Amph What book are you reading right now?

That's a pretty good book, though it does differ in places from the film. I enjoyed the film as well - lost count of the number of times I watched it on the satellite movie channels. I got the DVD too.

 

I also enjoyed the movie and found it to be a bit underrated. The marketing really killed the film at the box office and liked that it did't follow a more comedy route which is strange as I enjoy comedy.

 

Spider-Man: Dying Wish

 

Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne.

 

How is it?

 

The Civil War: A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville, by Shelby Foote. The first tome of Foote's three-volume history of the war, it's highly readable. Foote has a pleasant voice as a writer; he was a novelist before being drawn to write this massive history. As a novelist, he's able to build a narrative, as advertised in the title, that turns the Civil War into a sort of flowing story full of vibrant personalities and climactic events and gives it a sense of cohesion and tremendous immediacy, putting primary sources to great use. Foote doesn't lose sight of the details, though, and is able to make the individual battles tactically comprehensible and give attention to all of them. It's a very complete history, though Foote tends to stick mostly with the military aspect and the political situation as it impacts the military narrative. Still, he gives enough time to other social and economic aspects to get the sense across. It's an enormously informative read, but never dry thanks to Foote's deft touch.

 

The Argento Syndrome - by Derek Botelho. One fans guide through Dario Argento's film scape, some excellent interviews make this a nice companion to Profondo Argento* and Broken Mirrors / Broken Minds.

*I prefer the first edition of Alan Jones book to the now OOP second.

 

Going through the Legacy Volume 2 TPBs. Makes me want to reread Legacy since I've apparently forgotten a lot.

 

New Essential Guide to Vessels and Vehicles

 

Just finished "The Campaigns of Napoleon: Volume 2" and about to start "Andre the Giant: Life and Legend", a graphic novel by Box Brown.

 

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

 

The Death Of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes

Flashbacks tell Artemio's story while he lay dying.


The Woman In White by Wilkie Collins

Reading Dracula led me to this mystery story which is written in a similar fashion.


A Prefect's Uncle by P.G. Wodehouse

Continuing my quest to read all of Wodehouse.

 

The praise for it is almost universal, but try as I might I just couldn't get into it and bailed far short of the finish line. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it .

1356 by Bernard Cornwell

 

So, so bad.

 

Let me know how that is - I have it in my reading pile..

 

Will do. 30 pages in and so far, so good.

I've read a good bit of Cornwell's stuff; The Saxon series, The Warlord Chronicles (My favorite. If you haven't read these yet, consider putting them on your list), Agincourt and the rest of the Grail Quest series, and he's always proven to be reliable.

 

So don't waste your money? Or your time? OK. Good to know.

 

A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin

 

I agree that Cornwell is reliable. Just finished Sharpe's Devil, which sets Sharpe in Normandy in 1820, happily retired from the wars, until adventure comes calling. Then it's off to St Helena to meet Napoleon, and to South America to meet Admiral Cochrane and get caught up in bloody revolution. I wish Cornwell would write a nautical series like Hornblower or Aubrey/Maturin.

 

I'm also reading When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago

 

The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. Interesting scifi premise: a simple, cheap invention allows almost anyone to "step" to alternate Earths that are unpopulated. The social repercussions are well thought out, and the characters are interesting, realistic, and entertaining.

 

Of Bone and Thunder by Chris Evans.

 

Haven't dived into that series yet, but I did catch a handful of the adaptations starring Sean Bean that ran here on (I believe) BBC America (May have been A&E or History). I can't remember which ones I watched right off hand, it was quite a while ago. I enjoyed them though, and by that time knew Bean from Goldeneye, LOTR and National Treasure.

I'm a little surprised that he hasn't. I know he's an avid sailor.

As you can tell, I try to sell anyone who will listen on his Arthurian trilogy. I think some people might be hesitant because maybe they feel there's nothing new anyone can add to an already well known tale, but I try to explain that Cornwell's take is vastly different than T.H. White's.

I really wish someone would adapt it for the screen.

 

That was pretty good. There's also a sequel - The Long War.