Reading anything?

[ER]

lester, I hadn't heard of that institute, but thanks for the link. I'll check it out. Is that the same Rose Wilder Lane who was the daughter of Laura and Almanzo Wilder of Little House fame?

Today I'm re-reading The Waterworks, by E.L. Doctorow. He is a deft writer and that's probably my favorite among his books. Well, maybe...

[peter johnson]

Mofo:  Dan Simmons lives up the road a piece from me in Longmont, Colorado.  I've never gone up and knocked on his door, nor bothered him in our local pubs, so can't claim personal contact.  Hoping to meet him as part of our local theatre audiences.  Many of his contemporary bits are set in towns very much like Longmont.

I recently finished reading "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.  My wife went to hear him read from it, but I was rehearsing that night & couldn't go.  She did get me an autographed copy.

Very good young adult book -- sort of on a Harry Potter level.  Not much really gross, apart from when the protagonist meets up with some ghouls, and no sex to speak of.  Mostly deals in atmospherics and a then-what-happened-next plot.  The villians, especially the central villian, are quite deadly and very dangerous.  Not at all cartoony, and may scare the willies out of younger readers.

As reviewers have noted, it's sort of like The Jungle Book, but rather than wild animals, the boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts and a vampire.  One of the nice things about it is that the book never ever comes right out and says that the vampire is a vampire, but you're able to get it by inference.  Also, there's a werewolf thrown in for good measure.

Like the best of childrens' books -- eg.  The Wind in The Willows, Stuart Little, et. al. -- it can be enjoyed very much by adults as well.  The writing is about what you'd expect:  Precise, concise, and evocative.  Gaiman can have a character say three words, and you immediately know what sort of being they are.  In its own way, I liked it even better than "Anansi Boys", the last book for adults of his I read.  Though I must say, I recently read a short story of his called "A Study In Emerald" that's better than both of them!!

peter johnson/denny crane

[indianasmith]

I am about a third of the way into Colleen McCullogh's FIRST MAN IN ROME.  I am reading the series out of order, but oh!! they are brilliant.  I want to live in that world so badly at times it hurts.

[lester1/2jr]

Is that the same Rose Wilder Lane

indeed.  you can also download all their books for free

[Derf]

Mofo:  Dan Simmons lives up the road a piece from me in Longmont, Colorado.  I've never gone up and knocked on his door, nor bothered him in our local pubs, so can't claim personal contact.  Hoping to meet him as part of our local theatre audiences.  Many of his contemporary bits are set in towns very much like Longmont.

I recently finished reading "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman.  My wife went to hear him read from it, but I was rehearsing that night & couldn't go.  She did get me an autographed copy.

Very good young adult book -- sort of on a Harry Potter level.  Not much really gross, apart from when the protagonist meets up with some ghouls, and no sex to speak of.  Mostly deals in atmospherics and a then-what-happened-next plot.  The villians, especially the central villian, are quite deadly and very dangerous.  Not at all cartoony, and may scare the willies out of younger readers.

As reviewers have noted, it's sort of like The Jungle Book, but rather than wild animals, the boy is raised in a graveyard by ghosts and a vampire.  One of the nice things about it is that the book never ever comes right out and says that the vampire is a vampire, but you're able to get it by inference.  Also, there's a werewolf thrown in for good measure.

Like the best of childrens' books -- eg.  The Wind in The Willows, Stuart Little, et. al. -- it can be enjoyed very much by adults as well.  The writing is about what you'd expect:  Precise, concise, and evocative.  Gaiman can have a character say three words, and you immediately know what sort of being they are.  In its own way, I liked it even better than "Anansi Boys", the last book for adults of his I read.  Though I must say, I recently read a short story of his called "A Study In Emerald" that's better than both of them!!

