Chef Forum banner

What are you currently reading - non food related

9K views 84 replies 45 participants last post by  dreamshards8 
#1 ·
In the cookbook forum Nicko started a thread about what we are reading, foodwise.  I thought it would be fun to start a companion thread asking what you are reading, now, that is not food related.  So what's everyone reading?  Besides the 2 books I listed on that thread, I have a bunch of books on my Kindle in various states of reading.  Right now I am finishing up the newest JD Robb "In Death" novel and will be starting in on "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco.  It will be my third time through that book.  I also always have Sherlock Holmes close at hand.  Since most of those stories are short stories they are perfect between books reading.  I also just recently finished up "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Phillip K. Dick.  "Blade Runner" is my favorite movie and I had never read the book that it was loosely based on, so I thought it was about time.

Your turn!
 
#2 ·
You mean, like, fiction?

Haven't done that in a few years, since the kids got too old for nightly chapter installments on the  "Harry Potter" books.

Used to sneak in a novel on a day off, usually one of LeCarre's spy ones, but haven't done that in a while.

The youngest is 12 now, last summer he picked up the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes and ploughed through it in three days.  Now he ploughs through Dan Brown's stuff in a day or so. 

Huh, lounging around on a deck chair under the hot sun with a cool beverage and a fat juicy novel is a dream to keep me going until Vancouver's famous "rainy season" dries up......... 
 
#3 ·
Recently finished Pirate Latitudes by Michael Chriton- sadly his last work. It was good but clearly unfinished, as posthumously published books are. Currently reading through Side Jobs by Jim Butcher, which is a collection of short stories from the Dresden Files. Trying to fight off withdrawal symptoms from the main story line. (next book has been postponed until July). The Dresden files are written in the first person, which I always find fascinating, and are a weird mix of classic noir meets Buffy the vampire slayer with a sarcastic sense of humor. They made a short lived TV series that was in all honesty- terrible. But the books are awesome. In fact His other series Codex Alera was also fantastic. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre check it out. Butcher has supplanted Chriton, Grisham, Brooks, and Herbert as my favorite author. Is that crazy?

On the non-fiction side been going through Thomas Moser's How to Build Shaker Furniture. The technique and instruction found in the pages are great but it also reads like a manifesto on creativity and design.
 
#4 ·
I'm reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson... I was given the first book in the trilogy for Christmas, and loved it so I went out and bought the second one. I'm rather stingy but I will buy the third one in hardcover if I must.

Pete, The Name of the Rose was an amazing read and I'm sure you will enjoy it.

I'm unsure of the author's name but I highly recommend "Children of the Arbat" if it is still in print. I read that back in the 80's and I really enjoyed it.
 
#5 ·
Foodpump, it doesn't have to be fiction, just not food related.

Leeniek, I am a huge fan of "The Name of the Rose."  This will be my third time through it, though it has probably been 10-12 years since I last read it.
 
#8 ·
Pete, have you read any other books by Umberto Eco? I've read Foucault's Pendulum... and I remember it took a bit to start off but then the story was quite good. I think I read The Name of The Rose about twenty years ago... It's definitely time for a re-read.
 
#9 ·
All of Eco's books are difficult starts. It's on purpose. He's trying to create in you the right reader for the rest of the book. Or so he's said anyway. Whether it works is up for debate. I liked Focault's Pendulum the best of his books.
 
#15 ·
I read the "Chicago Sun-Times" and the "Chicago Tribune" cover to cover (mostly) every day if I can. Does that count for this thread?
 
#17 · (Edited)
bedside book of bad girls>>>keep your minds outta the gutter boys...its about outlaw women in the american west....gotta tell ya, they were some tough broads that i certainly wouldn't want to meet, even on a well lit street...yeah, booze and guns. that's always such an interesting mix!

joey
 
#19 ·
Loved The Name of the Rose. The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana is in my To-Read pile.

I'm trying to get through Norman Mailer's Ancient Evenings. He's supposed to be such a good writer, I thought I should read at least one of his books. This is my third attempt. Finally, on page 39, I realize that the narrator is dead when he sees a scorpion chewing on the foot of a mummy and feels a pain in his foot. He's actually one of his body's 7 spirits, called the Ka, not to be confused with the Ba or Ra. Now we're into all the ancient Egyptian gods, each of whose name has >25 letters and only 2 vowels. I don't see myself making it through this hefty book.

I need something with booze, guns, and hot men. More my kind of book. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif
 
#24 ·
I'm not into reading heavy stuff in my spare time.  I love reading books that have been made into movies (before I go and see the movie as I like to get my own version of the imagery and characters in my head) so I have just finished "the Kings Speech".  Haven't got around to seeing the movie yet but I am glad that I read the book first.  Looking for another good book to get stuck into, I am glad that you reminded me of "The Name of the Rose" - it is on my bookshelf too (it is one of my husbands favourites) so might get that out for a reread.  I love anything by Jeffery Deaver ("The Bone Collector" was made into a movie starring Denzel Washington and Angeline Jolie ), Kathy Reichs (author of books that the "Bones" series is based on - the books are FAR better than the TV series) and the James Patterson Alex Cross novels ("Kiss the Girls", "Along came a Spider" are two that spring to mind that have been made into movies). Oh, I nearly forgot "The Time Travellers wife" (starring Eric Bana yum!) and the "Twilight" Saga series (sorry to admit that one but the books are pretty hard to put down once you start).  Would also recommend Vikas Swarups "Q & A" which was released as "Slumdog Millionaire" (both are actually completely different to each other so it doesnt matter which order you read/see movie in) and Gregory Roberts "Shantaram" - which I don't think has at this stage been made into a movie.  It is pretty heavy going in parts and is based on the authors actual true life experiences.  Enjoy your leisure time!!
 
#25 ·
Charles de Lint's  Muse and Reverie it's a collection of short stories involving his Newford Characters.
 
#26 ·
Just finally finishing up "The Name of the Rose."  After that I think I'm going to go for some lighted hearted fluff.  Probably read Hammerhead Ranch Motel, part of the Tim Dorsey series featuring the Floridaphile loving, serial killer Serge and his drugged out companion Coleman.  It's tasteless, sophomoric pulp, but so fun to read!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top