What Are You Reading Right Now?

JaNell · Post by **JaNell** » Sat May 10, 2003 5:27 am

•sigh•

We lost a few threads during the storms, so let's start this one over.

What are you reading, RIGHT NOW?

The Fallen · Post by **The Fallen** » Sat May 10, 2003 11:20 am

Laurell K Hamilton - A Kiss of Shadows
Ashes of Victory - David Weber
Steel Beach - John Varley

I tend to bounce between books depending where I am

Ladybee · Post by **Ladybee** » Sat May 10, 2003 9:44 pm

Just finished The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester, about to start a biography of Victoria Woodhull.

JaNell · Post by **JaNell** » Thu May 15, 2003 2:12 pm

Re-reading Onion Girl, by Charles De Lint, and just started One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

div · Post by **div** » Thu May 15, 2003 3:41 pm

Revelation Space - Alastair Reynolds
Amber Spyglass - Phillip Pullman
Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

The Fallen · Post by **The Fallen** » Fri May 16, 2003 2:33 am

Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Spanking Watson - Kinky "Big Dick" Friedman

Lost Traveler · Post by **Lost Traveler** » Fri May 16, 2003 11:33 am

still the similarillian (spell) the war distracted me and its a hard read to get back in the habbit with.

JaNell · Post by **JaNell** » Thu May 29, 2003 8:48 am

A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway
Songs of a Dead Dreamer, Thomas Ligotti

greyeyes · Post by **greyeyes** » Sun Jun 01, 2003 2:12 am

A Moveable Feast is my favorite Hemingway.

I'm currently reading The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fford. It's made for bookworms. Incredibly witty.

I just read the first two books in a series by Jaqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart and Kushiel's Chosen. Very good alt. historical with an interesting bdsm twist. The subject was well treated.

Now I have a ton of catalogs from BEA to peruse...

JaNell · Post by **JaNell** » Mon Jun 02, 2003 1:59 pm

From Hell, lAlan Moore & Eddie Campbell

Ladybee · Post by **Ladybee** » Thu Jun 05, 2003 9:08 pm

I am reading The Portrait of Mrs. Charbuque by Jeffrey Ford.

It takes place in NYC in 1893, following the developing events in the life of a popular society portrait painter, Piero Piambo. He receives a commission from a woman, Mrs. Charbuque, who refuses to let anyone see her (even her servant is blind), and requests that Piambo paint her portrait based entirely on impressions gained from daily conversations conducted with her hidden behind a screen. She goes on to tell him fantastic stories from her past, of her youth assisting her father in practicing "crystalogogy," divination by the examination of snowflakes[1] and subsequent life as a medium of sorts know as The Sybil.

They have just introduced a mysterious side-plot about a strange tropical disease that destroys the eye-tissue of its victims, causing them to bleed to death by weeping blood. One of Piambo's fellow painters lives in an opium den in Hell's Kitchen, and mention has been made of his protectorship by the famous 19th c gang, the Dead Rabbits.

So far i can't put it down. Well, ok, i put it down long enough to type this post. :p

[1] There's a crudely amusing side story to this, involving a contemporary of his who is a "turdologist," i.e., excremental divination.

candicide · Post by **candicide** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 12:30 pm

Right now, I'm re-reading Imajika by Clive Barker. It's definately one of my favourite reads of all time.

div · Post by **div** » Fri Jun 06, 2003 1:06 pm

right now? umm...

http://www.knoxgothic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=473

SeeingI · Post by **SeeingI** » Sun Jun 08, 2003 3:04 pm

I just got finished reading "Madame Bovary," which is one of those classic that you always feel you should read, but never do. It's been sitting on my shelf for years, actually.

But it's really good! It's so modern, the situations described have hardly changed at all. Small town life, the dreams of the romantic & foolish. Emma Bovary reminds me so much of myself - she's so obsessed with her fantasies of the ideal romance that she misses the good things right in front of her. She's very much like Scarlett O'Hara, in that she misses true love because she's so busy chasing "romance." However, Emma's dalliances ruin her, whereas Scarlett remains indomitable.

