What Are You Reading 2013 - Page 97

2013 Reading Log
Just Finished:


I thought the poetry was really beautiful. Apparently tolkein discarded the works to write LotR (since the general public wanted more action) and I find that really tragic.

I'm in the middle of:


which is a really amazing book. As the author walks you through, you essentially start from batteries, wires, and electromagnets, and you end up building an entire computer. Its really crazy and I can't wait to finish it.

Just finished Code

And I must say its one of the best books I've ever read. I'm now going to go back to reading


which I was about halfway through when I inexplicably stopped it. Its a very interesting book about how the practice of wargaming has developed from its inception in the 1950s to the time the book was written (I believe '85). Its a bit dated, but still a pretty insightful look at how predictions and foreign policy go hand in hand.

Finished War Games
After finishing War Games I decided to pick up a flashy spy novel


I really like Dan Silva books, and I actually finished this one in a single day (oops). If anyone is looking for a quick read and is into the suspense/spy novel type of books I can recommend this quite highly.

finished The Confessor
After that I picked up


Which I've heard is quite a good book. I would have gotten another spy novel but I need to wait until just before my flight on friday so I'll have something to read on the plane.

EDIT: I've realized that the picture I chose was actually for the CD version, but it was the nicest picture I could find :/

Finshed When You Are Engulfed In Flames
It feels weird to post again so soon, but I've actually just finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames. I hope to be able to read some more stuff by Sedaris soon, as these short pieces were particularly good. I really enjoyed the descriptions he gave of everyday experiences and feelings and the way that he jumped from topic.

I've decided to go from there and revisit an author that I liked a lot in high school, and thus I'm reading


which I think I should like quite a bit.

Finished Hemmingway Short Stories
Finished Hemingway on the plane. I find that his style of writing for the short stories is really excellent. He doesn't have to write a lot but he can pack a lot of meaning into a 4 page story.

I picked this up in case I needed something else to read on the plane


I really like these kind of cheap thrills paperback novels so I'll be glad to have another one to read.

Finished Prince of Fire
I finished prince of fire relatively quickly. I thought the overall plot for the series took an interesting turn with this book, but we'll see how it goes. Once again I highly recommend silva.

For a nice read on vacation I decided to pick up


because I've always liked the idea of the hardboiled detective genre and I figured I should start from the beginning.

I also just feel like mentioning, I really love this thread. So many people sharing good books.

Finished Maltese Falcon
Posting with an anddroid is hard so i'll keep it short. Finished the maltese falcon and it was great, I'm looking forward to exploring the genre.

Travelling again so I picked up the next silva book on my list



Should be good!

Finished The Messenger
Dan Silva as usual did not disappoint, although it seems like hes kind of running himself into a corner with the series. It will be interesting for me at least to see how he resolves some of the tensions he's built up in the storyline.

Since I liked the first freakonomics I decided to pick up the second book



which seems like it should be good.

Finished Superfreakonomics

Welp, I finished up Superfreakonomics. Excellent book, but it really wasn't terribly long. I found the discussion on the cheap and easy methods of preventing the adverse effects of global warming extremely interesting.

Given that I liked the Hemingway short stories I read before I decided to check this out of our uni library


I found it kind of funny that for some reason there are about 7 missing copies of this in the library records. Hopefully it will be good.

Finished For Whom the Bell Tolls
I finished For Whom the Bell Tolls and I think its one of the best books I've ever read. I thought that the descriptions and mindsets of war that Hemingway used were really amazing and I would highly recommend it (although it was quite long).

Decided to pick something up because it looked good in the school library.


Should be good.

Finished Much Too Promised Land
I finished The Much Too Promised Land and I think it was a really excellent analysis of US diplomacy with regards to the Middle East Peace Process. I would recommend it to anyone who was interested in the US role in the matter on a sort of personal education level, as it was detailed, but not so much that it seemed overly academic or inaccessible. I think that while it probably falls short of a rigorous academic analysis of the issues at hand its a great set of memoirs, combined with a real message and discussion of what actually went down.

