# whatcha reading right now?



## Hollywood

starting on the dispossessed by ursula le guin. you?


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## iamwhatiam

really haven't been reading too much...more watching movies.
but the most recent book i've read out of is a book of Rumi's poems.


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## connerR

No Trespassing, by Anders Corr. It's "an international study on how people have taken over vacant buildings and unused land—and why it’s a good idea".


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## Tare

Just finished re-reading 'Dune', by Frank Herbert for reference. Startin 'Heretics of Dune'. I normally read political and ecological stuff, but this stuffs epic.


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## stayhighlovelife

The big red wine book 2009/2010 by Gary Walsh


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## compass

I think I'm going to read The Road; it's just sitting there, and the only two other books I've got on me right now is a western tree indentification field guide, and a book on Pacific Ocean fishing.


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## sprout

Compass, The Road is an amazing book. Have you read anything else by Cormac McCarthy?

I am currently reading "I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell," by Tucker Max. Hysterical.
Also, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish.


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## compass

Nah, can't say that I have. What made you want to learn Yiddish?


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## sprout

All my grandparents spoke it but I never got to meet any of them.
Also, we play a lot of traditional Yiddish songs, so it's nice to understand what I am singing. It won't be too hard, I speak enough Hebrew and various Germanic languages to understand most of it anyhow.

Anyway, Cormac McCarthy is an excellent author. The Road is probably one of my favorite post apocalyptic novels. I recommend it. Also, his other works, especially Blood Meridian.


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## compass

Nice! Only one of my grandmothers spoke it, came over from Romania. I asked my dad for something cool to say, he told me "zy nischit azoi klieg:" "don't be so smart." That's the most appropriate of his limited Yiddish vocabulary


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## Lilly

I'm sort of reading a few books most picked up one is Flirt by Laurell k Hamilton other one Mosh Pit and Born to Rock...


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## GypsyDamien

on the road's a great book, i think it was that book that gave me that thirst for hitting road in the first place, just read 'big sur' by him actually, i found it kinda sad, interesting though. im now reading fleur de mal by Charles Baudelaire


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## PFAT

I was in the middle of rereading The Hitchhiker's Trilogy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) but I had to return that book. Stupid. I need to take one from a different library.
BUT in the meantime I've been reading Player Piano- Vonnegut


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## Wolfeyes

Lilly said:


> I'm sort of reading a few books most picked up one is Flirt by Laurell k Hamilton other one Mosh Pit and Born to Rock...



Nice to see another Laurell K Hamilton fan. Just got into her books myself. Just finished up a copy of Obsidian Butterfly I found in a dumpster...


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## Monkeywrench

ArrowInOre said:


> Ed Abby's "the Monkey Wrench Gang"s


 A fine choice, miss Arrow. That book did a number on me, and as a matter of fact, it's how I acquired my roadname/username years ago. I've read a lot of radical environmental literature, but that is the best of the best. 


As for what I've been reading, "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman has been keeping me interested. When I crave non-fiction, "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene. Science gives me bonerzz.


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## Lilly

Haha Yeah the series is now I think 18+ books they are pretty good all of them with the first one Gulty Pleasures its kinda slow but when reading the whole series its worth it...Hope you can get to reading them all


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## madewithpaint

i'll probably get shit for this but, the book evasion. i couldn't help my curiosity.


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## Wolfeyes

Lilly said:


> Haha Yeah the series is now I think 18+ books they are pretty good all of them with the first one Gulty Pleasures its kinda slow but when reading the whole series its worth it...Hope you can get to reading them all



Damn, that many huh? Better get crackin then. I know a friend of mine has at least one of them, possibly more...

There were a few things in Obsidian Butterfly I didn't quite get the full impact of, so I'll definitely be reading as many books as I can just to explain a few things...


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## Monkeywrench

madewithpaint said:


> i'll probably get shit for this but, the book evasion. i couldn't help my curiosity.



There's nothing wrong with reading Evasion. As long as you don't consider it any sort of Bible for travelers, or a guideline for your future travels. Remember that despite how much the author romanticizes his tales, it's mostly fiction. Good read, anyway.


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## simpletoremember

Right now I'm reading Watership Down, and A People's History of the United States... Plus a hand full of zines. Always reading, ain't nothing much else to do here.

