The Mugen Fighters Guild

Art & Entertainment => Entertainment => Topic started by: Sepp on September 06, 2004, 07:17:29 pm

Title: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 06, 2004, 07:17:29 pm
Discuss.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 06, 2004, 07:29:48 pm
Yeah, books are cool. As a writer I enjoy a good read. Also, what exactly should we be discussing about books?

I'm thinking about whether or not to toss this into the Junk Section.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: walt on September 06, 2004, 07:44:47 pm
I can't read :(

I find really hard to find a good book interesting enough to catch my attention, it's sad
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 06, 2004, 07:49:21 pm
I can't read :(
Don't tell us your problems. :P

Quote
I find really hard to find a good book interesting enough to catch my attention, it's sad
You're probably not looking in the right places. What's your favorite gnre of reading material?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: walt on September 06, 2004, 07:55:28 pm
mmhh... definitely not fiction.
Good fiction books are rather difficult to find, since sometimes the writting style is not very captivating or trying to create a whole universe leads to loopholes or poorly developed plots.

I'm more into realistic stories, Thrillers.

I really really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ...
I kinda enjoyed The unbearable lightness of Bieng by Milan Kundera ...
I was really captivated by the indeference of The Stranger by Albert Camus ...

I dunno, I guess I'm more into well developed characters ... I guess I haven't read enough :(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 06, 2004, 07:57:42 pm
Quote
I really really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ...
I kinda enjoyed The unbearable lightness of Bieng by Milan Kundera ...
I was really captivated by the indeference of The Stranger by Albert Camus ...
It's a good thing you can't read. :P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: walt on September 06, 2004, 08:00:05 pm
??? .... >:( ... ???
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 06, 2004, 08:01:13 pm
I can't read :(

Title: Re: Books
Post by: walt on September 06, 2004, 08:03:12 pm
it's more like ... I don't want to

About 4 months ago I stated that:
Writting + Walt = :no:

I sure have changed ... :inquisitive:

Enough about me

Back to Discussing Books
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 06, 2004, 09:21:11 pm
We are already discussing. o_o

Everything books, I guess. What you're reading, what you've read, what you like, why, all-time favorites and recommendations, what you're looking forward to, whatever you want to. Kinda like the Movies topic turned out, with less expected participation (all the more reason for not limitating discussion).

A writer; coolness. How serious?

Quote
Her husband immediately turned to his wife and slammed his foot on the throttle, throwing his wife back into the back seat, but his attempt at escape was futile.

Just been reading the prologue from your sig and that sentence above really threw me off. ^_^


walt:

"Fiction" gernerally encompasses a bit more than Science Fiction or Fantasy. Most stories are "fiction." As "non-fiction" are considered biographies, cook books and the like.

Anyhow, I know what you meant. I have spent the longest time reading "unrealistic" books, with not only uncommon SF-ish surroundings etc, but also rather unbelievable, 2 dimensional characters. Until I stumbled upon books which had SF-ish stuff and (omg) characters that were driven, believable, "realistic" and reacted like "real" people, etc. Just keep looking (http://s1ngularity.net/fiction/inthesorrows.html). The Da Vinci Code I'd probably find "stupid", "unrealistic" and what not. Don't plan on reading it however, so that's mere speculation based on brief comments by others. Probably would have digged it two years ago. o_O The Illuminatus! trilogy are still my favorite conspiracy books. They're also the only ones I read you can easily classify as conspiracy novels . . . well, whatever.


Recently finished The Stars My Destination aka Tiger! Tiger!. Captial letters wow. Readable, relentless and increasingly stunning as it progresses. ._.

Gully Foyle is my name
And Terra is my nation.
Deep space is my dwelling place,
The Stars my Destination.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 06, 2004, 09:24:08 pm
Quote
Just been reading the prologue from your sig and that sentence above really threw me off.
Thanks for pointing that out. That's worded soooooooo wrong.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: S.D. on September 06, 2004, 09:31:40 pm
Books are nice when you..uh..that thing.

You know, bulding towers..and setting them on fire.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 06, 2004, 09:42:15 pm
Voltaire said:
"You despise books; you whose lives are absorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the known world, excepting only savage nations, is governed by books."


Hmm, whatever. Savage nations, haha. You might try Jurassic Park, walt. You can basically forget everything else Crichton, but that one is actually worth reading and vastly superior to its Hollywood counterpart. [Edit: In my not always humble opinion, that is.]

But we have soothed ourselves into imagining sudden change as something that happens outside the normal order of things. An accident, like a car crash. Or beyond our control, like a fatal illness. We do not conceive of sudden, irrational change as built into the very fabric of existence. Yet it is. And chaos theory teaches us . . . that straight linearity, which we have come to take for granted in everything from physics to fiction, simply does not exist. . . .

Life is actually a series of encounters in which one event may change those that follow in a wholly unpredictable, even devastating way. . . .

That’s a deep truth about the structure of our universe. But, for some reason, we insist on behaving as if it were not true.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: XGargoyle on September 06, 2004, 09:43:57 pm
I'm currently reading "The haunting of hill house" by Shirley Jackson. It's a classic horror novel written in 1959, and has been the inspiration of hundreds of other horror books/movies.

The last books I read were "The dispossessed" by Ursula K. Le Guin, "Lost Boy Lost Girl" by Peter Straub, and "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King.

Sci-Fi fans should check at least the Ender series by Orson Scott Card, they are a must read.

@Sepp: I should add that Crichton's novels have been a bit overhyped and most of his works, although being average, aren't that "good". I didn't enjoy Jurassic Park personally (I was really biased from the movie, which I hated) and certainly the book was far better than the movie, but as I said, I didn't enjoy it. I've been told that "Lost world" is by far better than JP, but I have to find that out.

I personally prefer "Sphere", "The Andromeda Strain" (excellent) and "Prey".

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 07, 2004, 01:20:14 am
Sphere was a proper book.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Kensuke on September 08, 2004, 02:26:53 am
*likes Ragnarok*  ;D
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Rick Nucks on September 13, 2004, 02:38:39 am
discworld.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SDS Overfiend on September 16, 2004, 01:25:29 am
Quote
I really really enjoyed The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown ...
excellent fucking book by the way.you can learn a lot of points of view in that book.

but i the last book i read was "never die alone" and "Dopefiend" by donald goines. before those was
"the giver" and "B more Careful"

but i think everyone should read "Never die alone" and "Dopefiend"
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lasombra Demon on September 16, 2004, 05:03:57 am
Unfortunately, since I got into college and started working as an english teacher at my school I don't have that much time to read. Getting a g/f didn't help, either... :P

Most of the stuff I read nowadays is referred to my career, thus being psychology (from Freud's famous texts to Kurt Danziger's latests comments on traditions on History on Psychology) all I am reading about.

Still, I am deeply amazed by the lack of classics mentioned here. From Homer (read "The Odyssey" first, others later) to Dante's Divine Comedy, including some of the modern classics, like most of Lovecraft and Poe's work in the "horror" section (Stephen King sucks!) and Leon Tolstoi's Anna Karenina, all are authors you can't not know and hope to become a writer, or even a decent reader.  ;D

My all time fav, though, is a small yellow covered one from "Robin Hood" collection titled: "Knights of the round table"

this has got all the magic of Tolkien's books (but exalting knighthood and honor), parts of deep horror (many ppl get amazed when they find out Merlin is actually half-demon!), great epic characters and small human tales.

On the other hand, I deeply enjoyed reading some of Plato's comments on Socrates (and some of Plato's own work, too), part of Aristoteles' work, the Tau, Sun Tzu's art of war and many other works on philosophy.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: aokmaniac13 on September 16, 2004, 05:22:10 am
I might have enjoyed the Oddyssey if my teacher didn't make it a living nightmare :P

Of Mice and Men is a good read, you kinda feel sorry for Larry but then you go HA just kidding I don't give a crap about you!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 16, 2004, 01:55:49 pm
Recommendations:


Of which the Tao Te Ching, Traitor and Blade of Tyshalle are my unsurpassed favorites. So far at least. Trying to find something to one-up them. Though I admit I really really really have to read The Book of the New Sun again. At half the speed. Then maybe I can begin to grasp it.

Also on the to-read list are Moby Dick (started), Frankenstein (bought), Forever Free (I liked The Forever War), and other award-winning stuff by Haldeman, Heinlein, Asimov, Ursula K. Le Guin and so on and so forth. (Something like this (http://www.geocities.com/thesnarkhunt/) perhaps, though I really don't plan on reading EVERYTHING. But hey, so far all from that list were at least great, if not brilliant.)

As for classics like Lasombra mentioned, I want to get around to reading Homer one day, I read the Illias and all that three times at least, though always retold by some random author when I was much younger. War and Peace has even higher priority. Oh, yeah: http://www.online-literature.com/ Lots of classics there. Though I wouldn't read Tolstoy online, mind you. XD

Currently I am being diverted by A Song of Ice and Fire (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/). Gigantic, honest, intelligent, unpredictable and deeply personal "realistic" fantasy entertainment. Almost done with Book 3, Part 1: A Storm of Swords. Not brilliant in a mind-bending way, but great entertainment nonetheless.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Santtu on September 16, 2004, 02:35:39 pm
(Stephen King sucks!)
Carrie and The Shining are still my favourite books.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lasombra Demon on September 17, 2004, 04:41:45 am
Which proves you haven't read enough of Poe (Premature Burial, and many others) and Lovecraft (I liked "In the crypt" better than any Cthulhu Mythos' tale).

King is just FX, gore, dealers and hookers torn to lil' pieces. The other ones tell just enough for you to get REALLY scared...  ;)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Phenomenal on September 17, 2004, 06:10:25 am
hmmmm books u say..................
Title: Re: Books
Post by: PhatRabbit on September 17, 2004, 07:20:36 am
I read most of classic books during the summer and winter season. Right now, school libraries are now holding fiction books that is totaly worth a bullshit (except poetries that are flawless like Edgar Allan Poe's poetries to.....ah what the hell. XD

Of course, I have most of the books from Charles Dickens' David Copperfield to Herman Melville's Moby Dick. I might read those someday.

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Fade on September 17, 2004, 12:32:19 pm
I used to watch porno a lot. But all of a sudden I got a change in hobby! I started readin fanfics at first...(of streetfighter ofcourse) and then I started writtin stuff, and then slowly readin everythin I couldn find....welll thats how I quit watchin porno and didn't watch those for 14 months. Now I've got other hobbies. Gfx and then after 2 years, I come back to Mugen again. ;D

And...I love Harry Potter! It rules!


And amond classics...Charles Dicken's David Copperfield and Oliver Twist rockes too!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lasombra Demon on September 17, 2004, 12:52:48 pm
And...I love Harry Potter! It rules!

Go back to porn before it's too late!  :P
Better have a hairy hand than a molten brain!   ::)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Santtu on September 17, 2004, 01:07:35 pm
Lasombra Demon, I have visited the local libraries just to see if they have Lovecraft's books. Only ones I found were in English, and I'm too lazy to read a book that's not in Finnish.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 17, 2004, 02:18:19 pm
Quote
And...I love Harry Potter! It rules!
Can't stand those things.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cthulhu on September 17, 2004, 02:40:28 pm
I'm sorry, I'm new user, I saw you as talking about books, oh! I can't resist to say, my favorite book's whriter is Lovecrafth, specialy for all his Cthlhu related stories, I would whis to know who else like Lovecrafth and his Cthulhu horror stories?


 8)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 17, 2004, 02:47:21 pm
Just look through the thread. You might find something.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Fade on September 18, 2004, 08:59:43 am
Quote
And...I love Harry Potter! It rules!
Can't stand those things.

have you ever tried readin it or is it just the magic thing?

I used to have bad opinion on HP, co'z its on magic and stuff, realistic stuff are better. But when I read one (which I had to since I can't waste a b.day gift!) I loved it. ;D
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ridelle Black on September 18, 2004, 06:23:27 pm
I have no problem with fantasy. I just don't like Harry Potter books.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cenobite 53 on September 20, 2004, 06:57:05 pm
Clive Barker !!! Books of Blood  rox >:D
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on January 18, 2005, 11:17:04 pm
Yeah, books... I remember reading, mhhh... Moby Dick (yes I eventually finished it! ^_^) and Sean Stewart's (http://www.seanstewart.org/) Yoda: Dark Rendezvous.

It gets minus points for the inclusion of Yoda in the title. Which isn't Stewarts fault. He did everything right. WTF. He actually managed to pull it off. Yoda as one of the main characters. Holy green gnome. And Dooku. And great character studies.

Every Jedi is a child his parents decided they could live without.


What have you been reading??
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Gaahl on January 18, 2005, 11:29:33 pm
The last books I have read were The Necroscope. A good read for the sick and twisted people. I dont read chapter books that much. Mostly its a graphic novel or some comics.
The Preacher, Watchmen and Punisher are great. Alot of the Alines and Prediter stuff is good also.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Kula Diamond on January 18, 2005, 11:48:04 pm
I prefer Jules Verne myself. A bit lengthy at times, but a really good read.
Title: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Avec-Vainde on March 21, 2005, 04:45:37 pm
Well. *Bows*

There are a ton of books out here in this crazy world of ours, but I've found the following to be really wonderful reads:

1. Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

2. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy (The Six Novel Collection) by Douglas Adams.

3. Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett

Yessir. I have to admit, Terry Pratchett's works aren't all that great. Sure, it's filled with satire, and everyone loves satire! However, it's boring satire. Reaper Man was only good because the Grim Reaper was involved, and he's a pretty unique compared to other characters in the Discworld series.

And Ender's Shadow is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I don't want to get into too much detail, but the phrase "Survival of the Fittest" is the theme. And it's a very fitting theme, mind you.

Enough of my dribble.  :P Care to share any reads?
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Bea on March 21, 2005, 05:15:54 pm
Well, I had a good time reading Shogun and Tai Pan by James Clavell.
Frank Herberts Dune is also a good call.
The Hunt for the Red October by Tom Clancy is also worth reading.
Most of Anne Rice books are nice and entertaining.

And of course, there is J. J. Tolkien. :P

Those are the ones I can remember right now.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Sepp on March 21, 2005, 06:40:16 pm
Last books read:


Recommendations later.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Gaahl on March 21, 2005, 07:06:05 pm
I just finished The Omen by David Seltzer.  Some more depth to the stroy would have made the book better.
I'm also reading my Sin City comics. I hope the moive is at least ture to the books.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: KoRnFaN94 on March 21, 2005, 11:34:24 pm
i just finished reading of mice and men in school,... hahaha :D theres this retarded dude in there that likes 2 touch soft things and then he snaps a girls neck and then his best friend shoots him at da back of da hed... man that book is messed up
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Formerly Hoshi on March 22, 2005, 05:16:26 am
i just finished reading of mice and men in school,... hahaha :D theres this retarded dude in there that likes 2 touch soft things and then he snaps a girls neck and then his best friend shoots him at da back of da hed... man that book is messed up
So you're in grade school.  Is that why you laugh at retarded people?

hahaha :D

Anyway, currently reading all of the Harry Potter books with the word "wand" replaced with the word "wang".  Tis a funny read, two thumbs up.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Bastard Mami on March 22, 2005, 07:24:52 am
Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy is great, though i read some low quality pocket editions and some spanish ones.


Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: 「ⒻⓊⒸⓀⓎⒺⒶⒽ」 on March 22, 2005, 01:04:12 pm
Harry Potter [5] =)

I enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Bea on March 23, 2005, 12:34:57 am
Oh gosh...
I forgot about Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.
Cthulhu mythos owns.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Rich on March 23, 2005, 03:32:03 am
The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Sound of Waves
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Lasombra Demon on March 23, 2005, 03:34:05 am
Oh gosh...
I forgot about Edgar Allan Poe and H. P. Lovecraft.
Cthulhu mythos owns.

At last, someone with good taste.  8)
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: MatrixManNe0 on March 23, 2005, 03:38:49 am
Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Desaigy on March 23, 2005, 08:41:00 am
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is where the money is at folks. seriously, if your not a one for boring books. then you will be a one for this one. errr, that didn't make much sense on my part, forgive me. I'm simply trying to say that this is a very humorus book of which I enjoyed thouroghoughoghly.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: The Phenomenal on March 24, 2005, 11:19:19 pm
The bible :angel:
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Sepp on March 24, 2005, 11:26:50 pm
Tao Te Ching (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060812451/104-8871487-5103923).
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: Alein_Atryda_III on March 26, 2005, 09:03:33 pm
"Journey to the west" by Wu'czeng-en
"Dark Musican" by Andre Norton
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: SilverAcidTears on March 26, 2005, 09:24:46 pm
Last Read:
The Rum Diary by H.S.T.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail by H.S.T.

Currently Reading:
Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century by H.S.T.

Plan on Reading:
Hell's Angels by H.S.T.
Title: Re: Books, Anyone?
Post by: MachinaWeapon on March 26, 2005, 10:45:05 pm
"The Lasting Silence" By Rijka Slumner
"Samurai Executioner"
Title: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 14, 2005, 05:18:30 am
I may be old fasion, but I wanted to know what are some good books some of you have read. Please dont be so simple as to say Harry Potter, I like them but I want to here about some "other" books. Some of the good books I've read was the seris "The Cronicals of Narnea" very interesting storys. Well please respond if you like to read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cong Fu Man on September 14, 2005, 05:20:36 am
Lone Wolf.  It's a role playing adventure spanning 28 books in all.  Some of the books are available online and can be accessed at:

www.projectaon.org
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SilverAcidTears on September 14, 2005, 05:24:45 am
Any books by Hunter S. Thompson.......
Hell's Angels
The Rum Diary
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Kingdom of Fear
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Songs of the Doomed

All of his books are Brilliant!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 14, 2005, 05:41:36 am
Are Hunter S. Tompson's books connected, like you have to read one to understand the others?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: BlackJack on September 14, 2005, 06:33:12 am
You have to be stoned and drunk. Otherwise they're not "connected".
Title: Re: Books
Post by: MachinaWeapon on September 14, 2005, 06:51:04 am
You have to be stoned and drunk. Otherwise they're not "connected".

+1

The OLD Tom Clancy books, mainly Op Center series.
Samurai Executioner.
The Stranger by Camus.....

WAIT.

I remember a topic very similar to this. Linkage.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SilverAcidTears on September 14, 2005, 06:53:36 am
They are connected within his life experiences, but they have no connection.

It's like reading about him & hearing a story at the same time.......
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cong Fu Man on September 14, 2005, 11:57:04 am
Btw, I was wondering if any one of you guys ever tried/liked reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" series? (Or maybe anything similar?)  They were a blast to read when I was younger, since it was fun and engaging to be able to have some degree of control with the direction of its storylines.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 14, 2005, 02:19:07 pm
SIXTY-TWO THOUSAND years before the birth of Yeshua ha Notzri, whom later humans knew as Jesus the Christ, the Time Wars ended, for reasons which no sentient being now knows. With that ending, the Continuing Time began.
        In the Continuing Time of which I write, nearly a thousand years after the birth of the man named Trent, mankind had spread to the stars, and attained a position of pre-eminence among the known sentient species of the Continuing Time.
        In that time, four humans had come to be legend, legend so great that even non-human sentients knew of them, of the dreams and myths that had accumulated about their names.
        Those four were Trent; Daniel, who was the first November; Ola who was Lady Blue; and Camber Tremodian. It was said of Trent that he could walk through walls, and they called him the Uncatchable; it was said of November that he was insane even by human standards; and of Camber Tremodian that he was not human at all.
        Of Ola Blue they knew only that she had once lived, and died; that she was death itself, and sorrow.

-- The Name Historian
Looking Backwards from the Year 3000, published 3018 Asimov
Daniel Keys Moran
The Tales of the Continuing Time: The Long Run
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576466396/)


Actually there were three books topics. Now it's an all-in-one. :)

Cong: Not in a loooooong time, can hardly remember. Trying to figure out what I've been reading since my last post . . .


I only found and read Emerald Eyes (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576466388/) and The Long Run (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576466396/) so far, so I'll absolutely have to do some more huting after The Last Dancer (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553562495/) and The A.I. War (is this even written yet??) and whatever.

In the meantime, I ordered The Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/series/-/62/). And The Godfather (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451167716/). And Lolita (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679723161/). Heh.


IN ALL TIMES there are legends. But before the legend, there must be some piece of sharp, shiny truth to catch the light of day and hold it glowing in the midst of night's descent.
        Legends are rarely gentle. Gentleness is not remembered so long nor so well as valor or love or greed or death. Great deeds alone do not insure legend, and their lack will not prevent it - the winds of myth can rise from the lowest deserts.
        I have known many of the Continuing Time's great. I knew Ifahad bell K'Ailli briefly, and I was there when a congress of well meaning Zaradin began the Time Wars. I was there when the High King Arthur died under Camber Tremodian's hand, and I grieved for him. I have known Shakespeare's mind as he wrote, and Erl Moorhe's as she composed her last and most popular sensable, the twenty-seven-hour Lord of the Rings.
        I have known well all three of the deadliest night faces the human race has ever produced: Shiva Curiachen, and Ola who was Lady Blue, and Camber Tremodian himself.
Of the long list of regrets that define my life, I most regret the fact that I never knew Trent the Uncatchable.

-- The Name Storyteller
The Tales of the Continuing Time: Emerald Eyes
Daniel Keys Moran
(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1576466388/)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: MachinaWeapon on September 14, 2005, 06:23:11 pm
Oh, damn, I forgot about this one. America by Jon Stewart. Love it with all my heart. Best 20 bucks not spent on porn. :sugoi:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: KoRnFaN94 on September 14, 2005, 11:47:11 pm
I recomend people to read Korn: life in the pit by leah furman....its interesting learning about jonathan davis when he's a kid, if you knew him by then you would of never guessed  he would be in korn.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 15, 2005, 01:05:01 am
I think im going to read Kingdom of Fear by Hunter S. Tompson, but before I do can you give me a summary (not spoiler) on the book?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SilverAcidTears on September 15, 2005, 01:08:15 am
Amazon sums up the book pretty good (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684873249/ref=pd_sr_ec_ir_b/002-2906972-6467267)

Good choice by the way.....
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 15, 2005, 02:13:43 am
Sounds like a good story, I'm going to check it out at the Library. Some other books im looking at are...ScarFace and the God Father.