In what I think will be a short read I'm going to pick up


because I know someone who is going to be in the play, and I've known about it for quite a while but never looked into it.

After this, perhaps something about programming... any suggestions?

edit: image failed -_-

Finished Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead
I thought it was a really interesting take on some existentialist ideas, as well as a pretty funny and thought provoking play. I would definitely recommend it, and at ~130 pages its short enough to read in an afternoon (if that).

Picked up in my library


Because it was just sitting there on the new arrivals shelf for today. University of Michigan has a huge library system, and the amount of books that they add to it each day is approximately equal to the amount of books that I own. I got pretty interested in middle east politics from the last book that I read so I'm eager to check out another view.

edit: fixed my archiving.


Finished: Power and Policy in Syria
I found the authors take on the issues surrounding current syrian politics to be really interesting. I t was sort of fresh outside view of the history given that the author is a syrian expatriate (who cannot actually return to t syria for fear of arrest there). I think that his take on the current regime and the past was very balanced especially for someone that has a history with them. While he was critical of the regimes approach to controlling domestic politics and limiting civil engagement in syria he seemd to be somewhat supportive of a foreign policy that ensured that syria could protect some of its interests without becoming the next iraq. I would definitely recommend the book to anyone that wanted to learn about the details of inner politics in syria

I decided to pick up


given how much I liked the last 2 Hemingway books that I read I think I'm in for a treat.

Finished: A Farewell to Arms
This was an excellent book. I found that Hemingway managed to create a war novel that included both the tension and drama that one would expect from the type of cheap paperback that one reads in the airport. He also included all of the heartfelt emotion that I expect from a writer of his class. I highly recommend this book to just about anyone, really good.

This was also a surprisingly fast read so I just decided to pick up something that looked good on the shelf


Should be interesting.

Also @ sam!zdat: Is arednts writing pretty easy to understand? That book looks pretty interesting, but I only know of arendt as a heidegger scholar, and trying to read heideggarian stuff usually makes my head hurt...

Finished: Thermopylae
I found the book to be a pretty interesting take on a story that has become very well known recently. I like that the author didn't gloss over the faults of the Greeks, but still managed to cast them as fighting in defense of freedom and rule of law vs the (albeit benign) tyranny of the Persian Empire. Its a good look into the event itself and the surrounding bits of history that made it important.

After that I decided to pick up


I think it ought to be pretty interesting, since I've heard a lot about the event (used to live in CO) but never really gotten a good grasp of what really happened.

also @farvacola, I think the book club is a cool idea as long as there is enough time provided to actually acquire and read the book.

Finished: Columbine
I thought that this book had a really interesting take on the event and I like the way that it followed the relevant parties all the way through the event as well as their later rehabilitation. It seemed very much like Capote's In Cold Blood but with a more modern event as the background. I particularly liked the way that the book attempted to dispel some of the myths of the school shooter profile (bullying drove them to do it, they targeted specific groups, etc). I also was pleased that the author tried his best not to place the blame too much on any party (including the killers themselves) and that he tried to highlight those victims and survivors who pushed for forgiveness. I would highly recommend the book to just about anyone, just be ready to tear up a bit at times.

Given my new found love of Hemingway I decided to pick up


I've heard that its has some really excellent descriptive passages, and given how short it looks it shouldn't take too long to read.

Finished: Old Man and the Sea
This book was a pretty quick read as I had expected, but even then Hemingway delivers. I found his descriptions of the fish and the sea itself to be really beautiful. I also thought the way that the old man has a continuing monologue between himself and his body parts made for a really good effect. Entirely through the old mans eyes we see the fish and the sharks as separate, fully formed characters. I would highly recommend this for a good short read. Also this is not the first time after reading Hemingway that I feel a strong desire to go fishing.

Given that it looks like several other people are reading it I decided to pick


Off of my shelf. A friend gave it to me a while ago but I've never read it. Should be good!

