[News] What are you currently reading?

I recently exchanged my The Vampire Lestat for a friend's Rainbow Six, which I just start reading.

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

I'm reading The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart. It's about a man who decides to base his decisions in life, both grand and trivial, on the fall of the dice. But it's not just a method of resolving indecisiveness: he includes options that his normal self wouldn't consider, and through being compelled to carry out these options by the law of dice, hopes to destroy that idea of 'the self', or the self preserving ego, and all the restricting habits and inhibitions that go with it.

I don't read books often enough, but I haven't been able to put this one down.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm currently reading After Dark by Haruki Murakami, my favourite author.

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Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver finally managed to pull me in. Tried reading it some years ago, but it was just a wee bit too... I dunno, just not my thing back then, but right now I think it's the bomb.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Lawhead wrote a series, I forget the name of, and I've been tearing through the first few books. Hood and Scarlet. As one might glean from the titles, they're a take on the Robin Hood myth (a personal favourite of mine), done in a sort of gritty fashion that really catches my interest. It doesn't neglect the original stories, just gives them a nice new coat of paint. The paint, in this case, being glue and sandpaper. A nice follow-up after a quick re-read of the Corwin books of the Great Book of Amber.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Denicalis

Lawhead wrote a series, I forget the name of, and I've been tearing through the first few books. Hood and Scarlet. As one might glean from the titles, they're a take on the Robin Hood myth (a personal favourite of mine), done in a sort of gritty fashion that really catches my interest. It doesn't neglect the original stories, just gives them a nice new coat of paint. The paint, in this case, being glue and sandpaper. A nice follow-up after a quick re-read of the Corwin books of the Great Book of Amber.

I've read a couple of things by by Lawhead. I read the Song of Albion trilogy so long ago(eighth grade) that I really could not tell you much about it. I've read Taliesian, Merlin, and Arthur, which were a decent take on you know what. Though not as good as Mary Stewart in my opinion. The most memorable book that I've read by Lawhead is Byzanitiam which is about a monk that gets captured by pirates while transporting an ornate rendition of the Book of Kells to Constantinople.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I had been meaning to read The Chronicles of Narnia ever since "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" premiered in theaters, even more so with the approach of "Prince Caspian", but I never quite got around to it for the longest time. I found a solution: I rented a CD audiobook of the series from the local library so I could listen to it on my iPod during a good chunk of my workday. I've been going chronologically, and I'm about halfway through The Last Battle now. Interestingly enough, this one is read by Patrick Stewart. Hearing him imitate the "hee-haw" of a donkey was hilarious. And I'm liking the books, too.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Josiah

I had been meaning to read The Chronicles of Narnia ever since "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" premiered in theaters, even more so with the approach of "Prince Caspian", but I never quite got around to it for the longest time. I found a solution: I rented a CD audiobook of the series from the local library so I could listen to it on my iPod during a good chunk of my workday. I've been going chronologically, and I'm about halfway through The Last Battle now. Interestingly enough, this one is read by Patrick Stewart. Hearing him imitate the "hee-haw" of a donkey was hilarious. And I'm liking the books, too.

You know, I never was able to make it through Chronicles. I just don't like the way C.S. Lewis writes. Didn't dig the movies, either. The BBC lion the witch and the wardrobe has a special place in my heart, but man... do I not care for average joe English kid goes through a wardrobe and then becomes a brilliant military strategist and great warrior stories.

I've been tearing through George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series lately (I've been on a fantasy kick, can you tell?) and am just finishing up with Feast for Crows. I'm thinking after that, it might be time to dig into a few of the Philip K. Dick works I haven't gotten to yet.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I had to put down Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I was about to beat my head endlessly into a brick wall until my brains spilled out.
Unless you've got a penchant for an overload of philosophical bullshit, I wouldn't recommend this one; but that's just me.

I read Dante's Inferno in a poetic translation, and mildly enjoyed it...somewhat. It's hard to read something when you have to read the footnotes every 5 lines. I'm not sure whether or not I'll attempt Pergatory or Paradisio, but if I do, I'll pick up prose copies.

I picked up a new release, Borne in Blood, by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro. Apparently part of some Count Saint-Germaine series about a Vampire. I like it, and the setting placement and the structure of the story is good, but I'm 1/3rd of the way through it, and the only action I've seen is some dude falling off a wagon. And there was a sex scene in the second chapter. A bit premature if you ask me.

And since I haven't read any classics, I've got The Gunslinger and Stranger in a Strange Land on the backburner.

