...

God damn it.

Wait. I know I'm coming back to this discussion months later...but...I'd read those sentences 5 or 10 times each before realizing there's a "u" where I perceived an "i." Are you talking about Moby-Duck..or Moby Dick?

If the "u" is a typo then...

Finally reading Lord of the Flies.

I suppose I'm also in the process of reading Infinite Jest, but I've been stuck at page 90-something for a couple of months now.

Currently reading Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. I also just ordered Bram Stoker's Dracula (I'm kinda going through classics in a wide range of genres I love at the moment - the last one may have been triggered by Interview with the Vampire which I watched two days ago, and loved).

Last edited by Saniss (2012-11-15 21:21:40)

It's been a while now, but I had my manservant Lyle read Casino Royale to me, and it was a cracking good story. It was considerably better than the several other Bond books he'd read to me.

Also, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson is a rollicking good story with ships and deadly hand-to-hand combat in the first half... and then chapter after chapter of sneaking around the Scottish countryside in the second half. I insisted Lyle replace all references to Scotland with Barsoom to make it more interesting.

Reading "Unconditional Parenting," by Alfie Kohn and "The Power of Habit," by Charles Duhigg.

Read into that what you will.

I think Lord of the Flies is one of those books you need to read in fifth grade as a formative literary experience, rather than coming to it as a well-read adult.

I'm reading Cloud Atlas right now because I loved the movie. I got hung up on the Sloosha's Crossing segment for a while, because it's like reading fucking Swedish, but once I got over the hump I've been powering through it. I'm fascinated that someone decided to write this book and that the Wachowskis decided to adapt it. It also strikes me that the Wachowskis are really good at adaptation, arguably moreso than writing original stories.

I'm also trying to read J.K. Rowling's new novel The Casual Vacancy. It's...ugh. On the one hand, I'm giving in the benefit of all the doubts, not expecting it to be Harry Potter and taking it on its own terms. On the other hand, were it not by J.K. Rowling I would have given up on it completely by now because it's just not that interesting. I'm hoping it'll get interesting, but if it hasn't done so by the halfway point I'm just going to walk away.

Speaking of HP, I've also been reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, which are not as flagrant a rip-off as I expected. They're also not quite as clever or richly-developed, but they're entertaining and inoffensive, good for light reading and palate-cleansing between meatier tomes.

Currently reading Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson and The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

I read the rest of the Ender series and at least some of the Shadow series. Speaker for the Dead et. al. are not much like Ender's Game, but I recall liking them and being impressed by the ending of Xenocide. The Shadow series was more like Ender's Game, but I didn't like how it reimagined some of the events. Also when I noticed that OSC is a homophobic asshat it kind of turned me off reading his books.

Cat's Cradle traumatized teenaged me and I've been meaning to read Slaughterhouse Five for years.

Most recently I read The Great Gatsby. As with when I read 1984 and Brave New World, I felt like it was written for a different time and that a lot of the 'edgy' ideas are things I don't find revolutionary now.

Just finished Cat's Cradle. Definitely the best book I've ever read (Not too many, but still). I think I'm gonna have a go at Vonnegut's other works once my finals are over.

Finally started on A Dance with Dragons.
I'm only few chapters in but I'm enjoying it a lot. Not nearly as disjointed as A Feast for Crows.

Started American Psycho. Hoo boy.