I'm heading over to Barnes and Noble to do some CHRISTMAS shopping (there, not holiday-shopping, Xmas shopping) after seeing the new Sherlock Holmes movie (didn't see the first, seeing it with friends...though the last movie I saw with friends was "Anonymous" and that was an atrocity against one of my heroes, so hopefully this fares better) and hopefully pick up a new book or two for myself.

I know I want to get one of Hitchens' books...sorry to say "now that he's dead," but I did want to get one, and his recent, tragic death has sort of catapulted him to the top of my reading list...

And then a work of literature, since I can't stand not having one to read--I'm not sure who to get...probably someone in the 20th century, 1900-1950...I'm thinking maybe Joyce, or Virginia Woolf...or another Russian author, since Russian art's caught my eye lately (for any readers of Dostoyevsky, I have to know--what's your opinion on the LENGTH of his works? And I usually don't complain about length, I'm so verbose myself...but it felt like he made his climactic, brilliant points all in a row, perfectly, around page 500 with Ivan's speech and then Mitya's whole arrest...and then it just sort of meanders around those same, tired points of the plot and who left what door open over and over for 200 more pages, so the whole final third or quarter was just exhausting and a chore to get through, by the end, for me, anyway.)

So yeah--what's everyone else reading over the...break...that you can call an Xmas break or the Holidays or...whatever?

I'll be reading Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series. It's a bit of light, easy to read sci-fi with a genuinely interesting style of space battle (he goes for some sort of realism over star wars style cinematics, which actually works quite well). These aren't life changing by any stretch, but they are rather fun and entertaining which is what Christmas relaxation is all about.

Waiting on my bookshelf for later are Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast... but methinks a bit of piece and quiet is called for before I delve into those.

going to try to get my article done before I start my new job in a couple months, so alot of history!

What's your new job?

Historian

Speaking of historians, I'll probably be reading Belloc's Servile State for a discussion group next month. Not exactly light reading, but Belloc is rarely heavy and certainly never leaden :)

Well, whatever you propose, Rufus T. Firefly...I'M AGAINST IT!

(Oh, sorry...I seem to have confused you for your brother, Professor Flagstaff?) ;)

^ one of my favorite movies growing up

Now that's the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.

I suppose you know that THIS means WAR????

:)

Liked Bros. Karamazov, hated Tess. Loved Cryptonomicon, hated Gormenghast and can't understand why it is a perennial on "best of" lists.

I'm currently reading the last book of the Rose & Entire series by Patricia Kenyon and the last book of the Soldier Son series by Robin Hobb.

Rereading Vernor Vinge's A Deepness in the Sky and A Fire Upon the Deep in preparation of reading his newest - The Children of the Sky

Reading about Somalian-Ethiopian security dilemma. Dissertations take forever.

Rereading Larry Niven's "Ringworld" series.

What's all this about a war on Christmas? (duck)

I just read Battle Royale by Koushun Takami... It was pretty interesting, but a bit repetitive.