What are you reading tonight DU? I'm reading "God Is Not Great" by Christopher Hitchens.

[applegrove]

He is using the bible quite a bit and telling the narrative of how the bible came to be. Quite interesting.

[RebelOne]

1. I do not have to read his book to know that god is not great. n/t

[hifiguy]

2. I just finished that book a couple of weeks ago!

Great read. Hitchens writes with real conviction and eloquence. If you enjoy that book, do check out Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion" which is equally forceful and written from the perspective of an evolutionary geneticist/biologist. Dawkins' humor is a bit more sly and his tone is every bit as potent albeit more scientifically grounded.

Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" is another great book discussing related topics.

edit for spelling.

[applegrove]

3. Thanks I'll look into that.

[femmocrat]

4. "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

I'm probably the last person in the world to read it.

[applegrove]

5. Yes you are. LOL!

[bigwillq]

6. Serial by John Lutz

One of my fave authors.

[struggle4progress]

7. Joel Marcus' two volume set on the gospel of Mark

and Paul Cohen's Set Theory and the Continuum Hypothesis

I've adopted the "read a few pages and then do something else" style, suitable for dense folk like me reading dense texts like these

[Kceres]

8. I just got "Hitch-22" in paperback yesterday.

Haven't cracked it yet but will within the next day or two. Read "God is Not Great" two years ago. Don't always agree with Hitch, but ya gotta love him.

[applegrove]

9. Yeah he's so bright. I was so disappointed when he went over to the dark side with neocons.

[Kceres]

11. I know. It's tragic about his health, though.

I truly hopes he has many more years ahead of him.

[applegrove]

12. Yes me too.

[Chan790]

10. Nothing.

I'm all reading tuckered out.

[OmahaBlueDog]

13. "The Coldest Winter" by David Halberstam

The more I read about Republicans and Harry Truman, the more parallels I see with their treatment of Barack Obama. It's also fascinating to see how nasty the media and politicians were during the height of red-baiting.

[Flaxbee]

14. "The Apostate's Tale" by Margaret Frazer

about a Benedictine nun in 15th century England; this is the last in a series of mysteries set in and around the Oxfordshire convent
of St. Frideswide's.

I liked the Cadfael books; this is a similar sort of mystery.

[Patiod]

15. A Visit from the Goon Squad and 1493

So good.

[mucifer]

16. I'm reading "With Malice Towards None" a Lincoln biography

It's very interesting. I can see how President Obama is influenced by Lincoln and not necessarily in a good way.

[Ishoutandscream2]

29. My favorite Lincoln bio

Thorough and a quick read. Enjoyed it immensely.

[Odin2005]

17. I am almost finished with the historical novel "The First Man in Rome".

It's about the late republic leaders Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla.

[Glorfindel]

21. Wonderful book! There are six more in the series

Be sure to read them all.

[Odin2005]

23. I already read "The October Horse", that's how I discovered the series.

Got it at the thrift store I work at. It was so good I decided to read all the other books.

I love how the old families howl every time Marius shoves through populist legislation through the popular assembly. Seems rather familiar, doesn't it? LOL!

[Iggo]

18. Nothing. I'm listening to the audiobook for "A Storm Of Swords".

Won't do that again.

The story's great, but the audiobook experience just isn't for me.

First of all, when I'm reading a words on paper book and my attention wanders, I stop reading. Kinda like a deadman switch. Then I can find where I was by scanning the page and either remembering where I was on the page (top, middle, bottom, left page, right page) or scanning key words or passages (like names or dialog) and I get my bearings back. Doesn't work that way with the audiobook. Gotta rewind and go "Nope. That ain't it. Nope. That ain't it. Nope. That ain't it. Nope. That ain't it..."

Second, the narrator in my head can change voices from old to young, man to woman. The audiobook narrator cannot.

Third, this specific narrator's asian accent is one of the most offensive I've heard since the 1960's. It was extremely difficult getting through Dany's interaction with the slavers.

Anyway, I'll finish this audiobook and then that's it. It'll be back to printed words on paper for me.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. Re-reading a Steph Plum novel. All my other books are packed up.

[Glorfindel]

20. "Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

If you like the genre, I strongly recommend it. (Think "A Canticle for Liebowitz" crossed with "The Name of the Rose.")

[Manifestor_of_Light]

22. Just finished NOMAD by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

Excellent book.

[applegrove]

24. Yes I read that too. I was a little worried she is being used by neocons though. Somebody told

her that all the study of muslims had already been done and that she should just give speeches. I found that a little odd.

[hifiguy]

25. Stephen King's "Under the Dome"

and brother is it a freaking full-throttle barnburner of a novel. Not to mention a micro-scale meditiation on Chimpy and Unkkkle Darth and their motivations. I never though SK could match the uncut version of "The Stand." I am thrilled to be proven wrong.

It's a great distraction from Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine." At least King's monsters are imaginary. Klein's are terrifyingly all too real.

[kentauros]

26. The Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes

I know I've probably mentioned this one before, but it's a reference book over a thousand pages long (not something to just sit down and read cover to cover) and sometimes I just get to reading entry after entry. I find it all fascinating and very useful. Then again, I'm probably the only one on these threads that reads stuff like this, so I don't know why I bother posting to them... ; )

[applegrove]

27. Remember there are 10 times as many views as responces on these threads. I wouldn't

assume you are alone in your interest. I would read an encyclopedia if it was on a topic that interested me (like political leaders). Lots of people here are spiritual. Thanks for your post.

[kentauros]

28. I was just making fun of myself.

I post to these topics knowing full well I'm in an extreme minority for what interests me. It's really more self-torture and boredom than anything :P

[Ishoutandscream2]

30. Applegrove, it's on my list

My wonderful socialist library has Keith Richards' bio on hold for me for next week. Will have to pick up Hitch's book as well.

Just finished Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse 5" (I know, I'm a late bloomer). Want to now read Cat's Cradle.

[Sisaruus]

31. Just finished Bossypants by Tina Fey

Now I'm starting Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply by Vandana Shiva.