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?

Brother Odd, from the Odd Thomas books from Dean Koontz.

Started reading "No One Here Gets Out Alive" a bio of Jim Morrison (of The Doors)

Some of you older folks may start talking about "I met Jim" or "I went to a doors concert" :tired

Allow me to say, I hate you;)

Nope, never had the occasion to meet the beautiful one. However my son was in the movie. No speaking lines. But what the hey, worth mentioning. Also worth mentioning is that I did see Led Zepplin in concert. Holey freaking freeholies - it was incredible. It even stands way out from the fantastic concerts that they stage today.

Moody Blues was also another amazing concert. They oversold the tickets and I watched people put their elbows through the glass so they could break in - I was right behind them. They actually allowed the show to go on. Standing room only, even in the nosebleed seats and everyone got seriously stoned and back then some of the freaks were doing "hand trips." Very far out. But now that I'm more adult, a serious fire hazard.

I saw Edgar Winter and White Trash in Richmond and their opening act was Don McLean. Can you even imagine? Don McLean was booed off the stage by all the freaks and in the women's rest room, I saw girls shooting up and snorting all manner of weird substances. Scared the living hell out of me.

Leon Russell did a great concert in Tulsa that I saw outside, elbow to elbow with lots of crazy dudes. They passed pipes, cigarettes, and other things that I did not know existed. I survived the experience, but I was really afraid that big brother was watching my every move.

Dude! This is way more fun than talking about books! Not exactly intellectual, but Memory Lane can be a good place to take a walk now and then.

i have a friend with a very interesting story about bob dylan falling asleep in her bathtub.

im currently reading "Behind the Mask, Hannibal Rising" and i love the gory spookies. Also read all of Anne Rice's stuff, including her "Beauty" series ::snicker:::: (i know...but i really really like them)

I read a book or two over again alot. Ive got itunes and and ipod so sometimes i get audiobooks to play in the studio when im tired of music, and those are pretty interesting. Sometimes an expression or phrase will make its way into the work im working on if im not very careful. One that i "listen" to every day is "Creating Affluence in a field of all possibilities" by Deepak Chopra. I really really like how i feel after. its relaxing.

Hi, Has anybody found that they read less since using the internet? I find that work,housework,exercise,visiting friends and the internet has really put my reading time on the back burner. When do you get the time?

Susannah

My intent was not to highjack the thread. But a guy I used to date told me that years ago Linda Ronstat came to the door to greet him wearing only a towel.

I'd love to hear the Bob Dylan story.

Anyone reading Dylan Thomas right now?

I used to read all of Anne Rice's books, but eventually the movies turned me off so much I quit enjoying her books.

in the same light..i dont wanna hijack the thread either so ill keep it brief, but this friend of mine is an artist, lived up in nyc and went to a small Dylan concert back when they were small concerts, then just 'moved the party to the flat'. Halfway through the night she reailized she didnt know half the people there, and people were falling down crashing all over the place for the night. The next morning she woke everyone and told them they had to go home. Thats when she realized who was sleeping in her tub. He left as soon as he woke up.

Back to reading....

and time for reading. I read at night while sitting in bed. Its nice and cozy and i always get to the point where my eyes are doing that thing where they close but your brain still thinks you are reading? anyone else do that?

Cell, by Stephen King was awesome. I got really mad at the ending though. I love reading Sandra Brown books, she has just enough mystery, drama and romance for a really good read! I just finished reading "The Witness" by her and it was awesome. I also like Danielle Steele.

The first Sandra Brown book I read was, "Lucky." It was one of a trilogy. Really entertaining. Then I read another one but can't remember the name. The heroine woke up in the hospital, all bandaged from head to toe, unable to talk, and learned that everyone thought she was killed in the airplane crash, and that they think she is someone else. Remember that one?

After that, I was hooked big time for a while. That was probably 10 years ago and I haven't read one of her books since then. Do you have any recent ones to recommend? I'd guess that they're still a quick read and lots of fun since she always throws in a little spice and intrigue.

Suze Orman's "The workbook for the Young Fabulous and Broke." I just graduated from college and I figured Id better prepare.

Im waiting for Harry Potter7.

If you like good suspense novels try Tami Hoag novels. They are awesome with a little bit of sensuality thrown in. I think "Cry Wolf" was my favorite so far.

Happy Reading!

Try the public library for happy free reading!

I'm reading Fast food Nation. It's really interesting, I like those kind of books, and it's a motion picture but i haven't seen it. It's all about fast 'food', fast food manufacturing, marketing...etc. It's a really good read.

Also i haven't started, but it's next on my list. I bought Mindless Eating (after seing it on 20/20) it looks really interesting, they show why people eat more, in what circumstances (ex: in a wider glass even professional bartenders put more liquid than in a skinny glass)

As you can see both books about food, so i think everybody here would benefit from them. Fast food nation gets my thumbs up and Mindless eating looks really good..but like ive said i only skimmed through it.

If you have any questions about these books i'll try to answer them to the best of my ability

Great idea for a thread, Bubblebutt.

I just finished:

Leaving the Saints by Martha Beck -- really interesting story of a woman raised Mormon and all the dirty secrets of the Mormon church.

Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodruiguez. An American woman opened a beauty school in Afghanistan after 9/11. I wanted to read it because I heard her interviewed on NPR a few weeks ago and she sounded so kooky. Last week I heard another interview on NPR with one of her former students who now fears for her life because of all the secrets Deborah Rodriguez revealed about her and the other women there in the book. It's not the most well-written book, but it's quick reading and an interesting view of life under the burqa.

I'm in the middle of reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith. It's decent reading. She writes very well.

Just ordered The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. He writes mostly about food ethics. He's one of my favorite people on the planet.

Usually, I try to buy books at a local bookshop because I prefer to support them than some giant conglomerate bookstore. But Amazon is convenient when I'm looking for something that not everyone carries (which is often the case). I also highly recommend Alibris.com for used and out-of-print books.