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Bookwizard



Joined: 07 Oct 2007
Posts: 639
Location: Gallifrey

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 4:55 pm    Post subject: What Books Are You Reading?  

Well I was thinking to myself and I decided I would start a thread in which people can share what books they are currently reading, or really anything else you can read...

I am currently reading:

The Two Towers by J.R.R Tolkien... Very good book, I'm sure most of you have heard of it ;)

The Keys of the Kingdom by A.J. Cronin... Incredibly well written, I could read it for hours on end, though it was published in 1941, so I'm pretty sure not that many people know about it.

Aristotle and an Aardvark go to Washington by Thomas Catchcart and Daniel Klein... Politics through jokes and philosophy, fun to read, good book.

What If? 2 by Many People of which I don't want to list... haven't read that much of it but so far its good, all the things that could have happened.

Sort of reading Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz... Haven't continued reading it for a while and only on the third chapter, but seems like a good book.

The Spy Within by Todd Hoffmen... only just started reading it, but great book with a very interesting subject.


Wow I didn't realize I was reading so many books until I put these down, but please realize I'm only dutifully reading the first two, the rest I am reading on the side.
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Mon Nov 24, 2008 5:28 pm    Post subject:  

Eh

I try nowadays to only read one book at a time.

However, i can list a couple i have read in the last week.

I'm reading the Night Watch now by Terry Pratchett.

I recently finished the Books of the South, a compilation of three books by Glen Cook and the fourth through sixth book of the Black Company Series.

Before that, I finished Sweet Silver Blues, also by Glen Cook.

And I reread the Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan because on a day that i couldn't find the book i was reading at the time.
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Crunchyfrog



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 3998

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:17 am    Post subject:  

I have just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
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scissorkitty



Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 789
Location: Escaping the Hair Lair

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 7:29 am    Post subject:  

I just finished, "Mistress of the Art of Death", a book about early forensics set during the 1100s. Great read!
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Alegria



Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 1199
Location: On the beaches with Dr. Suess' Sneeches. Only the star-bellied ones, of course.

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:15 pm    Post subject:  

Let's see...

It would be easier to list what my top ten books are-

10. Leaves of Grass (Walt Whitman)- Yes, it's poetry, but it's poetry by the best poet America has ever produced. You only have to read the first part of Song of Myself to realise that Whitman is no ordinary poet.

9. Sabriel/Lireal/Abhorsen (Garth Nix)- I love this guy's books. Sure there's nothing deep behind them, but they're entertaining, gripping, and moving.

8. The Books of ABARAT (Clive Barker)- I know they're not the most popular books, but they're interesting. The books are surreal and remind me more of a painting than a book.

7. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)- Just read them. They're hilarious

6. Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)- This book is VERY difficult to read and a very slow read, though it is short. It can be frustrating, but the level of genius behind it is entrancing. I have never read a book that has so many themes or implications.

5. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)- This book is a great look at the death of the American Dream. It's well written and interesting and has wonderful religious parallels

4. The Wind on Fire Trilogy (Jack Nicholson)- I don't know if you guys know these books, but they are great. Highly symbolic, satirical, dystopian, and epic all rolled into one, they are a masterwork of creativity with vivid imagery.

3. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)- There's a good reason this book is one of the most popular books in America. It's absolutely brilliant in every way. It's a religous allegory at its best and an exciting tale at its least.

2. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)- I love Steinbeck. East of Eden holds a special place in my heart for its contrast between its sometimes brutal scenes and its gentler love scenes. It's almost mythological

1. Farenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)- Read this book. Look at the news. It's all happening.

There you go!
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Guest






Posted: Wed Nov 26, 2008 2:02 am    Post subject:  

I once put up a list of all the books I own. But the ones I'm currently reading is 'Urthur' by Jack Whyte and 'Corydon and the island of monsters' by Tobias Druitt. I'm also reading 'over the nightingale floorboards' My favorite book is 'Black Beauty' and I'm also reading Dragon Lance. There are many books in my room. That was why the thread was maybe deleted. Maybe it was because I didn't have IF authors in my vast book case. lol just kidding... :D
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NeverNeverGirl



Joined: 18 Jun 2007
Posts: 1216
Location: dreaming away of tomorrows to come

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:05 pm    Post subject:  

Crunchyfrog wrote: I have just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

I really liked this book! WOOT

One of my fav books is The Scar. by China Meiville (or however i spell that)

I am currently reading

The Earthsea Quartet
Cheet
The Poison Master
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D-Lotus



Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Posts: 4123
Location: Hollywood, USA

Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2008 5:50 pm    Post subject:  

Today I finished Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables. He's terrific at creating ambience, the narrating style is very impressive and the sheer quantity of metaphors he delivers is astonishing. But it doesn't contain a big message; he has tidbits scattered throughout, but it wasn't like his friend Melville. Hawthorne's tale is much more comfortable to the senses but its keen insight is of a much gentler nature than Melville's Moby-Dick.