Sepp: Maby since there have been three different topics on books it could be a Sticky Topic, I understand that there are quite a few Sticky's as it is, but its just an idea.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SilverAcidTears on September 15, 2005, 07:48:52 am
I'll wait till there's another page but I'll make it a sticky soon.......
Title: Re: Books
Post by: MachinaWeapon on September 16, 2005, 05:45:12 am
Sounds like a good story, I'm going to check it out at the Library. Some other books im looking at are...ScarFace and the God Father.

Sepp: Maby since there have been three different topics on books it could be a Sticky Topic, I understand that there are quite a few Sticky's as it is, but its just an idea.

They have HST at your library???? Cool.

Just finished Hagakure (the shortened tranlation) today. Wow. Is there a version containing all 1300 articles?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 17, 2005, 04:14:53 am
Ok I checked out Kingdom of Fear from the Library it looks good im going to start reading tomarro

BTW: If you want to make this a sticky, but think theres to many sticky as there is, I sugest maby geting rid of Technolgey, since its rarley posted on :P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Snowblind on September 17, 2005, 04:36:39 pm
i liked hiroshima, and learned how the u.s. bombed that place interesting story, anyone here ever read the celestine prophecy?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cenobite 53 on September 17, 2005, 08:18:51 pm
I love to read Books by Stephen King and Clive Barker.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Wolvie on September 17, 2005, 08:24:03 pm
I always loved Bram Stoker's Dracula :vampire:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 17, 2005, 10:59:18 pm
Well I've started reading "Kingdom of Fear" and I dont get what he's saying here.

Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew bath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

I cant make a word of this, please help if you can.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Colussus on September 19, 2005, 10:34:16 pm
I like Tom Clancey the best  :sugoi:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chooch on September 21, 2005, 02:47:08 am
I pretty much only read reptile books.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 22, 2005, 01:45:47 am
Well I was hoping the HS.T could tell me what that quote ment but oh well. Anyway im really enjoing "Kingdom of Fear" thanks for recomending it to me HS.T (he lives in Kentucky, I live close to there, maby I can get his Autograph).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on September 22, 2005, 02:02:19 am
Well I've started reading "Kingdom of Fear" and I dont get what he's saying here.

Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread,
For he on honey-dew bath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

I cant make a word of this, please help if you can.

Never read that book but i will guess he has tasted something secret or considered taboo and now is afraid something is gonna happen to him.he has fed on something heavenly and drunk something heavily and now close his eyes in anticipation for whats gonna happen to him.

Just a guess.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: SilverAcidTears on September 22, 2005, 02:06:16 am
Well I was hoping the HS.T could tell me what that quote ment but oh well. Anyway im really enjoing "Kingdom of Fear" thanks for recomending it to me HS.T (he lives in Kentucky, I live close to there, maby I can get his Autograph).
You Fool!
He was born in Kentucky & lived there as a child afterwards he moved to Aspen..........Also you can't get his Autograph because he's dead :skull:

As for the quote...............beats me :P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 22, 2005, 02:11:18 am
Oh I was'nt aware, sorry...

Thanks Iced, your most likey right, it sure makes sence :yes:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Gaahl on September 26, 2005, 04:22:12 am
I'm not that big of a reader when  it comes to books. but I like reading  magazines. I have 3 that I subscription to Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, PC Gamer and National Airsoft Magazine.
Basicy my three hobbies metal music, pc games and airsoft.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: iMustang on September 26, 2005, 05:00:32 am
Same goes for me, I dont read alot of "books" manly manga, like Shonen Jump (I have a subscription to that myself).







                                                                                      Nice, Post 400
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Thechickenmoo on September 26, 2005, 07:12:41 am
I tend to read more of the fantasy Genre than is actually healthy for me. I also noticed however a lot of the writers dont flesh their characters out properly, so that when you find one you tend to write it down...  One series I enjoyed Immensley (one of  those that you read repeatedly) was the Belgariad by David Eddings
It's a series of about six books (i think) that you can get in two volumes now-a-days
As well as the mallorean By David eddings...
I also enjoyed pretty much anything from Orson Scott Card. Dont just stop at Enders Game. His following Books only improve :)

A couple of my more recent reads were
Raymond E. Feists Riftwar Saga, Serpent Saga, etc.
Which aren't too bad.

I also enjoyed "The Great Book of Amber" which i heard of while searching for new books to read on amazon. The writer tends to end his books abruptly so i reccomend you get "The great Book" as supposedly they come as 10 different ones.

All of these available at your local library :)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 26, 2005, 03:09:35 pm
I intend to read some Orson Scott Card . . . sooner or later.

I also noticed however a lot of the writers dont flesh their characters out properly

Yea, not to mention the rest. Though you mention Eddings, and at least from what I've heard and read about him, much like Robert Jordan's supposedly awful (http://www.geocities.com/thesnarkhunt/dorkcynic/eyeoftheworld.html) Wheel of Time series, pretty much all he does is retell and utilize the archetypes of stuff like The Lord of the Rings over and over and over again, or something? And I almost had enough of The Lord of the Rings-ish stories before I ever actually read The Lord of the Rings itself, all these darn copycats. So I'm staying the heck away from David Eddings. Would probably bore me.

Quote
"You also once told me that you thought George R.R. Martin was the only writer now who may save the epic fantasy series. Can you tell me a bit more? What do you see in Martin’s work that you don’t see in…oh, David Eddings?" (http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/stover/3/)

Hmm, you might find some these interesting:

The Acts of Caine by Matthew Woodring Stover (http://mattstover.blogspot.com/):

The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe:

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin (http://www.georgerrmartin.com/):

Edit: I just noticed A Feast for Crows is coming out soon. Wheeee~!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Thechickenmoo on September 26, 2005, 07:55:42 pm
I never noticed any archtypes of tokien's stuff in there.. Try reading at least 1 (the first ones pretty short) before you write everything off simply because one man didnt like the book ....

As for Mathew Woodring Stover... Sounds interesting... i may be visiting the library sooner than later ;)
Title: Resurrection
Post by: Sepp on February 08, 2008, 04:02:28 pm
I intend to read some Orson Scott Card . . . sooner or later.

Aaand I did. Read Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead last year. Perhaps I'm too old... I really don't like the style. I couldn't stand the author after only reading his uninteresting introduction for Ender's Game. I disliked him almost instantly. o_O"

And in Speaker for the Dead, I really stumbled when the main character was once referred to by his true identity before he makes it known... meh. I didn't buy any of his characters or the many great things they do off-stage. They don't convince me, they're not real to me. I had intended to read more of the Ender Wiggins Saga but couldn't go on after Speaker for the Dead. Discarding Card until I get my hands on some of the comics he worked on...

I didn't read A Feast for Crows because everybody seemed to dislike it and slammed it for being only half of a book. No Tyrion either! I might pick it up together with A Dance with Dragons if that one get better reviews. It should. Dragons, dude.

Others worth noting since last post:


Yes I really like The Prince of Nothing. =D Eagerly awaiting The Aspect-Emperor.

About the horror story dislike, I suspect I'm not so much scared of things or creatures. While a killer or monster can be scary, they are still somehow. . . personal and constrained. So what if they kill the entire village? But what chills me is The Nothing from The Neverending Story, the setup of I Am Legend (novel)/28 Days Later and the events towards the end of Forever Free. Mhhhh.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: aokmaniac13 on February 08, 2008, 04:35:44 pm
Another pre-apocalyptic thread!

More books I can reccomend
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman!
The Lexus and the Olive Tree
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on February 08, 2008, 05:20:09 pm
To all those who like fantasy, read ROBIN HOBB books !!!!

Her three main series are The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy and The Tawny Man Trilogy, all happening in a chronological way.

These series are just fantastic. To know a little more, just go here (http://www.robinhobb.com/books-main.html).

And well, I very much enjoyed Orson Scott Card's books. I bought all of them concerning Ender and Bean (8 books all in all), and I really think they're good, even though the style is quite simple.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Aboriginal One on February 08, 2008, 05:23:40 pm
I recommend the Sword of Truth series of books by Terry Goodkind.

I also recommend Farenheit 451 by Bradbury
and The Giver. I forgot who wrote this one.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: #Shaun on February 08, 2008, 07:02:29 pm
I'm a person who loves to read. Short list of what I got/recommend you read
==========================================================
- Parasite Eve (the book that spawned the movie and the game. great read). I forgot the author's name.
- Stephen Colbert's "I am America"
- Dr. Henry Louis Gates' "Come On People"
- Brian Lanker's "I Dream A World (Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America")
- Ebony America: "Black America Vol 1, 2, 3"
- Rodney Dangerfield "No Respect"
- Blanche Knott "Truly Tasteless Jokes 1 & 2"
- A Lesson Before Dying
- Martin Mull's "The History Of White People In America"
- The Great Gatsby
- The Call Of The Wild
- The Giver (favorite book)
- Black Bondage
- David W. Phillipson's "African Archaeology"
- Dick Gregory's "Nigger"


edit: Norman Mailer's "Why Are We At Vietnam"
Title: Re: Books
Post by: aokmaniac13 on February 08, 2008, 07:33:18 pm
- Stephen Colbert's "I am America (And you can too!)"
Fixed.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: #Shaun on February 08, 2008, 07:39:07 pm
 :P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: XGargoyle on February 08, 2008, 08:27:00 pm
- Parasite Eve (the book that spawned the movie and the game. great read). I forgot the author's name.

Hideaki Sena.

Btw, the novel was also adapted into a manga version by Shikakuno (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4048529064/girlshorrorco-22)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: #Shaun on February 08, 2008, 08:37:57 pm
- Parasite Eve (the book that spawned the movie and the game. great read). I forgot the author's name.

Hideaki Sena.

Yeah that's right. I wonder why the video game never went adpated the same theme as the story and movie.

Btw, the novel was also adapted into a manga version by Shikakuno (http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/4048529064/girlshorrorco-22)

...didn't know that. Thanks!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: XGargoyle on February 08, 2008, 10:14:06 pm
The game was somewhat an "unofficial" sequel to the novel because Maeda, one of the main characters, mentions the incidents that happened on the novel
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on February 08, 2008, 10:36:13 pm
-Urobuchi Gen & Nasu Kinoko's Fate/Zero. Fucking epic. Yeah, not accessible to non-Japanese speaker, but still fucking epic.
-James Clavell's Shōgun. Very very awesome. Uterly hated Gaijin though, and I don't really feel like starting the other books in the same Whirlwind series.
-Yoshikawa Eiji's Musashi. Legendary and cool.
-Of mice and men is a real classic obviously, but I'm still listing it just because was the first book that I actually liked to read back in middle school when I didn't like to read.
And I forgot to pick up "I am legend" at the English bookstore >_< (they didn't have it back when it was mentionned in the movie topic) shall do tomorrow. And haha, Sepp listed it back in 2005 in this topic. There were a couple more titles I wanted to pick up as well but I can't remember which D:
edit - caught I am legend, Tao Te Ching and Gorin no shou (book of five rings) at the English bookstore.

Well, those are the biggest titles out of those I've read so far. Then there are the Harry Potter series (hmmm), Dan Brown's Angels & Demons - Da Vinci Code - Digital Fortress (I don't feel like starting Deception Point), and more random shit.
edit - oh yeah. The Resident Evil novels are fairly well done too, and true to the game, always funny to notice those stuff. Like "there was an old typewriter on the desk".
||
V
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Snake on February 08, 2008, 10:44:59 pm
The Giver by Lois Lowry. read in 8th grade and loved it

also Doom Stone by Paul Zindel, and the Resident evil books by S.D. Perry
Title: Re: Books
Post by: BulletSaint on February 08, 2008, 10:56:11 pm
 World War Z by Max Brooks is an amazing book if you're into an interesting look at a zombie apocalypse.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Aboriginal One on February 09, 2008, 08:37:58 am
The Giver by Lois Lowry. read in 8th grade and loved it

so that's who wrote the story. I was pissed at the part with the Giver's daughter.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: K.O.D on February 15, 2008, 06:19:07 pm
I've read in the past few weeks :
1.World War Z.
2.Atlas Shrugged (quit halfway though,since it became all crap)
3.The Catcher in the Rye.

And many others too obscure to remember.

Next on my list :
1.I Am Legend.
2.The Count of Monte Cristo (already half-way finished though,watched the anime adaptation for a few episodes too)

Someone mind giving me a link to The Giver's ebook? (free,of course)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: #Shaun on February 15, 2008, 07:29:59 pm
2.The Count of Monte Cristo (already half-way finished though,watched the anime adaptation for a few episodes too)

So that's what that reference was in Oldboy...



Books
=====
Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon  :)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on February 15, 2008, 09:48:21 pm
Finished reading I am legend, the changes made in the movie regarding the nature of the vampires didn't necessarily bother me in the end (had to shift from '75 to '07, though keeping the vampire version could have worked just as well), but I really hated the ending of the book. Also the movie being slow as hell is not too noticeable in the book because of the narration style - explanations, flashbacks etc. Good thing.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on April 10, 2008, 10:12:22 pm
but I really hated the ending of the book.

Hhm. I'll have to re-read it one day. Last (re)reads:

The Book of the New Sun

Awesome.

Ringworld: hilarious and the scale of the world is still staggering the second time.

A Short History of Nearly Everything: because the first few pages of Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman! didn't catch my interest. Short History is extremely readable (it was meant to be, success there!) but it gets worse in the second half of the book (loved the first part). The anecdotes get worse, the subjects were less interesting to me, and I guess that did it. I might have to try the Feyman book again, as this book referenced Feyman as some sort of god a billion times.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: momo! on April 26, 2008, 01:43:42 am
i loved every single crummy goddam page of Catcher in the Rye 8)

gotta add duma key by stephen king though, i liked it less than IT, but more than Christine, which i also liked quite a bit.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Ohsky on May 01, 2008, 09:53:33 pm
i dont read books, i can´t stand any. I only read things on the internet.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on May 03, 2008, 03:28:24 pm
Hhm. I'll have to re-read it one day.
It's mainly because the behaviour of the "new" group is total bullshit. If they were humans before, they should know it was useless to do all this and much better to go at him and point out "HEY LOOK WE CAN LIVE NORMALLY A LITTLE". Hunting the guy who is killing them during the day has nothing in common with hunting Dracula who is biting humans during the night, because they actually know they can live together. Comparing fear of him to fear of Dracula, my ass.

I finished the three Dexter books - Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter and Dexter in the Dark. Quite a few differences compared to the 2 seasons of the TV series. Aside from the obvious total change of direction in the scenario, what also greatly contributed to the change of atmosphere :
-the side characters have a LOT less importance in the books than in the TV series (or if you prefer, the series had them gain a lot). Angel first, even Doakes shows more and is more interesting... Masuoka on the other hand, the comments on him by Dexter were interesting in the book. Dunno why they scratched it for the series. The books end up being about nothing other than Dexter and a bit of Deborah. In the series, I liked a lot Dexter's comment to Angel that went something like "if there was someone I would want to be like, it would be you".
-Dexter's personnality... At the start, it's better to read it, since it really is insisted on that he has no feelings, that he actually *likes* killing and chopping up people - those things are lost a lot in the TV series. Especially by just seeing Dexter talk, he looks much warmer on screen.
-Dexter's personnality again, but in the wrong way this time : in the end, by the time of the third book, his "no feelings" thing turn stupid :| not figuring out why people react this or that way only makes him look dumb rather than emotionless. He's supposed to have studied them to blend in, so in the end, he's just oblivious, not "without feelings". And his fits of various emotions during the third book make him look even more stupid, almost making the whole thing useless and rending Dexter much more common : without the Passenger, he's useless and has nothing special.

All in all, I think I liked the series just a little bit more. The beginning of the books is better, but as it goes, the series gain more interest than the books do. Though the thing about "IT" during the third book, and especially the kids Astor and Cody, were really good.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on May 04, 2008, 12:34:28 pm
It's mainly because the behaviour of the "new" group is total bullshit. If they were humans before, they should know it was useless to do all this and much better to go at him and point out "HEY LOOK WE CAN LIVE NORMALLY A LITTLE". Hunting the guy who is killing them during the day has nothing in common with hunting Dracula who is biting humans during the night, because they actually know they can live together. Comparing fear of him to fear of Dracula, my ass.

I never thought about it that way.


The Once and Future King:


The Ill-Made Knight and Candle are the only parts I could read with interest here and there. I skipped a lot of pages in the first two books, who are really pretty simple fantasy books for children. Loved the ugly (lol!) Lacelot's personal struggle, he thinks so lowly of himself.

"[F]or he put a higher value on chastity than is fashionable in our century. He believed, like the man in Lord Tennyson, that people could only have the strength of ten on account of their hearts being pure. It so happened that his strength was the strenght of ten, and such was the medieval explanation which had been discovered for it. As a corollary to this belief, he supposed that if he gave it to the Queen he would lose his tenfold might. So, for this reason, as well as for the other ones, he fought against her with the courage of despair."

This unlocked better understanding of Blade of Tyshalle's crooked knight... ill-made knight... crooked knight... omg!

Blade of Tyshalle said:
THE SOLE DEFENDER of the part-time goddess was the crooked knight. He was the reflection of knighthood in a cracked mirror, and what he did, he did backward.

The crooked knight wore no armor, and he did not care for swords. He was small and thin, ugly and graceless. He could not ride a warhorse, and no squire would serve him. He was a deceiver, a manipulator, his life built upon a lie.

His strength was the strength of ten, because his heart was filled with corruption.


Teacher Man

By the guy who won the Pulitzer Price for Angela's Ashes. Don't care about Ireland or ashes, but teaching sounded interesting. It was.


The Mists of Avalon:

Still reading the third book of it. Arthur again, from an entirely different angle this time. A lot more interesting for me, though I skip passages here as well... sorry, I GET IT, you don't need to spend yet another page having those women think about how they feel about things.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Daimyon on May 04, 2008, 07:16:19 pm
It's mainly because the behaviour of the "new" group is total bullshit. If they were humans before, they should know it was useless to do all this and much better to go at him and point out "HEY LOOK WE CAN LIVE NORMALLY A LITTLE". Hunting the guy who is killing them during the day has nothing in common with hunting Dracula who is biting humans during the night, because they actually know they can live together. Comparing fear of him to fear of Dracula, my ass.

It may be some time, since I've read it, so correct me, if I'm mistaken, but weren't there different stages of infection? It might be that I'm mistaking it with other post-apocalyptic, post-global-infection books. That means that the changed, after first coming to their new senses might have been quite disoriented before they, after the infection progressed some time, gained some if not all of their former knowledge as human beings. Weren't the infected just on the verge of redeveloping some kind of society by the end of the book? The organized even killed off some of their own kind (those in front of main characters house) because they didn't return to a more civilized self, even after so many of them did that the necessity for a new society emerged.
Again, I might be mistaken and remember it wrong.

Now then, should I try to mention some books I've read and enjoyed?

Dan Simmons: The Hyperion as well as the Endymion books. A great read all in all that makes the (in my eyes) few bad scenes all the more stupid.
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

Mervyn Peake: The books that go as the Gormenghast trilogy. Memorable characters, strange setting, descent into madness for some characters, with others already seeming to be mad...Gormenghast is a madhouse. Unique, very readable, never boring. For me.

Mark Z. Danielewski: House of Leaves. One might say it wants to be or look like something it is not, but I found it quite entertaining. Mainly got interested because of the technique, the story was not really my biggest interest, was well executed in the end. But it really is something different, if there's just some writing in the top corner of the page. In the end I enjoyed it.

Harlan Ellison: What I've read by him was always good.

Gene Wolfe: Not much read by him, yet. Only some short stories, but he is, despite that quite prominent on my to read list. And yes, I know I promised to only mention books I've already read. I lied.

Scott Westerfeld: The Risen Empire. Space opera. Nice characters, nice setting, the story develops at a good pace, there are several hotspots with likeable protagonists. I got it, because I was interested and I was not let down.

Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Despite the length and wordiness I never found the book to be tedious or boring.

Alfred Doeblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz. Yes. I enjoyed it. At first only being interested in the technique, the story turned out interesting.

Arno Schmidt: Leviathan. Schwarze Spiegel. Great. One day I have to get my hands on Zettels Traum.

Tom Piccirilli: I liked what I've read, especially November Mourns and Headstone City. Of all the books I've read by him, which accounts to four, they all dealt with some kind of homecoming. And ghosts. And in the last two the main characters returned home from jail, if I'm remembering it correctly.

Gary A. Braunbeck: In Silent Graves. Good book. Not only in the horror genre. Disturbing with good characters. Maybe some problems with one of the last chapters, but the rest was so great, nothing was lost.

Joseph Heller: Catch 22. What to say? First 100 pages were better in my opinion. You had to think more to puzzle everything together. The longer into the book, the longer and more coherent the chapters become.

William Gibson: The Neuromancer books. Nothing much to say. Very interesting.

John Milton: Paradise Lost. Beautiful. Read it while being bored with Robert McCammon's Swan Song.

Dante: The divine comedy. Only translated. Still beautiful.

Clive Barker: What I've read was great, including the Books of Blood, Imajica, Sacrament and others. Fantastic imagery. This mixture of horror and slight fantasy.

Stephen King: The Stand. Even though it could have been longer. There. I said it. Flagg seemed not developed enough.
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

Nevil Shute: On the Beach. Everybody dies and it's clear from one of the first chapters, if not the very first. Nuclear aftermath done right. Not like Swan Song...

Thomas Mann: Doktor Faustus. Fantastic prose. Interesting theories and thoughts. Story is more or less a varied form of the Faust myth.

I think, I've mentioned more than enough now. But when I post, I'll make it count. Or not.

tl;dr lots of books without a continuous air about them.

