Movies, Music, TV, Books, Pop Culture

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 5:38 pm

So what are the resident bookworms reading?

Just got my copy of Shadow Factory by James Bamford I havent read it yet but my friends tell me its great. It brings to light the NSA and their illegal spying on Americans including US soliders and aid workers overseas. Apparently the 4th Amendment means nothing anymore.

Currently im wrapping up Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden. It was a great book if you dont mind military jargon ala Blackhawk Down.

by **peeker643** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:01 pm

Cerebral_DownTime wrote:So what are the resident bookworms reading?

Just got my copy of Shadow Factory by James Bamford I havent read it yet but my friends tell me its great. It brings to light the NSA and their illegal spying on Americans including US soliders and aid workers overseas. Apparently the 4th Amendment means nothing anymore.

Currently im wrapping up Killing Pablo by Mark Bowden. It was a great book if you dont mind military jargon ala Blackhawk Down.

Awesome read. Both 'Killing Pablo' and 'Blackhawk Down'.

I went mindless spew on my last one and read 'The Appeal' by Grisham. I'm back looking for something again.

CD- If you liked BHD you have to read Bravo Two Zero ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bravo_Two_Zero ).

This one was excellent too: http://www.amazon.com/Warlord-Better-Fr ... 1416524266

About a NY marine who re-enlisted after 9/11, killed two Iraqis and was railroaded by a sergeant he demoted and was put on trial.

Edit to Add: Please. Do yourselves a favor and read this one if you haven't yet: http://www.amazon.com/Lone-Survivor-Eye ... pd_sim_b_1

Unfuckingbelieveable.

I got it, read it and it's been passed around this place for the last year. Never gotten it back.

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 6:15 pm

Thanks for the suggestion Peek I will check them out as soon as I finish Shadow Factory.

by **Orenthal** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 7:46 pm

When it comes to books I am usually a dork. Just finishing http://www.amazon.com/American-Caesar-Douglas-MacArthur-1880/dp/0316024740/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229121887&sr=8-2, and willl the start Why We Suck, by Dr. Denis Leary!

by **justmebd** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:44 pm

I have been having a lot of fun rediscovering H.P. Lovecraft lately. Just finished "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward" and have moved on to "The Dunwich Horror."

Lovecraft is fantastic. It is interesting to read some of his characters and note how much the world has changed in 80 years.

A new fantasy novel by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman comes out next month titled "Dragonships." These two have yet to let me down. Their fantasy novels have proven to be the most engrossing and the least cliched over the last decade. I'll be grabbing this the day it comes out.

Also, let me recommend Nick Tosches "In the Hand of Dante." It just got optioned for a movie, but I read it when it first came out a few years ago. Burned through it in about 3 days. Great book.

by **jfiling** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:47 pm

My next book is one FUDU recommended, "Creature from Jekyll Island". It sounds very interesting.

by **jack_tors** » Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:23 pm

Just finished The Soul of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neill's America by Joe Posnanski. It was a great book not just on baseball but on life. I highly recommend it.

I am currently reading Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. Just started it but so far, so good.

by **gotribe31** » Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:07 pm

War As They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest

Great book...describes not only the football lives of the coaches, but the social and political environment they were coaching in...especially poor Bo, who was stuck in Berkley East up in Ann Arbor. Bill Ayers...domestic terrorist and UM grad. Hell, he even tried to walk on the football team up there! Another in the multitude of reasons to love Woody, he visited Vietnam almost every offseason to show the troops that there was still some love for them back home.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 7:04 am

Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

by **gotribe31** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:26 pm

British_Pharaoh wrote:Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

All thousand pages?

by **Orenthal** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:27 pm

Oh I like those really long detailed ones. This Denis Leary book, which I thought to be a break from heavier reading is disappointing so far...

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:45 pm

Orenthal wrote:Oh I like those really long detailed ones. This Denis Leary book, which I thought to be a break from heavier reading is disappointing so far...

