What Are You Reading?

[caruso_stalker217]

The Waste Lands is terrific, but my favorite hands down is Wizard and Glass. Not many books can make ole Caruso tear up, but that one does. Book Seven (I never call it The Dark Tower since that's the name of the series and that would create confusion) even managed to get me really fuckin' bad between long passages of "WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING!?" type stuff.

Hope that's not a spoiler.

I gotta agree with Kirks about Drawing of the Three. That book fuckin' flies. Not as much as Song of Susannah, though. After the long fuckin' read of Wolves (took me months to finish) Susannah was just the fuckin' shot in the arm I needed. I read that shit in like a day.

Hope that's not a spoiler.

[Ribbons]

Well, I like the Book Club bumps, but uh... B4NN3D!

[Spandau Belly]

I like to read autobiographies from people in many different industries, so I just finished reading:

HOW TO MAKE LOVE LIKE A PORN STAR: A CAUTIONARY TALE
by Jenna Jameson

Much to the surprise of many, I'm not much of a porn movie connaisseur. I'm more of an erotic photography type of man. But I had heard of Jenna and even seen one of her movies, which is actually the last movie she talks about making in this book. It was called Bella Loves Jenna and her costar Belladonna was much more my type. Jenna's just not for me, but I figured since she was for awhile the biggest name in smut acting she could offer some interesting insights 'n shit.

What you get is a view of how Jenna is unlikeable and full of hypocrisies. I'm not sure if anybody else here who's read this noticed this, but it seemed like Jenna never wanted to be a porn star, she just wanted to be famous and the whole "mainstream porn star" gimmick was her ticket. She barely had her career started in smut before she was already trying to go mainstream as the "queen of porn". She'd made a couple of movies and then started working her ass off to get on Howard Stern and become an entertainment news reporter for something called The E! Channel and get mainstream film roles.

She wants to be this mainstream porn star and make porn cool and hip to the masses and be cool for being the queen of porn, yet she has nothing good to say about her kingdom. She doesn't like the work. She describes 20 hour day, 6 day straight shoots, fucking creepy dudes, drug abuse, etc.

She doesn't even like the fame she gets. She likes being recognized and having a household name, but she seems to resent the image she's famous for. She gets all grossed out when fans tell her they jerk off to her 20 times a day, which in any other line or work I'd understand, but to me this sounds like the goal of a porn star. She resents people staring at the giant breasts she payed to have inflated to a ridiculous size. She resents men assuming she's always horny. She's worked incredibly hard to create and promote an image that she doesn't seem to want to be associated with.

She also talks about working hard to change the perception of porn stars and resents that people think all porn stars come from sexually abusive backgrounds and have drug problems. Yet, she's not exactly the right candidate to change that perception since she herself was the victim of several rapings and a former meth addict. So what does she do? She admits in this book that she did loads of interviews always lying and saying she had a happy childhood, claiming that lying was what was necessary to dispell the myths about the porn industry. I dunno Jenna, if something is true, that doesn't make it a myth, and "dispelling" the truth is actually creating a myth, in my opinion.

She keeps describing herself as barely working, only making about 3 films a year (a months work) during her peak. And throughout the book she constantly falls in love with a possessive man who demands that she quit the industry and she does briefly and then just can't handle not being famous and goes back to it and they break up. The funny thing is, is that this is where the book ends and she tries to spin it differently than the fifty other times it happens during her life. However what makes this retirement different from her previous is that she was getting to a point where she was getting aged out of the industry anyway.

The book itself is alright written, but there's way too much of actual transcribed interviews with her father and brother that seemed more like research notes than something that would actually end up in the final book.

So all and all, I'd say this book wasn't that great. It is pretty informative, but kinda annoying to read due to the bitchy personality of the author.

