New Scaratings

Bringing this one back from the old Buzztime site, as I enjoyed hearing about new books (thanks again, Wonk!) I hadn't known of.

I've cut back significantly on the personal reading the last few weeks due to helping a friend with a dissertation (which involved reading more than a few thousand pages of very dense text, brain burnout!). Am currently reading only one:

Lord Valentine's Castle by Silverberg

Seems pretty decent so far.

"The Italian Secretary", by Caleb Carr. A historical fiction starring Sherlock Holmes and his brother, Mycroft.

Also, "When You Are Engulfed In Flames"--short stories by David Sedaris.

[quote="Dante" editted]Lord Valentine's Castle by Silverberg

Seems pretty decent so far.[/quote]

I found the milleu engaging and I enjoyed the other Majipoor books as well.

My current read is "The Bishop's Man" by Linden MacIntyre.

The Cape Breton setting has been captured accurately.

btw Dante, I tossed Perfect Rigor aside after about 50 pages. It was all about the math academy in the Soviet Union. Though I'm sure that's an interesting subject, it really wasn't what I had in mind when I got the book.

The sole copy of the Paul Erdos book from the public library is now on my nightstand, patiently waiting its turn.

-wonk
(whose treatment of unread books is more callous than the BMV's treatment of people waiting in lines)

You'll especially like the parts about methamphetamine in the Erdos book

I'm reading through Stephen King's Dark Tower series... (For the 4th time. ). It's my favorite story and I like to make the trip to Mid-World on an annual basis. Currently on my favorite installment, The Waste Lands.

_________________
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools.
-Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

I'm about half way through Ender in Exile by Orson Scott Card. Haven't been reading much lately.

It's described as "... a Interquel between Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead" on Wikipedia.

I've never used interquel in a sentence.

Yes, the Dark Tower series is great. Each time he released a new book in the series, I would go back and start from the beginning before reading the new book. I haven't picked those up in a while. It's about time to get back myself.

The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the Gunslinger followed.

I' ve heard recently that SK is contemplating another DT novel that will fill in the gaps of Roland's life after Wizard and Glass... I, for one, would love to hear him tell of the events of Jericho Hill!

PS - The juxtoposed quotes, "The Man in Black..." and "These pretzels are makin' me thirsty" provided a true LOL moment... Thanks.

_________________
An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools.
-Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

I just finished Eight Men Out about the 1919 World Series and David McCullough's John Adams and am about to begin Veeck As In Wreck and His Excellency, Joseph Ellis' biography on George Washington.

_________________
Malort. It's not just for breakfast anymore.

I think I'm starting to see where you guys are all going horribly wrong with this trivia shtick.
I'm currently wrapped up in:
The Ultimate Book of Top Ten Lists
Filmgoer's Companion
The Civil War Fact and Quiz Book
Guinness Book of World Records 2010
The Nitpicker's Guide to Classic Trekkies
and re-reading Bulfinch's Mythology

fiction, shmiction
I need useless globs of crap to assimilate...

Still reading Lovecraft, That and the Nat Geo are my non fiction. Well Webster's Encyclopedic Edition, the quotes and glossaries.
Fiction I am reading "Age of Misrule (worlds end)" by Mark Chadbourn; the Celtic gods have returned and the creatures of folklore...
I enjoyed the Wild Card series more.

_________________
A man must get a thing before he can forget it.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

I fear our mistakes far more than the strategy of our enemies.
-Thucydides (471-400 B.C.)

Ahh, From Jetboy to ?

I saw a David Sedaris question Sunday afternoon...EGADS!!!

The Great and Powerful Turtle would be the best wild card hero IMHO

_________________
A man must get a thing before he can forget it.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

I fear our mistakes far more than the strategy of our enemies.
-Thucydides (471-400 B.C.)

I liked a lot of 'em. Fortunato, Dr. Tachyon and Modular Man come time mind as "interesting" as opposed to best.

Beside a comprehensive dictionary...

Unaussprechlichen Kulten by von Junzt

_________________
A man must get a thing before he can forget it.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

I fear our mistakes far more than the strategy of our enemies.
-Thucydides (471-400 B.C.)

Finished Lord Valentine's Castle a few days ago -- pretty darned good. Started Majipoor Chronicles, but put it down after 20 pages or so -- will start back again later.

Currently reading The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Excellent recommend from Crackhead, so far, minus Heinlein's constant obsession with polygamy and recently pubescent females (which in this book at least makes a bit more sense to the plot).

Just finished, "The Brief, Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao".

Lots of Sci-fi/comic book references throughout.

Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove

The Dead Hand: the untold story of the cold war and its legacy, By David E. Hoffman
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Dead-Hand/David-E-Hoffman/e/9780385524377

Woodrow Wilson: A Biography, by John Milton Cooper
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Woodrow-Wilson/John-Milton-Cooper/e/9780307265418

Empire of Liberty, by Gordon Wood
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Empire-of-Liberty/Gordon-S-Wood/e/9780195039146

Conspirata, by Robert Harris
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Conspirata/Robert-Harris/e/9780743266109
(I know, I know. But you don't have to think much when you read it.)

This load should get me through another few weeks.

Dante, thanks for the Erdos book. Haven't thought about lots of stuff like Mersenne primes (http://primes.utm.edu/mersenne) or the traveling salesman algorithm problem (http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/~algorith/files/traveling-salesman.shtml) in years. I like how Erdos's friends basically said that he Always looked like a methhead, even before he developed a real problem with the uppers. Enjoyed it.

I just finished Turtledove's Worldwar series, and have started on the continuation series Colonization

Read 'em all. Lotsa fun. I preferred the War series over the Colonization, but they are all good.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Nightingale's Lament by Simon R Green.

"Ulverton" by Adam Thorpe.

I'm really struggling with this one. The novel tells the story of this fictional village in England over the span of 300 years. The narrator of each of the chapters uses the English vernacular of the time period described.