So, just what are you reading there, Missy/Mister? [Part 4]

I saw that the previous thread had become long and someone suggested a new thread... here goes nothing!

Being a bit unmotivated in the reading department as of late, I've decided to pick up a favorite series and catch up with the new books. The series is Eric Flint's 1632verse (aka Grantville series, aka Assiti Shards, aka Ring of Fire).

A few days ago, I finished 1632. It's a great start and I think it's ultimately my favorite. This first book is very character-driven and we get to know a lot of the folks more personally -- which I suppose was necessary for the first novel.

What I do like about 1633, the sequel, is that we get to meet a lot of historical figures at the time. And we get a lot more information about the 17th century, I feel. Perhaps it's the addition of co-author David Weber. I don't know. I'm about halfway done with this one, so I should be on to 1634: The Galileo Affair soon enough... but I'm getting ahead of myself!

Now it's your turn: tell me what you're reading!

I'm off on a non-fantasy tangent right now. Until proven innocent: political correctness and the shameful injustices of the Duke lacrosse rape case (wonky touchstone) followed by Jane Eyre for a long airplane flight.

Wow - that Duke title is a mouthful.

Yeah, I cut-n-pasted from the public library listing...8^}

It looked like a library title. :D

I'm reading Elmer Gantry and really enjoying it!
:o)

Just finished the left hand of darkness by LeGuin and now on to stormed fortress which just arrived from Britain

I'm trying to finish The Golden Compass but this weekend I got sucked into re-reading Prizoner of Azkaban.

I've been on a bit of a Tom Robbins binge recently but just got onto his latest and my wife tried to distract me into reading some chicklit but I hit back and have just started my reread of Harry Potter and the deathly hallows

Currently reading:
Harry Potter and the Order Of The Phoenix
The Crimson Petal and the White (still!)
Food: A Culinary History (still!)

I just started Who's Afraid of Beowulf? this morning. Looks like a fun read.

Started Extras, the new fourth book in the Uglies trilogy, yesterday afternoon, although that shouldn't take more than another day or two.

I'm listening to The Shadow in the North, the second in the Sally Lockheart Mysteries series, but I'm not terribly invested in it.

I finished Banewreaker by Jacqueline Carey. It took a while to get into but I'm glad I stuck with it, although it took almost 2 weeks! Gahh!

Now reading Fables: Legends in Exile, The Golden Compass and In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (off and on, it's been several weeks since it was last 'on'). Also listening to Jane Eyre.

Car book: Julian
Bus book: Flashman in the Great Game
Bed book: The Hobbit
I've read The Hobbit several times but not for many years and I'm really enjoying it. Trying to go slow and savor it but I'll likely finish tonight.

Finished Parable of the Sower. Now I'm on to Parable of the Talents. I didn't know there was a new Uglies book. I'll have to hunt it up (I hope it's out here).

#8 -- PoA? Now, why would you be reading that? Hehehe. . . .

I just finished Black Powder War and eagerly await the arrival of the next book -- I'm on the holds list for it at my library. Right now I'm rereading Dark Lord of Derkholm for a teen book discussion group that I moderate, rereading Prisoner of Azkaban with the HE crowd, meandering through You're Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop in spare moments, and contemplating starting Reader and Raelynx -- but I'll probably wait until I finish DLoD.

(Edited in a vain attempt to get that last touchstone to work)

A sampling of recently read:

Gilgamesh
Enuma Elish
Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews: A History
Wuthering Heights
Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse Five, Galapagos, and Cat's Cradle all by Kurt Vonnegut
Hitler's Pope
Aloft
Picture of Dorian Gray
Beak of the Finch
Encountering Naturalism
Papal Sin

There's a few.

Best of that bunch, by a mile: Constantine's Sword

Worst? hmm. No stinkers there. Aloft was just OK. Enuma Elish is fragmentary, lol. Lots of missing parts.

aww, I loved wuthering heights...well...I Liked wuthering heights anyway.

Currently trying to finish River of Gods by Ian McDonald, which I've been stuck on for a month or so now. It's very good, but I keep getting sidetracked.

I just finished Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock. I liked it a lot, and I have a feeling I'll like it more and more with each re-read.

I hate getting sidetracked from a good book

Well, since this thread is addressed to me specifically... Still reading The Hours in snippets before bed. I finished the audiobook (unabridged) version of Return of the King yesterday on my way home from work and started Fannie Flagg's narration of A Redbird Christmas on my way in this morning.

:o)
Missy(lc)

:) I got Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts over the weekend! Life is good.

#9 -- I'd say Tom Robbins is definitely the antidote for chicklit! Let her know you're a man and you're gonna read a man's book! (Then read her stuff when she's not home, to practice the "sensitive man" side)...

I'm still working on The Well of Ascension. I'm really enjoying it, but I just haven't felt like reading these past few days. I spent most of the weekend with visual stuff: television, movies, and graphic novels.

I finished Their Finest Hour and The Mousetrap & Other Plays. Still reading my other two books and I haven't decided what to pick up next. It just feels good to be down to two books for a bit.

Work and need for sleep keeps interfering with my reading of the excellent Finity's End.
Am I allowed to go home and read?
;-)

I'm reading tons of Art bookness for my final Art HSC exam on Friday Australian time...

I learned such fascinating things as:

- The somewhat seedy origins of the Female Nude in Art past and present

- That Michelangelo's frescos and other artworks contain distorted proportions of the human body

- The entire point of that four armed guy in a square and circle is (turns out it's not that mystical at all, it's just a diagram of bodily proportion!)

