What Are You Reading Now? - My Quarterly Survey

7/12/10

[MplsSteve]

Hi, everyone!

It's time again for my quarterly "What Are You Reading Now?" survey.

As you know, I consider Freepers to be among the more well-read groups currently on the Internet. Each quart, I like to find out what everyone is reading.

It can be anything...a technical journal, a NY Times best-seller, a trashy pulp novel...in short, anything!

Please do not ruin this thread by posting something inane like "I'm reading this post". It became very unfunny a long time ago.

I'll start. I'm reading a historical biography called "John L Lewis: Labor Leader" by Robert Zieger. I have found it to be a real even-handed look at one of the major figures of the American labor movement during the early to mid 20th Century. The author goes as far to state that some of the problems with today's current labor unions can be traced to John L Lewis's leadership of the UMW.

Well, what are YOU reading?

[camerongood210]

My dad suggested I read “The Grand Jihad”. I haven’t gotten it yet, but it sounds very interesting. Has anyone read it yet?

[svcw]

Posts on FreeRepublic.com. ,-)

[svcw]

ooops Sorry.

[NeoCaveman]

Finished “Overton Window” by Glenn Beck

Going back to “The Road to Serfdom” by F.A. Hayek.

[MaxMax]

Federalist papers

[Kartographer]

Presently rereading ‘Horse Soldiers’ by Harold Sinclair

[Explodo]

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

Actualy a decent read...It’s trending twoard repeating itself at the moment. I’d give it a solid...”read it if you have nothing better to do on vacation” rating

[Leg Olam]

Balzac, ‘Droll Stories’.

[knittnmom]

Just finished the Jouster series by Mercedes Lackey. Didn’t like the beginning, but liked the ending. A friend loaned me Red Mars and the two sequels (Blue Mars, Green Mars), but I don’t have them at work, so I don’t know the author.

[Artemis Webb]

Dandelion Wine
Ray Bradbury

[GoCards]

lol. Me too.

I did pick up over the weekend Atlas Shrugged. Never have read it and started hearing about it alot the last year and more so picked it up. Um... its huge!!! lol.

[Publius]

I finished The Overton Window by Glenn Beck a few days ago. I had trouble sleeping afterward.

[GOP_Raider]

Wow, I now have 103 books on my wish list at Amazon. I won’t have to worry about having things to read for a very long time.

Right now, I’m about 260 pages into the second volume of “The Civil War: A Narrative” by Shelby Foote. I like Foote’s writing because I think it’s sort of similar to mine (i.e.: lots of intermittent thoughts—like using two hyphens to throw in something of note similar to what I just did).

Of course, there’s always Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine. Have to keep tabs on everyone for my fellow FReepers.

[ussc1863]

Currently rereading “Rise to Rebellion and The Glorious Cause” byt Jeff Shaara.

[tgusa]

“Six Frigates” by Ian Toll

[GoCards]

I picked that up along with Atlas Shrugged! Nice.

[ConservaTexan]

The Overton Window

[WayneS]

Right now, 1776, by David McCullough.

In the last two weeks I have also (re) read:

1984 by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

Junky by William S, Burroughs

and,

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

“A Patriot’s History of the United States”. 4 stars!

[Publius]

Here's a little something to help you understand the book.

FReeper Book Club: Introduction to Atlas Shrugged
Part I, Chapter I: The Theme
Part I, Chapter II: The Chain
Part I, Chapter III: The Top and the Bottom
Part I, Chapter IV: The Immovable Movers
Part I, Chapter V: The Climax of the d’Anconias
Part I, Chapter VI: The Non-Commercial
Part I, Chapter VII: The Exploiters and the Exploited
Part I, Chapter VIII: The John Galt Line
Part I, Chapter IX: The Sacred and the Profane
Part I, Chapter X: Wyatt’s Torch
Part II, Chapter I: The Man Who Belonged on Earth
Part II, Chapter II: The Aristocracy of Pull
Part II, Chapter III: White Blackmail
Part II, Chapter IV: The Sanction of the Victim
Part II, Chapter V: Account Overdrawn
Part II, Chapter VI: Miracle Metal
Part II, Chapter VII: The Moratorium on Brains
Part II, Chapter VIII: By Our Love
Part II, Chapter IX: The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt
Part II, Chapter X: The Sign of the Dollar
Part III, Chapter I: Atlantis
Part III, Chapter II: The Utopia of Greed
Part III, Chapter III: Anti-Greed
Part III, Chapter IV: Anti-Life
Part III, Chapter V: Their Brothers’ Keepers
Part III, Chapter VI: The Concerto of Deliverance
Part III, Chapter VII: “This is John Galt Speaking”
Part III, Chapter VIII: The Egoist
Part III, Chapter IX: The Generator
Part III, Chapter X: In the Name of the Best Within Us
Coda: Ten Years After
Afterword and Suggested Reading

[Nachum]

This week I will start one or all of the following: Because they hate : a survivor of Islamic terror warns America (Brigitte Gabriel)

To your scattered bodies go; a science fiction novel

The Fabulous Riverboat (Philip José Farmer)

[filospinato]

I just finished “Hound of the Baskervilles” by A. Conan Doyle, will start “The Valley of Fear” tonight.

[day10]

3/4 of the way through “Innocent” by Scott Turow. Not bad so far, but I really enjoy Turow’s style. It is a sequel to “Presumed Innocent”, so having read that is a help.

