What are we reading right now? (Planning related or not)

[fringe]

bp,

I haven't read Ms Klein's books but I do like the columns by her that I have read.

The New Yorker interviewed her a few weeks ago as well.

I think she makes a lot of sense. She and the likes of Ralph Nader and Chris Hedges are fairly close to the scary edges of the truth of things.

Re otterpop's "gem" of a quote, I just saw one such in Moby Dick.

"Topheavy was the ship as a dinnerless student with all Aristotle in his head."

[otterpop]

I am reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Love , abook of short stories by Raymond Carver. Good stuff.

[fringe]

otterpop,

I went thru a Ray Carver phase and pretty much read all of it.

Similar to his style is a guy named Thom Jones, who is a pugilist turned writer. One collection called, "Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine."

[RichmondJake]

Finished: Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Geography by Kenneth Davis. Both highly recommended by this reader.

In the middle of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. An intense novel.

[otterpop]

I am reading The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler. I enjoyed Farewell, My Lovely, so I thought I would give this one a try.

As a rule, I am not a mystery/crime fiction reader. But the narrative is fun and the similes are great.

Before that I read Resolution, by Robert Parker. It was a disappointment.

[Twoaday]

I'm reading The New Urbanism: Toward an Architecture of Community by Peter Katz... So far it is alright, but it seems to me a lot of these designs are just slightly better burbs.

[Brocktoon]

'I just finished "The Lost Symbol" by Dan Brown. Not nearly as good as The Di Vinci Code"... it fact it was rather mediocre. It starts great but the ending seemed rushed and not well thought out. I have always found the Mason's and the conspiracy theory behind them facinating and was looking forward to Dan Brown's interpretation...I was disappointed. That being said it is a fast and entertaining read but very predictable.

[fringe]

I know that James Kuntsler can be a topic to himself, but the Sun magazine, published in Chapel Hill and now in its 36th year of life without ever having sold an advertisement, has an interview with Mr. K that was done in April 09, and is good.

He comes off as not quite so alarmist but no less strident about his opinions.

[bryix]

currently reading Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne. it's fantastic.

[Salmissra]

Started Shakespeare's Landlord, by Charlaine Harris. It pulled me in quickly, and I'm going to try to finish it tonight. It's the first in a series, so I'll probably request the others from the library, as well. Also finished up a couple of novels by Catherine Coulter - the more I read of her modern FBI series, the more they all seem the same.

I also checked out The Wordy Shipmate by Sarah Vowell. I've read a couple others of hers - I really liked Assasination Vacation - and I hope this one is as good or better.

[Mud Princess]

I finally finished The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia, by Orlando Figes, last night. It's over 600 pages long, and took me several weeks to get through - minus a short break to read Richard Russo's That Old Cape Magic, which I had requested from the library.

The Whisperers probably could have been pared down a bit; nevertheless, it was a fascinating read about what life was like for Soviet citizens during the Stalin era. I never realized how many millions of Russians were arrested for often minor (or sometimes non-existent) crimes, declared "enemies of the people," and carted off to labor camps for years. Many of them were shot, although this was generally not revealed until the 1980s (!) or later. The impact on families was enormous, as being the wife or child of an "enemy of the people" subjected innocent family members to everything from discrimination to years in the Gulag.

I learned a lot about Soviet society... and during the course of reading the book, I found out some interesting parallels involving members of my family who died long before I was born.

[otterpop]

I am reading God is Not Great, by Christopher Hitchens, and The Time Travelers' Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. The former is rather heavy-handed and I might not finish it.

The latter I am enjoying - the story is told in first person by both the time traveler and the wife, so the perspectives of two people on the same experiences is very interesting.

[Salmissra]

Originally posted by RichmondJake

Finished: Don't Know Much About History and Don't Know Much About Geography by Kenneth Davis. Both highly recommended by this reader.

In the middle of The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. An intense novel.

I put the Don't Know Much About History book on my request list from the library. I just checked out Wishingful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. I'll post what I think about it later.

[dandy_warhol]

I'm enjoying reading The World That Made New Orleans by Ned Sublette. It charts the development of New Orleans from pre-colonial times through the Louisiana Purchase. I was aware but never knew how much New Orleans was affected by Cuba and Saint-Domingue (Haiti). The book also examines the lives of African slaves (at times disturbing) and their contribution to the culture and the music of New Orleans.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history and culture of New Orleans.

[Mud Princess]

I've never been to New Orleans, but that does sound interesting. I love reading about the history of places.

I just started Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, An American Town. It's about a youth soccer team in a small town in Georgia that was designated a refugee settlement center in the 1990s.

[JNA]

Here is a potentially interesting book -

“Legacy: The Preservation of Wilderness in New York City Parks”
by Joel Meyerowitz

Book Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/ny...ef=todayspaper

[fringe]

Reading a gift copy of an out-of-print book called "The Stone Creek Wreck", 1898, about a malicious train sabotage/derailment in an area called Bonds Swamp south of Macon,GA in 1896. A local ne'er do well and some conspirators removed a section of rail on a trestle to derail a passenger train carrying the plotter's own wife.

Motive, to sue the railroad for damage after the predicted loss of wife.

Result, three innocents died and wife survived, plotters to the gallows.

Great read for a vignette of semi-rural life of the times.

[Plan-it]

I just started reading "Retrifitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs". So far so good. It is an interesting read and provides many examples of how different areas of the county used urban design to assist in altering our thinking on how the built environment of 1st ring suburbs can change.