- Why people are happier with idealised representations of the Human body than with the real thing (it's Natural Selection, and somehow it makes the overly busty women in Anime make sense in a representational, non-seedy way. Think about it when you look it up)

The books I've been reading are How Art Made the World by Nigel Spivey and The Big Book of Art. Do check them out!

Thanks, TeenAuthor! I just ordered How Art Made the World. I'd seen some of the PBS show but didn't know there was a companion book. Used on Abe, $2.50! Weehoo!

I'm really interested in art as it represents emergent consciousness in our species. Check out The Mind in the Cave if you are interested in more on cave art and petroglyphs.

Why does the touchstone for Mind in the Cave go to Lewis-Williams other book (also good)? Who knows.

I finally managed to finish The Golden Compass and I'm on to The Subtle Knife. It's not the best YA fantasy I've read, but it's ok. Might as well finish up the series.

I'm reading The Twice Born, Pauline Gedge's new book. She writes about ancient Egypt and while I know some don't like her, for me her writing works and I just get sucked in and I feel the heat and sand and am glad I'm not having to worry about the politics of pharaoh! And I'm listening to Inkheart which I'm really enjoying.

I finished Abigail Adams and really enjoyed it. What a woman! She brought up the inequality of representation for women to her husband, called Jefferson on his maliciousness and duplicity towards her husband and son, ran the estate for years while her husband was serving the nation, kept up a very steamy correspondence with her husband as well as being his sounding board on issues. All this time functioning as a loving mother, sister, daughter, etc.

Now I'm going to start Gone With the Wind, The Red Knight of Germany and The Knocker on Death's Door. Still working on Nine Tailors

I finished The Well of Ascension last night. It was really good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as Mistborn or Elantris.

Now I've just started Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger. It's been a while since I delved into short fiction.

Nice list, MrsLee. What will you do in your spare time? ;-)

#33 - Um, wash clothes, do dishes, cook, berate boys for not doing their schoolwork, entertain my parents who are visiting.... stuff like that.

I see. The non-essentials.

Reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It's certainly different from the usual children's book, more emphasis on crazy randomness than wizard schools or farmboy heroes, I don't find it particularly scary though, however the drawings by Dave McKean in my Bloomsbury edition of it certainly are the scariest thing in it!

Has anybody else read Coraline who might want to talk about the book? Why am I the only Neil Gaiman fan here? Are there more of them in the Green Dragon?

Well TIM is a fan. But he might be a bit busy for extended conversations.

Try look up tags or users who have a large number of his books - you can find this info on the author page.

I'm onto Fortress of dragons after the somewhat slow fortress of owls

Currently reading Tripoint. So far it's up to expectations :-)

Finished Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion last night; not sure what to start on next.

eta: Using my super-secret formula*, I've chosen The Secret History by Procopius as my next read.

*This involves looking at a customized "number of pages" column in my catalog and picking the book with the least amount of pages.

You all make me feel so frivolous. I'm currently reading Door to the North by Elizabeth Coastworth. It's a YA about a Viking expedition to the new world in the 1300s. The story is predicated on the Kensington Stone found in Minnesota years ago. (Might be a fake, might not.)

It was a favorite book of mine when I was about 13, and I just recently re-discovered it. A trip down memory lane - and a darn good story as well.

#36 TeenAuthor - I like Neil Gaiman. In fact, I've just started Interworld, his collaboration with Michael Reeves.

I got my copy of Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts in the mail yesterday! Hurray! Just in time for a few days off work. So looking forward to an exciting few days of reading!

#36 --Lots of Gaiman fans around... I finished Anansi Boys not too long ago, dipped into Good Omens for a few hilarious chapters, and I highly recommend the movie MirrorMask (especially if you have imaginative kids)...

I finished Lian Hearn's Harsh Cry of the Heron last night & cried my eyes out, i'm such a sook, lol...

Just started Voyage of the Shadowmoon my Sean McMullen...

I just started The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko So far I *love* this book. Now I'm going to go hunt down the rest of 'em.

TeenAuthor - you're certainly not alone in your Gaiman fan-ness! I liked Coraline and found it creepy more than scary, especially with those illustrations.

I finished The Knocker on Death's Door, fun read, even if I did figure out the mystery pretty early. Now I'm just going to read Gone With the Wind by itself for awhile. I think it's one of those books you have to immerse yourself in or never finish.

I couldn't settle on anything in my TBR, so I went to the bookstore and got one of those "classics" I haven't gotten around to yet. I'm reading A Confederacy of Dunces, and it's unbelievably wonderful and hilarious. Why did I wait so long?

I finished Atonement last night (loved it), and started Geek Love for a few pages before bed.

I'm also still picking away at the audiobook of The Shadow in the North. Partly I've been busy, but mostly I'm just not that interested, so I'm only listening to maybe 10-15 minutes of it a day. I should probably just quit it and start something new, but at this point I'm getting close enough to the end that I feel like I should just push through. I've taken the third book in the series off my list for the time being, though.

Amo, Amas, Amat, and all that - a lighthearted reintroduction to studying Latin , Go Quest, Young Man (a freebie book I got some years ago, which is just ridiculous enough to tickle my fantasy), and the Buffy Omnibus, vol. 1 - the first volume of the collected canon buffy comics, covering from Buffy meeting her first Watcher, Merrick, to her arrival in Sunnydale and a couple of other bits.

I read There is Nothing Wrong with You by Huber last night. It was very moving for me.

I've just started Darkwing by Kenneth Oppel. I loved the author's Silverwing and Airborn series', so I've got high hopes for this one.

