What are you currently reading?

[Trane]

goodreads.com

Fantastic website

Mmmhhh!!!!... Had forgotten to check if someone had answered me.

Thanks for the link...

[Yves]

Just starting in on Atwood's "The Year Of The Flood" which is the second installment in her "Maddaddam" trilogy; the sequel to Oryx & Crake. I get the feeling this one will be just as good. I love her writing!

[Lou]

"Heaven" by Randy Alcorn

For any Christian readers in this forum, this is the most extensive and scripturally backed book about the topic of Heaven I have ever seen.
Only about a quarter of the way through this, but am absolutely fascinated by it so far.

[Yodelgoat]

I'm about half way through The complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I have read a few of the longer, more popular ones, but some of the short ones are actually every bit as interesting. I've gotten past the point when he kills off Sherlock, hoping to be able to move on, but then had to revisit his offing of Englands greatest fictitious superhero. The book gives the stories in sequence, so Moriarty was just made up and knocked down in one fairly short episode, and then Sherlock is immediately brought back. Without all the time between Sherlocks demise and rebirth, it gave me a perspective that is didnt seem like as big a deal as Londoners seemed to make it at the time. I have seen almost all the Sherlock "movies" of Doyles more popular stories, but its amazing to read them, because you really do learn quite a bit more detail for each of the stories. They are much better in writing than in watching.

[JKL2000]

^ I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan too. There are still a lot of the stories I haven't read - the problem is that I always want to read them in sequence and I forget which I've read and which I haven't over the years. I've read a couple of the novels, read Hound... a few times and love it! Also love the movies, various TV incarnations, etc. And I've seen a couple of Broadway shows and other things too.

Including the great John Wood on Broadway in "Sherlock Holmes" 1974:



And Paxton Whitehead and Glenn Close on Broadway in 1978 or 79 in The Crucifer of Blood:



An interesting thing I just found is that Jeremy Brett played Watson on stage before he played Holmes on TV, with Charlton Heston playing Holmes, in LA in "The Crucifer of Blood." Apparently they made a movie of this with Heston, which I don't think I've seen. Brett is one of few actors who have played both Watson and Holmes:

[Yodelgoat]

I had no idea Brett had ever played Watson! I will have to see how that worked out! I very much enjoy his Sherlock in the PBS versions. But I do not think any screen will ever live up to the written versions. I really enjoy the escape to that period of life in London and Europe in general.

[JKL2000]

I had no idea Brett had ever played Watson! I will have to see how that worked out! I very much enjoy his Sherlock in the PBS versions. But I do not think any screen will ever live up to the written versions. I really enjoy the escape to that period of life in London and Europe in general.

I agree reading the stories is the best way to experience them. Somewhere here I have all the volumes of the Annotated Sherlock Holmes - huge hardcover books, not really practical for just enjoying reading them, but pretty interesting. I also have a book for collectors of Sherlock Holmes in paperback, which reproduces tons of paperback covers. A lot of fun to browse through. Holmesiana can keep you busy endlessly!

[mogrooves]

Found in my holiday stocking:

Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Bondage Destroy the Global Economy, Jeffrey St. Clair.

[Rune Blackwings]

I Will Find You by Joe Kenda

[SteveSly]

Reading Mike Love's autobiography. I am not a huge Beach Boys fan, but find it pretty interesting so far.

[Yodelgoat]

Just bought Ghost rider and Far Away... I dont know when I'll start on them. If Neil is as verbose in his writings as in his interviews, it may be a bit of a slog... I seem to be on a kick to see all things Rush on Youtube lately. Interviews, etc... I am concerned that we may have heard the last from them.

[Scott Bails]

Just bought Ghost rider and Far Away... I dont know when I'll start on them. If Neil is as verbose in his writings as in his interviews, it may be a bit of a slog... I seem to be on a kick to see all things Rush on Youtube lately. Interviews, etc... I am concerned that we may have heard the last from them.

I may be a bit of a fanboy, but I've enjoyed all of the books of his that I've read, though I haven't read those particular books. I like the way he writes.

And I do believe that Rush is done, completely, outside of archival releases.

[Koreabruce]

Just bought Ghost rider and Far Away... I dont know when I'll start on them. If Neil is as verbose in his writings as in his interviews, it may be a bit of a slog... I seem to be on a kick to see all things Rush on Youtube lately. Interviews, etc... I am concerned that we may have heard the last from them.

I have Ghost Rider as a Kindle book and Traveling Music, Road Show, and Far and Wide as audio books. The guy who reads TM and RS is Brian Sutherland. He does a fair job of it but has a rather plain voice that doesn't sound at all like Neil would. On the other hand, Far and Near is read by Paul Hecht, and his voice really does sound a lot like Neil's. While I admit I haven't read Ghost Rider yet, I've listened to all of the others, and I didn't consider them a slog at all. On the contrary, I found them fascinating and insightful. The author can come off as a bit snobby at times, but that doesn't detract from the overarching narrative that he delivers, so... well worth your time and money.