[scooterbuch]

Hi all, I love these types of forums. I always end up finding great suggestions for future reading material. I just got back in to reading science fiction and fantasy, and decided to pick up where i left off in Isaac Asimov's empire and foundation books. I found a nice list awhile back that listed Asimov's books in the actual timeline that they take place in the empire and foundation universe. Right now i'm reading "Pebble in the Sky". Here is the link to the list i mentioned if anyone is interested. http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#series5

I'm also reading Nelson Demille's latest book, "The Gate House"

[RogueScribner]

At my wife's behest I am reading My Sister's Keeper. She looooooooves Jodi Picoult books. I'm halfway through the book and don't find it to be written particularly well. The central conceit is intriguing and I keep reading in hopes that that will be expounded upon, but the main hook of the story (which is about a teenage girl who is genetically compatible with her older cancer-striken sister refusing to be a donor after a lifetime of her parents using her) develops at the rate of an IV drip. I will push on because my wife loves it so much and she really wants me to read it (and she rarely begs me to do anything outside of bed), but so far the book seems like a lot of filler.

[Bloo]

The Waste Lands is terrific, but my favorite hands down is Wizard and Glass. Not many books can make ole Caruso tear up, but that one does. Book Seven (I never call it The Dark Tower since that's the name of the series and that would create confusion) even managed to get me really fuckin' bad between long passages of "WHAT THE FUCK AM I READING!?" type stuff.

Hope that's not a spoiler.

I gotta agree with Kirks about Drawing of the Three. That book fuckin' flies. Not as much as Song of Susannah, though. After the long fuckin' read of Wolves (took me months to finish) Susannah was just the fuckin' shot in the arm I needed. I read that shit in like a day.

Hope that's not a spoiler.

man I was just the opposite i flew through WOLVES and battled through SUSANNAH

[Bloo]

Spandau,thanks for the info on the Jenna book, i've been debating weather or not to read it

right now I"m still plowing through THE SOUTHERN VAMPIRE MYSTERIES aka SOOKIE STACKHOUSE and while much better written then TWILIGHT and Harris' take on mytholgy in general is more complete,it falls into the same gothic romance as TWILIGHT

Sookie is torn between two different vampires, a shapeshifter, and two different "weres"...all of whom she has flirted with or slept with

and in some of the books (namely 3-5) Sookie just kind of stumbles into the solution to the mystery

but the quality of writing is good, like I said, and her take on mythlogy is steller, and the char. are generally likeable (that and I keep hoping Pam and Sookie have a fling ) so I've kept and will keep reading

[travis-dane]

I've read the Jenna book too, I like the Nic Cage part.

[stereosforgeeks]

Reading Rama II right now. Not liking it as much as the first one but it's still interesting and an good read.

[Spandau Belly]

I've read the Jenna book too, I like the Nic Cage part.

That made me smile. The way she described him as being totally out of it like he actually was Castor Troy. I could picture him mumbling to her "I want to take his face ...... off....."

The part with Snipes was pretty funny too.

[RogueScribner]

I finished My Sister's Keeper. For the majority of the book, I could not have predicted the ending. But there's a chapter before the "incident" that telegraphs it from a mile away, so I wasn't shocked, despite the author's best efforts I guess. The book raises some interesting questions, and at times there are some emotional moments, but much like a Dan Brown book, it's better at making you think about stuff than actually entertaining you. It's not a particularly well written book (though I could just not be a fan of the revolving door of first person storytelling she chose), and it spends a lot of time delaying the inevitable, but it did make me think about loss and sacrifice so it did end up having some effect on me.

My wife really wants to see the movie (perhaps people here have seen the trailer), but I'm not sure I want to. Either the movie will adhere strictly to the book and only magnify my problems with it, or it'll take the easy Lifetime movie of the week route in which case I'm definitely not interested.

Also, if this book is indicative of the level of Jodi Picoult's writing talent, I don't think I'd be interested in reading anything else of hers either.

[The Todd]

Just finished two books. Angelica by Arthur Phillips was a great, and quick, read. And an excellent book. Highly recommended.

Also, finally got around to reading Coraline by Neil Gaiman. As good as Angelica was, Coraline was WOW! Hands down, a classic and a masterpiece. I'll be damned if that "kids" book wasn't scary as HELL! Ranks up there with Stephen King's It in terms of books that frightened me as I read them. EVERYONE must read this book (under 200 pages) if you haven't already.

[Throngil]

I've been reading The Name of the Wind. It's really good.

[Spandau Belly]

Also, if this book is indicative of the level of Jodi Picoult's writing talent, I don't think I'd be interested in reading anything else of hers either.

