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

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Just read another chapter of Sagan's "The Varieties of Scientific Experience" during my lunch walk and man I must say that guy does go on, and on, an on....

Another great book, although certainly not as Carl Sagan would have submitted for publication had he lived. The book is composed entirely of talks he gave live and often extemporaneously. In the Preface, his widow Ann Druyan said that before he sent a book to the publisher he always proof-read it several times and was constantly making changes.

It's remarkable that he could effortlessly speak off-the-cuff in structured sentences better that most people can write.

[pilotbob]

Still reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It is really good, and getting better. Why didn't anyone tell me what a great book this was.

Lined up a few more free ones to read after this:

Topper by Thorne Smith
American Notes by Charles Dickens

April MRBC selection (may be free or not)

BOb

[cearbhallain]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Still reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It is really good, and getting better. Why didn't anyone tell me what a great book this was.

Three Musketeers is good too! Don't much care for Queen Margot.

[matthias]

Originally Posted by roger the rabbit

I finished *The girl who kicked the Hornets nest* the third book in Steig Larsens Millenium triology a few days ago. What a great pity there will be no more!!

*The Girl with the dragon Tattoo* is a bit of a slow starter for the first couple of chapters, but stick with it as it is overall a great read. 4.5 stars from me

*The Girl who played with fire* is a page turner from start to finish and probably the best of the three. It certainly left me wanting to know what happens next! definitely 5 stars from me.

*The girl who kicked the Hornets nest* was also an excellent and compelling read and completes the story.
I only rate it behind the second book because for me as an international reader there was more information of historical Swedish politics than I thought was necessary. Though I would still give it a 5 star rating.

Overall the best 3 books I have read in a long time.

These books are most definitely a trilogy and should be read in order. I can see why there will be three films and am waiting for the DVD so I can watch it in my own language here.

I expect most readers Like me wondered what happened to Steig Larsen & how he died. Having googled it there seems to be sad circumstances.

I've read all 3 of his books back in february, and enjoyed all of them (after i read them, i actually bought them as pbook for my mother, too). while i was reading them, i was looking forward all day to continue reading.
i can't say which of his books i liked best, because all of them were somehow unique and beautiful. They're definitely worth a read.

i completely agree with you, there should be more from him, sadly he fade away way to early.
but perhaps there could be some hope, because from what i've read he designed the series to be ten books long, he begun the forth book, the fifth is almost finished and from the other books the plots are drawn. it all depends on his family to allow an other autor to finish his books, hopefully in the right nice manner his (own) books are.

[roger the rabbit]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My mother has read all three of them and rates them like this....

#1 The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
#2 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
#3 The Girl Who Played with Fire

Almost the opposite to me.

It will be interesting to see how others here rate them.

[FlorenceArt]

Finished A Room with a View yesterday, a quick enjoyable read. Now I'm back reading The King of Elfland's Daughter, which I have had some difficulties with. I'm hoping to finish it now. Edgar Morin is still in my handbag but taking a back seat at the moment.

[garbanzo]

i'm on my third ebook since i picked up my Sony Reader a few weeks ago. absolutely loving the device, it's definitely my new favorite gadget.

book is The Codex by Douglas Preston. a self-professed tomb raider is dying, and instead of giving his half-billion-dollar collection to his three lazy sons, he's set off to the jungle to be buried with it, forcing his sons to work for their inheritance.

it's vastly entertaining

[crsheilah]

JSWolf said expect most readers Like me wondered what happened to Steig Larsen & how he died. Having googled it there seems to be sad circumstances

This piqued my curiosity so I googled Steig also. Seem he had 200 pages written on a 4th book which his common-law wife has. So maybe someday that will surface. The article claimed he originally planned the trilogy to be a 10-book collection.

[benham]

Reading The Bottoms by Loe R Lansdale. Not what I expected but very good.

[Ea]

Just finished Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's a look at humans' relationship with animals with regards to eating them. I'm a little disappointed with the book. It's personal and subjective, and while he doesn't exactly hide the fact, he doesn't discuss it either - and the book comes across as more factual than it really is - I think that's a problem. Foer has written it with the basic assumption that killing animals for eating is wrong and bad, which I don't agree with (though I do think modern meat production and processing is problematic) and most 'arguments' are more emotional than rational. I don't like that - it makes me feel manipulated. I had expected something more balanced.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Ea

Just finished Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's a look at humans' relationship with animals with regards to eating them. I'm a little disappointed with the book. It's personal and subjective, and while he doesn't exactly hide the fact, he doesn't discuss it either - and the book comes across as more factual than it really is - I think that's a problem. Foer has written it with the basic assumption that killing animals for eating is wrong and bad, which I don't agree with (though I do think modern meat production and processing is problematic) and most 'arguments' are more emotional than rational. I don't like that - it makes me feel manipulated. I had expected something more balanced.

Thanks for that. I'd heard of this book and had considered reading it. I'm not a vegetarian, but I am becoming more and more convinced that I have too much meat and not enough vegetables in my diet, and I'm striving for a better balance. Jeffersonian scholar Clay Jenkinson, who portrays Thomas Jefferson weekly on The Thomas Jefferson Hour on PBS, has repeated stated that Jefferson felt that a proper diet should contain just enough meat to season the vegetables; and the older I get, the more I see the wisdom in this.

While not a vegetarian, I am appalled at the cruelty of many of the modern factory farming methods routinely used in the meat industry. There are better, more humane methods of raising and slaughtering animals, and, to their credit, some companies use them.

[ficbot]

I just got that book from the library. It's amusing so far.

[Ea]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

While not a vegetarian, I am appalled at the cruelty of many of the modern factory farming methods routinely used in the meat industry. There are better, more humane methods of raising and slaughtering animals, and, to their credit, some companies use them.

We can certainly agree on that. And it's not only to the detriment of the animals, but also to us, as it lowers their value as food a great deal.

He's a good author and the book was well written, but to someone thinking a bit more rationally, the whole argumentation and such felt 'sloppy'. Even if he did check his sources, I left the book feeling it would fit better in 'fiction' than 'non-fiction'. It's a personal essay, and approached as such I'd say it's good. I just don't agree with his essential premise. In a way, I think it's a kind of propaganda. He addresses the quite important question of how we produce our food and that it important and laudable. But I think I like Michael Pollan's books more.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Now for a classic: Kai Lung's Golden Hours, beautifully converted from the Project Gutenberg text by Patricia.

That was good. Highly recommended.

Now onto Analog SF, May 2010. I don't want to fall behind with my subscriptions! And Analog is a reliable source of good SF stories.

[DixieGal]

Originally Posted by garbanzo

i'm on my third ebook since i picked up my Sony Reader a few weeks ago. absolutely loving the device, it's definitely my new favorite gadget.

book is The Codex by Douglas Preston. a self-professed tomb raider is dying, and instead of giving his half-billion-dollar collection to his three lazy sons, he's set off to the jungle to be buried with it, forcing his sons to work for their inheritance.

it's vastly entertaining

Sounds like something I will enjoy. Where did you get it?

I'm reading two, which I never do usually. Reading #2 of Nora Roberts' "Blood Brothers" series and re-reading Jeff (MR member Jinlow) Inlo's "Soul View."