We’ve had a lot of fun the last few months with our iPod inspection feature — I always get a gajillion ideas for new songs to download — and over the weekend, I wondered why we hadn’t tried the same idea with books. So without further delay, let’s get the party started: What’s currently on your nightstand (or, you know, wherever you keep your reading material)? I just started Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl, and also sitting next to the bed is the recently completed (and pretty terrific) The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook, which hasn’t yet found a spot on one of my brutally overcrowded bookshelves.
Okay, your turn…
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Slezak – You are going to LOVE “Special Topics”! Read it last year and still pops into my head at random intervals for no particular reason. Lately I’ve been on a Richard Matheson bender.
Currently:
* Atonement
* Watchmen
* Rumpole and the Reign of Terror
Good morning! Right now I have:
-The Ruins
-The Angry Black Woman’s Guide to Life
Just started – “The Maltese Falcoln”
Just finished – “A Death in the Family.”
Just finished “A Confederacy of Dunces,” so good by the way, and now I’m on “Vanity Fair.” It’s so massive, but, so far, also so entertaining!
Just Started:
Jesus for President-Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
Working On:
Blessed Unrest-Richard Hawken
I would suggest any of Sarah Vowell’s books: Assassination Vacation; The Partly Cloud Patriot; Take the Cannoli; and Radio On were all very enjoyable. If EW wants to send me “The Wordy Shipmates” for an advanced review by a fan, I’m in!
Just finished “The Big Over Easy” and “The Fourth Bear”, both by Jasper Fforde both very good.
Will start “The Titan´s Curse” by Rick Riordan.
For me, it should probably be “Toilet Tank Inspection,” but that sad admission aside, I’m currently working on:
Freakonomics
Totally Useless History of the World (fascinating read…did you know that a woman masquerading as a man was elected Pope in the Middle Ages, and was executed when her true identity was revealed because…she was pregnant?!)
On my nightstand:
- With The Old Breed by Eugene Sledge — best WW2 memoir ever.
- Christ the Lord: Road to Cana by Anne Rice — started interesting, lost steam, but Jesus’ takedown of Satan at the temptation was classic.
–Jumper: Griffin’s Story by Stephen Gould — Hollywood changed his books for the movie, then hired him to write this “prequel” to the changed universe. YA-level.
I just finished a reread of “Sense and Sensibility” by Jane Austen and am currently working on “The Pig Did It” by Joseph Caldwell. I plan to pick up “Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin when I’m done with that.
Elizabeth – I’m glad I’m not the only Sarah Vowell fan! I just went out of town and listened to “Assassination Vacation” on CD while driving to my destination. I’ve almost worn the CD out I’ve listened to it so many times. “Partly Cloudy Patriot” is another fav.
Rereading one of my favorites – Size of the World by Jeff Greenwald – a 40th birthday trip around the world while not leaving the ground. Written in 1993 on an OmniBook (stolen) and then on a Powerbook – truly a WONDERFUL book. The photo of 5 guys standing on the engine comparment of a taxi while the engine sits in the sand in Monrovia – priceless. And In the Woods by Tana French – best mystery I have read in years…bar none.
Just finished reading “My life as prime minister” by Jean Chrétien. Although a Canadian perspective, it has great moments during the great years of having Clinton in office, vs the terrible years of Bush in office. Great read for a different perspective on the American government.
Just reread “Thunderstruck” by Eric Larson (also my bus book) and “The Thirteenth Tale” by Diane Setterfield
Now borrowing “The Narrows” by Michael Connelly
About to start “Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home” by Kim Sunee for April book club
To E – if you have not read The Poet by Michael Connelly – you must – it is harrowing and wonderful!
Hey Slezak – I know you have enough to do, but why doesn’t someone in Books have a column like this every week? I like seeing what others are reading…new titles go on my ‘gotta read’ list when I read through the posts.
Folks – tell me – am I the only one who keeps a spreadsheet for books to read????
Thanks MrKitty, the Poet was book that made me a Connelly fan in the first place–you are right, it is great.
I’ve been reading “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss. Very engrossing. Amazon suggested it as a remedy for Post-Tramautic-Harry Potter-Syndrome, its helping me cope with the loss.
To E – if you loved The Poet – you will love In the Woods by Tana French – I saw a review on Best Books of the Year on the BBC web site – I found in in my local library – and it is so very well written – a police procedural with a huge emotional punch in the gut. Great!
Water for Elephants, amazing.
I am very slowly working through Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, I’m determined to finish it before I start Kite Runner, my sister finally parted with her copy so I could read it.
Katie M., I loved Water for Elephants too.
Another book I recommend is “Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time” by Greg Moretenson–Its a totally amazing story of philanthropy
I just finished “The Post-Birthday World” by Lionel Shriver. It was EW’s top book of 2007. It’s a “Sliding Doors” kind of thing, where depending on whether the main character does this one thing, her life completely changes. So the book alternates between the life where she did the thing and the life where she didn’t. I love that kind of thing, so I should have liked this book more than I did. I think I’m just not crazy about contemporary British fiction.
Coyotes, Ted Conover
I just started “Warped Passages,” a non-fiction book about extra dimensions, in an effort to come up with “Lost” theories.
Slezak, I’m SO glad you did this! I always thought Popwatch should do more on books. I can’t wait to read everyone’s picks. The P-Dubs have turned me on to so much good music, movies and TV, I’m sure to find some good referrals for books, too. As for me, well, I’m a little embarrassed to say that my last two picks from the library were Celebrity Detox by Rosie O’Donnell (it was terrible), and The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown (about Princess Di). A little light, fluffy, pop culture reading. Oh, well. The Diana Chronicles was much better than I thought it would be – much closer to a proper biography than I expected.
The other day, there was a Popwatch about scary books (I think that was Slezak, too). I got a lot of good ideas, that I’ve just started working my way thorugh. Right now, I’m reading Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill. It is so, so good. The guy has a unique, interesting “voice”.
The 13th Tale by Diane Setterfield: loved it!
The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe: the Sex and the City of the 1950’s, it was great.
Nick Hornby’s Housekeeping vs. the Dirt
Just finished “A Fine Balance” by Rohinton Mistry–took me a while to recover from that one before picking up another. “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” is next on my coffee table.