# What book are you reading now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 3, 2000, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872 "2000-04-03T02:20:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/21 "2000-04-03T07:00:00Z")
_House Atredies_ the prequel to _Dune_. * * * Voted **Best Sport** And narrowly averted the despised moniker **Smiley Master** “Avast and ahoy, landlubbers! Shore leave’s in August. Hide your women.” – A WallySig ---
**Author:** ![xekul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/838e76/32.png) [@xekul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xekul)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/22 "2000-04-03T10:00:00Z")
RIGHT now? The Sound and Sense textbook for my English class. I got bored with it so I thought I’d check SMDB 🙂 Voluntarily, I’m reading _Ever Since Darwin_ by Stephen Jay Gould, _The Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance_ by Robert Pirsig and _Point-Counterpoint_ by Aldous Huxley. * * * ``You’re just an empty cage girl if you kill the bird.’’ – Tori Amos. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/23 "2000-04-03T10:34:00Z")
My kind of people! Right now I’m reading “The ground beneath her feet” by Rushdie and keeping an eye out for “The fifth Elephant” by Pratchett in paperback. Just finished re-reading a danish book called (roughly translated) “Odin and the hard-drive” about Viking age values and ethics and how they might fit in modern society. Not bad. But I just realized that I haven’t read “Zen & the art of” etc. for a looong time. And this threead added another 5 titles to my “books to buy” list. (And right now I SHOULD be reading “Release notes for Cisco MICA Portware version 2.6.2.0”, but what the heck). Norman ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/24 "2000-04-03T13:50:00Z")
Shayna, I loved ‘Anna Karenina’—but it IS very demanding, and you have to really be in the mood for it. I just finished a new bio of film director Erich Von Stroheim, and I just started ‘The Smart Magazines,’ a 1991 book about how wonderful magazines were in the 1910s-30s (Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, etc.). Makes me very depressed at the state of magazines today . . . ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/25 "2000-04-03T14:29:00Z")
Bedside table: Jonathan Weiner’s [_Time, Love, Memory,_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679444351/o/qid=954770197/sr=2-1/102-0304700-4590450) an account of behavioral geneticist Seymour Benzer’s work with fruit flies, which has opened the door to learning much more than we currently do about the influence of genetics on behavior. In the car to read at lunch: Matt Ridley’s [_The Origins of Virtue : Human Instincts and the Evolution of Cooperation_](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140264450/ref=sim_books/102-0304700-4590450), an exploration of how altruism and cooperation have arisen in animals, inlcuding humans, despite the single-minded self-interestedness of genes. In the car (on tape for the commute): [Patrick O’Brian’s](http://www.wwnorton.com/pob/pobhome.htm) [_The Ionian Mission_, book 8 of O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series, read by the amazing Patrick Tull in the [url=http://www.recorededbooks.com]Recorded Books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393037088/qid=954771664/sr=1-31/102-0304700-4590450) unabridged audio version. At the current rate, I should just about make it through the whole series by the end of baseball season (I started in early December). On deck: Seamus Heaney’s new translation of [_Beowulf._](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374111197/qid=954772058/sr=1-48/102-0304700-4590450) * * * * * * “Ain’t no man can avoid being born average, but there ain’t no man got to be common.” _–Satchel Paige_ ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/26 "2000-04-03T15:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by TheUnforgiven: > \*\*Kaplan MCAT review notes: General Chemistry > Kaplan MCAT review notes: Organic Chemistry > > I hate chemistry.\*\* It’ll be more fun when you take Recreational Chemistry. 😃 * * * Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/27 "2000-04-03T15:45:00Z")
“The Lost Tomb” by Kent R. Weeks. Very interesting story of the discovery and excavation of the tomb of the sons of Rameses II. rackensack, I’m also working on Time, Love, Memory, but it often gets put aside in favor of the above. Next on the list: “All the Pretty Horses” by Cormac McCarthy. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/28 "2000-04-03T15:45:00Z")
## I’m currently working my way (actually I should say “playing my way”) through Peter Mayle’s delightful series of books about the expatriate life in the south of France: _A Year In Provence Toujours Provence Encore Provence_ Live a Lush Life Da Chef ---
**Author:** ![OldBroad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ed655f/32.png) [@OldBroad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldBroad)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/29 "2000-04-03T16:17:00Z")
In progress: Coaching for Commitment (2nd pass) the cluetrain manifesto The Secrets of Question Based Selling A Sight for Sore Eyes (Ruth Rendell) Just finished: All Hat and No Cattle - tales of a corporate outlaw The Pleasure of Finding Things Out The Abilene Paradox If you want an easily digestible and greatly condensed history, try _The People’s Chronology_ Yep, I’m a dweeb. * * * Grow your own dope! Plant a man. (Wally made me say it) ---
