What are you reading now?

[neglet]

It's new book month at the library. I just finished Sue Grafton's "S Is for Silence" and loved it. I'm not a huge mystery fan, but I have read this whole series and this is one of the best so far. She alternates present-tense chapters investigating the mystery with past-tense ones taking place at the time of the mystery. She had me convinced of about four different suspects during the book.

Next up: Patricia Cornwell's "Predator" and David Weber's "At All Costs." The latter one I actually suggested to the librarian and they bought it and I get it first! Tee hee hee. I love the library.

[KingVoyeur]

"Soul Mountain" by Gao Xingjian and "Middlemarch" by George Eliot.

[Intelligent_Design]

Walden 2 By B.F. Skinner

[Space Tycoon]

The Thirteenth Tribe by Arthur Koestler. Yes, that one. ;)

Koestler's thesis about the Turkic origin of most Israelis has, apparently, been disproven by genetic research. It has also been misused by anti-Jewish firebrands to undermine the case for Israel.

But Koestler himself was pro-Zionist, and whether you believe his conclusions or not, it's a fascinating glimpse at a part of history many Westerners are still largely ignorant of. The Jewish Khazar empire, located in the Caucasus region, was apparently responsible for preventing the armies of early Islam from overtaking Byzantium and, quite possibly, medieval Europe itself.

While not the longest lived empire of it's time, Khazaria's role in the shaping of our time is absolutely crucial. I'm only at the first third of the book, but I recommend it so far.

[DarkJedi]

Stephen King's new book just came out Tuesday and I just found about it. Picked it up tonight but haven't started it yet.

It's about Zombies and "Thanks went to Romero" so it's an automatic must read for fans of the horror genre, I bet.

[TrixieB]

I have recetly discovered Stephen J. Cannell. I read "The Tin Collectors" and "Vertical Coffin" and just started "Hollywood Tough". For those of you who are unfamiliar with him, he created several cop shows such as 21 Jump Street, Hunter, The Rockford Files, and Silk Stalkings. He writes similar novels about cops in LA.

[Deacon]

Recently got into the Sherlock Holmes books. I'm up to 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' right now.

[Adam54]

I'm about 60% done with The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
It's good, but there's moments where he's trying too hard to slam points into your head.

[kah]

I'm reading Under A Black Flag, The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates.

I understand that this is a history book, but this book makes history books seem interesting. I am having a VERY hard time reading this one. David Cordingly tries to tell you all about pirates using actual examples from trials and journals, but also throws in parts of Treasure Island and Pirates of Penzance, among other literary works of FICTION. The problem I have, is that Cordingly builds chapters under headings of character attributes, or behaviors. Within a single paragraph, you will read about maybe several different pirates, and their common behavior, or apparel. Several chapters later, you will read more about them, but never cohesively. I find myself going over a single paragraph several times just to figure out what's going on, since the next paragraph often has nothing to do with the one prior. I would rather have gotten a book organized into chapters headed by the pirates themselves. That way, I could remember what one pirate did throughout his career, not one thing that he did and another did and another did as well. GAHHHHHH! I wish I was the type of person who could give up on a book after starting it.

[Tricksterson]

A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon.

[Droogie]

Just finished "The Protectors War", the second book in S.M. Stirlings soon to be trilogy. The first book is "Dies the Fire". I love this series, a post apocolyptic tale of life after all electricity, gun powder, or any sort of cumbustion ceases to work. All life reverst to a kind a dark ages meets Mad Max kind of affair. I love especially because it takes place mainly on the Oregon coast so quite a few of the areas are quite familiar. Can't quite recommend these enough. If you want a teast his web site has quite a few chapters up the peruse.

http://www.smstirling.com/

[Droogie]

I love libraries too Neglet, mine also just bought a buttload of new books. I usually go into the books store write a list of the new books out and then give the list to my favorite librarian and more often then not they'll add them to their buy lists.

[Sgt. Awesome]

I'm reading Roberston Davis's "The Manticore". I did Fifth Buisness for school and kept going because it was good.

[Nebka]

I am reading a book called Forbidden History it is on Prehistory Technologies

[Rowanberry]

I'm about one third through Thud! by Terry Pratchett.

[Jarl]

...
...
Okay.
Fine.
You got me.
I went to the library to find a copy of At the Mountains of Madness.
I got Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
I finished it.
Next...
...
Yeah.
I've got the whole Star Wars series novelizations now. I've had TPM and ANH for a long time (I actually have one of the first printings of ANH) but I just recently got AotC, RotS, and ESB. No RotJ so far.

-And Thud is an excellent book. I've been looking, but can't find Where's My Cow?, which I understand was released as a small paberback or something. It's out there, hell if I know where. Probably not in America. Thanks, Power Cable.

[KingVoyeur]

I just bought and read Stephen King's newest book, "Cell". It was ok, not as great as some of his other stuff, but an interesting read. Definitely makes you wonder about what's coming through your cell phone.

[Rael]

I'm reading a book called Waylander by David Gemmel. It is fantasy, and if you like your main character to be a bad-ass, I definetly recomend it.

P.S. Deacon - love the avatar.

[Jarl]

Kay, so I actually got At the Mountains of Madness this time. It also comes with "Dream Quest" and "Statement of Randolph" and... something else, don't rmember what.

-I'm reading it at the same time as Revenge of the Sith, which should make for some fun dreams.

[ladyflorange]

Reading Sleep, Pale Sister, by Joanne Harris, because I loved the rest of her books. Really enjoying it, although it is a little strange, but very well written.

[Penfold]

I just finished reading "Small Steps", which is Louis Sachar's follow-up to "Holes". Not nearly as good as "Holes", and very different in theme. It's not bad, just not great. Next, I think I'll get to "The Well Of Lost Plots". I read the first two Thursday Next books, and liked 'em a lot.

[neglet]

Went to a writers' conference this weekend and picked up two books by Brit David Almond, who was a featured speaker. "Skellig," a short YA novel, was just wonderful.

On the plane home I was reading a story collection by Stephen R. Donaldson. His story "Penance" is the best vampire story I have ever read. I literally had to put the book down when I finished it, because I just couldn't go on and read anything else afterwards, it was too good to spoil by starting something else.

[KingVoyeur]

Working on Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Very good stuff so far, I heard they're working on a movie, hope it's made well.

[neglet]

Make sure to read the sequel, "Anansi Boys." Same universe, but very different in tone--some really funny bits.

[kah]

Went to a writers' conference this weekend and picked up two books by Brit David Almond, who was a featured speaker. "Skellig," a short YA novel, was just wonderful.

On the plane home I was reading a story collection by Stephen R. Donaldson. His story "Penance" is the best vampire story I have ever read. I literally had to put the book down when I finished it, because I just couldn't go on and read anything else afterwards, it was too good to spoil by starting something else.

I was a HUGE fan of SRD in my teens. I bought everything he wrote. The Gap series is incredibly well-written, but also incredibly dark and depressing. There are no heroes. When Terry Goodkind came out with his Sword of Truth series, I started that. I'm a paperback girl, so I anxiously await the pb, usually about 2 yrs between novels. I tried to go back and reread SRD's first Thomas Covenant series while waiting for the latest installment, but had a hard time with it after Goodkind. <~~ favorite author, closely followed by Robert Ludlum

[neglet]

I loved the Thomas Covenant series when I was in my teens, and I haven't reread it in a while. I've decided that if I know a fantasy/sci fi series has an ending point, I'm not going to start reading it until all the books are out. It just saves on frustration. So no new TC books until the whole thing is out--that's okay, though, the two-book "Mirror of Her Dreams" is really my favorite work by Donaldson.

I think I need to start a new thread in this forum.

[kah]

I loved the Thomas Covenant series when I was in my teens, and I haven't reread it in a while. I've decided that if I know a fantasy/sci fi series has an ending point, I'm not going to start reading it until all the books are out. It just saves on frustration. So no new TC books until the whole thing is out--that's okay, though, the two-book "Mirror of Her Dreams" is really my favorite work by Donaldson.

I think I need to start a new thread in this forum.


The Mirror books were my FAVORITE!! I reread them probably 6 or 7 times.

[Kaeos]

Currently working on Greg Bear's "Eon". Awesome read so far.

[sould]

just finished "the shadow of the wind" by carlos ruiz zafon, so good that it inspired me to get on-line and join a book forum. it's a classic tale, stephen king along with the usual suspects rated the book highly.

in the canteen at work we gotta tv set in the corner with a sofa, its blocked off from the rest of the canteen so sunday just gone i went there to sit down away from my managers line of vision (hoping that out of sight was out of mind!) i found the shadow of the wind in the magazine rack to the left of the sofa and spent the next 2hours reading it. (luckily i wasn't caught!)
i took the book home and just finished, couldn't put it down!

seems the best books are always the ones that find me.

[Quasar]

I finished A Feast For Crows about a week ago. Haven't picked up anything new just yet.

[tstone]

Just finished Bentley Little's "The Policy". Horror with an anti corporate screed, like The Store. Fun and creepy.

Am wrapping up Charles McDonald's account of his experiences as an infantry company commander in WWII, "Company Commander". Matter of fact detailing of his time in Hell on the Euro front.

And I'm one third into "Lightpaths", a cyberpunk novel about an orbital experiment in eutopia.

[Nebka]

I Just Got The New Clive Cussler Book Vin Fiz

[Droogie]

I'm about halfway through Stephen Pressfield's Virtues of War. It is his fictionalized take on Alexander the Great as told from the first person. If you like his other historical fiction books you'll love this one. This is the book the recent movie should have been written around. Great character development, and the way he sets up the who, what and where of the battle scenes are quite interesting. Granted there is alot of artistic license being taken but his care for detail of the era really makes the story come alive. An interesting thing about his characters is the fact that you could remove the 18 foot pikes and the bronze armor and the story could quite easily be transposed to contemporary times.

