what book are you reading?

The Parachute and Its Pilot by Brian Germain.

Also almost 1/2 way through a book about the history of Las Vegas. Very slow slog, not sure I'm going to finish this one.

Primo Levi "The drowned and the saved".

I'm only reading it because i found it on a wall though.

Before that i read a bunch of mountaineering books: "Touching the Void" by Joe Simpson which was fantastic, and one by Beck Weathers (a guy that nearly died trying to climb Everest), which was dreadful.

The Wealth of Nations

I've just finished reading Parallel Worlds by Michio Kaku a few days ago, and I highly recommend it to every fan of science. Hoping to get some relaxing time to read his Physics of the Impossible

I'm currently reading Dwain Chambers' book, "Race Against Me."

Right now: Living in the End Times, Slavoj Zizek.

It was published last year and has this great prediction based on what he calls the new economic apartheid, speaking of "the explosive growth of social divisions and exclusions ... nowhere are the new forms of apartheid more palpable than in the wealthy Middle Eastern oil states ... Hidden on the outskirts of the cities, often literally behind walls, are tens of thousands of 'invisible' immigrant workers doing all the dirty work, from servicing to construction, separated from their families and refused all privileges. Such a situation clearly embodies an explosive potential which, while now exploited by religious fundamentalists, should have been channeled by the Left in its struggle against exploitation and corruption" (Zizek, x).

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. Great, great book. And amazing and unbelievable story.

"Nomad" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Just finished "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese - Not necessarily my favorite but beautifully written.

Goljan Rapid Review Pathology

Hands MaGee wrote:

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. Great, great book. And amazing and unbelievable story.

I finished that in January, amazing story!

Just finishing up "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene, very good also.

Hands MaGee wrote:

"Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand...unbelievable story.

That is because half of it is highly exaggerated.

jjjjjjj wrote:

Right now: Living in the End Times, Slavoj Zizek.

It was published last year and has this great prediction based on what he calls the new economic apartheid, speaking of "the explosive growth of social divisions and exclusions ... nowhere are the new forms of apartheid more palpable than in the wealthy Middle Eastern oil states ... Hidden on the outskirts of the cities, often literally behind walls, are tens of thousands of 'invisible' immigrant workers doing all the dirty work, from servicing to construction, separated from their families and refused all privileges. Such a situation clearly embodies an explosive potential which, while now exploited by religious fundamentalists, should have been channeled by the Left in its struggle against exploitation and corruption" (Zizek, x).

Just finished First as Tragedy, then as Farce. I don't know what to make of Zizek. Some of his points are really great, but I guess the pragmatist in me wants more than critique.

P.J. O'Rourke's 'short version' of the "Wealth of Nations"

"How to Pick a Peach", Russ Parsons (author of How to Read a French Fry: And Other Stories of Intriguing Kitchen Science).

This book serves both as an encyclopedic reference work, and as an informative, engaging read. The author admits that not ALL fruits and veggies are included, however it seems that all of the important ones are, particularly those that we need help with selecting. There is an unbelievable amount of basic information about picking fruits and vegetables, previously unavailable in collected form! Add in the historical research on farming, the updated perspective on farming trends and issues, and you have the ultimate shopper's guide, best kept in the glove compartment (after reading, of course) so that it's always there with you when you're going to market. "How to pick a Peach" should be required reading for every cook in America.

For the first time in a long time (maybe the first re-read of the Hobbit since the 60s):

Lord of the Rings

The Simarillion; and

The Hobbit

Just starting "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", Morris (Pulitzer Prize 1979)

About a Boy - Nick Hornby

Appointment in Samarra - John O'Hara

and House of Mirth - Edith Wharton

Both enjoyable, maybe more so if you are an American

Just finished "Annabelle" by Kathleen Winter. Not bad.

Recently finished:

"The Sentamentalists" by Johanna Skibsrub. Don't get what all the fuss was abou - not a fan.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood. Did this against better judgement, as a charater building exercise. Reinforced my long held hatred for Atwood's writing.

The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobsen. Do not get the excitement about this one either.

Started (but could not finish) Solo by Rana Dasgupta.

Read Room by Emma Donoghue. I'm ambivalent about that one.

I've had a lengthy run of bad luck with books. Surely I'll find something good again.

I generally don't read non-fiction for pleasure, but at my son's urgings I read "Flatland" by Abbott (pretty cool) and am working through "The Fractal Geometry of Nature" by Benoit Mandelbrot. That's pretty cool, in an esoteric way.

Anything by Harlan Coben

Zizek reference on Letsrun, didn't think I would ever see that. Haven't read "End Times". Is it anything new? Or is it just another version of his other books with some commentary on the financial collapse, environmental catastrophe and so on?

Love Slavoj. "Sublime Object" was a huge achievement and I really enjoy his work on film and Lacan. Maybe someday he can really sort out his Lacanian theories of desire with his desire to have a definite, strong commitment to materialism. Although, these definitions get hazy, as to what would even constitute materialism in contemporary society.

I'm reading some obscure novel by an underground indie author. You've probably never heard of it.