EDIT: added information on the books. At least some.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on May 05, 2008, 07:46:58 pm
Quote
Weren't the infected just on the verge of redeveloping some kind of society by the end of the book? The organized even killed off some of their own kind (those in front of main characters house) because they didn't return to a more civilized self, even after so many of them did that the necessity for a new society emerged.
Yes. But the thing was that they killed Neville because he was killing them. But Neville was killing them because he saw they would keep hunting him and they wouldn't come back to their sense no matter what... Seriously, just having the "new civilization" show that, yes, they could come back to their sense and build a new civilization would have been enough ; because afterall, he was killing them because he was seeing that there would be no civilization anymore.
All Neville needed was to be sure they wouldn't eat him. Then he wouldn't have to kill them, even if they didn't live under the same circumstances, even if they didn't eat the same things. And afterall, Neville was very willing to go with them when the girl told him they were building a new civilization ; he did say he would entrust himself to their new civilized law. Until they smashed through his door, set stuff on fire and shot at him.
They just had to live together and build that new civilization. Instead of that, they just went and captured him to execute him, because they feared him. And they feared him because of ignorance ; and Dracula is never portrayed that way.
While I did like a lot the whole idea behind the phrase "I am legend", the fact that he is to them a legend of the same kind as Dracula, I didn't like the conclusion. The only thing it shows is that ignorance is the worse thing that should not be left as it is ; it ruins possibilities, here the possibility to simply live together.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Daimyon on May 05, 2008, 08:46:31 pm
For them he might have been a monster, comparable to Dracula. They, unlike the reader didn't know his motivations. Only the girl might have learned about them (please excuse my nebulous remembering of details...). But still, there was, I think, no way they could have let him live.
The general opinion of the changed might have been that he is a threat to their new race, new civilization, not a person anymore, because they defined themselves as persons now, so he became a monster whose motives they didn't know but who went around and killed them without mercy. I doubt most even bothered to learn about his motives.
Also, in this new society, if it was anything like the last, Neville must have been considered a murderer, as he killed citizens of this new society, seemingly without reason. Add to them that he was like a mythical beast...we also must not forget that this new state also must have had some kind of propaganda...but I think I'm drifting off into the realm of mere speculation.

And for the scene where they came for him; they shot down the vampires in front of his house and, I think, tried to call him out, and he knew, he should go out, surrender but then, on an impulse stormed back deeper into the house, letting them count down and come after him. Well, even if he had come out of his own, I doubt they could have let him live, for reasons mentioned above.

Both factions only knew the monstrous side of the other. Cut that. Neville tried to at least get behind the reason for the monstrosity the others had become. And he met the girl, always doubting her being a genuine human.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on May 05, 2008, 09:00:56 pm
I finished The King Stag only to discover that that wasn't the end of it... now reading The Prisoner in the Oak.

Baiken's argument seems to be partly based on the assumption that---since they were once human---they would remember and keep memories from those times, and therefore they ought to have just tried to talk it out or something.

I can't remember enough of the novel to comment, but I had always assumed that the infection had somehow diminished their ability to reason or just changed them sufficiently enough that they were no longer human enough to think like one, or something.

And supposing they remembered everything and could still think humanly...

what reason had they to assume that he would listen to them? After all, they had (willingly or not) in a way committed genocide and directly or indirectly destroyed Neville's entire world... what reason would they have had to assume he wouldn't just keep killing them until the end of his days for their crimes?

I guess if I were one of the new humans and could think and everything, I would probably figure that Neville was fighting to his dying day against the monsters who killed everyone he knew. I don't think it would occur to me that he might even consider forgetting all that and be content to just be left alone.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on May 05, 2008, 09:27:44 pm
Well yes, that's pretty much it. Ignorance. Just because they don't know, doesn't mean they're right.

In all Dracula stories, there was no such thing as Dracula needing to be understood, he was always depicted as killing for pleasure and having fun boasting around. And here, Ruth, the girl, knows they were like him before - she precisely uses it to get to him.

Quote
and, I think, tried to call him out, and he knew, he should go out, surrender but then, on an impulse stormed back deeper into the house, letting them count down and come after him.
They did nothing of that, they killed the ones outside then they immediately smashed his door. He freaked out. Let me take the book out of my shelf-- I quote,
"He would not fight. He'd throw himself upon the justice of their new society. When they called to him he would go out and surrender; it was his decision.
But they didn't call. Neville lurched back with a gasp as the ax blade bit deeply into the front door. He stood trembling in the dark living room. What were they doing ? Why didn't they call on him to surrender ? He wasn't a vampire, he was a man like them. What were they doing ?"
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Daimyon on May 05, 2008, 10:31:40 pm
Ah thanks.

When I just reread that passage (surprisingly I was able to find my copy fast; thought it would be buried under a pile of other books) I think I remember partly blaming Neville's actions for being shot down. For retreating into darkness, getting his guns (well, who would act different?), and I think I stopped sympathizing with him when he didn't go with the girl. Or even before that. Can't remember. Would have to reread the whole book to be able to recount my former opinions, if that would be at all possible.

But you're right. And I won't try to argue about anything related to Dracula since I don't have enough knowledge concerning that.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on November 16, 2008, 11:32:47 pm
Looks like the last few months have been guide-heavy...

    How to Win Influence and Make Friends
I am of the opinion that each and every English-speaking country on Earth really really really ought to have this book on the curriculum.

    How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
Hm. That guy was pretty good at what he did. Respect.

    Sex for Dummies
Nobody reads this thread anyway, right? ;) It's an old woman writing this, and it shows sometimes. Not really recommended for the 21st century.

    The Last Lecture
The book that goes with the video of Randy Pausch's Last Lecture (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=362421849901825950). Watch the video instead, the book's not necessary. But watch it. He was a very entertaining dying man.

    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex
A younger author, sometimes silly or with overdone coolness (noticed the awful title?), but with more practical tips and more appropriate text all around.

    The Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy
I'll be damned, but it was waay cooler when I first read it. Since I sort of knew what was going to happen this time... nope, just not as good anymore without the originality factor. Same goes for the other books:

    Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
I read the first three chapters because it was available for free... then deleted the entire ebook out of frustration with where it was going. Please, please, next time you have somebody turn Sith Lord, don't make losing all his personality and intelligence a pre-requisite... didn't we have enough fallen-out-of-stupidity Star Wars villains already?

    The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
All right, but nowhere as good as the first reading of The Hitchhicker's Guide.

    Interview with the Vampire
My only expose to Anne Rice's world so far had been the movie version of Queen of the Damned and I thought maybe the movie didn't do her justice. It probably didn't, but turns out I don't like the actual books much either. Hated it throughout and kept skipping pages!

    Caine Black Knife
A sequel that is (intentionally) veeeery different in tone and style from Blade of Tyshalle (my favorite novel). I devoured it way too fast to be able to say anything much about it... but interestingly... I kind of did not like the book. :o


Currently reading:

    Applying UML and Patterns - An Introduction to Object-Oriented Analysis and Design and Interative Development
Probably won't finish it this year, maybe never. It quotes cool stuff, though, and I like its approach to project planning and execution in general. It's basically: you can't plan for everything anyway, and at least half of the things you designed for in the beginning will be dropped or drastically altered later on, so don't bother too much with it in the first place. Right on! XD

    The Hobbit or There and Back Again
Cute so far. Gollum alone makes me want to read The Lord of the Rings in English once I'm done.

    Shogun
Came across it in the library and remembered Bia recommending it, so... only got a few pages in so far.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on November 17, 2008, 12:00:50 am
Quote
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal
I read the first three chapters because it was available for free... then deleted the entire ebook out of frustration with where it was going. Please, please, next time you have somebody turn Sith Lord, don't make losing all his personality and intelligence a pre-requisite... didn't we have enough fallen-out-of-stupidity Star Wars villains already?
I agree with this, i've kinda tried on the "New Sith" series and it's just BAD. As a character he's been completely ruined. And everyone but Jaina is now all namby pamby. It's gone downhill a lot since the joiner trilogy. Those were pretty awful too.

I liked the clone wars ones though with omega/delta squads.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 12:13:53 am
Been picking up on cheap books , so my latest reading are things that most people already read a long time before.



Terry pratchet Discworld's - Mort
Read the translated version, had heard about him before but never had the possibility to read any discworld, it was entertaining original and made me laugh quite a few times, loved the way he would break into describing the world in tangents.
Reminded me of a more interesting Lovecraft.

Stephen king's -Dreams and Nightmares 2
Collection of short stories, one of them was the "tribe of 10 o clock" about creatures replacing persons in power positions and the highly addicted to tabaco persons that were still able to see them, those scorned by the society new "healthy" ways .
Also had a sherlock holmes short story and a nice cthuluh based story about a part of britain around the corner where sacrifices are drawn to die.

Emilie Bronté - Wuthering Heights
Only heard that the music was a book recently, found it interesting so i set out to read it, it was very well written for the time period, was strangely surprised with a woman that age writing about such a theme like hate, instead of the usual love stories.
could see why some would call it the first "emo" piece of literature.
After reading it I was saddened by seeing that Heath ledger had been named after the character and would never be able to portray it in movie.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bea on November 17, 2008, 12:25:33 am
    Shogun
Came across it in the library and remembered Bia recommending it, so... only got a few pages in so far.

If you like it, I strongly recommend reading Tai-Pan after it.

I've been rereading a few of my favorites now that I finally have them (had to import english versions...)

Dune
At The Mountain of Madness
The Call of Cthulhu
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on November 17, 2008, 12:30:11 am
Nobody reads this thread anyway, right? ;)

..and you placed that sneaky remark right in a line following a kinda-headline with "sex" in it? Clever.

About Hitchhiker's: I saw the movie first, and I actually liked it better than the book. Especially Marvin, while being adorably depressed in the movie ("I have a suggestion, but noone listens to me anyways.." and actually noone even noticing him, "Can I have my arm back now?" in that very disinterested tone.. loved those scenes) just felt very cynic in the book :sadgoi:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on November 17, 2008, 12:41:34 am
Quote
    Sex for Dummies
Nobody reads this thread anyway, right? ;) It's an old woman writing this, and it shows sometimes. Not really recommended for the 21st century.
lol, a friend read part of it and told me it's like reading a book about love and sex back in the 18th century. :P

At The Mountain of Madness
The Call of Cthulhu
I read both of them not so long ago, along with "the shadow out of time" and "the dreams in the witch-house".
They were my first reading of HP Lovecraft novels... and probably the last ones. Now I understand better why some people love him while others just cannot stand his style. His style is just "Too much" for me. I had to read some sentences up to 4 times (in French) to understand more or less what it was about. :gonk:

I'm currently reading Dune Messiah (finally time I read one of SF's masterpiece), and I'll soon start Foundation & Empire (Book 2 of the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov) and Renegade's Magic (Book 3 of the Soldier Son trilogy by Robin Hobb).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: JozoTheBoogey on November 17, 2008, 12:45:28 am
Did anyone read the book Beggars & Sons (Prosijaci i Sinovi)? By Ivan Raos.
If you have the book in your library please read it, you will know how we lived then.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on November 17, 2008, 01:02:12 am
Sepp: did you read Feuchtgebiete?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Rote Zaungast on November 17, 2008, 01:48:27 am
only thing that came to my mind for the moment is Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (Last Days of a Condemned Man), and Planet of the Apes

on my list:
The Alchemist
V for Vendetta
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kingofM.U.G.E.N. on November 17, 2008, 01:53:31 am
The books I've been reading lately are by Jules Verne and John Grisham.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 01:56:24 am
This reminds me

The voice of Fire By Alan Moore.

Amazingly well done and entertaining, really an interesting piece.
Its a collection of short stories all on the same town in Britain, along the ages, starting in the pre historic times.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on November 17, 2008, 02:08:04 am
    Shogun
Came across it in the library and remembered Bia recommending it, so... only got a few pages in so far.
The series runs on a few of centuries and include Noble House, Shogun, Tai-Pan, Whirlwind, Gai-Jin and King Rat - going from before 1600 all the way to 1945, passing through Japan, China, Israel (I think ? Somewhere in the Middle-East for Whirlwind) and a ship for prisonners during WWII.
Shogun is amazing for various reasons (except the Dutch and Japanese dialogues are just way off), but I totally hated Gai-Jin - it was just a collection of people who were each uglier than the next one. Only a couple of good guys deep down on each "side", but it wasn't enough to buy back how ugly the people and the events went. Regarding the characters, their personnalities and how the events go, Shogun and Gai-Jin are pretty much complete opposite. Loved one, hated the other.
Dunno about the others in the series, haven't read them.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on November 17, 2008, 03:24:15 am
only thing that came to my mind for the moment is Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (Last Days of a Condemned Man), and Planet of the Apes

on my list:
The Alchemist
V for Vendetta


You're going to love The Alchemist, well maybe not, but I did.  I reread it every once in a while and underline some of my favorite quotes.

Looks like the last few months have been guide-heavy...

   
    Sex for Dummies
Nobody reads this thread anyway, right? ;) It's an old woman writing this, and it shows sometimes. Not really recommended for the 21st century.

    The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex
A younger author, sometimes silly or with overdone coolness (noticed the awful title?), but with more practical tips and more appropriate text all around.

I'm curious......  why? 

  
Quote
  The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
All right, but nowhere as good as the first reading of The Hitchhicker's Guide.

I had the author reading this one (audio book)  wow!  Listen if you ever get the chance, it makes a real difference.

   
Quote
Interview with the Vampire
My only expose to Anne Rice's world so far had been the movie version of Queen of the Damned and I thought maybe the movie didn't do her justice. It probably didn't, but turns out I don't like the actual books much either. Hated it throughout and kept skipping pages!
 

you just don't like her style, or something else?

Been picking up on cheap books , so my latest reading are things that most people already read a long time before.
Terry pratchet Discworld's - Mort
Read the translated version, had heard about him before but never had the possibility to read any discworld, it was entertaining original and made me laugh quite a few times, loved the way he would break into describing the world in tangents.
Reminded me of a more interesting Lovecraft.

His writing is wonderful!  Did you ever read Good Omens that he co-wrote with Neil Gaiman?

    Shogun
Came across it in the library and remembered Bia recommending it, so... only got a few pages in so far.
The series runs on a few of centuries and include Noble House, Shogun, Tai-Pan, Whirlwind, Gai-Jin and King Rat - going from before 1600 all the way to 1945, passing through Japan, China, Israel (I think ? Somewhere in the Middle-East for Whirlwind) and a ship for prisonners during WWII.
Shogun is amazing for various reasons (except the Dutch and Japanese dialogues are just way off), but I totally hated Gai-Jin - it was just a collection of people who were each uglier than the next one. Only a couple of good guys deep down on each "side", but it wasn't enough to buy back how ugly the people and the events went. Regarding the characters, their personnalities and how the events go, Shogun and Gai-Jin are pretty much complete opposite. Loved one, hated the other.
Dunno about the others in the series, haven't read them.

I liked King Rat the best, I'm not really sure why.


I'm rereading the Dune series before I give the books away to my sister for her students.  I'm not sure whats next, something a little trashy I guess.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Dishamonpow on November 17, 2008, 06:36:08 am
Well by what I am reading right now, I'm sure many will say that I am one of those people who just follow, but I only read them cause that caught my eye.  :P

Book I am reading now
Eclipse by Stephenie
I am reading the Twilight books. My Girl Friend got me to read them, and I got to say that its been a good while since I got into a book Sage, last being Harry Potter. Now its not just about Vampire sex.  ::)

Some books I read in the past
All Harry Potter
What Can I say, its what got me into reading.
Eragon
Kind of filled me up when I was done with Harry Potter, hope to pick up the 2nd and 3rd one up soon.
hawksong,snakecharm,Falcondance
My Girl Friend also got me into these books, but I feel these could use a lot more work, they seem to go at a really fast pace, but it gets a plus for putting views of different eyes in each book. I might pick up the 4th and 5th up after getting the others out of the way.

I did try Lord of the rings, but never got it done, might try to go back to it one day.

Also reading gets me to write a few stories myself, now if I can only can get them published  :P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on November 17, 2008, 06:54:57 am
My favorite books of all time.

1984. It's not just the Big Brother stuff. If you ever had a girl friend in the Military while serving, you will find all the shit that two main characters were going through to be very familiar.

The Count of Monte Cristo. It's long but very Awesome indeed.

The Red Badge of courage, this book is a requirement for anybody who wants to know how war is.

My so called Mates, The only book i ever read that is honest about drugs and the people involved.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. If you never have done a hallucinogenic then don't bother reading.... You just won't get it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: OZ on November 17, 2008, 10:56:38 am
The Count of Monte Cristo. It's long but very Awesome indeed.

A book I enjoyed.
Something of a rarity these days.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: JozoTheBoogey on November 17, 2008, 12:37:22 pm
Did anyone readed Forest Gump? Blackwater Sound? What about you Oz?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on November 17, 2008, 02:39:28 pm
I haven't read either but I'm told that the movie Forrest Gump is the only first half of the book that it went all the through the 1980s so I need to check it out.

I mean I got to see if Forrest played SF in 1987 LOL
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c00p on November 17, 2008, 02:49:03 pm
http://www.amazon.com/Anubis-Gates-Tim-Powers/dp/0441004016
Title: Re: Books
Post by: JozoTheBoogey on November 17, 2008, 03:41:29 pm
I haven't read either but I'm told that the movie Forrest Gump is the only first half of the book that it went all the through the 1980s so I need to check it out.

I mean I got to see if Forrest played SF in 1987 LOL
I watched Forest Gump but I know there were details that's difrent in the book. Forest didn't met Bubba in the army.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Santtu on November 17, 2008, 04:43:32 pm
Don't mind me, just corrupting this thread. (http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/11/10/president-elect-obama-reads-twilight-so-is-he-team-edward-or-team-jacob/)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on November 17, 2008, 06:54:05 pm
Well. At least it's not Eragon! I suppose Twilight is better than Eragon, right? I read the first page of Eragon at a friend's and wanted to hurl the book across the room. =)


I agree with this, i've kinda tried on the "New Sith" series and it's just BAD. As a character he's been completely ruined. And everyone but Jaina is now all namby pamby. It's gone downhill a lot since the joiner trilogy. Those were pretty awful too.

I liked the clone wars ones though with omega/delta squads.

The clones don't interest me. I'll have to buy Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor next because it's Matt Stover. But for the rest of Star Wars, I'll just continue to read the storyline summaries and shake my head about them.


About Hitchhiker's: I saw the movie first, and I actually liked it better than the book. Especially Marvin, while being adorably depressed in the movie ("I have a suggestion, but noone listens to me anyways.." and actually noone even noticing him, "Can I have my arm back now?" in that very disinterested tone.. loved those scenes) just felt very cynic in the book :sadgoi:

I'm not sure which book it is in, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe possibly... but far and away the best scene was not in the film: in which Marvin, unarmed, is ordered to stay behind and stop the super high-tech tank robot from hell...


I'm curious......  why?
How did I end up reading those? Well you see one day I caught a friend reading up on fellatio in Sex for Dummies and the resulting discussion... haha. :p


Quote
you just don't like her style, or something else?

I like vampires, guess I just can't stand Anne Rice. The deal with the young girl was intriguing, but, meh.


lol, a friend read part of it and told me it's like reading a book about love and sex back in the 18th century. :P

Your friend *faye eyes* exaggerated. A bit. XD

Spoiler: Sex for Dummies (click to see content)

Sex for Dummies reads like it's been writing for another age by some old lady constantly scaring you about dangerous dangerous WATCH OUT sexually transmitted diseases.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amazing Sex sounds about as bad as it can get for a book title, but is way more appropriately written all in all, have fun kids but pay attention.

And as far as tips go, apparently complete idiots are way above to dummies. The typical Dummie description of something will read like, "In oral sex, one person applies his mouth and possibly tongue to his partner's genitalia [oh really?] and then does whatever pleases his partner [well thanks for that advice!]." Idiots are able of handling actual examples. Hm.


Sepp: did you read Feuchtgebiete?

Nope.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on November 17, 2008, 06:58:48 pm
I recently reread the hitchiker's guide series. besides that I plan to "read" umineko, which is supossed to be a sound novel and it would be my first of those.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 07:04:15 pm
Ew...Twilight...


@Bhaven

I didnt read that one but I did read a lot of material from Neil Gaiman, one of my personal favorite writers.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on November 17, 2008, 07:07:11 pm
Well. At least it's not Eragon! I suppose Twilight is better than Eragon, right? I read the first page of Eragon at a friend's and wanted to hurl the book across the room. =)

Huh. I thought the first Eragon book was ok, not very memorable but ok. The second was negatively memorable. It sounds like a 15 year old d&d gamemaster going marty-stu-fanfic on the first book. Srsly. --;
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jango on November 17, 2008, 07:14:28 pm
Never really got into that series. I remember reading an excerpt from the second book where the main character develops a crush on someone, and I was just thinking "oh god please tell me he wasn't paid for this"
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 07:19:49 pm
I couldnt get past the first chapter of Eragon, something about it sounded so very... flakey...

Would rather read Voice of the Fire first chapter, written by a retarded cavemen than that.
Quote
She is now say of stick-head men, and of they saying-path. [...] Say she, for make this saying-path they stick-head men is want of a strongness and a queer glean that is not hind-whiles in of they. A strongness that come from other world, in neath of dirt, where is they spirit walk.

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on November 17, 2008, 07:29:06 pm
Ew...Twilight...


@Bhaven

I didnt read that one but I did read a lot of material from Neil Gaiman, one of my personal favorite writers.

Sandman is the only comic I can honestly say I like.  I dont know if it's because of
Gaiman or it's just that good.  He's one of my favorite writers too.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Spoonman on November 17, 2008, 07:32:24 pm
I don't like most of the recent literature (LOL at Coelho), but if I may, I'd like to recommend some:

Cesar Vallejo's. He is peruvian, but that's absolutely not the reason why I recommend it. To describe his work, would take me too long and attempting to summarize it, would be foolish. Just read some of his poems. His work was translated to english by Clayton Eshleman. Even though he did a great job, it would be better if you read the original, but of course you'd have to speak spanish (do like Freud then, who learned spanish only to be able to read El Quijote 8)).