I am also reading Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Isn't Shakespeare a weird name?).
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Crunchyfrog



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 3998

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 8:59 am    Post subject:  

Just starting A Thousand Splendid Suns on recommendation from a friend. Already read The Kite Runner, which I thought was brilliant.
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Bookwizard



Joined: 07 Oct 2007
Posts: 639
Location: Gallifrey

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 11:00 am    Post subject:  

The Kite Runner is my favorite book and always will be, though I have not yet read A Thousand Splendid Suns, tell me if its good when you finished will you CF. :D
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D-Lotus



Joined: 21 Oct 2004
Posts: 4123
Location: Hollywood, USA

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 1:47 pm    Post subject:  

I liked the KiteRunner at first, but then I wished it hadn't been written in a best-seller fashion.
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Adalia



Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 196

Posted: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:49 pm    Post subject:  

I'm currently reading Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, though I've nearly finished, and rereading A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. A whole host of books will follow suit. *Sigh* If I only had the time...
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Reiso



Joined: 27 Oct 2004
Posts: 917
Location: Western North America

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 3:04 am    Post subject:  

Currently reading The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Dark stuff, but good. Alegria mentioned Farenheight 451, which reminded me of a useless bit of trivia that I will now share with all of you for no good reason at all.

I've both read the book and watched the movie. At the end of the movie, when everyone mentions a book (for reasons I will not explain save to say they name them--no spoilers here), one of the books named in the movie is Martian Chronicles, which is another Bradbury book. I always thought that was clever, and I am pretty sure it is not in the book. I even want to say that it couldn't be, because 451 was written first, though I may be wrong there.

Another completely unrelated but equally useless piece of trivia is that Steinbeck had to re-write Of Mice and Men completely from memory after the first draft was literally eaten by his dog. I wonder if this contributed to its greatness, or subtracted from it?
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Alegria



Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 1199
Location: On the beaches with Dr. Suess' Sneeches. Only the star-bellied ones, of course.

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 7:18 am    Post subject:  

I just read The Perk of Being a Wallflower.

Since I last posted on this thread, I've read Hamlet, The Catcher in the Rye, and the entire Wicked Series.
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 11:02 am    Post subject:  

I just finished reading the first two books of the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson and the last three books of the Black Comany series, by Glen Cook. Also two through five of the Glen Cook's Garret P.I. series (and I'm currently working on the sixth)
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Klafarius



Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 82
Location: "...I took the one less traveled by..."

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:44 am    Post subject:  

I saw that it has been awhile since anyone posted in this forum and since I love books I figured I'd add my contribution.

I am reading...

On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony

Acorna The Unicorn Girl by Anne McCaffrey and Margret Ball

Myst - The Book of Ti'ana by Rand Miller and David Wingrove

Galactic Convoy by Bill Baldwin
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Crunchyfrog



Joined: 12 Dec 2006
Posts: 3998

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:56 am    Post subject:  

A Myst fan! Woohoo! :D

At the moment I ar be mostly reading The Riddle of Birdhurst Rise. A true story about a triple poisoning in the 1920's.

:-o
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:18 am    Post subject:  

Piers Anthony! WOOT!

currently rereading George RR Martin's Song of Ice and fire. On book three, A Storm of Swords.
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Emperor



Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 471
Location: San Diego, CA

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 9:43 am    Post subject:  

Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series is one of my all time favorite reads, anyone interested in fantasy should pick these up.

After I heard it suggested that I might get more out of it now that I'm older I read Moby Dick. I consider myself to be a pretty astute guy with the patience to read through a book - no matter how long winded - as long as its good. I'm not saying it was a bad book but it was a chore to read. I think it took him over 108 pages just to get the Captain Ahab and somewhere near 3/4 of the book had gone by before the whale himself became prevalent. It had its brief moments of genius with lines like "Call me Ishmael." "... from hell's heart I stab at thee." and the like. But you would have to PAY me to reread that thing.
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Klafarius



Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 82
Location: "...I took the one less traveled by..."

