Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading? - Page 278

MickeyC · 03-13-2010, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Just finished reading Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island - WOW - couldn't put it down - never saw the ending coming! WOW.
On to Mystic River today.

Thanks to poohbear_nc, I just finished Shutter Island and what a page turner. I was sneaking out of the office to read the thing. And I never saw the end coming either. Now I gotta see the movie

Next The Girl Who Played with Fire. Hope it's as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

lilac_jive · 03-13-2010, 06:15 PM

I'm already on the fourth "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book. It's not Harry Potter by any means, but they're quite fun and I'm interested to see how the story pans out.

Nakor · 03-13-2010, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Just checked, and it's not the latest issue after all. It's the June/July 2009 issue of Free Inquiry (which shows you how far behind I am in some of my reading!). The review of André Comte-Sponville's The Book of Atheist Spirituality by is entitled "Embracing the Unholy Spirit," and it's written by Bill Cooke, one of Free Inquiry's Senior editors and author of Dictionary of Atheism, Skepticism, and Humanism.

Overall, the reviewer gives the book high marks. He admits to being uncomfortable with some of Comte-Sponville's spiritualized language, but he admits that Comte-Sponville is "quite clear about being grounded in the material," and states that his discomfort is more his problem than Comte-Sponville's.

Cooke ends his review with, "As atheists, we need to avoid stiffening with a sectarian shudder when one of our own uses language with which we are uncomfortable. Any form of expression of an essentially atheist world view is good enough for me, and The Book of Atheist Spirituality is the best so far to do so in language I myself might not use."

I finished reading the book and I can see where Cooke is coming from. I found the first two sections highly enlightening (whether we (as either individuals or society) can live without religion, and why he personally doesn't believe in God), but the third section (about what atheist spirituality is) seemed to drag on with Comte-Sponville spending pages at a time trying to describe various aspects of his form of spirituality and the language does get both overcomplex and too verbose. I think the third section is more personal to the author's thoughts (at least, after the first several pages it is), and so probably doesn't mesh with everyone equally.

What I really appreciated about the book was its views on tolerance, how religion is a part of our culture even for those who no longer believe in God, and how, with the exception of fanatics and nihilists, the religious and irreligious should really get along fine as they share a common culture and background.

Next on my reading list is The Gateway by Glenn G. Thater, who offers it for free in the freebies forum in exchange for the promise of a review on Amazon. After that I'll probably read through The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines, because I'm in the mood for something light and, yes, even a little silly.

yekim54 · 03-13-2010, 10:59 PM

In the past two weeks I've read these three books:

Shutter Island -- Dennis Lehane
The Road -- Cormac McCarthy
The Postman Always Rings Twice -- James M. Cain

They were all very good reads. I kind of suspected how Shutter Island was going to end, but kept hoping it would not end that way so it would be more of a surprise for me.

The Road was an incredibly powerful post-apocalyptic story. After finishing it, I was surprised to find out that it was selected for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club in March 2007. I wouldn't think such a grim story would appeal to Oprah's fan base.

I always wanted to read a "Banned in Boston" book, so I tried The Postman Always Rings Twice. The book was published in 1934 and by today's standards I could not see any reason why it would be banned in Boston. Sure there was a murder in the story, and marital infidelity, but nothing so explicit that would warrant banishment, in my opinion.

cearbhallain · 03-14-2010, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidym

Thanks to poohbear_nc, I just finished Shutter Island and what a page turner. I was sneaking out of the office to read the thing. And I never saw the end coming either. Now I gotta see the movie

I read Mystic River a few years ago, also very good.

Billjr13 · 03-14-2010, 04:28 AM

Just read J.L. Bourne's Day By Day Armageddon not a bad Zombie read and he has the second book comming out in July.

hols57 · 03-14-2010, 12:02 PM

I'm reading Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It's really very good! I was expecting it to be long-drawn out and heavy, but not at all! Only thing that worries me slightly is I'm on page 870 and there are 3000 pages to go...

That's the beauty of a reader, you don't get wrist-ache trying to hold a mammoth book. Also, it makes you try things you wouldn't normally bother with, as it was a free download from Sony.

