That is something that I have never been.

I'm reading Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard, and The Princess de Cleves, by Madame de Lafayette. They're both good so far. I usually have one book upstairs and one down.

"Big Sky" by A. B. Guthrie.
Mountain men kickin'ass.

Literature has always been litera-chore for me. At least anything pre-twentieth century. I was the same way with music, which probably sounds odd for a guy with a degree in (classical) music composition. I generally find anything from the 19th century or earlier to be incredibly boring. My tastes run to the modern, for whatever reason.

I hear you. Much of my reading is 20th century (or very, very late 19th).

Usually, I read non-fiction concerning religion, esoteric mysticism, or theoretical physics. But, I wanted some popcorn fiction for a change and stopped in the bookstore last night to see Dan Brown's new book, The Lost Symbol. Wow, talk about taking almost all my academic interests (I was a history major also) and wrapping them up into an enjoyable mystery! About 25 chapters into it, a real page turner so far.

-HH

I've had that book recommended to me by two different people so it's on my list (actually I have the ebook on my phone) but I still haven't started it because I know it's just the first book of a trilogy that isn't yet released.

George R. R. Martin (greatest fantasy author of all time) also recommended it on his blog and he had high praise for it iirc.


Recently finished:

Mass Effect Ascension. Decent sci-fi. It's a tie-in novel with a video game series that I like so I can't recommend it to most people.

1984. Not as good as I would have thought. Good writing, but since I already know what "Orwellian" is I guess that took away from the books impact. Also, I didn't like the ending.
Orwell is a good writer but he's no Hemmingway or Fitzgerald who can make me enjoy what I'm reading even when I have no interest in the subject.

Fevre Dream. George R. R. Martin took a break a few years ago and wrote this. It's a vampire book set in the late 1800s and romanticizes the steam boats of that era. This is a great book.

I always preferred his Animal Farm to 1984.

I'm just about done with The Tender Bar, by J.R. Moehringer. It's an engaging read, and an inspiring one since I feel I share some of the same fates as Moehringer did in this memoir.

Next up is Rocket Boys, by Homer H. Hickam, Jr. This is the book that inspired the movie, October Sky. I've heard the book is a great read, so I'm looking forward to reading it.

Saul Bellow - Humboldt's Gift

Recently Finished:
Three Cups of Tea - Very Good, mostly for the educational value than the story. The story is so-so, and gets better as the book progresses, but I was shocked at how little I knew about Pakistan and Afgahnistan, and really feel that Greg Mortenson gives a great take on the situation over there.

Gang Leader for a Day - Great book. I've always been intrigued by Gangs and Gang Culture, so what better way to learn about it than to read about Sudhir Venkatesh and how he spend 6 years hanging out with the Black Kings of Chicago under the protection of a local gang leader. Very interesting read.

I've only read his short stories- never his novels. I don't really know why either. I should read one.

Is that the same guy discussed in the book Freakonomics?

Well, last time I said I was going to read Zen and the ARt of Motorcycle Maintenence but that got shelved for the time being.

Instead, I just finished The Lost Symbol by, yes I know, Dan Brown. I can't say it was terrible since I breezed through it and was entertained, but the twist sucked (called it a good 200 pages before it was revealed) and the actual Mystery - and therefore half of the plot catalyst - really stunk. It was like he wrote a book to appease all the religious people he "offended" with his last books. It wasn't that it was religious it just didn't have a point. And the Lost Symbol was laughable at best.

Now going to start James Rollins' The Doomsday Key - his are always more entertaining than Dan Brown's. And they're also more science oriented which may account for my liking them more.

Then to follow that I'm going to either:
1) Pick back up Zen & Motorcycles
2) Get Dawkins' The Greatest Show on Earth
3) Start Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass series again after reading the first one a couple years ago but never continuing.

Speaking of Freakonomics, they have another one coming this November. Entitled: Superfreakonomics.