« more discussions

• 

  Current reads?

  Just curious as to what the rest of you are reading/have on top at the moment.
  
  I'm working on "The Best and the Brightest" by John Halberstam.
  Next up: probably "The Road to Wigan Pier" by Orwell

  Max J. started this discussion 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  saguaro 

  "The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest Of The Middle East" (1,041 pages in length) by the award-winning British journalist, Robert Fisk.
  
  An excerpt:
  
  "I think in the end we have to accept that our tragedy lies always in our past, that we have to live with our ancestors' folly and suffer for it, just as they, in their turn, suffered, and as we, through our vanity and arrogance, ensure the pain and suffering of our children. How to correct history, that's the thing."

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Pam T~ 

    Afternoon Saguaro :)
    
    Currently slogging through Anne Butlers book "Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in the American West, 1865-90".
    
    It's well researched and has many points of interest but her word choices tend to 'loaded' and it's distracting and detracting.

    posted 11 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  D 

  Just finished Game as Old as Empire by Hiatt
  Starting The Raegan Diaries now.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  TimberBeast 

  The Right Nation : Conservative Power in America
  by John Micklethwait, Adrian Wooldridge

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 3 replies

  • 

    Max J. 

    Nice! I really enjoyed that book, though I read it a while ago and it's probably a bit outdated now. How are you liking it?

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    TimberBeast 

    It's not too outdated The writers are from The Economist magazine and maybe it's the British accent but I find it insightful.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Max J. 

    As did I. If you like that you should definitely check out Before the Storm by Rick Perlstein. It's a history of the 1964 campaign and a lot of the back story of the conservative movement. Really outstanding.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Yuki 

  Finished three good ones this year
  
  Mountains Beyond Mountains-Tracy Kidder
  Leaving Microsoft to Change the World-John Wood
  Banker to the Poor-M. Yunus

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Yuki 

  Just started a Hundred& One Days A Bagdad Journal by sne Seierstad. Tells the story of Baghdad from Jan - April 2003. So far very interesting. The author also wrot the Bookseller of Kabul

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    D 

    I had very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand I was so disappointed mostly bc i expected to have so many questions answered that simply were not. On the other hand, there was so much I loved bc it gives u the kind of information such as: Okay, you now have the freedom to say whatever you want Mr.(s) Iraqi. So, what is it you have to say that you never could before? That effect you just dont get in most of the other books about this period, situation, and peoples whose lives were/are most affected by it. If it is not too much trouble please share your thoughts whenever you get around to finishing it!

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Peach 

  For nonfiction:
  "Gödel, Escher, Bach" (Hofstadter)
  "A People's History of the United States" (Zinn)
  I tend to be reading about six things at once. ^_^;

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Max J. 

  I just finished "The Best and the Brightest" today and it's outstanding, easily one of my all-time favorites. It's probably also the best non-Iraq book about Iraq you could read.
  
  That took forever, so I'm taking a break: "The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  jerry-book 

  Just read Homage to Catalonia by Orwell. So sad John Halberstam died the way he did in a car crash.
  
  jerry-book

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Jannie41 

  One of the best Non Fiction books that I read this year was Dragon Sea: A True Tale of Treasure, Archeology, and Greed off the Coast of Vietnam by Frank Pope. A very interesting story about saturation diving for ceramic treasure. It was a fun, non-serious read. In that genre of adventure non-fiction I also enjoyed Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm and an Untold Rescue by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin.
  
  For the more serious stuff I enjoyed Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thoma E. Ricks, and What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat by Louise Richardson

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  kairos 

  I'm a graduate student, so when summer comes I tend to tackle only one or two new books and indulge myself rereading old favorites. My new book this summer was Truman, and I'm currently rereading Bitter Blood by Jerry Bledsoe and The Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  D 

  I'm reading Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA by Tim Weiner. Enjoying it quite a bit.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 3 replies

  • 

    Max J. 

    I started that in a bookstore a while ago and really didn't like the writing. How are you finding it?

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    D 

    I would agree the writing style leaves something to be desired. That being said, I really am enjoying this book. Really for 2 reasons.
    
