What are y'all reading?

Normally, I'm reading more than one at a time. My house has 2.5 baths and I read a different book in each one.
The upstairs master bath has a view of the backyard which is nice, so I like to read something light...currently It's Not About the Bike
The upstairs guest bath is pretty plain, so it's not distracting and I can read more heavy stuff...currently The Fabric of the Cosmos
The downstairs half-bath has paper-thin walls, so I don't read in there. Get in and get out.
During lunch I am reading The Professor and the Mad Man
At night I have been reading Grant Writing for Dummies
 
If you are into some "older" American military history, I would recommend the Civil War trilogy by Michael and Jeff Shaara. It is comprised of: Gods and Generals, The Killer Angels and The Last Full Measure. The Killer Angels was written by Michael Shaara, the father, and it was the first of the three. It is a pulitzer prize winner and the best book on the Civil War I've ever read. It is actually fiction, told from the perspective of the major players in the Battle of Gettysburg. The factual happenings are intact, you just get to read a little supposition of what those folks may have been thinking. Nothing off the wall, within the realm of possibilities knowing what we know about those folks. The other two books are by the son and are the prequel and sequel. The are written in the same style and are very complimentary.
 
Just got two new books today, my first knife books!

Custom Knifemaking and one called Knives. What origional titles!
 
Just finished a bunch of 'Frost' stuff (British D.I, cop to you yanks)

Also reading (Buy Wayyyyyy out of order) the W.E.B Griffith (sp?) may be Griffin, anyhooo damned entertaining read if you like WWII era books.
 
I just finished (last night) the Gunslinger/Dark Tower by King . It only took 20 years :eek: . Now I'm going to move on to Underworld by Graham Hancock .
 
These are a few older titles but well worth a read.
Lord of the Rings, required reading
Musashi, the novel
Anything by Eric Van Lustbader
The Cult At The End Of The World, about the group that released the Sarin nerve gas on the Tokyo subway.
The Hiram Key, two guys researching the origins of the Masonic Lodge, good read if you like a bit of history.
Doug
 
Right now, I am reading Scandal Takes A Holiday by Lindsey Davis. It is a murder mystery set in the Rome of Emperor Vespasian, this one in 75CE. It is a part of a very good series sith the hero being a plebeian "informer" or private detective who is living with the patrician daughter of a Senator. They aren't married as the law will not allow a plebeian to marry a patrician. The informer is Marcus Didius Falco and his wife in all but name is Helena Justina, daughter of Senator D. Camillus Verus. Falco's best pal is Lucius Petronius, a member of the watch(vigiles) or combination police and fire department. The stories are very salty and larded with British slang, but are easy to understand. They are funny, good reads.

I happened upon a book by Alafair Burke, the daughter of James Lee Burke, one of my favorite crime authors, and I am very curious to see if she is a chip off of the old block as far as writing skills go. I will post later on this.

I also picked up a copy of The Lance Thrower by Jack Whyte, a new book in his excellent Camulod Chronicles. These are stories around the Arthurian legends starting just before the end of Roman rule in Britain and continuing through the 5th Century CE. It would appear as if this one is about Lancelot and I am MOST interested in seeing how he fits this product of French chivalry into that environment.

Finally, I discovered Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" series about 4-5 months ago and have become addicted to Gaiman's work. His best is outstanding and his mediocre is better than 80% of what is out there. While the "Sandman" series is primarily in graphic novel form, as are its spin-offs, he has written a number of other things, including the excellent novel, American Gods. Do try his work on for taste.
 
The author of the book that I recommended earlier in this post, Eric Haney, was on the O'Rielly Factor last night. He talked a little bit about his book (Inside Delta Force), his experiences, and the war on terror. Sorry to repeat myself, but this book is really interesting. As for Eric Haney, I cannot praise this man enough. He is truly a great leader and America's silent legend.
 
Fuller, you might want to try "Good Omens", which Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett.

