For the Love of Books!: Looking for a good read?

[Dastrn]

Finished Dead Until Dark this morning. It wasn't horrible. If I'm ever in the mood for a fast-paced light-weight vampire book with a LOT of good sex scenes, I'll read the next book in the series.

Have any of you checked out goodreads.com ? I've found it a good place to keep track of my book lists. Ya'll should check it out.

Up next for me is either Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, or maybe A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain.

 

[Lythium]

Both of those are excellent. I read Crime & Punishment a couple years ago, and if you're not confused by Russian names, you'll get a lot out of it. I read Connecticut Yankee for a class last year and it was pretty funny. :3c

I'll have to check out goodreads.com sometime.

 

[Wiscus]

Goodreads is fun to check out every once in a while. I like looking through the daily and weekly lisitngs and complete strangers list. I'm far too lazy to maintain my own list though.

Just finished The Wee Free Men, fun little discworld novel. Terry Pratchett is really good at writing things for younger people that adults will love as well

I'm also starting up with Geek love by Katherine Dunn, I've misplaced my hard copy so I had to get it through...other means.

@Dastrn: Ohhh read Crime & Punishment! I remember really enjoying that. I want to pick it up again.

 

[Dastrn]

@Wiscus - I'm a fan of Pratchett too! I loved Guards, Guards and Going Postal. Making Money was also decent. I still have a TON of his stuff to read. I bought like 20 of his books last year at a used bookstore after enjoying the first 4 books of his I read.

I started Duma Key by Stephen King last night. When that's done, maybe I'll move on to Crime and Punishment.

 

[Lythium]

Reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell at the moment. It started out really, really slow, almost to the point of wanting to put it away and not finish it. It's picked up though, and it's getting really amazing now.

Bought Paper Towns by John Green. I don't know why I'm reading so many YA books lately, but I find their pace refreshing.

 

[PD4FR]

I just started reading The Count of Monte Cristo, and I'm not very far, but I enjoyed what I've read. I think I'm at chapter 3.

It is around 1400 pages, and I don't read a whole lot throughout the course of a day, so it may take me a while to finish.

Edit - Woah, good timing Clownbot.

 

[Clownbot]

I've been wanting to read Pratchett's Good Omens although that's mostly because it's a collaboration with Neil Gaiman whose works I've read several of (and I'd really like to get my hands on others).

Spoiler

Coincidentally this thread back when it was actually more of a "book club" with assigned reading was what got me into Gaiman because Neverwhere was the first book that was gone over

I also want to check out a John Green book a lot too.

 

[Lythium]

Clownbot, I'll let you know if it's any good. :3c

And Neil Gaiman is awesome, I've read almost all of his books now. <3

 

[Wiscus]

Good Omens was sooooo funnn.
I'm now reading through some Charles de Lint short stories (Dreams Underfoot), forget about Geek Love. :3c

Don't get me started on Gaiman

@Dastrn: I'm a really big Pratchett fan too!
My favorites are anything with the witch trio....I need to get more of his books!

 

[PolarBear]

I'm about to go see David Sedaris at the Apollo soon. I just read his book Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk and it was pretty funny, although I think I prefer his essays. I'm not sure what ask at the Q&A, any ideas?

 

[Crimson King]

Reading five books now - "Fatal Error," "New Marriage Rules," "The Touch," "Reborn," and "Lucid Dreaming: Journey to the Inner Self" - and bought three or four new horror books. Good times!

 

[quirkynature]

Anybody here read 'Gauntlgrym'? R.A. Salvatore?

 

[mzink*]

I'm currently reading Ender's Game. Very good, picked it up while wandering through Barnes and Noble. Ended up getting the first 4 books in the series.

It's hard to believe that according to the introduction, most people hated it when it first came out. All the people I know that have read it said they loved it and highly recommended it.

 

[PD4FR]

I'm currently reading Ender's Game. Very good, picked it up while wandering through Barnes and Noble. Ended up getting the first 4 books in the series.

It's hard to believe that according to the introduction, most people hated it when it first came out. All the people I know that have read it said they loved it and highly recommended it.

I loved Ender's Game. Actually, I loved all four books. I also read Ender's Shadow, a parallel of Ender's Game.

My favorite in the series was definitely the third, Xenocide. It is still my favorite book to date. <3

Edit - Actually, the second one, Speaker For the Dead, is probably tied with Xenocide for me. They were all so excellently written.

 

[mzink*]

Sweet! I'm bout 2/3 through the first book, likin it a lot so far. Lookin forward to readin through the rest of them . Cool to see another Ender fan!

 

[Pluvia]

There's a book that I can't emphasise how much you must read. It's called Mortal Engines.

Seriously don't read about this book (in case of spoilers) just find it and read it. I have suggested it to 9 different people and every single one of them loved it. It even got my best friend, who I've never seen read a book for pleasure and who has previously said that reading is boring, read this book all the way through and actually got annoyed when he was interrupted whilst reading it. Needless to say he loved it.

