Reading List: November 6th, 2007

I haven't really talked about my reading in recent entries, returning to the poor-me ruminations that I try to keep contained in my Livejournal. So here's a sampling of what I've been reading lately, and what I think.

The Stand by Stephen King
There are several camps on King's work. You might love him. You might have no interest or dislike horror, or even hate him. Or, and this is the one I've encountered lately, you might hate his work on the principle that any author who is able to write such voluminous amounts must write crap, sometimes without ever reading it. Sit down and read a damn book. While I know this is an undertaking for most (speed-readers typing this being the exception), you might get a lot out of it. His writing is intelligent, evocative and above all else, believeable. The story of a plague that wipes out most of humanity is still resonant today, despite the fact that he wrote the novel in the 80s. If you do decide to check this one out, make sure you get the unabridged version.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
If you haven't read Lamb yet, then stop reading this right now and go to a bookstore. I doubt you'll find a funnier, yet still respectful take on the life of Christ anywhere. If you have and enjoyed it, then you should probably follow up with Moore's take on Death. Thats personified. Big D, if you will. Following in the footsteps of Piers Anthony and On a Pale Horse (another excellent novel), Moore breaks down conventions about the ways in which souls are collected and passed from one to another, as well as working in a nice fantasy-end-of-the-world storyline. I enjoyed it, though at times it seemed slightly forced. Lamb is still the clear winner of this author, at least for what I've read so far.

And finally, in the category of books I've really been meaning to start but keep putting off because they're too heavy:

Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond
I'm not too far into this one yet for the aforementioned reason. This is really heavy, tough reading. Don't let that turn you off to it however. Diamond is an amazing writer and makes the subject matter fascinating. The reason this is such a difficult read is because of what is being discussed. We're dealing with the world and the ways and reasons societies developed differently across it. I'm heartily enjoying it, and plan on reading Collapse next, based on a recommendation from my father, the best read person I've ever met.

I think thats really all for right now. I won't say for the day, because its 12:43 am and I may very well feel like writing again when its light out. For now though, I think I'm going to get in under my blankets with a good book.