What are you reading right now?

Discussion in 'Art, Culture and Literature' started by Whitefish, Feb 25, 2007.

  1. Whitefish Junior Member

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    I'm about to finish Any Human Heart by William Boyd. Don't be put off by the title (which makes it sound kind of sappy - it's a James Joyce quote anyway) it's a totally incredible book that I think a lot of people here would really enjoy. Not difficult to read but has real substance.

    So what's everyone else reading?
  2. SinTrade Junior Member

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    Lonely Planet: Syria & Lebanon

    ..sorry not much reading going on in this house atm. I asked for the dice man for my birthday so hopefully I'll be reading that soon
  3. Adami Banned

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    My reply to this thread.
  4. Ant Beat Konducta

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    House of Leaves and A Clockwork Orange which I got free in the newspaper yesterday, but I might put that on hold since I hate reading two at a time.

    Any Human Heart sounds interesting, might pick it up.

    Edit: Forgot to add Surfacing by Margaret Atwood, this is for college. So i've got no choice but to read 2 at a time -_-
  5. Whitefish Junior Member

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    My next book will be Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Anyone read it?
  6. Sam A Liminal Him

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    Australian Criminal Laws: Critical Perspectives.
  7. Whitefish Junior Member

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    Aren't all laws that govern australians essentially criminal laws?


    BA-DUM CRASH.
  8. xander Junior Member

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    as of right now:

    Shakespeare - THe Tempest (only school-related book I'm reading)

    Bulgakov - Master and Margarita
    Huxley - Brave New World
    Orwell - 1984
    Lermontov - A Hero of Our Time
    Dostoevsky - Idiot and Crime&Punishment

    Absolutely love Bulgakov, Huxley and Orwell; having language problems with Dostoevsky.
    But pretty interesting books
  9. Adami Banned

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    I'm not reading anything, but I'm currently writing 3 books. Well.....I need a partner for one of the three, but still.

    That count?
  10. Whitefish Junior Member

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    You're reading 7 books at once? What the hell? How do you manage that?

    Pretty awesome. What do you mean by needing a partner? I have a cool idea for a short story I've been stewing over for the best part of 3 months now. I need some time to write it and I think it might just be the best thing I've done.
  11. Sam A Liminal Him

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    Hence the 'critical perspective'.

    "Wait a second, cobba - what's goin' on 'ere?"
  12. Adami Banned

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    Well 1 of the books if philosophy, 1 is purely fiction, the 3rd though, while being fiction, is an extremely grand and epic tale, which needs a certain kind of writing....which I don't can't do as well as I'd wish. So while I have the idea, I don't really have a way to put the idea on paper that will really give it justice.
  13. yorost Guest

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    I'm working my way through a couple of technical books for my studies. Otherwise, at the moment I am only leisurely reading parts of the Bible... some of Sirach most recently.
  14. xander Junior Member

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    yeah, I am :lol
    Is that hard or something?
    I read Huxley and Orwell kinda parallel, same with the 2 Dostoevsky books.
    Tempest is short, so I'm gonna finish it in around 2 days.
    Bulgakov is just fun to read.
    I dunno, its just natural to me, kinda. Especially with books like Brave New World and 1984 - intertextuality helps a lot :mrgreen
  15. Snakedragon Suit Up!

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    Ian Irvine- Alchymist
  16. Whitefish Junior Member

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    Oh right, cool. If you don't mind me asking, what are they about?

    That's an amazingly useful skill. I wish I could do that. If I try to read more than one thing at once I just lose track of my reading in both books, and don't get anything out of either of them.
  17. Adami Banned

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    The philosophy book is about why would should strive for non existence, the 1st fiction is about jesus, and well...the 3rd one has a story that's just too big for me to type out here. If I recall, in undegrad a teacher asked me for a short outline....and that ended up being 5 pages.
  18. He-Beast #teammathbeast

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    I have no time left. At all. I only read Jasper Fforde now, but I've got a pile waiting for me, next time I get some time off.
  19. Nihil-Morari Junior Member

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    Sounds very nice, especially the third, I like big stories (PoS's Be), and the first sounds cool too. Keep going! I'd love to read this once.
  20. Adami Banned

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    This story is actually bigger than Be haha, which is why it's hard as hell for me to write. The story itself will most likely end up being 3 seperate books, and I'd love to keep going....but I need someone to work with me who can really write epic fantasy fiction very well.
  21. Nihil-Morari Junior Member

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    I wish I could :P but I can't write books, especially not in English ;)
  22. Greippi Junior Member

