I got absolutely lost in the middle of this one, after having somewhat enjoyed Foucaults Pendulum and never picked it back up.

I am currently on the 2nd book of a the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson.

I finished the first book a week ago and really enjoyed it. I thought it had great character development, interesting plot, and really was a great way to discuss some general things about social organization and civilization.

2 new ones this week

Who moved my cheese - spencer Johnson
great little book that uses a kids story about rats in a maze to promote confidence when faced with changes in our lives. Self-help kind of book...highly recommended for anyone that kinda feels in a rut right now.

The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn trilogy)
1st book in the mistborn trilogy. Sanderson is the guy thats finishing the whell of time series. The first book was amazing and I couldnt put it down. Its kinda like an abridged version of the wheel of time series without as much run-on stuff like jordan's work. I cant wait for the last WOT book now that im a Sanderson fan.

That's sort of funny, because I thought Name of the Rose was much more accessible than Focault's Pendulum. I also really enjoyed Island of the Day Before.

I have the Queen Loanna one, whatever thats called, on my shelf as well although because of Name of the Rose its way at the bottom of my list. Maybe I will have to give Name of the Rose another try.

Finally finished Angels and Demons (yes I read slow). Didnt end up flinging it across the room because this time I was prepared for likely ending scenarios

Currently reading "The Good Life" by Jay McInerney and some Hunter S. Thompson biographies ("Gonzo" and "The Kitchen Readings")

Re-reading "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" (on an HST kick) and "Understanding Power" by Noam Chomsky

Am now reading Classic Feynman, a collection of writings and musings from Richard Feynman, edited by Ralph Leighton. Its the funniest book I've read in years, Feynman is just absolutely brilliant. If you've read other Feynman books many of the stories will probably be pretty familiar to you, but having it all together in one book is just amazing. Highly recommend.

Blarg btw you know there are 4 Woody Allen collections total when you include the new one right? Seems like you might have only been familiar with 2.

Yeah I only read the first two. Didn't even know about the other two.

Blarg

What one should I read first

I want to read at least one

Last time I wrote, I said I was going to read Skeletons on the Zahara next, but I decided to go with a different book we got from the library: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. I've read The Tipping Point, so was somewhat familiar with Gladwell, and how he framed his arguments. I really found it fairly enjoyable overall. As with his other book I've read, there are several different cases/situations that he wrote about to explain his point that I just found fascinating. In this case, it was the section on the Millenium Challenge War Games, that I had read about briefly a few months back in OOT, along with the stuff about how being forced to think/relate to certain things prior to taking tests can have a dramatic impact upon the scores you produce. One of the things I started off really liking but quickly got bored of was the discussion of the science concerning facial expressions and their relations to mood. I've really been liking the show Lie to Me, and this was essentially a discussion of the hard science behind it, but for some reason this section just didn't resonate with me. I guess if I was to rate it, I would give it 3 stars on the Netflix scale meaning 'Liked It'.

I'm now about 2/3 through a book the library got for me through inter-library loan: As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me by Josef Bauer. This book is absolutely phenomenal. It's the story of a German POW who was sentenced at the end of WWII to 25 years in a slave mine on the very eastern tip of Siberia. Finding himself slowly dying from the lead mining he was forced to do, he decided to escape and trek across Siberia back to Germany. While it's not quite what I thought it would be, which was his solitary trek across open country, I'm still loving the story that it is: his solitary trek mingled with his travels with different groups of nomadic reindeer herders and a small band of Russian slaves who also escaped. I'm actually kind of sad, because I've read the bulk of it in two long sessions and will probably finish it off tonight, but I don't really want it to end.

After this, it'll be my other survival story, Skeletons on the Zahara, and Hillary's account of climbing Everest.

Edit to add: I just want to say that I've been hating on libraries for a while because it was always important to me to buy books so that one day I could have a large personal collection. However, I've been kind of poor lately and I've fallen absolutely in love with our local library and it's various branches and services. I'm quite a fan.

Also, I'm digging these survivalist stories. I think I'm going to get Touching the Void next time I go to the library. Any other suggestions?

finally finished this finance book I was reading, so I can get around to some pleasure reading!

going to start Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough (I really enjoy true crime). been meaning to read it for quite a while too, but I now finally get the chance, and considering a star-studded movie directed by Michael Mann (he's my fav, ldo) is being made, I need to get through it and sound extremely pretentious when people ask why I'm so excited for the movie.

I'd be sure you get to the funniest one of the two that I read first then, which is definitely Without Feathers. Getting Even has lots of sweet spots, but Without Feathers is one of those that leaves you gasping at how consistently great the writer is. And so happily in this case, how damn funny. It's a step way above the ordinary.

I haven't read the newest one, but the other 3 just all blend into one for me, so I guess ignore this post or get the collection that has all the stories from all 3 in it.

They didn't blend together for me at all. Without Feathers might be the funniest thing I've ever read, on par with or better than Monty Python's Big Red Book and even National Lampoon's Sunday Newspaper. It really sustains the funny and hits the heights of it.

finished 'world without people', was sortve meh overall to me. not enough content really, too much filler.

started 'a thousand splendid sunds' a few days ago, not very far into it.

probably have a few others on my list that i'll plow through in the next few days bc i'll be on vacation.

Without Feathers it is.

flying through 'a thousand splendid suns', i should be done with it by tonight. its a very sad book so far and i've heard it gets even worse. very well written though.

Mark Twain, Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches and Essays Volume 1

Just finished Morgan Spurlocks book. "dont eat this book" Ive read quite a few whole food type books, but his was definately a different tone than the others. He uses a lot of humor and sarcasm and I lol'd a few times. Defeinately a book i'd recommended to everyone.

I'm reluctant to read/watch anything of his after seeing Supersize Me. Is the book just thinly veiled anti-capitalist drivel, or is there actual substance to it?

Neither the book nor the movie are thinly veiled anti-capitalist drivel, but I'll save my anti-fast food rants for another thread sometime. If you didnt like the movie then dont read the book. If you actually care about the food you eat, check it out.

Agree. I don't think he ever made the claim McDonald's was bad because they are a corporation, but rather that they are bad because DEATH could be a side-effect of eating a diet of only their food.

thank you....for the last part.
Spurlock actually goes kamakzie on the Mcdonalds corporation in the book though.....and its much deserved. The world would be a better place without fast food.