What book(s) are you reading now?

[idea]

list ont:
Founding Brothers Ellis, Joseph Founding Mothers: the Women Who Raised Our Nation Roberts, Cokie Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. DubnerFreaky Friday, Rogers, Mary Freedom at Midnight, Collins, Larry and Lapierre, DominiqueFrom the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E.L. KonigsburgGalileo's Daughter Sobel, Dava Gift from the Sea, by Anne Morrow LindberghGilead Robinson, Marilynne Girl in Hyacinth Blue Vreeland, Susan Girl with a Pearl Earring Chevalier, Tracy Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Goodbye My Lady, Street, James Great Expectations, Dickens, CharlesGreen Grass of Wyoming, O’Hara, MaryGulliver’s Travels, Swift, Jonathan Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare Harry Potter series by J.K. RowlingHigh Tide at Noon, by Elisabeth OgilvieHinds' Feet On High Places: by Hannah Hurnard and Darien CooperHiroshima, Hersey, John Homeless Bird Whelan, Gloria Homer Price, McCloskey, Robert House of Wings, Byars, BetsyI Heard the Owl Call My Name, Craven, Margaret I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Angelou, Maya I, Juan de Pareja, deTrevino, Elizabeth Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard BachIn the Time of the Butterflies Alvarez, Julia Incident at Hawks Hill, Eckert, AllanInvincible Louisa, Meigs, Cornelia L.Ishi, Last of His Tribe, Kroeber, TheodoraIsland of the Blue Dolphins, O’Dell, ScottJacob Have I Loved Paterson, Katherine Jane Eyre, Brontë, CharlotteJohn Adams McCullough, David Johnny Tremain, Forbes, Esther Jonathan Livingston Seagull - by Richard Bach and Russell MunsonJoseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard Lyman Bushman Journey to the Center of the Earth, Verne, JulesKidnapped, Stevenson, Robert LouisKim, Kipling, Rudyard King ArthurKon Tiki, Heyerdahl, ThorLantern in Her Hand, Aldrich, Bess StreeterLassie Come Home, Knight, Eric Last of the Mohicans, Cooper, James Fenimore Left to Tell, by Immaculee IlibagizaLife of Pi Martel, Yann Light in the Forest, Richter, Conrad Little House on the Prairie, Wilder, Laura IngallsLittle Women, Alcott, Louisa May Long Man’s Song, Rockwood, JoyceLook Homeward Angel, Wolfe, ThomasM. C. Higgens, the Great Planet of Junior Brown, Hamilton, VirginiaMan's Search for Meaning Frankl, Viktor E. Mary, Queen of Scots, Fraser, Antonia; Zweig, Stefan Meet the Austins, L’Engle, Madeline Memoirs of a Geisha Golden, Arthur Midwives, by Chris BohjalianMoby Dick by Herman Melville and Tony Tanner Mormon Scientist by Henry J Eyring Mr. Darcy's Daughters Aston, Elizabeth Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh, O’Brian, Robert Mrs. Mike, Freedman, Benedict and Nancy My Antonia, by Willa CatherMy Friend Flicka, O’Hara, Mary My Side of the Mountain, George, Jean My Sister's Keeper Picoult, Jodi Naomi, Rabe, BernieceNational Velvet, Bagnold, EnidNickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America Ehrenreich, Barbara No Doubt About It Dew, Sheri None Dare Call It Conspiracy by Gary Allen and Larry AbrahamOf Time and Memory: MY Parents' Love Story, by Don J. SnyderOld Yeller, Gipson, FredOliver Twist by Charles DickensOne Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander SolzhenitsynPeace Like a River Enger, Leif Pope Joan, by Donna CrossPride and Prejudice, Austen, Jane Pygmalion: a Romance in Five Acts and My Fair Lady based on Shaw's Pygmalion Shaw, George Queenie Peavy, Burch, Robert Rascal, North, SterlingRass, Rabe, BernieceReading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books Nafisi, Azar Rebecca, du Maurier, DaphneRebekah, Sarah, Women of Genesis Card, Orson Scott Rifles for Watie, Kieth, Harold Robinson Crusoe by Daniel DefoeRules of the Road Bauer, Joan Scarlet Pimpernel, by Emmuska OrczySeabiscuit Hillenbrand, Laura Searching for Hassan Ward, Terence Secret of the Andes, Clark, Ann N. Seventeenth Summer, Daly, MaureenShane, Schaefer, Jack Warner Sing Down the Moon, O’Dell, Scott Sounder by William H. ArmstrongSpeak Anderson, Laurie Halse BookClub F AndersonStanding for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes by Gordon B. Hinckley Stargirl Spinelli, Jerry Summer of My German Soldier, Greene, BetteSummer of the Monkeys, Rawles, Lou Summer of the Swans, Byars, BetsySuzanne's Diary for Nicholas Patterson, James Swiftwater, Annixter, Paul Swiss Family Robinson, Wyss, Johann David Tears of the Giraffe McCall Smith, Alexander Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World by W. Cleon Skousen The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. CoveyThe Accidental Tourist Tyler, Anne The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn by Mark TwainThe Alchemist Coelho, Paulo The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Robinson, Barbara The Black Tulip Dumas, Alexandre The Blind Assassin Atwood, Margaret The Blue Castle Montgomery, L.M. The Bone Collector Deaver, Jeff BookClub F DeaverThe Bonesetter's Daughter Tan, Amy

