Read any good books lately???

[Mousekedude]

I just read the late great John Hench's book "Designing Disney: Imagineering and the Art of the Show". It was a fantastic book and definitely a great read.

Sounds great! I'll have to look for that one!

[viking245]

Audio books ARE the bomb! My wife and boys (teacher and students) have a 35 minutes drive to and from work/school and they've been able to go through several series. They've probably done the Harry Potter series (excellently read by Jim Dale) 3 times. Other series they've "read" are Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, The Rangers Apprentice, Twilight, Charlie Bone, Ink Heart, Leven Thumps, Eragon and more I'm sure.

My drive to work is about the same length and have gotten into these too. HP, at least twice. Fablehaven, excellent. Percy Jackson, have gotten through book 3. The Rangers Apprentice, another excellent series. Twilight, I listened to the 1st one. That's enough for me. Leven Thumps and Eragon were good "reads" also.

Just last week I finished Septimus Heap, Magyk (book one). I'm likin' it! I have my request in to the library for the next book. I'm also still anxiously waiting for book 7 of the Rangers Apprentice (hold position #4).

[jcrose71]

Not sure if my picks fit in with everyone else's so far but I've read and loved these recently:
Hunger Games trilogy
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy
Sookie Stackhouse vampire books
The Help and Water for Elephants - neither of which are in my usual genre

I haven't read Harry Potter yet!

[Amy]

Audio books ARE the bomb! My wife and boys (teacher and students) have a 35 minutes drive to and from work/school and they've been able to go through several series. They've probably done the Harry Potter series (excellently read by Jim Dale) 3 times. Other series they've "read" are Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, The Rangers Apprentice, Twilight, Charlie Bone, Ink Heart, Leven Thumps, Eragon and more I'm sure.

My drive to work is about the same length and have gotten into these too. HP, at least twice. Fablehaven, excellent. Percy Jackson, have gotten through book 3. The Rangers Apprentice, another excellent series. Twilight, I listened to the 1st one. That's enough for me. Leven Thumps and Eragon were good "reads" also.

Just last week I finished Septimus Heap, Magyk (book one). I'm likin' it! I have my request in to the library for the next book. I'm also still anxiously waiting for book 7 of the Rangers Apprentice (hold position #4).

My Mom loves audio books, but I just can't seem to get into them. I travel a lot during the week for work and it would be nice to "read" this way, but I find I just can't concentrate when someone is reading to me. I just end up tuning it out

[Mark86]

Storming Las Vegas by John Huddy and Complication by Atul Gawande

[mindflipper]

Audio books ARE the bomb! My wife and boys (teacher and students) have a 35 minutes drive to and from work/school and they've been able to go through several series. They've probably done the Harry Potter series (excellently read by Jim Dale) 3 times. Other series they've "read" are Fablehaven, Percy Jackson, The Rangers Apprentice, Twilight, Charlie Bone, Ink Heart, Leven Thumps, Eragon and more I'm sure.

My drive to work is about the same length and have gotten into these too. HP, at least twice. Fablehaven, excellent. Percy Jackson, have gotten through book 3. The Rangers Apprentice, another excellent series. Twilight, I listened to the 1st one. That's enough for me. Leven Thumps and Eragon were good "reads" also.

Just last week I finished Septimus Heap, Magyk (book one). I'm likin' it! I have my request in to the library for the next book. I'm also still anxiously waiting for book 7 of the Rangers Apprentice (hold position #4).

What? No Artemis Fowl? No Lemony Snicketts?

I also have a long drive back and forth from work, and agree audio-books are great way to pass the time. Like you, I have recently done the last Harry Potter book, but with the original English narrator, Stephen Fry. I have done a lot of books that I have never covered back in my school years: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, George Orwell's Animal Farm, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Washington Irving's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For a lark, I've done some of the books that Disney based films upon - like 101 Dalmations and Bednob and Broomstick (the original book is not pluralized like the movie) - just to see how they compare the final film. I also did audiobooks on Mark Twain's Autobiography and Miriam Marx's letters from her father, Groucho Marx.

