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[V-Adore]

Most of my current reading is fluff, but I'm preparing to reembark on my second attempt to read Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast Trilogy. This may be a fool's errand given that school is starting again soon-like, but I figure I have to take a stab at it.

[Va]

I recommend anything by Cory [Doctorow]; his work is really fun to read.

Seconded!  And Cory heartily encourages you to read his work for free on teh intarweb.  He is rad in multiple ways.

[Gimpson]

Fierce Invalids I liked, but the more recent Villa Incognito seemed too short, and almost unfinished.  

For the sake of completeness, I just finished reading Song of Susannah, the next to last book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series.  I still think the first two books in that series were excellent, but they've been dropping off in quality (and going up in price) since then.  I'm a sucker, so I'll still buy the last one when it comes out next year.  Constant Reader, indeed.

Also, David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is more excellentness from him.  Unfortunately, my obsessive NPR listening and book tour attending meant that I'd heard about half the stories in that book already when it came out.  

Now I'm reading Neuromancer.

[Bozack]

GAIMAN GAIMAN GAIMAN.

Yeah, mad props for American Gods. Every time I go on a road trip, I re-read that book. I've actually spent a fair amount of time driving through and spending time in really small-town America, and there are parts in that book that I just adore.

[CortJstr]

I got a copy of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson for my birthday. Has anybody read this? Since it's part of a series I'm afraid to start it and find out it sucks.

[Bozack]

I'm finally all moved back to New York and now dorming it, and I'm reading Gravity's Rainbow on the subway. Up to page hunned-sumtin and no real problems yet. I mean, I don't UNDERSTAND much of it, but I'm taking it slow.

[andalucia]

I'm finally all moved back to New York and now dorming it, and I'm reading Gravity's Rainbow on the subway. Up to page hunned-sumtin and no real problems yet. I mean, I don't UNDERSTAND much of it, but I'm taking it slow.

The subway thing is a good idea, except that it seems like an awfully heavy book to bring around every day.  However, there it is, right now, gazing recriminatingly down at me from the shelf in my dorm-cube.

[Choop]

As avid a reader as I am (600+ pages/week) I can't believe it's taken me this long to start posting to this thread.

I just tonight finished All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson, which I started yesterday. This week I also started and finished Border Liners by Peter Høeg, author of Smilla's Sense of Snow. Meanwhile, I'm using The List by Chet Dettlinger as filler between good books. It's an exposé of Atlanta's police & governmental problems during the child murders/Wayne Williams controversy of the early-mid eighties.

A friend, when I quit my job, gave me three terrible fantasy books which I promptly devoured: The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. The first is so ridiculously derivative (former holder of precious eternal object named Samuel (Smeagol?) now small and hunkered with long arms and big yellow eyes, etc.) I laughed every twenty pages or so at its absurdity. I'm looking desperately for the rest of the books in the series. I'm hooked. How did I get this way.

Up next I've got DNA's The Salmon of Doubt and Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Fortress lined up. I love and hate second-hand bookstores  because they have books you can't find anywhere and don't really want in the first place; also because the books they have that you want aren't really that well discounted in the first place. Plus the guy that runs the one I love/hate the best/worst has some form of Tourette's, which makes it really hard to shop for books. Come to Atlanta. I'll take you there. Seriously.

[AugustWest]

As avid a reader as I am (600+ pages/week) I can't believe it's taken me this long to start posting to this thread.

I just tonight finished All Tomorrow's Parties by William Gibson, which I started yesterday. This week I also started and finished Border Liners by Peter Høeg, author of Smilla's Sense of Snow.

clippedy
Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe's Fortress lined up.

I read All Tomorrow's Parties this spring and liked it.  Liked it better than Idoru, as I recall.  I also enjoyed Smilla a lot when I read it (which was when it came out, so my recollection of it isn't great).  Thought it was a good murder mystery and well written to boot.  Good read and good writing, if you follow me.  Reminded me of LeCarre a little in that sense. Would you recommend this one?

I intend to start the Sharpe books when I either finish or get tired of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books.  They are wonderful.

Currently I've only got one book going (which is odd for me).  Like Mr. Bear, I'm reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of the Universe.  It's very good.  I can well understand why it terrified/depressed Cornelius.  But I'm trying to remain philosophical.  I am well pleased with this book and it has improved my opinion of Bryson.  As I think I've said somewhere herein (perhaps on this thread) I've found Bryson's humorous works a little glib and self-satisfied.  He proves himself a solid researcher and writer in this book.  He's really up to the task of digesting centuries of complex scientific research and presenting it clearly without oversimplifying.

[CortJstr]

Up next I've got DNA's The Salmon of Doubt

I got that one when it first came out. My review: depressingly short.

[slink]

Up next I've got DNA's The Salmon of Doubt

I got that one when it first came out. My review: depressingly short.

Damn straight. I really enjoyed it, though it hasn't a huge reread value, but the actual Dirk Gently, ummm, excerpt is depressing. Holistic Detective Agency is in some ways my favourite book by him, although I have always been such an H2G2 fanatic (owning most of the iterations of it and knowing it all by heart having grown up on it), and so to be teased so is just frustrating.

[Va]

Now reading Small Gods by Terry Pratchett.

[PinkStainlessTail]

A friend, when I quit my job, gave me three terrible fantasy books which I promptly devoured: The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. The first is so ridiculously derivative (former holder of precious eternal object named Samuel (Smeagol?) now small and hunkered with long arms and big yellow eyes, etc.) I laughed every twenty pages or so at its absurdity. I'm looking desperately for the rest of the books in the series. I'm hooked. How did I get this way.

Be warned: around the fifth book or so something strange happens. Goodkind decides he's the new Ayn Rand and becomes mind numbingly didactic. Fantastic elements all but disappear, and the books become completely tiresome. I read on in bemusement for awhile, but finally gave up.

Still working on Seven Pillars of Wisdom here, though the end is in sight. oddly enough, my next reading will probably be Lawrence's second memoir entitled The Mint. Apparently it recounts the time period after WWI where Lawrence joined the RAF as an enlisted man under an assumed name.

[V-Adore]

Now reading Small Gods by Terry Pratchett.

Excellent, excellent book. I would recommend it further, but clearly you're already reading it and thus don't need it. For anyone else in the thread -- read it. it's good.

[CortJstr]

I got a copy of Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson for my birthday. Has anybody read this? Since it's part of a series I'm afraid to start it and find out it sucks.

Well since you people were no help I decided to start this. It's pretty cool so far. It's very non-formulaic fantasy.

Has anybody read The Egyptologist or Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell? I've started hearing good buzzings about both. But I'm worried that Strange & Norrell is getting too much hype to actually be that good.