 

[idea]

The Book of Jasher The Bronze Bow, Speare, Elizabeth GeorgeThe Call of the Wild, London, Jack The Cay, Taylor, Theodore The Cedar Post by Jack Rose The Chosen Potok, Chiam The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre DumasThe Dark is Rising, Cooper, Susan The Egpyt Game, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder The Endless Steppe, Hautzig, EstherThe First American: the Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin Brands, H.W. The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch
AlbomThe Forgotten Door, Key, AlexanderThe Four Agreements: a Practical Guide to Personal Freedom Ruiz, Miguel The Girl That Had No Name, Rabe, BernieceThe Giver, by Lois LowryThe God of Small Things Roy, Arundhati The Good Earth, Buck, PearlThe Goose Girl Hale, Shannon The Great Brain, Fitzgerald, John D.The Hiding Place, Ten Boom, Corrie The Hobbit, Tolkein, J.R.R.The Hours Cunningham, Michael The Incredible Journey, Burnford, SheilaThe Killer Angels Shaara, Michael The Kite Runner Hosseini, Khaled The Kite Runner, by Khaled HosseiniThe Kolob Theorem: A Mormon's View of God's Starry Universe, by Lynn M. HiltonThe Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey ZaslowThe Last Lecture, by Randy PauschThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Lewis, C.S.The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Lewis, C. S. The Little Prince by Antoine De SaintThe Little Prince by Antoine De SaintThe Memory Keeper's Daughter Edwards, Kim The Midwife's Apprentince Cushman, Karen The Miracle of Forgiveness by Spencer W. Kimball The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency McCall Smith, Alexander The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway, Ernest M. The Orphans, Rabe, BernieceThe Other Side of Heaven by John H. GrobergThe Peacegiver by James L. Ferrell The Pearl, Steinbeck, JohnThe Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver, Barbara The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands, by Laura SchlessingerThe Quilter's Apprentice Chiaverini, Jennifer The Red Badge of Courage, Crane, Stephen The Red Tent Diamant, Anita The River Between Us Peck, Richard The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel HawthorneThe Scarlet Pimpernel Orczy, Baroness Emmuska The Screwtape Letters Lewis, C. S. The Screwtape Letters Lewis, C.S. The Secret Life of Bees Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Sharer, Conrad, JosephThe Shack by William P. Young The Shadow of a Bull, Wojcechowska, MaraThe Slave Dancer, Fox, Paula The Snow Goose, Gallico, Paul The Solace of Leaving Early Kimmel,The Story of My Life Keller, Helen The Story of My Life, Keller, Helen The Storyteller's Daughter: One Woman's Return to Her Lost Homeland Shah, Saira The Tattooed Man, Pease, Howard The Time Machine, Wells, H.G. The Westing Game, Raskin, Ellen The Work and the Glory series by Gerald N. LundThe Yearling, Rawlings, Marjorie Kinnan These is My Words: the Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901 Turner, Nancy E. Three Cups of Tea Mortenson, Greg To Kill a Mockingbird Lee, Harper To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee, HarperTo Spoil the Sun, Rockwood, Joyce Treasure Island, Stevenson, Robert Louis Trouble River, Byars, BetsyTwilight Meyer, Stephanie Uglies Westerfeld, Scott BookClub YA WesterfeldUncle Tungsten Sacks, Oliver W. Up a Road Slowly, Hunt, IreneUp From Slavery, Washington, Booker T. Very Far from Anywhere Else, LeGuin, UrsulaWalden by Henry David ThoreauWatership Down, Adams, RichardWhen the Emperor was Divine Otsuke, Julie Where the Lillies Bloom, Cleaver, Vera and Bill Where the Red Fern Grows, Rawles, LouWhere the Sidewalk Ends, Silverstein, Shel White Teeth Smith, Zadie Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China Chang, Jung Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-ExuperyWitch of Blackbird Pond, Speare, Elizabeth GeorgeWives and Daughters Gaskell, Elizabeth Wizard of Earthsea, LeGuin, UrsulaWrinkle in Time, L’Engle, MadelineWuthering Heights, Brontë, EmilyYear of Wonders Brooks, Geraldine Z for Zachariah, O’Brian, RobertZia, O’Dell, Scott

