# The last book you read **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125 "2002-06-26T23:20:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tritone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@tritone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tritone)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/21 "2002-06-28T04:47:55Z")
_The Mill on the Floss_, George Eliot, second-hand paperback. Still pissed off about the ending. [minor hijack] **Nacho4Sara** , did you enjoy _Atonement_? My favourite bookshop lady tells me it’s fabulous, and I’m thinking I might spend my birthday book voucher on it… presuming I get a birthday book voucher… [/minor hijack] ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/22 "2002-06-28T04:55:00Z")
**John Adams** , the biography by David McCollough and **The Wailing Wind** , a Leaphorn/Chee mystery by Tony Hillerman, both in hardcover. Currently re-reading **Cryptonomicon** by Neal Stephenson, in hardcover, for the 8th or 9th time ---
**Author:** ![DarkWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee59a6/32.png) [@DarkWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DarkWriter)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/23 "2002-06-28T05:04:17Z")
Books I read on my road trip to Texas: **Dragonfly** , by [Brian Knight](http://www.brian-knight.com/) [The Collection](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451206096/qid=1025239887/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/103-1123041-3429427), by Bentley Little [Excitable Boys](http://www.nightshadebooks.com/eboys.html), edited by Kelly Laymon I also read [Partners in Chyme](http://www.necropublications.com/titles/partners.htm), written by Ed Lee and Ryan Harding, but I tell you - if I had known what the word “chyme” meant, I never would’ve bought it. I can read some pretty rough stuff, but I couldn’t read Ed Lee’s story after the first few paragraphs. I’ll probably try again, though. But not after I’ve eaten a breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s. :smack: Sheri ---
**Author:** ![dead0man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@dead0man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dead0man)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/24 "2002-06-28T05:18:37Z")
Steinbeck’s “The Red Pony”- Paperback currently Steinbeck’s “Tortilla Flat”- paperback and Mic Foley’s “Foley is Good”- paperback I also dont like hard cover books. Hard to hold over your head when you are lying down. Also hard to carry around with one hand for long periods of time while reading. dead0man ---
**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:** [June 28, 2002, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/25 "2002-06-28T05:28:52Z")
Niven’s _Ringworld_ in paperback. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dead0man \* > \*\*I also dont like hard cover books. Hard to hold over your head when you are lying down. Also hard to carry around with one hand for long periods of time while reading. > dead0man \*\* I agree. The last hardcover that I read was _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_, and I read most of it on a cross-country plane trip, so I didn’t have to deal with the lying down problem. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/26 "2002-06-28T14:21:04Z")
The last book I finished was **The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Chess**. Obviously in paperback, since the _Complete Idiot’s Guide_ line is not available in hardcover form. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/27 "2002-06-28T14:44:24Z")
I just finished reading Kenneth Robert’s 1940 novel of the American Revolution from the Loyalist POV, **Oliver Wiswell** , in trade paperback (as opposed to mass market paperback). Right now, inspired by the Pledge of Allegiance brouhaha, I’m reading **A People’s History of the Supreme Court** by Peter Irons, in hardback. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/28 "2002-06-28T15:06:14Z")
**The Ghost Road** , by Pat Barker – paperback. ---
**Author:** ![Clever\_Hans](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Clever\_Hans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clever_Hans)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/29 "2002-06-28T15:51:05Z")
**The Shelter of Stones** by Jean M. Auel, glorious hard back (mostly because I couldn’t wait long enough for it to come out in paper). ---
**Author:** ![Becky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@Becky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/30 "2002-06-28T21:55:43Z")
**Islandia** , by Austin Tappan Wright, in paperback. A friend passed it off on me after her most recent semester at college. Definitely boring in places, with repetitive themes, but not bad overall. **lawoot** - **Cryptonomicon** was great! My fiance bought it in hardcover because he didn’t want to wait for paperback, and I stole it and finished it before he did. ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/31 "2002-06-28T22:42:46Z")
Just finished my annual summer read of **The Stand**. Unedited version, and in paperback. Sorry for the hijack, but I don’t see what’s so great about books on tape. Part of the pleasure I get from reading is the actuall process, and letting my imagination take over. Hearing someone else narrate would ruin it. And I’d rather listen to my music in my car than a book (I’d probably get distracted at a climactic moment and have an accident). ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/32 "2002-06-28T23:24:30Z")
**The Professor and the Madman** in paper. About the making of the _Oxford English Dictionary_. You’d be surprised how exciting it was. And Kurt Vonnegut’s **Fates Worse Than Death**. A series of short pieces by the author. I tried to finish it last year on vacation, but didn’t succeed. The small island library still had it, and I was the last one to take it out in a year(they still sign out each book manually). The kids co-operated somewhat and I did it. Got lots of lines I can’t wait to use. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/33 "2002-06-28T23:54:56Z")
Just finished **Bel Canto** by Ann Patchett, which I highly, highly recommend – I loved it. Currently reading **Prodigal Summer** by Barbara Kingsolver. Both trade paperbacks; I don’t buy hardbacks. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/34 "2002-06-28T23:57:54Z")
I took Zadie Smith’s **White Teeth** on vacation with me. Paperback, of course. ---
**Author:** ![shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/35 "2002-06-29T17:14:28Z")
paperback ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/36 "2002-06-29T17:45:32Z")
Paperback of _The Canterbury Tales_. Again. Good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![GrannyJoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@GrannyJoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrannyJoy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/37 "2002-06-30T04:35:10Z")
Paperback-The Seven Daughters of Eve-by Bryan Sykes. Scientifically factual and extremely interesting if you like science, history, genealogy, etc. Truly worth reading. ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/38 "2002-06-30T04:40:17Z")
“The Prophet” - Kahlil Gibran I can’t believe this treasure has eluded me all of these years. ---
**Author:** ![Nacho4Sara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Nacho4Sara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nacho4Sara)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/39 "2002-07-01T02:05:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Nacho4Sara, did you enjoy Atonement? My favourite bookshop lady tells me it’s fabulous, and I’m thinking I might spend my birthday book voucher on it… presuming I get a birthday book voucher… I highly recommend it. I tend to not like verbose writers, and McEwan is definitely verbose, but he has a very eloquent, spare writing style that manages to convey incredible detail without overwhelming the reader. The suspense builds - but he does it carefully - just a few lines in the first third of the book before he reaches the major climax. It was such good foreshadowing that I read the entire book during my two days off - I couldn’t put it down. Also, he plays around with the idea of narration and who exactly is telling the story, which is awesome. The ending (which you might not appreciate if you like neat, uncomplicated endings) leaves a lot of stuff in the air, but calls into question the idea of truth, whether truth is possible, what memories are real and what memories we create to live with ourselves. It definitely made me think, and I like that in a book. I think I might make it my Staff Recommendation next month. **LolaCocaCola** - isn’t Gibran amazing? I absolutely adore his work, especially the piece - “On Marriage” I think it’s called. I recommend it to a lot of customers. You might want to check out the poet Rumi as well - I think you might like him a lot, though he’s got nothing on Gibran. Just finished re-reading my old trade pb copy of **In the Skin of a Lion** by Michael Ondaatje. I decided to re-read all of his books this summer, and I must say, he is an incredible writer. **Anil’s Ghost** and **The English Patient** are extraordinary novels, and I think they will be taught in colleges before too long. His poetry ( **Handwriting** and **The Cinnamon Peeler** ) is also superior. Check [this](http://www.math.tifr.res.in/~pablo/ondaatje.html) link out - the last poem, “To A Sad Daughter,” is my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125/40 "2002-07-01T02:59:57Z")
Paperback. I hardly ever read hardcovers. Too heavy (I read standing up a lot), too expensive. Last book: re-read _The Illuminatus! Trilogy_ Currently reading: _A History of Japan: to 1334_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-last-book-you-read/116125.md?page=3)