What book are you currently reading?

[Valka D'Ur]

I'm reading Ivanhoe at the moment. It's a lot less exciting than I thought it would be, but I've somehow reached a stage of not minding the dreadful faux-archaic speech (especially jarring given that Scott goes on in the preface about how he's tried to avoid doing that) and the antisemitism, and am now vaguely interested in what's going to happen, which means I probably will be finishing it after all.

Ivanhoe is an acquired taste. One of my grade 5 teachers read it to us in class (I was about 9 years old at the time). I tried to read it for myself years later, and even watch the movie... but boredom set in about 2 minutes into both of them.

I'm reading a Star Trek novel at the moment - A Stitch in Time.

 

[Azale]

Dilemmas of Victory, a series of essays about the first few years of the PRC's existence. It ranges from topics like the Sino-Soviet relationship in Dalian to the teaching of evolution to the impact of PRC rural policy on midwives.

This was an awesome book The essays on the comedy troupes, actors, and the invasion of Xinjiang were probably my favorites.

 

[Tortosa]

Dos Passos, 1919
Going to pick up Ficciones by Borges tomorrow, can't wait.

 

[SuperJay]

In addition to the usual Patrick O'Brian (currently Treason's Harbour), I'm reading the latest edition of Ted Gioia's The History of Jazz. Good reading so far - for a single volume, I think Gioia's work is probably one of the better histories of the music that I've read.

 

[Quackers]

I just finished Freakonimics.

A good book but doesn't deserve the hype. It could be a lot funnier.

 

[Cashie]

I finished Harry Turtledove's Give Me Back My Legions! this afternoon, which was OK.
I'm also creeping my way through the Complete Sherlock Holmes, the Koran and "The Essential Rumi"

 

[sophie]

the Koran

I'm sorry.

 

[Atticus]

Die Schönheit des Schimpansen by Dieter Wellershoff and White Jazz by James Ellroy.

The Beauty of Chimpanzee feels a bit too angsty and is written too clinically, so I'll probably not continue it further, although it seems like the writer might have something interesting to say.

White Jazz on the other hand is interesting so far, but the writing style makes it very hard to read. Probably even more so in a translation.

I thought I'd went back to the reading habits of youth when I read two or even three novels at the same time (by turns to be more exact) and some nonfiction also. Just need some page turner for that to read between these two.

 

[Communisto]

Read Our Band Could Be Your Life for the second time. Still amazing stories about amazing bands.

 

[Azale]

the Koran

I hope you are either 1. of the Islamic faith 2. a middle east scholar 3. reading commentaries

 

[warpus]

I'm reading Ivanhoe at the moment. It's a lot less exciting than I thought it would be, but I've somehow reached a stage of not minding the dreadful faux-archaic speech (especially jarring given that Scott goes on in the preface about how he's tried to avoid doing that) and the antisemitism, and am now vaguely interested in what's going to happen, which means I probably will be finishing it after all.

Ivanhoe! I tried reading that in grade 3 and found it way too boring.. and possibly complicated for me at the time

I just finished reading The Algebraist, which was great. Surprising ending, almost anticlimactic, but everything was wrapped up.. I liked it!

Moving on to Goedel, Escher, Bach

 

[Quackers]

Holy Machine very nice sci-fi book and interesting to me seeing rationalism vs religous fanaticism

I got "Liberal Fascism" gonna go troll down uni with it one day

 

[sophie]

I hope you are either 1. of the Islamic faith 2. a middle east scholar 3. reading commentaries

Indeed. Good LORD that is a dense book. From what I hear most of the nuances of the Book's original Arabic language is lost in translation.

I will say that it is rather fun comparing stories, like, say, Joseph in the Bible and Joseph in the Koran.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

What's worse is that its written in Classical Arabic, which is about as similar to modern Arabic as Shakespearean English is to our tongue. I have an Arabic-English version, with the Arabic on one page and the English on the other, and I can't make out a bloody thing.

 

[Dumanios]

I read the Song of Solomon.

 

[CivCube]

The Hero With A Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

Metamorphoses, Ovid

 

[Japanrocks12]

I'm sorry.

IMPUGN THE QU'RAN AT YOUR OWN PERIL

http://poemsintranslation.blogspot.com/2010/03/quran-96-suratu-l-alaq-from-arabic.html

 

[_random_]

I read the Song of Solomon.

The book of the Bible or the novel about lactal fetishes?

 

[HistoryFan]

I've been trying to get my hands on Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond) alas I havent been able to...

But I did just finish a book on the adventures of Ibn Battuta, which was very interesting, although reading it also made me think if Battuta perhaps made up a good portion of his adventure...Kinda far-fetched in my mind...

Also I've been working on the Dark Tower Series, as I'm a big fan of Stephen King. I love reading his stories for fun in my spare time.

 

[Dachs]

I've been trying to get my hands on Guns, Germs, and Steel (Jared Diamond) alas I havent been able to...

Why is that a ?