    1) It's the most comprehensive study of the CIA I have come across.
    2) The sourcing is fantastic. Unfortunately the end notes don't actually help much if you interested in finding the source material. However, everything is on the record and documented, which is so very refreshing for these types of books IMO, I would def recommend it to anyone mildly curious with the CIA, gov't, or politics.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Marcus 

    this one is a good , detailed account of the CIA's operations in Afghanistan:
    Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
    by Steve Coll

    posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  sallysaurus 

  I've got three going at the moment:
  
  "Foolsgold: Making Something Out of Nothing," by Susan G. Wooldridge (I adored her "Poemcrazy")
  "Culture Shock!: Morocco," by Orin Hargraves (I'm planning to vacation there next year)
  "Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services," by Guy Kawasaki and Michele Moreno
  
  "Rules" is proving disappointing so far because it focuses almost exclusively on developing tech-type products, I realize Kawasaki's background with Apple Computers gives him a lot to say, but I'd like a little more "width" in the discussion.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    sallysaurus 

    Well, I've finished two of the three -- "Rules for Revolutionaries" and "Foolsgold." I've posted opinions of both of them on my shelf.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  stormadvisor 

  Got 4 going right now:
  The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It
  The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security
  Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
  Washington's Secret War: The Hidden History of Valley Forge

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  deirdrenyc 

  My partner just read "The Best and The Brightest" and loved it! His Blg entry is http://www.charlespetzold.com/blog/2007/06/260115.html
  

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    saguaro 

    "The World Without Us" by Alan Weisman. Absolutely riveting. What would happen to Earth if suddenly humans disappeared en masse? For a multimedia intro, go to http://www.worldwithoutus.com/index2.html
    
    The chapter about what would happen to birds is available free on line in the July-August issue of Audubon Magazine at http://audubonmagazine.org/features0707/portents.html
    
    

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    koreen56 

    A Woman In Charge by Carl Bernstein ( A biography about our next President) LOL!
    
    Lucky by Alice Sebold

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  tlptulip 

  I started reading "Ghost in the House" by Tracy Thompson a few days ago. It's very enlightening for anyone dealing with maternal depression or for anyone who has a family member who's dealing with it.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  NaturaLei 

  Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys--Melissa de la Cruz
  Not a Genuine Black Man--Brian Copeland
  Luck--Alice Sebold
  
  Finishing up
  A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier--Ishmael Beah

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  cjr71244 

  The Search by Tom Brown Jr.
  River Horse by William Least Heat Moon

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  deactivated member 

  Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and How to be Alone by Jonathon Franzen. Both are interesting in very different ways. They are both books of essays, Gilbert's about a recent year in her life; Franzen's about his views on different topics or experiences. Franzen is a lucious writer!

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  DonnaCutting 

  I'm reading two books currently.
  
  The Virus of the Mind - by Richard Brodie
  
  The Craggy Hole in My Heart, and The Cat Who Fixed It - by Geneen Roth
  
  Both excellent!
  
  

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 4 replies

  • 

    deactivated member 

    OK Donna - the title of the Brodie book is just intriguing. What is it about and is it any good?

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    DonnaCutting 

    The Virus of the Mind is about how we become programmed to think and behave in a certain way (or programmed with memes) by television, journalism, the government, etc. Richard Brodie asks us to question our beliefs and habits by realizing that they are the result of these memes and that we have other choices in how to think and what to do.
    
    So far so good, but I got caught up in the Craggy Cat book because Geneen Roth is such a fabulous writer. Now that I've finished, my attention is back on the Brodie book....so I'll let you know. :-)
    
    Thanks for asking!!

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    deactivated member 

    Thanks Donna. It sounds interesting and also makes sense. And thanks for your other note!

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    DonnaCutting 

    The Virus of the Mind - while I won't say it read like candy - it was a good read, the author has a great sense of humor, and it was extremely thought provoking for me. Has me questioning many of my own belief systems - and that's a good thing!
    
    I devoured The Craggy Hole in My Heart - Geneen Roth is such a great writer. Then I read Can We Do That? by Peter Shankman. GREAT book on out of the box marketing ideas.
    
    I've switched to fiction for a little break - but I think I'll finally read The Tipping Point next.

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Herstory 

  Just finished:
  
  Mayflower - by Nathaniel Philbrick
  
  Stiff - by Mary Roach
  
  Working on:
  
  Starvation Heights - by Gregg Olsen

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  D 

  I'm reading The Creature from Jekyll Island. Has anyone else read this book? I hope some of you do now if you haven't. Would really enjoy hearing your thoughts.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  koreen56 

  The Preacher and the Presidents by Billy Graham. Chronicles Billy Graham's relationship with all the president's from Eisenhower to the present. Interesting at times and tedious at others.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• removed this reply 1 year ago.

