Books you're reading now

[Lord Chrusher]

I finished the Half-Blood Prince a couple days ago and I am now onto the Deathly Hallows.

[Metcarfre]

I'm reading a biography of Roald Amundsen.

[Zarr0]

I am reading the 40th animorphs book and i have below that the god delusion. If we're counting comics I'm about to start reading Saga of the Swamp Thing.

[Aodhan]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut. I'd like to read more science fiction (I am open to recommendations ) and I want to get hold of some of Asimov's Foundation series.

There are a few other books I began recently, too, which unfortunately I've had to temporarily abandon.

[Darkflame]

Last book book I read was Snuff.
Mostly comics atm;

Hawkeye and Daredevil are great and the most interesting from a originality/paneling/storytelling experiment angle. Hawkeye also had an issue told mostly in sign-language. (sort of attempting to teach the reader the basics via a character that recently lost their own hearing).

Top though for me in terms of "must read" is New Avengers, mainly because its written by Jonathan Hickman who loves crazy sci-fi shit but also plans stories well in advance. You know when you get a cliffhanger or mystery with him you get a good payoff and not them pulling something out their ass at the last minute.
Hell, he actually gives his characters moral delimeas without having a cop-out 3rd option. That takes bulls in a mainstream comic. (or, mainstream anything).

Moving away from the superhero stuff;

Unwritten - still excellent, and starting to move towards its ending. Very creative use of Meta-fiction elements. When you have a story involving the characters themselves being manipulated by the flow of the narrative and being aware of said manipulations you really get something pretty unique. Especially when everyone (esp villains) acts very smart.

Letter 44 - 9 issues in and very solid so far. Some clear filler but I love the concept. A newly elected President, who is a thinly vialed version of Obama, takes office and discovers his predecessor left him a note (who is a thinly vialed Bush).
The note explains that that the country was wrong about him - that he had a reason behind the "war mongering" and that all his actions he believed was the best option he had. Enclosed is pictures from a long range telescope showing an alien construction at the edge of the solar system, one apparently a large weapon. He explains he was preparing the world for war, while trying not to alert the aliens that they knew they were there.
What follows is a political thriller on earth as the new President gets to grips with the scenario, combined with following the investigation of a space mission to investigate the alien construction.

The comic has already been picked up for a tv series, and imho, it could work very well.
Id guess they would concentrate more on the earth stuff then all the expensive weightless space scenes, however.

God Is Dead (Hickman) - Comic series where all the Gods of various pantheons come back to earth. They arnt nice.

Humanity is pretty screwed. Ive just got to the bit where Jesus shows up. Its all pretty blasphemy-rific I am sure.
In some ways its a bit like Mark Waids Irredeemable which was basically "what is superman snapped and went evil". Not quite that gripping though.

[Volafortis]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut. I'd like to read more science fiction (I am open to recommendations ) and I want to get hold of some of Asimov's Foundation series.

There are a few other books I began recently, too, which unfortunately I've had to temporarily abandon.

I read Slaughterhouse-Five pretty recently, I liked it a lot.

I'll recommend the book I've just finished; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It's not an easy or light read by any means, but it's an absolutely brilliant science fiction/comedy take on modern entertainment, and it very smartly addresses quite a few other topics as well.

[Aodhan]

I read Slaughterhouse-Five pretty recently, I liked it a lot.

I'll recommend the book I've just finished; Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. It's not an easy or light read by any means, but it's an absolutely brilliant science fiction/comedy take on modern entertainment, and it very smartly addresses quite a few other topics as well.

That sounds like something I'd enjoy a lot, thanks. I'll try and get hold of a copy.

I finished Slaughterhouse-Five yesterday. Definitely worth reading. It reminded me strongly of Catch-22.

[Metcarfre]

Slaughterhouse-Five by Vonnegut. I'd like to read more science fiction (I am open to recommendations ) and I want to get hold of some of Asimov's Foundation series.

There are a few other books I began recently, too, which unfortunately I've had to temporarily abandon.

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

[Viking_Sleyheron]

Re-reading Ringworld right now but soon finished.

Inspired by one of Adams streams I think I might finally get to the Thomas Covenant books. I dont really know why I have never read them... something about them just seem to turn me off, but since practically everyone say that they are great I really should get to them.

[King Kool]

I'm listening to the JAM audiobook. It's a bit steep at 21 bucks, but considering it's 14 hours of entertainment, I guess it's not that bad. (Wow, audiobook are friggin expensive.)

So far (three hours in), it's pretty funny.

