All of his series did that last 2 chapters not knowing what he was doing Richard somehow came up with some new Wizard ability and saved the day. I liked the beginning of the series and read all of it but just for closure not because of quality.

Finished High Five.
Varley - The Ophiuchi Hotline (Good Stuff - sort of Bester-ish - High weirdness) Finished Friday
Stephenson - The Big U (3rd or 4th read through) Finished Saturday
Currently reading Gaiman - Smoke & Mirrors (Short stories and Poems)

I just finished "Deep Ancestry - Inside the Genographic Project" by Spencer Wells. It is a short study of human history using genetic information to try and determine our ancient ancestors origins and migratory paths out of Africa. I find books like this very interesting and read almost like a mystery novel.

Currently reading "Full House: The Spread of Excellence from Plato to Darwin" By Seven Gould.

Over all not very impressed. Seems to belabor points which seem pretty self evident to start with.

The Cloud Messenger - an Indian love lyric translated from Sanskrit. It is a beautiful book/poem.

As an aside, let me transcribe the editor's note which bears repeating:

The object of the editors of this series is a very definite one. They desire above all things that, i their humble way, these books shall be the ambassadors of good-will and understanding between the East and West--the old world of Thought and the new of Action. They are confident that a deeper knowledge of the great ideals and lofty philosophy of the Oriental thought may help to a revival of that true spirit of Charity which neither despises nor fears the nations of another creed and colour.

That's too bad. I've read a couple of his essays and found him to be an entertaining writer. Aside from a possible writer/audience mismatch, how do you find the writng? Is it pop evolutionary theory or is it sound stuff? (I've always wanted to read more Gould but don't know where to start.)

Reread Cook - Tyranny of the Night and Lord of the Silent Kingdom
Just Finished Stewart et al - America (the book) (Laugh out loud stuff)
Currently reading - Curtis - It's not News, It's Fark (Also a scream)
Next Up - Harris - Imperium

Last book I read:

Uncle Jack; The True Identity of Jack the Ripper - Tony Williams

(utter crap)

My default facebook is still a pic of me with one eye crossed out after reading that book last year.

Im pretty impressionable to be honest....

That Harris book was pretty good. Life of Cicero told from the point of view of his secretary.

Gotta love Gaiman, and, if you do, you should check out Tim Powers. Same sort of take on the world, little less poetry, little more veritas, about the same sort of humor.

In any case,
Finished Bester - The Demolished Man last week. (Should have been Bestest - the man was a frickin Wizard. Writes like PK Dick would write if he hadn't OD'ed on Joyce at some point.)
Finished Robinson - Red Mars yesterday.
Working on Green Mars (Downstairs) and Niven-Ringworld (Upstairs) (Also the New Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Zymurgy came in the last couple days, so I'll be going through those pretty soon).

Mr Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester. Great action-adventure. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I rather like Hornblower; there is something appealing in his awkwardness.

Right now I'm working on Oliver Sacks' The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat for pleasure, and finishing off Loewen's Lies My Teacher Told Me for school.

Since my last post:

Batgirl: Destruction's Daughter - Anderson Gabrych
Fables and Reflections (Sandman VI) - Neil Gaiman
Jack the Ripper - Mark Whitehead and Miriam Rivett
Five on a Trail - Enid Blyton
Five on Kirrin Island Again - Enid Blyton

Just finished "The Ghost Map" by Steven Johnson - an account of the great cholera outbreak in Victorian London and how John Snow used statistical analysis and mapping to discover the cause of the outbreak before anyone really knew what bacteria was. An important historical incident that is well treated here.

Lessee, Finished Green Mars and Ringworld.
Read Giaman - Endless Nights (Last Sandman)
Just Finished Buckley - Thank You For Smoking (and what a scream that one was. He's no slouch.)

I just read Duma Key, by Stephen King, on my mother's recommendation. It wasn't terrible, and was much better than the rubbish he put out in his last few books. You don't pick up a King and expect prose on the level of Hemingway, but it was a pretty fun little romp in the vein of Bag of Bones, for those who like that sort of thing.

The Graduate, Charles Webb.

Do you know what was left out of the movie?

I just read "The Lovely Bones" and thought it was fascinating. It had been sitting on my shelf for awhile, I'm glad I finally picked it up.
Also, I'm having a hard time imagining this book being turned into a movie, but mainly due to the casting I've read about.

I just finished Survivor By Chuck Palahniuk

This book was recommended because I liked fight club a lot but it's not really the same feeling i get from the 2 books. this one had a really odd story behind it and the characters never popped out in my mind. they were very boring and cold. Still, it was well written but dragged on at a few places which killed the mood for those chapters.

Overall, i would only recommend it if you love the writing style of Chuck Palahniuk.

I rate this book a 7 out of 10

Just read all three books of Eddings - The Elenium (The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, and The Sapphire Rose.)

The Berlin Stories, Chris Isherwood

Add to that the three that come after as well. Decent set of books

Just finished Curtis Sittenfeld's The Man of My Dreams. I found a lot to relate to in this book, and I like Sittenfeld's take on a "happy ending."

The End of America by Naomi Wolf.

I normally love her writing, but this time around it was like reading stuff that I wrote myself on TFP. It's not bad at all, but it's like Jack Bauer reading a book on how to torture Arabs. He already knows!

Zelazny - Dilvish the Damned

The Tamuli. Yeah, They're solid for Eddings. He does tend to write the same book over and over again, though. Still, entertaining brain candy, and one can say that to one degree or another about a whole lot of authors. Unfortunately, I have the first two in remaindered hardback, but never got the third one.

