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I'm not sure where to post this, so I'll write it here and hope it's in the appropriate forum. *ahem*

It has been said that great writers don't just write--they read. And ho-boy, have I been reading up a storm. I thought for those of us who are always looking for books and novels and what-not to read, that we could use this to discuss our favorite books or current readings.

Anyway, to start, I've practically devoured two book in the last week. Frank E Peretti's "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" are both Christian/Suspenseful/Supernatural stories that are downright amazing and, well, suspenseful. I've never wanted to turn the pages so fast and been unable to because I'm hanging on every word. One thing I'll point out is Suspense does NOT equal Horror. So don't worry about blood/gore. I love how Peretti depicts the demons, and the angels are fascinating--then there are the main mortal characters who are excellent and lovably flawed in their own ways. These are definitely good reads if you have the time (well, no, you should MAKE time). For those who are dubious about the fact it's "Christian"-genre...the intricate plot(s) and subplots that Peretti weaves will surprise you--as will the ending.

I'd also recommend "The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien. I just re-read that after the Hobbit movie came out and I was blown away. It was a lot more interesting this time around then I recall it being the first time I read it. Back in, uh, seventh grade, I think? And then some favorites that I haven't gotten around to re-reading yet: Robin McKinley's "Sunshine" and "The Blue Sword". I'm also contemplating re-reading LotR.

So, who else is reading and what are you reading? Anything you'd recommend?

Re-reading the lord of the rings is definately a good idea! I read the english version back a few years ago, when I got tired of the movies for a bit. They blew me away probably even more than re-reading the hobbit did! (yes, i re-read that one too!)

Also, I'm having a great deal of fun with the Game Of Thrones books! the series are amazing, but so are the books which are really discriptive on situations. I have to say that writing from that many character's points of view is really hard, but George R.R. Martin did a fantastic job
Also VERY reccomendable is the Shannara trilogy (The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara, The Wishsong of Shannara) by Terry brooks! I read it i think 2 years ago and i couldn't rip myself away from it. The fact that each book is written from the point of view of the child of the main character in the previous book in the series makes it all the more interesting.

I also really enjoyed "the storm dragon" by James Wyatt, "The Orc King" by R.A. Salvatore, and "The younger gods" by David & Leigh Eddings. Also, David Eddings' earlier work on The Elenium series (The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight, The Sapphire Rose) and the Malloreon series (Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda, Sorceress of Darshiva, The Seeress of Kell) were all amazing to read and hard to put aside!

I hope I have been of use :p

Currently reading everything on Creepy Noodle...

I've also been reading the Houses of the Blooded book - it's a LARP guide for a really cool system I am planning to make characters for on here, I think that the people here could benefit from my vast knowledge.

Otherwise, I reread four things all the time (that number keeps going up and I have to stop it!)

Winter of Fire - it's written by a New Zealand author and it's been out of print since before I was born. It is, to me, the best of the fantasy genre. It's one book. The magic is subtle. It's my kind of fantasy. I'd tell you more, but I'm good at ruining things.

Special X Novels - Micheal Slade (and the two authors that bring together the name, Jay Clark and his daughter Rebecca) just... amazing. As far as gory, gritty crime drama goes, this is the place to go. Unfoturetly, most of his books are also out of print, save for the new ones. I still haven't seen a copy of the first book in all my time seeking.

Libba Bray - honestly, any of her novels, but I'm quite fond of the Gemma Doyle trilogy. A little bit of magic and a love story or two. Sad bits. I'm really bad at describing books...

and finally: the Sweep Series by Cate Teirnan. They're amazing and less than $13 for the omnibuses. Magic, love, tragedy, violence, more magic, modern. It;s all the things I love.

Currently I'm re-re-re-re-reading the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Complete and unabridged. It's a book of his stories of Sherlock Holmes. I've read it quite a few times. The seventh tower series is quite good.

I LOVE Sherlock Holmes! I read it after talking to a friend--and didn't really expect much. I was pleasantly surprised and pretty much read the conglomeration of Sherlock Holmes stories I downloaded via my Kindle. They were fantastic.

I'm reading this stack of musty, dusty, obscure books, if anyone's interested:

• Witness, Whittaker Chambers; nonfiction, autobiography. Details the life of Whittaker Chambers, ex-espionage agent for the communist underground movement of the 1930s, as well as his testimony at the Alger Hiss trial; highly philosophical, but easy to digest. (Also my favorite book of all time, reading it for the ninth time if my favoritism was in doubt)
  
• Collected Works of Stephen Vincent Benét; poetry and prose, including "By the Waters of Babylon". Excellent poetry, too, even if poetry's not really my thing.
  
• The Middle of the Journey, Lionel Trilling; fiction, 1940s. Novel about various progressive liberals in a small New England town, also includes a character based off of Whittaker Chambers. Good insight into his mannerisms where Witness does not cover already.
  
• "The Misanthrope" and "Tartuffe", Molière; comedic plays. Fun to read and helpful on my own project of writing a historically-themed play.
  

I've got about a dozen others, Dostoevsky, Frank Norris' The Octopus, a few C.S. Lewis books on theology, and an introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas' writings which are waiting after this batch gets done.