I’m about to start Turtledove’s * How Few Remain *. Read a few of his, including the 7 * Worldwars * and * Guns of the South *.
Interesting twist - last night, after all the Christmas guests went home, I laid down to finish the book I was reading, * The Crusading Wizard * by Stasheff. I finished the book, started to close it, and took a better look at the picture of the author on the back cover.
He was seated in front of a Christmas tree.
Just started Athenais by Lisa Hilton. It’s a bio about Louis XIV mistress. So far, it’s a promising read.
I just finished The Murder of Helen Jewett by Patricia Cline Cohen, and Patricia Cornwell’s Jack the Ripper book. Both were a little disappointing, though still interesting.
I got as a gift Dark Matter, the Private Life of Sir Isaac Newton by Philip Kerr. It’s a fictional suspense mystery with Newton as the protagonist. Sounds interesting!
Two days ago I finished Sometimes a Great Notion, by Ken Kesey.
I first read it in college twenty years ago, and felt at the time it was, quite possibly, the Great American Novel. I discovered my old copy while cleaning the basement, and decided to give it another whirl. It was just as good as I remembered : unique writing style, evocative imagery, tremendous character development, and excellent storytelling. I highly recommend it.
Right now I’m reading The Sigma Protocol, by Robert Ludlum. It’s fast and fun, but definitely not in the same league as Kesey.
I’m reading the first Paksennarrion book, Sheepherder’s Daughter. Do these getting any more interesting 'cause I think it’s dull, dull, dull.
I don’t know what’s next in the queue. I got some fine rubbish reading from the library for the holiday.
This week I finished The Stars’ Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry and The Gobbler by Adrian Edmundson. Guess I’ve been in an English-comedian-cum-novelist sort of mood. Surprisingly, I enjoyed The Gobbler more-- but that may be because I had very high expectations for a Stephen Fry novel, and didn’t really have high hopes for Adrian Edmundson (Vyvian on The Young Ones) turning out anything of quality. The Stars’ Tennis Balls is a fairly cut-and-dried revenge tale, and midway through, it drops all pretense of dramatic tension. A bit of a let-down, although Stephen Fry’s language is always charming.
The Gobbler is an account of a boozy, philandering television comedian having a tremendous cathartic flame-out. It’s a lot of fun, although disorientingly tense & gory in the last few chapters. Lots of wry in-jokes for those half-way familiar with the intrigues of english film and television.
Next up: The Spirit Cabinet, by Paul Quarrington. Paul Quarrington is a genius. I’d like to see more film adaptations of his books. Too bad Whale Music turned out so poorly. I so want to see the Cohen Bros make Civilization (And Its Part in My Downfall).
Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease. I wanna see Leonardo DiCaprio chasing after f*ckpigs.
Rats, Lice, and History is my all-time favorite.
The Botany of Desire
The Book on the Shelf
Genome
Recent Ursula K. Le Guin.
Just finished Bad Medicine, the second in the “Bad Science” series (with Bad Astronomy having been the first).
Now I’m reading Life Evolving: Molecules, Mind, and Meaning by Christian de Duve, A Question of Evidence: The Casebook of Great Forensic Controversies, from Napoleon to O.J. by Colin Evans, and Denying Evolution by Massimo Pigliucci.
I’m The One That I Want - Margaret Cho
The Portable Dorothy Parker
Outlander by Diana Galbadon.
I started it last night.
I vowed to read it in a previous thread on this board, “Literary Characters that Make You SWOON,” because so many people mentioned Jamie Fraser from that book that I decided to give it a try!
I felt the same way. I actually really enjoyed a good portion of the beginning of that book - everything up until the woman awakens from her coma. Up until that time, the entire book seemed warm and almost sentimental, something I don’t see a lot in books (real warmth, not manufactured warmth). Then there’s a plague and everyone dies … what the hell? It just turned. In the end, I gotta give it an “okay” rating.
Woah! That guy’s name is my first and middle names! Add a McBride to the end of that and you’ve got me.
I’m currently reading The Bell Jar for the millionth time. Just wanted to read it again, I guess.
With regard to Girlfriend in a Coma, I’ve had a coupla few beery conversations with Douglas Coupland on the subject of hermeticism-- and that particular book makes quite a bit more sense if you look at it as an alchemical allegory. It’s my favourite of his books, largely for that reason.
Being a fan of this book, I recently bought a 25th Anniversery edition of it as a book-on-tape, read by Frances McDormand. I just can’t say enough about it. Excellent.
I’m working my way through the LOTR books, just because I got a new set for Christmas.
I just finished The Gunslinger: The Dark Tower I by Stephen King (literally, just minutes ago before I wrote this.)
Also got through Alton Brown’s I’m Just Here For The Food, which I highly recommend to all fans of Good Eats.
I also got A Year at the Movies by Kevin Murphy, and Mike Nelson’s Mind over Matters by, surprisingly, Michael J. Nelson. Now I’m waiting for Death Rat to come out.
Just finished Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism by Bishop John Shelby Spong and am starting on a very portable paperback of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. I’m about 40 pages away from finishing Asimov’s Chronology of the World, which isn’t as portable (I’m on vacation and only brought portable books with me). Also have a copy of Anthony Burgess’ One Man’s Chorus, a collection of short, but interesting essays, on the back of the can that I’m working through as the opportunities present themselves.
I’m reading Northern Lights , by Tim O’Brien. It’s pretty good–O’Brien’s a great author.
Also, The Master and Margarita by Michael Bulgakov (a Great Book) and Brief Interviews With Hideous Men , by David Foster Wallace. Wallace is funny, albeit needlessly philosophical at times (I know he’s trying to ridicule the American psyche, but sometimes it just comes off as being lame.)
The Fuck Up by Arthur Nersesian
It can be a bit slow at first. Give it until the wedding, then you have my permission to put it down if you want, but I don’t think you will want to.
Read The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold today. Quite a good book. Depressing and uplifting at the same time. Starting Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey tomorrow.
Just finished “The Handmaid’s Tale”, which was okay, and “Hard Times” which was horrible. I’m sure it’s great if you like that kind of thing, but personally I was really struggling through it.
I just started “Crossroads of Twilight”, Robert Jordan’s lastest Wheel of Time thing, which I’m having fun with, and seeing as I’m about to go on holiday I hope to finish off “Ash” by Mary Gentle and “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman both of which I’ve been halfway through for about a year.
I just finished up the Foundation series by Asimov, at least, 5 of the books, I had read them years ago. Man, that last one “Foundation and Earth” was freekin tedious! Fully half the 500pg book was two of the characters arguing about philosophical stuff (or technical stuff) that would put you asleep if you were there in person. I love the setting and the general gist of the book, but I won’t be reading it again.
My co-worker and I have been trading sci-fi paperbacks recently.
Right now I’m reading Ubik by Philip K. Dick and the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler.