most of my reading has to do with me trying to understand or learn stuff very rarely read for fun
Harry potter
the "Joshua" series of books by Joseph Girzone
Bible
programing books
Leunig cartoons
why men don't listen & women can't read maps - good book to show me that I'm fairly balanced but mostly fem

Kinkly likes to do computer programming? 

I have quite a few computer books lieing around. 

Even have a book on operating systems since I'm such a huge nerd it seems.

I find computer programming to be fun if you're into solving problems. Of course It can be quite a pain in the ass sometimes.

C++, assembly, and Java are my main languages.

Thanks for sharing Kinkly; I always enjoy hearing from you.

I used to read for entertainment a lot more.  Now the bulk of my reading is academic.  I teach English so I read a lot of grammar books, textbooks, books on teaching, and magazines.  I also like to keep up-to-date with my original discipline, electronics engineering, although I haven't had much time/space/resources for practical work in the last couple of years.

Then there's my heathen homework, although that's a pure joy as much as a responsibility:  the Eddas and Sagas, but books on history and scholarly analyses as well as myth, folklore and devotional works.  I read a lot of modern magic texts too.

Good books. 

Science fiction, fantasy, some old stuff (say, back to Chaucer -- whose blog has at times been downright hilarious, with things like griping about spam in Middle English), a variety of academic works (quite a few humanities Ph.D. dissertations are pretty interesting and readable for someone not in the field) and books written by academics for a more general audience (Feynman, anyone?). A good computer program would work as well (in the spirit of Knuth's literate programming), but it's been a while since I last read one just for the fun of it.

In terms of authors, some that haven't been mentioned yet (in alphabetical order):

• Jane Austen
• Lois McMaster Bujold
• Patrick O'Brian
• Fred Saberhagen (whose Dracula Tapes is way more consistent than Stoker's version of the same events)
• John Varley
• P.G. Wodehouse
• Roger Zelazny

Plus a bunch of others who aren't really available in English.

  Nfr

Quote from: polymorphic on May 31, 2008, 07:36:46 AM
I definitely want to hear from Jaimey in this topic. I'm pretty sure she'll have like a gazillion books to list. 

Honestly, she sounds like a bigger book nerd than Shieska of Full Metal Alchemist.

Maybe I won't answer after all...   Bet my list isn't anywhere as long as yours though!  HA!  (of course, if I were at home, it would be longer because I'd see my books...)

Mostly, I read MANGA!  Lots and lots of manga!  But you already have that list!  As far as regular books, here goes...

ANYTHING by Diana Wynne Jones...she's my favorite author!
-Howl's Moving Castle
-Castle In The Air (sequel to Howl)
-Chronicles of the Chrestomanci (all six of them...or more...I can't remember)
-Homeward Bounders
-Fire and Hemlock
and all the others I haven't read yet

I also like Haruki Murakami.
-Kafka on the Shore
-Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World
and again, all the ones I haven't read.  His stuff is really...different.  I don't know any other way to describe it.  But it's awesome.

I also like southern writing. 
One Mississippi - Michael Childress
Fried Green Tomatoes - Fanny Flagg (but I didn't like "can't wait to get to heaven"...it sucked)

Hmm...I would say I have quirky reading habits.  Some other books I like are:

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen
Neverwhere - Neil Gaimen
Tales of the Otori (all 4 of them) - Lian Hearn
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse
Catcher on the Rye - Salinger
Crime and Punishment - Dostoyevsky (my fave for a long time before Diana Wynne Jones)
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neal Hurston
Kiss of the Spider Woman - Manuel something...starts with a 'p'...
Bimbos of the Death Sun - Sherry...something.  I don't remember.
As Simple As Snow - Gregory Galloway
Perks Of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky
Now Is The Hour - Tom Spanbauer (one of my favorites)
Twilight (the series) - Stephenie Meyer
What Happened to Lani Garver (main character is androgyne, in my opinion, anyway) - Carol Plum-Ucci


