I have just finished an cannot recommend any higher Gil’s All Fright Diner by A. Lee Martinez.
It is horror-lite, paranormal and just a ripping good time. Loads of laughs.
That sounds great; I’m on it.
I’m reading Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton.
It’s a typical Victorian society family drama, except that the family is dragons. It’s a nice counterpoint to the other Victorian era book I’m reading, The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins.
I can even match up the characters. Jo Walton was probably thinking Jane Austen when she wrote Tooth and Claw, but so far, it fits nicely with Collins’ book too.
I can’t imagine not being able to come right out and say “I won’t marry you because I love someone else”! Manners are much overrated.
First is a birthday present from a fellow doper: *Luckiest Man : The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig * by Jonathan Eig. One of the more even-handed biographies I’ve read.
Second, The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War by Brent Nosworthy. A Napoleonic scholar takes a look at the weapons and tactics of the ACW. Enjoyable and informative.
Currently I’m reading Angela’s Ashes. My ex-fiancéeliked the film. I bought her a copy of the book a few years ago (turns out she already had it – she kept the copy I gave her, and gave the other one away) and I bought one for myself. Never got round to reading it. In moving boxes the other day I found it. Then I was talking to someone on the phone who mentioned it. I figured it was serendipity and decided to read it. Got about half-way through it the first night, but was too busy to finish it yesterday.
I’m in a bad mystery phase, mostly because I just haven’t been able to find many new books to put on my “must read” list and therefore I end up picking random books from the teeny tiny library.
I’ll watch this thread looking for ideas.
Re-reading Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s From Hell. G*ddamn, what a book.
The American Axis by Max Wallace. I agree that Henry Ford was an anti-semite and Charles Lindbergh was a Nazi apologist. But I think Wallace is overselling his case - Ford and Lindbergh were more like two ignorant dupes rather than the center of a vast conspiracy to cause the rise of Nazism.
I’m currently reading When We Were Orphans* by Kazuo Ishiguro. I just started it, I read chapter two last night, so it’s too early to express an opinion on it.
I just finished reading the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. That was a terrific book. It seemed gimmicky to me when I first picked it up to read, it’s a ‘detective’ story narrated by an autistic teenager math genius. But I must say I really, really liked it and would highly recommend it.
I’m currently reading Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix in the British edition. I still have to catch up. Next up is The Half-Blood Prince. I’ve just finished Dan Simmons’ modern-day Dracula story Children of the Night, which I’ve been looking for for a while.
I have a stack of books by m bedside that I have to get to, and I’m not sure in what order. For kicks I’ve been rereading a little Fredric Brown – the collection The Freak Show Murders and Madball and Before She Kills. They used to reprint a Fredric Brown book on average about once a year until a decade or so ago, and it’s sad that he’s out of print.
*The Protector’s War * by **S. M. Stirling ** just arrived the other day, so that is in current rotation with *The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse * by Robert Rankin, which is in the truck.
The Long and the Short and the Tall by Alvin M. Josephy, Jr. His personal account of the Pacific war as a Marine fighting correspondent. Alvin’s a dear friend of my family’s and it means all the more to me because of that.
I’m reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. So far there are eleven books, of which I’ve read nine. Her lead character, Stephanie Plum, is a bond enoforcement agent from Jersey (and she’s more lucky than talented at it) with two hunky men in her life and a knack for getting her cars blown to bits! I’m thoroughly enjoying them, as Ms. Evanovich delivers a delightful combination of crime-solving and humor.
The Fabric of the Cosmos By Brian Greene. Thanks again to Mathochist for clearing up that problem I was having with it.
I interrupted my trek through the various suns of Gene Wolfe to read Lolita. Having done that I’m starting Lake of the Long Sun.
Just finished The Second Book Of Jorkins by Lord Dunsany.
Working on Lint by Aylett.
I just started The Devil in the White City about the Chicago World’s Fair and H. H. Holmes, America’s arguable first serial killer. So far it’s a good read.
I’ve been in a historical fiction mood. Reading Pope Joan and just finished The Other Boleyn Girl. I started on The Queen’s Fool, which is sort of a follow-up to The Other Boleyn Girl but didn’t enjoy it nearly as much. I still plan to finish it eventually though.
Just finished Baudolino by Umberto Eco.
Now I’m in the midst of Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan. I’ve never read any Kay before. He’s awesome.
I just finished Wicked by Gregory Maguire. It’s the story of the Wizard of Oz from the Wicked Witch of the West’s perspective, from birth to death. Turns out that Glinda and WWW were college roommates. It’s a great read and I highly recommend it.
And photopat, I read that not too long ago. It’s a fascinating book. More about the World’s Fair than the serial killer, but fascinating nonetheless.
A Hanging Offense, by Buckner Melton, Jr., about a mutiny on a warship of the early 19th century. Very interesting stuff.
Got a whole lot of things to read for university, so that’s padding my reading list a bit:
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Borroughs, Neuromancer by…who? I forget……some others. Privately, I’m going to start The Confusion, by Neil Stephenson, and currently am reading Wellington: The Years of the Sword by Elizabeth Longford.