The Written Word

**exsuscito**

We've covered movies and music in previous threads. Now I'm interested in hearing what books some of you fine people are currently engaged in, and what, if any, deserves to be your favourite(s).

Currently reading: I finally got round to picking up 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley, after reading 'Dearly Devoted Dexter' by Jeff Lindsay, and 'My Boring-As$ life' by Kevin Smith. Next, I plan on delving into 'I am Legend' by Richard Matheson (the movie's thread inspired me to pick it up).

Favourite(s): The Matrix movies aroused my interest in philosophy and the nature of reality, and this lead me, in turn, to 'Simulacra and Simulation' by Jean Baudrillard. I've harped on about it in enough threads, so here I just encourage you to read it.

I've only recently begun to read fiction (caught up as I was with philosophy and non-fiction political books), so I can't really list any as favourites just yet. I can say that I did enjoy both Dexter books. Dark = good, in my book (no pun intended).

**Archangel**

I went on a stint of reading books about philosophy and religion for awhile, but lately I've went back to some guilty-pleasure reading with some of the Star Wars novels I hadn't read yet, while I've also been reading Paradise Lost off and on for the past year after I picked it up along with Dante's Inferno about a year ago for pretty cheap.

**Procurator**

I strictly read fiction (and reference books for work, of course).

Currently reading: The Night Watch by Sergey Lukyanenko.

Intend to read: The entire Discworld series. Maybe some more Dune stuff too - I'm only up to Children of Dune.

Favourite books: Anything by PG Wodehouse (Jeeves & Wooster being my favourites), everything by Jasper Fforde (the Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series), and, of course, any fiction by Douglas Adams.

**PBlade**

I'm *still* reading, and have been for the past year on and off, "Matrix Warrior" by Jake Horsley. Despite the silly name, it's pretty much philosophy and theory about what existence would be like if the Matrix was real, analysing the different archetypes within the Matrix. It's really deep and eye-opening.

And I still haven't finished it.

Inbetween reading the bugger, I've read the Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker, which are just seriously... really good.

Pyraci

Currently Reading: "The Hellbound Heart"(re-reading) by Clive Barker. I also plan to read "I am Legend" by Richard Matheson. (for the same reasons Exsuscito pointed out.)

Favorite(s): "Simulacra and Simulation" by Jean Baudrillard (again, for the same reasons as Ex.) as well as "The Hellbound Heart", "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and "The Will to Power" by Friedrich Nietzche, and "La Divina Commedia" by Dante Alighieri

**Harpalos-mxo**

Currently Reading: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson. I don't like it. I don't even know why I started it, not being a fan of epic fantasy...

Next: Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut

Favorite(s):
Neuromancer, by William Gibson
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
1984 and Animal Farm, by George Orwell
The Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett
V for Vendetta and Watchmen, by Alan Moore
Maus, by Art Spiegelman

**Illyria22** · 10/25/2007 08:27:25

Currently reading: "Collapse -- How Societies Choose to Fail or Suceed" by Jared Diamond.

Favorites: The Quintaglio Ascension Trilogy ("Far-Seer", "Fossil Hunter", and "Foreigner" ) by Robert J. Sawyer; "The Chalice and the Blade" by Rianne Eisler (anything by Riane Eisler, actually!)

Illyria

**imax** · 10/25/2007 09:07:03

Currently Reading: Justice by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger, with art by Ross and Doug Braithwaite. This series has taken 2 full years to come out and I have all 12 issues, hoever i have only read about the 1st 4 lol

Next: All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder by Frank Miller and penciled by Jim Lee. Which I also have all the issues thus far but still have only read the 1st few.

Favorite(s Broken City by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Eduardo Risso. Probobly the best and most realistic batman Story ever written. IMO

Tenshi

Currently Reading: Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, Animal Farm by George Orwell and a collection of Immanuel Kant essays
Next Up: More Immanuel Kant and I want to check out some more Neil Gaiman and the Dune series
Favorites: American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, The Walking Drum by Louis Lamour (I like it because it's one of the few non-Westerns he wrote)

**ZippyTheSquirrel**

My two favorite book series are The Lost Years of Merlin and The Seventh Tower. I'm currently reading the Miles Vorkosigan series and the Artemis Fowl series.

**Stack**

I'm currently reading "Core" by Kassten Alonso. He's the son of one of my college writing professors, and he came and gave a reading a year or two ago. It's a really crazy book, the kind that throws in words out of nowhere just to simulate a person's oddball thought process, and it never uses quotation marks and rarely uses commas. It can be confusing, but overall it has an awesome effect of drawing you into the main character's head.

I'm not sure what I'll read next, though. I'm bogged down right now with a Shakespeare class, and we're going through about a play a week... and I'm three plays behind. I also have to read an entire book full of short stories this afternoon, called "Dance of the Happy Shades."

Offhand, my two favorite books are "Sphere" by Michael Crichton, for its persistent use of limited 1st-person and the constant psychoanalyzing of the other characters through the mind of the main character, and "The Silmarilion" by Tolkien, for just being the most beautiful work of fictional literature ever.

**exsuscito**

Brave New World has been postponed. I made the mistake of reading the first 20 pages or so of I Am Legend, and I must read more.

Good to see so many embracing the papyrus.

Tenshi

I just discovered the $1.00 book section of the local thrift store...I wont see the light of day for so looong...

**MarsNova**

Currently Reading - Cat in the Hat.

Favorite book - Green Eggs and Ham.

TheShickle

It took me like a whole day to read Cat and the Hat.

That Dr. Seuss is one hell of a novelist.