Now reading Deep Fathom by James Rollins. His books are decent, but they are all the same.

They always have two sets of humans, the good group and the bad group. Generaly the bad group is either trying to stop the good one of trying to kill them.

All his books have to do with new relics being found, or isolated areas of earth being discovered, lost tribes of people being discovered...

They always have fantastical evolutionary offshoots from current earth species.

There is always a growing romance between a couple.

Ever single one of his books has these elements to it, and yet I still read them all... back to back. They are not the best, but they are decent, and worth reading. I have one more of his books to go but I am going to save it for the beach in the summer. It seems like good beach/summer reading material.

<u>The Man Who Was Thursday</u> by G.K. Chesterton.
While listening to BBC7, I heard the beginning of this intriguing book when turn of the century anarchists collide with an undercover cop. It sounds more a bad James Bond film than a book that is entertaining with humour, adventure and the typical G.K. Chesterton penchant for interlacing though provoking questions that play into the story, yet, you sense, it applies to the here and now.

That applicability to today, despite having been written nearly 100 years ago, put it next on the list. I didn't get to hear how the story ends. I know it will be good.

Right now I'm juggling a few. I decided about two weeks ago to re-read the Dark Tower series (because I'm obsessed), and I'm running through Song of Susannah right now.

I'm also reading Earth by David Brin. It's a book I read years ago and remember almost nothing but having liked it. However, my uncle (who I haven't seen in years) gave me a signed copy, so I thought I'd go through and get back into it.

I'm also, for class, reading a lot of Chekhov. He's an author I'd heard of, had some interest in getting around to, and thus I decided to take a class on his work. He's not Tolstoy, so don't go into him expecting that. But I find him to be good. He has a wonderful gift for finding the beauty in even the most perversely depressing situations, something I try to do and thus appreciate.

Once A Runner by John L. Parker, Jr. As far as I'm concerned, it's the definitive novel for distance runners, and I usually reread it every couple of years. I think that I'm about to start training for something soon, so it serves as good motivation, although I still can't quite get my head around some of the workouts they do.

Next up is a biography of Khrushchev by Volkanovsky, I think.

Right now, I'm juggling a few of them while in school, it's been hard to get reading (outside of class) but it's worth it.
:thumbsup:

Just finished Life: The movie - Neal Gabler [for media and american pop culture] and on bullshit [pleasure reading]

Right now, I'm switching off between:

non-fiction:

The world is flat - friedman
smart mobs
college student's guide to the law :D

fiction-wise:
Invisible Monsters by good ole' Chuck P. - Another solid novel from him.

cya.
will.

I just finished reading Oh, The Things I Know by Al Franken. It was pretty funny and short so you can finish it in a day which is always good :)

i'm reading:

"the Vampire Lestat"

by:

Anne Rice.

I'm reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. Tex told me I had to because it was one of his MANY favorites. It's really good so far, but I'm not too far into it.

Truth and Duty : The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power
By Mary Mapes
(website)

Very interesting book chronicling the behind-the scenes of the infamous CBS Bush-National Guard story. A nice little inside look at the politics of news-making, developing separate from a concern for reporting the truth and asking the tough questions. Not to mention how the specter of one potential mistake can be manipulated to overshadow an otherwise important truth.

If you think there's some vast liberal media conspiracy, led by the likes of Dan Rather, you'll probably hate the book. If you're a sensible person (*ahem* sorry, letting my politics peek through there ;)) you should enjoy it.

Going to start George Orwell's 1984 tomorrow..

I started it a few years ago, but wasn't "into it" at the time.. This time around I am going to give it a fair shot.

Mojo: Conjure Stories
edited by Nalo Hopkinson

It's a collection of short stories which, according to the back of the book: "explore the perils of personal magic" and "brings together some of the most honored voices in modern fantasy and brilliant new talents of African Diaspora ficion. Exploding the myths of zombies and voodoo curses, these narratives range from the ancient rites of the Ibo, to unmarked graves at midnight, to quiet suburbs at dawn - and prove that where heartache and faith meet, you will find the crossroads for conjuring magic."

I'm always on the lookout for inventive and unique approaches to fantasy (no more "Chosen Ones" please) and so far, this anthology has surpassed all of my expectations. I love how the magic in these stories is lashed onto human nature. Both are dangerous when misunderstood.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. One of the best books every written; I've finally gotten around to re-reading it.

"The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" - Paul Kennedy. It traces the evolution of the great powers of the world in the last 500 year such as the US, Britain, USSR, China and Japan. Just getting started, it's a huge book.

Mao: The Unknown Story, by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday... the new bio of Chairman Mao. This one ain't too flattering.

When I'm not reading student papers?

I am going back through the entire run of Strangers in Paradise, by far the best romance/espionage comic book ever produced.

Gilda

Change of plans.. No 1984.

Going to read Flannery O'Connor's short stories instead.

Unless Mao or one of his buddies wrote it, it'd be hard to be flattering towards him.

Well, since my Spring Break just started, I'll have some free time to catch up on a couple of books. Thinking of getting into The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) finally.

Sewer, Gas and Electric by Matt Ruff. I picked it up because his first book, Fool on the Hill, was an excellent read. I picked it up year's ago on the advice of the person behind the counter a Bakka Books (a local speculative fiction book store).

Sewer, Gas and Electric is not quite as good. There are many good ideas at play but there almost seems to be too many things happening so the focus is a bit off. It just isn't as solid and enrapturing as Fool on the Hill.

I will have to chime in on the Gunslinger series too. It is the first set of books from King that I have enjoyed. I would put the first three or four of the series up there with my all time favorites like LOTR and The Hobbit. The subsequent books have left me a little "meh," but I vow to see Roland through.

I'm reading Passionate Marriage currently.

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