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

[Kevin8or]

Recently completed: The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
4 or 5 stars. Lewis makes it easy to understand complicated financial instruments because he teaches you in small bites as he primarily tells the stories of people. It's also infuriating, because so much that was obviously morally wrong was nonetheless perfectly legal. And still is. Everyone should read this book or a different book with the same theme. There are several that have sold well and received good reviews. We all should understand what happened, why it happened, and why it can happen again if Wall Street isn't re-regulated. Oh, and some kind of accountability for ratings companies: Moody's, S&P, etc.

Recently completed: Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov
Recently completed: Second Foundation by Isaac Asimov
This completes the Foundation trilogy, written in the 40's and 50's. I read it because it's an important landmark in science fiction. I recommend it only to people who want to explore the history of the genre. I don't wish to speak poorly of Foundation, but better science fiction is available, more than you'll ever be able to read in your lifetime.

I'm currently catching up on my Calibre recipes. Here's a good one: Give Me Something To Read. The people behind this website identify (mostly) high-quality essays from among the dreck on the internet. The site re-formats the essays as "instapaper" for e-readers. Of course, the instapaper service doesn't matter if you use Calibre's "Fetch News" feature.

[coderserdar]

jack higgins - eye of the storm

the first sean dillon story of higgins
in this book, sean is a bad guy
and we can see martin brosnan and liam devlin
briefly excellent book

[maianhvk]

I'm rereading Sherlock Holmes Omnibus. It's a good version, no typo so far.

I'm fond of reading Sherlock Holmes. Everytime I feel melancholy, don't know what to read, or just don't want to read what I'm supposed to, I turn to Sherlock Holmes. It's like meeting an old friend: I know that person so well that nothing comes unexpectedly; still I greet every word, every detail with enthusiasm.

[Namekuseijin]

I'm with maianhvk, awesome omnibus by HarryT (though I've found a few typos, sorry I didn't keep notes about them and their location).

I'm currently in the Memoirs, but I've read The Hound of the Baskervilles before it. Nothing can beat Sherlock for cozy mistery...

interlude it with readings of Lovecraft's omnibus, and it's pure awesomeness.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

So, next is The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

Originally Posted by ATDrake

It's a good read, but sort of a downer.

It was a bit of an 'exorcise the experience' novel, but still very readable. The fantasy plays little part, and seems to be there merely to make sure that people realise it is fiction not autobiography.

Next: Tortoise Reform by Piers Anthony, hopefully a light, humorous fantasy.

[orlok]

Has anyone read or listened to Swan Song by Robert McCammon? I'm contemplating getting the audiobook, and would be interested in recommendations or reviews.

[bevdeforges]

Originally Posted by Kevin8or

Recently completed: The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
4 or 5 stars. Lewis makes it easy to understand complicated financial instruments because he teaches you in small bites as he primarily tells the stories of people. It's also infuriating, because so much that was obviously morally wrong was nonetheless perfectly legal. And still is. Everyone should read this book or a different book with the same theme. There are several that have sold well and received good reviews. We all should understand what happened, why it happened, and why it can happen again if Wall Street isn't re-regulated. Oh, and some kind of accountability for ratings companies: Moody's, S&P, etc.

I'm reading The Big Short now - and yes, it's one of those books that just infuriates you while you're reading it. But at the same time explains what was going on.

Just recently finished Lewis' Boomerang which is much the same thing only about the European financial disaster, starting with Iceland. I'm starting to see that the so-called "Masters of the Universe" are basically greedy little pricks who were too lazy to actually learn how to do anything that would contribute to Society. (The attitude in Iceland was basically that "fishing is hard - banking is actually pretty easy.")

But to decompress a bit, I've just started The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. Just through the first chapter/story but so far it seems promising.

[covingtoncat73]

I just finished The Infernals by John Connolly. It was so hilarious and quotable and had a lot of adventure, too.

I think I will splurge and get that Stephen King about time travel and read that next.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by orlok

Has anyone read or listened to Swan Song by Robert McCammon? I'm contemplating getting the audiobook, and would be interested in recommendations or reviews.

I loved it personally, but McCammon is probably my favourite horror-style author.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I've just finished reading James Potter and the Hall of Elders' Crossing and I enjoyed it immensely. So, as soon as my recording of Monday Night Football is over (Giants at The Saints) I'm going to begin reading the 2nd book in the series James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper!

Read the Short Story Petra's Getaway by G. Norman Lippert that takes place during the Christmas Vacation in James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper. It was a nice little side trip and provided some info concerning the novel. Now back to read the last third of the novel.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by orlok

Has anyone read or listened to Swan Song by Robert McCammon? I'm contemplating getting the audiobook, and would be interested in recommendations or reviews.

It was a long while ago (we have the paperback on the shelf), about the only thing I remember is that it was a good read. Of others of by him, I remember Wolf's Hour as being an enjoyable ride, and Boy's Life was particularly good. All three were quite different books, he is certainly a capable author.

[shaunie_kent]

I have just completed My Heroes by Ranulph Fiennes - its a collection of tales of extraordinary courage, easy reading, not too taxing and i found it interesting.

I also just finished Reports on planet three and other speculations - Arthur C Clarke, published in 1972 but still so relevant, he looks at different areas of science and discovery and gives his opinion on the future implications of certain discoveries. Fascinating and so believable, its the kind of science fiction that is only fiction because it hasnt happened YET!

Shaun
[Advertising link removed - MODERATOR]

[HomeInMyShoes]

I finished The Dick Gibson Show by Stanley Elkin. I liked parts of it and I love how Elkin's writing gets a pace going to it, but parts were a miss for me.

Started and finished Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol which I had never read in its entirety before. I enjoyed it more than I enjoyed other Dickens' works previously. I may have to try some more at some point.

Started Edgar Rice Burroughs The Land that Time Forgot series. I'm about half-way through the first installment and am really enjoying it.

So I recently finished Heart of Darkness, it being MR Book Club finalist prompted me to give it another try after only partly completing it years ago. The idea of the story was intriguing and the writing pretty good, but I just could enjoy it that much. I know a book and its author must be judged by the standards of their time, but the appalling racism in this book prevented me from having any sympathy for any of the characters.

I also read The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie while awaiting the outcome of the MR Literary Book Club vote. I normally rate a book much higher than any film adaption, but it was the opposite here. The film was much better, in part because it took some liberties with the plot timing and characters.

[pilotbob]

Well, The Help expired, so I of course, stopped reading it.

Started on my $1 humor book _Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!_ and while the stories were cute, I wasn't really laughing.

So, I decided to start on _The Catalyst_ by our own (yes, we made him, so we own him) Boyd Morrison. A fast start to the story already, I'm sure it will be great... but so far nothing of his has been better than _Rouge Wave_.

BOb