Whatcha readin' part II

[fire_of_avalon]

That thread is gone from the first page. What the hell?

I'm reading The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Written in 1998 it chronicles the story of an American family headed by a patriarchal, fervent and insanely prideful Reverend Nathan Price who is bent on saving the souls of the Congolese. The story is told mostly from the perspective of his four daughters who are practically his captives.

Kingsolver is always a good read; she seamlessly weaves the story of religious and imperious oppression to tell the story not only of the women of the Price family but the story of the Congo and the so-called "end" of the empire building therein.

I'm about two thirds of the way through now. It's not a happy story, not even a little. But it's a necessary story.

What are you reading?!

[Jinx]

Wow, that sounds like a good book! I love Barbara Kingsolver. I've never been interested in that book, because the summary sounds so bad in the book. But the way you described it!

I'm currently reading The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catheryne M. Valente. It's a beautiful book with adult fairy tales that weave in and out of one another. There's a sequal to the book that carries on with the world of the first.

[Pike]

I'm reading Replay: The History of Video Games by Tristan Donovan. It's certainly not the only vidya history book out there, and it's not the only one I've read, but this retells that history from a more artsy and international perspective that is really interesting. I'm really enjoying it so far!

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I am reading The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe. I'm a little over halfway through the book... I am not really enjoying it very much, but it is on my reading list for my Comprehensive Exams for my English Literature major which I am doing next semester, and I want to get it out of the way.

Next I will be reading Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor. The only reason I am going to read it is because a friend and I may start our own sort of "Lost Book Club" and read through all of the books that were either read or referenced by the characters in Lost just for fun. This was one of the books which appeared in the show.

[I Took the Red Pill]

Infinite Jest. I'm almost 700 pages in and it's still got a vice-grip on me. Where I often have trouble maintaining interest in 200 page books, DFW has somehow mesmerized me and pulled me hopelessly into the smurfed up universe he's created. I am in love with this book, and I really just don't want it to end.

RIP to one of the most talented writers I've ever encountered.

[Jinx]

Infinite Jest. I'm almost 700 pages in and it's still got a vice-grip on me. Where I often have trouble maintaining interest in 200 page books, DFW has somehow mesmerized me and pulled me hopelessly into the smurfed up universe he's created. I am in love with this book, and I really just don't want it to end.

RIP to one of the most talented writers I've ever encountered.

I read that book once and smurfing hated it. Every once in awhile I have an inkling to re-read it though, as I'm much older and know more about life now.

[I Took the Red Pill]

What? You hated the book but read all of its 1000+ pages? That is...strange. In any case, I would recommend going back to it. I doubt a younger version of myself could keep up with it.

[Del Murder]

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. It's a very different type of story but so far not really my thing.

[Miriel]

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. It's a very different type of story but so far not really my thing.

Bel Canto is the beeeeessst!!

I liked Poisonwood Bible ok, except I thought the ending was terrible. Endings usually disappoint me though, for most books.

I'm not reading anything right now. O_O I read the first few pages of: The Solitude of Prime Numbers, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, Tipping the Velvet, and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children but nothing stuck. =/

First time in AGES that I haven't been in the middle of a book. A little while ago I finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and The Selection. Both were terrible books, although the Selection is worse. Like, Twilight bad.

Oh and I also read like half of 50 Shades of Grey. I make it a point to finish reading books, even ones I dislike almost immediately, before I spew out my hatred and loathing. I finished Twilight, I finished Da Vinci Code, etc. But I swear to god, I could NOT get through that terrible terrible work of fanfiction. It's SOOOOOOOOO bad. Worst book I've read in my entire life bar none.

[dandy da oak]

I'm reading through Paolini's Inheritence stuff, so I actually remember what happened by the time I get around to reading the last book!

[Shiny]

Oh and I also read like half of 50 Shades of Grey.

Do you enjoy torturing yourself?

Also, gonna check out this Infinite Jest business. His book Brief Interviews with Hideous Men was interesting enough. I don't know if I can get through 400+ pages though. 1,000+ seems excessive I'll update this with a review when the book arrives from Amazon.

[Jinx]

Oh and I also read like half of 50 Shades of Grey.

Do you enjoy torturing yourself?

Also, gonna check out this Infinite Jest business. His book Brief Interviews with Hideous Men was interesting enough. I don't know if I can get through 400+ pages though. 1,000+ seems excessive I'll update this with a review when the book arrives from Amazon.

The concept of the book is really interesting. Like, half of the important parts of the book take place in endnotes.

[Raistlin]

I recently finished reading Lawrence Krauss's A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing. It was pretty good and very informative, but Krauss does not have the best writing style for a popular audience. He'd often ramble between topics in the same paragraph; have ridiculously long, convoluted sentences; and explain new references only in a cursory fashion. I could usually keep up, sometimes just because I have read up many of the subjects before, but this would not be the first book I'd recommend to anyone looking to learn more about modern cosmology. That would be Stephen Hawking's updated A Brief History of Time and his newer work, The Grand Design.

[Yar]

Infinite Jest. I'm almost 700 pages in and it's still got a vice-grip on me. Where I often have trouble maintaining interest in 200 page books, DFW has somehow mesmerized me and pulled me hopelessly into the smurfed up universe he's created. I am in love with this book, and I really just don't want it to end.

RIP to one of the most talented writers I've ever encountered.

This is on list of books to read this summer. I picked up The Pale King this weekend as well.

My friend got me started on A Game of Thrones. I'm not one to read fantasy often, but I am hooked. >.<

[Madame Adequate]

Almost done with Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. I read chunks of it in uni but didn't have the chance to read the whole thing, so when I saw it in Barnes and Noble last month I picked it up! It's pretty easy to see why it is so well-regarded; McPherson has a good grasp of how to write well anyway but he also has a knack for showing how everything ties together, and will go from describing a battle in some detail to talking about the political ramifications of it in Richmond and D.C., as well as on the careers of various generals etc., without losing the reader at all.