Reading anything interesting?

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I just started Jesus Interrupted by Bart Ehrmann, the Misquoting Jesus guy. I'm not learning a whole lot I didn't know before, but I'm interested in his general theme -- that pretty much every main line minister learns about historical criticism in their seminary training, yet this generally accepted scholarship remains a mystery to the average Christian.

Anybody else got anything good in their hands?

[CRSP]

I'm currently partway through Britain BC by Francis Pryor. It's really well written, and a pretty interesting survey of the history of Britain that nobody ever hears about.

[MsRobyn]

I need to get my bookshelf together again. I've got too many books that I haven't read yet, or I started but need to go back to the beginning to refresh my memory.

I'm also working on a scholarly paper, so there's going to be a lot of reading with that, as well. It's a good scholarly paper, since instead of reading dry articles that describe the nth iteration of a framing survey about the Iraq war, I get to read People and Rolling Stone. I like papers like that.

Robin

[Dinsdale]

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages.
By Anne Mendelson.

I'm a big fan of books that deal thouroughly with a single subject - such as Simon Winchesters, or the classics on the Pencil, Salt, etc.

I'm astounded at how much I have learned from this book. Such as how "unusual" it is to drink "sweet" milk. For most of history in most of the areas where animals were milked, the practice was - and remains - to use soured/cultured milk products. Shoulda been obvious, but I never really realized.

And I guess I knew better, but I never really internalized that Little Miss Muffet was eating something resembling cottage cheese instead of porridge. Hell, not being a fan myself, I'd let the spider have it.

And did you know that milk is a solution AND a suspension AND an emulsion?

FASCINATING I tell you.

Well - maybe not. My kids say i'm weird!

[MsRobyn]

Dinsdale, I have a book about popcorn. It's an entire social and scientific history of popcorn. Every time I open it to read it, I smell butter, salt and oil.

Robin

[WhyNot]

Not reading, but rereading, a book that's been on my shelf for years. Nothing earth-shattering or deep, it's a biography of The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I was looking for some light reading last night when I suddenly realized it was written by Neil Gaiman before I knew who Neil Gaiman was! So now, of course, I must re-read it with that knowledge intact.


Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion
Hmm...obviously I can't figure out how to do a URL with text. Help?

[MsRobyn]

Whynot, there was an extra space in the URL. I fixed it for you.

Robin

[WhyNot]

Oh, hey, thanks!

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I'm currently partway through Britain BC by Francis Pryor. It's really well written, and a pretty interesting survey of the history of Britain that nobody ever hears about.

That looks interesting. I must say, the new appreciation for pre-Roman Britain is something I'd like to devote more attention to, when I can find the time.

[ShelliBean]

I'm currently reading Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins, The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin (yes, him), The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway and If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem by William Faulkner, with frequent interruptions by Martini's Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology.

And no, I'm not that good at juggling all these books. It just means I'll take longer to read them. I've decided to concentrate on Still Life and get it done.

I tend to pick one author and run through the books of that one author. Right now I'm on more of a Robbins/Christopher Moore kick.

I have Lamb by Christopher Moore. I'm willing to lend it out to anyone that wants to read it provided you will return it when done. It is the special gold-rimmed bible copy.

[featherlou]

I'm currently reading Fame Junkies by Jake Halpern. It is a fascinating look at celebrity worship in three parts - the first looks at becoming a star (mostly from the perspective of kids trying to become child stars), the second looks at people who work as celebrity assistants and the celebrity entourage, and the third part looks at celebrity worshipers. I wouldn't say I'm fascinated by celebrities, but I am fascinated by the whole idea of celebrities and celebrity worship, and this book is filling in a lot of details for me.

[garygnu]

I just started Jesus Interrupted by Bart Ehrmann, the Misquoting Jesus guy. I'm not learning a whole lot I didn't know before, but I'm interested in his general theme -- that pretty much every main line minister learns about historical criticism in their seminary training, yet this generally accepted scholarship remains a mystery to the average Christian.