Check it out. (http://spanishpoems.blogspot.com/2004/05/csar-vallejo-los-heraldos-negros.html)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on November 17, 2008, 10:22:01 pm
I just stumbled across... :shocked3:

It's called The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, opens with a Fantastic Four quote from 1966 or so---and won a Pulitzer Price this year. Seriously. What the heck? Again:


If that weren't crazy enough, it's also featuring lots of geeky elements from X-Men, Akira, The Flash, Dune, the Lensmen series, Miracleman, . . . page 5 contains a footnote from Tolkien:

Spoiler: footnote (click to see content)

?!?


Mad world. I'll have to read this.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 10:34:07 pm
You dare diss Galactus?!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 17, 2008, 10:35:16 pm
You dare diss galactus AND read Eragon all happy?!

Twilight too?!?
 :bomb:


Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on November 17, 2008, 11:33:28 pm
Actually, just finished Eragon recently. The people who said "hey read this" said it was up there with Anne Mcaffery. It's not. It's more like a cross between the wheel of time and the belgariad.

Too many secrets for the sake of secrets and nothing gets resolved. He just bounces from crisis to crisis without solving any of them.

Currently completing Exiles Honor by Mercedes Lackey (again) and will be starting on George RR martin, who i've never read but have heard decent things about, so giving that a go.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on November 18, 2008, 02:57:39 am
Taking in account the fact that Eragon was written by a 14 or 15 year old boy, it's not "so" bad. But well, I was reading Robin Hobb's Assassin Trilogy when somebody showed me Eragon. I read 2 pages, and put it back on the shelf : it was like passing from a book written by Victor Hugo to a dissertation from this article (http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Michael_Olesker/The_sad_sad_state_of_college_English.html).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ~*Ishida-Uryuu*~ on November 18, 2008, 04:09:38 am
Books are the spawn of the devil. No good shall come from them. Read-free is the way to be! [/Rock Lee]

Seriously, though, I can't fucking stand reading. I just don't like the idea of sitting on one place for hours on end flipping pages reading. I've never liked reading for as long as I can remember, back to when I was about 4-5 years old, mostly because it takes so fucking long.

It's funny, some say people who don't read are people who can't read well, while I'm an exceptional reader. I just don't like the boringness of reading.

I own 0 books, and I'll only read if it's for a school assignment.

Strange, because I'm also a grammar nazi.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on November 18, 2008, 04:10:58 am
Your loss.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ~*Ishida-Uryuu*~ on November 18, 2008, 04:23:29 am
oh ok
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on November 18, 2008, 04:55:55 am
Just saying.

I'll give you an example.

Take a book like "Call of the Wild" and then compare it to let's say the movie.

In the movie you got the lead fighting a guy for a minute or two. A lame scene all and all.

In the book the same part was described in such a way were you felt like you were the one fighting. The funny thing is the book you only throw one punch. But you felt everything about it. The anger building up, your clenched fist shaking as you try to hold your animal instincts back, the release and pleasure of finally knocking that fucker out. And of course the horror of what you had done mixed up with the satisfaction of doing it.

Good luck getting that out of anything besides a book.

Let's modernize this, oh let's say the Matrix. Would you rather watch Neo kicking ass, or would you rather be neo for a couple hundred pages of your life.

Maybe the reason you don't like reading is because you never read anything that was good.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c00p on November 18, 2008, 04:56:28 am
That's kinda sad ishida . . . not even "the classics"?
I for one love reading. Since i learned to read (back when i was around 6 i think) i never stopped. My dad had a pretty big biblioteque with tons of books, and i always went there and picked some. That way i read around 80+ books (mostly all novels i must say) from 8 to 16. Then i stopped a bit due to lack of time, but i usually strike again at vacations.
My favorite genres are police/detective ones, sci fi (mostly from 50's to late 80's), and it could be said "Stephen King"; though i really have no problem as long as the story/plot is interesting and it's well written.
Last one i read was a compilation of various Aasimov's stories, and before that
Caballo de Troya 2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caballo_de_Troya).

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Spoonman on November 18, 2008, 05:08:10 am
How do you learn stuff if you never read? I don't like reading boring stuff, but to not like reading? IDK.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: OZ on November 18, 2008, 05:09:18 am
Good luck getting that out of anything besides a book.

You could actually punch someone.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Spoonman on November 18, 2008, 05:13:24 am
But not having Neo's scenario. So no.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ~*Ishida-Uryuu*~ on November 18, 2008, 06:47:45 am
For me, it's like, tl;dr, I don't care about your damn emotions, just punch the fucker.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: OZ on November 18, 2008, 07:17:22 am
But not having Neo's scenario. So no.

You could just run around shooting people and pretend it was a quest to defeat the computer menace.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on November 18, 2008, 07:20:16 am
Sounds like my brother. He hates reading too. With some exceptions.

Suppose it depends how good your imagination is. A properly good book will have you filling in the pictures and location in your head. You'll be able to see the whole thing. Bit like watching TV. If that's not happening then you're reading the wrong book. If it's happening, but not very often, you're unlikely to read the book again.

Are you anti comic books too? I don't read them cos the random text bubbles give me too much shit, but they're still valid reading material.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Rote Zaungast on November 18, 2008, 04:35:32 pm
Let's modernize this, oh let's say the Matrix. Would you rather watch Neo kicking ass, or would you rather be neo for a couple hundred pages of your life.
I can live the moment of Neo more in the movie, I can describe and imagine any possible thing myself, so no thanks at the book
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on November 18, 2008, 07:40:08 pm
I own 0 books, and I'll only read if it's for a school assignment.

..does that attitude extend to reading in general, as in longer news articles, technical instructions, et cetera? If so, I guess your attention span simply is rather short, and here we are discussing your mental capabilities.

I rarely read non-technical stuff, I keep my imagination busy with Pen&Paper rpg :)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jango on November 18, 2008, 08:31:25 pm
Most of the books I read are political commentaries, or fictional series that have those allusions.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ~*Ishida-Uryuu*~ on November 19, 2008, 12:50:52 am
I used to read manga, until I realized that that's social suicide for a 15 year old black male.

I read stuff like [size=5pt]enclosed[/size] instruction books, technical manuals, MUGEN docs (lol), textbook sections, you know, stuff that I can use and apply to something else to get results from.

It's just like novels I can't handle. I mean, my imagination is great and I can invision the place, characters, time, etc, all that good stuff, it just gets boring using your imagination for such a long period of time like that for me, and not having to apply it somewhere else like a program, schoolwork, devices, etc. :P

I just can't do it for recreation, it's not fun for me and I don't enjoy it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on November 19, 2008, 04:20:45 pm
Enjoy your enslavemenet.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: momo! on December 22, 2008, 11:14:23 pm
dont let it die!

young adult fiction is so amusing :P

two recomendations:

hello, groin by beth goobie:

explores the journey of a lesbian dealing with her homosexuality.

George r. r. Martin's a song of ice and fire series:

it's pretty good. 4 books and counting. some of the characters are interestingly developed, and multiple perspectives!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on December 23, 2008, 12:15:38 am
I just finished 2001 a space odyssey
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on June 01, 2009, 09:47:30 pm
A Song of Ice and Fire


Just awesome. I had nearly forgotten what the series was about and I could barely remember some of the dead characters and past events that were referenced, but damn it was still great. The countless characters are strong as always and the way they're fighting with words and thinking evil thoughts to themselves is fantastic. The bunch around Cersei especially.

It was so good, I barely even minded Tyrion's absence! :o


The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone

It was probably really unfair of me to read A Feast for Crows before this. It's not to my taste as much (and I skipped pages...), but still good enough and not very stupid at all. Loved the monk who composes little teatises in his head about the people around him. And The Black Jester concept. :sugoi:

The Born Queen said:
"I sing for the ghosts, though, and sometimes play for them very quietly, when no one is around. Like at the well."

"Does that make you happy?"

"No. But it makes me feel a better kind of sad."


Snow Crash

Wooohoo! This book rules. Very fast, very cool. No. Hip, even. I constantly had to think of this part from The AI War while reading it:

The AI War said:
"Everything is under control," Trent said. "Everything is cool. In fact," he said, "we are cool. Cool, young, hip, and in control."
     Trent could hear the quote marks around the word. "`Hip'? I don't think I know that slang."
     "It's like cool," said Trent, "but it requires more work."
     "More work," Melissa said.
     "Well, that's not accurate actually," said Trent thoughtfully. "Being cool requires no work. Mostly it requires detachment. You can be cool and not care about being cool. Being hip requires both style and effort. You can't be hip without working at it."

 8)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 01, 2009, 10:42:56 pm
It's ahrd to talk about books, there are so many so it's thard to coincide, I just finished 3 books since the last one I posted, to make maters worse the names are localized, one was ellery mcqueen's 4 johns, the toehr was the barkerville's dogs by cnonan doyle and the third one was a compilation by cervantes saavedra (el quixote's guy).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 04, 2009, 04:44:15 pm
wow this thread is ancient ,

i like mystery and  science fiction books
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 04, 2009, 05:15:14 pm
PRetty much the same ones I favor.. ever read the hitchiker's guide to the galaxy ?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 04, 2009, 05:16:38 pm
i've seen it before but i was reading anne rice novels at that time.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Aboriginal One on June 04, 2009, 05:43:28 pm
I'm more of a science fiction/fantasy book person, myself.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 04, 2009, 05:47:58 pm
It's all about the classics. Oh and the freaking starwas books. Sepp and I are the only two that get his jokes/refrences. At least I hope that is the case. I would hate to think the rest of you were as nerdy as we ar...............

Wait, what the fuck am I talking about.

Right now, I'm reading John Adams. It's pretty fucking good. And I hate biographies. The only other one I like was the Howard Hughes one.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on June 04, 2009, 05:48:05 pm
Tsukasa, Read Lovecraft, expand your mind.

Its awesome.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on June 04, 2009, 06:07:47 pm
Tsukasa, Read Lovecraft, expand your mind.

Can you recommend any? I'm (probably :P) gonna win a 30 euro gift certificate tomorrow
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 04, 2009, 06:22:22 pm
Tsukasa, Read Lovecraft, expand your mind.

Its awesome.

author? stephen jones?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on June 04, 2009, 06:26:06 pm
No, Tsukasa, smoke weed, expand your perceptions.

ps, H.P. Lovecraft is the name of the author Iced talked about (HP stands for 'Hi Puppy')
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on June 04, 2009, 06:35:13 pm
Rise of cthulu is a must, but I really enjoyed the most out of the short stories collections they were selling here, Shadow over innsmouth,The Haunter of The Dark, The Whisperer in Darkness and some others.. compilations of his short stories and the rise of cthulu are the way to go.


Also, Tsukasa, the author was named H P Lovecraft.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 04, 2009, 06:41:43 pm
im reading this Le Mal d'Enfance author joe bosquet
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 04, 2009, 07:08:47 pm
Don't read french stuff, it will make you perverted, look how I turned out by reading french history books.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 04, 2009, 07:11:59 pm
That explains everything. Don't watch their films either. That's why, I'm the way I am.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 04, 2009, 07:27:10 pm
never seen a french films before...

you don't know joe bousquet he is a surrealist he's my papa's favorite writer/poet
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 04, 2009, 11:33:03 pm
He is not my favorite writer, I don't even know the guy  o_O.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on June 05, 2009, 04:57:17 am
i mostly read the classics.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on June 05, 2009, 12:31:29 pm
anything from allistair maclean is my fave, most of michael crichton, and perry mason cases.
 
I don't really like Dan Brown because he digged shallow sources even a hoax from the internet and used them to make some "true story" novels, however apart from that the novel itself are quite enjoyable.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on June 05, 2009, 12:55:33 pm
He is not my favorite writer, I don't even know the guy  o_O.
Shes talking about her FATHER.

I dont like harry potter series, I dont like the twilight series, I dont like those davinci code books, I dont like books that are geared towards the non readers, purposely making themselves easier to access and understand and to whom old housewifes and teenagers read up and claim as the best thing ever to grace the book scene.

If you are over 15 and it took a fucking book to make you go  "Ohhhh ever thought that MAYBE the church isnt telling the truth Aaaaaall the time?!" You are retarded.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on June 05, 2009, 01:02:06 pm
If you are over 15 and it took a fucking book to make you go  "Ohhhh ever thought that MAYBE the church isnt telling the truth Aaaaaall the time?!" You are retarded.

agree on that, but the word puzzle, and the tactics, the chasing etc. was quite fun to read, 10x better than the movie
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valodim on June 05, 2009, 01:16:19 pm
Keep in mind that in pretty much any field of arts and entertainment, those who are more into it claim that "ordinary" people are too happy about what little they understand and that they can't really appreciate the finer things.. knowing that, the claim is rather stupid.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on June 05, 2009, 01:42:26 pm
I'm about to interpretate suicide as subjective form of renounce to the 'matter of life' that is relative from a person to another one. For example: if the matter of Mr.X's life is knowledge, counsciousness, understanding the matter of the existence, etc. then suicidal thoughts come when this knowledge and counsciousness fades away (mentally and phisically, assuming these two sides as unseparable factors) or maybe when too many questions have no answer, or let's just simply say when desires are not fulfilled and man is alone with the counsciousness of his own regrets, mistakes and unsatisfaction.

I'd like to know your point of view about it. Have you ever had suicidal thoughts? What was the situation they came from?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on June 05, 2009, 01:48:03 pm
^-- @mulambo : ... uh, wrong topic or is that a stupid idea you got to hijack a topic that had nothing to do with suicide AGAIN.


He is not my favorite writer, I don't even know the guy  o_O.
Shes talking about her FATHER.
He's still in the old forgotten joke that he is Tsukasa's papa.

Quote
I dont like harry potter series, I dont like the twilight series, I dont like those davinci code books, I dont like books that are geared towards the non readers, purposely making themselves easier to access and understand and to whom old housewifes and teenagers read up and claim as the best thing ever to grace the book scene.

If you are over 15 and it took a fucking book to make you go  "Ohhhh ever thought that MAYBE the church isnt telling the truth Aaaaaall the time?!" You are retarded.
What Navets said, the main interest isn't the religion crap, it's the story itself, the puzzles and the way it develops. Reading Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Digital Fortress and Deception Point, you do get to think "the real bad guy is someone I've already met and who has been here since pretty much the beginning, but who could it be ?" Hey, the scientifical stuff are made up every now and then too, and yet I haven't heard many people complain about that, instead it's the lies and revelations and anti-big organization and all. Just forget about that, it's just a setting, it never took itself seriously like it was a revelation.



Type-Moon books.
DDD (Decoration Disorder Disconnection) has a lot of long parts that are pretty damn slow and that don't seem like much, but then when something cool happens, it's cool, and the other little things make sense all of a sudden. Still, it easily gets a bit annoying on the parts that are really slow and long. The characters are fun, though. (I'm not yet on vol.2) I liked Nasu's narration more in Mirai Fukuin where it wasn't as slow, the events kept going on steadily and it made sense on the spot unlike DDD, where things don't look like much until it blows up in your face. DDD is more graphic than the Kara no Kyoukai series (Mirai Fukuin being that last of it), it's pretty fun when things go brutal. On the writing style, it's... consistent and the characters are modern (in their personnality and the way they speak I mean), but I liked Urobuchi's writing much better in the Fate/Zero series and the way he would switch between descriptions, explanations and dialogs - the descriptions and explanations would slip in the middle of an event and explain something amazing in a very matter-of-fact way, I found that pretty cool.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on June 05, 2009, 01:58:57 pm
If anyone is ever tempted to read something by Gideon Defoe because it has "PIRATES!" (the book equivalent of ooh shiny object) on the cover, followed by the word adventure, don't bother. It attempts to be funny, and fails most of the time.

The only reason i say most is because the bit where the pirate captain slid down a dinosaurs vertabrae made me laugh. For some reason even written bollock pain is funny. Provided it's not my pain, i'll laugh at it.

Otherwise, don't bother.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on June 05, 2009, 02:12:35 pm
^-- @mulambo : ... uh, wrong topic or is that a stupid idea you got to hijack a topic that had nothing to do with suicide AGAIN.
the first one, dude, my bad.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on June 05, 2009, 03:13:22 pm
Don't read french stuff, it will make you perverted, look how I turned out by reading french history books.
o_O

H.P. Lovecraft ... ARGH !!! Read a compilation ... never again, not my style. Too many damn long sentences, nothing happens, and it's more boring than creepy for me.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on June 05, 2009, 03:32:02 pm
actually R.L. Stine wrote quite a creepy teenager novels with that fear street  o_O
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 05, 2009, 04:41:53 pm
He is not my favorite writer, I don't even know the guy  o_O.
Shes talking about her FATHER.

I dont like harry potter series, I dont like the twilight series, I dont like those davinci code books, I dont like books that are geared towards the non readers, purposely making themselves easier to access and understand and to whom old housewifes and teenagers read up and claim as the best thing ever to grace the book scene.

If you are over 15 and it took a fucking book to make you go  "Ohhhh ever thought that MAYBE the church isnt telling the truth Aaaaaall the time?!" You are retarded.

yes i agree twilight and davinci code sucks. but still i don't believe in god
just like my sister always said believe none of what you hear and half of what you saw (really really rough translation)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 05, 2009, 04:48:43 pm
Type-Moon books.
DDD (Decoration Disorder Disconnection) has a lot of long parts that are pretty damn slow and that don't seem like much, but then when something cool happens, it's cool, and the other little things make sense all of a sudden. Still, it easily gets a bit annoying on the parts that are really slow and long. The characters are fun, though. (I'm not yet on vol.2) I liked Nasu's narration more in Mirai Fukuin where it wasn't as slow, the events kept going on steadily and it made sense on the spot unlike DDD, where things don't look like much until it blows up in your face. DDD is more graphic than the Kara no Kyoukai series (Mirai Fukuin being that last of it), it's pretty fun when things go brutal. On the writing style, it's... consistent and the characters are modern (in their personnality and the way they speak I mean), but I liked Urobuchi's writing much better in the Fate/Zero series and the way he would switch between descriptions, explanations and dialogs - the descriptions and explanations would slip in the middle of an event and explain something amazing in a very matter-of-fact way, I found that pretty cool.

Are any of those translated, I remember reading somewhere that fate/zero's translation is horrible.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 05, 2009, 05:17:07 pm
Quote
I dont like harry potter series, I dont like the twilight series, I dont like those davinci code books, I dont like books that are geared towards the non readers, purposely making themselves easier to access and understand and to whom old housewifes and teenagers read up and claim as the best thing ever to grace the book scene.

Oh my god, you people read that Jurassic Park, R.L Stine shit.

That stuff is written like a freaking movie script. Davinci (Never read) But the story itself it awful. If you like puzzles, play a video game.

Don't worry Iced you are not alone. Others loath books that have the intended media of film and TV. Those books are the equal those compilation Saturday morning cartoons, that turn out to be about "Saying no to drugs". They take a film script and sell it in as many forms as they can. First a book, then a movie, then a comic book, soon it will be a mugen character.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on June 05, 2009, 05:22:09 pm
Whosoever likes The DaVinci Code should really read The Illuminatus! Trilogy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminatus!).


You think The DaVinci Code is cool and influencing? Hah! :D

Spoiler: more text (click to see content)

Illuminatus! has been adapted for the stage, and has influenced several modern writers, musicians and games-makers. The popularity of the word "fnord" and the 23 enigma can both be attributed to the trilogy. It remains a seminal work of conspiracy fiction, predating Foucault's Pendulum and The Da Vinci Code by years.

The Illuminatus! Trilogy covers a wide range of subjects within its 805 pages. These include discussions about mythology, current events, conspiracy theories and the Cthulhu Mythos.

The infamous 1980s computer hacker Karl Koch was heavily influenced by The Illuminatus! Trilogy. Besides adopting the pseudonym "Hagbard" from the character Hagbard Celine, he also named his computer "FUCKUP," after a computer designed and built by that character. He was addicted to cocaine and became extremely paranoid, convinced he was fighting the Illuminati like his literary namesake. In 1987 he wrote a rambling seven-page "hacking manifesto of sorts, complete with his theories on Hagbard Celine and the Illuminati." The 1998 German motion picture 23 told a dramatized version of his story; Robert Anton Wilson appeared as himself.

In general, The Illuminatus! Trilogy can be credited with popularizing the genre of conspiracy fiction, a field later mined by authors like Umberto Eco (Foucault's Pendulum) and Dan Brown (Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code), comic book writers like Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, Watchmen), Dave Sim (Cerebus) and Grant Morrison (The Invisibles), and screenwriters like Chris Carter (The X-Files) and Damon Lindelof (Lost). In particular, the regular use of the Illuminati in popular culture as shadowy central puppet masters in this type of fiction can be traced back to their exposure via The Illuminatus! Trilogy.

-- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminatus!

 8)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on June 05, 2009, 06:32:12 pm
Are any of those translated, I remember reading somewhere that fate/zero's translation is horrible.
There's a translation of the beginning of Fate/Zero (got up to somewhere in the middle of volume 2 out of 4 but yeah, the translation is bad), one third of the first volume of DDD has been translated (http://www.scribd.com/doc/15935578/JtheE), and nothing about Mirai Fukuin.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 05, 2009, 06:47:59 pm
thanks, I will wait until they have progressed more.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on June 06, 2009, 02:43:15 pm
I've just bought a book about Kaon philosophy

edit

lol, wrote kaon, instead of koan (pretty good way to start knowing the philosophy  :sugoi:)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on June 06, 2009, 02:48:03 pm
thanks, I will wait until they have progressed more.
Knowing who's doing it, you're going to wait, since he doesn't have any particular plan of doing the rest, until someday he wakes up and thinks, hey, I'll do that. Which can be never.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 08, 2009, 07:12:54 pm
Someone else might pick it first, or it might get an animemanga or something, is fate zero really that unpopular in japan ?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on June 08, 2009, 07:52:03 pm
I hear that some hardcore nerds call it a fanfiction only because it wasn't written by Nasu ; even though Urobuchi pretty much had the whole thing be reviewed by Nasu on every little bits and so. But IINM, for those who don't think like that, it did work out relatively well AFAIK (for a light novel that's a prequel to an H game). Unfortunately the Japanese Wikipedia page doesn't have any "reception" section like books and movies often have at Wikipedia :\
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 08, 2009, 07:59:05 pm
That reminds me of the kataribanashi-hen of higurashi, a lot fo shoret histories were sent ot the original author by fans, then he reviewed and probably fixed them and gave those to a professional mangaka to make them into real manga.

