So, What Are You Reading These Days? (besides comics)

[Alan M.]

Just bringing this discussion over to ning...

What books are you reading right now that don't have a narrative driven by images as well as words?

[Travis Herrick (Modular Mod)]

Blood's A Rover by James Ellroy. I'm so excited to finally get to read this.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Finally getting around to some Kurt Vonnegut, which I have somehow managed to overlook until now. Started with Cat's Cradle, which I'm really enjoying. The amazing thing is how many plot points I was already familiar with--Bokononist terminology, ice-nine--just from them being mentioned in all sorts of cultural contexts, I guess. Vonnegut's writing style is deceptively simple: economical, and easy to read. Reminds me of Hemingway in that way (although I haven't read Hemingway in years, so memory may be playing tricks).

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Finished Cat's Cradle and have started Slaughterhouse-Five. The reading is going a little slower with this one, despite the fact that his writing style is about the same. Maybe it's the jaunty tone Cat's Cradle has (despite the subject matter being quite bleak)? Enjoying it, anyway. I saw the movie ages ago, but I don't remember much.

[The Baron]

Spring Snow, the first book of Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy.

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

I'm still reading On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers. It's the basis for the next Pirates movie.

 

I'm also reading iPads for Dummies so I'll have some idea of what I'm doing when mine arrives from Apple later this week. I sure appreciate the occasional 40% off Borders coupon that they email me when there's a 25$ book that I want.

[Lumbering Jack (M'odd-R8-Tr)]

I've been speeding through "Lighthouses and Keepers: The U.S. Lighthouse Service and its Legacy."  It's a look at the history of the U.S. Lighthouse Service prior to it being absorbed into the U.S. Coast Guard. There's some fascinating stories about the keepers' lives and how the lighthouses were constructed.

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to stories about people in the rescue services.

Also: I was at the library on Saturday and noticed a new Will Eisner biography on the shelves. I'll have to grab that some day soon.

[Chris Fluit]

I've been re-reading the Harry Potter series. I picked up the first three books in an after-Christmas sale. I'm already finished with one and two and now I'm a little more than halfway through three.

[The Baron]

Runaway Horses, the second book of Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy.

[Mark Sullivan (Vertiginous Mod)]

Finished Slaughterhouse-Five. I enjoyed it, and I'll have to get my hands on the movie so I can see how it compares to the book. I remember it as pretty faithful, and Vonnegut has praised it. Started Gene Wolfe's Home Fires, which I like so far. I've never read any Wolfe, but it showed up on a library new book list and I was intrigued by the premise. I remember the reanimation of the dead concept in Transmetropolitan, where frozen people were called "corpsickles." In this case it's the personality of a dead person transferred to a new live body...I could swear I've seen that used before, but I can't recall it. Anyway, the story also involves a woman returning from space travel (where she has barely aged in Earth years) rejoining her Earthbound lover (who has aged normally). That reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode, although again it's a different situation here. There are lots of changes in this future society that have only been hinted at so far, which I'm hoping to learn more about as the story proceeds.

[The Baron]

The Temple of Dawn, the third book of Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

The Best Man's Handbook: A Guy's Guide to the Big Day by James Grace. My brother gets married next weekend and I'm his best man. I've already thrown the bachelor party which was a success. I was curious as to what other duties I might have. There's stuff online but it's all sort of vague. So I bought this book at Borders last night. Hopefully this will enlighten me.

[The Baron]

The Decay of the Angel, the fourth book of Yukio Mishima's Sea of Fertility tetralogy.