Anybody else got anything good in their hands?

Whoa... I was going to post that I'm reading Misquoting Jesus before I even opened this thread. I'm an atheeist with an interest in the very early formation of religion. I find the book quite interesting, but Ehrmann's writing style annoys me constantly. He repeats himself constantly and the books aren't organized very well. Still worth reading, though.

The next book on my list of wants is God Against the Gods.

[Baldwin]

I'm reading a book called "Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em: The Mysterious Loss of the WWII US Submarine Gudgeon". ("Find 'Em, Chase 'Em, Sink 'Em" was the boat's motto, and it sank a lot of Japanese ships.) It's an interesting account in its own right, and has a lot of information about the realities of submarine warfare in the Pacific. For me there's also a family connection, since my Uncle Wesley Worthington served as an Electricians Mate on four patrols about Gudgeon, including the last one (that didn't come back).

[BiblioCat]

I have Lamb by Christopher Moore. I'm willing to lend it out to anyone that wants to read it provided you will return it when done. It is the special gold-rimmed bible copy.

Lamb was an excellent book. Every time I laughed out loud, I was sure I was going to get hit by lightning.

I'm currently reading Dewey, about a kitten that was shoved through the book return slot of a library in Iowa, was nursed back to health by the librarians, and ended up staying and being a library cat. It's a teensy bit glurgy, but hey, it's about a cat. It's gotta be good!

[ShelliBean]

Oh hell I'm an atheist and I got a little misty at the end of Lamb. Excellent book. Offer stands. I also have Practical Demonkeeping that I'd be willing to lend out when a friend of mine gets through reading it.

Anything to share the Christopher Moore-y goodness.

[dread pirate jimbo]

I am almost done In Custer's Shadow: Major Marcus Reno by Ronald Nichols. I've had a fascination with the Battle of the Little Bighorn and Major Reno's career for quite some time now and this seems to be a pretty definitive biography of his life. Nichols doesn't spend much time editrializing, preferring to just let the facts speak for themselves, revealing a character that time has mostly forgotten (how many people know that two thirds of the 7th Cavalry survived the Little Big Horn under the command of Major Reno?) who is essentially just an average, imperfect guy placed in extraordinary circumstances and who got court-martialled for the sin of not dying with Col. Custer on that fateful day in June 1876. I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

[Julie]

I'm not completely taken with anything I'm reading at the moment except a grief book that probably doesn't have much general appeal. (I hope.)

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I'm not completely taken with anything I'm reading at the moment except a grief book that probably doesn't have much general appeal. (I hope.)

I hope it's not inappropriate to wish you well, and to hope that the book helps you cope with the grief.

[Julie]

I'm not completely taken with anything I'm reading at the moment except a grief book that probably doesn't have much general appeal. (I hope.)

I hope it's not inappropriate to wish you well, and to hope that the book helps you cope with the grief.

Thanks. I'll never consider kind words inappropriate. It's also completely okay with me if people ignore the topic. I'm trying not to be a bore, but it's so much a part of my life right now that it's hard not to mention it. Y'know?

[Rube E. Tewesday]

I'm not completely taken with anything I'm reading at the moment except a grief book that probably doesn't have much general appeal. (I hope.)

I hope it's not inappropriate to wish you well, and to hope that the book helps you cope with the grief.

Thanks. I'll never consider kind words inappropriate. It's also completely okay with me if people ignore the topic. I'm trying not to be a bore, but it's so much a part of my life right now that it's hard not to mention it. Y'know?

I know.

[Marlitharn]

I just finished The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, and must travel posthaste to the libary to pick up the other two books in the trilogy, 'cause that's a darn good story. I loves me some Vikings. I just started 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill; I've only read the first couple of stories, and I enjoyed them.

And I just looked the book up on Amazon to check out some reviews, and damned if Joe Hill isn't Stephen and Tabitha King's boy! He's a good writer.

