What book(s) are you reading now?

[Dezzie]

I am currently reading the Twilight series. My Mother and Father were actually the one's to recommend it to me. I haven't seen the movie yet, but thought I would start the books first. The books are great so far.

 

[Falvlun]

My husband read The Road and reported that it was very 'gritty.' I asked him if it had an uplifting ending and he said no. I asked if it had a glimmer of hope in it. He said no. I asked if it had a glint, gleam or shred of hope. He said maybe a shred. A very tiny shred. I don't think I'll be reading that one.

It sounds like A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry. I was seriously depressed for like two weeks after finishing it, and still, I get pangs of misery whenever I remember a piece of the plot.

Beautiful book, but incredibly depressing.

 

[Sententia]

It sounds like A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry. I was seriously depressed for like two weeks after finishing it, and still, I get pangs of misery whenever I remember a piece of the plot.

Beautiful book, but incredibly depressing.

Balance? What? Oh....

This road book has now piqued my interest...

 

[Stellify]

Presently reading Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk

I haven't read that particular one, but Palahniuk is great. I've read Choke, Survivor, and Fight Club and enjoyed them all immensely.

I just finished Lewis Caroll's two Alice in Wonderland books. I've been kind of reading Carey's Kushiel trilogy for the sixth or eighth time until I can swing by the bookstore and pick up the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin. I also have some Sophocles (The Theban Plays) I want to read, although first I really want to read Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand), The Brothers Karamazov (Dostoyevsky), and Anna Karenina (Tolstoy).

 

[cardero]

Modern Masters Volume 15: Mark Schultz

Author: Fred Perry
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: TwoMorrows Publishing (December 12, 2007)
ISBN-13: 978-1893905856

The mid-'80s was the age of independent comics. It was also the age of the dinosaur, thanks to Mark Schultz and Xenozoic Tales! Evocative of the master illustrators of the early 1900s, but with a decidedly modern flair, Schultz's artwork stood out like a beacon from the fare of the day. And it still does Xenozoic Tales even spawned the Cadillacs & Dinosaurs cartoon and toy line. Schultz has also written various Superman, Aliens, and Predator comics, as well as a novel featuring DC's Flash, and is currently writing the Prince Valiant newspaper strip. But his drawing alone including his exquisite Conan book illustrations makes him a true Modern Master! Modern Masters Vol. 15: Mark Schultz takes an exhaustive look into Schultz s career and creative process. This 128-page book features a career-spanning interview with tons of art, including many rare and unpublished pieces, as part of a huge gallery of stunning artwork by this true Modern Master!

 

[Nepenthe]

My husband read The Road and reported that it was very 'gritty.' I asked him if it had an uplifting ending and he said no. I asked if it had a glimmer of hope in it. He said no. I asked if it had a glint, gleam or shred of hope. He said maybe a shred. A very tiny shred. I don't think I'll be reading that on

McCarthy's books are often like that- characters delved into abject hopelessness only to be redeemed by a faint flicker of hope at the end. And in the murkiness of a McCarthy novel, all it takes is a very dim glimmer to pirece that darkness. He reminds me of Hubert Selby Jr. in that respect- loathsome, sometimes repuslive human beings cast into even grimmer circumstances only to gain a faint reprieve at the end. A very very very faint glimmer at that....

 

[Circle_One]

I finished Haunted, and it was amazing (the first story in it, "Guts"... I shouldn't have read while eating lunch). I'm almost done Mister B. Gone and started Blood Crazy by Simon Clark. Too early to tell if it's any good though.

 

[DallasApple]

Im reading something a LOT more sophisticated and difficult than all of ya'll...Its called "Kitchen Confidential" (Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly) by Anthony Bourdain.

Its got an overtone of sex,drugs,and sex and drugs..And an undertone of leg of lamb..fresh oyersters..food poisoning ..and plenty of sharp knives.

Love

Dallas

 

[Nepenthe]

I finished Haunted, and it was amazing (the first story in it, "Guts"... I shouldn't have read while eating lunch). I'm almost done Mister B. Gone and started Blood Crazy by Simon Clark. Too early to tell if it's any good though.

I went to a Palahniuk bookstore appearance a few years ago right before Haunted came out and he read "Guts" to the audience. Good times!

I loved Blood Crazy- it's a unique interpretation of the zombie trope. Granted, the zombie genre has some pretty awful books out there but Blood Crazy, Lebbon's Naming of Parts and Lansdale's Dead in the West are rare exceptions.

 

[Circle_One]

I went to a Palahniuk bookstore appearance a few years ago right before Haunted came out and he read "Guts" to the audience. Good times!

I loved Blood Crazy- it's a unique interpretation of the zombie trope. Granted, the zombie genre has some pretty awful books out there but Blood Crazy, Lebbon's Naming of Parts and Lansdale's Dead in the West are rare exceptions.

In the back of Haunted, he lists all the readings of "Guts" he did and how many people fainted at each. That made for an interesting read, haha. I think I'd like to hear it read aloud, as it seems that's how it effects its' victims. I mean, don't get me wrong, it grossed me out while reading it and eating lunch (it would have grossed me out had I NOT been eating), but not to the point of fainting. I'd like to experience it being read aloud.