I don't like sentimental drivel, science fiction (even fantasy is limited for me), 'chick lit', or anything long winded.  I things that are quirky and/or whimsical.  I also HATE authors that try too hard.  When I listen to audio books at work, I have to pick things that are fast moving like mysteries, and so I listened to 'Angels and Demons' and 'Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown.  First of all, I was totally let down by the hype of "da vinci code' and because 'angels and demons' was a lot better.  My main complaint with 'A&D' is that he tries too hard to be ironic at the end.  The real bad guy made the story ridiculous.  It would have been better if he hadn't gone there.  Generally, I don't like mysteries or horror either. 

What can I say, I'm a book snob.    But I used to work in a bookstore, so what do you expect.  heh.

As far as manga goes, I tend to lean towards light hearted love stories.  I also like yaoi.  But really, I just like a good story.  I read everything from Hellsing to Skip Beat to Samurai Deeper Kyo to Fruits Basket.  I just like a story that makes me feel good.

So did my list live up to your expectations?  I might be a little bit of a book nerd...

First of all, I was totally let down by the hype of "da vinci code'

Read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln.  Its the book Dan ripped off for his book.

well, i only picked it up because i can't listen to the books i would normally read while i'm working...for some reason they put me to sleep.  i never understood the hype anyway because it's fiction and everyone acted like it was truth.  but it's not the 'mythology' of it (not the right word, but oh well), but the crappy quality of his story telling.  i actually don't have much interest in the holy grail or any of that crap.  i just wanted an exciting story and with the hype of that one and 'angels and demons' (which really was good for the most part), I thought it would be all right.  plus i don't think the library has holy blood holy grail on audio book (i would consider it if they did).

Try Holy Blood, Holy Grail, it is a very interesting book.

IMO, try Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco and Illuminatus! & Schroedinger's Cat by Robert Anton Wilson & Robert Shea.

And if you read Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln, they also did The Messianic Legacy & The Temple & the Lodge

It can be lotsa fun to read some of the more conspiracy theory-oriented lit out there. But I rather prefer the takes on it by the first three authors I mentioned than the more 'lemme tell you about' sorts in the genre.

On a more serious novelist's note, well other than the Eco, I'd recommend Mario Vargas Llosa's The War at The End of The World. It's fabulous.

N~

It can be lotsa fun to read some of the more conspiracy theory-oriented lit out there. 

True that, as long as you take it with a pillar of salt.  Its pretty hard to prove what happened and why hundreds of years ago when it was done in secret in the first place.  Though I love the leap of faith that comes from stringing a couple of facts together and then making some sort of huge sweeping conclusion that is sort of remotely based on those facts. 

Its about seeing patterns, and we know that people see patterns even when there are none, its hardwired in us somehow. Its like thinking your Ipod is doing the shuffle play and getting the right songs in the right order, when its just an algorithm designed to create maximum randomness. 

And there is something very sexy about that level of certainty in a very unsure world.  But, it can also drive people nuts.  I watched some of the best historians I studied with go crazy trying to get to the 'truth' of the JFK assassination, and I'm watching some of my best friends from grad school now do the same thing with 9-11.

But, along those lines, for those that like history try At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor by Gordon William Prange.  He spent 37 years doing the research and interviews (and its over 900 pages, so its pretty comprehensive) to try and find out who knew what when, and how/why it was that the information never made it to the people who needed it most, the commanders at Pearl Harbor.

Currently though I'm working my way through the books of Isabel Allende having just finished Portrait in Sepia and will start Of Love and Shadows later when I head out to the pool.

Quote from: tekla on June 02, 2008, 12:11:06 PM
It can be lotsa fun to read some of the more conspiracy theory-oriented lit out there. 

True that, as long as you take it with a pillar of salt.  Its pretty hard to prove what happened and why hundreds of years ago when it was done in secret in the first place.  Though I love the leap of faith that comes from stringing a couple of facts together and then making some sort of huge sweeping conclusion that is sort of remotely based on those facts. 

