What are you reading at the moment?

Seems an appropriate first real post.

I'm actually doing three books at the moment for some strange reason. I'm normally a one book at a time sort of girl, but these things sometimes happen. :)

1. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut - strange. I actually bought this in some big sale years ago, read it, thought it was strange, put it on a shelf and forgot all about it. Then was reminded of it when someone else in another group mentioned another one of his books. So, I've dusted it off and am giving it another go. It's much better this time around, but still strange.

2. Tasmanian Tiger: The Tragic Tale of How the World Lost Its Most Mysterious Predator by David Owens - slow going. I normally get straight into these sorts of books - and I do love to read about this crazy critter, but Owens is a bit boring so far. We'll see if it improves. I hope so.

3. The Ghost with Trembling Wings: Science, Wishful Thinking and the Search for Lost Species by Scott Weidensaul - fantastic! Now this guy can write! It's all very scattered and jumps all over the place, but a real pleasure to read. If you're interested in extinct/nearly extinct animals and other geeky conservation biology stuff, this is a must read!

I'm also reading a little booklet that is supposed to be teaching me how to knit - but that doesn't really count. :P

I'm currently reading The Weaker Vessel by Antonia Fraser, which is a history of women and their role through the Middle Ages. I've only *just* started it, so I haven't a lot to say at the moment.

I am currently reading Owlsight by Mercedes Lackey, Sewing for Dummies, and I've just finished Throne of Jade (Temeraire Book 2 and plan on starting (once I buy it) Black Powder War.

I've just finished reading Gods behaving badly by Marie Phillips and it was an AMAZING read! I certainly recommend it!

I don't get much time for reading for pleasure at the moment and I won't bore you with all the things I'm reading for study, much as I think they're fascinating.

I have just started reading The Scarlet Pimpernel which is delightfully camp. It's nice and light and fluffy and about all I can cope with before I go to sleep. It's a huge book though, so definitely not one for taking on the bus.

Daisy - I've heard of that one, sounds interesting. I look forward to hearing what you think of it.

Clever - Yours is the 2nd review in 2 days for Gods Behaving Badly. Must check that one out - sounds fun.

Ygraine - ahh...the days of not being able to read for fun - I don't miss those! I just finished my undergrad studies and was going crazy after not being able to read for fun for the last 6 months! That's why my focus is mainly fiction right now, I feel like I've got a lot of make-beleive to catch up on after all that science reading lol! The Scarlet Pimpernel is very fun though - read that in high school (ages ago *sigh*) and enjoyed it. I agree - good light 'bedtime' material!

Well, I've just started up classes again and didn't think I'd have time for enjoyment reading but my Ethnic Lit and Sociology classes were canceled and with the new insurance law in CT, I can take just two classes and still have insurance. (Yay!)

I'm currently taking a Graphics Design class and math (ew) but one day in and I'm LOVING my Graphics class. I've already finished my assignment and read 3 chapters ahead in...

The Non-Designer's Design Book - Robin Williams I highly recommend it for anyone who designs brochures, newsletters, advertisements or web pages. At first it all seemed so basic but when I thought about it and started paying attention to signs around me, I realized how chaotic non professional stuff really is. I'm looking forward to devouring it.

For pleasure I'm actually reading two books which is horribly surprising for me as I easily get plots confused which is why, (being an English major) I haven't done much pleasure reading for the last few years. I'm currently rereading my all time favorite and doing a refresher on a popular soon to be classic...

The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley It's an Arthurian Romance told from the feminine perspective which makes it thoroughly awesome. It's my second read and I'm about 75 pages in. It's 1000+ if I remember correctly but with all my free time it'll go too quickly. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good romance or fantasy as its a bit of both.

I'm also reading...

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone - J.K Rowling I haven't read it since 8th grade which doesn't seem that long ago but it was nearly 10 years ago! I haven't picked it up in a while but it'll be my 30 minutes of reading before bed tonight. I'm attempting to read through the whole series since unlike most, I wasn't able to read them as they came out. I always seemed to be busy with classes, sick, or swamped at work.

I'm going to love this semester!

Also, Ygraine, I'm actually really curious about what you're reading. Please share.

