Here are the books I’ve been reading towards the end of school and during work:

The Diamond Age or, A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson. This is a cyberpunk themed novel that follows the story of a girl named Nell and her “magic” book. There are other side plots which take place and eventually intertwine with Nell’s life. Another Stephenson novel, the writing is filled with small details that never seem to lead anywhere. While I found the end to be anti-climactic and the lack of resolution for certain points to be annoying, I enjoyed this read. Far better than Snow Crash.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Takes place in an alternate future, where the human species has been genetically split into multiple varieties, where “lower” humans labor and serve and maintain the “upper” humans lives and luxuries. I didn’t actually know if there was a real plot to the story or not. While the ideas are ones worth reading, I found the narrative rather lacking. The copy I had also included Brave New World Revisited, where Huxley goes back over his story to explain whether the future he wrote about could apply to us or not. While I wouldn’t say it’s a bad book, I’m sure it’s of no great folly if you miss out on reading this book.

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. A pretty funny religious parody (or at least I think it’s a parody) book, I think it’s definitely worth reading. Especially if you are aware of the Jewish or Christian religions. This book fills in the blank between Christ’s childhood and adulthood that is left blank in the Bible in a rather amusing way. Even though it is a religious parody, I’m sure everyone can enjoy the humor found in the story.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. The first set of pages were hard to get into, and I had a problem staying enthused. Once the story settled in, I found this book to be one of the better reads I’ve done. Follows the story of the narrator and his interactions with his best friend, Owen Meany. The text flops back and forth between the past and the present, as the narrator deals with his life. This is a solid work of fiction, and worth reading to anyone.

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. The Amulet of Samarkand, The Golem’s Eye, and Ptolemy’s Gate all follow the story of Nathaniel, an aspiring magician, and the sharp tongued djinni, Bartimaeus. I liked them. They aren’t short or anything, but they read very quick.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. A novel more on the serious side, but still fun to read. The story is fresh to me, and at same time very engaging. Apparently, there’s a movie out as well. Definitely a book to add to your own reading lists.

Service Included – Four-star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter by Phoebe Damrosch. Book follows the narrator’s experiences working as a waitress in a up and coming restaurant in New York City. I enjoyed reading about her experiences behind the scenes, and the sort of prep that takes place. On the other hand, as a non-fiction, I found myself wanting a bit less of her personal life, and wanting more restaurant info. Nevertheless, an interesting read.

In other news, I finally posted another comic after more than a year of dawdling.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. I read this book with Daphu. I actually managed to read this book during school. Of course, I’m sure every male has already seen the movie, and can prolly quote at least a line or two. What I didn’t realize was that before the movie, there was a book. The movie follows the book pretty well, with some minor differences. It’s definitely a fun read. Although both have their merits, I appreciate the movie more. Prolly because Brad Pitt’s hot. It’s a great book though.

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I reread this book, and it was still as good as I remembered it. It’s prolly one of the more well known sci-fi novels out there. Revolves around the child Ender Wiggin, as he is cultivated to become commander of the fleet against the alien “Buggers.” I don’t want to say much more except tell you that it’s a great book and it deserves to be read.

Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. Technically a sequel to Ender’s Game, but this along with the next two novels, Xenocide and Children of the Mind, have a linked plot pretty distant from Ender’s game. It’s not as great of a book as Ender’s game, but I found the story interesting. Ender is no longer a child, but much older. There are no battle stories like there were in Ender’s Game, but the plot is interesting in its own way. You could get away with reading this book without having read Ender’s Game beforehand.

Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card. A parallel novel to Ender’s Game, the story follows the experiences of Bean, another child who is in Ender’s Game. Bean has his own set of rich experiences which allow the story to take place at the same time as Ender’s Game, but be uniquely entertaining at the same time. A great read. I liked it better than Ender’s Game, but although if I hadn’t read Ender’s Game in the first place, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it quite as much. I wonder if that makes any sense.

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. Daphu read this, and I stole this from her reading list. The story revolves around a boy named Prosper and his brother Bo. They ran away from an angry Aunt who is pursuing them through a private detective. They are taken in by group of runaways and orphans, who themselves are supported by Scipio, the thief lord. The story was amusing at first, but new elements which didn’t really work started popping out of nowhere. It was an OK read, I guess.

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card. The plot continues a couple decades after Speaker for the Dead. The problems which are present are made aware of in the previous book, and this book builds on them. A good read, but definitely not a standalone book like Ender’s Game.

I wasn’t able to read the 4th book, Children of the Mind, as I ran out of time. I’ll prolly get around to it eventually.

