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Hello all!  So what books are you guys reading right now?

I'm currently working on Outlaws of the Marsh, an interesting and over the top piece of 12-13th century Chinese literature (translated, of course).  After this I plan to tackle either The Tale of Heike or Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

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I finished Outlaws of the Marsh a couple weeks ago.  It was a long read (1600 pages) with a mostly tragic end, however totally worth the effort.  It was also very smoothly translated (like most things, when a translator does their job well you forget they were ever involved!).

I'm currently reading The Tale of Heike, which takes place in 12th century Japan and was written sometime in the 13th century.  Its a much shorter read than Outlaws, however its much more difficult for me to follow.  Part of it is that the translation is a bit choppier than that of Outlaws (I'm not sure if thats the fault of the translator or a result from the difference in Japanese and Mandarin's structures), but I'm also having a hard time keeping all the characters straight.

After I finish this I'm not sure what my next move is.  I may read Romance of the Three Kingdoms (one of the most famous ancient Chinese works, often referenced in both Heike and Outlaws, but after reading the first few chapters I got bored), Sun Tzu's The Art of War, Orwell's Animal Farm, or perhaps even finish Goethe's Faust II (I got bored after the plot started to stall halfway).  Any suggestions?

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Goethe made a sequel? :-P

A good and easily accessible verision of The Art of War is "Sunzi Speaks": http://www.amazon.com/Sunzi-Speaks-Art-War-English-Chinese/dp/7801885090/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1306914872&sr=8-1, is done in cartoon form in a humourous style, but still ahs all the core points of the original.

AM not really reading much at hte moment, I don't get the time. Last book I read was "Imperium" by Robert Harris.

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I'm reading The Last Patriot b Brad Thorson.  God spy hriller.  

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Originally Posted by Kieran Colfer:
Goethe made a sequel? :-P

Yes, he worked on a continuation of the story for much of the rest of his life.  The work was published the year Goethe died and seems to have a different tone than the first part.