Whatcha Reading Now? Thread v3

709709
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
In the tradition of the "Whatcha Listening To? Thread(s)", I thought I'd start this and see how it goes.



I picked up a few books over the holiday as gifts from the future Father-In-Law, and the one I'm in the middle of now is:



"The Pleasure of My Company" ? Steve Martin



I've never been a huge fan of Mr. Martin's TV and film work, but I have to say this book is absolute genius. It's a quick little 200 page or so ditty about the human condition...from a 1st person viewpoint...and almost entirely viewed from the main character's 'condition'. It's great fun.



So what are all the other brainiacs in AO page-deep into? A brief synopsis sans spoilers would be appropriate.





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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 41
    My current selection is: If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat. I don't remember who the author is. Great book so far.
  • Reply 2 of 41
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    I'm looking forward to getting that big Farside collection. Of course, after this many years I've seen them all 1000 times.



    Tonight I'm taking home Cryptography's Role in Securing the Information Society. I doubt I will read it straight through considering it's a National Research Council study, in other words: BORING.



    I also have the Psychology of Graphic Images that I will probably skim as well.



    However, the big book I'm looking excited about reading this weekend (in between deathmatch and the new years gathering at my place) is The Problem of Freedom: Race, Labor, and Politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938. I've been told about this book time and time again from poli sci folks and it's about time I get down to it.



    I also just beat max payne 2 in about 9 hours on saturday. Does that count as reading?
  • Reply 3 of 41
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by 709



    "The Pleasure of My Company" ? Steve Martin



    I've never been a huge fan of Mr. Martin's TV and film work, but I have to say this book is absolute genius. It's a quick little 200 page or so ditty about the human condition...from a 1st person viewpoint...and almost entirely viewed from the main character's 'condition'. It's great fun.




    Oh wow! He has a new book? Shopgirl was absolutely great. I gave a bunch of them as presents last year or the year before. He really is an amazing writer. Have you seen the little things he's written for the New Yorker?



    I'm going to amazon to order that now. Oh, screw it. I'll just stop by Borders on the way home. Thanks for posting that.
  • Reply 4 of 41
    northgatenorthgate Posts: 4,461member
    For some reason I got a bunch of political books this year (Jeez, I wonder why). I'm looking forward to reading them all:



    BIG LIES by Joe Conason



    THE GREAT UNRAVELING by Paul Krugman



    BUSHWACKED by Molly Ivens
  • Reply 5 of 41
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giant

    Oh wow! He has a new book? Shopgirl was absolutely great.



    I'm picking up Shopgirl tomorrow at B&N.
  • Reply 6 of 41
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Polished off Mystic River by Dennis Lehane last night. Picked up The Jungle by Upton Sinclair and Blindness by José Saramago today. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman is next on my list.
  • Reply 7 of 41
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    I'm sure I'll have the Martin book finished by tonight, and next up is:



    Tough, Tough Toys for Tough, Tough Boys ? Will Self



    I love Mr. Self's work, and this one got through my radar somehow.
  • Reply 8 of 41
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
  • Reply 9 of 41
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    heh. 709, this is actually Whatcha Reading Thread v3. (Version's 1 and 2.)
  • Reply 10 of 41
    709709 Posts: 2,016member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ShawnJ

    heh. 709, this is actually Whatcha Reading Thread v3. (Version's 1 and 2.)



    Well, crap.



    Would the powers above be so kind as to change my thread title?



    Damn my ADD.
  • Reply 11 of 41
    Well I'm in the middle of Science: A History by John Gribbin. It's a readable collection of short biographies of major scientists from Galileo onwards. Click the link for a review. I'm really enjoying it. It's a nice combination of History, Biography and Science.



    I've also got 9 Orwell books piled in front of me as I had recently read his essay Politics and the English Language (reproduced in full if you follow the link) and thought it was simply amazing.



    I'd somehow managed to avoid reading his big hits (1984, Animal Farm) while growing up and felt it was a bit late to bother but someone mentioned here in AppleOutsider that Orwell and Umberto Eco were their favourite authors and that pushed me over the edge and so I thought it time to catch up with him. I've started with "Burmese Days" and it looks like I'm in for a series of treats.



    I've also got Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs the autobiography of John Lydon, which a colleague lent me. He gives it rave reviews. This is the latest in a long line of musical (auto-)biographies I've read including Johnny Cash (auto), Brain Wilson (auto), Andrew Loog Oldham (auto) and Phil Spector. All very interesting.
  • Reply 12 of 41
    two of my prizes from my book collection are steve martin books.



    first i have copy # 496 (out of 750) of the 1st edition of cruel shoes.

    which are new yorker pieces.



    then i have the follow up to cruel shoes, "pure drivel" also 1st edition, but autographed.



    if you like his little vignette pieces, you'll also like woody allen's collections, "without feathers" & "side effects" they are very similar.



    steve martin has also goaded johnny carson into contributing pieces to the new yorker that are like this.



    the book i'm reading now, (i was so excited at getting it for christmas that i set aside da vinci code) is "the storyteller's daughter" by saira shah.

    a nonfiction account of a british born afghan, who became a reporter for the bbc, and went back into afghanistan to record the taliban's atrocities to women. (among others) i heard her on the radio and asked for it for christmas.



    saira shah's "The Storyteller's Daughter"
  • Reply 13 of 41
    I just picked up the third in the Dune prequel, House Corrino. It is sweet so far (about a third way thru) it is awesome with tons of action and intertwining sub plots. I love the dune universe, now I have to find time to read the originals again :o)
  • Reply 14 of 41
    dmzdmz Posts: 5,775member
    Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy



    By Matthew Scully---very nearly a PETA treatise from a conservative, but fairly good all the same.
  • Reply 15 of 41
    bartobarto Posts: 2,246member
    Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy).



    Call me shallow.
  • Reply 16 of 41
    dmzdmz Posts: 5,775member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Barto

    Rainbow Six (Tom Clancy).



    Call me shallow.








    Huh? A mulitnational force tracking down international terrorists bent on killing thousands?



    ....Written 7-8 years ago?





    Clancy's right far too often on some things.
  • Reply 17 of 41
    homhom Posts: 1,098member
    My sister got me Swords Against The Senate. It's a book that looks at how the rise of private armies in Rome led to the downfall of the Republic. Right up my alley, I'm a huge Roman history buff and the fall of the Republic is by far my favorite time period. So far the book seems to be backing up some of my own conclusions about the situation.
  • Reply 18 of 41
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by dmz

    Clancy's right far too often on some things.



    <glib remark>



    He sure is.



    </glib remark>
  • Reply 19 of 41
    torifiletorifile Posts: 4,024member
    Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell. A book about serendipity but not cheesy. Engrossing.



    SPJ: Are you reading The Spirit Catches You... for fun or for a reason? My fiancee read that last year while she was on internship in Chicago. Not pleasurable reading....
  • Reply 20 of 41
    shawnjshawnj Posts: 6,656member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by torifile

    Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell. A book about serendipity but not cheesy. Engrossing.



    SPJ: Are you reading The Spirit Catches You... for fun or for a reason? My fiancee read that last year while she was on internship in Chicago. Not pleasurable reading....




    It's next on my "for-fun" reading list, but thanks for the heads-up.
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