What book are you reading right now?

Posted by: Chillkram on 23 May 2010

I thought I'd revive this classic old thread as I couldn't find the original.

I am currently reading Suetonius, 'The Twelve Caesars'.




How about you?
Posted on: 14 March 2015 by Bert Schurink

Just finished this. An account of a young lady who will soon die from cancer. She tells how she gives meaning to her days left (it's unclear for her if that's months, or years)..., without working from a kind of bucket list. Touching read...

 

Posted on: 16 March 2015 by Kevin-W

Autobiography of rock's coolest chick...

 

Posted on: 16 March 2015 by HiFIoli

half way through, if i had read it every day from starting it would of been finished by the end of jan but ive hit a reading block or bookmark, so to speak.

Posted on: 17 March 2015 by Tony2011

Posted on: 17 March 2015 by BigH47

BA was a dump last time we were there.

Posted on: 18 March 2015 by Kevin-W
Originally Posted by BigH47:

BA was a dump last time we were there.

Part of its appeal for me. Added to the fact that it's 10 mins away.

Posted on: 18 March 2015 by Romi

The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History | [Boris Johnson]

 

 

Very well written and I am finding out a lot of other things about Churchill I did not know previously.  I did not know that he lead such an adventurous life and at the same time he was an intellectual.

Posted on: 23 March 2015 by Komet
Originally Posted by Haim Ronen:

For the third time.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Great read, reminded me of Catch 22. Have you seen the film?

Posted on: 23 March 2015 by Richard D

   Following a tip by Richard Dane, I managed to get hold of a copy from the County Library. This book gives a fascinating insight into the operations of Decca Records from the immediate post war years to the early 70s. Highly recommended, thanks Richard.

Posted on: 23 March 2015 by Haim Ronen
Originally Posted by Komet:
Originally Posted by Haim Ronen:

For the third time.

 

Thanks for the recommendation. Great read, reminded me of Catch 22. Have you seen the film?

Yes. On top of the film I managed to serve two tours of reserve duty in Lebanon in the mid-eighties, fifteen years before the book was written. Reading it always stirs up a lot of ancient memories. 

Posted on: 24 March 2015 by Kevin-W

There was a documentary on BBC4 last night about this guy and it was fascinating. I didn't even know I had his autobiography in my library...

 

Posted on: 25 March 2015 by fatcat

Posted on: 25 March 2015 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by fatcat:

What I'm reading is pretty far from that...

 

Posted on: 27 March 2015 by Haim Ronen

A story of an Italian army unit deployed in Afghanistan written by scientist turned writer Paolo Giordano.

Posted on: 09 April 2015 by Haim Ronen

A recent (2013) Llosa.

 

Gian,

 

I think that you will enjoy reading Giordano's "The Human Body".

Posted on: 13 April 2015 by Paper Plane

Just started this:

 

 

steve

Posted on: 14 April 2015 by Haim Ronen

Another try with Erik Larson. I did not like his "In the Garden of Beasts".

Posted on: 17 April 2015 by Kevin-W

One of the funniest books I have ever read:

 

Posted on: 17 April 2015 by Kevin-W
Originally Posted by winkyincanada:
Originally Posted by fatcat:

What I'm reading is pretty far from that...

 

Klein's book  is probably even further from Rand's book in quality than it is in ideology, Winky. Disregarding her half-baked "philosophy", Rand was an infamously terrible writer; she is so bad, in fact, that I just cannot take her seriously. Klein is adequate enough as a writer to get her points across and to keep the reader reading. Rand's writing is banal, prolix and boring - and blissfully unaware of its own shortcomings.

Posted on: 24 April 2015 by Haim Ronen

Starting:

 

http://www.penguin.com/read/bo...oyment/9780143126829

Posted on: 25 April 2015 by Kevin-W

Posted on: 02 May 2015 by Kevin-W

I love hacks' memoirs and this, so far, is one of the best. The prose is a tad clunky but her examination of the human fallout from the Balkans conflict of the 1990s is moving and she's not afraid to point the finger at those responsible.

 

Posted on: 02 May 2015 by fatcat
Originally Posted by Kevin-W:

Rand's writing is banal, prolix and boring - and blissfully unaware of its own shortcomings.

That's a half heated critique. Don't you mean banal, boring, monotonous, tedious, vacuous and prolix.

Posted on: 02 May 2015 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by Kevin-W:

One of the funniest books I have ever read:

 

"Jesus-H-Christ in a chicken basket! We're on the moon! The f^%$#@g moon! Can you you  even f^%$#@g believe it?!"

 

Yes, hilarious. I've loved that for years.

Posted on: 02 May 2015 by winkyincanada
Originally Posted by Kevin-W:

 

Klein's book  is probably even further from Rand's book in quality than it is in ideology, Winky. Disregarding her half-baked "philosophy", Rand was an infamously terrible writer; she is so bad, in fact, that I just cannot take her seriously. Klein is adequate enough as a writer to get her points across and to keep the reader reading. Rand's writing is banal, prolix and boring - and blissfully unaware of its own shortcomings.

Yep, I'd agree with that. I managed to struggle through The Fountainhead years ago. Her support of contemporary and function-driven architecture over ornate reproduction styles is about the only thing I took away from that. But, yes, just terribly written.

 

I've also just read this. It's a comic book, but quite entertaining. It pulls no punches in its critique of Rand, the writer and the person. She would seem to have been more influential than one would hope.