What are you reading right now ?

[hitman]

Right, so when last I posted I had started War and Peace, I have gotten about 300 pages into it and although I'm keeping it on the back burner I've decided to read other books as romance novels aren't my thing. (Though I now understand why so many academics go on NPR and talk up romance novels as their quilty pleasure.) Since moving on I've read,

The Sound and the Fury, My first Faulkner novel and a really good book. That being said I skipped the last 50 pages and just looked up the ending online as the book was due back at the library and I really wanted to kill a couple of the characters. Honestly I prefer Twain and his ever present since of humor.

The Jungle and Lost Empire by Clive Cussler, Yeah these books are my personal form of crack.

21, The Hundred Days, The Thirteen Gun Salute, and Post Captain by Patrick O'Brian. Agian these books are some of my favorites. I'm about to start The Maritius Command which is now the only book in the Aubrey/Maturin series I haven't read.

[peglegstrick]

Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian.....not period correct but good

[hitman]

Thanks to a long day at work yesterday and plenty of house work today I finished up The Mauritius Command yesterday and Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. I found Confessions a intresting read although I think his historical infrences iffy and his tone preachy. The Mauritius Command was of course excellent.

[HarborMaster]

PADI

DiveMaster .

[Jas. Hook]

Linda Greenlaw's The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island

Jas. Hook

[Jas. Hook]

To those readers of the Aubrey/Maturin Series by Patrick O'Brien who have enjoyed it, you can also continue on very similar reading in Dudley Pope's Lord Ramage Series and Alexander Kent's Bolitho Series.

Jas. Hook

[Grymm]

Going Dutch by Lisa Jardine a summary a UK newsrag

"In November 1688, Prince William of Orange, of the Dutch Republic, landed in Devon with an invasion force of 500 ships and thousands of men and marched on London, whereupon King James II fled. William and his wife Mary (James's daughter) were offered the throne, and London remained under Dutch military occupation until 1690. How did this "invasion" come to be known as the "Glorious Revolution", a peaceful restoration of order? Lisa Jardine, with skill, eloquence, and lots of illustrations, answers by uncovering a cultural cohesion between England and Holland that predated and underpinned their political union. The detail of dynastic intermarriage is laid out so clearly that its significance is obvious. With the personnel in place, the accounts of Anglo-Dutch exchange in architecture and astronomy, painting and banking, make perfect, intricate sense. The detail is fascinating, the historical significance broad - for Jardine shows how grand events may be shaped by hidden relationships long obscured.

A couple of reviews from various UK rags

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/apr/05/featuresreviews.guardianreview5

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article3634188.ece

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/going-dutch-by-lisa-jardine-810746.html?r=RSS

[Grymm]

And when I need some light relief; The Mechanical Messiah and Other Marvels of the Modern Age: A Novel by Robert Rankin

[hitman]

I just finished The autobiography of Mark Twain (1959 edition) as an audio book. It was great in so many ways but unless you are a Twain fan I'd skip it. Twain wanted it to be a bear of a read and even with various helpful edits by three editors it is still a ramble. Next on the list is Pirate Hunter of the Caribbean by David Cordingly. This one may take a minute as it's an e-book not an audio book. By the way thanks for the suggestions Jas Hook. Out of curiosity how do those series compare with Dewey Lambden's Alan Lewrie series?

[Jas. Hook]

Hitman -

Unaware of that series... don't tell me that there's yet another 20+ book nautical series out there.

Jas. Hook

Just checked... only 17 in the series... piece of cake!

Jas. Hook

Edited September 21, 2011 by Jas. Hook

[hitman]

Don't worry Jas I wasn't aware of any after book 10. Looks like I have some more books for the back log. :S The Alan Lewrie books are faster and more action movie-ish than the Aubrey/Maturin books (still my favorites.) and are hence forth more or less loved as regards peoples taste. I finished reading Pirate Hunter and although it was a good quick dun read I don't know enough to say much about it as far as historical accuracy. I did however enjoy it, though I wouldn't say I would have been thrilled had I not already been intrested in the topic. I also got "Give Me Tomorrow" as an audio book. Quite frankly I can't recommend this book enough. It is one of the best non fiction books I've read in years and the best work relating to the Korean war I've come across save for "A Ranger Born". Agian I gotta say read this book.

[hitman]

Thanks to the miracle of downloadable audio books from the library I've read three more books. The first of the batch was Dragon Sea. A really good shipwreck/treasure hunt book. I've not read many better in this particular genre of non-fiction though both of Cussler's The Sea Hunters books and Shadow Divers come to mind this book was an absolute joy to read.

The second book was Deep Blue.

The work is a compilation of fictitious and true short stories and book exerts. It was good but like most such works it's parts remain greater than it's whole.

