You may be asking yourself, “What’s Don been reading lately?”. Or, like most people, you could give a shit less what I’ve been reading, but you’re bored and have come here to read my silly “blog” regardless. I’ve gotten into reading a lot more than I had been. While I was in school (that was for a total of 10 years, buddy!), I was not reading as much as I used to. Or, I should say, I was not reading what I wanted to be due to the fact that textbooks were my main focus and I couldn’t make much time to read for enjoyment.

Then, after I graduated, three things occured. First, I had a considerable chunck of freed-up time. Second, I was given a Visor Deluxe for my graduation. I was not excited about the Visor at first, but as I did more research, I came to realize the power of this little gadget! One of the greatest discoveries was that a PDA makes a great e-book reader. The third part of my enlightenment was stumbling upon several UseNet groups that feature books in almost any format you can imagine! Now, I can carry around the full text of 3 or 4 books at any time. This makes it very convenient to read whenever I get a chance. So, here’s what I’ve been reading lately (oldest at the top):

[b]Ender’s Game[/b] – A really surprising read. I didn’t think I was going to like this story, but I wanted to read it because of all the good things I had been hearing about it. I tore through this one! The twist towards the end of the book was a complete surprise to me and really made for an interesting and though-provoking read.

[b]The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy[/b] – I had read Douglas Adams’ first three books when I was about 11 years old. I enjoyed them then, but I probably missed some of the humor on several levels. I decided to re-read the first two books in honor of Adams’ death I thoroughly enjoyed them again. I was a little Hitchhiker’d out after reading these two, but I will finish the series (someday!).

[b]The Restaurant at the End of the Universe[/b] – see above

[b]A Brief History of Time[/b] – This is a book that I’ve always wanted to pick up but never got around to it. I can’t say that I completely understood everything in the book (although Mr. Hawkings does a great job of explaining some very complicated concepts in layman’s terms), but I was able to catch a glimpse of the enormity of the universe and the amazing theories that have been created to help us understand it.

[b]BlackHawk Down[/b] – Wow….This story left me shaken. This well-written account of a day-long battle in Somalia in 1993 is very pertinent to the events that are taking place in the world today. If you plan on seeing the Ridley Scott film (or if you’ve seen it already), I highly recommend the book first because the movie left me wanting more.

[b]House Atreides[/b] – This is a prequel to the Dune series written by Frank Herbert. Since these new books are authored by Herbert’s son Brian and Kevin Anderson, they don’t quite have the same “feel” as the original series, but they’re still pretty good. I found this, the first in the prequel series, to be a little slow at times and sometimes bordering on a kind of “Buck Rogers-esque” feel, but overall an entertaining read.