What 📔book are you reading right now?

[Hammersmith]

Working on three books just now - Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell, the third part of his Warlord Chronicles being the only fiction one there.

They're all actually fiction, but that one's the one that he rooted deepest in myth and legend rather than historical guesswork. Anyway - wow! A great series. I think Bernard's historical fictions blow his Sharpe books out of the water. Have you read parts 1 and 2 of the Warlord books yet?

I'm reading the first book of HoME...still

 

[Ithrynluin]

Reading The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles for class. Victorian literature is so dull. *yawn*

 

[ASLAN THE GREAT]

will i'm read lot right now but heres what i'm reading J.R.R.TOLKIEN auther of the century by tom shippey, foowling gandalf by mattow dickerson verry good book, frinding the seeking the secret place a bio on c.s.lewis also very good i do't have time right now to post all of the books i'm reading right now

 

[Ithrynluin]

'Foowling' Gandalf? Is that redneck vernacular for 'fooling'?

 

[Rhiannon]

Let's see, since the last time I posted in this thread (back at the end of December), I've read;


Wizard and Glass by Stephen King (4th Dark Tower book)
On Writing by Stephen King
Caught in Crystal by Patricia C. Wrede
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (re-read)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling (re-read)
The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (re-read)
A Grief Observed by CS Lewis
Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King (5th Dark Tower book)
Maskerade by Terry Pratchett (re-read)
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett
Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai vol. 10 by Nobuhiro Watsuki*
Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai vol. 11 by Nobuhiro Watsuki*
Samurai Deeper Kyo vol. 5 by Akimine Kamijyo*
Rurouni Kenshin: Wandering Samurai vol. 12 by Nobuhiro Watsuki*

*denotes manga/graphic novel

At the moment I'm reading Smoke & Mirrors: Short Fictions and Illusions by Neil Gaiman (which is fabulous--Gaiman has the same mastery of the short story that Ray Bradbury has), and I still haven't finished The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, which I started last semester, but I intend to pick it up again soon.
This doesn't include all of the fanfiction I've been reading (Rurouni Kenshin fanfiction, mostly, but when I ran out of good fics I hadn't read I started reading Inuyasha), or all of the poetry I've been reading for my British Lit class--which is a lot.

 

[Kementari]

Reading The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles for class. Victorian literature is so dull. *yawn*

I completely disagree (Im a 19th cent literature junkie). The way old books are writen can make a very dull event (like say mowing a wheat field) sound wonderful. Big descriptive words and attention to vocabulary is something that i think is missed in most modern work.

Speaking of which i am presently reading Tolstoys 'Anna Karenina' (which is dull even on those standards ) but im enjoying it on the whole

 

[Ithrynluin]

Good for you. As for me, my heart belongs rather to 'modern' literature. Bonnets and the pretentious upper classes just aren't my thing.

 

[Rhiannon]

Yeeech, Anna Karenina. The book that Rhi had absolutely no desire to finish. I got halfway through it and realized that I did not care what happened to any of the people in it, and I didn't like the writing that much either. And it seemed to me that 400 pages was giving it a good solid chance to get interesting. So I quit.

I am fond of bonnets and the pretentious upperclass, though, as long as it means Jane Austen and the chance to see people slicing each other up with conversational paring knives, as God intended.

Today I picked up Patricia McKillip's The Forgotten Beasts of Eld and got sucked into re-reading it--highly recommended to everyone that loves beautiful language. The writing is just glorious.

 

[Kementari]

Yeeech, Anna Karenina. The book that Rhi had absolutely no desire to finish. I got halfway through it and realized that I did not care what happened to any of the people in it, and I didn't like the writing that much either. And it seemed to me that 400 pages was giving it a good solid chance to get interesting. So I quit.

Some parts of A Karenina are reeeaaallly hard to get through (the hunting scenes, the elections, the farming.....oii). I think that it is writen well, but sometimes things dont flow properly (probably due to the fact that its been translated a million times). Its worth plodding through all the boring stuff when you get to a part where Tolstoy is describing someones innermost feelings and you think WOW ive thought the EXACT same thing before (maybe im not crazy! ). I think it is amazing how he describes the thoughts of so many varied people in one book.

Ive still got about 150 pages to go (im stuck at a really dry area too, have to force myself through a boring election), and frankly i dont care what happens to Anna at all (shes a horrible person!). The only really likeable characters are Kitty and Levin.

 

[Rhiannon]

I got fed up with Kitty and Levin early on, though. I didn't get attached to anyone. I was bored to tears.

 

[no1liz]

well I'm readin "Wellington at Waterloo" non-fiction, "For Cause And Comrade" non-fiction, "The History of Ancient Rome" likewise non-fiction and because a girl needs a break from all that real warfare, "Legend" by David Gemmel and I might just dip into a nice murder mystery by J.D. Robb, (That's Nora Roberts, romance writer) when I go to bed tonight. Liz in Aberdeen.

 

[Wolfshead]

They're all actually fiction, but that one's the one that he rooted deepest in myth and legend rather than historical guesswork. Anyway - wow! A great series. I think Bernard's historical fictions blow his Sharpe books out of the water. Have you read parts 1 and 2 of the Warlord books yet?

I'm reading the first book of HoME...still

Sorry, I worded that badly. I meant Excalibur is the only one of the three books I'm reading just now that's fiction. Of course I know Cornwell's works are all fiction His Sharpe books are historical fiction as well, though - it's fiction and based (loosely) on real historical events. Infact, you could even say Sharpe is more historical than the Warlord Chronicles because it's based on actual events whereas the latter is based only on speculation and the authors imagination.

It's difficult to say which series of Cornwell's is my favourite because they're all damn good. I wouldn't say the Warlord Chronicles is any better than Sharpe or the Grail Quest. And yes, I have read the first 2 parts, although it was some time ago.

As for HoME - I've never even bothered... parts of Unfinished Tales was enough for me!

 

[e.Blackstar]

The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer and Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (for english, blegh)

 

[Thorondor]

Last week I read The Alchemist twice ( it is that good!!!!) and now its The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats...

 

[Hammersmith]

I'm struggling with Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It was recommended to me, and I'm trying to finish it, but I'm not enjoying it much at all. It seems like a right wing version of 1984, except there's no logic in any of the characters. It's incredibly frustrating

 

[Raithnait]

I was sedately moving along in Foxmask by Juliet Marillier, which is just about as awesome as the first one(Wolfskin) was, when suddenly Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card came within reach, and I've spent most of the past day inhaling most of the book... It's teh awesomeness...

 

[Talierin]

Oooo, Ender's Game - I just read that whole series in december, excellent stuff!

Right now I'm listening to Dune on audio tape (I gave up trying to read the actual book - much better on audio tape). WM keeps telling me not to read the rest of the series, but I think I'm going to anyways, heheh.

Other than that, I just started The Company Dossiers series, the first book being In The Garden of Iden, by Kage Baker - they're part historical fiction, part immortal time traveller story, and pretty cool

 

[Mike]

(I gave up trying to read the actual book - much better on audio tape).

Ahghh! Blasphemy!!!

Anyway, I just finished "Russka", a book about Russian history and now I'm reading a novel called "Creation"--about the plight of Prophet Zoraostor's grandson in Persia.

But I've been thinking of dropping it and reading "Dr. Zhivago" again instead.

 

[e.Blackstar]

Still Peace Like a River...and the third HP, because I am bored.

 

[Maggot]

Unfinished Tales and The Lord Of The Rings. I 'm gonna start getting the Home books because I'm bored.