What are you reading?

[aishah]

started the revolution will not be funded, edited by incite! women of color against violence. and the new jim crow: mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness by michelle alexander.

[EnderD_503]

[Kätzchen]

I have been reading from several authors (Swedish or Danish, by origin) but I guess what I miss reading the most or perhaps even miss in face to face conversations is unvarnished, completely transparent exchange of ideas between people who might agree or tend to disagree; but certainly I miss the verbal or textual exchange in an unvarnished format.

That's not to say I miss ugliness or language that pushes the envelope of incivility. What I mean is that it would be nice to read or participate in an exchange of ideas or dreams or whatever in unvarnished ways.

That's what I miss the most: when reading here or there or anywhere
(conversations included, too).

[Fancy]

10 more days until the library summer program ends!

Now reading:
Farther Away - Jonathan Franzen

Favorite passage in the book so far, "If you dedicate your existence to being likable, however, and if you adopt whatever cool persona is necessary to make it happen, it suggests that you've despaired of being loved for who you really are. And if you succeed in manipulating other people into liking you, it will be hard not to feel, at some level, contempt for those people, because they've fallen for your shtick. Those people exist to make you feel good about yourself, but how good can your feeling be when it's provided by people you don't respect?"

Buddhism for Beginners - Thubten Chodron


and two in the kitchen for a little light summer canning:
175 best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades - Linda Amendt

Pickles to Relish - Beverly Alfeld (her full name is longer than the title)

Just got a Kindle today and can't decide whether to start the first of the Hunger Games trilogy

Lost London - Richard Guard
A Race for Madmen - Chris Sidwells (non-fiction about Tour de France)
The Stranger's Child - Allan Hollinghurst

or

The first in the Marketplace series - Laura Antoniou

[clay]

Am enjoying this set of books...a gift to me...smiles....

[Reader]

"In One Person", by John Irving.

Funny, well-written and interesting. How can you beat that?

[Semantics]

Originally Posted by pajara

About to start The Difference Engine.

I got this book for Kindle after seeing your post and I'm curious about how you liked it. I liked it a lot- but the charm is definitely in the details.


Right now I'm reading Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. It's hysterical.

[tonaderspeisung]

starship troopers - robert a. heinlein

i have to admit - for a book written in 1960 it still reads very modern
and i totally get why the odd man at the va hospital was so keen to recommend it

[nycfem]

Wow, I ran into the author that I wrote about below whose book I loved so much in my local natural food store today! I got excited in the way others might if they ran into Lady Gaga or Obama! I admit that I said nothing memorable or witty. I simply GUSHED!

Originally Posted by nycfembbw

I read two great books, both of which I strongly recommend.

1) The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt by Jon-Jon Goulian

This is a memoir by a quirky brilliant hilarious genderqueer. A real stand out! If you've ever felt like a misfit but followed your own path anyway and laughed at yourself to keep the sadness from overtaking you, you'll love this book! It's truly a unique read!

Amazon.com: The Man in the Gray Flannel Skirt (9781400068111): Jon-Jon Goulian: Books

[QueenofSmirks]

"Introduction to Criminal Justice". One chapter left and I'm done with this class, thank GAWD!

[SoulShineFemme]

I'm just getting started on Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. It's light and refreshing after a particularly exhaustive book I finally finished about the possibility of finding Atlantis.

[Talon]

Please Kill Me: The uncensored oral history of punk.
by Legs McNeil & Gillian McCaine

[sara-bera]

A gigantic book of short erotic fiction.

[calibri]

Currently reading "Start Where You Are" by Pema Chodron, which is a wonderful Buddhist text that benefits from having some background knowledge but is still very accessible if you don't know much about it. Highly recommended - it will enrich you and possibly change your life, whilst NOT being another vague self-help book.

I've always loved fiction, but I learn so much from non-fiction that I find I'm drawn to it more often

[The JD]

I'm on a Sookie Stackhouse spree- finished From Dead to Worse, now reading Dead and Gone. I haven't been a big fan of Charlaine Harris' writing- I've mostly stuck with the books because I like the HBO series so much (and things are so whacked out on THAT show right now I thought maybe the books might shed some light...but, um, no.). Anyway, I noticed the writing in From Dead to Worse, and the one after seemed better- the jokes were less forced and less corny, there were more cool pop culture references, and all the characters felt like they fit together a bit more seamlessly. I began to wonder if maybe From Dead to Worse was the first of the book series to be written after the HBO series began, and sure enough, yes...it was. It's almost like Charlaine Harris has seen now seen the edgier style of the show, and has adjusted her writing to match it. Interesting concept, really.

I also finished Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. Fantastic book... validating, at least for this introvert. Lots of details of psychological studies, with a fair amount of neurobiology thrown in, as well as the author's personal anecdotes. If you've ever sat in class getting annoyed by the talkative students who aren't actually adding anything worthwhile to the class discussion, or if you'd like some pointers on how to maximize your own quiet strengths, this book is for you.

Next up: The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, As Written by Our Genetic Code by Sam Kean.

[Fancy]

Ok, quoting my own, but who cares, right?

I'm tickled that the library just received a copy of Adrienne Rich's Dream of a Common Language! Heading to the library today to check it out before anyone else. How nerdy am I?

Originally Posted by Fancy

10 more days until the library summer program ends!

Now reading:
Farther Away - Jonathan Franzen

Favorite passage in the book so far, "If you dedicate your existence to being likable, however, and if you adopt whatever cool persona is necessary to make it happen, it suggests that you've despaired of being loved for who you really are. And if you succeed in manipulating other people into liking you, it will be hard not to feel, at some level, contempt for those people, because they've fallen for your shtick. Those people exist to make you feel good about yourself, but how good can your feeling be when it's provided by people you don't respect?"

Buddhism for Beginners - Thubten Chodron


and two in the kitchen for a little light summer canning:
175 best Jams, Jellies, Marmalades - Linda Amendt

Pickles to Relish - Beverly Alfeld (her full name is longer than the title)

[nycfem]

Wow, one of my favorite authors, David Rakoff, a gay humor/political writer (similar to the style of David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs) just died at age 47. I'm so very sad about this. I would not only read his writing but listen to him read it on the radio and on CDs. The death of an author we love is it's own grief, and a deep one at that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/bo....html?emc=eta1

[Jesse]

Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

[Soft*Silver]

some circus book..its about real magic. Its fiction. Its good. Its new.