Reading Books
 

Reading books is important. How often do you read books?

Print is dead.

Are you a Kindle user?

Possibly, but it would be without my knowledge. What is a kindle?

Just started Biography of Gen. William Sherman, just finished "Illumination in the Flatwoods" by Joe Hutto...before that I read Truman by David McCullum...excellent read.

why exactly are books even good for me. they take too long

Are we including books for school?

I agree that reading is a must for everyone. But I am having trouble finding an author I can get into.

I prefer books on tape.

I think the 15-20 option is about where I land. I used to read more before my daughter was born. Whenever she sees me with a book she takes it to mean I have some idle time that would be better spent playing with her.

I saw a study the other day where only 51% of college aged people reported having read a book solely for pleasure in the past year. That number was down from 59% 10 years ago....at least I think those were the numbers. Anyway, it surprised me because those years were when I read the most, I was seldom without a book. Guess there are just more entertainment options these days.

It's the new thing from Amazon.com. It's the competitor to Sony Reader. It's like hand-held e-books. You can download books onto your little device, which is about the size of a book. They cost $400 and $10 a book.

Some people are hoping they make more people read, because of the technology angle.

I've been reading too darn much. Actually, the problem is that I'm reading too many books at once and can't keep them straight. I mean, Abe Lincoln didn't really investigate the murder of an antiques dealer, open a software business, and then have an affair with Queen Victoria, did he?

FAX

No, I am not an owner of that device. I don't think I'd enjoy reading an e-book.

LMAO

I've been having the same problem, except it was: Harry Truman is part of the Jesus blood line and he is trying to kill god while having an affair with a 12 year old.

That was Franklin.

I don't think I would either. They promote them as having the ease of holding a book, but being lighter, and they try to make the lighting different than a computer screen. But I like writing in my books.

I've read about 40 books since July, when I started actually keeping count. Of course, quite a few of those are young adult, high-interest that are super quick to read.

It might be cool when they start making them with PC type functionality, so you can make notes and such in the margins with a stylus. A lot of the reading instruction I do involves kids keeping track of their thinking and reading strategies via sticky notes while reading, so it would definitely be advantageous to be able to do it that way. That being said, I can't stand reading anything of length on a computer. There's just something that's more satisfying about the tactile nature of a book.

Here's the books I've read so far this year:

1. Truth and Fiction in the DaVinci Code - Bart D. Ehrman
2. The Death of Common Sense - Phillip K. Howard
3. The Virtues of Aging - Jimmy Carter
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. The Life of St. Paul - James Stalker
6. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
7. War As I Knew It - George Patton
8. How to Get into Law School - Susan Estrich
9. Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
10. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce
11. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values - Robert M. Pirsig
12. Candide - Voltaire
13. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse
14. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
15. History Wars - The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past - Edward T. Linethal
16. Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream - Barbara Ehrenreich
17. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Benjamin Franklin
18. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick Douglass
19. The Sovereignty and Goodness of God - Mary Rowlandson
20. Blackhawk: An Autobiography - Blackhawk
21. Opus Dei - John L. Allen
22. On Liberty - John Stuart Mill
23. What is History? - Edward Hallett Carr
24. The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years - Paul Barnett
25. Give Me Liberty!: An American History, Volume 1 - Eric Foner
26. Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling - James W. Sire
27. Hiroshima - John Hershey
28. Damages - Barry Werth
29. I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World - Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James Washington
30. Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer’s Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty - Scott Turow

12 of those were for school. My goal for the year is 35.

I hate books on tape and refuse to move to these elecronic things. There is a great deal of satisfation from reading a good book.

The problem I have is that I'm so anal that I almost always read the book cover-to-cover in one sitting. I just don't have the time to do that any longer.

I remember reading Pillars of the Earth when I had just graduated. Eighteen hours straight, IIRC. That just can't happen now.

Yeah, I do.

That guy has a sequel out for Pillars of the Earth, Mr. Donger. Just in case you were unaware.

FAX

Now that's dedication! Are you going to read the sequel that just came out?

I'm trying to imagine why I might prefer an electronic book but I'm not coming up with anything. Any ideas?

Do movies based on books count?

It takes up less room? You never have to go to the bookstore or wait for shipping. These are some advantages I've seen/heard them promoting.

Thanks FAX. Now, why don't you give me a nasty paper cut and pour fucking lemon juice on it?

NO. Not even if it has subtitles.

I'd say including college books I've read between 20-25. And thats really a down year. I'd like to read more....I just need to find more time.