[Muffin]

I'm enjoying Bill Bryson's "The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way." When I picked it up, I was expecting something light and amusing, but I never expected the fellow to have a clue about the subject matter. I was delightfuly surprised to find it not only light and amusing, but also packed with interesting information concerning, as he puts it, English and how it got that way. As a one time English prof, I'm really into these sort of books.

I'm also slowly working my wasy thorugh Henry Sumner Maine's "Ancient Law." It is very densely written, as only a mid-nineteenth century academic and jurist could write, and deals with matters that require the reader to have an extremely sound background. For example, I'm an estate lawyer, yet the author assumes knowledge on my part that I simply do not have -- but therein lies the joy of it! I scurry off to learn more about what the author is discussing, and then once I am up to speed, I return to his text. Usually I'll read a paragraph or two (five-hundred to one-thousand words) at a sitting. I'm a couple of hundred pages in, with a couple of hundred more to go, so it very well could be that I will be ancient by the time I finish "Ancient Law."

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

I am currently re-reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I had forgotten how funny it is. I mean, obviously it's not going to be all sour and dour and other rhyming words, but I'm only through the first chapter and I've already laughed several times. I'm looking forward to reading more.

I'm about to start Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. It's a book of "original fairy tales for adults" according the back cover, which is a topic I enjoy, and has a bunch of stories by fantasy authors I like, so I have good feelings about it.

I have The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clark lined up next, which I am also looking forward to. I really enjoyed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, and I'm hoping this delivers in the same way, even if it is short stories.

[Julie]

I am currently re-reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I had forgotten how funny it is. I mean, obviously it's not going to be all sour and dour and other rhyming words

Just a bit of trivia: While many people rhyme "sour" and "dour" now, the older pronunciation (which is the one I think you'd still hear more often) rhymes with "tour."

[ShelliBean]

Finished Still Life today so now I am going to focus on The Pleasure of My Company, with small breaks for stories out of the Hemingway. Faulkner can wait. He is the crotchety drunk uncle that I know will always be there.

[MsPurlMcKnittington]

I am currently re-reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I had forgotten how funny it is. I mean, obviously it's not going to be all sour and dour and other rhyming words

Just a bit of trivia: While many people rhyme "sour" and "dour" now, the older pronunciation (which is the one I think you'd still hear more often) rhymes with "tour."

Really! That's interesting. I've never heard anyone say "dour" any other way than to rhyme with "sour". Of course, not many people say the word, so my sample size isn't all that big.

[Julie]

I am currently re-reading Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I had forgotten how funny it is. I mean, obviously it's not going to be all sour and dour and other rhyming words

Just a bit of trivia: While many people rhyme "sour" and "dour" now, the older pronunciation (which is the one I think you'd still hear more often) rhymes with "tour."

Really! That's interesting. I've never heard anyone say "dour" any other way than to rhyme with "sour". Of course, not many people say the word, so my sample size isn't all that big.

Yeah, not one of those words you hear all that often.

My husband were playing Lord of the Rings Online and there are baddies called "Dourhands." He thought I was just making up a random pronunciation when I rhymed dour with tour and I thought he was making up a random pronunciation when he rhymed it with sour! We had to look it up together to convince ourselves we weren't both illiterate savages. Savages, yet. But not illiterate!

[XJETGIRLX]

Here's the stack I'm currently engaged in:

Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt. It's a bit dry but I'm really enjoying it. He's got a lot of interesting statistics, and a back stage look at how traffic is managed in most cities.

World War Z by Max Brooks. I really, thoroughly enjoyed this. I love that it's not just a scary zombie book. His style of writing bugs me at times and gets a little repetitive, but the topics he brings up are very thought provoking. It's an interesting exercise in considering just what it would take to bring civilization through and back after something like that.

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. I haven't gotten too far into this one, but it's a classic so I assume it's going to be great.

The Learners by Chip Kidd. I only realized this was a follow-up book after I picked it up. The author is a graphic designer-turned-writer, and this book packs some humor and eccentricity into a plot that is loosely based on the milgram experiment.

