Archie Comics Fan Forum

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: irishmoxie on April 02, 2016, 11:10:58 PM

Title: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on April 02, 2016, 11:10:58 PM
I was on a road trip today so I was listening to "Opening Belle." It's about a woman working on Wall Street and all the sexism she experiences while juggling her family life. Very interesting to me as I also work in a male dominated field.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: BlueBomber2015 on April 03, 2016, 12:56:19 AM
Several Star Trek books, including a retrospective on Star Trek's filming by Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, as well as Leonard Nimoy's sequel autobiography, "I Am Spock."
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on April 06, 2016, 06:33:24 PM
I want to read The Help. I might go to the library tomorrow and see if they have it.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: BettyReggie on April 06, 2016, 07:36:45 PM
I actually don't read anything that's not a graphic novel. But I'm waiting for this biography about the Golden Girls that just came out.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on April 06, 2016, 07:50:21 PM
Just finished "In Real Life" by Jessica Love. It's a Catfish romance.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on April 06, 2016, 08:36:09 PM
I'm reading a couple of books at the moment:

Heart of the Comet by David Brin and Gregory Benford - a science fiction novel about a mission  to Halley's Comet in the middle of the 21st Century with the end goal  to change its orbit to eventually bring it to Earth to be mined for resources.  Things go wrong almost from the start.

The second book is:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  You may have heard of this  book at some point.  It's been fairly popular for a couple of centuries now.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on April 06, 2016, 08:42:25 PM
Quote from: rusty on April 06, 2016, 08:36:09 PM
.....Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  You may have heard of this  book at some point.  It's been fairly popular for a couple of centuries now.


One of my favorites. ;)
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on April 12, 2016, 01:08:58 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on April 06, 2016, 06:33:24 PM
I want to read The Help. I might go to the library tomorrow and see if they have it.


Okay, I finally checked out The Help. Can't wait to begin reading it!
I also checked out a neat book about designing and making handmade notebooks and journals. I've been wanting to learn to do it for a while.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: spazaru on April 12, 2016, 03:40:31 PM
I'm reading Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello.  It's his autobiography. 
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Original Sin on April 12, 2016, 06:34:42 PM
Now reading The Poisoner's Ring by Rayne Adams.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: GingerGal on April 22, 2016, 03:52:14 PM
I'm finishing up reading my Spring reading assignment for English class To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is a great story.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on June 13, 2016, 05:23:39 PM
I'm still waiting for the library to call me and tell me that the book I ordered (Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show) is finally here.. It's about Andy Griffith & Don Knotts.

Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on June 25, 2016, 02:07:09 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on June 13, 2016, 05:23:39 PM
I'm still waiting for the library to call me and tell me that the book I ordered (Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show) is finally here.. It's about Andy Griffith & Don Knotts.


The book finally arrived! I just got home from the library, can't wait to start reading it.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Betty Girl on June 25, 2016, 02:24:56 PM
Right now, I'm reading America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray. It's a novel about Thomas Jefferson's oldest daughter Patsy. I'm still early into it, but it seems pretty good. After that, I have My Theodosia by Anya Seton lined up.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Betty Girl on June 25, 2016, 02:28:05 PM
Quote from: GingerGal on April 22, 2016, 03:52:14 PM
I'm finishing up reading my Spring reading assignment for English class To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This is a great story.


I love TKAM. Do you have any plans to read Go Set a Watchman?
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on June 25, 2016, 05:19:50 PM
At the moment I'm reading Shattered Spear by Jack Campbell, Mutineer's Moon by David Weber (both in audiobook) and plan to start a print book as well.  I've finished 8 books so far this month, including The Martian, Dracula and others.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Archiecomicxfan215 on June 27, 2016, 02:23:20 PM
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51og1rPWwKL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg)
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on June 27, 2016, 09:39:40 PM
I read Written in the Stars by Aisha Saeed about a Pakistani arranged marriage gone bad.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on August 05, 2016, 08:00:54 PM
I just started reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on August 06, 2016, 12:15:15 AM
I recently finished Alliance of Equals by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, the latest book in their Liaden series.  It was pretty good.

