# What Books Are You Reading? **URL:** \ **Category:** Arts & Entertainment\ **Tags:** book\ **Created:** [October 10, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450 "2006-10-10T03:07:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taichung_Social_Club)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 3:07am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/1 "2006-10-10T03:07:09Z")
The need to escape from the backwoods of Taichung County, and re-familarize myself with the English language above a grade two level, compelled me to spend a couple of days in Taipei. Before I came away, I made the obligatory trip to Page One and picked up a copy of a book I hadn’t read since the ninth grade, To Kill A Mockingbird, and had it half read by the time the train lurched into Cin Shuei. I was an avid reader until I started studying Computer Science a few years ago. However, my time in the ROC seems to have whet my appetite for the written language. The problem is there are so many books at Page One I hardly know where to begin, so I thought it would be good for people to share what they are reading (or what they have read in the past) with others. That way we might be turned on to some really good books we otherwise might have missed. Please limit your list to ten items or less. Thank you. Here are my recommendations: The Grey Goose Of Arnhem (Leo Heaps) To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) War Of The Worlds (HG Wells) The First Man In Rome (Colleen McCullough) The Grass Crown (Colleen McCullough) Shogun (James Clavell) I, Claudius (Robert Graves) Broken Ground (Jack Hodgins) ---
**Author:** ![TomHill](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@TomHill](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/TomHill)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/2 "2006-10-10T05:30:15Z")
Contemporize Maaan. I am reading Neil Gaimans ‘Coraline,’ which I personally recommend to IronMan, as he enjoyed ‘The Blind Assassin.’ And to Imaniou, cos she is so awesome at teaching, and it’s a kids book, kinda. The Godfather book is a very enjoyable yarn too. ---
**Author:** ![Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taichung_Social_Club)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 8:26am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/3 "2006-10-10T08:26:43Z")
Don’t lecture me about contemporizing. The Godfather is older than five of the eight books I recommended. :raspberry: ---
**Author:** ![Jaboney](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/jaboney/32/46120_2.png) [@Jaboney](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Jaboney)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 11:35am UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/4 "2006-10-10T11:35:52Z")
Here’s a variety of good stuff, in no particular order. [Fall on Your Knees, by Anne Marie MacDonald](http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Your-Knees-Oprahs-Book/dp/0743237188/sr=8-1/qid=1160478214/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8) [The Assault, by Harry Mulisch](http://www.amazon.com/Assault-Harry-Mulisch/dp/0394744209/sr=8-1/qid=1160478425/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8) [All Men Are Mortal, by Simone de Beauvoir](http://www.amazon.com/Men-Are-Mortal-Simone-Beauvoir/dp/0393308456/sr=8-1/qid=1160478439/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8) [Gitanjali, by Rabindranath Tagore](http://www.amazon.com/Gitanjali-Collection-Indian-Nobel-Laureate/dp/0684839342/sr=8-4/qid=1160478461/ref=pd_bbs_4/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) [The Wheel of Time Series, by Robert Jordan](http://www.amazon.com/Eye-World-Wheel-Time-Book/dp/0812511816/sr=8-1/qid=1160478502/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8) [Collapse, by Jared Diamond](http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Fail-Succeed/dp/0670033375/sr=1-2/qid=1160479543/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) [The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov](http://www.amazon.com/Master-Margarita-Vintage-International/dp/0679760806/sr=1-1/qid=1160479601/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) [The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, by Thucydides, Robert B. Strassler, Victor Davis Hanson](http://www.amazon.com/Landmark-Thucydides-Comprehensive-Guide-Peloponnesian/dp/0684827905/sr=1-2/qid=1160479614/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) (There is no better edition.) [The Rings of Saturn, by W. G. Sebald](http://www.amazon.com/Rings-Saturn-W-G-Sebald/dp/0811214133/sr=1-2/qid=1160479671/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) [The Tao of Pooh, by Benjamin Hoff](http://www.amazon.com/Tao-Pooh-Benjamin-Hoff/dp/0525244581/sr=1-2/qid=1160479855/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books) Currently reading: [Identity and Violence, by Amartya Sen](http://www.amazon.com/Identity-Violence-Illusion-Destiny-Issues/dp/0393060071/sr=8-1/qid=1160478844/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8) and [The Compleated Autobiography, by Benjamin Franklin (Completed Autobiography)](http://www.amazon.com/Compleated-Autobiography-Benjamin-Franklin-Completed/dp/0895260336/sr=8-1/qid=1160481160/ref=sr_1_1/102-3309632-0988146?ie=UTF8&s=books). There’s A LOT of great stuff available in mp3 audio book format available, which might set you up well if getting to the good stuff is an issue. I always found Eslite in Taichung was a good source, though not nearly as comprehensive as Page One, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taichung_Social_Club)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 1:31pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/5 "2006-10-10T13:31:28Z")
I’ll definitely grab The Landmark Thucydides if I can find it. I recommend Victor David Hanson’s The Western Way Of War: Infantry Battle In Classical Greece to anyone interested in hoplite warfare. ---
**Author:** ![pubba](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@pubba](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/pubba)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/6 "2006-10-10T13:44:34Z")
Some good books here 🙂 Im going through an Iaan Banks phase at the moment. Just finished reading the Wasp Factory. An unusual and well written novel. Also just finished reading ‘Trainspotting’ again by Irvine Welsh, and currently reading a collection of Hunter S Thomson letters, which so far have been very entertaining 🙂 Taichung Social Club - do you know of any decent english book stores in Taichung? ---
**Author:** ![Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taichung_Social_Club)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 1:46pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/7 "2006-10-10T13:46:54Z")
There used to be a Caves, but I’m damned if I can find it again. ---
