We haven’t had one of these threads going in quite a while. It’s always interesting and informative to see what other C&Fers are reading.
So, if you don’t mind sharing, what are you currently reading? 
I just got back from vacation, so I’ve finished a lot of books recently. Among them:
Naked, David Sedaris
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris
Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Truman Capote
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson
And right now I’m reading Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott on the suggestion of a mathematically-minded friend of mine. It’s actually fairly interesting so far, and rather short, so I should be done rather soon.
Right now I’m reading James Clavell’s Shôgun for the first time
and The Dirt (Biography of Mötley Crüe)
both are very interesting, in very different ways.
Off the cuff question; off the cuff answer.
Last thing I read: Yes, You Can Still Retire Comfortably!
by Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth
What just arrived from Amazon and is waiting for my attention:
The Ultimate Spanish Review and Practice.
Could I be more boring?: Maybe.
Elizabeth George - With No One as Witness
Hi Cran
Just finished White Wolf by David Gemmell
Starting Beast Master’s Quest by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie.
David
Always like these threads
Piper in Brazil, Scanner Darkly and an anthology of Philip K Dick short stories. The Philip K Dick books were given to me by my son for my birthday… awh…
Piper in Brazil is exactly what it sounds like, a surly piper in Brazil. A Good muscian’s read, similar to Last Night’s Fun but more in the style of Mayle-light and good hearted.
Not connected with the estate of Philip K dick or employment of James Donal Faulkner 
An off comment- just went to COSTCO ( to our over the pond friends- do they have large discount style warehouse stores over there??) and had one of those literary moments- the checker and I got into a “Did you read Steinbeck’s Cannery Row?” conversations. Great fun and totaly unexpected.
I am currently reading “Sethra Lavode” by Steven Brust, while waiting on “Dzur” to come out.
–James
Now that’s a good son!
Recently finished The Telling by Ursula K. LeGuin. Slowly working my way through O’Brian’s Aubrey/Maturin series… and at the moment reading Leave Me Alone, I’m Reading by Maureen Corrigan (ha) and William Gibson’s Pattern Recognition.
The Velocity of Dust (poems) Gary J. Whitehead
The Names of Things Are Leaving (poems) by our own Jordan Smith
No god but God by Reza Aslan (history of Islam to present day)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction – by Jon Stewart
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (re-reading it after 12 or 13 years.)
I was a big fan of Wm. Gibson’s early work and then I think he slumped. This one’s better, but I’ll be interested in what you think of the end.
How To do Things Right: The Revelations of a Fussy Man, by L. Rust Hill
Questions for Ecclesiastes, by Marc Jarman
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess (rereading)
The Melodic Tradition of Ireland, by James Cowdery
(and some boring stuff you don’t want to hear about)
I love reading threads too. I’ve been reading quite a bit of Dickens and just finished Bleak House. Now I’m reading a book called March by Geraldine Brooks, who also wrote Year of Wonders, a book my niece read in high school and which I enjoyed very much. Next on the pile is Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (don’t know if that’s the one Dale specially recommended but I grabbed it when I found it since I haven’t read it), The Great Influenza by John M. Barry (about the influenza epidemic in early 20th c. which I have always wanted to understand better), Mainstreet by Sinclair Lewis and interspersed with all these lovely, fascinating books I will also be forcing myself to read and remember the dang Iowa Driver’s License Manual because I screwed up very badly. And not for the first time. That’s what kills me.
“No Touch Monkey” by Ayun Halliday (travel, hipness & parenting collide)
“John Clare” by Jonathan Bates, along with “I Am: The Selected Poetry of John Clare” (if you like songs like Planxty’s “Blacksmith” this biography and Clare’s poetry will make you feel like you’ve fallen back into that world)
“Our Post-Soviet History Unfolds” poems by Eleanor Lerman. (Very funny, very smart, one of those poets I read to find out what’s actually going on out there.)
"Panicking Ralph"by Bill James. (Took me awhile to get the rhythm of this, but fans of "Snatch"or “Layer Cake” will probably take to this crime novel right away.
I recently finished " Eleanor &Franklin" by Joseph Lash. Actually, it was a re-read. I first read it years ago. When I looked this book up to see who the author is(because I’m too lazy to walk upstairs) I found out he won a Pulitzer for this- Hmmm, didn’t realized that.
Yesterday I finished Sharon McCrumb’s “She Walks These Hills”.
I like her books because not only are they good, they often take place in and around Mitchell Co., NC where I’ve got kin.
Right now I’m reading James Clavell’s Shôgun for the first time
Great book. I’ve got most all of his stuff around here somewhere.
Yesterday I finished Sharon McCrumb’s “She Walks These Hills”.
I like her books because not only are they good, they often take place in and around Mitchell Co., NC where I’ve got kin.
Excellent book! I’ve read several of her books, all wonderful. Highly recommended.
Dale, if you’ve not read her work yet, I think you’d like this author. Also Walden would.
–James
Just finished;
“Rising Tide” about “the Mississippi flood of 1927 and how it changed America” by John M. Barry,
“Freedom Land” (a fiction perhaps) based loosely on the life of Osceola by Martin Marcus,
“Bayou Farewell” about “the rich life and tragic death of Louisiana’s Cajun coast” by Mike Tidwell.
Currently;
“The Name of War” about “King Phillip’s war and the origins of American identity” by Jill Lepore
“Chasing the Dragon’s Tail” the “theory and practice of acupuncture in the work of Yoshio Manaka with Kazuko Itaya and Stephen Birch”
“Cajun Music; a reflection of a people” by Ann Savoy.
Lined up;
“the Male Herbal” about “preventative health care remedies for specific male problems, picking the right herb, preparation of herbal medicines” by James Green,
“Beer; a History of Brewing in Chicago” by Bob Skilnick.
My sister-in-law knows her and she is the one who told me about the books. The first one I read was “The Ballad of Frankie Silvers” because I am kin to her. That is my favorite, but I am biased here. Have you read that one?
And I agree, Dale and Walden need to look at her work if they’ve not already.
My dad bought me that for Christmas the year it came out (knowing I have a crush on Jon Stewart), which was very difficult for him, being that he is a staunch conservative in the South. I can only imagine the wincing that went on as he placed that book on the counter for the cashier to ring up. When I opened it, I believe he said, “Merry damn Christmas.”