What book are you reading?

[JM1776]

Since this seems to have disappeared, I'll resurrect it.

I'm reading Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History, by the late and very much lamented John Julius, Viscount of Norwich. He died in June, and his love of my ancestors' home was apparent: His first two works, and one of his last, decades later, are about Sicily. They nicely bookend his legacy, if we ignore the final two or three publications.

I hope he's in Heaven talking to Roger II, John II Komnenos and anyone else about whom he wrote so well, laughing with delight at what he got right ... and even harder at what he got wrong.

Rest in peace, My Lord Viscount. You're missed.

[Michael]

I just finished Exit West by Mohsin Hamid.

[Michael]

I am now reading In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

[Michael]

I just started The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami.

It's been an excellent so far. At the moment, Murakami is probably my favorite novelist. His book, Kafka on the Shore is outstanding. If you get a chance, give it a read.

Anyone have books to recommend?

[JM1776]

Jon M. Sweeney, The Pope Who Quit

It is not, surprisingly, about Benedict XVI, but Celestine V.

[RAG1986]

I'm working on Diane Duane's "Doctor's Orders" again. I really loved it the first time. It's been a while since I read it.

[Transom]

One of my favorite Trek books.

I'm about to finish "The Eye of the World," the first book of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. It's my third read, and third time trying to get through the series. I know it bogs down in the middle (I've only gotten as far as a couple hundred pages into the 4th book), but man, was he adept at world-building.

[JM1776]

There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, by Anthony Flew with Roy Abraham Varghese

[JM1776]

I'm about to finish "The Eye of the World," the first book of Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. It's my third read, and third time trying to get through the series. I know it bogs down in the middle (I've only gotten as far as a couple hundred pages into the 4th book), but man, was he adept at world-building.

I read the first two, realized the entire series was his cash-cow scam, and lost interest.

[JM1776]

God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe 570–1215, by David Levering Lewis

[Michael]

I finished the The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. It's a good read, though not as focused as Murakami's other novels, especially Kafka on the Shore which I consider excellent.

Decided to give The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace a go. I've read some of his short stories which in my opinion are hit or miss. His essays are excellent, so I'll see how this novel sits with me.

[Michael]

Just finished Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami.

I'm now reading The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King.

[JM1776]

When Bagdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty, by Hugh Kennedy

It's about the Abbasid Caliphate. And I don't necessarily agree with his assessment of their relative greatness, frankly.

[Michael]

I'm now reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt.

[Michael]

Valis by Philip K. Dick.