**Author:** ![Jaboney](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/jaboney/32/46120_2.png) [@Jaboney](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Jaboney)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 1:48pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/8 "2006-10-10T13:48:05Z")
If Eslite’s store in Chungyo is still what it was five years ago… the last time I looked… that’s the place to start. Is Caves no longer on the boulevard leading to the science museum? ---
**Author:** ![Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Taichung\_Social\_Club](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Taichung_Social_Club)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/9 "2006-10-10T13:55:18Z")
It used to be, but I didn’t see it last time I went by. It was almost midday, but most of the store fronts had their big assed metal pull-down doors pulled down. Maybe I didn’t see it because of that. ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/merge/32/62695_2.png) [@merge](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/10 "2006-10-10T14:02:53Z")
[quote=“Jaboney”] Is Caves no longer on the boulevard leading to the science museum?[/quote] Sorry, that’s gone - not sure when it left, though. I’m getting too lazy to read - I’ve been doing tons of audiobooks with my iPod lately. Some I’ve “read” recently are: The Kite Runner Anansi Boys (fun Neil Gaiman book) Freakonomics The Undercover Economist Guns, Germs and Steel The Professor and the Madman Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency Last Chance to See Watership Down Status Anxiety A Million Little Pieces (finished it a week before he admitted he lied :fume: ) Shogun The Artemis Fowl Series ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Evil](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Doctor\_Evil](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Doctor_Evil)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 2:17pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/11 "2006-10-10T14:17:14Z")
Just finished David McCullough’s 1776 and am now reading his biography of John Adams…good stuff. [simonsays.com/content/book.c … pid=506476](http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=506476) [simonsays.com/content/book.c … pid=406074](http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=406074) ---
**Author:** ![Josefus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Josefus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Josefus)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/12 "2006-10-10T14:19:05Z")
> [@pubba](#): > > Just finished reading the Wasp Factory. I loved that book! One of the best twist endings EVER! ---
**Author:** ![Baas\_Babelaas](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@Baas\_Babelaas](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Baas_Babelaas)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 2:39pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/13 "2006-10-10T14:39:12Z")
[quote]Jaboney wrote: Is Caves no longer on the boulevard leading to the science museum? Sorry, that’s gone - not sure when it left, though. [/quote] You serious? That was a three or four story bookstore. It’s gone, or relocated? ---
**Author:** ![kk](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/kk/32/86_2.png) [@kk](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/kk)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 2:57pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/14 "2006-10-10T14:57:41Z")
Currently reading The Night Stalker, The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez. Philip Carlo. Not bad so far, if ya like that kind of reading. ---
**Author:** ![pubba](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@pubba](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/pubba)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/15 "2006-10-10T15:18:40Z")
Good thread! I used to run a bookshop here in Oz called ‘Bent Books’. We specialised in beat authors, underground and independent books. It was a fantastic 2 years of my life, but sadly was not profitable enough to keep going… Hmm… I wonder if there is a need for an english book shop in Taichung? Sounds like it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Josefus](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Josefus](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Josefus)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/16 "2006-11-20T16:30:38Z")
> [@merge](#): > > The Artemis Fowl Series I picked up one of these today. A friend of mine of raving about it. He said it was the next Harry Potter. About a criminal-boy-genius or something. ---
**Author:** ![Dragonbones](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/dragonbones/32/1125_2.png) [@Dragonbones](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Dragonbones)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 4:45pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/17 "2006-11-20T16:45:28Z")
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Tasty little snack, nothing heavy. Great prose, good plot twists and turns, lots of intrigue, mystery, a dash of romance, melodrama, interesting characters, and more than a bit of self-directed humor. The prose, despite being a translation, is on occasion so good (although not flawless) that I’ll probably reread it in Spanish (La Sombra del Viento) at some point just for fun. I’m very curious to see how the translation compares to the original. Recommended. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_PBH](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/mr_pbh/32/230938_2.png) [@Mr\_PBH](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/Mr_PBH)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/18 "2006-11-20T22:47:22Z")
Finished In Cold Blood. Should be required reading for ALL new parents. ---
**Author:** ![cfimages](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/cfimages/32/175176_2.png) [@cfimages](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/cfimages)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 2:01pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/19 "2006-11-21T14:01:01Z")
[quote=“Baas Babelaas”][quote]Jaboney wrote: Is Caves no longer on the boulevard leading to the science museum? Sorry, that’s gone - not sure when it left, though. [/quote] You serious? That was a three or four story bookstore. It’s gone, or relocated?[/quote] It’s still there - right across from the science museum. I was in there last weekend. ---
**Author:** ![kk](https://forumosa-12829.kxcdn.com/user_avatar/tw.forumosa.com/kk/32/86_2.png) [@kk](https://tw.forumosa.com/u/kk)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450/20 "2006-11-21T15:11:10Z")
White Line Fever Lemmy Kilmister (the Motorhead guy) - The Autobiography [Next page](https://tw.forumosa.com/t/what-books-are-you-reading/32450.md?page=2)