What are you reading?
I'm naturally nosy about what other people are reading; I often find out about books I'd never have heard of otherwise by sneaking peeks at what other coffee shop patrons have their noses buried in. With the proliferation of ebooks, it's harder to do that. So now I have to pester people directly.
What are YOU reading for fun these days?
As for me...
Just finished Thirty Three Teeth by Colin Cotterill. The second in his Dr. Siri Paiboun series, this one has the Laotian coroner/unwilling shaman trying to solve a series of grisly murders made to look like animal attacks, while also navigating the shifting political landscape in the post-communist takeover of Laos. It drags a little in spots but Siri's dry wit and the observations about life in a newly communist country are worth wading through the plot.
Just started In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell. Fourth in the series about San Francisco witch Lily Ivory, proprietor of a vintage clothing store. Each book in this series has been better than the last; my wife and I are reading this one out loud.
Next up Redshirts.
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Right now I'm about a third of the way through A Dance With Dragons. Hugo voting deadline is in two weeks, and I have two other novels and one novella to read in the prose fiction categories, most of the graphic stories nominees, and two novels from Campbell nominees. I suspect I may not finish in time.
When I'm done with required reading, I've got a volume of Peace Corps essays, an oral history of the Second City comedy group, and a history of early American counterfeiters on top of my stack.
I finished Joseph Scrimshaw's Comedy of Doom the other day (it was so nice to see so many people I knew in the acknowledgments) and before that, The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaarder, and before that, I think it was... uh, apparently this one hasn't been translated into English yet, but it will be, and I recommend it; the first novel by Jonas Jonasson. The life of the protagonist kind of reminds me of my own, in an abstract way, because he keeps being in the right place at the right time and meeting famous people.
I have a feeling there was another one before The Orange Girl, but I can't think what.
Anyway, there was an error when I tried to subscribe to the digital edition of New Scientist yesterday, so I started reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (well, actually, I started reading a biography [in the form of transcribed interviews] of the guy who started the World Wildlife Fund, but it didn't really hold my attention, so I switched) but I think the subscription is sorted out now, so it'll probably take me a while to finish that.
Oh, I'm still about halfway through Steve Wozniak's biography, iWoz, which I have on my iPad for when I unexpectedly don't have anything else to read. I recommend it, and think it should be read to children and adults as bedtime stories. He's a great guy, and when he talks about electronics or other technical stuff, which is not really the bulk of the book but it comes up a lot because he's passionate about it, he explains it in ways anyone could understand and get excited about. Even if you don't like Apple, you'll love the Woz..
On the subject of bedtime stories, I read Trevor Strong (from The Arrogant Worms)'s 'Very Grimm Fairy Tales' to various people as bedtime stories, and much fun was had by all. Currently @mrgoldenbrown and I are reading each other (over Skype, in case anyone is not aware we're on different continents) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, which is one of my favourite books, and I'm also reading that to another friend of mine (one of the ones I read the fairy tales to, who now has a taste for being read to.) Has anyone outside an audiobook read you a story recently? I highly recommend that.
There are four Peace Corps books. One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo contains stories from African Peace Corps volunteers, Gather the Fruit One by One contains stories from the Americas, A Small Key Opens Big Doors has stories from Eurasia, and Even the Smallest Crab Has Teeth has stories from Asia and the Pacific.
Skip forward a few years and I finally got started again but mostly these days it's text books. Currently I am reading The Complete and Easy Guide to Beekeeping. I have just finished Something Wicked This Ways Comes. I also just read the Hunger Games books and although I wasn't greatly impressed they have set my reading senses tingling so I will be reading back through this thread mainly and with interest. Obviously whilst trying not to pick up any spoilers!
I dislike politics but follow them as a matter of self-defense. There are shady lobbying groups, paid by big corporations, trying to destroy my livelihood nowadays, and this book explains (among other things) how they work and the loopholes they exploit. Worthwhile reading for any US citizen, no matter where you are on the political spectrum.
The Guardian published a very abridged version of one of the tales in the book.
I have always found Douglas Coupland to be very hit and miss. This book was odd, because I suspect it's too violent for small children, but I found the language of the prose to read much younger than I'd like for an adult.
Woot!
Right now I'm listening to Ready Player One and reading A Short History of Nearly Everything
Fiction: Just finished Grandad, There's a Head on the Beach, second in Colin Cotterill's Jimm Juree series. A very funny and worthwhile follow-up to Killed at the Whim of a Hat.
Read-aloud with my wife: Deeds of the Disturber, by Elizabeth Peters. Peters always delivers strong characters and a fast-paced plot. Having finished all other Vicky Bliss series, Sweetie and I are working our way through the Amelia Peabody series, set during the 19th century Egypt.
I've been on a bit of a reading kick the last few months. Been trying to get caught up on some of the books and authors I have heard a lot about should have read before now (Scalzi, Gaimon, Gibson, etc.). Right now I'm reading Dune and seeing why it's held in such high regard. Can anybody tell me whether it's worth sticking around in that universe for the sequels?
Oh, and I also recently read the John Cleaver books by Dan Wells. It's a fun trilogy, pretty quick read, too.
Thanks for the replies. I ordered the second one, so I'll try to stop there.
And I forgot to mention in non-fiction, I'm working my way through Hodgman's compendium of complete world knowledge. It's a delightfully bizarre read!
The prequels are not good, and it's a shame. Brian Herbert had the makings of a promising career before he teamed up with KJA.
Recently finished Jon Armstrong's Grey and Christopher Moore's Sacre Bleu. If you haven't read Moore, this is a good place to start. Currently on Lois McMaster Bujold's The Warrior's Apprentice, which for some reason I hadn't read before.
I've also just bought the Humble eBook Bundle, which has another week to go in case anyone is interested.
"Vertigo: A Memoir" by Louise DeSalvo
"The Paperboy" by Pete Dexter
"The Road" and "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy
"Rebecca" and three collections of short stories by Daphne du Maurier
This weekend I will read "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley and I don't know what else.
I AM BACK.
I totally agree on Ender's Game. I like the fIrst book and reread it every so often; I ignore all the others.
At some point I read Pattern Recognition, but I don't remember much about it. I think it needs more than one reading.
Recently read No Hero and Yesterday's Hero by Jonathan Wood (MI6 meets H.P. Lovecraft), currently working on Cory Doctorow's Pirate Cinema.
Currently reading (sporadically) and enjoying short stories from Daryl Gregory's Unpossible and Other Stories. He's a local author here in State College, to whom I was introduced by my friend (another author) Greg van Eekhout.