Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine So what are you READING?

So since I was traveling this week I took along Kerouac's "On the Road", which I bought a few months ago (as readers of this thread may recall). I was initially hesitant that I might not enjoy it as much as if I read during my teens.

Well, so far, I'm enjoying it quite a bit! I'm pretty sure I would really be enjoying it more during my teens/early college years, especially when you have that initially 'constrained' feeling in all of its forms. But what I'm enjoying most right now that I'm not sure I could appreciate then is Kerouac's use of language and how he really riffs with his character's dialogue throughout. It's really got a jazz-type rhythm to it.

Working my way through the second book in the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, Fatal Revenant. Really reminds me about how much I loved the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Gotta love an antihero! Kind of makes me want to go back through them again--between thirteen and twenty five I probably read all six five to ten times.

Also reading Chris D'Lacy's dragon books, because my son loves them so much he actually wrote to the author, and he replied. Okay, so it probably was his assistant, but it really impressed the ten year old.

I love that guy, whoever he was!

I just got The Born Queen, the conclusion to Greg Keyes' 'Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone' series, out of the library, so I'm in the middle of rereading the first three books before I read the fourth one.

Wanting to briefly get my head out of the vampire stories until after we get back from the ComicCon, I grabbed a western paperback from the late 70's or early 80's. It's called 'Fandango' and the author is Michael Zimmer. The book is actually a good read. It is full of all kinds of history and trivia and cultural bits from the early to mid-1800's. The character's themselves are speaking a mixture of English, Spanish, French, and mountain-man-ese. Trying to follow the words they use and putting it together with the action is like trying to follow 'Deadwood' if you are watching the show for the first time. This book is probably best described as doing for mountainmen what 'Lonesome Dove' did for cowboys. Especially enjoyable is the description of the Rockies and in particular the Wasatch Mountains because it includes so much of Utah. This is pre-Mormon occupation stuff and very interesting. Mostly chasing beaver pelts, the biggest thing out there before the gold rush. So remember "if'n ye gits a hankerin' fer a gud trappin' yarn, ye'd 'ave a 'ard time doin' better'n this 'on hare."

I'm currently reading The Road, a Pulitzer Prize winning book by Cormac McCarthy. It follows the adventures of a man and his young son in a post-apocalyptic U.S. I was a bit worried that it would be dense going, but it actually reads really quickly and does a great job of sustaining the reader's interest.

just started Exile: Star Wars legacy of the Force book #4
things are starting to heat up the Galactic civil war has started and the Skywalker legacy has come full circle again, there's a new Sith lord.
i like the pacing of the books so far and each book is writen by a different author. this time the series is shorter compared to the NJO series of books only 9 i think. i can't wait to finish this one and start the next book.

The Night Watch by Sergei Lukanyenko. It's described on the cover as Harry Potter meets Gorky Park... Good and evil supernormals (called "Others" to distinguish them from regular humans) are magicians, shape changers, vampires, seers, etc., all of whom have an ability to enter The Twilight, a rather creepy magic dimension within our world. Light and Dark forces have come to a truce in the world and set up a Night Watch (the good guys watching the bad guys for infractions) and a Day Watch (bad guys making sure the good guys don't break the rules either). It is very modern, practical magic. Vampires are licensed to hunt and assigned blood from donor clinics. If one side breaks a rule, the other side gets to break a similar rule. There are observers from each side who participate in each other's big operations and a panel called The Inquisition to decide disputes. It was a great adventure, but the best part of the story was the explanation of how good and evil work in the world. This made more sense to me than any religion.

Happily, there are three more volumes in the series (Day Watch, Twilight Watch and Final Watch) along with some movie adaptations, although I haven't read or seen them yet.

OK, I need to gear up with books for my honeymoon. Two books I'm bringing which I've never actually read are:

(1) The Time Machine by H.G. Wells - I heard you can read this in one sitting and I feel its a must to read it.

(2) Salem's Lot by Stephen King - after becoming a huge King fan these last two years I'm looking forward to this. I've heard by many this is actually his best work, even better than the Stand (which I loved).

I'm considering The Time Travelers Wife from reviews I read on this very thread years ago. I'll have to reread this thread some more for suggestions and ideas. I like an eclectic mix while I'm on vacation but nothing depressing or sad--more 'on the edge of my seat' type stuff, whether mystery, science-fiction, historical fiction, etc.

PS - Ultra Jorge, you are needed! What other books from the "High School rereading list" would you reccomend to me? I'm kinda looking for another enjoyable surprise like Great Gatsby.

PPS - How was Voltaire's Candide?

