Unofficial What are you Reading Thread?

[Suu]

D-Cup and I saw it at the bookstore in South Station Saturday.


Then we both agreed that catching up on our Star Wars books was more important.

Now Reading: Star Wars - Legacy of the Force: Betrayal

Hellooooo Jacen Solo becoming Sith Lord ftw. Now that I'm 6 books behind, I guess I should probably start reading them.

[Cain]

I'm reading the first Left Behind book.  I'm on page 5 right now. 

I have to say, this start is quite unusual.  The portayal of the wife, that is.  Its almost like a Bin Laden communique decrying all those terribly sensitive and touchy Islamic types.  You don't quite like it, yet you feel compelled to agree with it, which makes you expect a trick is coming.

That trick (which is probably only the Rapture anyway) remains to happen, however.

[LMNO]

I've been meaning to read those.

[Cain]

Several free downloads on Bookchan, if you don't want to contribue money towards the Overthrow the Constitution and Replace the Presidency with a Protestant Papacy Fund.

[LMNO]

Mmmm, good point.

[rygD]

I have yet to read the books (doubt I ever will),  but I have seen the first 2 films.  Anyone know how they compare to the books?

[Subtract Eight!]

i went t the bookstore

i want an ayn rand bok im curioous about it ill prolly get the fountainead because its shorter than atlas shrugged and that other one thats somewhat of an autobiography of a WOMAN dont want that

also i want shalimar the clown by salmon rushdie i looked at a bit of it and i really wanted t get engrosssed in his writing, the satanic verses was for me an almost spiritual ascetic eperience to plow through

i want to read te golden compass again and see it in theaters, i want to read it not an audiobook as i could be into frm waffles, its was so magical, an unforgettable experience from my childhod, so majestic, impressing the novel elegant way of breaking existence with a spiritual overlord or something or the other :-]

also i want t read thomas pynchn ive heard good things
i wish t find some great sci fi also

[That One Guy]

I'm on book 2 of the Chung Kuo series by David Wingrove. It's set in the 23rd century and its "what if" premise is that the chinese have taken over the entire earth and erected a 300-story structure over all non-farming lands. Earth's population is about 36 billion, and the (7-book) series is all about the introduction of the change and chaos of revolution in its many forms to the City, 100 years after its creation.

The first book takes a bit to get going, and Wingrove's writing style is a bit bland (his characters are a bit flat, but the world he created is pretty interesting), but it's a really fascinating story-line.

[Cain]

Also, reading Networks, Terrorism and Global Insurgency, edited by Robert J Bunker.  ECH, you should probably pick this up.  Its kind of a cross between the Global Guerrillas stuff and Robert Greene.

Actually, I'd say its better than that.  This is THE book to own if you want a good grip on current thinking about networked warfare and the evolution of terrorism and organized crime.  Very pricey in the US though, especially the hardback version.  You'd be better off ordering it from the UK Amazon store and getting it shipped, unless Amazon US has more paperbacks in.

[Cain]

For Xmas I got Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb, Charlie Wilson's War, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, Cryptonomnicon and Black Mass by John Gray.

[Bebek Sincap Ratatosk]

For Xmas I got Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb, Charlie Wilson's War, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, Cryptonomnicon and Black Mass by John Gray.

W00t Cryptonomicon!!!
... also the others, but I haven't read them.

[Cain]

Imperial Life in the Emerald City is fairly righteous.  He explains the overlapping authorities, groups and political rivalries very well, and he has  wry, almost Catch-22 take on life in the Green Zone.  I have to say, I was amazed at how cut off they are there, both from Iraqi culture and reality.  Obviously, you hear stories, but when you hear about pork being served in the Republican Palace, and how the soldiers spend a lot of time either eating American food or else watching bad Hollywood movies, it is quite a jolt.

Funnily enough, the guy from Halliburton, Cole, who is the de facto commander of the Green Zone, comes out best so far.  The guy is only 22, for starters, and he's actually at least trying to keep everyone happy while at the same time dealing with the disconnect the troops have with the average Iraqi.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I just started reading Inkheart, and the Illuminatus trilogy.

[The Littlest Ubermensch]

Read about 120 pages into Gravity's Rainbow, finally got around to reading Fight Club, and now I'm debating whether to finish Gravity's Rainbow or get started on The Diamond Age.

Imperial Life in the Emerald City is fairly righteous.

Sounds cool. I'll have to check that out.

[Cain]

The sheer shamelessness in giving anything of any importance to Republican supporters is incredible (I read a hundred or so more pages on the train back from London).  I mean, you expect it, to a degree, sure, but this is shocking.  They would ask people which party they belonged to, who they voted for, their views on economics, abortion and the death penalty.  The idea is to make sure everyone who isn't in the (overly Republican, if only in name) military is 100% behind "Bush's vision for Iraq."

I'm worried now.  If TeH sUrGe! "succeeds" (its not, contracting out security to local level tribes who hate the government is, but since when do facts matter?), then we could well see a generation of newly confirmed NeoCons, absolutely enured of the righteousness of their original mission.

I also finished Black Mass, which I will review later.