What are you reading?
- Thread starter Snowlilly
- Start date
I am halfway throug Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
I'm reading "Look Who's Back" by Timur Vermes. The story is about Hitler, who wakes up in the year 2011 in Berlin - no Eva Braun, no Nazi party and the country is run by a woman. This is, of course, a major shock for Hitler. But this doesn't stop him and he gets his own tv show soon.
It's a funny and interesting satire. The story is told in the first person perspective, which makes it tiring to read sometimes, but on the other hand we get Hitler's unique point of view.
It's a funny and interesting satire. The story is told in the first person perspective, which makes it tiring to read sometimes, but on the other hand we get Hitler's unique point of view.
That's on my list to read! I can't wait!
I'm halfway through Anathem. This is a tome-and-a-half, man. 
Well, I did warn you... 
its pretty good.
I've been picking away at This I Believe again, which I've been reading off and on since August. It's my college's Common Read for the year, at least for the freshmen, and one of them left his or her book behind at orientation so... free book! Last night's selections included Jackie Robinson and Margaret Sanger, although I find I enjoy the non-famous people's essays more.
Next up is The Giver, which my sister insists I need to read. I think by Lois Lowry? It's YA, which is mainly what she reads, but she says it's utopia/dystopia, so I should be able to get through it. Once I'm done, it goes to her boyfriend, who she also insists needs to read it.
After that... probably Wool. I read part of it when it was a free Amazon download ages ago, and was reminded I want to read the rest when my best friend finished it and posted about it on Facebook. The author also recently wrote a piece for Slate about fan fiction, and how he is absolutely in favor of it, and in favor of fans making money off of it. I'm sure his publisher feels differently.
Next up is The Giver, which my sister insists I need to read. I think by Lois Lowry? It's YA, which is mainly what she reads, but she says it's utopia/dystopia, so I should be able to get through it. Once I'm done, it goes to her boyfriend, who she also insists needs to read it.
After that... probably Wool. I read part of it when it was a free Amazon download ages ago, and was reminded I want to read the rest when my best friend finished it and posted about it on Facebook. The author also recently wrote a piece for Slate about fan fiction, and how he is absolutely in favor of it, and in favor of fans making money off of it. I'm sure his publisher feels differently.
The Giver is actually pretty good. (I read it a few years ago at the insistence of my kids.) I wouldn't bother with the sequels, though.
Just finished J.A. Jance's latest J.P. Beaumont mystery, Second Watch.
Am working on Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust, by Gay Block and Malka Drucker. Very moving (to put it mildly).
And am listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the car.
Am working on Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust, by Gay Block and Malka Drucker. Very moving (to put it mildly).
And am listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the car.
I just finished The Art of Falling and it was FANTASTIC! I definitely suggest it to anyone looking for a good fiction read.
Now, it's on to Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela! It's only 410 pages, so I should be done in 2 weeks or so.
Now, it's on to Conversations with Myself by Nelson Mandela! It's only 410 pages, so I should be done in 2 weeks or so.
Monsters: The Ashes Trilogy by Illsa J. Bick.
In the last few days I have started and finished the Diogenes trilogy (books 5, 6 and 7 in the Pendergast series) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I have decided not to read any more of the books in the series before April as I am getting through the series too quickly.
I got a book about my hometown for Christmas, titled "when every 6th house was a pub". It's full of anecdotes and fun to read and there's even a pic of my granddad in it (Fortunately, there are none of the less flattering anecdotes about him like the one with the bicycles: Granddad and a few friends went for a booze in a pub in the middle of the forrest. Until that day we had simple wooden roadposts marking the rims of the road at 50 yard intervals, about hip-height, painted white, without reflectors. But that very afternoon they got equipped with round white reflectors. When granddad had safely returned home late at night he kept going on about the "hundreds of bicyclists! Left and right!" 
That one is still proverbial in my family after half a century LOL.
(Fortunately, there are none of the less flattering anecdotes about him like the one with the bicycles: Granddad and a few friends went for a booze in a pub in the middle of the forrest. Until that day we had simple wooden roadposts marking the rims of the road at 50 yard intervals, about hip-height, painted white, without reflectors. But that very afternoon they got equipped with round white reflectors. When granddad had safely returned home late at night he kept going on about the "hundreds of bicyclists! Left and right!" That one is still proverbial in my family after half a century LOL.
Bought The Humans by Matt Haig over the weekend as I needed something light to read. Finished it last night. I was lured in by the description of it being Adamsian humour. It's about an alien who comes to Earth with the job of killing a mathematician who's solved the key to the Riemann hypothosis in order to halt human technological advancement. First quarter of the book is hilarious, with the alien oblivious to the chaos and hilarity he's causing around him as he tries to figure out human basics, such as language, body language, and that humans wear something called "clothes", and then trying to get a jump on all that by reading a copy of Cosmopolitan. The book is big on philosophy, with it being largely a look at what makes us human. And I guess that's where my I have my first problem. About halfway through, it abandons the humour and starts to philosophize a bit too much for my liking, becoming a bit too serious, especially on death. This I felt was a departure in tone from the earlier part of the book and it took me aback. I have to say though, that Matt Haig is a talented writer, with great authorial voice and the chapters flowed very nicely. Though, there were moments where the philosophy got a bit heavy and distracting and took me out of the story. In the end, I did enjoy it, but perhaps not as much as I thought I would.
Next I'm going to get back to The Terror by Dan Simmons. I had started this last summer, but wasn't really able to get into it, I guess because the mood wasn't quite right. I've already started re-reading it, and I'm finding it easier to get into, and much more immersive due to the cold weather.
Next I'm going to get back to The Terror by Dan Simmons. I had started this last summer, but wasn't really able to get into it, I guess because the mood wasn't quite right. I've already started re-reading it, and I'm finding it easier to get into, and much more immersive due to the cold weather.