I'll have to let you know how much I enjoy Blood Crazy when I'm through with it, so keep posted for that.

Have you read the Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks? I bought it a month ago but haven't had the chance to read it yet. I also bought Hell House by Richard Matheson (the book that spawned the '73 flick) that I'm looking forward to reading.

Edited to add: I'll be sure to check out Naming of Parts and Dead in the West, when I'm done what I have now.

 

[Nepenthe]

I'm delving into all the Satanic Ritual Abuse books I've accumulated over the years (putting them on the backburner for the last 6 years or so with the intention of writing a novel/screenplay on the subject. Hammerin' out a rough draft!).

Satanic Panic- One of the best and most detailed sociological critiques of the SRA myth.
Remembering Satan- Absolutely harrowing, frustrating and horrifying chronicle of an alleged case of SRA in '88.
Satan's Silence- An excellent critique of the SRA urban legend that has proliferated in the climate of hysteria surrounding child abuse claims and the "children don't lie" dogma that added fuel to the fire.
Return of the Furies- One of the more polemical of the popular SRA recovered memories books.

HAIL SATAN!!!!

 

[Circle_One]

I'm delving into all the Satanic Ritual Abuse books I've accumulated over the years (putting them on the backburner for the last 6 years or so with the intention of writing a novel/screenplay on the subject. Hammerin' out a rough draft!).

Satanic Panic- One of the best and most detailed sociological critiques of the SRA myth.
Remembering Satan- Absolutely harrowing, frustrating and horrifying chronicle of an alleged case of SRA in '88.
Satan's Silence- An excellent critique of the SRA urban legend that has proliferated in the climate of hysteria surrounding child abuse claims and the "children don't lie" dogma that added fuel to the fire.
Return of the Furies- One of the more polemical of the popular SRA recovered memories books.

HAIL SATAN!!!!

Well, make sure you send me a copy when you're finally finished, so I can critique it

 

[cardero]

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels (Paperback)</SPAN>



Author: Scott McCloud
Paperback: 272 pages
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (September 5, 2006)
ISBN-13: 978-0060780944

Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics was published in 1993, just as "Comics Aren't Just for Kids Anymore!" articles were starting to appear and graphic novels were making their way into the mainstream, and it quickly gave the newly respectable medium the theoretical and practical manifesto it needed. With his clear-eyed and approachable analysis--done using the same comics tools he was describing--McCloud quickly gave "sequential art" a language to understand itself. McCloud made the simplest of drawing decisions seem deep with artistic potential.
Designed as a craftsperson's overview of the drawing and storytelling decisions and possibilities available to comics artists, covering everything from facial expressions and page layout to the choice of tools and story construction, Making Comics, like its predecessors, is also an eye-opening trip behind the scenes of art-making, fascinating for anyone reading comics as well as those making them.


Should've read this before September.

 

[cardero]

Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind: A Reporter's Notebook on Alien Abduction, UFOs, and the Conference at M.I.T.

Author: C.D.B. Bryan
Paperback: 496 pages
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (June 1, 1996)
ISBN-13: 978-0140195279

Inspired perhaps by this summer's blockbuster film adaptation of Carl Sagan's Contact, a handful of nonfiction works have been reissued, all of which explore the possibility that we are not alone. C.D.B. Bryan's Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind--an engrossing work written for those skeptical about extraterrestrial visitors--is a compilation of testimonials and interviews about alien abductions. Bryan's sources, interviewed at a five-day academic conference held at M.I.T., include psychiatrists, researchers, science writers, "ufologists," and abductees, including John Mack, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard and author of Abduction: Human Encounters with Aliens. In addition, Close Encounters includes transcripts from hypnotherapy sessions with self-described "abductees." Bryan, journalist and author of Friendly Fire (1976), blends a reporter's objectivity with great compassion for the traumatized victims of these mysterious and horrific violations.

 

[J Bryson]

Just finished off Blue Like Jazz and Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller, and I have about a chapter or two left in his Through Painted Deserts.

Now, I don't describe myself as a Christian. However, these works are profound, joyful, insightful, funny, and altogether a worthwhile read for anyone who wants to know more about Christian Spirituality beyond what you hear from the megachurches, televangelists, and talk radio. Not just some of the best Christian books I've ever read, but some of the best books on the search for meaning and spirituality in general.

 

[Stellify]

My room mate was reading "Blue Like Jazz" and had wonderful things to say about it

 

[J Bryson]

It is wonderful. Can't recommend it highly enough to anyone with an interest in the subject.

 

[Makaveli]

Puddn'head Wilson, by Mark Twain. A delightful piece of Americana for anyone interested.

 

[J Bryson]

Puddn'head Wilson, by Mark Twain. A delightful piece of Americana for anyone interested.

One of the few of his that I haven't read! Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Falvlun]

I'm reading Great Expectations for the first time. I've shied away from Dickens for years because I hated Pickwick Papers and only just got through Oliver Twist. I'm actually really enjoying this one, and Pip's character seems so real.