I would have got it free from Audible as one of my free books you get for your free trial, but Russ Pitts has been complaining about them not stopping charging his card lately, so I just downloaded it on iTunes.

[Gap Filler]

Lot of late J.G. Ballard (Millennium People, Super Cannes etc) off the back of rereading Atrocity Exhibition (which now on fifth sixth loop).

Phun Phact, taken to rolling d20's with Atrocity Exhibition for added chance operation. Really fits.

[Prospero101]

I'm hooked on the Dresden Files. I'm only on book two and have already picked up the next three.

[Rikadyn]

On the Way to the Gallows: Memoirs of Japan's Rebel Women.

Basically it's a collection of excerpts from the memoirs of Japanese woman involved in the Equal Rights movements in the period between the Meiji Restoration and the Pacific war as they were to be executed.

[Thysane]

Finished up Joe Abercombie's The Blade Itself, book one of his First Law trilogy. I liked it a lot, an extremely entertaining and quite dark read in the way that only Abercrombie can really pull off, but the writing wasn't quite up to par with what I've grown to expect from him. Makes sense though, given this was his first novel. Enjoyed it, but would've liked to have seen a bit more of his grim n' gritty flair shining through. Will definitely check out the other two First Law books at some point.

A few books on my plate now. Reading China Miéville's short story collection Looking For Jake right now (and enjoying it immensely), which is tiding me over until sometime next week, when William Gibson's latest book The Peripheral is set to come out. Looking forward to that. Also, somewhere in my future sits the third Malazan book, glowering at me with murderous intent, all 1000-odd pages of it. Gonna get some arm exercise on that one.

[Lord Chrusher]

Finished the Deathly Hallows last night. I have now reread the Harry Potter books. I also read The Tales of Beedle the Bard, also by JK Rowling, which is a set of five faire-tales set in the Harry Potter universe.

[Bramblerose]

I'm currently reading The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene.

It's pretty great so far. Although I have a strong background in physics, this book is still a pleasure to read, and has helped reinforced some tricky to grasp concepts regarding Einstein's theories of Special and General Relativity.

[Lord Chrusher]

I take a bit of an issue with Brian Greene in that his popular accounts of string theory make it seem like string theory is the answer to everything.

I just finished The Empty Throne, the latest in Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles. The series follows Saxon England's struggles against the invading Danes (Vikings) in the late 9th and early 10th centuries, a series of struggles that leads to the creation of the Kingdom of England.

[Bebop Man]

Finished Dr. Bloodmoney (Philip K. Dick's post-WW3 nuclear fallout apocalypse), going back to The Yellow King (lovecraftian horror anthology) so I can finish those last 3 stories and move over to something else.

[Gap Filler]

Lot of nineties cyberpunk off the back of umpteenth rereading Snow Crash, Andrew Cartmel's very cyberpunkish Doctor Who novels, and Eclipse Phase (mainly Bruce Sterling binge).

[Metcarfre]

I received Dressing The Man: Mastering The Art Of Permanent Style by Alan Flusser for my birthday.

[adi_pie]

After finishing "Look to the Windward" (and absolutely loving it), this month I'll be continuing my Iain M. Banks kick with "Consider Phlebas".
I've also started on "Sabriel" on recommendation from NewtC.
Aside from that, I've also started "Howl's Moving Castle" and the first volume of Hellblazer because they've been on my to-read list forever and I think it's high time I started them.
Once I'm finished with those, probably before DesertBus, I'll start the Malazan books by Steven Erikson to see what Adam has been gushing so much about.
I've finally gotten back into my reading groove.

[Arclight_Dynamo]

I received Dressing The Man: Mastering The Art Of Permanent Style by Alan Flusser for my birthday.

Sitting on my bookshelf right now. I'll get to it... eventually.

[Duckay]

I spent today essentially devouring Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography.

It's just about everything you'd expect from that title.

[Darkflame]

That sounds brilliant.
--
Dave Gorman vs the Rest of the World - Only just started but seems good fun. Like most of his stuff. Highly recommend his recent tv series "Modern Life Is Goodish" too.

[Bebop Man]

I started working part-time at a bookstore a couple of months ago. This is everything I've read while working there:

Two David Mamet plays (Glengarry Glen Ross and Oleanna)
A bunch of plays by Samuel Beckett
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, by Raymond Carver
Broderies, by Marjane Satrapi
A Vindication of Woman's Rights, by Mary Wollstonecraft
Double Indemnity, by James M. Cain
Everything I can find by Gary Larson
Some children's books I'd never read, like How the Grinch... and Where the Wild Things Are. Because why not.

I'm short of 2 books to reach my 20-book-a-year pledge.