Books

• 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.

• 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?

• 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.

• 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.
• 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).

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Last updated August 26, 2001