What Are You Reading?

Half a King by Joe Abercrombie Yarvi, a crippled young prince, is fast-tracked into king after the death of his father and eldest brother. He swears an oath to avenge their death but he is betrayed and ends up as a slave oarsman in a merchant ship. We follow his journey with his fellowship of outcasts to fulfill his vengeance and recover his throne.

Not as gritty as his previous novels because the book is aimed at young adults (which I am not), still enjoyable to read.

wurglehound said:

If you don't like it, give The Sun Also Rises and the short stories a try. Definitely worth reading.

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Also check out The Old Man and the Sea. That was his best, IMO

jansob said:

Rereading The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins. Just an amazing book. On of the clearest explanations of the process of evolution out there.

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Thanks, I will check that out.

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

The Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter, by Craig Lancaster. This was a Kindle freebie, about a washed-up boxer and his sportswriter friend/mentor. So far, I really like it.

Man Bill, you sir are a prolific reader!

DeaconKC said:

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

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I just finished this. It's a great read and I enjoy the Nero Wolfe stories from the 1930s and 1940s.

CyberJCM said:

Man Bill, you sir are a prolific reader!

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When time allows. I've been lucky lately in that I've had at least an hour at lunch every day, and the past several things I've read have been page-turners. I have enough in my queue to keep my lips moving (kidding!) for years.

Endymion, 3rd part to Hyperion series, Dan Simmons

I just finished Doris Kearns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. Although a good read, she could have eased up on TR and said more about Taft, hardly covered the Taft/TR rift, and seemingly forgot about the press by the end of the book. No team of rivals, but a good look at the first “modern” US presidents.

I’m on to Richard Beeman’s Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution. I liked his annotated Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution for Penguin, but I’m having trouble getting sucked into this one.

CyberJCM said:

I recently read all the Harry Potter books to my kids. It's my second time through them. They are definitely great stories and a great world. We've moved on to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Same age group but not as heavy as Potter gets, and the Greek myths are fun.

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I just saw this when I was looking for an old post. The Percy Jackson series has been my daughter's gateway drug for reading. If I ever have the pleasure of meeting Rick Riordan, I'll kneel at his feet in gratitude. Great stuff.

I just started The Magician King, number two in the trilogy. I'm somewhat distracted in that for some reason every time I picture Quentin, I see and hear Napoleon Dynamite. That's not a bad thing, just distracting.

Sean Russell's The Isle of Battle (book-2 of The Swans' War)

Perry Mason in The Case of Too Many Murders............by Thomas Chastain
First Perry Mason published since the 1970's... copyright 1989

Re-reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

canadiandude said:

Re-reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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I love that book.

Kilroy6644 said:

I love that book.

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I'm with you. One day I'll watch the miniseries. In the meantime I just start World Without End yesterday.

Re-reading Kiss Me Like A Stranger: My Search for Love and Art, by Gene Wilder.
I bought the book back in 2006 and finished it in a couple of evenings, it enthralled me. The takeaway I guess, he is a rather complex person, and acknowledges his successes and faults as a person, husband and a professional. While the circumstances surrounding Gilda Radner's diagnosis and death and Wilder's actions were confronting and confounding, its a part of the life that is Gene Wilder, but doesn't define him.
An honest, matter-of-fact autobiography, that I have recently reconnected with and am enjoying all over again.

canadiandude said:

Re-reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

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Kilroy6644 said:

I love that book.

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A book that leaves you wishing for more!

DeaconKC said:

The Rubber Band by Rex Stout

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Tralfaz said:

I just finished this. It's a great read and I enjoy the Nero Wolfe stories from the 1930s and 1940s.

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Holy syncronicity, Batman. I'm half-way through my second time around. On the Nook this time.

Tripwire by Lee Child
To Sir with Love.