Finished: Lolita
... Wow ...
This book was quite good. First of All I found the general style of the writing really pleasant. Th amount of wordplay and literary illusions that Nabokov uses give the text a pretty lighthearted feeling. There were times when I found myself actually laughing out loud at Humbert Humbert's blunt imagery and wordplay. I also found that the way in which the reader ends up empathizing with HH is really well done by Nabokov. There were parts of the book that I found really disturbing, but even then I found the "love story" elements of the novel to be quite beautiful even though they were incredibly creepy. I would highly recommend this book and I really enjoyed it myself.

On the recommendation of a friend I decided to pick up


Its been a while since I've read any Asimov but I've really enjoyed the previous works I've read from him (Foundation and I Robot) and I could use a good sci-fi novel. Should be good!

Finished: The Gods Themselves
This was quite a fun read. I really like the way Asimov sets up his stories and I think the tale of academic revenge was pretty interesting. The only part that I found confusing was the way that the para-men were never fully resolved. I would have liked to hear more about them. Overall it was a good, relatively quick read.

Since it looked good on the library shelves I decided to pick up


Its a collection of essays about the recession, and it looked pretty good. Might not have too much time to read given finals though...

Finished: The Great Hangover
Finals be damned, I suppose I always have time to read. I found this book to be really interesting and informative. I like a lot that it went past the surface level on a lot of the issues for example explaining exactly how a company like Bear Stearns can simply run out of money. That said I also appreciate that they kept the explanations simple enough that someone like me with no real background in finance can understand whats going on without having to look up a lot. This was a collection of essays so the topic areas were really diverse but I have to say I really enjoyed the essay's about the collapse of Bear Stearns and the rise followed by meteoric fall of Icelandic finance. I would reccomend this book to anyone looking to do some interesting reading on stories regarding the recession.

First I have to shout out to the Team Liquid Book Club (which you should all join). For that I've started reading


I've already read the first story and it seems like the book as a whole ought to be good.

Also now that I'm on holiday I'll be traveling with my family to Malta. Travel of course means another Daniel Silva novel so I decided to pick up.


Given that I've liked the last the last 6 of his novels I'm going to go ahead and infer that I will like this one too because I believe (without good justification Mr. Hume) in the fundamental uniformity of the universe. See you all in a week or so.

Oops I killed the thread. I'm travelling so I'll fix the formatting later.

Finished: The Secret Servant
It was quick. I thought that this book was very much like the others in that while the plot wasn't that deep it had pretty good action, so I cant complain. Good read for am airplane.

Decided to pick up

Since I've heard its quite good and its something I've been wanting to read

BTW Can anyone recommend a good history of the Iraq war?

Also, posting on tl with an android is hard any tips?

edit: Fixed the formatting

Still reading beowulf, but as I was sitting next to the poll yesterday I decided to pick up a book that looked interesting since it was just sitting on the table.


Finished: Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal
I thought this book was quite interesting. Its the perspective of an adopted child being raised in a home with a Pentecostal and somewhat abusive mother (emotionally, but to her credit not physically). It turns out that the author is a lesbian, and that she become a feminist when she studied at Oxford She has a really incredible story from going to being kicked out of the house for sleeping with a girl to studying at oxford and becoming a writer. The fact that she found solace in books made it a particularly touching book to me. I would highly recommend it.

One thing interesting I found about it was the idea that Nabokov hated women. She came to this conclusion after reading lolita and finding HH's characterizations of women to be pretty degrading to all of them over the age of 15. While I agree that HH is not exactly kind to middle age women, I never really read that as something Nabakov himself felt at heart. Any perspectives from people who have read more than this kind of thing (I'm looking at you farvacola)? Its just that when i got to that part I was really surprised.

Anyway, still have to finish beowulf, should be good.

Finished: Beowulf
This book was pretty interesting. It was denser than I expected, but I really enjoy that kind of style. The oral history format has always been a format tat I've enjoyed and I found the heroism of beowulf quite compelling. One of the things that surprised me were the mentions of the Christian god. I'm not the most educated on the subject but I guess I had assumed that the heroes of the time would have believed in norse mythology. All in all it was quite a good story though

On the recommendation of a friend I picked up


I really liked Sula and Beloved so I think I will probably enjoy this book too. Should be good!

