whatchoo readin?

MrSpall · Post by **MrSpall** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:20 am

Alright, we've got "What's in your CD Player?" and "What's in your DVD Player?" I've contributed minimally to both. As I spend more time reading than watching movies, I figured it was time we discussed what we're reading.

For me right now, it's Neil Gaiman's American Gods. I first picked it up at the Dragon's Keep open mic night, I read a couple chapters and was hooked. Last night I picked up a copy at B&N and couldn't put it down. Excellent read so far.

The_Dude · Post by **The_Dude** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:30 am

this thread.

traumaqueen · Post by **traumaqueen** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:44 am

Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs by Chuck Klosterman.
i am a tad obsessed with this master of "pop culture".
he's amazing.

The_Dude · Post by **The_Dude** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:47 am

traumaqueen wrote:Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs by Chuck Klosterman.
i am a tad obsessed with this master of "pop culture".
he's amazing.

change it to Honey Combs and that's the best breakfast EVER.

traumaqueen · Post by **traumaqueen** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:52 am

nope.
fleek is the best brkfst ever.
i'm done.

=^-..-^= · Post by **=^-..-^=** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:35 am

In the middle of two good books:

Guns Germs & Steel

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel

sharkmansix · Post by **sharkmansix** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:54 am

Secret Wars graphic novel.

I'm in a good comic book groove right now!

Garr · Post by **Garr** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:07 pm

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/bookse ... 7103&itm=6

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

ISBN: 0060987103
Format: Paperback, 406pp
Pub. Date: December 2000
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

About the Author

Gregory Maguire received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature from Tufts University. His work as a consultant in creative writing for children takes him to speaking engagements across the United States and abroad. He is a founder and codirector of Children's Literature New England, Incorporated, a non-profit educational charity established in 1987. The author of numerous books for children, Mr. Maguire is also a contributor to Am I Blue?: Coming Out From the Silence, a collection of short stories for gay and lesbian teenagers.

SYNOPSIS

An astonishingly rich re-creation of the land of Oz, this book retells the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, who wasn't so wicked after all. Taking readers past the yellow brick road and into a phantasmagoric world rich with imagination and allegory, Wicked just might change the reputation of one of the most sinister characters in literature.

Silencio · Post by **Silencio** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:51 pm

"Wicked" is excellent.

I'm reading:

"American Theocracy" by Kevin Phillips
"Talk To The Hand" by Lynne Truss
"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon
"The Best Demoncracy Money Can Buy" by Greg Palast
The 8 or so magazines that show up around here, but especially "Funny Times"

bassjones · Post by **bassjones** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:08 pm

Godless.... just kidding

Guiding Lights - The People who Lead Us Toward Our Purpose in Life

- Eric Liu - who was a Clinton Speechwriter

Great book, highly recommend for any of you thinking of becoming a mentor/teacher to young people.

On the theological side, I'm usually reading a C.S. Lewis book and right now it's "The Problem of Pain", which is quite good. I love Lewis. I'm also going to soon be getting "God's Politics - why the right gets it wrong and the left just doesn't get it" by Jim Wallis, who I usually don't like very much, but I'm trying to be open-minded about it. Just recently finished "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller and "Seizing Your Divine Moment" by Erwin McManus. Highly recommend Blue, especially for those of you troubled by current trends in right wing conservativism and Christianity, but not completely opposed to the idea of Christ. Good book. For those of you who are Christians, you'll like the McManus book a lot too.

Al Quandt · Post by **Al Quandt** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:02 pm

I read the I Ching and the Way of Life daily.

Because I am in fact not a satanist but a Taoist. I have been for 7 years.

MrSpall · Post by **MrSpall** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:04 pm

Fantastic work Mr. Jones.

I also generally have at least one theological book going. Am open to most religious ideas, but am most seriously exploring Christianity. Current reads include Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias, The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel, and The Case for Faith also by Strobel. They've all been fascinating reads, but I'd mostly reccomend the first, y Zacharias.

I've also been reading comics a lot of late. I just started reading regularly about 2 years ago, and I've already got a $75-100 a month habit.

heaven's chimney · Post by **heaven's chimney** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 6:40 pm

=^-..-^= wrote:In the middle of two good books:

Guns Germs & Steel

Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity by John Stossel

Excellente! I DEMAND reviews!

What I'm up to: The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. It extols and extrapolates the concept of Systems Theory (by the way, in a list of five skillz, the fifth discipline is... SYSTEMS THINKING). it's good but it falls prey to my pet-peeve of "talking about what you're going to talk about" - instead of just being forthright and teaching systems thinking, Petey writes about how great it is (at first).

I've also been reading comics a lot of late. I just started reading regularly about 2 years ago, and I've already got a $75-100 a month habit.

Dude. You're flippin insane. GO TO THE LIBRARY. GO TO HYDE BROTHERS. GO TO HALF PRICE BOOKS. GO TO VILLAGE BOOKS.

seriously. if you drove ALL THE WAY DOWN to indianapolis, you'd still save money.

Plan9FromAuburn · Post by **Plan9FromAuburn** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 7:33 pm

i am re-reading "Brave New World" by aldous huxley once again. this makes the 5th go round, but i just love this book. that is until my copy of "PUNK ROCK: An Oral History" gets here. i also just finished "Would'nt It Be Nice" brian wilson's autobiography. that dude is f-ing crazy!

fragile_funk · Post by **fragile_funk** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:23 pm

I just finished "Timeline" by Michael Crichton and "Invasion" by Robin Cook. They were both EXCELLENT.