# What book are you reading right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2003, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323 "2003-09-13T02:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Selkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@Selkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Selkie)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/41 "2003-09-13T15:23:06Z")
[**Reading Lolita in Tehran**](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0375504907/qid=1063467005/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/103-2434865-4816615?v=glance&s=books). Good, but somehow not quite what I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/42 "2003-09-13T15:36:17Z")
War of the Newts, by Karel Capek. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/43 "2003-09-13T15:37:28Z")
Bah. That’s War _With_ the Newts. Still got War of the Worlds stuck in my head, apparantly. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/44 "2003-09-13T16:11:22Z")
“Maniilaq, Eskimo Prophet”, by Sarah Haile I’m not far enough into it to say whether or not it’s any good. Maniilaq was an Inupiat whose prophecies foretold the arrival of the white man and many products of modern technology. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/45 "2003-09-13T16:29:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Crusoe \* > \*\*Am putting off starting **One Hundred Years Of Solitude** (Gabriel García Márquez). It was going cheap in a record store, and I had a vague feeling I probably should have read it at some point. Page one seems okay, but I haven’t overcome the sinking feeling at spotting a family tree. Any book that needs a family tree or _dramatis personæ_ has been heavy going in my experience. \*\* I’m one of the few people who disliked it as far as I know…but it doesn’t get any better. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/46 "2003-09-13T17:09:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MonkeyMensch \* > \*\*[ **Constantine’s Sword** , by James Carroll. A history of the relation between Judaism and Catholicism. > > \*\* HOLY CRAP! ME TOO! It’s quite a book… has got me thinking so much there’s smoke! Also **Rabbi Jesus** by Bruce Chilton **Hatchepsut** by Joyce Tyldesley **The Brother of Jesus** by Hershel Shanks & Ben Witherington III **Monarch of the Nile** by Aidan Dodson Yup, I am on ancient history kick right now. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/47 "2003-09-13T17:24:38Z")
**Top 10** (v. 2) by Alan Moore. Moore is such a skilled story teller, and all the little visual jokes are so neat–it’s just fun to read. I like this comic all the more because it’s not as serious as his other works I’ve read (V for Vendetta & Watchmen.) **How the Mind Works** by Alan Pinker. Very interesting, but heavy going. ---
**Author:** ![Tanaqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Tanaqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanaqui)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/48 "2003-09-13T17:27:09Z")
Okay, why the heck did I say Alan? I meant Steven, of course. **Steven** Pinker. I just woke up; forgive me. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/49 "2003-09-13T18:02:23Z")
I just finished **Letter to My Descendants** by Niels Skov. Even on the SDMB I doubt anybody has heard of the man or the book (except my brother **Cervaise** and his wife **herownself** who have probably read the thing as well). It’s the true account of one of the very few members of the Danish civilian resistance to Nazi occupation of Denmark in World War II. It details his efforts as a saboteur, his capture by the Gestapo, and his incarceration in a concentration camp – and escape therefrom. It’s an unbelieveable look into World War II as I’ve never seen. Amazing. More amazing is that I actually met the man and never knew this about him. FISH ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/50 "2003-09-13T18:04:14Z")
Just finished **Jack Nastyface** by William Robinson, a memoir of an English seaman who was at Trafalgar, first published 1836. Next up is a reread of **Farewell, My Lovely** by Raymond Chandler. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SuperNova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNova)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/51 "2003-09-13T18:05:53Z")
“House of Seven Gables” by Hawthorne. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/52 "2003-09-13T20:19:00Z")
Stay with it, **Tanaqui** – like all Pinker’s stuff, I found it fascinating. Of course, you must consider the source – I read his “Words and Rules” (which is basically about the hows and whys of regular vs. irregular verbs) on a beach vacation once. I’ve got his latest (“The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature”) in the “read sooner rather than later” stack. **Archergal** – it definitely is a really thought-provoking book. I read about 20 pages this morning and had to stop and play Rocket Mania (ahem) for a while to give myself time to digest it before proceeding. If you think you might enjoy it – you probably would. ---
**Author:** ![Manach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Manach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manach)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/53 "2003-09-13T20:35:40Z")
Lest Darkness Fall - L. Sprague de Camp ---
**Author:** ![gawen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a88e57/32.png) [@gawen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gawen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/54 "2003-09-13T22:09:35Z")
Villa Vortex- Maurice G Dantec, very strange as usual with this author and Gods Of Mars, the second John Carter by Burroughs, for now it is as good as the first one ---
**Author:** ![Nanook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nanook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanook)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/55 "2003-09-13T23:38:06Z")
Lobby Hero by Kenneth Lonergan (play) ``` The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy (non-fiction) Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (fiction) ``` ---
**Author:** ![AusTexDoper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@AusTexDoper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AusTexDoper)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/56 "2003-09-14T17:52:29Z")
The Dune Prequel Trilogy, and now I’ve got to re-read the original series to remember how it ends…hmm maybe i’ll read it backwards ---
**Author:** ![Judeluv3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/34f0e0/32.png) [@Judeluv3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judeluv3)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/57 "2003-09-14T18:04:55Z")
Steppenwofl by Herman Hesse Permanent Midnight by Jerry Stahl Chekhov Seven Stories by Chekhov Lysistrata by Aristophanes ---
**Author:** ![Dawne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Dawne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dawne)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/58 "2003-09-14T18:33:45Z")
I’m reading Sophie’s World at the minute after seeing it recommended here. Its better than i thought it would be, it’s even made me consider dropping psychology and taking up philosophy instead. ---
**Author:** ![captainQwark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@captainQwark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/captainQwark)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/59 "2003-09-14T19:15:41Z")
_The Epic Of Gilgamesh_ Required reading for school. It’s Danny P. Jackson’s translation. The translation takes liberty with the text but that’s understandable considering the original tablets are fragmentary. It’s a good, short read anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2003, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323/60 "2003-09-14T19:54:22Z")
**Fire Lover: A True Story** , by Joseph Wambaugh. The story of a serial arsonist in California who worked as a fire department’s arson investigator and started arson fires from the late 1980’s until his arrest and trial in the early 1990’s. Very interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-book-are-you-reading-right-now/201323.md?page=4)