What are YOU currently reading? (8)

Plodding through The Lord of the Rings. Approaching the end of The Two Towers - love the description of how Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn 'find' Merryweather and Pippin. My brother-in-law has a biography of Tolkien amongst his books and I was reading some of it any time my husband visited him. Unfortunately, due to my husband having a stroke in July 2020, we have not visited since August 2019. The book gives some very interesting background to the characters in Tolkien's books.

Has anyone seen the movie Tolkien? We watched it as a family a few weeks ago - highly recommendable.

Also reading Edmund Hillary's autobiography, Nothing Venture, Nothing Win. He and his Sherpa were the first to reach the summit of Everest. His love of climbing is evident throughout the book.

Gillian

"The Taste of Conquest - The Rise and Fall of the Three Great Cities of Spice". I've gotten through several books about the history of commodities, it's fascinating what lengths we've always gone to for creature comforts and luxury goods. Money does make the world go 'round, but money goes 'round the world at the behest of taste.

Still reading The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien, also The Collected Poems of William Wordsworth, The Day Gone By, which is Richard Adams' autobiography, and Against the Tide, Angus Kinnear's biography of Watchman Nee.

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Reading tons of theology books at the moment

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke. Written in the early 1970s it's a story set in the 22nd century and is a about a potential first contact scenario.

I just finished Jerry Bridges' The Practice of Godliness. After a few introductory chapters, the remaining book gives a chapter each to the Fruits of the Spirit. Each chapter is structured how God exhibits them, how we can act on them, & how we can grow in them. I recommend this book to believers who want to develop godliness, how to practice Christian character in their own lives, with God, & w/ others.

NIrelandGillian said:

Plodding through The Lord of the Rings. Approaching the end of The Two Towers - love the description of how Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn 'find' Merryweather and Pippin. My brother-in-law has a biography of Tolkien amongst his books and I was reading some of it any time my husband visited him. Unfortunately, due to my husband having a stroke in July 2020, we have not visited since August 2019. The book gives some very interesting background to the characters in Tolkien's books.

Has anyone seen the movie Tolkien? We watched it as a family a few weeks ago - highly recommendable.

Also reading Edmund Hillary's autobiography, Nothing Venture, Nothing Win. He and his Sherpa were the first to reach the summit of Everest. His love of climbing is evident throughout the book.

Gillian

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I really like how a lot of the major action happens off-screen & we're told about it when other characters not in the know find out about it. I know this breaks the 'show, don't tell' advice given to aspiring authors, but I think in LotR it adds a flair of suspense not getting a lot of the major action directly. The Flooding of Isengard is a great example.

Slowly, very slowly, getting through Desperation by Stephen King. It's been months, I'm determined to finish it.

The Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (13th Century) translated by Anthony Faulkes. A compilation of Norse myths and legends and a textbook for young poets who wished to praise kings. I am looking forward to the publication of Jackson Crawford's translation.

Concept of the Political by Carl Schmitt. Controversial author obviously, but I've heard an outline of his idea concerning the friend enemy distinction and how liberal democracy tends to cover up the idea of there being enemies in liberal democratic societies. Will probably read Political Theology after this.

The perfect father. it is a true crime on Chris Watts.

The Regulators by Stephen King

The Earth is Weeping by Peter Cozzens. A history of the Indian Wars in the American West.

Living Time ~ and the integration of life ~ Maurice Nicoll

and novel The fatel grace by Louise Penny

also on the go is Word Studies on the Holy Spirit ~ EW Bullinger

The Populist delusion. Basically it seeks to critique Populist or Democratic notions that the unorganized majority have the real power and say in society. The main thrust of the argument is that power in the hands of an organized minority in society, will always overcome the organized majority of any society.

Dividing the Spoils by Robin Waterfield. It is a brief history of the wars of Alexander the Great's successors (sometimes called the Successor Wars or Wars of the Diadochi).
I wish an account survived of how Seleucus marched the several hundred elephants gifted to him by Chandragupta from what is today Pakistan across Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and all the way to Western Anatolia to fight in the Battle if Ipsus. It would make Hannibal's march across the Alps with 37 elephants seem trivial.

Slowly getting through Alcoholic's Anonymous sent to me by a friend

Crónica de una Muerte Anunciada - Gabriel García Márquez. Second time I'm reading it.