[bookworm555]

I just finished a second reading of "A Necessary Evil" by Robert Stricklin, and it was even better than the first time I read it. As you can probably gather by the title, it's a thriller -- and what a thriller! It grabs you from the first few pages and doesn't let you go until the very last sentence. What's more, the suspense actually builds with each chapter. This is by far one of the best things I've read in years, and I think it would make a sensational movie. I'm looking forward to the author's next book.

[Penfold]

Just finished reading V For Vendetta, and started up Thank You For Smoking. I have to read all these books before I see the movies.

[DaForce]

I'm midway through The Radioactive Boy Scout by Ken Silverstein. It's the true story of some idiot in suburban Detroit that built a crude nuclear reactor in his backyard to get his Atomic Energy Badge in the Scouts. This happened in 1995, and involved the EPA in a cleanup that took out most of this guy's backyard as radioactive waste.

Next up, I'm trying to get a copy of Hellboy: Unnatural Selection.

[KingVoyeur]

Just started reading a recent collection of H.P. Lovecraft tales. Never read him before, frackin' scary!

[thedoctorrr]

The Know-It-All by AJ Jacobs. The book follows the author's mission of reading all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Brittanica from beginning to end. How he tries to incorporate his new found knowledge and how it impacts the rest of his life is very amusing. A very entertaining, leisurely read.

[kah]

I am in the middle of Ghengis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. I am ashamed to admit that I was one of those people who believed Khan was just a barbarian conqueror before hearing about this book. It is an excellent piece of revisionist history, and reads more like a novel than a history book. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

[Penfold]

I've been reading "Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk. It's interesting so far.

[DaForce]

Hellboy: On Earth as it is in Hell. Kinda like the DaVinci Code, except exciting, has Hellboy, has angels, has demons, and involves a scroll that was supposedly written by Christ after the crucifixation where He denounce Paul as getting His words wrong and setting Christianity down a wrong path.

[Rowanberry]

I've almost finished another one by Terry Pratchett - Pyramids. Quite a successful parody of a few ancient cultures and, as always, of the human nature.

[StrangeBookLover]

I'm reading "The Dubliners" by James Joyce. It's a modernist book of short stories from around 1910. That's probably not the best way to advertise it, but it's a really good book and the stories have very interesting ideas in it. I would definitely recommend it.

[Scotia]

I just finished The Shroud of the Thwacker by Chris Elliott. I loved it. I knew the guy could write jokes and script but this is a full length novel...of impressive size. It's an absurd and twisted story involving a serial killer from 1882. Elliott has very little, if any, knowledge of the era so he makes up shit as he goes along. He purposely f*cks up historical fact and inserts modern day references to give the book an air of authenticity. It's ridiculous and relentlessly funny.

One of the better comedian turned authors I've read.

[eirefaerie]

I am currently reading 'A Million Pieces' by James Fry. It's about this guy's addiction to drugs including meth. It's pretty good.

[adriana]

I've just finished Dark Rain by Conor Corderoy. I have to say, it is one of the best books I have ever read! If any of you out there have read it, did you notice the code that people are talking about? Apparently it has something to do with the next book in the series, The Eden Cyper... Can't wait until that comes out! The book is quite dark, and written in a dime thriller sort of style, everybody should read this book!!

[Nostromo]

"Saturday" by Ian McEwan. A fine thriller.
N

http://www.ianmcewan.com/bib/books/saturday.html

[neglet]

Just finished reading the first three books in the "Temeraire" series by Naomi Novik--essentially, putting dragons in the midst of the Napoleonic wars. Very cool idea, fairly well executed--and the dragon characters, especially Temeraire, are lots of fun.

[kah]

That sounds interesting, Negs.

I'm in the middle of The Search for Nefertiti (http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/nefertiti/). It's written by an Egyptologist whose specialty is ancient hair and wigs. So far it has been really enjoyable. The author loves her profession, and it shows in her writing. She explains why she chose Egyptology as a career, and the steps she took to getting where she is now, which, about halfway through, is digging at Amarna. It's exciting to think there is still so much to be found in Egypt. Granted, the book is not recommended by serious archaeologists, but it is entertaining if read as a diary with lots of fiction. Kind of like Frey's Million Little Pieces.

[Penfold]

I'm in the midst of reading the Dark Tower series for the first time. I'm nearing the end of The Waste Lands right now.

[KingVoyeur]

I'm in the midst of reading the Dark Tower series for the first time. I'm nearing the end of The Waste Lands right now.

When you're done you should check out the Dark Tower thread in this forum.

[jrin99]

I am reading Dissapointment With God by Philip Yancy and Rouge Angel by Jodi Werhanowicz check them out. I would love to hear feedback from anyone who has read these books.

[Cuchulainn]

I love going away on vaction. I went away over the 4th of July week on vaction and got a lot of reading done. I finished up The Bourne Identity (by Robert Ludlum; Thriller), then read The Star Beast (by Heinlein; Sci-Fi), followed that up by reading The Freedom Line (by Peter Eisner; Non-Fiction; about a group of Belgium, French, and Spanish men and women who would help downed Allied airmen get out of Nazi occupied territory and into Spain), and now I'm about 3/4 through The Silver Wolf (by Alice Borchardt, sister to Anne Rice; Historical Fantasy, I guess).

[Queen Mae]

I'm reading Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. It's the second time that I've read it in 6 months.

[Nostromo]

"The Swarm". But at 800 plus pages, you need to do arm curls before you read it.
N


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060813261/002-8806055-9499242?v=glance&n=283155

[Penfold]

Just started The Fourth Bear, the new one from Jasper Fforde.

[Adam54]

HP and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Finally jumping on THAT bandwagon.

Quick read so far. I've done about 140 pages in two days.
And eaten up every word of it.

[neglet]

Yummy. Come to the Harry Potter forum when you're done to talk about the first book. We love talking about HP!

I'm finally finally getting around to reading Gene Wolfe's "Long Sun" series: Nightside the Long Sun, Lake of the Long Sun, Calde of the Long Sun, and Exodus from the Long Sun. (I'm on Bk 3 right now.) I'd say this is a little easier to read than Wolfe's classic New Sun series, but still full of his wonderfully lyrical writing.

After that, re-reading Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials," because now that we're talking about the movie I can't resist a re-read.

[Rowanberry]

I just finished Terry Pratchett's Small Gods. Now, I'm at an old favourite of mine, The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke.

[colmatrix]

Michaels Chricton's latest: State of Fear. About 100 pages in and it seems to be moving at a snail's pace.

[KingVoyeur]

Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. I can't believe I didn't start reading this sooner, it's fantastic! And now there's an actual comic book called The Escapist based on the comic book character in the novel! Sweet!

[neglet]

Just finished reading James Swanson's Manhunt: The 12-Day Search for Lincoln's Killer. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060518499/sr=8-1/qid=1156780718/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9062419-2443950?ie=UTF8) I highly recommend this for anyone who's a Civil War or history buff, or likes a good procedural. It's history but reads like fiction, the details and varying strands are woven together that well.

[Space Tycoon]

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond.

Intriguing.

[colmatrix]

Just finished reading James Swanson's Manhunt: The 12-Day Search for Lincoln's Killer. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060518499/sr=8-1/qid=1156780718/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9062419-2443950?ie=UTF8) I highly recommend this for anyone who's a Civil War or history buff, or likes a good procedural. It's history but reads like fiction, the details and varying strands are woven together that well.

I just read that they are making a movie out of that event with Harrison Ford playing the investigator. Maybe it won't suck! I almost done with Michael Chricton's 'State of Fear'. It is a very interesting read, and probably one of the better social commentaries of our time. It started out kind of slow, but it picked up considerably and now has my seal of approval (whatever that's worth!).

[Nostromo]

Panic by Jeff Abbott.
Tightly written - good pace. About a guy who finds out his whole life is a lie and discovering the truth could leave him dead. N

http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=1658

[kah]

I'm reading The Wizard of Earthsea to the boy. He doesn't care, but I am enjoying it so far. Just a question- is it supposed to be a young adult book? It certainly reads like one. Oh, and for a negative... I get that Earthsea is a bunch of islands, but come on. How many crazy islands with crazy names do you need? The one thing I hate most when it comes to reading is when authors come up with ridiculous, unpronounceable names for people and places. It interrupts the flow of the story. :romy:

[kawaiidragonfoe821]

I'm reading 'A time to Kill' right now & I absolutely love it! I can't put it down.

[Toniw]

Running from the Devil, by Sara Davies. A must read!

[neglet]

I'm reading The Wizard of Earthsea to the boy. He doesn't care, but I am enjoying it so far. Just a question- is it supposed to be a young adult book? It certainly reads like one. Oh, and for a negative... I get that Earthsea is a bunch of islands, but come on. How many crazy islands with crazy names do you need? The one thing I hate most when it comes to reading is when authors come up with ridiculous, unpronounceable names for people and places. It interrupts the flow of the story. :romy:

I think despite the age of Sparrowhawk during most of book, it's intended for an upper elementary/middle school audience rather than being a true YA. Since the sequel to Wizard, The Tombs of Atuan, won a Newbery Honor, that kinda confirms the age bracket for which it was intended. I was 11 or 12 when I first read "Earthsea." I don't mind weird names, unless I find out later I'm pronouncing them wrong in my head.

Oh, and for the love of God, don't ever watch the SciFi adaptation of "Earthsea"; I could only watch about 2 minutes before vomiting by how much they changed everything. (Namely, the race and character of Sparrowhawk.)

[kah]

Thought so. It really reads young. I've long heard about Earthsea, but never got around to reading it. I'll be sure to stay away from the movie.

[Nostromo]

Hit Parade by Lawrence Block.
Third book in a series featuring the character John Keller .. he's a hitman.
Funny, dark read. N

[SuperSpank]

Curretnyl reading Dean Koontz, Forever Odd. I'm really enjoying it. This is the second Dean Koontz title I've read, I find them very easy to get into.

