I always see off topic posts about music and video...but what about books? I'm a fanatic when it comes to reading. So, if you're a reader, what book are you currently reading? Any favorite books while we're at it? I read mostly non-fiction. Currently reading The Reckoning by David Halberstam. It's an older book about the auto industry from it's beginnings to the oil crisis of '82. A fascinating history of Henry Ford. I love this book. A few of my favorite non-fiction books: Helter Skelter - about the Charles Manson clan Nightmare Memoir - a British P.O.W. in Nazi Germany who was forced to work in the medical experiment labs. Hacksaw - an autobiography of a jail/prison escape artist Mindhunter - written by retired FBI profiler John Douglas, about serial killers and profiling. I love all his books. Into Thin Air - about one of the Everest disasters Wired - about the life of John Belushi The Hot Zone - about the frightening world of viruses, specifically Ebola Communion - writer Whitley Strieber's account of alledged alien abduction I could go on and on, but I won't LOL... For fiction: Watchers by Dean Koontz The Stand, The Gunslinger and The Running Man, Misery, Christine by Stephen King Sphere, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man by Michael Critchon The Pillars Of The Earth by Ken Follet Testament by John Grisham First Blood, The Brotherhood Of The Rose, The League Of Night And Fog, The Fifth Profession by David Morrell That's it for me...anyone else?

MORT - Terry Pratchet

Currently I'm reading "Find the Stuff That's You." That, though, is a book on magic and performance of it. For me, as a magician, it's an interesting piece of non-fiction. For the non-magi, you'd find it fairly boring! May I recommend "The Vanished Man" by Jeffery Deaver. An EXCELLENT piece of fiction with a magic theme. The best fiction book I've read...give it a try.

im reading deliverance, i just got to the, er, "intimate" part with the moonshiners. im officially grossed out. finished Jarhead a few weeks ago, its a good book, a memoir of a gulf war sniper, not much action and no combat in the book but thats what makes it good. somone told me Brave new world is awesome so I think im going to start that soon. Sphere and Jurassic park were AWESOME, been a while since i read sphere but I loved it---still havent seen the movie!!!

Ooh, I usually have about five books going at any given time. Right now the list is as follows: Joseph Wambaugh: Fugitive Nights Douglas Hofstadter: Godel, Escher & Bach an eternal golden braid (third try finishing this) David Berlinski: A Tour of the Calculus Tom Clancy: The Bear and the Dragon James Burke: Connections (Fourth time and still love it. If my memory was better, I wouldn't have to re-read it. I can't tell you how many drinks I've won from the trivia gleened from this book. Case in point: Trivia; the conergence of three roads. The Romans posted news at the convergence of any three roads, thus, Tri- Via) Thomas Harris: Red Dragon Okay, Okay. So I'm a little F**d up. :@)

Hmm... I haven't really been doing much serious reading since I graduated. Most of what I read is for pleasure. Here's my list... Recent Fiction: Just finished Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities. Finishing up The Complete Stories of Dorothy Parker. In the middle of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Proofreading an e-book manuscript called Cimarron Surrender for an e-publisher. As soon as I finish the Dorothy Parker book, I'll be starting on Don Quixote. Recent Non-Fiction: Adobe InDesign user guide and manual. Real World InDesign (like Real World Bryce, but for another program). All-Time Favorite Fiction: Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds. William Goldman's Princess Bride. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I don't really have any favorite non-fiction books, except maybe my Dictionary of Word Origins or GAG's Pricing & Ethical Guidelines because I refer to them a lot. I like any non-fiction book that I end up regularly using as a reference book.

Woodhurst, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World is an awesome read. If you end up liking it a lot, you might also want to try George Orwell's 1984 (if you haven't already read it).

