w00t for well-read people! English student rep forthcoming.

my weekly fores into post-colonial literature continue:

The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace

Just got done reading Everything's Eventual by Stephen King,good short story collection

Finished up all the Song of Fire and Ice series, and I'm not wondering why the next one hasn't come out yet? Come on Martin! Get on it!

Almost finished with In Defense of Food. My town is doing a community-wide read of it. Not as good as The Omnivore's Dilemma, but it's still very good.

The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists -- Neil Strauss

Fantastically entertaining.

I'm reading Gomorrah by Roberto Saviano, about the mafia based in Naples, Italy. I'm only about 50 pages in but it's a little slow so far.

I am currently reading Harry Turtledove's alt history series.

I have finished the Great War (WW I) & America Empire (Post WW I through the Great Depression) series and I am on the second book of the Settling Accounts (WW II) series.

The premise that these books are set on is that the South was successful in seceding from the USA and forming its own country. If you're a history buff you will enjoy these books.

After getting through the first four books of the WoT series, I needed a break (that series goes nowhere really fast) so switched to Katharine Kerr's Deverry series. I had read the first five books of the series already, so read the next three and am now up to the Dragonmage subseries (if anyone is familiar with this).

I am currently reading Gary Taubes Good Calories, Bad Calories. It isn't a diet book. It's about the politics that go on behind the diet and obesity research. It's pretty interesting.

Don't know if I will go back to the WoT when done this. I am thinking about rereading The Lord of the Rings trilogy again as I just rewatched the three movies.

WoT should stand for Waste of Time. I made it through like book 6 before giving up. Can't stand reading 1000 pages and realizing that nothing much really happened in that 1000 pages and that more questions have been raised than answered.

Anyway, I highly recommend the Song of Fire and Ice series by George RR Martin if you like fantasy. The guy is a completely brutal author who isn't scared to kill of characters, extinguish plots, and basically just constantly surprise you.

Yeah, pretty much summed up my thoughts. I found it harder to get through than OD.

I've looked into but I seem to remember it being more about political intrigue and machinations, which, frankly, tends to bore me to tears. Is that a correct description?

It's pretty low brow but I'm a sucker for high fantasy. A series like Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is about perfect in my book.

Yeah, there is a lot of political stuff in it, but it's also just excellent story telling. That being said, it is low fantasy... not much magic and power in the world. Very much like Medieval Europe with more rumors of magic than actual magic, though magic is starting to figure more prominently as the series goes on.

Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hitman Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos

I've read many mafia true stories and this one is one of the best. This is an autobiography of Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos who was a free lance hit man for the just about anyone with the money to hire him but worked mainly with Gambino and Genovese Family's in their prime.

Story is a little hard to track at first because of all the names coming and going but it levels out towards the middle and ends with you almost feeling sorry for this now 50 something year old man rotting in prison who can't even go into the prison yard for some sunlight because of the contracts out on him for talking to the FBI.

If true, one of the final chapters give a blow by blow of the Jimmy Hoffa murder and what was done with the body.

5/5 stars if you like these kinds of stories.

Thanks. Maybe I'll check it out when the series is finished.

Any relation to Linda?