I'm still working my way through Against the Day. I'm close to page 800 now. Can, you really have to read the Baroque Cycle by Stephenson. I'm absolutely convinced that Pynchon has been reading Stephenson.

I'm 750 pages through, trying to finish it before I go on vacation in a week.

I felt like it really picked up steam about 500 pages in, as crazy as that sounds, and I'm thrilled and scared to get to the end. More and more of the shadow of the 1st World War seeps in, I find it very moving.

I will jump into Stephenson next..after a brief breather.

Sounds like it takes/borrows some ideas from "The Clash of Civilizations" by Huntington and "The End of History" by Fukuyama. Ever read those?

I've read them all (I think) 3 times. A lot of people have complained about the length of the series and there's the risk that he won't finish the 12th and (supposedly) final book, A Memory of Light, due to serious illness (amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy), but I don't think I'd ever tell anyone not to give them a shot.

It's a very complex story with dozens of characters (a complaint of some folks, so many stories to follow) but it's an easy world to get lost in for weeks at a time, and I've found that the characters really "live" in the story. As in I care about what happens to them, insofar as one can in the reading of a book...

Sometimes his prose does run a little on the "too much" side of the line, and I'll find myself skimming over a page or three, but generally they're the kind of books I can't put down, and, as I said, I've re-read them more than once.

May be my favorite fantasy series of all. At least in the top 5.

But expect to be reading for a loooong time if you do get into it...

I just finished World War Z by Max Brooks, it's a great book that explores the yin-yang of human character.

I read a Clifford book today!

that's a great book and very fun reading. I'd reccomend you check out Day by Day: Armageddon by John Bourne.

I just finished reading Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. its a folk-tale about Japan's premiere fencer. He is a samurai washout that goes criminal (imprisoned) and is reborn a legend.

Just finished:

Take Me To The River by Peter Alson.

Good read about his journey to the World Series of Poker, 2006

The Ice Man: Confessions Of A Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo.

Fantastic read about Richard Kuklinski, who worked as a hitman for all 5 mafia families. One of, if not the best True Crime books I've read.



Currently reading:

Just bought 2 of Bret Easton Ellis' classics, plus his newest. (I think):


Less Than Zero (currently reading)

American Psycho (saving for my flight to Vancouver later this month)

Lunar Park

The Wheel of Time ranks second behind the Lord of the Rings as far as fantasy goes, IMO. It is definitely worth picking up if you enjoy fantasy. By the time you finish off Knife of Dreams, you may be lucky and Jordan could be finishing book 12.

You may want to start with his novella turned novel, New Spring. I think it does a good job of kicking off the series for a new reader. I recently saw it at Barnes and Noble for 5.98 on clearance.

I haven't checked his blog at dragonmount for a while, but his latest entry, from June 1, looks promising:

As much as I like "The Wheel of Time", I think that "The Sword of Truth" series by Terry Godkind is even better.

In both series, I believe I'm waiting for the 12th book.

Have you read "The Sword of Truth" series I mention in my previous post?

Actually reading it right now. I'm about 3/4 through book 6, Faith of the Fallen.

Thoughts?

With the caveat that I'm only a little over halfway through the series, I'd say that I think it's 'okay'. It's occasionally pretty mature in content, which I like, but at the same time, some of the writing can be pretty poor, particularly when dealing with relationships (usually Kahlan and Richard talking or thinking). There've been parts that made me grimace with the bad dime-store romance kind of content.

I'd probably put it on par with what I've read of Terry Brooks' Shannara series. Not bad, but not my favorite, either. Not on the level of Wheel of Time or Song of Ice and Fire, in my opinion, but good enough to recommend.