My current reading at the moment is actually magazines. I'm a little bit of a magazine junkie, and I have a pile waiting for me that I need to read through, so I'll probably be doing that for the next week or so. Just from reading this thread though I already have a few books that I must add to me "To Read" list.

CC - I love the Temeraire books. I haven't been able to find the fifth one in paperback though, and it makes me sad.

And I second TheOnlyMe, Ygraine, I'd love to hear about what you're reading. Your library is actually one that I'm definitely going to look through and steal books from.

6: (TheOnlyMe) heh - Marion Zimmer Bradley - she cracks me up. I found one of her books in a cheap book fair The Ages of Chaos which is a compilation of Stormqueen and Hawkmistress. The stories weren't bad, but it was such a raging feminist style of writing - which felt really dated to me. I love the breeding program concept in StormQueen though, I'm a sucker for that. I've read some reviews on The Mists of Avalon and it looks very fun - will keep my eye out for a 2nd hand copy next time I'm book shopping!

You also mentioned the Harry Potter books - yay! I only just finished reading the lot of them over Xmas - so much fun to finally know what happens to everyone! I found that the first four (that I read when the first came out) dragged a bit, but the newer lot were much more fun - can't wait to see what you think about them, and glad to know I wasn't the last person in the world to read them all - you are! :P

7: (Raitalle) - Lol - magazine junkies unite! I actually had to have my husband try to keep me from buying magazines, I was buying two or three a week, and in AUS they're so expensive - like close to $10 for a normal fashion magazine! I usually end up with one or two of them, better homes & gardens, new scientist, a cooking one, and a crafty (beady usually) one. I was doing genealogy magazines as well for a while, and national geographics, but they were getting too expensive. Now I limit myself to 2 a month. So I've cut out most of the fashion ones and am trying to stick to sciencey reads and cooking for now.

Yep Ygraine - let us know what you're reading - we all want to know. Maybe just one or two items from your 'reading for study atm' pile. :P

National Geographic should count as a book LoL

and thanks, I'm the last one in the world to read Harry Potter... I feel special.

On the Marion Zimmer Bradley note, Mists of Avalon isn't quite so raging feminist, at least I don't think so. It's clearly told by the females of the story but it isn't anti male by any means but it certainly is empowering I think. I've never read anything else by her but I discovered a prequel to Mists of Avalon I MUST have and I'm thinking The Ages of Chaos sounds fun!

I have several books open at the moment:

Jane Eyre, because when it got so cold I just got a sudden craving to re-read. It's one of my favorites; I love Gothic romance and the Victorian era.

Wuthering Heights, for pretty much the same reasons. It's just a really cozy read when the nights are cold, especially if you have a fireplace.

Scene of the Crime: a Writer's Guide to Crime Scene Investigation by Ann Wingate - I ordered this one, and several others like it because my friend and I have a manuscript in the works. Half way through it, I gave it to another friend who actually worked forensics...and discovered we had almost everything completely wrong from how they process a scene to police procedure. Since I have an agent and an editor interested in this one, we decided we'd better go about fixing the problems before they got to the editor!

Questioning the Heiress by Delores Fossen- Yeah, that's a romance there. I could claim it's market research (and it is) but it turned out to be a really good story. Apparently the big romance publishers finally figured out that most females prefer realistic characters with personalities and flaws...and a plot. I haven't quite finished this one but I devoured the other two in the series and danged if the authors didn't succeed in writing a nifty little mystery with the romance intact.

The Magical Household by Scott Cunningham - I recently got my pagan site up and running again and one of the goals was to re-read through my library, write reviews for the texts, and make recommendations. This is an old version (I bought it shortly before he passed away)

Jude's Herbal Home Remedies by Jude C. Williams - I was actually browsing this one, not reading it, trying to find some simple herbal remedies to help along all the medications I'm taking. I highly recommend this one; for once, the person actually did the research and only included remedies for simple ills which work and are not dangerous. Most 'herbals' are actually collections of recipes without regard to whether the science behind them is solid.

Most of my books are, alas, in process of being boxed up for moving. However, I kept out "His Majesty's Dragon" and "The Deed of Paksenarrion", both of which I've read multiple times before and will continue to do so.