What fiction book are you currently reading?

[Jmh7331]

I just finished "Over On The Dry Side" by Louis L'Amour tonight.

 

[OULobo]

The Marquis, Danse Macabre by Guy Davis

 

[hardheadjarhead]

Bangkok 8, by John Burdett. I just finished it.

A friend of mine from Hawaii sent me, her husband (in Iraq) and her sister a copy. I don't normally read fiction, but felt obliged given her great enthusiasm for it. Hell, when you send books halfway around the world to friends, I'd say that's enthusiasm.

Surprisingly, it was a very good book. It's a "whodunnit" set in Thailand. The protagonist is a half-Thai/half-American son-of-Thai-prostitute buddhist cop whose partner is murdered.

Martial artists would dig this book, I think. People who have been to Thailand would dig this book. People who like an interesting prose style would like this book...Burdett is a good writer, and not just a mystery hack.


Regards,


Steve

 

[arnisador]

HP6, of course.

 

[Gene Williams]

"Barnaby Rudge," by Charles Dickens and Shakespeare's Comedies.

 

[Blindside]

The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Robinson - Wow, very different fantasy/alternate history from what I am used to seeing from Turtledove or Stirling. The "what if" is "what if the black plague wiped out 99% of western Europe rather than 1/3. Throw in reincarnation and alot of education on Hindu, Muslim, and Chinese cultures and you have a very interesting product. As a word of warning it is not an action/adventure type of book.

Killing Rain by Barry Eisler - just starting but looking forward to it, I thought the previous books in the series were great.

Lamont

 

[TheEdge883]

HP6, of course.

Don't know if you've finished it yet, or are a Harry Potter fan, but the end will blow you away

 

[Brother John]

"The Drawing of the Three"
By Stephen King, it's book II of the Dark Tower series...

about a third of the way through right now, enjoying it.

Your Brother
John

 

[TheEdge883]

"The Drawing of the Three"
By Stephen King, it's book II of the Dark Tower series...

about a third of the way through right now, enjoying it.

Your Brother
John

Drawing of the three was pretty slow for me, but that might be because I started reading it when it came out so long ago (I think my parents gave me the book 15 years ago as a hospital gift and I just never picked it up after I started). The Wastelands is where it starts getting really good

 

[Dan G]

"The Lathe of Heaven" by Ursula le Guin.

I love her stuff, really subtle writing style and produces sci-fi or fantasy with lots of deep social, emotional and philosophical issues explored. One of my all time favourite writers, and I return to her books a lot. It is a tough call, but as a fantasy writer I prefer her to Tolkein - chalk and cheese, but she is a more skilled writer IMHO. Her "Wizard of EarthSea" quartet is a modern masterpeice. Soon to be in film apparently.

Last fiction book was "The Feast of the Goat" by Mario Varga Llosa - good read and some deep stuff on courage and inaction. Deals with the historical assasination of a Dominican dictator. Thought provoking stuff.

Dan

 

[Martial Tucker]

To Have and Have Not, by Ernest Hemingway.


I spent some time in Key West several years ago, and while Hemingway has never been one of my favorite authors, I enjoyed a couple of the Key West bars he used to hang out at, and this book is set in Key West and Cuba.

A quick read, entertaining, and fun to read if you know the area at all.

 

[Drifter]

"The Drawing of the Three"
By Stephen King, it's book II of the Dark Tower series...

about a third of the way through right now, enjoying it.

Your Brother
John

I love that series but still haven't finished it.

Meanwhile, I'm working on The Tommyknockers, also by Mr. King.

 

[Mark Weiser]

The Swarm --- about technology and gentics alonside with computer designing. The possiblity of nanotechnology running amok and we humans maybe become instinct.

 

[arnisador]

Sounds like Michael Crichton's "Prey" which I read a while back.

Swarm computing is a great idea...for some things! But everyone rushes to it for optimization these days, it seems. It's a bit of a fad.

 

[Brother John]

Drawing of the three was pretty slow for me, but that might be because I started reading it when it came out so long ago (I think my parents gave me the book 15 years ago as a hospital gift and I just never picked it up after I started). The Wastelands is where it starts getting really good

Yeah... you can totally tell that King used this book for setting the stage for later books, like everything is either building up something else or establishing background for character development long before the characters do the really interesting stuff.
But: I've grown to appreciate that too.... long drawn out character development. I think I began appreciating it when I read the 12 existing "DUNE" books.

Later...

Your Brother
John

 

[shesulsa]

"Good to Great" by Jim Collins and ... *whispers* HTML for dummies

 

[arnisador]

I've read a number of the For Dummies books and their cousins, and bought several for my children. They can be good for those needing a bare bones intro. to a subject!

Finished HP6! I thought it was a bit dull, actually..much of the book was just marking time.

 

[shesulsa]

Whoops! I posted my last post in the wrong thread - those are non-fiction - sorry for the gankage, y'all.

Finished HP6! I thought it was a bit dull, actually..much of the book was just marking time.

It was definitely much less exciting than books 4 or 5. Expected, nonetheless - someone had to catch us all up on the history behind everything.

 

[arnisador]

Well, I did enjoy reading the history, it's true. But there's a lot of "filler" in there otherwise!

We spent the afternoon at bookstores getting more books. I peaked in at Steve Scott's school, but no one was home!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Currently I am reading "Second Skin" by Erik Lustbader for the tenth or eleventh time. While not his best work, I can see many of the places in the book in my mind as I was in Japan last August for training!

Brian R. VanCise