What are you reading right now?

[LoftGuy]

Hi,

I am currently reading two books: "Catastrophe", by David Keys, which details the dual impact of the climatic and the pandemic of Bubonic Plague on the sixth century world, and which influence still shapes our world today; and, "The Encyclopedia of Shaker Furniture", by Timothy Rieman and Jean Burks.

My hobby is making reproductions of Shaker furniture and I am doing research in order to develop a measured drawing of my next project, from which the piece can be built. The original is in the Hancock Shaker Village in MA but museems do not give out dimensions of items in their collections, so lots of extrapolation is involved.

Bob

[haukehaien]

Life is too short to read just one book at a time. Current selections are:
What's So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey
The Spellsinger Series, Alan Dean Foster (specifically reading The Paths of the Perambulator)
At Ease: Stories I Tell To Friends, Dwight Eisenhower

[Mr. Kilt]

At home: "The Angel Maker" by Ridley Pearson. It's the story of a Seattle veterenarian who is harvesting major organs from humans, without their consent.

At work: "The Midnight Club" by James Patterson. This one is about a New York detective who is on the hunt for a killer. I read whenever I have time to kill at a time point on my bus route, and I haven't read enough of the story yet to give a better description.

I also just picked up a small hard-cover book by Brenda Ralph Lewis, called "Tartans" It was in the discount bin at a local shop. I flip through it once in awhile and I've already found some errors, based on what I've learned here. It's still an interesting little book, with pictures and information on over 300 various historic and modern tartans.

[Panache]

At the moment I'm reading:

Kidnapped: by Robert Louis Stevenson

Just watched the most recent BBC TV adaptation a couple of weeks ago.
I haven't read the book since grade school.

Being that it was Fall, Halloween time and all I've been perusing a few stories to get me in the "spirit".

Casting the Runes and other Ghost Stories: M.R. James

Recently watched the old Movie "Night of the Demon" and wanted to reread the original short story it was based on "Casting the Runes". M.R. James is an effective and classy story teller.

H.P. Lovecraft's Book of Horror: Various

H.P. Lovecraft was an American writer of horror stories or "weird tales" from the 20's. His career was fairly short but his impact on Horror Fiction was immense. He wrote a nonfiction piece that was one of the very first literary overviews of Horror fiction entitled "Supernatural Horror in Literature". Lovecraft traces Horror stories from the middle ages, to the flourishing of the Gothic tales, and to the present (circa 1920). This volume includes: "Supernatural Horror in Literature" as well as as many of the actual tales that Lovecraft reviewed/mentioned as the editors could get rights to.
This includes works by such authors as Ambrose Bierce, Charles Dickens. M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Machen, Guy De Maupassant, Edgar Allan Poe, and Robert Louis Stevenson.


Cheers

[GMan]

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

[raindog]

Hi Panache,
I've read the complete HP Lovecraft books (3 vols) several times. I love his stuff!
Currently though, reading V for Vendetta, the graphic novel. Very good tale of future fascist Britain, and the cloaked 'Guy Fawkes' super hero/terrorist/freedom fighter who wants to blow the whole shebang up.
In the pile of books waiting to be read are William Burroughs collected interviews, Apocalypse Culture vol 2, and The Illuminati Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson. I can recommend Wilsons work as very entertaining, and at the same time enlightening as to how the Universe seems to work.


Jeff.

[Panache]

Hi Panache,
I've read the complete HP Lovecraft books (3 vols) several times. I love his stuff! ...

raindog,

Have you seen Herminator's avatar?

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/member.php?u=1376

Cheers

[cessna152towser]

Life is too short for reading fiction; I prefer to read something I will learn facts from. That said today I've been wading through a couple of textbooks on lawyer's professional conduct to assist me in completing a Report for my professional body. Now that I'm finished working for the day I'll probably have some light reading later in the evening; Loop, which is an aviation industry monthly newspaper, arrived in this morning's post.

[Freelander Sporrano]

At the moment I'm read this collection Of Sherlock Holmes. He has always been a big favorite of mine . I just love the language in the book
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sherlock-Hol...345577-2451110

Another book I have on the go is
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...345577-2451110
Yep! I know it's a reference book but having just purchased an iMac I need it
I'm really a magazine type. I have subscribed to National Geographic since 1985 and I love BBC History Magazine

[Mike1]

Nigel Tranter's The Wallace

John Prebble's Glencoe

Hector McKechnie's The Lamont Clan 1235-1935, Seven Centuries of Clan History

Jelsoft's The vBulletin User Guide for vB 3.6.3

And believe me, that list is not necessarily in the correct order!