 1909. I'm only on page 22, and am crazy about the writing, the observations, already. The book is in translation by Luigi Attardi - impeccably translated - though I've no doubt she speaks English very well herself. Per Wikipedia, she is still alive.

I don't know if she was in anyway related to another famous Levi from Turin, Primo Levi, who is my all time favorite writer (so far), though I've only read one book of his, The Reawakening.

still working my way through A Storm of Swords (keep re-reading graphic novels)

finished listening to The Land of Laughs a while back and just this minute started listening to The Night Circus

Frances Wilson - How to Survive the Titanic Or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay

Pride and Prejudice

Columbine, by Dave Cullen.

I didn't expect to be that interested, but, I am. Appears very well researched.

Hi osso, I bought that book (Columbine) at one of Laura Bush's Book Festivals in Austin. Just because the young author was there to sign it, and my youngest son and family live nearby. It gets pretty riveting on into the book. Then, I really could hardly believe those two boys! Some parents are so in the dark about their own kids. It would be helpful to other parents if someone would delve into the psyche of the boys' parents.

Living in Michigan years ago, a young boy killed his parents and his sister. The only thing to emerge in all the mess that followed was the boy felt his parents were pressuring him to make that good impression in that fundamentalist church they belonged to. That's all they cared about, the good impression so they (parents) looked good.

i heard the author interviewed on Coast to Coast Am, a few years back and immediately got the book, a very good read (or listen in my case)

Shut Up, Stop Whining And Get A Life by Larry Winget

Ghost Monster by Simon Clark

Oliver Twist.
I am always a little amazed about how many of the classics I never read going through Junior High and then High School. I was always in advanced placement english and reading classes but it seems like we did not get around to reading the books that every one else read. I have a kindle app on my new phone and get all the classics for free so I am working my way through them.

I'm reading a book Boomer sent me because she thought I'd like it, Shop Class and Soul Craft. She was right.

No kidding, it's like this guy is writing directly for me. I can't quote any of it as a sig line, it would flow over allowed spaces.

No doubt I'll work up some nagging knowing myself, but so far I'm understanding the writer. I'm early on in the reading.

Whatever, I'm interested in his questions.

Mrs Hinge bought me Panic by David Marr
http://www.themonthly.com.au/panic-david-marr-conversation-4295

I'm reading Life - Keith Richard's autobiography. My daughter got it for me for Christmas as I'm a LIFE-long Stones fan - and Keef is just a favorite character of mine.
He's a riot. He says, of a girl he fancied when he was a young lad, 'but she lived in a detached house - she was out of my league.'
There are some excellent photos too.
I might have to also listen to part of the audio book. My friend Erin was telling me she was listening to it on the way to work. I forgot to ask her if it was Keith reading it. If it is - I'm gonna have to listen to this in his voice - that would be priceless.

Platinum Phol.
Frederick Phol.

Some amazing short stories in this collection, and so close to the bone with predicting the future.

Not usually that big a fan of sci-fi, but this one was worth the effort.

I love a bit of Pohl. Age of Pussyfoot springs immediately to mind - and the Heechee series of course.

still reading the third Fire & Ice book (i love savouring it a chapter at a time)

re-reading DC's Wednesday Comics omnibus


Wednesday Comics was a weekly anthology comic book launched by DC Comics on July 8, 2009. The twelve issues of the title were published in 14" x 20" broadsheet format, deliberately similar to Sunday newspaper comics sections. Each edition featured 15 pages, each from a different story by a different creative team.

Each issue printed the strips in the following sequence:
Batman – story by Brian Azzarello with art by Eduardo Risso.
Kamandi – story by Dave Gibbons with art by Ryan Sook.
Superman – story by John Arcudi with art by Lee Bermejo.
Deadman – story by Dave Bullock/Vinton Heuck with art by Dave Bullock.
Green Lantern – story by Kurt Busiek with art by Joe Quiñones.
Metamorpho – story by Neil Gaiman with art by Michael Allred
Teen Titans – story by Eddie Berganza with art by Sean Galloway
Strange Adventures – story and art by Paul Pope and José Villarrubia
Supergirl – story by Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Amanda Conner.
Metal Men – story by Dan DiDio with art by José Luis García-López and Kevin Nowlan
Wonder Woman – story and art by Ben Caldwell
Sgt. Rock – story by Adam Kubert with art by Joe Kubert
The Flash – story by Karl Kerschl and Brenden Fletcher with art by Karl Kerschl.
The Demon and Catwoman – story by Walt Simonson with art by Brian Stelfreeze
Hawkman – story and art by Kyle Baker.

Same here. We go to Barnes & Noble once a week or so. I buy myself a
some sort of espresso drink and read a chapter or two. A fun read.

I finally finished Foucault's Pendulum. I got Destiny of the
Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
as a gift and am starting that. The president written of is James Garfield.

Just finished reading Curtis Sittenfeld's American Wife.
Got sucked in by the rave reviews.
An interesting read. It must have been ... almost 650 pages worth consumed in 3 hot days.

Curtis Sittenfeld: 'American Wife is the opposite of satire':
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/16/american-stories-curtis-sittenfeld

This voluntary "job" (the Brotherhood Book Room) I've been working at over the summer is throwing lots of different books my way. Some by authors I know absolutely nothing about, others more familiar.
But I haven't read this much in years.
Really enjoying it.

Here are a few of the books I've bought over the past fortnight, all just waiting ....

The Hours - Michael Cunningham. (I've seen the film a few times now, but never read the book. I liked his early novels a lot.)

A Good Scent From Strange Mountain - an oldie. Short stories by another unknown (to me) writer, Robert Olen Butler.
Sucked in by extravagant reviews, again.

Rose Madder - Stephen King.
Looked interesting. I've read only one other of King's novels, so I thought I'd try another.

Unpolished Gem - Alice Pung.
A young Chinese-Cambodian-Australian writer, who lives in Melbourne. Home territory. An account of the pursuit of the "Australian dream" by her family, told with humour & affection.

Plus a few more, too.
I'm going to try not to acquire anymore till I've read them all.
Ha.

Read Game of Thrones, it was a reccomendation from a friend who likes all the fantasy stuff. Made it all the way through. Wasnt impressed. I think the tv series did the book justice.