Books
Books I'm currently reading:
-
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky - Tricia wanted to
read a book together so I suggested we do something short and fairly
easy and she suggested this, which is neither short nor easy. It's
pretty good so far, though a bit preachy at times.
-
Truman by David McCullough - I got this book for being high
school valedictorian (even though I wasn't quite valedictorian --
strange story) and it
has recently been rediscovered. It's a pretty well known book,
obviously about Harry S Truman.
-
Native American Stories told by Joseph Buchac (Sozap) - These
are apparently excerpts from a larger book called Keepers of the
Earth. It has many stories from many different traditions, told by
a storyteller and scholar. The book has illustrations by John
Kahionhes Fadden, the same illustrator as Legends of the
Iroquois, which are wonderful.
Books on my "to read" list (in no particular order):
-
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings - I keep trying to read this
book and get distracted. I know Eddings is a very popular fantasy
author, so I'll probably like the book once I get into it, but that
hasn't happened yet.
-
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - Don't know much about
this except that Eco has been recommended by several people and seems
to have a mathematics background.
-
The Autobiography of Malcolm X - A classic which I think I'm
ready to read now.
-
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card - This book is a classic in
Science Fiction and one of Brian's favorite books.
-
The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene - About superstring theory
and physics. This book was purchased for me by both my parents and Mike Beck.
-
Beyond Recognition by Ridley Pearson - About an arson case.
Recommended by Libby Brown.
-
The Killing Floor by Lee Child - "hardboiled fiction."
Recommended by Libby Brown.
-
Azteca I and II by Gary Jennings - It's about the Aztecs.
-
Godel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter - Am I the only
mathematician who hasn't read this book?
Books I've recently finished:
-
In Plain Sight by Barbara Block - I got this book for $1 at
Crown when they went out of business. Decided that I might like
reading mysteries and this looked alright. Turns out it takes place
in Syracuse, NY which is kind of cool since I was just there and some
of my family is from there. It's a murder mystery where our heroine
is a pet store owner who sometimes moonlights as a PI. It seems to be
the third Robin Light book. It was enjoyable.
-
Krondor: Tear of the Gods by Raymond Feist - His latest is
enjoyable, but maybe not up to his past standards. It does sort of
read like a computer adventure game. This makes sense, since it IS
based on one which is based on his series. Weired circle of ideas.
Worth reading.
-
Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams - Hadn't
read any Adams for a while, and I'd remembered he was funny, but not
how funny. This book is hilarious! Just go for it. It helps if you
know a bit about cricket when reading this one, though. This time I
read it I actually did know a bit about cricket.
- "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller. This is a great play and very, very well written. Highly recommended.
-
Heaven Cent by Piers Anthony - One of the more recent Xanth
books. These used to be my favorite books, but I got a little tired
of them and hadn't read one in years. This was pretty good and nice
light reading. I've forgotten some of the Xanth history that he
refers to occasionally, but it's not essential to enjoying the book.
-
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen - About how history is taught
in high school and tells about current views of what happened which
are very much in conflict with the texts. Very interesting book. It
was recommended to me by several people who now have degrees in
history or related fields (Sujal and Adam among others). It was
excellent and I've added it to my favorite books sections (see below).
-
A Time to Kill by John Grisham - Grisham's first book and recommended
by JLee. I'd never read any Grisham before and I still haven't seen the
movie, although I kind of would like to now. I wouldn't say it's a
"must read," but it definitely made me think about some things. Not
as much courtroom drama as I expected, either; most of the drama was
outside the courtroom.
-
Legends of the Iroquois by Tehanetorens (Ray Fadden) - Tellings of
some Iroquois legends by a great storyteller with illustrations by his
son (I think). It's very well done..
-
The Stand by Stephen King - Very interesting and, of course, spooky
book about an apocalypse created by biological warfare (well, not even
warfare but proliferation). Lots of great characters.
General reading and discussion sites:
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The Reader's Vine - The
vines are going through a transition and this could bring you into the
Reader's Vine Community or the Authoring Area. The Community is the
good one but may not last for long.
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The
Reader's Place - This is a community set up by members of the
Reader's Vine who were upset that it was ending. It's a pretty good
site and I am a moderator here. Note: this is the new incarnation of
TRP (there was one at EZBoard, but this is at CommunityZero).
Some of my favorite books
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Last updated August 26, 2001