What Books Are You Reading Now?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I am usually reading 4-5 books at any given time. I find I stay on my treadmill a lot longer if I can read, watch DVDs, anything to get my mind off of how much I dislike my treadmill (I feel a bit like Fred flinstone running and running and not going anywhere).

I was hoping to have a book thread where we can share titles of books and our own reviews. Books are soooo expensive and I don't want to waste money on boring books.

Sunta told me she was reading a book that I had heard of but hadn't heard reviews one way or another. It is:

"THE CHRIST CONSPIRACY, The Greatest Story Ever Told" by S. Acharya.

The title is self descriptive, so far it is quite interesting but I haven't read much of it yet as I just received it. Perhaps Sunta can shed more light on details.

"The Dark Side of Christian History" by Helen Ellerbe

This book is excellent so far. Besides, there are lots of pictures. The drawings and artwork really do go a long way to give you the creeps about historical Christianity. It makes you wonder if that is really what it looked like way back when. The way people were tortured, etc. I am always and repeatedly shocked by how primitive people were way back when and how they came to believe what they did.

"Stiff" by Mary Roach

Okay, this one isn't going to appeal to a huge audience but I find it fascinating. I am almost done with this one and I'll likely read it again. There are so many facts and pieces of trivia about how dead bodies have been used, treated, tested, and experiemented on throughout early history (last 200 years).

Before reading this book I had no clue that dead folks were put on airplanes, the airplanes were then crashed, and they wanted to see the damage to the bodies depending on the type of crash and location of seat.

Early one brave dude wanted to use human fat for burning street lights in New York. He thought with 250 folks dying in New York daily they would have more than enough "fat" fuel for street lamps. I'm thinking "odor" but maybe I'm alone.

Just the study of dead folks is really interesting, it's quite an eye opener what people have done with dead bodies. One guy attempted to sew a living monkey head on a dead human body to see if the body would keep on ticking.

It didn't.

Since I enjoyed this book so much I purchased another by the same author:

"SPOOK" by Mary Roach

I haven't even started this one yet but it is the scientific study of the afterlife. I have no opinion on it one way or another just yet. But I love the author's amazingly dry sense of humor. She's very funny and it is easy to pass the time away on my treadmill while reading her writing thus, I purchased this book.

BTW, if anyone posts a title and you don't mind used copies, check out:

AddALL book search and price comparison

It is probably one of the most comprehensive sites to find new, used, and out of print books I have found. For some time I was buying up all kinds of great books when people didn't realize what they were selling. For example, I purchased one book on ebay (found it on AddALL originally) that was selling for $9.95 but it is actually worth about $800.00. I spent a great number of (fun) hours finding treasures like this with the idea of reselling them but I just never get around to reselling them. I end up buying more antique trunks to hide them in from hubby. For some strange notion he believes I have far too many books and they take up too much room.

AddALL is one place to find such treasures. Some people don't want to take the time to see what they are selling. Not only can you get great deals on used books but you can find many great titles that are worth a great deal of money and those selling them don't realize this. However, one has to know titles and book quality before this will work well. Usually people specialize in specific types of books. For me it is antiquarian medical and slavery books.

Anyone else reading anything fun right now?

[DerickM 1]

I am currently rereading a collection of william blakes poems and am on a bit of a Heinlein kick right now so I am reading "Farnhams Freehold"

[Jachut 487]

How do you run and read? I cant manage it, I can only walk pretty slowly and still be able to read - I do read some of my study materials since they tend to be large university produced books that sit easily and I just walk very slowly on an incline if I have an hour's reading to do.

I dont consider that exercise, I jsut do it because its more active than sitting on the couch doing it, but I'd probalby cover less than 5kms in an hour.

I'd still want my exercise session for that day.

[Carlene 12]

I am currently rereading a collection of william blakes poems and am on a bit of a Heinlein kick right now so I am reading "Farnhams Freehold"

Derick....

I read "Farnhams Freehold" about a hundred years ago - and probably about that many times since. I absolutely LOVED it. My fave Sci Fi stories are the "end of the world" types anyway. Another great one is "Alas, Babylon".

Heinlein rocks! I have read everything by Heinlein, I think. I also loved the Dune trilogy. The movie sucked,however.

I was the only girl in my high school Sci Fi club. Everyone thought I joined because of all the boys. They were wrong. I love science fiction!

[Carlene 12]

I read a lot of mysteries because my DH buys them and I'm cheap, so I hate to waste a book by only giving it one read.

I just finished "The Husband" by Dean Koontz. It was excellent.

