books: what are you currently reading?

[rockstar_not]

Saw a new copy at the library of one of those books I'd heard of frequently, but never read: The Catcher in the Rye.

There was maybe one paragraph that might have been worth the many, many words I've heard spilled over this "novel".

Did I miss something?

Is your quote above telling that you read it or not?  I have not read it.  I am of the opinion that not all critical acclaim is worthy, so I'm curious.

A huge book I read in the past couple of years is "The Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot - considered to be a classic novel by an even more esteemed author.  I would not recommend it to anyone, though Silas Marner, by the same author is in my top 50 favorite books.  The Mill On The Floss has to have one of the most disappointing and what seems like a 'yield'  endings to a rather engaging story that has ever been committed to writing.  It is if Ms. Evans (Eliot's real last name) simply couldn't think of developing the story further, and ended the story abruptly like a TV series that has had an actor eliminated from availability.

[Caleb]

I've read Catcher and didn't really get it either.  One of those books that make you feel kind of cool just for reading it, mainly because everyone considers it great.  Same with Gatsby. Just didn't see what all the fuss was about.   Some popular books are popular because they are great works of art; others are popular because once upon a time "the right" people found them important for whatever reason.   I read Silas Marner a few yrs ago, and while a great story is in there, it's buried beneath some of the most tiresome and outright boring reading I've ever done.  Entire chapters of it I found brutal to endure.  Same goes for Moby Dick. Brutal.

I'm still reading Count of Monte Cristo but also rereading Peace Like a River by Lief Enger: a modern classic.  Can't recommend this book highly enough.

[Danny]

I have finished five books in the Longmire mystery series now. They are well written and the characters get a lot of development. So they do draw you into the story and hold you there. My wife has started reading the first book as well and she likes it. I have only read one of Craig Johnsons books that I was a little disappointed in and that was "As the crow flies".
     But maybe I was disappointed because he set a high standard by the previous books.  

[eded]

I finished Wild Tales, the autobiography of Graham Nash.  Now I'm reading Not In My Backyard.  It is a nonfiction account of state sanctioned segregation, white flight, urban decay, and minority victimization.  This book focuses on Baltimore, Maryland, but applies to many US cities.  Quite the read.

Ed

[ryler]

I've read Catcher and didn't really get it either.  One of those books that make you feel kind of cool just for reading it, mainly because everyone considers it great.  Same with Gatsby. Just didn't see what all the fuss was about.   Some popular books are popular because they are great works of art; others are popular because once upon a time "the right" people found them important for whatever reason.   I read Silas Marner a few yrs ago, and while a great story is in there, it's buried beneath some of the most tiresome and outright boring reading I've ever done.  Entire chapters of it I found brutal to endure.  Same goes for Moby Dick. Brutal.

I'm still reading Count of Monte Cristo but also rereading Peace Like a River by Lief Enger: a modern classic.  Can't recommend this book highly enough.

Peace Like A River is one I must reread.  I loved that book.  (Though his long anticipated follow up to it was quite a disappointment to me.)  I'm currently reading In Sunlight and In Shadow, by Mark Helprin.  While long on description and short on action, I am enjoying it, nonetheless.

[Danny]

    I liked the Great Gatsby.  I'm currently reading the entire Longmire Mystery series I'll start the Ninth book tomorrow so Craig Johnson gets a big thumbs up from me.

  I'm also rereading David Webster's book Parachute Infantry. He was depicted in Band of Brothers but he wrote his book shortly after WW II. He was an English major at Harvard before inlisting in the army and is a fine writer.

[rockstar_not]

Currently reading "Uncle Tungsten" by Oliver Sacks, and "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek.

[tuffythepug]

"Bad Moon Rising"   The Unauthorized history of Creedence Clearwater Revival

[Strings4Him]

Just finished Douglas Bonds' book The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts.

[Mikeymac]

"Bad Moon Rising"   The Unauthorized history of Creedence Clearwater Revival

Is that the one by Hank Bordowitz?

[tuffythepug]

Is that the one by Hank Bordowitz?

Yes.  that's the one.

[broKen]

Just finished Douglas Bonds' book The Poetic Wonder of Isaac Watts.

I understand that man could speak in rhyme even as a child, all day long. He could write a song in a moment, effortlessly. Truly a gifted man. His father wrote hymns as well.

[Caleb]

Peace Like A River is one I must reread.  I loved that book.  (Though his long anticipated follow up to it was quite a disappointment to me.)  I'm currently reading In Sunlight and In Shadow, by Mark Helprin.  While long on description and short on action, I am enjoying it, nonetheless.

I finished Peace Like a River.  I'd place it in the Great American Novel category.  Haven't read anything else by him.   

[datdaddy]

Right now reading A History of the World in 100 Objects  Highly recommend.

[Danny]

     I just finished the newest Longmire Mystery novel "Any Other Name". That's the last of the ten novels written so far. It's a well written series with about half of the books being very hard to put down.

      A & E cable network just started the third season of "Longmire", which is based on Craig Johnson's mystery series, but they take a different direction than the novels. The books are much better,  but the A & E version is worth watching.

     I don't have cable TV but their is an A & E App that I downloaded to my Tablet and watched the first episode of the new season that way. It's free, just has advertising. I'm not sure if A & E will offer every episode in the same way.

[HAMFIST]

Currently reading this biography of Bob Dylan.

Fascinating. I am getting a lot of context for his stuff that I dig and learning about music by his contemporaries. Very hip all the way around.

[Danny]

     In the novel COLD MOUNTAIN a book by William Bartram is read by Inman, he carries this book with him in the movie as well. So I got a copy and have gotten well into the book TRAVELS OF WILLIAM BARTRAM. He was a trained naturalist of very high intellect and character.

    This book is about his travels in the southeastern U.S. from 1773-1778. Bartram records everything In great detail. Plants, geography, rivers, snakes and other critters, Indians, settlers etc.
     He also has many perilous encounters with man and nature. But he always looks to the creator for guidance and frequently acknowledges the divine economy he beholds in creation. That was an unexpected and very pleasant surprise for me.
     I have to just skim over all the scientific names which he will list for the plants he finds. He is a botanist and his book is considered a major work from the 18th century.
     A glimpse into the late 18th century that is very enjoyable so far.

[hodagg]

Just started reading The Fifties by David Halberstam.

[rockstar_not]

Tried reading Neil Young's "Waging Heavy Peace", and after about 20 or 30 pages, I simply tired of the rambling style.  I wanted to like it.

Currently reading "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer, and "Walking with God in Pain and Suffering" by Timothy Keller, and "The Dog Who Came In From The Cold" by Alexander McCall Smith, and "Taking Lottie Home" by Terry Kay (someone here on this thread turned me on to Terry Kay with his "To Dance with the White Dog", which I really enjoyed.  I've read a couple others by him and he's becoming one of my favorite authors.

[Mikeymac]

Just started reading The Fifties by David Halberstam.

Friend of mine read this and said it was a great book.

Among other things, I've been reading N.T. Wright's translation of the New Testament, particularly John's gospel.

Anyone here who is interested in solid daily devotionals that have some real meat to them, check out this day with the master by Dennis F. Kinlaw. Kinlaw is a past president of Asbury College (outside Lexington, KY) and was also an O.T. professor at Asbury Seminary (I have my M. Div. from Asbury, but Kinlaw wasn't teaching while I was there in '85 - '89). I've been through this book at least three times, and I get challenged each time in new areas. For me Kinlaw is a modern day Oswald Chambers or A.W. Tozer.