what are you reading right now?

Was The Bear and the Dragon any good? I was thinking of reading that, cause I liked the direction Clancy had taken with Jack Ryan.

The Bear and the Dragon was great, Gilthalion.

I'm just about to start on Homer's The Iliad.

I've just started re-reading Atlas Shrugged. Anyone here an Ayn Rand fan?

I just finished re-reading Macbeth for English class--I looove that play!! Now I have to read Death of a Salesman over break. I'm also reading The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles--fascinating! If I get tired of the heavy stuff I've also been reading various Discworld books--just read The Fifth Elephant. I also should finish Silver on the Tree sometime...

Hey...how come my picture and signature won't post?

Huh...there it went! *shrugs*

I'm reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

I am working or Robert Jordans' Wheel of Time series. I'm up to book five, the Fires of Heaven.
And I'm crying because my mom borrowed my LOTR books. But at leasr she's going to read them and find out what all the fuss was about all this time. :lol:

Emilsson! Congratulations! You are reading one of the wittiest, nicest books of the English language. Jane Austen is one of my top 5 favorite authors.

I suppose I had better reply to the question asked...

Among various other books that have been put on pause, I am reading "From Beirut to Jerusalem," by Thomas Friedman.

Actually, I just finished the third book, and ordered the fourth one yesterday. I got the first one for my daughter for Christmas so I could read it, and then I had to rush out and get the next two, which I tore through in two days. I should have just gotten the fourth while I was in the book store! But I needed an excuse to put in an order on-line, because I can never find HOME XI and XII in the store. So I ordered HP while I was at it, and I can't wait to get it!

i'm finally picking up otherland by tad williams now.

Well, I'm still reading that Friedman book...

Anyways, meanwhile! I just finished The Tragedy of King Richard III, by Shakespeare. Wow, what a great villain! If any of you haven't read Act I, Scene II, do -- what could be more villainous than the Duke of Gloucester wooing the woman whose husband and son he killed even as she grieves? And who but the most skilled, manipulative villain could actually succeed?! Can't wait to see the movie with Sir Ian McKellen -- he made a great villain in "The Scarlet Pimpernel (Andrews/Seymour) and I have a very high opinion of his acting abilities.

Well, I liked P&P but it's not among the best books I've read. Have you seen the TV version made by BBC? If you have not, I hope you do it. It's lovely and it catches the mood of the book very well.

Right now I am reading Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt.

I've seen the movie multiple times (assuming, of course, that you're talking about the more recent BBC production, with Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle). The book doesn't pack a weighty philosophical or emotional punch, I admit. And it's difficult, a little slow, at first (although I contend that it is requires no more investment of effort than Tolkien.) Charlotte Brontë didn't like it (found it shallow, passionless, etc.) and Mark Twain hated it, which I think is a wee bit extreme. I, however, haven't found Jane Austen's better for entertainment value (of course, it's a matter of opinion). So... what are the best books you've read? I'll check what you wrote in the favorite books thread. Hawthorne is probably my favorite American author. Among English authors, Jane Austen reigns along with C. S. Lewis, Shakespeare, Tolkien and MacDonald (especially for his fantasy). But I have many favorites!

Most recent reading: I read Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" on the recommendation of my Illyria friends. I'm still working on that Friedman, and I am about to re-begin (I've never ended) Tolkien's "Silmarillion." Cheers! This is going to be fun!

Hi, Emilsson, I just checked the "Favorite books" entry. Tolkien, Leroux and Dumas were great choices -- I loved "The Count of Monte Cristo." I haven't read most of the books on the list, though. "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?" Isaac Asimov? I've heard of their names, but what are they?

Isaac Asimov's books are scifi. He writes about the rise, and the downfall of a galactic empire at some point in our distant future. What I find so interesting is that Asimov spends a lot of time focusing on behaviour, human thinking and ideas rather than action.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is probably among the most amusing books I have read. in a sense it's a parody of scifi, but on a more profound level he jokes about human thinking.

I don't remember what I put on that list. I'm glad to see there are others who like Leroux.

As for Pride and Prejudice, the best part is that the points of pride are interesting. That one form of pride is justified if it takes the form of self respect.

I've just finished reading Better than Life. It is an absolutely hilarious Red Dwarf book! But now it's over, and there are only the two books. I'm gonna go read it again!!

I also need to read Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, and Les Miserables once finals week is over.

Right now I'm reading The Dragon Reborn, the third Wheel of Time book.

I just started Les Miserables. I'm really enjoying it so far, even though I'm on something like page 68...out of 1400!

Someone actually heard of RD???

Currently reading 3 musketeers, The Truth, Martin Chuzlewit(sp?), and many others. I always seem to end up reading many books at once. Oh.. another great book is Good Omens, by terry pratchett and neil gaiman. And sweet clarinat, which I only read because I play the clarinet, but it's a really great book. It's about wartime england. Does anyone know who wrote it?