Hey!! Let's get some action going! What are we reading?

[idraw22]

Hi,


Tonite, I finish Dickens " A Christmas Carol" on my JBL while in bed. Merry Christmas!

[Latinandgreek]

I'm just starting Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I'm feeling empty now that I'm done the Chronicles of Amber.

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I'm just starting Elantris by Brandon Sanderson. I'm feeling empty now that I'm done the Chronicles of Amber.

That's on my to-read list. Just don't know when I'll get round to it.

[Rumpelteazer]

After nearly two weeks I finally finished Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (4th in the Dresden Files). It wasn't the book's fault it took so long, it has just been a very busy time with very little time to read.

I liked it better than the previous books in the series; I started to get annoyed with Harrry's moaning and self-pity and there was considerably less of that in this book.

Next up is the first in the Hamish MacBeth series Death of a Gossip by MC Beaton.

[DixieGal]

I'm back on Discworld. Have read Hogfather, what with it being the season. But the next book, jingo, is starting out boring. Please tell me the next 20 or 30 books in the series do not go downhill from here?

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Paul Levine

I'm reading Dennis Lehane's "The Given Day," historical fiction, a different genre for the Boston crime novelist.

I tried to order "True Grit" from Amazon, but not available. (Loved the new Jeff Bridges movie. Far superior to the John Wayne original).

Paul LevineAuthor of "Riptide"
"To Speak for the Dead"
"Mortal Sin"

Please let me know what you think of "The Given Day." I've had it on my bookshelf for over a year now and still haven't read it.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Jcas

Was trying to read The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy but having trouble getting into it, so started a book called The Shadow Of The Wind only about 5% into it and already hooked.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Something is wrong here. You're not supposed to not like The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Something indeed appears amiss here, Jon.

Uh, just out of curiosity, Jcas, how do you feel about Vogon poetry?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Jcas

I do intend to revisit it, as i need to know what 42 means ...

If you do find out the question to life, the universe and everything to which the answer is 42, please let us know.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

...
Uh, just out of curiosity, Jcas, how do you feel about Vogon poetry?

Is THAT what that joke was?

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Is THAT what that joke was?

You realize, of course, that no one else in this thread knows what you're talking about!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

You realize, of course, that no one else in this thread knows what you're talking about!

Of course.

[boxcorner]

Have just read The Ballard of Johnny Madigan, a good yarn about a young lad from NY who joins the Union Army and fights at the Battle of Fredericksburg, Viginia, in 1862 and eventually ends up guarding the Treasury Building in Washington DC, when the plot becomes more complex. I found the first few pages a tad slow, but soon found myself enjoying this book, particularly all the historical references and when I reached the rather abrupt end, was left wanting more. A memorable first novel by John Bray; perhaps he will write a sequel.

Addendum
Coded American Civil War message in bottle deciphered

Now reading another novel about civil war, Treason, by Meredith Whitford, which begins in 1461, during the Wars of the Roses.

[jgaiser]

Just finished a depressing and sad non-fiction book this afternoon.

"Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. An account of a disastrous Mt. Everest climb in May 1996 when 8 people died during a summit attempt, including the leaders of the two of the competing expeditions.

A series of mistakes, too many climbers on the mountain, an unexpected storm that trapped many of the climbers ended being disastrous for a number of people extremely high (Death Zone) on the mountain. I already knew what the ending was and it was painful to work to the end.

I end up getting this book because of comments on an article about the number of corpses left on Everest.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

Just finished a depressing and sad non-fiction book this afternoon.

"Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer. An account of a disastrous Mt. Everest climb in May 1996 when 8 people died during a summit attempt, including the leaders of the two of the competing expeditions.

A series of mistakes, too many climbers on the mountain, an unexpected storm that trapped many of the climbers ended being disastrous for a number of people extremely high (Death Zone) on the mountain. I already knew what the ending was and it was painful to work to the end.

I end up getting this book because of comments on an article about the number of corpses left on Everest.

Loved that book. I just read "Dark Summit" by Nick Heil which also talks about problems on Everest, except this time the weather was good and almost as many people died.

I felt bad for Rob Hall's wife the most. Still chokes me up.

[GraceKrispy]

I just read "Van Gogh, Encore," a piece of speculative fiction by John A. Karr. It puts Van Gogh in modern times in the US (but Van Gogh is Canadian) and looks at the way his life *may* have turned out. It's pretty long compared to other books I've read, but it was really interesting. (review)