Books you're currently reading???

[Sundae]

Now on A Clash of Kings.

Which I shouldn't be, as I still have four library books to read. But I missed Daenerys so much I had to start it. I'll find out what I've been reading recently and post it soon; some of them were really quite good.

[limegreenc]

From Survival to Recovery

[Happy Monkey]

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. I'm not sure what genre Discworld has transformed into. It's not really comedy anymore; sort of satire blended with historical fiction set in a fantasy world. Which, since the definition of "historical fiction" is a fictional stories set in the real world, is hard to do.

Pratchett hasn't lost his touch yet, but a preemptive Fuck Alzheimers. Any book could be his last.

[Gravdigr]

"The Normans: From Raiders To Kings" by Lars Brownworth

[Gravdigr]

"Head To Head" by Linda Ladd

[elSicomoro]

Been delving into the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz...currently on the 2nd book. Also read Food Rules by Michael Pollan and OITNB. I tried reading Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, but it pissed me off.

[Gravdigr]

Love Odd Thomas.

Checked out the movie yet? "Odd Thomas" is currently on Netflix, I believe.

[Griff]

Finally finished American Gods. I can't wait for the tv series! Now focused mainly on Lawrence In Arabia. Side reading on bees and disabilities.

[elSicomoro]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Love Odd Thomas.

Checked out the movie yet? "Odd Thomas" is currently on Netflix, I believe.

I've seen some of it, which pushed me to read the books. I'm now on book 3, Brother Odd.

[footfootfoot]

Far From the Madding Crowd

What a gem:

When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.

[DanaC]

Beautiful.

Recent reads:

Goddamn Scary Monsters, by Rick Gualtieri - the fifth book in the Tome of Bill series. Hilarious and still very much on form. I love Bill the Vampire. A real antidote to the Twiglet vamps.

usually I get the audiobooks because the narrator is kickass. But, I couldn't afford it this time so got the kindle edition - loved it - and the narrator's voice was clear enough in my mind that i could basically hear him telling me the story

Mort (The Fearlanders), by Joseph Duncan

A zombie apocalypse take with a difference. Great book - funny and tragic by turn. Also:

Cattle set in the same Fearlanders world but around ten years later - possibly one of the darkest books I have read in a very long time. Genuinely disturbing in a way that most zombie fiction really isn't. Ten years after the outbreak and some of the zombies have regained their minds and memories - but not their emotions. They have won the war - humans are few and far between. The new clever zombies have taken to farming humans for meat.

It's beautifully written and doesn't pull its punches. I haven't finished it yet - needed to take a break from the tension. I highly recommend this book.

Wilt, by Tom Sharpe - I've read this book several times over the years but it's probably over a decade since I last revisited Henry Wilt. I still love him. it's a brilliant book. The cat and mouse game between Wilt and the Inspector (who is convinced he has killed his wife) still makes me laugh out loud and cheer him on. The man with the jackrabbit mind indeed.

There have been a bunch of others that I can't be arsed listing (some zombie apocalypse, natch, also some space exploration type stuff) might come back to at some point.

Currently reading:

Last Night, by Stephen Leather - the fifth book in the Jack Nightingale series. As with the Tome of Bill, I'd previously listened to these on audio but went with a kindle edition this time - and again, I can clearly hear the narrator which is great.

Nightingale is a great character - and the books are a nice mix of crime fiction and supernatural shenanigans. None of them quite hit like the first - which was spooky as hell and really got under my skin, but they're still good fun and well written.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Goddamn Scary Monsters, by Rick Gualtieri

[elSicomoro]

Let's see how many books I can juggle at one time...working on Book 3 of Odd Thomas, already have Book 4. Started Fast Food Nation last night. Also been reading Ron Burgundy's "autobiography" off and on for about a month. And I want some Jim Hightower books now.

[footfootfoot]

Finished the English Patient, also A Most Wanted Man by Le Carre

Good stuff.

[DanaC]

Damn I got the title wrong lol

It's Goddamned Freaky Monsters.

I was mixing it up with book 2 (Scary Dead Things)

The whole series is awesome

Bill the Vampire
Scary Dead Things
Holier than Thou
The Mourning Woods
Goddamned Freaky Monsters

I really cannot recommend them enough.

Here's the write up for book 1:

Meet Bill Ryder: programmer, gamer geek, and hopeless dweeb when it comes to women. All he ever asked for out of life was to collect his paycheck, hang out with his buds, and eventually (someday) ask out the girl of his dreams.

However, then Bill met Sally. She was mysterious, aggressive, and best of all...smoking hot. Bill never stood a chance. Before he knew what was happening Sally had lead him to his death, and that was only the beginning of his troubles.

Now Bill awakes to find himself an undead predator of the night. The only problem is he’s still at the bottom of the food chain.

He’s in way over his head, surrounded by creatures more dangerous, better looking, and a whole lot cooler than he is. Worst of all is the dreaded Night Razor, a master vampire who just can’t stand him. He gives Bill a 90-day deadline to either prove himself or meet a more permanent kind of death, and the deck is definitely stacked against him.

But Bill isn’t exactly average. A vampire like him hasn’t been seen in over five centuries. He's got a few tricks up his sleeve, unlikely allies to help him out, and an attitude problem that makes him just too damn obnoxious to quit. He may just pull it off... if he doesn't get his teeth kicked in first.

And I really, really recommend the audiobooks, because the narrator is brilliant. Laugh out loud funny.