I read a lot of Carl Hiaasen's stuff because DH has a friend who buys them all and gives them to us after he's read them. (Did I mention that I'm cheap?)

I recently read the four book Berrybender series by Larry McMurtry. We saw "Lonesome Dove" on TV and that got me started.

I buy a lot of books at Half Price Bookstore, and at thrift shops. I love biographies. I read one recently by Loretta Young and Clark Gable's love child called "Uncommon Knowledge". I didn't even know they HAD a love child until I picked this book up in the clearance section at HPB.

I like Ken Follett (sometimes), and especially "Pillars of the Earth".

For pop classics you might have missed along the way, I like Mary Karr ("The Liar's Club", "Cherry", etc) and Amy Tan ("The Joy Luck Club", "The Bonesetter's Daughter", "The Kitchen God's Wife", etc). I also love Isak Dinesen....especially "Out of Africa".

I have been an incurable, voracious reader my entire life!

[anonemouse 1]

I have been an incurable, voracious reader my entire life!

Ditto, Carlene. I was the only fifth grader I knew reading John Steinbeck. Unfortunately, once I started college, I started reading more for entertainment than for mental stimulation, since I was having to read so much scientific literature in my classes. I am currently in to paranormal and modern romances. Authors like Jennifer Crusie, Susan Sizemore, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc.

[Carlene 12]

Ditto, Carlene. I was the only fifth grader I knew reading John Steinbeck. Unfortunately, once I started college, I started reading more for entertainment than for mental stimulation, since I was having to read so much scientific literature in my classes. I am currently in to paranormal and modern romances. Authors like Jennifer Crusie, Susan Sizemore, Sherrilyn Kenyon, etc.

LOL....I think "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned by the Catholic Code of Decency, so of course, I read it as soon as I could...along with "Peyton Place" and a few others.

I went thru my historic romance phase (Rosemary Rogers was my favorite) but never got "into" the likes of Jennifer Cruise, et al.

[DerickM 1]

carlene groks!

[Carlene 12]

carlene groks!

LOL....thank you, Derick! I am humbled by the generosity of your words.

[Carlene 12]

PS to Derick....

"Stranger in a Strange Land" was probably the second or third SF book I ever read. I can't believe I had actually forgotten all about "the g word" until I saw your post!

[anonemouse 1]

LOL....I think "The Grapes of Wrath" was banned by the Catholic Code of Decency, so of course, I read it as soon as I could...along with "Peyton Place" and a few others.

I've actually never read The Grapes of Wrath. Embarassing, I know. The Pearl was my favorite Steinbeck novel.

[Devana 0]

Derick....

I read "Farnhams Freehold" about a hundred years ago - and probably about that many times since. I absolutely LOVED it. My fave Sci Fi stories are the "end of the world" types anyway. Another great one is "Alas, Babylon".

Heinlein rocks! I have read everything by Heinlein, I think. I also loved the Dune trilogy. The movie sucked,however.

I was the only girl in my high school Sci Fi club. Everyone thought I joined because of all the boys. They were wrong. I love science fiction!

This year I bought every teenaged kid in my sphere either Stranger in a Strange Land if they were older or The Chrysalids for the younger ones.

Last year I bought them all Ken Oppels Airborne or Skybreaker, depending on what they already had.

They all loved them, of course.

They're all using the "g" word now.

[Carlene 12]

This year I bought every teenaged kid in my sphere either Stranger in a Strange Land if they were older or The Chrysalids for the younger ones.

Last year I bought them all Ken Oppels Airborne or Skybreaker, depending on what they already had.

They all loved them, of course.

They're all using the "g" word now.

No "Podkayne of Mars"?

[BJean 16]

Carlene: Other than my DH, you're the only person I've known who has read "Alas Babylon." That was very entertaining. I am also a Heinlein lover. We used to read his short stories aloud to each other while riding in the car on long road trips. Nowadays it's books on tape or CDs. We read tons of spy and detective books and anything with some mystery. The reason I say we is because that's what he buys and once he's finished them, if he liked it, I read it. (I'm a little cheap too.) Political biographies sometimes join the "books on the nightstand" club at our house. He always has several books going at once, but if I think a book is good I just can't put it down until I'm finished. That makes for all-night reading sometimes. Bad habit!

[edieparks 2]

I love listening to horror/scifi audio books with my ipod.

I AM so commercial but I am listening to Cell by S. King.

It is really good so far. Just a hint : it is a horror story about cell phone use. Hmmmm

edie