427 replies to this topic

[tylerta98]

reading 20,000 leagues under the sea. theres lots of vocab in there to look up but yeah

pretty good book but not the best

[Seiryuu]

The light novel Coiling Dragon

[Ali]

The Bees.

It's about bees.

[DonValentino]

The Bees.

It's about bees.

[Alexiel]

Rereading George Carlin's "BrainDroppings". Guy was a legend. RIP

 

 

“No matter how you care to define it, I do not identify with the local group. Planet, species, race, nation, state, religion, party, union, club, association, neighborhood improvement committee; I have no interest in any of it. I love and treasure individuals as I meet them, I loathe and despise the groups they identify with and belong to.” 

 

“I, myself, have killed six people. All random, all undetected, no way to trace them to me. And, let me tell you, there's nothin' like it. It's a great feeling. Yeah, I know, you're thinking. 'Aw, he's a comedian. He's just sayin' that stuff.' Good. That's exactly what I want you to think.” 

 

“I don't believe there's any problem in this country, no matter how tough it is, that Americans, when they roll up their sleeves, can't completely ignore.” 

 

 

 

Also checked out Aziz Ansari's new book "Modern Romance". It's about as funny as it is interesting.  

Edited by Alexiel, 03 July 2015 - 09:55 PM.

[Karla]

The Azumanga Daioh manga, if you can call that reading. XD

[Freshx]

I just started White Oleander, figured since I liked the movie might as well read the book.

[Kraehe]

Currently reading "Cinder" by Marissa Meyer. 

[Ali]

Just finished Girl On The Train which is a similar thing to Gone Girl, mystery thriller type thing from multiple perspectives. Totally ridiculous but I needed to find out what happened.

[redlion]

I'm reading The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, because socially acceptable filthy habits.

[MozzarellaSticks]

Smut. I'm honest about it. I have been reading nothing but smut and cheesy romances that only take a few hours to devour.

[Katya]

I'm about to start reading "Lituma en los Andes" by Mario Vargas Llosa. Again.

Spoiler

 

[Arex]

I've been reading Night by Elie Wiesel. Interesting book so far if you're into WWII camps and whatnot

[Susie]

I'm reading Chasing 193 by Ryan Trapp and Lee Abbamonte, and it's interviews with people that have been to most, if not all, the 193 UN recognized countries

[pedzilla]

The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, by Tim Harford.

 

I always like to read a good economy/management book during the summer.

[DonValentino]

The Undercover Economist Strikes Back, by Tim Harford.

 

I always like to read a good economy/management book during the summer.

I've got the first one on my wishlist right now, looks good.

[pedzilla]

I've got the first one on my wishlist right now, looks good.

The first one taught me a lot of stuff. I work in Biotechnology so I never knew too much about economy but I was always fascinated by it. Then one day I decided that for every summer holiday I would buy an economy or management book and read it. I've read The Undercover Economist, Freakonomics and Management for Dummies. This will be my 4th year so I chose the second book by Tim Harford since I liked the first one so much

[DonValentino]

The first one taught me a lot of stuff. I work in Biotechnology so I never knew too much about economy but I was always fascinated by it. Then one day I decided that for every summer holiday I would buy an economy or management book and read it. I've read The Undercover Economist, Freakonomics and Management for Dummies. This will be my 4th year so I chose the second book by Tim Harford since I liked the first one so much

Nice man. Check out Predictably Irrational, I liked that one a lot. 

[pedzilla]

Nice man. Check out Predictably Irrational, I liked that one a lot. 

Will do. Might just read it this year too since I have an extra 2 weeks of vacation. Lets see if I can wrap this one quickly enough ^^

[redlion]

If you liked Steven Levitt you might like Malcolm Gladwell. The Tipping Point and Blink were both good reads. Haven't read his other three, but they were all NYT bestsellers.

Edit: I'm still reading Holmes, but I'm also listening to Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama on audiobook. Classic hard science fiction.

[APBT]

"The Truth About the American Pit Bull Terrier" by Richard Stratton. What can I say, I'm a dog nerd. 

[Sehunie]

I am currently reading 'The stranger beside me' by Ann Rule, couldn't ask for a more informative book about Theodore Bundy!

[stagsong]

I'm reading Cross and Burn by Val McDermid and The Mayo Guide to pregnancy. The second one I can only read so far before I fall asleep.

[FelisNoctua]

Just finished "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer.

 

Summary from the cover (from Goodreads):

Spoiler

In April 1992 a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a party of moose hunters. How McCandless came to die is the unforgettable story of Into the Wild.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless had roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest like those made by his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert he abandoned his car, stripped it of its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He would give himself a new name, Alexander Supertramp, and , unencumbered by money and belongings, he would be free to wallow in the raw, unfiltered experiences that nature presented. Craving a blank spot on the map, McCandless simply threw the maps away. Leaving behind his desperate parents and sister, he vanished into the wild.

 

I actually really enjoyed most of this book. It was a curiously interesting look into the history, fate, and possibly mind of a young man that wanted to prove (to himself, to his family, to anyone that happened to take an interest in him) that he could "do it himself". We see him do well in just about everything he does, and then seemingly make some unfortunate mistake that ends his life. The book doesn't flow in a linear fashion, but I think it works well, attaching supporting evidence here and there along the way. I understand why the author chose to include snippets of other adventures, to compare their mindsets with McCandless's, but they were not terribly interesting to me and I had to fight to pay attention. However, when the author told of his own similar experiences, in rock-climbing, I was very interested. Perhaps because the author could put more of his own interest into the details. It's not a riveting read, but very interesting. I don't think it makes me more eager to tramp around, or more skeptical of those that do it. But, it was an enjoyable foray into the story of someone else that did, and simply, could not actually survive taking it as far as he did. I'm left feeling the young man was very intelligent, but a little too arrogant, and too unprepared. He was, young, and inexperienced. I think, if this crazy adventure hadn't gotten him, he may have keep looking for something until he found something he couldn't handle. Who knows, the author survived his own similar youthful craziness.

I'm about 1/3rd of the way through the unabridged Count of Monte Cristo (Robin Buss Translation).

 

I feel like it's slowed down a lot lately, but I'll trudge through it.

Hows CoMC going, Hawk? I find that I enjoy books with older language and cadence when I listen to them on Audiobook. I get hung up on them when I try to read them in paper, but have ADORED "unreadable" books on audiobook. If you feel you're trudging, perhaps try it!

[Emily]

You by Caroline Kepnes. 

 

It's a little creepy. Got some praise from Stephen King - most likely because he's mentioned in the book multiple times. Not a bad read though.