# Perpetual, What are you reading thread? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2002, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807 "2002-03-12T08:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Solomon7t](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Solomon7t](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solomon7t)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/1 "2002-03-12T08:32:08Z")
Its back! Im reading Earth Abides by George R Stewart. Its a pretty standard end of the world book but its really interesting. Also, the last book I completed was Brave New World which was very good, yet very disturbing. Anyways, lets hear what everyone is reading. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/2 "2002-03-12T08:54:47Z")
Earth Abides has always been my motherā€™s favorite book, and I have no idea why. Not only is it totally standard, itā€™s almost completely plot-free, the narrator and main character is a complete nincompoop (not to mention racist and misogynistic, but hey, it was written in the 50ā€™s) who never gets tired of telling us how much smarter he is than all the other blockheads. Sorry, I reread it recently and thought it sucked. How are you liking it, **Solomon7t**? Donā€™t mean to be aā€¦ what do they call itā€¦ Negative Nelson. Or something. As for me, currently into: The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein Other People, Martin Amis Of Human Bondage, W. Somerset Maugham Hamlet and Othello, William Shakespeare. Aside from Othello, they are all re-reads. Love them all dearly. ---
**Author:** ![Dragon\_Phoenix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/3 "2002-03-12T09:15:52Z")
Re-reading _Small Gods_ by Pratchett. Still love it. ---
**Author:** ![parsnip](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parsnip/32/4564_2.png) [@parsnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/parsnip)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/4 "2002-03-12T12:13:51Z")
Just interupted my periodic re-reading of the Patrick Oā€™Brien ā€œcanonā€ (ready for ā€œMaurituis Commandā€ because my pile of library reserves appeared. Started ā€œA Cooks Tourā€ by Anthony Bourdain last night. Notwithstanding the ā€˜as seen on Food Networkā€™ sticker on the front cover, it is a hoot. (If you enjoy first person arrogance in large doses.) ā€œKitchen Confidentialā€ by Bourdain is just the companion for ā€œFast Food Nationā€. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/5 "2002-03-12T14:23:50Z")
Preparing for a trip to the Big Easy end of the month, I just finished Walker Percyā€™s **The Moviegoer** , and am halfway through Harry Crewsā€™ **The Knockout Artist**. Next up on the nightstand are Percyā€™s **The Last Gentleman** , and a widely acclaimed book I detested when I read it before but am willing to give another chance - any guesses? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/6 "2002-03-12T14:30:11Z")
So right now I am in the middle of a new book called Heartbreak, by Andrea Dworkin. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/7 "2002-03-12T14:47:32Z")
_Little Altars Everywhere_, by Rebecca Wells, companion novel to _Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood_ and _Midnight Champagne_, by A. Manette Ansay In my waiting-to-be-read pile: _The Red Tent_, by Anita Diamant _Fast Food Nation_, by Eric Schloss (right name?) _Black and Blue_, by Anna Quindlan _The Summons_, by John Grisham _Pillars of The Almighty_, by Ken Follett, a coffee table book of cathedrals, sort of a companion to _Pillars of the Earth_. Can we lobby for a smilie reading a book? šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/8 "2002-03-12T15:17:12Z")
Iā€™m reading _The Corrections_ by Jonathan Franzen and I really canā€™t decide if I like it or not. The characters are certainly irritating, but, as billed, itā€™s got a sly wicked humor that I enjoy. Iā€™m reading it because I was intrigued by his refusal to allow it to become an Oprah book ā€“ and Iā€™ve just gotten hold of it from the library, where there was an interminable waiting list. Next up is a Patricia Cornwell that Iā€™m not overly excited about. The last one I read was way too mired in FBI politics and the poor nieceā€™s difficulties. I really liked _The Body Farm_ and keep waiting for her to recapture what I liked about that book. I just re-read _Sophieā€™s Choice_ for the first time since my initital reading, more than 15 years ago. This is a marvelous book! Surprisingly, Iā€™ve never read anything else by Styron, but heā€™s entirely captivating in this work. ---
**Author:** ![milo\_minderbinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@milo\_minderbinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milo_minderbinder)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/9 "2002-03-12T15:34:08Z")
A friend just turned me on to Rudy Rucker. I read Software and Wetware last week and am now onto Spacetime Donuts. Itā€™s good stuff assuming you like SF and donā€™t mind at least some of the more involved science stuff going over your head. milo ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/10 "2002-03-12T15:44:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dinsdale \* > \*\*am halfway through Harry Crewsā€™ **The Knockout Artist** Itā€™s great, isnā€™t it? Man, I loved that bookā€¦and am SO pissed off that itā€™s out of print. I was lucky wnough to pick up a hardcover first printing (yeah, like there was a second) a year or so ago, for UNDER the original price. Just finished a SF novel, James Blishā€™s 1958 _A Case Of Conscience_, which underwhelmed me. It was supposed to be a brilliant examination of Religion within an SF contextā€¦heroā€™s a biologist/Roman Catholic priest who encounters a planetful of perfectly moral yet areligious beings. Didnā€™t find it very thoughtful OR entertaining. Next up is another short SF novel (get right back on the mule, yā€™know?): Fritz Leiberā€™s 1957 _The Big Time_, which won the Hugo Award the year before Blishā€™s book did. This one should be better, as itā€™s supposed to contain a nicely-turned locked-room mystery, which is right up my alley. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/11 "2002-03-12T16:09:05Z")
