summer reading

[dancingyel]

i realized, to my dismay, that my list of things to do over the summer doesn't include any books! i have found a few while browsing amazon, but i need more! so, wise friend list, what books should i try to read over the summer? suggestions of all genres are welcome!

books i think i might want to read:
on food and cooking (harold mcgee)
the legend of sigurd and gudrun (tolkien)
godel, escher, bach (douglas hofstadter)
how doctors think (jerome groopman)
on the line (eric ripert)
blue shoes and happiness (alexander mccall smith)
stumbling on happiness (daniel gilbert)

as you can see, it's a short and eclectic list and could use many more suggestions!

Comments

[willworker.livejournal.com]

House of God, by Samuel Shem, of course. :)

I can second On Food and Cooking; it's an interesting book.

I was not wholly impressed by How Doctors Think, but I'm a doctor (or will be in four days), so YMMV.

Other than that, not been reading anything too special-- Pratchett, HHG2G, and the like.

Steve

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

I read House of God a few months ago, on your rec! Silly boy! :)

but I'm a doctor (or will be in four days)
Yay! What about the How Doctors Think was unimpressive? Was it not-great writing or did you find it to be inaccurate? After reading Complicated and Better, I've been on a doctor-themed books kick, so this one seemed interesting, too.

You'll probably be surprised to hear this, but I haven't actually read any Pratchett. People keep telling me I should, but I somehow never have. Any recs for a good starter book?

I have no idea what HHG2G is...:)

[owens888.livejournal.com]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Ah. Heh, now I feel a bit silly for not figuring that one out. :)

[linley.livejournal.com]

I have two Pratchett books, gifted to me by willworker when the only Pratchett I'd read was Good Omens (coauthored by Neil Gaiman). You're welcome to borrow them.

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely take you up on that! I guess I've also read Good Omens, but it doesn't register as a Pratchett book, for some reason!

[willworker.livejournal.com]

Good Girl.

It didn't really present how doctors think. It was just a few cases of "doctors did this," and didn't really say much about doctor thought processes or the like. There were some hostile elements, too, about the way the medical institution is set up (which I mostly agree with).

I started with Mort, which I liked. Small Gods has been recommended as a good start (and I think I'd agree). And I really love the guards books, starting with Men at Arms. Rincewind and the witches are perhaps more of an acquired taste.

HHG2G = Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Steve

[linley.livejournal.com]

Recently I enjoyed Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. Also Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides and Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin. All fiction. The nonfiction I've been reading has all been research, but if you're interested in infectious diseases, creating elements, or gay parenting, I can offer some titles. Oh, and if you would like to read the small press edition of Z's book, he has copies he wants to get rid of.

If you're interested in happiness, you might enjoy the blog The Happiness Project (a book of the same name is in press but not on shelves yet).

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I liked Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith sounds like it might be similar in style and content. Shall have to give it a try. I tired starting Middlesex at some point in the past and couldn't get through it, but it might be worth re-attempting, since I've heard good things about it from several sources now. And Lavinia sounds awesome! It's nice to find books one hasn't read by authors one loves! Yay!

Gay parenting is actually a fascinating topic, so if you have any recs of engaging books about it, I'd love to take a look.

I'd love a copy of Z's book! I might have to re-read The Odyssey first, though. :) And yeah, I'll ahve to check out the Happiness Project blog...I'd heard about it in the past, but never actually went to look.

Thanks!

[linley.livejournal.com]

Fingersmith is the first of Waters' books I've read. It has a really delicious twist that seriously left me sputtering (I would say more but I don't want to ruin it for you).

In my opinion, Middlesex really starts to get good perhaps a third of the way in, once the narrator is actually born. You could skim up to that point.

We should talk more about what you are interested in regarding gay parenting before I make recommendations.

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, Middlesex really starts to get good perhaps a third of the way in,

Ah, that might explain why I haven't been able to really get into it. Will definitely have to give it another try.

Re: gay parenting books...I've recently been reading lots of random parenting blogs (unclear why, found one and then just started following several), and have also been on a kick where I read books subtitled things like "My Life as a _____" (fill in the blank). They tend to be things that are pretty specific -- competitive gymnast, waiter, etc. So, the intersection of those 2 is kinda what I'm looking for. :)

[billtsalamander.livejournal.com]

Bonk, and Longitude

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

I read Bonk a little while ago, it was highly entertaining! What's Longitude about and who is it by?

[billtsalamander.livejournal.com]

Dava Sobel, I believe. It is the suprisingly fascinating story of how the problem of measuring longitude at sea was solved. It involves a lot of interesting historical characters I never had any idea were focusing on this problem. I swear it is very cool and a fast read. If you don't think you'll like reading it, definitely see the miniseries that was made based on the book; you can get it on Netflix.

[linley.livejournal.com]

Longitude is a great book.

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Yay, it's always good to get seconding votes.

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

That sounds pretty neat, actually. I'm far more likely to read it than watch a miniseries. :)

[billtsalamander.livejournal.com]

I also recommend the entire Stephanie Plum Mystery series by Janet Evanovich. The first book is the toughest, though all of them are pretty light. Most of them a pure comedy.
One for the Money
Two for the Dough
Three to get Deadly
Four to Score
High Five
Hot Six
Seven Up
Hard Eight
To the Nines
Ten Big Ones
... and there are about for 4 more

[dancingyel.livejournal.com]

Really? The bad thing about the internet is that I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not...the titles are terrible, though! :)

[billtsalamander.livejournal.com]

I'm very serious. The first one is the closest to a real murder mystery with a genuinely scary bad-guy, all the rest are very light comedies. I think number 4 is my favorite, whichever one introduces Bob the dog. They're murder mysteries written by a former romance-novel writer, so pretty awesome characters and rediculous descriptions.

[newerabooks.livejournal.com]

I'm about to read "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)" by Jerome K. Jerome, in preparation for my UK trip. It was recommended to me, and so solely for those two reasons I recommend it to you. Oh, and it's supposed to be in the same style as PG Wodehouse.

(Feel free to not take me seriously, btw.)