Reading Killer Show about the 2003 The Station fire in Rhode Island that killed about 100 people at a Great White show.

Always be on the lookout for danger in dive bars and small clubs

Also very, very excited for this. Blood Song was outstanding.

About 2/3 of the way through Skin Game by Jim Butcher, the latest in the Dresden Files. Entertaining thus far.

Reading the new Rothfuss story in the Rogues anthology edited by GRRM after that.

Getting a good start on Mao II.

I have similar thoughts on Blood Meridian.

I have no complaints on the ending though. Terrific.

I finished Lawrence Hill's Someone Knows My Name (AKA The Book of Negroes)-- having stopped for a while to read a couple of other things. It is, as its reviews have suggested, a very strong work of historical fiction, especially of interest if you're want to learn more about the early history of the slave trade. It is, perhaps, a bit more like a chronicle than a novel, but it certainly brings events to life. (Coincidentally I read, earlier this year, another novel dealing with American slavery, Linda Spaulding's The Purchase, which is strong but generally rather sad.) The survival of Hill's heroine is inspiring.

I put The Count of Monte Cristo on hold at the library last week, picked it up today. There waiting for me was this unabridged 1,462 page monstrosity that weighed about 10 pounds. Do you guys recommend I go with the abridged version (441 pages) instead? If it's as fantastic as I hear, I'll dig into the full version, but I thought I should check first before I commit a couple of months to one book.

I've had problems with picking the right version of books before. I reserved Steinbeck's The Pearl a few years ago. Finished it in about 45 minutes before I partially clued in that this copy was from my library's 'Literacy' section designed for adults who need to improve their reading.

...did it improve your literacy?

Definitely unabridged.

Quit The Denial of Death and started on this.

Just finished: The Big Short, by Michael Lewis (I read his Moneyball, fun & interesting read). Factual history of the subprime meltdown that lead to the economic turmoil of 2008 and the few that made millions betting short on what was going to happen ahead of time, they figured it out............yadda, yadda etc.

The Big Short was not just interesting but an exciting read and thoroughly enjoyable throughout; proving that non-fiction can be just as whacked as anything in the imaginary world of writers. The characters are just that; characters worth knowing or at least worth reading about.

I laughed out loud on almost every page. It just becomes every more absurd and Kafka-like as it progresses. First-class insanity. Humanity at its best and most costly. Almost as comic as the Book of Genesis, or better yet, The Book of Revelations.

I recommend it highly.

i LOVE lawrence block.

check out donald westlake, his stuff is phenomenal and he was a big inspiration for block.

Yip

read The New New Thing next.

And then Liars Poker.

Liar's Poker first since that was his first and is a defining book of the '80s. Parts of The Big Short refer back to it, and it was really cool to see him follow up with one of the main characters of the earlier book.

I read Trail Fever a few months ago and wrote about it ITT. It's about the '96 Presidential election and has been all but forgotten. Super interesting, the usual great characters etc.

Finished Mao II by Don DeLillo; I liked White Noise more and thought Mao II was spotty. It has some good ideas, some prescient insights and some excellent writing but they are in short passages and outweighed by even the small volume of the book. I like DeLillo an want him to be better than this.

Started The Messiah of Stockholm by Cynthia Ozick.

great point.

going to find Trail Fever and read it. i always enjoy reading clever accounts of presidential elections i.e. DFW's Up, Simba. Apparently Michael Hastings wrote an ebook on Obama's 2012 campaign called Panic 2012 that I also want to read.

Finished The Messiah of Stockholm by Cynthia Ozick.

For a book that received many strong endorsements from big name writers, I was unimpressed. When I survey reviews from readers outside the literary establishment, my response seems to be common though not universal. The book has many mixed metaphors and frequently uses many words when a few would be better.

Started Point Omega by Don DeLillo.

Nate Silver has mentioned What it Takes by Richard Ben Cramer about the '88 election. Supposed to be excellent.

Here was my post on Trail Fever (also called Losers), although it contains what could be considered spoilers:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/sh...ostcount=12026

I've admired a couple of her stories (the ones that get anthologized), but when I read her Foreign Bodies a couple of years ago I similarly thought it didn't live up to the reviews. I was interested in it because it was discussed by reviewers as a response to James's The Ambassadors, but in the end that didn't seem to enrich it much.

Finished Omega Point by Don DeLillo. I was disappointed; I expect more from DeLillo. He needs to not be afraid to say what he feels.

Started The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick by Peter Handke.

Gee, I hope it's about world cup soccer.

Has anyone read any of Stefan Zweig?

Could you get the name of the book right before you put down one of the best writers that will ever live, Gioco?

Apparently he's the England football manager's favourite author (not joking)

Just started upon Candide by Voltaire.

What's the difference between the two? 1000 pages less seems like a lot.