[kah]

I finished the two other Earthsea books. I could've done without the second one altogether, and the third was somewhat entertaining. I really don't think kids need quite so much exposure to despair. :dunno:

I'm just about to get into Closing Time by Joseph Heller. Why didn't anyone ever tell me there was a sequel to Catch-22? I thought you guys were supposed to be my friends? :romy:

[Nostromo]

Half-way through Captain's Glory Judith & Garfiled Reeves-Stevens ghost-writing for Shatner. N

[Kaeos]

I'm working my way through Anne Rice's The Mummy - Or Ramses the Damned.

I gotta say, it really doesn't stack up very well with her entire Vampire anthology and mythos. This book is like, painful to read. But I shall see it through.

[kah]

I agree about Rice's Mummy. It's really not good in any sense of the word. I read all the Rice vampire novels before I got into the witch books. I suppose it worked out, even though they crossed paths in Blackwood Farm (which I didn't really like at all). I really enjoyed them, even though they made V.C. Andrews families look normal.

[Penfold]

I'm finishing up the Dark Tower series, with #7.

[Kaeos]

Cool. Please come back and tell me what you think of the ending there Pen. I'm curious. :)

[TM2]

I just wasted time spamming.

[KingVoyeur]

I'm finishing up the Dark Tower series, with #7.

Yeah, we could use some new life over in the DT thread. Let us know what you think!

Oh, and I'm re-reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, one of my all-time favorites. Caught The Fountainhead on TCM last night and it made me wanna re-read her novels again.

[Cuchulainn]

Tomorrow I'm going to go out and pick up Mitch Albom's newest book, For One More Day. I should be able to get that read by this weekend.

[madi]

I just started Coyote Blue by Christoper Moore. I love him. No. I want to be him.

[Nostromo]

Mission Road by Rick Riordan (caution - page turner alert) N

[Trazalca]

This thread.... oh. Wait. Sorry.


Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith.


:rolleyes:

[tina1742]

Right now im reading 4 books:
It, Stephen King
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, Stephen King
The World According to Garp, John Irving
The Crucible, Arthur Miller

[Nostromo]

Star Trek Section 31 - Cloak, by S.D. Perry. Story is set several weeks after The Enterprise Incident. Well written. A good read if you like TOS stories. N

[Greyman]

Recently finished re-reading 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Just reading this again reminds me of how practical Clarke makes all this seem. In other words, the world that he sets his future in is so easily recognizable, and most of the basic, every-day technology seems dead-on.

Aside from the obvious misread on the year in the title, a lot of his predictions seem very plausible.

[kah]

You should reread Verne's Time Machine or 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

I'm back to Lies My Teacher Told Me. Again. I like to pick it up and put it back down. I think it should be required middle school reading.

[Orcrist]

Stephen King´s "Dark Tower V":) :)

[KingVoyeur]

I just saw that they released "Hunters of Dune", the second to the last book in the Dune saga (it's book 7, the last one was Chapterhouse: Dune). It's written by Herbert's son (all the Dune prequels) based on notes and outlines left by his dad. Unfortunately, I've never read the original series, so I'm starting Dune tonight.

[Nostromo]

Wild Fire by Nelson DeMille.

Very good post 9/11 story. The John Corey character is back.

N

[kah]

I've only read a couple of DeMille books, but they were fantastic! Thanks for reminding me about his work.

[Nostromo]

Word of Honor and Up Country are my favourite DeMille stories. N

[kah]

I read Charm School and The General's Daughter. I did read TGD after I saw the movie, but it actually didn't take away from the movie too much. I love his writing style. :)

[Deacon]

Word of Honor and Up Country are my favourite DeMille stories. N
Liked 'Word of Honor', but never cared for 'Up Country'. I know that it's a more personal story for DeMille, but I never really got into it.

And whilst DeMille is one of my favourite authors ('Cathedral' is an amazingly propulsive book), I found 'Wild Fire' to be a disappointment. It's a definite page-turner, certainly, but there's actually very little plot, and it fizzles out at the end. Plus Corey's constant smartassery wears thin after a while; I mean, he comes out with some hilarious stuff, but when every thing he says is sarcastic, it gets a little one note.

Anyway, just finished 'The Book of the Dead' by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (also disappointing). Now moved on to the new Thomas Harris. Hopefully that'll deliver the goods.

[Nostromo]

Just cracked Michael Crichton's Next. So far so good. It's a 7 Day Express read from the Library which is a challenge for a slow reader like moi. N

[DeschainGang]

Prime Evil...13 stories on the cutting edge of horror

King, Barker, Straub, Campbell...ect.

Good stuff. Getting ready to start The Dark Tower VII by S. King

:eek:

[kah]

Deac and Nos- if you guys like DeMille, then I have to ask if you've read Ludlum? He is one of my favorites, and writes somewhat along the lines of DeMille's style.

[Nostromo]

Deac and Nos- if you guys like DeMille, then I have to ask if you've read Ludlum? He is one of my favorites, and writes somewhat along the lines of DeMille's style.

Yes I like Ludlum too. Of his work outside the Bourne series, I enjoyed
the Osterman Weekend and The Rhinemann Exchange the most. The movie treatment of Osterman was pretty good. Great cast ....
Lancaster, Hurt,Hauer and Hopper. Now that's a Cinema foursome plus Helen Shaver. N

[kah]

I actually haven't read the Bourne series. When I heard they were making them into movies, I decided to wait until they were all out. I loved the Scorpio Illusion and the Chancellor Manuscript, and his hilarious Road books- Road to Gandolfo and Road to Omaha. :) I think I may have to reread those for the 5th or 6th time now.

[Nostromo]

Haven't read the Road books yet. On your reccomendation I'm off to the Library this weekend. Thanks. N

[kah]

I laugh just thinking about them. :D

So I'm about halfway through The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks. You know, most of his advice is good to take into account, zombie invasion or not. We as a nation have really gotten lazy. :( If we were ever attacked on our soil by an infantry, we would not be the victors.

Think about it. What are your survival skills? Let's say the bird flu starts making its way into the US. How long before it gets to your area? Are you prepared or are you counting on some sort of immunity to get yourself and your family through the crisis? Could you make it without electricity and running water? How long would your food supply last? Are you in good enough physical condition to make the walk to an area (since gas will be unavailable) that is safer, or has provisions?

Can you imagine if a pandemic hits this country? An invading army? I don't mean to sound alarmist, but how passive and lazy must we get before we are sitting ducks, so to speak? My bf mentioned today that he thinks all kids should have to learn to read a map in driver's ed. I think all kids should learn wilderness survival skills.


Ok, now I'm rambling and getting a bit off topic, something which is more suited to the Asylum. Maybe I'll start a new thread there. Or maybe I won't.

[Adam54]

I'm reading "Little Children" by Tom Perrotta

About fifty pages in so far, very good, and giving me some clue to what the movie of the same name is about.

Seriously, the film is widely acclaimed as one of the best of the year, but the trailer didn't give me a fucking clue as to the plot.

So reading helps. Yay books.

[Nostromo]

Lee Child's The Hard Way. Jack Reacher is back in fine fighting form. N

[tstone]

Just finished Larry Bond's "Dangerous Ground". About to start Ursula K LeGuin's "Very Far Away From Anywhere Else".

[kah]

I'm reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. I can't even tell you how many people recommended this book to me, so I won't. What I will say is that the plot is kind of interesting, but if Brown was going for mystery, then he failed. It really is kind of irritating to know the plot of the book 10 pages in. I hope it gets better, but I'm a little put off by the writing style. Considering how much of this story is centered in obscure physics and religious (cult) history, it reads a bit like a YA novel, which upsets me. It'll be a quick read, so I'll post an updated opinion when I finish.

[Nostromo]

The Cloud by Ray Hammond.
A nice little doomsday yarn - easy reading. N

[kah]

Ok, I finished Angels and Demons. Brown redeemed himself, and I am happy that I finished it. Good twists, pretty exciting, all in all- not bad. Like I said before, though, it's a very light read, considering the subject matter. A beach book, as some people like to call them.

I just started The Jungle. I read bits and pieces of it in high school for US History class, and I remember being awestruck at the vivid imagery. The first couple chapters have set the story pretty well. Sinclair has an amazing flair for description, so I plan to set aside some time to really get into the book.

[Al-Dog]

I just started Mao: The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday. I’ll give a review when I finish.

I just finished The Afghan by Frederick Forsyth. While I think Day of the Jackal and The Dogs of War are better, this was still a pretty engaging novel.

[Nostromo]

Decipher by Stel Pavlou

Just two chapters in but I'm hooked. Don't know enough yet for a good description but it's a doomsday story. Here's what WIKI says. N


Decipher is a bestselling speculative fiction novel by Stel Pavlou (1970–present), published in 2001 in England by Simon and Schuster and 2002 in the United States by St. Martin's Press. It is published in many languages with some significant title changes. The Italian and Russian editions have the title Il Codice di Atlantide (The Atlantis Code), while the German edition is called Code Zero. The novel is about a fictional linguist, Richard Scott, and an assembled team of specialists who are in a race against time to crack a code found on ancient monuments around the world before an impending cataclysm predicted in mythology can strike.

[kah]

So I have this really bad habit of starting books and then picking up other books in between.... :OhWell: Anyways, I am in the middle of The Jungle, the first book in The Belgariad (I bought the two big hardcovers that cover the whole series), and Lies My Teacher Told Me. I bought The Book Thief, but I started reading it and didn't like the tone, so I put it down for now. I think I am going to dedicate myself to the Belgariad for awhile. I've read enough history books and dramas for the time being. My fantasy reading has been sorely lacking since I am still waiting for the paperback of Phantom.

[DeschainGang]

Finished Jay Anson's The Amityville Horror. Very poor writing...interesting subject matter. Anson ends every chapter with an excamation point!:eek:

Started Peter Straub's Shadowland Very good book. 1/3 through it. Reading Clive Barker's Book of Blood vol. 2 during breaks at work. I still think he is a hack and should give King 50% of his sales. "I've seen the future of horrible writing and it's named Clive Barker.":lol:

[madi]

I'm currently reading "Lisey's Story" by Stephen King. I probably would have given this a miss, since I have been very disapointed in his work lately, but a few good friends really recommended it. I'm enjoying it muchly, kind of to my surprise.