Both my sisters read everything she writes and even they admit that her writing has been slowly getting better over the years but is still very obvious and unpolished. My one sister who really loves her says Piccoult's main talent is choosing interesting subjects and not her ability to actually write a great story around it.

I haven't read anything she's written, but from the sounds of it she's kinda a Law & Order type writer who grabs some incident from the headlines and then sorta fleshes a story out from it.

[Raziel]

Bob Dylan's Chronicles.

[caruso_stalker217]

Reading Get Shorty by Elmore Leonard and Relentless by Dean Koontz. Relentless is kind of annoying me, so I think I'll focus on Get Shorty.

[Bloo]

Get Shorty is really good, and the sequel is good too, Be Cool--a lot better then the movie

[commiepinko]

Anybody else read China Mieville? I just finished The City & The City and he has yet to disappoint me.

[Maui]

I read The Graveyard book in one day. A fantastic read which was extremely difficult to put down.

Now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

[Bloo]

I read The Graveyard book in one day. A fantastic read which was extremely difficult to put down.

Now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

I love LOVE LOVE Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, curious to hear your thoughts Maui

[stereosforgeeks]

I'm reading Time Enough For Love - Robert Heinlein. Liking it so far but I hate the title and the space romance-ish cover.

[justcheckin]

I just read two books... Duma Key by Stephen King and then I went back and read The Cell by Stephen King. I liked Duma Key better than The Cell and I actually read that one slower. The Cell I read in 2 days. It was mad.

Oh, I also read The Road by Cormac McCarthy about 4 months ago. That was a good book and I know they are making a movie so I hope they do it justice.

[TheBaxter]

i wonder if anyone here has read or heard of The Strain, which was co-authored by Guillermo del Toro.

i just finished this book, and to be honest, i thought it was just so-so. there were parts i really liked, but some parts i really didn't.

in a way, it reminded me a lot of Fringe. the beginning REALLY reminded me of Fringe, since it starts off with a mysterious airplane incident. the whole airplane section was one of the best parts of the book, all the buildup and mystery, although the payoff was a bit disappointing. anyway, this is a book about vampires, and since it's del Toro, it reminds me a lot of Blade II as well. not just because of del Toro, but because the nature of the vampires in this book are a lot like the reapers from blade II, especially the way the vampire "virus" physically changes the mouths and throats of the infected. also, once you find out the exact method by which the vampire "virus" is transmitted, it also begins to resemble Night of the Creeps crossed with Alien. so overall, it's like a cross between Fringe, Blade II, Night of the Creeps, with a little bit of Grey's Anatomy thrown in when you get to the main character who is a CDC doctor, and his family drama... though i've never seen Grey's Anatomy, but i imagine it's kind of what it's like. the family drama with the CDC doctor, btw, is probably my least favorite part of the book. thankfully it gets mostly jettisoned by the time you get into the meat of the story, but in the opening pages there are some reallyl cringe-inducing cliche'd scenes with the doctor, his son, and his newly divorced wife, their custody battle, the evil step-boyfriend, etc.

the other thing i didn't really care for was the biological explanations of the vampirism. there are a lot of ways to approach vampires, from the purely supernatural to the purely scientific, and this book goes the latter way, and it's not my favorite approach. i think it steals away some of the mystery and horror when you try to give a scientific explanation for each and every aspect of the vampires. this is another way in which it's like Fringe or X-Files though... i think it's part of the zeitgeist of the era we're living in, that they try to extract horror out of science and technology instead of supernatural means, but i will always prefer supernatural-based horror. plus, we end up getting the inevitable scene or scenes that are in EVERY vampire book or movie or tv show these days, explaining which vampire myths are true and which aren't: this time around, sunlight still kills vampires, so does beheading, and silver also hurts them, but crosses, holy water, and stakes are ineffective, and they can't turn into bats or smoke. there's also a couple hints that maybe the vampire virus has alien origins. at this point, i'd love to see or read a vampire story where vampires are just plain old vampires, and all the usual tricks (sunlight, stakes, crosses) all work the way they are supposed to, and the story doesn't need to explain which ones apply and which ones don't, and give a full explanation of why some work and some don't.