• 

  Peach 

  I finished The God Delusion a little while ago, and now I've been rereading The Mismeasure of Man (actually, reading the revised for the first time) and reading for the first time The Bell Curve.
  
  (I absolutely loved the original Mismeasure — it was among the first ten or so real books I read growing up — but never read the revised because it mainly added a critique of The Bell Curve, and it seemed somehow odd to read a critique without reading the original.)

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 3 replies

  • 

    D 

    I would highly recommend you check out The Bell Curve Debate as well. Gould is one of the vast number of contributors to the text (there are 81 total).

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    Peach 

    Thanks for the recommendation! I'm having a tough time being objective about The Bell Curve partly because of everything I've heard about it before this... plus, when I was growing up I totally idolized Steven Jay Gould so it's tough not to want to adopt his viewpoint. =P At one point, I think I wanted him to be my second dad.... well, maybe my third dad, after Optimus Prime. ^_^

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  • 

    D 

    Not that my opinion carries much weight, but I am very glad you are having such a reaction. Whenever possible I always read two books at a time, one each on a topic but from opposing view points. Despite the fact I read books I fundamentally disagree with regularly, The Bell Curve managed to provoke an especially vitriolic reaction within me. Hence the reason I loved the Debate so much. It said much of what was raging in my head for me. It had traveled a little further down the path I was already on, and I suspect it would have a similar impact on you given your statements. LOL about Optimus ... I'm just wondering who your fourth dad would be. ;)

    posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  D 

  I'm not through with The Creature from Jekyll Island yet, but I am now reading it in conjunction with The Age of Turbulence: Adventures In A New World. This is the new book by Alan Greenspan. I'm really enjoying this side by side reading.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  Max J. 

  After a long while I just got done with "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, which was incredible.
  
  Not sure what's up next. Maybe All The President's Men or Robert Dallek's JFK biography.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  roblarson 

  I am currently reading "The Color of Water" by James McBride, and "Jesus Land" by Julia Scheeres is next.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

  show 2 replies

  • 

    roblarson 

    I finished Jesus Land, read Katie.com and now I am reading A Long Way Gone.

    posted 12 months ago. ( reply )

  • 

    roblarson 

    Since Jesus Land, I have read A Buffalo in the House (excellent), A Long Way Gone (good) and Still Woman Enough (by Loretta Lynn). Now I am starting Dog Days: Dispatches from Bedlam Farm.

    posted 12 months ago. ( reply )

• removed this reply 1 year ago.

• 

  deactivated member 

  I am two essays into Jonathon Franzen's "How to Be Alone". I have enjoyed his novels, especially "The Corrections" so I thought I would try his non-fiction. It is interesting for me to see if the lure of the writing holds across genres.
  The first 2 essays in this book kept my attention; the first was on his father's struggle with Alzheimers, the second on the erosion of privacy in the U.S. So it is an eclectic mix and I look forward to reading on.

  posted 1 year ago. ( reply )

• 

  koreen56 

  I'm on a True Crime spree right now. I'm reading Lethal Guardian by M. William Phelps and Abandoned Prayers and Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen. Mr. Olsen has been coming to our True Crime group here on Shelfari. Stop by and check it out. Also Mr. Olsen and Mr. Phelps have a website called www.crimerant.com where they discuss true crime stories that are currently in the news. Very interesting.

  posted 12 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • Alka removed this reply 12 months ago.

• 

  Peach 

  Among other things, I'm reading Terkel's:
  
  "The Good War": An Oral History of World War II
  
  I think Terkel is a pacifist but when I read this book it doesn't make me want to become a pacifist. Mainly, it makes me feel sad somehow, partly at what people went through during World War II (or any war) — and partly because all of those experiences are passing out of living memory day to day. Hmm.

  posted 12 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    saguaro 

    Having recently finished "Faith At War: A Journey On The Frontlines Of Islam, From Baghdad To Timbuktu" by Yaroslav Trofimov, I've moved on to "Failed States: The Abuse Of Power And The Assault On Democracy" by Noam Chomsky.

    posted 11 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Karen Z 

  I just finished "Help Lord! I'm Having a Senior Moment--Again!" by Karen O'Connor. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was written in an unusual way as a collection of prayers to God about a person's senior moments, sort of like reading letters to God or a person's blog. It covers some of the dumb stuff that happens as we get older, primarily forgetfulness but other things as well.
  
