Reading/To Read List
by I've been looking for something online to easily keep track of what I've read, and what I want to read. I'm trying to be more organized about my approach. Anyone come across anything like that?
Currently reading (in priority order):
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
Dune
by Frank Herbert
East of Eden
by John Steinbeck
Anna Karenina
by Leo Tolstoy
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
Bought/borrowed but haven't started:
Survivor
by Chuck Palahniuk
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
The Universe in a Nutshell
by Stephen William Hawking
Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
The Manchurian Candidate
by Richard Condon
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan & Shopaholic Ties the Knot
by Sophie Kinsella
Have to pick up:
The Orchid Thief : A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
by Susan Orlean
Naked Lunch
by William S Burroughs
Inside the Kingdom : My Life in Saudi Arabia
by Carmen Bin Ladin
A Fine Balance
by ROHINTON MISTRY
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel García Márquez
something by Henry James
something by Virgina Woolf
'The Bourne' series
by ROBERT LUDLUM
Otherland series
by Tad Williams
Invitation to a Beheading & Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
by Philip K Dick
the year of the death of ricardo reis
Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
Finished!:
Ella Minnow Pea : A Novel in Letters
by Mark Dunn
This was a fun fast read. I liked this book a lot. I didn't realize that the novel was actually letters as in correspondence.
AI Summary
121 Comments
Patterson happens to be one of my faves so I was excited to hear about MAX--I LOVED--When The Wind Blows and it was my first introduction to the character of Max. It's cool that Patterson has such range that he can dip into sci-fi and still deliver!!!!
a possibly helpful site: http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search
I used to like reading. I don't know what happened.
I'm going back and reading lots of classics and stuff that is considered young adult lit in preparation for my student teaching this fall. This past week I read:
Red Badge of Courage
Awful. Painful from beginning to end.
Then I reread: The Lord of the Flies
This was actually better than I remember it being.
when a crocidile eats the sun: a memoir of africa by peter goodwin.
it tells one mans story about growing up in zimbabwe. its really a story about everything going on there now. all the political upheaval and problems. and its great because most of the people involved are people that he gew up with. and it has an interconnected story about the downfall of his country coinciding with his father becoming gravely ill. excellent read b/c its current history but almost told like a novel even though it's his life story.
and its crazy b/c i feel like i haven't heard a lot about the problems in zimbabwe but as soon as i finished this book there was an article in the paper about how this past weekend dispatch did a weekend of concerts at madison square garden and all the proceeds went to helping zimbabwe.
I just read Ilium by Dan Simmons.
http://www.amazon.com/Ilium-Simmons-Dan/dp/0380978938
It's like the Iliad meets science-fiction. If you like Greek Mythology, you'd probably like this book. If you like grand scifi, or enjoyed Hyperion, you'll like this book.
I just picked up the sequel, Olympos, can't wait to read it.
you guys really do a lot of reading. I do too, but I never come in this forum for some reason. I've been reading a lot of Carl Hiaasen lately - he's a fiction writer who's writing style reminds me of Dave Barry (Dave Barry has two novels - one of them in Big Trouble, it got made into a movie with Tim Allen and Rene Russo).
Turns out Dave Barry and carl hiaasen work together at the Miami Herald! Kind of explains a lot, I guess.
Anyway, his books are very enjoyable, I recommend "Sick Puppy" as a good start.
i've read big trouble and tricky business by dave barry and i didn't really like either one especially. i like his columns a lot though
short story compilation called Transgressions.
it's really awesome. mostly all crime and suspense stories.
Steven Pinker
Blank Slate.
Picked it up yesterday
that steven pinker is such a stinker
i have just finished reading every book mentioned in this thread and it all STUNK!!!
me too! not a single one was a top seller, and it SHOWED!!! LOL!
Gee, this line of reasoning sounds familiar. They weren't mainstream books. What a shame... Haha...
Kidding of course. Don't need some wackos getting mad.
magical thinking by augusten burroughs
magical thinking is a psycholigal mental health term that means a person believes they have more influence over a situation than they in reality have. like the train is gonna arrive on time because i want it to. anyway its just a rambling bunch of family stories and observations from a very funny man. autobiographical. its the same man who wrote running with sissors and dry, which were also his autobiographies about different life points. this fills in the gaps with cool stories but i dont think if you never read those books that you'd be lost. just entertained.
