What are you reading these days?

[Doc Pyres]

In honour of Agent Starling's excellent recent thread, "What Music are you listening to lately?" I'd like to hear what people are reading - books, magazines, newspapers, online stuff, whatever strikes your fancy.

I've usually got a few books going simultaneously but when I get busy, my reading usually goes on the backburner. For now though, I'm on vacation, so it's reading heaven. :D In addition to this wonderful forum and the daily online news sites I visit, I'm reading the following:

The Dragon Syndicates - The Global Phenomenon of the Triads by Martin Booth

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan (Sci-fi)

And the latest edition of Motor Trend :)

[cobrajoe]

I'm most of the way through a book called "Tyranosaur Canyon"

It's more of a mystery thriller, but there is a bit of science in there too. It's not a bad read.

But other than that I really Highly reccomend Harlan Coben. He writes in a way that no other can (IMHO of course :)). I'd say start with Tell No One

[vampyrewolf]

lets see...

The Prince by Machiavelli

Learning Perl, Learning the BASH Shell, and Bash cookbook... all by O'Reilly (getting back to my programming, referencing all 3 at the same time)

CyberTerror by Pineiro

The Historian by Kostova

[CombatGrappler]

I am rereading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I am on Lord of Chaos right now. It is sad that RJ passed away before he could complete what is pretty much the best fantasy series ever. I heard that his wife has picked out an author to finish the series from RJ's notes. I read some of his books and was impressed.

Also reading: Handguns mag, Guns & Ammo, about 10 or some comics I get every month.

Watching: BaliYo DVD :D

[Agent Starling]

In honour of Agent Starling's excellent recent thread, "What Music are you listening to lately?" I'd like to hear what people are reading - books, magazines, newspapers, online stuff, whatever strikes your fancy.
Glad it tickled your fancy, Doc P.:)

I'm done w/school & studying for my boards now, so it's full-on geekdom all the way.

But in June and July I read a few Dean Koontz books...zen's recent thread got me started on that, as I had never heard of DK before...so I read Intensity, Life Expectancy, and The Husband. All are excellent reads! :D

Agent Starling

[Tank]

I just started Brimstone by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and next is the Black Order by James Rollins. Rollins has become one of my favorite authors. All his books are page turners. A mix of action adventure and sci-fi with a touch of non fiction in the mix.
As far as mags go.. Popular Mechanics and Popular Science and the Smithsonian are the current subscriptions

[Shike]

I try to find old classic first edition books for my young son. So right now I am reading a first edition (1914) Tarzan of the Apes:D

[Jenner 515]

a history of The Khyber Rifles.

As well as manual on building stitch and glue plywood Kayaks.

[vampyrewolf]

I try to find old classic first edition books for my young son. So right now I am reading a first edition (1914) Tarzan of the Apes:D

see if you have any flea markets or book resellers around you ;)

I've got a few old and rare books in my collection, usually bought for a couple bucks :D
The local orchestra has an annual book sale with donated books, and they carry over books for a couple years before recycling if they don't sell. We're talking $100 text books for $5-6, early 20th century works for $2-10 depending on quality. Picked up a 4 book collector set of Dune in paperback for $10 this year, still in plastic :cool:

Get most of my reference books from an antiques/reseller guy on the other side of the city... but with them being in as good condition as possible he charges 25-50% of the book's original price. Think my philosophy books were about $20.
Still think my best find was the old college dictionary for $8-10... I think it's 1968, have to confirm when I get home.

[gac]

Recently read:
Tango For a Torturer by Daniel Chavarria
Dirty Money by Richard Stark
Volk's Shadow by Brent Ghelfi
Dust Devils by James Reasoner

Waiting or in the process:
That's Alright Elvis: the untold story of Elvis's first guitarist and manager, Scotty Moore
Bill Mauldin : a life up front
A dirty war : a Russian reporter in Chechnya

[jujigatame]

One Shot and The Hard Way by Lee Child
The Day Before Midnight by Stephen Hunter

I re-read Den of Thieves by James Stewart recently too, since the more I look at about the troubles of the subprime credit and mortgage markets the more it reminds me of what I read in that book about the junk bond boom and bust of the 1980s.

Havana by Stephen Hunter is on deck, as well as Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon since it was the basis for one of my all time favorite TV shows and I've been meaning to get to it for years now.

As far as magazines go, I get Blade and F1 Racing. I might pick up the odd Road & Track if it has something that interests me when I leaf through it at the store.