Lastly was The Seven Habits of Highly Defective People. This is quite possibly the worst book I've read in years. Intended as a parody of self help books as well as several. other genres this POS was so devoid of humor as to be honestly abysmal. Not even achieving pity chuckles the brain dead would be comics persist in re hashing corny, dog eared puns that grew stale decades ago and had I hoped been relegated to amateur night at particularly poor comedy clubs and talent days at junior high schools.

[hitman]

Right so I've finished up a couple books lately. Composed a memoir by Roseanne Cash. A good book but like all or at least most memoirs one needs an intrest in the person before beginning. The second of the lot was Cancel My Subscribtion The Worst of NPR which although bad was no where near as bad an attempt at humor as was The Seven Habits of Highly Defective People.

[Capn Bob]

Right now, I'm reading "The German Army at Ypres", Jack Sheldon, and I just got in, thru inter-library loan, "The Mons Myth", Terence Zuber. For laughs, it's Maskerade, Terry Pratchett. Also reading a lot of posts on Cruise Critic, because I'll be getting a deck under me feet in 18 days.

[hitman]

I finally got a chance to read Freakenomics and finished it up today. I really enjoy it but wish it had been longer.

[hitman]

Ahh the joys of audio books. I've been able to finish up three books recently,

Up From Slavery, the autobiography of Booker T. Washington

a really good read if one has an intrest in the time period. It is also on par with Benjamin Franklin's autobiography in that it is ment to be instructive.

Escape, The Houdini Story,

A good quick read by an author with a love of his topic.

I Am Legend,

Much deeper than I would have thought from the movies I've watched. A good read in mho

[Jas. Hook]

Just started Bloody Mohawk - French & Indian War and Revevolutionary War on New York's Frontierby Richard Berleth.

Covers the period of 1713 - 1794, so far an interesting read.

Jas. Hook

[hitman]

Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglas. (1845)

Another great book. Should be mandatory for all teenagers. Somewhat graphic though. It was an intresting contrast to Booker T. Washington's autobiography.

The Prince by Machiavelli

Damn this cat was cold blooded! Nice to know however that he was an abject failure.

A Christmas Carol

Never read the original before and I loved it. That being said I still saw the Disney characters as I was reading.

The Buccaneer Scholar

A self help book that I picked up for a buck at dollar tree. It was an intresting read though I won't be mentioning the whole drop out of school thing around my kids.

Rock & Roll Jihad

The autobiography of Salman Ahmad member of two apparently legendary Pakistani rock bands. It's a good read but he does occasionally sink a little too deep into the peace love harmony deal at least for my taste that is. BTW this is another Dollar Tree book.

[Capn Bob]

Currently reading "The sinner's grand tour : a journey through the historic underbelly of Europe", by Tony Perrottet. Just finished reading "The Pun Also Rises", by John Pollack. Will be reading Benerson Little's "How History's Greatest Pirates Pillaged, Plundered, and Got Away With It: The Stories, Techniques, and Tactics of the Most Feared Sea Rovers from 1500-1800"

[hitman]

Just downloaded and read Clive Cussler's "The Kingdom" from the online function of my library. I'm about a quater of the way through Steve Earl's novel "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" which is a good read (or listen as I have it in audio form) and raw as hell just like you'd expect but I can't say no to a Cussler book. My wife would be so mad if she knew how much time I just pissed away reading that book instead of cleaning house.

[Capn Bob]

We won't tell her, mate...for a decent bottle of rum, that is...

Just downloaded and read Clive Cussler's "The Kingdom" from the online function of my library. I'm about a quater of the way through Steve Earl's novel "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive" which is a good read (or listen as I have it in audio form) and raw as hell just like you'd expect but I can't say no to a Cussler book. My wife would be so mad if she knew how much time I just pissed away reading that book instead of cleaning house.

[hitman]

A decent bottle of rum you say hmmm, nope that price is too steep I'll just get in trouble.

I didn't finish I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive. It was good but it was for whatever reason not a great audio book. I did however get bored and finish Kipling's Just So Stories. I've been meaning to do this with my son but he keeps wanting to hear The Elephant's Child but none of the other stories. I finished up the last stories and I gotta say I loved it.

[hitman]

I went back and checked out I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive as an ebook and finished it up today while waiting on the tire man to show up and fix this trailer tire. To be honest the book runs out of steam in the second half when it goes into a lot of mysticism and relies on that and a political statement about abortion to carry the story. I honestly think it would have been better had it only hinted at the mysticism and stayed on course as a gritty early sixties street life story.

[Capn Bob]

Picked meself up a little light reading in the form of "Why Socrates Died: Dispelling the Myths", by Robin Waterfield, at the library where I work like a bloody lubber.

[hitman]

Finished Tammy Wynette Tragic Country Queen. As with pretty much all celeb. bio's that I've read this book was much more intresting (to me) as a collection of road stories as opposed to a tabloid style retelling of someone's life story. It's a well written book that I enjoyed though it doesn't have enough off topic story for me to recommend it if you aren't a fan of early country music.