Edited to add:

Incidentally, Gaiman seems like a really nice guy when speaking. I had the opportunity to see him speak with a few other authors at MIT (I wasn't attending the school, just the event) back in 2001, and he seemed like quite a nice guy. I always find that it sort of ruins artistic work for me if I find that the artist in question is a jerk or an idiot in real life, so this was a pleasant suprise. Harlan Ellison is a jerk, on the other hand, but more of in the "lovable old curmudgeon" sense of the term.
 
If you like Marine Corps history, read "Do or Die Men". It's about the invasion of Guadalcanal and the Marine Raider battalion on the island. Good read, historical but also full of interesting stuff.
 
I just finished Public Enemies by Bryan Burrough, the story of the Mid-Western crime wave of 1933-34 by the likes of Machine Gun Kelley and John Dillinger and how it led to the FBI being elevated to a national police force from a pack of desk jockeys.

I'm now a quarter way into Neal Stephenson's latest, The System of the World, fun for all ages.
 
thanks for all the suggestions so far, i've got quite a list of books to check for when i hit the library tomorrow.

as an aside; i read Inside Delta Force last semester on the recommendation of a female friend who finds special forces fascinating and i enjoyed the book immensely. Mr. Haney writes extremely well and presents a very interesting subject.
 
Doug , another good book by Lomas and Knight is Uriel's Machine . I think it's a better read than the Hiram Key .
 
Been Readin' a heckuva lotta Wilbur Smith lately. I should have "Golden Fox" finished by tonight, and then I'm probably gonna start on "Elephant Song"

Last book I've finished was a John Connolly Book "Dark Hollow" Very bloody, dark gruesome sorta author. It takes a special kinda author to make the Angel and Louis duo work out. :D

I've recently tried to take a step towards wrapping up Stephen Kings "Dark Tower" series, but I'm having a tough time getting into "Song of Susannah" It's just getting to be a hard read for me for some reason. Kinda like "Dream Catcher" with the Alien Ass Puppets and all. Jus' kinda leaves ya' scratchin' yer head sayin' WTF??!!

Also recently reread "The Art of War"....I read it and ponder it every year and a half or so, and ponder its significance. (I'm becoming less impressed with every reading of it)

Oh, and the latest issue of "Playboy" I only read it for the articles and interviews of course.... :D
 
Runs , SoS is definitely the slowest of all the books . Don't give up , it gets much better :D .
 
spoonrobot said:
thanks for all the suggestions so far, i've got quite a list of books to check for when i hit the library tomorrow.

as an aside; i read Inside Delta Force last semester on the recommendation of a female friend who finds special forces fascinating and i enjoyed the book immensely. Mr. Haney writes extremely well and presents a very interesting subject.

I've also read Inside Delta Force . If you want a great adventure book or a history of the most elite counterterrorist force in the world, read this book. Full of Mr. Haney's personal experiences in the Delta Force. Also tells about the inside of DF and the training operators did in the beginning. Has a section of pictures, too.

Highly recommended to anyone even slightly interested in this stuff.
 
hawkpatriot said:
I've also read Inside Delta Force . If you want a great adventure book or a history of the most elite counterterrorist force in the world, read this book. Full of Mr. Haney's personal experiences in the Delta Force. Also tells about the inside of DF and the training operators did in the beginning. Has a section of pictures, too.

Highly recommended to anyone even slightly interested in this stuff.
Great book. I served under CSM Haney for two years in the Army. He was the youngest Seargent Major in the army at the time. I hope that he's able to put out another book. He currently has a TV show called "Spymaster". Unfortunately I've only seen one episode.
 
Ann Ryand "Atlas Shrugged" - very different than my opinions 35 years ago and Vachss "Down Here"
 
Right now not really reading much of anything. I'm sort of out of school (err, suspended), and I normally read during class, but on my list of recommendations are:

Edgar Allen Poe: Great author alot, very witty and comical.
Orson Scott Card: All of his books were good, especially the Ender Saga.
Binary by John Lange: Written by Michael Chrichton, poses the scenario of a attack by normal criminals on Bio weapons transports.
Kurt Vonnegut: My personal favorite. Jailbird and Deadeye Dick being my top recommendations.
Ayn Rand: I thought Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead were great books, but a bit long for most readers.
 
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