[Shike]

see if you have any flea markets or book resellers around you ;)

I've got a few old and rare books in my collection, usually bought for a couple bucks :D
The local orchestra has an annual book sale with donated books, and they carry over books for a couple years before recycling if they don't sell. We're talking $100 text books for $5-6, early 20th century works for $2-10 depending on quality. Picked up a 4 book collector set of Dune in paperback for $10 this year, still in plastic :cool:

Get most of my reference books from an antiques/reseller guy on the other side of the city... but with them being in as good condition as possible he charges 25-50% of the book's original price. Think my philosophy books were about $20.
Still think my best find was the old college dictionary for $8-10... I think it's 1968, have to confirm when I get home.

Thank you! That is a very good idea.

[David Lowry]

Cisco CCNA ICND2 book from Cisco Press. It's about a 700 page hardback book to help with my Cisco certification that I will shortly be getting. Yeah I know.......geeky technical reading. :)

[quattrokid73]

"Materials for Inspirational Design" and "Making It"

[Agent Starling]

Do newspapers count? I read the Wall Street Journal every morning! :)

Agent Starling

[Doc Pyres]

Do newspapers count? I read the Wall Street Journal every morning! :)

Agent Starling

Definitely newspapers count. :) I much prefer print news to the TV variety anyway. The Economist is one of my favorite newspapers, but trying to keep up with international news, local news here in Korea, and news from back home in Canada, I end up reading multiple online papers as well.

[JBE]

I just finished John Grisham's "The Appeal" a few short weeks ago. Nothing else on the must-read fiction list at the moment.

As far as magazines, I have a subscription to the trade journal "EMS Magazine" which is published monthly.

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

No True Glory by Bing West describing the Marines in Fallujah, great pro-USMC book.
I just finished Generation Kill by Evan Wright. And Im also reading One Bullet Away by Ret. USMC Cpt. Nate Fick.

A devildog has to know his past present and future.

[AH2525]

The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis:

Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength

They can be read out of order but if possible, go in the order listed.

[Doc Pyres]

No True Glory by Bing West describing the Marines in Fallujah, great pro-USMC book.
I just finished Generation Kill by Evan Wright. And Im also reading One Bullet Away by Ret. USMC Cpt. Nate Fick.

A devildog has to know his past present and future.

'No True Glory' and 'Generation Kill' are both excellent books. I think I'll have to get to 'One Bullet Away' soon. Not specifically about the USMC, but good reads about the war nonetheless, are 'Not a Good Day to Die' by Sean Naylor, and 'Roberts Ridge' by Malcolm MacPherson (both about Afghanistan). 'Ambush Alley' is an excellent book about US Marines from Task Force Tarawa in Nasiriyah (although you've probably read that one already, Glockfire :) )

[gac]

I listened to the audio of Not a Good Day to Die and Naylor did a great job researching that book. Special Forces guys are often portrayed as super soldiers with an infallibility in combat. Naylor puts a human face on them while at the same time explaining and showing why they are elite.

Another good Iraq book was On Call In Hell by Dr. Richard Jadick. Jadick is a Navy doctor who volunteered as Battalion surgeon for a Marine battallion. At least I think it was a Battalion - I never remember how those things are organized.

Jadick deployed to Iraq and set-up his aid stations in the middle of the fighting during the second battle of Fallujah so that Marines and soldiers could get immediate care.

[OuchThatsSharp]

A couple of old ones.

A Rumor of War

Dispatches

[TVOSK]

Just finished reading "Launching a Leadership Revolution-Mastering the five levels of Influence" by Brady and Woodward....

Great book....

[Hannibal Lecter]

Mes amis,

I have been reading (or more accurately, rereading) several books concurrently.

"Hannibal Rising" has been my goto, though I just finished it again last night and it will be going back into the bookshelves shortly.

Prior to that, Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" had been my goto.

Every night at bedtime I have been reading a couple of chapters of Robert Asprin's "Myth Adventures" to my daughter. I think my wife is as hooked on the story as my daughter is. :p

I have also been filling in with a little bit of Edgar Allen Poe's work at times.

There will be less time for reading as I go forward, since I have taken up the task of relearning French back to my previous level of proficiency (and hopefully beyond). I had actually gotten to the point that I could think in the French language, rather than thinking in English and doing a translation on the fly. I started the Rosetta Stone course this morning and am remembering very quickly, which is promising. It helps that my younger brother speaks the language fairly well, so I will have someone to actually converse with regularly.