overall, the book is pretty well written, and has some very good scenes of suspense. it was co-written by some crime novel writer i think, and since english is not del toro's first language, i'm thinking probably del toro was mostly responsible for the story, and the other writer did more of the actual prose. there are some intriguing ideas and hints about the head vampire, and about vampire history and the other old vampires... but they are just small hints. since this is the first book of a planned trilogy, i'm sure those will be expanded upon considerably in the next two. i don't know if i'll be reading those though... while this one was ok, it didn't make me feel a pressing urge to continue reading. but the direction that is hinted at towards the end sounds more interesting than the story from this book, so i might give it a shot.

[TonyWilson]

I was tempted to get this, Baxter, don't know if I will now though. And I agree about science Vampires vs supernatural ones. But I think The X-Files did supernatural stuff really well and didn't always boil it down to a scientific explanation.

[Wolfpack]

Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

[Nachokoolaid]

i wonder if anyone here has read or heard of The Strain, which was co-authored by Guillermo del Toro.

i just finished this book, and to be honest, i thought it was just so-so. there were parts i really liked, but some parts i really didn't.

in a way, it reminded me a lot of Fringe. the beginning REALLY reminded me of Fringe, since it starts off with a mysterious airplane incident. the whole airplane section was one of the best parts of the book, all the buildup and mystery, although the payoff was a bit disappointing. anyway, this is a book about vampires, and since it's del Toro, it reminds me a lot of Blade II as well. not just because of del Toro, but because the nature of the vampires in this book are a lot like the reapers from blade II, especially the way the vampire "virus" physically changes the mouths and throats of the infected. also, once you find out the exact method by which the vampire "virus" is transmitted, it also begins to resemble Night of the Creeps crossed with Alien. so overall, it's like a cross between Fringe, Blade II, Night of the Creeps, with a little bit of Grey's Anatomy thrown in when you get to the main character who is a CDC doctor, and his family drama... though i've never seen Grey's Anatomy, but i imagine it's kind of what it's like. the family drama with the CDC doctor, btw, is probably my least favorite part of the book. thankfully it gets mostly jettisoned by the time you get into the meat of the story, but in the opening pages there are some reallyl cringe-inducing cliche'd scenes with the doctor, his son, and his newly divorced wife, their custody battle, the evil step-boyfriend, etc.

the other thing i didn't really care for was the biological explanations of the vampirism. there are a lot of ways to approach vampires, from the purely supernatural to the purely scientific, and this book goes the latter way, and it's not my favorite approach. i think it steals away some of the mystery and horror when you try to give a scientific explanation for each and every aspect of the vampires. this is another way in which it's like Fringe or X-Files though... i think it's part of the zeitgeist of the era we're living in, that they try to extract horror out of science and technology instead of supernatural means, but i will always prefer supernatural-based horror. plus, we end up getting the inevitable scene or scenes that are in EVERY vampire book or movie or tv show these days, explaining which vampire myths are true and which aren't: this time around, sunlight still kills vampires, so does beheading, and silver also hurts them, but crosses, holy water, and stakes are ineffective, and they can't turn into bats or smoke. there's also a couple hints that maybe the vampire virus has alien origins. at this point, i'd love to see or read a vampire story where vampires are just plain old vampires, and all the usual tricks (sunlight, stakes, crosses) all work the way they are supposed to, and the story doesn't need to explain which ones apply and which ones don't, and give a full explanation of why some work and some don't.

overall, the book is pretty well written, and has some very good scenes of suspense. it was co-written by some crime novel writer i think, and since english is not del toro's first language, i'm thinking probably del toro was mostly responsible for the story, and the other writer did more of the actual prose. there are some intriguing ideas and hints about the head vampire, and about vampire history and the other old vampires... but they are just small hints. since this is the first book of a planned trilogy, i'm sure those will be expanded upon considerably in the next two. i don't know if i'll be reading those though... while this one was ok, it didn't make me feel a pressing urge to continue reading. but the direction that is hinted at towards the end sounds more interesting than the story from this book, so i might give it a shot.

