Book round-up

By Stacy Vogel ( Contact )   June 18, 2008 - 8:30 a.m.

I'm really stuck for blog ideas (chasing down floods and GM announcements will do that to you), so I'm taking a survey of what people are reading right now. I'll start with myself: I'm reading "Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran" by Azadeh Moaveni. It's about exactly what it sounds like, and it's pretty interesting.

Here's what the rest of our newsroom is reading:

  1. Rock County/agricultural reporter Ann Marie Ames just completed "All the President's Men" by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, because every reporter has to read that at least once. She is now in book limbo, she says, so any ideas you can send her would be much appreciated.

  2. Education reporter Frank Schultz is reading "Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure" by Michael Chabon. I haven't read that, but I did read Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," and I saw him do a book reading at the Wisconsin Book Festival in 2006. He's an amazing writer.

  3. Evansville/health reporter Gina Duwe is reading "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." My copy, I might add.

  4. Ryan the Intern is reading "Basic Economics," by Thomas Sowell. He also enjoys Kiplinger's Magazine. I looked at the magazine's Web site, and the top article is "Funds for all seasons." I hate to tell him this, but as a reporter, he's never going to make enough money to have stock funds.

  5. Features/general assignment reporter Cathy Idzerda is reading "Reaper Man," by Terry Prachett. She also recently told me about a book she read involving a librarian and an orangutan.

  6. Editor Scott Angus is reading "The Vanishing Newspaper: Saving Journalism In The Information Age" by Philip Meyer. Of course he is. Keep saving journalism for us, boss.

So, what are you reading right now?

reader COMMENTS (11)
gazettefan
Jun 21, 2008 at 9:34 a.m.
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The Tenants by Bernard Malamud is a great novel that deals with novel writing.

Hedberg has it.

Irish_Mafia78
Jun 20, 2008 at 6:55 p.m.
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Hehe... I have been reading Chamber of Secrets on and off for the last month just for some pre-beditme relaxation.
Deathly Hallows came into the picture when I picked it up to pack it in a box for moving. Being the book-nerd I am, I thought it would be a good time to read it again...and put off packing. Since being lazy in a time of moving is bad business, I added it to my bedtime reading. Now, I read a few chapters before bed, alternating with Chamber of secrets.

Then, I wonder how much of the last book will be left out of the last two movies. :-/

bwheelock
Jun 20, 2008 at 5:49 p.m.
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Irish_Mafia: I have never heard of someone reading two different Harry Potter books at the same time. Are you looking for clues? Or just re-reading your favorite parts? I must now tell Rose Stricker to see what she has to say about this. :)

Nina
Jun 20, 2008 at 1:21 p.m.
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bigchip- yes, Devil in the White City is a great read; too bad I have already read it. But I do highly recommend it to others. Stones from the River (can't recall the author) is a great character study of a dwarf girl in Germany (fictitious story) that follows her trials and triumphs from a child to adult, inclduing harboring Jews in WWII.

Irish_Mafia78
Jun 20, 2008 at 9:41 a.m.
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I have a few books going right now.

I can't underline the titles so you'll have to imagine it.

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

The More Than Complete Hitchhiker's Guide by Douglas Adams

One For The Money - Janet Evanovich

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (for the zillionth time)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (for the third time)

quintin66
Jun 19, 2008 at 6:17 a.m.
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I am reading Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card. This is my least favorite of the Alvin Maker series so far, but it is still a great read.

laughwuvlive
Jun 19, 2008 at 2:51 a.m.
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My new book is called life at General Motors
I work from 4:30 P.M. untill 2:30 P.M.
I took tonight off, So many emotions running wild in one building, People not knowing what to do, having to maybe move there family away from Janesville, others wanting to stay but, will they survive with the economy the way it is, others that thought they would work there for twenty years and have a half way decent job, others with the good jobs being taken away to go back on the lines, reminising those aches and pains of every day line work.
why do we do it? one lady I worked next to put three Children thru college, took her 10 years, she took the buy out when the last Child was finishing college. When I first started there in 1997, I worked by a young girl who was just finishing up college, she became an R.N.
Most of the men work at G.M. so there wifes can stay home with the Children and not have to work, WOW, that is just soooooooo great for there familys and society.
I do not believe that the City of Janesville know how many college graduates we have working at G.M. Janesville. As you can see by my spelling, IM not one of them. Enough for now, its 3:00 A.M. and I have clothes to hang on the line. I know its my GO GREEN thing and its like magic, when I wake up there dry.:-)

bigchip
Jun 18, 2008 at 10:42 p.m.
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The Devil in White City. An awesome book. I think Ann Marie and any others in book limbo would enjoy. This is a story that is historically accurate about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It focuses on the man that was trying to pull off the World's Fair, and an unrelated nefarious character living in the burbs of Chicago. It's truly gripping and interesting.

Nina
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:51 p.m.
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I am in book limbo too! I just finished Pillars of the Earth, which was alright. I didn't fall in love with it like so many people, but it kept me busy for a while! What I can't wait to get started on is Joyce Carol Oates's The Grave Digger's Daughter. I will also read Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell (for a book discussion) this summer. A quick and fun read is The Thirteenth Tale which mimics, fairly well actually, the old gothic novels such as Jane Eyre and The Woman in White, but it is set in more modern times.

joeflint
Jun 18, 2008 at 5:07 p.m.
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_Guests of the Ayatollah: The First Battle in America's War with Militant Islam_ by Bowden; _The Histories_ by Herodotus; and _The Last Witchfinder_ by Morrow.

Kingsolver lived in Tucson for awhile and that is evident in some of her books; I spent seven wonderful years there. All of the her books that I have read have been thought-provoking.

sfcm
Jun 18, 2008 at 1:53 p.m.
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"Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. A "memoir/journalistic investigation" of her family's quest to eat only locally produced foods for a year. Awe-inspiring. A good book to get excited about farmer's markets and local produce season!

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