Currently Reading
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I'm a little annoyed with myself because I haven't gotten around to reading very much while I was off from school for a couple weeks. I finished Thirteen and American Nerd, and am through a couple other books, but I was hoping to get at least a couple more finished. Here's what I'm reading and what's on my TO READ list.
Currently Reading:
Neuromancer, William Gibson. I've had this book for a couple years, but I've never really gotten around to reading more than the first couple pages. After reading several of Richard K. Morgan's books, I'm enjoying this one more, and seeing where Morgan got some of his ideas and influences.
Homesteading Space, David Hitt. Book 4 in the Outward Odyssey series, about Skylab, I'm a little ways in and while this book seems a bit denser than the prior installments, it's absolutely fascinating.
Schulz and Peanuts, David Michaelis. Biography of Charles Schulz - I'm about halfway through this one, and this one is also a fascinating read, providing some good insight into the creation and life of Peanuts.
Hopefully I'll get through some of these in the next couple of days, if I can manage the time. Here's what's remaining on the To Read List: (In no particular order)
Mao: The Unknown Story, Jung Chang. I've had this for about a year, but haven't gotten in the proper mood for it yet. Maybe after I take Non-Western Military History this seminar.
The Big Red One, James Scott Wheeler. About the 1st Infantry Division.
Paris 1919, Margaret Macmillan. Peace treaty of 1919. I've read a little of it, and I need to get into the proper mood.
Heartshaped Box, Joe Hill. Horror story by Stephen King's son.
Ike: An American Hero, Michael Korda. I'm a huge fan of Eisenhower, and I've wanted to read this for a while now.
A Crack at the Edge of the World, Simon Winchester. Geological history.
The Day of Battle, Rick Atkinson. Book two of Atkinson's trilogy, the Liberation, this one's about the invasion of Italy during WWII.
John Adams, David McCullough. I still haven't finished the miniseries that was based off of this. I'll have to read this and/or watch this first.
Girl Sleuth, Melanie Rehak. History of Nancy Drew and I'm assuming, the publishing industry. I've had this for more than a year now.
The Ten-Cent Plague, David Hajdu. I picked this up when I went down to NYC this past May. Looks like a fascinating history of the comic industry during the 1950s.
Woken Furies, Richard K. Morgan. Last book in the Takeshi Kovac's series. I just finished Thirteen, so this will probably wait a while.
Western Warfare 1775-1882 and Warfare in the Western World 1882 - 1975, Jeremy Black. I just finished a seminar that covered a lot of this time period, so I might pick them up again soon, while the information is still fresh in mind. They're both relatively short, but dense reads.
Generation Kill, Evan Wright. This was made into a series by HBO. Looked interesting, and the book was a used one.
Redcoats, Stephen Brumwell. War in the colonies between 1755-1763 and the British soldier. Looks fascinating.
Close to Shore, Michael Capuzzo. Summer of 1916 and a rash of shark attacks that captivated the nation. Social history, looks interesting.
Flu, Gina Kolata. About the 1918 flu epidemic.
Pattern Recognition, William Gibson. Another Gibson book that I've had for a while, but never got around to finishing.
Devices and Desires, K.J. Parker. I started this one and stalled about a third of the way through. Maybe when I get some free time, I'll pick away at it.
Gears of War: Aspho Fields, Karen Traviss. I picked this up because KT is writing it. I haven't played the game at all, but it looks interesting.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke. Another one that I read then put aside. Very good, but very dense. I'll get back to it sooner, rather than later.
Blood and Thunder, Hampton Sides. One of my favorite historians, this time he turns to the story of Kit Carson and the American West. Sooner rather than later as well.
A Civil Action, Jonathan Harr. Legal story, involves geology to some degree, one of my former fields, looks interesting.
Theodore Rex, Edmund Morris. History of Theodore Roosevelt.
Edison's Eve, Gaby Wood. A whim buy at the Northfield Bookstore (very cheap paperbacks/used books) about the history of robotics.
Salt: A World History, Mark Kurlansky. History of Salt. Looks very interesting.
Tales of Ten Worlds: Arthur C. Clarke. I put this up on the list when Clarke died. Book of short stories, I really need to get to it soon.
A Game Of Thrones, George R.R. Martin. I've had death threats because I haven't read this yet. I'll get to it!
Marque and Reprisal / Command Decision, Elizabeth Moon. Two books in a series that I've started. Fun, light sci-fi.
The Dragon's Nine Sons, Chris Roberson. This one has a cool cover.
I've amassed a 7 book backlog of Star Wars titles, with another coming next week sometime.
Millennium Falcon, James Luceno
The Force Unleashed, Sean Williams
Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows, Michael Reaves
Legacy of the Force:
Revelation, Karen Traviss
Fury, Aaron Allston
Inferno, Troy Dennings
Invincible, Troy Dennings
Forty-One books. I'd been hoping to finish this list by the end of the year, but yeah, that's not going to happen. I think that the ones that I'll be making a priority, after the ones that I'm reading now are A Game of Thrones, Western Warfare/Warefare in the West, Jonathan Strange, Salt, Blood and Thunder, a couple of the Star Wars ones and the Arthur C. Clarke collection.
I need more free time. Maybe I should play the lottery.