1984 by George Orwell. While it wasn’t a difficult read, it took me much longer to finish it than I expected for a book of it’s length. A good part of the book deals with Orwell’s dystopian image of the future. I’d say it was an ok read. It just didn’t hook me though. It’s not for everyone.

Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress. The book involves the “Sleepless,” a group of people genetically modified before birth to eliminate the need for sleep. This along with other modifications allows them to rise to the top of their fields, leading to jealousy and animosity from the normal “sleepers.” As soon as the whole ’sleeplessness = godmode’ part came into play, I knew exactly why Daphu recommended it to me. I thought it was a fun read.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Haven’t watched the movie. Heard that it sucks. This novel however, the first of the Inheritance series, is great. It goes along a similar tone to the LOTR series, but its differences make it quite interesting. If you enjoyed the Abhorsen series (which I read during this past summer), I think you’d like this too.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini. Second novel of the Inheritance series, sequel to Eragon. About a third longer than the first, still very much enjoyable. It’s unfortunate the third book hasn’t come out.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It is a short book, with about 160 pages. I like how the main character isn’t stupid. The text also makes great use of your imagination. Good read.

Besides books, I’ve also been reading the manga Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Amuses me. Apparently babies can kill.

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. I don’t know about his other books, but this novel is a book filled to the brim with details and descriptions, easily producing vivid visuals in your mind. Much time is spent explaining lore, describing the scene, and developing the plot and the characters, but the end leaves something to be desired. There simply wasn’t enough “end” for all of it’s plot. Read it for yourself if you want to see what I mean.

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I still remember the boom it caused in the reading community, when everyone ferociously read their own copy. So what did I think? I liked it. It was a pretty good book. However, I enjoyed Angels and Demons (also by Dan Brown) more so than the Da Vinci Code. Both books are similar, and involve the same central protagonist, Robert Langdon. Angels and Demons win because everything the Da Vinci Code does, it does better. Read ‘em both.

Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Velde. Kid repeats virtual reality game over and over again, til she wins. Or her brain explodes. Fun read.

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. Many of you might have read this in one of your English classes. It’s a great book. Well, I think it’s a great book… so far. Okay, so I’m not done with this book yet. But I will finish it today if it kills me! Rawr! I wasn’t lying though. It is a good book. It’s a funny book laden with “Catch-22’s.” Don’t know what a Catch-22 is? Read the book. I’m taking quite a bit of time reading this and I can’t figure out why.

Edit: I finished the book in 2007 with still a few hours to spare.

Besides just plain books, I’ve been reading Keroro Gunsou or SGT Frog, a comedy manga about alien frog invaders. I like it.

So without further ado, here’s the list of books I’ve read, more or less in chronological order:

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
+ The first book I read this Summer, started on the 24th of May. Good book.

The Long Walk by Stephen King

False Memory by Dean Koontz

The Princess Bride by William Goldman
+ If you’ve seen the movie, the book’s pretty good too.

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
+ Has more character development than the movies. Then again, they still die quick. :p

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
+ I enjoyed this series.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Small Gods by Terry Pratchett

Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris

Eric by Terry Pratchett

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett

Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Bringing down the House by Ben Mezrich

Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

Watchmen by Alan Moore (Technically a graphic novel, but LOTS of writing.)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

The Fifth Elephant by Terry Pratchett

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling

Cell by Stephen King

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
+ Haven’t read DaVinci Code, but liked this book.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling

Sabriel by Garth Nix
+ Enjoyed this series as well.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling

Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony Eoin Colfer

Lirael by Garth Nix

Abhorsen by Garth Nix

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
+ Movie coming out soon. Book is fun.

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

2001 A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

I used to read a lot as a kid, but sort of stopped once I entered high school. Don’t really know why. I think required readings during English classes really killed the fun for me. I only read two books on my own since the start of high school, and one of them was the Zombie survival guide. Blazing, eh?

So why now? I started reading while I was still in Taiwan. Some of my friends have told me, “Oh, pfft. It’s obvious why. It’s because Daphu told you.” Well yes, it’s true that she gave a book to read, but I think I simply rekindled my long lost enjoyment of reading. I enjoyed reading because it was an escape from the harsh realities that I live through each day. Rofl, no. But seriously, reading gives one more to talk about and fosters new thought. (Helped me learn about people too. Hah.) Anyway, most of these books are recommendations by others, with the majority coming from Daphu. I guess I owe to my friends keeping me well stocked with a list of books to read.

It was a bit sad when I read the last page of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and not just because the epilogue was terribly weak sauce. It was the last book of the Summer and quite possibly the last book in a long while. Read close to 40 books this Summer. *pat self on back* It’s definitely an achievement. Who do I have to blame for this excessive reading? My sleep habits for one. But of course, Daphu for handing me that first book and showing me many more after. Thanks.

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