  

  posted 8 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Karen Z (edited)

  A good book is "Hurricane Season" by Neal Thompson about lives in New Orleans affected by Katrina, particularly a private Christian High School's football team. It's an awesome book that shows all kinds of problems these kids went through and how the community really helped each other. It's a pretty sad commentary though on how ineffective our government was in getting the area cleaned up and restored and getting help to the people.
  
  Now I'm reading "Gang Leader for a Day." It's fascinating so far. Really gives you an inside look into what real gangs are all about and what they do.

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Leann (edited)

  I just finished Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff
  And I am currently reading The Mistress's Daughter by A.M. Homes.

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  kingkong 

  I am reading "My Tainted Blood", by Hubert Kueter, about growing up half-Jewish in Nazi Germany (and later escaping). I really like it so far. I used to work for Hubert, which makes it even more interesting, as I never knew his background until now.

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Kate MacDonald 

  I'm reading Heart Like Water: Surviving Katraina and Life in its Disaster Zone by Joshua Clark. A young writer chooses to stay in the French Quarter and witnesses the devastation close-up. Compelling read.

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Karen Z 

  I just finished "Gang Leader For A Day" which was fascinating! It's about a sociology student who decides to do some research in the low-income projects of Chicago to find out what it's like to be black and poor. The book reveals the inner workings of gangs, and how the community relates to them. He actually hung out with a gang leader for several years while doing his research. It was a wonder he didn't get beat up!

  posted 6 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Mary M 

  Just finished WHY WOMEN SHOULD RULE THE WORLD and will be starting THE LAST LECTURE.

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Max J. 

  I just finished up Robert Kagan's "The Return of History and the End of Dreams" and I can't recommend it enough. For those who aren't necessarily interested in foreign affairs, his books are always outstanding ways of learning about the subject in broad strokes without getting bogged down in excessive detail.

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Yuki 

  Fugitive Denim and an ordinary man

  posted 5 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Mary M (edited)

  Just finished THE WOMAN WHO CAN'T FORGET. An amazing story. Am currently reading THE LAST LECTURE. Fun and wise.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

  show 1 reply

  • 

    Meghan G 

    Hi everyone...just purchased Here If You Need Me, a memoir by Kate Braestrup about her decision after her husband's death to become a chaplain for search-and-rescue missions in Maine.

    posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  melissima 

  Slow-going through "Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole." A mouth-full, surely, and while the idea is interesting, the prose is a bit of a slog. I'll prevail, though.

  posted 4 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Plrs199 

  I recently finished "The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature" by Steven Pinker, "Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5 billion year History of the Human Body" by Neil Shubin, and "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf. I will soon be starting "The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature" by Matt Ridley.

  posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Karen Z 

  I loved "Hiss and Tell: True Stories from the Files of a Cat Behaviorist" by Pam Johnson-Bennett. She shares some of her cases about helping people with cats find out why their cat is acting so strange and solve the problem. It was funny and also educational conerning cat behavior. It's one of my favorites!
  
  Another book I just finished that was very good about bullying is "Please Don't Laugh at Me" by Jodee Blanco. It's her story of how she struggled all through school since 5th grade with kids not accepting her and teasing her all the time, being cruel. She wrote a second book too about her work in schools to help stop the bullying and give parents and kids advice on handling it called "Please Stop Laughing at Us." My Husband thought both her books were fantastic and says she really conveys how things actually are. He identified with her and could relate to the things she went through.

  posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• 

  Green Man (edited)

  I read too much at the same time but here is the list of reading or just finished:
  
  "What does God look like in an expanding universe?" by Jim Schenk
  
  "The Book of totally useless information" by Don Voorhees
  
  "Endgame vol 1 the problem of civilization" by Derrick Jensen
  
  "Spreading Misandry: the teaching of contempt for men in popular culture" by Paul Nathanson and Katherine Young
  
  "Medical Apartheid: The dark history of medical experimentation on Black American from colonial times to the present" by Harriet Washington
  
  "What is the What" by Dave Eggers (technically fiction because it is a memoir with best recollections from Darfur childhood)

  posted 3 months ago. ( reply )

• To reply to this discussion, please sign in or join now.

Return to top