How was American Caesar? I saw it and almost picked it up.

by **Orenthal** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:28 pm

I found it incredibly detailed and even handed. I really had no idea how excellent a field commander MacArthur was, and he eclipsed that with that with his writing of the Japanese constitution. He wrote the thing on his own. Basically yeah, the book was excellent, and I had no problem finishing the 700+ pages without boredom. If ya ever pick it up lemme know what ya think!

Gives ya a new perspective on that time period, cuz MacArthur was always mentioned as a potential Presidential contender on the GOP ticket.

by **buddycowley** » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:44 pm

1. Just busted out Alice's Adventurs in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I know, sounds weird, but was considering teaching it at some point this year. A much more interesting read as an adult.

2. I expect to receive the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz for Christmas. Pulitzer Prize winner, and the premise seems intriguing. I'm going to have to wait another 9 days for that one.

3. Planning on picking up A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. He has some other novels out I'm interested in, so I figured I'd start here first.

Buddy

by **British_Pharaoh** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:12 am

Gotribe31 wrote:
British_Pharaoh wrote:Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

All thousand pages?

yep

only 350 odd to go

by **diminishingskills** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:44 am

buddycowley wrote:3. Planning on picking up A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. He has some other novels out I'm interested in, so I figured I'd start here first.

It's decent, but very uneven. Starts out great, and interests you enough to keep reading ... and then it falls on its face. YMMV.

by **e0y2e3** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 1:09 pm

Just ordered Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides off of Amazon. I read it back in college and it became my favorite book at the time, decided it is time to reread and see if I enjoy it as much the second time. This is Eugenides second novel, the first was The Virgin Suicides, which was also great (not as good as Middlesex though) and was turned into a decent Indy movie.

If you like complex and humorous fiction that layers morality, reality, history, perception, gender and truth you'll enjoy Middlesex. It hits on some major historic events while telling a very charming compelling and deep story through the eyes and life of a hermaphrodite. The story spans an entire life and geographies from Turkey to Detroit.... Many of you seem to stick to the nonfiction stuff though.

Summaries, reviews, etc:

http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2002/09/05/eugenides/index.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9800E5DF153EF936A2575AC0A9649C8B63

by **e0y2e3** » Wed Dec 17, 2008 2:43 pm

Going to order Middlesex and I just found out that since I first read it Oprah has put it in her book club.

Damn freaking bitch needs to keep her grubby and annoying paws off of my books.... I spit at her and in no way want to be associated with her... I am disgusted by this fact and her trying to ruin one of my all time favorite books for me.

Beyond angry....

The world would be a much better place without her doing her voodoo and manipulating the minds of stay at home mothers everywhere...

Bitch.

(I still recommend you read it)

by **mattvan1** » Fri Dec 26, 2008 3:15 pm

The Brass Verdict by Michael Connely. http://www.amazon.com/Brass-Verdict-Novel-Michael-Connelly/dp/0316166294

by **British_Pharaoh** » Sun Jan 04, 2009 6:23 pm

Now reading 'Crime and Punishment'

I know most people just have it placed strategically on their bookcase but I thought I'd have a crack at it

by **Larvell Blanks** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:16 am

Now reading The Buzzard:Inside the glory days of WMMS... by John Gorman

an inside look at how WMMS became THE radio station back in the 70's. As someone who grew up in that era, my music taste was influenced greatly by what 'MMS was spinning compared to the other station in town.

by **swerb** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:22 am

Finally embarked this weekend on the several month long journey that will be "The Stand: Completely Uncut Version" by Stephen King, a book I've never read.

It's an old hardbound copy I prolly bought at a bookstore 15-20 years ago. Book is like the size of a toaster and weighs more than my 7 month old daughter. It's intimidating. Like 20 pages in.

Been meaning to read "It" and "The Stand" for a long time now. Knocked out It last year, The Stand becomes my project for winter/spring 2009.

by **waborat** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:45 am

Swerb wrote:Finally embarked this weekend on the several month long journey that will be "The Stand: Completely Uncut Version" by Stephen King, a book I've never read.

It's an old hardbound copy I prolly bought at a bookstore 15-20 years ago. Book is like the size of a toaster and weighs more than my 7 month old daughter. It's intimidating. Like 20 pages in.

