What'cha reading right now?

[Kurt_eh]

I'm just starting into China Mieville's King Rat

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312890729.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

On Deck:
Simon Winchester's The map that changed the world

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0060931809.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Nicola]

The Godwhale by T.J. Bass

[waltersgirl]

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon

[Alexxia]

Hamlet, William Shakespeare
Ordinary People, Judith Guest
Jacob Have I Loved, Katherine Paterson
The Thief Lord, Cornelia Funke

[JrMissToughChick]

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

[Alexxia]

Ooh, I love that one! I know I have it somewhere, but I just don't know where. :(
Methinks a trip to the library is in store for us...yessss, precioussss....

[BlackThorn]

"American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

[VBKatLou]

Celtic Myth & Magic - Edain McCoy
Blood Canticle - Anne Rice
The Island of Dr. Moreau - H G Wells

I tend to treat books like TV channels. I usually have a couple going on at a time.

[ChianaMuse]

Dracula by Bram Stoker
Echoes by Maeve Binchy
All I really need to know I learned from watching Star Trek by Dave Marinaccio

all of which I've read before. :D

[mfa96]

"Last Light of the Sun" by Guy Kay

(just picked it up and will start soon- if you haven't read anything by him, give him a try- he is great!)

[faustus]

Geomancer by Ian Irvine
and on the subject of American Gods great book
________
Ocean View Condo Prathumnak (http://pattayaluxurycondos.com)

[La Bomba]

Recently finished: Job: A comedy of Justice by Robert Heinlien and Good Omens by Neil Gaimen and Terry Pritchard.
Currently re-reading God Emporer of Dune by Frank Herbert for the zillionth time.
Also listening to the audio book of God's other Son by Don Imus in the car.

[stellar]

This thread by Kurt_eh.

[BlackThorn]

Originally posted by faustus
and on the subject of American Gods great book

Definitely. I'm only about 100 pages into it, and I'm completely and utterly hooked.

La Bomba, on "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett, what'd you think?

[canadadoc]

Empire Falls by Richard Russo

[Selena]

:book: reading??? who has time to read ... I'm in the throes of writing 2 bboks :shrug: :rolleyes:

Last book I read was by Shane Maloney called :snicker: Something Fishy ... it was a wonderful book by a very funny Aussie author.

Worth reading, although there are a number of culturally specific phrases in it for Americans.

[BlackThorn]

Tell me about it, Selena. Unfortunately, I had to find the time since reading relaxes me, and I need to try to keep my stress level down for health reasons. To find the balance, I've started reading in bed when I'm trying to fall asleep since it shut up the rest of the chatter in my brain, helping stop insomnia (another thing I needed to fix for health reasons.) It's working out well since it doesn't cut into my writing time.

[ipimen]

A game of thrones by George R R Martin
The best of the Realms Anthology
Dragonlance: The Annotated Chronicles M. Weiss and T. Hickman
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan


:D

[BaseLine]

Failure is not an option - Gene Kranz
Australie in een rugzak (Australia in a backpack) - Dolf de Vries

[trinamick]

Crime & Punishment

[Clarsax]

The Number of the Beast - Robert A. Heinlein
And on the more educational side: Giants, Monsters, and Dragons - Carol Rose

[fermicat]

Ilium by Dan Simmons

[DRD2001]

The Simillarian by Tolkien
Green Delusions by Martin W. Lewis
I, Claudius by Robert Graves

[who45]

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

[Selena]

Originally posted by BlackThorn
Tell me about it, Selena. Unfortunately, I had to find the time since reading relaxes me, and I need to try to keep my stress level down for health reasons. To find the balance, I've started reading in bed when I'm trying to fall asleep since it shut up the rest of the chatter in my brain, helping stop insomnia (another thing I needed to fix for health reasons.) It's working out well since it doesn't cut into my writing time.

It's the story (continuing saga I later discovered) of a politician (just a regular guy who got himself elected) and the party he was elected to represent is not even the ruling party. He has a girlfriend whom he adores, a 15 year old son who is a hot item with the girls at school and a life that is organized chaos.

The story follows his escapades surrounding a horrible accident that he witnesses, the lobster fishing industry and a restaurant owner who apparently dumps his wife and takes of for greener pastures. It's set in Melbourne, Victoria the south eastern part of Australia.