peter johnson/denny crane

Hey! I'm reading Anansi Boys right now! I had read Gaiman's collaboration with Pratchett (Good Omens) and enjoyed it reasonably well, though I think ultimately I prefer Pratchett on his own. I figured I'd give Gaiman a chance on his own as well. I can't say this one has me riveted, but it is entertaining if slightly pretentious at times (that's just my impression, so take it for what it's worth). Maybe I'll give The Graveyard Book a try and see if I can get into it more than this current one I'm reading. The plot for The Graveyard Book sounds vaguely similar to one of my favorite novels: Peter S. Beagle's A Fine and Private Place, which tells the story of an older man who lives in the graveyard, never leaving it after burying his wife (nothing morbid like a murder or necrophilia; he just wants to stay near her). I can heartily recommend anything by Beagle; the worst thing (and it wasn't really bad) I've read by him was his most famous work, The Last Unicorn.

[Psycho Circus]

Reading my favourite fictional novel again for the 6th time...

[ER]

One of the few King books I haven't read, circus. I'll add it to my list. Ugh, my list, though. It's like two pages long and growing.

[Psycho Circus]

One of the few King books I haven't read, circus. I'll add it to my list. Ugh, my list, though. It's like two pages long and growing.

I think it's very underrated and highly recommend it. It's not full of loads of pointless information and confusing back story to flesh out characters. King flicks between the present day situation involving the car and police station and back to the past when it was first discovered and left in the garage. I also didn't see coming, the route that the story took either. Very interesting, so much so, that I've always kept reading and finished this book in 2 days. 

[BeyondTheGrave]

I'm reading "People's History of The United States" by Howard Zinn. So far its a great read and tells it like it was and is.

[Joe the Destroyer]

I read Off Season. It was enjoyable, and didn't leave me with the kicked-in-the-stomach feeling that The Girl Next Door did.

I'm currently reading a multitude of books, but am focusing on The Terror by Dan Simmons. It's a historical horror based off of the lost Franklin expedition to find the Northwest Passage. The men on the two ships get trapped in the ice and must spend the time trying to stay warm while fighting off malnutrition and scurvy. Unfortunately, there is something else out on the ice that slaughters the occasional man from time to time.

It's a great book. I admire how thoroughly the situation goes from bad to worse, and then much worse.

By the time I got to the end of Off Season, I was pretty desensitized to the story and its elements.  I do want to read The Girl Next Door some time, especially since they've made a movie out of it, and I'd like to match the two up.

As stated above, I finished Off Season and will begin reading The Cipher by Kathe Koja.  I've never read any of her stuff, but a friend of mine raved about her.  He even gave me two of her books, the previously mentioned one and Bad Brains.

[Torgo]

I'm going to start reading Duma Key by Stephen King sometime this week. I don't think that he's written a good book in quite a few years but this one has been getting good reviews and some critics have said it's kind of a return to form for him.

[peter johnson]

Derf:
If you're not as familiar with Gaiman, you may find "Neverwhere" or "American Gods" to be more impressive -- "Anansi Boys" is more of a leitmotif for him.  If you read graphic novels, I'd heartily recommend the "Sandman" series that he wrote -- there he really goes all out re. heavy plotting & wild side-stories.  "Anansi Boys" is much more straight-ahead.

A suggestion:  Check out his website & download his short story, "A Study in Emerald", one of the single best Sherlock Holmes imitations ever written:  Conan Doyle meets H.P. Lovecraft!!

peter gaiman/denny fan

[Mr. DS]

[Sister Grace]

At present, I'm reading Off Season by Jack Ketchum, having just finished The Twilight Realm by Christopher Carpenter (aka Christopher Evans). 

Off Season was a great book; be sure and read its sequeal titled The Offspring, not only is it a fantastic story also, but fills us in alot about the cave family beginnings...

[ER]

The Ballad of Frankie Silver, by Sharyn McCrumb. It's the sort of novel that takes its toll on a reader's emotions. It's brilliant storytelling but frustrating because of its subject matter: the unjust hanging of a young woman in 19th century Appalachia.