About book, I started re-reading the jungle book or whatever name it has in your country, since I don't have new books/finished the 4 I bought this year already.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on June 12, 2009, 01:24:52 pm
quoting you from another thread ;D

How people just make their trust toward an author become a FAITH.
psychedelic substances are a lot better (at least you know where your spiritual trances come from...)


Well, there are some authors whose views of life-religion go in hand with yours, like the feeling I got after-while reading the space odissey. If that can be applied in this case it just makes me sad, though.
like? can you suggest any?
Title: Re: Boobs
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 12, 2009, 07:53:45 pm
Science fiction? I have only read the classic authors plus douglas adams.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 12, 2009, 08:05:26 pm
i borrowed a book today the alchemist its written by the famous writer Paulo Coelho.
almost all the people specialy the older ones said its the greatest book ever published ,to me its not that great but its pretty interesting to read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on June 12, 2009, 09:01:42 pm
Read it once, dunno if it was of the awkward translation but i couldnt get past the second chapter at the time.( the one where he goes to the desert and sells all his sheep, right? )
Title: Re: Boobs
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 12, 2009, 10:41:05 pm
i borrowed a book today the alchemist its written by the famous writer Paulo Coelho.
almost all the people specialy the older ones said its the greatest book ever published ,to me its not that great but its pretty interesting to read.


i wonder how many of those older ones read more than 3 books per year.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 13, 2009, 01:23:55 am
I hope you don't read two books a week, unless they are like, children's books or something.

I finish one about once a month, sometime longer. I stick to non-fiction though.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on June 13, 2009, 02:42:09 am
Depends. I remember reading the Da Vinci Code in one 10 hour night, Shogun in less than half a week, things like that. I'm a pretty fast reader.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on June 13, 2009, 03:25:37 am
Depends how interesting it is. I average about 3 books a week. Currently it's more like 2. Soujourn by R.A Salvatore in 2 days (it was interesting) and Doom of the Dragon by Ed Greenwood has taken me most of this week (cos it's less interesting and i've been sick)

Anyway. If i've read it before, or it's a good book, it's done in 2-3 days. If it's less interesting, or i've never read it before, little bit longer.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 13, 2009, 03:32:44 am
I forgot, it's just us dumb American's that are glued to the TV.

I only read right before bed.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: brokNgloW on June 13, 2009, 05:44:20 am
Let's see, the last books I read were:

    The Doors of Perception
               by Aldous Huxley

  An essay about a detailed experience on the effects of a psychedelic substance. I personally consider this man an icon and one of my life influences/inspirations. Not necessarily because of drug related topics, no sir. This man was a great human being.


    Requiem for a Dream
           by Hubert Selby Jr.

  A novel with a non-human main character. It has no life itself, yet it is a life-drainer/extinguisher. A succubus. The "protagonists" of the story find their individual path down the spiral to embrace a bleak demise. It inspired one of my favorite movies by one of my favorite directors.


    Vurt
          by Jeff Noon

  A Sci-Fi novel. The scenario is a Neo-England in which society is shaped/altered by the Vurt. There's a shared alternate reality accessed by sucking on colour-coded feathers, sorta of a "trip" on a hallucinogenic drug that becomes reality itself. The story is about a man and his sister/lover's trip on a very rare feather and its consequences. I found this one very entertaining.


    The Selfish Gene
             by Richard Dawkins

  Not read yet. AFAIK it is a book about The gene-centred view of evolution. Can't get a hold of it but definitely planning to read it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on June 13, 2009, 04:57:37 pm
Shams, I was reading a discworld book every four days ( while they lasted, I dont have that much disposable income so I was buying them in sales) read about six of em in a month and a half.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 14, 2009, 02:19:08 pm
I hope you don't read two books a week, unless they are like, children's books or something.

I finish one about once a month, sometime longer. I stick to non-fiction though.

i read all vampire chronicles in 1 1/2 month. including queen of the damned
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chronojiuj on June 14, 2009, 03:13:51 pm
Love reading warhammer books every chance I get.

I have hundreds of novels... Too many.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 14, 2009, 08:37:44 pm
lol readingspeed , normally I take my time when I am reading for my enjoyment, but when I used to read for school I would read a 200 pages book in 15 minutes or so.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on June 15, 2009, 02:49:28 am
School books don't count as reading. If someone forces you to read it, you didn't really read it at all.

Rules according to the Book of Shamrock; number forty-five.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on June 15, 2009, 03:06:02 pm
i have read the Book of Shamrock it has 2 pages no. 1 and no.45
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jarek Bachanek on June 15, 2009, 03:35:39 pm
I readed in my life around 300 books and still counting... I started reading since I was child and I doscovered it's very fun and enjoyment. Thanks to it I didn't have problems with grammar and writing in school. I readed all books for school (from my first days until high school) and classic stuff was kinda fun too. This was force reading indeed, but still I enjoyed all of them.  

Once when I was in hospital, after surgery I couldn't move from my bed for few weeks I set up my personal record - 3 books (250 pages each) in one day. They was part of really huge trylogy series writen by Margit Sandemo (fantasy & romance). All have around 82 volumes. I readed all in 6 months, but like I said I couldn't move for few weeks and it was very addicting series.  

Now I have other stuff to do so I read like 5 books in month or so. I mostly read fantasy, thrillers, criminal stuff, romance.

Sadly now people prefer, games, movies and other things than books and because of that each generation become more dumb (at least in Poland). I consider reading book when I'm laying on the bed, as one of most pleasable things ever.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chronojiuj on June 16, 2009, 12:43:58 am
I consider reading a book when I'm laying on the bed, as one of most pleasable things ever.


+100
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Loona on June 20, 2009, 12:46:40 am
Latest read was League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Century: 1910

I love theseries - it mentions so many obscure pieces of literature there are actually whole books devoted to pointing out its references - seriously, look up the name Jess Nevins, he wrote the books, but the material's pretty much all in his site.


To hell with Lovecraft, fictionalized threats aren't that much of an issue when you close the book.
Horror literature doesn't get scarier than "The Underground History of American Education" - being non-fiction helps a lot, though it could use a few more references of sources - whole book's here: http://johntaylorgatto.com/underground/toc1.htm
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 20, 2009, 01:18:51 am
I am finished reading umineko no naku koro ni, it's about a series of murders that have been executed in a way so that they can only be explained with magic, the series takes an antyfantasy vs antimistery approach and seems to want to make the reader give up and accept magic. there are currently 4 volumes which explain 4 different ways fo the murders happening and most of those murders are unsolved.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c00p on June 20, 2009, 09:58:17 am
I'm reading this one (http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Grunts-American-Military-Ground/dp/1400061326) atm, pretty interesting
http://www.powells.com/review/2005_10_06.html
just to give the other side a chance, but you gotta take stuff with a grain of salt
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ARCoolguy on June 20, 2009, 10:53:29 am
hmmm

I like the Inheritance cycle and the Inkworld Trilogy

I like fantasy books

I consider reading a book when I'm laying on the bed, as one of most pleasable things ever.


+1
Title: Re: Books
Post by: BigSally on June 24, 2009, 03:52:40 am
THe only book i read is the bible cuz it contains only facts  >:(

i also read Mugen for dummies
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on June 24, 2009, 04:31:15 am
THE BIBLE IS NOT A BOOK, IT'S A  VISUAL NOVEL  >:(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on June 24, 2009, 06:13:29 am
It lacks pictures though. Seriously, the bible would be way better as a graphic novel.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chronojiuj on June 24, 2009, 03:27:19 pm
I remember once having a picture-book version of the bible.


Many lulz were had
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on July 01, 2009, 05:21:41 pm
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
this reminds me of louis and cluadia...  just finished reading cohelo 3 books uhmm what to read next
Title: Re: Boobs
Post by: Bastard Mami on July 01, 2009, 05:25:39 pm
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
this reminds TSUKASA of louis and cluadia...  just finished reading cohelo 3 books uhmm what to read next

TSUKASA should read umineko.
Title: The Aspect-Emperor
Post by: Sepp on July 01, 2009, 09:40:37 pm
Spoiler: This is the way it works (click to see content)

The Aspect-Emperor

A sequel trilogy to The Prince of Nothing set 20 years later. I like Prince of Nothing better than A Song of Ice and Fire (it's darker, more philosophical but at least as serious as the Song but somewhat similar) -- book 1 of the sequel is great but not as brilliant -- like all of Dune and Lord of the Rings in one book but a little less original for it.

And... the idea of the Aspect-Emperor may be about to trump Dune's God Emperor . . . yikes.


The world is only as deep as we can see. This is why fools think themselves profound. This is why terror is the passion of revelation.
Ajencis, The Third Analytic of Men




Now reading Soon I Will Be Invincible. >:D
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Loona on July 02, 2009, 02:18:06 pm
I just stumbled across... :shocked3:

It's called The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, opens with a Fantastic Four quote from 1966 or so---and won a Pulitzer Price this year. Seriously. What the heck? Again:

  • a novel that begins, "Of what import are brief, nameless lives... to Galactus??"
  • and it won the Pulitzer Price for Fiction 2008

If that weren't crazy enough, it's also featuring lots of geeky elements from X-Men, Akira, The Flash, Dune, the Lensmen series, Miracleman, . . . page 5 contains a footnote from Tolkien:

Spoiler: footnote (click to see content)

?!?


Mad world. I'll have to read this.


Found the translated version last weekend, so I looked for the original version, bought it, and finished it today.

Funny how half the book is geeky references and spanish/latin-american/dominican slang, expressions and sentences - none of them with footnotes. I guess the people who gave the prize are both fluent in spanish and geek, otherwise you really miss a lot.

What does get the footnotes are the references to Trujillo's regime - and those footnotes are often packed with geeky references (it's not uncommon to see regime people referred to as "ringwraiths") and more untranslated slang.
Then again, that pretty much clarifies what's supposed to be important in the story, even if the chapters about te titular character's life no longer take place during the regime's days - there's plenty of family background to contemplate that.

The book ends in an almost predictable manner, but the execution's mostly decent.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on July 02, 2009, 03:02:13 pm
I finished the novel Nightfall by Asimov & Silverberg.

Wikipedia said:
The fictional planet Kalgash is located in a stellar system containing six stars, which keep the whole planet continuously illuminated; total darkness is unknown, and as a result so are stars outside the solar system. A group of scientists from Saro University begin to make a series of related discoveries: Sheerin 501, a psychologist, researches the effects of prolonged exposure to darkness, Siferra 89, an archaeologist, finds evidence of multiple cyclical collapses of civilization, and Beenay 25 is an astronomer who discovered irregularities in the orbit of Kalgash around its primary sun Onos. Beenay takes his findings to his superior at the university, Athor, who formulated the Theory of Universal Gravitation. This forces the astronomers at Saro University to attempt to find an answer to what is causing this anomaly. Eventually it is discovered that the only thing that could be causing the deviation is an astronomical body that orbits Kalgash.

Beenay, through his friend Theremon 762 (a reporter), has learned some of the beliefs of the group known as the "Apostles of Flame". They believe the world would be destroyed in a darkness with the appearance of Stars that unleash a torrent of fire. Beenay combines what he has learned about the repetitive collapses at the digsite, and the new theory with the potential of eclipses and concludes that once every 2049 years the one sun visible is eclipsed, resulting in a brief 'night'.

Since the population of Kalgash has never experienced universal darkness, the scientists conclude that the darkness itself would traumatize the people and that the inhabitants of the planet would need to prepare accordingly. When nightfall occurs, however, the scientists—who have prepared themselves for darkness—and the rest of the planet are most surprised by the sight of previously-invisible stars outside the six-star system filling the sky. The story then deals with what happens when the night falls.

It was really a pleasant read, and as usual with Asimov, explains rationally science-fiction things. Darkness is for us something totally logical, but what would it be if we lived in a world with constant illumination. What would be the view of the stars if we previously thought we were the only ones in the universe ? In short : a must-read. :)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on July 02, 2009, 09:31:07 pm
Found the translated version last weekend, so I looked for the original version, bought it, and finished it today.

Funny how half the book is geeky references and spanish/latin-american/dominican slang, expressions and sentences - none of them with footnotes. I guess the people who gave the prize are both fluent in spanish and geek, otherwise you really miss a lot.

... I'd heard that but already have the English version lying on my desk.

I only speak geek, no Spanish whatsoever. :(

Wonder how it'll turn out...

Spoiler: the end (click to see content)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on July 20, 2009, 11:58:56 pm
Soon I Will Be Invincible (2007)

2.5 of 5

Austin Grossman. The cover (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SIWBInvincilbe_US_Cover.jpg) and the chapter titles are brilliant, e.g.

Spoiler: rest (click to see content)


The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)

3,5 of 5

Junot Díaz. Pulitzer Prize, American National Book Critics Circle Award. "Narrated with an irresistible, manic energy." Aaaah yesir. Very hard to put down.

Spoiler: rest (click to see content)


Meditations (c. 170)

4 of 5

Marcus Aurelius. Translation by Gregory Hays.

A straightforward, honest person should be like someone who stinks: when you're in the same room with him, you know it.

Too fragmentary and too (I mean really!) repetitive but pretty Great nontheless. Especially obsessed with the concepts

Spoiler: rest (click to see content)

It never ceases to amaze me: we all love ourselves more than other people, but care more about their opinion than our own. If a god appeared to us -- or a wise human being, even -- and prohibited us from concealing our thoughts or imagining anything without immediately shouting it out, we wouldn't make it through a single day. That's how much we value other people's opinions -- instead of our own.

...wouldn't make it through a single day!! Oi.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Black ★ Rock Shooter on July 21, 2009, 01:15:09 pm
Well all I can say about books is... its very handy.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on July 26, 2009, 03:06:49 am
you all guys should know about this, I think I am a genius for have discovered this.

I finally discovered what's the meaning of the story of "Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hide". I got so much things to say so I will be synthetic: Dr. Jekyll is the dark side, Mr. Hide is the good side and everything fits with the same names of the two characters : lateral thinking, 'Jekyll' sounds like Je = the french of "I" kyll= means "kill" = 'I kill'. Hide = sounds like "I Hide" which are 2 almost equal sounds, so the smartass author thought that simply "Hide" sounded better. The two characters say two different thing "I hide" and "I kill". Yeah the story really talks about ego and the innate violence hidden inside human beings... a form of violence that should be recognized, cured and... WTF IT'S A SUBLIMINAL VEGAN MESSAGE  :woeh:

Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

I knew you were going to click that  8)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on July 26, 2009, 03:46:19 am
mulambo you have opened up a new world of interpretation.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on July 26, 2009, 04:48:47 am
to infinity and behind  8)









 :speechless:



 :thinking2:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on July 26, 2009, 06:15:30 am
Mulambo eventhough you're a vegan
(http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/marijuana-mar-com-1-1.jpg)
this is not the only vegetable on earth ;)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on July 26, 2009, 04:37:28 pm
the doctor said I could
Title: Re: Boobs
Post by: Bastard Mami on July 27, 2009, 05:16:53 pm
I love overanalysis on book. next time I will paste an excerpt of a thesis based around battle angel alita.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on July 28, 2009, 01:21:10 am
you mean thesis of beetle genetalia right?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on July 28, 2009, 06:12:49 am
Quote
    What is Ido's relationship with Gally? After reading Panzer Bride, I don't know what to think...

    It's clear from the first few chapters of Gunnm that Ido wanted Gally to play a very different role in his life than she ended up playing...something like "a gem in a velvet box". But after the second graphic novel, we don't see very much of them together. So their relationship is very much open to speculation.

    We don't know much about Ido's upbringing in Zalem, and there are indications that Ido isn't very proud of his heritage or youth. Possibly, Ido didn't have very healthy relationships with women as a young man, which would explain the difficulty he has receiving affection from women in general (Gally, Chiren, Shumira, and Eelai being examples we see). Regardless of how intimate Ido is with Gally, it's clear that he does have her well-being at heart and does care for her, even if he has difficulty expressing that care.

    How, then, does Gally feel about Ido? He's a father figure for her, always courageous and brave but at the same time unreachably distant. She also cares about him deeply. And yet...

    ...and yet, in Panzer Bride, she has a bona fide erotic fantasy about Ido taking her apart. So what does she really think of him? Is she sexually attracted to him? Maybe, but considering their previous relationship--and that they haven't seen each other in a decade--it's unlikely. Is it that she's always hoped he would show some sort of care and affection for her, and his periodic maintenance of her body was the closest he'd come? Maybe she's sexually repressed as a cyborg? Ido is one of the few people she's allowed to take apart her body, and Kaos is showing her unusual attention because of his psychometry; perhaps she is making a free association between Kaos' care and the physical bonding she hasn't felt with Ido. Is there some desire she has that Fogira can't satisfy?

    In the end, we can only speculate. These are only a few of the ideas that have been generated. Feel free to concoct your own.

warned you.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on July 28, 2009, 11:20:35 am
play a very different role
a bona fide erotic fantasy
physical bonding

Well at least I can highlight some important key phrases from it.

B D S M  :sugoi:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on August 15, 2009, 01:08:07 am
Finished  The Trial by Kafka, wtfed at the sudden jumps in narration until I realized it was an unfinished book, the ending come out of nowhere and was particularly displeasing for me, since the whole nihilist sensation it gave off wasnt interesting at all, at least not like that.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on August 16, 2009, 11:03:43 pm
Everything you need to know about Kafka, you can find at his airport (http://[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyFH-a-XoQ).


The Urth of the New Sun (1987)

4 of 5

It starts out really slow. Otherwise, what the Chicago Sun-Times said: "a fine coda to what is arguably the finest piece of literature American science fiction has yet produced, the four-volume Book of the New Sun."


Neuropath (2008)

3 of 5

Only 3 cuz I don't like murder mysteries. The ideas are great, I just didn't care about the, ah, rest. The greatest neuro scientist in the world goes crazy (or does he?) and sets out to teach the world a frightening lesson: we are not what we think we are.

What's real, how much of reality do we actually experience anyway, is there such a thing as free will and . . . don't want to spoil anything. It's a pretty sobering book on how our brains work. The implications... :o
Title: Re: Books
Post by: XGargoyle on September 04, 2009, 10:57:10 am
I just finished reading these books:

Another Monster by Naoki Urasawa (2002)

A follow-up novel from the Monster manga, by the same author. Pretty interesting read, but only if you've previously read the whole manga story. Otherwise, the story won't make much sense. As an interesting remark, since he's been mentioned earlier, Pulitzer winner Junot Diaz is an avid fan of the story.

1984 by George Orwell (1949)

Masterpiece, that's all I have to say. Orwell's dystopian future is not that far from the current crude reality. Many concepts such as the Big Brother, the propaganda and the torture methods can be found nowadays with topics like internet's privacy or Abu Graib's tortures 

Shadow of the giant by Orson Scott Card (2005)

Great story, as always with OSC's books. Technically, it's the end of the Shadow series, but OSC is planning for a sequel that will link it with the main Ender series' timeline. To me, this book and the Ender's Shadow are the best ones from the series.

The Green Mile by Stephen King (1996)

A really moving story, which forced me to stop reading and wept my eyes from tears in a few times. Don't expect any horror in this book, just a compelling story with great characters, including a mice.
Certainly, a worth reading. One of the best books I've ever read in my life (and I've read a lot of them)

The Golem by Gustav Meyrink (1914)

I must confess I was a bit deceived by the book at first, as I expected it to be some kind of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Instead, I found a good psychological story, which makes you think about the separation of dreams/real life, as well as what have really happened and what not.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 04, 2009, 02:04:19 pm
I'm reading Dracula by Bram Stoker.
It's going to be a really slow reading. Now I want to suck blood and a weirdo as slave.

RENFIEEELD! Where the hell are you?! Bring me an onions and ketchup sandwich or you'll have no flies for dinner! :shout:

Quote
The Golem by Gustav Meyrink (1914)

I must confess I was a bit deceived by the book at first, as I expected it to be some kind of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Instead, I found a good psychological story, which makes you think about the separation of dreams/real life, as well as what have really happened and what not.
sounds interesting, I've read Frankenstein, that seemed really oriented on feelings and the emotional states of the characters but that psychological thing gets me interested, hope to find it on book stores
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on September 04, 2009, 02:23:18 pm
that's really a good book i recommend annie rice's novels you'll like it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on September 04, 2009, 02:31:48 pm
anyone read Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: TsuKasa ´・ω・` on September 04, 2009, 02:32:51 pm
not yet, can you enlighten me ?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sepp on September 04, 2009, 08:20:11 pm
    Fight Club (1993)

4.25 of 5

Extraordinary.

"This isn't really death," Tyler says. "We'll be legend. We won't grow old."



i recommend annie rice's novels you'll like it.

    Interview with the Vampire
My only expose to Anne Rice's world so far had been the movie version of Queen of the Damned and I thought maybe the movie didn't do her justice. It probably didn't, but turns out I don't like the actual books much either. Hated it throughout and kept skipping pages!

