What Do you Read

I was going to buy The Looking Glass Wars when I found a cheap copy of the first book, but I passed. I think I'm glad I did, because it doesn't sound that very good anyway.
 
I recently discovered an excellent second hand English book store here in Amsterdam, with great prices, a comfortable library-like atmosphere and a dusty cellar filled with old sci-fi. I now have WAY too many books on my bedside stand. Let's see....

I recently read Breakfast of Champions and Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, and I've also got Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five and Player Piano waiting for me. Bill Bryson's Down Under book and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (for the second time) have just been finished, as well as Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola by Kinky Friedman. I'm currently reading Ubik by Philip K. Dick (with A Scanner Darkly waiting) and Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks (with The Algebraist, Excession, Feersum Endjinn and Use of Weapons all waiting, not to mention The Bridge). I also have the first two Fafhrd and Gray Mouser collections by Fritz Leiber, volumes one and two of the HP Lovecraft Omnibus, Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Book of Dave by Will Self, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist, The Mile High Club by Kinky Friedman, and the first two trilogies in the Thomas Covenant series by Steven Donaldson.

This is not to mention my To Get list.

Eek...
 
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Fuzzy Birds said:
volumes one and two of the HP Lovecraft Omnibus.
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Theres an omnibus now! I'm pretty sure I have most of his stories in one form or another though.... Decisions decisions...

I've recently ordered The Shotgun Rule and All The Blood in Brooklyn by Charlie Huston as well as The Blonde by Duane Swierczynski. I'm looking forward to them, the Huston books a bit more since I'm more familier with the Author, but I really want to know how The Blonde links up with The Wheelman since most of the characters in that died rather unhappy deaths. And drank Yeungling.
 
Baxter said:
Theres an omnibus now! I'm pretty sure I have most of his stories in one form or another though.... Decisions decisions...
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There are a minimum of three. They're simply called HP Lovecraft Omnibus 1, 2, 3, and they're not particularly new.

Finished Ubik last night and loved it so much. Brimming with great ideas and archetypal yet enjoyable characters, it really had me hooked all the way to the end. Am now halfway through Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, which is seriously making me want to join the religion of Bokononism.
 
Fuzzy Birds said:
There are a minimum of three. They're simply called HP Lovecraft Omnibus 1, 2, 3, and they're not particularly new.

Finished Ubik last night and loved it so much. Brimming with great ideas and archetypal yet enjoyable characters, it really had me hooked all the way to the end. Am now halfway through Cat's Cradle by Vonnegut, which is seriously making me want to join the religion of Bokononism.
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I think that's how everyone feels when they first read Cat's Cradle.

Sirens of Titan is far and away the best Vonnegut book, though.
 
Fuzzy Birds said:
I recently discovered an excellent second hand English book store here in Amsterdam, with great prices, a comfortable library-like atmosphere and a dusty cellar filled with old sci-fi. I now have WAY too many books on my bedside stand. Let's see....

I recently read Breakfast of Champions and Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut, and I've also got Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse Five and Player Piano waiting for me. Bill Bryson's Down Under book and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (for the second time) have just been finished, as well as Elvis, Jesus and Coca Cola by Kinky Friedman. I'm currently reading Ubik by Philip K. Dick (with A Scanner Darkly waiting) and Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks (with The Algebraist, Excession, Feersum Endjinn and Use of Weapons all waiting, not to mention The Bridge). I also have the first two Fafhrd and Gray Mouser collections by Fritz Leiber, volumes one and two of the HP Lovecraft Omnibus, Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, The Book of Dave by Will Self, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by G.W. Dahlquist, The Mile High Club by Kinky Friedman, and the first two trilogies in the Thomas Covenant series by Steven Donaldson.

This is not to mention my To Get list.

Eek...
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Yeah. So yesterday I just bought Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Flow My Tears The Policeman Said and The Turning Wheel and Other Stories by Philip K Dick, Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut, Eternal Champion by Michael Moorcock, Our Lady of Darkness by Lieber and Occam's Razor by David Duncan (dusty old 50's pulp sci-fi stuff, the store has boxes of 'em).

I'm also eyeing up the Complete Chronicles of Conan and/or Solomon Kane by Howard, and at the very least the Jerry Cornelius Quartet by Moorcock.

Damnit, I can't stop!
 
Well, I like Howard's Solomon Kane stories (a couple of which are short enough that I can use them for Halloween readings for upper elementary or middle school kids). I have most of them, collected in two slim volumes, which didn't cost much and don't take up a lot of space. They're basically stories of the spooky and supernatural, set in the late 1500s; a lot of them take place in Africa, which would have been a mysterious and "heathen" place at the time. Others take place in backwater parts of Europe: the English moors, the Black Forest region of Germany, and so on.
 
Seldes Katne said:
Well, I like Howard's Solomon Kane stories (a couple of which are short enough that I can use them for Halloween readings for upper elementary or middle school kids). I have most of them, collected in two slim volumes, which didn't cost much and don't take up a lot of space. They're basically stories of the spooky and supernatural, set in the late 1500s; a lot of them take place in Africa, which would have been a mysterious and "heathen" place at the time. Others take place in backwater parts of Europe: the English moors, the Black Forest region of Germany, and so on.
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The more I hear of this character/series, the more I like. Funnily enough, I just noticed they're adapting a movie out of it right now.
 
Planet-man said:
I have finally started reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter, and it's pretty much exactly how I thought it would be and it's great.
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I enjoyed it. I've got Deeply Disturbing Dexter somewhere but I haven't gotten around to it. The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston comes first.
 
I finished Aleister Crowley: The Beast Demystified last night and man, I always thought of Crowley as some kind of mysterious magician and I read this expecting to learn about how he did all of this stuff, and now I just think he's a massive dick.

Apparently he turned himself invisible though.
 
Oh, of course. He was a racist, sexist, elitist son of a *****.

He did a lot of cool stuff and greatly influence occultism, but I think he represents a very old-fashioned, outdated way of going about magic.
 
Right now I'm reading End of Religion after Seldes recommended it. I have to give a GRAND "Thank you," because this book is really speaking to me. So, thank you, Seldes.
 
You're welcome. (Seriously, librarians live for these kinds of book/reader match-ups. :D) If I find any more books of a similar nature, I'll let you know.
 
moonmaster said:
Oh, of course. He was a racist, sexist, elitist son of a *****.

He did a lot of cool stuff and greatly influence occultism, but I think he represents a very old-fashioned, outdated way of going about magic.
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I like how you say "old-fashioned, outdated way of going about magic" like it's some kind of everyday thing like sales/marketing or toilet repair.

Or maybe magic does happen everyday!

Maybe magic... is SCIENCE! :shock:
 
ourchair said:
I like how you say "old-fashioned, outdated way of going about magic" like it's some kind of everyday thing like sales/marketing or toilet repair.

Or maybe magic does happen everyday!

Maybe magic... is SCIENCE! :shock:
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Actually, according to The Morrison, marketing and business is the most prevalent and powerful form of magic in the modern world. It's all about symbols (logos) and incantations (slogans) that are meant to affect widespread change and influence.

And magic does happen every day. Loeb is still on Ultimates 3 isn't he?

EASY TARGET!! BOOSH!
 
moonmaster said:
Actually, according to The Morrison, marketing and business is the most prevalent and powerful form of magic in the modern world. It's all about symbols (logos) and incantations (slogans) that are meant to affect widespread change and influence.
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Huh. I had thought about that before, but could never really put it together as a story idea.

Terribly unsurprised that The Grant thought about it too.
 
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