What is everone reading ?

“oh, i've heard "The Lovely Bones" is really good, i should read that soon.

i just finished Audrey Niffenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife," and it was sooooooo good!! in terms of the story, and in terms of her writing, it's the best i've read in a really long time. a total tear-jerker though...i think i cried for like 2 hours at the end. LOL!”

“George Carlin

'Napalm and Silly Putty'


I'm in the mood for comedy in recent days!


Hard to read in public, though. People stare when you laugh like an idiot...”

“I just started "History of the Adirondacks" by Alfred L. Donaldson. This is a reprint of the 1920's book by Donaldson, which was one of the first comprehensive books about the area. I just hope I will be able to spot the inaccuracies that exist in the books.”

“"Noah's Flood," by William Ryan and Walter Pitman.”

“"Smokehouse Ham, Spoonbread, and Scuppernong Wine" by Joe Earl Dabney. A wonderful history of Appalacian people and society and their food. GOOOOOOD stuff! Mr. Dabney also wrote two treatises on the beverages of the Appalacians ("Mountain Spirits" and "More Mountain Spirits") that I highly recommend.”

“Listening to Michner's Cheasapeke (SP?) on tape, the full version. The local library got it on an interlibrary loan for me from Enid, OK. They don't renew, you only get a couple weeks to listen to it so I've got it in the tape player all the time.”

“Lovely bones was an awesome read I just finished that and then read Girl with Pearl earring I am also finally reading Bill Bryson's book "A walk in the woods"”

“various Arizona Highways magazines from the thrift store, Outdoors in Arizona, and Geology of Arizona, Homesteading and CSPAN :)”

“Hard to read in public, though. People stare when you laugh like an idiot..."
Treebeard
08:17:36 AM
03/31/04

At least you have an excuse. I'm not usually doing anything in particular when I laugh like that in public. Very embarassing, but some of the things the voices tell me are just so funny I can't help it.”

“Reading "empire wilderness" by Robert Kaplan (my favorite author). An interesting book on the future of America. A unique perspective. Kind of a downer in a way, though most of his books are a tad depressing. I will be reading another of his books when I finish this one. Its about war in Ethiopia, I believe its called "surrender or die" or some such uplifting title.”

“im finally getting around to reading Lord of the Rings...finished the hobbitt, and fellowship..starting on two towers now...also just read A Season on the Appalachain trail again for the 5th time...”

“"A tale of Two Cities", by Charles Dickens. Described as confusing, pointless, and stupid by the entire junior class.”

“Just read "Big Sky" by A B Guthrie Jr. It may be the best book I have EVER read. Can't wait to get that guy's other books.

Just started "Darma Bums" by Kerouac for the umpteenth time (user name, heh heh).”

“A few days ago I started reading Henry Rollins' "See A Grown Man Cry. Now Watch Him Die" again for the second time... Henry created a very powerful, intense read, but it certainly isn't for everyone. Don't look for a happy ending 'cause there no happiness or ending.”

“I read "Get in the Van", but I don't have anything else by Henry.”

“I'm rereading Dune by Frank Herbert. I've already read all 6 of the original books and I know better now to quit after Children of Dune.”

“I read the first four...after God Emperor of Dune, I didn't think there was much more that could be added.

Apparently Herbert disagreed with my opinion...”

“bitpusher...
"Get In The Van" is a great history lesson. Henry actually won a Grammy for the spoken word version of that book. "Unwelcomed Songs" is very much in the same vein as "Get In The Van", look that one up some time.”

“Yah, he mentions that on one of his spoken word albums...can't remember which one. I need to pull some of them out some time and listen to them again. Funny, scary stuff.”

“Angela's Ashes”

“Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian.”

“"Smokehouse Ham, Spoonbread, and Scuppernong Wine" by Joe Earl Dabney. A wonderful history of Appalacian people and society and their food. GOOOOOOD stuff! Mr. Dabney also wrote two treatises on the beverages of the Appalacians ("Mountain Spirits" and "More Mountain Spirits") that I highly recommend."
treebait
10:58:45 AM
03/31/04

Tree, you should check out the "Foxfire" books, if you haven't already. There are 5-6 of them I think, just google "Foxfire books" and they should come up on Amazon. Similar to the ones you mentioned. A lot of the stuff in them is taken from the mountains of eastern Ky. where I grew up. I enjoyed them. They make me homesick.”

“"The Art of Happiness", Dalai Lama

Some of it is quite counter to my faith, and worldview. And I don't buy some of the primary notions he proposes. Two of which include that the primary purpose of people is the pursuit of happiness. And second, that people are basically good; free of evil by nature. That people, left to their own course, will come out where they will do no harm to others and cause no pain. That's my read of his material, anyway.