**Author:** ![SwimmingRiddles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SwimmingRiddles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwimmingRiddles)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/30 "2000-04-03T16:19:00Z")
I always try to balence intellectual books with detective/fun books. My current brain candy is a whodunit called \* Honkey Tonk Kat\* and, as whodunits go, it’s not half bad. I recently finished _Assata_ by Assata Shakur, a Black Liberation Army member unjustly jailed. Good book, even though her own rascism is a bit distracting. I am currently reading, on advice from my sister, _What Color is my Parachute?_ I need a new job. School stuff includes Richard III, and a LOT on child psychology. I can’t wait till summer. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/31 "2000-04-03T16:35:00Z")
Recently finished Kobo Abe’s WOMAN IN THE DUNES. Right now I’m on page 302 of THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, and also plowing through Matloff’s WORLD WAR I: A CONCISE MILITARY HISTORY. These are both too large to haul around with me, though, so I’m also reading Rolland Hein’s CHRISTIAN MYTHMAKERS, a study of fantasy fiction by C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, Charles Williams, and others. * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![Demo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demo/32/8472_2.png) [@Demo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/32 "2000-04-04T05:12:00Z")
Just finishing _The Character of Physical Law_ - **Feynman** , about halfway through _A Brief History of Time_ - **Hawking** , just starting _The Sound and the Fury_ - **Faulkner**. * * * Just make yourself comfy while I shoot nuclear particles into your heart. (Courtesy of Wally) ---
**Author:** ![MtnMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@MtnMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MtnMan)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/33 "2000-04-03T18:03:00Z")
My job involves a lot of reading, so I don’t often read books for pleasure. I do listen to book on tape during my commute. Currently: _Dark Lady_ by Richard North Patterson. Next up: _Personal Inuries_ by Scott Turow Nothing too heavy here. I get enough heavy reading at work. Pure escapism when I listen to books in the car. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Incognito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guy_incognito/32/3920_2.png) [@Guy\_Incognito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Incognito)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/34 "2000-04-03T18:03:00Z")
Presently I’m reading “The Name of the Rose” by Umberto Eco. Wish I had taken a Latin class in school… * * * “It’s only common sense, There are no accidents 'round here.” ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/35 "2000-04-03T18:05:00Z")
Just finished _The Class of 1846_ and _Faith and Treason_ (about the Gunpowder Plot) – feeding my history jones. Currently reading Tom Wolfe’s _A Man In Full_ and not finding it as fabulous as I’ve heard it to be, but then I’m not very far into it. Next up: Salman Rushdie’s _Midnight’s Children_ for Book Club. * * * Jodi _Fiat Justitia_ ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/36 "2000-04-03T19:52:00Z")
Right now I’m in the middle of Alexandre Dumas’ “Religion wars” trilogy. Just finished “La reine Margot” and starting on “La dame de Monsoreau.” Waiting in the wings is Pynchon’s “Mason & Dixon”. So far I’ve been intimidated by the sheer weight of it. At work, I just finished “The Last Temptation of Christ” (Nikos Kazantzakis), and now started a whodunit set in ancient Rome, “Silver Pigs” by Lindsey Davis. If you discount the setting, it’s a very average detective novel. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/37 "2000-04-03T19:57:00Z")
I always have several books going at once. Currently: The IRA: A History - by Tim Pat Coogan The Troubles - Tim Pat Coogan Les rêveries du promeneur solitaire - Rousseau The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy Just finished The Painted Bird by Jerzy Kosinski and Hawaii by James Michener. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/38 "2000-04-03T20:01:00Z")
I just finished (from most recent on down): William Goldman’s _Which Lie Did I Tell_ Terry Pratchet’s _Fifth Elephant_ Alexandre Dumas’ _The Three Muskateers_ Charlotte Bronte’s _Jane Eyre_ Jane Austen’s _Sense and Sensibility_ That’s been the last month or so, and I know some other books have snuck in, but I can’t remember them right now. ---
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/39 "2000-04-03T20:15:00Z")
Almost forgot - also recently finished Hannibal. What a waste of a few hours. Bad bad bad - not to mention revoltingly disgusting. Do not waste your money. ---
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2000, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872/40 "2000-04-03T20:19:00Z")
Right now, _The Spiral Dance_, by Starhawk and _The Dark is Rising_, by Susan Cooper. Just finished the third Harry Potter book a couple of weeks ago, and intend to get going on _Heretic’s Heart_ by Margot Adler this week. * * * Gamera is really neat, he is full of turtle meat, we’ve been eating Gam-er-aaaa… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-now/15872.md?page=3)