What are you reading?

[workingonit]

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison. Excellent memoir on the experience of dealing with bipolar disorder--the author actually managed to successfully finish a PhD program at UCLA and now conducts research and treats psychiatric patients even as she continues to deal with her illness.

[All About The Bones]

I finished reading The Lovely Bones a couple of days ago! I LOVED it!!! I didn't want to put it down! I can't wait until the movie comes out in January! I always like the books better than the movie but I still can't wait! I just start a book called Cold River, so far I am really enjoying it!

This is an amazing book, I first read it a couple of years ago and have re-read it a few times since.

I have a couple of essays to do over the break and so am reading about bone growth and fusion and cranial development. However, I am also reading Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers. This is an excellent book for restoring confidence that you dont have to be born a supergenius to do well at something, just the boost I need though this emotionally-confusing soul-destroying time

[JerryLandis]

I loved Woolf's Orlando. I think the key to enjoying books like that is to ignore whatever enlightening/political significance they may have and just take in the story without worrying about what it means. This, of course, is why I stopped taking English in college! Since then the only fiction book I ever read is A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole, which should be required reading for all medievalists. Thought about discussing it in my SOP but then thought it would be too distasteful or they wouldn't get the reference.

As for reading books for pleasure that are related to one's chosen subject, I can't say I do it very often. There have been a couple books that, when scouring the index for brief items of interest for essays, have appealed to me enough for me to read them in their entirety. However when I say "a couple," I mean that quite literally. I know a lot of medievalists read a lot of Tolkien or historical fiction, but I never got into that stuff. I enjoyed Baudolino by Umberto Eco but only read it because everyone kept telling me I had to. I like to tell myself that not reading historical fiction (except for Eco's work, which is very well-done it seems) will make me a better historian because I won't fall for all the fables and fanciful concoctions in primary narratives that some people seem to accept blindly. We'll see how that goes. I do find it quite ironic that all my friends who opted out of further education to work in food service are much more well-read than I am in terms of literary classics. I always feel so uncultured whenever I go home and hear about all the great novels they have been reading!

[mastermind1886]

I've been out of college for a year and a half, so I'm enjoying time to pleasure read!

Currently undertaking: Nobrow, by John Seabrook. It's all about the decline of the distinction between high brow and low brow culture (or, at least the meaningfulness of that dichotomy). Pretty interesting anecdotes!

Also reading The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. One of my favorite authors, though I'm not far enough into it to say what it's like. If you're into linguistics, anthropology, computer science, history, or any related field (seriously), read Snow Crash now...

[Lauren the Librarian]

If you're into linguistics, anthropology, computer science, history, or any related field (seriously), read Snow Crash now...

Will do!

Earlier today I finished "Founding Myths" by Ray Raphael, a researched examination of the American Revolution. I loved it.

Now I'm on page 27 of 184 pages of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's "The Caged Virgin," religious and political commentary on Islam. So far it's heavy and has a narrow audience. But I am finding it a worthwhile read.

I figure I'll knock that out before "The Faith Instinct" by Nicholas Wade arrives by mail from amazon.com this week.

Gotta get my fun reading in before spring semester starts!

Edited December 28, 2009 by Lauren the Librarian

[Hatem]

How Can We Grow.

A book by Dr.John Townsend and Dr.Henry Cloud.

It's a book about spiritual growth and how can we live a better life by going through this growth.Both of the authors are psychologists but they are also active christians.In their book they focus on the relationship with God as they believe that God is the main source of spiritual growth."and me too".

Although I am muslim while the two authors are christians and using many statements from the bible and wrote a lot about the christ,but I find the book very helpful and very inetersting too.

I found many of the thoughts they wrote about are really found in holy book like Quran and Bible.They used many bible statements which are similar and so close to those found in the Quran.

I recommend this book to those who suffer from depression,anxiety,bad relationships and everyone who seeks spiritual growth.

[Hatem]

I'm sorry but the true title of the book is "How People Grow: What the Bible Reveals About Personal Growth"

I am reading the arabic edition which is titled "how can we grow".

[hall0822]

I'm reading Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson. It's the follow up to Three Cups of Tea which focused on the work of the Central Asia Institute to build school in Pakistan. This new book focuses more on his recent work in Afghanistan and his work with the U.S. military. I received it for Christmas and just started it but it seems equally inspiring.

[NeuroNerd86]

rereading The Fellowship of the Ring. Very soothing:)

[George]

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Gene Kranz

Gene Kranz was part of the ground team that troubleshooted and guided astronauts during the moon landing push. He is not a scientist himself. He is a disciplined ex-military man who drew up a lot of the procedures that were put into place for the successful operations at NASA. While I was hoping the book would be a little more technical, such as giving an example of an engineering problem the team had to solve, it is still really engaging. Kranz tells an exciting story. It's especially cool to hear what NASA felt when the USSR beat them to several of the first space records.

[RedPotato]

I just finished J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians. First thought after I finished: no wonder he got a Nobel prize in literature....

[soxpuppet]

I just finished J.M. Coetzee's Waiting for the Barbarians. First thought after I finished: no wonder he got a Nobel prize in literature....

Indeed, and that's not even close to my favorite of his books. Try Disgrace, it'll certainly make your applications seem less important...

[tinuvielf]

I've read a couple books by Coetzee, but not Disgrace. Is it really that good? I've a copy so I guess I could get started on it upon your recommendation.

(I'm currently reading Molloy, The Golden Bowl and The House at Pooh Corner.)

