I'm re-reading the Talisman so I can read the Black House next.

Just finished American Tabloid..On to The COld SIx Thousand..what a whacked writing style..and what a plot!!! great stuff

Let me know how Cold 6K turned out...I started a thread about it...right now I'm reading "Moon:The Life And Death Of A Rock Legend", a terrific biography on Keith Moon... I'm halfway through its sprawling 600 pages.

Just finished 50 Candles, a Earl Derr Biggers short story. Easy to see where the ideas for Charlie Chan began in that short mystery. I also like the way Biggers sticks a Romance in the back story to all his mysteries. The Chan books are the same way.


I'm now reading the first of the Dragonrider of Pern books, Dragonflight. An old book, but I've never read McCaffrey before and wanted to try it out. Only on chapter 3 so its too early for me to make an opinion of the book.

Currently reading Chosen Prey by John Sanford.Just started it but expect it to be on par with the rest of the series.

Just finished Up Country by Nelson DeMille.It was a follow up book to Generals Daughter in that the main character Paul Brenner is back.Another good book.DeMille is probably my favorite author right now,can't say I've not liked any of his books.Most of his books involve new people each book so there isn't that stale quality you get with some series.His best stuff IMO was Generals Daughter,Gold Coast,and Plum Island was the best of all.

Finished A Clash of Kings a couple nights ago and am now working through A Storm of Swords. This series really took off with the second book after the somewhat lackluster Game of Thrones. So far, Swords is just as good. J. Lannister's an interesting character with a lot of history.

I'm also reading a non-fiction book called Christianity on Trial, which is about the positive affect Christianity has had on the human condition. I'm also trying to get caught up on the weekly political magazine I read.

Just finished Slaughterhouse-5 by Kurt Vonnegut, and am now reading Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

Mid eighties cyber noir set in a middle eastern environment. USA and USSR completely balkanised but not much focus on that side; more about a private eye, Marid Audran, investigating some very grisly goings on in a seedy tourist quarter.

I can imagine this one being turned into a film although the drug and sex-trade details might have to be toned down.

I'm on the look out for the sequel to see how the protagonist's change in status worked out (and just learned that there was a third novel written).

I just finished A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons (I was disappointed by it) a few days ago, and now I'm reading The Island by Richard Laymon (which, so far, is way more enjoyable than A Winter Hauting).

As soon as I'm done with The Island, I'm going to start on A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick.

Glad to hear you're enjoying the series more!

Started Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Strange book; I'm about 1/4 through the book, and am finally getting into the story, but I'm just not finding the story very compelling. Maybe because the reviews I read gushed so much about this book, my expectations were too high. Plus, Mieville seems to use flowery prose, similes, etc. too much for my taste.

Starting Hell to Pay by George P. Pelecanos this weekend. Can't wait to dive into it. Read a story or two in Everything's Eventual whenever the mood strikes me.

The other day I read "The Catcher in the Rye" for the first time. Now, I'm in the middle of "Dreamcatcher" by Stephen King. It's not one of his best. Next will be "The Horse and His Boy" from the Chronicles of Narnia.

I plan on reading some classics very soon, like "The Great Gatsby" or something by James Joyce.

Honk!

Man...I have read "Catcher in the Rye" in YEARS...I should get that and reread it.

I just finished "Dreamcatcher" by Stephen King. I agree that it's not one of his bests. But I thought it was pretty good. Won't give you any spoilers...except that Rosebud was a sled!!

Trip to the bookstore. April reading list as follows:


Read (in the bookstore, no less) but didn't buy:

Bias - by Bernard Goldberg. I approached this book with some amount of interest. Saw it in B&N, but balked when I saw it was published by Regnery. A very slight tome, I sat down and read the whole thing in less than an hour. It's hard to take Goldberg seriously about media bias when his problem isn't that there is a bias, but it's not the bias he would prefer. He also comes off as a very small, bitter man with a number of axes to grind. Typical Regnery trash. I put it back for some other sucker to buy.

What I DID buy:

Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley - I normally avoid fantasy like the plague, but the feminist retelling of the Arthurian legend with a pagan vs. Christian subtext appealed to me.

Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley by Lawrence Sutin - been a big fan of "The Beast" for ages, and this "definitive" biography sounded like a ripping good yarn.

Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an ex-Conservative by David Brock - Bought sight unseen. I never read Brock's books about Hillary Clinton or Anita Hill, but according to this, they were all lies anyway, so no loss there. Should be a good read.

Shamanspace by Steve Aylett. The Amazon description: "Opposing groups of occult assassins compete to exterminate God. In a multidimensional war, young gun Alix travels through sidespace to confront evil-though he risks destroying the universe. When he becomes the victim of a complex conspiracy between his closest allies and the enemy, his resolve is tested. This alchemical conspiracy adventure tackles fundamental questions about the nature of good and evil and the relationship between humans and god." How cool does that sound?

Eh... getting too many books. Need a bigger house.

Finished Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Very disappointed. I don't know what all the hype was about. It seems that the gushing reviews about his cyber-punk world were overrated to me, as if those people had never read a well-conceived sci-fi world before. And I didn't like the ending, either.

Blew through Honoured Enemy by Raymond Feist & William Fortstchen. Great book. Much, much better than Feist's recent Krondor books.

Now, finally, starting in on Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon. I'm sure I'll be comparing it to George R.R. Martin's work the whole way.

Just finished:
The Treatment - Mo Hayder

Halfway through:
Trials of the Monkey: An Accidental Memoir - Matthew Chapman


About to start:
Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players

I read "Fight CLub" yesterday - only took about 4 hours -

and started "Love in the Time of Cholera" yesterday - read about 70 pages, pretty good so far. Its one of those books where every now and then you realize that the author has just said something profound - but he doesn't hit you over the head with it or point at it and say, "look what I did!" Its there, and just under the surface so those that want it can take it and those that don't see it won't. Good book, good writer.

Halfway through The Dark Glory War by Michael A. Stackpole. I like it alot so far. Anyone who's into fantasy should give it a look. As long as you don't mind first person stuff.

I read that about a month ago; good book. The second one, Fortress Draconis, is good also. But just beware that it takes place decades after Dark Glory War, and there are only a couple of returning characters.

On a different subject, I'm only about 50 pages into Gardens of the Moon, but it's already a great book!

Yep, I know. I've got Fortress Draconis in my read pile, probably next.

Cobb- Al Stump

Ty Cobb's biography....fascinating.

Death of The West (Pat Buchanan) - Will finish tonight.

The Punic Wars (Adrian Goldsworthy) - 100 or so pages finished.

Counterpoint: A Translation of Kontrapunkt Book II (Heinrich Schenker) - 2nd time and not the last. I use it as one of my references when composing music.

For the simple pleasure of it, I am reading various anime fan-fiction. In some cases, the fan-fiction stories were better written than a number of printed paperback sci-fi-fantasy books I've read. In some cases, the "what-if" or alternate-history angles of the fan-fiction let me enjoy other variations of the anime characters from a plot-oriented angle.

Favourite Sailor-Moon fan-fiction epic: SAILOR MOON 4200 by Angus McSpon

2nd most-favourite Robotech Fan-fiction epic: Fox Squadron by G.L. Sandborn. My favourite Robotech epic "Animation: Recollections of the Triumvirate" is not available online (only in APA printed format).

Trial By Tenderness (a magnum opus based on Ah!MyGoddess) by Cevn McGuire I always liked the customized pointer at his website.

Ragnarok Agenda by David Row is my favourite unfinished fan-fiction. In my impatience to see the upcoming chapter 5, I had even written 12 pages of my version of what chapter 5 could be. It is a "crossover" serial featuring characters from three of my favourite anime shows (Iczer-One the Movie, Ah! Megami-sama, Bubblegum Crisis).

Just finished a story collection of shirley jackson's...not quite my cup of tea I think...stories were well written and I enjoyed the style...I just didn't see much "conflict" or "tension building" in most of the stories.

Currently I'm wading through Suetonius' "The Twelve Caesars"...always an interest in Ancient Rome and the Roman Emperors...

Michael G Haynes

1984 - George Orwell for the 50th time.