(Saw the movie version of it by now---I hated the book more.)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 05, 2009, 08:06:44 pm
oh, I forgot to mention Loop by Koji Suzuki.
The 3rd episode of the Ringu series (after Ringu and Spiral), some followers may be disappointed and so I was when I finished reading the book, since the original story just changes in a very unexpected way (that may be the strong point of the book, if you like surprises ). Anyway it was a really nice reading, really liked Suzuki's narration style. Too bad he changed the topic from Sadako Yamamura to reality, perception, DNA and
(read at your own risk)
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on September 05, 2009, 08:32:36 pm
oh, I forgot to mention Loop by Koji Suzuki.
The 3rd episode of the Ringu series (after Ringu and Spiral), some followers may be disappointed and so I was when I finished reading the book, since the original story just changes in a very unexpected way (that may be the strong point of the book, if you like surprises ). Anyway it was a really nice reading, really liked Suzuki's narration style. Too bad he changed the topic from Sadako Yamamura to reality, perception, DNA and
(read at your own risk)
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

spoiler seems to be a common trend in some late novel, when they cry novels, the type moon universe and rewrite (which are the ones I can remember atm) also use something similar.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 05, 2009, 10:45:08 pm
Quote
spoiler seems to be a common trend in some late novel,
that's why recent works suck nowadays. Or maybe I just need different readings --;

no way, terror for life *keeps reading Dracula
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chronojiuj on September 06, 2009, 02:51:12 pm
See How They Run by Peter Mapleson (1996)

Disturbing as hell. Cliche horror/thriller story with an extremely sadistic killer.

Makes me think twice about going to the butchers now. :(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c00p on September 06, 2009, 07:15:46 pm
Finished with Der Steppenwolf (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steppenwolf_%28novel%29), from Herman Hesse
It's pretty good, and in a lot of aspects it hit the nail with thoughts i had . . .
I'd like to know if someone else here has read it
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bastard Mami on September 07, 2009, 05:52:44 pm
Quote
spoiler seems to be a common trend in some late novel,
that's why recent works suck nowadays. Or maybe I just need different readings --;

well, that's based off quantum physics.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on September 21, 2009, 04:18:55 pm
Finished Good Omens from Terry pratchet and Neil Gaiman.
Great book, would recommend.

The witch burning bit made me laugh outloud on the train home.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 22, 2009, 07:38:30 pm
just finished reading Dracula and it sucked. one of the most boring readings of all time. it talks about a bunch of self-absorbed, morally retarded aristocrat motherfuckers (a dutch priest, a we are dumb fucks spamming this site for ten years from texas, a doctor and a total bitch) which run after a lazy individualist that was just buying houses around London. "Oh we're so morally oriented you can suck my dick in the name of our image of God, Dracula."
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
Title: Re: Books
Post by: kakkoii superhero on September 22, 2009, 08:00:32 pm
^ you forget about the lawyer, and the rich lord godalming guy, and he was not just buying houses, he also plans to turn as many people into his kind.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 22, 2009, 10:54:06 pm
yeah that one, mr.Goddamnit.
and well why should we blame building society franchising? uh? Dracula was just a entrepreneur. A honest blood-sucking brain-washer entrepreneur, is there something wrong about it, mr.Stoker? :???:


omg.
now that I think about it seriously, Berlusconi (yeah that crazy clown that rules my country), started the same way : buying houses. He was a building society entrepreneur.  O_O
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on September 22, 2009, 11:04:58 pm
So you don't care about the whole sucking blood, killing people, turning them vampires thing, it's a-okay.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Person Man on September 22, 2009, 11:11:36 pm
Just finished reading Darkly Dreaming Dexter.  I've never actually gotten a chance to see the show, but it was still a pretty good read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on September 22, 2009, 11:18:10 pm
Quote
So you don't care about the whole sucking blood, killing people, turning them vampires thing, it's a-okay.
Actually, that thing didn't shock me or thrill me. Speaking seriously, maybe it's a fact related to the different ages we're living (I suppose that a true horror like that was in the past could be made of people eating shit instead of sucking blood in this beautiful present to be accurately shocking to the eclectic audience).
I was more focused on Renfield's personality and what-the-hell he died too soon. Stoker should have turned him into a hero. The mad hero which saves the day.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on September 22, 2009, 11:48:36 pm
Quote
Speaking seriously, maybe it's a fact related to the different ages we're living (I suppose that a true horror like that was in the past could be made of people eating shit instead of sucking blood in this beautiful present to be accurately shocking to the eclectic audience).
That's more like it, yeah. Just think of the things like witch-hunting : yes, those were the biggest scary things that could be talked about in horror stories. You're just used to it and it's low-level nowadays. Just think of stuff like Frankenstein's monster, that's what their biggest horrors were, even though now it would seem laughable to us.
Then again, yes, for today's standards, it sucks. But it certainly doesn't mean you can go and act like Dracula was really a harmless guy in that book.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Shamrock on September 27, 2009, 06:23:43 am
I just finished reading the Bible. It wasn't that bad. The ending was kinda predictable.

Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
Title: The First Law
Post by: Sepp on September 28, 2009, 06:46:37 pm
The First Law

2 of 5


Joe Abercrombie. Felt too scripted and highly predictable in parts*, a "first novel," the characters sometimes did odd things because the plot wanted them to and---sorry, I skipped most of the fight scenes because I didn't care for them. XD

Towards the end of the second book (my favorite of the three) I also started skipping chapters about the less interesting characters.

The ending is very unusual, though. But, err... *shrug*

Spoiler: predictable (click to see content)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on September 29, 2009, 11:42:40 am
Good omens
So there once was a snake and an angel in the garden of eden... one might have done a particularly good thing, the other might have done a particularly wrong thing .

The story of the apocalypse at the hands of the anti christ,  the efforts of angels and demons to get it over with and the nice predictions of agnes nutter, that left a book with everything that were to happen till the end of days.

SPOILERS AHEAD
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

Quote
25 And the lord spake unto the Angel that guarded the eastern gate, saying Where is the flaming sword which was given unto thee?
26 And the Angel said, I had it here only a moment ago, I must have put it down some where, forget my own head next.
27 And the Lord did not ask him again
Title: Re: Books
Post by: #Shaun on October 15, 2009, 03:10:49 am
Stuff White People Like (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/stuff-white-people-like-the-book/), by Christian Landers. It's the funniest, most truthful bit of material I've read of to date. While fetishes towards anything asian, indie culture and the like aren't just catered to white people I understand that behind the satire of the book reveals a lot of guilty pleasures most whites don't want to own up to. I'm glad this white boy had the balls to call it all out.

I don't care if you're white. Reading this book is required.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on October 16, 2009, 01:06:38 am
Guards Guards- Somewhere in the town, a man convinces other men to use their feelings of jealousy to summon a dragon to then simulate the return of the king to slay the dragon.

But what do you do when the dragon refuses to be unsummonned and decides to become the next King?


Amazing Maurice and his educated rodents- A cat, his group of specially educated rodents, a kid with a flute and a scam that will make the cat a Looot of money.

It surprised me how a theme so simple could make me love the characters so much as they developed inteligence conscience and started fearing the shadows it was like observing the birth of humanity portrayed on the tiny rats. Loved this one.

Reaper man- So the guys from up there in the office drop by one day , give you a gold clock and tell you that you can go off and they will replace you.. it would work better if it wasnt happening to Death.
zombies, werewolfs, and a grimreaper that decides he rather plant some potatos and corn instead of dealing with mankind problems.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on December 03, 2009, 02:17:13 am
read:

Iceman: stories of a hitman: the real story of a Mafia hitman, registered by his psichiatrist( after he was arrested)
Reaper man-Death gets a watch and a pat on the back, time for him to settle down and take his deserved rest.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter- a psychopath decides to use his obsessions to rid the city of crime, but he is such a silly violent man....
Man at arms-somewhere in a fantasy based city of medieval fare, someone found a weapon built by an insane genius, the weapon is a tube that shoots fireworks horizontally, when it hits you, you are Gonne.The Gonne.
Monstrous regiment: the war has ravaged the countryside, so a woman decides to go to war pretending to be a man, to get her brother back from the frontlines... but things turn out to be not as easy as they seemed as most of her group are also women in disguise as men.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on December 03, 2009, 02:27:56 am
Darkly Dreaming Dexter
You just reminded me I wanted to check if there was any sequel in the work after Dexter by Design. Turns out there is. Kickass, will be looking forward to it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Chronojiuj on December 03, 2009, 02:35:32 am
Monstrous regiment: the war has ravaged the countryside, so a woman decides to go to war pretending to be a man, to get her brother back from the frontlines... but things turn out to be not as easy as they seemed as most of her group are also women in disguise as men.

Hooboy.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on December 03, 2009, 04:36:22 pm
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/11/Monstrous_regiment.jpg)
Also a troll, a igor and a vampire.


Dexter rocks.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on December 03, 2009, 10:12:29 pm
From which one? monstrous regiment?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on December 03, 2009, 10:14:55 pm
yes, didn't read the previous posts... post removed  --;
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on December 03, 2009, 10:19:17 pm
Oh I could have gone in deeper detail.

Here I go.
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on December 07, 2009, 05:07:43 am
just readed The Mild one by Dostoevskij. Damn that guy just creates a vulcan of depression (as regards the matter of love and death) but anyway the reading is manageable and gets better when it comes to the matter of life.
Now reading Dream of a ridiculous man
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Santtu on December 07, 2009, 05:44:36 pm
Started reading something for the first time since summer, Ciaphas Cain: Caves of Ice. Hard to say anything yet, but fa/tg/uys say that Ciaphas Cain is excellent.

Lasombra Demon, I have visited the local libraries just to see if they have Lovecraft's books. Only ones I found were in English, and I'm too lazy to read a book that's not in Finnish.
tsk tsk
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on December 30, 2009, 10:46:01 am
Read :
Dark Run: it had a really crappy ending. "lets now ignore every repercussion of the militia army formed by crazy republicans trying to kill mexicans and just have a "AND THEY LIVED HAPPY EVER AFTER" ending without touching the fate of all the militia at all!!"

Soul Music: the family business is handed down, and Susan finds herself doing the family business of running death, thing is, Susan got educated and when people get educated they know better than to believe silly stuff like big skeletons in robes.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on December 30, 2009, 02:51:52 pm
I'm nearly finished with book 6 in the Last Rune Series by Mark Anthony.  He really should have stopped with book 5, this shifting between time and worlds is getting a little stale.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Joulz on December 31, 2009, 01:51:42 am
a friend gave me this book in english that i'm currently reading called "Flatland : A Romance Of Many Dimension" (by Edwin A. Abbott) and it's pretty excellent... it could be called an "interaction between geometrical beings"

i'm sure that a couple of nerds/geeks out there could relate to this  ;P
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on December 31, 2009, 06:26:44 pm
Finished reading "Dream of a ridiculous man" by Dostoevskji for the second time and I must say

KNOWLEDGE OF LIFE IS INFERIOR TO LIFE, KNOWLEDGE OF THE LAWS OF HAPPINESS IS INFERIOR TO HAPPINESS.  :pirate:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on January 01, 2010, 04:55:25 pm
RANT!

Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

there, I feel much better now.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Zip Mechanic on January 16, 2010, 09:01:18 pm
the crying of lot 49 by thomas pynchon
Title: Re: Books
Post by: momo! on January 17, 2010, 01:01:48 am
RANT!

Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

there, I feel much better now.

:bow:

A song of Ice and Fire in your collection(4 books by George R. R. Martin, I think I've mentoned them here before)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on January 17, 2010, 03:31:40 am
the crying of lot 49 by thomas pynchon

The easiest of his novels to read by far.  At least one a year I start Gravity's Rainbow



A song of Ice and Fire in your collection(4 books by George R. R. Martin, I think I've mentoned them here before)

I'll check out the "M" Shelves and see if I have them.  If not, I'll add them to the list.


I started a couple of really poorly written fantasy novels from the upstairs bedroom bookshelves and quit both after 30 pages or so.  So next I'm starting The Fifth Elephant by  Terry Pratchett.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: BigSally on January 17, 2010, 07:15:19 am
do coloring bookz count??? if so i just "read" this book called My Little Pony meets Yogi Bear..... its a classic ;)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on March 26, 2010, 05:10:53 pm
feet of clay
-Somewhere in ankhmorpork, a figure starts killing people, commander Vimes has to start investigation of a murder that appears to have been commited... by a golem?

jingo
In the middle of the ocean between ankhmorpork and Klatch, a small island floats back up to the surface, imediately the two nations start pondering about who its meant for, and the politic wheels start turning as the Nobles, anxious for the olde times of swordplay start forming armies to claim the small desert island...

Witches abroad
-A city where everyone is happy, where fairytales happen at every turn , and peoples sing in the streets... and thye better do it , or else the Fairy Godmother that rules the place with a ironfist will make sure that they are not part of the story anymore.

fragile things
by Neil Gaiman
-short stories, beautiful things,  Snow glass and apples was perfect.

smoke and mirrors
by Neil Gaiman
-also delicious.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on March 27, 2010, 12:40:26 am
Attempting to read my way through "The Legend of Drizzt" by R.A. Salvatore (who does good work). Books are hard to find though. Read the first 3 from the library, bought the next 3. I have something like 6 or whatever still to read and they are not in the library, or purchasable.

Right now reading the finale to the series Sea of Swords. Also, hoping to find Unseen Academicals by terry pratchett in the library tomorrow. I like his books, but i won't but them hardback.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on March 27, 2010, 12:45:33 am
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780385609340/Unseen-Academicals
its still too expensive for me, I usually buy his books at five quids.


the paperback seems to be at a good price tho
http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9780552153379/Unseen-Academicals
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Valerie on March 27, 2010, 01:30:32 pm
i dont spend a lot of time reading,  so it unusual for me to be able to answer,   im reading Witch Crafting by Phyllis Curott
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on March 31, 2010, 10:33:33 pm
The truth.
The dwarves have found a way to turn lead into gold... it involves shaping the lead into small letters that they make presses into mechanical printers.


THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FRET.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: momo! on March 31, 2010, 11:20:36 pm
I hope they serve beer in Hell.

this is a GREATTTTT book! it's a bunch of short stories that women probably shouldn't bother with, and i heard RAVE REVIEWS about the movie made for it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: moolambo on May 02, 2010, 08:02:45 am
Guess what. I'm starting to read the Shrimad Bhagavatam. Seriously. I'm going to meet Krishna and beat the crap out of his ass with Marshall Law in Tekken 6. I hope he has good connection because last time me vs. Jesus lagged as hell.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: K.O.D on July 26, 2010, 09:08:22 am
The 48 Laws of Power.

Very interesting book, I can see how idiots would get offended by it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cyanide on July 26, 2010, 09:56:22 am
Very shortly i shall be re-reading Hard Contact by Karen Traviss. I don't have an overwhelming love for the star wars books but this particular set of novels is excellent and i have enjoyed reading it every time.

I have also completed reading books 1-10 of the Drizzt Do'Urden series by R.A. Salvatore. They're mostly running fights, but when he stops talking about swordplay he's a pretty good storyteller.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Robin (Damian Wayne) on August 05, 2010, 05:49:59 am
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. For a final book report, that book was good to read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Foobs on August 05, 2010, 05:57:38 am
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Great book, several awesome conversations and hints about Wilde's extreme misogyny. It gets a bit tedious with the long ass descriptions of Gray's hobies though.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: 8-Bit Mr. A on September 03, 2010, 04:46:42 am
I read Plato and Aristotle.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on September 15, 2010, 12:16:17 pm
Read fahreineit 451, a tale about a book burner that goes into details not about the phisical burning of books but about what takes people into burning knowledge away, it was interesting.

Read THUD, the two factions of trolls and Dwarves in the city are celebrating the anniversary of a big confrontation that was a holy war for both, things start to escalate as a group of deepdown dwarves move onto the city of ankhmorpork and starts trying to incite civil unrest. Loved it.

American Psycho, must have been the first book that managed to gross me out at parts, the way they portrayed both the killer and his friends was amazing, the rhytm of the story is unsettling.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Duo Solo on September 15, 2010, 02:56:04 pm
I happen to be reading Fahrenheit 451 right now....
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on September 15, 2010, 03:20:55 pm
Go on, what are you taking from it?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: bobbotheclown on September 18, 2010, 12:54:23 pm
Im reading "a stainless steel rat is born"

this is a pretty good book.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Aboriginal One on September 19, 2010, 02:03:21 am
Fahrenheit 451. The book inspired me to make a super combo for one of my characters using the first chapters name and title

Hearth (75 Hits), Salamander(80 Hits), and Fahrenheit(296 Hits)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mictlantecuhtli on October 29, 2010, 02:02:17 am
Reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey and The Powers of Evil by Richard Cavendish. The latter I started because of  Halloween.  :twisted:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mechy on November 13, 2010, 08:37:30 pm
Just read the entire Divined comedy

FUCKING HELL. it was pretty cool
Title: Re: Books
Post by: JJKnezovicz on November 18, 2010, 01:31:02 pm
Started to read The Picture of Dorian Gray. I never read this book, the sad think is I couldn't find it in our library so it means nothing in Croatian  :'(
But I got the english one, the old one  ;)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Joulz on November 22, 2010, 10:02:04 am
finished "The Road".... pretty freaking good
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Sentenza on November 29, 2010, 02:33:19 am
just got done reading Fighting for Redemption by Mike Norton. Very damn good novel.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Peter H on October 03, 2011, 08:40:26 pm
Just finished Holes by Louis Sachar. Great read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Duo Solo on October 03, 2011, 10:36:45 pm
Just finished Holes by Louis Sachar. Great read.
That is a good book. If you like Louis Sachar books, I highly suggest reading anything by Andrew Clements.

Frindle by far is my favorite Clements book.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Peter H on October 04, 2011, 01:41:33 pm
Just finished Holes by Louis Sachar. Great read.
That is a good book. If you like Louis Sachar books, I highly suggest reading anything by Andrew Clements.

Frindle by far is my favorite Clements book.

Never heard of him. I also plan to read Small Steps, another book by Sachar.

Title: Re: Books
Post by: The Aboriginal One on October 04, 2011, 09:08:44 pm
Finished reading a book called "The Dragon Factory" by Jonathan Mayberry.

It's a pretty good book, based on modern times, that involves genetics, eugenics, and bioterrorism.

It's also part of a series of books about a man named Joe Ledger. This is the second book of the series, the first, Patient Zero, I have not read, and I have just found out that there's a third book: The King of Plagues.

This is a great book, I suggest you read it. Most of the humor is dry, and it has a bit of history along with it, as well as controversial subjects.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Person Man on October 04, 2011, 09:15:02 pm
I've just started 'John Dies At The End' by David Wong.  I've never read anything else that manages to so seamlessly blend horror and comedy together.  There are parts that have seriously freaked me the hell out, and then manage to pull off a really good joke without losing any of the tension or scares.  It makes for a very unique read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Foobs on October 04, 2011, 09:34:15 pm
El túnel (The Tunnel)

It's an existentialist novel about a painter called Juan Pablo Castel, who fells in love and later kills Maria Iribarne. By "fell in love" I mean that he becomes obsessed and builds an unstable relationship with María, which is a slut, by the way. The book consists mostly of Castel's over-analyzation of absolutely everything and inner monologue about how he hates other painters, guilds, womanizers, society and himself.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: FeLo_Llop on October 05, 2011, 01:11:10 am
I'm reading the whole saga of Captain Alatriste. Spain in the S-XVI, when it still was a worth of country, xD!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Peter H on October 22, 2011, 12:18:57 am
Currently reading Of Mice and Men by John Stienbeck. Looks pretty damn good so far.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Byakko on October 22, 2011, 12:47:13 am
Of Mice and Men was pretty much the book that got me into reading books, I read it for class in middle school when I was like 12 or so, and I found it so amazing, at an age where reading books is so boring and just for old people. It's very impressive.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Joulz on October 22, 2011, 08:40:40 am
at 14, "Les Fleurs Du Mal" got me into reading: must-be-read-over-and-over type of book
Title: Re: Books
Post by: MDD on October 22, 2011, 11:24:47 am
Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut. Oh my GOD Slaughterhouse 5.

This book is so fucking weird I can't even describe it. But it's SO good.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: LurkerSupreme on November 08, 2011, 05:37:03 pm
I've been a library fiend for a while so I guess i'll post something here.

I read Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherford which was the continuation of Princes of Ireland that read years before. It was an entertaining view of Ireland's history from the perspective of fictional families that are followed through the generations.The first book began in Gaelic times to the English occupation and the second was from the Protestant rising to the beginnings of the IRA during WWI.

It kind of thew me off to see how so much of Protestants v. Catholics shaped the way  Ireland is today and how unstable the country's position was for century's. Even if it was fiction based on historical events, the author did their best to make it entertaining and made the characters as interesting and insightful as possible(which is surprising since he had to juggle so many).I enjoyed it.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Peter H on November 25, 2011, 09:32:23 am
Finished Small Steps a few days ago. It's a sequel to Holes by Louis Sachar.


It's a pretty good book, but dosen't really feel like a sequel, still it should be read if you've read Holes.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lil' Hurricane on January 02, 2012, 03:10:09 am
A few days ago, I finished The Good Earth. It was written by Pearl Buck in 1938 & it's about a pooer Chinese farmer named Wang Lung and his wife O-lan (They got married in the beginning). O-lan is a 20-year-old slave. They cultivate their harvest land. He hires people to harvest it. Unfortunately, that's all I know.

I used it as an outside reading book in my school.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: DoubleDandE on February 16, 2012, 02:50:31 am
I've read Slaughter House Five. A friend of mine suggested the name sounded like a heavy metal song.
The Good Earth was a good one, I didn't get to finish it because it was due to the library.
Last book I read was Wizard of Oz, because I was sick. Currently I'm reading It by Stephen King and the Grimm Fariy Tales. I'm also reading Steel by Richard Matheson. A lot of his stories have been made into movies, or have been used in the Twilight Zone television shows. Normally if you buy one of his books, they usually contain several more of his stories afterwards.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lil' Hurricane on March 31, 2012, 05:17:40 am
Finished Billy a couple of days ago.

Written by Albert French in '93. Its about a 10-year-old black dude from Mississippi who is accused of murdering a 15-year-old white girl named Lori. He gets arrested. The time was August 1937.

The bad part is that the ending was a tragedy; What happened was that Billy got electrocuted in an electric chair and said he didn't want to be electrocuted.