[soxpuppet]

I've read a couple books by Coetzee, but not Disgrace. Is it really that good? I've a copy so I guess I could get started on it upon your recommendation.

(I'm currently reading Molloy, The Golden Bowl and The House at Pooh Corner.)

I like your current reading!

Disgrace, Foe, and The Master of Petersburg are my favorites, but I'm not sure whether that would be the case for everyone.

And as for me, I just finished Summertime, the latest Coetzee, and I'm onto Herodotus, which is fantastic. About to start some Henry Fielding too.

[tinuvielf]

I like your current reading!

Disgrace, Foe, and The Master of Petersburg are my favorites, but I'm not sure whether that would be the case for everyone.

And as for me, I just finished Summertime, the latest Coetzee, and I'm onto Herodotus, which is fantastic. About to start some Henry Fielding too.

Wow, you're actually reading Herodotus' histories? Impressive. You seem to be a big Coetzee fan. I've read The Master of Petersburg (MoP) and Waiting for the Barbarians. Reading MoP was like walking into a crypt. It was so dark all the time. I liked that about it though. It sort of freaked me out a bit when I got to the section where the protagonist declared himself to be Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. I'd had no idea going in it was a re-writing of Dostoevsky's The Devils. Now I feel I'm obligated to read The Devils just so I'll get any references I'm sure I've missed. I started reading Elizabeth Costello a few weeks ago, but got distracted by work.

Fielding sounds like great fun. I haven't read anything by him yet, though I get a Dickensian vibe when I think of his work. Oh, I should also mention that there's a Librivox recording of Ulysses that I've been using to make reading that tome a bit easier. It seems to be a recording of a live reading event, which means its treated pretty lightly--people laughing when they've made mistakes and stuff like that. Very informal, but can be helpful if you don't take it too seriously (which I did a bit too much at first).

Happy reading.

[tinuvielf]

I like your current reading!

The House at Pooh Corner is wonderful, btw. Just my way of catching up on all those wonderful kids' stories I missed by not having access to them in Jamaica when I was small . Also reading The Never Ending Story.

Edited January 3, 2010 by tinuvielf

[swisnieski]

Sense and Sensibility. Not for pleasure (although I am enjoying it) but because it's required reading for the British Lit class I'm taking starting next week, and I'd like to get a head-start on the reading. Hoping to have this finished before the semester starts so I can read Moll Flanders in a week or two.

[naptown]

Read Faulkner, The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, over the holiday break.

Also read most of Erving Goffman, The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

[watersnake]

Just started Jonathan Safran Foer's "Eating Animals." So good.

[Bryan]

Depending on which bathroom I use, Steve Coll's Ghost Wars, Crossley Holland's The Norse Myth, and a children's picture book called D'Aulaires' book of Norse Mythology. I finally bought that last book, but for a while I was reading it online. The pictures are reallllly entertaining.

Here's a link to those interested: http://books.google.com/books?id=TzMqpL66DDYC&dq=D%27Aulaires%27+Book+of+Norse+Myths+-+Ingri+D%27Aulaire&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=BHDwTKskzs&sig=vMfvrCcr_N4D_JDNBaICYSK_TDY&hl=en&ei=rlMbS9f6JcrglAf-pNXyCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

[psycholinguist]

Depending on which bathroom I use, Steve Coll's Ghost Wars, Crossley Holland's The Norse Myth, and a children's picture book called D'Aulaires' book of Norse Mythology. I finally bought that last book, but for a while I was reading it online. The pictures are reallllly entertaining.

Here's a link to those interested: http://books.google.com/books?id=TzMqpL66DDYC&dq=D%27Aulaires%27+Book+of+Norse+Myths+-+Ingri+D%27Aulaire&printsec=frontcover&source=bl&ots=BHDwTKskzs&sig=vMfvrCcr_N4D_JDNBaICYSK_TDY&hl=en&ei=rlMbS9f6JcrglAf-pNXyCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Heh! I've heard good things about the d'Aulaires' books, but I haven't found them myself recently.

I'm reading a mix of fiction, fantasy, linguistics/etymology, and YA novels these days.

[Jess77]

I'm in the middle of Cormac McCarthy's, "The Road" and am going to start "On the Road" by Kerouac and "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami <- cool novel/movie about youth revolt of the Japanese government and what the Japanese government/adults do to regain power over the youth, kind of modern day Lord of the Flies.

[luar de ouro]

Indeed, and that's not even close to my favorite of his books. Try Disgrace, it'll certainly make your applications seem less important...

Talk about a writer whose words can shake your to the core and make your skin crawl (not in a bad way). I had such a visceral reaction to Disgrace when I read it. The man is a true genius

[luar de ouro]

For light reading I giggled my way through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, and then plowed my way through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.

Both pretty fun readings, though I must say The Historian began dragging when our heroes closed in on Dracula, and revealed him to be a silly fop with a librarian fettish.

[tinuvielf]

I'm in the middle of Cormac McCarthy's, "The Road" and am going to start "On the Road" by Kerouac and "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami <- cool novel/movie about youth revolt of the Japanese government and what the Japanese government/adults do to regain power over the youth, kind of modern day Lord of the Flies.

I'm about to start On the Road too. My copy of Kerouac's first MS (The Original Scroll) should be arriving from Amazon about next week. Maybe we can compare reactions to it. I must admit, I haven't yet read On the Road--even the regular edited version. I've read The Town and the City (which I loved--his language/diction seem like transliteration of the universe's own). Also read many of his letters. Looking forward to reading his most famous work now though.

Interestingly, I recently read a play by Wole Soyinka called The Road.