-Allen Drury's Come Nineveh, Come Tyre (political fiction), -Matrimonial purposes.. Kavita Daswani (hilarious look at a 30 year old Indian woman who's termed as too old to get married and still has to go thru the arranged marriage stuff)(Just finished it) -PG Wodehouse..Golf Omnibus (must read for any golfer..) -Gabriel Marquez - Love in the times of Cholera -Taylor Caldwell - Great Lion of God. How many books at one shot? hell of a lot!! :) I forgot..there's poetry in the bathroom.. Assorted poets, and Sufi poetry

Most of the reading I do anymore is from my Bible... I read different stuff I come across on the internet. The latest I have found is The Letters Of Pontius Pilate. Quite interesting to see what he had to say in his day. I also found an interesting ancient writing called The Ancient Book Of Enoch.

I'm a fanatical reader as well. My absolute favorite work is easily Paradise Lost by Milton. His use of imagery is phenomenal, especially considering he was blind and dictated the ENTIRE book in real time, the book is exactly how he spoke it. Though, I must admit, I'm not a stranger to the Divine Comedy; somehow, the descriptions in that book are unbelievably tactile. Fantasy: Always been a fan of J.R.R Tolkein. The trilogy was great, but the silmarillion was incredible. When I was younger I couldnt get enough of redwall. Classics: Definitely enjoyed Hamlet, Tale of Two cities, David Copperfield, Wuthering Heights, King Leer, The Iliad and by Homer (well not really, but homer took the credit/ wasnt a huge fan of the odyssey). Not a huge fan of auto/biographies. Short Writings: A rose for Emily (so disturbing), Killings (interesting story about revenge), Hills like White Elephants, Lions (its by Hemmingway, not sure if thats the title, but its about this hunter, its amazingly metaphorical, brilliant even.) Story of an hour (again, amazingly metaphorical) Other favorites: 1984 (possibly my second favorite novel of all.) Count of Monte Cristo 1,400 pages of pure genius. Excellent story, I wasnt bored at any point. If you havent read this one by Dumas, give it a chance. Its long but worth it. Duncan Delaney and the Cadillac of Doom- witty/hilarious Books I didnt like: War and Peace.Who reads this stuff? I had to complete it for an AP English class. Complete = skim. Worst god knows how many pages I ever suffered through. Tolstoy can go cram it up his wrinkled Russian butt. Nobody wants to hear about aging Russian politics, trust me. Nostromo Easily one of the WORST books Ive ever read. I was told it was an enthralling story full of action and adventure, only to find out that it was a political statement about government activities in Central America. Best sleeping pill I ever took. Jane Ayer Feminist mumbo jumbo (no offense, but thats its only point, and its not very good at it, so clich Forget if this was charlotte or Emily, but I loved Wuthering Heights and hated this. Forget the name, but its basically a knock off of 1984oh wait, A Handmaids Tale. Dont get/read it. I dont feel like Im doing my readings justice with this list, just the first things that came to mind as my favorites and least liked works.

Dune: House Harkonnen I found the Dune series at my school library, believe it or not, and decided to start with the prequels written by the original authors son (also a professional author) and another author who was hand picked to help carry on the Dune legacy. They're great books, i can't wait to get to the regular Dune series.

Oh yeah, I am currently reading Don Quixote. I am beginning to think that some of it was lost in translation. Only 1/3 the way though so I don't have a valid opinion yet. Forgot to add one favorite to short stories: The most dangerous game.

Ornlu..we can see you hate Charlotte Bronte.. it's Jane Eyre..not Ayer!! :):)

Doesn't matter, it's a terrible book; 19th century romance smut. And in that case, I like Emily, but not Charlotte. I couldn't remember who was the author to what. They both died of TB in their late 20's early 30's anyway.

Currently reading the "David Sullivan" series by Tom Dietz About a Georgia boy who aquires second sight and sees the Sihe (pronounced she) or otherwise known as Fairies of Irish lore. There are "worlds" which overlap ours and touch it in places and times. Later in the series he adds Cherokee lore and myths to the series.

'Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy' is the one I'm on now, My favorite writter would be Edgar Rice Burroughs, I especially liked the Pellucidar series, I did several acrylics of the cities he described. Great stuff. Of course JRTolkien, just about all his stuff. I like science fiction, and fantasy, mystery and suspense. My non fiction consists of Nature magazine, Physics Today, The Center for the Advance of Biotechnoloy newsletter, and Genetic Engineering News.....