After that? Who knows? :cool:

--------
Hannibal

[Piercieve]

Not currently reading, but one of my favorites:
Watership Down ... While it is about talking rabbits, it is dark and mature and is an excellent read for anyone.

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

'No True Glory' and 'Generation Kill' are both excellent books. I think I'll have to get to 'One Bullet Away' soon. Not specifically about the USMC, but good reads about the war nonetheless, are 'Not a Good Day to Die' by Sean Naylor, and 'Roberts Ridge' by Malcolm MacPherson (both about Afghanistan). 'Ambush Alley' is an excellent book about US Marines from Task Force Tarawa in Nasiriyah (although you've probably read that one already, Glockfire :) )

Its actually sitting in my bathroom right now along with a myriad of other books, not all USMC books, the Iliad is in there :p

[dete]

just a few days ago, I re-read
Arsene Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes

yes Herlock Sholmes :D

[to_the_edge]

I'm usually reading at least two books at a time and right now is no exception. I'm reading a series of macbre short stories in Steven King's Different Seasons.:eek: I also recently began Herman Melville's Moby Dick after finding that James Fenimore Cooper's Last of the Mohicans was lost on me:rolleyes:

[Caly E]

access 2007 comprehensive concepts and techniques, word 2007, Income Tax Fundamentals(horror)

[p.jester84]

I am reading very interesting book... Tvrtko Vujity - I have seen Hell. I am not fan of this kind of books but by this one I am floored.;)

[DFD04]

I just finnished Milo Afong's Hogs In the Shadows. This is a collection of after action reports of USMC snipers in Iraq. Excellent read, you can read one story in 10 min's, perfect for before bed.

[Doc Pyres]

I just finnished Milo Afong's Hogs In the Shadows. This is a collection of after action reports of USMC snipers in Iraq. Excellent read, you can read one story in 10 min's, perfect for before bed.

DFD04, that looks like a good read and just went on my 'to get' list.

If you're interested in snipers, you'll probably find the following article very interesting. It's about Cpl. Rob Furlong, who currently holds the world record of 2, 430 m in combat, "surpassing the mark of 2,250 m set by U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War." It's a griping tale but with a sad outcome.

http://www.macleans.ca/canada/national/article.jsp?content=20060515_126689_126689

[gac]

There have been a bunch of sniper books out over the past few years. Afong's book was good because it covered several different shooters and events.

Trigger Men: shadow team, spider-man, the magnificent bastasrds, and the American combat sniper by Hans Halberstadt.

Stalkers and shooters: a history of snipers by Kevin Dockery.

Shooter: the autobiography of the top-ranked marine sniper by Jack Coughlin (I've read several comments that Coughlin is full of baloney but never read any specifics statements as to why".

[dialex]

Right now is "Choke" by Chuck Palahniuk. FYI, Chuck also wrote "Fight Club", the book after they made the movie with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton.
Palahniuk has a very personal style and his novels are quite unique, that worth reading.
And since the winter will come in a few months with its long nights, I prepared myself with Justin Sompers' "Vampirates" for the kids :).

[amen74]

Current novel I'm reading is a John Sandford, Dead Watch. Blade Magazine and the local paper. Michael Connelly, Clive Cussler, Stephen King and Dean Koontz are never far behind.

Too many authors to remember at the moment.:D

[Doc Pyres]

I just finished reading:

Baraka by John Ralston Saul - novel set in 1980 about an oil exec secretly selling US arms captured by the Vietnamese during the war, so he can secure drilling rights to Vietnam's oil fields. Nicely written with great descriptions of Vietnam and Morocco.

Woken Furies by Richard K. Morgan (Book 3 of the Takeshi Kovacs novels) - if you're into action-packed, hard hitting, and gory sci-fi, this is a must read. Kovacs gets a new combat 'sleeve' and goes after the Yakuza, battle droids, and even himself!

Now I think it's time for me to start looking for some of the recommendations from readers in this thread. :)

[Irish Lager]

Have a Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks
by Mick Foley

About half way through it, so far its one of the funniest things I've read.
J

[tigerose123]

I read a lot of horror, mostly Stephen King. Pet Sematary (it's spelled wrong on purpose:D), The Shining, and Cujo are a few of my favorites. Also gotta love the Harry Potter series! Right now I'm reading Wicked, and next I will most likely read Ender's Game.

Good thread:spyder::spyder::spyder::spyder:

[Majidoc]

Super Squats by Randall J. Strossen, Ph.D.

[Knifekulture]

Orientalism by Edward W. Said

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

Just picked up The Strongest Tribe by Bing West on the current situation in Iraq.