Shock doctrine, plus rereading Foreigner in preparation for the february paperback release of the ninth novel. And seeing that my workload is soaring = less time to read in I thought it prudent to start well in advance ;-)

Good thing with the troubles I had today (see another thread...) is that I' almost finished it - I think I may start on Invader before I reach home tonight.

I'm currently reading The Portable Nietzsche and Moon Shot.

I'm currently reading Abundance: a novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund and Kushiel's Scion by Jacqueline Carey. A little disappointed in both thus far, more so in the first.

Just started The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde.

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony. The Incarnations of Immortality are his best work. I don't care so much for the punniness of most of the rest.

Dipped into volume of short stories Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman this week on the train. I really am enjoying them. I particularly liked that he includes a short story in the body of his introduction to the collection.

And the one entitled "Nick" (I think that's the title) is really wicked. Thought-provoking but wicked.

Hi, I'm new here. I just started A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

Welcome, KimberlyL! Don't let the Roombas scare you off.

Just finished The Story of Tea: a Cultural History and Drinking Guide (wonky touchstone) by Mary Lou and Robert Heiss. Now I'm inspired to go shop at my local tea shop. Which a quick web search tells me is now in our local mall. I need a second job...

The title sounds intriguing, drneutron; did you do a review? (Yes, I could go look it up on LT, but then I'd be like -- y'know --working at it).

I just finished reading Death of a Ghost for a book talk this week. As a companion piece, I was reading a biography of the author, Margery Allingham, entitled Ink in Her Blood.

#61 -

I did a short review. Most of my reviews are single paragraphs just to give my impressions of a book, so I'll summarize here. This book's got chapters on the history of tea, how the different kinds of teas are grown and prepared, and descriptions of the authors' tea-tasting trips. It's also got advice for brewing tea and descriptions of various tea ceremonies and rituals from China, Japan and Korea. There's a particularly useful chapter on major varieties of tea with descriptions of taste and aroma, etc to help newbies pick teas they may be interested in. Lots of pretty pictures too.

I finished Abundance: a novel of Marie Antoinette and still found it lacking. I was hoping to like it, which made it more disappointing. I also felt like it was very unrealistic in its portrayal, so I've moved Marie Antoinette: the journey up my TBR pile so that I can evaluate its factual truth. Not until winter break though, too much work to do until then.

In the meantime I've started The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant, which I like vastly more, even if the main character is a bit anachronistic. I've just learned about Renaissance Florence in a class, which makes it all even more real and interesting to me. Still working on Kushiel's Scion.

#60
Thanks for the welcome drneutron! Roombas...that must be what's causing that odd whirring noise I've been hearing....

Just remember to lift your feet. I sometimes forget and got one stuck on my toe last week. Couldn't get rid of it until I allowed it to take a whack at the dust bunnies under the bed.

#9 - OOOOooooOOOOooooh! I love Tom Robbins. My fave was Still Life with Woodpecker, one of a handful of books I used to reread regularly, it sadly fell off that list. Time to buy a new copy!

#48 - Ahhhh, A Confederacy of Dunces, another Must Re-read for me!

Oh, and back to Tom Robbins, I know a lot of women who like his books as well. I think it's the mustache...

I just finished Carl Hiaasen's Nature Girl. As always, great fun!

Just started Galactic North.

Still reading Shock doctrine, plus have moved on to Inheritor in my "reread before february-quest". Those novels have proven to be almost as addictive the second time around so when I finish it sometime later today I will NOT go on to number four - I will instead work on the Naomi Klein-book.
Why? To prove I still have some level of self control, that's why! ;-)

Reading the online MST version of The Eye of Argon, which highlights the inherent humor of the work:

http://www.bmsc.washington.edu/people/merritt/books/Eye_of_Argon.html

And I've started reading Jasper Fforde's The Big Over Easy, which is a very interesting satire of crime novels. Wish me luck!

I started Behind the Scenes at the Museum last night. One of the funnier opening paragraphs I've read in a long time.

Just started Sunshine by Robin McKinley. Still getting used to the rambling kind of writing used, but now we've gotten to the vampires et al part so it's going more easily :o)

I've just started Thomas the Rhymer by Ellen Kushner. Its interesting so far, but it's not grabbing me the way her others did. I'm only sixty pages in, though, so there's still plenty of time for it to suck me in.

I note that no one seems to have read a book since... Nov 20th?
;-)

Anyway, I checked my own posts here and can with some trepidation say that I'm still reading Shock Doctrine but have moved (mowed?!) through all of the Foreigner-books. I had no self restraint.
Not back then. Since two weeks ago I'm not allowed to start any other book until this one is finished.
Needless to say I've worked around the clock AND had to prepare for some festivities I'm not certain that I actually like so reading time have been extremely limited.

I keep five other books that I desperately want to read as bait.

This is an interesting read, but very disturbing and very ugly...

So, what about the rest of you?
Have you stopped reading as well? ;-)

No just stopped posting- sort my catalog by "date read" if you're really that interested - should be about 10 books since 20th Nov.

I just finished hogfather and am currently on Chanur Saga whilst waiting for my SantaThing to turn up.

Currently reading Deborah Simmons's "A Wish For Noel".

I'm reading The Name of the Wind. Recommended by Robin Hobb and Patrick Rothfuss is a bigfan of Joss Whedon, so I thought I'd try it out. I'm hooked.

The Annotated Hans Christian Anderson with introduction and notes by Maria Tartar. A gift from my ever-tolerant spouse this Christmas.

However, we've been traveling all day so I'm crashing at this point.