[tstone]

Book one of Andre Norton's Witch World saga...Book Two, The Shadow Eater, of Adam Lee's Dominions of Irth...Book one of Star Trek-Titan and Book one of the Otherland Saga, by Tad Williams.

[kah]

I finished the first three books in The Belgariad. I think I read the first book over ten years ago, and always meant to finish the series, but got waylaid by a few other authors. (I tend to buy everything an author has written once I fall in love with their work, and Eddings has written quite a lot.) I'm sad that I am just now reading these. I am in love with all the characters, and the story has plenty to keep a reader interested. Fantastic. I'll be starting on the fourth book today.

[Cncrman]

Just finished Orwell's 1984. I have been wanting to read that for some time.

Next up on Dystopian Theater: Brave New World and I might give Children of Men a shot before I let myself see the movie. I'm like that sometimes.

Other than that I have been picking my way through King's book Everything's Eventual.

[Adam54]

Am reading "Speaking with the Angel", a collection of short stories edited by Nick Hornby, and featuring people like Patrick Marber, Colin Firth (yup, that one), Roddy Doyle (that one too) and Dave Eggers, among others. Pretty good stuff so far, and Marber (he of Closer) has erotic writing down to a fine fine art.

*ahem* wow.

Anyhoo.

Finished Wicked yesterday, and then proceeded to read Election in about two and a half hours. Both are highly recommended.

[Nebka]

This Book came out in 78 A Matter Of Risk The Incredible Inside Story Of The Hughes Glomar Exploere To Raise A Russian Submarine

[Jetpackjesus]

I'm on The Subtle Knife, book two of His Dark Materials, right now. Unfortunately, I've not been doing much reading lately so I've been on it for too long now. I'm going to commit to finishing it up soon, though.

[Tina12312]

I just finished "Heart Shaped Box" by Joe Hill and it reminded me quite a bit of some of his father's older novels. Just starting "The Terror" by Dan Simmons, pretty interesting so far.

[teabagging2000]

Anyone else?

[teabagging2000]

Oh and Day of the Cheetah. Ever seen Firefox? Samething.

[JMac]

i'm reading my name's not george by stanley grizzle. it's about the author's experiences as a sleeping car porter. it's a great read , especially if you're interested in history.

[Kaeos]

Are you THE JMac fom Greece, NY?

Anyway, currently finishishing up "Darth Bane: Path of Destruction"

Never figured I'd bother with any of the new Star Wars "Old Republic" novel, but this is a good read.

[Nostromo]

Reading Judgement Day.
It's compared to the Left Behind series but two thirds of the way through it
I think it's superior.
N
http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=71-9780765309150-0

[colmatrix]

The Kite Runner...probably one of the best books I've ever read. I laughed, I cried like a baby more than once. I highly recommend it!

[chemikillgod]

I'm a huge Paul Auster fan. I think I must have read about 90 percent of his stuff by now.

I just read his latest called Travels in the Scriptorium. It's definitely signature Auster with a story within a story within a story. Every Paul Auster book has a certain kind of familiarity and a definite sort of flow to it and usually one of the main characters tends to be an author or a writer or someone who wants to be a writer.

I love how this book ends and unlike some of his other books, it actually somewhat ends optimistically but with a twist.

So good.

[Adam54]

Reading "Love Monkey" by Kyle Smith.

It took about fifteen pages to make it on my list of favorite books ever. Gut wrenchingly funny, and heart breakingly sad.

Wonderful, and I've still got another 200 pages left.

[Nostromo]

The Cylons' Secret by Craig Shaw Gardner. The story setting is the period between the two Cylon Wars. It introduces Tom Zarek and has an OK backstory involving Adama and Tigh. Light reading but fun - especially with such a long BSG hiatus. N

[RedKarma]

I'm re-reading Whirlwind by James Clavell. Great book, like most of his stuff, but everything on my bookshelf is really stale. I need to hit the library.

[Jakester]

This thread.

[whitetemplar78]

Im re-reading Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince series, im on The Star Scroll right now, its such a good read, and its just as good the second time around, she really has a talent for making some amazing characters. I do have a question though, lol well a few, what ever happend to her other series she was writing, the one called Exiles, i know she wrote the first two, but what happened with the last one??????

Also, has anyone read Raymond E. Feist lastest one?...the Darkwar series, ive read all his books, but to be honest the whole Serpentwar series of books really turned me off to him for a bit, i thought they weren't up to his standards...but this brand new series, has anyone read it, and is it worth it? the first one is Flight of the Nighthawks, should I give him one more try?......please let me know

[Kaeos]

I've moved right into the next Star Wars EU novel series "Legacy of the Force." Currently on book 2 Bloodlines.

We're now about 40 or so years after the Battle of Yavin in "A New Hope"

Jacen and Jaina Solo are about 30 years old, Jacen has taken 13 year old Ben Skywalker as an apprentice. It's about 5 years after the Yuzzhan Vong were defeated.

Just as everything finally seems to be settling into a lasting peace, Solo's homeworld of Corelia is making waves, taking a defiant stance against the requirements of being a memeber of the Galactic Alliance and pushinng for their own independence. At the center of it all is an EU character that has made waves in the Solo and Skywalker families for decades, Han Solo's estranged cousine Thrackan Sal-Solo.

Jacen has spent most of the last decade since his release from captivity by the Vong seeking out the secrets of The Force in many forms across the galaxy. In the wake of yet another possible civil war breaking out among Alliance worlds, Jacen is approached by another of Emporer Palpatine's former secret Sith agents and starts sliding dangerously close to the path taken by his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker.

I have not been this excited about a Star Wars Expanded Universe novel series since the first invasion of the Yuzzhan Vong. I highly recommend this series if for no other reason than the return of a famous bounty hunter in familiar green/blue armor.....

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Bloodlinesbook.jpg

[Gentlemen Death]

I am currently reading The Regulators by Richard Bachman( a.k.a Stephen King) and pretty interested with where this book is going. It is different from his others because it seems like i just got thrown into the middle of this mess that is going on on Poplar St.
I am about 1/3 through it and as soon as i am done, i will have to go get Desperation and see what that is about. They mention it in the book a little so far and i know the two came out around the same time, so i am not sure if it is a continuation of The Regulators or that both books are around the same area. I guess i will have to find out then.

[Nostromo]

Death in Winter by Michael Jan Friedman.
STNG original novel - post Nemesis story arc with a heap of flashbacks.
Not deep but a fun read.
N

[KingVoyeur]

Just finished "The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear", fantastic read. It's long, almost 700 pages in hardcover, but it's a really fast read. Highly recommended.

Next up, Stardust by Neil Gaiman.

[Gentlemen Death]

Reading Desperation, (yes, i am going through my King phase, just let me enjoy) and i really liked how he involved the same characters from the Regulators into Desperation. Each have different parts, but almost the same backround as each book. I am about half way done with the book, and it is okay. Not his best, but by no means his worst.

When i am done with the book, i am going to watch the movie, see how it is. For some reason, whenever i finish a book, and if there is a movie, i go watch it as soon as possible. I like the nit-picking part of it; oh that didnt happen in the book. What, he's gay? That's not in the book. I hate that....

Next, i am moving onto From A Buick 8.

[dsilva]

Omerta- Mario Puzo.

[chemikillgod]

I'm reading and slowly savoring the very great Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind. It's such a refreshing bit of fantasy that if I wanted to I could probably read this big tome in a few hours. I'm just glad that it's part of a trilogy.

I'm also really into Haruki Murakami right now and flipping between A Wild Sheep Chase and Wind Up Bird Chronicles. Also great books, I'm simply focusing on Name of the Wind right now because I haven't picked up a good fantasy book that I was really into in a while.

[TrekSucksHard]

Worm Ouroboros- superior to LOTR in every way.

[Senormac]

I suppose its only natural that everyone around here is reading Sci-Fi.....Fantasy.....Sword and Sorcery....and the like. I read tons of that stuff in my younger days. I think I've shifted a bit towards some of the books I have heard about all my life but never read......you know....the classics. (I wonder if any Edgar Rice Burroughs will be classics.....besides Tarzan?)

Anyways....I just finished R.D. Blackmores , "Lorna Doone". Bet nobody here has read that one....cept maybe Neglet. :) Its pretty flowery.....and slows your pace down.....but is a great romance.

[kah]

I should be finishing Slaughterhouse-5 (I mean, come on! It's a tiny book!) But I didn't really feel like it, so I read Vampire Hunter D by Hideyuki Kikuchi yesterday. If you've ever seen the movie, then you know what's coming because it is very true to the anime, but there is also some stuff that didn't make it in, so it's worth the read to get a little more time with D. ~swoon~ I've been in love with D since I first saw Vamire Hunter D in the early 90s. http://www.websmileys.com/sm/love/663.gif

[chemikillgod]

Now I'm reading David Mitchell, who, like Murakami, is turning out to be one of my favorite fiction authors.

I read Cloud Atlas, but wasn't really that impressed. The structure was interesting but I found the story lacking for some reason, I don't know. But then I read Ghostwritten and was blown away, it's just a weirdly funny book and with such an interesting structure that was comparable to Cloud Atlas. I suppose I'll sketch out the structure. In Cloud Atlas, the book is divided into several different stories that are interconnected through time, moving forward and then moving back. In Ghostwritten, it's almost written as if each chapter is a short story but each chapter is connected and affected in some way with the story that came before it.

Anyway, those were the two that I've read before so I just decided to finish out Mitchell's oeuvre so I'm reading his last two books at the same time. I began reading Black Swan Green, which is a story of a small town boy and his perspective on his town, which is so very good and is full of the David Mitchell witticism. And also, Number 9 Dream, about a man searching for his father in Japan, also a great book from where I am right now. The first few pages has a Strange Life of Walter Mitty feel to it but just really fun and clever.