I should finish Flinx in Flux by Alan Dean Foster tomorrow.  It is a book in the middle of his Pip & Flinx series.  It also happens to be the last one I read in the series back in the 1980s.  The next book didn't come out until 1995 and I never got back into the series until this year.

I'm also reading Crucible, a short story collection set in Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar world.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: steveinthecity on August 06, 2016, 06:25:05 PM
An older book from around 1990, Stephen Coonts "Under Seige".  Lots of criminal murder and mayhem, political revisionism(Quayle makes good judgement calls for example), very fast paced with multiple subplots occurring simultaneously.  Not my normal type of read, but I really enjoyed this.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on August 13, 2016, 12:31:12 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on August 05, 2016, 08:00:54 PM
I just started reading Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain


It was boring, not at all what I was expecting, didn't finish it. I just returned it. Too bad, I was looking forward to reading it.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on September 30, 2016, 10:06:52 AM
Last night I began reading for the very first time To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm liking it so far.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on September 30, 2016, 06:35:50 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on September 30, 2016, 10:06:52 AM
Last night I began reading for the very first time To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm liking it so far.

I read that back in junior high or high school and enjoyed it.  I don't think I'll ever reread it, but it was good.  The movie was also pretty good.   My mom read the 'sequel' which came out during the summer and thought it was okay.

I'm reading The Prince and the Pauper and The Time Machine right now.   I've read comic book adaptations for both, but have never actually read the original books so I thought it was time  to rectify that.  Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is probably my next classic read.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Jingles on October 01, 2016, 10:09:13 AM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on September 30, 2016, 10:06:52 AM
Last night I began reading for the very first time To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm liking it so far.
An absolute classic.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on October 02, 2016, 10:33:37 PM
Quote from: rusty on September 30, 2016, 06:35:50 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on September 30, 2016, 10:06:52 AM
Last night I began reading for the very first time To Kill A Mockingbird. I'm liking it so far.

I read that back in junior high or high school and enjoyed it.  I don't think I'll ever reread it, but it was good.  The movie was also pretty good.   My mom read the 'sequel' which came out during the summer and thought it was okay.

I'm reading The Prince and the Pauper and The Time Machine right now.   I've read comic book adaptations for both, but have never actually read the original books so I thought it was time  to rectify that.  Catch-22 by Joseph Heller is probably my next classic read.


I also checked out from the library the movie, but I'm waiting until I finish the book to watch the movie.
I have been meaning to read The Prince and the Pauper, can you let me know if it's a good book, please?
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on October 03, 2016, 12:49:50 AM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on October 02, 2016, 10:33:37 PM
I also checked out from the library the movie, but I'm waiting until I finish the book to watch the movie.
I have been meaning to read The Prince and the Pauper, can you let me know if it's a good book, please?

I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and am enjoying it a lot so far.  So far there has been a bit more of a focus on the prince and his problems, but there have also been good parts with the pauper and the troubles he has had at court.

I'll probably finish it later this week some time.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: steveinthecity on October 04, 2016, 04:22:58 AM
Finished "Running With Scissors" by Augusten Burroughs.  It's a memoir of the author's teen years that is simultaneously horrifying and hilarious, showing his coping and resilience to the dysfunction he was surrounded by. If you have an appreciation for dark humor you should check this book out.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on October 06, 2016, 12:43:13 AM
Went to the library and I wanted to check out some "classic" novels. I was thinking maybe Moby Dick, The Grapes of Wrath, David Copperfield, The Prince and the Pauper, Little Women or Peter Pan.
I found The Annotated Peter Pan- cute book, lots of info and pictures as well as the story but it was very heavy
They didn't have Little Women
Then I looked for David Copperfield--Thick book with small print. The story sounds like it might be interesting but I was hesitant because the only other Charles Dickens book I have read (or tried to read, rather) was The Old Curiosity Shop. It was tedious and boring, so I thought what if Copperfield is also boring?
Then I found Moby Dick--again, very small print, what if it's boring? It's just about being on a boat.
I completely forgot to look The Grapes of Wrath, because I found the Prince and the Pauper and it looked decent, so yeah, that's the one I checked out from the library (as well as a couple Uncle Scrooge books  :D ).


Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on October 26, 2016, 10:18:41 PM
All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on November 17, 2016, 12:01:11 PM
Reading The Outsiders for the umpteenth time  :)
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: steveinthecity on November 19, 2016, 04:27:26 AM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on November 17, 2016, 12:01:11 PM
Reading The Outsiders for the umpteenth time  :)
Thought that was a cool book.  Required reading for us in the 8th grade.  One of two books(schoool assigned) I have any memory of. That and Silas Marner.  :-[
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on November 19, 2016, 10:10:51 AM
I just finished The Best of Bova vol.1, a collection of short stories by Ben Bova.  It wasn't too bad.

I'm also rereading The Short Victorious War by David Weber.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on November 22, 2016, 12:39:00 PM
Quote from: steveinthecity on November 19, 2016, 04:27:26 AM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on November 17, 2016, 12:01:11 PM
Reading The Outsiders for the umpteenth time  :)
Thought that was a cool book.  Required reading for us in the 8th grade.  One of two books(schoool assigned) I have any memory of. That and Silas Marner.  :-[


The Outsiders is one of my all-time favorite books! I just realized that is the only book I have read by S.E. Hinton. So I placed a hold on the library for another book of hers called That Was Then, This Is Now. I hope it's good.....I haven't heard of Silas Marner before. Is it a good book?
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on November 23, 2016, 08:09:19 PM
Started reading That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on November 29, 2016, 08:18:54 PM
Finished reading Rumble Fish (also by S.E. Hinton). Did not like it. Main character was unlikable, I didn't care for him or his troubles at all. Hinton's best book is definitely The Outsiders. That Was Then... is also a good one.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on January 07, 2017, 10:40:19 AM
I'm gonna start reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on January 07, 2017, 05:16:12 PM
Quote from: gillibean on January 07, 2017, 01:22:22 PM
I'm re-reading the Mediator series by Meg Cabot. I've actually met her, she was really nice.


LOVE this series. I've re-read it too. Never got to meet her though.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on February 11, 2017, 12:13:41 PM
I finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas last night.  I've been reading it for the past month and it is one loooong book.   I think the printed version is 1200 or so pages.  I listened to the audiobook which was on 35 cds.  Edmond Dantes is a young sailor who is about to get married when he is set up by a couple of jealous rivals.  He is sent away to prison where he languishes for years before escaping.  He attains fabulous wealth thanks to a hidden treasure he learned of from a fellow prisoner and eventually reemerges into society a decade later as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious person who is extremely talented in many areas.  He sets his plans for revenge into motion and things slowly come together.  It is an excellent book and well worth the time needed to read it.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: DeCarlo Rules on February 11, 2017, 04:36:47 PM
I always wondered where Dumas came up with the title character's name, Edmond Dantes. Primarily because it's a tale of revenge, and of course Dante Alighieri was forced to navigate the circles of the Inferno to escape, while "Edmond" is a near-anagram for "demon".
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on February 12, 2017, 02:02:38 AM
Lots of different things lately. Mostly non-fiction:


Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove


The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Immigrant stories are probably my favorite genre)


Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean (about an Australian shepherd. I wish this was my job)


Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett


Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham (the mother on Gilmore Girls. Not as funny as I'd hoped)


Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson (memoir of the little girl from Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda)




Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on February 12, 2017, 07:32:19 PM
Quote from: irishmoxie on February 12, 2017, 02:02:38 AM
Lots of different things lately. Mostly non-fiction:


Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove


The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Immigrant stories are probably my favorite genre)


Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean (about an Australian shepherd. I wish this was my job)


Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett


Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham (the mother on Gilmore Girls. Not as funny as I'd hoped)


Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson (memoir of the little girl from Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda)


I've heard she writes. Are her books usually funny?
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on February 12, 2017, 07:34:06 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on February 12, 2017, 07:32:19 PM
Quote from: irishmoxie on February 12, 2017, 02:02:38 AM
Lots of different things lately. Mostly non-fiction:


Beneath the Surface: Killer Whales, SeaWorld, and the Truth Beyond Blackfish by John Hargrove


The Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Immigrant stories are probably my favorite genre)


Show Dog: The Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean (about an Australian shepherd. I wish this was my job)


Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace by Jessica Bennett


Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham (the mother on Gilmore Girls. Not as funny as I'd hoped)


Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson (memoir of the little girl from Mrs. Doubtfire, Matilda)


I've heard she writes. Are her books usually funny?


