Thread: [Books] What are you currently reading?

Anton LaVey - The Satanic Bible

Been looking for a copy of this for a while, been interested at what was bound in the pages.

I just finished rereading Chain of Dogs, by Steven Erikson an epic fantasy of the fucking highest calibre. He weaves a vast tale with a cast of characters on par with George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, but unlike Martin, Erikson doesn't lose control of his story. That one is book 2 of 10 (he's released 8 of 10 so far), and my personal favourite. The series itself only has about three books I wasn't impressed with, and of that only one I wouldn't reread.

He tends to go on a philosophical bent every now and then, but overall the characters, situations and general plot and execution are so good it overshadows any flaws in the story.

So, if you read fantasy books, read Steven Erikson.

I am re-reading Shock Wave by Clive Cussler.

Finished Brothers Karamazov yesterday, started The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Nikolai Gogol earlier today

I'm now reading Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis.

In an effort to astound people with my incredible pretentiousness

I am reading Plutarch's Lives right now, and holy shit is it ever dry

I am rereading Butcher Bird. Awesome book.

Hemingway's "A Moveable Feast"
I decided to read it whilst in Paris, in an effort to soak in the atmosphere that the book was written in, but I didn't have to time to make much headway, so I'm giving it a real go now that I'm back.

I read a few stories from Gogol's "Diary of a Madman" and got bored. It was interesting at first but it generally boiled down to craziness.

Started The Iliad last week.

to my list, add Of Human Bondage and the Nibelungenlied

Originally Posted by sycld

I'm currently reading three things right now:

Finishing up The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbel

hey how is this? we were briefed on it in an english literature class a couple of years ago and it sounded like it could be interesting but was probably pointless critical wafflery

Currently reading Plato's The Laws.

Just about finished with The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. Have to read it for one of my History classes, but this book is really great. Yet another I won't be returning at the end of the semester.

I just finished Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis. That was a fantastic book.

The bookstore in Park City didn't have any of the Tom Woolfe I wanted (Bonfire of the Vanities and/or A Man in Full), nor did they have any John Updike (which is more understandable, since they ended up selling out the entire Rabbit series when he died in January), so I started reading A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.

So far it's fantastic and highly recommended to anyone who knows anything at all about the South or, more specifically, New Orleans.

i just finished Of Human Bondage, which made me a very large fan of Maugham's. I am amazed at the amount of fascinating things he described so drily throughout the story, and the occasional flashes of perfect word choice to describe things. I could go on for hours about this book (haha pm me so i can gibber away in an giddy display of fanboy excitement), but I digress.

I started reading (and am about halfway through) The Razor's Edge, which is equally fascinating. I'm going to spend a lot of time reading this guy.

Anyone read 'Snow Falling on Cedars'??

I have to read it for my lit class but can't find a copy and I'm not sure I wanna order it.

I'm thinking of just bluffing it by repeatedly reading Wikipedia and watching the film and just taking the mediocre grade for that essay.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. I'd heard some excerpts read on NPR, but I never even thought about picking the book up until my gay boyfriend at work brought me a copy and insisted I read it.

So far, I have nearly spat coffee all over my keyboard on 20+ occasions, and I'm not even halfway through.

It is hilarious.

Trying to muster up the time and dedication to read at the moment.
In theory, I'm reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel and listening to the audiobook of The Name of The Rose by Umberto Eco.

Originally Posted by Vengeful Scars

I'm reading Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm at the moment...

Nothing special, just wanna see the original pieces before disney fucked them up

I've only read the real version of Cinderella and it's great. Very gory actually...

Originally Posted by WellAdjusted

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde

I've already read it once through, and it was amazing. It's only getting better the second time.

EDIT: I must stop reading Dorian Gray and read an excerpt from the book The Grand Inquisitor

Does The Picture of Dorian Gray reference The Grand Inquisitor? If it's Dostoevsky's Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov then I am in luck! I finished that book a month or two ago and Dorian Grey is sitting on my nightstand waiting for the right moment.

edit: also I'm still reading the Iliad, didn't have much time to read the past few weeks, I should be done in a few days though

Originally Posted by jared

Does The Picture of Dorian Gray reference The Grand Inquisitor? If it's Dostoevsky's Inquisitor from The Brothers Karamazov then I am in luck! I finished that book a month or two ago and Dorian Grey is sitting on my nightstand waiting for the right moment.

edit: also I'm still reading the Iliad, didn't have much time to read the past few weeks, I should be done in a few days though

I had to read The Grand Inquisitor for a class, but Dorian Gray is good at any time. It's very philosophical, so I guess it's good to read along with Dostoevsky.

Originally Posted by sycld

whose translation? i tried reading the one by fitzgerald, but it was sooooo dense and boring i couldn't tolerate it..

Haha I read Fitzgerald's translation... after the first couple books I got a hang of the style and then everything went through pretty smooth; I finished it a few hours ago. Certainly not the most exciting thing I've ever read but I really didn't know the story to begin with (never saw any movies about it, never talked about it in school) so it was pretty interesting. The style was like nothing I've ever read before so that in itself made it worth it

I don't plan on doing it any time soon but I'd be interested in reading another translation. Last time I was at the bookstore I read the first book of another translation (I forget by who) and it seems like it'd be reading an entirely different book.

I have an eight hour bus ride to Baltimore tomorrow.. I'm bringing The Picture of Dorian Grey and Walden with me.. have another bus ride back home next Monday so I hope to make a dent in one or both books.

Ender in Exile (by orson scott card)

and In Search of Schrodinger's Cat (by John Gribbin)

After those Im gonna read Brave New World (by aldous huxley)

I am reading Unholy Alliance by Peter Levenda.

Originally Posted by pringles

After those Im gonna read Brave New World (by aldous huxley)

Good lad

For the second time, The Time Traveler's Wife. I last read it over five years ago, and I remember being completely floored by it. I'm curious whether I was just a very romantic teenager, so I'm giving it another try.

Originally Posted by solecistic

For the second time, The Time Traveler's Wife. I last read it over five years ago, and I remember being completely floored by it. I'm curious whether I was just a very romantic teenager, so I'm giving it another try.

All of my female friends were *swoon* "HENRY!" for weeks afterwards....

Finished The Picture of Dorian Gray a few hours ago... I plan to read it again at some point in the future, it was very interesting, but unfortunately is was equally as depressing. Maybe I'll change my mind about that when I read it again, though.

Anyways, next book on my list is Walden by Henry David Thoreau