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 12:16 pm    Post subject:  

Well considering I have read the whole of Moby Dick as well, it wasn't until my wife pointed out to me that it is in fact THREE different texts. A Treatise on Whaling, The Hunt for the Great White Whale and excerpts from the Bible. She pointed out to me that if you were to read every third chapter you would in fact be reading The Hunt for the Great White Whale. So I have planned to go back and read it again using this method and see if it makes more sense.
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The White Blacksmith



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 2629

Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:34 am    Post subject:  

Just read the second book in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness. Brilliant books - a very different approach to the whole 'dystopian fiction' genre.

Also reading 'Tuk Tuk to the Road', as I returned from Thailand a week ago. Non-fiction story about two girls who drive a tuk tuk from Thailand to Brighton for charity.
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The Meaning Of Fear



Joined: 06 May 2006
Posts: 980
Location: In a deep, dark corner of the universe, plotting.

Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 1:14 am    Post subject:  

Recently finished a teenage novel, too average to be of note.

Have been reading through Sherlock Holmes stories which have been collected into two neat volumes, I'm a little more than halfway through the second. They're quite interesting but for some reason take ages to read. I really just can't pick them up and read them on and on and on and on.
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The White Blacksmith



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 2629

Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:12 am    Post subject:  

Just finished re-reading the first two in the Tales of the Otori series - excellent books set in feudal Japan. Am also halfway through re-reading the Harry Potter books (don't ask why).

Currently slogging through an appallingly average teenage novel.
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Bookwizard



Joined: 07 Oct 2007
Posts: 639
Location: Gallifrey

Posted: Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:25 pm    Post subject:  

I have certainly read a great deal of books since the last time I commented heard, but I might as well state what I am reading now. I started reading The Kindly Ones, It's a bestseller in France, on the subject of WW2. Very good but 2 chapters in I decided I would read it in a year when I knew more German. Now I'm reading Quicksilver, I forgot the authors name though, it's part of a cycle. It's good, fun to read, but it sort of annoys me that many of the historical facts are off.
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scissorkitty



Joined: 04 Mar 2008
Posts: 789
Location: Escaping the Hair Lair

Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 6:47 pm    Post subject:  

I just read "Sleeping Naked is Green" by Vanessa Farquahar. It was GREAT! Definately gave me some excellent ideas to use in my own life for greening purposes.. and also was sarcastically and hilariously written. THREE CHEERS! Also, I'm also personally chuffed that she's Canadian.. always off to a good start there.

Good show.

At work, I'm just getting into a new Ian Ranking novel, but I can't quite remember the name.
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Black Hawk



Joined: 23 Jun 2008
Posts: 242
Location: On board my ship/ At the Inn

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:32 pm    Post subject:  

unfortunatly I am unable to procure new books so I am re-reading my almost complete library of Michael Crichton. I've recently reread Jurrassic Park and The Lost World for the 6th time and now I'm rereading timeline for the 2nd :cry2:
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The White Blacksmith



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 2629

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 12:17 pm    Post subject:  

Re-reading the Maximum Ride series - they're not bad, but very light reading.

Looking forward to reading some French books I got when I was over there, although at the same time I will probably be reading an english-french dictionary.

Anyone else here read 'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman?
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sparta12



Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 1201
Location: Victoria, Australia

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 6:25 pm    Post subject:  

I am currently reading:
On The Road: The Original Scroll
Big Sur
The Lonesome Traveller
All of them are by Jack Kerouac.
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Scrapper



Joined: 16 Aug 2007
Posts: 24
Location: A box. In someone's closet. Maybe yours!

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 8:36 pm    Post subject:  

The White Blacksmith wrote:
Anyone else here read 'Neverwhere' by Neil Gaiman?

Gaiman is excellent, and Neverwhere was the first thing of his that I read. Actually reading through his Sandman comics now.
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Bronze



Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 14

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:35 am    Post subject: re  

I actually just read the Twlight Saga... Very very good books!
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:52 am    Post subject:  

Twilight saga... now that sounds familiar. What's it about?

I'm currently reading the DaVinci Code. Have all 3 books, giving them a try. Mainly just waiting until Ice and Fire finally continues, or we get the last book from the Wheel of Time series.
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Bronze



Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 14

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:29 am    Post subject:  

Smee wrote: Twilight saga... now that sounds familiar. What's it about?

