Last summer, our team of dedicated Historians (and me, too) gave you our "what we're reading" list, inspired as we were by Anonymous's request.
It's time for another list in our irregular but ongoing series, posted whenever we finish a pile of books and everybody reports in.
This is also your invitation to tell us what's on your reading list. Let us know why they're good or bad. Include books on tape and e-books 
, podcasts and the web. I'll consider films and trash fiction — but I reserve the right to make the haughty intellectual decision.
It's my thing, you know.
Alright, here we go!
"Currently, I am reading Cure for the Common Life by Max Lucado , and The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly. I just finished First Family by David Baldacci. I am an avid, every-night reader and typically read at least two selections simultaneously." (Atta girl! — CR)
"I am reading Canton Footprints: Sacramento's Chinese Legacy by Chinese American historian Phillip P. Choy"....
Christy in San Francisco
- The Little Book by Selden Edwards. Great story of a complicated family, which includes time travel through history!
- Case Histories: A Novel by Kate Atkinson. Definitely a six-degrees-of-separation book. It all comes together in the end and the main character, Jackson Brodie, is interesting.
- The Archivist's Story by Travis Holland. Being an Archivist, I thought this might explore the interesting parts of my profession. Instead, the main character is a hesitant Archivist and it is quite a depressing story about World War II Moscow.
(I have also read All the Names by Jose Saramago , about a records clerk that was not that sunny. If anyone has an uplifting novel to read about Archivists, I'd love to hear about it!)
- Currently, I'm reading a fun book by Charlaine Harris called Shakespeare's Trollop. This is another series from the author of the "Sookie Stackhouse" books , which the HBO series "True Blood" is based on.
Ian in San Francisco
Here's my Christmas wish list:
- Al Gore's latest book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis
- Ted Kennedy's book, The Dream That Never Dies
- The companion book to Ken Burns' "National Parks."
- Any interesting gardening book.
My wife and I constantly read to my 6 year old son. We bring literally bags of books home from the library. Theme's vary — most are hysterical; some, historical. I guess this is one way to encourage lifetime reading (and maybe a future historian!).
- Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See. Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew and Jim Miller.
- Eric Foner , Nothing But Freedom: Emancipation and its Legacy
- Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy
- Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Tom in Anchorage
The only one I have time for right now is one that is pretty dry, but is really interesting history. Hector Chevigny's Russian America: The Great Alaskan Venture, 1741-1857 , published in 1973, is an intriguing historical perspective on the 200-year march of Russian frontiersmen, from West to East into the Americas, all the way to California — the politics and economics of a changing country that eventually led to the selling of Alaska to the U.S.
I'm reading — listening — to several classic movies from Lux Radio Theater , produced as radio programs during the 1940's and 50's.
"Strangers on a Train," "Foreign Correspondent," "The 39 Steps." All are about an hour and make for great entertainment when commuting.
- Company Property of WF & Co's Express 1850-1918 by James L. Bartz
- Two Souls, Four Lives by Catherine Van Houten
- The Flawless Mirror by Kamala Silva
- Common Ground Magazine
I'm reading Loot by Sharon Waxman , a very interesting book. It's the story of what Waxman calls "the battle over the stolen treasures of the ancient world." The book was recommended by the docent who took us through the King Tut exhibit at the DeYoung Museum.
Currently Reading:
- The First Idea: How Symbols, Language and Intelligence Evolved from our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans by Stanley Greenspan and Stuart Shanker. This is kind of a re-read, since I started it once before. Large parts of the book are about how language develops in children, though, so it's newly compelling now that I'm a mom.
- Anathem by Neal Stephenson. I didn't even know it was coming out, but once I saw it, I had to have it. I can't pass up Stephenson's works, which you may have noticed since I was reading a book by him the last time!
- Just finished reading several romance novels by Celeste Bradley. (Brain candy!)
- Still not reading War of the World by Niall Ferguson. (Sigh.)
On the request list at the library:
- Nurtureshock by Po Bronson
- Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles by Emma Bull
- Conspirator by CJ Cherryh
(This girl READS!! —CR)
Now that I am working part-time, I am constantly reading. Recent books include -
Michael Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma - This book makes one seriously think about food, American agriculture and where we are headed as a nation.
Alexander Dumas, The Three Muskateers - I read this after reading The Dumas Club by Perez-Reverte (I also recommend his book Queen of the South)
Alexander Kent, the Richard Bolitho series. Novels for fans of British naval stories who have read all of the O'Brien and Forrester books.