Who's Reading What?

[Phil Lilley]

Through my life I have read most of the Bible but it's been by studies and piece meal. I've never just read through it. So for whatever reason I started, from the beginning, now I'm through Kings. It's been very enjoyable and I've seen things I didn't see before.

I'm also reading Francis A Schaeffer's Trilogy. I got read it 4 times over and make notes to understand it. I'm not a good reader- never have been. But I've spent more time reading the last couple of months than ever before. It's been good.

[ness]

Through my life I have read most of the Bible but it's been by studies and piece meal. I've never just read through it. So for whatever reason I started, from the beginning, now I'm through Kings. It's been very enjoyable and I've seen things I didn't see before.

I had the same thoughts, and started a 'read the Bible in a year program' the first of this year. But, I kinda ran out of gas. It only works out to a few pages a day (maybe 5-10), so it's certainly doable. I need to get back to it.

Full disclosure, I read most of these books while I'm on the lawnmower so they are being read to me. I think many of these classics are much easier to listen to than to read, and don't know if I would have finished them in book form. I promise you I would not have stuck with Moby Dick so long.

Thinking about trying Absalom, Absalom which was required reading for me in high school, and I didn't even try to understand it. Anyone read this?

I did an audio version of Atlas Shrugged a few years back. It just seemed like something I should read, and I sure wasn't going to plow through that monster of a book. I did it driving back and forth to work for a month or two and got through it. But, even that was a struggle for me. Didn't really care for the format or the story. But, maybe that's a good way to test the waters on some of the old classics.

[LarrySTL]

House Odds by Mike Larson. Your basic "cops and crooks and politicians" detective-type novel. Thats mostly the type of stuff I read, with occasional forays into Civil War or WW II American history.

[Quillback]

Justin, In Cold Blood was maybe the first book that kind of scared me, because it was true and I had a hard time with the fact that there were real monsters in the world I'm old enough to remember the crime.

I just started reading "Light of the World" by James Lee Burke, Iberia parish detective Dave Robicheaux and P.I. Clete Purcell are vacationing in Montana and the usual violent story unfolds. I really like stories where the bad guys never make it to trial,

I'm a James Lee Burke fan myself, I think I've read them all. The remarks the bad guys make about Clete can be some funny stuff.

[LarrySTL]

Yessss, Light of the World was great. So were almost all of his earlier ones.

[exiledguide]

Quillback this latest book goes way off where even Burke has never. I think he stole the bad from Steven King...........remember Randall Flagg "The Walking Dude" from The Stand?

[Quillback]

Quillback this latest book goes way off where even Burke has never. I think he stole the bad from Steven King...........remember Randall Flagg "The Walking Dude" from The Stand?

I do, kind of, been a long time since I read "The Stand".

[Quillback]

House Odds by Mike Larson. Your basic "cops and crooks and politicians" detective-type novel. Thats mostly the type of stuff I read, with occasional forays into Civil War or WW II American history.

I'll have to remember to pick up a Larson book next time I'm at the library. I've been reading Ian Rankin books lately, set in Scotland so the "English" is a little different, but still a good read if you like crime novels.

[ScottK]

I've just finished all the books in the "Blanco County Mysteries" series by Ben Rehder. Had never heard of him until I was searching the Kindle store for a new book and ran across one of them. Very entertaining, humorous, and well written not to mention just 3.99 or so per book. I thought I would miss having an actual book in my hand and didn't do the Kindle thing for a long time, but I really like it, have read a lot more since getting it.

[bfishn]

I've had a love affair with steamboats since I opened Life on the Mississippi. I'm getting another fix with Steamboats and Ferries of the White River. If interested, you can preview a lot of it at;

http://books.google.com/books/about/Steamboats_and_Ferries_on_the_White_Rive.html?id=tahjbazJK-IC

The format is a little loosey-goosey. The writers appear to have been better researchers than authors, but the meat is still there. I think most of you would be surprised at the huge part White River traffic played in the settlement of the southern Ozarks. Descriptions of commercial forays up as far as the James, and up the Little Red, Black, and Current too. Hardships and clearing of shoals at Buffalo, Elbow, Bull, Lead Hill, and Forsyth. Bills of lading for what came in (lots of whiskey, coffee, and sugar) and what came out (lots of bear oil, furs, and cotton). Encounters with ironclads and tinclads during the war. Sinkings, explosions, calliopes, and colorful characters. The first electric lights to shine on the river were early steamer spotlights, the sight of which freaked the locals and their critters plum out. Cool stuff in general.