#75 - LOL! Folks must have been posting in another thread... right? Right? LOL

I put down my Early Reviewer book on Christmas Eve and picked up The Subtle Knife, which is the second in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and I'm really really enjoying it. I have been trying to sneak off and read, but my family just won't let me. :o/

I just started Expecting Someone Taller.

Northwest Passage by Kenneth Roberts
Keeping Watch by Laurie R. King
My Horses, My Teachers by Alois Podhajsky

I gave up on author touchstones about a month ago. They rarely work anymore.

I just finished Master of Paxwax by Philip Mann, its been a great read & i cant wait to dive in to The Fall of the Families (the sequal) when I get home tonight... Like one of the quotes on the back of the book says "Rarely have I been made aware so credibly of creatures so utterly unlike us"... I highly recommend!!!

I've had it for a couple years and just now started reading The Tale of Genji

I have just finished the following:

Brother Odd by Dean Koontz
The Devil You Know by Mike Cary

and have now started :

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

I'm still on A Game of Thrones. A combination of holiday activities, starting a new job and spending all day Christmas day watching Lord of the Rings has been biting into my reading time. I hope to finish it this weekend so I can start one of my Christmas gift books.

I'm reading Cannibals and Kings: The Origins of Cultures by Marvin Harris. It's sort of a late-1970s precursor to Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel.

Just finished Island of the Lost about two simultaneously shipwrecked crews on Auckland Island in 1865. Good story! Am now about halfway through The Toyminator. Disappearing toys, alien abductions (with the usual medical experiments), lots of movie references...I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

I'm reading The Small House at Allington. I love Trollope.

littlegeek - I recently found some books by Trollope. Haven't read any yet, but from what I've heard, I'm looking forward to it.

I loved Barchester Towers and The Warden.

Right now I am reading both War and Peace and The Night Watch (the one by Lukyanenko, not the one by Sarah Waters. I read that one earlier this year.)

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba (writer) and Takeshi Obata (illustrator)

I am reading Map of Glass which takes place in an area where I used to live, so I'm loving it as I slip right into the geography of the words - delightful. I'm also reading The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke with a nod to the season.

#36, TeenAuthor, I know this is very late to add this, but I listened to Coraline read by the author and it was great, very creepy and whimsical. I didn't like American Gods at all, but I definitely enjoyed Coraline.

I'm almost done Godslayer, Bk 2 of the Sundering by Jacqueline Carey. It purposely parallels LOTR but lets us see from the point of view of the evil side as well as the good. I'm on tenderhooks wondering how she's going to end it.

Read The Hobbit over Christmas in preparation for a LotR reread in the coming year, and started in on The Well of Ascension. I'm also listening to Mister Monday by Garth Nix.

Finished Keeping Watch, an intense and great read.

I'm listening to The Hobbit, Rob Inglis is great! This is the beginning of my reading of 'Chronolgical Tolkien'. I have the audio book of The Silmarillion. The trilogy books I have marked so that they will be encountered in their proper order. Don't know if anyone else has visited the website where I found it you only need to Google Chronolgical Tolkien to find it. I also have the illustrated Hobbit which it is fun to follow the action w/as I listen to the audio book. That book is illustrated like a graphic novel& has maybe 2/3 of the narrative & dialog (ISBN 0345445600) listed in my library for anyone who is interested. The Middle-earth Atlas helps you to faollow their route. 8^)

Edited to add info.

Rob Inglis reads LoTR as well, and it's amazing!
I borrowed it from a friend ages ago and ever since I've promised myself to buy it. At £94, plus freight (not on sale in Sweden, I have to buy it off Amazon UK...), it's a bit expensive, though. Still, it's down £15 since I first listed it ;-)

I borrowed The Hobbit audio book from our local library but The Silmarillion is my own. I have The LoTR BBC dramatized version on CD but don't like it as well as the Inglis version. Someday I'm hoping to have all of them as audio books! 8^)

Finished up The Toyminator. Now about 1/3 of the way through The Eyre Affair. Lovin' it so far!

I feel like I've been reading Orisinian Tales by Ursula K. Le Guin forever. It's such a tiny book, but it's taking me ages to get through it because I've got a stack of marking to do as well. Grrr! I let myself read one story for every four papers I do. It's agonizing. I want fiction, not first year essays!

#100 I'll be interested in what you think once you finish The Eyre Affair, I loved it and all the following books as well.

I have The Eyre Affair in my to be read stack. I should move it to the top!

I'm currently reading Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell. I'll finish that today. Rhett Butler's People by Donals McCaig and The Gunslinger Born are next on my list.

I'm rereading So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld. An excellent book with some very interesting ideas about society.

I'm currently reading Devices and Desires, Vellum, Latro in the Mist and The Garrett Files. I'm trying to finish all four by the end of the month, and I just might make it.

Wedged in between everything else, I'm currently reading Mistborn, and for a local book club, Water for Elephants as an audio recording, in the evenings when I manage to pick up a paint brush.

I bought Transit maps of the world today and instantly set about reading it. It is showing multiple generations of urban transit maps, some of them spanning over a 100 years' time.
A true orgy in information design!

Some of the maps are amazing. The present day maps showing the networks in Stuttgart and Moscow is both stunning...

I've just started Thud! today, I do like the Vimes storylines... and I bought Stranger in a Strange Land today, which I hope to start fairly soon.

I started Scott Westerfeld's Extras late last night and am getting a huge kick out of it.

I wanted to be reading Northwest Passage and My Horses, My Teachers, but my virus ridden brain can't do it, so I'm reading Murder She Meowed instead.