(Dont bother with the 'Sphere' movie) Only one Pratchett reader? I've just finished MOnstrous Regiment, his latest, and re-read most of the others, including 'The Amazing Maurice & his educated Rodents' these i read at bedtime, i like to sleep with a smile on my face. I've got 'Fludd' - Hilary Mantle in my work bag, its about a mysterious priest coming to a ficticious Northern province, very amusing, short but sweet. Also working my way through The Salmon of Doubt, Douglas Adams last, and the Spike MIlligan ominibus. i Can very very much recommend, 'The long midnight of BArney Thompson, about a Scottish BArber who accidentally murders his 2 partners in the barber shop, then gets home to find his mums died, and there are 7 diced up bodies in the freezer, so he goes on the run and the cops think he's a seriel killer, the 2nd book is even funnier as he hides in a monastery, where another seriel killer has decided to start topping off the monks, because of a football game. Very funny books.

MORT is a classic, although my favourite discworld book is Pyramids. I crease up every time I think about the discworlds top mathematician.... As to what I'm actually reading, Magician by Feist (again - it's one of those 'annual' books, ie it gets read yearly :-)

I'm a Dumas fan as well. :) In fact, the count was in my thoughts for this months challenge. Henrik Ibsen is also an author I come back to again and again. There is so much to discover in his symbolism. Peer Gynt is a master piece. For mystery I have several; Carter Dixon (or Dixon Carr) is the best. Black Sabbath must be one of the better ones ever written. I do like Bronte. (but I like almost any genre; exept science fiction..) Hmm.. others; Victor Hugo is great! Danish/Norwegian Ludvig Holberg is great. And I still enjoy Astrid Lingrend's childrens books. I think Pippi Longstocking is the only one that's translated to English; and that's a pitty because they're far from her best ones. I love Amy Tan too.. gosh... the list could go on and on. l

Oobs... I forgot. l I read all Thor Heyerdal's books again, and again. Ken Follet (his books about the cathedral building is just wonderful) is great too!

Favorite books Watership Down by Douglas Adams. Loved it since a kid The Stand, The Shining and Night Shift and the Bachman Books by Stephen King. Best Apocalyptic book, best ghost story, best short story collection and best novella collection. IMHO :c) The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. 2nd book in the series. Like rich dark chocolate. An american version of Sherlock Holmes with a team and historical fiction and the beginnings of modern criminiological theory. The Burke Series (Flood, Strega, Blue Belle, Hard Candy, Blossom, Sacrifice, Down in the Zero, Footsteps of the Hawk, Dead and Gone, Pain Management, and more) by Andrew Vachss. Best hardboiled detective fiction ever. Out masters Dashel Hammet and Robert B. Parker. Currently, I'm reading "Flyboys". True stories about the pacific airwar, including the shooting down of Avenger pilot George H. W. Bush. The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein. Again loved it since a child. This Presant Darkness by Frank Piretti. Bar none, the most accurate descriptions of spiritual warfare ever done. A primer for how to fight against satan. The Great Divorce and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Outstanding books on Heaven, hell and the activities of demons in your life. The Stephanie Plum Series (One for the Money, Two for the Dough... etc.) By Janet Evanovich. How to be a bailbondswoman... or rather how NOT to be. Hilarious detective fiction. It's a short list, but it'll do. :c)

Currently I'm re-reqading the earth's children series (right now I'm halfway thru The Mammoth Hunters.

I have a SIGNED copy of Douglas Adams' 'Last Chance To See..' It's an hilarious account of his search for creatures that may soon become extinct...

And just for the hell of it... All time classic.....The Chronicles of Thomas Covenent, The Unbeleiver' by Stephen Donaldson.

ok, you really want to know this. I work at a library and a coworker got a kick out of the title of a particular book and she knows that I havent' had any dates since my husband left me six months ago so. I decided to read it, its called "A Mind of Its Own" and it deals with some pretty nasty history of a certain male attribute. Anyhow, thats about all I'll say on the matter. :-D

ok this not my normal type of reading, I like fiction and fantasy books.

