Whispering Nickel Idols by Glen Cook, part of his Garret PI series.
Film Noir detective in a fantasy world.
The Story of the House of Whitmark: From Ragtime to Swingtime (1939), by Isidore Witmark.
And next up is the 771-page Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force Vol. I: Canadian Airmen and the First World War.
Me mudder must have dropped me on me head . . .
I am approaching the conclusion of Stephen King’s Song of Susannah (book 6 of the 7 book The Dark Tower series), in the trade paperback edition that came out recently.
I just started The Road to Reality by Roger Penrose. Bought it on a whim from my book club. Remains to be seen how far I get before giving up.
I also have a book on digital SLR photography that I hope will help me learn to use my new camera better.
After that, I just have to decide which Jane Austen to re-read next.
Just finished Titus Andronicus, and I’m part of the way through Rose Macaulay’s The Towers of Trebizond as well as the graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.
Next up to bat: Eric Newby’s A Short Walk through the Hindu Kush and Redmond O’hanlon’s No Mercy: A Journey into the Heart of the Congo.
I’m on a major travel book jag. Although I may take time out to read the new Artemis Fowl and Charlaine Harris’ latest Sookie Stackhouse book.
Mrs. Furthur
Emphatically seconded. Pham rocks.
Currently reading the Night’s Dawn trilogy by Hamilton as per recommendations made on this very board. Epic space opera, done right. Reminds me of what George R R Martin would write if he were doing science fiction, as a matter of fact.
Just finished History On Trial, Deborah Lipstadt’s account of her defense when sued for libel by David Irving, the holocaust denier. Lipstadt wrote a book in which she briefly mentioned that Irving was a bad historian and a holocaust denier motivated by racism and antisemitism. He sued her and her publisher, Penguin UK. Since he sued in the British courts, the burden of proof was on her to show that what she said was true. This case made major headlines. I learned a lot about what historians do and about the British legal system.
I recommend it to Dopers as it’s a true account of Fighting Ignorance on a major scale. Irving’s slipping and sliding and abuse and nonuse of the scientific/historic method reminded me of some the arguments I’ve seen here from creationists and other proponents of pseudoscience.
I’m currently in the middle of 2 books. One is Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky - an often recommended book on the SDMB. The second book is, and this is a coincidence only, The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson.
After reading all of **DAVID SEDARIS’ ** books and damn near breaking my ribs laughing I am now reading
QBVII by **LEON URIS ** Very good book but I think I’m ready for some more laughter.
Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage by Noah Andre Trudeau. A surprisingly good recount of the battle. Some new info for those familiar with the subject and plenty o’maps for the newbie.
With the Gatlings at Santiago by Lt. John Parker. Sort of a companion piece to Roosevelt’s The Rough Riders.
Home Guide to Cartridge Conversions by George Nonte. They don’t call me “Mr. Excitement” for nothing.
A few days ago I read Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, which I loved. In the last few days I finished Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence and No Saints, No Saviors, a recounting of life on the road with the Allman Brothers Band by a former road manager. The first two are part of my quest to read my way through Modern Library’s Top 100 List (lately I’m reading two or three novels a week). So next are Under the Volcano and The Way of All Flesh.
It is in my queue. I’ve been disappointed with the last few, or at least the one where he introduced aliens. I do enjoy the Garret books though. Have you tried Jim Butcher’s Dresden files yet? Not quite the same, but still enjoyable.
[hijack]
Much as I love that word – I remember discovering it in (I think) the same book back in the late '80s – it turns out that there’s no such word in Russian. Though I’m somewhat consoled at the thought that it was accidentally invented on an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
[/hijack]
I’ve got two on the go. Because of where I am (there are no bookstores here) they are my last two. I’ve already made a $100 Amazon order from some of the suggestions in this thread.
So, I’m reading “Jailbird” by Kurt Vonnegut and “Choke” by Chuck Palaniuk. While both are ok, they are not as good as some of their other stuff.
Wow, not to continue to highjack my own thread, but that is great story. I will now try to work *razbliuto *into my vocabulary.
King Lear, edited by Harold Bloom, which contains critical analyses of Shakespeare’s play from a variety of writers.
Witches Abroad by Terry Pratchett.
Shadow & Claw: The First Half of the Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe.
The Bible, authorized King James version, with apocrypha.
Two in the Far North, by Margaret Murie. It’s been a real joy to read so far, and I’m about 2/3 through.
Sword of Shannara (or, as I call it, Sword of Shinola) by Terry Brooks. Fantasy in the Lord of the Rings mode. I like his writing; it’s descriptive without being obtrusive, getting in the way of the story.
And Journal by John Woolman, an Amish abolitionist in mid- to late-18th century America. Not a very good read but it’s fascinating to see what this country was really like in its infancy. And the utter brutality and disgracefulness of slavery is shocking.
I just finished:
Fat girl : A True Story by Judith Moore
Down and Dirty Pictures : Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film
by Peter Biskind
These are up next:
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The Ha-Ha : a novel by Dave King
New Mercies by Sandra Dallas
The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin.
Currently:
Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara
A Pirate Looks at Fifty by Jimmy Buffett
The Happy Islands of Oceania by Paul Theroux
Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz
(Oddly enough, I am at Tahiti in both these books)
Houseboat on the Styx by John K. Bangs
Recent worth mentioning:
Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Quicksilver by Neal Stephensen
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose
Recent aquisitions (top of the to-be-read pile):
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Churchill’s six-volume history of WWII