What are you reading?

coldcutscoldcuts 388 Posts
edited May 2009 in Strut Central
I haven't read something good in awhile. What should I check out? What's everybody reading?
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  • GaryGary 3,982 Posts
    i'm reading clive barker books of blood 1 through 3. its a good enough time killer. not "scary" but entertaining.

  • soulmarcosasoulmarcosa 4,296 Posts
    I'm always reading a few books for different locations throughout the day:

    WORK LUNCHTIME
    Roman by Polanski by Roman Polanski

    HOME BATHROOM
    Granta 57: The Granta Book of India (Paperback) by Ian Jack

    BEDTIME
    No House Limit by Steve Fisher


    And some I've already read:
    http://72.47.213.90/user/show/60313-soulmarcosa

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story
    Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer

    into biographies at the moment

  • DJFerrariDJFerrari 2,411 Posts
    I'm reading this right now and loving it... extremely well written.


  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story

    That's a good one.



    Currently enjoying this:





  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

    I don't know if it was the writing, the poor editing & research, or the author's taste in music but I couldn't bring myself to finish this.

  • ToeFunkToeFunk 90 Posts
    El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote De La Mancha by Cervantes and Cannery Row by John Steinbeck at the moment.

  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    I'm in the middle of the second book of a post-apocalyptic trilogy by an author named S. M. Stirling. He writes a lot of alternate history stuff. Very interesting.

  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Just finished Nightmare Alley by William Gresham and really dug it. Apparently there is a great 1947 movie with Tyrone Power, I'm gonna track it down.

    Anything by John D McDonald is at least super-solid, if not great, and he gives a lot more food for thought than a lot of serious "literature" I've read.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Ellison's Invisible Man and I am having a really hard time with it this time round; the pacing, the story, the characters - it's borderline cartoon-ish to me. Is this even a good book? I don't know anymore...

  • ElectrodeElectrode Los Angeles 3,133 Posts


    It's somewhere between a Cliff Notes version of any intellectual conversation piece, quick-witted opinion article and a reminder that the more you know, the more you have to learn. Recommended.

  • CousinLarryCousinLarry 4,618 Posts
    I am about 100 pages in to this.



    Really good so far.

  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts


    Totally recommended reading - it's a really impressive treatise on art, taste, music and criticism.

  • kicks79kicks79 1,343 Posts
    Just about finished this


    I gotta say i have a high tolerance to weird writing but this takes the cake and to think its over 50 years old. I also just read his other book Junky while waiting for my copy of The Corner to arrive.

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,793 Posts

  • skelskel You can't cheat karma 5,033 Posts

  • nzshadownzshadow 5,526 Posts
    http://www.amazon.com/Little-Brother-Cory-Doctorow/dp/0765319853

    Cant recommend this highly enough.

    especially to anyone who works with kids or teenagers.


  • ZEN2ZEN2 1,540 Posts
    This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession

    I don't know if it was the writing, the poor editing & research, or the author's taste in music but I couldn't bring myself to finish this.

    im about two thirds through. what deficiencies in research did you find?

    It's been a while, but I recall wrongly attributed quotations, faulty logic, and general conjecture presented as researched fact. If you check out the reviews on Amazon there are specifics which I found to be spot on.

  • "dune" and various ancient astronaut books.

  • GrandfatherGrandfather 2,303 Posts
    Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
    and
    The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon

    reading both at the moment, Chabon's book is pretty cool and so far I am loving Oscar Wao... only about 160 pages in to both

  • American Scream: The Bill Hicks Story

    I read that when the hardback edition came out and was suprised at the poor editing. There's a part in there where they say Bill did something in 1996, but he died in 1993. There's just some glaring mistakes that tripped me up during reading but overall I found the book to be enjoyable. Bill Hicks certainly suffered for his craft.

  • UnherdUnherd 1,880 Posts
    This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession
    I couldn't bring myself to finish this.

