<p>Currently, this thread</p>
<p>I’m reading Devil in the White City by Erik Larsen right now. So far it’s terrific, if sometimes gory. Just read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See, which I liked as well.</p>
<p>Lamb, or the Gospel According to Biff by Christopher Moore. Okay, but not outstanding so far.</p>
<p>The Gospel of Judas by Bart Ehrman. Ehrman is the man for us agnostics who still have a strong interest in early Christian religious history – this one was churned out a little too quickly, but it’s still good.</p>
<p>More than 85 Broads, by Janet Hanson
Safe Trip to Eden, David Steinman</p>
<p>Richard Ford’s conclusion to his trilogy The Lay of the Land. When The Sportswriter came out long ago, I was too young to really understand a novel about the loss of a child and a floundering marriage at Easter. But I have caught up in years and I love meandering around the New Jersey real estate market with a guy with a faulty prostate and two challenging recent college grad children at Thanksgiving time. Next up, The Emperor’s Children and The Looming Tower.</p>
<p>Death Ground by Daniel Bolger. Just getting started. It’s about the role of the infantry in modern US military strategy. The first really interesting thing I’ve learned is that the Army and Marines combined only have 100,000 regular riflemen. The other 1.4 million military personnel have other jobs.</p>
<p>Mammoth by John Varley. *Jurassic Park-*like speculative fiction.</p>
<p>The Iraq War by John Keegan. Just started. A sort of in-process analysis of the reasons for, the build up to, and the execution of the Iraq War through 2004.</p>
<p>And I just finished
The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. Much better than it deserves to be. Weisberger might have a writing career ahead of her.</p>
<p>A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Tales and musings on the Appalachian Trail, and comments on America’s perspectives of wilderness over time. Recommended.</p>
<p>Speaking of Bill Bryson…I just finished “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid” by him - a nostalgic memoir that takes you back to a time that kids could, well, be kids. Sort of like a literary version of the movie “A Christmas Story”.</p>
<p>Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer</p>
<p>With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man - also named Jonathan Safran Foer - sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the the Nazis.</p>
<p>A challenging but very interesting read…</p>
<p>Twinmom, did you see the film based on Everything is Illuminated? It was released about a year ago or so, didn’t stay around here long despite good reviews. We rented it recently and really liked it. (Now I will read the book.)</p>
<p>Midmo - Just finished the book and planning on renting the movie now!</p>
<p>Just received the posthumously published “Voices from the Street” by my favorite SF author, Philip K. Dick. Waiting for the right time to sit down and really get into it. I doubt it will compare to his best, but I’m really looking forward to reading it.</p>
<p>Couple things are currently underway, in addition to the usual nerd books (which were negatively received by roshke ;)):</p>
<p>“The “Liberators” - My Life in the Soviet Army” by Viktor Suvorov</p>
<p>“The Godfather Returns” - by Mark Winegardner</p>
<p>Saw (rented) an outstanding video this weekend: “Everything is Illuminated” which was just excellent.</p>
<p>“Sort of like a literary version of the movie A Christmas Story.”</p>
<p>A Christmas Story is a movie version of In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, by Jean Shephard. There’s a great excerpt called “Grover Dill and the Tasmanian Devil” in my ninth grade literature anthology–even my very squirrelly boys liked it and they were surprised to learn it was written for adults.</p>
<p>I also recently read and enjoyed Devil in the White City. Now I’m reading Balkan Ghosts by Robert Kaplan…hard to read (too heartbreaking).</p>
<p>Diane Gabaldon. Her books are like getting hooked on a soap opera.</p>
<p>I’m reading the Wind Up Bird Chronicle, which I liked so much when I picked it up at the store that I stopped Revolutionary Road (started good and will get back to it!) after twenty pages. Before that it was Fight Club (I’d already read some of his other books like Lullaby and Choke, definitely has his own – um – unique take on the world). I have two recent obsessions, David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas and Number 9 Dream) and Jose Saramago (Blindness, the Cave, the Double). And I also finally read The Kite Runner which everyone had said “you have to read” and I fought it because what the heck did I care about Afghanistan, but I finally gave in and I’m so glad I did – you have to read it!</p>
<p>Ooh, loved Devil in the Whilte City. Also loved the book “Everything is Illuminated” but his second book about the Twin Towers was just too depressing (and that’s as compared to a story which invoked the Holocaust). The last few pages, broke my heart!!!</p>
<p>p2n, Sheesh…I didn’t realize you were still put out by that. You will be happy to know that I had second thoughts and the entire group is now avidly reading File System Forensic Analysis as we speak!</p>
<p>I only think of it and feel totally crushed and rejected when I see a book thread. 
(not)</p>
<p>However, I do not appear to be the sole nerd on here…see the folks discussing [Linux[/url</a>] and [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix]UNIX[/url”>Unix - Wikipedia]UNIX[/url</a>]? Next thing you know, we’ll be arguing about the speed of file systems, is [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ReiserFS]ReiserFS[/url”>ReiserFS - Wikipedia]ReiserFS[/url</a>] actually faster than [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ext3]EXT3[/url”>ext3 - Wikipedia]EXT3[/url</a>]? What about the [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VXFS]Veritas”>Veritas File System - Wikipedia]Veritas</a> File System(vxfs)](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux]Linux[/url”>Linux - Wikipedia), huh?? How 'bout them apples? 
(lol)</p>
<p>Lest we leave the file system of Apple Computers in the cold: [url=<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HFS%2B]HFS+[/url”>HFS Plus - Wikipedia]HFS+[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I read more than one book at a time too. Currently:
“The Big Bang” by Simon Singh
“Paris to the Moon” by Adam Gopnik
“Plagues and Peoples” by William McNeill
“Climbing the Mango Trees” by Madhur Jaffrey
“Maharanis” by Lucy Moore</p>
<p>When those are done, three novels by Edna Ferber (all in one volume from abebooks.com) and three collections of short science fiction. Oh, and the new Crichton (DS is reading that one) and “What is the What” by Dave Eggers, although that one looks kind of depressing, for February.</p>
<p>My teacher recommended a book called “Book Thief.” I don’t know the author but it’s a recent book- it’s a young adult book but he said that he believes that young adult books are really made for adults (I forgot the reasoning though). The synopsis he gave was very intriguing.</p>
<p>I’m not a parent but… I’m currently reading “Lolita” (Vladimir Nabokov) and loving it and also “The Fountainhead” (Ayn Rand). I have mixed feelings about the second book but I’m finishing it because I went through the first 500 pages that I might as well finish reading the last 100. I thought it was an entertaining book (not including Rand’s philosophy behind it) but the philosophy itself…well… that’s a different story altogether.</p>
<p>Oh and I plan to tackle “A History of Love” next. I heard that was a great read, too.</p>