At the moment I'm reading Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin. I don't have much to say about it because I've not long started it, but I do like what I've read so far.
Got my grubby hands on, Samhane. Torana's partners novel (Daniel I. Russell) The cover is better then brilliant. Can't wait to flip the pages.
Wings by Aprilynne Pike. I actually finished it today after getting it from our library the day before yesterday. It was soo good. I cried at the end of it.
"The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark" By Carl Sagan I'm three chapters into the book; and I'm finding it to be him professing his love for science and romanticizing it as he always does. But, he comes off as somewhat pretentious, in how he denounces all lowest common denominator programming and how it's all evil.
I just finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Ten years ago I was given a 1920s version of the book by someone I was with at the time. I remember starting to read it at around 18 years of age and I simply did not get it. It has been sitting in my bookcase ever since as I had never been able to get rid of it. Last week I picked it up again and boy, am I glad I did. Wilde's writing is sublime. I love the way he paints with words, he uses the most wonderful prose and yet never bores. Simply one of the best books I have ever read.
Yes, I love his sense of humor. Some of his comments about society are still spot on and delightfully phrased.
Not reading but studying - oh yes - Linney's Getting Started with Latin. Always thought it was a bit cheeky to do ancient history and not know a bit of it. Righting that wrong. Initially thought I might be able to learn it by teasing the meaning from my Loeb copy of Boethius, but gave up after about..ooh..eleven seconds...it takes a certain genius, of course, to so quickly recognise one's limitations Not yet reduced to actually writing anything down - what am I, at school? - but probably will cave in due course. The sweet joys of learning..
Arthur and the Invisibles by Luc Besson. It's pretty good. And soon, hopefully if it's at my local library, City of Ember. I've already watched the movie, and I want to see if the book is better.
I started reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid the other day. I can see why it's so popular. But I have five books on the go at the moment... I really need to get round to actually finishing them all.
To me, at least, the book was much better than the movie. The film varied from the book in certain, often important spots, and I think you'll find that in the book you have more of a complete connection to the characters and a better understanding of the plot.
Just finished Dead of Alive by Tom Clancy. Although it was nice to see some of the Clancy Universe come together, it seemed as if there was too much going on in the beginning, mainly uneventful until the last 200 pages.
I'm in the middle of this old school fantasy book called Phantastes by George Macdonald. It is like nothing I've read before. Its filled with wonderful archaic words that should never have been put to pasture, and endless little encounters with magical creatures, described in the most poetic ways by an amazingly kind-hearted protagonist. That being said, the plot isn't of a compelling sort, so I will put it down and forget about it for weeks at a time. Still, I enjoy it!
I'm reading the Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke, the third and final book in the Inkheart series. I've really enjoyed reading these books again because it's been just long enough that I can't remember the details so it a lot like reading at for the first time. I absolutely adore this series too, her descriptions are so beautiful and rich, the plot is complex and interesting, and the characters are so compelling. In all the books I've read I have yet to come across a charcter I hate as much as Orpheus-she writes him so fantastically just like she does with all her characters I'll stop gushing now
I'm really excited about finally getting Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. It's the March book for the NPR Book Club. I hope to be able to get through it this week. Has anyone here read it yet?
^I've never read it, but if you like it, you should let me know so I can check it out! I finally finished A Feast for Crows. And dude...it didn't occur to me until I finished the book that splitting the books into half the characters in this one and the other half in the next meant I have to wait until the book after the next one comes out to find out what happens next to the characters in FFC....I'm upset. That's very poorly worded. Please forgive me, I'm distraught.
Reading Callanish by William Horwood. So far it's about and eagle taken from its nest in Scotland that has been brought to London Zoo. It's different, I like it. I like the the character of the zoo sweeper, who due to experiences in his past (concentration camps) in some ways is just as caged as the zoo eagles he loves.
The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson (Brilliant. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!! I've rarely enjoyed a book, let alone a series that's been surrounded by this much hype. In this case, I'm finding it well deserved. One of the best books I've read in a long time.) The Picture Of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde (not particularly far into this one yet, however, only a few chapters in, I'm loving it. Brilliantly written, set in a time period I've got a soft spot for - definatley part of the appeal, for me at least) Lord Of The Rings - Tolkien (I feel like anything I put here is going to be so much of an understatement...)
A friend recommended Moon Called by Patrica Briggs. Despite feeling jaded by the onslaught of vampire-esque books, I really do like this book so far. It helps that it's more about werewolves (to which I have a soft spot) and the fae are only an element in the book and not the whole point of it.
Finished War and Peace and I'm now reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which I've wanted to read for a while.
I get the feeling I'll regret this, but on a friend's recommendation I'm reading The Eye of the World, the first volume of the Wheel of Time series. After two chapters I'm distinctly unimpressed. Thank heavens for the new edition of Interzone.
I tried reading that but I couldn't get into it for some reason. It sounded good from the blurb, and I thought I was going to enjoy it. I'm going to try reading it again some time though.
Just finished A Game of Thrones, and I'm utterly speechless. Hadn't read something so good in ages. Now starting Milton's Paradise Lost and Zafon's The Name of the Wind.