Been meaning to read "It" and "The Stand" for a long time now. Knocked out It last year, The Stand becomes my project for winter/spring 2009.

Enjoy, IMO it's still his best

by **elsenortac** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:58 am

I am a first time poster but avid reader of both the columns and boards on this site. "A Heart so White" written by Javier Marias is a work of fiction that is on the cerebral and philosophical side but captivating nonetheless. It was inspired by the line from Shakespeare's MacBeth and translated from the original "Corazon tan blanco" in Spanish. That's what happens when you have a Spanish dork recommending books.

by **skatingtripods** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:36 am

Beyond Belief by Josh Hamilton with Tim Keown.

by **Bayou Tribe** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:39 am

Just finished reading "The Hurricanes" by Jere Longman. It chronicles the football team formed when three rival high schools located on the Gulf merged into one, South Plaquemines HS, post Hurricane Katrina. Awesome stuff, very candid, definite big picture potential. The book is based off of Longman's series from the NY Times, linked below.

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/sports/parish_index.html

Now I'm about halfway done with "The Chris Farley Show: A Life in 3 Acts".

by **swerb** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:24 pm

elsenortac wrote:I am a first time poster but avid reader of both the columns and boards on this site. "A Heart so White" written by Javier Marias is a work of fiction that is on the cerebral and philosophical side but captivating nonetheless. It was inspired by the line from Shakespeare's MacBeth and translated from the original "Corazon tan blanco" in Spanish. That's what happens when you have a Spanish dork recommending books.

Welcome to the forums! Don't be a stranger ...

by **Stolliosis** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 12:55 pm

British_Pharaoh wrote:Now reading 'Crime and Punishment'

I know most people just have it placed strategically on their bookcase but I thought I'd have a crack at it

I tried it once, got halfway through and gave up. It's now on the very bottom of the stack of unread books I have.

Swerb wrote:Finally embarked this weekend on the several month long journey that will be "The Stand: Completely Uncut Version" by Stephen King, a book I've never read.

It's an old hardbound copy I prolly bought at a bookstore 15-20 years ago. Book is like the size of a toaster and weighs more than my 7 month old daughter. It's intimidating. Like 20 pages in.

Been meaning to read "It" and "The Stand" for a long time now. Knocked out It last year, The Stand becomes my project for winter/spring 2009.

This is on my "to read" list. I'm on the last Dark Tower book right now and as someone who has only read one or two King books before, I'm interested in more of his work.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:38 pm

Stolliosis wrote:
British_Pharaoh wrote:Now reading 'Crime and Punishment'

I know most people just have it placed strategically on their bookcase but I thought I'd have a crack at it

I tried it once, got halfway through and gave up. It's now on the very bottom of the stack of unread books I have.

I'm doing quite well with it, now immersed in Part 4 of the book and although difficult at times I'm getting through it quite quickly

what put you off?

by **Stolliosis** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:06 am

British_Pharaoh wrote:
Stolliosis wrote:
British_Pharaoh wrote:Now reading 'Crime and Punishment'

I know most people just have it placed strategically on their bookcase but I thought I'd have a crack at it

I tried it once, got halfway through and gave up. It's now on the very bottom of the stack of unread books I have.

I'm doing quite well with it, now immersed in Part 4 of the book and although difficult at times I'm getting through it quite quickly

what put you off?

I think more than anything I got distracted by something else and just never wanted to pick it up again. But I want to get back to it someday. If I can force myself to get through The Aeneid, then I can read this.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:43 am

Stolliosis wrote:
British_Pharaoh wrote:
Stolliosis wrote:
British_Pharaoh wrote:Now reading 'Crime and Punishment'

I know most people just have it placed strategically on their bookcase but I thought I'd have a crack at it

I tried it once, got halfway through and gave up. It's now on the very bottom of the stack of unread books I have.

I'm doing quite well with it, now immersed in Part 4 of the book and although difficult at times I'm getting through it quite quickly

what put you off?