OOps, forgot to mention I am currently reading "Flyboys". It's about the history of ChiChi Jima, and WW2 focusing on the pilots that ran missions over this crucial Japanese communication post. The real interesting point is it chronicles the shooting down of George H.W. Bush. Some very interesting stuff as to the causes and motivations of WW2 as well.

maybe we should produce a book of the collected lives of 3D artists, we all seem to be able to add some different aspects and anecdotes to most subjects... (This idea copyright rj001 2003)...(just in case). or heres another 'insane' idea how about a thread where everyone adds a chapter to a story about a day in the life of.... (this idea also copyright rj001 2003)

boncher: watership down was pretty cool, its been a while but I liked it and I forgot to mentio tolkien:)

and mentio means mention in english I think

Anything by Lewis Carrol (except his math essays), or Edward Lear. (I love nonsense). A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Dune by Frank Herbert. Watership Down by Richard Adams. Anything by Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Theodore Sturgeon, or Isaac Asimov.

Killer Of Worlds by Jack Westerfield - great space opera and one of the best cover illustrations I've seen in a long time! Patrick Henry by Moses C. Tyler. Had a heck of a time finding it (originally published in 1869) and the langauge is archaic but it's still the best bio of PH I've read. Best; Dan

Currently..The Stars and Strips Forever by Harry Harrison..just finished a forgettable book on Terrorism, it's more of an encyclopaedia..and dated at that
Lawd a mercy..where to begin..I have about 1,600 books in storage (missus won't let me bring them to the new place..:|), collected lovingly over the last (kaff kaff), 30+ years. Mainly sci-fi, Military history, and history in general, some regular literature...I dunno..sheesh..there was a thread like this about 4 months ago..;)
One problem, a lot of my fave authors are dead; Heinlien, Asimov, Adams, Kornbluth, Farmer. There's a few live ones left; Turtledove, Drake, Stirling, Forstchen, Flint, where do you begin?..;)

Currently reading? Some light stuff from Baen Library at www.baen.com/library. It's free, btw. Try them. Pakled, you are probably familiar with the place. Favourites? A loooong list: Pratchett, the later books, without Rincewind. And second the recommendation for Maurice. Mary Gentle, Ash. George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire series. Michael Swanwick, The Iron Dragon's Daughter. Robert Holdstock, Mythago Wood and Lavondyss. Iain Banks, The Player of Games and Use of Weapons. China Mieville, Perdido Street Station and The Scar. Ked MacLeod, The Star Fraction and The Stone Canal. Tim Powers, Last Call and Anubis Gates. Lois Bujold, A Civil Campaign (you have to read a couple of previous books in the series to really appreciate) and Curse of Chalion. Guy Gavriel Kay, Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors. Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere. John Nicholls, Milagro Beanfield War. Larry McMurtry, Lonesome Dove. Stephen King, Gunslinger and Drawing of the Three, It, Christine_. Roddy Doyle, The Barrytown Trilogy. Mikhail Bulgakov, Master and Margarita Ilyf and Petroff, Golden Calf And many, many others, mainly fantasy and SF. Favourite non-fiction: Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond Europe: A History by Norman Davies Bosnia: A Short History by Noel Malcolm The Book of Werewolves by Sabine Baring-Gould The Vampire by Montague Summers Great Railway Bazaar and Old Patagonian Express by Paul Theroux Mexico and ... forgot the title ... two books of travel and news stories by Egon Erwin Kisch. Written in the Thirties and Forties.

