Posted on 01/08/2008 7:59:25 AM PST by MplsSteve
It's time again for my quarterly "What Are You Reading Now?" inquiry.
I'm always curious as to what Freepers are reading and what they're recommending to others.
It can be anything...a classic novel, a scientific journal, a magazine, a cheap pulp novel...anything.
Do not deface this thread with a smart-ass answer like "I'm Reading this Thread". It became very un-original a long time ago.
I'll start. I'm reading "The Great Deluge: Hurrican Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast" by Douglas Brinkley.
This is a full account of Katrina striking the Gulf Coast. The book starts 48 hours before landfall and finishes one week after landfall. It a very good book.
Trust me, no one comes out of this looking good. Ray Nagin doesn't. FEMA doesn't, etc.
Well, what are YOU reading now?
I had read Tony Dungy’s Quiet Strength but someone gave me the audio book for Christmas. I’m not much of an audio book guy but I am listening to it now and it’s fantastic. He reads an abridged version himself and while I am a huge football fan the abridged version really hits on all of the key management and leadership points of the book. Really good.
I also was sent an Advanced Reader’s Copy of a book by David Aikman (former Time mag writer) titled The Delusions of Disbelief: Answering the Arguments of Atheism. Quite interesting but isn’t in stores until April.
“Red Moon Rising” by Peter D. Goodgame
I would hate for anyone reading this thread to walk away disappointed!
This is a book in the mystery series that takes place in Regency England. The main character is Captain Gabriel Lacey, formally of the 35th Light Dragoons. Excellent books, always a good read.
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic, by Joseph J. Ellis
I’m reading the same. About 100 pages in. Very sober realistic take on the founding fathers.
Is that the last of the series by Caro? I read a couple of them but it's been years. Not sure where I left off.
Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano
An expose of the Naples Mafia, gangsters who make Cosa Nostra look like boy scouts. They are unbelievably nasty and powerful and Saviano is incredibly brave for having written this book.
Meet up in Alaska and trek out to the site of the Mc Candless bus!
How about in 2009 after I retire?Right now I’m swamped with two jobs and helping put my Godson through private school.
Seriously,though,I would like to do that.
The chapter on Presidential last wills & testaments is particularly interesting.
My bathroom book is Bored of the Rings from the Harvard Lampoon.
Right now it’s “Runes of the Earth” by Stephen R. Donaldson (last of the Thomas Covenant Chronicles)
I hope to finish that this week and get started on “An Inconvenient Book.”
Just finished “The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible” by AJ Jacobs (laugh out loud funny and provoked a lot of thought) and just started “The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court” by Jeffrey Toobin.
"Postwar" by Tony Judt. A left-of-center history of the post-war world. Fantastic. If you read this along with Paul Johnson's "Modern Times," you get a comprehensive look at the 20th century in Europe. His left/center leanings do not often get in the way of good history.
Paul Kengor, "The Crusader." This is simply the best history of the Reagan era ever. It's better than any of his bios for focusing on what really drove Reagan, his faith and his fear of nuclear weapons.
David Brooks, "On Paradise Drive." He reiterates the "bobo" mentality of Americans: half bohemian, half bourgesoise, and while his explanations of American political change aren't always accurate, he develops a terrific analysis of "where Americans are" today, socially, culturally, and politically.
BTW, for all FREEPERS: upcoming later this year, from LS: Forty-Eight Liberal Lies of History
Has anyone read a non-fiction book about four english sisters, socialites, one of whom was a Nazi sypathizer? I can’t recall the title, but thought it sounded intriguing. I’d appreciate a freeper’s opinion, though, before searching it out.
To each his own. Note my screen name. Now I think I’ll go hide under the bed with the cat!;)
I am a few years away from retirement but want to make the trip while still young (57) and fit enough to withstand the rigors of such an adventure. Don’t wait too long and I will meet you at the trailhead west of Healy, Alaska. Actually, maybe meeting in Healy would be better. Also, I am not one to scimp on provisions and believe in full preparation and arming to the teeth. I am not interested in being caught in a helpless state like McCandless.
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