I think more than anything I got distracted by something else and just never wanted to pick it up again. But I want to get back to it someday. If I can force myself to get through The Aeneid, then I can read this.

oh the Aeneid yeah I read that in preparation for Dante's Inferno and the Divine Comedy

hard, deep stuff

by **MacGregor78** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:33 am

"Huge in a Hurry" by Chad Waterbury. Just finished it over my Christmas vacation from work. Going back through it to highlight some sections and make some notes.

Going to move on to the 'TNT Diet' next. If you can't tell I am an avid health and fitness reader.

by RC » Tue Jan 06, 2009 10:04 pm

I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the new Denis Leary book disappointing.

I got the new Jon Meacham book American Lion Andrew Jackson in the White House and am reading it now. A pretty in depth look at one of the most overlooked presidents of our country's history.

Pretty good so far.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:04 pm

I'm coming to the end of 'Brothers' by David Talbot

about the secret history of JFK and RFK during the Kennedy administration up until Bobby's demise

apart from anything related to WW2 or Nazi Germany there is nothing I enjoy reading more than American History between 1960 and the end of the Cold War
particularly the Kennedy era

this book you just cannot put down and I'm almost at the end, it elicits a lot of emotions as well as opinions.

Along with JFK:An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek I think it's a must read

by **buddycowley** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 8:39 pm

by **buckeye319** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 12:08 am

A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam - Neil Sheehan

by **Raoul Duke** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:06 am

1984 by George Orwell....then im going to read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

by **Mr. X** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:28 am

Just finished Catch-22, again. Now reading Too Fat to Fish (Artie Lange biography which is hilarious) and The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman.

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 4:39 pm

I'm waiting on my copy of Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10. Peek you got me wanting to read this one pretty bad. :thumb up:

For any military book fans you must read : Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man. IN-FUCKING-CREDIBLE

http://www.amazon.com/Kill-Bin-Laden-Co ... MGCHGWFXK4

by **Orenthal** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:50 pm

RC wrote:I'm glad I'm not the only one who found the new Denis Leary book disappointing.

I got the new Jon Meacham book American Lion Andrew Jackson in the White House and am reading it now. A pretty in depth look at one of the most overlooked presidents of our country's history.

Pretty good so far.

The Leary book got slightly better as it went on, but I can't really recommend it. I just got through Jefferson's War, which was about the Barbary War against Muslims in North Africa. Very good, and wow the Muslims haven't changed since 1800...
http://www.amazon.com/Jeffersons-War-Americas-Terror-1801-1805/dp/B000E1MTOA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233712381&sr=1-1

I am now on Tell Me How This Ends, about the surge and General Patreaus. Good so far...
http://www.amazon.com/Tell-Me-How-This-Ends/dp/1586485288/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1233712307&sr=8-1

by **Cerebral_DownTime** » Wed Feb 04, 2009 7:43 pm

Not really Brainiac material. But i'm knee deep in a couple comic books.

The Boys- Garth Ennis (Preacher) A team of weird characters join up to control the Super Heroes that are causing havoc. It's not for kids it's very violent much like Preacher. The dialogue is great. Currently on Issue 5 Out of 60.

Crossed- also by Garth Ennis- A band of survivors try to outlast an unexplained event that turns normal people into total mainiacs. This is the most violent thing I have ever read. The artwork is great and the story is interesting to say the least. On Issue 3 of 9

I'm going to start 100 Bullets and No Hero soon.

by **waborat** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 5:27 pm

Swerb wrote:Finally embarked this weekend on the several month long journey that will be "The Stand: Completely Uncut Version" by Stephen King, a book I've never read.

It's an old hardbound copy I prolly bought at a bookstore 15-20 years ago. Book is like the size of a toaster and weighs more than my 7 month old daughter. It's intimidating. Like 20 pages in.

Been meaning to read "It" and "The Stand" for a long time now. Knocked out It last year, The Stand becomes my project for winter/spring 2009.

Hey, Hey, Trashcan Man, howz the progress?

by **jack_tors** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 11:42 pm

British_Pharaoh wrote:Along with JFK:An Unfinished Life by Robert Dallek I think it's a must read

Just saw a copy of this for $4.99 at the local book store yesterday. Guess I need to stop on back and check it out, thanks for the heads up.