I'm reading "The Salmon of Doubt" by Douglas Adams. Really a collection of everything that was left over in his computer when he died. Hitchhikers Guide is a great trilogy too. Also really like Bill Bryson. And, mboncher, I don't think Douglas Adams wrote Watership Down, I think that was Richard Adams like tjohn said. Close though. ;-)

At the moment I'm reading 3 books, 2 of which are related to The Matrix. 1. Matrix Warrior Being the One by Jake Horsley. This is described as the unofficial handbook and is mainly to do with the authors perceptions from the film. It's interesting to a certain extent by I think it's main audience would be teenagers, 'cos a lot of his interpretation is a little naive, in my opinion. 2.The Matrix and Philosophy by William Irwin. It covers the various areas of philosophy contained in the Matrix. It is very interesting reading and describes and explains how all these various philosophys work in the film. It is recomended reading for philosophy students and if you are interested in philosophy at all it's worth a read. 3.Pagan Babies by Gina Cascone. This book is mainly a comedy and describes itself by saying that if you've ever experienced catholic schools, especially ones run by nuns, then it will bring back memories of all the rediculous thing that came out of that style of education. In the first chapter she says that she was terrified to go to the nuns school because they spoke in an alien tongue, (latin), and she thought she'd never be able to communicate with them. Another piece describes how nuns have no legs and they float along the ground, because you cant see their legs in their long robes. It's really hilarious and presented from a childs point of view. I'd also like to add that one of my favourite books of all time is Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. It kept me engrossed when I was far fom home and I couldn't put it down. Catlin

Re-reading 'Cat's Cradle' by Vonnegut and enjoying the hell out of it. Still my favorite writer, after all these years.... Other favorites would be Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny, Orwell, and Stephen King.

Right now I'm working my way, again, through the "Belgariad" series by David Eddings. I'll re-read the "Mallorean" series when I'm done with the first one. Most favorite of all time? "Pillars of the Earth" by Follet. The way he brings the characters to life in that book is mind-blowing. Also like Margeret Weis and Tracy Hickman. When these two get together, good things happen. The Dragonlance books were good, but the Deathgate books were even better. Others: Michael Crichton, I can read anything that man writes. Dean Koontz, as far as I know, hasn't written a bad book yet. Stephen King, love all of his early stuff. That's all I can really think of right now. There are many more. Mike

Yes, Pillars of the Earth...what a great book! Usually I wouldn't read a novel about England in the middle ages, but once I started it I couldn't put it down. The characters and the time period really came alive.

What BOOK!?!? Aye, if only 'twer one book, alone... I don't read any more non-fiction, I'm at a years-long stage in my life where the "real" world holds no light or joy, only boredom and mundaneity. It's a combination of my Pisces-Dragon-Shadow astrology-being, I fear that I live in a constant state of unreality. I'm reading The Dragonbone Chair, by Tad Williams, the first book of "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn". It's pretty good, although it's difficult for me to read new books. I'm also reading "American Psycho", and a book called "Xenogenesis", by Octavia Butler. Mostly I read Science Fiction or Fantasy, or books that combine the two. I read the LOTR when I was 5, and find it far too childish to be of any interest these days. My favorites lean toward the adult and the insane, "The Riftwar Saga" by Raymond E. Feist, and "The Gap Cycle", by Stephen R. Donaldson... Can't forget the Shannara books, by Terry Brooks, which are also devastating and wonderful! I am not a christian, but the most definitive work of spirituality and Power I've read is hands down "The Wheel of Time", by Robert Jordan. If you enjoy reading and haven't read it, save it for a time in your life when you need faith and a heavy dose of Spirit. It will rock your world to it's core, upturning everything you thought you beieved in. It has been the joy of my life, well worth waiting all these years for... It is vast, to make the christian book seem a pamphlet, and wonderful in imagery and Power! All glory to the Dragon Reborn, may the Light save us from him...

I am reading 'The Bridge Across Forever' by Richard Bach right now. I have read it many times before but it always holds new meaning with each and every reading. I prefer science fiction and fantasy to non fiction. My fav authors are Stephen King, Dean Koontz and John Saul.

Portait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed by Patricia Cornwell Pretty interesting - I can really believe the case is finally solved (using modern forensic investigation.) On the other hand, it's also pretty creepy and depressing to hear about the conditions of the poor in the Bad Old Days in Whitechapel.