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Just read this in two days. I found it to be a quick read because of the way it's written. Using "letters" to narrate the story seemed to make things go faster; it also made it more enjoyable because you're getting the story right from the characters perspective.
Some of the parts people might find questionable because of language and the subject matter (sex!!).
I'm not usually a fan of Oprah's bookclub books (actually, knowing that Oprah supports the books usually makes me disinclined to read it) but I enjoyed this more than a Toni Morrison novel.
The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
I really liked the narrative viewpoint used throughout this novel (though it switched sometimes). Because it's first person, the narration is very casual and colorful with the addition of the narrators thoughts.
It took me a while to find the actual plot engaging but I found that I enjoyed it by the end. The characters aren't all lovable but they're interesting.
hmmm. have you ever read poisionwood bible? its by the same author and i looved it. about this family that moves to the congo in the 60's. one of the best books. and i've always thought to read other books of hers but i just remember my teacher and other talking about how they're stupid.
I haven't but now that I'm used to her writing style I think I'd probably enjoy reading more of her stuff.
Bean Trees was amusing if nothing else.
i have been wanting to read the picture of dorian gray by oscar wilde for a while now. has anyone read this? is it good?
I thought it was decent; better than other books of that period. But you still have to be in the mood to suffer through the innuendos about british social classes in the 19th century. It's an interesting story, though. Very imaginative.
I tried reading this a while back and didn't get through the first two chapters and I rarely ever start a book and then stop.
i liked it. i particularly enjoyed the end. and i thought the writing style was kinda hard to get through but the idea made it all worth it.
i just bought the count of monte cristo (the author has a really funny last name by the way (but a great first name), and i had no idea it was so long. it is scary long. it will def take me a while to read this.
Ah, just watch the movie. LOL!
I think it took me about a year (with other books in between) to finish that. It's leaps and bounds above any movie, but it's much more of a tragic love story; movies are more about revenge, but I don't think that's a central theme of the book. I actually thought it was more of a girly book, but it's well written, nonetheless.
This is a great book! The beginning is really slow but don't let that turn you off to it. Once you get through that it's pretty brilliant.
And don't listen to anything brotherman says. He's obviously trying to support the man and mass media today or something. This movie sucks. It takes an amazing book and takes out everything that makes it good and leaves just stupid fluff so that the average American can be mindlessly entertained without having to think a little.
well i really liked the movie. the book is probably a lot different though.
It's so different that I swear, at some point, the director or screen play writer just took the book, threw it out the window, and just started making it up as he went.
i actually don't have a problem with that, as long as the movie is good. i liked the movie, i'll probably read the book at some point. like the bourne identity books and movies are completely different, there's really only a few similarities in the story.
i support lynz. i think i actually read this book because you told me how great it was. its defintely a great book. i remember reading the end and thinking that i kinda saw one part coming, and then in the afterward they talk about how the reader sees it coming now but that style of ending was the first of its kind in count of monte cristo.
I think the odyssey was the first ending of that kind. Let's not credit Dumas with too much. I agree though, the book ending is much better than the movie ending.
Just finished Mary Higgens Clark's "Ill be Seeing You"
This was a good book but it gets a little confusing, because she introduces new characters in almost every chapter.
Now I'm about half way through John Grishams "The Summons"
That started out pretty slow but it's getting really good now.
i used to really love john grisham and read all his books but evuantally they all became the same. yeah......i'm seeing this case is headed to trial. uh huh uh huh. ....... and i'm seeing the whole case dependant on who is in the jury. ....
his only book that was radically different was "a painted house". and that was so different it didn't even seem like him and i didn't like it.
ha i used to read Mary Higgins Clark like there was no tomorrow, literally i would read like 2 of her books in one day
and then i got tired of her
I love MHC! I've read all of her books except her new one because I had plans when she was signing by me and I missed her every where else. Now I'm going to have to get it from the library.
I need a good book suggestion. I've read the obligatory classics, and I've been on an Aldous Huxley trip for a while, but now I'm in the mood for something less philosophical. I want something modern, smart and character driven. Suggestions?
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
http://www.amazon.com/Hyperion-Dan-Simmons/dp/0553283685
Very character driven. The setting is in a distant future, and although it is sci-fi, it's written in short stories with a single narrator connecting them. It's really an adventure/mystery.