[kah]

Vampire Hunter D:Raiser of Gales

I think I am going to have to read this one again, because the wording is difficult to follow at times, so I think I missed out on some of the story.

I just want to hold him. :( Everything about him is so tragic.
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e164/kahlancypher/d13.jpg

[kah]

The first Stephanie Plum book, One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. Nice light enjoyable reading.

[neglet]

Pride and Prejudice. Every once in a while I need my Austen fix.

[kah]

I haven't read any of her books. In fact, I've tried and tried to get into a lot of classics, but they're always so stodgy I end up giving up less than halfway through. Maybe they're not as bad as I remember?

[neglet]

Well, you have to allow for a different style. But if you're willing to slow down enough to decode the occasional obscure word or loooong sentence, you can still enjoy a "classic" book. Austen is full of wit; P&P especially, from the opening sentence:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

And Lizzie Bennet is one of the most charming heroines in literature.

[kah]

To be fair, the last classics I tried to get into were The Jungle (depressing, but relatable), and Gallic War by Julius Caesar. It was pretty distracting having every other page in the original Latin opposite the English translation.

I don't think I've read any classics by women, though, so maybe I need to give that a shot.

In the meantime, I'm working on Terry Goodkind's Phantom.

[KingVoyeur]

Just finished The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Kind of depressing, but really, really good, highly recommended. Can't wait to see Peter Jackson's film version (Rachel Weisz just got cast as the mother, yay!).

I love reading classics. The Barnes and Noble Classics Collection is a fantastic resource for these (they're also having a great sale, buy 2 get a third free, max $20 for 3 long books). If you're looking for classics by women, try Middlemarch by George Eliot, anything by Virginia Woolf or any fiction by Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged is my all-time favorite book).

Right now I'm in the middle of Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence. Good stuff!

[tstone]

The Lovely Bones is a goodie, read it back in 02.

Just finished "The Zombie Survival Guide" by Max Brooks. Review coming...

[chemikillgod]

I just wanted to add that I finished The Name of the Wind by Rothfuss a while back and I thought it was such a great book. At least this first part of the Kingkiller trilogy reminded me of an adult version of Harry Potter, mostly in the way that the main character Kvothe has to go to 'magic' school to hone his skills. It follows all the beats of what you would expect in a fantasy novel but the setting and the way it's told is so very interesting that I couldn't put it down.

I also finished Poison Study by Maria Snyder as light reading for a day or so and I enjoyed it even though I wasn't even really thinking of finishing it (but I simply had to see what would happen). I basically just plucked it from the shelf from the library because I wanted something to read to pass the time. It's a mediocre piece of fantasy lit. The story is hemmed in in a way that it's not a quest, it's simply a character trying to survive. It's basically about a girl who is forced to become a poison food taster for the commander of the country and, obviously (as these things go), becomes more involved in the politics than she would have wanted to.

I also read I Am Legend a few weeks ago. My God, that is such a good book. I wanted to read it before the film comes out so that I know exactly what the film is going to be based on. It seriously reminds me of Earth Abides by George Stewart crossed with 28 Days Later. It's so fucking awesome. I'd have to say that 40's/50's/or any early 20th century scifi lit is really a great treasure trove of scifi and if people have any suggestions, as obscure as they may be, throw them my way.

Right now, I've just began The Neverending Story. You know it. I've never read it but I really really really love it so far. Artax talks in the book. I don't know if that makes it even sadder when he sinks in the Swamp of Sadness. Ah yes.

[spammityspam]

In my perpetual state of halfway through everything in the universe, I'm concentrating right now on Moving Pictures and The Fifth Elephant from the Discworld series, The Worst Case Scenario Handbook (College Edition), Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and, for something to keep up pseudo-intellectual street cred, Catch-22. Thus far they are (a and b) humorous in the general Pratchetty way; (c) surprisingly helpful especially in dealing with She Who Empties Half a Can of Exxtra Exxtra Volume Maxx 4 Hairspray On The Room Every Morning, i.e. my roommate, Hilarity; (d) weird, but it's Gaiman, whatcha gonna do; and (e) extremely confusing, but in a good way. Which, I mean, it's Catch-22, it's pretty much what it's for.

Sometimes you just gotta get a brainfuck. Such is life. If anyone here has never experienced the Discworld series, though, shame on you. It's freaking fantastic as well as being completely hilarious. On that note, I need to get Jingo and Going Postal back to the library before I incur the wrath of the Perry-Castaneda. And I need to buy Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas while I have access to a student discount at a half-price store. And The Iceman Cometh. And The Maids.

Sometimes I think to myself, Charlotte, you should probably limit yourself to like two at a time, as this would likely give you time to actually read the texts for your classes. And then I think, why?

I'm also getting into a really jittery fangirlish pre-release state about Harry Potter 7, which is nerdy, but OH EM GEE LIEK 19 DAYS GUYZ, LOLLERSKATES.

[Kaeos]

Currently plodding my way through Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It's a heavy read man.

Set some time near the year 3000 and centering on one specific planet where everything is FUBAR and mankind's future is at stake.

[chemikillgod]

Currently plodding my way through Hyperion by Dan Simmons. It's a heavy read man.

Set some time near the year 3000 and centering on one specific planet where everything is FUBAR and mankind's future is at stake.

WHAT?! Plodding?!

I actually just read Hyperion and its sequels sometimes in the last year or so and I thought it was fucking AWESOME, especially, Hyperion, which was written like a futuristic Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I couldn't put the sonofabitch down. Um. If you're really not into it, I'm going to have to tell you that it doesn't even have an actual conclusion, it's basically a setup for Fall of Hyperion. It's the literary equivalent of the journey being better than the destination type of thing.

In my perpetual state of halfway through everything in the universe, I'm concentrating right now on Moving Pictures and The Fifth Elephant from the Discworld series, The Worst Case Scenario Handbook (College Edition), Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, and, for something to keep up pseudo-intellectual street cred, Catch-22. Thus far they are (a and b) humorous in the general Pratchetty way; (c) surprisingly helpful especially in dealing with She Who Empties Half a Can of Exxtra Exxtra Volume Maxx 4 Hairspray On The Room Every Morning, i.e. my roommate, Hilarity; (d) weird, but it's Gaiman, whatcha gonna do; and (e) extremely confusing, but in a good way. Which, I mean, it's Catch-22, it's pretty much what it's for.

I'm also getting into a really jittery fangirlish pre-release state about Harry Potter 7, which is nerdy, but OH EM GEE LIEK 19 DAYS GUYZ, LOLLERSKATES.

Love Discworld. Well, LOVE Pratchett. But I love that kind of weird fantasy humor. Gaiman is my literary god, basically, except I actually thought Anansi Boys was his weakest book, which, basically means I didn't like it. I mean, I like American Gods but mostly on the strength of the idea and that it's an idea that stems from Sandman. Catch 22 is a book that I actually try to read now and again because there's always something new in it that you pick up and it's so painful in it's truthfulness that it's like a reflection of Bush's fucked up presidency.

And I've NEVER read ANY Harry Potters or seen any of the films through and through, so I'm actually giving myself sometime soon to read all of them at once to catch up on the Potter-mania. Hell, my sister just read all the HP books in one week because she was thinking the same thing so I should be good.

[spammityspam]

Gosh, I love Sandman so much. Many hearts. I'm not too far into Anansi Boys yet, though, so I'm still not sure what I think of it. I started out disliking American Gods because of how... I don't know, straightforward? the style was. At first it just didn't even seem like he was trying. It was as if he'd gotten an idea and had just written it down with a minimum of effort. It didn't start working for me until at least two thirds into the book. I mean, I know logically that it's a cultivated style to work with Shadow as a character, but I like my words to be at least a little pretty. I had to force myself a little to get through the first half, but luckily by then the story was so involving that it didn't take any further effort.

ALSO! I have to (well, want to) buy an audiobook to fill the drive home tomorrow afternoon and then the drive back down here Sunday. It'll be six to eight hours total. Any suggestions?

[SinisterPryde]

I'm reading "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Phillip K. Dick again. Since the Blade runner DVD is finally coming out later this year it put me in the mood. :rolleyes:

Although, to be fair, the differences between the book and the movie are so stark that its a wonder no one else has tried to do a movie a little bit closer to the book. I find it funny how different people have different memories of how the book turns out in the end.

[Kaeos]

WHAT?! Plodding?!

I actually just read Hyperion and its sequels sometimes in the last year or so and I thought it was fucking AWESOME, especially, Hyperion, which was written like a futuristic Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I couldn't put the sonofabitch down.

Really it was the first 30 pages or so that I had a hard time with. It was like pulling a fuckin root out of the gorund trying to find a story. Ssssssloooooww read. It got a little better when thr group launched into their back stories. I'm the type that wants a story to leap out and grab me with something when it opens. Not make me wade through mud to get to the road. Like I said, it's moving along now, just about 1/3 of the way in and moving through the obnoixous poet's story.



Um. If you're really not into it, I'm going to have to tell you that it doesn't even have an actual conclusion, it's basically a setup for Fall of Hyperion. It's the literary equivalent of the journey being better than the destination type of thing.

I actually okay with that, I don't mind series novels that stretch the story along. Hopefully down the line there will be some point, but I'm patient in that respect at least.

[chemikillgod]

ALSO! I have to (well, want to) buy an audiobook to fill the drive home tomorrow afternoon and then the drive back down here Sunday. It'll be six to eight hours total. Any suggestions?

Sandman is my template for all great stories in my head. Anyway, I'm afraid I don't know much about audio books to recommend you a good one. I don't know what quality they go by. I'm always looking at the audio book section in the library but I never seem to pick one up even though there's tons there that seem interesting.

[kah]

Catch-22 is the most poignant book I have ever read.

I just finished Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase which was the basis for the Bloodlust movie. This wasn't like the first book and movie, which were pretty close. The only real similarities were character names and the overall plot. I enjoyed the book quite a bit more, since I couldn't sympathise with Leila in the movie. I wish they'd encountered Carmilla like they did in the movie, though.

