Okay, its midway through the summer, time to check our summer reading
lists!  What is everyone reading or has read this summer....what great
books are to be recommended?

  This summer so far I've re-read the Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, read
"The Remains of the Day" by Kashoi Ishugura (misspelled) and a good chunk
of Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meany"
  I just finished, or lack about 20 pages of finishing, the nixon white house
diaries of H.R. Haldeman (I just love political scandal)  And today I bought
a copy of Ken Kesey's "Sailor Song" in hardback for $4.99 off the sale table
at Borders.  So that will be next.
  And best of all I read the recently published volume of Jack Kerouac's
letters to Alan Ginsberg, William S. Burrouhgs and Neal Cassady.  Cant do
better than Kerouac!

114 responses total.

  I'm halfway through "I, the Jury" by Spillane. It's dirty, cheesy, and 
lots of fun to read. I'm also going to start "Rose Madder" soon. I'll
let you know about THAT one.

  I was reading 
                "One flew over the Cuckoo's nest" but I've misplaced it, and
I was really into it, too. I also have about 150 pages left in "Roots" that
I've decided to re-read this summer.

  Oh yeah, I also read most of "Life After God" by Douglas Coupland, which
was really good, but that book was lost on a metro north train near
poughkeepsie, NY.  It is probably in Canada by now.  And unfortunately it
was a library book, so I have to shell out $17 bucks to replace it. *sigh*

Umm..."Dune", "Mostly Harmless" (again), "Ender's Game", "Bloom County
Babylon", and "Dave Barry is Not Making This Up".

Being on the disabled list has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to
catch up on some reading. Have just tackled Clancy's _Debt of Honor_. I
usually find his work somewhat ponderous, but this one is moving right along.
Just finished (finally!!) _A Brief History of Time_. Only attempt it when
you're in the mood to *think*.

_Beach Music_, Conroy.

 Isn't Bloom County Babylon the last one? Or are there others?

William Sterne Randall, _Thomas Jefferson: A Life_.

Lots of stuff, whatever I can find in the library.  Good suggestions:
Any recent Kesey, either Sailor Song (really good) or Last Go-Round (also
good).  Hmmmmmmm..... Aside from those standouts, just a lot of books go into
and out of my bedside table.

I also enjoyed _His Kisses Are Dreamy...But Those Hairballs Down My Cleavage_
(an _Outland_ collection), as well as _Far Side Gallery 4_, _The Curse of
Madame "C"_ (another Far Side collection), and _Love Is Hell_ (a compilation
of _Life In Hell_ by Matt "The Simpsons" Groening).

This response has been erased.

I got about 2/3 of the way through _Mists of Avalon_ and then it ran out
of steam with me for some reason. I liked alot of the book, but couldn't
finish it.

I just finished _Brother Wind_, the third in Sue Harrison's fictional series
based on the Aleut indians.  All of them are *excellent* books.  Right now
I'm in the moos to read _A Catcher in the Rye_ again...it'll be the fourteenth
time!  ;) (mood)

In the moos? Sounds like something you need to be in to read _Animal Farm_.

<laughing>
Actually...I've read _Animal Farm_, and I *loved* it!  =)

Re #6:  I think _Classics of Western Literature_ is the last Bloom County
collection.  It covers 1986-1989, including the (sad) end of Bloom County.

_Congo_, I haven't seen the movie yet but the book was darned good.
I'm starting _Hot Zone_ now.

i might try that books-on-tape that popcorn mentioned in the Grexstock
debriefing report.

I also have the Calvin & Hobbes collections _The Days Are Just Packed_ and
_Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat_, as well as _The Body_, which is a photo
analysis of the human body that you won't find in any cheesecake/beefcake
publication.

This response has been erased.

 Lonesome Dove on tape is about 30 sides; with that you could drive to
LA. ;)

Being that I can read at about 300 baud, but can only speak at about 100 or
so, I would think that books-on-tape would rtake longer to "read". Though by
freeing up the necessary I/O it would be possible to do other things
simultaniously.

This response has been erased.

Agora item 68 has been linked to books item 39.

I have been reading books on tape for a couple of years, now.  This makes my
2 hrs driving per day quite enjoyable.  I have not yet had a book which I did
not enjoy.  Even some books which I know I would not have read, are great.
 Diarys (sp?) are great too, but would be boring to read.  Best book on tape
so far - "The Voyage of the Beagle" - Charles Darwin's 7 year sea voyage in
which he formed his "Origin of Species" thesis.

"CAtch-22" <-- is one of the funniest books i have read
"Atlas Srugged" <-- i finally finished it... WHEW!
"Papillon" <-- awesome true life adventure...great movie, too
"Slaughterhouse Five" <-- nothing beats Vonnegut

 Yeah, Catch 22 was a hoot. Just picked up Rose Madder. Good start, although
King has this stupid habit of making references to past books. sheesh.

Haven't had as much time as I would like, but am reading/have read:
Beggars in Spain, Tom Sawyer, Shogun, and A Tale of Two Cities.  Am
planning to read The Pickwick Papers and Huckleberry Finn.  I'm thinking about
re-reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

 ...about those books on tape ... and driving ... are they good enough
of a presentation to distract the driving? Or are they more like a
radio news broadcast, and temporarily ignorable?

In limited experience, I've found them to be like listening to a regular
radio program.  You can tune them in or out as befits the occasion.

This response has been erased.

My mother listens to books on tape while she's working, and she says that it
relieves boredom and actually helps her concentrate.  I've listened to some
1940's radio programs on tape while driving through the U.P. on my way to
school, and it *does* make the Seney Stretch more tolerable.  =)  It's just
bad when some of the sound effects make your heart jump.  (i.e. a car horn)
 <g>

We listen to books on tapes on all long drives. They are marvelous for
keeping the driver awake - even if we have heard _Gulliver's Travels_
some 100+ times. 

I just listened to the _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ on tape - 8
sides.  It's quite different from the books; I was wondering if maybe it
was actually the radio series, but the copyright date on the tapes is
1988, much too new to be the original radio series.  It *is* broken up
into episodes, though, so maybe I'm wrong.
        Anyway, it was great...anyone who liked the books would love these
tapes.  Great sound effects. :-)

 While I was reading Lonesome Dove, I decided that I wanted to give books on
tape a shot; I was convinced that I wouldn't like them, because I really
preferred actually reading the book, I found them to be better because I
could lie in bed and close my eyes and imagine that I was out there on the
prarie with The Hat Creek Outfit. 
 I still prefer reading the book, but I occaisionally will do one on tape foro
the hell of it, My last one was "Surrender the Pink" By Carrie Fisher.

This response has been erased.

well, right now I am reading "Grunts"  a not for the young fantasy about
a bunch of orcs who discover the weapons and training manuals of the U.S.
Marine corp.  

I found "Grunts" less than amusing.  I am now reading "The Charterhouse of
Parma", a 19th century novel that I've found rather entertaining.

Re: 31. True.  Personally, though, it's the sirens that get me.  Not the
horns.

Dave Barry's Book of Guys and Michener's Coventry, among others.

- Backtalk version 1.3.30 - Copyright 1996-2006, Jan Wolter and Steve Weiss