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Foobs on March 31, 2012, 05:29:34 am
Quote
The bad part is that the ending was a tragedy; What happened was that Billy got electrocuted in an electric chair and said he didn't want to be electrocuted.
I wonder why...
Title: Re: Books
Post by: LurkerSupreme on March 31, 2012, 06:48:10 am
Oh yeah,this thread exists.

I read the Soloist by Mark SALZMAN

A book about a middle aged failed musician who all of a sudden has to act as a juror on a murder trial and also has to train a child prodigy that reminds him of his former glory. What I liked most was how detailed the writing was and all the attention to detail in the court scenes that at least give a competent representation of a trial by insanity( yeah like i'd know). I also liked how the author used the characters (the defendant and the child) to give some insight into the protagonist's state of mind. It was ok,a light read.

I also read a large collection of short stories(?) by Greg Bear. The majority of his shorts were scifi and since most of those teetered into the hard variety, it was tough reading them. Still, his stuff is pretty amazing and enjoyed reading the vast majority of them. Some of my faves were Blood Music, Heads, Hardfought, Dead Run,The White Horse Child, Sisters, Sleepside Story.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jango on May 31, 2012, 12:20:48 pm
My ex who you may recall me talking about (http://mugenguild.com/forumx/index.php?topic=137290.msg1564384#msg1564384) is doing a whole lot of nothing now (lol), mostly reading whatever books she can get. A few days ago, however, she was adamant in making sure that I read a particular book ASAP. And that is Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murasaki (yes it is named after a Beatles song).

The story itself is about a dude named Toru who has a best friend Kizuki. Early on Kizuki commits suicide and emotional scars form not just in him, but in Kizuki's girlfriend who starts to become attached to Toru. While going to college, Toru meets a bunch of interesting characters like the moralisic playboy Kawasaki, a free-spirited outgoing girl named Midori, and the aging Reiko.

I don't want to give away too much of the plot but much of it involves the characters struggling to find what life means to them and the best way to live it. I actually teared up at several points in the book, just because the dialogue is so powerful.

Inb4 posting a line of dialogue from a sex scene because, yes, there are quite a few of them.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on September 01, 2012, 05:22:13 pm
I've just finished The Art of War by Sun Tzu.  I came to this thread to see what others liked and was reminded how much I like Kurt Vonnegut, so I guess Slaughterhouse 5 (reread) is next on the list.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on September 01, 2012, 06:26:39 pm
breakfast of champions is my personal favorite :)
s5 is really cool too!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on September 07, 2012, 03:11:11 pm
Latest reread was Orwell's 1984 and it was awful.  I dont remember it being that preachy and boring and stupid..  Slaughterhouse 5 kept me entertained.  I've just started Ender's Game by Orson Scott, because I read it's to be a movie out next year.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on September 07, 2012, 07:19:30 pm
I've just started Ender's Game by Orson Scott, because I read it's to be a movie out next year.
Oh shit, I was just thinking about that this morning!!! o_O "Like, this book would really make a great movie, with a lot of thinking, suspense every second, nice special effects. This would totally be a hit if done correctly".
Tell me what you think about it when you finish it (and only when you've finished it). :)
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Person Man on September 08, 2012, 04:10:07 am
[avatar]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e315/Tiger_Stripe/discordava-6.png[/avatar]I've been re-reading the Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy trilogy.  I'm about halfway through Life, The Universe, and Everything right now.  I had completely forgotten how incredibly bleak these books become as they go on.  o_O
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on September 20, 2012, 06:41:09 pm
I've just started Ender's Game by Orson Scott, because I read it's to be a movie out next year.
Oh shit, I was just thinking about that this morning!!! o_O "Like, this book would really make a great movie, with a lot of thinking, suspense every second, nice special effects. This would totally be a hit if done correctly".
Tell me what you think about it when you finish it (and only when you've finished it). :)

I liked it until the "grown" Ender.  I thought the ending was forced and a let down.  I just re-read it to make sure my previous mood didn't influence what I thought about the ending and it doesnt.  It may make a pretty good film if it doesnt reflect the kids as superheros trend, but I'm afraid it's going to because it will be released around the same time as the second of the Hunger Games -Girl on Fire.  The actor who plays Ender is a teenager, and that wont be as effective as a 6-8 year old; Harrison Ford is Colonel Graff and Ben Kingsley is Mazer Rackham  so I suspect there will be more focus on the manipulative adults.  All that doesnt mean it wont be an entertaining film of course.

I've been reading some Harlan Ellison novellas; the most recent A Boy and His Dog is excellent!  I'm not sure what to read next I may have to close my eyes and grab something.

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on September 20, 2012, 07:27:58 pm
I thought you'd comment about the awesome twist at the end. :P
Oh well ...

But yeah, a teenager instead of a 6-8 years will not give as much impact. Let's hope they do well for Bean. He's awesome too (he has his own series of books in case you didn't know).
Did you finish reading all 5 books of Game of Thrones ?
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on September 20, 2012, 07:56:25 pm
I was kind of expecting the "twist", not exactly the way it happened but something similar and I think that would have made the perfect ending to the book right there.  I'll have to check into Bean...  I didnt know there was a series; thanks!

I finished all of the Song of Ice and Fire books and I'm waiting patiently for The Winds of Winter.   Wouldnt it be fun to open a restaurant called Ice and Fire and serve only food mentioned in the books?

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on September 20, 2012, 08:30:58 pm
The "Wedding Menu", with 17 dishes served. :haw:
But yeah, you have some nice concept here. Too bad it's based on a very well known series and there would have to be many royalties given to the owners of the series (be it R.R. Martin, his editor and/or HBO).
But eating something like that in an environment close to the GoT's one would be mighty fun. I loved eating at "Medieval Times" in LA when I was young. :D

About Bean, there's a series of 4 of 5 books about his very youth and life on Earth afterwards.
There's also a continuity to Ender's game in case you didn't know (2 or 3 other tomes). They're good, but I don't like them as much as the first one. They're really different and focus more on sociology.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on September 20, 2012, 08:42:05 pm
The Bean ones start to get bad after the first. Coincidentally, they were written around the time Orson Scott Card started going crazy and threatening that another civil war would happen if gay marriage was legalized.

The actual sequels to Ender's Game are better IMO.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Cybaster on September 20, 2012, 09:57:07 pm
threatening that another civil war would happen if gay marriage was legalized.
:stare:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on September 21, 2012, 03:02:11 pm
I just checked my bookshelves and I do have Enders Shadow, so I'll get to that soon before I forget what happened.    I am about 1/3 through Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land (yeah I'm on a sci-fi kick right now) and I'm not quite ready to comment on it. 

:bow:

     Posted: November 18, 2012, 01:12:15 pm
Someone LIED to me, Shades of Grey is NOT about vampires!!

 >:(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: GDM on November 19, 2012, 04:42:39 pm
Finished reading the prose edda and saga of the volsungs

if you some of you like the hunger games I recommend reading battle royale by koushun takami more violent then the hunger games and better story

the prose edda, children of odin, and saga of the volsungs are good stories on norse myth highly recommended
beowulf is another good one
and for those who layed the video game ico read the novel version of it. Tells more of the story to it and its not bad

right now I'm reading storm of swords, perdido street station by china mieville, and monkey by Wu Ch'Eng-EN
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on November 19, 2012, 04:53:22 pm
Ive been reading more of the discworld books, some of them re reading.

sourceror, Interesting times, Eric, Snuff, nightwatch...
Those books are great. Both saddening and funny.

If you dont like discworld, you have no soul.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jarek Bachanek on November 22, 2012, 06:19:05 pm
I recently readed two novels written by Guy Burt, both were psychological thriller with mystery and hint of horror in it. First was "After The Hole" other was "Sophie".

After the Hole is about group of teenagers who instead going on school trip, they decide to spend a few days in abandoned "Hole" near their school. Some friend of their would come for them after trip is over. At first everbody are having fun they party all the time. Days pass and they notice no one is coming for them... And that's just beginning of nightmare. Little cliched description but trust me it's not what it seems.

On Sophie I just quote official description:

Quote
In a dark room of a dilapidated house, as a storm rages outside, Matthew lights a candle and places it in the center of the floor. Its light spreads across the wall and illuminates Sophie, tied up in a chair facing him. She is frightened, fearful of what he might do next. But for now, it seems, all Matthew wants to do is talk. Talk about the events of nearly twenty years ago, about their strange childhood, and about the summer when Sophie grew up and everything changed . . . forever.

Young Mattie and Sophie lived in a world seemingly without constraints. Their cold mother barely paid attention to her children. Their father, a mere shadow in their lives, was never home. So Mattie and Sophie had the run of the gardens and the woods beyond. They played youthful games, but Sophie was extraordinarily intelligent, a fact she took great pains to hide from her teachers, so as not to stand out. Sophie was everything to Mattie, and he worshiped her. He wanted to know her secrets, the things that went on inside her brilliant mind. But Sophie was changing. And the summer before she went away to boarding school, the things she had worked so hard to conceal would come spilling out—and Mattie would have to live with the shocking consequences.

Now he’s all grown up, too, and Matthew wants answers to the questions that still darken his mind—no matter what the cost.

Both crushed my brain into pieces, especially Sophie. Burt plays with reader all the time and when you think you knew everything he twist everything back side down and you are like "WTF just happenned ?!" He left some stuff unexplained and it's only readers choice how to interprete all of this. I still didn't figured everything out of Sophie and I proably never will. That's beauty of it cuz I love such un-easy stories. Brilliant novel

Afther the Hole was little lighter and it seems like ordinary mystery book until i got to epilogue. Ending left my jaw on the floor and it took a hours before I was able to gather my thoughts. Term "being trolled by author" get entriely new meaning here.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: FeLo_Llop on December 12, 2012, 05:45:22 pm
I just started "The bridge of Assassins" (El puente de los Asesinos), from the Captain Alatriste saga. Arturo Pérez Reverte describes VERY well the Spanish and Italian society of the S-XVII. Even using OLD Spanish language :O.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on December 13, 2012, 09:37:15 pm
And I've finally started Ender's Shadow. and so far it's just as good as Ender's Game

:bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on December 14, 2012, 03:00:39 am
And I've finally started Ender's Shadow. and so far it's just as good as Ender's Game

:bow:
Hmm, well it certainly is the best of the Bean books and it's pretty good, but the book kinda makes all of Bean's adventures seem more important than what Ender goes through. :-\
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on January 11, 2013, 01:29:33 am
Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe

This is really fucking good, a fantastic read. Amazing, even. Perhaps even incredible. And some might even go as far to say that the text devoted in this book to the Image founders alone is giant-size... man-thing. (http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20070411195859/marveldatabase/images/2/22/Giant-Size_Man-Thing_Vol_1_3.jpg)

Sorry. Anyways, this is a great read, but just don't expect a lot of text discussing the characters and storylines, the vast majority focuses on behind-the-scenes stuff. And often times, that stuff is way crazier than what was going on in the comics at the time! The section on Marvel's near bankruptcy at the hands of a corporate raider is fascinating stuff. I mean, this book even made me feel some goodwill towards Bill Jemas!!! That's saying something!

so everybody go out and read it I wanna discuss it >:[
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Person Man on January 11, 2013, 01:48:52 am
[avatar]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e315/Tiger_Stripe/discordthrone.png[/avatar]I've been reading Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw.  Yes, the Zero Punctuation guy.  Turns out he's also a novelist.

Anyway, he has a gift for taking bleak, depressing situations and making them incredibly funny.  His first book, Mogworld, is about a guy who spends the entire book trying to kill himself and it is hilarious.  This book is about a massive flood of organic-matter devouring strawberry jam that kills most of the human race, and it is also hilarious.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Dreams In Stardust on January 11, 2013, 04:34:29 am
I've been reading Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw.  Yes, the Zero Punctuation guy.  Turns out he's also a novelist.

Anyway, he has a gift for taking bleak, depressing situations and making them incredibly funny.  His first book, Mogworld, is about a guy who spends the entire book trying to kill himself and it is hilarious.  This book is about a massive flood of organic-matter devouring strawberry jam that kills most of the human race, and it is also hilarious.

So it's about an apocalypse.

With jam in it.

*obligatory MY MONEY NO LONGER EXISTS comment*

But really, I'm in a bit of a jam myself, as I really don't know what books I'd like to read. Some people recommended me some books, but I found them to be a bit boring. I did like Ender's Game, but that's the only one I remember enjoying.
Yeah, I'm in a dryer spell than the dust bowl. :p

I do like more unique plot lines, even ones that are pretty bizarre and out there. I do like realism to an extent.
The books I didn't really finish had premise with these qualities, but yeah.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on January 11, 2013, 08:01:29 pm
But really, I'm in a bit of a jam myself, as I really don't know what books I'd like to read.
READ THAT MARVEL BOOK I DON'T CARE IF IT'S NON-FICTION >:[

but seriously, it's great
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on February 17, 2013, 02:31:00 am
Just finished reading both Big Russ and Me by Tim Russert (the late, great host of Meet The Press) and Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, two strikingly different portraits of Irish-American youth (well, kinda, in the latter's case)

One is the heartwarming tale of a childhood in Buffalo, New York and the life lessons imparted by a loving father (the titular Big Russ). The other is a harrowing tale of a childhood spent on a constant brink of starvation due to poverty and a father who, on the rare occasion he has a job, spends his wages on pints. Seriously, it's depressing as fuck: after the first few chapters young Frank has experienced constant, abject poverty in New York City, a dead little sister, a move to his parents' native Ireland (where they eventually settle in his mother's hometown of Limerick), the casual indifference and creulty of his extended family, and the deaths of his youngest brothers (twins, 6 months apart)... and things don't really get any better.

So yeah, despite being a total downer, it's a great read. It even won a Pulitzer! The Russert book is also a good read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Duo Solo on February 17, 2013, 05:05:24 am
Might check that out.

As for me, I've been reading the book "Art of War", the Denma translation. Its not a bad book so far, going to wait until I finish it to give it a review.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on February 17, 2013, 05:18:52 am
Might check that out.
Which one? It should be both! >:[
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on February 17, 2013, 02:49:29 pm
Angela's Ashes  had me in tears.  I LOVED it.

 I'm rereading The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon.  One of my favorite all time books by one of my favorite all time writers.

"The novel follows Oedipa Maas, a Californian housewife who becomes entangled in a convoluted historical mystery when her ex-lover dies and designates her the co-executor of his estate. The catalyst of Oedipa's adventure is a set of stamps that may have been used by a secret underground postal delivery service, the Trystero (or Tristero)."

Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on February 17, 2013, 03:37:46 pm
last read annie proulx's the shipping news. has a very imaginative use of imagery and restrained descriptions. a lot of the motifs worked in creating the whole atmosphere of daily newfoundlander life.
now reading le carre's tinker tailor soldier spy. just in the middle of it, but so far it picks up the pace quite strangely, with having different viewpoints and episodes stacked on each other.

heres my goodreads. it isnt updated much but lets be bookpals! (http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9114343-milfuelle-sakuraba) i swear i usually read more than this
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Synck on February 17, 2013, 03:44:31 pm
I have readen ernest hemingvway's book old man and sea,BUT! old man who is in deeper ocean is caught fish for 3 days,but that book is soo hard to read.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Duo Solo on February 17, 2013, 03:49:52 pm
Might check that out.
Which one? It should be both! >:[
Big Russ and Me by Tim Russert. That seems the most interesting :-]

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on February 17, 2013, 05:29:46 pm

heres my goodreads. it isnt updated much but lets be bookpals! (http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9114343-milfuelle-sakuraba) i swear i usually read more than this

No way was I listing everything I ever read.  But I like the review feature.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Lil' Hurricane on February 28, 2013, 01:45:58 am
I finished reading A Matter Of Trust by Anne Schraff around a week ago.

It's about a high school student named Roylin Bailey (dunno what grade), who has like no friends. He dates a girl named Korie Archer, and an apartment janitor named Tuttle pester him for work. The ending was very good as Roylin now hangs out with friends he knows, especially his best friend, Ambrose Miller (Tuttle lied to Roylin that Mr. Miller died just because he stole some money from his wallet to buy Korie a $300 necklace for her birthday, but he found out he was in a nursing home along with a friend named Cooper).

Also I laughed when Roylin threw dirty water at her sister. I dont know why tho.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Dragon of Courage on March 11, 2013, 05:24:34 am
I'm going to confess it...

I'm a Demigod... because I'm a fan of Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

Relates the tale of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon. With the company of his faithful friends, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and Grover Underwood, a satyr, they experience mythical adventures like no other.

This series had five books:

Due to their success, Rick Riordan released a sequel series called Heroes of Olympus, featuring seven demigods (including Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and fan-favorite Nico DiAngelo) along with new characters.

Highly recommendable for those who wanted to explore Greek Mythology in a different level.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on March 21, 2013, 10:01:41 am
I just finished all 7 books in The Dark Tower  series by Stephen King.  I know I'd read the first one a while back, but I couldnt remember much about it.  The only way I can read a series and remember anything is to read them all one after the other.

I especially like the way King weaves his own life into the tale.

 :bow:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Balthazar on March 21, 2013, 10:48:05 am
I read them all 7 as well! But I actually disliked the whole Stephen King himself appearing in it :(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Mog on March 21, 2013, 11:15:22 am
The reason I liked it is I remember when he was hit by that van.  He nearly lost a leg, could have had neurological damage (possibly never being able to write again), couldnt sit for long to write and was in constant pain, and I'm sure putting himself in the story was good therapy.   I should mention I read the revised version of The Gunslinger this time.

:bow:

Title: Re: Books
Post by: Saikoro on April 13, 2013, 03:58:56 am
Alrighty. My very first post in this thread comes with the conclusion of "Alien VS. Predator: Prey."

This is what the film SHOULD have been. The writing is tight and well done, and the story is good overall. I also love its take on nuances of the Predator's mindset and ideals/culture. Considering I'm a huge Predator fan and this book is older, its awesome.

I gotta read some more as I haven't way with a book in a while.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: xaekin on April 16, 2013, 06:31:29 am
short version is that Umineko (the VN, that is) got me back into murder mysteries. I was pretty much raised on Poirot and Holmes, so it feels good to be back.

Generous Death by Nancy Peckard is one worth looking into. It's fair play, it's interesting, the cast actually has more personality than cardboard, and it has a wonderfully upbeat atmosphere. Which considering
Spoiler: the ending (click to see content)
, it's fairly impressive to do so. Don't really feel like summarizing the plot, but it's a solid mystery. If you're into them, give it a look-see.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: GDM on April 16, 2013, 04:55:00 pm
reading the black company by glen cook and true grit
Title: Re: Books
Post by: GOH on April 16, 2013, 04:57:22 pm
The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks

Get with the times bros. GEAR UP.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Omega on April 19, 2013, 11:44:33 am
İ am reading Dostoyevski's "The Brothers Karamazov" classic that's translated to my own language. İt has great lines wich brings more passion to the story.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: c001357 on May 01, 2013, 04:47:14 am
finished smiley's people, tinker tailor's sequel. a lot of tension, while keeping the clues easier to track down. the characterization is great, though lowkey. i had a few bones to pick with some descriptions, however. all in all one of the very best spy thrillers on print
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on May 11, 2013, 11:26:25 pm
I finished Superman: The Unauthorized Biography, by Glen Weldon; it's a great look at Superman's history, who he is, and why he has so captured the world's imagination.

Just don't expect an encyclopedia, this is not a book concerned with the most nitty-gritty parts of comic lore. For example, Power Girl is not mentioned once, which I know will upset many people here. But that doesn't matter, because this book is about Superman, and it's a fascinating look at him.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on August 08, 2013, 08:31:50 am
I just finished, The Terror by Dan Simmons, which is a historical fiction novel about the real-life doomed Franklin expedition to the Arctic to find the Northwest Passage. The crew is trapped in the ice, running out of food, and beset by scurvy and putrid tinned goods.

And there's a giant monster stalking the ice trying to kill them.

It's a great read, very gripping and scary. A perfect read for when you're curled up in a blanket. Next to a fireplace. And with some oranges nearby because holy shit scurvy is terrifying.

Also, the setting (2 centuries ago in the Arctic, basically no women characters) means Dan Simmons didn't get a chance to be absolute bugfuck insane like the last book I read of his, the one that he wrote just prior to this one! No anti-Muslim rants or weird misogynistic asides here! I was hoping that maybe he took some crazy pills, but then I saw an online posting of his ranting about how "the left-leaning media" was making unrealistic demands of the behavior of the novel's gay character(s), and let's just say that that post was... unfortunate.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Agent Z on August 14, 2013, 08:56:28 am
Erm... Can I talk about my own book on here? I just finished it, and I'd like it if some of you gave it a read. :)

Link is in my siggy. It's free to read as of this posting. (That may change as my publisher's site goes from Beta to official.)

Oh, duh, a synopsis:
"The Winter Queen has gone missing, and everyone’s out to get her--including the Agency, a collection of the finest warriors in the realm. When Vantrekke Yuba is offered the whereabouts of his missing wife in exchange for Noa’s capture, he gladly joins the hunt.

But the Clandestined are also after the Queen, and assassins are shadowing Van. What lies ahead for this broken warrior may be anything but a reunion.

Paint your oath and step into the Cloud Wall. This legend isn’t made; it is reborn."

Straight-up action/adventure sci-fi/fantasy story, with 52 relatively short chapters total. The entire thing is a prologue.

Thanks.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Erroratu on August 24, 2013, 07:42:21 pm
Konstantinovo Raskrce(Konstantine's Crucifiction)
I usually dislike Serbian,Croatian books and books from around this place,since most of them are romance or poems or romantic poems or whatever.
But this new Serbian author i had not heard about wrote this book,and it got nice reviews,so i decided to check it out.
The book takes place during 2nd world war,when Yugoslavia fell to nazis,and talks about Nazis search for the spear that Jesus got stabbed by,which is located somewhere in Serbia.I was kinda sceptical about it at the beggining,but then came the Werewolfs and the Vampires.
A very very nice book,with cool storyline,and nice characters.The ending was awesome,and the last couple of lines at the end of the book gave me chills when they finally told us who the werewolf actually is.

