What book are you reading?

[Craterus]

The Three Musketeers currently, but at a much slower pace than the last few I've read.

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
The Lord of the Rings

For the nth time. Lost count after the fourth.
.

[Fragony]

Rereading the Undutchables, book about the Netherlands by an American couple, it's hilarious, we are lovingly torn to tiny little bits. It's fun watching your culture from a foreigners perspective, things that are completely normal here are total insanity and anarchy to them. Bottom line: the dutch are insane. And they kinda have a point.

[Beirut]

Just finished Warrior Politics by Robert Kaplan. Very good read. Brief, historical, and insighful. Took it out from the library but I might buy it.

http://www.amazon.ca/Warrior-Politic...9641903&sr=8-2

[rajpoot]

Reading 'The Once and Future King'.
I've wanted to read this since I was like 13....when I first heard about it. But it was only a week back that I actually managed to find a copy. On book three now.

By the way, I once read a translation of The Odyssey by T E Lawrence. I found it err...'nice' to read, better than another one I'd read. Been trying to find Iliad by T E Lawrence since then, but no luck. Can anyone direct me to an online copy or something?

[Lemur]

Plodding through Ex Libris, which is a dry, dry read. I may have to take it back to the library early.

-edit-

Ditched the interminable and boring Ex Libris, started reading Giles Milton's White Gold: The Extraordinary Story of Thomas Pellow and Islam's One Million White Slaves. Much better read.

[Beirut]

By the way, I once read a translation of The Odyssey by T E Lawrence. I found it err...'nice' to read, better than another one I'd read. Been trying to find Iliad by T E Lawrence since then, but no luck. Can anyone direct me to an online copy or something?

I had no idea he translated those books. I'm going to look into that.

[Lemur]

Little known fact: T.E. Lawrence and Robert Graves (the classicist and novelist who wrote I, Claudius) were friends, and Graves encouraged the desert warrior to do the translations. Also, I believe Lawrence carried a copy of Apuleius' The Golden Ass through his entire war in Arabia.

[Legosoldier]

My Antonia, by Willa Cather. Most of my friends say it's boring... but I find it quite interesting to read.

[Hooahguy]

The Hunt for Red October
Tom Clancey

so far its pretty good, even though i dont really like books that center on intelligence activities.

[Lemur]

Re-reading the Sharpe novels. Not as good as Patrick O'Brian, but big fun nonetheless.

[Craterus]

Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.

Almost finished that though so will be starting The Stranger next unless I find something else.

[Beirut]

The Hunt for Red October
Tom Clancey

so far its pretty good, even though i dont really like books that center on intelligence activities.

I thought it was a whonking good book.

His latest(?), The Bear and the Dragon, was also very good. The last two-hundred pages are a barn burner. You can read them over and over just a for a quick hour or so of solid action.

(Actually, I've read every Clancy book several times. Might not be high-class literature, but it's great fun and the guy really knows how to tell a story.)

[Mouzafphaerre]

.
Ordered 17 books. My friend currently on vacation in NJ will bring them along in a couple weeks:

1. The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor (Ancient Peoples and Places; V. 83)
2. Sumer and the Sumerians
3. A Natural History of Latin
4. The Origin of Language: Tracing the Evolution of the Mother Tongue
5. The Roman Empire and Its Germanic Peoples
6. Vox Graeca: the Pronunciation of Classical Greek
7. Structural Function of Harmony
8. The War of the Ring: the History of the Lord of the Rings, Part Three
9. A History of the Vikings
10. Fundamentals of Musical Composition
11. On the Sensations of Tone
12. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character
13. Theory of Harmony
14. The Trojan War: a New History
15. Archaeology and Language: the Puzzle of Indo-European Origins
16. Civilization Before Greece and Rome
17. History of the Goths

The Schönbergs (#s 7, 10, 13) and the Helmholtz (tr. Ellis, # 11) relate to my ancient interest and semi-profession; the Tolkien (# 8) is essential for my geek library; the rest, especially #s 6 and 14, are partly about my new line of study, my spoils from EB bibliography and my general keenness on language and history.


.

[Decker]

Going to start The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre. Apparently it's famous but I never heard of it. I'm reading it for class and will eventually get to The File by Timothy Garton Ash and Tea In The Harem by Mehdi Charef. That is all for one class!

[Fragony]

Recommendation for dutch/flemish/german(think it was translated) members, 'Het Diner' by Herman Koch. One of the best books I have read in quite some time, 2 brothers, their wives, a night out. And there is some uhmmmmmmm well tension between them, clearly something must have happened. Well something has happened alright, as they 'have to talk about their children'. One brother is the casual observer who doesn't want any parade, the other is the candidate for prime minister. The brothers don't get along very well, the casual observer who doesn't want any parade obviously finds his brother somewhat vulgar, every move his brother makes is scorned, up to the way he eats his steak, but he isn't that bad a guy really just one of these guys that are good with people. It gets a bit hard to swallow in the end and my parents would have dragged me to the police had they learned what their offspring has done, it's not very convincing to me. But good it is.

[Martok]

Was feeling the need for a bit of Star Trek, so I picked up Deep Space Nine's Terok Nor trilogy, which covers the Cardassians' 50-year occupation of Bajor. Am currently in the midst of the second book Night of the Wolves.

[Centurion1]

Am reading Henry Kissinger's Years of Upheaval.

Really not dry at all because Kissinger plays the role of storyteller as well as historian. Would probably anger many American democrats however.

[Lemur]

Would probably anger many American democrats however.

Why?

[CountArach]

Am reading Henry Kissinger's Years of Upheaval.

Really not dry at all because Kissinger plays the role of storyteller as well as historian. Would probably anger many American democrats however.

Sure, if you want to use the word historian in the loosest possible sense...

Reading Lucan's Civil War - not far into it, but I really am enjoying it, certainly far more than I enjoyed The Iliad. Maybe because the subject matter appeals to me more.

[johnhughthom]

Nearly finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Man that a bleak read.

[Lemur]

Nearly finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Man that a bleak read.

Yea, that book is bleak on bleak with a side of despair. Why Oprah recommended it to bored housewives, I have no idea. As I explained to Mrs. Lemur, "It's like Road Warrior without the sense of humor."

[woad&fangs]

Silent Night by Stanley Weintraub

It is about the Christmas truce during WWI. So far so good, but I'm not very far into it yet.

[Centurion1]

Would probably anger many American democrats however.

Why?

Ardent conservative, does not paint a positive picture of democrats ideology.

Sure, if you want to use the word historian in the loosest possible sense...

If you are talking about a slanted view then i say that 90% of modern historical literature needs at least 60 years before any bias is gone. The concept of a truly objective writer is almost impossible to find. Same reason i don't like the book about Kennedy that was written right after his death by a family friend.

Nearly finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Man that a bleak read.

Very well written though. I enjoyed it but it was more than a little unsettling.

[Lemur]

Ardent conservative, does not paint a positive picture of democrats ideology.

Well, the period of time that book covers was dominated by the Watergate scandal, so I'd be curious to see how he spins that into an attack on the opposing political party. Eh, he's a smart guy, I'm sure he manages it.

[Adrian II]

The concept of a truly objective writer is almost impossible to find.

Define 'objective'.

Same reason i don't like the book about Kennedy that was written right after his death by a family friend.

You mean Arthur Schlesinger's book A Thousand Days? What's not to like about it? Schlesinger was part of the Kennedy administration, the book is in many ways an eyewitness accounta and it contained a lot of news when it appeared. Besides it reflects the mentality and atmosphere of that administration, which is interesting in itself. Mr Schlesinger couldn't have waited sixty years - that is, till 2023 - to come up with something 'objective'. He died two years ago!

[Louis VI the Fat]

Define 'objective'.You mean Arthur Schlesinger's book A Thousand Days? What's not to like about it? Schlesinger was part of the Kennedy administration, the book is in many ways an eyewitness accounta and it contained a lot of news when it appeared. Besides it reflects the mentality and atmosphere of that administration, which is interesting in itself. Mr Schlesinger couldn't have waited sixty years - that is, till 2023 - to come up with something 'objective'. He died two years ago!

The devastating thing is, that unlike me and my perennial bluffing, I quite suspect you of actually having read this book too.

And all those other books.


How many books do you read anyway? And how long does it take you to read one? :bittertears:

[CountArach]

If you are talking about a slanted view then i say that 90% of modern historical literature needs at least 60 years before any bias is gone. The concept of a truly objective writer is almost impossible to find. Same reason i don't like the book about Kennedy that was written right after his death by a family friend.

Professional historian > Amateur historian with a partisan story

Neither is unbiased, but one of them is in it for themselves. Can you guess which one that is?

[Centurion1]

Professional historian > Amateur historian with a partisan story

Neither is unbiased, but one of them is in it for themselves. Can you guess which one that is?

Can you guess where i said that a professional historian is not more objective than a amateur.

*hint* it is nowhere

And i never said that i trusted Kissinger implicitly. I just said it was interesting to read a book about the time period from someone who was actively there. Doesn't mean i take each word as god-given truths.

[Lemur]

Gents, let's try to avoid getting all Backroom over the subject. Nobody has done so yet, but it's easy to see how to get there from here.