stacks of books piled by your bedside

[Menehune Man]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

From the back cover...
Watership Down is a remarkable tale of exile and survival, of heroism and leadership... the epic novel of a group of adventurers who desert their doomed city, and venture forth against all odds on a quest for a new home, a sturdier future.

I've made it to chapter 11 out of 50 so far, and really enjoying it!
I wish I had more uninterupted reading time, but alas time is just so precious and packed with other worthy or even not so worthy consumers.

[LocoBoy]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

An earlier post mentions the Lord of the Rings trilogy which are all great. The book that preceeds them "The Hobbit" is gotta be one of my most fav books. I've read several times and never get bored. I think a movie for it would be cool, I only have the cartoon version on DVD .

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I finished Garlic and Sapphires and have just started 2 non-fictions--John Adams and The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece. I almost never read 2 books at once, but the 2nd book became available at the library and you gotta take 'em when they're available or the wait will be several months.

Regarding Garlic and Sapphires, it's basically a memoir of a woman who was the restaurant critic for the New York Times. She writes about the disguises she would don and the personas she would assume in order to accurately assess a restaurant's food and service. She tells of the lavish treatment given to her when she was not in costume but was recognized as the NYT food critic. She also dishes a heap of criticism on the execs at the paper. Happily for her, she escaped from the Times and is now the editor-in-chief for Gourmet magazine.

[Adri]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I'm making my way through a bunch of Diane Mott Davidson's books. It's fun but not too strenuous reading ~ murder mysteries involving a caterer and as a bonus, the books include recipes for the dishes mentioned in the stories.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Just finished The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece. It's a non-fiction book explaining how a painting of "The Taking of Christ" was discovered to be a true Caravaggio. I think it was meant to read like a great mystery novel that ends up being true, but instead it was quite boring and went off on a tangent about the beautiful female researcher who made the discovery.

I'm just starting a chick lit called In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner, and I've just put on hold for me at the library another non-fiction book called Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling about one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. The latter got 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon, so I think I'll have better luck with that one than I did with The Lost Painting.

[helen]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Halfway through Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove. Alternate history about invading alien race that comes to Earth during World War II. This is the eighth book in the series that takes place in the year 2031 where humans have made it the alien's home world.

[Linkmeister]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Halfway through Homeward Bound by Harry Turtledove. Alternate history about invading alien race that comes to Earth during World War II. This is the eighth book in the series that takes place in the year 2031 where humans have made it the alien's home world.

You're a stronger reader than I am. I gave up on Turtledove a while back (pre-WW II, I think ); I'm not sure whether it was the style that got me or what, but I just lost interest.

[Linkmeister]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

For whatever reason, I couldn't get into the Aubrey/Mathurin books, so I took 'em back to the library. Just read Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World, about the peace talks which resulted in the Treaty of Versailles and the redrawing of state boundaries throughout Europe and the Middle East. After reading it, it's no wonder there was A) World War II and B) an ongoing problem between Arabs and Jews in Palestine.

Also just finished Skinny Dip by Carl Hiassen. I got that at Safeway one day, and read it in two nights. Funny funny book.

[helen]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

You're a stronger reader than I am. I gave up on Turtledove a while back (pre-WW II, I think ); I'm not sure whether it was the style that got me or what, but I just lost interest.

I never read Turtledove's other works. What's really strange was that when I initially saw the first book In the Balance at a bookstore I thought it would be an interesting book for a friend of mines who happens to be a World War II buff.

So I brought the book for him and a few weeks later I was asking how's the book and he was mentioning that the alien invaders had problems coping with Earth's enviroment.

I figured I should least buy my own copy and start reading it and I was hooked on to the series.

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I just finished The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. As a sociologist and observer of the human condition, Gladwell deserves a star or two on the old Amazon five-star scale. As a marketer and packager, he scores a five plus. The gist of his book is that if something is popular, lots of people have bought into it. That's it. That's the whole point of his book. He backs up this thesis by citing such things as the resurgence of Hush Puppy shoes, the drop in crime in NYC in the 90s, the development of Sesame Street, the rise & fall of Airwalk Shoes, and--if you can believe it--the midnight ride of Paul Revere! The best proof that Gladwell understands "tipping points" and how to achieve them is the sales of this book. It was first published in Jan. 2002; and now more than 4 years later it's still on the bestsellers list!

[Linkmeister]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I never read Turtledove's other works. What's really strange was that when I initially saw the first book In the Balance at a bookstore I thought it would be an interesting book for a friend of mines who happens to be a World War II buff.

So I brought the book for him and a few weeks later I was asking how's the book and he was mentioning that the alien invaders had problems coping with Earth's enviroment.

I figured I should least buy my own copy and start reading it and I was hooked on to the series.

Heh. That would indeed be a surprise. "Alien invaders? Huh?"

I started with the World at War series post-Civil War and got up to 1918, I think. I didn't read "Guns of the South" about the future-worlders supplying the South with AK-47s, but that's not part of the series anyway.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I didn't read "Guns of the South" about the future-worlders supplying the South with AK-47s, but that's not part of the series anyway.

That's the only one of Turtledove's books I have read; I enjoyed the "alternative-history" aspect, but just haven't let myself get caught up in anything else by him.

[helen]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

Finished reading Homeward Bound yesterday. Not much historical figures got mention compared to other books. James Dean the actor lived longer and was in a movie that sounded like Saving Private Ryan but made in 1970's instead of the 1990's.

Matt Damon is still acting in 2031.

And while never mentioned by name Henry Kissinger is part of the team that goes to the alien's home world and is referred to as "The Doctor".

[Kings House]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

LoL - yup there's a stack of them

Ariel Gore's ATLAS OF THE HUMAN HEART is next!

[U'ilani]

Re: stacks of books piled by your bedside

I stopped reading In Her Shoes; didn't care for it. I also started and stopped Invitation to Provence and Flashpoint; one was boring, one was cliche-filled. I used to think I had to finish a book I had started, but I guess I'm maturing because I just don't give a darn anymore. If I don't like it by page 20 or so, I chuck it for another one.

I just started Lost Boys by Orson Scott Card. This one's a thriller instead of the sci-fi of the brilliant Enders Game. It's kind of sad so far--the dad just started a crappy job, the 8-yr-old son has no friends, the family has serious financial problems...