What I'm Reading

Life's been pretty weird lately, what with looking for work and trying to find time for everything else and all that. Lately, I've been trying to do a bit of reading, too. Currently, I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (I picked up a big book containing all five novels, but I might save the others for later - see below) and Steampunk, an anthology of steampunk works that I got as a gift back around Xmas.
I've also been gathering a list of things that I ought to read. Over time, I've frequently run across something that I ought to read eventually. However, I have often forgotten these later. My solution is that I now have an ever-growing list of things that I should read (or re-read). In fact, for the hell of it, here's the list so far (the list is in no particular order):

• Watership Down (Richard Adams)


• Fear and Trembling (Soren Kierkegaard)


• On the Genealogy of Morality (Friedrich Nietzsche)


• The Prince (Machiavelli)


• The Difference Engine (William Gibson and Bruce Sterling)


• Prelude to Foundation, Foundation, etc. (Isaac Asimov)


• Starship Troopers (Robert A. Heinlein)


• Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)


• Dune (Frank Herbert)


• The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)


• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)


• Neuromancer (William Gibson)


• The Gods Themselves (Isaac Asimov)


• Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)


• Cryptonomicon (Neal Stephenson)


• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)


• The Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson)


• The End of Eternity (Isaac Asimov)


• Hyperion (Dan Simmons)

I reiterate that these are in no particular order.
I also recently discovered SFFMedia , where, among other things, they give various mentions of upcoming SF movie adaptations. I was looking at some classic SF and some other good stuff, too, and, well, let's just make another list, this time of upcoming science fiction films of interest (info based on SFFMedia articles - just use Search):

• Dune - A new Dune movie, much closer to the original work, is supposed to come out. As of May 2009, the creators are working on a script and will turn it in soon.


• Neuromancer - As of April 2008, it's got a producer, director, lead actor, and budget, and is slated for 2009. I'm just going to assume that that'll be this holiday season if it's this year at all.


• Hyperion - They're going to turn the first two books in the Hyperion Cantos into one movie, which is apparently too much to cram in. As of February 2009, it has a director and a screenwriter.


• Foundation - The first 3 books are being turned into a movie. As of January 2009, it has a director.

So, those are a few that I looked up the other day. I hope to do a more exhaustive list, based on my full list of things to read (well, just the SF stuff really) later. The reason for making this list now is to get an overall order for the movies. Then, I have to decide whether to read the books before the movies. On the one hand, it's traditionally better to read books before movies, since the movies can act like spoilers for the books. On the other hand, movie adaptations are almost never as good as the originals, so it might be better to watch the movie first, since the book won't disappoint thereafter. I guess that the question is one of ruin versus spoilage. Thoughts?
Also, I'm still taking suggestions for my reading list.