What Are You Reading?

We haven't had one of these threads in a while, and if there's one for music, then why not books? What book have you got on the go at the moment? What do you think of it? What made you buy it?

At the moment, I'm reading On Beauty by Zadie Smith. I liked White Teeth, and thought I'd give this one a go. The opening chapters are a little slow, and not nearly as engaging as White Teeth, but it has promise....

 

Well, I just finished reading Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 by Hunter S. Thompson.

I thought this was an excellent, and mind opening look at the re-election of Richard Nixon. Hunter delivered again with a truly conscious expanding take on the whole political machine and how it works. As I was reading this book, it just kept giving me weird deja vu sort of thoughts about the re-election of the current administration in the US. The fact that in 30 years not much has changed is quite scary and sad at the same time. It made me wonder, in a way, if that is why Hunter chose to take his life at the beginning of the year. Maybe after all he experienced throughout his life, he just couldn't take anymore of the same old bullshit.

I bought this book because I stumbled across it at HMV. I have always loved Hunter S. Thompson, and thought that it would be truly interesting to read his accounts of covering the presidential primaries, nominations, and election of the US President in 1972, during a time when the Vietnam War was still raging on, and people were fighting for peace in whatever way they knew how.

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in politics and how they work. I know the electorate here in the UK works differently, but it is rather obvious that the way a Prime Minister is selected is much the same as how a President is, and in truth, they have quite a lot of the same power.

I hope to find his book on Bill Clinton's election at some point in the future. Maybe one day I'll stumble on that too.

 

Mayflower - Nathanial Philbrick, the story of the original settlements in the Americas.

 

contact juggling by james ernest - its got pictures and everything

 

Thud! by terry pratchett and a shitload of Hellblazer comics i accidently-on-purpose downloaded...

 

Naked Lunch - William S Burroughs
A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn

 

I am reading the autobiography of Mr Nelson Mandela!

 

I'm reading.,....the bible. yes.

and it's a juicy read too!

Not much to say on this library of books, because you'd have to check it out yerselves

 

Read it, the movie was better....

 

which movie, there's loads....

i don't think there's an entire movie that has every single bit of the bible in it....although if there is it'd be cool to watch-rated 18+ though i should think.

 

I've not had time to do much ready recently as I've just started uni bought I but some books to read the other day;
'The Shadow of the Wind' - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
'The Constant Princess' - Philippa Gregory.

 

Shaun Hutson - Necessary Evil
Graham Masterton - Manitou Blood
Jeff Smith - Bone Book 6: Crown of Horns

 

Xiola - i cannot describe how great shadow of the wind is.. i hope you enjoy reading it its a beautiful novel

 

"Whirlwind" - James Clavell
"How to teach English" - Jeremy Harmer

 

im reading the master and margarita by this Russian bloke whose name i cant spell, tis a good read tho

 

Bulgakov.

 

yeah i remember now, tis a difficult name to spell anyways

 

Still reading "Whirlwind" -James Clavell
and also reading "How to teach Grammar" - Jeremy Harmer

 

thucydides .. peloponnesian war...
not for fun but for uni.. its not bad though..

 

I'm reading about religion and secularisation for an essay I may have to write at yours this weekend. Pah! Still, as Sun Tzu said, "Know your enemy, and know yourself, and victory shall always be yours!"