I'm doing a double whammy at the moment - Kitty and the Silver Bullet by Carrie Vaughn and Sliding Scales by Alan Dean Foster (the latter because my friend got me the latest book in that series (Patrimony) for Christmas, and I have to play catch up on the previous books so I can read that one!).

109 - You'll have to tell about Extras. I've been meaning to get a hold of that one.

#112 - I really enjoyed it. It was a damned fun read; something was always happening, and there were tons of twists and turns along the way. I thought he did a good job of showing how one society might restructure itself after a major crash, too. It was definitely over the top, but in a way that fit with his previous vision of the future world.

I had such a good time with it that I went out and bought Peeps yesterday with one of my holiday gift cards. I'm reading that now.

That's a different world, isn't it? Let me know about that one, too, please.

*goes to bookstore*

I finished Fall of the Families by Philip Mann yesterday. I really enjoyed it, very different to my usual fare :)

I'm about 3 chapters in to His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik & loving it, allready resenting any interuptions (especially work, lol)...

Finished up A Game of Thrones just a bit ago and will start Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse when I finish the dishes.

Finished Godslayer and haven't decided 100% what to read next. Thinking about starting The Book of Lost Things.

#117 I really enjoyed Book of Lost Things. John Connolly is one of my favorite mystery writers and this was an intriguing departure from those.

Edited to fix stupid typo.

#114 - it was also really good. Definitely not as action-packed as the Uglies books, but still a great read. I liked his biological take on vampirism. I did find the ending a little abrupt, though; it felt like the ending of a short story, not a novel. It left me wishing there had been a whole lot more information strewn throughout.

Finished My Horses, My Teachers and beginning Gaudy Night for a reread.

#118 - Book of Lost Things it is. KimberlyL, can you also tell me how you like Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse when you're done? My husband got it for a birthday present a while ago and I've been looking at it askance. It sounds bizarre but intriguing at the same time and I've been wondering about trying it.

I'm a handful of chapters in and loving it. I was almost late getting back from lunch because I lost track of time. Bizarre but intriguing it is, as well as very funny.

I was surprised at a bit of similiarity to The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde at least as far as one plot point goes.

#122 - Cheers Kimberly. I'll have to give them both a try. I remember reading a short story by Neil Gaiman, The Case of Four and Twenty Blackbirds, that sounds like it's in the same vein. Never thought of nursery rhyme murders as a genre before :o)

I've just started The Meaning of Night, so far enjoying it, which is a little bizarre, as I'm finding the main character quite despicable. I'm intrigued.

I just finished The Tea Rose, which I read in preparation for reading The Winter Rose, an early reviewer book I need to review (and am currently reading). I'm also reading another book to review, The Cortisol Connection, which is actually rather interesting and has given me some things to think about.

I am reading The Winter Rose, Pocketful of Names, American Pie Slices of Life (and Pie) From America's Back Roads, Clapton (autobio by Eric Clapton), The Well of Ascension and World of Faerie by Brian Froud. Darn, not all the touchstones are working.

And I am enjoying them all but it does mean I am quite slow at getting any of them finished. I did finish The Story of Forgetting for Early Reviewers. A good book, my review is posted.

Happy New Year's worth of reading all!

Currently reading Suspension by Richard Edward Crabbe. On deck is Flush by Carl Hiaasen and Baseball: A History of America's Favorite Game by George Vecsey (Had to cheat with the touchstones!)

A Booke of Days, because I haven't got Hogfather off my friend yet.

#121, 122 - I loved Hollow Chocolate Bunnies. It's silly but captivating. The sequel, The Toyminator, was pretty good too.

Currently reading These Old Shades by Georgette Heyer, The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers, and Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians (out loud to my sons.) Next up is The Story of Forgetting, so I can review it for Early Reviewers.

re-reading "Boswell" by Stanley Elkin. . . taken off shelf quite by chance. I surely read it long ago (1964!) but do not recall the outcome, so will finish (tho not an easy read)....

I've started rereading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. It's early days yet, but so far it seems just as good the second time through. I'm glad. I always find it a bit daunting, reading something I really enjoyed for the second time. I worry that it's just not going to work for me anymore.

I started Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett at the bookstore today - I wasn't intending to buy it, but I should've known better. Here's the line where I finally decided to get it:

"...but Tiffany distrusted black cheeses. They always looked as though they were plotting something."

I started Slaughter-house Five yesterday. After the first chapter, I wasn't impressed and was wondering if I could finish it. It bounced around between ideas too much and I felt it had no plot or story. But now I'm a few more chapters in and I'm enjoying it.

finished the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

and am now reading Bitten by Kelly Armstrong

and

Witch Fire- book one of the Banned and Banished-
by James Clemens

#134 - *gasp* Oh, the sacrilege!

;o)

Vonnegut does take some getting used to...

>136 clamairy: Yeah, I'm about halfway in and breezing along now. I've gone from "Ugh. I don't think I can get past the first chapter." to "I'd probably try something else of his."

I only kept plugging along because a little bird told me it was her favorite book EVER.

:)

I hope that bird said "one of" her favorites... otherwise she was hyperbolizing.

;o)

I believe she was doing that hyber-thingie.

Lamb: curtesy of littlegeek. It's a bit wacky.

#Morph and Clam
I went through a Vonnegut 'stage' in high school, read one book after another, couldn't get enough. It's been *clears throat noisily rendering a certain number unintelligible* years since then and I still love him.

Currently reading Dreamsongs by one of my faves, George RR Martin. Now I can't get enough of him...

