What are you reading?

[Startrekwiki]

Right now, I have started "SPACE", by James A. Michener.

[DKT]

Almost finished with Scalzi's Old Man's War.  I'm also reading Anne Lamott's Grace, Eventually.  My wife loves her and so I finally decided to read one of her non-fiction pieces.  It's pretty entertaining so far. 

[Zathras]

"Terraforming Earth" by Jack Williamson

On deck: "The First Immortal" by Halperin

In the hole: "Across Realtime" by Vinge

[raygunray]

"Silence of the Lambs" by Thomas Harris. I'm reading it more to see how the movie diverged from the book, but that doesn't take any wind out the great movie.

In my heavy rotation pile is "Fitzpatricks War" by Theodore Judson. I have a B & N gift card i''ve been itching to use on some paperbacks.  I'm just waiting for them to have a sale.

[Listener]

"Terraforming Earth" by Jack Williamson

On deck: "The First Immortal" by Halperin

In the hole: "Across Realtime" by Vinge

I couldn't get into "Terraforming Earth".  Don't know why.

Just finished reading all the Harry Potters again.  Now rereading "Good Omens" for like the 20th time.

[DKT]

Just finished reading all the Harry Potters again.

I'm so insanely jealous.  I wanted to read them all again before the new one came out.  I think I'll end up settling for rereading just the last two.

[FNH]

"An Excellent Mystery" by Ellis Peters.  About as far from sf and fantasy as you can get!

[Listener]

Just finished reading all the Harry Potters again.

I'm so insanely jealous.  I wanted to read them all again before the new one came out.  I think I'll end up settling for rereading just the last two.

Here's a summary for you:

HP:SS - Harry finds out he's a wizard, plays Quidditch, dislikes Snape, defeats Voldemort.
HP:CS - Harry meets Dobby, discovers Lockhart's an idiot, speaks Parseltongue, defeats Voldemort, ticks off Malfoy Sr.
HP:PA - Harry finds out that the person who supposedly killed his parents really didn't kill his parents but is actually his godfather.  Also, Hermione hits Malfoy Jr.
HP:GF - Harry does a lot of difficult things before escaping Voldemort.

And now, the last two books, for those who are only watching the films, in ubersmall type:
HP:OP - Harry's scar hurts a lot.  He is tricked by Voldemort.  He faces off against Umbridge.  Sirius dies.  Harry is very emo.
HP:HBP - Harry accuses Snape and Malfoy of a lot.  Then Dumbledore dies.

That about covers it.

[Russell Nash]

And now, the last two books, for those who are only watching the films

Is any one actually just watching the movies??

I found the first movie incoherent and it just got worse from there.  The last film (Goblet) was just "selceted scenes of a book everyone has read".  I don't see how anyone who hadn't read the book could have followed it.

[Russell Nash]

I started reading the first Discworld book. I'm about 80 pages or so in (They just started the inn-sewer-rents fire) and it's a lot of fun.

I'm up to book five now. It's still a lot of fun.  He hasn't been beating me over the head with the same charactors and that keeps it fresh.

Say hi to Twoflower for me.

He said hi and mentioned something about you almost losing a hand trying to get into the luggage.

[ClintMemo]

Is any one actually just watching the movies??
I found the first movie incoherent and it just got worse from there.  The last film (Goblet) was just "selceted scenes of a book everyone has read".  I don't see how anyone who hadn't read the book could have followed it.

I had exactly the opposite experience.  I read the first book then saw the first movie.  The movie seemed so much like the book that I got too lazy to read books 2,3 and 4, despite people telling me that with each movie more and more things get left out.  I broke that trend and read books 5 and 6 a month or so ago.   Reading book 5, I could tell that there was back story that I had missed out on, but I had no problem following the book.  Someday, I'll go back and read them all.

[Listener]

Finished Vellum.  May comment further in that thread.

Read Maker, the Star Trek novel by Michael Jan Friedman.  As usual, Friedman's writing is enjoyable and the story engrossing enough to hold my attention, but it seems like he's phoning it in these days.  The book was good, but not as good as Reunion or Double, Double.

Now reading Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliott Perlman.  Not SF.  Also not the first book with that title.  So far, lots of good passages, but it's hard to read sometimes because some of the paragraph chains are LONG.

[DKT]

And now, the last two books, for those who are only watching the films

Is any one actually just watching the movies??

