[Drew]

I'm re-reading Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" for like the fourth or fifth time now. A fucking awesome read, even if it's dense, seriously confusing, stream-of-consious-ish, and a degree in rocket science isn't actually required but is pretty damned helpful.

Seriously, this or "Infinite Jest" is my favorite novel, and I'm sort of leaning towards Gravity's Rainbow this time around. The short version of the story is it's the tale of Thomas Slothrop, an American soldier stationed in London in WWII, and the british intelligence team who finds that a map of V-2 rocket impact sites in London corresponds exactly with a map of his sexual conquests Slothrop has been keeping over his desk, with a mean lag of about three days between conquest and impact. That's where it starts, anyhow.

Eleven59, you should read this because if nothing else I think the title to The Tea Party's "The Interzone Mantras" is an oblique reference to this book.

[Desecrated]

Non-fiction;

Lillian Nordica's - Hints to Singers

[xXxPriestessxXx]

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill.
So far it is really awesome.

[Naren]

I'm rereading Stephen King's Dark Tower series again and I'm currently on "Wizard And Glass" (The Dark Tower IV). You read a lot of it differently when you know how it ends.

[technomancer]

The Dark Tower was awesome... up until the last book. That last book was proof that King has gotten too successful as his editor should have kicked his ass and made him rewrite it

Just finished Homeland - R. A. Salvatore
Now reading Exile - R. A. Salvatore

I'm pretty much reading the entire Drizzt chronicles as I just picked them all up in the hardback combined collectors editions (everything up to the current Transitions series)

[The Dark Wolf]

The Drizzt series - pretty sub-par writing*, but one of the coolest (and most emulated ) literary characters ever. Shit, I'm playing a Dark Elf Ranger on Oblivion right now. Then I'll start Neverwinter Nights where I'll play a *gasp* dark elf ranger.


*Way, WAY too many battle scenes. But eh. I've read most all the books, many times in fact.

I loved the last Dark Tower. Maybe my favorite book in the series. What an ending!


As for what I'm reading now...

1. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch. Man alive, what a great book. Metal Ken read it, but I actually read the sequel first. Epic fantasy meets the caper novel. Like LotR mixed with Ocean's Eleven.
2. The Greek Passion, by Nikos Kazantzakis. Terrific book. A true classic, and a wonderful addition to my quest to become a high lit convert. Up next... Call It Sleep, by Henry Roth.
3. Arnold: The Education of A Bodybuilder, by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Great story of this supremely motivated guy, and a neat guide to his bodybuilding system.


There's other shit too, but those are the main things currently. As always. I'm reading like 4 or 5 books on evolution, psychology, and economics. Plus comic books!

[technomancer]

Originally Posted by The Dark Wolf

I loved the last Dark Tower. Maybe my favorite book in the series. What an ending!

The very end was absolutely fantastic... actually in retrospect the only things I truly hated were

King putting himself into the novels and the entire sequence with Dandelo.

Forgot I'm also reading:
Writing the Breakout Novel - Donald Maas
Java Concurrency in Practice - Brian Goetz etc

[Naren]

Originally Posted by technomancer

The very end was absolutely fantastic... actually in retrospect the only things I truly hated were

I've heard a lot of people say that that was one of the best parts of the whole series.

I actually liked it because it gave it this really out-there bizarre kind of feel (more than usual).

Reading through the series again (I'm a little over halfway through Wolves of the Calla), I can really appreciate how King ended the series and the little things that fit together perfectly, especially in the last few books, that I hadn't even noticed the first time through. It just shows me that the ending for the series was the only ending that was truly possible.

As for the things you disliked, I loved them both.

[technomancer]

Sojourn - R.A. Salvatore
Java & XML - Brett D. McLaughlin & Justin Edelson

TDW - hehe yeah I'm not looking for literature... I'm slinging code 8+ hours a day, followed by guitar practice and yard work... I'm looking for fun relaxing reading at this point
Naren - obviously to each their own, but I've come to expect more/better from King over the years

[the.godfather]

Been re-reading 'Different Seasons' by Stephen King. Just an all-time classic.

I'd never read the book up until last year actually but have now read it a couple of times since then.