What are you reading now?

Originally Posted by Crash

In lighter fare, I've been meaning to finish off Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett

That's one of my favorite Discworld novels; of course, all the ones with DEATH are my favorites .

I've really slacked off with my reading. It embarasses me, because I have a backlog of about 175 novels to slog through at some point in my life. And to make things worse, I'm re-reading one I've already read! Damn me.

- Faust:: Johann von Goethe
Yeah, I've read it before. But this is a 'new' (not really -- it's an old used book) translation in verse that supposedly retains most of the rhythm and meaning of the original German. And it has nifty illustrations by Harry Clarke, in a handsome cloth binding. It's a 'good' copy, which is why I bought it to supplant my crappy paperback.

- The Devil in Music:: Kate Ross
Bought it for the romantic mystery plot with a strong emphasis on opera. I didn't know it was part of a 'series' (you know, the kind of series that mystery books have, where it doesn't necessarily follow a set order), but it's too late now. I've only read a little bit, so I don't really have an opinion yet.

-So Long and Thanks for all the Fish:: Douglas Adams
Do I really need to say anything about it? I mean, it's Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It's witty and brilliant. Yeah. Only have one more chapter on this one. It's unfortunate that I hear Neil Hannon singing every single time I think of the title.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Acro-nym

That one happens to be my least favorite of the five-book trilogy.

Well, I really should start from the first book. My experience of the series has been an amalgam of sources: I saw the BBC mini-series and the US movie, then my friend dictated half of the first three books to me, and I discovered that I had bought this book a long time ago because it was .25 at the library. Since So Long... is the only actual book of The Guide that I have, I figured I'd give it a go.

I don't mind it, really. I think it's pretty good (especially the American express thing), but I agree about the explanations kind of...erm...lacking. Someday I'll read the others, but at the moment I don't think I need more books .

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by Freelance Wolf

I'm currently reading Watership Down by Richard Adams. I must have read the novel over ten times already, and I still don't get tired of it. People may think it's a stupid book because it stars rabbits, but it's really quite violent and fascinating.

I never thought it was a stupid book, as it has very mature themes and such in it, but I didn't think it warranted the amount of attention lavished on it by my school district. I had to read it twice: once in 7th grade and again in 10th. Most the people in my English lit. class had read it in 7th, most didn't like it, and we thought it was pretty redundant to go through it again. But OH WELL.

Have you read the 'sequel' of sorts, Tales from Watership Down? Since I was one of the 2 people in school that didn't completely loathe the novel, I found it and bought it. Never read through the whole thing, but it was interesting. As with most anthropomorphic animal novels, the main attraction is the invented myths and culture of the animals, which is what Tales... is all about.

For my money, I've always been fond of Mary Stanton's Heavenly Horse from the Outermost West and the sequel, Piper at the Gate. It's similar in construction to WD, but with horses and more emphasis on the myths of the horses.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by el jacko

I've been trying to get into Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and the Margarita but I keep getting distracted and such. It's a shame, since it's a good book (from where I got) and I would like to finish it.

Oy, my favorite book, ever. Hands down. I've been trying to do a comic or something based on it, but like most of my projects it doesn't go anywhere. Which translation do you have (unless you're reading it in Russian, of course ). After you read that, you might want to check out Heart of the Dog, also by Bulgakov -- or you could read that one first. It's much shorter and not as heavily written, so you wouldn't have to devote so much time to it.

Also, check out this website after or while you're reading the novel.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by christinajon

I'm reading I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan. I'm only 30 pages in, but it seems interesting. God has offered Lucifer a chance to get back into Heaven, but he has to live a good life on Earth first. Lucifer is the narrator, and he gets off topic a lot, so it's kind of annoying, but still amusing.

That is one amusing book! I really liked it (although I usually like anything to do with the devil/angels/demons, especially when it's British). Since you've only just started reading it, give it some time. The only funnier book I've come across in that vein is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman; if you haven't read it, you really should.

Also, if you want the 'soundtrack' to I, Lucifer by The Real Tuesday Weld/Clerkenwell Kid, I have it. Just PM me.
That is, if you haven't heard it yet.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Killy

I've been reading alot of horror themed books and I'm really starting to like it alot. My sister recommended this one and she even bought me this copy, along with H.P. Lovecraft's Call of Cthulhu (can't wait to get my hands on this one, from what I've read about it and some excerpts, it seems very interesting).

I forgot to mention that I've been reading that one on and off here lately. I downloaded an eBook version of The Call of Cthulhu as well as 'The Cats of Ulthar.' So far Cthulhu has been pretty good...I even started sketching the statue. I figure there's been enough fanart for that particular book, though.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

There are plenty of 'classics' that I thought were good reads. In fact, that's the reason I took AP World Lit. in high school (not that I couldn't have read the books outside of school, but I figured I might as well get credit for reading them ). I mean, these were 'required reading' for me when I was young, and I enjoyed them then and now:

- Anything by Edgar A. Poe
- Jane Eyre
- Wuthering Heights [yes, it's completely depressing, but still is a good book]
- Ender's Game
- Brave New World
- Dante's Inferno
- Watership Down

Also, I did not have to read the Grapes of Wrath (argh I hate John Steinbeck) or anything by Dickens. It seems that writings about human misery are almost guaranteed to be lauded 'the best book ever' and are bestsellers, like Frank McCort's Angela's Ashes. I have no idea why this is, because I really don't like to be depressed by my entertainment. But whatever -- my grandma likes that kind of stuff, so maybe it's the old people that dictate this.
There are other classics that I think should be read in American schools (ie: The Master and Margarita or the Gormenghast novels), but they're not.

How ya doing, buddy?