 

[Kathryn]

Some good ones on that list!

One of the best fiction books I've ever read was "The Lovely Bones." Also, "The Red Tent." Can't remember the authors but those were good stories. "The Lovely Bones" discusses heaven - without any reference to any particular religion - and it's so beautiful that when I finished, I laid the book in my lap (I was on a plane at the time) and just sat there with tears running down my face.

I think my favorite Ray Bradbury book is either "The Martian Chronicles" or "Something Wicked This Way Comes."

 

[Kathryn]

Ah - I saw "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" on that list! WHAT A GREAT BOOK - every engaged couple should read it!

Let me tell you something - I read that book before I married my husband and I've implemented most of it - and that is one happy man. And I've never been happier in my life. Such a few simple things that we can do for each other...so simple and so far reaching.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

The Alchemist....ugh.

Terrible, i.m.o., except for the brief parable at the beginning.

 

[Smoke]

Hey, have you read any of Bruce Feiler's books, by the way? I got on a rampage and bought everything he had written a few months ago. I mean, it's not HEAVY stuff but it's INTERESTING stuff.

Bruce Feiler is a basically non practicing Jewish guy whose job in life is to immerse himself in subcultures for a couple of years and then write a book about his experiences. So far he has worked for a traveling circus for a year, worked in Nashville in the recording industry for a couple of years, taught English in a tiny Japanese village, attended Cambridge for two years, and traveled extensively throughout the Middle East. He's funny, smart, introspective and apparently doesn't have any hidden agendas - which is very refreshing.

i also LOVE me some Thomas Freidmann. I think his best book is, "From Beirut To Jerusalem." Have you read any of his stuff?

I haven't read either of them, so thanks for the suggestions. I had never heard of Neil Gaiman till very recently. Since I left New York, I don't stay current with the literary world, and I rely on other people to recommend things to me.

 

[Smoke]

Also, "The Red Tent."

I thought that was excellent. One of my mother's friends gave it to her as gift, and my mother doesn't read novels, so she gave it to me. I really enjoyed it.

 

[Kathryn]

I haven't read either of them, so thanks for the suggestions. I had never heard of Neil Gaiman till very recently. Since I left New York, I don't stay current with the literary world, and I rely on other people to recommend things to me.

I'll check out Neil Gaiman too - I tend to get on a tear when I find a good author. I'll read everything I can find that they wrote and then move on. I try to find people with somewhat the same taste (not necessarily beliefs, but tastes in literary style) and then check out their suggestions.

I'd rather read a good author whose views I detest than some pablum from some guy I agree with.

Option number one is MUCH SPICIER!

 

[kadzbiz]

I'm half way thru the second part of Anne Kellerher's "Shadowlands" series, "Silver's Bane". Great book.

 

[idea]

Some good ones on that list!

One of the best fiction books I've ever read was "The Lovely Bones." Also, "The Red Tent."

really - you liked the red tent???? I hated that one.

Sarah / the other "women in Genesis" series by O. Scott Card is MUCH better - it does not skimp on the history, still has Asherah/stuff of the day, keeps with the Bible 100%, what it adds shows Sarah/Abraham etc. as such beautiful people - the people they really were (not sheep loving idol worshippers etc.) Read the Card version, some really interesting things he adds.

 

[rageoftyrael]

im sorry, i gotta call you out on this idea, it said books you are CURRENTLY reading, and i find it highly unlikely you are CURRENTLY reading that many books. unless you have the worst add i have ever heard of...

 

[Smoke]

im sorry, i gotta call you out on this idea, it said books you are CURRENTLY reading, and i find it highly unlikely you are CURRENTLY reading that many books. unless you have the worst add i have ever heard of...

I had the same thought, but the conversation had drifted a little to what we thought of things we'd read in the past, and that was probably my fault. I have trouble keeping my opinion of C.S. Lewis to myself.

I did use to keep two or three going at a time, though. Actually, I read far fewer books now than I used to -- since I got internet access -- and I think I'm worse off for it.

 

[rageoftyrael]

impressive list though, i could probably create a list just as long myself, if i could remember them all, lol. Of course, they would mostly be science fiction and fantasy books. But still, the list is really really long, if i so choose. Of course, im betting thatmost people in this forum read a lot, cause a lot of people in this forum are smart, and smart people tend to like to read. I know, i know, plenty of dumb people like to read to, but not really THAT many.

 

[Kathryn]

really - you liked the red tent???? I hated that one.

Sarah / the other "women in Genesis" series by O. Scott Card is MUCH better - it does not skimp on the history, still has Asherah/stuff of the day, keeps with the Bible 100%, what it adds shows Sarah/Abraham etc. as such beautiful people - the people they really were (not sheep loving idol worshippers etc.) Read the Card version, some really interesting things he adds.

I'll look into that one as well. Here's the thing though - I don't have to agree with every point of something I'm reading or watching - or even most points - or ANY points now that I think about it - in order to enjoy it or learn from it.

What I mean is that I appreciate good art, good writing, good representation of ideas, even if they don't represent my ideology.

What I liked about The Red Tent was the imagery that the writer evoked. Excellent writing and a heck of a story. I also loved the glimpses into that era. Finally, idolatry was a HUGE issue then, and Judaism was so new - such uncharted territory. The Jews struggled with the issue of idolatry among their own ranks for hundreds of years.

So, yes, I found the book very interesting and I read it for what it was - a "novelized" version loosely based on biblical events.

 

[AbuKhalid]

I started reading Dan Browns Digital Fortress yesterday. Its the first novel I have read in at least two years as I usually just read non fiction. Its the first novel of his I have read and its not too bad though nothing exceptional either. When I used to read alot of fiction I kept to the classics mostly.

 

[Yes Man]

Kushiel's Dart. (Per Storm's very old suggestion ).

 

[Falvlun]

Lewis is one of the most overrated writers of the 20th century. His may have been the best intellect of Evangelical Christianity, but that's rather like being the tallest guy at the dwarf convention.

I'm reading Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman.

I remember rather liking Lewis, particularly his Screwtape Letters. But this was when I was still a Christian, so perhaps it would have a different flavor now. I should reread Mere Christianity.

~~~

I just got done reading Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood. I was blown away by her writing style and the story was very compelling. I suggest you don't actually read the plot outline in the Wiki link, because part of the genius of the book was how you were fed only bits of information at a time.

 

[Caladan]

I'm reading (and re-reading) a collection of Greek plays written by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes. (or the big four)

At the moment im indulging myself in Aristophanes and his satires, Im trying to imagine the reaction of the big personas who were'nt spared in his plays, and the reactions of the Athenians to his work.

 

[sandandfoam]

I didn't think I liked novels but I got a present of a book called American Rust that's changed my mind on that
I'm only about 50 pages into it and it's brilliant,

 

[Draka]

"Lamb" by Christopher Moore