LOL!!! Awesome that you thought that then beginning was like FRINGE, since FOX blatantly plagiarized it from Guillermo Del Toro. GDT pitched The Strain to FOX as a new series, and they told him that they want a vampire series, but a vampire comedy, so he politely left. A year later, FRINGE shows up with GDT's beginning to the series. If I were him, I'd sue their ass.

[Nachokoolaid]

I was tempted to get this, Baxter, don't know if I will now though. And I agree about science Vampires vs supernatural ones. But I think The X-Files did supernatural stuff really well and didn't always boil it down to a scientific explanation.

I bought it but haven't read it. GDT says that it's a trilogy, and as it goes on, it will evolve from a scientific view of vampirism into the more Romantic ideal.

[Maui]

I read The Graveyard book in one day. A fantastic read which was extremely difficult to put down.

Now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

I love LOVE LOVE Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, curious to hear your thoughts Maui

Missed this Bloo and I really should have finished the book by now but I got sidetracked with warm weather/vacation. I'm halfway through the book and really digging it. More later.

[Bloo]

I read The Graveyard book in one day. A fantastic read which was extremely difficult to put down.

Now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson.

I love LOVE LOVE Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, curious to hear your thoughts Maui

Missed this Bloo and I really should have finished the book by now but I got sidetracked with warm weather/vacation. I'm halfway through the book and really digging it. More later.

it happens, and I understand about the warm weather

on a side note: I'm reading THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER, something I try to do every summer

but I also have other motives, I'm reading it because I'm writing a stage adapation

[MadCapsule]

Nachokoolaid, your avatar is schadenfreudeilashtastic!

That is all.

[Maui]

I
Dead Until Dark because I've seen some eps of True Blood and wanted to read the books it was based on

I picked up the Sookie Stackhouse (the Southern Vampire series) this past weekend. I sped through Dead Until Dark and I'm now halfway through Living Dead in Dallas. It's good fun and an incredibly light read!

Needless to say, Allan Ball is not following the books 100%. Which is fine by me, I like some of the twists that he's added to the show - more dark humour, new characters and story lines. I was a bit surprised with how insignificant Lafayette's character is in the books (he's dead now) and all we found out was that he wore fake eyelashes and liked pink.

[Seppuku]

Almost finished with Baudolino by Umberto Ecco. Not his best from what I hear (this is my first Ecco), but this guy's got a hell of a way of unfolding a story. Most medieval literature is so stark and linear that you could almost call it severe, which is what I personally find refreshing about it, but this is something else. Baudolini has to have one of the most unreliable narrators since The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. He's a chronic liar, and his falsehoods only get thicker as the story moves on, eventually incorporating everything from satyrs to unicorns and the return of the twelve disciples to Jerusalem. Baudolino is at the thick of all the major beats of his era, often, as he claims in his modest fashion, actually instigating them; these range from apparently being responsible for Charlemagne's sainthood; the "discovery" of the Holy Grail; the razing of Constantinople and his journey to the kingdom of Prester John, a mysterious pagan king, which is the heart of the book. While it starts off believable enough at first, there comes a point in the book where you start to question whether any of what you're reading happened at all; frustrating, but kind of refreshing, too. There are definitely one too many theological discussions going on in this book. I mean, how many times do we have to hear the characters debating the existence of the vacuum and what that means to the Bible? Then again, I guess that might have been Ecco commenting on the middle-ages, and how the intelligentsia seemed to fall into the trap of getting so caught up in the fine details of things (particularly religion) that they could no longer see the wood for the trees. Ecco certainly knows his middle ages, but this isn't quite as deep and post-modern and shiny as I expected from hearing so much about him. I'll put that down to this not being one of his best novels. I've got about 70 pages to go and I'm not sure if I'll get a yen to read another one of his books any time soon, but I definitely don't regret picking this up.

[TonyWilson]

Name Of The Rose, Sepp, Name Of The Rose - just forget the movie if you ever saw it. Not that it's a bad film just that it's like the cliff notes of the precis of the review of the novel. Coincidentally I just started on Foucault's Pendulum this very evening, it's pretty splendid so far.