I found the first movie incoherent and it just got worse from there.  The last film (Goblet) was just "selceted scenes of a book everyone has read".  I don't see how anyone who hadn't read the book could have followed it.

Funny, I had the opposite reaction.  I didn't like the first movie either but I feel like they're getting consistently better.  (Although they still haven't made one that holds a candle to the books.)

[Listener]

And now, the last two books, for those who are only watching the films

Is any one actually just watching the movies??

I found the first movie incoherent and it just got worse from there.  The last film (Goblet) was just "selceted scenes of a book everyone has read".  I don't see how anyone who hadn't read the book could have followed it.

Funny, I had the opposite reaction.  I didn't like the first movie either but I feel like they're getting consistently better.  (Although they still haven't made one that holds a candle to the books.)

Goblet was my least-favorite of the films, but I think it's almost tied with Stone as having the best music.  I mean, there's nothing that can stand up to John Williams's original HP score, but Patrick Doyle did some beautiful things with the music for Goblet.  I wish he'd have come back for Phoenix, but whoever Norman Hooper is, I'm hoping he does well also.

I know this is OT, but would it not be the most awesome thing ever if Nobuo Uematsu could be convinced to score the seventh film?

[Planish]

Dead tree substrate books:
Finished Cell by Stephen King a little whole ago.
I was feeling nostalgic so I bought Larry Niven's Draco's Tavern and started on it. Mostly stories I've read 25-odd years ago, but there were a few I had not seen.
Next will probably be something by Harry Turtledove, possibly Conan of Venarium or one of his alternate histories.

Audio:
Listening to mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court from Librivox.org.
Next is probably Star Surgeon by Alan E. Nourse, also from Librivox.org

Recently recorded and uploaded chapter 1 of Japanese Fairy Tales by Yei Theodora Ozaki, for Librivox.
Also finished recording (but still need to edit before upload) chapter 2 of Chronicles of Canada Volume 6 - THE GREAT INTENDANT A Chronicle of Jean Talon in Canada 1665-1672 by Thomas Chapais.

[Simon]

Currently I am hacking my way through this:

The Rediscovery Of Man by Cordwainer Smith.

I have to admit, i'm rather baffled by why I'm not enjoying it any more than somewhat.  It's beautifully written, classic 50's era SF, with some fantastic ideas and beautiful themes...  But for some reason I'm just not revelling in it. Maybe time for me to give up and get another SF classic off the shelf (I recently re-read both The System Of The World and The Mote In God's Eye)

Cheers

[clichekiller]

I have just picked up the first book of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher.  So far I'm loving it.  It's an interesting take on a very old topic, wizards. 

[Simon Painter]

I'm alternating between The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E Howard and The War-Hound and the World's Pain by Michael Moorcock, they're both most excellent

Simon Painter
Shropshire, UK

[Anarkey]

I just finished Peter Watts Blindsight last week, and it's my new evangelizing book (the one I try to get people to read, because it's that good).

And what do you know, it's about freewill.  And vampires.  And first contact.  And multiple personality disorders as a neural hack.  And language as a weapon.

Pretty much all things guaranteed to make me go "oooh, shiny!"

[lowky]

Ender's game

[Russell Nash]

I just finished the first five Discworld books and I'm starting Stephen King's Cell

[Listener]

I just finished rereading the Roger Stern novelization of the death of Superman.  I'm now reading a Japanese mystery novel called "Out".  It's pretty compelling so far.

[Thaurismunths]

I just finished the first five Discworld books and I'm starting Stephen King's Cell

*L* Wow. With a change of gears like that, you're lucky you didn't drop your transmission.

[Russell Nash]

I just finished the first five Discworld books and I'm starting Stephen King's Cell

*L* Wow. With a change of gears like that, you're lucky you didn't drop your transmission.

I can never just keep reading the same thing.  I think it runs in the family.  My cousin, Thomas Tryon wrote horror novels and historical romances.

[Listener]

Finished "Out".  It was pretty good -- a lot of description, but I think maybe too many characters and too much scene-shifting.

Next I'm either going to read:

"The Green and the Grey" by Timothy Zahn
"From Russia With Lust" - a three-book collection, I forget the author, about a guy in the year 2652 in a world where the russian revolution never happened.  Apparently it's swords-and-sorcery.

Of course, when HP7 comes out, I'll be dropping everything for that.