Al Franken’s Lies, and the Lying Liars who Tell Them
Odd Gods: Alternative Religions and the Cult Controversy, by a number of different writers and edited by someone whose name I can’t find at the moment.
Was that question referring to Cook Off?
My question? Yes – what’s the author’s tone? (sorry – my boss walked by and I clicked out of the thread without realizing there was an intervening post.)
I just finished up **A Certain Chemistry[\b] by Mil Milington. Laugh out loud funny at times, has some great points. Seemed like it could have been edited a little better, but worth the effort.
Halfway through **Conan of Venarium[\b] by Harry Turtledove. It’s a blast, but only if you’re inclined that way. 
She’s very professional, she approaches it in an informative and investigative way. Almost more of a documentarian than anything else. She does mention how a lot of the larger media people refer to the participants as “white trash” and make fun of them but so far (1/3 of the way through) the author doesn’t seem judgemental at all.
adds title to “books to keep an eye out for at the library” list
I’m with you, Ooner. He presents a world that is unremittingly depressing, brutal and ugly. Even if his description is accurate, I don’t wanna know about it!
That said, I’m currently reading Lord Foul’s Bane; I read The **Power That Preserves ** many many years ago, and I thought I’d start at the beginning this time. It’s a little bit of a rough go - the milieu is so Tolkien-ish, it’s hard to lose myself in the story; I’m too aware that Donaldson is Writing.
Prior to this one, I read **Coldheart Canyon ** by Clive Barker, and ended up liking it more than I thought I would; before that, The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I loved and recommend wholeheartedly.
Next up: Brave New World; believe it or not, I’ve never read it. And then Mary Doria Russel’s latest - I loved The Sparrow and Children of God; anything she writes, I’ll buy.
Just finished Assassin’s Apprentice and a novella in Legends II by Robin Hobb. Absolutely fell in love with this writer.
While I’m waiting for more Hobb books to get here, I started a short story collection by William Gay called I Hate to See That Evening Sun Go Down. Excellent writer, described as “Southern”, but his characters are universal. I guess most Southern characters are.
I’m currently reading the SDMB. :wally
As far as what I’m reading on paperback… the Tom Clancy “Power Plays” series. Rather underwhelming, but it’s something to do at work. Maybe I should go back to reading the dictionary.
Cities in Civilization by Sir Peter Hall
Right now it’s “1215: The Year of the Magna Carta” by Danziger and Gillingham. Before that it was “Tea: Addiction, Exploitation, and Empire” by Roy Moxham.
In my “IN” box: “America: Democracy Inaction” by John Stewart, “Making A Living In The Middle Ages” by Chris Dyer, “The Complete Roman Army,” and others.
America, by Studs Terkel. It might only be train reading, I’m not sure. Last night I finished The Da Vinci Code for laughs, and a few days earlier I read Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth.
I am nearly at the end of ‘i, robot’ and I begun ‘Robots and Empire’ this morning.
I am also about two thirds into ‘Foundation’. and have read the first few pages of ‘Rest of the Robots’.
Yes I’m binging on Asimov.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for no real reason.
Dung Beetle thank you for mentioning The Know-It-All. I’ve checked the sample pages at Amazon and decided to try to find it.
I’ve just read two nice satires. The first was Ben Elton’s This Other Eden. I got acquainted with Elton’s writing through Dead Famous and out of the four of his books I’ve read so far this one is my favourite. The story is set in an ecologically destroyed world where everybody is waiting for the inevitable moment when they would have to seal themselves in domes called claustrospheres in order to survive. We follow intermingling stories of a superstar actor, an aspiring script writer, and a leader of an ecological terrorist group. Elton is not afraid to ridicule anything from celebrity sex to the non-unified leadership of the EU. One of the best satires I’ve ever read.
The other is Christopher Buckley’s Thank You For Smoking, about a tobbacco lobbyist in the middle 1990’s. I wouldn’t place it anywhere near the list of my favourite books but IMO it’s worth a read.
Now I’ve started reading Toby Litt’s Finding Myself which I bought on the grounds of being familliar with his Adventures in Capitalism and an interesting take on the book which is written in the form of a manuscript with editor’s notes spreaded all over the book.
Oooh! Oooh! Sabriel is great. I’m reading *Alphabet of Thorns, by Patricia McKillip. I started it yesterday, and I’m about half-finished. I just re-read For The Time Being, by Annie Dillard, which I love. I just lent Pilgrim at Tinker Creek to the friend who lent me Alphabet. We’re mutually reading each other’s favorite books.
He lent me a couple of McKillip books, and The Years Of Rice And Salt, so I’m ploughing through them. My father-in-law lent me The Way Of A Pilgrim, about Eastern Orthodox prayer, and Confederacy of Dunces. I also have a Flannery O’Connor complete short story collection and Connie Willis’s To Say Nothing Of The Dog out from the library.
Okay, the books I have actually started reading are the aformentioned Alphabet, the Flannery O’Connor, and The Way Of The Pilgrim. I’m really enjoying all of them- McKillip’s writing reminds me of Robin McKinley, and Way is just beautiful. It’s like reading about the Desert Fathers. The O’Connor is fascinating.
Yes, I am a book addict. Just don’t get between me and the library, and nobody will get hurt. 
Possession by Ann Rule. True crime is my guilty pleasure. It’s only between more legitimate works, believe me!!!
I just finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman. It took me mayb e 60 pages to get into it, but I loved it.
I’m currently re-reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and *The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris. I hope to check out Red Dragon soon (I haven’t read it yet).
I’ve just finished Sue Grafton’s latest, R is for Richochet, somewhat disappointing. Have just started God Under Howard: The Rise of the Religious Right in Australia. Next on the pile is Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick.
I just know I’m going to regret opening this thread. I’ve already noted down several titles to add to the pile.
Yay! I’m not the only one who felt the urge to start over again.