Still, I'm giving some of his ideas a chance and some of them are refreshing, nonetheless.

I do have to wonder what's really going on deep inside the heart of Mr. Lama, though. There's a proverb I think of sometimes that reads, "The heart is desperately wicked. Who can know it?"”

“ZEN - I discovered the Guthrie books while doing a search on amazon.com. I also have the "The Way West" I haven't read the last one in the series yet. chili is reading both of them now. McMurtry definitely read these before he wrote "Lonesome Dove," IMO. I loved the Guthrie books.

treebait - that sounds like an interesting book. I think I'll check it out.”

“Just finished "Under The Banner of Heaven" by Jon Krakauer. I highly recommend it. It's about the Mormon faith, and especially Mormon fundamentalism. If you think the Islamic fundamentalists are a fun group, you will love this book.”

“oohhh, i still need to read that one, Dunadan!”

“Hey, monkeywoman. Be prepared to be creeped out. It's an excellent book, though.”

“Stickman Walking, I thought there were about 14 of those things! I'm very interested in them, actually.”

“Dunadan, my brother sent me "Under the Banner..." last fall after discovering that one of our grandmothers was Mormon (she died when my dad was a kid). He just wanted to let me know what might have been (he's perverse that way), but I haven't started the book yet (along with dozens of others on my shelves).

Since completing "A Blistered Kind of Love," the PCT thru-hike tome I discussed on a thread of that name recently, I have been mostly busy with my current sailing magazines. Then last week I was at the Associated Writers and Writing Programs national conference in Chicago and picked up more books of course. Heard readings by a number of authors, including Sandra Cisneros, Lorrie Moore, and Jane Hamilton. On the drive home, my wife read me selections from "Dark Optimism," a collection of short-short/micro fiction by a guy named Stein (can't recall first name).

Pretty invigorating, as a writer, to be in the company of nearly 4,000 writers, writing teachers and student writers for 4 days.”

“Morgan's Run

by Colleen McCullough”

“Has anyone read "Still life with rice"??”

“I'm reading Guns, Germ and Steel. Its about how white Erupeans rule the world becasue Africans (the orginal ones-not Arican-Americans) and Indians couldn't and wouldn't take advantage of resoursces to develop civilization. But we were more advanced and could use the resources to develop civilzation and conquer the parts of the world that couldn't.”

“Has anyone run across any books
published in the last thirty years
on hiking the Camino Real ?”

“I'm reading "The Big Year" about birders trying to set a world record for most birds seen in N. America in one year. It's kind of interesting. Birders are obsessed.”

“RL, I have read a few articles about that book recently and heard a great stort about it on NPR. The book sounds really interesting. Let me know how it is.”

“Subterraneans by jack kerouac”

“two books,chaco journey(remembrance & awakening) & schrodinger'solving the quantum msteries.”

“Treebait - I love reading about Appalachian History, especially southern app.

Have you read "Our Southern Highlanders" by Horace Kephart?

A first hand account of life in the Smokies prior the park formation? If not, put it on your list. Written in dialect and everything.”

“I'm reading "To Build a Fire" and other short stories by Jack London. Good stuff.”

“I've read it. I've heard how many people praise it. I found it to be remarkably condescending.”

“Or as HPM just put it, bigoted and in a way, racist.”

“Interesting treebait. I noticed that book in both the BSF and Smokies bookstores and mentally filed it away to read. I never have gone ahead and read it and really haven't heard it mentioned one way or another.”

“Let Freedom Ring by Shawn Hannity”

“I didn't find it condescending, but I do see how it could be taken that way. He was a strange guy and I wondered about his character - he bailed on his family to move to the mountains.

I felt like he liked the people and that his use of the "vernacular" didn't mean he was "looking down his nose" at them.”

“Wilfred Theisiger, Arabian Sands

Great great book, halfway through it. Offers a great insight into the history of the region, and is a great adventure story too.
Check out the Amazon reviews. Well worth getting.”

“Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, by Wallace Stegner. It's about John Wesley Powell's exploration of the Grand Canyon and surrounding area. Excellent!”

“Well, hell, the words on this screen in front of me...”

“I;m reading a good book called Gusn, Germs, Steel. It explaines why African, and Asians, and American Indinas are less civilized and have less culuture so that Eurpeans could so easily conquer them.”

“I just finished The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

It was awesome! I think more than anything the committment to finish it in 40 days changed me as much as the book....woo hoo I followed through with something!!”

“Nevada Barr”