Well, I think I need to retract my comments about Twilight. It's still very readable, but I'm not finding it as compelling this time around. Sigh.

Never managed to read Vonnegut. The guy took too may drugs to write in an intelligible way. He clearly was whacked out of his head.
I have a hard time taking Philip K Dick seriously either. Or August Strindberg; another famous /swedish/ junkie.
And as one of my all time fave artists is Nick Cave, that says a lot about those guys ;-)

At least Poe had the sense to write horror...

No offence meant to those of you who enjoy their works. Taste differs.

I confess: most of my reading in 2008, so far, has been LT discussion threads. Good plot, interesting characters! I am not sure when I'll be able to get back to my "dead tree" books.

I don't think Vonnegut took drugs, but I could be wrong. I think he was a genius, but maybe it's a cultural thing? And how is Slaughterhouse Five not horror?

I finished my Trollope and I'm now reading The Thirteenth Tale, by recommendation of the bookstore. I must be the last person on earth to have heard of it, given the bajillion reviews it's got on LT. So far it seems like a bunch of goth cliches strung together, but maybe it gets better.

Vonnegut: Maybe you're right and it IS a culture thing. And as to genre that is down to where to draw the line...
I can't even remember which KV novel I once tried, mainly because I never finished it.

I have Galapagos on my 'to check out'-list due to a lot of praise, but have never got around to actually follow up on it (because of earlier major disappointment).

Busifer, try A Man Without a Country if you haven't already. It's a collection of essays by Vonnegut. And it's really good. And also short.

(Sorry, touchstones aren't loading)

#145 - So far it seems like a bunch of goth cliches strung together, but maybe it gets better.

It was pretty much a bunch of goth cliches strung together, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

"...another famous /swedish/ junkie."

Was Vonnegut Swedish? I thought he was from Upstate New York... ;)

My favorite Vonneguts, Sirens of Titan and the ubiquitous Slaughterhouse Five.

Mine are Breakfast of Champions, Slaughterhouse Five and Timequake.

*touchstones are deader than Marley's ghost. (That's Jacob, not Bob.)

#145 & 148 That was my daughter's evaluation of it too, but she also said it was enjoyable. I haven't read mine yet.

#143 - Not only didn't Vonnegut take drugs, if he was "whacked out of his head" we need many more people who are whacked in the same fashion. ;o)

>149 TheaMak:

Hey now, Vonnegut's from Indiana! Don't take away what little us Hoosiers have to be proud of! :P

OK, so I was wrongly informed about his habits, but nevertheless I did not enjoy reading the one novel I tried. Maybe he had good ideas but he never managed to communicate any of those to me.

Edited out a very long rant.

Busifer, Vonnegut's style is distinctive, so it's not to everyone's taste. He does seem especially American to me for some reason, which is why I was wondering if it's a cultural thing. Everyone I know in America loves him. But you're entitled not to like him.

If you ever want to give him another chance, Sirens of Titan is my fav, but you might like Cat's Cradle because it does a great job making fun of religion.

#153

You're so right Flee. He wrote about Ithaca, NY a lot. I wonder what connection he had to the place?

I know he worked at GE in Schenectady for a while.

I loved Cat's Cradle but that was a long, long, long time ago. My house mate at the time accused me of reading too fast to enjoy it, but nonetheless, I did enjoy it.

(touchstone still not working)

Just got message that my long awaited pb copy of Deliverer will be delayed 10 days... so just in spite I started reading Heavy Time just now. Even when I had promised to finish the Other book first.

Finished The Thirteenth Tale. Meh, there's so many better goth novels out there. Plus it got the knitting wrong, which really bugs me. "Turn a heel twice!" In what universe?!

I think I'll read one of my Santa books now. The Penelopiad it is.

...and you know what? Next time I check my mail, right now, I've gotten a notice from Amazon UK that Deliverer is being shipped as we speak!
Whohooo!!!
Now I have to read the other books FAAAAST!!!

But I'm sooo happy.

#160 - Give me some better titles, please. I read that book for my ladies book club, and I enjoyed the tale, though I thought the writing was not so great. I NEVER read that kind of book, so I have nothing to compare it to. Except, I will say, it reminded me of the Mary Stewart novels I used to read in my early teens.

I know I said this before but Dreamsongs by George RR Martin is excellent. His commentaries about the stories are hilarious. Give it a go, beware though, there are TWO volumes. Yea!

FYI - the second volume deals with his screenwriting days.

I'm about a quarter of the way into Book of Lost Things and quite enjoying it. I looked up John Connolly's website to see what else he had written and found the Charlie Parker mysteries but they sound quite different from Lost Things. Can anyone tell me how they compare? If I like Lost Things, will I like the more grisly sounding mysteries?

Well, that was a quick read. Finished The Penelopiad and enjoyed it thoroughly. Quite fun. Thanks, Santa!

I think it's time for some YA so it's Inkheart now.

#164 - It's been a while since I read one, but I recall the Charlie Parker mysteries being quite good. They're pretty dark, that's for sure, and have a tinge of the paranormal, which I like. Parker is definitely a flawed hero. I'd say they're worth a try unless gruesome tales aren't your thing.

#166 - depends how gruesome. I refuse to read any of the Hannibal Lecter books and could only watch Silence of the Lambs once, though that was mainly because of how creepy I found Lecter, even though I liked it enough to finish it. But I'm also considering trying the Dexter books because of positive comments on LT, even though they sound kind of gruesome too.

#167 - I read the first Dexter book, started the second, then quit in the middle because they were just really disturbing. Being that deep into the mind of a sociopathic serial killer, even one supposed to be a hero, was just more than I could take. I didn't think they were all that gruesome, though.

