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

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Meanwhile, still reading Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Even though I know how it ends. This is a compelling and powerful book that truly makes me understand what high altitude really means. Highly recommended.

Finished. Definitely made me want to watch the IMAX movie "Everest" that was shot during that fateful season. Into Thin Air is still one of the most compelling and harrowing true stories I've read in recent years, and with the death just a couple of weeks ago of four climbers including a Canadian, it's even more so. 5 stars out of 5.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Finished. Definitely made me want to watch the IMAX movie "Everest" that was shot during that fateful season. Into Thin Air is still one of the most compelling and harrowing true stories I've read in recent years, and with the death just a couple of weeks ago of four climbers including a Canadian, it's even more so. 5 stars out of 5.

Try this one: Annapurna by Maurice Herzog.

Mountaineer Maurice Herzog gives a gripping firsthand account of one of the most daring climbing expeditions in history

Annapurna I is the name given to the 8,100-meter mountain that ranks among the most forbidding in the Himalayan chain. Dangerous not just for its extreme height but for a long and treacherous approach, its summit proved unreachable until 1950, when a group of French mountaineers made a mad dash for its peak. They became the first men to accomplish the feat, doing so without oxygen tanks or any of the modern equipment that contemporary climbers use.

The adventure nearly cost them their lives. Maurice Herzog dictated this firsthand account of the remarkable trek from a hospital bed as he recovered from injuries sustained during the climb. An instant bestseller, it remains one of the most famous mountaineering books of all time, and an enduring testament to the power of the human spirit.

[CRussel]

Thanks, Alan. I'll add that to my wish list.

Meanwhile, I just bought an omnibus volume of three of James Harriot's classics -- All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and All Things Wise and Wonderful. How's that for going in the exact opposite direction?!

I'm looking forward to reading these. Somehow, I never actually read them, though I certainly enjoyed the BBC/PBS series based on them.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Thanks, Alan. I'll add that to my wish list.

Meanwhile, I just bought an omnibus volume of three of James Harriot's classics -- All Creatures Great and Small, All Things Bright and Beautiful, and All Things Wise and Wonderful. How's that for going in the exact opposite direction?!

I'm looking forward to reading these. Somehow, I never actually read them, though I certainly enjoyed the BBC/PBS series based on them.

You're welcome.

I've got one other one for you and I feel quite close to this one as I was living in Anchorage when the story in this book was happening (and I was personally acquainted with both Dave and Ray):

Minus 148 Degrees by Art Davidson.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by alansplace

You're welcome.

I've got one other one for you and I feel quite close to this one as I was living in Anchorage when the story in this book was happening (and I was personally acquainted with both Art and Ray):

Minus 148 Degrees by Art Davidson.

Hmmm. Looks very promising. Added to the WishList. (I really, really, really need to knock down my TBR before I start buying more books. Really. )

Halfway through the first of the Herriot books -- All Creatures Great and Small. Enjoying it immensely. This book is a journal or compendium of short stories more than a novel, and each chapter really stands mostly alone. It's easy to dip in, read the next chapter, and drop out. There's no ongoing plot or suspense, no massive conflict, but I'm enjoying it immensely.

[John F]

Reading: In One Person by John Irving
On deck: City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Hmmm. Looks very promising. Added to the WishList. (I really, really, really need to knock down my TBR before I start buying more books. Really. )

....er.....sorry! Here's hoping that you eventually enjoy them both.

Originally Posted by alansplace

I just finished reading Hunter's Moon and enjoyed it a lot! I found it to be exciting, suspenseful, sad and triumphant!

I netflixed the movie, John Carter and watched it on Thursday (right before I went to see Prometheus on Friday). I thought that it was really good and it did not seem to deviate too far from it's source material (Princess of Mars). It's really too bad it didn't do very well at the box office. So, I've decided to re-read Princess of Mars. It's included in MobilRead's Barsoom Omnibus, which contains all 11 Barsoom novels and is available from the Patricia Clark Memorial Library.

I completed reading Princess of Mars. It got me fired up enough to just keep on reading in the Barsoom Omnibus, so I've begun The Gods of Mars. Onward!

[tecweston]

Just Finished:

- 212 by Alafair Burke - not bad. It was free.

Currently Reading:

- Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins (46%)

- Professor Moriarty: the Hound of the D'urbervilles by Kim Newman (44%)

- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (9%)

- Moby-Dick, or The Whale by Herman Melville (28%) [on hold]

[benham]

Re-reading Undercurrents by Ridley Pearson. Very good police procedural.

[xg4bx]

The Haunted by Bentley Little. i used to really like his earlier books but this couldn't be less compelling if it tried. toss in some out of the blue and unnecessary leftist political diatribes and this book is a chore of a read. it joins the list of his recent stinkers. i think i'm done with this author.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I'm currently reading Pulchritude by Ana Mardoll. I am rather enjoying it so far.

My next read is going to be Redshirts by John Scalzi.

I've finished Pulchritude and enjoyed it. It was an interesting retelling of the old Beauty and the Beast tale. Also, I really liked the analysis of the original version of the tale.

Now I am onto Redshirts. So far so good.

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn't be better...until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship's captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues' understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is...and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

[caleb72]

Currently reading Turing Evolved by David Kitson.
I'm also reading Usher's Passing by Robert McCammon.

I decided I'd try two at a time again. It sometimes works. However, most times I end up reading them sequentially anyway.

[fantasyfan]

I just finished The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce. This is usually listed as a YA novel but it can be read with pleasure by anyone who loves Fantasy and Science Fiction. In fact, DA is the most successful example of "science fantasy" that I've ever encountered. The logic of the setting is absolutely perfect and accurate in terms of its science {and I won't give away any spoilers here} and the use of fantasy characters is equally appropriate. I'm starting the next novel in the trilogy: A Gathering of Gargoyles and it seems very promising.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by fantasyfan

I just finished The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce. This is usually listed as a YA novel but it can be read with pleasure by anyone who loves Fantasy and Science Fiction. In fact, DA is the most successful example of "science fantasy" that I've ever encountered. The logic of the setting is absolutely perfect and accurate in terms of its science {and I won't give away any spoilers here} and the use of fantasy characters is equally appropriate. I'm starting the next novel in the trilogy: A Gathering of Gargoyles and it seems very promising.

I loved Darkangel. In fact, I liked the whole series.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I completed reading Princess of Mars. It got me fired up enough to just keep on reading in the Barsoom Omnibus, so I've begun The Gods of Mars. Onward!

Well Burroughs ended The Gods of Mars in a cliffhanger, so I'm continuing through the contents of the Barsoom Omnibus and reading the next one, The Warlord of Mars.