[neglet]

Just finished "Champions of the Force" (Star Wars), which was decent but not memorable, then re-read "Emma" for the umpteenth time. Spammy will probably have to read it for class, but I read it for fun. Austen cracks me up with some of her minor characters.

[spammityspam]

I love Austen so much; she's hilarious. I LOVED Emma. Have to say Northanger Abbey was probably my favorite of hers, though. Catherine was such a twit, but I loved her anyway.

[neglet]

I love Northanger Abbey--it makes me laugh. I believe there's going to be a new adaptation of it on PBS this coming January when they have a whole Austen season.

Right now I'm reading "Barrayar" by Lois McMaster Bujold. I've read it at least a dozen times, and yet I still can't put it down. Her characters are magnificent, and her plots enthralling. I think she's due to publish the next Vorkosigan novel in 2009. I hope.

[TrixieB]

I just finished "The Fifth Woman" by Henning Mankell. I'd never heard of him, but my brother sent it to me for my birthday and I will definitely read more of his work. I also recently read Vonnegut's "Man Without a Country" and I just keep it by my bed to read a passage here and there. Wonderful stuff!!

[neglet]

Finally started "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," by Susanna Clarke. I'm only about 60 pages in, but I can already tell it's going to live up to the hype.

[TrixieB]

I have that one in my pile to read next!! I picked it up at a used book store a couple of months ago, but then my brother sent me some stuff, so I am reading those first.

[kah]

Vampire Hunter D:Tale of the Dead Town and Stuff of Dreams.

I really like how Kikuchi continues to have such original plots. I could do without the occasional rhetorical question, and some of the wording is hard to follow, but overall I am really enjoying this series.

I also finished Phantom by Goodkind. This one was painful to read, but I have faith that the next and final book in the 11 book series will be worth the agony of our heroes in limbo.

I read Two for the Dough and am currently reading Three to Get Deadly by Evanovich. Stephanie Plum is a fun character, but I really wish the author hadn't found it necessary to describe her clothes. Bike shorts and jerseys might've been cool in the mid-nineties, but all it does now is date the stories. :(

[chemikillgod]

Anyway, since the last Harry Potter book is going to be out in 11 days or so. I decided to start reading it in the middle of last week. I'm on the fourth book right now and quite enjoying it. I realized I'm going to enjoy watching the films now. I was over at my friend's house and his kid was watching Prisoner of Azkaban and I couldn't help but watch it. I've tried watching the movies before and it always puts me to sleep. Not that they're boring. It's just that I have no context and my brain thinks it should have the opportunity to start in the very beginning.

[TheYah]

was mid-decision tween POTTER & /////////// someone just brought HP3 book to my house ... decision made for me, i suppose :lol: (however, after will look into Hyperion)

[spammityspam]

I'm halfway between my ecology and economics textbooks and full-on HP crunch time. I was trying to read all the books straight through before the new one came out, but then I realized I hadn't done my class readings in about a week and a half. I wonder if I can get through them all! I'm about done with ecology backlog, at least, which is a blessing. Then I can concentrate on what's really important, i.e. Harry Potter.

[Deacon]

Finished the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but I'm not sure - if they do end up getting made - how commercial films of the second and third books would be. There's some extremely unusual stuff in there for mainstream fantasy (films).

Now on Jasper Fforde's 'First Amongst Sequels'. It's good, but it's the weakest Thursday Next book so far.

'Half-Blood Prince' at the end of this week, natch.

[chemikillgod]

Finished the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy. I enjoyed the heck out of it, but I'm not sure - if they do end up getting made - how commercial films of the second and third books would be. There's some extremely unusual stuff in there for mainstream fantasy (films)..

No shit. You know the Fundamental Christian contingent is going to be up in arms about it especially the last book.

[spammityspam]

I think you could make a case that even though it's about kids, it's not a kids' series, which is probably what they'll have to do if they want to stay true to the books, but with all the fluffy animals and stuff it's going to be hard to keep parents from thinking "oh, this great but occasionally really disturbing series is perfect for my seven-year-old."

I'm thinking they'll likely just cut some of the questionable scenes and turn it into a d'awww kids thing at the end rather than, you know, what it actually was.

[chemikillgod]

I think you could make a case that even though it's about kids, it's not a kids' series, which is probably what they'll have to do if they want to stay true to the books, but with all the fluffy animals and stuff it's going to be hard to keep parents from thinking "oh, this great but occasionally really disturbing series is perfect for my seven-year-old".

I mean, some parents were actually very pissed off (some rightly, I thought) that Bridge to Terabithia was marketed as this fantasy adventure ala Narnia but of course we all know that it's about the sometimes gritty reality of growing up. Like parents these days, they didn't think of looking through the source material, only going by the marketing campaign and were floored by the kind of realism that the book entails. If they're pissed off that Terabithia was too real, they're going to be so so mad that His Dark Materials will be jabbing at religion and spirituality.

[spammityspam]

Everyone's always pissed when anything jabs at religion and spirituality. I think anything else is game except people's belief systems. Maybe it's because they're so vulnerable to logical attack? I mean, you can't get people madder than by poking at their theories about God and the universe.

[neglet]

Well, I think the marketing of "Teribithia" was all wrong, not giving parents a clue that it dealt with very serious real-life issues. That was what pissed them off more than the inclusion of the issues themselves.

"His Dark Materials" has been marketed to both kids and adults (you can buy books with a "grownup" cover from Del Rey), but I think the only reason Pullman gets marketed to kids is because his characters are kids--otherwise his works have very grownup themes. I think New Line is looking at the series as a prestige project, and the director is very attached to the books, so I'm not sure they want to change the themes that much ... but keeping them in will make for tricky marketing. If you look at the trailers, they're aligning the films with Lord of the Rings, a more grownup fantasy. We'll see what happens after "The Golden Compass" hits theaters, whether they'll have enough clout to film the next two books without major changes.

Of course, any time you film a favorite book, someone ends up getting pissed off.

[colmatrix]

'This Present Darkness' by Frank Peretti. It is a really good book about the spiritual warfare that is going on between angels and demons in our world. Truly incredible.

[kah]

I finished Evanovich's Plum series books 4-12. I was reading them 2 or 3 a day, and now I'm depressed that I don't have any more to read. :(

I'm reading PMS Outlaws right now, but I haven't decided if I like it or not.

[chemikillgod]

Finished Magic Study by Maria Snyder which is the sequel to Poison Study. Admittedly the series is somewhat simple and follows all the beats of any old fantasy genre where the main protagonist doesn't seem to do no wrong but I still liked it for what it is and can't wait to pick up the next one which is apparently called Fire Study.

[chemikillgod]

I was browsing the bookstore and just randomly picked up Little Children which is the book that the film is based on about suburban indiscretions and the like. Flew through it and about a hundred pages from finishing it. Okay nothing much really happens but I really like it. It's just another book about suburban contemplation but there's a simplicity to it that I find readable.

[KingVoyeur]

I've got Heretics of Dune, Blaze by "Richard Bachman" and a non-fic about Edison, Tesla and Westinghouse called Empires of Light all waiting to be read, but I'm in the middle of packing and moving, so it may be a little bit before I get to them. I should be able to slip in 30 Days of Night though, it's short enough.

[kah]

I picked up Visions of Sugar Plums and Plum Lovin', inbetween novels in Evanovich's Plum series. They have hints of the supernatural, took about an hour a piece to read, and aren't necessary for the overall storyline. I didn't lose anything by reading them, but I didn't gain anything either. :Dunno: Mostly just time killers.

[Tricksterson]

Seem to be in a military fic mood as am currently readingGettysburg by Gingrich and Forstchen, Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell and March to the Sea by John Ringo and David Weber. Also a biography of Ronald Reagan

[tstone]

Bentley Little's "University". Collegiate scares...

[Kaeos]

I actually just read Hyperion and its sequels sometimes in the last year or so and I thought it was fucking AWESOME.... it's basically a setup for Fall of Hyperion. It's the literary equivalent of the journey being better than the destination type of thing.



Hey man, just got through Fall of Hyperion and credit to you, I'm glad I stuck it out. Good series. You eluded to there being more books in this series? I can't find anything?

[chemikillgod]

Hey man, just got through Fall of Hyperion and credit to you, I'm glad I stuck it out. Good series. You eluded to there being more books in this series? I can't find anything?

Yep. There's Endymion and Rise of Endymion. They're companion books to the same world as in the Hyperion. The plot takes place about 300 years in the future after the Fall of Hyperion. Well, I'm glad you liked it but I was pretty sure anyone who liked a good scifi story who would stick through it would end up loving it. It's a pretty complex well-defined world.

[tstone]

Just finished Bentley Little's "University".

Now I'm reading Star Trek Titan-Red King (book 2)

[Tricksterson]

Currently reading:

Jasper Fforde's First Among Sequels and if you haven't read either his Thursday Next or Nursery Crimes series I highly reccomend them. The first is about an alternate universe where, among other things, the Crimean War lasted until 1987, Wales is an independent Socialist Republic, cheese is a controlled substance and certain people, including the main character can transport themselves into books. First book in series: The Eyre Affair. The second is a spinoff of sorts. First book: The Big Over Easy about the murder of Humpty Dumpty.

Also reading The Silver Ship and the Sea by Susan Cooper, Sons of Heaven, the final book in Kage Baker's Company series and On Basilisk Station, the first book in David Weber's Honor Harrington series.

[neglet]

Oooh, the Honor Harrington series is such fun!

I almost got my hands on the first Thursday Next book at the library, but my hold came in while I was on vacation and I missed it. Boo hoo. I'll get it later this fall.

While on break, I got a bit of reading done: The Years of Rice and Salt, an interesting alternate history from Kim Stanley Robinson, if a bit heavy on the reincarnation; The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a very entertaining collection of "fairy tales" from Susanna Clarke, set in the same world as her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Oh, and about four issues of Analog. I started subscribing this year and hadn't gotten around to reading any of them. I enjoyed them very much--some really good stories in there, including one about FTL/alternate universes that was just brilliant.

