What are you reading now - and then

[robertlouis]

I'm reading This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust, a historical exploration of how US society at every level tried to come to terms with the carnage of the Civil War and how that response resonates in every war up to modern times.

[trish]

1. Collapse by Jared Diamond,
2. Is That a Fish in Your Ear by David Bellos,
3. American Nietschze by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and
4. Playing with Planets by Gerard't Hooft.

(reading chapter at time in rotation on my new touch screen kindle)

Highly recommend the Diamond. He's a freak for detail but never gets boring. I'm just about half-way through (reading about the Viking colonies in Greenland). The Bellos is a quirky book with loads of insight on the nature and influence of translations. I'm also about halfway through it and so far it gets a thumbs up. The Rosenhagen, not so much. Only read two chapters of the Gerard't Hooft so it's a little early to judge, but it's has my attention.

[hippifried]

I'm reading this thread.

Welcome back, Trish. How was the break?

[robertlouis]

1. Collapse by Jared Diamond,
2. Is That a Fish in Your Ear by David Bellos,
3. American Nietschze by Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen and
4. Playing with Planets by Gerard't Hooft.

(reading chapter at time in rotation on my new touch screen kindle)

Highly recommend the Diamond. He's a freak for detail but never gets boring. I'm just about half-way through (reading about the Viking colonies in Greenland). The Bellos is a quirky book with loads of insight on the nature and influence of translations. I'm also about halfway through it and so far it gets a thumbs up. The Rosenhagen, not so much. Only read two chapters of the Gerard't Hooft so it's a little early to judge, but it's has my attention.

I see you're another one that reads books three or four at a time, Trish!

I'm also re-reading Dickens, currently Our Mutual Friend, Cannery Row by Steinbeck and The Guns of August by Barbara W Tuchman.

[Prospero]

I read the Jared Diamond book when it came out. Twas brilliant. Easter island. What a object lesson that is.

Just finished reading Christ Stopped At Eboli by Carlo Levi. Wonderful look at 1930s peasant society in Italy. Beautfully written. Levi was an internal exile sent to the Abruzzi by Mussolini. Also just read 1Q84 - a trilogy by Harumi Murakami. The best living Japanese novelist. Fantastically inventive and also The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht - a fantasy on the Balkans conflict by a very young but clearly gifted writer.

Gerard't Hooft. that is a challenge. I am trying to read a book on parallel universes at present. Fascinating stuff.

[trish]

Welcome back, Trish. How was the break?

Like all breaks...way too short. Hi hippiefried

I see you're another one that reads books three or four at a time, Trish!

I'm like a little girl with a ten dollar bill in an ice-cream shop. I gotta have all the flavors I can afford. Too bad a person has to work for a living. If I could just sit outside and read all day (and have an espresso and a gelato every once in a while) it would be heavenly bliss. Some time ago I read Tuchman's Distant Mirror, but for some reason never got back to her.

A friend of mine is reading Tiger's Wife right now for her book club. I'm wondering if it would spoil the book if I quietly attended the discussion.

Have a great Sunday afternoon all.

[Prospero]

I think you could safely attend the discussion. it's not like its a triller with a suspenseful outcome. Just a charmingly written book.

[jedthejew]

Reading Watership Down by Richard Adams and The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane by Robert E. Howard.
Up next will be Bleak House by Dickens and probably some re-reads in the Malazan Series by Steven Erikson.

[Prospero]

The Art Of Fielding by Chad Harbach. It's setting is the world of baseball - so much of the technical jargon is lost on this Brit - but it's a darn good read.

[LibertyHarkness]

the primarchs from the horus heresy series