What are you currently reading?

[mn dave]

Also, am almost done with this, which I have been dipping into via the Dark Horse app. Love the artwork!
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[Wakefield]

This new and excellent translation into Spanish of the stories of Father Brown:

[Ken B]

This new and excellent translation into Spanish of the stories of Father Brown:

+1 for Father Brown (in English )

My favorite is The Honour of Israel Gow, but there's a bunch of great ones there.

[stingo]

Finished The Book Of Lost Things - A very unusual variation on the coming of age story. I was reminded of a cross between Time Bandits and The Fisher King as I was reading it, and those are two of my favorite stories. The writing is by turns eloquent and sparse as the situation demands, and the plot moves along at a brisk pace. Definitely worth a look.

[Mookalafalas]

I am reading the first Nero Wolf mystery, by Rex Stout. A friend had me read one when I was 14 or so, and it didn't do anything for me.  Now I'm 47, and I am finding it pleasantly diverting...so far.

[Ken B]

I am reading the first Nero Wolf mystery, by Rex Stout. A friend had me read one when I was 14 or so, and it didn't do anything for me.  Now I'm 47, and I am finding it pleasantly diverting...so far.

Fer de lance you mean? The next few are way better. League of frightened men, red box in particular, young pup. 

[Mookalafalas]

Fer de lance you mean? The next few are way better. League of frightened men, red box in particular, young pup. 

  No problem. I like to begin at the beginning (I have put the first 3 on my kindle).

[stingo]

Started The Wanderer In Unknown Realms by John Connolly. Saw this was available as a Kindle single and since I'd just finished one of his books, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm glad I did.

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[Ken B]

The Discovery of France
Graham Robb

[stingo]

Finished The Wanderer in Unknown Realms. A really good novella, especially after The Book Of Lost Things. Connolly further investigates the power of books, but with a decidedly darker view.

Started The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.

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[stingo]

Finished The Fault In Our Stars - Since the movie's newly out I figured I'd read the book which has stayed at the top of Amazon's Kindle bestseller list for a while now. The plot and characters seem pretty conventional to me, given the type of story that's being told. The two main characters are likeable enough, sometimes sounding like teenagers, but more often than not like literary professors which seemed incongruous to me. I know I am not the target demographic for this book, but I did enjoy it, and Green's writing as well.

Started The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

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[Geo Dude]

The Discovery of France
Graham Robb

Ironically enough, I just stumbled across that last night on Amazon and immediately put it on hold at the library.  

Currently:

[mn dave]

Reading this soon, for review.
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[Ken B]

Ironically enough, I just stumbled across that last night on Amazon and immediately put it on hold at the library.  

Currently:

You are a Dude of uncommon taste and perception.
Those look interesting, especially the Robespierre book. I learnt long ago to never truat any French author on Robespierre; he is still a proxy for Left vs Right in French politics.

[mn dave]

That cover is awesome. 

Indeed. The story has a lot to live up to.

[Geo Dude]

You are a Dude of uncommon taste and perception.

Thanks.

Those look interesting, especially the Robespierre book. I learnt long ago to never truat any French author on Robespierre; he is still a proxy for Left vs Right in French politics.

Fortunately, Scurr is British.   She actually brings up that issue in the introduction, quoting a French historian that begged "Robespierreians and anti-Robespierreians" [historians] to quit fighting over politics and instead do their job and try to get to the truth about him.  For her part, she argues that she wishes to take a "friendly" approach, trying to see what drove him to his infamous actions.  I'll admit that I'm a bit skeptical about this approach, largely because I'm rather jaded after reading Damrosch's biography of Rousseau recently (he was a bit too sympathetic to his subject for my tastes), but the reviews on this are consistently good, so I'll take a crack at it.  It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone attempted an "Inside Look At A Monster" type history.

[Ken B]

It certainly wouldn't be the first time someone attempted an "Inside Look At A Monster" type history.

Dreams of My Father for instance. 

[Geo Dude]

Dreams of My Father for instance. 

When you mentioned Robespierre and how politicized his biographies were the first thing that came to my mind were biographers that attempt to white-wash Stalin.

[Ken B]

When you mentioned Robespierre and how politicized his biographies were the first thing that came to my mind were biographers that attempt to white-wash Stalin.

Walter Damrosch spent his life doing that.
I really liked Ulam's biography ages ago, and The Court of The Red Tsar recently.

[Karl Henning]

To say that this opening statement is obviously from an activist website is an understatement 

To say that marijuana has been given a bad rap over the past few decades is an understatement.