[JKL2000]

Just bought Ghost rider and Far Away... I dont know when I'll start on them. If Neil is as verbose in his writings as in his interviews, it may be a bit of a slog... I seem to be on a kick to see all things Rush on Youtube lately. Interviews, etc... I am concerned that we may have heard the last from them.

I read most of Ghost Rider. A lot of it was very interesting (to me) travel writing - great descriptions of meals, scotch, hotels, getting his bike repaired, wildlife, the road, etc. But I did indeed get bogged down in some of the less interesting (to me) stuff. I kind of which I'd continued though - maybe I can find it around here...

[nosebone]

I'm almost finished with William Friedkin's autobiography The Friedkin Connection.

Fascinating insights into how he made his films.

[SteveSly]

Just bought Ghost rider and Far Away... I dont know when I'll start on them. If Neil is as verbose in his writings as in his interviews, it may be a bit of a slog... I seem to be on a kick to see all things Rush on Youtube lately. Interviews, etc... I am concerned that we may have heard the last from them.

I have read all of Neil's books. Not sure if you have read any of his books before, but they are mainly travelogues and not so much about him or the band. That being said, I have enjoyed all of them, they do give an insight into the way he things about dealing with the public. "Roadshow" probably had the most band content which I liked. "Ghost Rider" deals with his tragic life losses, again giving some insight into what he went through. Some of the books do drag a bit, but I have dug them.

[Yodelgoat]

Is there a good book about the Band Rush anywhere? My problem with reading books about bands is that they seem to be such fans, that they seem to gloss over/ignore the more unfavorable parts of the story - which are of course also, probably the most interesting parts.

[SteveSly]

Is there a good book about the Band Rush anywhere? My problem with reading books about bands is that they seem to be such fans, that they seem to gloss over/ignore the more unfavorable parts of the story - which are of course also, probably the most interesting parts.

I enjoyed Martin Popoff's "Contents Under Pressure" which was written on their 30th anniversary. The thing with Rush is, they don't appear to have much dirty laundry. They seem to basically be 3 generally nice guys who didn't do a lot of damage over the years.

[JKL2000]

^ They'd have to devote a whole chapter to Alex's taser incident.

[SteveSly]

^ They'd have to devote a whole chapter to Alex's taser incident.

True, there was that. In fact of the 3 of them, Alex has probably had the most drama over the years, although it pales in comparison to most rock n roll outfits.

[Koreabruce]

Peart talks about Alex's taser event in Traveling Music.

[Lou]

"Choke" by Chuck Pahlaniuk

Truly wacked out story about a guy who is employed in a historical Civil War replication attraction. To help finance his ailing mother's
institution costs, the protagonist has become an expert at choking on food at restaurants. After being saved by a fellow patron, he plays
on the benevolence of his savior, keeping in contact, and getting them to send him money.Every bit as strange as it sounds.

Just when I thought that I just got done reading one of the strangest stories ever, I realize that I was wrong. Next up was
"The Drive In" by Joe Lansdale. This was even more bizarre. Thanks to a recommendation from a few of you here in the horror
fiction thread, I opted to read this. It did not disappoint! Difficult to describe how unique and odd this book is. Highly recommended!

[markwoll]

Quiet - by Susan Cain 'The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'
Some interesting case studies about the differences between intro and extroverted people.
Since it was not a scholarly work, it was sort of shallow.
Ways for introverts to get through the workplace or public, identifying introverted kids as different not damaged.
Sort of a 'It gets better' kind of book.
I wanted more detail, and perhaps wider coverage of the topic.

[SteveSly]

Quiet - by Susan Cain 'The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking'
Some interesting case studies about the differences between intro and extroverted people.
Since it was not a scholarly work, it was sort of shallow.
Ways for introverts to get through the workplace or public, identifying introverted kids as different not damaged.
Sort of a 'It gets better' kind of book.
I wanted more detail, and perhaps wider coverage of the topic.

I read that book a while back too, and came to similar conclusions as you did. It really did not supply a lot of new information, and agree it was rather shallow. As an Introvert myself, who has had to force myself to be extroverted in certain situations in order to do the job I do, I found the book to be rather lacking. There are many different kinds of introverts as well, and the book seemed to kind of lump everyone into the same category to an extent IMO.

[markwoll]

I read that book a while back too, and came to similar conclusions as you did. It really did not supply a lot of new information, and agree it was rather shallow. As an Introvert myself, who has had to force myself to be extroverted in certain situations in order to do the job I do, I found the book to be rather lacking. There are many different kinds of introverts as well, and the book seemed to kind of lump everyone into the same category to an extent IMO.

I found the ( rather lengthy ) section focusing on Asian students from CA kind of annoying. Not because it focused on a particular group, but because of all of the groups that were not mentioned. Cultural or regional differences can have a profound effect on how people interact.

The sort of 30,000 ft view of the book seems to be all about the author, and wouldn't you like her to come to speak to your group.