I read Evasion in high school sort of inspired me to hit the road, take note I didn't use it as a 'bible' by any means, just sort of made me want to travel. But yeah he does over romanticizes the whole ordeal (Mr.D and I were talking about this a few days ago), and he barely talks about the negative things that happen on the road. What about the story about that trucker who tried to take advantage of you in Elko? I was thinking about writing a zine about all the fucked up and weird things that has happened on the road, but decided against it.


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## Skankin Jerry

Just finishing up Catch-22! Then starting Naked Lunch.


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## simpletoremember

Skankin Jerry said:


> Just finishing up Catch-22! Then starting Naked Lunch.



Both great books. The Naked Lunch was a bit disturbing, I found a copy of Junkie in a thrift store dumpster once.


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## RideMoreTrains

Lots of Edgar Allen Poe.

Before that I was reading some John Muir.


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## madewithpaint

Monkeywrench said:


> There's nothing wrong with reading Evasion. As long as you don't consider it any sort of Bible for travelers, or a guideline for your future travels. Remember that despite how much the author romanticizes his tales, it's mostly fiction. Good read, anyway.



bible? bahahaha. if anyone did, i think they'd have to be slapped in the face. 
it's pretty obvious that the story is fiction cause nothing bad ever happens. entertaining none the less though.


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## left52side

Well I just got done reading a ton of books in jail .
The last one was the scalotti inherotence.
Now I have a salty piece of land by jimmy biffett sitting here waiting till I leave to start it.
For neone who hasnt checked out jimmy buffett,he is acctually a really good story teller and quite a good wrighter.


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## bmb

well, just got done reading Michael Baigent's(coauthor of Holy Blood,Holy Grail) new book: Racing Toward Armageddon: The Three Great Religions and the Plot to end the World, anyone interested in getting more informed on the subject about the extremes of christianity,islam and judaism should check this out, great read, best book i've read in awhile..
another one i've almost completed, The Jornals of Lewis & Clark by Anthony Brandt(national geographic), rewritten in modern-day english for the average reader, if you wanna know more about the expansion and history of the states, its a very revealing and educational book, i highly recommend both of these books.


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## AnthraxMatt

i am re-reading a wrinkle in time & what dreams may come. i enjoy richard matheson & chuck palahnuik


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## xbocax

The True Cost Of Prison Comic Books


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## veggieguy12

I'm into _The Day Philosophy Dies_ by Casey Maddox. It's weird, but intriguing, and I think it's really gonna pay off by the end.


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## Mongo

I just finished reading The Acid House and am now starting up on Porno and in between I read a lot of comics.


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## distro

r.i.p kurt vonnegut


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## distro

im currently reading down and out in cambridge...its alright..so slow. but i like how lost he is. its also an autobiography so that makes up for the slowness i guess.


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## christa

Tom Robbins: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues. 
Its long all about a girl whos born with extreamly large thumbs and is the fastest hitchhiker in the world. just starting part two.


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## genghis braun

I usually don't read more than 1 book at once, but these two kinda go together...

"Meditation for Dummies" and "Being Peace" by Thich Nhat Hanh. I don't like to put lables on complicated things like spirituality, but I find myself to identify a lot with Zen Buddhism. Thich Nhat Hanh is one of those writers who can say something really deep in a way that is simple and easy to grasp. reading his book was kinda the final push for me to start meditating every day, and even though I'm on day 4 or 5, I already notice subtle changes in my mindset and ability to focus.


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## Rash L

I just finished My Life in Orange by Tim.. Guest? (I gave the book back to my friend already) about this guy who grew up in an Ashram/cult. I'm just finishing Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Dummies, and I'm in the middle of re-reading Borderlands, a collection of short stories (horror, dark fantasy, suspense literature, and splatterpunk) Edited by Thomas F. Moneleone.... the only reason I have it is for Poppy Z. Brite's addition to the book. Its not that great and I wouldnt recommend it, but I'm still reading it.


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## SpaceCadet

christa said:


> Tom Robbins: Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.



That book wasn't bad. I recommend skinny legs and all by Tom Robbins. It's pretty good too.


