What are you reading?

Paul in Cannon Beach

We haven't done this in a while so I thought I'd ask "what are you reading?"

I won't say the current book I am reading as its an embarrassingly trivial page-turner but the last book I read was quite good "Disney War" by James Stewart. It gave an honest and unflinching look at Michael Eisner's tumultuous reign as CEO of Disney.

KSR6450

1776 - a historical look at the Revolutionary War. In depth looks at the men and the battles. Very interesting read for plane trips.

I believe Ray recently read the book as well. Or can he just remember 1776? :-S

cnghr

I've always got at least two or three books going. Currently I'm reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma", about where our food comes from, and for fiction, "The Stupidest Angel" by Christopher Moore, and "The Haunting of Hill House" by Shirley Jackson. The last two are both re-reads. Most of Christopher Moore's books are just flat out silly, funny books (great after a long day of working in HR) and the Jackson book is a classic in the horror/ghost story genre.

KSR6450

I love Shirley Jackson - ever since we read The Lottery in middle school...
I am also reading The Nine, about the Supreme Court Justices.

ray a

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-28-08 AT 06:17AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I had been reading Shelby Foote's series on the Civil War but set it aside temporarily. I have just the last section to go in the 3rd volume.

Lately, I've been working my way through a compilation of C. S. Lewis books.

I have on order, [i]War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America's Campaign to Create a Master Race[/i], by Edwin Black and a bio on Andrew Johnson. The Johnson bio is the next in my quest to read at least one bio on each president in order.

No, I was not around in 1776. My kids just think so.

Oh, and the newest copies of the Hemmings publications have arrived, Classic Cars, Muscle Cars and Sports Cars. They take priority.

SMace

ESPN the Magazine

joannie

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-28-08 AT 07:25AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Beatty, J.F., & Samuelson, S.S. (2006) [i]Business Law and the Legal Environment[/i]. (4th ed.); Mason, OH: Thomson, West

Practicing APA citation, also, in case you couldn't tell.xI-)

Wildsporty

Okay, I am not reading HR material. I read enough at work.

I am reading Duma Key by Stephen King.

So I like Horror. I am loving Sci Fi's 31 days of Halloween.

Shirley

marina

Many intellectuals I can see. I do like thrillers, especially court-room drama. I read Nelson DeMille, Lisa Scattoline, Alex Kava, Jeffry Deaver, Grisham, Ken Follett, etc.
My favorite: Daniel Silva (his character Gabriel Allon lives , among other cities, in Venice and is married to Chiara a Venetian Jewish lady) and Ken Follett.
I also like to read history books: I just started one on the Renaissance.
Wildsporty, do you also read Koonz's books? I tried S.King once, a long time ago. I got so scared that I had to keep lights on in the house all night for a while. I cannot remember the title but I have not touched King anymore: I cannot watch his films either!

Celeste Blackburn SPHR

I'll play.
I just finished "The Levity Effect" by Adrian Gostick and Scott Christopher.
I just started "Goodbye, Amelia: Fictions" by Simone Felice and for the past few years or so, I've also been working through the collections of Hunter S. Thompson's writings, so currently, I'm half way through "Fear and Loathing in America : The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist."

How is "Duma Key?" I've read most of King's books. I'm kind of obsessed. Loved the Dark Tower series.

Wildsporty

Oh yeah! Dean Koonz, Robin Cook, although I also like Mary Higgins Clark and John Grisham.
"Midnight was one of my favorite by Koonz and "Coma" was very good by Cook. Stephen King is still on top not too many of his books or movies I haven't read or seen.

I like autobiography's also. I read all the Corrie Ten Boom books, The David Wilkerson Books, and many other autobiography's. I think the Cross and the Switchblade was a favorite as was "In my father's house".

The autobiographies of Art Linkletter, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and Malcolm X were entertaining.

True crime is also entertaining. I read the stories about the Manson family, the Green River Killings, the Fisher case, and other true crime stories.

I also like the prehistoric books such as the clan of the cave bear and Valley of the Horses.

Oh and I have read the whole series of the Dune books, plus all the McAffrey dragon books and I am a fan of C.S. Lewis.

Did I mention that I was a librarian for 8 years before I went into the HR field?

I like all kinds of books except those sappy romance books, can't get into them..my books have to have some excitement.