The writing is intense, and far from being popcorn.
Also, I'd say it's somewhat of a treatise on the poet John Keats.
It and its sequel Fall of Hyperion are easily some of the best books I've read in the past 10 years.
i'll have to check that out.
Hmmm, sounds interesting. I'd really like a nice girly love story, though.
Have you read The Time Traveler's Wife?
Nope. What's it about?
oh! this is definitely your next read.
"It is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his frequent absences and dangerous experiences."
is this a joke?
no, it's a crazy idea, but the book is really good. it's pretty powerful.
Hahaha - Ok, not bad. It's not what I'd reach for on a shelf, but I'll see if our library has it. Thanks!
sooooo good! there are a few scenes but they are married so i think its ok. I could not put this book down, although i'm somewhat suprised that ian read it and liked it.
hey!
i just mean it seemed more of like a "girl" book to me. Like the Notebook. An elder in my old hall read it, and it was very suprising to me. I guess im a little sexist. Sorry :(
but it's got time travel in it!
true true i forgot
I loved this book!
chick lit? *gag*
My list of things to read:
Shoprite circular
The nutrition label on a can of tuna
Directions to build a bookshelf
Alex's next attempt to say football is better than baseball
I am quite the conniseur of reading...
just ordered dan brown's "digital fortress", i've read some of his others and i like his writing style, it's usually very technical with a very interwoven plot. the chapters are usually short and it keeps moving and keeps you into it. we'll see how it is
that was a fun, fast read. i think you'll enjoy it. if you've read Deception Point, it's very similar.
yeah i liked deception point, although i thought it was slow at points, the last 100 pages of deception point were great
I dont know if you guys know anything about Lolita, but its supposed to be a really racy book about this old guy who molestes a little girl.... (I had wanted to read it until I found out what it was about)
BUT SHE...! BUT SHE...! D'OH!
it's...complicated. she actually seduces him and he's in love with her and totally tortured by it the whole time.
ha i read a bunch of lame books in 2004!
I'm going to borrow "Lolita" by Nabakov when I repair the last library book I borrowed. Oh, I hate myself for besmudging all my books.
has anyone ever read east of eden? supposedly its the best john steinbeck book and i was told the schools were mistaken when they make us read grapes of wrath. but reading grapes of wrath left me with the question if there could be any good john steinbeck book.
im halfway into it. i like it better than anything else i've ever read by him. like his other works tho-it does have a religious tone (obviously)
I think John Steinbeck is the devil too.
lol, me too! I hated the grapes of wrath! What a worthless, pointless book!
it did spawn the SCTV sketch "the grapes of mud"
that was funny
East of Eden is definitly the best of all the John Steinbeck books ive read (ie Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden) I recommend it.
In my opinion, anna karenina was not a book worth reading... but after you finish it if you want ez-message me and we can discuss.... some people really loved that book.... personally, i dont get it.... the highlight of the book for me was the end... and i dont usually feel that way about books
i loved count of monte cristo-one of the best books i ever read. much better than the movie. be prepared for sadness.
Yeah, it's real good. I've been waiting for her too finish it but she reads too many books at once.
ha it's not that i don't believe you. it's just that i can't concentrate on it bc it is so slow. why do you think i've been reading AK forevER.
It goes faster later when he's done digging his tunnel.
man thats rough, several novels read at the same time. how
no tv. no computer. i always forget to bring books with me so i just keep books in all the places where i go. =)
i always carry a book with me. that's why my purse is soo big. it made me feel better in this one episode of gilmore girls when rory goes to this important dance and then she pulls a book outta her bag. i loved. it.
me too. i always have a book in the car. i go everywhere with a book
i used to be that guy, but then i decided people where more fun to read than a book...
well obviously i don't read it while surrounded by people but a few weeks ago we were at a wedding and the bride took a really long time to come out so i just read a few chapters. or travelign in a car when all people wanna do is listen to music, i just read. i love reading.
anybody read anything by d.h. lawerence. lately he has been coming up on a lot of books i've been reading and i never read anything by him. supposed to be good. writes about women and love i think. reccomendations?
Very racy. Or so I've heard. ;)
yeah right ya liar. you know it don't ya? i jusrt saw the literary merit part and wanted to check it out for this class.
dh lawrence is generally considered to be a writer of "erotica". several of his books were declared obscene and banned. i would tread lightly and do your research.