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## Siva

im readin the teachings of don juan a yaqui way of knowledge by carlos castaneda, and the tibetan book of the dead...
trippy shit


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## JohnFNB

tropic of capricorn by henry miller. his style of writing is amazing..also check out tropic of cancer, black spring, the air conditioned nightmare. and anything else by henry miller. and if you havent already read the jungle by upton sinclair... and johnny got his gun by dalton trumbo


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## stanktank

Just finished off the map, one of those crimethinc zine-books. Pretty good I thought. Not as repetitive as evasion, way shorter too. Now I'm into clockwork orange and the various 19th century Russian greats. Always into a bit of JD Salinger too.


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## Lilly

Started a new book Tricks by Ellen Hopkins


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## tagvolatile

finishing up white oleander, then hitting the library for some bukowski n a few classics.


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## don

I read the monkey wrench gang recently and really enjoyed it. apparently it's kind of a classic. right now i'm reading street lawyer by john grisham.


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## menu

Im about ready to start the book "A long strange trip" by Dennis McNally. its a biography of the grateful dead. heard nothing but good stuff about it. cant wait to pump it out


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## RnJ

Currently chowing down on _the Jesus I Never Knew_ by Phillip Yancey. And then maybe _Pedagogy of the Oppressed _by Paulo Friere. I found it for a quarter, and want to read it before my next semester because it's a major work which is good to have in mind in conflict and international development studies.


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## Deleted member 1802

The Bible, Wall street and the rise of Hitler, Speaker for the Dead- Orson Scott Card, 15 battles that changed the world. I have a strange habit of reading a lot of books at once.

READ!!!!

William Blake- The Marriage of Heaven and Hell 

I was going to start a post about this but I'm glad I lurk, since its right here!


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## vegetarianathan

The Antichrist by Friedrich Nietzsche. Again.
Also looking to reread Children Of Hurin by Tolkien, and reread Civilization And It's Discontents by Freud. My 3 favorite books at my public library. Love 'em. Although I don't necessarily agree with all of Nietzsche's writings, or Freud's theories. Just thought I'd throw that out there.


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## connerR

drown - junot diaz

i love latin american writers (i don't think there's a better group of writers ever than the latin americans) and junot diaz is making waves right now so i bought this book on a whim. pretty good so far. it's a collection of short stories telling some kid's life story.


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## Eviscerate

Understanding power

its a whole bunch of lectures piled together of Noam Chomskys.


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## little_owl

_The Secret Life of Salvador Dali_ by Salvador Dali. It's a mix of non-fiction and fiction. I don't even like Salvador Dali much and his pompousness, arrogance, contrived individualism, commercialized/sensationalized way of selling himself is really annoying but it's still interesting to read.


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## makinglovetomontreal

"we" by eugene zamiatin

its a really good dystopian novel--largest influence to orwell for 1984-great book, by the way, if you haven't read it, READ IT!!!

also reading "the diamond sutra" pretty good zen buddhism stuff, if you're into that


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## trotsky

keep reading The Brothers Karamazov on and off, it gets a bit dry sometimes.
Just finished Illusion: Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull dude) though. It was pretty damn great.


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## MiztressWinter

Dearly Devoted Dexter, by Jeff Lindsay.

Hoo-fucking-ray for Jeff Lindsay's dark humor.


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## RnJ

_The Politics of Jesus_, by John Howard Yoder.


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## Lilly

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice currently trying to reread te whole series


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## Mouse

Good Omens... great funny book about the Apocalypse


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## Mouse

RnJ said:


> _The Politics of Jesus_, by John Howard Yoder.


 
sounds interesting. 

i had a book called The son Of God, how jesus became a national icon.

intersting to see how the common perception of who jesus was and what he stood for changes through the ages


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## Mouse

little_owl said:


> _The Secret Life of Salvador Dali_ by Salvador Dali. It's a mix of non-fiction and fiction. I don't even like Salvador Dali much and his pompousness, arrogance, contrived individualism, commercialized/sensationalized way of selling himself is really annoying but it's still interesting to read.


 
sadly, that's the only way to make money off your art. and he sure as hell did


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## menu

I just started another new book called "Tales From The Joint" by K.Hawkeye Gross. its the second book after his first one called "Reefer Warrior". kinda like blow but with weed. and a much better story I think. this book is about his time in jail the other is about the actual smuggling part of it. I highly reccomend it. also he has a book called "Drug Smuggling: the forbidden book"


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## moe

leaves of grass, walt whitman, notes from underground fyodor dostoevsky, and walden.
also, a few issues of last act of the circus animals, barcelona, manifesto zines. dirty plotte comics,c. burns d.clowes graphic novels. it's all good.;]


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## Tao_of_Pi

Intellectual circle jerk, you say? YOU BET I'M IN!

