what are you reading today?

[mrjuby]

[quarry]

[chantheman]

[home]

i'm sort of beginning to ignite my interest in non-fiction, finally.

of particular interest currently are, and i hesitate to use this term, 'self help' books. doesn't have to be of any particular genre, but just interested to hear if anyone here has any recommendations.

i've been told to get a copy of 'how to make friends and influence people'. i'd also be interested in reading some books on wealth. well, less on wealth and more on the real-world mechanics of small-business and success. i found a copy of 'the magic of thinking big' lying about the other day, not sure what it's like, but i'll give it a whirl.

auto-biographies are probably not a bad way to get into some of this non-fiction stuff, but i've read my fair share of those, too.

so, yeah - any non-fiction books that have really resonated with you, i'd love to hear about.

[ericdw]

I was on a history kick for a while. Read all of McCullough's books (A Path Between the Seas was the best), read all of Robert Dallek's (Unfinished Life was the best). Most of the stuff I've read is American history, so I'm not sure how much it will interest you.

But one of my favorite books is Human Smoke by Nicholson Baker. It's kinda hard to describe. It's about the few years leading up to US's involvement in WWII. But it's comprised entirely of short paragraphs describing very minute instances in history, all weaved together perfectly. I know it sounds stupid to say a non-fiction history book is intense, but that's the only way I can really describe it. I really can't recommend it enough though.

Another good one is The Last Campaign, by Thurston Clarke. Team of Rivals and The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, both by Kearns, are also good but stupidly long.

Also check out David Foster Wallace. He's basically perfect, check out Consider the Lobster and A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. Chuck Klosterman's stuff is pretty okay, but kinda dumb and silly - Sex Drugs and Cocopuffs, and IV. Anything but Malcom Gladwell, he's horrible.

I'm reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers now, which is technically a non-fiction memoir, but might as well be a novel.

[salaryman]

really liking this so far.

[otlyaa]

loved Crime and Punishment. Currently trying to get into this. I like it so far. I also have the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand as the next in my lineup.

[dontlookup]

hyde5783

That isn't the exact copy I have but mine is translated by the same guy. I'll look into picking up the translation you suggested. Thanks a bunch.

otlyaa

My dad also have me that one (he loves Dostoevsky). Looking to read it in the near future. Let me know how you like it.

[whizkit]

[american_hearts]

I really need to re-read all the stuff they kicked around in american studies.

doctorow

all the king's men

the usa trilogy in particular. god, that's good shit. I should devote the next month to this. I won't, but I should. It's a nice thought.

for the time being:

[mrjuby]

[therelativity]

[alexryb]

&

[otlyaa]

[selbsttatig]

[jtothe]

[domdomdomdom]

[034936]

can anyone recommend a decent literary review website?

i just need something with reliable and decent reviews of new and varying types of writing (fiction, non fiction, poetry, travel, etc etc).

edit: basically something like sputnik, but for books rather than albums.

[repose]

can anyone recommend a decent literary review website?

i just need something with reliable and decent reviews of new and varying types of writing (fiction, non fiction, poetry, travel, etc etc).

edit: basically something like sputnik, but for books rather than albums.

Bookslut.com?

[thelaststarfighter]

ditto on walden

[Tisswat]

can anyone recommend a decent literary review website?

i just need something with reliable and decent reviews of new and varying types of writing (fiction, non fiction, poetry, travel, etc etc).

edit: basically something like sputnik, but for books rather than albums.

Try www.goodreads.com.

[Grim Ryan]

Bleak even for me.

[thirteengrand]

Bleak even for me.

favorite steinbeck: cannery row

about to finish dennett - sweet dreams: philosophical obstacles to a science of consciousness

dennett owns, makes me even more excited for my research internship at tufts this summer (here's hoping they like me enough to give me a transfer scholarship)

also working on dawkins - the ancestor's tale; brilliant, but slow going as i can only tolerate about 15 minutes a day of his smug

[tweeds]

[domdomdomdom]

[american_hearts]

[ericdw]

just got Broom of the System as a gift. can't wait to start it. how is it?

[dzerzhinsky]

Has everything in it - intrigue, a love story, prison escape, the affairs of the aristocracy, treasure, adventure, bandits, smugglers, politics, Paris, Rome ... brilliant.

[tylortakahisa]

not a huge comic reader, but this is pretty sick

just read 1-7, nice n violent:D

[american_hearts]

just got Broom of the System as a gift. can't wait to start it. how is it?

funny. I got it as a gift, too, in october and just now cracked it. As much as I love DF to the W, I never would have picked this one up myself (would have just re-read IJ instead) but it's good, and a comparatively 'easy' read. Same wit, same amount of heart.