I'm slogging my way through Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. The book's about as big as my head, and I've got a big head... it's intimidating.

Hey hun, I've been reading Clarke's book for a while now, Since about Feburary, March maybe. I see reading other books inbetween as mini hoilidays, long weekends if you will. It doesn't actually get boring after 536 pages, I just worry about what tomb of a book will keep me when I eventualy finnish Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, after I come back from long weekends. *le sigh*

Commie, do you really see yourself as sloggin through it?

I guess I should update on books I've read recently. I'd like to say a little about Larry Flint's Sex, Lies & Polotics.

Not in the sense that I'm finding it boring, tiresome or difficult, no. It's just that I'm not leaving myself much time to read these days, and it's starting to look like I'll still be reading this book when I get my degree.

Oh, okies *beatboxes*

Started reading Death and the Penguin last night.

In my Reading class we're currently reading "The pushcart war" Rather kiddish so far and....odd....

Just got done with the new Juliet Marillier book, The Dark Mirror. She writes very good early Irish fantasy with a dash of romance and plenty of action and magic. All of her stuff is quite good if anyone wants to read it.

We have to read Of Mice and Men in English. I think it's really boring. I just can't get into it. I've never really enjoyed books which are set in America around 1940 or earlier. Also, I find the descriptions tedious and too simple. It's just not fun.

Just starting a Meg Cabot book called Every Boy's Got One. Funny so far, just like the rest of her books. Except the Princess Diaries. Those went straight downhill.

Sues is a big fan of everything that Cabot has written. It's damn tricky to work out what she's done though because Cabot writes under so many different names!

Currently I'm reading The House Of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. I'm a little way in (it's a big book!) but it's already nicely spooky. I'm just getting into bits where he's becoming more experimental with his form. To be honest, it's a bit heavier going than I would normally take the time to read because it just takes so damn long to get through, but I'm really enjoying the time I'm spending on it (and then usually being annoyed that I've spent so long reading it!).

The story of O

I actually really love that book but then again I like many of the things I read unless it's buy that Angels and Demons fellow... what is his name again? Oh yeah sorry to any fans, don't take it personally I'm sure I read many things you could bag out.

At the moment I'm reading King Lear and Unified theory of existance.

ATM I'm skimming from book to book, like a delicate butterfly. Except that the books in question are Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse 5 and Othello. I went on a book spree recently as well, and picked up

-Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Fantastic- I loved it. He took the cat from Coraline and made it a person. A marquis! *love*
-Bukowski's Hollywood. Not bad, a little tedious at points. I prefer his poems, though.
-Neil Gaiman's American Gods which wasn't as good as Neverwhere but still delicious.
-Smoke and Mirrors, by the same. I've read it before but it's just as good the second time. A collection of short stories, just random dribblings. His introductions are lovely.
-Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, by the renowned Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. I enjoyed it, but I think I like his letters a bit more. Probably because he was working harder to impress; he didn't care about the average reader of his book enough to be nearly as snarky.

I've also put myself on a newspaper diet, and have been reading only the "Style" sections. Apparently, the all-in-one leather outfit is "out". Who'd have thought?

I finally found the 5th Ranma 1/2 book! Woohoo!

Just got through with Thud!, the new Terry Pratchett book. Once again the man has proven himself an utter genius with the ability to write hilarious footnotes. I'm about to start Across the Wall, the new Garth Nix anthology.
Glad you liked the Neil Gaiman stuff, elphaba2. It's always good to know that someone shares one of my obsessions.

Just started Twilight of the Idols/ The Anti-Christ by Nietzsche. Quite hard going but really quite entertaining.

Indeed.

I'm flipping through some of my favorite middle school books (Tithe, Crooked and another one whose name escapes me) and trying to remember why they were my favorites. They were all fairly well written, but so silly! The girl in ninth grade who only thinks about her nose and going to horse camp--surely she doesn't exist? Right?

Right?

I'm reading some odd Gregory Maguire stuff now. I'm waiting for a friend to finish with Confessions of a Wicked Stepsister so I can abduct it for my very own.

*swoons*

Reading abstracts for my science research class right now: schizophrenia/nicotine relationship stuff. It's all very enthralling.

Astarael, have you read Lost? It's by my friend Mr. Maguire, about Jack the Ripper. Quite good.

For some reason, I read the "P" Section of the dictionary today. O.o No more chocolate covered banana pops for me. >_>

By an eerie coincidence, I happen to be right in the middle of that book today. It's good so far, and the regressing nails and screaming are awesomely shiver-worthy late at night. Methinks we have similar taste in reading material.

I would love to beable to read Nietzsche and understand it first time! I am re-reading The Birth Of Tradgedy for about the third time, trying to make head or tail of the paragraph-long repetetive sentences! He had some interesting ideas, but needed some tips on grammar...

I am also flitting between that, A Brief History Of Time (one of my favourite books to read when feeling a bit low) and Good Wives (the sequel to Little Women) which I bought from a second hand book shop. Its a lovely old blue hard-back copy

*Has Basic Writings just waiting to be devoured on desk*

For now though, Art of War. Seems a lot different from what I'd imagine it to be.