Zen Training, Methods and Philosophy by Katsuki Sekida; Proper zen posture is _way_ more uncomfortable than I had previously thought.

Flawless, Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History by Scott Selby and Greg Campbell; I have a bit of an obsession with locks, safes, and electronic security and the way these guys bypassed all that security is so genius it just blows my mind.

El Borak, And Other Desert Adventures by Robert E Howard; Haven't actually cracked this one open yet but REH is by far my favorite writer and I'm sure it's gonna kick ass.

Technically I should mention the "South Dakota Driver License Manual" because I'm reading that too. I'm 21 and figure it's probably about time to get my learners permit.


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## Deleted member 1505

I just started reading a new survival book i got for my birthday "Hawkes Green Beret Survival Manual". Survival books are my thing... Also working on "slaughterhouse-five" by Kurt Vonnegut.


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## MiztressWinter

I'm going to read the following two books:
Animal Farm by George Orwell
1984 George Orwell

I haven't read these yet so I'm pretty excited about it!


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## christa

Herman Hesse!


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## RnJ

Soul Survivor, by Philip Yancey.


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## shwillyhaaa

tom robbins skinny legs and all... (for the third or fourth time...)


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## Cade

Stranger In a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein. He was the one that wrote Super Troopers that was a serious science fiction novel that was made into a joke movie.


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## Detrivore

Been reading a ton of Ed Abbey as well. I couldn't get through "monkey wrench gang" that quick either but his non-fiction is much better and has a lot of the same ideas, "desert solitare" is good. He is totally misogynist in his fiction, hot babes come out of nowhere to bone old outdoorsmen (coincidence?)

All Derrick Jensen books, partially through "Endgame"

Carlos Casteneda "art of dreaming" -60 punk points but has been interesting, I read it before sleep and remember dreams way better and vaguely control them.

Slavoj Zizek "in defense of lost causes" modern day philospher, sometimes i loose him, sometimes he compares 9/11 to star wars


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## macks

Now/Recent:

Jared Diamond (Guns Germs and Steel & Collapse)
Roger Zelazny (The First & Second Chronicles of Amber)
The Northwest Salmon Crisis : A Documentary History (Joseph Cone & Sandy Ridlington)
Salmon Without Rivers (Jim Lichatowich)
The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
On Human Nature (E.O. Wilson)
The Unnatural History of the Sea (Callum Roberts)
The Journals of Lewis and Clark (DiVoto edition)
Sometimes a Great Notion (Ken Kesey)
The Selfish Gene (Richard Dawkins)


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## BanMatt

What I read is really sporadic and random. Lately though Journey to Ixlan from Carlos Castenada, Cliff notes from Paradise Lost, and a bunch of graphic novels mostly Batman.


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## Detrivore

FUCK YES! Journey to Ixlan! Now I don't feel like such a crystal toting new age freak. I recommend Tales of Power the most out of casteneda's work.

macks, i just got done reading an in depth book about NW migratory fish this afternoon. I live on a salmon stream and am anticipating them in a few months. their carcasses are hanging in the trees around here (from birds?). Been vegan a long time but am trying to forage/hunt my food now but also trying to figure out if the NW can spare the few salmon left. Its not looking good but I will probably try to grab a male, eat a few to make myself do it. I also am from Iowa and this is all new and exiting to me.


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## macks

Well here's the NOAA population estimates for the Puget Sound chinook :

http://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/trt/trt_documents/puget_sound_chinook.pdf

Might want to read up a little on the laws around there, poaching can get you landed in jail pretty easy.


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## RnJ

Just got Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment' on the go today.


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## rationale

The Culture of Make Believe by Derrick Jensen. It is good so far.


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## rationale

Recently read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn and How Nonviolence Protects the State by Peter Gelderloos. Both are recommended.