I picked up a new book this week in Charleston on the history of the Hunley, the Civil war Submarine they raised a year or so ago. Also read a book recently on the burning of Oceloa Missouri by the Jayhawkers in the Civil war

Is Chiefsplanet a book?

Over 35 easily.

How on Earth can anyone read over 35 books in a year and still have time to post here?

And in answer to the question, I've read 5-8. I can remember 8. It's possible there were one or two more, but if so they must not have made much of an impact.

5-8

I used to read a LOT more than that. King, Koontz, and fantasy stuff... nothing heavy, really.

I try to make it a point to my kids though, that reading is entertainment. I have two brothers and a sister, and I was the only reader of the bunch. To them it was a chore.

I would say I read 15-20 books a year. For months now I have been on this nonfiction tear - I just lost total interest in fiction for some reason. But I do have DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons waiting for me. :evil:

I'm getting this book for my boys for christmas. Granted, I haven't done more than flip through it, yet... but I think it's really cool.

Any guy with a young-ish son or two might want to look into it.

http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Book...7085252&sr=8-1

Here's my list from the last 6 months or so.

1. A Long Way Down (Paperback) Hornby, Nick
2.In the Middle: New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning (Workshop Series) Atwell, Nancie
3.The Road (Hardcover) McCarthy, Cormac
4.Roughnecks (Paperback) Cochran, Thomas
5. Inside Out (Paperback) Trueman, Terry
6. Lemonade Mouth (Hardcover) Hughes, Mark Peter
7. The Fortress of Solitude (Paperback) Lethem, Jonathan
8. Downsiders (Mass Market Paperback) Shusterman, Neal
9. The Book Thief (Hardcover) Zusak, Markus
10. Stuck in Neutral (Paperback) Trueman, Terry
11. Specials (Hardcover) Westerfeld, Scott
12. Rooftop (Paperback) Volponi, Paul
13. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Paperback) Chbosky, Stephen
14. Godless (Paperback) Hautman, Pete
15. The Sparrow (Paperback) Russell, Mary Doria
16. Speak (Paperback) Anderson, Laurie Halse
17. Fat Kid Rules the World (Paperback) Going, K. L.
18. King Dork (Library Binding) Portman, Frank
19. Pretties (Paperback) Westerfeld, Scott
20. Son of the Mob (Son of the Mob (Paperback)) Korman, Gordon
21. Everlost (Hardcover) Shusterman, Neal
22. Life As We Knew It (Hardcover) Pfeffer, Susan Beth
23. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Hardcover) Cohn, Rachel
24. The House of the Scorpion (Print (Hardcover and Paperback) Farmer, Nancy
25. Rash (Hardcover) Hautman, Pete
26. The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (Hardcover) Lyga, Barry
27. Born to Rock (Hardcover) Korman, Gordon
28. Heavy Metal And You (Paperback) Krovatin, Chris
29. Fight Club: A Novel (Paperback) Palahniuk, Chuck
30. Lullaby (Paperback) Palahniuk, Chuck
31. Blood and Chocolate (Mass Market Paperback) Klause, Annette Curtis
32. Twilight (Paperback) Meyer, Stephenie
33. Tangerine (Paperback) Bloor, Edward
34. Uglies (Paperback) Westerfeld, Scott
35. Neverwhere: A Novel (Paperback) Gaiman, Neil
36. American Gods (Paperback) Gaiman, Neil
37. Anansi Boys (Mass Market Paperback) Gaiman, Neil
38. Generation Kill (Paperback) Wright, Evan
39. The Big Empty (Paperback) Stephens, J.B.
40. Black Juice (Paperback) Lanagan, Margo
41. Crime and Punishment Dostoevsky, Fyodor

Oh, well then probably none on purpose. I went into a library once and read some titles of books off the spines, but my head started to hurt so I stopped.

Unfortunately I haven't had time to read as of late. I am typically reserved to doing it on planes.

However currently I'm reading "Ike: An American Hero." Excellent book. Jenson, that would probably work nicely into your history major.

BTW, I plug this site periodically in the High Brow Reader's thread, but I'll do so again:

www.goodreads.com

It's sort of a social networking site where you can recommend books and such to other people. You can review books, create discussion groups, jump in discussions on specific books, recommend books, add friends, and other things.

The cool part about it, though, is that it makes it very, very easy to keep up with what you're reading and what you plan on reading next. It's also pretty gratifying to see your bookshelves grow as you keep reading more books.