[Amy]

What? No Artemis Fowl? No Lemony Snicketts?
I also have a long drive back and forth from work, and agree audio-books are great way to pass the time. Like you, I have recently done the last Harry Potter book, but with the original English narrator, Stephen Fry. I have done a lot of books that I have never covered back in my school years: Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, George Orwell's Animal Farm, Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Washington Irving's the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. For a lark, I've done some of the books that Disney based films upon - like 101 Dalmations and Bednob and Broomstick (the original book is not pluralized like the movie) - just to see how they compare the final film. I also did audiobooks on Mark Twain's Autobiography and Miriam Marx's letters from her father, Groucho Marx.

How on earth did you manage to get out of school without having to read Brave New World, Animal Farm, 20K Under the Sea, or the Legend of Sleepy Hollow? Were you supposed to read them but you just never did?

[mindflipper]

Just not on the reading list back then. The schools I went to had 1984 over Animal Farm, Around the World in 80 Days over 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and so on. Oddly enough, a few years back, I discovered my cousin who went to a private school read none of these at all! The only Shakespeare he read was Romeo & Juliet. No Verne, Wells, Hawthorne, Orwell, Twain, etc. It instead of a very modern, progressive reading list - which was very surprising considering it was a CATHOLIC private school!

[Amy]

Just not on the reading list back then. The schools I went to had 1984 over Animal Farm, Around the World in 80 Days over 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and so on. Oddly enough, a few years back, I discovered my cousin who went to a private school read none of these at all! The only Shakespeare he read was Romeo & Juliet. No Verne, Wells, Hawthorne, Orwell, Twain, etc. It instead of a very modern, progressive reading list - which was very surprising considering it was a CATHOLIC private school!

That is interesting. We read a lot of Shakespeare ~ way too much for my tastes I don't remember what all we read for school because I was a voracious reader anyhow...I never could understand why my friends complained about having to read because I loved it so much ~ still do!

[NaCler]

I'm in the middle of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. They are the books that sparked the Game of Thrones series on HBO right now. Excellent reads if you like Fantasy novels but you have to like long books as they average about 850 pages each, with small print.

[MmeLeota]

While I would like to say that I'm an avid reader, unfortunately I am not. A book has to catch my attention right off the bat or else I won't be able to get through it. I don't retain information real well either...so even if I read a book, most of the time I can't remember details about it. Sometimes I will listen to an audio book while I am reading the text...it seems to help a little with retention.
I do remember liking Grapes of Wrath, Brave New World, White Oleander, Where the Heart Is and of course, the Harry Potter books.

There are many classics that we did not read in school but I would like to read someday...

[mindflipper]

I've read all 6 books in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy trilogy, but I have to admit I prefer the original radio series (now known as "The Primary Phase" and "The Second Phase") to the book adaptations. I have to admit, the later radio adaptations of Adams's last 3 books to me work better on the radio as well.

[Amy]

I've read all 6 books in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy trilogy, but I have to admit I prefer the original radio series (now known as "The Primary Phase" and "The Second Phase") to the book adaptations. I have to admit, the later radio adaptations of Adams's last 3 books to me work better on the radio as well.

Gosh, I read all those books too, but I read them when I was about 10 so I really don't remember much about them. Much like MmeLeota indicated, I read just for enjoyment and promptly forget what I read. With books that have a ton of characters, I have to keep track on an index card

[mindflipper]

While I would like to say that I'm an avid reader, unfortunately I am not. A book has to catch my attention right off the bat or else I won't be able to get through it. I don't retain information real well either...so even if I read a book, most of the time I can't remember details about it. Sometimes I will listen to an audio book while I am reading the text...it seems to help a little with retention.
I do remember liking Grapes of Wrath, Brave New World, White Oleander, Where the Heart Is and of course, the Harry Potter books.

There are many classics that we did not read in school but I would like to read someday...

I can't find the time either - that's why I've been catching up with audiobooks that I can listen to while I drive.

[MmeLeota]

The problem with audiobooks for me is I tune out...if I'm going to have an audiobook, I have to have the text in front of me as well. Stick me in a car with an audiobook and 20 minutes later, I won't be able to tell you what was said...