There haven’t been enough book threads lately to suit my taste. And I’m heading to the library tomorrow and I need some good ideas.
Right now I’m re-reading The Shipping News; it’s a good book but I need something new and delicious.
I hope jarbabyj wanders in because she had a pit thread a while back about a book she adored and was really mad the sequel was so bad. I want to read the original book, but I can’t think of any keywords to help me resurrect that thread. So, jar if you’re here, please post the book and author!
Just finished re-reading Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, as well as reading The Silmarillion (for the first time).
Now for something lighter, I am currently on two books:
Re-reading Good Omens – Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
Also reading Basket Case – Carl Hiaasen.
If you like mysteries, especially with a fun and light tone and some humor mixed in, the Hiaasen book is pretty fun so far. I have about 1/3 to go on it.
Right now I’m reading The Mists of Avalon. I bought it about ten years ago but it only recently ripened.
Next up is Sharon Kay Penman’s Falls the Shadow, the middle book in her Welsh trilogy of the 13th century. I’ve read Edith Pargeter’s (Ellis Peters-the Cadfael books) quartet titled The Brothers of Gwynedd set in approximately the same time period. It’s interesting to see how different authors handle the same subject. Plus I really like historical fiction as long as it’s set a few centuries ago.
Right now, I’m reading Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (which I got from the SDMB Book Swap) and The Rose and the Yew Tree by Mary Westmacott (Agatha Christie). Once I finish one of these, I’ll probably start in on Guards! Guards! by Terry Prachett.
Monstre, I have a Hiaasen book on my to-read list right now. Double Whammy (also from the SDMB Book Swap).
I’m reading If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. Enjoyable “fluff” read. I’m enjoying reading about what they had to go through to get shots, and the practical jokes the cast and crew would play on each other.
I am also going to start Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man by Joseph Heller on the first night I manage to tear myself away from the internet before bedtime.
Last night I finished The Poet by Michael Connelly and I started the first chapter of another book, The Magician’s Tale by David Hunt. Kat, Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett is a very entertaining book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I’m just about finished with Twenty Years After, the sequel to The Three Musketeers. I already have the next in the series, The Vicomte de Braglonne, but I’m thinking of taking a break to read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers on the advice of my mother.
I’m reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide for the first time. I was reading it in the State Transportation Building and a guy saw me reading it. He said that if I liked it, I would like Good Omens, which is what Monstre is re-reading right now. So, Monstre: perhaps the converse is also true: if you like Good Omens, you might like The Hitchhiker’s Guide by Doug Adams. Assuming you haven’t read it already.
I don’t know what kind of stuff you like, but a good book for light summer reading is The Red Tent by Anita Diamante.
Any particular topic or genre that interests you? If we had this information, it would be easier to recommend things.
Great books (some variety): Native Son by Richard Wright
Malcolm X’s autobiography
Asimov’s Foundation trilogy
Anything by J. D. Salinger (who I think is the greatest!)
Hiaasen seems popular. I borrowed (stole) from my parents Paradise Screwed, a collection of his best columns for the Miami Herald, organized by subject matter.
My light reading right now is The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean. If you saw and enjoyed the movie Adaptation for the true parts, I think you’d love the book.
I’m also making my way through Don Quixote by Cervantes. It’s really fun to read, but it’s a huge novel. Summer classes are getting in the way of my reading time.
I think next on my list is The Count of Monte Cristo by Dumas. I read The Three Musketeers and Twenty Years After years ago, and both are among my favorites.
My current reading will be a series I just discovered, the Desiree Shapiro murder mysteries by Selma Eichler. Each has a punny title about murder, my favorite thus far (which is sitting on my nightstand right now) is Murder Can Spook Your Cat. Lighthearted detective fluff, good for the summer.
I’m reading ‘Middlesex’ by Jeffrey Eugenidies and so far it’s weird and good.
Just finished ‘The Orchid Thief’, also after seeing the movie, and I really liked it! It’s strange, it’s not really history or fiction or anything. It’s a bit of everything.
Avalon: The Return of King Arthur by Stephen R. Lawhead. This is my first Lawhead. If I like him he has enough books in the same vain to keep me busy for quite a while considering I only get 15-20 minutes a day to read during breaks at work (the rest of my free time goes to studying).
I would recommed fizgig’s read If Chins Could Kill to everyone, not just fans of Bruce Campell himself. It really is a great book. And Bruce, himself, signed my copy
Nate the Great, I wasn’t seeking recommendations specifically, only in that I love to hear what people are reading, and why, and from that make some selections. If you are really interested in what I like, the answer is almost any fiction. I find history especially fascinating.
dwyr I read The Mists of Avalon not long ago and it had been on my to-read list for years! It’s very good.
Going on the list: Middlesex’ Avalon: The Return of King Arthur by Stephen R. Lawhead (because now you’ve got me thinking of Camelot); The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy because incredibly I too have never sat down and read the whole thing; and * If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor* because I’ve seen it recommended by Dopers often – and I loved the Brisco County Jr. series (that’s the same guy, right?).
I just started The Silmarillion last night. I’ve read it before, but it’s been awhile. The profusion of Tolkien threads here a while back made me decide to read it again.
Before that, I was reading Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. Steven Brust writes the Vlad Taltos series, which I like, so I picked this one up at the library. Although it was very different from his normal work (more of a historical/political mystery than a fantasy) I enjoyed it. Since you like historical fiction Ellen Cherry, you might want to check it out.
As for what’s next, who knows. I have to return my books to the library this weekend (something tells me I’ll have to renew The Silmarillion), so I’ll have to see what catches my eye. I might look for some Carl Hiaasen books, based on Monstre’s recommendation.
I’m actually reading a book by a fellow doper: Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara, by our own Eve. It’s more fun to read than I expected it would be. Will report as I finish.
Also working my way through the novels of Adam Rapp–stunning stuff; will start a thread on him soon.
For better or worse, I’m reading The Best American Essays 2002 right now. I was quite excited when I picked this one up mainly because it has an introduction by Stephen Jay Gould that I was really looking forward to read. [Tragically, SJG was seriously ill at the time, and died less than 2 months after writing it]. Anyway, I usually storm through each year’s BEA volume from cover to cover 'cause I really enjoy the breadth of topics covered and the incredibly varied styles of writing, but only halfway through this one I’m having trouble finishing it. The majority of essays are reactions to 9/11 or at least related in theme. I can’t really say I recommend it, except perhaps to Americans, and New Yorkers in particular, who are probably the only ones who can empathize truly with the 9/11 tragedy.