When you finish Isabel you may find the Eco and the Wilson and Shea to your tastes, tekla. In fact, you would surprise me if you hadn't read Wilson & Shea's book. I always considered them 60s-70s counter-cultural classics! Very entertaining and you needn't bother with the piller of salt. Pretty easy to tell that these guys were simply out to entertain. Much moreso, imo, than Dan Brown.

And Eco, with all his semiological insight, has also written a book I found just wonderfully makes the point you have ... except .... da da da da, da da da da, ... was that really a dorsal fin in the water of the pool?

Nichole

Oh I've read Eco, it was pretty popular leisure reading for the people in my grad school program.  Always thought In the Name of the Rose is one of the best detective books ever, and though I think they tried very hard, the movie just did not capture the inner essence of the book.  But hey, that's almost always true.

I concur with that opinion, even though I quite loved Sean Connery. But, it was difficult in many ways to see that one was the derivation of the other. Although it strikes me that Ron Perlman used his portrayal of the disfigured man as a springboard to doing Beauty and the Beast on TV!!

Anyone who named a main character after Jorge Luis Borges had me at that point anyway.

Borges wrote some amazing short stories, "The Library of Babel" blows me away every time I read it, and  "Funes, the Memorious", "The Aleph", and "The Secret Miracle" are among the best stories I've ever read.

I like a wide variety of books but I read mostly fantasy and murder mystery/thriller fiction.

Some of my favorite authors are Patricia Cornwell, Dean Koontz, Jeffrey Deaver, Laurell K. Hamilton.

Other books and/or series I like are:
-Dragon Jousters series by Mercedes Lackey
-All Harry Potter books
-The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox by Barry Hughart (unfortunately there are only three novels in this series, but the writer planned to have seven total, but became very disappointed with his publishers and stopped writing. I wonder if he could ever be convinced If you like historical fiction, chinese mythology mixed with some fantasy and appreciate subtle light-hearted humor these are the books for you!)
-Good Omens by Neil Gaiman
-Discworld series by Terry Pratchett (I only have a very few of these books but I enjoy his style)
-I'm also working on reading Anne Rice's Vampire chronicles in chronological order but it's difficult because my local library only has a few of her books.
-Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer

Quote from: tekla on June 02, 2008, 02:03:27 PM
Anyone who named a main character after Jorge Luis Borges had me at that point anyway.

Borges wrote some amazing short stories, "The Library of Babel" blows me away every time I read it, and  "Funes, the Memorious", "The Aleph", and "The Secret Miracle" are among the best stories I've ever read.

Darn, I'm concurring with you allatime today!! Just did it again. I love Borges.

Suppose the stars are in some weird alignment? 

N~

More like the earth has spun off its axis and is careening though the universe even as we speak.

Quote from: tekla on June 02, 2008, 02:10:23 PM
More like the earth has spun off its axis and is careening though the universe even as we speak.

O, I sorta, kinda thought it was already doing that anyhow, the careening through the universe part. And I suppose that would make the star alignments a bit weird as well, no?

Nichole

Quote from: Nichole on June 02, 2008, 02:09:05 PM
Darn, I'm concurring with you allatime today!! Just did it again. I love Borges.

Suppose the stars are in some weird alignment? 

N~

Quote from: tekla on June 02, 2008, 02:10:23 PM
More like the earth has spun off its axis and is careening though the universe even as we speak.

Wow, Nichole and Tekla agreeing, I better check my astrological charts to see what's up. Hope it isn't the end of the world as we know it

hugs to you both

Z

Quote from: Zythyra on June 02, 2008, 02:43:13 PM
Wow, Nichole and Tekla agreeing, I better check my astrological charts to see what's up. Hope it isn't the end of the world as we know it

hugs to you both

Z

Thanks for the hugs, Z. But didn't you mean you need to check your REM playlist to see if its the end of the world as we know it? 

And as for agreeing with tekla: I feel fine!!