Shirley

Wildsporty

Duma Key is pretty good so far. I just finished reading the girl that loved Tom Gordon..very good. I got some early Stephen King and was reading through the ones I hadn't read. I am also reading the Regulators I have it at the mountain cabin so I can read on the deck or by the wood stove in the winter. I am trying to read the Bauchman books by stephen king, they are not quite as good as his other books.

Shirley

Wildsporty

I know what you mean. I was on the porch swing reading "salem's lot" when the children were small. We had an old house with the old flood irrigation system. It was evening and my husband was tending to the water. Just as the vampire was going to bite someone my husband comes around the side of the house with the shovel and swooshes water . I liked to jumped to the moon...boy did that scare me.

I still kept reading the books though. My life is pretty normal most of the time and I love the excitement.

Shirley

KSR6450

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-28-08 AT 11:04AM (CST)[/font][br][br]I love horror as well. It is nice to be scared sometimes....

Reading 'Phantoms' on the train coming up from New Orleans years ago was a scary experience. All alone in a tiny room and it is pitch black outside. The only sound you hear is the rumbling of the wheels on the tracks. I didn't sleep a wink!

The 'Odd' series is also very entertaining. I finished 'Brother Odd' recently. It is nice that you don't have to read them in sequence; each story plays out on its own.

Of King's novels - my favorite was 'The Stand' - couldn't put it down. There are definitely parts of 'Misery' which are enjoyable, too. x0:)

Celeste Blackburn SPHR

I haven't been as big of a fan of the Bachman books, either. The Regulators was interesting. I'd just read Desperation (I picked up The Regulators b/c I knew it was somehow tied to Desperation), so I spent a good deal of my time reading The Regulators thinking about the character and plot crossovers instead of just enjoying the story for the story. I really liked Desperation -- it is one of his books that really tied the sort of early spooky/horror King with the newer King that since the 90s maybe always seems to add a touch of the mystical/spiritual/questioning aspect (which really seemed to ramp up once he started writing after he got his by the van).
I read the Bachman books because I like King so much and obviously he sees these as another important side of his creative outlook, but I pretty much always find myself thinking that if I didn't know it was a King alter ego, I wouldn't pick up another Bachman book.

Paul in Cannon Beach

Celeste, what was "The Levity Effect" about? Sounds interesting.

I've read most of Dean Koontz books and generally enjoyed them. I am also a big fan of true crime and have read everything Seattle writer Ann Rule has written. I am on a break from true crime for awhile. You read too many of those and you start thinking "that would be a good place to dump a body" when you drive by a wooded area.

Ive never read Stephen King though mostly because the size of the books. Obviously they must be really good. Can anyone suggest one of his books as a good introduction to his work?

Wildsporty - have you read Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood"? If not, you absolutely must. Its amazing. It really started the whole genre.

ACU Frank

I just started The Levity Effect, Celeste, so don't tell me how it ends.

Every so often, I re-skim Margaret Morford's book Management Courage. Sometimes I need validation, and I strongly suspect Margaret was psychically eavesdropping on me when she wrote that.

cnghr

I really enjoyed "Duma Key". I've liked pretty much all of Stephen King's books, although I'd have to say my two favorites are "The Shining" and "The Stand". I haven't re-read either of them in a number of years so I'm thinking I'll need to do that sometime soon.

I read a pretty wide variety of stuff although I do have to agree with whoever mentioned sappy romance novels.....ick! I did find a series of romances probably 15 years ago or so that were romances but the main characters were things like vampires, werewolves, or creatures. Those were slightly less sappy and had a little bit more to them, but not much.

Celeste Blackburn SPHR

I reviewed "The Levity Effect" on our book blog (you know I was just waiting for my chance to plug that, right?). You can find the whole review at [url]http://employmentlawpost.com/resources/2008/10/15/the-levity-effect/[/url]
Basically, the authors make a great argument for having fun in the workplace for everything from training to building camaraderie. They include a long list of example of ways to do that (some seem more plausible than others). I think it was both useful for the ideas it offered for infusing the workplace with fun/levity and for giving you arguments to take to the higher ups to convince them it is necessary.

At one point, I'd read most of Dean Koontz's books, but I haven't kept up over the past several years.He is good at the twists and turns. I really enjoy them, but when I read his books back to back, they start to seem similar to me.