[Seppuku]

Name Of The Rose, Sepp, Name Of The Rose - just forget the movie if you ever saw it. Not that it's a bad film just that it's like the cliff notes of the precis of the review of the novel. Coincidentally I just started on Foucault's Pendulum this very evening, it's pretty splendid so far.

Yeah, I've seen that movie a couple of times over the years (I'm a big fan of the director- the dude who gave us Enemy at the Gates and that badass soft porn Neanderthal movie starring Ron Pearlman, Quest for Fire), and I'd probably have noticed the plot seems kinda muddled if it weren't for the pretty photography distracting me. Didn't it say in the intro of the movie that it was a kind of palimpsest of the book? (OK, I just wanted to have an excuse to use the word "palimpsest." It's not often you get the opportunity). I might read a couple of Twilight novels or something to recover first, but The Name of the Rose should go straight to the top of the book-heap afterwards. Let me know what you think of Foucault's Pendulum afterwards. I saw all three of those books for sale at the Oxfam I bought Baudolino from, and it looks like I made a pretty nooby choice (although it's still quite good!).

[Bloo]

I
Dead Until Dark because I've seen some eps of True Blood and wanted to read the books it was based on

I picked up the Sookie Stackhouse (the Southern Vampire series) this past weekend. I sped through Dead Until Dark and I'm now halfway through Living Dead in Dallas. It's good fun and an incredibly light read!

Needless to say, Allan Ball is not following the books 100%. Which is fine by me, I like some of the twists that he's added to the show - more dark humour, new characters and story lines. I was a bit surprised with how insignificant Lafayette's character is in the books (he's dead now) and all we found out was that he wore fake eyelashes and liked pink.

glad you're liking Southern Vampire Maui, it really starts to get good soon and really expands the mythology of Sookie's world, I picked up DEAD UNTIL DARK on a whim and ended over like a 2 week period picking them all up

[Maui]

glad you're liking Southern Vampire Maui, it really starts to get good soon and really expands the mythology of Sookie's world, I picked up DEAD UNTIL DARK on a whim and ended over like a 2 week period picking them all up

Yeah, I can really sink my teeth into this series.

Charlaine Harris has written up to book 9, Dead and Gone. I wonder when she plans on retiring the series?

[Bloo]

glad you're liking Southern Vampire Maui, it really starts to get good soon and really expands the mythology of Sookie's world, I picked up DEAD UNTIL DARK on a whim and ended over like a 2 week period picking them all up

Yeah, I can really sink my teeth into this series.

Charlaine Harris has written up to book 9, Dead and Gone. I wonder when she plans on retiring the series?

she's also written several short stories in the same universe and I know she's planning on publishing the full collection this...Oct I think

on her website she addresses that very question

[BuckyO'harre]

Name Of The Rose, Sepp, Name Of The Rose - just forget the movie if you ever saw it. Not that it's a bad film just that it's like the cliff notes of the precis of the review of the novel. Coincidentally I just started on Foucault's Pendulum this very evening, it's pretty splendid so far.

I'll be reading that after I finish The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes.(Yay pictures!)

[Al Shut]

I remember Penduluim beeing awesome but not much else. If only my brother didn't get his hands on it so I could reread.

[Maui]

she's also written several short stories in the same universe and I know she's planning on publishing the full collection this...Oct I think

on her website she addresses that very question

Have you read any of her short stories? I'll have to mosey on over to her website and ch ch ch check it out.

[Hermanator X]

Just powered through Pushing Ice from Alastair Reynolds for the second time, and it was a much better read on this time through. Big ideas, and head bursting sci fi. Great stuff.

Half way through Cell right now, which is not really what I expected, but im enjoying it, and hope it can keep me engrosssed to the end because I have:

Stieg Larsson's The girl with the dragon tattoo, lined up next. Which im very looking forward too, having heard only good things about. The first part of a trilogy (the millenium trilogy), written for fun in a journalists spare time, and sadly published after his untimely death at only 50. Hoping to work through the books before I check out the movies (swedish) which are also getting rave reviews. (although named Menn som hator Kvinnør, rather than the dragon tattoo thing.)

