What are you reading right now?

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Just finished it. Good stuff. I enjoy Martin Cruz Smith's novels.

 
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All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS Scorpion

by Jerome Preisler, Kenneth Sewell

Another book from my list on the subject of the Cold War.

We were living in Hawaii when this happen; my dad was stationed at Pearl Harbor.

So far, a very informative book.

 
Who has a good book recommendation for me? Specifically, I need to read more American authors. That is, outside of Steinbeck, Vonnegut, any of the Beats, (which doesn't really include Kesey but I've got him pretty much covered too.)

I've never really read any Hawthorne, Faulkner, Hemingway...something along those lines. I need to broaden my horizons...enlighten me HB!

 
For American authors i would recommend Jack Kerouac, Chuck Palahniuk or even Jon Krakauer. These are just some that I can think of off the top of my head.

 
If you are a history buff, I would recommend reading this book. It's a really good book and is actually very factual and is on the US Navy's recommended reading list.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour

There is also this web site for anyone interested in Naval history.

http://navyreading.dodlive.mil/

 
GSG5545 said:
I started reading "If on a winter's night a traveler" and then I kinda got distracted. It's weird. The only reason I'm reading it is to prepare myself for "Cloud Atlas" which was supposedly inspired by "If on a winter's night a traveler."
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Update: I finished "If on a winter's night a traveler" It actually turned out pretty good. It's really hard to follow at times with the changes between chapters. One chapter you're reading part of a novel, the next chapter is supposed to be like you're in the book, then you read another chapter from a different novel. Then towards the end, it switches you to a different character's perspective.

I've started "Cloud Atlas" again. It's slow. Some nights it's VERY hard to stay awake when I'm reading it.

 
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From a post up above. I read a LOT of books (thanks, insomnia!), and of the two or three dozen novels I've read in the past year, this one stands out. It's not written like any other book I've read. A "fresh" approach to narration and storytelling, and for a guy who has read, literally, 400-500 books in the past five or six years, it's rare that I'll give one this kind of praise. But seriously - read it. It's a great book:

I would recommend The Book Thief. It's set just before and during the early stages of WWII, in Germany, and the narrator is Death. It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it.

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knapplc said:
From a post up above. I read a LOT of books (thanks, insomnia!), and of the two or three dozen novels I've read in the past year, this one stands out. It's not written like any other book I've read. A "fresh" approach to narration and storytelling, and for a guy who has read, literally, 400-500 books in the past five or six years, it's rare that I'll give one this kind of praise. But seriously - read it. It's a great book:

I would recommend The Book Thief. It's set just before and during the early stages of WWII, in Germany, and the narrator is Death. It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it.

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Was just reading the "description" of the book on Amazon, as suggested by your earlier post.... Looking forward too reading it.... I also was reading up on "Masters of Rome". So they use real Roman characters, but a fiction storyline?

 
That looks like a pretty original concept in that novel, knapp.

I pulled this one back off the shelf recently:



It's a collection of short stories from DFW.

 
Masters of Rome is a tour de force. McCullough vividly recreates a Rome that not many know about. Her historical research is exhaustive and she puts life in characters like few I've ever seen.

Her characters are real Romans, mostly Senators/Consuls, but also many tertiary people like citizens, wives/daughters, soldiers, etc. She tells the story of Rome, to a degree, as if it were really happening. It's all real - just some of it, like the dialog, is her take on it. But it's all historically factual.

McCullough's Caesar is a brilliant character. I cannot recommend that series enough, but be warned - it's several thousand pages. Know what you're getting into before you start.

I've read all seven books twice in the last ten years, and I'm very likely going to read it again this year.

 
knapplc said:
From a post up above. I read a LOT of books (thanks, insomnia!), and of the two or three dozen novels I've read in the past year, this one stands out. It's not written like any other book I've read. A "fresh" approach to narration and storytelling, and for a guy who has read, literally, 400-500 books in the past five or six years, it's rare that I'll give one this kind of praise. But seriously - read it. It's a great book:

I would recommend The Book Thief. It's set just before and during the early stages of WWII, in Germany, and the narrator is Death. It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it.

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Same book I presume? I like your cover better!

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