Books you're currently reading???

[queequeger]

Just finished A Game of Thrones by George RR Martin, and I'm going on to the 3rd book of his series. I also finished Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett, and I'm gonna start The Fountainhead soon, god help me.

[Cloud]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Okay, not strictly speaking a book, but I am just in the middle of reading an journal article on the Coventry ribbon weavers and their disputes with the Warehouse Men in the last decades of the 18th century. Fascinating stuff.

It sounds interesting to me!

[thealphajerk]

"rant" by chuck palahniuk .

i hope they make this one into a movie too, fight club was awesome

[Happy Monkey]

I just got the new Thomas Covenant book and the first two volumes of Absolute Sandman for my birthday.

[DanaC]

Ooooh. I really enjoyed the new Covenant book.

Oh and Good Omens is an excellent read, very funny.

@Cloud. What fascinates me about their dispute is that a recent series of strikes by postal workers in the UK carries real echoes of the Ribbonweavers' complaints. One of the things that the Ribbonweavers were fighting against, was the cultural shift away from them being paid purely for what they produced (piece) and instead being required to work to a particular timetable. Where traditionally they'd been able to set their own pace, maybe working slowly at the beginning of the week and picking up the pace towards the end, under the warehouse men they were expected to be there at the opening of the day and stay there til the close. One young lad was refused permission to go outside and get a mug of beer: this set off a minor dispute as such freedom was their customary right.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to the radio and the topic was the upcoming postal strike. One of the things the postal workers were striking over was the removal of their customary right to work at their ow pace. It's always been the case that if postal workers either delivering or sorting, arrived very early and worked through at a steady pace, finishing their work by mid afternoon, they were then free to leave. Essentially, they worked early and fast to buy themselves an early finish. Management have been pressuring branches to do away with this freedom, saying that they are paid for 35 1/2 hours a week, and if they finish their work in less time then they should look to see if anybody else needs help, or other work needs doing. There are differences, but essentially this is a clash between a traditional custom of being paid for your work (piece) rather than your time, and the employer-led culture of being paid for both your work and your time (stint).

I sat on the train reading the piece on the Coventry ribbon weavers and the parrallels just about blew my mind. I love moments like that, it's why I study history

[Shawnee123]

Just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns, written by Khaled Hosseini who wrote The Kite Runner. Loved both of them. Almost through Rumspringa: To Be or Not To Be Amish , a documentary by Tom Schactman. Very interesting.
Not sure what to read next.

[wolf]

I went through a pile of mysteries provided by one of our nurses ...

Prayers for Rain - David Lehane (pretty typical hard-boiled detective novel, with tough dames and quirky sidekicks abounding.)

Rough Justice - Lisa Scottoline (lawyer with an icky client, set in Philadelphia, so there's lots of local flavor. The author was raised on the Main Line)

Grave Secrets - Kathy Reichs (It seems that she ends her books very abruptly, almost as though she realizes she's approaching her max word count and has to wind things up too quickly, very out of balance with the pacing through the rest of the book)

Now working on Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear

I actually abandoned a book in mid stream. Early stream, really. Fantastic Voyage: Microcosm by Kevin J. Anderson. Remind me not to read sequels by someone other than the original author.

[Ibby]

Ooh darwin's radio is a great book. Darwin's Children is good too.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by wolf

Grave Secrets - Kathy Reichs (It seems that she ends her books very abruptly, almost as though she realizes she's approaching her max word count and has to wind things up too quickly, very out of balance with the pacing through the rest of the book)

That's the impression I've had as well. She's much better at building a story than concluding it.

[BigV]

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, upon the enthusiastic recommendation of Shawnee123.

Thanks Shawnee!

[Cloud]

Stupid Sock Creatures Very funny and clever; and gonna make some for Christmas.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by BigV

The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster, upon the enthusiastic recommendation of Shawnee123.

Thanks Shawnee!

That is one of the most brilliant children's books of all time, right up there with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Some of my other kidlit favorites include The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper (movie is coming out in December, I think), and The Green Knowe books by L.M. Boston. The first one is Children of Green Knowe.

[Razzmatazz13]

The Phantom Tollbooth is my all time favorite book. I've read it so many times that the binding on my copy has worn off.

[Ibby]

oh i love phantom tollbooth too, its amazing. you people read good books.

[BigV]

While I have your attention, I would like to reemphasize, as I pointed out here, that I bought the book at a wonderful brick and mortar bookstore in my home town. Yes, I know Amazon is here too. But there is something special about wandering the aisles of a bookstore, browsing among the stacks and shelves of books. There is something magical about this store. Walking around here is like a tour through an Aladdin's cave of textual treasures, with unimaginable riches before and behind. If there were only food in here, I would never have to leave.

Uh-oh. I may have spoken too soon.

PS--Tink and I met Colin Powell here, when he signed two copies of his book for us. He spoke directly with us for a minute or two when he noticed us signing to our son. It was awesome.