[loveliberty2]

Suggest a recently-published book entitled, "The Destruction of the Great American Dream," which can be found here. It is only 75 pages, but is packed with good information for understanding what is happening to America today.

The author is Co-Editor of another book on the principles of liberty which formed the foundation of the U. S. Constitution, which can be accessed at the same site.

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

1. The last in a 7-volume series of the complete works of Xenophon.

2. “As we Go Marching” by John T. Flynn (study of the development of fascism in Italy and Germany leading up to WWII and how we were following the same path way back in the 1940’s, and still are, by the way)

3. Still reading fellow freeper LS’s “Patriots History of the United States.”

4. “Climategate” by Brian Sussman.

[ladyvet]

“American Apocalypse 11” by Nova
“Road To Serfdom” by Hayek....again.
“500 Pizza & Flatbreads” by Baugniet

[rhombus]

The Golden Ocean by Patrick O’Brian. Once you finish the Aubrey-Maturin series, what else is there? ;-)

[kayak42]

Finished “Atlas Schrugged”, half way thru “The Grand Jihad”.

Grand Jihad is worth reading.

[Marathoner]

Culture of Corruption
Basic Economics, Applied Economics(both by Sowell)
Eat to Live

[My hearts in London - Everett]

The 5000 Year Leap

[MtnClimber]

I just finished “Stranger in a Strange Land”.

[Logic n' Reason]

Reading the Patrick O'Brien novels (the Aubrey/Maturin adventures); I'm through three and just started number four.
Also just finished "The Last Stand", "The Closing of the Western Mind", "Daily Life in the Victorian Home", and "The Victorians"

[gatorhead]

The Remains of Company D: A Story of the Great War, by James Nelson. Vivid and intense. A fascinating read for any fan of the military history genre.

[GSWarrior]

A Conflict of Visions --Thomas Sowell
Buried Deep -- Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Just finished Dying Inside, by Robert Silverberg. It was awesome.

[shawnlaw]

Bram Stoker’s Dracula on my Crackberry via B and N eReader and Gaunt’s Ghosts: The Founding by Dan Abnett (Warhammer 40K, Black Library). Next up is Volume 2 of Sherlock Holmes collection.

[SMARTY]

“1812: Napoleon’s Russian Campaign” by Richard K. Reihn

“Die Hard!: Dramatic Actions from the Napoleonic Wars”
by Philip J. Haythornthwaite

Reading both at once.

[pnut22]

Just finished The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow. Tearjerker.

[1000 silverlings]

I’m looking for a good book on the Ming Dynasty, anybody got any recommendations?

[central_va]

“Basic Plumbing Techniques” by Robert Wehrman

[IYAS9YAS]

Just finished "Thirteen Cent Killers" about the 5th Marine Snipers in Vietnam.

Prior to that, the complete Enemies series by Matt Bracken.

[Upstate NY Guy]

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

I thought it was great. Confirmed a bunch of stuff I already believed to be true and opened my eyes to some new things as well.

[mel]

Road to Serfdom amazing isn’t it.
He states in it something like socialism in itself isn’t bad, it is the road to the other isms fascism etc.

[pa_dweller]

Just finished The First Air War. A nice overview.

Working on The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression. No page turner, that one.

Recently finished The Last Lion, a Churchill biography by William Manchester. Interesting read.

Also Goodbye Darkness, again by William Manchester. Reminisences of the author's time as a Marine in the Pacific theater in WWII. Enjoyed it.

[madamemayhem]

i just finished “Patriots History of the United States”. it was awesome, except that it seems the 1970’s were even more depressing and awful than i remember. i was a kid so it didn’t seem that bad, guess mom and dad made it work.
i am now looking for my next book. will it be something new? or something i have read before? the suspense is awful..... what will happen... stay tuned.
in the mean time i will read my gardening and landscaping magazines and internet articles that educate me on pressure canning my veggies.

[SE Mom]

Normally I have two books going at once- one that’s good for the brain and one that’s junk food for the brain.

At the moment I’m reading Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis (about Adams, Franklin, Burr, Washington, Jefferson, Madison and Hamilton). He reminds us the division between the right and left has been going on for over two centuries. The more things change...

For my junk food book I picked up what I think is Dominick Dunne’s last book at the library- Too Much Money. It’s engaging and funny.

[loveliberty2]

Presently, I'm re-reading Richard Frothingham's "Rise of the Republic of the United States." I was fortunate enough to find a copy in an old and rare book store, but it is now available for reading online here.

Glenn Beck has been discussing the rewritten histories of America. Anyone who reads "The Rise. . . ." will understand how shallow and distorted 20th and 21st Century histories truly have been.

Frothingham's citations of original documents, his quotations (carefully footnoted) from earlier historians, and his development of the premise that it is what he calls "the Christian idea of man" which enabled the "miracle of America" to provide liberty, opportunity, and plenty to the people of the nation and, indeed, to the entire world, make his 1872 history one which every American should read.

[MissEdie]

John Sanford’s “Storm Prey”

[stainlessbanner]

Patriots: A Novel of the Survival in the Coming Collapse (Rawles)

[arrogantsob]

Albert Beveridge’s bio of John Marshall.

Alexander Hamilton and American Foreign Policy by Gilbert Lycan.

The Pacificus-Helvidius Debates of 1793-1794 by Alexander Hamilton and James Madison.