I'm reading Light Raid by Connie Willis and Cynthia Felice. For some reason I couldn't get into it the first time I tried it but this time it's going down easy. That's not a surprise, of course; Connie Willis is one of the all-time greats. The surprise is why it didn't take the first time.

Ya know I ain't gonna lie, I've just been re reading my older comics to be honest.

Novels I've read recently:

"Thanksgiving Night" by Richard Bausch

"The Family Tree" by Carole Cadwalladr

"2010: Odyssey Two" and "2061: Odyssey Three" by Arthur C. Clarke

"The Professor's House" by Willa Cather

Of this lot, my favorite was "The Family Tree" by UK first-time novelist Cadwalladr. It's about a woman reflecting on growing up circa 1980. It explores the idea of family secrets and why things turn out the way they do.

"Thanksgiving Night" is also a family story but set in a small Southern town. It explores similar ideas but in a very different way. It also features an ensemble cast that shows how much fun a large cast of characters can be.

The two Clarke books are sequels to "2001: A Space Odyssey." (There is a third sequel, "3001," which I haven't read yet.) I'm not a hard science fiction fan, but these are readable and entertaining, although "2061" meanders. It's also interesting to note the differences between Clarke's vision of 2010 (the book was written in 1982) and our present reality. (Hint: the Soviet Union still exists in the book.)

Willa Cather's book, written in 1925, is the oldest on the list. It's about a middle-aged professor who doesn't adapt to change. It, too, meanders but contains a compelling look at the early part of the 20th century.

I follow my muse where it leads. None of these books have anything in common, except that they all engaged and held my attention.

So I have the two books I mentioned above and bought several more to read while I'm on my honeymoon and when I'm traveling on business next week:

"And Then There were None" by Agathie Christie -I've wanted to read this for so long and can't wait. Even if the end is spoiled by so many copycats over the last several decades.

"The Importance of Being Earnest" & other Wilde" - can't wait to dig into some more Wilde.

"Cossacks" and other Tolstoy short stories - also a HUGE Tolstoy fan (and the whole 1850's Russian Romance movement) so this should be a pleasure.

The Time Traveler's Wife - also looking forward to tihs.

So I should be set for some time. I'll definitely let you all know what I think of each!

Ah, and so is revealed the downside of living with one's fiancee before marriage--ya wanna read BOOKS on your HONEYMOON!!!!! :rolleyes:

I've always wanted to read this, as well... maybe I'll see if the local library has a copy.

(By the way, the premise of the book would make an interesting MMB event!)

In the middle of Day Watch by Sergei Lukanyenko, which is just as good as Night Watch. It's written from the point of view of the dark ones and makes a convincing case for their behaviour (although I still side with the do-gooder light ones). The author is a psychiatrist; that may help him create these believable moral arguments for "good" and "evil".

I did get the movie version of Night Watch but it wasn't anywhere near as good as the book. Sort of like The Golden Compass - if you haven't read the book, the movie is a bit incomprehensible.

Ha! You can't do that all the time! She's already put up with my insatiable ways enough these past, oh, 8 years!

But jeez Lardy, didn't you see I'm reading Salem's Lot (partially) on your reccomendation!

Yeah, THAT oughtta put you in the mood! And only "partially" on my recommendation?

Still, I'm miffed because far as I know, you've still yet to watch "Across the Universe"!

Isn't that a tribute to the Monkeys or something?

(I kid, I kid, you know I'm a Beatles fan too )

Have you read "The Shining", yet, Cobester? That and "'Salem's Lot" are my favorite of the 'short' books I've read of his. (I've really only read a handful of King's stuff, though my wife has them all).

Haven't read the Shining yet either! How does it hold up to the movie, Lardy? I heard its completely different, and famously, King hated the movie rendition by Kubrick. I do like the movie mainly because its Jack Nicholson at his crazy best before that became repetitive.

Yeah, it's very, very different! Some aspects of the movie were totally changed from the book, for better and for worse. I thought the book was about the creepiest thing I'd ever read, definitely unsettling if you read late at night all alone! Trust me, knowing the movie inside and out, won't spoil it for you at all!

Just finished Les Miserables. Awesome piece of work. Hugo goes off on tangents at times, but well worth reading, especially if you like the musical.

I liked "Slaughterhouse 5" as all over the place as it was. From what I remember, it's not big on plot or resolution, but an interesting read with ideas that you find yourself the better for having in your head. In terms of Vonnegut, I'd also recommend "Cat's Cradle" - more plot-centric and again, very cool ideas.

I read "On the Road" as an adult and found it meandering. My wife was big into it as a younger person, not for the angst, but for the "freedom" of the characters' lifestyle. As an adult, and having met people like that, she feels the characters are just kinda losers and totally irresponsible.