Polymath

Reading for September, 2008

Cancer Ward (1968) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Bone-Crack (1971) and Odds Against (1965) by Dick Francis. Francis writes a novel every year, some sort of thriller that deals with horse racing. The only Francis I've read previously was For Kicks in December, 2005.

The Wasp Factory (1984) by Iain M. Banks.

Currently on page 848 of Pynchon's Against the Day. I should have this wrapped up in a few days, which will allow me to start another epic novel.

Reading for July, August 2008

Finished the Watt-Evans "Wizard Lord" trilogy with The Summer Palace.

The Poet (1996) by Michael Connelly. I was curious about Connelly, since he keeps appearing on the bestseller lists. His first book was published in 1992, this one was one of his earlier books on the library shelf. A formula plot with some awkward plot twists, and the occasional howler --"We made love after that. Slowly, smiling in the shadows of the room.", "The man with the black hair stood there. I noticed now that he had a mustache as thin as a freeway on a map traveling over his lip."

Currently reading: Cancer Ward (1968) by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. Solzhenitsyn passed away on August 3, 2008.

Also, I made a little progress on Pynchon's Against the Day. Now on page 761 of 1085.

Nonfiction reading: Python Essential Reference, Third Edition by David M. Beazley. Picked this up from the publisher at SIGGRAPH, figured it was a good time to learn a new programming language.