I'm currently reading the DaVinci Code. Have all 3 books, giving them a try. Mainly just waiting until Ice and Fire finally continues, or we get the last book from the Wheel of Time series.

Twilight is done by Stephanie Meyer, inernational best seller, a love story between a girl and a vampire and the saga is about their struggle to be together. A love story but one with loads of supernatural action! I loved every page.

Oh and guys, read the Malazan books of the Fallen by Steven Ericsson!
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:51 am    Post subject:  

Aah, that's what my housemate is reading... that'd be why it sounded familiar. ;)
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The White Blacksmith



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 2629

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:53 am    Post subject:  

*dry retches*

I'm sorry, but I can't stand the Twilight books. I admire her ability to weave a storyline that clearly appeals to so many, but the premise is implausable (Immortal, highly intelligent, beautiful and strong vampires deciding to spend their days in an American high school? Really?) and her writing skill non-existant.

At best, to me, they were holiday reads but their rabid fanbase - who, I find, tend not even to acknowledge that my point of view could exist - has sunk them beyond even that.
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Smee



Joined: 16 Oct 2004
Posts: 5215
Location: UK

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:58 am    Post subject:  

Say what you really feel Whitey, stop holding back :P
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The White Blacksmith



Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 2629

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:28 pm    Post subject:  

Just be glad I kept the sarcasm to a minimum. My family tends to be very sarcastic when we're annoyed - something I haven't even inherited much of.

On a note slightly more related to the topic, I'm planning on reading 'Ender's Game' soon, and 'Birdsong' as well. Anyone read these two?
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Bronze



Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 14

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 2:28 pm    Post subject:  

The White Blacksmith wrote: *dry retches*

I'm sorry, but I can't stand the Twilight books. I admire her ability to weave a storyline that clearly appeals to so many, but the premise is implausable (Immortal, highly intelligent, beautiful and strong vampires deciding to spend their days in an American high school? Really?) and her writing skill non-existant.

At best, to me, they were holiday reads but their rabid fanbase - who, I find, tend not even to acknowledge that my point of view could exist - has sunk them beyond even that.

Whitey, I completely get what your saying :D but I still enjoyed them. I mean its about vampires, who the hell needs to be realistic?!

But everyone has their opinion, I have books I don't like(Lord of the Rings) and I can respect others opinions so ah well.

Never read Ender's Game, though I've heard of it. Might need to try that out :D
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DeadManWalking



Joined: 24 May 2006
Posts: 1005

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:59 pm    Post subject:  

First of all, GO WHEEL OF TIME! And GO SONG OF ICE AND FIRE! (Btw, smee, have you read Brandon Sanderson's novels? Because you should: they're phenomenal. Plus they give you a better idea of the way he'll write the last WoT book)

Ender's Game is pretty awesome. Very interesting idea of what the future holds, some interesting psychological stuff. I personally enjoyed Ender's Shadow more, but that's a personal choice.
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sparta12



Joined: 24 Jan 2005
Posts: 1201
Location: Victoria, Australia

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:38 pm    Post subject:  

The White Blacksmith wrote: *dry retches*

I'm sorry, but I can't stand the Twilight books. I admire her ability to weave a storyline that clearly appeals to so many, but the premise is implausable (Immortal, highly intelligent, beautiful and strong vampires deciding to spend their days in an American high school? Really?) and her writing skill non-existant.

At best, to me, they were holiday reads but their rabid fanbase - who, I find, tend not even to acknowledge that my point of view could exist - has sunk them beyond even that.

Oh, I'm right there with you. I've tried reading passages from the Twilight series and I've found it painful. I watched the first movie -with Rifftrax because I'll be damned if I have to sit there and be expected to take it seriously- and I felt ripped off... NOTHING happened by the end of the first film/story!

My brother took a read of a forum thread on Something Awful dedicated to the Twilight Series. One guy accidentally skipped a book and didn't even know that he had done so until he was Half-Way through the other book.

"Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn." - Stephen King
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Thunderbird



Joined: 13 Sep 2009
Posts: 2139
Location: Rising from the ashes

Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 6:49 pm    Post subject:  

Wheel of Time might be the best series EVER. Twilight... saw the movie, no interest in reading the books.
DaVinci Code rocked, as did Angels and Demons.

I haven't been reading much lately though...
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