[OuchThatsSharp]

"Dispatches" by Michael Herr

[Doc Pyres]

Orientalism by Edward W. Said

Yes, that's a great one. :)

[Doc Pyres]

Just picked up The Strongest Tribe by Bing West on the current situation in Iraq.

Another one from Glockfire to add to my list. Thanks! :)

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

Another one from Glockfire to add to my list. Thanks! :)

No problem, enjoy!

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

There have been a bunch of sniper books out over the past few years. Afong's book was good because it covered several different shooters and events.

Trigger Men: shadow team, spider-man, the magnificent bastasrds, and the American combat sniper by Hans Halberstadt.

Stalkers and shooters: a history of snipers by Kevin Dockery.

Shooter: the autobiography of the top-ranked marine sniper by Jack Coughlin (I've read several comments that Coughlin is full of baloney but never read any specifics statements as to why".

Stalkers and Shooters was a great book. I disliked Afong's book simply because I found the writing to be sub par. I'll have to pick up Trigger Men.

[dete]

I like classical literature...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West

my favorite book when I was younger,
the famous manga & anime, Dragon Ball was loosely based from this.

When I can't get internet,
I've been rereading this gem and it's totally outrageous fun.
:D

[Doc Pyres]

I'm currently working on Where the Suckers Moon - The Life and Death of an Advertising Campaign by Randall Rothenberg. I picked it up on a recommendation from Joe Lorio, senior editor at Automobile magazine.

Rothenberg has some interesting comments on the advertising business, such as, "Away from industry meetings, off the written page, safely buried in the bar cars and bitterness of their sullied dreams, the advertising men knew their theories were Copernican claptrap....No lie, no subterfuge, no humiliation was too low to strike or too base to endure, so long as the client remained content."

[gac]

Battle Lines: the last good war by James Reasoner. Novel set in 1940 and 1941 in the US with four young people from Chicago joining the service. The first novel in a series of three that Reasoner wrote.

Reasoner is an easy read but doesn't skimp on the sex scenes.

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

In preparing for my upcoming deployment in October (i'll miss you guys) Ive bought the following:

Lone Survivor
The Count Of Monte Cristo
Crime And Punishment
A Leatherbound set of my favorite books of all time: The Odyssey and The Iliad
And a Large Leatherbound Bible in the Message Translation



....should keep me busy


p.s. has anyone read The Art of War by Sun Tzu? It looks rather drab so I skipped over it but if anyone can recommend it I will pick it up.

[Doc Pyres]

After discovering the existence of custom knives a few months ago, I had to pick up a copy of David Darom's amazing book, Custom Fixed-Blade Knives. It's a beautiful, high-quality coffee table book with great photography of the knives, and very interesting text explaining the 26 featured knife makers and their stunning creations. Best book I've gotten all year. :)

[gac]

I just read Bill Mauldin: a life up front by Todd DePastrino about the WWII and post-war political cartoonist and journalist. Killing Floor by Lee Child from the Jack Reacher series.

A neat picture book related to knives and guns is Armed America: portraits of gun owners in their homes by Kyle Cassidy.

[LowSpeedHighDrag]

^I really liked Armed America, although I dont think it helped make us look any better in the liberal left's eyes.

[gac]

Armed America was neat in that it showed normal gun owners which are normal, everyday people. But, also showed a couple goofballs including that one guy with a bandanna covering his face and some poseurs in black fatigues.

Not to mention four different guys in kilts.

[OuchThatsSharp]

Just started reading two more. Yes, I read more than one book at a time.

A re-read of Lonesome Dove. An excellent read....anytime and everytime.

Picked up Wyatt Earp, The Life Behind The Legend by Casey Tefertiller. A real take on Wyatt Earp without the hollywood hype and hero worship from past Earp/ OK Corral authors.

[Agent Starling]

The Art of War.

Have been meaning to read that one for a very long time. It's going to be one of those slow reads, in between reading a bunch of other things...reading multitasking maybe? Could never stick with one book at a time, there's so much cool stuff to read out there...:D

Agent Starling

[Gibsoniam]

I am reading several books, alternating as the mood strikes me.

Pagan Chrirtianity: a review of the first century church and how it adopted traditions of nearby cultures and morphed into what it is today. Very interesting- and eye popping- look at the history of the church.

The Federalist Papers.

Scaling the Secular City by philosopher J. P. Moreland.

And... I'm slowly trying to learn Latin. I'd like to be able to read Cicero in his own words.