Doesn't sound like much from that brief synopsis but I didn't want to give the plot away.

It is incredibly funny, yet also quite tense in parts as he pits his wits against poachers who have a lot of money to lose, attempts to date the mother of his son's new girlfriend and tries to help the wife of the restaurant owner who has disappeared.

I picked up a copy from Amazon.com (used) for just a few dollars including postage.

I give it :aok: :aok: up!



The other book I read over Christmas when I was flying was King of Torts ... :aok: :aok: most enjoyable!

[Saajak]

The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkein, with The Complete Guide to Middle Earth by Robert Foster on hand to help me when the names start to get confusing. (yes, it's like reading a history book with an encyclopedia for reference). :)

[StarsGoBlue]

Just finished: Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts and Immortal in Death by JD Robb (aka Nora Roberts).

Just started: The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (we likes it, yesss my preciousss) and Deprivers by Steven-Elliot Altman, who certainly knows how to grab a reader's attention right from the get-go:

"Somehow she knew that I'd killed a man earlier that morning. His name was Osbourne, and I'd waited for him for just under an hour. I bore him no ill will. After all, I was there to kill him. "

Might finish someday maybe, if I could stop having to go back and reread the parts I thought I'd already understood: The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking. :lol

:book:

[Jul]

the last recreational reading I did was Laurell K. Hamilton's Meredith Gentry series and J.D. Robb's Divided in Death :D

[atlantagirl]

I'm re-reading the LOTR trilogy (sounds like I lot of us have Tolkien on the brain). I read it for the first time after seeing FOTR and basically read it as fast as I could to find out what happened (and skipped a lot of the poetry, etc. because it was bogging me down). This time I'm reading it slowly and really savoring it.

BlackThorn, I do the same thing as you, read a few pages in bed to quiet the noise left inside my brain at the end of the day. Nothing like following Frodo, Sam and Gollum through the dark lands to wipe away all thoughts of business, bills, and life in the 21st century. :D

[recklesshumor]

I'm trying to wade through "The DaVinci Code," but unlike just about every other American on the planet, It's boring me stiff.

[NYPinTA]

Originally posted by stellar
This thread by Kurt_eh.

Damn. Thats what I was gonna say!

Nevermind.

Currenty, I am reading Stephen King's latest in the Gunslinger series. Only half way through.

[trinamick]

I don't have much time to read anymore :( so I've taken to getting books on tape. But my car has a CD player. Can you get books on CD also?

[Kurt_eh]

Forget the books on CD and go straight to Books on MP3 :D :rolleyes:

[the_cadpig]

I just finished Tatooine Ghost which is a great addition to the Star Wars EU. Now I'm re-reading Star Wars: Shadows Of The Empire by Steve Perry and Frank Miller's Ronin graphic novel.

Guess I'm just not in a heavy reading mood at the moment. I get enough of that with school :)

[Mazinger]

Last book I read was On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Good stuff if you Like James Bond. Right now I'm back to comic books though, I buy about 20 a week.

[mycattoldme]

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown and Power Tools for Women in Business by Aliza Sherman

[slgn*]

Originally posted by recklesshumor
I'm trying to wade through "The DaVinci Code," but unlike just about every other American on the planet, It's boring me stiff.
Was fairly bored with it myself. Although I was already familiar with themes/theories of the book. I read Digital Fortress by Brown and although I wouldn't claim it as a "great" book or a "favorite," I found it more interesting than DC.

[slgn*]

Currently reading: "Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler. I'm new to her; saw her at local author event and was really impressed. Devoured Kindred in a day or two. Now onto the Earthseed books.

Edited: I guess Earthseed books are not a trilogy. Just original and sequel. Oops.

[tribsaint]

Currently reading:

*The four (or is it four of the?) Red Dwarf books. HILARIOUS STUFF...have gotten in trouble for BUSTING out laughing in school today.
*Notes from the Underground ~Dostoyevsky

Just finished reading Crime and Punishment for school...going to start Death of a Salesman on Monday. I've heard good things. :D

[MsWiggi]

Watership Down

[Duchess of Erat]

The Hidden Life of Otto Frank ( sorry I don't have the author's name nearby)..about Otto Frank ( Anne Frank's father)

and for lighter reading : Acorna's Triumph by Anne McCaffery

[Commslink]

Shogun by James Clavell (an excellent author by the way). Unfortunately, English class has been bogging down my fun reading this year. We just finished Ethan Frome and Invisible Man (if we talk about symbolism one more time :pissed: ).

