I’m actually reading Infinite Jest, finally succumbing to the advice of my wife, who’s a big DFW fan and is herself in the midst of considering the lobster. It’s good, very funny. The cover is garish, and I wish the endnotes were footnotes. But it’s very fun.

Mark Lerner , February 2, 2006 11:34 AM (#)

The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is fascinating, and I’ve been recc’ing it to someone everytime I turn around.

aaron , February 2, 2006 11:39 AM (#)

just finished “Slapstick” by Kurt Vonnegut. Fabulous, I tell you. Surprisingly relevant to what’s going on in the world today.

televator , February 2, 2006 11:45 AM (#)

Julia Scheeres’ “Jesus Land.”

Jonathan S. , February 2, 2006 11:50 AM (#)

I’m about to buy and start Margrave of the Marshes, the John Peel biography.

Joseph , February 2, 2006 12:23 PM (#)

I’m working on four books right now:

The End of Free Love by Susan Steinberg -
A collection of short stories published by FC2, an experimental fiction publisher. I’d have to know a person before I could recommend this book to them. I like it, but I’m not reading it as quickly as I usually read fiction (and I’m not sure what that means).

Fearless Editing: Crafting Words and Images for Print,Web, and Public Relations by Carolyn Dale and Tim Pilgrim -
This is a good intro, but only nominally useful for someone who already knows their stuff. Maybe worth a browse-through.

The Art of Editing: In the Age of Convergence by Brian Brooks, James Pinson, and Jack Sissors -
I suppose this book is intended as a text book for students, but I think it’s pretty great. I would buy it if I had $100 sitting around (this copy’s from the library). It comprehenively deals with the many roles of editors in a world of changing media.

The Access Principle: The Case for Open Access to Research and Scholarship by John Willinsky -
I’m interested in open access publishing and how it effects (I think positively) scholarly publishing and research. This book is an excellent and up-to-date source of information.

theorist , February 2, 2006 1:07 PM (#)

“Assassin’s Gate” by George Packer. Brilliant dissection of the Iraq war, and why we’re in the mess we’re in.

Dan Kohan , February 2, 2006 2:34 PM (#)

Well right now i’m reading this blog called forward…

jeff , February 2, 2006 3:29 PM (#)

What I’m reading now:
The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, which a friend at work loaned me just today. Young adult fantasy, but I’m not above anything these days that captures my attention. So far, so good—-I’m only on page 8 and already somebody’s about to be poison’d!

What I’m recommending to friends:
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I read it a couple years ago when it first came out, loaned it to a [formerly] dear friend, knew I’d never see it again, so bought another copy, which I’m stashing away to reread during my trip to Bali.

Jennifer , February 2, 2006 10:00 PM (#)

Well, I’m really tempted to start Bernard Cooper’s memoir The Bill from My Father because its cover filled me with design lust (thanks, Paul Sahre). Really has to be seen in person to appreciate as Amazon photo cannot do it justice; noticeable, intriguing, different,and carried out through to the binding and back cover quotes. Loved the way the back cover quotes looked. Not something I say often. Yay.

As for what I actually am reading: Winter Sleep from Vertical by Kitakata (yeah, with the Kidd cover, the PB). Story is good; orphans every other page not so much. Yikes.

Margaret , February 2, 2006 10:31 PM (#)

Woody Guthrie: A Life is what I’m reading now. It’s going pretty slowly.

I’m recommending The Golden Compass, and that its sequels be skipped. Compass is by far the best book of the His Dark Materials trilogy. The other ones are expanded and weighted down with biblical importance.

Nick , February 3, 2006 8:15 AM (#)

Currently Reading:
- I’m re-reading Akira, by Kasuhiro Otomo, as I’m working on harcover bindings for the six volume Dark Horse edition. Some projects are all about the love.
- The Private Press, by Roderick Cave. A nice hisotry of private presses I came across in the library.
- Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami
- Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer
- The Complete Calvin & Hobbes, by Bill Waterson. My holiday gift to myself.
- Printing Digital Type on a Hand-Operated Flatbed Cylinder Press, by Gerald Lange
- Writing: Urban Calligraphy and Beyond, by Die Gestalten Verlag

Recently Read:
- Mao, by Chang & Halliday
- No Logo, by Naomi Klein (2nd read)
- Book One: Chip Kidd, by um Chip Kidd
- Themepunks, by Cory Doctorow (was being serialized weekly on Salon.com)
- Son of a Witch, by Gregory Maguire
- The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, by Umberto Eco
- The Foundation Series, by Isaac Asimov (for like the umpteenth time), also for a binding design.

Pablo , February 3, 2006 9:12 AM (#)

Hiya. I’m new here.

I’m re-reading the 365 poems I’ve written and thinking; ‘how the **** am I going to turn all these into the beautiful limited edition book I want to put together … maybe I need to make contact with some talented book designers …”

Forgive me,

stone.

stonepoem , February 3, 2006 11:29 AM (#)

I’ll take this opportunity to recommend: Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. I picked it up with no real expectation… the blurb on the back seemed interesting and years ago I’d enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale. The book is really, really interesting; sort of an examination of where our culture may go in the next few decades. Thematically, it has a lot in common with Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut. Very entertaining; makes me want to make my way through Atwood’s books one-by-one.

Alex , February 3, 2006 2:52 PM (#)

I just finished The Cheese Monkeys, by Chip Kidd. It was a lot better than I expected. I basically wanted it for the design, but digging into the text was a real treat, too.

Steven , February 3, 2006 3:12 PM (#)