3 men on a boat by jerome k jerome
the book is humerous when i read it but doesnt quite keep me engrossed

Just finished A Feast For Crows by George R.R. Martin. Next book should be out this summer, I can't wait.

Just started King's The Stand: Extra Long Extended Edition. Great story, but man it's long.

I'm currently reading The Palace of Dreams by Ismail Kadare.

I read that series over the course of 10 years or so, and I totally enjoyed the whole thing. Good luck with it.

I recently started Stranger in a Strange Land again. It's been a few years, and I'm a completely different person now. It'll be interesting to see how I like it this time. :)

I just finished Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer and I would recommend it to anyone!

Finished Anne Bishops Sebastian :( im so sad that i have to wait for the sequal

Currently reading Shattered Icon by Bill Napier

I wasn't too sure on it at first (the style of writing and some of the dialogue was a bit dodgy), but I gave it a chance and now I'm really into it.
It's about a man who is asked to translate a coded transcript and the book swithes back and forth between the two stories. I'm looking forward to see where it goes.

Right now, I'm on section "B" of "The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers" by Harold Schechter and David Everitt.

I know, I'm weird. But it's fascinating, in a disturbing "why the hell would someone do that and how did they get away with it for so long" kind of way.

The Stand is an absolute mission to get through - I got lost somewhere in the middle and returned to it later - but it's a fantastic book. After you're done with it you should try reading Needful Things by King, too.

At the moment I'm midway through a bunch of stuff, though I'm particularly enjoying Death in the Afternoon by Hemingway.

I've never really read much contemporary literature, but I'm looking to get into it (my shelves are covered in Dickens, Hardy, Bronte and Austen novels), because I feel like I'm missing out.

You would probably enjoy Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl With a Pearl Earring. Most of her work is historical fiction, but she's a really great author. Also, if you like Dickens, The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is a must-read. I read a LOT of historical fiction.

Speaking of historical fiction, I just finished a good book by the name of the Canterbury Papers, written by Judith Healey. It's a historical novel centered around Alais Capet, a princess of France, who is sent by her stepmother Eleanor of Aquitaine to fetch some potentially embarassing letters. Much mystery ensues, but it's a good gallop through the time period. Recommended.

I just bought Choosing Death: The Improbable History of Death Metal and Grindcore yesterday. I haven't had the chance to read too much of it yet, but I like what I've read so far. I'd say it's a good book if you're into the more extreme side of metal, but most people wouldn't have much use for it.

I'm reading "The Best Time Travel Stories Of The 20th Century", edited by Harry Turtledove and Martin H. Greenburg.

It's a short story collection, and so far all of a them have been riveting. I love this sort of thing. Some are classics by well known authors (Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson) and others not so much, but I've beeen totally hooked since I picked it up.

Here's an example of the kind of story within: What would happen if you invented a time machine, but didn't realize it?

Good stuff!

Thud! by Terry Pratchett & Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

Just started The Dark Tower by Stephen King. I'm only 100 pages in and I think it is better than Wolves of the Calla and Song of Susannah, but those were pretty good in thier on right. I had just finished Cloud Atlas. The more I think about that book the more I think it is definitely in my top 5.

I knocked out The World at the End of Time by Frederick Pohl, and now I'm on The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin. Hard core science fiction is back.

Lian Hearn's Otori series, beginning with <u>Across the Nightingale Floor</u>. I am now in book two, <u>Grass for his Pillow</u>. I am nearly finished. I have the last book, <u>Brilliance of the Moon</u> in my bag and ready for when I complete the second book, hopefully, tomorrow.
I was entranced by the blurb describing a gifted young man being taken in by the clan's warlord. The book is so much more than that. I rarely read Japanese themed works, yet, this story is transcendent to that. It's a pleasant read with love and intrigue during a time of warring factions.

Im trying to get through "Art of War"--Denma Translation

I am half way through a trilogy (in one volume), called "The Deed of Paksenarion" by Elizabeth Moon. It is pretty good Fantasy (you know Elves and stuff...)

It must be good, as I'm about 700 pages through after starting less than a week ago.

So I put The Dispossessed down like a rock and picked up the collected Watchmen. Superb.

Unfinished Tales - J.R.R Tolkien

I just got done with I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max. Hands down the funniest thing I've ever read.

I have started <u>Between Good and Evil</u> by William Gray.
I thought I'd take a non-fiction route after the superb Tales of the Otori trilogy.

Right now I'm reading Survivor by Chuck Palahnuik. It's his typical crazy main character, but is interesting in the set-up. The main character is telling his life story about being the last survivor of a cult in the black box on a plane before the 4 engines die and he crashes. I've liked all of his books, but I think this is one of my favorites. It even gives home-ec tips..although I'm not sure if they are true or not.

I also read Kindred by Octavia Butler which is an awesome book about time travel. A black woman is pulled from her 1970's world to slave days in the south. She is summoned by a boy from that time whenever his life is in danger. It's very interesting to read about the times back then in a fiction setting. However, it sticks with you and I actually had dreams I was the main character and would wake up screaming thinking I was getting whipped or punished in the ways she was. Very realistic, enjoyable, and thought provoking.

I recently finished Saturday by Ian McEwan and am now about 60 pages into The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.

Ian McEwan is an amazing writer. I think he is a literary genius and easily the most "talented" writer I've ever read.

The Great Shark Hunt by Hunter S. Thompson

Its a collection of his articles as well as chapters from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Fear and Loathing in America.

I picked that up the other day. Haven't started it yet.
Also in the stack: The Modern Drunkard by Frank Kelly Rich and
The Zombie Survival Guide : Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks

I finished The Kite Runner yesterday, and started up Amsterdam by Ian McEwan today. He is rapidly becoming my favorite, and most respected, writer.

The Kite Runner was superb. It was worth it for the perspective on Afghanistan alone, but the story itself was very interesting and had plenty of surprising turns.

My parents travelled in Asia when they were younger, and they told me of a man that was ambushed and killed by bandits at the Khyber Pass. The pass, as well as other locations they had been to, were also featured in the novel, which was a neat bonus.

I just started The Broker. It's good so far (chapter 5). Probably will end up staying up all night to see what happens.

Jsut finished reading "Elenor Rigby" by Douglas Coupland; this amazing canadian writer who reminds me a lot of Vonnegut... only slightly less insane.

And also just finished reading "Cats Cradle" by Vonnegut. Very amusing.

now I'm re-reading The Catcher In The Rye, one of my favorite books. After that I might attempt everything is illuminated, or sideways because I'd love to watch the films and always refuse to watch unless I've read the novel.

A Scanner Darkly, which I started before I heard about the upcoming movie (which looks godawful, I hate that bastardized rotoscope technique). Disturbing, more so than most PKD books.

I finished Amsterdam by Ian McEwan on Thursday. I have a few books from which to choose next, but the two top candidates are Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro or The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea.

The Hummingbird's Daughter reminds me a little of Carry Me Like Water by Benjamin Alire Saenz, if only due to the characters being Hispanic, and the plots having spirtuality throughout.

I ended up reading Enduring Love by Ian McEwan, and finished it just now. It was very well done, and McEwan continues to be one of my favorite authors.

Next: The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea

Robert Ludlum - The Apocalypse Watch

I restarted it since shcool interrupted it to much in my last attempt. Now that I'm graduated, I have some spare time.