#167 The Charlie Parker books are really good, some of my favorites as a matter of fact. However, they are gruesome. The deaths are very violent and graphic. That said, Charlie is a compelling deeply flawed and haunted character and the growing mythology surrounding him is fascinating as well as the supernatural elements that come into play. And two of Charlie's companions are a true testament that love conquers all. I did love Book of Lost Things and the writing is on the same level, but they are very different.

Just finished The Golden Compass late last night. Now I need to decide between several recent purchases/gifts (mostly nonfiction) and/or perhaps starting Vinegar Hill, which has been waiting patiently for me on my bookshelf for a while now.

Finished up The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse last night. Loved it, very funny! I will be starting Interred With Their Bones today since the rest of the A Song of Ice and Fire Series hasn't arrived yet.

Daughter of Empire because my local bookshop doesn't have the paperback deliverer yet. sulk.

(no I'm not buying it online. I'd never stop.)

#172 - I got my copy in the mail today!!! Three days earlier than announced!!!
Now; do I finish Heavy time first, or should I start Deliverer right off?
Hm...
;-)

Lord of the Faraway Lands by C.L. Wilson. Touchstones are not working.

Just started The Golden compass last night and will continue with the rest of series

I ultimately decided to start The Poisonwood Bible last night -- one of my SantaThing gifts. Vinegar Hill will have to continue being patient.

I am continuing to read several books, last night I read a bit more in Clapton. I find it interesting, not compelling.

I'm currently reading Good Night, Mr. Tom and it's fairly good so far. I saw it on a list of book titles and the author's name caught me.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. I enjoyed rereading the first two and I'm having a good time with this one, but I'll be glad to move along to something else. I feel a short fiction craving coming on.

Just for the record I DID start Deliverer, and it's so good I'm almost halfway through. When husband got irritated that I read in bed (he had to wake up at 4:50 AM) I had to sneak off to read elsewhere...
I can sleep some other time!

In audiobook-land, I finished The Lady and the Unicorn last night and started My Left foot this morning.

Just finished a couple of short reads. Otherborn by Joan Gould, and My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber.

Thurber is a delight as always. I tend to forget between readings how he makes me laugh out loud.

Otherborn was new to me - and I loved it, although I'm still processing the premise and the ending. I'm not sure if it was meant to be a science fiction, a fantasy, an allegory, or just what. But I liked it very much.

So, finished Deliverer, which means I'm back to Heavy Time :-)
And - I really have a lot of work to do...

Let's see, I'm still reading Northwest Passage, and I'm trying a new author to me, Candace Robb who wrote The Apothecary Rose and Two Gardeners, which is turning out to be great. The second paragraph of the introduction helped me to understand my grandmother better.

I'm stalled in the middle of Inkheart. She keeps referencing all these great books, but why, oh, why doesn't Inkheart itself have great characters, or fairies or an interesting plot or anything worthwhile? They seem to spend an awful lot of time moping around and talking their problems to death. And not bothering to try to learn how to use their own magic to fix it. Duh.

Where's the whimsey?

Anyone who has read it, should I keep going or bag it?

I've decided to focus on The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Nineteenth Annual Collection. I've been reading a story here and a story there for a while now, but I had yet to really plunk down with it. It's been very enjoyable thus far.

#185 -- I stalled in the middle of Inkheart, too. I don't know what to tell you about whether or not to keep reading. I'm glad I finished it, but the ending (really the entire book) doesn't stick in my head as particularly memorable or satisfactory. I like the premise, but am a little disappointed at the execution of it. Right now I'm attempting to listen to Inkspell on audiobook, but think I'm going to give up on it, as it's just not holding my attention.

Inkheart is now a movie-due out in the next few months! Have not yet read it tho. Another one for the TBR list! 8^)

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that about Inkheart and Inkspell, I was just going to reserve them at the library because I loved the preview of the movie. I might anyway. I mean, the movie had Brendan Fraser and Andy Serkis in it. It's not like I'm not going to watch that!

Finished up Interred With Their Bones last night. Fun read, enough real locations and historical fact mixed with the mystery and the twists to make it a compelling read.

Will start A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin today.

I put Inkheart in my wishlist, when I heard about the movie, but now I'm wondering if I actually want to read it and Inkspell.

Re: Inkheart -- I'd hate to put anybody off of it -- some people really love it! You guys who were planning to read it should give it a try. And I always advocate reading the book before seeing the movie in any case.

Re-reading Dracula for school. Chillingly interesting, since even though I've read it before, it still captivates and thrills...

I'm finishing up the Golem's Eye. So far I'm really enjoying the series.

I enjoyed Inkheart and Inkspell. There's definitely better YA fantasy out there and I know I'd have liked them more if I'd read them as a child, but they were okay. I'm looking forward to Inkdeath.

For right now, I've just finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and was disappointed, so I'm going to read The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson, who hasn't disappointed me yet.

Reading The Saga of the Volsungs currently. By Odin's beard!

As to Inkheart, well, maybe I'll just see the movie and then determine whether to finish the book. I'm really disappointed because the premise is cool.

I've decided to read Vanity Fair. Believe it or not, I've never read it before! After two chapters I'm loving it so much I can't believe I waited so long.

Well it would seem that in the past 10-12 years that the movies have discovered Fantasy. Before that very few fantansies were made into movies (Oz, Alice, Peter Pan). But until LoTR won the oscar most movie makers would not spend big bucks on a fantasy. Now we are seeing many fantasy books turned into movies. I'm not complaining only observing this trend. 8^)

#185, I enjoyed Inkheart and Inkspell, I listened to them on audible, I found them a bit dark, and yeah, I thought The Bartimaeus Trilogy was definitely better, but still the "Ink_" series is good YA fantasy, for me anyways.

*****Possible Spoiler Warning*******
(I guess I figured Mo and Meggie didn't use their magic because it was their magic that got them into trouble in the first place.)

I'm looking forward to the movie and the third book too!

#198 re fantasy movies, I'm wondering if the improvements in CGI has anything to do with the abundance of fantasy movies? I remember big budget movies like Legend and Labyrinth coming out in the '80's and they just couldn't cut it, the special effects weren't good enough. So now with the aid of computers maybe fantasy movies are easier to produce?

Re: katylit's spoiler thingy: COWARDS! and boring book.

lol! Yeah, you're right, cowards :-D

More Inkheart spoilers: They could at least have hunted around to see if anyone else in the world had the same power and could advise them. No, lets just run and hide. Jeeze.

My niece (14 yo) raves about the Inkheart books. Her parents also read them and, though they didn't rave, said they were enjoyable. I plan to read them before watching the movie. I also can not say no to a movie with Brandon Fraser and Andy Serkis!

I enjoyed Inkheart and Inkspell. A student insisted that I read them and I'm glad I did. They were fun books that didn't require any deep thought. That's good from time to time!

This week I finally finished How Language Works: How Babies Babble, Words Change Meaning, and Languages Live or Die - David Crystal (NF) and read The Brief History of the Dead - Kevin Brockmeier (F), The Tombs of Atuan (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 2) - Ursula K. LeGuin (F), and A Wizard of Earthsea (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 1) - Ursula K. LeGuin (F).

Also started One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding - Rebecca Mead (NF) and Craze: Gin and Debauchery in an Age of Reason - Jessica Warner (NF).

Also continuing on two longer-term books: The Intellectual Devotional : American History: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently about Our Nation's Past - David S. Kidder (NF) and The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen - edited by Edward Copeland and Juliet McMaster (essay anthology).

TBR soon include The Farthest Shore (The Earthsea Cycle, Book 3) - Ursula K. LeGuin (F) and the rest of the series, which I now have from the library, After the Quake: Stories - Haruki Murakami (F-SS), Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) - Stephanie Meyer (F).

Reading Stephen King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes. The dude can write. And he writes well. Normally my attention span makes me put down books after 10 pages before I have to rest, but when I read Stephen King I reconsider putting it down unless I really have to put it down for going to dinner or something. It's like I've found a living writer other than Pratchett and Gaiman who I appreciate to a high level.

Highly recommended.

I finished Good Omens the other day & I'm confused... I have only read a couple of pratchetts when I was in highschool (I cant even remember which ones), but I remember laughing most of the way through them, to the point where I had to stop reading them on public transport coz I wasn't coping with all the funny looks, lol... Anyhoo, though there are a few fairly amusing parts in this book, its no where near as funny as I was expecting :( Have I lost my sense of humour? Is it Neil Gaman's influence (I'm pretty sure what I have read was written by pratchett only)? or is this book not as funny as his others???

Anyway, I've started Shaman's Crossing by Robin Hobb

Must have been Neil Gaiman's influence. I went to see Terry Pratchett speak about his works and I asked him if it was true what Neil Gaiman said about both of them working on it together, and he confirmed Neil Gaiman's discourse, saying that both of them wrote every page of it.

I personally found Good Omens to be slightly less funny than usual Pratchett fare, but only because Neil Gaiman has a more serious style of writing which probably overrode some of the humor. Still hilarious, particularly the squid/Japanese whaling industry gag, but I probably have to read it again using the footnotes on L-Space.

There are a lot of British jokes in there, that unless you've had experience of Britain firsthand you won't get them. I got the jokes because I went to London and have experienced the weather, the atmosphere, the culture, etc. Also some British advertisment references are hard to get if you aren't British.

My theory is that Good Omens was a British joke book that was slightly less accessible than Discworld or Sandman because of the obscure English references.

Good Omens is more Neil Gaiman than Terry Pratchett. Gaiman's humour is an acquired taste. Have you seen Mirrormask? That's also his style, but *very* trippy.

Plus I only got half of the jokes in it after seeing The Omen (either version will do, but the older one was better IMO).

Currently reading Hogfather, and will continue A Booke of Days when my friend's fiancee gives it back.

You want to argue with Pratchett himself? Or with the filmed interview with Gaiman from the Sydney Writer's Festival or whatever where he confirms that they both wrote it?

Maybe I should quit while I'm losing this argument.

I don't doubt that they both wrote it, but Neil is the one that shines through strongest when I read it. There is a definite Pratchettness to it on top of the Gaimanity.

Some bits like "it was something you did on Saturday nights" were definitely Neil Gaiman, reflecting his Jewish heritage, but other bits like the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse section were Pratchett.

Floor Sample: a creative memoir by Julia Cameron

Dune by Frank Herbert. It's taken me a little while to really sink into it, but I think I'm there now. It's not as amazing as it was when I first read it ten years back, but it's still quite enjoyable. Definitely quite different than what I usually read.

Reading: Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje for forced required reading for school.

Secretly Reading: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy in my ultimate omnibus edition

Hope To Be Reading: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco before I have to give it back to the library

Should Be Reading: Anil's Ghost and The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard

Listening to: Blink: the power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. so far it's fascinating.

Reading: The Land of the Blue Flower by Frances Hodgson Burnett (thanks, fyrefly!)