# What are you reading right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 29, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353 "2003-05-29T20:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/21 "2003-05-29T22:58:17Z")
I’m going through a bit of an “old Kurt Vonnegut” phase. I recently read Player Piano, now I’m reading Sirens of Titan. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/22 "2003-05-29T23:04:52Z")
Everything I can find by **Robertson Davies**. Can’t believe I got so old and just discovered this guy. Davies is deep and insightful without being difficult or obtuse. (A plus for me.) And stuff happens – it’s not just observation and revelation, although there’s plenty of that too. He’s one of those writers with a deceptively plain style. You don’t realize how rich his writing is because it goes down so easy. As soon as I finished **The Fifth Business** , I wanted to start reading it all over. (The cover art just sucks though, and the blurb is **not** helpful if you’re looking to find out what the book’s about.) Am also perusing **For the Love of Books: 115 Celebrated Writers on the Books They Love Most** by Ronald Schwartz, which is where I found out about this Davies guy. ---
**Author:** ![moi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/23 "2003-05-29T23:21:55Z")
After my move is complete, I’m going to be reading \*[Toulouse-Lautrec and the Fin-De-Siecle\* by David Sweetman](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0340607483/qid=1054250458/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-6432994-5860702?v=glance&s=books) to prepare for an upcoming museum exhibition. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/24 "2003-05-29T23:38:02Z")
I just finished **Rendezvous with Rama** By Arthur C. Clarke about humanity meeting with their first extraterrestrial encounter. And a week before that, I finished **The Moon is Harsh Mistressp** by Robert Heinlan about a revolution on the ‘penal colony’ known as the Moon. ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/25 "2003-05-29T23:46:45Z")
Just finished The Fall by Albert Camus. It’s… It’s hard to explain, is what it is. Basically, it’s the confessions of a lawyer who was known for being incredibly virtuous and yet lived a life of debauchery. It’s similar to The Stranger in that it’s written in the first person, and yet remains so detached from everything. I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/26 "2003-05-29T23:59:02Z")
I’m reading **Moneyball** about how Billy Beane took the second smallest payroll in baseball (Oakland A’s) and produced a team that easily gives teams with 5x their payroll a run for their money. Really interesting behind-the-scenes book. It’s written by Michael Lewis who I believe is best known for **Liar’s Poker**. Also reading a book called **Unsinkable** about the Titanic that I picked up at the dollar store. Also really interesting so far. Not sure how you caught me reading two seemingly intelligent non-fiction books. I’m just as likely to be reading something trashy my mother-in-law gave me, heh. ---
**Author:** ![Bulla\_Felix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@Bulla\_Felix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bulla_Felix)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/27 "2003-05-30T00:47:36Z")
(Breaking my silence/popping my posting-cherry/ending my days of lurking) I’m currently reading **Moneyball** by Michael Lewis and **Carnage and Culture** by Victor Davis Hanson. ---
**Author:** ![Orange\_Skinner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3be4f8/32.png) [@Orange\_Skinner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orange_Skinner)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/28 "2003-05-30T01:02:39Z")
Right now I’m reading Agatha Christie’s **The Murder of Roger Ackroyd** , which is rather good, a how-to guide I got from a used book sale on handwriting analysis, **The Restaurant at the End of the Universe** by Douglas Adams, and **The Dead Zone** by Stephen King. Oh, and congrats on the cherry poppage, there, **Bulla Felix**. Welcome to the ever-so addicting boards…I bet soon you’ll find that you’ve been turned into a regular posting nympho. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/29 "2003-05-30T01:06:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\ ***Sandman** – the entire run of the comic. \*\* I never knew until I read Gaiman’s commentary in _The Sandman Companion_ that my favorite character in the whole glorious epic–Wilkinson–was a shrew. I had always thought he was a rat. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/30 "2003-05-30T01:07:57Z")
Re-reading (for the 4th time) **The Truth** by **Terry Pratchett**. I was a wee bit disapointed att his latest - **Wee Free Men** , so I decided I wanted to read on of his best. ---
**Author:** ![zebraplooker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@zebraplooker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zebraplooker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/31 "2003-05-30T01:09:01Z")
I’ve just started **Salt** by **Mark Kurlansky**. I read **Cod** by the same author last year. You might not believe how fascinating these books are unless you give them a try. In a way, they are historical novels. The author uses both cod, literally the fish, and salt, the mineral, to tell our collective histories across all races and continents. They are the kind of books where you stop every few pages and think: “I didn’t know that!” ---
**Author:** ![Rabid\_Squirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Rabid\_Squirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rabid_Squirrel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/32 "2003-05-30T01:11:23Z")
This post! Bawahhaha! No seriously, “Choak” by Chuck Palahniuk, and I have The Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett as night-time comfort reading. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/33 "2003-05-30T01:15:51Z")
I am halfway through **Johnny Got His Gun** by Dalton Trumbo. This kid goes fighting in World War I and ends up in a hospital bed horrendously wounded. The whole novel drifts back and forth in time and through dreams without much explanation, and there’s no internal punctuation (commas, dashes, etc). I like it so far. It’s a bit easier to follow than it sounds (but not much easier). ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/34 "2003-05-30T01:20:13Z")
_Case Studies in Library Security_. No, summer classes haven’t started yet, but it caught my eye on the new book shelf, and I’m enjoying it. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/35 "2003-05-30T01:29:39Z")
**Mostly Harmless** By Douglas Adams, the fifth book the the increasingly inaccurately named Hitchikers Guide Trilogy. My least favorite in the series, but I’m reading it over to see if I missed any jokes the first 3 times. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/36 "2003-05-30T01:34:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by unwashed brain \* > **Latro in the Mist** by Gene Wolfe. Hey, that’s one of my all-time favorites! I re-read it last month, then sent it on to someone else on the SDMB. Great author! ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/37 "2003-05-30T01:34:40Z")
I just started **The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test** by Tom Wolf. I’m only in the first few chapters, so I don’t have too much to summarize yet. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/38 "2003-05-30T01:35:03Z")
_The Selfish Gene_, by Richard Dawkins (about evolution; I asked for it because Douglas Adams speaks highly of it in _The Salmon of Doubt_), and _Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency_, by (!) Douglas Adams. [Somehow my past birthday just sorta revolved around him - the other book I got was Terry Jones’ novelization of _Starship Titanic_]. I haven’t decided which to finish first; one will obviously be a much quicker read than the other. After that, I suppose I’ll read the other book I was given, Vonnegut’s _Hocus Pocus_. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/39 "2003-05-30T01:37:02Z")
**Little Friend** by Donna Tartt. For a author who puts out one book per decade, she’s pretty damn good. 1970’s small-town Mississippi, a 12 year old girl wants to solve the murder of her older brother who was killed when she was just a baby. Not recommended if you’ve got a snake phobia! 🙂 Next in the queue is **Drop City** by T.C. Boyle. ---
**Author:** ![NE\_Texan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e99b99/32.png) [@NE\_Texan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NE_Texan)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353/40 "2003-05-30T01:39:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bulla Felix \* > \*\*(Breaking my silence/popping my posting-cherry/ending my days of lurking) > > I’m currently reading **Moneyball** by Michael Lewis and **Carnage and Culture** by Victor Davis Hanson. \*\* Welcome aboard, then! I’m glad I started a thread that interested you. How are you liking these books? What is **Carnage** about? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-reading-right-now/178353.md?page=3)