It's hard to recommend a first King book. "The Stand" and "It" are two of my favorites, but they are super long and I think you have to be excited about really getting into the books to actually plow in deep enough to be hooked.
The first King book I read was a collection of 4 short stories called "Different Seasons." Three of the four stories were made into movies (Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, and Apt Pupil) -- and I'll tell on myself some here, I first picked up the movie b/c all my friends got to go see Stand By Me, but my parents wouldn't let me see R-rated movies. Joke was on them, though. Years later when I finally saw the movie, I realized the graphicness of those stories far exceeded what they could portray in a movie. That book is a great place to start if you are looking to get a feel for King's storytelling, dialogue, and sense of humor. But it isn't the classic King horror. If you are looking for that, maybe start with Carrie or Firestarter or Pet Cemetery (short, quick reads).

KSR6450

The ending to 'It' was a real disappointment for me; after all the time invested in reading the book to have it turn out to be....

'Pet Semetary', 'Cujo', 'Christine' - all are much better books than movies. King has a way of telling the story from the perspective of, for example, the dog in 'Cujo' or the car in 'Christine' which helps to tell a great story.

Paul in Cannon Beach

"Managing To Have Fun" is a good little book on the same topic. Lots of real life examples of successful companies that have created a positive, energetic culture through taking fun seriously.

Maybe I'll check out the Stand. I dont mind a long book if its good.

Anybody who enjoys non-fiction should check out Erik Larson's "Devil in the White City" - the account of the Chicago World's fair and a serial killer operating nearby or "Isaac's Storm" - the incrdible story of the hurricane that killed 8,000 residents of Galveston Texas. You won't believe how exciting a drop in barometric pressure can be.

Wildsporty

I have read "In Cold Blood". I have also read just about everything Ann Rule has written, I couldn't remember her name. My daughter reads all her books and gives them to me. Sometimes they give me the creeps though I start watching people around me wondering if they are murderer's.

Stephen King's books are all good. They are also long. I would suggest to start either :"Salem's Lot" or "The shining".

Shirley

Wildsporty

Thanks Paul I will have to go on Almazon and see if I can find a copy and read those. The Erik Larson one sounds good.

Shirley

Paul in Cannon Beach

Erik Larson was kind of a special find. He is from the Seattle area and he specializes in meticulous historical details combined with gripping storytelling.

I like fiction but nothing beats a good story that actually happened.

plynnl

I have also read all of Ann Rule's books. Being from the Northwest and her visibility on local morning shows, she has a good audience in this area.

Favorite Stephen King book is The Stand. Have read it many times and still find things I missed. If it is in audio form it might be a good one to try although it is very long.

Susan in La

Have you read the "Odd" series by Koonz? Brother Odd, Odd Hours, etc. They are pretty good.

cnghr

I've read everything Ann Rule has written except for the book she wrote on Ted Bundy; for some reason I've never gotten around to reading that one. Gotta agree with Paul, though, after you read enough true crime you start to think in kind of strange ways. She's good enough at explaining the thought processes and personality traits that cause people to do some of the things they do that I find myself looking at people's quirks and wondering if they are a potential murderer or something!

Paul in Cannon Beach

Rule's book on Ted Bundy is a classic. As you may know, Rule was fairly close to Ted Bundy having worked on several hotlines together. Rule was a single mom at the time and you get the feeling that she enjoyed the attention of the handsome, eloquent Bundy.

Of course, over the course of the investigation, she begins to question everything she knew about the man even while he continues to correspond with her pleading his innocence.

Amazing.

ACU Frank

Staying with the PacNW theme, I really enjoy the earlier works of Earl Emerson. He's a Seattle fireman who writes excellent detective novels. One series "stars" Mac Fontana, a small town fire chief. The other series features Thomas Black, a Seattle PI. I like them both a lot. Emerson's more recent (non-Black, non-Fontana) stuff is far less stellar.

The Stand is the most riveting book I have ever read. It's long, but it can be done in one 12-hour shot. I know that for a fact.

plynnl

As far as I know I have read all of Earl Emerson's earlier books also. I have not tried any of his recent books. Has he stopped writing the Fontana or Black detective books?

Paul in Cannon Beach

Well, my inter-library loan came in so I am going to read "The Informant" by Kurt Eichenwald first. But I will definitely have to read "The Stand" soon. Anything that can keep Frank's attention for more than a few minutes must be good.