So...what's everyone reading?

[Peter Ahlstrom]

I'm in Japan (Okayama) teaching English until March. After I get back (well actually, before I get back), I'll be applying for editing jobs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[Mistress of Darkness]

I'm rereading the Cronicles of Prydian with my husband. Does anyone else like Lloyd Alexander? Did he write anything else of merit besides The Amazing Adventures of Prince Jan?

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

Prydain is all of his I've read, but those were very good. Got me hooked on fantasy, really.

[Fellfrosch]

He's got a trilogy of quasi-historical novels, which I believe is called Westmarch (?). I know that one of the books is called The Kestrel. That series was very good, but I read it in elementary school so maybe it doesn't hold up to older tastes. Prydain, does, though, so this might also.

[JP Dogberry]

Lloyd Alexander!!! I remember reading "The Book of Three" as a kid. It was cool at the time, even if it seems a tad "derivitive" today.

[Spriggan]

Freaky Ookla's in Okayama, that was my mission ya know.  I was actualy in the city for 2 weeks:)

[Peter Ahlstrom]

It's part of the Hiroshima mission now. My stake center is by the old Okayama mission office though.

[Spriggan]

Actualy the Okayama became the Hiroshima missoin when I was there.  The only thing that chaged was the location of the mission home.  Now since the disolving of the kobe mission it's alot bigger.

[stacer]

Is the Kobe mission the one in the far north, the one that Evan went to? He tells me what mission it was and I always forget. All I remember is that it was really really cold, because one of his areas was the farthest north you can get in Japan. Which is to say, it was even worse than Boston weather.

[Spriggan]

No he went to Soporo mission which gets Siberian snow.  They, on adverage, have several feet of snow all winter long.  And they have special second story doors in someplaces becasue it snows so much they can't use the first story ones to get outside.

[Mr_Pleasington]

I borrowed The Coming of Conan from a friend.

It's Robert E. Howard's stories  delivered in their original order.

Not having read Conan before, I'm intrigued.  Howard's writing style is a bit odd, but once you get used to it the stories really fly off the page.  

[Prometheus]

Right after Christmas I went to the mall to spend a little cash and fill out my presents, and I found that B. Dalton was having a 40% off sale. Going through the fantasy section there, I started realizing that I didn't know my sci-fi/fantasy shelves anymore. Scary.

Anyway, among the books I picked up, I got Path of Fate by Diana Pharaoh Francis cause it looked cool and the writing style in the first few pages wasn't bad. The book as a whole turned out pretty well. Is anyone else familiar with her books? Does she have anything else in print?

[Morag]

I also went on my misison to japan and I went to the Sapporo Mission.  It is the top, the Kobe mission is near Osaka though they were different missions last I heard.


We did get alot of snow. four feet in one storm, but that was a really big storm.  They had sidewalk size snowblower tractor things that just drove down the side walk to clear the snow.  So latter when we rode down them on our bikes (yes we rode bikes all year) it was just like the attack on the death star.

But that is enough on Japan I went to Master an commander and loved it so much I have been reading all the Patric O'Briam books I can get my hands on.  They are historical fiction rather than SF&F but I really like them.  
For those who don't know Patric O'brian wrote several books about Jack Aubry and Stephen Maturin, two of which were titled MAster and Comander and The Far Side of the World.  The plot of the movie is very loosly based on a sort of amalgam of the two books.

I really recomend his books, Istarted with The Golden Ocean which isn't part of his series but it was relly good.  Since it is a stand alone book it might be the best place to start though it is about a Midshipmen and not a captain.

[Eagle Prince]

Right after Christmas I went to the mall to spend a little cash and fill out my presents, and I found that B. Dalton was having a 40% off sale. Going through the fantasy section there, I started realizing that I didn't know my sci-fi/fantasy shelves anymore. Scary.

Anyway, among the books I picked up, I got Path of Fate by Diana Pharaoh Francis cause it looked cool and the writing style in the first few pages wasn't bad. The book as a whole turned out pretty well. Is anyone else familiar with her books? Does she have anything else in print?

Never heard of her, but I seem to have found her website if that helps you at all.

http://www.sff.net/people/di-francis/

[Prometheus]

Thanks. I didn't stay long at her site and I wasn't planning on being impressed, but I did at least find out that there would be a sequel. I was kind of hoping so. I guess that's one mark of a good book.