What Are You Reading??

Spooky...I did the exact same thing 10 minutes ago

Just finished Ray Bradbury's "Something wicked this way comes"...God, that man can write!

I read Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami.  Tremendously beautiful prose!  I grabbed another, South of the Border, West of the Sun.  I advise everyone to keep an eye peeled for this guy.

I wanna be reading Socialism is Great!. I went to the book launch last night but the books were all gone before i could get my hands on one. The memoirs of a worker in China in th '80s looks to be amazing.

What Bugs said. I'll let her buy it first then borrow it.

I nabbed a copy of "Socialism Is Great!" last night and got the author to sign it. I was really bowled over by this lady and can't wait to read the book.

They made a whole series of "Francis The Talking Mule" movies. They were a matinee staple in the States in the 1950s and can still sometimes be seen on TV. The best ones could be pretty funny. In the 1960s the concept (and the then-radical technique of making an animal appear to talk) morphed into the legendary TV series "Mr. Ed", I line from whose theme song I still try to follow when posting here today: "People yakkity-yak and talk to pass the time away. But Mr. Ed would never speak- unless he had something to say."

Meanwhile, I finally and reluctantly finished "The Satanic Verses" and all I can say is: Wow. I may have missed out on some of the layers, but I think I understand the book just fine...and whether I did or not, Rushdie's writing never ceases to be breathtaking. I liked "Midnight's Children" even better, but TSV is a masterpiece.

"Last seen in (the capital of that mtn place)" by Claire Scobie.  Fascinating book of her friendship over a number of years with a T'tan nun.  Well worth looking for - and if the authorities had actually read it, they may not be so happy to sell it here. 

Just finished the latest installment of the "Dresden Files".  Got a good flow to it...stayed up past my bedtime last night to finish it.  Like the others, it catches you up and drags you into the action.  But then it sets you up to gnash your teeth, since you know that there has to be another one!  Queen Mab did say - in the last two pages - that Harry still owes her one more (last?) debt.






Back to the Discworld and Captain Sir Sam Vimes......

I've just read a very short, somewhat disturbing book.

At the risk of going to prison for copyright violation, I'll transcribe it here:


Dick and Jane, the Final Story


See Spot

See Spot foam.

Foam Spot, foam.

No Spot, NOOOOOO!!!!!!

Just started Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong.  My Amazon books arrived today - Mo Yan, this one, plus a nice murder.  One more to come. Wolf Totem has started off well, and even though I know it has NO bearing on the literary merit of the book, the paper used is lovely to feel.

This means I have now started 4 books!!  One in the toilet, one in the bedroom, one in the living room and in my dining room. 

My Chinese mate is going to download it in Chinese and then we will compare our ideas on it.  He came over this afternoon and sifted through my books (criticising the translation of Wu Wei, Li Bai and DuFu poems I had bought ...) but it is nice to have someone around, relaxed enough to happily sit and read while you are also sitting and reading.

nice one Lotus.. I just got Wolf Totem last week but haven't gotten around to starting it yet because of another book I found in suzhou: Khalil Jibran's "The Prophet".
I read it many years ago in Arabic and French but stumbled across a bilingual English-Chinese version at this lovely little bookstore in Suzhou! great little find even though the translation seems a bit off

I'm going back to reading Rushdie's Midnight's Children. I started it a while ago (second time) but got sidetracked by other things. This time I'm determined to finish it (hopefully soon). Only problem is I'm starting to run low on books... I need to start borrowing from my friend some more.

Presently in the middle of 2(+) books.
 
Elizabeth Moon's Paksenarrion trilogy (daytime reading) and Terry Pratchett's Thud! (bedtime reader).  Both are re-reads.  Paksenarrion involves sword-play and a quest with (evil) mystic players in a place/time far from here.  Thud! is about troll vs dwarf warfare on Discworld....and young Sam's favourite book. 

Also, kinda/sorta browsing 3 travel books (China, Iran and Tunisia).




And just finished (devoured?) another cookbook Muffins and Quick Breads

CIA World Factbook, and local newspapers with real news!!!

Since the weather is nicer, and the seasonal affective is going away, I'm back to good 'ole social justice books:

Brian Keenan's: An Evil Cradling.
Ishmael Beah's: A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.

Both are fantastic.

Just finished Elizabeth Gilberts, Eat, Love Pray   
              Med Wolitzer's the Ten Year Nap

Just started  Jack Whyte's  Kinghts of the Black and White
              Toby Cecchini's Cosmopolitan, a Bartender's Life

Still plowing through - Eckart Tolle's A New Earth