The Invisible Man
I had this on my tablet so i decided to give it a read,and its very cool.A nice classic,although it felt a little short to me.The ending was kinda sad,since i really think he didnt deserve that.Yea,he is ruthless and a cold blooded killer,but i still liked him

Sun Tzus The Art of War
Also had this on the tablet.Pretty interesting.
Doesnt work in RTS games though :(
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on August 27, 2013, 09:52:28 am
Ilium/Olympos by Dan Simmons

y'know the plot summary for these are just too fucking insane so I'll just quote Amazon

Quote
The Trojan War rages at the foot of Olympos Mons on Mars -- observed and influenced from on high by Zeus and his immortal family -- and twenty-first-century professor Thomas Hockenberry is there to play a role in the insidious private wars of vengeful gods and goddesses. On Earth, a small band of the few remaining humans pursues a lost past and devastating truth -- as four sentient machines depart from Jovian space to investigate, perhaps terminate, the potentially catastrophic emissions emanating from a mountaintop miles above the terraformed surface of the Red Planet.
Ah yeah, Greek gods and sci-fi shit. Good read.

Or at least, the first one, Ilium is. The sequel is... oh boy. Olympos starts strong but then it just turns into "Dan Simmons rants about how terrible Muslims are".
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty
After that bit of nonsense, Olympos does a pretty terrible job at wrapping up stuff, leaving numerous threads half-developed and/or unexplained. A very disappointing conclusion to a very good book.

Although... there were quite a few odd things in Ilium, like how Ada suddenly turned into a batshit insane harpy half-way through the book (she's back in form for Olympos, fortunately), there's the repeated references to "effete academics" being all politically correct and trying to push their liberal agenda on everyone, which was just, what.
Spoiler, click to toggle visibilty

I was actually re-reading them, I first read them years ago, and I remember my reaction to Olympos was "what in the fuck", but it wasn't until I happened to read the plot to the books again recently when I realized how fucking stupid it got. Sigh.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Iced on August 27, 2013, 10:34:04 am
Crooked little vein
Warren ellis writes about a detective hired to dwelve into the fetishy underbelly of the american people, seeking out to retrieve the real constitution of america, one that was embedded with radioactive elements and written in the skin of an alien. When read aloud it resets the minds of people that hear it read into heteronormative persons.
Great piece of work.

JAM
A man wakes up one day in sunny australia and as he walks out to the street he finds the roads to be jammed.
jammed with jam, strawberry jam, strawberry jam that eats anything organic.
It was funny but it ended too abruptely.

Wool
Story about a community that after the end of the world lives in a 150 story underground silo, the atmosphere has become toxic long ago in the past and the only connection to the outside are giant screens that are connected to a camera over the silo door. Every few years the accumulated dirt starts blurring the camera and it has to be cleaned with wool,  this is the execution method in which all criminals are dispatched, sent out to do the cleaning in protective suits that soon give away and have them die due to the atmosphere. What everyone doesnt know, is why the exiles clean the lenses even when nothing forces them to before they die.
It was a great book.


reading mogworld now.
its the story of an undead in a dnd type world that starts noticing that people are not only respawning, as there is a strange curse that turns the most beautiful and powerful into rigid automatons and his quest to find out what are those strange forces respawning people and force them to kill him.
so far so good, but im really at the beginning.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on September 16, 2013, 07:52:49 am
American Gods and Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
the former is about a man who is released from prison and finds out that his wife has just died in a freak accident. He becomes the bodyguard of a mysterious man named Wednesday, who knows more about Shadow that he lets on, and they goes on a crazy adventure to prepare for a coming storm, a battle for the very soul of America.

The latter is an indirect sequel to the former, wherein a man named Fat Charlie (who is not fat) finds out his recently deceased father was actually the African trickster spider god, Anansi. And also he has a brother he didn't know about, and wackiness ensues when he comes to visit. And won't leave.

Great books, great reads, go read em. Hopefully that HBO series of American Gods gets made.

I also read the novella The Monarch of the Glen which is a direct sequel to American Gods, also great, got me pumped for the next, full-length sequel that is being written right now. Whoo!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on October 31, 2013, 02:45:56 pm
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Simply wonderful. It has everything: Nazis, Golden Age comic books, escape artistry, repressed homosexuality, Golems, and even a Stan Lee cameo!

The book is about two cousins: Josef Kavalier, an art student and occasional escape artist who has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague and hopes to earn enough money to gain passage for the rest of his family to America; and Sam Clay, a Brooklyn-born writer with aspirations of greatness. Together they create The Escapist, and find themselves at the epicenter of the Golden Age of comic books, as they find love, and experience loss.

This won the Pulitzer Prize for good reason. Go read it!
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Watta on January 28, 2014, 09:48:13 pm
The Spook's Apprentice
- I recall seeing this book in stores in New Zealand when I was a kid, never picked it up though. Its about Thomas Ward who is the seventh son of a seventh son. He becomes the apprentice of a Spook, who is a dude that takes care of supernatural stuff going around the area. Kinda hard to tell what age the book is based in but it's quite interesting. It's a decent start to a book series, could have been better, but it's enough for me to want to keep on reading.

A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones
- The HBO original show was all the rage some time back so I thought about reading this in my holidays. Damn this thing is pretty cool. You've got so much shit going on at the same time yet it all ties up with one another. I didn't expect "those" kind of parts so it got me by surprise :stare:
It did get boring in certain parts but it picks up speed everytime you think about putting it away. I'm definitely going to finish this series.

Skulduggery Pleasant: The Last Stand of Dead Men
- Written by Irish author Derek Landy, this book series is almost finished. I started reading these when I was around 10 or 11 but now about 7 years later they're still funny as hell. The characters in the book series all develop greatly as the series goes on. I can't really explain what happens since you would have needed to read the previous titles, but basically: shit gets real in this one.

Cherub: The Recruit (Book 1) and Class A (Book 2)
- I started this series as well. Meant for teens to young adults, it's the story about a young man named James who becomes an orphan with his half sister after his mother, an obese woman who was the boss of a larceny empire, dies. He gets taken in by Cherub which is a secret UK organization that trains kids and teens to become spies for the government. Seems kinda kiddy but it is quite funny to read. The only problem was that people who aren't familiar with british slang terms might not understand some parts (I know what they say since NZ people say a lot of them).

These are all books for teens and young adults ('cept Game of Thrones, that shit is meant for an older audience) so I recommend giving these a go if you're not busy. You can also get the ebook version for all of them (what I've got).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: GDM on January 29, 2014, 02:52:05 pm
Yeah watta finished all 5 books of game of thrones still waiting for the 6th book and the 4th season
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jarek Bachanek on January 29, 2014, 06:00:32 pm
The Witcher: Storm Season

Andrzej (Andrew) Sapkowski return to his famous The Witcher saga, which is prequel (some sort) showing some of earliest adventures of Geralt. Book is bit rusty at the beginning but it's getting better the more you read. There are some new characterts and some old ones like his pet friend Jaskier (I don't know his english name). There are some royal scams, schemes, and twist and once again Geralt is being manipulated by someone to do some dirty work. And he sleep with most of female characters too lol. Overall very good read. I never realized how much I missed The Witcher books until I read this one. Epilogue is very cryptic & suprising and it may hit for possible continuation. I hope it will happen because writing historical fantasy is what Sapkowski does best.

Matthew Quick - Silver Linings Playbook

It was centrainly interesing book. Very different from the movie, more psychotic, but cool. I really like that kind unusual love stories so I enjoyed it very much. I only disliked father of Pat (hero of the book) and whole baseball themes. I'm not fan of baseball or any sports for that matter so these parts bored me greatly but I liked how Pat remained opthimistic after all these bad things happened in his life. And Tiffany was fun too.

John le Carré - Call for the Dead

I always wanted to try Carre novels and I got interesed in his famous protagonist George Smiley after I readed that Spy from 2011 was such great movie. I didn't watched it yet but I started reading books about Smiley first. Unfortunately I couldn't get digital copy of the book in polish language so I had to get audiobook. It's bit pain in the ass because I read so much faster than speaker but I'm getting through it. I'm at the last chapters at the moment and is very good spy novel so far. Smiley is very unusual and interesing character. Plot feels real and entertaing and it's not about action or shooting like in the movies. I'm centrainly hyped for more books about Smiley. I can't wait when I start Karla Trilogy

I may post here more if I will have some time or if i get some responses, we will see.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jmorphman on February 26, 2014, 09:06:10 am
I just finished reading Cryptonomicon and all of The Baroque Cycle (which consists of eight books packaged together into 3 volumes: Quicksilver, The Confusion, and The System Of The World), by Neal Stephenson.

Cryptonomicon is composed of two narratives set in two different time periods; the first is during WWII and follows the exploits of Lawrence Waterhouse, a young mathematical genius who is involved in Allied codebreaking efforts, and specifically their efforts to deceive the Axis powers into believing the Allies have not yet broken their most secret codes (for example, making it seem like spies in Axis territory have reported to the Allies the location of an Axis convoy, when in fact the Allies discovered the location by decrypting a U-boat message). Marine sergeant Bobby Shaftoe is the other lead of this half of the narrative, assigned with carrying out Waterhouse's plans. The second narrative takes place in the then-present day (sometime in the 90's), featuring Randy Waterhouse and a group of his friends, who are trying to set up a data haven in Southeast Asia, free from government and multinational control, and their efforts to stay one step ahead of those two antagonists. Helping them in this task are Doug and Amy Shaftoe, who do surveying work for the undersea cables that will feed into the data haven.

It's really fucking great, full of a lot of interesting stuff, like cryptology, computing, information security, hidden gold, mysterious priests, Alan Turing, and more. Go read it!!!

The Baroque Cycle is a sort of prequel to Cryptonomicon, set during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, featuring the ancestors of several characters from Cryptonomicon. The book follows the adventures of Daniel Waterhouse, aging Puritan and Natural Philosopher (what we would now call a scientist), who has returned to his native England from America to try and mend the growing rift between English and Continental European Natural Philosophers, at the center of which is led by Sir Isaac Newton against Gottfried Leibniz over who invented Calculus first, a conflict that might spell the end of the coming era of Enlightenment; it is also the story of Jack Shaftoe, daring adventurer and King of the Vagabonds, as he desperately seeks a fortune to provide to his sons before he succumbs to syphilis, a journey that takes him all across the globe as he encounters everything from Barbary pirates to mad Jesuits to the Pirate Queen of Malabar; and it is also the story of Eliza, snatched off a beach off an English island as a child and raised as a harem girl before being rescued by Jack, going on to become a financial powerhouse in Amsterdam and later spy, confidant, and pawn of various royal figures.

It's pretty epic in scope. In the original sense of the term, not the way the internet uses it. Each of these volumes is pushing 1000 pages, and there's three of 'em. I will admit it starts a bit slow (for the first chapter), but then a few chapters in and you've got a young Isaac Newton sticking a needle into his eye to figure out how the eye and colors work (this actually happened, dude was nuts), then the Plague comes around, there's the Great Fire of London, long discussions about Calculus, Alchemy, and complicated royal lineages. And then Jack enters the picture and everything gets crazy.

Really great, really interesting, and really informative. Also read it, but after Cryptonomicon!

oh and I also read a short story that's an oblique sequel to Cryptonomicon (in that it makes a few references to things from that book, but nothing major). It's pretty cool, you should check it out even if you haven't read Cryptonomicon, it's called Jipi and the Paranoid Chip (http://www.vanemden.com/books/neals/jipi.html).
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jarek Bachanek on February 26, 2014, 04:31:40 pm
I read another 3 John le Carre books:

A Murder of Quality

This time George Smiley is tring to solve murder of wife one of the teachers in some University. Carre departs from spy themes for a bit and this time book is crime-detective type of story. I liked it because it provided more insight into Smiley's mind, but overall it was weakest novel from Le Carre I readed so far. Le Carre portrayed British Univerisity in the 60-ties very well with all snobistic and closed community, which felt superior to everyone else. Pretty miuch all teachers annoyed me. I can't imagine how it was to be teached in that kind of schools during that time. Whole murder and investigation was nicely written but It was no big suprose there. Overall novel felt like those old classic crime novels by Agatha Christie. It was definitely different from other Le Carre works.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Le Carre is back into spy games and he do it with bang. There is new hero and Smiley is just secondary/minor character. Book tells a story of a spy who wants get revenge on German leader of Secret Service who ordered to kill many of his agents behind The Iron Curtain. Book have definitely much darker tone compared to previous Le Carre works. It's kind of sad and depressing especially at the end but it males book even better. Le Carre showed spy as amoral people, a liars who lied so much they forgotten how to tell the truth. I loved the plot and all twists. Le Carre have the ability to paint emotional scenes and switch to dry, dispassionate style is a second. It's definitely one of the best Le Carre works but I think it was overshadowed a bit by "Karla" Trilogy

The Looking Glass War

This time Le Carre show insight into rival agency of The Cricus (aka MI6 where Smiley works) called The Department. They were apparently outflanked by The Circus and now they are shadow of formerselves. Everything changes when they get intelligence that Soviets put some missles near East Germany border. When their courier is getting killed by unknown people they decide create cover operation and send agent to East Germany to confrim if the missles are truly there. Novel is nice although worse than The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. There is many characters instead of one main hero and Smiley is once again minor character here. Le Carre created bunch of believeavble characters, some symphathetic, some not. Once again spies are shown as burned out people who lost their will to live and as people who live proffesionally from lying to others. There is not much action here, just brutal realism.

Overall if you are into Cold war or you want to feel how it was like you should definietly pickiping both novels up.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Watta on February 26, 2014, 07:02:26 pm
The Spook's Curse

The second book of the Wardstone Chronicles. To be honest, I've been busy as hell lately and my interest in reading has gone down due to me already having to read so much in school. However, I did read this book recently. Like most books in this series, it's only about 120 pages long. The story gives all the necessary information and terminology and has some good character development. There's like 13 books in this series so I've still got 11 to go, and from the way it's going so far, I'm excited to finish these :)

Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Movie of this came out recently and a lot of people liked it so I decided to get the original books. Compared to the other fantasy books I've read, like Skulduggery Pleasant for example, this book is reaaaaally damn slow IMO. It's got its interesting bits but it's just really bland for me :P
According to my ebook reader software, I've read exactly 50% of it though so it might get better in the end. But the thing is, I don't think I'm going to bother finishing this unless I have like literally nothing else to do. It feels like a manlier version of Twilight that dudes don't have to be ashamed to read.
I also checked out the movie but I couldn't make it past the first 15 minutes due to the bad acting and poor script :P

I recently put like another 50 books into my new tablet so I should be finishing those some time soon :D

I'm also reading The Witcher, ASOIAF: A Clash of Kings, A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning,
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Watta on October 04, 2014, 09:55:54 pm
I've read a large amount of books since my last post so I'm just gonna mention the best of the bunch...

The Maze Runner Series
I've read the main trilogy; there's actually a fourth book which is a prequel, which I haven't finished yet. Seeing that the movie of this was coming out, I decided the read the books so that I could have exclusive rights of saying "that's not like the book" when I watch the movie lol.
This book series is a part of the whole sudden rise in popularity of dystopia genre books. It's nothing close to Hunger Games, but it's hell of a lot better IMO. Through out all of the 3 books, there's a constant feeling of tension and suspense and it really keeps you on the edge. The characters are interesting and quite mysterious. It's hard to tell who you can trust. Overall, the series is very well written; though the third book kinda stinks in comparison to the first two as the ending was VERY abrupt.

The Witcher: The Last Wish
This book is great. Geralt is pure badass and the stories all contain their fair share of comedy, action, and sometimes irony. This book is a collection of several stories which all feature Geralt, who is a Witcher. He's kinda superhuman but also has his limits. The way that the author set up the chapters is very smart as they leave you with a cliffhanger which makes you want to keep on reading. By this I mean that lets say that chapter 1 is talking about story A and leaves it unfinished, then chapter 2 talks about story B. Then you have to keep on reading until chapter 5 again which continues from where chapter 1 left off on. The second book in the series, the Blood of Elves, begins a more linear story line which acts as sort of a continuation of many of the stories seen in the first book. Great series, extremely well written. Not for kids.

The Ravens Shadow: Blood Song (Book 1) and Tower Lord (Book 2)
I randomly found this series while browsing through good reads. Jesus Christ, was I in for a surprise. Honestly, you're just going to have to read it to find out an accurate description of the book. In my own words, all I can say is that the plot is very solid and you get everything you could ever want from the book. I was 10/10 satisfied when I finished the first one. The second one is fantastic too, though slightly in lesser greatness to the first, it also remains a great book. The third and final book will hopefully be released next year (2015).
Like Game of Thrones? Screw that shit, read this.

Skulduggery Pleasant: The Dying of the Light
This is the ninth and final book to the Skulduggery Pleasant series. I myself, who is a fan of this series, was expecting a bombastic yet solid ending. Unfortunately I was quite disappointed. The plot often fails to stay linear and there's far to much shit going on everywhere. The character development is frankly super weird; the plot is jumping around on a Pogo stick; and the ending omg. Not only did the ending leave far too many loose ends to the story, it was poorly written, very abrupt, and frankly just shit and disappointing. God damn it.

A Wizard of Earthsea
I heard that this book was a classic in the fantasy genre so I had to check it out. I was blown away. I absolutely loved it all: the story, the characters, the universe, and the narrative setting. The story goes through the younger years of the magician named Sparrowhawk, who becomes one of the greatest magicians ever to be known in Earthsea. The story goes through his childhood to his years as a young adult. The protagonist, Sparrowhawk, portrays many heroic qualities which would normally bore you, however, he also displays very realistic weaknesses. He might seem OP at times, but then he also seems weak too. This is a work of art, and it begs you for more. Thankfully, there's an entire series of these books for me to read. This book felt similar to the Raven's Shadow series which I mentioned above. You get what you want, you never get bored, and damn that ending is satisfying.

Watta said:
Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
blahblahblah

Nvm, I wasted my life reading this. Don't read it, it had promise in the beginning but it feels like a copy of Twilight after a while. I feel ashamed :disappointed:
Title: Re: Books
Post by: ZerX on June 20, 2016, 09:46:24 pm
The last book I've red was The Cuckoo's Calling by J.K Rowling. It's a crime fiction novel and I liked it a lot. I've started to read it's sequel The Silkworm and till now it's interesting enough. The Cuckoo's Calling is kind of similar to Dan Brown books, but Rowling's writing is far more superior in my opinion. If you start reading it, you're gonna like Cormoran Strike.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: StreetSonic on September 02, 2016, 08:01:50 am
Unrestrained planet . Harry Harrison worlds best novel I've read . great fiction .
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Jango on October 05, 2016, 08:41:01 am
The Horror From The Hills by Frank Belknap Long

The Manhattan Museum of Art is about to receive a new statue for its collection: a giant elephant statue. But there's a lot of things weird about this statue. Its ears seem to resemble more webbed tentacles, it has the hands and feat of a human and is seated like one, its tusks resemble a translucent crystal, and at the end of its trunk seems to be something resembling a small mouth with teeth. It was brought over by the curator's field researcher, who claims that it is the god Chaugnar Faugn, who preys on human sacrifice and torture. The next day, a night guard is found dead in this room, his blood drained. In the confusion over finding a Chinese guest who is believed to be the murderer (due to a bowl of rice being found next to the body), only the curator seems to notice that Chaugnar Faugn's trunk is not in the same spot it was when he first saw it.

Before I review this book proper, some history is needed.

Spoiler: don't open if you don't want to read history (click to see content)

Now that that's settled, here we go.

One thing I like about Long's approach to the mythos is that there are very few overt connections to it. If you're a diehard Lovecraft fan, you might recognize one or two points, but there's no mention of "Cthulhu" or "The Necronomicon" or anything of that nature here. It stands on its own as its own horror story, and it still feels genuine. Another deviation from Lovecraft's style that I like is how this work focuses on fleshing out the characters. While Lovecraft's descriptions are incredible, Long's ability to communicate a character's personality and reputation simply through dialogue is very impressive. Dr. Little's discussion of his history with Chaugnar Faugn and how space/time works is explained well enough that you never feel like the author is BS'ing stuff to make the plot move forward.

If I have to mention downsides, it has to be how the story eventually moves forward. While I promise not to give anything away, it doesn't end in a typically Lovecraft way, but that's one thing I can look over. It is its own creation first, and not trying to ape his predecessor. Also, I will say that some plot elements just don't go anywhere. For example, we never find out what happens to the Chinese dude that the police find in the museum following the "murder."

So basically, I find that if you're looking for something that's *kinda* like Lovecraft but feels unique enough to be its own story, this is definitely something you should check out. I'll be searching for more of Long's other works (ie: "The Hounds of Tindaloos"), so look forward to that!

@Bea: Can we agree that Chaugnar Faugn is criminally underrated???
Title: Re: Books
Post by: Bea on October 05, 2016, 11:44:49 am
@Bea: Can we agree that Chaugnar Faugn is criminally underrated???

There are very few things that I can agree with these days, but this is one of them.
Chaugnar Faugn needs more love.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: rgveda99 on January 26, 2017, 07:17:17 am
Just finished Terry Brooks' Dark Legacy of Shannara Trilogy and its just sad. A lot of major and supporting characters dead with promises broken and terrible decisions made.  Wish Song of Shannara wasn't this bad.
Title: Re: Books
Post by: annareist on September 18, 2020, 09:58:18 am
I love reading, although I mostly read in my native language when it comes to reading in English, there are some great books I'd recommend you to read in the source language. I can recommend you the mortal Instrument series- Cassandra Clare (and actually, i like anything written by her) A few days ago, I also finished The Good Earth. It was written by Pearl Buck in 1938 & it's about a pooer Chinese farmer named Wang Lung and his wife O-lan (They got married in the beginning). O-lan is a 20-year-old slave. They cultivate their harvest land. He hires people to harvest it. Unfortunately, that's all I know. You should also check out "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, "The Green Mile" and "Pet Cemetery" by Stephen King, and many more.