# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/21 "2002-03-12T20:12:07Z")
Now that I’ve finished up my research paper for English, I can read something besides _Alice in Wonderland_. (Yay!) I’ve started the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. I’m on _Second Empire_ right now, but once I get some cash, I’m picking up the rest of the books at a local used bookstore. I’ll have a weird, mismatched set, but it’s cheap. I read _Phantom of the Opera_ a few weeks ago and decided to go off and find more gothic literature (POTO is gothic, right? That’s what the introduction said, but you never know…). Someone recommended Daphne DuMaurier’s _Rebecca_, so I checked it out of my school library. It’s shaping up to be a bit disappointing. Maybe I just have an averse reaction to romance novels. jessica ---
**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, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/22 "2002-03-12T22:35:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > \*\*Earth Abides has always been my mother’s favorite book, and I have no idea why. Not only is it totally standard, it’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 50’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**? Don’t mean to be a… what do they call it… Negative Nelson. Or something. > \*\* Im enjoying it. Its not the greatest book evar 😉 But its fun. After I finish Earth Abides Im not going to read an ‘end of the world’ book for a long time. Ive been reading to many of them recently. Just recently I finished Lucifer’s Hammer which I enjoyed a lot, except my copy had a shoddy binding and each page would fall out right after I finished it. :eek: I also just ordered a big pile of books off [amazon.com](http://amazon.com), heres a list: [ul] [li]Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell by Aldous Huxley[/li][li]Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick[/li][li]One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey[/li][li] We Were Soldiers Once…and Young : Ia Drang–The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam by Harold G. Moore[/li][/ul] Im sure everyone has read all of these already (possible exception of We Were Soldiers, but Im only 16 so their new to me) 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/23 "2002-03-12T22:52:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hodge \* > **I just finished Neil Gaiman’s _American Gods_ and thoroughly enjoyed it.** I’m about halfway through it now. Don’t tell me how it ends. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Calliope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Calliope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calliope)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/24 "2002-03-12T23:03:59Z")
I just finished White Oleander. It was wonderfully powerful, and some of the best writing I have come across in ages. ---
**Author:** ![Rubicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58f4c7/32.png) [@Rubicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubicon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/25 "2002-03-12T23:04:09Z")
Currently in Why People Believe Weird Things by Sherman, the guy from Skeptic magazine. Pretty even-handed so far, but even he admits thta skeptics are sometimes more fanatical than the fanatics they debunk. Just finished Noam Chomsky’s pamphlet Media Control. Wow is that guy on the left. Had heard a lot about him, but first time reading. Before that was Red Lobster, White Trash, and the Blue Lagoon by Joe Queenan. Wow is that guy pissed at everything. Like other Queenan books, repetitive but there are passages so funny and dead on that it’s worth the effort. Read Tell No One on a long flight, author escapes me, pretty intriguing thriller with a few plot logic problems but fun nevertheless. Next up: Jesus and the Tao, to balance out all of the pessimism of Sherman and Chomsky. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2002, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/26 "2002-03-12T23:52:30Z")
Just finished: [ul] [li]Fast Food Nation[/li][li]Kitchen Confidential[/li][/ul] About to finish: The Painted House (Grisham) In the Queue: [ul] [li]The Red Tent[/li][li]Black Hawk Down[/li][/ul] Plus a bazillion others that I haven’t yet purchased but are on my Amazon wish list! ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/27 "2002-03-13T00:08:02Z")
At the moment, I’m reading _More, Now, Again: A Memoir of Addiction_ by Elizabeth Wurtzel. I read _Prozac Nation_, didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, but am uncontrollably drawn to her new book…Don’t know why. Colin ---
**Author:** ![hypergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/28 "2002-03-13T01:38:16Z")
I just finished reading Lost Souls by Poppy Z Brite for the thousandth time. Now I’m starting in on Dracula. Don’t ask about the fascination with vampires. You don’t wanna know. ---
**Author:** ![Pupshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pupshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pupshaw)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/29 "2002-03-13T01:47:55Z")
I’m reading _Comic Book Nation_ by Bradford W. Wright, _The Bear Went Over the Mountain_ by William Kotzwinkle, and _The Joy of Cooking_. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/30 "2002-03-13T02:35:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eutychus55 \* > \*\* > > I’m about halfway through it now. > > Don’t tell me how it ends. 🙂 \*\* I wouldn’t think of it. But, I think it’s safe to say, a storm is coming 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/31 "2002-03-13T04:06:48Z")
> [@](#): > > So, anyone going to hazard a guess as to the book I referred to above? Set in NO. To call it a “cult classic” 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! OK, Dinsdale - _A Confederacy of Dunces_, by some Tool(e). I share your befuddlement with this “classic”. I dragged myself through this. It was like climbing my first big mountain (one of only two, I learned) - impossible to stop until finished, but when you do finish, the only thought in your head is - “That totally sucked”. My list: Last few: _Waiting_, Ha Jin - Disappointing, I was unengaged. _The Death of Vishnu_, Manil Suri - Loved this. Currently: _The Human Factor_, Graham Greene - Pedestrian Greene, but still may be the best written espionage novel ever. Next: _Observatory Mansions_, Edward Carey - really looking forward to this. ---