Crusader · 03-14-2010, 12:16 PM

Finished Shadows by Shaun Hutson. A quite gruesome horror story,

poohbear_nc · 03-14-2010, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidym

Thanks to poohbear_nc, I just finished Shutter Island and what a page turner. I was sneaking out of the office to read the thing. And I never saw the end coming either. Now I gotta see the movie

Next The Girl Who Played with Fire. Hope it's as good as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

Glad you enjoyed it. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it!

MickeyC · 03-14-2010, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Glad you enjoyed it. I literally couldn't put it down until I finished it!

Got any other Lehane that were as good as that one to recommend?

poohbear_nc · 03-14-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidym

Got any other Lehane that were as good as that one to recommend?

Not yet - I have Mystic River in my TBR queue - other folk here have recommended it highly too.

recluse · 03-14-2010, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassidym

Got any other Lehane that were as good as that one to recommend?

You might enjoy his "Kenzie and Gennaro" detective series:

"A Drink Before The War",
"Darkness, Take My Hand",
"Sacred",
"Gone, Baby, Gone" and
"Prayers For Rain"

lilac_jive · 03-14-2010, 10:39 PM

I'm now about halfway through the fifth and last Percy Jackson and the Olypians book, The Last Olympian.

jgaiser · 03-14-2010, 11:05 PM

James Ellroy's "The Black Dahlia"... Intense!!

recluse · 03-14-2010, 11:50 PM

Then I highly recommend Ellroy's "My Dark Places". It's his autobiography and directly impacts upon "The Black Dahlia".

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03-13-2010, 06:15 PM	#4157
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I'm already on the fourth "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" book. It's not Harry Potter by any means, but they're quite fun and I'm interested to see how the story pans out.

03-13-2010, 10:59 PM	#4159
yekim54 What the Dog Saw Posts: 311 Karma: 981684 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Dunn Loring Device: Sony PRS-650, Surface3	In the past two weeks I've read these three books: Shutter Island -- Dennis Lehane The Road -- Cormac McCarthy The Postman Always Rings Twice -- James M. Cain They were all very good reads. I kind of suspected how Shutter Island was going to end, but kept hoping it would not end that way so it would be more of a surprise for me. The Road was an incredibly powerful post-apocalyptic story. After finishing it, I was surprised to find out that it was selected for Oprah Winfrey's Book Club in March 2007. I wouldn't think such a grim story would appeal to Oprah's fan base. I always wanted to read a "Banned in Boston" book, so I tried The Postman Always Rings Twice. The book was published in 1934 and by today's standards I could not see any reason why it would be banned in Boston. Sure there was a murder in the story, and marital infidelity, but nothing so explicit that would warrant banishment, in my opinion.

03-14-2010, 04:28 AM	#4161
Billjr13 Addict Posts: 357 Karma: 550002 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Colorado Device: Sony PRS 700 & 650	Just read J.L. Bourne's Day By Day Armageddon not a bad Zombie read and he has the second book comming out in July.

03-14-2010, 12:02 PM	#4162
hols57 hols57 Posts: 74 Karma: 42 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Wales, UK Device: sony 300packed up -thanks,Sony!) Kindle	I'm reading Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. It's really very good! I was expecting it to be long-drawn out and heavy, but not at all! Only thing that worries me slightly is I'm on page 870 and there are 3000 pages to go... That's the beauty of a reader, you don't get wrist-ache trying to hold a mammoth book. Also, it makes you try things you wouldn't normally bother with, as it was a free download from Sony.

03-14-2010, 12:16 PM	#4163
Crusader Space Cadet Posts: 1,180 Karma: 4030536 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: South Africa Device: Sony PRS-T1, Cybook Opus, Kobo Glo	Finished Shadows by Shaun Hutson. A quite gruesome horror story,

03-14-2010, 10:39 PM	#4168
lilac_jive Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,870 Karma: 27376 Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Pennsylvania Device: PRS-505	I'm now about halfway through the fifth and last Percy Jackson and the Olypians book, The Last Olympian.

03-14-2010, 11:05 PM	#4169
jgaiser Omnivorous Posts: 3,283 Karma: 27978909 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Rural NW Oregon Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle 3, KPW1	James Ellroy's "The Black Dahlia"... Intense!!

03-14-2010, 11:50 PM	#4170
recluse Banned Posts: 3,724 Karma: 535488 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: the Mortuary Device: Kindle 2	Then I highly recommend Ellroy's "My Dark Places". It's his autobiography and directly impacts upon "The Black Dahlia".

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