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

Originally Posted by Garr

I thought Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle was a fantastic series. I guess my only gripe was that they used the Celtic names for dudes like Lancelot, so at the time, I wasn't quite sure who was who aside from the more obvious names. My senior year English teacher recommended it to me, and I have yet to go back and thank him for recommending the series to me, because it's what got me back into reading after blowing it off for so long. I just hope he still works at that school.

I've been (re)reading some of the Conan books, mostly the ones Robert Jordan and/or L. Sprague de Camp did, and those have been fantastic reads. The book I'm close to finishing is not written by Jordan though. It's called Conan the Valorous written by John Maddox Roberts. I think he's done a pretty good job with Jordan's Hyborian Age.

Anyway, the story here is that Conan is tasked with bringing a parcel given to him by the Stygian sorceress, Hathor-Ka, to Ben Morgh before the autumnal equinox. Normally, he'd never have anything to do with sorcery if he can help it, but he was tricked into swearing by Crom that he would do the job he was hired for before he learned all the details behind it, and Cimmerians are not known for giving their word lightly.

What follows is action, adventure and asskicking in only the way Conan can deliver. It's not a Robert Jordan story, but it's shaping up to be a pretty good one.

I have read the Second Chroicles of Conan by Jordan, which was quite enjoyable. Nowhere else have I seen the word callipygian used.

I have never read any Conan books other than that particular collection, though I have read some of the Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser series by Fritz Leiber, which are in the same vein.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Denicalis

I've been tearing through George RR Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series lately

How is it? I read Game of Thrones and Clash of Kings when those were the only two published and I loved them, but resolved to wait until the entire series was finished before I read any more.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Cellius

How is it? I read Game of Thrones and Clash of Kings when those were the only two published and I loved them, but resolved to wait until the entire series was finished before I read any more.

They're good, I still vote the first two were the best of the four so far, but they certainly aren't massive disappointments or anything. Definitely worth the read. The grit factor is there, they just lose some of the cohesion as the series goes on. Lots of hope for the fifth book, though.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

i just finished a series by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth. Pretty good books, I enjoyed that imensely. Now it's onto an American literature book, Microeconomics, and intro to astronomy

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I finally got around to re-reading Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha earlier this week. When I originally read it in sixth or seventh grade, I didn't fully grasp all of the philosophical implications being thrown around, so I really enjoyed revisiting it. Hesse's prose, too, was wonderful. He managed to pull so much power out of very simple dialogue and vocabulary, along the lines of a McCarthy or Hemingway novel. It was impressive. For all the vast cosmological overtones, I enjoyed reading it thoroughly, and look forward to reading more of his works.

Currently, I'm working my way through William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch, Haruki Murakami's collection of short stories Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for my high school English class.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by mscbutterfly

i just finished a series by Terry Goodkind, The Sword of Truth. Pretty good books, I enjoyed that imensely. Now it's onto an American literature book, Microeconomics, and intro to astronomy

Goodkind? Really? I would chalk that up as the worst fantasy series I've ever read any of. Worse than the Wheel of Time. Terry is just... awful. I always found his stuff horridly formulaic. Oh hey, Kahlan got kidnapped. Again. Oh, here's the portion of the book that we get to see how Goodkind's wife clearly won't let him have rough sex with her, so he'll get it out on the page. Oh, so this is the point that his self inserted character gets to be Superman. Or how about the part where he topples communism by building a statue to FREEDOM? He had some good ideas in there, or at least some I didn't hate, but at the end of the day, the man was on a soap box thumping his chest and writing diatribes about politics thinly veiled as fantasy. And Richard was just so bloody infallible, making him, by far, the least interesting hero I've ever seen. He's the only Seeker, AND the last war wizard, AND the only male confessor, AND the only man able to survive a confessor's touch etc... etc... And Kalahn was just so bloody useless. She was the Princess from Super Mario. All she was good for was getting kidnapped to further the plot.

What I'm trying to say is Goodkind is a shoddy author. Seriously, go read some Scott Lynch.

I've personally been derailed in my readings lately by T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars. Great book. Sure, the guy was lying about the majority of it, but the philosophy and depth of language used makes it worth the read.

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Lately I've been all wrapped in reading Hunter S. Thompson's two collections of correspondence, The Proud Highway and Fear And Loathing In America. I'd strongly recommend them both if you've read and enjoyed a good deal of his other material.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Add Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972 to that list. His coverage of that year's pivotal presidential election for Rolling Stone is alternately hilarious and dispiriting, but, as always with Thompson, highly entertaining.

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

Originally Posted by Capo

Add Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972 to that list. His coverage of that year's pivotal presidential election for Rolling Stone is alternately hilarious and dispiriting, but, as always with Thompson, highly entertaining.

