:pan:
Don't waste you're time with Blackness Night dude and go read 52. I mean, it has Lobo in it for god's sake! :P

Well, one thing's for sure –- there's nothing better than seeing PowerGirl's reactions to Ultra-Humanite's origin story.

Daughter reading it first... darnit.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t..._FOR_MAGIC.jpg

That was careless of you. Did she buy it with her own money? (thus not giving you the opportunity to read it before she knew it was in the house) :D

An excellent collection of short stories (I have Smoke and Mirrors which contains many of the same stories but is aimed at adults)

I just bought this collection as well, which is funny, since it's already my second purchase based on your recommendations (the other one being an anthology of short stories by Philip K. Dick, which I loved). Give us more!

Glad my taste coincides with yours. :)

If you like horror short stories then you could do a lot worse than look at Horowitz Horror by Anthony Horowitz. Ostensibly a children's book but the stories are truly inventive with many a chilling final twist. (kids love to be scared anyway)

Cheers! I'll take a look at it (after I finish the Gaiman stories).

Candide by Voltaire

The Hypnotist by (pseudonym) Lars Kepler.

Some Cordwainer Smith's SF shorts.

As always with me - an odd combo...

The second novel/manga volume of Haruhi Suzumiya, which is a lighthearted sci-fi comedy:

http://images.play.com/bc/10771241x.jpg

http://images.play.com/bc/8518480x.jpg

Followed by something that's much more serious, mature and darker:

http://images.play.com/bc/8293232x.jpg


:P

Johann Joseph Fux - The Study of Counterpoint (I want to learn more about creating music)
Terry Pratchett: Unseen Academicals (I'll try to not read it for two weeks so I have something to read on the ferry back to the mainland)
Francis O'Neill - O'Neill's Music of Ireland (1850 melodies)
Grey Larsen - The Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle (not for the easily intimidated, but it looks good)

No, he isn't. (Or rather, it depends on which people you talk to.)

Indeed!
I've never seen any book of his displayed in a book store. And during all my years as a teacher I haven't seen any of his books in any school library. So I think he's pretty much unknown to most people.

On the other hand, the first books of his I read, I borrowed from the main public library in Visby. They had already then (this was in the mid-nineties) a large collection of his books. The public library in Piteå also has them. (Though when I studied there, I had already reached the point when I'd already read them, and bought the new ones when they came as softcover.)

I have also seen his books in several book stores. Either in the fantasy section or in the "books in English" section, which is where I look for them. (They lose a lot in translation to Swedish.) I'm pretty sure I've seen his books in both book stores in Visby. I know I've seen them in Akademibokhandeln in Stockholm and the pocket book shop in the central station.

He may be pretty much unknown to most people, as you say, but so is probably any fantasy author besides Rowling and Tolkien. Among fantasy readers he seems well known.

What's good about him is that generally, he improves with time. Most of his later books are better than the earlier ones. The first books seem mostly content by being (good!) parody, but after a while they become more grounded. (Compare this to Douglas Adams who just get weirder.)

The Passage by Justin Cronin. I am about a third of the way though and enjoying it so far.

The Merlin Conspiracy - Diana Wynne Jones

i know another kids book btw Haruhi Suzumiya is that the same as the anime only i want to know how it compares to it, dn angel and love hina are wayyyy better in the manga, is this the same.

I'm not sure how it compares to the anime as I've only seen one episode. I've yet to buy the complete series on DVD. As far as I know, it's faithful to it, but I think the episodes play out in a different order or something.

i anime i saw in wrong order and it didnt seem to end so i was thinking of getting the manga. How is it so far?

I'm liking it, yeah. I found the main character - Haruhi - to be likeable after I watched the first episode. It's not the best manga series I've come across though, although to be fair, I'm not that far into it. I prefer the darker series I've read/been reading - Death Note, Hellsing, Higurashi.

The manga is based on the light novels, which I read after a volume of the manga, and I think 2-3 volumes of the manga are based on one novel. So far, nothing seems 'out of order' or anything.

Another odd combo:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...HL._SS500_.jpg

:devil:

http://www.puolenkuunpelit.com/kaupp...ga_haruhi3.gif

http://images.play.com/bc/14681154x.jpg

Looks like I've killed a number of the threads here.

Anyway...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...0L._SS400_.jpg

Although quite expensive, I couldn't resist but to buy the Bleach box set. I'll only be sticking to the 21 volumes in this set though, as the series just keeps going on and on and on...

Well, I've got shed loads of books to read now. These should keep me going for quite a while... theoretically. :D