What is everone reading ?

“i have trouble believing all the events in "life of pi" really happened, especially at the end where he would have been severely hallucinating, but it was an engrossing read nonetheless

i read cold mt while hiking in georgia, tn, and nc, finishing it right before i got to damascus. quite appropriate, since i was walking in the hills where it takes place (even if the author took liberties with geography). the conclusion was heart-breaking.”

“"my apologies to nigal for double-posting, and now triple-posting. seriously, this book has been a big influence on my spiritual life"

What's it about?”

“"The Memoirs of Cleopatra"
by Margaret George

a Historical Novel...just started it.....

getting ready to put "The Hobbit" in my car so I can listen to & from work.....”

“Think of a fantastical version of old man and the sea, with a twist ending and a good dose of spirituality.

From Amazon.com:
Yann Martel's imaginative and unforgettable Life of Pi is a magical reading experience, an endless blue expanse of storytelling about adventure, survival, and ultimately, faith. The precocious son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India, where he tries on various faiths for size, attracting "religions the way a dog attracts fleas." Planning a move to Canada, his father packs up the family and their menagerie and they hitch a ride on an enormous freighter. After a harrowing shipwreck, Pi finds himself adrift in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a spotted hyena, a seasick orangutan, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker ("His head was the size and color of the lifebuoy, with teeth"). It sounds like a colorful setup, but these wild beasts don't burst into song as if co-starring in an anthropomorphized Disney feature. After much gore and infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat's sole passengers, drifting for 227 days through shark-infested waters while fighting hunger, the elements, and an overactive imagination. In rich, hallucinatory passages, Pi recounts the harrowing journey as the days blur together, elegantly cataloging the endless passage of time and his struggles to survive: "It is pointless to say that this or that night was the worst of my life. I have so many bad nights to choose from that I've made none the champion."
An award winner in Canada (and winner of the 2002 Man Booker Prize), Life of Pi, Yann Martel's second novel, should prove to be a breakout book in the U.S. At one point in his journey, Pi recounts, "My greatest wish--other than salvation--was to have a book. A long book with a never-ending story. One that I could read again and again, with new eyes and fresh understanding each time." It's safe to say that the fabulous, fablelike Life of Pi is such a book. --Brad Thomas Parsons”

“Just finished a book on John Muir's unpublished journal notes, and reading off and on "The History of Technology from Early Times to 1900". I love that stuff!”

“My mom reads maybe 2-3 books a week. One of her favorite authors is Ken Follett. I just finished reading his book "A Dangerous Fortune". It's was a NYTimes bestseller (years ago), and is called a suspense/thriller, but I would just call it highly entertaining.

I like books that have a little humor, sex and intrigue. This book is quite a lot of sex and intrigue. I highly recommend it. There are no boring parts that you may find some books have.”

“I'm listening to "Under the Banner of Heaven" and it's freaking me out. Some how I keep geting tied into these books about the Mormons, probably because their history is so tied up with the history of the Western US. It is pretty strange.”

“Shawn, I read the book. Very creepy.

I just finished President Clinton's book on CD. It was fascinating, and interesting to hear his side of the story on so many issues. I highly recommend it.”

“I’m finishing up “Salvation on Sand Mountain” very interesting, very strange, very deadly.”

“LH, are Ken Follett's books like murder mysteries/thrillers? Have you ever read any of Patricia Cornwell's books? She has a whole line of books based on a medical examiner named Kay Scarpeta that are great reads.”

“thanks for reminding me, i've been meaning to read *Life of Pi* for awhile now.

right now i'm reading all John Irving's books...i think i have like 2 more to go.”

“Me too dumb to read.”

“you better be careful, or stikmon will yell at you for calling yourself dumb!
:-D”

“Huh? No can read what you say.”

“Nigal - the Follett books are good. I've read about 4 or 5. He writes alot of WWII spy type books. Those are good. I read Eye of the Needle and another couple that were those type. Really good stuff. The others I read were "Pillars of the Earth," and "A Place Called Freedom." POTE takes place in the middle ages and it historical fiction. It has to do with monasticism and cathedral building. It led me to read about a monk that lived in KY named Thomas Merton. The second book is about a coal miner in Scotland who leaves and comes to America. I can't recall if it takes place before or after the Revolution. Turns out that mining serfs were basically slaves.

My wife reads Cornwell. She keeps trying to get me to read them, but I haven't yet. I guess the blood and guts is what keeps me away. I'll give in and try them at some point I'm sure.”

“Sounds like he’s a diverse writer in deed! I’ll have to check one out. Cornwell’s books are more clinically gory not mass murder painting the walls gory.

Another great thriller writer is James Patterson who writes the Alex Cross series of novels. He’s had a few done into movies, Along Came a Spider, Kiss the Girls, and Jack and Jill. The books are 100% better than the movies.”

“My wife and I have heard a few books on tape from Patterson.

Have you ever heard of the Fraser guy I mentioned further up the thread? He wrote a series called the Flashman papers that was really good. The character is a letcherous coward who always wind up being the hero. Takes place during the Victorian era. He winds up all over the world fighting in Vickies wars, as he terms it.”

“I've never heard of him. Sounds interesting. I get somewhat bored with historical type novels. I'm a very unattentive reader and have a hard time staying focused.