Just finished "God Save The Fan" by Will Leitch. He is the creator and editor of www.deadspin.com. Great book for sports fans and his take on how ESPN is killing sports is right on. I enjoyed it and found it rather humorous even if I didnt always agree with the point he was trying to make.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 10:20 am

For Whom the Bell Tolls

My first dabble with some Hemingway and I'm about just over a quarter of the way through.

I'd been reading some literature on the Spanish Civil War before deciding to read this semi-autobiographical novel of Hemingway's experiences in Spain during the war

by **e0y2e3** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 4:57 pm

Started rocking out The Watchmen last night in preparation for the movie. From what I have read thus far, if the movie is even half as interesting I will be blown away.

by **waborat** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:45 pm

e0y2e3 wrote:Started rocking out The Watchmen last night in preparation for the movie. From what I have read thus far, if the movie is even half as interesting I will be blown away.

Glad you like it...best graphic novel of all-time

Website · by **Jennifer** » Sat Feb 14, 2009 5:56 pm

Just finished reading Christopher Moore's latest Fool. Moore is one of my favorite writers because his novels are clever, funny, satirical and quite bawdy. Fool is a retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear. Intially, I hated it because it seemed to be nothing more than one dirty joke after another not to mention I hate Shakespeare. (My own personal theory is that the only people who love the Bard are people who were dropped on their heads as babies).

Once I got into it though the book was terrifically entertaining even though the bawdiness increased.

I just started reading Joe Gore's Spade and Archer. It is the backstory to The Maltese Falcon where we meet many of the characters that appear in Falcon and learn more about Sammuel Spade's history. I'm through page 50 and it is turning out to a page turner.

by **Huge0126** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:04 am

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough. It's about the building of the Panama Canal. I was in the Army and stationed in Panama for three years. I had no interest in history until I was stationed in Panama and given this book by my parents. I could literally look outside the window of my barracks and see the canal. I'm re-reading it now and enjoying it just as much as the first time.

by **British_Pharaoh** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 3:09 pm

If This is a Man - Primo Levi

by **peeker643** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:19 pm

House to House, by David Bellavia

Marines & infantry going door to door and hand-to-hand in Fallujah.

First book on the Kindle2 that arrived yesterday. Break that thing in bloody before the wife and kids foul it all up with Nora Roberts and Hannah Montana crap.

"Blood flows over my left hand and I lose my grip on his hair. His head snaps back against the floor. In an instant, his fists are pummeling me. I rock from his counterblows. He lands one on my injured jaw and the pain nearly blinds me. He connects with my nose, and blood and snot pour down my throat. I spit blood between my teeth and scream with him. The two of us sound like caged dogs locked in a death match. We are."

On the night of November 10, 2004, a U.S. Army infantry squad under Staff Sergeant David Bellavia entered the heart of the city of Fallujah and plunged into one of the most sustained and savage urban battles in the history of American men at arms.

With Third Platoon, Alpha Company, part of the Army's Task Force 2/2, Bellavia and his men confronted an enemy who had had weeks to prepare, booby-trapping houses, arranging ambushes, rigging entire city blocks as explosives-laden kill zones, and even stocking up on atropine, a steroid that pumps up fighters in the equivalent of a long-lasting crack high. Entering one house, alone, Bellavia faced the fight of his life against six insurgents, using every weapon at his disposal, including a knife. It is the stuff of legend and the chief reason he is one of the great heroes of the Iraq War.

Bringing to searing life the terrifying intimacy of hand-to-hand infantry combat, House to House is far more than just another war story. Populated by an indelibly drawn cast of characters, from a fearless corporal who happens to be a Bush-hating liberal to an inspirational sergeant-major who became the author's own lost father figure, it develops the intensely close relationships that form between soldiers under fire. Their friendships, tested in brutal combat, would never be quite the same. Not all of them would make it out of the city alive. What happened to them in their bloody embrace with America's most implacable enemy is a harrowing, unforgettable story of triumph, tragedy, and the resiliency of the human spirit.

A timeless portrait of the U.S. infantryman's courage, House to House is a soldier's memoir that is destined to rank with the finest personal accounts of men at war.

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