Mary Stewart"The Crystal Cave" First in the Merlin novels. third time's a charm,right?

LOL Good timing on this question.

I finally got around to reading "A Christmas Carol" -- yeah the Dicken's one -- at Christmas time. As well as "The Chimes" from his collected works.

But then New Year's Day I came down with a wicked bug and spent days in bed. So I read "No Great Mischief" by Alistair Macleod, "Beedle the Bard" by JK Rowling, 4 back issues of the Walrus Magazine, "The Ethical Slut" by Dossie Eason, and am about 1/3 through the collected works of Kahlil Gibran.

Feeling better now so that might be most of my reading for 2009 ;-)

Revolutionary France 1770-1880, by Francois Furet
The Ancient Regime and the Revolution, by Tocqueville (Intro by Furet)
Notes on the French Revolution and Napoleon, by Tocqueville
Interpreting the French Revolution, by Furet
An Eyewitness Account of the French Revolution: Letters Containing a Sketch of the Politics in France, by Helen Maria Wiliams
The Antelope Wife, by Louise Erdrich
French Salons, by Stephen Kale
The Structure and Form of the French Enlightenment, by Ira Wade

NIghtwatch

So far this year I've read:
The Prince of Marshes or Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq - by Rory Stewart
Stewart was an assistant provisional governor for two Iraqi provences during 2003-04, and this is an account of his experiences there.
Prior to this he wrote a book called The Place In Between about walking across Afghanistan, alone in 2001, from Kabul to Kandihar.
Stewart is an historian, writer and british diplomat from Scotland. Currently he resides in Kabul working with the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a non-profit, building schools, setting up social programs and furthering women's rights in Afghanistan I highly recommend either of his books.

Baltimore or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire - by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
set in post WW1 Europe this is a fun read. Different take on the vampire legends.

Grendel - by John Gardner
The Beowulf story retold from the monster's point of view. Gardner has a great sense of humor, this is a really fun read.

The City of Ember & The People of Sparks - by Jeanne Duprau
my daughter had been bugging me to read these. Glad I did, neat story, and appropriate to the current 'climate' in environmental issues and global politics.

King Solomon's Mines - H. Rider Haggard
just finished re-reading this classic for the first time in many years.

Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates - Tom Robbins
I'm still reading this one, just started it night before last and am a little over half way. So far I love this book. It may end up being my favorite Tom Robbins book.

will durant's "the story of civilization" volume VI "the age of faith" a history of medieval civilization - christian, islamic, and judaic - from constantine to dante : ad 325 - 1300 .

great reading. will durant was not only a fantastic researcher who could put a million little details and facts into a coherent order, but make it fun interesting understandable reading when he gave facts, and a the bonus that in the intros and summaries of each sub chapter, he flowed seamlessly into introspective philosophical thought written with a poetic beauty .

blush. umm sorry. i am a four-eyed geek.

Illuminati have always existed in a treasured wealth of hidden histories. The one thing Mankind can count on, in its existence, is never understanding why.

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Main Entry: mag•ic
Pronunciation: ma-jik.
{magic} noun; the art of producing illusions by tricks
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English magik, from Old French magique, from Late
Latin magica, from Latin magice, from Greek magike, from feminine of magikos, of the Magi, magical, from magos, magician, magus
{Merriam-Webster Dictionary}

Whether one finds Illuminati as fiction from the hands of illusionist scribes, or imaginative minds amok, the affect of engaging in a search for the name of secret societies, or "real" Illuminati is as real as one dares to accept. Be they of Memphris-Misraïm
Lodges, erotic cults to Lilith, Rosicrucian proanoi, Ismaili Mosques, or Lovecraftian cults of Cthulhu mythos, the historical affect of each is empirically measured.

If magic is the art of casting illusions and maintaining the transmutability of illusions, what is real?

Babylon: Secret Rituals of the Illuminati www.amazon.com/dp/141965456X/ref=nosim/ contains:

Full O.A.I. Rite of Lilith
Full O.A.I. Rite of Baphomet
Full O.A.I. Rite of Nosferatu
Laila el'Qadr: An O.A.I. Rite of Initiation by Soror Hashashiyya
Khalifa
Mass of the Morning Star by Joshua Seraphim

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