What book are you currently reading?

[Bruno@MT]

You guys reading Robert Jordan or George RR Martin should check out Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay.

Martin and Kay are indeed 2 superstars imo.

I have read Jordan up to the 9th book I think. Then I decided to not read any of his work until the series is complete. If that ever happens in my lifetime of course. It certainly didn't happen in his lifetime.

Imo the series is fin up until the 4th or 5th volume. From then on he introduces so many additional plots and sub plots, not to mention hundreds of additional characters, none of which contribute anything to the main story line. It's his own damn fault for letting the whole thing unravel so much.

His books also have the problem that you need to re-read the previous ones in order to be able to follow the plot, and given the long times between books, this was problematic. The last straw was the last book I read, in which hundreds of pages were wasted on minor plot lines, and then a major event like the cleansing of the taint was compressed to a handful of pages. At that point I decided to completely ignore the series until such time as the final chapter has been written and published.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Currently reading 'Whirlwind' by Joseph R Garber.
Garber was one of the best writers in the spy / thriller genre imo.
Sadly he died in 2005.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ayurvedic Healing
A comprehensive Guide
By Dr David Frawley

 

[Big Don]

Ayurvedic Healing
A comprehensive Guide
By Dr David Frawley

Had to look up the word Ayurvedic... Interesting!

 

[bushidomartialarts]

"Beat the Reaper" by Josh Bazell.

It has kenpo. It has sharks. It has a guy using kenpo on sharks.

Vulgar, violent and horrible in more ways than I can count. I recommend it highly.

First line: "So it's five AM, I'm on my way to work when I stop to watch a pigeon fight a rat in the snow when some &$^#head tries to rob me. Naturally he has a gun."

 

[girlbug2]

Day By Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne. It's zombie fiction. Pretty good so far.

 

[Big Don]

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles, It was in the back seat of the Tahoe, on the way to my Black Belt test, I picked it up to calm my nerves

 

[Bumblebee]

Day By Day Armageddon by J.L. Bourne. It's zombie fiction. Pretty good so far.

I have this book, but I got distracted and stopped reading it.

Right now, I'm re-learning Schaum's Outline for Intermediate Algebra. Yay! Going back to school!

 

[Big Don]

Still reading Greg Iles, now I'm up to Black Cross (WWII fiction)

 

[Cryozombie]

I'm currently Re-reading the "Wild Cards" series, Edited by George RR Martin.

The series relates an alternate history of the earth after World War II. In 1946 an alien virus that rewrites human DNA is accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It kills 90% of those who come into contact with it (referred to as 'drawing the Black Queen'). However, 9% mutate into deformed creatures (known as 'Jokers') and the remaining 1% gain superpowers (known as 'Aces'). There is also a class known as 'deuces' - Aces who have acquired useless or ridiculous powers, such as the ability to levitate up to two feet, or to grow body hair at will. The airborne virus eventually spreads all over the world, affecting tens of thousands.
The Wild Cards universe is distinguished from most superhero comic book fiction by several thematic elements. Early on the authors decided to pursue a more realistic, or naturalistic approach to storytelling. Few of the Ace characters in Wild Cards have secret identities, or are traditional crime-fighting superheroes in the mold of Spider-Man or Batman. Wild Cards remained set within a recognizably real world with recognizably real people and pop culture and, because of the historical setting of many of the stories, had characters who aged realistically during the course of the series. The majority of Wild Card victims live in the run-down ghetto of Jokertown, while the fortunate Aces become glamorous celebrities. In addition, Wild Cards took a more graphic approach to violence, and particularly to sex, than most superhero stories do.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Currently reading 'Inferno' by Dante Alighieri. It is written in old English so it took me a couple of pages to catch on to the rythm so that it became readable. But once I locked in to that, the tale kinda drew me in as I follow Dante on his journey through Hell.

 

[knuckleheader]

When I get done reading this, I'm gonna lend it to tellner

 

[Big Don]

Mortal Fear by Greg Iles

 

[SensibleManiac]

Greg Isles is awesome! Be sure to check out Footprints Of God.

 

[Big Don]

Greg Isles is awesome! Be sure to check out Footprints Of God.

I'll get to it, I try to read in the order the books were written.

 

[tellner]

• Catherine Valente's The Orphan's Tale and Cities of Coin and Spice
• Deboran Blum's The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
• Nixon and McCaw's The Compleat Distiller
• Tony Kohlenberg's Snort
• Hamza Yusuf's The Purification of the Heart
• Otto Bettman's The Good Old Days - They Were Terrible

Valente's books are intricate, poetic stories-within-a-story like the Thousand Nights and a Night.

The Poisoner's Handbook is a fascinating if gruesome look at how forensic medicine became a science including Prohibition-poisoned liquor, leaded gasoline, arsenic-laden medicines and why cyanide is a lousy way to kill someone

The Compleat Distiller is the bible for anyone who is interested in distilling. I'm applying for an experimental license to make fuel alcohol.

Snort is about the go-to Intrusion Detection/Intrusion Prevention System

Yusuf's book is a deceptively simple and very deep book by a mystic who hasn't forgotten how to talk to the rest of us

The Good Old Days is a historical piece about the little things we forget about the Golden Age of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Fiction- Sharpe's Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell.

Non Fiction- Mutiny on the Bounty. And a book of war correspondences compiled by John Keegan, the name escapes me at the moment.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Rereading

The Secret Power Within, Zen solutions for real problems by Chuck Norris

Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams

 

[CoryKS]

Hey, Keith Vargo, I finally picked up a copy of Philosophy of Fighting. Pretty interesting so far.

Also reading The Ruins by Scott Smith. so far just meh.

 

[Big Don]

Rush Limbaugh An Army of One by Zev Chafets. Well written, interesting.