What are you reading?

[rowjimmy]

just finished harry potter, i'm now starting kerouac's dharma bums

The Dharma Bums is possibly my favorite Kerouac. Closely seconded by The Subterraneans and Big Sur. If you Enjoy The Dharma Bums, I recommend moving directly to Desolation Angels. It picks up directly on the heels of Dharma Bums...


Myself, I'm currently reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. It's a memoir about growing up in poverty with an alcoholic pops and a dreamer of a mother who, together barely manage to raise their three children... It's been pretty fascinating. My favorite thing about it is how, when writing about her very young years, she applies the rose-colored filter of her former naiveté. This keeps the judgement of her adult self from spoiling the memories which, to the reader, can sometimes seem appalling.

[nab]

I recently read "The Ancient Engineers" By L Spraque DeCamp

It's a little dated, but still has a lot of good information and a pleasant read.

I'll check that out, thanks.

[Caravan2001]

The Dharma Bums is possibly my favorite Kerouac. Closely seconded by The Subterraneans and Big Sur. If you Enjoy The Dharma Bums, I recommend moving directly to Desolation Angels. It picks up directly on the heels of Dharma Bums...

All faves of caravan...somewhat related, and a good read is " The First Third" which is the Neal Cassady autobiography.....check it out

[sophist]

01) on the road
02) the Dharma bums

:-)

[nab]

Visions of Cody is the full realization of Kerouac's spontaneous prose style, it is also the most inaccessible.  My Kerouac list would probably read:

1. Desolation Angels
2. On the Road
3. The Dharma Bums
4. Big Sur
5. Visions of Cody
6. The short story "October in the Railroad Earth"
7. Some of the Dharma


My favorite biography of Kerouac would have to be "Memory Babe" by Gerald Nicosia. 
http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Babe-Critical-Biography-Kerouac/dp/0520085698

[cactusfan]

I need a new book.

I prefer non-fiction, historical, more of an archeological focus as opposed to historian.  I will not rule out good historical analysis from an historian though.

Any suggestions?

for straight up archaeology there's always Lucy by Donald Johansson, about the discovery of the then oldest australopithecus fossil in ethiopa. it's an exciting story, mainly because the guy is such an egomaniac.

definitely read, if you haven't already, Guns Germs And Steel by Jared Diamond, which basically lays out in 500 pages why different societies around the globe developed at such different paces (it's all about geography, he argues brilliantly). an incredible book.

another classic, though we're getting pretty tangential to archaeology here, is Cadillac Desert by Marc Reisner, about water in the american west. rivers, dams, acquifers, everything about water. it's a great read, fascinating and worrisome.

[doctorron]

Hey,

If it has not been mentioned, read Pynchon's SUPERB "Gravity's Rainbow."  Get ready for a trip....

Also anything by Vonnegut (RIP) is wonderful.

Ron

[Guyute]

I bet you are all dying for this one:

[converse29]

Visions of Cody is the full realization of Kerouac's spontaneous prose style, it is also the most inaccessible.  My Kerouac list would probably read:

1. Desolation Angels
2. On the Road
3. The Dharma Bums
4. Big Sur
5. Visions of Cody
6. The short story "October in the Railroad Earth"
7. Some of the Dharma



My favorite biography of Kerouac would have to be "Memory Babe" by Gerald Nicosia. 
http://www.amazon.com/Memory-Babe-Critical-Biography-Kerouac/dp/0520085698

I think "The Town And The City" was a solid book. Of course, sometimes,people will bring up the Thomas Wolfe comparison.... :-D

[rowjimmy]

I think "The Town And The City" was a solid book. Of course, sometimes,people will bring up the Thomas Wolfe comparison.... :-D

I quite enjoyed it...

Of course, I think I've read them all at this point.

[sophist]

So I just started Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, which I've heard good things, and I'm about 100 pages into it and I like it so far.  It is over 1000 pages though, so my opinion is subject to change.  I know cactusfan and few other members are going to puke upon reading my post.   :-D
So I'm ready to be flamed for willingly reading this book. 

However, after Atlas I plan to read some Chomsky.  I picked up (in paperback) Hegemony or Survival, which I'm also looking forward to reading. 

So I finished Atlas Shrugged yesterday.  I'm going to start a political thread about the politics of Rand, so look for it, as it would be a better place to discuss the book. 

I also just started Hegemony or Survival by Noam Chomsky, and I like it thus far.   

[tet]

on a Daniel Silva kick...  some really brilliant stuff if you're into espionage/thriller/historical shit.

just finished The Kill Artist, picked up the next in that series: The English Assassin. 

i'd start reading his stuff from the beginning first, cause it all builds up and connects even though some are not completely related.  start with The Unlikely Spy if you haven't read his stuff yet. 

[ooeygooeypheeshstyx]

reading Dharma Bums...mmm beatnik buddhism

[phil]

reading Dharma Bums...mmm beatnik buddhism

one of my all-time favorites

as for me, i'm re-reading walden...never really dug thoreau's style the first time around, but he's growing on me

[tet]

finished the English Assassin, which was also great.  Decided to re-read Animal Farm too, which I hadn't read since high school.  What a brilliant book.  There's some really dark humor in there that i certainly didn't fully appreciate last time.


Next up: The Rum Diaries, by HST