Malibooty likes mexican erotica.
hahahah. apparently. then i probably won't read it. but they mentioned it in a beautiful mind so i thought to read it. then he was mentioned in our english book. so then i'll have to look through it. but then again they did ban alice in wonderland. did you know that alice in wonderland was actually written by a mathmatician that worked at oxford to entertain his friend's daughter.
i did not know that. quite interesting. i've been meaning to read that book and the Oz books. the books are always far more strange and detailed than the movies. the hardest part is putting out of my mind the familiar images that i've seen in the movies. i like to imagine the books descriptions without that bit of prejuduice.
the wonderland books are good but you HAVE to read the oz books. i've read them all maybe 5 times each. the patchwork girl, the tin man, the emerald city of oz, the scarecrow of oz, are all sooooo good.
one to derfintely reccommend reading is the pathwork girl of oz. maybe i liked it cuz i was a girl but if i remember correctly this is the one with the shaggy man and the ABSOLUTE BEST oz book in my opinion. look for the shaggy man. he shall be your guiding light.
always do
i just finished rereading alice in wonderland. the forward contained some enlightening information about reverend charles dodgson (lewis carol). alice liddell and her sisters were real people, but its doubtful his intentions were altogether innocent.
he was a mathematician and logician who glorified illogic and non sequitur; he was a conservative professor and clergyman who was friends with the Bohemians; he wrote books for children filled with images of violence and brutality; and, while professing a prudish, innocent view of childhood, he took photographs of prepububescent girls in the nude
wow. he's not well. he's a decent writer though!
absolutely! also, i think with alice you wont have a problem dimissing any disney-esque thoughts bc the actual story is so dark. i would like to read an annotated version someday bc i know im missing some of the references. im reading through the looking glass next. its even darker. i havent read it in about 5 years, i think.
isn't j.m. barrie (author of peter pan) supposed to have been a pedophile to little boys? there was rumors of it but never proven fact.....something like that.
yeah. charles dodgson held the head of mathematics chair at oxford, same position as Isaac Newton, and Stephen Hawking. And he wrote a lot on mathematical logic, and logic puzzles. I've got one of his books at home.
yeah but imagine you are this really famous important proffessor and all you're remembered for is this child's story that you wrote and its not even in your name.
I think thats why he used a pen name, because he wanted to seperate his professional writings from his fiction. And both names were pretty famous during his time, and lots of people read Alice in Wonderland, but not as many read his work on mathematical logic.
yeah but what do most normal people in society know? They know lewis carroll. and does he exist?no.
dude see summer was VERY specific there. haha I just had a general idea.
pay no attn to that fresh lil sis.
Did he write Portrait of Dorian Grey? I tried reading that. Very homosexual and boring.
that was oscar wilde..dh lawrence was all about the ladies.
Memoirs of a Geisha is this about a young Indian girl (Indian from India not Native American)?
i havent read it but i think geisha are generally japanese.
Oh, learn something new everyday ;-)
Geishas are Japanese. They aren't really like prostitutes but more like social companions. Because that society used to be very strict and your wife was meant to manage the house and produce children, not meant as a friend or social companion herself. So, if a man wanted to go out and have a good time he didn't bring his wife but he hired a Geisha. It's a really really strict crazy order and it takes a lot to be one because they are very learned and they have to play musical instruments. It's really cool.
OH! These are the very well dressed women with their hair wrapped up and long decorative gowns...bright red lipstick???
My mom has an Asian motif in the living room and has 3 or 4 of these statues, I think they're modeled after a Geisha.
Yeah, that's probably them.
PKD - great author. wacky. obsessed with mars and foretelling the future.
i never saw the movie, but i've wanted to read the book for a long time
I've read maybe 5 PKD novels and a colection of his short stories (including Minority Report), but I've never read this one. It seems the obvious one, but I must have skipped it, gonna add it to my wishlist.
do you recommend the others?
Ubik I thought was cool. If you plan on reading something else of his, give that one a try. His short stories are awesome, but I'm such a fan of short-story science fiction in general.
i never know what to get short story wise. suggestions?
uh, compilations by good authors. and don't mess with condensed stories.
I just made a chart for myself in word and as I read through books I write down when I read them. Though..it'd be nice to change the list so it would be by priority..hmm