What Are You Reading??

Just read 'Gangs of New York'

awesome book. HBO should make a series of it, total madness, specially around the Civil War when they tried to burn down New York

I'd quite like to learn about US social history in depth, it's pure Mad Max up until WW2

The I can recommend you read "Five Points" by..hmm..I forgot..and I also recommend H.W. Brands' "American Colossus" and a rather interesting book called "Paddywhacked" which chronicles the history of Irish gangsters in America 

Just read 'Gangs of New York'

awesome book. HBO should make a series of it, total madness, specially around the Civil War when they tried to burn down New York

I'd quite like to learn about US social history in depth, it's pure Mad Max up until WW2

Good nutrition up until WW2.

and a rather interesting book called "Paddywhacked" which chronicles the history of Irish gangsters in America 

Oh I'm getting that.

I love watching Boardwalk Empire just because all the tough guys are Irish.

"The Westies" about one of the most infamous gangs to ever come out of Hell's Kitchen is also rather good. "The Robber Barons" is also really good. For post-WWII you could read "The Electric Kool-Aide Acid Test".

I am also, being a many-books-at-the-time kinda guy, currently reading "The Killer of Little Shepherds" by Douglas Starr, about the serial killer Joseph Vacher and the origin of forensic science. Good stuff 

Thing is I say I will....

"The Boy in the Suitcase" working my way through all the Man Booker Prize shortlists from 2000 onwards which I "obtained" gratis from a useful source.So far it is pretty good.Also on that list were "Snowdrops" set in Moscow really excellent and " THe Half Blood Blues" also most enjoyable.

Been reading a lot this summer. Almost finished with Italo Calvino's "Invisible Cities." Interesting to think how it relates to our own travel stories.

No idea what to read next.

I'm being a pretentious douch and reading Dante's inferno. I actually like it, but have to read it out loud to understand it better. 

Why is it pretentious to read one of the greatest works of literature ever written?? That's exactly one of those inane mistakes the world forces upon us, that reading something great and profound is in some way wrong. If reading great works of literature is pretentious then I embrace wholeheartedly and without an iota of shame or regret my pretentiousness. I just finished reading "Paradise Lost' for next term and am now plowing through the works of Dickens and the poetry of the Cavaliers and the Metaphysical poets. Shades of Grey, Dan Brown..piffle...give me just one line of Shakespeare, one couplet of Jonson, one comma from Milton instead. Of course, this begs the question, which translation of Dante are you reading? The Longfellow one? The OUP blank verse one? I must admit, I prefer Longfellow. Blank verse is..well....we all know what T.S.Eliot thought of blank verse and I can only agree with him 

/snoody British accent = on
I think it's raaather pretentious to declare oneself to be pretentious. Ah-Haw.
/end snoody accent

That said, I'd really like to read some Dante.

What's stopping you? Dante is readily available in most Chinese bookstores and free to download on Project Gutenberg.

Reading, (actually listening to), Kevin Phillips' "1775".  Interesting if you're into American/English history.  He calls it one of three civil wars fought by English speaking peoples and the first World War.  He loves to dispel the commonly accepted notions about The Revolution and the era. Interesting that the New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland colonies, largely, did not want to rebel. 

One interesting factoid, one-fourth of all the British officers killed in this eight-year war died at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

I was going for sarcasm, cause I'm a dumber 'merican who has trouble with them big fancy wurds. but sigh.....so hard to do right on the internet.

Naturally, sarcasm is normally indicated by modulating one's inflection, which is difficult to do in writing. Now, Borkya, you may have an incomprehensible passion for tea and an even more strange need to befriend and hang out with young people, both of which are good reasons to stay at Hangzhou Number 7th Hospital for a while but no-one could ever call you dumb...

You never told me which translation you are reading.