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    Mostly all kinds of scientific papers... :(
    Topics being:

    - Effects of climate change on continental glaciers
    - Biogeography of bacteria and archaea
    - Physiology of life in extreme environments

    I've got no time for reading prose, which sucks.
    Edit: but the last book I read was E.M. Cioran's Syllogismes de l'amertume. He was one old bitter man.
  23. JustJen RIP ViolentGreen

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    Ideas: A History of Thought and Invention From Fire to Freud by Peter Watson.
  24. Nick5688 Junior Member

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    Alexander Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo :tup

    Edit: I found Huxley's Brave New World extremely strange but satisfying to read. And Orwell's 1984 VERY hard to read, and only got about 1/4 through the book before I had to put it down. I found it hard to read and will probably pick it up again sometime.
  25. jasc15 Junior Member

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    Im still reading The Dark Tower after a hiatus of a few months. Im almost finished with book V, Wolves of the Calla.
  26. tyke this motherfucker's tasty

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    bukowski _hollywood_ and kerouac _the dharma bums_. after those i think i will be starting hs thompson _hell's angels_ (can i ever escape the circle of beat writers and those directly influenced by them?)
  27. Fester Junior Member

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    The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger for school. Very simple but excellent read.
  28. glassprisoner Junior Member

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    Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson. Excellent read so far.
  29. Xanadu Junior Member

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    Unfortunately school reading is keeping me away from any pleasure reading atm.
  30. aran negation's dead undoom

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    I'm reading an unabridged translation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms right now. I'm about 950 pages in. Good stuff.

    I've got a number of other books on the horizon that I have in my possession but just haven't gotten into: Dictators (A comparative history of Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia that takes a unique approach and is quite interesting), and Guns, Germs, and Steel.
  31. xander Junior Member

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    yep, reading that, too, actually, but it's school related, so it doesnt count
  32. Olibu Junior Member

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    I'm reading The Worthing Saga by Orson Scott Card right now.
  33. Fester Junior Member

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    Speaking of Hitler, is Mein Kampf a good read?
  34. Soul Intruder Junior Member

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    For pleasure: House of Leaves (almost finished)

    Unfortunately school reading in preperation for exams is taking up most pleasure reading time. So I'm also reading To Kill a Mockingbird for that :|
  35. aran negation's dead undoom

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    I hear it's a not particularly well-written whine fest composed by a man who has few if any original ideas.
  36. Nameo Junior Member

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    Romance of the Three Kingdoms is the SHIT. My favorite book. Which translation did you get?
  37. ViolentGreen sing deep mountain

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    I'm reading mostly for a research presentation I'm doing soon, so the reading mostly includes:

    Plato - Protagoras, Alcibiades, Symposium, Republic
    Graphic Novels - Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, Civil War
  38. schwans only Conifer Enthusiast

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    John Irving - The World According to Garp. First Irving I've ever read and I'm loving it. So unique in style.
  39. Bean 5/8 Supporter

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    Just some Orson Scott Card short stories from Maps in a Mirror. Haven't decided on the next novel to read yet.
  40. devronius Everyone's Grudge

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    I'm most of the way through American Gods (Niel Gaiman) at the moment.
  41. Dr. Strangefist PUROGURESSHIBUROKKUBANDO

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    Native Son by Richard Wright, Plot by Claudia Rankine, and Economics by Fanny Howe. After those I start Thomas Pynchon's V and Commons by Myung Mi Kim
  42. Whitefish Junior Member

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    neal and jack and me...absent lovers, absent lovers.

    What's a good first beat generation book to read?

    haha, no way. Complete waste of time unless you're a Nazi yourself.

    You don't like TKAMB? It's one of my favourite books ever!
  43. tyke this motherfucker's tasty

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    On The Road. one of my favorite books!
  44. clot Banned

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    Nothing, but I was thinking about getting started on Catch 22.
  45. -Flash- Junior Member

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    Stephen King - IT
  46. goat Junior Member

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    The Age of Reason
  47. Dead Soul Swedgin!

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    Just started "Ender's Game".
  48. Adami Banned

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    Affirmative blacktion.

    God damn Avery Brooks.
  49. Whitefish Junior Member

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    Finished AHH last night.

    Goodbye Logan Mountstuart! I'll genuinely miss you!
  50. raging bill Junior Member

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    Stephen King - Tommyknockers. After that I'm reading Dreamcatcher. Last book I read was City Of God by Paulo Lins.

    Plus some books I have to read for research about sound design in TV and surround sound.