Basically I am really literate, I have read His Dark Materials, The Road and countless other books and this one still comes out on top. Here's the setting on which the world takes place in (from Wikipedia):

The book is set in a post-apocalyptic world, ravaged in ages past by a nuclear holocaust known as the "Sixty Minute War," which caused massive geological upheaval. To escape the earthquakes, volcanoes and other instabilities, a Nomad leader called Nikola Quercus, who changed his name to Nikolas Quirke, designed a system known as Municipal Darwinism, where entire cities essentially become immense vehicles known as Traction Cities, and must consume one another in order to maintain themselves in a world deprived of most natural resources. Although the planet has since become stable again, Traction Cities are still used despite the fact that they were intended to escape from natural disasters, and the new world order continues.[2]

Much technological and scientific knowledge was lost, and what remains of "Old Tech", artifacts remaining from our more developed society, are dug up and pored over by scavengers and archaeologists. Europe, some of Asia, north Africa, Antarctica and the Arctic are inhabited by Traction Cities, and North America is a radioactive wasteland, while much of the rest of the world is the stronghold of the Anti-Traction League, an organisation that seeks to stop cities from moving and thus stop the intense consumption of the planet's resources. In the world of Traction Cities, nations no longer exist - each city is an individual state.

Also just to add as a footnote here, Traction Cities have been around for hundreds of years but seeing as though cities are being tracked down and stripped of their resources by bigger or faster cities, they have become scarce and survival has become harder for the bigger cities like London (the city which the story revolves around).

But this isn't even the story, this is just the world which the story takes place in. I can't tell you about the actual story as it has unexpected twists and turns throughout so all I can suggest is you go to the library and get this book right now.

And finally, it is so good that Peter Jackson is directing and producing a movie of it and WETA (the company that went about "producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures" for the LoTR trilogy) are working on the adaption with him!

 

[mzink*]

Sounds interesting, I'll check it out next time I go to Barnes and Noble.

 

[PD4FR]

Sounds interesting, I'll check it out next time I go to Barnes and Noble.

This better be after you start and finish Xenocide.

Perhaps some of you remember that I'm reading The Count of Monte Cristo. As a disgrace to readers everywhere, I've only read up to page 120 or so in the several weeks I've had it; that doesn't change the fact that I love this book, however. I won't recommend it yet, but I have a feeling I will once I finish this 1,400 page diversion of the highest caliber. <3

 

[Mota]

Read 'The Outsiders' by S.E hinton in one sitting. Excellent book for a 17 year old.
Touches on a lot of the hood mentality, morals and bonds, all that jazz.

 

[Bamesy]

I've had about 40 people recomend Enders Game.
Anything by Scott Cardypoo really...
Carlos Casteneda seems to be a common recomendation for me these days...
Too many good books and authors...

 

[Lore]

I got a Kindle for Christmas, and I absolutely love it!

I reread The Name of the Wind and finally read Battle Royale, which I loved, and now I'm going to finish up A Song of Ice and Fire.

After that, I'll read Dracula and perhaps Mortal Engines.

Oh, and the free out of copyright books on amazon are great. I have like 31 amazing books (Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Etc.) just from that. The rest of my books were acquired through both the creative use of online .pdf s and the conversion of freely obtained ebooks.

Don't worry; I'll buy books and support authors whenever a new book that I want to read comes out.

 

[soap]

I actually just read a book for the first time in a few years and now I'm back in reading mode so I'm gonna start checking this thread every so often.

do you guys ever unanimously decide to start reading a book that nobody has read yet?

 

[Lythium]

do you guys ever unanimously decide to start reading a book that nobody has read yet?

What do you mean?

 

[tmw_redcell]

I just finished The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It was alright, took a while to get going though. There were some things with the structure I didn't like. Quasi-spoilers:

I didn't like how the book would spend so long away from some characters. The interludes I could understand, but the long stretches without Kaladin and Shallan are kinda annoying. Also Kaladin's numerous longass flashbacks were too big of a break from the main action. I cringed every time I got to one. And it just takes a long time for storylines to get interesting to me, though they were at least somewhat unusual for fantasy.

The worldbuilding felt kinda bland. There were a lot of rock-things with no actual description and weird fashion and I wasn't drawn in by that stuff, it kinda took the whole book to build up to. The characters are good though, but not great yet.

About halfway through the book though things pick up pretty well,

Spoiler

Kaladin's flashbacks become more relevant and interesting, and Shallan and Dalinor are actually doing stuff,

and I couldn't put it down *close the ebook reader window) for a couple days until I finished.