Finished: Paradise
I don't know how much toni morrison the rest of you have read, but this was quite similar to the other works of hers that I have read (and enjoyed) previously. I think the themes of destiny/mission were really interesting here as in this case it was the towns sense of their mission that ended up betraying them in the end. All in all a really good book by toni morrison.

Still reading dubliners, haven't selected a new book to read yet, but when I do I will of course be back here to let you all know.

Its been too long my fellow TL book lovers. Unfortunately typing on a tablet is hard so I'll have to keep this short

Finished: Dubliners
I quite enjoyed reading this book with the tlbc, and I'm still holding out for a final analysis of some sort (looking at you farv ). I really enjoyed the themes of religion in this book, as well a the final story about the christmas party, which reminded me of good times with family and friends. Great read.

I need another book for this trip so I decided to pick up A Brave New World

since its been on my list for a while (I'll add a pic later). It should be a good read!

Also I'll be back in the states with an English library and no stable internet, so I'll be doing a LOT of reading. I'll keep you all posted

Finished: A Brave New World
Really interesting book. The style really made the book as it was almost comedic. I kind of think that the ending was a bit short, as I would have liked the "experiment" to have gone on longer. I also found Huxley's semi-endorsement of religion to be interesting because a lot of people who invoke him seem not to be fans.

I decided to go back to the roots of spy novels and pick up Casino Royale.

I'm still without my precious computer so pics will have to wait . Should be good though.

Finished: Casino Royale
Reading this book was really refreshing as a fan of fast paced spy novels. The way that fleming writes is really crisp and clean, and it makes the entire genre seem new again. Too many books of this type suffer from seeming like reproductions of the same old story, but with the first Bond everything seemed new and untested. We'll see how the rest of them go. I found that the way the book dealt with gender roles was actually somewhat appaling as a modern reader, but I'll be addressing that in a blog at some point since I think the entire genre can be blamed for that a bit.

Decided to pick up

since it seems like a fair number of people are reading it, and its been on my list for a while. Ought to be good.

@IPA/Csheep: I don't deny that the story as a whole was a bit of a downer (although I do very much like the interpretation of hope). I was only trying to say that the feeling of the party at the beginning made a connection for me with spending time with family and friends and such. Hopefully some of those issues can be cleared up when we finally close out the TLBC (right farvacola? ).

Also I'll be on serious vacation for a while, so expect a lot of reading out of me.

Just Finished: Slaughterhouse 5
That was pretty weird. I really liked the recurring "So it goes" in reference to death, since it actually did make it seem like so much less of a big deal. I also liked the scene in which the alien explains to him how they blow up the universe, and that he should focus only on the happy moments in life (I think that scene is somewhat famous). The author tie-in at the beginning was interesting since it made me wonder exactly how much of the story was real. I feel like I want to know more about the bombing of dresden after reading that book.

Decided to pick up

since its been on my list for a while. I hope to finish it by tuesday, because then the library here opens back up and I can get the books I have on hold. Should be good.

edit: formatting

Finished: All The Pretty Horses
This book convinced me that I need to read more Cormac McCarthy. I found the descriptions of the countryside and the travels of the boys to be really beautiful. I particularly enjoyed the detailed descriptions of the food that they ate. I thought the meat of the novel was pretty moving, and though it was said, I was glad it wasn't as full of despair as The Road. My only problem with his writing is the lack of quotation marks, which can make it difficult to tell whats going on.

edit: I went to the library but they didn't have my book yet

I guess I'll read this in the meantime.

Should be a good one.

Finished: Live and Let Die
This book gives us a much more lighthearted James Bond who is chumming around with Felix Leiter. He still retains the same level of class, but I really like the change in pacing at times. I think that the plot elements of voodoo + sunken treasure made for a pretty interesting story. Only problem with this is that it does illuminate a bit of racism on the part of fleming. He was writing in 1956 I believe, but his descriptions of african americans are not the best.

Then since there were still about 24 hours before I could get my LeCarre book

Finished: Diamonds are Forever


This book was also pretty good, and a relatively fast read. Once again we find Bonds in America, this time taking on the Mob. It was quite interesting to see a popular culture perspective on the mob in the 1950's, as their image has changed little since then. We see them as rich gangsters, who g about fixing gambling matches and horse races and bumping off anyone who feels different. It was also somewhat interesting to see Fleming's disdain for the glitz of Las Vegas. As someone who seems to admire the European gambling scene (see casino royale), he seems to find Vegas all too fake and soulless.

So now I've decided to start


I've heard that LeCarre is a more complex writer than other spy novels, so it will be interesting to see the differences between him and the others that I have read. Should be good!

This thread is no fun when I'm the only one posting

Finished: The Spy Who Came In From the Cold
This book was really excellent. LeCarre dismisses the glamour and dashing of the likes of James Bond and replaces them with the amost anti-hero of Leamas. I quite enjoyed the cynicism and bureaucracy of LeCarre's spies, and I thought the plot was quite complex and well thought out. I'll be writing more later, since I'm going to write a blog about the genre in general.

Decided to pick up


Since I needed a break after all of these spy novels, and I love me some Tolkien. Should be good!

edit: formatting

Finished:The Children of Hurin
Really great book. I knew the story beforehand, but it was great to be able to read it in depth, as a story of its own instead of part of a history. The story is movingly tragic, and I would highly suggest it to any fan of Tolkein's other works.

Decided to pick up


Its the next one in the series, and the big book that I have contains a bunch of them, including this one. Should be good

@PhoenixVoid: I never knew they were a series. I guess I'll have to go read some more

@dmnum: I hope you enjoy wuthering heights, but I found that book incredibly boring

@farvacola: I got to see La Traviata and Aida in verona a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing, and reminded me that I really ought to go to operas more often.

Finished: From Russia With Love
James Bond is good as always. I thought the plot twists for this novel in particular were quite well thought out. However the main premise of the 2 spies having to fall in love with each other for their respective missions was a bit cheesy. I should also say that this book was a bit heavy handed in its approach toward making the USSR look like an awful place, and making all of its spies and such seem deranged.

Decided to pick up


because I love spy novels and I've been reading my way through the best of them for fun. (you can also check out my blog about the genre )

next up Les Miserables.

edit: I always forget the formatting

Finished: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
This book wasa really amazing mystery/espionage thriller. LeCarre's "Circus" is put in slight disarray as foreign sources seem to reveal evidence of a "mole", a deeply rooted spy in the service. The book covers the attempts of George Smiley to uncover which one of his ex-workmates, all longtime friends, is a Russian Spy. I really enjoy the way that the evidence is presented mostly as anecdotes and interviews, and how a central event, Operation Testify, is hinted at often, but only explained near the very end. A truly excellent novel.

Now, with my thirst for spy novels well and truly sated, I have decided to pick up.


Holy shit, this book is long and dense. I'm almost done with the first section (Fantine), which is ~250 pages, which leaves me with about 100 pages to go

That said, i really enjoy the attention to detail that Hugo puts in to every character. Even minor characters often have a small chapter dedicated to their background and such. It should be good.

edit: why must I be so forgetful

Finished: Les Miserables
This book was incedibly detailled. With 1200 pages to work with Hugo spared no detail, and was able to let the plot develop a quite deeply. I thought that one of the benefits of this version is that the relationships seem so much more believable. For example, in the movie/show Marius sees Cosette once in the street and falls in love with her, whereas in the book they have a silent courtship in the Jardin de Luxembourg for several months. I really like the plot of the novel since I find the character of jean valjean really compelling (hes like spiderman crossed with jesus), and this book has some of the most compassionate moments in any book that I've read. Also having just left Paris it was cool to read a book about it. Also farvacola was right, that chapter on Waterloo was amazing. I would say it would have been worth reading the entire 1200 page book just for that chapter.

Decided to pick up


Since I've been watching the show and decided it might be cool to read the book. We'll see how it goes.

