What have you read lately?

[Standing Wolf]

Speaking of Reacher in general, how could they have possibly cast that pipsqueak Tom Cruise as Reacher...I am absolutely dumbfounded. But maybe I will understand better when I see it (not in the theatre). Oh and BTW I was just introduced to the Longmire series, loved it, and am psyched for a new author, because I have read, literally, all of the books by my favorite authors.

The Longmire books are highly addictive. I always clear the decks when one of those books comes out, so I can start it right away. There are other series that I'm hopelessly behind on, like Reacher, Joe Pickett and Mary Russell. If you ever get the chance to meet Craig Johnson, he's a real hoot.

Lee Child's take on Cruise as Reacher is really that there are no A-list actors who could really have taken on the role and done as well and who are tall enough to meet the description of him in the books. Both movies are good, although I really think I enjoyed the first one more. (Child does little non-speaking cameos in both movies, by the way; he's a police desk sergeant in the first one, a TSA agent in the second.)

[Green Arrow]

I'm trying to decide what to pick up next in non-fiction. Having a hard time of it.

[Trumpster]

I'm about 2/3 through reading "Not by Fire but by Ice: discover what killed the dinosaurs and why it could soon kill us." This is the second edition that came out in 2000. It's not new but it's new to me. The author explains how the earth's magnetic reversal can bring about an ice age, of which there have been several throughout earth's history. A magnetic reversal is when the south pole becomes the north pole and vice versa. It causes an imbalance which leads to tectonic plate movement, earthquakes and volcanoes. Thousands of oceanic (underwater) volcanoes heat the ocean causing rapid evaporation. That in turn blocks the sun causing lower than normal temperatures. So when all this moisture condenses it comes down as snow, not rain. (One inch of rain equals 10 inches of snow.) It snows constantly and builds up fast. And the weight of 100 feet of snow turns the snow to ice.


I'm sure I'm not doing it justice but this is just to give you an idea of what it's like. It's very scientific and he mentions many other books that have been written on this subject.


Has anyone read this book? If so, I'd be interested to know your opinion of it.

[jigglepete]

I just started one of the "few and far between" non-fiction books I read;

The Trouble With Islam by Irshad Manji

A good read so far, I am enjoying her writing style very much.

[Trish]

Zealot by Reza Aslan. As an agnostic I find it very interested and enlightening so far. Still trying to finish it - but it's hard to find the time some weeks.

[Common]

I read every night before I go to bed, I just finished the entire Nero Wolfe Series 53 books I believe.
I just started the spy series by Barry Eisler, after this it will James Rollins series.

[Mister D]

I'm trying to decide what to pick up next in non-fiction. Having a hard time of it.

Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes was as fascinating as it was disturbing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propag...39;s_Attitudes

[nic34]

Re-reading Mary Stewart's Merlin series.

Currently the "Hollow Hills".

[FindersKeepers]

The Longmire books are highly addictive. I always clear the decks when one of those books comes out, so I can start it right away. There are other series that I'm hopelessly behind on, like Reacher, Joe Pickett and Mary Russell. If you ever get the chance to meet Craig Johnson, he's a real hoot.

Lee Child's take on Cruise as Reacher is really that there are no A-list actors who could really have taken on the role and done as well and who are tall enough to meet the description of him in the books. Both movies are good, although I really think I enjoyed the first one more. (Child does little non-speaking cameos in both movies, by the way; he's a police desk sergeant in the first one, a TSA agent in the second.)

Totally agree with the Reacher series -- one of my favorites. The Jack Reacher character always reminds me of one of our mutual friends. I just started Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy. It's not new but a friend lent it to me, and, so far, it's pretty decent. It came highly recommended.

I also have a new copy of Let me Be Frank with You, by Richard Ford, on my nightstand that I haven't really gotten into yet.

This week has been so busy, I've been wanting to just grab an hour or two and get into the meat of the thing, but I might have to wait until the weekend is over.

[Standing Wolf]

I read every night before I go to bed, I just finished the entire Nero Wolfe Series 53 books I believe.

I tried reading Rex Stout, beginning with the first Wolfe book, 'Fer-de-lance', but I didn't get very far into it. The plot seemed to move at a snail's pace, with too much "cute" humor going on - I just found it annoying. Maybe I'll try one of the later books sometime...one not written in the '30s.

Speaking of books from that era, I finally got around to starting Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu series a while back, and was struck by two things: first, the blatant, unapologetic anti-"Oriental" racism, and second, Rohmer was one hell of a good action-adventure-mystery writer. The plot moves along at a fast pace, the descriptions are extraordinarily well done - just really great writing. Too bad about all that "Yellow Peril" nonsense, but an awfully good read nonetheless. I picked up several of the books in nice editions from the '40s and in wonderful condition for just a few dollars each at a thrift shop a couple of years ago, and I'm looking forward to reading further in the series.