The book's over a thousand pages and is the beginning of a ten book series, and Brandon Sanderson is well-oiled 35-year old writing machine not likely to die of being ridiculously old, tripping over his huge beard and falling down a flight of stairs, or suffer a sort of living death like George R. R. Martin due to laziness. SO there's little worry about the series not being finished despite its ginormity. Though I liked it, I'd still rank it below the other modern fantasy series I've read (Song of Ice and Fire, Gentlemen *******s, Night Angel,) though I guess it equals or I like it a bit more than the Farseer trilogy, judging by first books alone and how I'm guessing things will go.

 

[Dastrn]

I finished the following in 2010:
Lord of the Flies
Fahrenheit 451
Slaughterhouse Five
Monster by A. Lee Martinez
Master and Commander
The Magicians by Lev Grossman
A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez
Ender's Shadow
I, Robot
Dracula
Dead Until Dark

Thus far in 2011, I've completed:
A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
The Siren's of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut


I just finished Siren's of Titan tonight. I picked it up 48 hours ago and couldn't put it down. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

On my to-read list:
Duma Key. I started it and left it behind during the Christmas rush. Gotta finish it.
A Clash of Kings. Loved the first book. I'm reading this one next.
Armchair Economics. Most of the way done with this one. I'll be done in a few days.
The Name of the Wind. I'm stalling on this one, since I hear a sequel is in the works.
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Half-way done a few months ago. Gotta pick it back up.

 

[Lythium]

That's pretty impressive, Dast. Good stuff.

I'm rereading Harry Potter. I had forgotten how much I loved this series. :3c

 

[Dastrn]

I've got "Re-Read Harry Potter" on my to-do list, but I might not get to it this year. I also haven't read Lord of the Rings in like 3 years now, and I used to read that every year. I'm branching out more, I guess, and trying to hit different literature that I have always wanted to read but never took the time to, like Master and Commander, Fahrenheit 451, etc. Maybe I'll make 2012 the year of re-reading all my favorite series.

It would be the following:
Harry Potter (7 books)
LOTR (4, counting The Hobbit)
The Apprentice Adept series by Piers Anthony (7 books)
The Dark Tower by Stephen King (7 books, but I only ever read the first 5)

That'd be a full year of reading right there. 25 books, some of which are rather long.

 

[Wiscus]

The name of the wind is also on my list to read soon Dastrn, we seem to have similar taste :0

For the longest time I've been meaning to finish Norwegian Wood.....still haven't, too many video games ah.

 

[Lythium]

Norwegian Wood is really good, though it's not one of my favourite Murakami books.

I like his crazier stuff.

 

[Lore]

By the way, the sequel to Name of the Wind is coming out next month.

I have it preordered. :3

If only George R. R. R. R. R. Martin could hurry up and release A Dance of Dragons...

 

[-Rei-]

i'm not sure if you guys have heard but Brian Jacques died earlier this week

i loved his books as a kid

RIP Brian Jacques

speaking of Murakami, i'm about to start Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

 

[Lythium]

I didn't know that!

I loved all of his books when I was a kid. I even met him, and he signed two of my books.

RIP.

 

[Lore]

Oh man, that's terrible! His books were like, the only good books in my middle school library.

RIP

 

[Wiscus]

Name of the wind was really enjoyable, nice easy writing style and very interesting characters. Ah best 3 days reading~
I cannot wait for the next one and I'm quite happy that I waited so long to read it and now the squeal is about to come out

So happy.

 

[ziesha]

I would like to commend the magic of big thinking as it is a wonderful inspiring book

 

[Dastrn]

I just finished "The Armchair Economist" by Steven Landsburg. I try to get a few economics books in every year. This one was fun. Poking holes in economics writers' ideas keep me on my toes. This guy has some really good thoughts, but is trying too hard to be clever, and is leaving himself just as open for criticism as those he criticizes.

If you are at all interested in studying Economics, read Henry Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson first. Then read Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan.

I'm about 550 pages into A Clash of Kings already. I've been reading a ton these last two weeks. Taking a nice big break from video games.

After I'm done with this one, I'll be reading City of Ember and then CS Lewis' Space Trilogy, and then I'm thinking about Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell after that.

 

[Xianglian]

I hope none of you are completely sour to the vampire genre:

But I just finished reading that last release of an AWESOME vampire series that is based in new york city.

The series is called Blue Bloods (there is a tv show with the same name, it's totally unrelated) by Melissa De La Cruz.

This series is probably for teens since all the characters range from 15 to 17.
IT'S NOT WHAT YOU THINK! This book is incredibly well written and completely reshapes the way vampires are portrayed. If you are bored, please go to your local library and check out the first 3 novels, and tell me you won't rush back to the library for more ( I know I did )

 

[Wiscus]

I finally got a goodreads this morning to help me keep up with my books to read list (I'm getting sick of never keeping track of what I want to read) :3
If anyone has a profile post em so I can lurk your book list!

 

[Lore]

@Xianglian: How does it compare to Interview With the Vampire?

Anyway, I have a goodreads! I never use it, though.

 

[Dastrn]

http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4293274

There's mine.

I'm about 650 pages into A Clash of Kings now. It's really good.