Finsished: Game of Thrones
I can see why people like these books, and yet I'm somewhat disappointed. I enjoyed the way that the plot moved, and I think that Martin's characters do a good job of negotiating and politics, however they all seemed quite shallow to me. So far there has been very little character development for anybody, and what there was is sudden (bran loses the use of his legs, etc.). I hope that with the next few books the characters will gain more depth, but for now they seem pretty one-dimensional, as do their conflicts.

because there was nothing else around the house


Finished: Dr. No
Pretty much what I expected from Fleming.The plot moved pretty well, and there were even some surprising deaths. I have to say that this was one of his more racist novels when comes to his description of Chigroes (african-chinese people), but it was still a decent read.

I actually have nothing else to read atm since the library was closed today :/

Also can anybody reccomend a good history of the war in Iraq? I started reading Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks, but I found it to be a bit too judgmental for my liking. I don't need a book to tell me how much of a bad idea it was to invade in 2003, I really just want a book that will analyze the structure of the invasion itself since its something that I find that I know too little about.


Finished: Nation of Wimps
This was a good book. Basically the premise was the kids needs more separation, challenge, unstructured play, and failure in their childhood so that they can develop personal identity and self reliace. It was interesting to see the rate at which kids in the US are breaking down once reaching college, since that's the age that I'm at right now. I think the book was a bit overzealous, and it made it sound like incredibly invasive parenting was the norm, however it was still a good read.

Picked up


Next book in the series, should be good.

Also still looking for a history of the Iraq War. Anybody got a recommendation?

edit: formatting .... -_-

Finished: A Clash of Kings
This book was also pretty good. I'm still sort of disappointed by the lack of real character development, but its an ok read nonetheless. I was also somewhat surprised at the extent to which the TV series begins to deviate from the book at this point, but part of that may also be due to how long its been since I watched the shwo.

picked up


I hear its well written and fun. After this I'm going to read Atlas Shrugged so this is like the last meal of a condemned man.

Also I'm certain one of you must have read a good, objective history of the iraq war. Help me out here.

Finished: Alice in Wonderland
Fun little book. I read both it and Through the Looking Glass as they were in the same book. I found the poetry quite funny, and the rest of was lighthearted. The only bad part about it was that I don't know how the recitations are supposed to go, so when she said them wrong I didn't get the jokes.

Picked up


I've heard from people that both love and hate this boo, and its been on my list of books to read for a while. Don't know how much I'll like it, but it should be interesting.

still looking for a history of the Iraq War

Finished: Atlas Shrugged
This book was a pretty interesting read. I must say that I do somewhat identify with the ideas that Rand puts forward in the novel, so it was probably more enjoyable to me than it would have been to somebody who really disliked it. The only thing that i thought was a bit strange was the fact that while all of the industrialists never want to be "given" anything, they all spend a lot of time basically doing favors for each other for a pittance (25 cents to rent a car for example). As far as the writing goes it was very much how farvacola predicted. The characters, rather than being human seemed to be merely the embodiment of ideas, and the book seemed somewhat like propaganda. I sort of wish that Rand had written the story so that the characters were a little bit more real since while it might detract from the ideological purity of the book, it would have definitely made it a better read.

Oh well, who is John Galt.

Picked up


because I was in need of something short and fun, and my mother happened to have just finished it. At the time of writing this, I'm actually about halfway through and its quite good. Next up, Storm of Swords.

Finished: Bossypants
This book was a nice short memoir. It was pretty funny, which made it quite easy to read. Not a whole lot to say about it, but if you ever want something light and fun this is a good choice.

picked up


Because its the next book in the series. Should be good.

Finished: A Storm of Swords
This book was pretty interesting. While I can't say that I find Martin's writing that good, I think that he does do a good job of making you want to know whats going to happen next.

Speaking of what happens next, picked up


because its the next one. Should be good.

@ViZe: I'm not sure where in Atlas Shrugged you stopped, but I agree that there is kind of a boring part in the middle. However if you didn't make it to John Galt's speech, you really ought to read that far, since even if you don't agree with the philosophy its interesting to see it presented as one complete argument. Also it picks up around that point.

@farvacola: Now, I'll have to read that book so I can read your paper.

edit: always the formatting...