Been reading my Lastest game informer mag, Hooray for my nerdyness!

Hades' Daughter, by Sara Douglass. It's the first in an epic that I recommend to anyone with a good tolerance for adult content, as there's a fair bit of sex and violence spread throughout. It's very good and has a lot of historical detail.

Currently reading Stephen Baxter's Exultant. The last one I completed was Larry Niven's Ringworld's Children - the final installment in one of my favourite series of books.

Reading a light in teh attic poems, I haven't read 'em in forever and I find them funny.

I remember those poems! I even memorised one when I was seven... but that one may have been from Where the Sidewalk Ends

I made myself a snowball,
As perfect as can be,
I thought I'd keep it as a pet,
and let it sleep with me.

I made it some pajamas,
and a pillow for it's head.
Last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.

Maybe I should go find that book...

Terry Pratchett - Equal Rites.

A few people went "Oooh Terry Pratchett good for you!" when I mentioned this in my LJ. So far I'm enjoying it

I've free time again so I've been haunting the local library. This week I've read.

Terry Pratchett - Night Watch.
Terry Pratchett - A hat full of Sky.
J.K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.
Amy Tan - The Kitchen God's wife.

The last isn't fantasy or scifi. It's another of her wonderful mother/daughter stories. It's also quite good with the 'just people being people' aspect.

I'm in the midst of Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel, which is fascinating and also Sabriel by Garth Nix, which needs to prove itself a bit. Today I started *dramatic voice* The Sandman: Endless Nights */end dramatic voice* which is doublepluscool. And I've picked up, but have yet to read, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I am a very excited girl.

Went to the library, Got a card, Got a book, Yay....

The book? Americans in space, Why? Becuase our damn sub is making us do these handouts on history of space.

I love that book

There's an Oxfam bookshop at the union, so I've been reading older books recently. Namely: Isaac Asimov's Foundation, Michael Moorcock's The Stealer of Souls, and currently Robert A. Heinlein's The Man Who Sold The Moon. Great reads, all.

Right now I am re-reading a social history of madness. Crazies be good people. I will give mental hugs to anyone who knows what a zoophagous does.

FLCL Manga, Makes as much sense as the show, Heh.

Just finished with Darkwitch Rising by Sara Douglass. It's the third in her Troy Game set. They're quite good, but only if you have a high tolerance for adult content.

Just finished the Heinlein book, now switching over to Asimov's The Stars Like Dust.

I picked out William Sleator's House of Stairs on a whim the other day and it was amazing. Rather Philip K. Dickian in nature, but with at least half the period disjunction and twice the swearing (which isn't much at all). Very good book.



Me too

Reading some Get fuzzy comcis for no reason.

Reading The Elvenbane. I haven't got very far into it, but it looks fun.

Re-reading Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby. I reccomend anything by him, by the way.

Found - Davy Rothbart
"The best lost, tossed, and forgotten items from around the world"

A few years ago, I came across a website that had scans of various notes and letters that the site's creator had found lying around the streets/parks/buses/etc. I read them, and was intrigued by the content, as well as the idea.

A couple of years after, I found a couple of letters myself, which I hung on to for a little while, before eventually discarding them.

A week or so ago, Amazon recommended the above book to me whilst I was browsing the site. It is basically a collection of mostly letters, notes, and photos that have been found in various places and sent in to Davy Rothbart (who runs 'Found' magazine in the US, apparently). Some of them are banal, others are funny, and many others are heart-wrenching. They are all very intriguing though. It's good stuff.

Currently re-reading Raymond E Feist's Magician, and I've got Terry Pratchett's Going Postal and Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains Of The Day lined up. Plus, I just found out I'm two books behind in the Lucifer comic collections. And that House of Leaves book mentioned on these here boards sounds worth a look.

Re-reading the JTHM comcis, I <3 the 6th 1 where he's dead, It's funny xD

Personal Reading: Garth Nix - 'The Keys to The Kingdom' series has been fabulous so far, but I've only read Mister Monday, Grim Tuesday and Drowned Wednesday. Definite recommendation!

Uni Reading - Christopher Marlowe - Dr. Faustus
Emmanuel Kant - Groundwork to the Metaphysics of Morals

Le sigh. . .


Fal xXx

Now I'm reading The Elvenblood. It's fairly decent, but a tad on the "overused fantasy plot" list.

For uni, now: Søren Kierkegaard's Either/Or. Interesting book.

The Beiderbecke Trilogy by Alan Plater, consiting of The Beiderbecke Affair, The Beiderbecke Tapes and The Beiderbecke Connection.

Humanism and Existentialism. Not sure who it's by. I just ran out of books in my bedroom so went and took whatever was first in my sisters. It's very interesting, if a little confusing.

I'll be starting Wicked by Gregory Maguire the instant one of my friends hands it over tomorrow. I hope it's as good as everyone's been saying.