What BOOK are you reading right now?

I'm near the end of The First American the life and times of Benjamin Franklin by H.W. Brands. It's interesting to watch this man, who so loved England, come to see that independence for America is not only inevitable but also right.

In the mail today: Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and the most popular book of last month's subway survey* : The Da Vinci Codes.

* The subway survey is taken by yours truly on a daily basis. The means of collecting data is mostly craning my neck to see what book is being read two seats over or by learning to read the book title upside down on the open volume in the lap across the way........

Kara, the book you were thinking of was Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

YES, mac 11. A true genius, Toole was, and he died so young.

gautam, that is discouraging news. I'll give it a try and see if I agree. So it is a cliché that asian women are treated badly in the UK? In what way are they stereotyped?

Unrelatedly (it is about undocumented aliens in London,) have you seen Dirty Pretty Things? Silly title, seeming to have no connection to the story, but the film is excellent.

Has anyone read Toole's other book, the one his mother presented to the world years after his death? It is moving and sad.

What is the name of it, hobitbob? I'd be interested in reading it.

The Davinci Code, while entertaining and a very fast read, was a bit too contrived and very predictable. Interesting historical background, well researched, but the element of mystery certainly needed work.

Toole's 2d book: the Neon Bible.

hobitbob, I did not know he'd written another book. Have you read it?

Yup. Quite depressing, but very good. Apparrently it was written not too long before he took his own life.

Gus If you give away any teeny bit more of the plot of the Da Vinci code, I will find you and eat your liver for lunch.

Its a fight!
Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!

teehee

One of the most remarkable books I have read in recent years is "An Instance of the Fingerpost" by Ian Pears.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/009975181X/ref%3Dsr%5Faps%5Fbooks%5F1%5F1/202-9743830-1921461

A historical novel; but even if you don't like them, don't let that put you off. Read the Amazon review; this is a book of the highest quality, and works on many levels. That rare combination, a masterly work and an enjoyable read.

McT
(has this title come up before? Has anyone else read it? I'm a newcomer to the thread.)

Art Brut by Michek Thevoz. Trying to justify my own painting as art.

I read Fingerpost about three years ago, mostly on the train to work. It came in the mail by miscue, meaning that I didn't tell Quality Paperback Book Club that I didn't want them to send it. (Anyone else in one of those clubs??) Invariably, with the books that come by miscue, it's something I should have ordered and the universe is merely bopping me on the ear with it.

I can tell if I am enjoying a book by how many times I miss the stop at 59th Street and end up walking to work from 14th, for this book about three, which is high for a novel.

This book combines the best of intricate, detailed, historical writing and a good yarn.

Joe

Joe Nation made this request...




Does that mean I can't mention the corpse hidden in the back of the igloo? Or the vampire's deadly rendezvous with the scientist? Surely I'm not required to keep silent about the swarm of locusts or the attack of the spotted leopard?

Oh well, you asked politely, so I'll grant your wish and not disclose any of the juicy details.

Probably

Let's see.... I'll need some onions and I think I'll have the golden mashed potatos and a light red wine. Liver needs a light red wine...... Now where's that knife sharpener........

J

Might I recommend a nice merlot?

Farver beans....and a nice chianti... :wink:

I don't like fava beans....they taste like paste. I think Hannibal ate them because they looked so much like kidneys, not the kidney bean, real kidneys.

Two other, very different, books I recently read are:

1421 by Gavin Menzies. Menzies believes, and there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to back him up, that fleets of Chinese junks circumnavigated the globe seventy years before Columbus stood hat in hand before Isabella. Check out the website http://www.1421.tv
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston The real danger of smallpox as weapon.