Thompson is one of those dudes I get sick of hearing the hipster kids wax intellectual about, but man, I can't knock the sheer readability of his works. He's a smart guy, no doubt. And his stuff was certainly up there in terms of quality, but he's like the literary version of the Che Guevara bag. You know 3/4+ of the people who have it on them are doing so more for fashion than for substance, yeah? Palahniuk is getting that way, too.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I was just reading through the earlier posts in this thread and saw some appreciation for Stephen Lawhead. I really wasn't sure how well known he was, but he's actually a pretty good family friend. Him and my uncle are chummy as all hell. Holiday dinners together and such. Signed first editions out the ass.

Regarding Thompson, I find you can usually tell the hipster douchebags from the genuine appreciators of his work by talking about his sportswriting. Hipsters can't handle his love of football.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by knkwzrd

I was just reading through the earlier posts in this thread and saw some appreciation for Stephen Lawhead. I really wasn't sure how well known he was, but he's actually a pretty good family friend. Him and my uncle are chummy as all hell. Holiday dinners together and such. Signed first editions out the ass.

Regarding Thompson, I find you can usually tell the hipster douchebags from the genuine appreciators of his work by talking about his sportswriting. Hipsters can't handle his love of football.

That was me, with the Lawhead love. I'm sort of 50/50 on his stuff. Not all hyped on his Arthurian stuff, but I love the Robin Hood work. That's cool that he's a family friend, though. He's a talented guy. I hate you for your first editions. You prick. (<3 the knk)

Also, yeah. The difference is palpable when it comes to Thompson fans.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I've been reading a number of things as of late. Finally started in on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by the man himself, Philip K. Dick. I'm about half-way through it and I'm enjoying it immensely. I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone, whether they're a fan of science fiction or not.

Been reading through the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny once again simply because it's one of my favorite series ever. Corwin and his boy are some of the best protagonists to ever grace paper.

I keep the Tao Te Ching next to my bed for quick reading before I drift into dream land. I can't help but identify with some of the simple (yet at times surprisingly complex) verses found within it, and I find a bit of peace in the words when I've had a particularly stressful day. In a similar vein, I also have my much flipped through Zen Mind Beginner's Mind by Suzuki laying near by.

Thats it for now, but with summer break coming up I'm sure I'll start flying through books of various kinds. I'll most likely try to broaden my classical horizon a bit in the warm months.

Also

Originally Posted by Capo

Haruki Murakami's collection of short stories Blind Willow

Glad to see Murakami has been getting some love around here as of late! I truly admire his works. Check out The Wind Up Bird Chronicle if you haven't yet, Capo. It's a great work of fiction.

FELIPE NO

I'm currently reading Battle Royale. I was going through one of my boyfriend's boxes and found it. It's pretty good, twisted but intense.

I don't usually read a lot, but I can hardly put this book down.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Jinn

I've been reading a number of things as of late. Finally started in on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by the man himself, Philip K. Dick. I'm about half-way through it and I'm enjoying it immensely. I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone, whether they're a fan of science fiction or not.

I actually was a little disappointed when I read this for the first time a year or so ago. I had expected so much from all the praise that is generally heaped upon it, but the prose middling and took you out of the story at times. The ideas he had were wonderful, but the execution could have been much better.

Originally Posted by Jinn

Glad to see Murakami has been getting some love around here as of late! I truly admire his works. Check out The Wind Up Bird Chronicle if you haven't yet, Capo. It's a great work of fiction.

I have.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Right now I'm juggling between three books: Ken Bruen's Priest, Nicholas Blincoe's The Dope Priest and an anthology of works by Kahlil Gibran entitled A Treasury of Kahlil Gibran.

I've been reading the Bruen book most, and it's, as typical with Bruen, quite bloody good.

I plan to acquire William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch soon.

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Originally Posted by Garr

I goofed and said they were Robert Jordan stories earlier. While he has done some Conan stories, I meant to say Robert Howard. I am sure this will not be the last time I make this mistake. Anyway, I'm very familiar with Jordan's work, especially his The Wheel of Time series, which is what I think he's most famous for. I'll definitely have to check out those Chronicles books he did.

I'm thinking about getting the new big paperback books of all of Howard's Conan stories. I know my dad has quite a few of them, but I know he doesn't have all of them and I'd definitely like to read them sometime.

Ironic that you happened to mix him up with someone whom has also written Conan books. I used to always get Stephen R. Donaldson and Stephen R. Lawhead mixed up in my head.

I'll read some of Howard's Conan books if you read some of Jordan's.

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