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle.

I read this in 2 days. I must say I preferred it to any of the movies, which never set well with me.

N.P.
by Banana Yoshimoto

Since the last entry:
Eddings - The Domes of Fire and The Shining Ones
Bachman (King) - The Running Man
Zelazney - Dilvish the Damned, and currently reading The Changing Land
Starting this evening, I hope to get the new Feist.

Read "the outsider" by Albert Camus today.

I dont know if I should be creeped out that I identified with it a lot.

So, since the last time:
Herbert - The Jesus Incident
Feist - Wrath of a Mad God
Chabon - The Yiddish Policeman's Union (Such a book!)
Eddings - The Hidden City and The Seeress of Kell

Undoubtedly several others I have forgotten

Currently Reading: Robinson - Blue Mars and Purser - TBearded Dragons: A Complete Guide to Pogona Vitticeps

On Deck: Herbert - The Lazarus Effect, Harris - Hannibal Rising, and July TFH (Magazine)

You should not be creeped out by identifying with Camus' works ever. He may not have been pleasant about it (being French and all) but he really got how people work.

The Sun Also Rises. Clearly Hemingway's best.

In the last week or so I read a few of the Easy Rawlins books by Walter Mosley. Some were better than others. I would have read something by a different author, but I was too lazy to accustom myself to another writer's voice.

A Red Death
White Butterfly
Black Betty
A Little Yellow Dog
Bad Boy Brawly Brown

I've been on a Detective fiction kick lately. Before the Mosley books, I read a couple Philip Marlowe books by Raymond Chandler:The Big Sleep & The Long Goodbye.

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, By Tad Williams. 3 Books, The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell, and To Green Angel Tower (The Hardback - Parts I & II).

That's a week of solid reading right there.

To engineer is human; Henry Petroski.

Long story short: Successful design is primarily the result of learning from design failures and design failures are primarily the result of little learned from and overconfidence due to successful designs.

I mean I identified with Meursault. I dont know if thats a good thing really.

Anyway, since my last post this is all the books Ive read. As you can see I mostly stick to comic books and Enid Blyton... but its a start, from 21 to 28 I dont think I read a book at all, I only started again about 18 months ago...

A Knight Alone (Bat Girl) - Kelley Puckett
32 Stories - Adrian Tomine
Dixie City Jam - James Lee Burke
Ripper Suspect: The Secret Lives of Montague Druitt - DJ Leighton
Brief Lives (Sandman 7) - Neil Gaiman
Watchmen - Alan Moore
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
Five go off in a Caravan - Enid Blyton
Five go off to camp - Enid Blyton
Worlds End (Sandman 8) - Neil Gaiman
Five go Adventuring Again - Enid Blyton
Five go to Mystery Moor - Enid Blyton
Five are Together Again - Enid Blyton
Constatine: Origianl Sins - Vertigo
Constatine: The Gift - Vertigo
The Jack The Ripper Whitechapel Murders - Kevin O'Donnell
Lucky - Gabrielle Bell
Constantine: Red Sepulchre - Vertigo
Constantine: Staring at the Wall - Vertigo
Constantine: All His Engines - Vertigo
Five go to Billycock Hill - Enid Blyton
Five Get into Trouble - Enid Blyton
Tamara Drewe - Posy Simmonds
Five Go Down to the Sea - Enid Blyton
300 - Frank Miller
Frank Kafka's Trial: A Graphic Novel - David Mairowitz
The Mystery of the Missing Necklace - Enid Blyton
Constantine: Lady Constantine - Vertigo
Constantine: The Devil You Know - Vertigo
Five Fall into Adventure - Enid Blyton
Five Have Plenty of Fun - Enid Blyton
Caricature - Daniel Clowes
Constantine: Good Intentions - Vertigo
Constantine: Black Flowers - Vertigo
Constantine: Haunted - Vertigo
Constantine: Reasons to be Cheerful - Vertigo
Superman: No Limits - DC
Constantine: The Red Right Hand - Vertigo
Superman: Till Death do us Part - DC
Lobo: Portrait of a Bastich - DC
The Outsider - Albert Camus
Superman / Batman: Supergirl - DC
The Kindly Ones (Sandman IX) - Neil Gaiman
Fantastic Four - Civil War - Marvel

in the past couple of weeks, i've finished:

"Angels & Demons"
"The Kite Runner"
"A Thousand Splendid Suns"
"Tuesdays with Morrie"

I'm now about 1/2 way through "Rant" by Chuck Pahluniak

Finished a week or so ago:
Michael Chabon - Wonder Boys
A fun, intelligent read; the first half is very similar to the film, the second half almost totally dissimilar. Naturally, I prefer the book.

Reading now:
Cavedweller - Dorothy Allison
This woman's writing never fails to enchant me

Currently reading Isaac Asimov's anthology on unatural diplomacy. I found this in the basement and got interested in it, as it provided relief from reading a very difficult book that was given to me as a gift (The Historian)

* edit: has anybody discovered Michael Moorcock?

Recently: Niven - The Integral Trees
Just Finished: Robinson - Blue Mars
Now Reading: Herbet & Ransom - The Lazarus Effect

Integral Trees - that was an enjoyable read. I like the detail as in the use of sticks to prevent tooth decay.


Blue Mars - that was also a good read. I'd forgotten about that series. Maybe it's time for a re-read.

The Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger

liked it a lot.

About 25 years ago! Loved all the Corum and Elric stuff way back when.