I just finished Neil Gaimanā€™s _American Gods_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. Iā€™m about a 3rd of the way through Dan Simmonsā€™ _Endymion_ which is the 3rd book in his wonderfully imaginative science-fiction series _Hyperion_. By the way, allow me to take the liberty of linking to **Crankyā€™s** [SDMB Book Swap Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=103228) in case any of my fellow book addicts missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/12 "2002-03-12T16:38:03Z")
Iā€™ve been reading _The Closing Of The American Mind_ on and off for weeks now, and really enjoying it- it almost makes me want to read Nietzche. Iā€™m reading a bunch of Annie Dillard- _Holy The Firm, Living By Fiction, For The Time Being_. cheers! ---
**Author:** ![tachyon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/50afbb/32.png) [@tachyon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tachyon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/13 "2002-03-12T16:45:55Z")
Iā€™m planning on reading one of Eugene Oā€™Neillā€™s plays nextā€¦ either _The Iceman Cometh_ or _Long Days Journey into Night_. Iā€™ve heard a lot about _Fast Food Nation_ as well so I might give that a try soon. ---
**Author:** ![sidle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@sidle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sidle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/14 "2002-03-12T16:47:44Z")
I just picked up Mind Hunter ( I know-like 6 years late!) I am not much of a fiction reader, and Iā€™m in a crime stage, but geez, this book sucks so far. I thought there would be more info about FBI profiling, which I find really fascinating, and less info about the authorā€™s personal life, which Iā€™m not so much interested in. Maybe it gets better? ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/15 "2002-03-12T16:52:44Z")
Iā€™m just about to start in on _Playback_, by Raymond Chandler. After that Iā€™ve got _The Postman Always Rings Twice_ on the shelf. ---
**Author:** ![misshannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3e96dc/32.png) [@misshannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misshannah)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/16 "2002-03-12T17:02:20Z")
I canā€™t help gush, even though none of you know me, and vice versa, I LOVE YOU GUYS. It gives me chills to sit here at work and see that other people out there:[list=1] [li]read[/li][li]care about reading[/li][li]share the love[/li][/list=1] In almost every reply, I see an author or book I know and love, or one Iā€™ve been meaning to check out. Thanks again!! Oh, right now Iā€™m reading Annie Dillardā€™s _An American Childhood_ and Roy Blount, Jrā€™s _Be Sweet_. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/17 "2002-03-12T18:01:13Z")
_A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius_ by Dave Eggars. Iā€™m almost halfway through and I canā€™t decide whether I care or not. But he is definitely a very talented writer. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/18 "2002-03-12T18:48:21Z")
So, anyone going to hazard a guess as to the book I referred to above? Set in NO. To call it a ā€œcult classicā€ would be understatement. Probably in the top ten titles mentioned on these boards. I read it many many years ago, and found it boring. Come on, folks - this is EASY! **Uke** - I remember discussing Crews with you before. I recently turned a friend on to Feast of Snakes - he now has new respect for my depths of depravity for that to be among my favorite books. He since read the Gospel Singer, and says he will next go to my fave - the Gypsyā€™s Curse. The KO Artist is incredible. I just realized a mistake I had made last time I read it - I had assumed the protagonist was black. Not sure why other that early on they referred to him as ā€œdark.ā€ And I assumed the cover photo was black - reminded me of a young Joe Louis. I told my wife she might be interested in reading these books before our trip. But I did not tell her about the Crews. Donā€™t want her realizing quite what a sick fuck she is married to. I think HCā€™s author photo in this book is my favorite of all of his. Second fav is the one where he is standing in a doorway. You ever check out the prices Crewsā€™ books go for on ebay and other book sites? Where did you steal your copy? Outta sight! Gotta figure if it is in any kind of condition at all you could get at least a couple of hundred for it - not that you would want to sell it. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/19 "2002-03-12T19:07:47Z")
Well, how do you like that? **Hannahw** , welcome to the SDMB and know this: sitting by my bed right now is my ruffled copy of Annie Dillardā€™s _Pilgrim at Tinker Creek_. Itā€™s one of those books that I never really stop reading. Right now, Iā€™m strugglingā€“struggling! to complete one Mr. Tom Clancyā€™s novel, _Rainbow Six_. When I finish it Iā€™m either going to sit down, channel the spirit of Alistair MacLean, and write a techno-thriller that doesnā€™t suck, or Iā€™m going to walk across the river and chase Tom around his estate with his own T-72 main battle tank. Iā€™ve also just cracked into the memoirs of Heinz Guderian, _Panzer Leader_, and for comparison Iā€™m re-reading von Mellenthinā€™s _Panzer Battles_. This weekend I scored a monstrous compilation of Arthur C. Clarkeā€™s short stories, but havenā€™t yet waded into it. Iā€™m also trying to read Jose Saramangoā€™s _History of the Seige of Lisbon_, but I just havenā€™t cozied up to it yet. If someone would care to give me a word of encouragement it might help. ---
**Author:** ![fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ba0ec/32.png) [@fish\_in\_the\_sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fish_in_the_sky)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/20 "2002-03-12T19:36:04Z")
Iā€™m rather busy with schoolwork, but I did just finish _Tipping the Velvet_ by Sarah Waters. I have a few writery complaints about foreshadowing and such, but it was mostly a very lovely and fascinating story of lesbian culture in Victorian England. Iā€™ve also been halfheartedly reading the _Tao Te Ching_. Next up is _The Days of Henry Thoreau_. PS to **Sofa King** , **hannahw** , and **Lissla Lissar** : Oooohhhhhā€¦ I ADORE Annie Dillard. Iā€™ve only read _Pilgram at Tinker Creek_, _An American Childhood_, and _Tickets for a Prayer Wheel_, but I think that Annie Dillard is, without a doubt, the most perfect writer, EVER. Iā€™m absolutely in love with her. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807.md?page=2)