So now I'm about to start a treat: the new two-volume fantasy from Lois McMaster Bujold, my favorite author.

[Kaeos]

Just finished Bentley Little's "University".

Now I'm reading Star Trek Titan-Red King (book 2)

This one was a bit of a rough read for me too. Painful.

Funny thing is, I can't find "book1" of this nor any other ST - Titan novels in my library system. :lol:

Oh well. I'm back to the Star Wars - Legacy of the Force novels. Currently in "Exile."

[DarkJedi]

Ohhh...You're about to come to a shocking surprise, Kaeos.

I've so wanted to talk the SW novels out...but I can't never find anyone to talk the subject with...

The new book, INFERNO, hits books shelves later this month..

Perhaps when you read SACRIFICE....We can start a new thread for the Legacy of the Force series.

[Kaeos]

Ohhh...You're about to come to a shocking surprise, Kaeos.

I've so wanted to talk the SW novels out...but I can't never find anyone to talk the subject with...

The new book, INFERNO, hits books shelves later this month..

Perhaps when you read SACRIFICE....We can start a new thread for the Legacy of the Force series.

I'm there man!

Is that the right order? Exile - Inferno - Sacrifice.

Hmm...I may actually be tempted to...dare I say it....BUY a book?!?!?!

GOOD LORD NO!!!!!!!!

FORGIVE ME WILLIAMSON PUBLIC LIBRARY!!!!!!


:OhWell:



:D

[DarkJedi]

No, Inferno comes out next....It's Tempest>Exile>Sacrifice>Inferno(Which hits shelves around August 24.)

Are you reading Sacrifice now? lol You're about to hit a gut buster in which you will cringe and want to throw the book across the room...Be careful of spoilers..I want some SW readers around and don't want to run them off. I'm trying to get an author over at the main site side which will review SW, ST, Stephen King, etc books more often...

If you're not yet done with Exile...Just want to warn that Sacrifice is probably still in Hardback cover...So go to a Half-Price Bookstore and pick it up. I bet at least one copy will be there. I'm not sure if the library will have it yet but check anyway.

[tstone]

Yup, I've just started book 2, Honor of the Queen...


Oooh, the Honor Harrington series is such fun!

I almost got my hands on the first Thursday Next book at the library, but my hold came in while I was on vacation and I missed it. Boo hoo. I'll get it later this fall.

While on break, I got a bit of reading done: The Years of Rice and Salt, an interesting alternate history from Kim Stanley Robinson, if a bit heavy on the reincarnation; The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a very entertaining collection of "fairy tales" from Susanna Clarke, set in the same world as her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Oh, and about four issues of Analog. I started subscribing this year and hadn't gotten around to reading any of them. I enjoyed them very much--some really good stories in there, including one about FTL/alternate universes that was just brilliant.

So now I'm about to start a treat: the new two-volume fantasy from Lois McMaster Bujold, my favorite author.

[kah]

I'm reading historical smut. :p I'm working my way through all of Hannah Howell's books. So far I've finished about a dozen.

[Kaeos]

[quote=DarkJedi;80100]No, Inferno comes out next....It's Tempest>Exile>Sacrifice>Inferno(Which hits shelves around August 24.)

Are you reading Sacrifice now? lol You're about to hit a gut buster in which you will cringe and want to throw the book across the room...quote]

I'm about a 1/4 way though Exile. Solos, Calrissian, Horn and Atilles are tryin to escape Correlia right now.....

:OhWell: god I'm a fuckin nerd.

:D and I love it.

[chemikillgod]

I'm reading Into the Wild. It's a true story about some rich kid who decided to go on a personal adventure to Alaska and ends up dying from starvation.

There's a movie coming out in a couple of months based on it.

[spammityspam]

Sounds like The Man Named Horse with a more depressing ending and less deflowering of nubile preadolescent Indian girls. Fun!

I just finished Night Watch, which means my crazy speed-consumption of the Discworld novels is at an end, though I still have a few to go. Monstrous Regiment is up next, and, hurrah, I have purchased it in audiobook form! A clever girl am I. Hopefully I won't get so bored on the highway this time and/or ending up listening to Jesus radio out of desperation once my usual radio stations run out in Waxahachie.

After this I need to read something with meat in it. Pratchett does unexpectedly deal with some heavy themes at times, especially in the Watch arc, but he can't go for more than half a page without putting a gag in somewhere, and it detracts a little after a while. Any suggestions for a little heavy reading, or shall I resume the long-abandoned Catch-22?

[neglet]

Heavy reading in a particular genre? Or just our favorite books with deep deep meaning?

[spammityspam]

Well, nonfiction has to be pretty gripping to really get me interested, but just anything I can sink my teeth into.

[neglet]

Well, nonfiction has to be pretty gripping to really get me interested, but just anything I can sink my teeth into.

Oooh, you've given me a challenge. Here's a nonfiction book I found very gripping: Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel. It's about the illegitimate daughter of the famed scientist, who became a nun and corresponded often with her father. It gives insight not only into Galileo's work, but into the lives of women in that era, often invisible in most histories. The last sentence made me tear up. I dare you to read it!

[spammityspam]

Ooh, shiny. I'll have to buy it now that I have my big, shiny disbursement and therefore money again.

[KingVoyeur]

Working on The Golden Compass and Chapterhouse: Dune before moving on to some non-fic, like Empires of Light about Edison and Tesla, a book on Renoir's films, and some bios on Liz Taylor, Tab Hunter and the Monty Python gang.

[Tricksterson]

Oooh, the Honor Harrington series is such fun!

I almost got my hands on the first Thursday Next book at the library, but my hold came in while I was on vacation and I missed it. Boo hoo. I'll get it later this fall.

While on break, I got a bit of reading done: The Years of Rice and Salt, an interesting alternate history from Kim Stanley Robinson, if a bit heavy on the reincarnation; The Ladies of Grace Adieu, a very entertaining collection of "fairy tales" from Susanna Clarke, set in the same world as her Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell. Oh, and about four issues of Analog. I started subscribing this year and hadn't gotten around to reading any of them. I enjoyed them very much--some really good stories in there, including one about FTL/alternate universes that was just brilliant.

So now I'm about to start a treat: the new two-volume fantasy from Lois McMaster Bujold, my favorite author.

"Years of Rice and Salt" is a worthy read as is just about anything by Robinson although he tends too far to the left sometimes for my taste, particularly in the latest book of his series on global warming. Still worth reading though, particularly the first two books. BTW, my problem isn't with the idea of global warming itself, I've been cognizant of that since the 80s but his solutions, which I find too state-command oriented.

[neglet]

I haven't gotten around to the global warming series yet, but Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars series is a fantastic look at how Mars might be colonized. He does have a flair for making alternate/future history seem very plausible.

[spammityspam]

I'm on Catcher in the Rye (again) for my class on banned books. I hate this book so damn much. I just really can't stand Holden Caulfield. I mean, yes, I get the book, I understand it all perfectly, it just annoys the bejesus out of me. At least we'll be on Portnoy's Complaint by week after next. I've also got about half the Iliad before Wednesday to get through, but I actually like the old Greek epics, so that shouldn't be as bad. Already the days of reading for pleasure are falling behind me... I still need to pick up Galileo's Daughter and reread The Golden Compass before the movie comes out, but at least for the later I have the next, like, three months.

On the nonfiction side, it's lots of Life on Earth with Physiology, Writing with Style, and An Introduction to Linguistics for me. Joyous day!

[KingVoyeur]

I haven't gotten around to the global warming series yet, but Robinson's Red/Green/Blue Mars series is a fantastic look at how Mars might be colonized. He does have a flair for making alternate/future history seem very plausible.

I may have to dive back into those. I started Red Mars a few years ago, but for whatever reason I stopped reading it. I have the trilogy upstairs, just haven't gotten back around to it. Is it really that good?

[tstone]

Fantastic series, KV...

[KingVoyeur]

Love me some library book sales! The local regional library had their annual book sale, found all kinds of great stuff. Bought a ton of biographies (mostly Hollywood figures, with a few historical ones thrown in), all hardback for a dollar apiece, and some classic fiction as well. Made a great find in a "DC Golden Age Comic A Day" book for 4 bucks.

Working on Hunters of Dune right now, trying to get through the entire series (only have Sandworms of Dune left!), then it's onto all those biographies I just bought!

[Gentlemen Death]

After a break from reading, I am going to read Elmore Leonard's Rum Punch. (Rum Punch was re-written by Quentin Tarantino and turned into Jackie Brown. The book is very close to the movie. So if you did not like the movie....You might not like the book.)

I read it before back in High School and loved it. So, I thought it would be nice to visit it again. I think after that, I will continue with some Elmore Leonard...I like the style...

[spammityspam]

I'm taking a break from the Greek epics to get some work done for English, i.e. read Portnoy's Complaint, which is apparently about a pervy old man with gas. I also need to pick up Lolita at some point so I can see what all the fuss is about. And Galileo's Daughter, and The Iceman Cometh, and finally pick back up on Catch-22, and yaaaaaagh I will never be well-read.

[colmatrix]

I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns...there is a reason this guy is so successful as an author. He is so good! It's great so far, I'm about a hundred pages in, but I was hooked from the first couple of pages. I like how we're seeing through the eyes of a girl this time round...such a different story.

[chemikillgod]

I'm reading Death in the Pot: The History of Food Poisoning in History. Very interesting so far even though I'm only two chapters deep right now.

[Nostromo]

Confessions of an Economic Hitman - Pretty wild even if only half of it is true. N
http://www.bkconnection.com/ProdDetails.asp?ID=1576753018

[spammityspam]

Portnoy's Complaint, since thank you Jesus I finally finished Catcher in the Rye. I like it, but it's a little... extreme. I don't know. It's definitely the most awkward book I've ever read in public, including the romance novels we used to read aloud in groups at newspaper conventions.