**Author:** ![Lyllyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@Lyllyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lyllyan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/32 "2002-03-13T04:15:21Z")
Almost through with The Bottoms by Joe Lansdale. This was recommended by someone on the boards (Thank you whoever you are) and is terrific. 1/3 of the way though Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobbs. Next up are Black House by Stephen King, Mad Ship by Robin Hobb and Lost by Gregory Maguire. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/33 "2002-03-13T05:06:57Z")
Right now I’m reading Warmly Inscribed by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone (pieces on book collecting and dealing) and The Devil’s Apprentice by Edward Marston (a mystery featuring a company of actors in Shakespeare’s time). Next up, probably Leave it to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse of Jeeves and Wooster fame. I also picked up The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler, Doyle’s The Lost World and other stories, and The Club of Queer Trades by G. K. Chesterton. I love those remainder tables, but the last time I went to a bookstore, just to get _one_ book on tape for my mother (80th birthday next week!) it ended up costing me nearly a hundred bucks. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/34 "2002-03-13T05:24:14Z")
I read The Summons in 2 days, once I get my hands on a new Grisham I can’t put it down. I thought the plot was more mystery than a thriller, but there were some good excitement elements (i.e. the burning of the house and the weird phone calls). (little bit of a spoiler… oh well, not that bad). Right now I’m reading “Shield of Three Lyons” by Pamela Kauffman, I think it’s pretty good, although I’m not used to books set in the middle ages, It took awhile to get used to some of the old English :o . I also read “The Time Machine” again today, I watched the movie over the weekend and hadn’t read that in a couple years, I’m glad the movie didn’t stray too far off… although their creative license was used in that Hollywood way. :rolleyes: Rainbow Six, which I believe was mentioned, I read a while ago, which amazingly makes the list of books that have made me feel sick (Sharing that spot with “Black Sunday” by T. Harris, the cat in the kitchen scene). Scout, what did you think about “Fast Food Nation”? The cultural effect the fast food businesses have on society I found to be mindblowing. And “Earth Abides” (one of my favorites which I’ve recommended many times here on the boards) was written in the 40’s, I believe, White Lightning. ---
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/35 "2002-03-13T05:25:10Z")
My project for years has been reading all the classics that I should have had in school but didn’t. I finished off all the F. Scott Fitzgerald I could find last summer: _The Beautiful and the Damned_ and a collection of short stories. I just finished Edith Wharton’s _The Custom of the Country_. Great book, I just love her stuff. Right now, I’m slowly reading through D.H. Lawrence’s _Lady Chatterley’s Lover_. Geez, for a book with a title like that, you’d think it’d be less depressing! But hey, this book was banned and called pornographic when it first came out in 1928, so it’s gotta be worth reading, right? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/36 "2002-03-13T05:40:30Z")
Well, I’m current working on _The Vicar of Wakefield_ for English class. I’m also reading _The Origin of Species_ , because it seems to me that there shoud be a few living people who have read such an important book, but I don’t know anybody else who actually has. And I’m about half way through _Childhood’s End_ . ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/37 "2002-03-13T07:26:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hodge \* > \*\*I just finished Neil Gaiman’s _American Gods_ and thoroughly enjoyed it. > \*\* Me too! It was a gift from a friend back in January but I didn’t get around to reading it until recently. It’s going on my “Will Read Again” shelf. Currently, I am reading: Gail Sheehy’s _New Passages_ R.A. Salvatore’s _Legacy of the Drow_ (a SF Book Club selection because nothing else sounded good at the time, It’s … okay) John Heidenry’s _What Wild Ecstasy_. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/38 "2002-03-13T08:25:12Z")
Aron Gurevich, Medieval Popular Culture Tomorrow I’m going to read Prasenjit Duara’s Rescuing History from the Nation Then the day after that Nicholas Howe Migration and Mythmaking in Anglo-Saxon England which I’ve nearly finished Valerie Flint’s The Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe on friday and then round it out over the weekend with Catherine Mooney’s Gendered Voices: Medieval Saints and their Interpreters Happy happy joy joy, Happy happy joy joy, Happy happy joy joy, Happy happy joy joy insane. Pity me. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/39 "2002-03-13T08:27:46Z")
oh, and for fun I’m rereading the dialogs in Godel, Esher and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. No trust me, they are lots of fun to read. In fact if I had friends I might talk them into doing readings of the dialogs with me, I’d get to be Achilles. And Random Calvin & Hobbes too. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807/40 "2002-03-13T08:43:30Z")
Currently reading: _The Master and Margarita_ by Mikhail Bulgakov. It’s been recommended several times here, so I’m giving it a shot. A worthwhile read, so far. Just finished: _A Confederacy of Dunces_, also courtesy of the good folks at the SDMB. My only complaint about this otherwise fine comedy was the ending; it seemed rather arbitrary and disappointing way of resolving Ignatius’ fate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/perpetual-what-are-you-reading-thread/97807.md?page=3)