so. another month. again.
and what is everyone reading this time round?

i've started "the land leviathan" the second oswald bastable book by michael moorcock, with "the steel tsar" ready to follow that.

still half way through re-read of jason lutes "berlin" book 1 in anticipation of reading book 2. expect i'll do that shortly.

i picked up the collected slab of the magazine "hi fructose", having picked up an issue in london in january. reading it an article at a time - lots of strange and curious art. cool stuff.

still working through calvino's "numbers in the dark". last night i read the short piece "the lost regiment", about a regiment that suddenly become embarrassed to be disturbing the peace of a town and accidentally wander off the parade route and get lost. priceless.

oh and i came across a copy of "coraline" by gaiman i hadn't entirely realised i had. so i am now half way through that. i now have that unsettling feeling where its not the same as the film, such that reality starts to not make sense. like - why would they add that character? and that whole element wasn't in the book? eh?

Still reading The Weight Of Water. I'm almost done though. Then it is on to Murakami's Kafka on the Shore.

one of my friends last night had a murakami book in her handbag - dance, dance, dance - but she'd made the same mistake as me, not realised that its the sequel to wild sheep chase.

i have his "things i think about while running" sitting, must get round to reading it soon. its thin, hoepfully an easy read.

Giving Anathem another go until I get paid next week, then it's off to the bookstore for some new brain food. (And hopefully some inspiration. I've been wanting to write, but the page stays blank).

Finished "End Zone" by Don DeLillo, and am still chuckling a day later. It's one of his earlie(st?)r novels, and reading it was very informative as far as the evolution of his style is concerned. The analogy between football and war is very apt, and the timlieness of the subject matter has only grown more profound since it was written in 72. Would be a great starting point for someone to enter the world of DeLillo, or even to recognize that we're living in the world he's been describing for near 40 years.

Started "Darwinia".

Finally rereading Anathem.

My iphone is now my jeejah

and pot is allswell.

I may restart Anathem too. I was reading something called The God Machine, but it got to be intolerable around the halfway mark last night so I'm officially sans book right now.

Planning to drop off all the books I vacuumed up on flights back at the library and pick up a few more John Connollys.

Debating whether I should actually tackle Pride and Prejudice before I delve into Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. Any suggestions?

In the meantime I think I'll re-read Accelerando.

@boogerhead - the earliest of DeLillo's stuff i've read was "americana", its about similar period, it felt really dated to me, so not sure going back is the best idea for starting. though, in saying that, i still have underworld sitting at the bottom of a stack of hardbacks.

which brings me to:
@greendreams you are re-reading Anathem? oh dear. i've still got it sitting on a shelf unread since september or something. i think even my dad has finished his copy that i got him for his birthday.

@evilpenguin9000 i'd be interested in hearing how you get on with PPZ. i had a look at the first few pages, but it still feels like too much PP for me to actually read it. though, you never know.

Getting near end of THERE ARE NO ELECTRONS. Haven't really touched MIRRORSHADES since getting off the plane last week.

Been picking up and leafing through various books I own on robotics.

Just walked through Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. I haven't read Steinbeck forever and remembered these as being slow reads but this time i just gobbled them up. Got so immersed that now i catch myself thinking and speaking with an Okie accent.

A friend lent me a copy of Tanizaki's NAOMI. Read the intro; will jump into it soon.

Also picked up a DiffEQ book today, you know, for some light bathroom reading.

finished coraline. was decent. but curious how your mind gets out of synch with an adaptation.

finished berlin book 2. its good stuff. nice graphic novel following various streams of narrative in berlin in 1928-1930. riots, protests, jazz, clubs, secrets, affairs, breakdowns. this book pretty much ends with the election of the national socialists. i wonder if there is a third book? there are endings of sorts, but not really a big conclusive ending that says "it is done".

Pilgrims and Pioneers, Sir Harry Brittain.

I stumbled across this first edition in an Oxfam charity shop in Bath, last weekend. Thinking it was a nice looking travelogue/adventure journal by a young British journalist. So far its very much living up to that, but having googled it for a pic for this posting, i've realised its worth alot more than the £4.00 i paid for it, and also the political conspiracies associated with The Pilgrims Society. From the initial chapters, it appears alot less secret - just a few college friends innocently messing about in Europe, albiet partying in the right circles, but blagging, none the less.

'Halting State' at the moment (about 1/5th through). I'd been wondering for a while if it would be possible to write a whole novel in the second person. Turns out it is, but I'm still not sure I like it - ironically, it seems *less* immersive to me.

I wasn't entirely unhappy with Stross's 2nd person delivery. I kind of got used to it so that at the end, I hardly noticed.

I append my Mythaxis review... (no spoilers)

Halting State
Now, this one I enjoyed a great deal more than Accelerando. It's a near-future espionage thriller set in Scotland, quite a lot of fun, and based on Alternate Reality Games or ARGs. There are three principal characters, a cop, a forensic accountant and a hacker, and the story is told from their viewpoints.

It is still aimed at the sf reader rather than the general reading public, but those of you who are technophiles will find much to enjoy here. It is full of cool concepts and larded with in-jokes.

I feel his writing style in Halting State still leaves something to be desired. The characterisation is better than in Accelerando, but still a little uncertain. What I would say, however, is that I shall buy his next book with more enthusiastic anticipation than I did Halting State. This is an author who is improving, and I commend this book.

Now, I'm reading Kate Atkinson's "Behind the Scenes at the Museum" - so far, it's excellent, or better than excellent. And William Boyd's "Bamboo" - so far, I'm impressed but not gripped.

Just finished rereading Anathem. As with a lot of Stephenson's stuff, it was actually more enjoyable the second time through, I think. Also finally ripping the CD that came with it to see what I make of the chants!

quote:

Originally posted by Biohazard:
Just walked through Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. I haven't read Steinbeck forever and remembered these as being slow reads but this time i just gobbled them up. Got so immersed that now i catch myself thinking and speaking with an Okie accent.

I'm the same way with Faulkner. Bought a complete set of Faulkner, hardcover, off eBay and all were second or third readings for me (fourth or fifth for As I Lay Dying). It's all clicked this time round. Very enjoyable.