Upgrade Me by Brian Clegg. This is a nice, fluffy little read about how modern humans have learned to upgrade themselves, effectively bypassing evolution in our ability to adapt to and create new environments for ourselves. It's not too heavy on the science or research. If you enjoy things like the "Most Extreme" show on Animal Planet you'll enjoy this.

[Sarahfeena]

I'm reading American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. For those not familiar, it's a novel about a woman who becomes First Lady, and it's based on Laura Bush's life. It's an interesting read, because while the author can't stand George Bush, she feels a strong affection and regard for Laura. So, while the book doesn't do much to make George look good, it is still a sympathetic portrayal of their marriage. I'm not done with it, but so far I'm enjoying it a lot.

[vison]

Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages.
By Anne Mendelson.

I'm a big fan of books that deal thouroughly with a single subject - such as Simon Winchesters, or the classics on the Pencil, Salt, etc.

I'm astounded at how much I have learned from this book. Such as how "unusual" it is to drink "sweet" milk. For most of history in most of the areas where animals were milked, the practice was - and remains - to use soured/cultured milk products. Shoulda been obvious, but I never really realized.

And I guess I knew better, but I never really internalized that Little Miss Muffet was eating something resembling cottage cheese instead of porridge. Hell, not being a fan myself, I'd let the spider have it.

And did you know that milk is a solution AND a suspension AND an emulsion?

FASCINATING I tell you.

Well - maybe not. My kids say i'm weird!

Try "Much Depends Upon Dinner" by Margaret Visser. She deconstructs a simple meal: salad, main course, and dessert. Fascinating!

eta: I say "dour" to rhyme with "tour", always have.

Someone above is enjoying Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue", and that person ought to read Bryson's "Made in America", which is just as terrific and funny and informative. He's a wonderful writer.

[Muffin]

Try "Much Depends Upon Dinner" by Margaret Visser. She deconstructs a simple meal: salad, main course, and dessert. Fascinating!

. . .

Someone above is enjoying Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue", and that person ought to read Bryson's "Made in America", which is just as terrific and funny and informative. He's a wonderful writer.

If audio tapes/CDs are available of Visser's CBC interviews, they would be worth listening to. She is temendously enthusiasic, and blorts and stutters in an English way that has you on the edge of your seat wondering just what might come out of her mouth next.

Yes, I have read a number of Bryson's books, including "Made in America." I very much enjoy his writing, so I was very happy to see him take on a subject with greater academic weight than simple perosnal observations.

[yellowval]

I just finished The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, and must travel posthaste to the libary to pick up the other two books in the trilogy, 'cause that's a darn good story. I loves me some Vikings. I just started 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill; I've only read the first couple of stories, and I enjoyed them.

And I just looked the book up on Amazon to check out some reviews, and damned if Joe Hill isn't Stephen and Tabitha King's boy! He's a good writer.

I loved 20th Century Ghosts. Really fun, and a good read.

I'm currently reading The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth by a local author, Bill Holm. It's part of a reading event in our community. A kind donor bought about 80 of these books, which were distributed for free (to keep!) at the library. There's a discussion group planned next month for us all to get together and discuss. The author was supposed to come and lead the discussion. Sadly, he passed away unexpectedly last week.

I'm also plugging slowly away on Nicholas Nickleby and Sister Carrie.

[silenus]

Currently in the queue are:

Fool - Christopher Moore. His retelling of King Lear from an alternate perspective. (guess whose?)

Insurrection - David Weber/Steve White. Fulfilling my Daily Recommended Allowance of Military SF.

Don't Try This At Home - edited by Kim Witherspoon and Andrew Friedman. Culinary catastrophes as described by the world's greatest chefs.

[ShelliBean]

I'm interested to see how you like Fool. As I've mentioned, I loved Lamb, and I've liked Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck: A Love Story. I also liked Practical Demonkeeping - but none as much as Lamb. I also want to read The Stupidest Angel.

I'm in a Christopher Moore/Tom Robbins kind of place right now, I guess. It's prettier here than the Chuck Palahniuk phase, but that was fun too!

