What are you reading MPC?

I bought 16 books yesterday ... 8 graphic novels and 8 regular books. All sorts of things, I don't like having nothing but books I've already read on my shelves.

But currently I'm reading R.C. Harvey's Meanwhile, which I find quite an entertaining and interesting read so far. Given the number of pages -- just under 1000 of them -- I think I'll be reading this for quite some time to come in the future.

This is probably literature that very few in here find as fascinating as I do, but there you go.

I've also started in Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress", but that one will have to wait for a little while, I guess.

I am currently reading "The City of Dreaming Books" by Walter Moers. I just recently finished "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, and "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. Oh, yes, and "Wicked" by . . . whoever it was that wrote "Wicked." The Susanna Clarke was excellent, and the Moers book is shaping up to be great as well. Both are really fun books. Of course, "Ender's Game" is a classic that I have read at least a half dozen times. Good stuff.

Rick, "Mistborn: The Final Empire" is currently available for free for the Kindle through Amazon. Apparently, Tor makes one book available for free every week. Pretty cool.

Next on the list is "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett.

It was also available in mobi format (thats the format that the cybook works with). I have it already but you know ... its been so long since I acutally held a real book instead of the ereader ... I think I'll do this one in paper instead of electronically.

Wicked ... I did one of Greg McGuire's other books: "Mirror, Mirror" ... not bad but his sense of humor didn't always get me the way he clearly hoped it would. How good was the book? On a scale of 1-10 I'd give it a good 2 ... sorry, thats about it. Not recomended.

My hero. I'm living large if I buy 2 at a time. 16. Zowie.

I never tried one of the graphic novels. Doesn't it feel like you're reading a big comic book? Backwards??

Bizarre, last night I was playing ASL and thought about writing a blog entry asking if anyone else here plays ASL or other wargames. I always thought that historical wargames might appeal to pipe smokers. Maybe I'll see you on VASL some day.

If you're interested, I'd start with Watchmen or Sandman. Excellent stories. Amazon.com usually has GN's at nearly half price.

Currently: The Power of by Eckhart Tolle. Before that: A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle; How Not To Hunt Pigs by Bruce Truter; The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway; The Power of Infinite Love & Gratitude by Darren Weissman; Hemingway on Fishing. Not a great reader of novels - fiction bores me.

James Joyce - Ulysses

Frans G. Bengtsson - De långhåriga Merovingerna/sällskap för en eremit

Louis B. Rall - Automatic Differentiation: Techniques and Applications

All on my night stand

a gartard let me borrow Watchmen and it is really just like reading a giant comic book. My usual fare (boring) is war and history so this is basic fluffery, but I was really "into" comics and wouldn't miss any of the ones coming out in the theaters, recently Ironman and Hulk). My appetite is maybe 5 or 6 books a year.

I currently have five books cracked:

Novelty by John Crowley
The Complete Books of Charles Fort
Anthem by Ayn Rand
American Revolutionaries in the Making by Charles S. Sydnor
The Illuminoids by Neal Wilgus

Impeccable taste on the Joyces, 'Ulysses' is an incredibly intriguing book... I myself loved voyaging through it's pages.

Currently I'm in the middle of the genius book of puns that Joyce wrote, 'Finnegan's Wake'. It truly is something that will blow you mind if you take the time to really concentrate on it.

And I'm reading 'Sophie's World', by: Jostein Gaarder, which will undoubtedly become a classic, being such a well-written novel about the history of philosophy.

Also I just finished 'Fight Club' by: Chuck Palahniuk. Better than the movie. A bit rough. Easy read, Hard to swallow.

I just purchased 'A Clockwork Orange' the classic Anthony Burgess novel from the 70's. Sure I'm only 20, but can enjoy good literature when I see it right?

Tried to read that one when I was 15 y.o.

A bit over my head at the time :)

I remember the language as intriguing tho, and you are right, I need to get it, and read it fully

I'm having a hard enough time getting back into the game after being away from it for over 20 years. The rules are terrible! After I get a bunch more games under my belt I'll start fiddling with VASL ... but for now you'll see me up there from time to time (same login: RickPiatt) and if you read my profile you'll see I'm just watching for the present.

... and that has happened on more than one occasion in the past.

16 means I have actually behaved myself this time.

Graphic novels ... It's a term I don't really use often myself, as it refers to collected comics into a book format, or original stories that are too long to fit into a monthly (or weekly, whatever) pamphlet form of publishing.

I grew up with what we call strips over here, which basically are 48 to 56 page long A4 format comics -- like Tintin and Asterix. Over here that has been the most common form of comic book reading since WW2. I have grown from what one might consider children books to more mature stuff (adult sounds like your reading porn of some sort, doesn't it?). Anyway, I call everything strip, the only thing that's different is the size and length of it. therefore I have some issues with the term graphic novel, as far as accuracy is concerned, but it seems to be there to stick around. So I guess I might as well use it.

I collect the damn things too ... which means that together with pipes I have two rather expensive hobbies.

As far as the recommendations go, I can fully endorse Sandman, which is beyond description, but a work of sheer brilliance.

Watchmen is supposed to be a commentary on the state of superhero comics back in the time it was created (1980s), so I guess that is especially recommended if you get most of the references; if you've never been into the whole superhero subgenre (which I never really cared for too much at all) it still is a very intriguing piece of work, but you might lose out on a few nifty things. they're currently turning it into a movie,which supposedly is going to stick as close to the original book as possible. So that might be a great way to get introduced to it.

When it comes to the reading backwards thing, I guess you are referring to manga, the Japanese comics, so to say. I don't read many of those. Not because they're bad or anything ... not per se, at least, but just because that would give me too wide a scope to collect.

I'm reading two now...

"Our Family Business" by Mary Dunhill &

"Back From The Ashes" The Story of The Falcon Pipe

Best,
D.J.

Wicked was okay, but that is about all I can say about it. I did finish it, which I would not of done if I had hated it, but I am not compelled to read anything else he has written (e.g., "Son of a Witch").

At the moment I'm reading Post Office (at work) and Factotum (at home) both by Charles Bukowski.

Been meaning to read some by this fellow, heard one or two good things.

Do you read his books in any particular order ?

and Vonnegut are two of my favorite American authors. For Bukowski a good way to start with him is to buy Ham on Rye and one of the many collections of his short stories and poems and read it all together. I go through my buk kicks a few times a year, but he'll inevitably depress me to the point that I have to stop. Nobody makes binge drinking sound so good, except maybe Thompson.

I just finished off The Castle by kafka, meaning I have no read everything that survives of his writting that is known about.

The Castle is the only Kafka book I own. I really should get around to reading it soon.

I haven't read much at all lately. I have three shelves full of books I haven't read before, so it's not like I don't have any choice. 3 weeks of vacation is coming up, so at least 3-4 books should be doable in that time. Once I get started, I find it hard to stop.

My reading is mainly this Forum and NTSB accident reports every monnth. And, of course, a flying magazine. But my favorite reading is Pipes & Tobacco Magazine. I just wish it were a monthly and not quarterly publication.

Regarding the NTSB Reports, it's amazing how the same pilot errors are made over and over again month after month and year after year. There is a saying...

"There are Old Pilots and there are Bold Pilots. But, there are just no "Old", "Bold" pilots!

My favorite is...

"If God had really intended Man to fly... He would have given him............ more money."