[B Sharp]

still trying to finish the last book of Gene Wolfe's Long Sun / Short Sun series (it's called Return to the Whorl). http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0312873646/ref=sib_dp_pt/103-3105071-6573409#reader-link

Love the book and the series, it's just that the only time I find to read for more than 5 min at a time is after I get in bed- and it seems I can only keep my eyes open for about a half-hour or so after that (probably has something to do with the fact that I'm working about 16 hrs a day....).

[Alexxia]

Started reading The Giver by Lois Lowry today. For the hundredth time. It never gets old.
:book:

[quendi]

I'm currently reading Caitlín R Kiernan's (http://www.caitlinrkiernan.com) Silk. After which I will read her most recent novel Low Red Moon.

[Moogy]

The Long Walk by Rawicz
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[witchdoctor]

Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin.

He is a physicist involved in the effort to reconcile relativity and quantum mechanics and describes the three approaches currently being pursued towards that end. It's written for the lay person, but still takes some effort to follow. A lot of interesting and challenging concepts though.

I also started re-reading an old favorite Roger Zelazny novel, Lord of Light. It is an old favorite I enjoy re-reading periodically.

I don't get nearly the amount of free time for recreational reading that I used to, so a half hour or so before going to sleep in the evening is my reading time, like many of you all.

[La Bomba]

Originally posted by BlackThorn

La Bomba, on "Good Omens" by Gaiman and Pratchett, what'd you think?

Sorry it took me so long to answer. The thread dropped off the radar too fast!

It was hilarious! If you like the Hitchhiker's Guide books, you'll love it. Very clever, irreverant humor!:D

[La Bomba]

Originally posted by recklesshumor
I'm trying to wade through "The DaVinci Code," but unlike just about every other American on the planet, It's boring me stiff.

I'm glad someone else said it first. I found the historical information fascinating, if it's accurate, but the story itself was WEAK!

[trinamick]

Originally posted by Moogy
The Long Walk by Rawicz
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Isn't Love in the Time of Cholera the book that Kate Beckinsale is reading in Serendipity? Is it a good book?

[Coinean Crichton]

Just started New Spring by Robert Jordan-already read the Wheel of Time series including book 10, so now I am going for the prequel.

[B Sharp]

Originally posted by quendi
I'm currently reading Caitlín R Kiernan's (http://www.caitlinrkiernan.com) Silk. After which I will read her most recent novel Low Red Moon.

Seems like the critics and most readers either love or hate Ms Kiernan's style- what's your thought?

[twylaloo]

I just finished reading "Shopgirl" by Steve Martin & I loved it!! I am on the waiting list for "The Pleasure of My Company" from the library.

[La Bomba]

Originally posted by twylaloo
I just finished reading "Shopgirl" by Steve Martin & I loved it!! I am on the waiting list for "The Pleasure of My Company" from the library.

Steve Martin did a book years ago called "Cruel Shoes". It was also fantastic. Very funny!

Welcome aboard, twylaloo! Love the oblongs avatar! Is your screenname a Dick Van Dyke reference?

[StarsGoBlue]

Someone on Live Journal is reading the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0140099212/qid=1080358495/sr=12-1/104-2816863-0935103?v=glance&s=books) ... which made me drool reminiscently about Sean Bean's butt...
:lech:

and want to re-read the series. :book:

Which I know is somewhere here in my house... :eh:

[trubador]

Originally posted by trinamick
Isn't Love in the Time of Cholera the book that Kate Beckinsale is reading in Serendipity? Is it a good book?
Yes it is.... and, yes it is. :D

The novel has a fantastical nature to it (as does all the works of GGM, and Jorge Luis Borges and Italo Calvino). It's a love story and spans the lives of the main characters. There's also a touch of Thomas Mann in the book, as well. Depending on where you are in your life when you read it will determine how you are affected by it. I happened to stumble upon and read it when it was most opportune. I remember underlining sections left and right while reading it. Some years later, and reading it gives a completely different impression.

