What I'm Reading...
I am currently in the midst of reading Douglas Hofstadter's tome, Godel, Escher, and Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. I'm currently about 1/3 of the way through the book's 777 pages. I've really enjoyed the book so far, but part of me thinks that the book - at least the first quarter - is something that those without a background in computer science or mathematics would find hard to digest. It's not that the topic matter is terribly complex, it's just that Hofstadter kind of blows through the mathematic fundamentals of formal logic with the assumption that the reader has at least a cursory background in this area. If you've not learned about formal logic systems in past college classes I'd wager you'd find the first quarter of the book to take quite a while to work through and would, no doubt, test your resolve as to whether or not to even finish the book.
After the first quarter, though, the book lightens up a bit and explores topics that enlist a sense of wonder - how can a complex system be built up from simple automatons following some inherent algorithm? Extending this view, how can conscious thought be the byproduct of nothing but simple neurons that do nothing but fire ions when certain conditions are met? These topics are much more fun to think about, and make this portion of the book a more enjoyable read. (I also really enjoyed the chapters discussing Zen Buddhism.)
I'm also reading a short biography about Bach, coincidentally, as I started the Bach biography a week before GEB arrived. On nights where I feel like a lighter read, I've also been glancing through a book aimed at basketball coaches, providing suggested workouts and drills. I also enjoy financial advice books, the latest one I've been working through, and which I've almost finished, is Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace Revisited. I was turned onto Ramsey through the podcast of his radio show, which I listen to while at the gym and walking the dog.
As you can probably guess, I don't read much non-fiction, although I did read through both The Life of Pi and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time earlier this year. I also have read many of Chuck Palahniuk's novels and enjoyed them thoroughly.
So... what are you reading? Also, do you find yourself reading many books at once, or do you focus on a single book and plow through that before starting another? I usually find myself reading multiple books, but only one book in each genre at a time.