the books I have on the go. what are yours?

[porphyre]

Kathe Koja's newest novel, Under the Poppy, has been adapted for an immersive stage production slated for 2011 at the Detroit Opera House!

I've been talking about books a lot this week, but it's only just occurred to me that I never seem to tell anyone what it is I read. Ridiculous, considering how much of it I do, even now, after I've made it a mandate to only read in interstitial places like line-ups or on the bus. (I'm going slowly blind, in that way where the more I read, the faster my eyes disintegrate, and yet... and yet.. books! Reading! The world!) The closest I come is when I press a title upon some unsuspecting friend. "This one!" I say, "It's essential. It will broaden everything, give you an entirely new framework of reference." Or, "It's fun, the main character only talks in rhyme." So, in the interests of disclosure, and to line them up in my mind, here's the books I've read from cover to cover in the past four weeks, some for the nth time:

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest, The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, Googled: The End of the World As We Know It by Ken Auletta, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain De Botton, Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente, (my latest favourite book), A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers, Clouds End by Sean Stewart, Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations by Clay Shirky, and Spook Country and Zero History by William Gibson.

Intelligent, graceful fiction, touched by poetry and the hard, clever edges of the technology sector? Delicious! Probably the best run of tasty books I've had in years. Plus, Palimpsest was a surprise delight. I was completely devoured in the first three pages, and still have yet to make my way back out. Fingers crossed for as lucky a streak-of-good, I'm currently wading my way through:

The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language by Steven Pinker, The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike, The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2009 edited by David Eggers, (already a favourite), and Tony's copy of Freedom and Necessity by Steven Brust and Emma Bull that even at page 92 I'm still not sure I'm going to like.