Getting Off by Lawrence Block, a novel of sex and violence (hey that’s what it says on the cover) about a female serial killer. It’s quite good, although you can tell that some chapters were originally short stories about the same character.
I just read Pulp by Charles Bukowski. It was a quick read, managed it on the train on my way to see The Stone Roses. I enjoyed it, although it seemed a little more awkward than his earlier novels. It's a bizarre detective fantasy tale, musing on the importance (or unimportance to be more accurate) of his life, and I believe he was dying when he wrote it. And indeed it reads like a delirious death dream as his boozy, low-life private dick lurches from one fantastical surreal case to the next, employed by Death to track down an author who has escaped her grasp, and a mysterious man demanding he find the elusive Red Sparrow, amongst others. Recommended to fans. If you haven't read a Bukowski novel, then pick up one of his earlier books first. I suggest Post Office or Factotum.
As I was planning my trip down to Spain to visit my parents (where I'm posting this from), I noticed that Amazon had begun selling the 'Paperwhite' to my part of the world *Oh Joy!* And that I had time enough to get one *Oh Doublejoy!* What a fantastic machine! All I needed then was a 'first thing' to read on it... As I'd wanted to read it since TSQ or Miss C (I really don't remember which one of you it might have been! ) recommended Stephen Fry's "The Liar" that became my very first e-book What a riot! plus: brilliant on the Kindle; so many English words I needed to look up
The Fifth Elephant - or perhaps Strata... A couple of pages into both but I'm not sure which one I should concentrate on first
Just finished Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue. I am about halfway through The Atheist and the Bonobo: In Search of Humanism Among the Primates. I got it less than a week ago, but haven't been able to put it down. One of the best books I have read this year. I recommend it for anyone with a passing interest in evolution and morality.
I got the kindle edition of DS9 novel 'A Stitch in Time' by Andrew Robinson about Garak. I enjoy Robinson's acting more than his writing. It's ok but it's sort of all over the place, but I do enjoy some of the backstory. Other than that, I am reading 'The Essential Ellison" which is a big collection of stuff by Harlan Ellison. I've been taking it with me to doctor's offices lately (I'm getting eye surgery soon, so I have tons of appointments) and short stories are just right for waiting rooms.
I recently had a four hour flight somewhere, thought God Emperor of Dune had the right sort of body for that sort of thing... but apparently it as the kind of flight where it's impossible to get even ten minutes for yourself *sigh* I now know to read only collections of short stories while en route
Yeah, I have to be alone and have peace and quiet to read whole books, which is why i mainly read at home, late at night, when even the dogs aren't bugging me.
"What Do Women Want?: Adventures in the Science of Female Desire" by Daniel Bergner. No, I'm not reading as a "guide" It was recommended to me and thus far it's actually quite fascinating. Let's see if the opinion remains after I've finished it.
I just finished Usurper of the Sun by Housuke Nojiri - it's about a young girl who's a member of her school's astronomy club, and one day is observing Mercury when she sees what appears to be a tower being constructed on the planet. Eventually, it becomes clear that a ring is being built around the Sun - but by whom? She makes it her life's work to find out, and to learn why, and to try to stop them (because it's big enough that it's blocking sunlight from getting to Earth and adversely affecting the climate). Now I'm in the mood for a classic, so I started reading The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester this morning.
I am alternating between two non-fiction books What the Brain Can't Hear: Unravelling the Mystery of Auditory Processing Disorder by Teri James Bellis. Deadly Animals: Savage Encounters Between Man and Beast by Gordon Grice.
The Star Diaries by Lem. The one short storiy with the time-loops and him from all the days of the week is grand!
Just finished Book two in the Songs of Fire and Ice series, A Clash of Kings. I loved it, fantastic book. So I'm starting on the next part of the saga, A Storm of Swords.