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## Kalalau

RnJ said:


> Just got Dostoyevsky's 'Crime and Punishment' on the go today.


 
YES!!... one of the greatest books of all time!.. notes from underground.. is a close second.
I'm reading calvin and hobbes..


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## trystero

2666 - Roberto Bolano


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## RnJ

Dostoevsky's _Crime and Punishment_.


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## Sandbeard

Currently reading the following :-

Crazy for God - Frank Schaeffer
The Puzzle of Ethics - Peter Vardy & Paul Grosch
The Road Less Travelled - M. Scott Peck
Christi-Anarchy - Dave Andrews

Got a list of books to look for next time I'm in the library as well thanks to this thread.


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## joaquim33

god bless you mr,. rosewater by kurt vaunnegut


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## Sandbeard

makinglovetomontreal said:


> "we" by eugene zamiatin
> 
> its a really good dystopian novel--largest influence to orwell for 1984-great book, by the way, if you haven't read it, READ IT!!!


 
Just finished reading this following this post. Really good book, seconding this recomendation!


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## RRReconnaissance

Hawke's Green Beret Survival Manual.


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## dharma bum

tom robbins... still life with woodpecker. he's fucking brilliant!


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## bryanpaul

after years out on the road, here I am back in maryland reading the Alcoholic's Anonymous "Big Book"........go figure....... a REALLY good one, about the building of the transcontinental railroad ive read is "Nothing like it in the World..." by Stephen Ambrose


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## Sandbeard

dharma bum said:


> tom robbins... still life with woodpecker. he's fucking brilliant!



Finished 'Even cowgirls get the blues' a few days ago - first time I had ever read anything by Tom Robbins, he just got a new fan!

Currently reading 'A Colossal Failure of Common Sense' by Lawrence G McDonald. Its supposed to be an insiders story about the colapse of the Lehman Brothers, pretty interesting so far, seems you need a bit of a head for numbers to read it though.


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## trenwren

Besides my chemistry textbook . . . I'm reading Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City by Eric W. Sanderson. It's this huge project that a bunch of scientists (ecologists, geologists, etc.) did that answers the question "What did Manhattan look like before Henry Hudson & his other white boys showed up, took over, and f*cked the place up?" I'm also reading Tom Brown's Nature Observation and Tracking field guide. Good stuff.


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## Deleted member 125

dharma bum said:


> tom robbins... still life with woodpecker. he's fucking brilliant!


 
GREAT fucking book.


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## dharma bum

haha... peachfish! i couldn't think of a better name.
"another roadside attraction" is another good one by tom robbins


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## dharma bum

Christopher fucking moore.


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## Lilly

Mosh Pit and cant get there from here


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## anyways

Tare said:


> Just finished re-reading 'Dune', by Frank Herbert for reference. Startin 'Heretics of Dune'. I normally read political and ecological stuff, but this stuffs epic.



Just read Dune...fucking awesome book. Now I'm reading Jitterbug Perfume 
Tom Robbins has a hilarious writing style.


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## Eden

I'm in the middle of quite a few books right now. 

Difference Engine by William Gibson
Neuromancer by William Gibson again
The Man Who was Thursday by GK Chesterson
Black Christmas by Lewis Black
Behemoth by Scott Westerfield


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## RnJ

Steve Stockman's _Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2_


Sandbeard, nice reads on the go. I've read some Schaeffer before, but after you read one or 2 books of his, I feel like they all kinda repeat themselves.


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## bob freaky

lord of the flys


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## RnJ

_Anabaptism: Neither Catholic Nor Protestant_ by Walter Klaassen


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## threeoten

Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Lectures of Robert G. Ingersoll
The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain

..all free downloads on audiobook @ librivox.org


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## JoeephGarcin

about to reread song of the silent snow by hubert selby jr, i realized this is my favorite collection of short stories. 
does anyone have any suggestions of where to start, when trying to understand dawkins and dennett's overall themes/ideas?


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## dharma bum

threeoten said:


> Walden by Henry David Thoreau
> Lectures of Robert G. Ingersoll
> The Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain
> 
> ..all free downloads on audiobook @ librivox.org




ahhhh.. love thoreau! just started Lonesome Traveler by Kerouac last night. big thanks to squidaroo for the b-day kickdown!


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