What is Davis Sq. reading?

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

So it seems like there are loads of bookish people around here- so what are you all reading?

I find myself at the end o' Summer wanting some lay-in-the-park reading but after haunting the bookstore and the stacks at the library, nothing jumped out at me. Decided to reread "The Order of the Phoenix" and the librarian suggested that 'Golden Compass" series by Pullman. So aside from what you are reading now, if you have a fav author/series (can be anywhere on the scale of [trash <----> literature]) I'd be interested in hearing of it.

Comments

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

The Economist. Not really in the mood to start a new book.

[richips.livejournal.com]

despite the silly name, check out this community:
hipsterbookclub

Also, i read Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, which is really great, and i want to read everything he has ever written. So, do that! And then i will be jealous. In a happy way.

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

His two best are The Moor's Last Sigh and Midnight's Children. In that order.

[sungold123.livejournal.com]

If you like Harry Potter, you'll like the Golden Compass - much better than the movie.

If you're up for an epic, "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett - over 1,000 pages but well worth it.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

Thanks- yes, I read 'Pillars' and also his odd follow up (can't recall the name right now - seemed to use the exact same outline).

Recently read 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss- had an epic scale. I guess there is a sequel to it but it's not out in paperback yet.

But yeah - epic is kind of what I am in the mood for.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Although this post has nothing to do with Davis Sq., I'll respond anyway, because I am actually in the middle of the 3rd book of the Golden Compass series, and I really like it.

My favorite books, although admittedly not "great literature," are the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.

[contradictacat.livejournal.com]

I mostly read fantasy/scifi, but if you like intrigue and backstabbing, I highly recommend George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.

For more sexy intrigue, there's the Kushiel series by Jacqueline Carey, which takes place in a...slightly altered version of France.

For some really creepifying high-school drama, there's also Battle Royale by Koushun Takami about reality TV meets teenagers...but with more death.

It all really depends on what you're looking for.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, Song of Ice and Fire. Yes.

...and then you can join us in having the occasional cold sweats of checking westeros.org, drenched in withdrawal, shaking the universe wondering why, why, why? Where is my sequel?!? *sniffle*

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I have been on a reading binge lately...I just finished Relentless Pursuit (which is about 4 Teach for America teachers in their first year in a notorious high school in LA), and I've just started An Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori. Well, OK, what I've just finished is actually one of the Order of the Stick (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0588.html) books. ;)

Also, interlibrary loan + reserve online + pickup at Somerville West = my new hero (even if their web site is SO CLOSE to not sucking, and yet fails).

[ron_newman]

the library book I just returned:

The Soiling of Old Glory by Louis Masur. This is about an infamous event in Boston's recent history (which happened in a place that I walk through almost every day) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph that documented the event.

Next up, something entirely different: The Man Who Made Lists, by Joshua Kendall. All about Mr. Roget and his Thesaurus.

[on-reserve.livejournal.com]

I really liked that Masur book a bunch.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

just started generation kill, by evan wright. (love the miniseries, figured i'd like the book. so far i was right.) just finished electric michelangelo, by sarah hall, which i liked. highly recommend love medicine and the bingo palace, by louise erdrich. tracks is also good.

[ionicaq.livejournal.com]

http://www.amazon.com/East-Edith-Pattou/dp/0152045635

http://www.amazon.com/Naked-David-Sedaris/dp/0316777730

http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Lover-Black-Dagger-Brotherhood/dp/0451216954

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

Hah! I am just now reading Order of the Phoenix as well :) Other than that, I've got a bunch of parenting books out of the library right now.

Man, there's a lot of geeks on this list! I have read, or have on my to-read list most of what has been mentioned above :)

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

The autobiography of Mick Foley. Great read so far.

[ex-nohesita.livejournal.com]

The Color of Violence - INCITE!
and rereading American Gods - Neil Gaiman for the hundreth time because I adore it.

[an-art-worker.livejournal.com]

American Gods - that never opened up for me. I *loved* Neverwhere and Stardust was enjoyable. Maybe I will give AG a second read.

