Reading anything good?

[JLP 6]

I am completely fasinated by Italian (see Renaissance) and Italian-American culture. I am reading a few books on the subject.

La Storia Five Centuries of the Italian-American Experience by Jerre Mangione and Ben Morreale, and The Book of the Courtier by Baldassare Castiglione. Both these books have given me insight into a people that have accomplished so much, and done with style.

I am also reading Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by CJ Mahaney.

A helpful book for Christians to remember that nothing they do is good enough to win Gods favor. It is simply by grace alone.

What are you reading?

[walshb]

I'm reading your post above

[JLP 6]

The Italian book or Jesus is our only savior part?

[TKO11]

Currently I am in brain-dead mode - Reading Dan Brown's newest Robert Langdon book "The Lost Symbol". With about 50 pages to go I don't think it measures up to Angels and Demons or The davinci Code, but still a good read.

[GanchoIzquierdo]

I'm 200 pages into Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera. So far, it's not anywhere near as good as One Hundred Years of Solitude, imo.

JLP:

"nothing [Christians] do is good enough to win Gods favor. It is simply by grace alone."

I disagree.


TKO:

Sorry to break it to you, man, but it won't.

By the way, has anyone here read The Stand. If so, would you recommend it?

Gancho

[KOJOE90]

The Time Machine - HG Wells.

[GanchoIzquierdo]

The Time Machine was the first novel[la] I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart.

[JLP 6]

Currently I am in brain-dead mode - Reading Dan Brown's newest Robert Langdon book "The Lost Symbol". With about 50 pages to go I don't think it measures up to Angels and Demons or The davinci Code, but still a good read.

Brown's new book takes place in DC, which my home, and I am Mason. I am going to buy it one day. Angels and Demons is a monster read. I need to see the movie. If it is as close to the book as DaVinci Code to the book it should be great. Honestly, I cannot buy Tom Hanks as Langdon. I would have taken Harrison Ford.

GanchoIzquierdo: No sweat on the disagreement. Read the book of Romans or 1 Corinthians. I will read any scripture you have for me that says that earn our way in by some goodness on out part.

[GorDoom]

Faithfull by Marianne Faithful Whatta life!!!

I also just reread I Claudius & Claudius The God by Robert Graves both are must reads in my mind...

GorDoom

[hawk5ins]

My 100 Boxing Books that I recommend thread, but then agian it's not REALLY a boxing book.

Empire of Deceit by Dean Allison.

It is all about Harold Smith's Embezzlement from Wells Fargo Bank in the early 80's to finance is gig as a Boxing Promoter for MAPS.

Fascinating stuff.

Hawk

[GanchoIzquierdo]

JLP:

Trust me, I've read them, but I don't accept Paul as the final arbiter on all matters spiritual, particularly as it regards to something this important to many Christians.

Anyway, you're right. There's no need to get all upset about this, or to call out the Spanish Inquisition (which no one ever expects).

I too liked Angels and Demons , but not as much as The Da Vinci Code. Deception Point wasn't altogether bad, either.

I think Dan Brown gets a bad rap. He might not be Dostoyevsky, but his books are hard to put down, and that's hard to accomplish for a writer. When Philip Roth recently came out disparaging both Brown and Nora Roberts for not being real writers -- unlike him and Saul Bellow and all those other guys nobody reads -- I decided never to bother with any of his whiny, overrated tripe ever again.

Portnoy's Complaint sucks, by the way.

[TKO11]

I have read The Stand, and many times - it is a truly wonderful novel full of incredibly written characters. Unquestionably Stephen's King's greatest work.

[Off The River]

Just wraping up Freakonomics right now. Fun book!

[thewonderful134]

Any of George MacDonald Fraser's "Flashmam" books are worth a quick reread when you have some down time. Not even remotely politically correct but a whole lot of fun.

[thewonderful134]

Should say Flashman

[TKO11]

OTR - I've read about that book (Freakonomics) but decided to stay away because I've read that some find it very biased, slanted and say that it gives half information that makes you come to one conclusion when if you had all the information you might come to a different one (ala Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11). What's your take?

I've been looking for some good marketing books but the glut of stuff on the market that I've read recently has all been crap. The most interesting one I've read in ages was "Buyology", but it was about the effect of the psyche to marketing messages rather than about specific tactics or trends. If there is anyone on the board with similar interest who has read something worthwhile lately, please run it by me.

[GanchoIzquierdo]

TKO,

Perhaps The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell would be of some use to you--that is, if you haven't read it already.

While we're on these sorts of topics, I have to say that I really enjoyed Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, despite it's obvious conservative bent and its complete dismissal of Keynesian economics. It was that well-written.

[TKO11]

Thanks Gancho, but I have already read Tipping Point and Blink. First one was okay, but Blink I thought was a total waste of my time.

[GanchoIzquierdo]

I haven't read Blink, whose topic really never interested me. But I have read Outliers, and that one I actually found a much better read than Tipping Point.