[Larry Borgia]

While I was moving stuff around i found my hardback copy of Len Deighton's Bomber. I forgot how great it was. It's a much better anti-war novel than Slaughterhouse-5 orCatch-22, IMO. Kind of like the anti-Clancy. Well researched, brutally suspensful and heart-breaking. The plot concerns an RAF bomber squadron, the Luftwaffe night fighter squadron who opposes them, and some civilians in a small German town. Please read this book, you won't regret it.

[sinjin]

I'm interested to see how you like Fool. As I've mentioned, I loved Lamb, and I've liked Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck: A Love Story. I also liked Practical Demonkeeping - but none as much as Lamb. I also want to read The Stupidest Angel.

I'm in a Christopher Moore/Tom Robbins kind of place right now, I guess. It's prettier here than the Chuck Palahniuk phase, but that was fun too!

I'm reading Fool right now (well not right now, I'm actually typing right now). What's not to like about a book with lots of "heinous fuckery" and "smashing boobs?" While I was reading it and laughing out loud on a plane Sunday the woman next to me bought me a drink. Woohoo!

I stuck with Chuck up til Rant. Got half-way thru and haven't been able to finish it.

In other bookie news I got a kindle yesterday and am liking it a lot so far.

[NAF1138]

I'm also reading Fool right now, having just finished Fluke for the first time. I am finding Fool to be very interesting. I have a deep attatchment to Lear as a play so it's fun to see what Moore is doing with the material. I am liking it a lot, but so far not as much as I liked Fluke. Fluke was a great book. Totally different that what I would have expected, and totally awesome at the same time. And it's got me interested in Whale conservation, so that's probably a good thing.

I also just finished (last night in fact) Fool Moon, book 2 of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher which I also liked a whole lot. It worked much better than the first book did, and I think I will be sticking with this series even though I generally have a rule about not reading open ended book series.

[XJETGIRLX]

I'm just coming down off a Christopher Moore jag after reading Lamb, Practical Demonkeeping, Fluke, Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Bloodsucking Fiends all in the span of a couple weeks. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Coyote Blue and I've got a copy of Stupidest Angel that I haven't started yet, though.

[XJETGIRLX]

Fluke was a great book. Totally different that what I would have expected, and totally awesome at the same time. And it's got me interested in Whale conservation, so that's probably a good thing.

I agree, Fluke was awesome. It was the second book of his I read after Lamb, and I was completely skeptical that I would find a book about whales as hilarious and entertaining as Lamb. I was very happy to be proven wrong.

[NAF1138]

I'm just coming down off a Christopher Moore jag after reading Lamb, Practical Demonkeeping, Fluke, Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Bloodsucking Fiends all in the span of a couple weeks. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Coyote Blue and I've got a copy of Stupidest Angel that I haven't started yet, though.

Seems like I am going down the same path as you. Next on my reading list are Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck and I am looking to track down the rest. Fluke ,Lamb and The Stupidest Angel are the only ones I have read so far.

[Laughing Lagomorph]

I just started reading The Mysterious Benedict Society (http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Benedi ... 0316057770).

I don't really read a lot of kid's (young adult, if you prefer) books although it seems like it lately. I don't like Harry Potter. Tried, don't like it. I never really read Roald Dahl. I read and liked the first two Lemony Snicket books but they weren't quite as good as I was expecting.

But this book is all kinds of awesome. Quirky, interesting characters, complex, believable world, AND good writing. I'm glad there's already a sequel out.

[liberty3701]

I'm loving all of the Christopher Moore love going on in here. I've read Lamb, Fluke, Bloodsucking Fiends, Coyote Blue, The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, and The Island of the Sequined Love Nun. All of them embarrassing to read in public with all my guffawing.

Right now, I'm reading A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. I honestly chose it originally because it's over 1400 pages long, and I love long books. I'm always bummed when a book ends. I'm not too far into it, but so far it's good, but very heavy. I mean literally heavy.