But right NOW I'm reading a book from the same period (1840s) called
"Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds." It's a compendium of foibles and fallacies through the ages, such as stock market madness, the Crusades, mesmerism, alchemy, tulip mania, witch hysteria, hairstyle trends, etc. It's wonderful reading and I'd reccommend it to anyone.

Oh yes, and at the same time I'm reading a Doctor Who novel called "The Romance of Crime" which is very amusing. Thanks to OmegaDuck for lending it to me!

Oh ... and who am I? Well this is Martin, I haven't been here in a long while, but I am glad to be back!

candicide · Post by **candicide** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 1:20 pm

SeeingI wrote:I just got finished reading "Madame Bovary," which is one of those classic that you always feel you should read, but never do. It's been sitting on my shelf for years, actually.

But it's really good! It's so modern, the situations described have hardly changed at all. Small town life, the dreams of the romantic & foolish. Emma Bovary reminds me so much of myself - she's so obsessed with her fantasies of the ideal romance that she misses the good things right in front of her. She's very much like Scarlett O'Hara, in that she misses true love because she's so busy chasing "romance." However, Emma's dalliances ruin her, whereas Scarlett remains indomitable.

But right NOW I'm reading a book from the same period (1840s) called
"Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds." It's a compendium of foibles and fallacies through the ages, such as stock market madness, the Crusades, mesmerism, alchemy, tulip mania, witch hysteria, hairstyle trends, etc. It's wonderful reading and I'd reccommend it to anyone.

Oh yes, and at the same time I'm reading a Doctor Who novel called "The Romance of Crime" which is very amusing. Thanks to OmegaDuck for lending it to me!

Oh ... and who am I? Well this is Martin, I haven't been here in a long while, but I am glad to be back!

Yay Martin! Welcome back!!!

JaNell · Post by **JaNell** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 5:59 pm

Martin!!!

Oh, yeah, I'm reading Changer by Jane Linskold.

The Fallen · Post by **The Fallen** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 6:33 pm

Pat McManus - Never Sniff a Gift Fish
Janny Wurts - Mistress of the Empire
Mick Farren - Necrom

Lost Traveler · Post by **Lost Traveler** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:15 am

CS Friedman Black Sun Rising (yes yes a fantasy but its technically a Sci Fi).

Celestial Dung · Post by **Celestial Dung** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 1:01 pm

1. The Life of H.G. Wells: The Time Travelller by Norman and Jeanne Macenzie. 1987 revised edition.

I used to be really hooked into these type of Acedemic biographies. By Acedemic biography I mean I low on the gossip stiffly written biography. You tell the person's story and you keep moralization as much out of it as possible. Right now I'm at the beginning Wells has just started a career in teaching, have second thoughts about his first wife, and he's just starting to send out stories and articles. I am now enterting part two which promises itself as "A man of Letters." I hope as much...

2. The Vampire Sextette, edited by Marvin Kaye

Good Ol' Marvin Kaye. I believe that if you had a library of every compilation he has edited you would have a suffecient collection of supernatural literature. This one offers six novellettes of vampire goodyness. Kim Newman, Nancy Collins, Brain Sableford, S.P. Somtow, Chelsea Yarbro, and Tanith Lee are all representing. have to bre impressed by the lineup. Right now I'm reading through "The Other side of Midnight" by Kim Newman. It's a sort of alternative universe. What if vampires did exist and it was commen knowledge? Dracula was real and was considered a major world leader? What if Orson Wells survived into the 90's to make a movie about him? And what if a private vampire detective was hired to find out who is funding the movie?

The inclusion of Barbie the Vampire Slayer and her overlooker is a hoot.

3. Various books while I organize my library.

The bad things about creating you're own personal library space is that you have to force yoruself not to skim over the books you had forgtten about. "Vampire Lesbians from Sodom"? When did I pick that up?

iblis · Post by **iblis** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 2:05 pm

Lost Traveler wrote:CS Friedman Black Sun Rising (yes yes a fantasy but its technically a Sci Fi).

What's wrong with fantasy?

What Are You Reading Right Now?

What Are You Reading Right Now?

The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque