Right now I’m reading Cosmos and Contact by Segan, The book No Logo (here is the related website), and I’m skimming a couple books on meditation.
Goin the dry sarcastic humor route at the moment, I’m decidely in need of hysterically funny content.
Right now I’m re-reading two of my old favorites Chicks in Chainmail, a VERY funny anthology about women warriors of the fantasy genre, edited by Esther Friesner. (think, Amazon Comedy, to use her words) The re-write of Cinderella called Armor-Ella is one of my favorites.There’s three more in the series, Chicks and Chained Males, Did You Say Chicks?!, and The Chick Is In The Mail.
The other is one of the damn funniest books I’ve ever read. If you like British Humor, ala Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett, you will LOVE this book. I cry laughing each and every time I read it. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Apocalypticly funny. 
Of course, any of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is ALWAYS a good read, haven’t read one I didn’t laugh my arse off reading.
Let’s see… The last few books I’ve read, over the course of about 3-4 weeks, in order from what I’m now reading back…
Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis - about the world of competitive Scrabble. Interesting, and gives some strategic insight, but it’s not as fantastic as the buzz led me to believe.
Zodiac Unmasked by Robert Graysmith - Very disappointing update of the author’s previous, FANTASTIC book about the Zodiac killer, which was called simply Zodiac. In this one, Graysmith includes 15 years of new info, including revealing the pretty certain killer’s name.
Doctor No by Ian Fleming - My first Bond book, pretty good, with a really anti-climactic resolution.
Trunk Music by Michael Connelly - pretty well-written detective / police procedural. Nothing special, but entertainment.
Joe
Something called Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel, a murder mystery wherein 2 lawyers (one male one female) are involved in what appears to be suicide/murder. (Yes, the fact that they were apparently sleeping together adds to the mystery). Only on chapter 2. As you can tell, I like mysteries.
Recently read (actually re-read) a couple of John D. MacDonald Travis McGee novels:
*** [ul]
[li]The Scarlet Ruse[/li][li]Free Fall in Crimson[/li][/ul] ***
The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow. Non-Fiction. It tells the story of the Morgan bank and 4 generations of the Morgan family that controlled it. Good reading and I’m enjoying it more than Titan (his book on John D. Rockefeller, though it was also good as well).
Grim
- Creation * by Gore Vidal very engrossing tale of a Persian courtier during the 5th century BC. This book has captured my attention so fully that it’s actually the only book I’m reading at the moment.
When I’m done with * Creation * I’ll probably stick with the historical fiction theme and re-read Steven Pressfields * Gates of Fire * which is about the battle of Thermoplyae during the Greco-Persian wars, told from the perspective of a Spartan squire. After that I’ll probably be in full on history mode for a while and will end up re-reading Peter Green’s * History of the Greco-Persian Wars* for the hell of it and after that I have a history of Ancient Sumer I’ve been ignoring and * What if? 2* needs to make it’s way off the unread shelf.
After that I’m not sure, probably change pace and go for * Then and Now * by W.S. Maugham (my favorite author, btw) and then I really have no idea, I never know what kind of mood I’ll be in after reading a Maugham novel.
Glad you liked it!
The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. It is about a serial killer named HH Holmes (the Devil) who killed dozens of people in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair (the White City). As a Chicagoan, I find the whole history of the World’s Fair fascinating, and when you throw in a real live serial killer, well, it results in one outstanding read. I highly recommend it.
For fun, I’m reading Thoreau’s Walden. I was forced to read pieces of it in 10th grade and hated it, but I bought a Dover edition in case if I ever matured enough to appreciate it…and I guess I did! 
For school, I’m reading AASHTO’s A Policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets 2001, 800+ pages long. sigh
I just finished Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides (quite good), and Peace Like a River, by Lief Enger, which was so beautifully written that I actually forced myself to slow down when reading it so it wouldn’t end too soon.
Now I’m reading Don DeLillo’s newest, Cosmopolis, which is a treat to read since I did my dissertation on him but now can completely relax and enjoy it since I’m not going to write on it. And by the way, it’s quite good so far (I’m about halfway).
I’m reading Moll Flanders for my AP English class, and I’m about ready to scream. We had a very long discussion on Friday about why nobody liked it, despite the fact that it’s basically a string of sexual encounters. Turns out that this particular use of character driven, or picaresque (and they say you learn nothing in a public school!), plot is very, very boring because there’re only run-on sentences and the majority of characters are never given names or are allowed to develop. Who knew?
As for make-me-happy reading, I’m reading Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keillor for the gazillionth time, despite the fact that my dog tried to eat this copy. I’m also reading Freedom & Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull. I absolutely adore this book because a) I’m a teenage girl and it has all sorts of love affairs wrapped around and through it; b) it has an interesting historical setting, happening in 1849 in England with all sorts of revolution and rioting and Corn Acts and such going on; and c) Frederick Engels plays a rather large role in the novel, which doesn’t offend me at all, though those sorts of things usually do.
Sarah
I’m re-reading * The Other Boleyn Girl, * a fictionalized autobiography of Mary Boleyn, sister of Anne. If you’re a stickler for historical accuracy, you probably won’t enjoy it as much as I do, but it has wonderful descriptions of clothing, travel, banquets, and an interesting rivalry between the sisters.
I’m also reading * The Tale of Genji, * but I’m not really enjoying it.
I just finished * The Book of Eleanor * a fictionalized biography of Eleanor of Aquataine. I enjoyed it, but again, historical accuracy might be a sticking-point for some. (I’ve just gotten into fictionalized biographies, so I’ve read a lot of them recently.)
- Rereading Sex * is a book I’m almost finished with. It’s about Victorian attitudes toward sexuality. Another really good book on the subject (which I enjoyed more) is Andrea Tone’s * Devices and Desires * which is a history of contraception in America. The chapters on Comstock alone make this a fascinating read.
I’m also reading * A Midwife’s Tale: The Diary of Martha Ballard. * It won the Pulitzer, and deserved it.