For not-so-fun, I'm reading We Share Walls: Language, Land, and Gender in Berber Morocco by Katherine E. Hoffman for my linguistic anthropology class. For my research, I'm reading Crucible of Carolina: essays in the development of Gullah language and culture edited by Micheal Montgomery and American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture by Joane Nagel.

Basically, all I do is read lately.

[Mangetout]

I just finished reading Five Chimneys - which is a first-hand survivor's account of her experiences in Auschwitz/Birkenau. Compelling, sickening, fascinating and terrifying all at the same time.

[Jules]

I'm reading the latest Honor Harrington novel, Storm From the Shadows, by David Weber. It's more about Mike Henke than Honor, but it's shaping up to be a really great read. I do wish I'd done my usual trick of rereading at least the last book in the series to refresh my memory, but I couldn't wait to dive into it.

[Guinastasia]

Keith Olbermann's collection of "Special Comments". It's interesting because I missed some, but in general, I preferred "Worst Person in the World." I really, really hope he calms down in the next year-he's gotten waaaaay too cranky.

And The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News, edited by Jason Holt. It's basically a series of essays about how The Daily Show satirizes the news and current events, and how that affects our way of looking at news media. That and the really shitty state OF the news media nowadays. (Spin, partisanship, etc.) It's fascinating.

[ShelliBean]

I'm just coming down off a Christopher Moore jag after reading Lamb, Practical Demonkeeping, Fluke, Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Bloodsucking Fiends all in the span of a couple weeks. I'm about 3/4 of the way through Coyote Blue and I've got a copy of Stupidest Angel that I haven't started yet, though.

Sounds like you do what I do - pick an author and make the rounds. Unfortunately I've muddled the Moore with the Steve Martin (which is actually pretty good). Did you read You Suck? If not I probably have a copy. I guess I'm going to go in order from here on out.


sinjin - I did make it all the way through Rant and I liked it some, but part of that is because I was on a Palahniuk bender. I did feel worn out by the time I got done and it was one of the more ridiculous books. I found that I simply cannot read one of Chucks books without it mentally being read aloud by Tyler Durden. I also liked Choke and can't wait until I get to see the movie (it wasn't released anywhere around me).

How are you liking the kindle? Does it detract from the reading to not have physical pages to flip and the sensation of a book in your hand?

[sinjin]

Shellibean:

I haven't used the Kindle all that much yet. Trying to finish off a few tree books first and playing mafia and killing mutants (and grading papers, but enough about work) is taking up a fair bit of my time this week. But next week is spring break and I'm not planning on bringing any paper books on vacation at all so I will have a better feel for how I like it. I'll get the chance to see how well it works in the sunlight as I sit by the pool having a cool refreshing beverage. And how long the battery lasts.

So far it feels very good. It is way lighter and smaller than I expected and the print quality is very good. Downloading a book was effortless and very quick. I'll report back after I've really used it next week. 8-)

[NAF1138]

Shellibean:

I haven't used the Kindle all that much yet. Trying to finish off a few tree books first and playing mafia and killing mutants (and grading papers, but enough about work) is taking up a fair bit of my time this week. But next week is spring break and I'm not planning on bringing any paper books on vacation at all so I will have a better feel for how I like it. I'll get the chance to see how well it works in the sunlight as I sit by the pool having a cool refreshing beverage. And how long the battery lasts.

So far it feels very good. It is way lighter and smaller than I expected and the print quality is very good. Downloading a book was effortless and very quick. I'll report back after I've really used it next week. 8-)

Please do report back on that. We have been talking about getting one to share over in my house, but it's just expensive enough that we want to make damn sure it's something we want before we take the plunge.

[Elyanna]

A Fine and Private Place, Peter S. Beagle. Only about fifty pages in; it's lovely so far.

[EthelMercaptan]

Pick up The Billionaire's Vinegar at the library the other day. It's the story of the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold; two hundred years old, auctioned in 1985, supposedly originally owned by Thomas Jefferson, and ultimately far more controversial than anyone suspected at the time.