Gain by Richard PowersWhy can't I answer my own question? I'm reading "Gain" by Richard Powers, which will be the third Powers book I finish this autumn. It's also the second book I can remember reading in the last few years that deals intensively with the subject of soap (the first, of course, being "Fight Club").

The Honey Thief, Elizabeth GraverI've been reading The Honey Thief, by Elizabether Graver. She has a really excellent sense of balance between story and explanation, between movement and description.

Kafka on the Shore/ Mao by SpenceKafka on the Shore is about the most different book I've read in a long time and has really got me interested! Mao is very interesting because it's well written and, only in the third chapter, have learned a lot but a lingering doubt about possible planted sources makes me doubt its veracity.

Eat the Document, by Dana SpiottaCurrently making my way through all the NBA fiction finalists.Eat the Document looked promising, and quite frankly it doesn't live up to my expectations. Pleasant enough, but nothing special.

A Disorder Peculiar to the Countryby Ken Kalfus.Also, World War Z (An Oral History of the Zombie War) by Max Brooks.

haruki, thucydides, ursula and kennyi am reading 'norwegian wood' by haruki murakami. i stayed the night at my girlfriend's house and had to wait for the gas man to come, to let him in. he was a tall tall rastaman who replaced the entire gas meter in the bathroom. in subsequent visits i have read more. last night i was at p104. haruki is my superfavorite. i was reluctant to read this book b.c it lacks the fantastickal aspect i so love haruki for. i am reading the melian dialogue from thucydides' history of the peloponnesian war. is might right? would you believe it's all greek to me? also, here on the desk is 'the lefthand of darkness' by ursula le guin. her intro hooked me. i love sci-fi and this is supreme. she poetizes such marvelous things on a planet called winter.

A Map to the Door of No ReturnI just finished "A Map to the Door of No Return", by Dionne Brand. I think it's an important book about lingering racism in a globalized world and Canadian Lit. I recommend it to everyone.

the shadow of the wind"the shadow of the wind", by carlos ruiz zafon.it's the story about a daniel, whose world seems to be falling apart as he crosses the fate line of a mysterious book. his life gets spellbound by the obscure author, who is trying to destroy all his books, except for that last one daniel owns. all people crossing daniel's way seem to be part of the book's fate from now on, or part of a story he, too, is part of, or part of a game he does not understand.i'm about half-way through so far, and like it. the story is full of strange humour and unique metaphors, stuffed with characters and unexpected turns and twists, has two main plots mirroring each other, several sub-plots, and a richly drawn setting of barcelona in the 30's to 50's. a very "rich" read!

email from the libraryThe library sent notification that they have Firmin reserved for me, so I can pick it up this afternoon. That was fast!

wOW, I like the sound of this book!

John Cage ConversationsRichard Kostelanetz (sp?) took multiple interviews with John Cage, by himself and others, and concatenated related fragments to form extended interviews on specific subjects. The interviewer for each fragment is attributed, and Cage's editorial comments are included. Sounds clunky, but it works very well. The prolific Kostelantz's book on the history of SoHo is also quite interesting, if rambling and unfocused.Whoops -- Richard published another book while I was writing this. The man's a machine!

Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes... philosophy/metaphysics.And The Rolling Stones, An unauthorized biography.

First chapter...thumbs up.

I thought you were going to say "I got an email from the library, and they want me to return all my overdue books, or else!"

The Quiet AmericanGraham Greene nearly won the Nobel Prze in 1974, but didn' quite make it. Nonetheless he is a very solid writer and this is one of his better works. Michael Caine was nominated for best actor in 2002 for his portrayal of Thomas, the Journalist and narrator.

3 BooksI just finished reading "Way Way Off the Road", by Hugh Fox. It's an uneven book, and could use some tighter editing, but it is an interesting look at the world of small press publishing. It also introduced me to a poet I hadn't heard of before, A.D. Winans, who I am following up on.I am in the process of reading a book on the Cathares and Catharism. This was a heretical cult that flourished in Southern France in the Middle Ages. Their big difference from catholicsm is they believed in dualism - the world made up of both good and evil. Hey, who doesn't? The pope. He declared a crusade against them.And next on my list: I just got a shiny new edition of Harper's magazine in the mail. That means the final installment of "Happyland" by J. Robert Lennon. If you haven't been following this novel-in-installments, check it out. Its about a monomaniacal woman who made a fortune making and selling upscale dolls. She decides to take over a small town in upstate New York and re-make it to her own taste. Most of the residents go along with her. Some fight back. That's all I know until I read the end.

This is a great book - must reading. I also highly recommend THE HUMAN FACTOR. Greene is not a stylish writer, but he is tops at writing for the people.

On Beauty by Zadie SmithOn Beauty by Zadie Smith, flawed but lovable

I'm no stranger to those kind of emails, either. Halfway through Firmin and I love it! I see why people who like books like this book.

A good balance.

Interesting, because yesterday I was reading about the persecution of the Cathares in the third section of this page on the history of witchcraft persecution. I was directed to that page by Jennifer Ouellette in an article on Three Quarks Daily.

Aira, Trungpa, poems. I'm about to get from the library Cesar Aira's "La liebre". I've already read "El tilo" and "El peque

sophoclesI became interested in this as result of a book of plays by Jean Cocteau. I noticed that he adapted ancient greek tragedy to a more modern audience,thus my interest.

what I am readingcurrently I am reading a book by kevin trudeau called NATURAL CURES THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT.I always thought that there were things that our governments were not telling us about on all levels but until i started reading this book I never felt the fear that i feel right now that me my friends and my family are being poisoned intentionally by the food and the drug administrations all for the love of money and the power that money brings this guy gives some troubling documented facts that will have you emptying your fridge and medicine cabinets hats off to kevin for going against the flow to tell us the truth. go cop that right now

John Cage huh? avant-garde music man?Sounds interesting...

The Poe Shadow'Poe Shadow' by Matthew Pearl, Ive been reading it for a while but I am still only half way done. But diggin it!

OPENREAD SACRED ICE BY ADAM JOSEPH IN AUGUST, JUST FINISHED HIS NEW ONE CALLED 'OPEN' WHAT A TITLE I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S A TITLE OR AN INSTRUCTION...MENTAL STORY...WRITING STYLE LIKE MILTON PENNING A HOLLYWOOD,SPLATTER, MOVIE. SINCE THIS TOPIC APPEARED AGAIN I READ 'GEMINI MAN'BY RICHARD STEINBERG...THE STUFF OF LEGEND.JUST WANT TO SAY WHAT WONDERFUL PEOPLE THE FOLKS AT LITKICKS ARE, ALL WHO ENJOY THIS EXPERIMENT SHOULD E-MAIL THEM TO SAY 'THANK YOU'. THANKS LITKICKS.

3 booksI read and thoroughly enjoyed Firmin. Then I read The Last Words of Dutch Schultz by William S. Burroughs, very short and very strange, with talk of scratchy black & white film loops in the background and the blood in color - oh, man, I can't even explain it. Now I'm reading My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk and I'm happy to say, it is entertaining as well as "deep" so I'm glad I decided to finally check it out.