    Yeah I think I lost interest on that ^ one too.



    I've been reading this on and off for almost a year, probably mentioned it in the last "what are you reading" thread. I'm really into it again tho, and trying to power through the last 500 pages right now.

    It's quite an undertaking, but I can't recommend it enough to anyone interested in NYC history specifically, or urban planning in general...

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,793 Posts

    The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon

    Chabon did the Escapologist comic-book one, right? Really loved that.

  • kitchenknightkitchenknight 4,922 Posts

    The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon

    Chabon did the Escapologist comic-book one, right? Really loved that.

    Yiddish Policeman's is flawed, but I loved it.
    The Coen brothers have signed on to adapt it as a film.


  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    my girl brought this home for me last night...read it in one sitting...yes, lots of "awww, cute" moments but really entertaining. The stuff about George "Born free" Adamson and his reabilitating Christian in Kenya is really cool. A dude gets eaten by another Lion in this book, so it isnt all cutesy. Recommended

  • Ellison's Invisible Man and I am having a really hard time with it this time round; the pacing, the story, the characters - it's borderline cartoon-ish to me. Is this even a good book? I don't know anymore...

    I love Invisible Man but have heard the same complaints from others who have read it. I think that unless you grew up in the time period it was written or at least have someone to help illuminate certain things that happen it can be really confusing. There's the meeting with the Communists where they never really say that they are commies but you can infer from the way they talk in the book that they are trying to recruit the main character into their club. When I read it I didn't even realize that was what was going on until I discussed it with an older guy who illuminated me. I really liked it but I like books that challenge me as a reader. I guess really, unless you want to read the cliff notes with the book as you read it you should just give up and read a book you like better. Life's too short to read books you don't enjoy.

  • HamHam 872 Posts


    I just finished this. Damn it's good, can't wait for Wells Tower to write a novel!

  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    Interesting - I read Invisible Man when I was in my mid teens and absolutely loved it - did for me what I expected Catcher In The Rye to do but failed miserably at.

    I must confess that it's on my list of books to revisit to see which ones that had a massive impact when I was young and angry still hit home now I'm older (and angry). I've been putting it off a bit as it's one that's stayed with me for years and I'm slightly afraid of destroying its power.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Ellison's Invisible Man and I am having a really hard time with it this time round; the pacing, the story, the characters - it's borderline cartoon-ish to me. Is this even a good book? I don't know anymore...

    I love Invisible Man but have heard the same complaints from others who have read it. I think that unless you grew up in the time period it was written or at least have someone to help illuminate certain things that happen it can be really confusing. There's the meeting with the Communists where they never really say that they are commies but you can infer from the way they talk in the book that they are trying to recruit the main character into their club. When I read it I didn't even realize that was what was going on until I discussed it with an older guy who illuminated me. I really liked it but I like books that challenge me as a reader. I guess really, unless you want to read the cliff notes with the book as you read it you should just give up and read a book you like better. Life's too short to read books you don't enjoy.

    lol amen to that! I used to feel so bad for not finishing a book, nomatter how boring, etc. I thought it was.
    I picked it up because I didn't have anything lined-up and it was there on the shelf. (Life is not too short to re-read a good book though!!) I am not confused by it, it just feels choppy. I considered the era thing, too, but ehhhh. You know there are books way older that hold up no problem.

    Oh wait - should I be posting about this in the "Hasn't Aged Well" thread?

  • white_teawhite_tea 3,262 Posts

    The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Chabon

    Chabon did the Escapologist comic-book one, right? Really loved that.

    Yiddish Policeman's is flawed, but I loved it.
    The Coen brothers have signed on to adapt it as a film.


    Yeah, I thought the book lost a lot of steam about halfway through, devolving into, more or less, a typical genre book.

    But the picture he painted with the run down part of town, the upscale Hasidic neighborhood, the boundary maven and, especially, all the chess stuff was just beautiful.

    I am still chipping away at this. Pretty fascinating.

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