I also have GGM's "One Hundred Years Of Solitude" (which is his masterpiece), but I haven't gotten around to reading it yet..... too many books on my book shelves... too little time.

I love Italo Calvino's work. His novel "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler" is incredible. And his collection of short stories are awesome, especially "Difficult Loves" and "Numbers In The Dark." :aok:

[StarsGoBlue]

Hey Trub, have you read Calvino's Cosmicomics? It was recommended to me but I haven't had a chance to pick it up yet... :book:

[trubador]

I have almost all of Calvino's works, but unfortunately not that one. It's not one of his more approachable books. It's sparce, and cryptic. I'd recommend the works I mentioned above, first. Maybe also a couple other works of his: "Invisible Cities" and "The Baron In The Trees"

[fermicat]

I finished Dan Simmons' Ilium (it was GREAT - can't wait for the second book), and am reading Deepsix by Jack McDevitt. Hard sci-fi, decent so far, and his style reminds me a little bit of Arthur Clarke.

I'm also reading The Best American Science Writing 2003, edited by Oliver Sacks.

[StarsGoBlue]

Originally posted by trubador
I have almost all of Calvino's works, but unfortunately not that one. It's not one of his more approachable books. It's sparce, and cryptic.

Ooooooh... sparse and cryptic... dang Trub, if you were trying to steer me away from it at first, those were the wrong things to say... :D


*****Stars
No, I am not at all attracted by
the 'mysterious'... why do you ask?
:think:

[AgentSun]

right now i'm reading this thread.

[Zutulu]

for fun: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
for school: King Lear by Shakespeare
and we're about to start The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne (I think)

[scifinutter]

Procrastinating assignments atm, playing OT in the UT's instead!

Should be reading: The Televiewing Audience by Abelman and Atkin, Television Culture by Fiske, Television, Globalisation and Cultural Identities by Barker (they're the most important to read - there are six more!!)

Am halfway through: Cloudstreet by Tim Winton. About two rural families who move to the city to rebuild their lives. Total emotional rollercoaster ride so far.

Just finished: Jillaroo by Rachael Treasure. About a farming family in Australia, particularly the daughter's struggle to find love and live her dreams of continuing to run her family's cattle station in a modern way.

*slaps wrist*
GO AND DO THAT ASSIGNMENT YOU FOOL!!!!

[DeeGroovy]

How to Be a Canadian by Will Ferguson & Ian Ferguson
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
Catching Midnight by Emma Holly
Pioneer Women: Voices from the Kansas Frontier by Joanna L. Stratton

[slgn*]

Originally posted by witchdoctor
Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin....attempt to reconcile relativity and quantum mechanics... Ooohhhhh! Very cool! This list rocks.
Waitin' on the 2nd book of Butler's Parable story (Parable of the Talents) from the library and reading Henry James' Portrait of a Lady in the meantime. Yeah I know... kinda schizo sandwiching 1880's society in between near-future dystopia. Or maybe not... depending upon your view, I suppose. :)

:bigwave:Hands up if you've started a list (or added to an ongoing list) because of what you've read here. Thanks Kurt_eh for starting this thread!

[trinamick]

Heck, I don't even know where to begin on making a list. There are sooo many books listed here that I haven't read. I'm still trying to get through Crime & Punishment. I haven't started any other books, because then I know I wouldn't ever finish it!

[slgn*]

trinamick - yeah, I've been there. ... one page at a time my friend... you can do it! You can do it! :)

[Mirth]

Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson. great read, long book though. Feel like there should have been a little more to the ending, but all in all, well worth the time i spent reading it.

The Urth of the New Sun - Gene Wolfe. Solid tale, but if you didn't read the first 2 books (or 4 books depending on how you look at it) it prbly won't seem as rich a world as it really is. Great series.

[Stormhorse]

Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul. He's quite snippy.

[BlackThorn]

Finally finished "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman between everything else I'm doing, and I must say it was a spectacular read.

Now reading: "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.

[zelbinion]

Reading three right now,
"What Darwin did'nt know"
"Davinci Code"
"Anesthesia in todays practice"

[AyuRocks]

Also reading three..

"1984"
"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"
and
"Death of a Salesman"

Ashley