Has anyone else ever read Portnoy's Complaint? You all should. Those of you not offended by anything ever, I mean. The rest of you should back away slowly.

[Nostromo]

Has anyone else ever read Portnoy's Complaint?


Indeed. I spied a copy in my dad's nightstand when I was a kid. Would sneak off to the garage to read a chapter then put it back. Have to say I saw my father differently after that. I also developed an even deeper distaste for liver. :wink:
Right next to PC was The Happy Hooker. Come to think of it - I spent a lot of time in the garage that summer. :) N

[KingVoyeur]

Just finished the final Dune novel, Sandworms of Dune (in only 1 day, no less!). Next up is either Galileo's Daughter or Me: Stories of My Life, Katherine Hepburn's autobiography.

[kah]

MaryJanice Davidson- Undead and Unwed, Undead and Unemployed, Undead and Unappreciated, and Undead and Unreturnable. Hilarious.

[kah]

Vampire Hunter D: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane.

The weird writer's tics (asking the reader a question, repeating the same descriptor sometimes multiple times in a paragraph, etc..) are gone in this volume, which is a relief, but Kikuchi always manages to leave the reader guessing. The main plot points are always tied up by the end, but the descriptors for (some) characters other than D leave much to be desired. He does such a wonderful job painting a picture of the landscape and of D, but Bingo Bullow I couldn't imagine in my head. The ending of the story wrapped up so quickly I almost missed it. Kikuchi is very good at building suspense and drama and bringing everything to climax, but then it's over with the snap of a finger. Oh well. :Dunno: Overall, this is the best of the series so far.

[chemikillgod]

Let's see... I finished Darwinia, which had potential... and that was about it. It could have been better, I thought. The entire plot was interesting, I just didn't think it was expressed enough and could have been better represented.

I'm also halfway through The Princess Bride and, OMFG, it's so much funnier than the film and I love the film. :lol: I wouldn't say it's better than the film because it has it's own property. It's like Fight Club, the book and the movie. Each awesome in their own right.

[spammityspam]

Aaaah, I love the Princess Bride so much. And Fight Club, really.

[[.ramp//]]

Well, depends on how you look at it.

I was reading 'Rose Madder', but know I have to read 'The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'.
Good, good 8D

[Nostromo]

102 Minutes

For a change, what's between the covers lives up to the promotion. You will not sleep until you've turned the last page. N

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/books/review/09STEWART.html

[Penfold]

I finally finished reading "First Among Sequels". I really enjoyed it, but it took half the book for the plot to even show up.

[KingVoyeur]

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I think this book has made it into my Top 5 favs! The writing is hilarious, especially the footnotes that randomly pop up with funny info. Very highly recommended!

[chemikillgod]

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. I think this book has made it into my Top 5 favs! The writing is hilarious, especially the footnotes that randomly pop up with funny info. Very highly recommended!

Possibly because it's one of the greatest collaborations in literary awesomeness. What I love about the book is that you can completely get the hint of both Gaiman and Pratchett in the writing since they both have specific humor and style. I literally have about five copies of this book lying around the house.

[KingVoyeur]

Possibly because it's one of the greatest collaborations in literary awesomeness. What I love about the book is that you can completely get the hint of both Gaiman and Pratchett in the writing since they both have specific humor and style. I literally have about five copies of this book lying around the house.

Well, you need at least two copies so you can have both covers!

Just finished reading The Ruins by Scott Smith, which was better than I was expecting (though I'm sure they totally screwed it up for the film, at least judging by the previews.), and also Duma Key, Stephen King's latest, also pretty good. Starting in on some compilations of Charles Busch plays, beginning with Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Whoopee!

[chemikillgod]

Well, you need at least two copies so you can have both covers!

Just finished reading The Ruins by Scott Smith, which was better than I was expecting (though I'm sure they totally screwed it up for the film, at least judging by the previews.), and also Duma Key, Stephen King's latest, also pretty good. Starting in on some compilations of Charles Busch plays, beginning with Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Whoopee!

The entire time I was reading The Ruins I was just thinking that it was pretty much written FOR the big screen... I mean, not in a good way, I mean, like, the author wrote it in a way so that it could become a movie at some point and hey, it did become a movie. I don't know. I mean, it was good but it simply didn't really grab me that well.

[sreeja]

Ice Station by Matthew Reilly. It would be just another die hard type movie, but hey, if it's done right it would be entertaining at the least.'Water for Elephants' by Sara Gruen.and'7th Heaven' by James PattersonSure - they're both good books.

[fastcar]

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks. It's a fast read and pretty humorous, although I don't know if it's supposed to be. Will follow it up with World War Z.

[RedKarma]

I'm currently in the 8th book of Salvatore's dark elf series, Starless Night. I like it so far, and all the others as well.

I'm also knee deep in a heavily academic biography on Julius Caesar. Caesar Life of a Colossus by Adrian Goldsworthy. I'm pretty amazed at how much documentation there is by so many sources on his life. The author does a pretty good job at making sure the reader tempers the information, since several of the sources are hostile (Cicero) while others may be butt kissers (nearly everyone else). It is also very informative on what daily life was like and common practices from more than one social layer, though it is mainly centered on politics.

Turns out Caesar didn't really get to kick any serious butt until he was well into his 40's, who would have thought that? :p

[KingVoyeur]

About halfway through "Heart-Shaped Box" by Joe Hill, Stephen King's son. Pretty good so far, very creepy.

Also, if you can get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend reading "The Pillowman", a play by Martin McDonagh (who also wrote In Bruges). I've got a small part in it here at MU this November, and let me tell you, it's twisted! It's set in an unnamed totalitarian society. An author who writes dark children's stories has been brought in for questioning after several children in the city have been murdered in ways mimicking his stories. His mentally handicapped brother has also been brought in for questioning as well. It's all about fact and illusion and the purpose of art. David Tenant (Dr. Who) and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge) were in the original London cast, and Billy Crudup (Watchmen) and Jeff Goldblum were in the original Broadway cast.

[Belledame]

Just finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road, then Cindy Gerard's Show No Mercy (a spinoff of a series I was hooked on) and today I picked up Gregory Maguire's latest, A Lion Among Men. I love his Oz books with a passion.

[neglet]

Working through the last volume in David Brin's "Uplift" series right now; then I finally got "The Watchmen" from the library; after that, I've got "Talk to the Hand," a diatribe against rudeness from the author of "Eats, Shoots and Leaves."

[tizzle2]

I'm reading The Man Without Qualities -- translated from the original German. VERY LONG BOOK.

[KingVoyeur]

Paul of Dune

The latest book by Frank Herbert's son. You know, usually I hate it when authors go back and try to fill in every little gap in a story (I'm looking at YOU, George Lucas), but these are actually pretty good, and I LOVE the Duneverse, so I'm happy! This is the first book in a new trilogy, to be followed by Jessica of Dune and I think Irulan of Dune, which all take place between Dune and Dune Messiah, chronicling Paul "Muad'Dib" Atreides' galactic Jihad after becoming Emperor.

[KingVoyeur]

Just finished Paul of Dune (pretty good, can't wait for the next book) and just started Gregory Maguire's A Lion Among Men, the third book in what he is now calling his "Oz: The Wicked Years" series. I loved Wicked and enjoyed Son of a Witch, so I have high hopes for this one. I hope he keeps doing takes on other fairy tales though too. Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister was fantastic, although Mirror, Mirror wasn't so great.

[KingVoyeur]

A Lion Among Men was ok. It got interesting right at the end, but the rest was kinda "meh".

Lost, also by Maguire. It's an odd book, never really clicked for me. It's my 2nd least favorite of his, above Mirror, Mirror, which was just awful.

Angels and Demons. I figured with the film coming out, I might as well check it out. I actually enjoyed it more than Da Vinci Code. Very fast paced, typical in some places but overall enjoyable. The ending did drag on a bit though. Hope the movie keeps the pace up.

[tstone]

Echoes of Honor. I previously trashed the Honor Harrington series, and now I must revise my previous comments. I still think Weber Mary Sues Honor too much, with her as a nearly perfect superhero, who always overcomes, even in the most improbable situation, or the situation is contrived to just prevent her from being conquered.

That said, Weber provides a detailed future setting in it's geography, politics, military structure and technology, etc etc. And he does actually evolve his characters, rather than preserving the status quo.

So, I'm back, and I'm finishing the series.

[Nebka]

Got three books to read
Tibetan Book Of The Dead
Ghost of The World
Fourteen Minutes The Last Voyage of The Empress of Ireland steamship that sunk on May 28 1914 This accident claimed 1,012 lives

[gensosuikoden2]

The Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan
Excellent series that never got the credit or hype it deserves.

[Nebka]

Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings; Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age by Dr. Charles Hapgood

This book gives compelling evidence that there existed advanced civilizations prior to any that we are now aware of. Scholars have long dismissed legends and myths of such civilizations as mere story-telling and embellishment by our ancestors. Dr. Charles Hapgood studied what he considered copies of ancient maps and came to some very startling conclusions. In 1929, a map was found, painted on parchment, and dated in the month of Murharrem in the Muslim calendar year 919, which is 1513 by the Christian calendar. This map was signed with the name Piri Ibri Haji Memmed, a Turkish admiral ("Re'is") and became known as the Piri Re'is map.

[chemikillgod]

I just finished two books a couple of days ago.

One is Secret History... for the second time. As I was reading it, it suddenly dawned on me that I had read it before because I was starting to predict correctly some of the plot points just as they were about to happen but I couldn't remember it enough to know exactly. It was like being vaguely psychic. I thought at first maybe I saw the movie. I have no idea where or when I had read this book before because I have no overall recollection. I've however come to a conclusion that I may have read this book while I was high a few years ago. That would explain everything.

I also just finished Revelation Space. It was difficult to get into in the beginning because of the skips in characters and time when you're just trying to get a bearing on the story but I think slogging through it was worth it when you get to the meaty parts.

Now, I've just started Heinlein's The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and I really love it. I've never read it before but I had no trouble getting into it right away. I could barely put it down.