I do love the midevil fantasy books the most. R.A. Salvator's Dark Elf books are wonderful. That is if you're a D&D geek like me.”

“The focus of these books is more on mischief than historical detail, though the detail is correct.

I'd probably like the fantasy books. I was a D&D geek too. One time I was chapheroning(sp?) a church trip and one night the adults all go out to dinner. I was in college at the time and was helping out the church in the small town I grew up in. At dinner something about D&D came up. Probably about how it poisons your mind, or some such nonsense. I spoke up that I played it in MS and HS. My neighbor almost had a heart attack on the spot. They were then floored when I said that I credited it for being able to do math without a calculator at a better than average level and a few other positivies.”

“Lyra-
Which John Irving books are you reading? My mom just loaned me a copy of the World According to Garp, but I haven't read it yet.”

“I just got back into it after a five year break and it’s still as fun as always. If I had been playing it back in school I would have done a lot better in my grades. I’m also getting into a new game that is put out by Gary Gygax (The Godfather of RPGs) called Legendary Journeys that is just awesome.”

“Playboy”

“The thread is "What are you READING"

I don't think I'd ever be able to try D&D again from a time standpoint. Too much time chasing kids. It's probably more fun now though.”

“I'm reading White Blaze Fever and already have more books lined up after that. Jeez...so many books and not enough time!”

“DaVinci Code. Books I have read in the last two months: Middlesex (by the author of The Virgin Suicides), At PLay in the Fields of the Lord, The POwer of One, The Life of Pi, The Conquest of the Incas, and a couple of others that elude me.

Yeah. I want to read that new Krakauer book about the Mormons but I think Seabiscuit is next. My grandpa used to go and see her(?) race as a kid...”

“Forum...the Penthouse Papers.

This should be a good read.”

“my checkbook, talk about a depressing book to read”

“Jon Krakauer's "Into the wild": the story of Chris McCandless; he was from the DC area, maybe some of you are familiar w/ the story.”

“yeah, the kid was kinda dumb MtnMom”

“Y2 you comin' out to play this weekend?”

“Before I moved I was reading the book "The Man who walked through time" by Colin Fletcher. I haven't been able to find it since.”

“Y2, I was going to make that comment but didn't want to offend anybody that did know the family. He was supposed to be a fairly smart kid, but yeh, to do what he did. Just plain dumba$$ stubborn!”

“He graduated from Emory, where my fiance is in grad school. Apparently he is still a topic of frequent discussion at that place...”

“What's wrong with exploring the country after college? Heck, it wasn't his fault that the book gave faulty info about the edibility of a plant.

He might have been strange or weird, but not dumb. He did lack some common sense though.”

“Before I moved I was reading the book "The Man who walked through time" by Colin Fletcher. I haven't been able to find it since."
Ewker



Did you want to buy it or do you mean that you just can't find it in your house? What did you want, a first edition or just a recent printing? Look on abebooks.com”

“I dont know how much of it could be attibuted to a lack of knowledge or common sense. I think he was on a serious ego trip after having survived some other stuff, and a couple of simple errors compounded in a massive way due to the harsh environment he was in.”

“mtnmom, I haven't been able to find it in the apt. It is around here somewhere or maybe in the storage bldg I am renting.”

“He died while I was attending Emory.”

“My mom lent it to me. I've got to finish it already...”

“Chris McCandless is one of Tarp Rat's personal heros. He'd get so pissed when some would say the kik was stupid. Tarp'd say, "That's the way I wanna go! He was a free spirit man!". Yeah, starving to death and scrolling out the last beggings of your life sure is romantic.”

“LOL!! that's so funny, Nigal...i say that book is idiotic all the time! hahaha.

hey fonsie, i read the Garp book! it was super-good, one of his top 3, i'd say. right now i'm reading...umm, it has "India" in the title. the first one of Irving's books that's been boring! well, the first third was a real snoozer to get through, anyway...now it's getting good.”

“Krakatoa”

“I might have to bump Garp up on my list then....

Hey has anyone ever read the sequel to Forrest Gump? I read it when I was younger and really got a kick out of it. I wonder why they haven't thrown it up on the big screen yet.”

“Interesting euphemism...”

“Actually, the book more vulgar and full of potty humor than the movie. It made for a good read....”

“Nigal, I'm glad dayhiker answered your question, because I didn't know how to catagorize Ken Follett's books. The one book of his I read is totally different from the others. It's more of a general story than a real theme book.

I haven't read Patricia Cornwell's books yet. They do look interesting. I've seen her on tv talking about crime and her books.”

“Just finished the last book of the Berrybender Narratives by Larry McMurtery and now reading The Bourne Legacy .Eric Van Lustbader has been allowed to write this novel by the estate of Robert Ludlum.If you enjoyed the Bourne books,you will enjoy this one.”

“I arrived in Fairbanks to work about the time of McCandless' death, talked to coroner's about the case. Nobody with any sense in AK does what he did. Nobody who is crazy in AK does what he did.”

“Wow what a book,this book was given to me by another hiker..if you have read it you know how powerful it is. The story is based on a true story that took place from March to May 1996, when several groups were climbing Mt.Everest...and many died there...experience hikers...or should I say mountaineers..
If you haven't read this book pick it up...it's a real education.”

“I went to the library today and reserved Life of Pi. It must be good, all the copies were checked out.”