[June] What are you reading?

[Desdichado]

Does anyone besides me read non-fiction for fun? I rarely see that type of stuff on the "What are you Reading" threads. National Acrobat, you can disregard.

 

[Viking Bastard]

I'm currently reading Seamus Heany's translation of Bewoulf.

I really like Seamus Heany's prose style.

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

Does anyone besides me read non-fiction for fun? I rarely see that type of stuff on the "What are you Reading" threads. National Acrobat, you can disregard.

On occasion, I do. When something strikes my fancy. Usually it's something about Jack the Ripper. The last thing I was reading, the first part of Lud Heat: and Suicide Bridge, was more or less non-fiction.

White Chappell, Scarlet Tracings again by Iain Sinclair, a strangely compelling novel which seems to be saying that Whitechapel and the East End has its own underlying spirit (think a DnD genius loci), and that things like Jack the Ripper and the Elephant Man are caused by people sensitive to this spirit (Mr. Merrick's more or less a golem here). Lotsa weird imagery.

 

[MonsterMash]

Currently reading - The Thousand and one nights.

Just finished: Robert E. Howard's Cthulhu mythos/horror stories - very different to H.P. Lovecraft as you'd expect
Role Playing Mastery by a certain Gary Gygax

Also a couple of techinical books for work.

I'm a big fan of Iain Sinclair, Scarlet Chappel, White Tracings is good, but Downriver is better in my opinion.

Reading non fiction for fun is something I do, largely history or popular science books.

 

[Chimera]

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Have never read any of the HP books before, but decided I'd read this one after seeing PoA in the theater and reading (here) what was in the book but wasn't in the movie. GoF is a mighty big book, so obviously a lot of it won't make it to the screen.

For my trip next week;

Raymond Feist Talon of the Silver Hawk
Terry Pratchett Night Watch
Dobson/Miller Aikido in everyday life

 

[Ibram]

Right now I'm reading Paying the Piper by David Drake. Its the first new Hammers Slammers novel hes written in a LONG time (and one I've been expecting eagerly). From what I've read David Drake is still the Grand Master of Millitary SF.

I'm waiting on The Savage Tales of Soloman Kane which is supposed to come out this month. Its a compalation of all the Soloman Kane tales written by Robert E. Howard. After reading the compalation The Comming of Conan the Cimmerian I've been on a MAJOR REH kick.

 

[Krug]

Finished Talon of the Silver Hawk and found it rather blah. Nothing in there beyond standard fantasy.

Started playing some of the Lone Wolf gamebooks over at Project Aon. Man it's still fun and what a great gameworld. Joe Dever really made an engrossing, original world and he made full use of the gamebook genre.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Finishing up The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett (the only Discworld book I hadn't read yet).

The second book, A Hat Full of Sky, is even better.

 

[drothgery]

Over the weekend, I read Agyar and The Book of Jhereg, both by Steven Brust; I've been on a Brust jag lately .

The Book of Jhereg comprises the first three Vlad Taltos novels, and I was pretty disappointed in them. It seems that it really was the florid writing style that made me love The Phoenix Guards so much; these were written in a pedestrian, clumsy fashion that did very little for me. Granted, they're among his first works, so I can forgive them as early efforts; still, I was hoping for something as delightful as Phoenix Guards and didn't get it.

Daniel

Have you read Five Hundred Years After (the sequel to The Phoenix Guards) and/or the Viscount books (The Paths of the Dead, Lord of Castle Black, and Sethra Lavode) yet? They're the other Paarfi books, though it's probably worth noting that some of Sethra Lavode may be a little confusing if you haven't read Issola (the newest Vlad book). I'm not entirely sure whether I prefer the quasi-Victorian Romance style of the Paarfi books or the dry sarcasm of the Vlad Taltos books, myself.

 

[PieAndDragon]

Currently reading Elric of Melnibone by Micheal Moorcock.

Was skeptical at first, but quite enjoying it.