What are you reading?

Picked the latest "Midnight Louie" mystery yesterday: Cat in a Red-Hot Rage.

The Truth about Food.

Right now I'm reading "Life, the Universe and Everything" (part 3 of the trilogy in 5 volumes of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
It's almost embarrassing when I read this in a coffee shop because I have a hard time keeping myself from laughing out loud.

I'm also reading "Awakening the Buddha Within" a book about Tibetan Buddhism for the Western World. Very good and very simple.

I also bought other books recently that I can't wait to read, including two books by Douglas Coupland "Life after God" and "Eleanor Rigby". I had read "Life after God" many years ago and I absolutely loved it. Now I'm curious to see if my tastes have changed.
Also, I have "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy. I have heard a lot of good things about it so I'm eager to read it.
And of course I'll finish the rest of the Hitchhiker's trilogy.

I am reading Oblomov, considered a masterpiece of Russian Lit. I would be extremely surprised if anybody here knows what I am talking about. But I have recently read Crime and Punishment which should at least get a nod. In the last six months I have read about 30 masterpieces of Russian literature, but I am saving War and Peace for some time in the future! I am not Russian, I have just discovered how great 19th century Russian literature is! Is there one single other person here that reads this?

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20th century Russian literature is great too. If you're still on your Russian literature binge, you might want to check out Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and Zamyatin's We.

As for Crime and Punishment...let's just say that if every book on earth had to be burned tomorrow save for the works of one author, I'd have a hard time choosing between salvaging Shakespeare's or Dostoyevsky's. To me, his fiction represents the pinnacle of great humanist literature.

Im still on Da Vinci Code. Saw the movie before the bought the book, but i keep getting distracted by magazines and hobbies and other things that its taking me months to read it lol.

Originally Posted by Dragoriana

Im still on Da Vinci Code. Saw the movie before the bought the book, but i keep getting distracted by magazines and hobbies and other things that its taking me months to read it lol.

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Bet if you hadn't seen the movie first, you wouldn't put the book down. That was a one session read for me. The movie was pretty good at following the book, but that can be a problem especially with "who dunnits" cause you know who the bad guy is from the start. I had the same problem after reading Mystic River and then seeing the movie. I was actually bored since I knew who did it.

With Harry Potter i saw the movies before reading the books and couldnt put the books down. Da Vinci is a a more serious read and i need to not be distracted

I finally got 19 minutes by Jodi Picoult from the library. Picked it up Sunday afternoon, finished it MOnday night. It was disturbing, but a very good read. Don't know if its because I've read all her other books, but I did guess the twist in the book pretty early on. Did not stop the book from being really thought provoking though. Actually the topic of the book would probably make a good IMO thread.

Originally Posted by Snuzy

I finally got 19 minutes by Jodi Picoult from the library. Picked it up Sunday afternoon, finished it MOnday night. It was disturbing, but a very good read. Don't know if its because I've read all her other books, but I did guess the twist in the book pretty early on. Did not stop the book from being really thought provoking though. Actually the topic of the book would probably make a good IMO thread.

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I guessed the twist early on as well, as soon as the shooting happened.

I am reading The Girl in Times Square by Paullina Simons. I got it free and I have read all my Jodi Picoult books so I have to read something! It is not too bad.

I just finished "Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill. Hill is Stephen King's son (writes under his mother's maiden name) and this is his first novel. Joe writes as well as his father USED to and better than his mother EVER did.

Originally Posted by katl8e

I just finished "Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill. Hill is Stephen King's son (writes under his mother's maiden name) and this is his first novel. Joe writes as well as his father USED to and better than his mother EVER did.

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I saw that in the shops and I wondered if it was worth reading. Thanks for the tip, I will look for it in the library! If it is like vintage Stephen King, then it must be good!

I am now reading George RR Martin's second book in "A clash of kings" and I also started "A cat named Darwin". I'm going to be rereading the HP series soon before the final book!

Originally Posted by katl8e

Joe writes ... better than his mother EVER did.

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I sure hope so! The first book I ever read by Tabitha King was so horrible that I had to read another one just to see if it was a fluke... and then another one out of pure morbid fascination. Like gawking at a car accident.

But as for her husband... whether I give a hoot for the story itself or not, I think Steven King uses the language better than just about anybody... and in that sense, he's only gotten better over the years.

I lucked into a discount copy of "The Demon In The Freezer" yesterday, and I can hardly put it down! It's nonfiction by Richard Preston, author of "The Hot Zone" (and brother of Douglas Preston, whose partnership with Lincoln Child has yielded some of my very favorite fiction). "Demon" is about the smallpox virus, and like "The Hot Zone" (which was about the Ebola virus) it's riveting and terrifying and -- unfortunately -- true.

Gonna go finish it right now!

Originally Posted by nausicaa

20th century Russian literature is great too.

If you're still on your Russian literature binge, you might want to check out Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita and Zamyatin's We.

As for Crime and Punishment...let's just say that if every book on earth had to be burned tomorrow save for the works of one author, I'd have a hard time choosing between salvaging Shakespeare's or Dostoyevsky's. To me, his fiction represents the pinnacle of great humanist literature.

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I could not agree more. I have now read everything by Dostoyevsyky that I know is available but I found the Brothers to be his best. DW has also read most of his writings and we have a small dispute that your input would be appreciated on. I will not tell you who is who, but one of us thinks he was an atheist and the other thinks just the opposite.

Another question: Regarding Crime and Punishment, do you remember the TV series Columbo? As I was reading the book, I kept having deja vu, that I had read the book before but I knew that I had not. I later read that Columbo was an exact copy of the book in the way that Columbo would harrass the known criminal. Had you head this?

And yes, I am still on my Russian binge, I started Dead Souls last night.

I am in the middle of Mansfield Park right now!
Catfriend

Originally Posted by Catfriend

I am in the middle of Mansfield Park right now!
Catfriend

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I am reading a series of books by Janet Evanovich. They're about a girl who's a bounty hunter. All the books have a number in them:
One For The Money
Two For The Dough
etc....
I am on FOUR TO SCORE

Originally Posted by batgirl2good

I am reading a series of books by Janet Evanovich. They're about a girl who's a bounty hunter. All the books have a number in them:
One For The Money
Two For The Dough
etc....
I am on FOUR TO SCORE

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Are they scary? Or grusome, rather? I love a good mystery, but not with too much violence.

I am re-reading my favourite book - Boy's Life by Robert McCammon. It is about the magic of childhood, sort of like a mystery novel/coming of age/fantasy all rolled in one. I wish they would make it into a movie!!!

Just finished "First Counsel" by Brad Meltzer... just outstanding. Lots of insider details on the White House and the OEOB, and the story veers around like a car out of control... great fun!

NO, not at all, and the cat books are so funny, as well as interesting.

Sue Grafton's are not violent or anything, and Evanovich's are terrific. I can read one of these books in a day and a half.

Originally Posted by Catfriend

Are they scary? Or grusome, rather? I love a good mystery, but not with too much violence.

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