I think I was assuming she'd be like her character Lorelei Gilmore. She was funny in parts, but in kind of a try hard way. I think she's only written 2 books: her memoir and a fiction book about being a young actor trying to make it.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on March 11, 2017, 09:02:45 PM
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: 60sBettyandReggie on April 12, 2017, 09:05:20 PM
Quote from: 60sBettyandReggie on March 11, 2017, 09:02:45 PM
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck


Yeah, I put The Grapes aside and picked up Black Beauty instead. It was so sad, especially what happened to the mare named Ginger  :'(
Now I'm reading The Grapes of Wrath.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: JonInIowaCity on April 12, 2017, 09:23:40 PM
I found an old copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" at my parents' home this weekend. It belonged to my dad when he was a young boy back in the 50s. It occurred to me that I've never read it and decided to check it out. I'll start reading it later tonight or tomorrow.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Vegan Jughead on April 12, 2017, 09:32:34 PM
Quote from: JonInIowaCity on April 12, 2017, 09:23:40 PM
I found an old copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" at my parents' home this weekend. It belonged to my dad when he was a young boy back in the 50s. It occurred to me that I've never read it and decided to check it out. I'll start reading it later tonight or tomorrow.


Cool!  I'm a distant relative of Harriet Beecher Stowe. 
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: irishmoxie on April 12, 2017, 10:53:14 PM
Quote from: JonInIowaCity on April 12, 2017, 09:23:40 PM
I found an old copy of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" at my parents' home this weekend. It belonged to my dad when he was a young boy back in the 50s. It occurred to me that I've never read it and decided to check it out. I'll start reading it later tonight or tomorrow.


Very cool. I still have my grandfather's anatomy textbook from the 1940's. He never got to go to med school because he didn't have the money and got into the advertising business instead. I keep it as inspiration.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Cosmo on April 13, 2017, 07:09:56 PM
Did anyone else have the pleasure of enjoying the Freddy the Pig series in their younger days? Absolutely wonderful books by Walter R Brooks and all were illustrated by Kurt Wiese. Great adventures for younger readers, but still stand up nicely when you read them again as adults.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: Vegan Jughead on April 13, 2017, 08:03:34 PM
Quote from: Cosmo on April 13, 2017, 07:09:56 PM
Did anyone else have the pleasure of enjoying the Freddy the Pig series in their younger days? Absolutely wonderful books by Walter R Brooks and all were illustrated by Kurt Wiese. Great adventures for younger readers, but still stand up nicely when you read them again as adults.


I've never heard of them Cosmo, but I looked them up on the net and they look amazing! 
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: rusty on April 14, 2017, 12:12:05 AM
I'm reading a number of books at the moment.  I usually have anywhere from 3-6 books going at a time.

War of the Worlds by HG Wells (on cd in my car)

A Call to Arms by David Weber and Timothy Zahn (on cd when I'm working around the house)

Cauldron of Ghosts by David Weber and Eric Flint (audio on my iphone as I walk the dog or whatever)

Bookburners by various (an actual book book that I read on occasion before bed) - This contains 16 episodes, sort of like a tv series.  Each one is about 50 pages long.

The Mystery of the Million Dollar Penny (another actual book) - This is the fourth book in the Power Boys series.  This is a juvenile mystery series from the 1960s that I picked up at library book sales many years ago and never got around to reading.  They are simply okay, but read pretty quickly.
Title: Re: What books are you reading? (Non-comics)
Post by: DeCarlo Rules on April 15, 2017, 08:35:49 PM
I think the last non-graphic story book I finished (a couple of weeks ago) was THRILL POWER OVERLOAD (40-year history of the British sci-fi comic 2000 AD). Histories of comics and publishers fascinate me.

The next book I'm chomping at the bit for I should have next week. It's The Art and Inventions of Max Fleischer: American Animation Pioneer, and it's a biography that I've wanted to see written by someone for a long time. Fleischer is in many ways "the other Walt Disney" (although maybe not quite as savvy in his business dealings), and has never really gotten the recognition or acknowledgement due him (he produced a synchronized sound cartoon prior to Disney's Steamboat Willie). Hopefully this book will help with changing that.