Certain To Offend Millions

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

The blog that makes fun of white urban liberals, Stuff White People Like (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/), now has a book (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/stuff-white-people-like-the-book/) out. I'm almost done with it, and it is hilarious because everything in it is so cringingly true. It is Davis Square between two covers.

Re: Certain To Offend Millions

[richips.livejournal.com]

Oh man that got old fast. it also stopped being true fast.

[lac.livejournal.com]

I'm reading Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, just because. I get like that. I think next will either be Bill Bryson's The Thunderbolt Kid or Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour. I'm going to the Cape soon though so I will get in some lighter reading then.

Oh, and a lot of magazines...I subscribe to far too many.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I read Cook's Tour pretty recently too. That was awesome. Now my neighbor has my copy :).

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I might as well mention that I just finished reading "The Art and Technique of Color Correction" by Steve Hullfish.

If you care about video/film post at all, it's actually a pretty compelling and interesting book, and although it's not intended to, it serves as a good overview of post color correction tools and how experienced colorists use them (or don't).

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

"The Art and Technique of Color Correction", sounds interesting. I might just check that one out myself.

[spot.livejournal.com]

In a similar vein, I'd recommend the "Dresden Files" books by Jim Butcher. The first book in the series is Storm Front (http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Front-Dresden-Files-Book/dp/B001BCFSL2/ref=pd_bbs_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219951932&sr=8-2).

[wandelrust.livejournal.com]

And while the Dresden Files books are fantastic, he does take three or four to really find his voice. I only persevered through the first two because I knew they got better down the line (having picked up the seventh randomly to read after seeing the TV show).

[ravenword.livejournal.com]

I just read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe for the first time and really enjoyed it. Also The Prince of West End Avenue by Alan Isler, a funny/sad novel about Jewish retirement home residents putting on Hamlet that reminds you that senior citizens' lives can be just as fascinating as us whippersnappers'.

[geekpixie.livejournal.com]

If you like Pullman try the Abhorsen Series by Garth Nix. Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen are the trio in it. It's "young adult" but very well thought out.

[nu-luba.livejournal.com]

i am currently reading "Blood of the Fold" by Terry Goodkind. It is book 3 of an so far 11 book series. Good stuff...

[anomie666.livejournal.com]

I just finished the page turner known as Hierachical Linear and Nonlinear Modelng by Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, and Congdon.

When they speak about Bayesian estimation, I shed a tear.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

We should have a technical-text reading group.

It's actually kind of amusing that this summer I read both that book on color correction AND the American Cinematographer Manual and was thoroughly engrossed.

[ecdysiasm.livejournal.com]

I'm reading Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg, which is quite good -- I'm enjoying it much more than I did Feinberg's non-fiction.

[richips.livejournal.com]

I can't believe i haven't read that yet. I also need to read Kate Bornstein's stuff. Why is there so little time?

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Blindness - Jose Saramago (publicity of the upcoming film of this incredible novel prompted me to finally read it)

What Makes You Not a Buddhist - Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz

[ifotismeni]

say you're one of them by uwem akpan.

[fluffpot.livejournal.com]

Currently working on The Dark Tower series; on the second book so far. It's taken me a while to warm up to, guess I'm not in a Stephen King mood. Next on the pull list is The Omnivore's Dilemma and A Cook's Tour. I'll probably start up with The Dark Tower again after those.

As for favorite books, I'm a big fan of the Golden Compass series. If you're up for rollicking fantasy after that (the tone is completely different from The Golden Compass, but no less enjoyable), try out George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. I also like Haruki Murakami's books, Norwegian Wood is my favorite.

I'm not going to get started on my favorite comics, I'd be here all night.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

i recommend not reading all seven dark tower series books in a row. I did that, over a six month period. I found that the first four books were much better/cohesive/narrative then the last three. It was such a disappointment. The fourth book was my favorite of the series.

[arrowintwolakes.livejournal.com]

Right now reading Lenin in Zurich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. Talk about your light summer reading!

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Heh, what are you going to follow that up with, a little Henrich Boll?