I thought it might be interesting to start a thread on what people are reading: what are you reading, what do you think of it, and why? I spend at least two hours per day reading for pleasure, and am always interested in what other people are reading and what they recommend. I’m not sure there is any such thing as unicycling literature, but if there is - let’s hear about it.
I will start the ball rolling.
Right now, I am about four pages into Cormac McCarthy’s “Suttree”. I had never read any of his work until I saw the movie “No Country for Old Men”, which I really enjoyed, both as a portrait of a psychopath, and a comment upon the difficulty in distinguishing between opportunistic and irresponsible (but well meaning) behaviour and psychopathy. I read the book, and found it to be an equally enjoyable exploration of the same themes. I was fascinated by how closely the dialogue in the book matched the screenplay, as that is (in my experience) very unusual.
Once I find an author interesting, I tend to read a lot of their work. I subsequently read most of what I could get of McCarthy’s work and was particularly impressed (more than impressed, breathless in the face of such literary virtuosity) by some of his - almost abstract - descriptive passages in particular, in “Blood Meridian”.
I moved on and was reading other stuff, when I came across a review that mentioned some of his earlier work, and was particularly complementary about “Suttree”, so when I saw it in a bookstore yesterday, I picked it up.
The first couple of pages have left me gasping for air: I could read them over and over. It is a brilliantly poetic descriptive passage describing a fisherman fishing from a skiff in the oily waters of an industrial estuary. (I think that’s what it’s about… I’ve only read the first few pages.) If this thread has legs, I will say more in the future.
For my book group I’m reading Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things. For one of my classes I’m reading Everything is Miscellaneous in my car I’m listening to Chuck’s Survivor. I also read a dozen or more journal articles a week.
Now I am going to reveal my ignorance. HP Lovecraft? Sci-fi?
I love really good sci-fi… stuff that explores the very edges of our understanding of cosmology and quantum physics. Also, stuff that pushes the envelope on medical technology and ethics.
I quite like tentacles too… Sliced thin, in a spicy tomato sauce if possible.
Wang: a sci-fi novel from a french author. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bordage : no english translation at that time:(
edit: browsing wikipedia I just read that his wife died in a car accident in India in january 09.
She was one of my sister in law’s friend, I met her once. We chatted about Pierre’s first books wich I had read the first time they were published. I’m pretty saddened now.
Right now i’m reading The Hobbit, my Bible, school stuff, random internet stuff, and various Bible studies. I’m hoping to pick up a few more good books soon. So many books to little time!
I used to think just like you when I was 19… Till I realized I would NEVER be able to read all the cool books in my lifetime.
Now I read less (mostly because I have less time than I used to) => I spend more time choosing my next book.
I’ve constantly had my nose in 26 and counting poker books since June. Mark Blade and Phil Helmuth are my current favorite authors on the topic, but I doubt any of it would interest non-players. I have been catching up on the Blackjack series by Osamu Tesuka(my favorite author/illustrator) as well, which is absolutely amazing if you enjoy a good manga. Outside of that, I have been trying to get through “The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music”, but I’ve beensomewhat unsuccessful since most of the time I get bored while reading it and end up shredding on the KP3 and microkorgXL instead.
I’m on my third reading of “Sometimes a Great Notion” by Ken Kesey. I think I love it so much because it reminds me of growing up in the Pacific Northwest. There are many other reasons to love this book, though… bigger-than-life characters, classic rivalries, stream-of-consciousness prose, vivid metaphors and stunning displays of nature. Books like this make me wonder if I can even see the world around me, when others can describe it so perfectly…
I’m also reading “Introduction to Algorithms” by Cormen et. al. I can’t believe I’ve been programming this long without having developed a fundamental understanding of algorithmic development, or a formal language for expressing algorithms (a.k.a. mathematics). It appears this class turns the stomachs of many CS / CE students, but it really gets my juices flowing! It almost makes me want to run off into the hills and study math until I can prove P=NP.
I’m reading the latest Minette Walters called ‘flesh on the bone’ or something like that. It’s a ‘psychological thriller’. one of the heros is a clincial psychologist. I am a bit sad and have a weakness for books that feature clinical psychologists.
I’m also reading a book called ‘Adolescent Coping’.
I am reading “a touch of Class” by Bertrand Meyer
Oops sorry it’s a technical book and I usually prefer fiction!
the funny thing is that I am a frenchman reading a book written in english by a frenchman!
in the realm of hackerdom if you want your book to be read you must write it in English! (I promise: my next book will be in French!)