After that, its hearty dose of reality with Stalingrad, by Antony Beevor, which im looking forward to, but a little apprehensive as ive heard it really puts you into the realitys of the horrific campaign. I can see me privately railing against the futility of war and getting all worked up while reading it.

[Maui]

Stieg Larsson's The girl with the dragon tattoo, lined up next. Which im very looking forward too, having heard only good things about. The first part of a trilogy (the millenium trilogy), written for fun in a journalists spare time, and sadly published after his untimely death at only 50. Hoping to work through the books before I check out the movies (swedish) which are also getting rave reviews. (although named Menn som hator Kvinnør, rather than the dragon tattoo thing.)

Stieg Larsson's Millenium trilogy is excellent (well books 1 and 2 are anyways). I can't recommend them enough. I've read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire. Unfortunately, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (book 3) isn't available til Jan 2010. Many book critics felt the violence towards women depicted in these books was excessive - I really didn't see that at all. It only heightened the drama and gave us a deeper understanding of the characters and their motives.

Lisbeth Salander is comparable to Y.T. (Snow Crash). She's sexy, cool, extremely bad ass and lastly, she knows how to hack computers. Another great fictional heroine that I can admire.

I need to track down those movies too, I've also been hearing good buzz about the films.

[Bloo]

she's also written several short stories in the same universe and I know she's planning on publishing the full collection this...Oct I think

on her website she addresses that very question

Have you read any of her short stories? I'll have to mosey on over to her website and ch ch ch check it out.

I haven't I was just going to wait for the book to be published and read them all there

[Bayouwolf]

Recently read: Patient Zero, by Jonathan Maberry

It's a crime novel with a zombie twist.

The premise is that a major pharmaceutical company has developed a disease in order to reap the benefits of the cure they have already developed (think "flu vaccine conspiracy" theory). They conspire with a terrorist organization to "distribute" the virus to an unsuspecting public, and things end up going south. Fast.

The pacing feels rushed, but if you devour books like I do, it's not such a bad thing. I'm guessing that it's a series, as it's touted as "A Joe Ledger Novel", although I haven't heard of that character before. I'd probably read another, just out of morbid curiosity.

6/10

[Wolfpack]

Name Of The Rose, Sepp, Name Of The Rose - just forget the movie if you ever saw it. Not that it's a bad film just that it's like the cliff notes of the precis of the review of the novel. Coincidentally I just started on Foucault's Pendulum this very evening, it's pretty splendid so far.

I'm reading it too. Much better on the whole ancient conspiracy thing than The Da Vinci Code.

[Maui]

I'm still plowing through the Southern Vampire Series, on book 4 now, Dead to the World, 5 more to go. Enjoyable reads, each book is approx. 300 pages, which I can usually whiz through in a day.

I kinda want to hurry up and finish these books so I can read some more HST.

[Bloo]

I'm still plowing through the Southern Vampire Series, on book 4 now, Dead to the World, 5 more to go. Enjoyable reads, each book is approx. 300 pages, which I can usually whiz through in a day.

I kinda want to hurry up and finish these books so I can read some more HST.

what do you think so far, I thought the first 2 books were good, but they feel self containted, about book 3 is where I think the whole mythology really starts to kick in

[justcheckin]

I have to read Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson... It is actually on the summer reading list for the high school I teach at and I am hoping that it is actually good. YIKES! Anyone read it? Want to give me some encouragement?

[Bloo]

I have to read Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson... It is actually on the summer reading list for the high school I teach at and I am hoping that it is actually good. YIKES! Anyone read it? Want to give me some encouragement?

no idea all I know it's a James Patterson young adult novel

[Maui]

what do you think so far, I thought the first 2 books were good, but they feel self containted, about book 3 is where I think the whole mythology really starts to kick in

Yeah, I'd have to agree that with Club Dead (book 3) things really start to pick up with the storyline and introduction of new characters and different mythical creatures. I must say I really enjoyed all the stuff with Eric and Sookie...FINALLY.... and now Eric can't remember a bloody thing of their rendezvous...geez! I find it interesting that the shifters at Hotshot are inbred and even more interesting that Jason is now a were-panther.

FYI: I saw that Charlaine Harris is at Comic-Con today signing books, as well there is a True Blood panel tomorrow night. Oh well.