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Hey, I'm listening to The Road right now too. What do you think?

 

I read The Road sometime last year...and liked it.

 

Well, as much as one can "like" that sort of subject matter, lol...but I'm a fan of Cormac McCarthy's writing (some of it, anyway), and I enjoyed (again...not sure that's the right word) No Country for Old Men. (I'm one of the few people I've run into that appreciated the movie, too).

 

How far into it are you? What do you think of it so far?

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...I'm scrambling around trying to find and finish my copy of Northanger Abbey, for book club next Tuesday!

 

I haven't gotten that far into it, yet, but I'm enjoying it very much so far. I think it's the only Jane Austen book I haven't read, and I'm liking the (seemingly) different tone it has.

 

I'm also reading Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.

 

Interesting stuff.

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Various and sundry digital photography books and Imperium, by Robert Harris, which I may never finish because I fall asleep within minutes of picking it up - not Mr. Harris's fault, I'm just... tired. sleep018.gif

 

Oh, please recommend some good digital photography bks! I'm trying to make the move gracefully from my old SLR to my new Canon.

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As a departure, I read Tobias Wolff's Old School last week-end and picked up his This Boy's Life last-night.

 

 

I've never read anything by Tobias Wolff that I didn't like. He's one of the best contemporary short story writers out there.

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I've never read anything by Tobias Wolff that I didn't like. He's one of the best contemporary short story writers out there.

 

I'm quite enjoying his literary style and sentence construction. His style is spare, yet descriptive and often times poetic. Not an easy thing to pull-off, being simple and penetratingly artful at the same time.

 

I kept reading lines in Old School and stopping to think, "what an interesting turn of phrase...and yet it's so clean". Unusual.

 

Bill

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Currently I'm reading Love Walked Among Us by Paul E. Miller and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. And I just got Pot Luck by Emile Zola from the library yesterday.

Penrod by Booth Tarkington is our read-aloud.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot Sonya Shafer's Laying Down the Rails.

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Just finished Big Money by P.G. Wodehouse - an unusually funny one!

 

Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - I keep re-reading the bits I just read and thinking about them....for a short book it is taking me a really long time to finish!

 

Prisoner of Azkaban, for the nth time. I read some Harry Potter when I can't think of what else to read! I was in the park with the kids and I needed an easy read.

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I'm listening to "To Say Nothing Of The Dog" by Connie Willis. I think I would have been better off with an actual book for that one as I keep wanting to rewind and listen to something again to make sure I got it.

 

Oh - I think that you should get a copy of this book - I would have been lost listening to it! And you should definitely get Three Men in a Boat - I am laughing just thinking about it!!!

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Just finished "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan, recommended by the good folk of this board as a good read for my 11yo DS. I had to check it out first, ya know. ;)

 

Listening to "Crocodile on the Sandbank" by Elizabeth Peters, same source, thank you very much.

 

Slowly working my way through a lot of other non-fiction. I keep 11 or 12 going at once, so I can have just the thing to fit my mood. For example:

 

1) "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" by Max Weber -- surprisingly readable, and similar in tone to a lot of recent books like "Culture Matters" by Lawrence Harrison and "Human Accomplishment" by Charles Murray.

 

2) "The Story of the Bahamas" by Paul Albury. We visited the Bahamas a few years ago where I started this book, and recently decided to finish it. Did you know the first settlers to have a government were Puritans who formed the first republic in the New World, and forbad religious persecution? What kind of puritans were these???

 

3) "Stiff" by Mary Roach

 

4) "Letters to a Young Conservative" by Dinesh D'Souza

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I'm reading "The Garden of Last Days" by Andre Dubus III. It's pretty good. I just finished "Snuff" by Chuck Palahniuk, which made me feel kind of icky. It was funny though.

 

I recently read In Defense of Food and highly recommend it.

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I'm currently engrossed in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien - my husband got me into this series (novels about the early 19th c Royal Navy). I'm on the third book (of the 20 or so in the series).

 

I JUST finished 1984 by Orwell. I wish I had read that book in high school!

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The Latin-Centered Curriculum by our very own Dr. Campbell (Plaid Dad). Highly recommended! Excellent history of classical education.

 

I'm also reading David McCollough's A Path Between the Seas about the building of the Panama Canal. I plan to read everything David McCollough has written.

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I've picked up Eat, Pray, Love again and this time I think I can get through it. First time I picked it up it didn't interest me.

I tried reading A River Runs Through It and I just don't like it. I liked the movie, but the book is too much about fishing, maybe it's a guy book.

 

I'm also reading Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie

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Time and Time Again, by Jack Finney, the sequel to Time After Time.

 

I enjoyed both of those books. You might take a look at Replay by Ken Grimwood which is another favorite of mine.

 

See: Replay for details.

 

I'm currently engrossed in the Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien - my husband got me into this series (novels about the early 19th c Royal Navy). ...

 

My husband also loves that series!

 

I've just begun Elizabeth Lowell's latest book, Blue Smoke and Murder.

 

Regards,

Kareni

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I saw Deer Hunting With Jesus in your list and thought, "Nonfiction huh?" I had to look it up on amazon.com. It looks very interesting. What did you think of it?

 

My hardback copy is chock full of underlining, highlighting, and tape flags to denote "must read" sections for friends and family.

 

In the interest of not igniting political haranguing on the board, suffice to say that it helped me to understand the political mindset of many of the people I grew up around. The author delves into the history and culture of the Ulster Scots to explain certain values they hold.

 

At its heart, it about the unacknowledged and often invisible classism in our country. It is depressing yet sadly funny at times and tells truths that are uncomfortable to confront. It reminds of an angrier down-home version of Barbara Ehrenreich's "Nickel and Dimed."

 

Thus, I enthusiastically recommend it.

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I have missed my friends there, it's been years. I love David Eddings.

Also have a couple others going, Age of Opportunity, can't tell you the author, it is buried somewhere.

World War 1 by somebody and Cleopatra by Margaret George. And I wanted to plow through my Elizabeth Peter's collection again too, the Amelia Peabody mysteries.

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I just finished Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Johnston's Colony of Unrequited Dreams. So Pamuk's My Name Is Red awaits me tonight.

 

I have also found myself In The Arena with Nixon, and having a Forever Summer with Nigella Lawson...apparently the family is a little disappointed that no actual cooking has resulted from the latter,...but I digress...

 

Finally, I am pre-reading the kids school literature and still attempting to carve out a quiet weekend for just Joyce,Ulysses and me!

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Oh, please recommend some good digital photography bks! I'm trying to make the move gracefully from my old SLR to my new Canon.

 

I think Scott Kelby books are what I've heard recommended most often. Gotta get around to looking for some myself. I looked at one time around town and couldn't find any. Guess I'll have to try amazon.com.

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