What are you reading?

[Etoh*the*Greato]

This week I read

No One Sees God by Michael Novak,
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (I highly suggest it!)
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (I can't really suggest this one)
The first book in the Starwars: Legacy of the Force series.

[Htom Sirveaux]

Finished Fight Club. Now reading Invisible Monsters. So far it's just as antimaterialistic, but this one's not so much about consumerism as it is the "image is everything" mentality.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Let's see. I read I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - which is a collection of short stories, the first one being the one they based the movie on. I really like Matheson's style; he's got the same kind of gut-wrenching surprise endings as Roald Dahl, which I love. I really liked the book version of "I Am Legend", but I still like the movie too. I look at them as two completely separate stories now. Another story in the collection I really liked was "The White Dress" (or something like that), because it was so chilling, and because the voice was very well done.

I also read I, Robot by Isaac Asimov - again, a collection of short stories. They're all connected to make up a larger story, and each individual one is about some problem that crops up with robots in the future. As always, Asimov's stories are engrossing and enjoyable.

Now I'm reading The Shadow Rising, book four of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. @_@ Getting back into this series is something else!

[Kkun]

Now I'm reading The Shadow Rising, book four of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. @_@ Getting back into this series is something else!

Keep reading! From The Dragon Reborn on is really where the series hits its stride. It slows down a bit around Winter's Heart/Crossroads of Twilight, but the last book, Knife of Dreams, was so darn good that I couldn't put it down and blazed through it in about three days.

[Heronwing]

Young Samurai. It's an awesome book.

[rocklobster]

Just finished The Cay. I highly recommend it!

[uc pseudonym]

A Theory of Fun for Game Design by Raph Koster

While I wouldn't say this book changed my life, it's one of the most personally significant in recent memory. Koster addresses very deep issues about why people play games and what that means for the development of humanity. His basic theory is that the satisfaction people get from games is not visceral or aesthetic, but the minor amounts of seratonin released when the brain is mastering new things.

Thus games are all about learning, in a variety of forms. This is also an interesting defense of boredom. Koster doesn't elaborate on this, but the implications are significant. Many have criticized boredom as a fault of the bored person, but under this theory it is the brain's way of indicating that it is not being properly utilized.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I tend to forget that humans from centuries prior were essentially like us, despite the fact that humans have had their modern intelligence for thousands of years. This biography reminded me of that again. It is also a relief to see someone maintain some consistency before the standardization of spelling.

This is essentially his story of growing up and the various challenges that he faced. Though there are clearly major gaps of time and culture, I still felt an essential human kinship that I don't feel with a lot of authors.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Exactly the same applies to Douglass's biography. It is tragic to read of someone who was so obviously brilliant having his soul crushed by the institution of slavery. I was also struck by how important this text would have been at the time instead of now, when most of us view slavery as an anachronism that exists only in history classes.

Also, if anyone knows the source of this quote, I would be grateful. It goes something like, "I am less interested in the exact size and weight of Einstein's brain than in the number of similar minds that perished on plantations and in sweatshops."

[ich1990]

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

I tend to forget that humans from centuries prior were essentially like us, despite the fact that humans have had their modern intelligence for thousands of years. This biography reminded me of that again. It is also a relief to see someone maintain some consistency before the standardization of spelling.

This is essentially his story of growing up and the various challenges that he faced. Though there are clearly major gaps of time and culture, I still felt an essential human kinship that I don't feel with a lot of authors.

Coincidentally, I have also been reading parts of Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. I can see why it is held up as the archetype of biographies]"The Powers That Be" by Walter Wink [/i]

I only read a few chapters of this book, so I will be brief. I thought that his "powers analyses" was a bit hard to swallow for someone like myself who still holds (more or less) to Evangelical Theology. His section on Jesus' Third Way of not resorting to violence or passiveness, however, was excellent. Those chapters alone have made me significantly more inclined to study Jewish culture and find out what else I have been incorrectly interpreting from the Bible due to my cultural conditioning.

[GeneD]

I am reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, which I am very much enjoying.

I can't believe I'm still reading Dracula! I checked this thread to see how long it's been and I've been at it for almost 2 months. Okay, I have been very busy, but I've now vowed to finish it this week, even if it kills me. I have 2 chapters to go.

[~darkelfgirl~]

I'm reading Robot: Mere Machine to Transcendent Mind by Hans Moravec (for a sci-fi paper on Artificial Intelligence).

[Robin Firedrake]

Nothing as of yet. But I'm wanting to get myself a good edge chronicles book. Oh how I love those books...

[That Dude]

I just finished: Royal Assassin -by- Robin Hobb.

Book two of the Farseer Trilogy, which in my opinion is second only to LOTR in the fantasy genre.

[bigsleepj]

The Farseer Trilogy is excellent!

[shiroineko]

Almost finished with book one of The Lord of the Rings...I wish I had read this before seeing the movie, I'm really enjoying it!

[yukoxholic]

The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima as well as Ashes by Kenzo Kitakata...I cannot put that book down. XD

[ich1990]

The Kingdom of God is Within You by Leo Tolstoy

I picked up this dense book because it is widely considered one of the most compelling and well written books promoting pacifism. In fact, it is often mentioned that this is the book that convinced Mahatma Gandhi to campaign for India's freedom from British rule. Martin Luther King Jr. also cites this book as having a major influence on his ideas and ideals. With such a vaunted reputation I decided that this was a “must readâ€

[Htom Sirveaux]

Clive Barker's The Forbidden out of his short story collection, In the Flesh. When I'm done with the story, I'll rent the movie based on it (Candyman).

[ich1990]

“Flatland” by Edwin A. Abott

I picked up Flatland because it was on a list of top ten Science Fiction novels of all time, and because it was the only book that I had ever heard described as a geometry novel. I wasn't disappointed. Flatland is an autobiography, of sorts, of a square and his experiences living on a two dimensional plane.

Whereas most science fiction novels take you on a trip towards higher dimensions, Flatland challenges you to think in two. This is not as easy to do as one might think. Nonetheless, in order to truly enjoy the amount of thought put into the story, you have to constantly be forcing your mind to stop imposing a third dimension. As a thought experiment infused with science fiction, Flatland works very well.

As a novel, however, Flatland is a bit dull. The story only really starts in the latter third of the book and doesn't really cover a whole lot of ground. The lackluster plot is easily forgiven, though, due to its clever usage of subtle satire and overarching theological aspirations.

To summarize, Flatland is an anti-atheist, satirical, Science Fiction, geometry based thought experiment that uses dimensional travel to point out the stupidity of the human race. Slow pace and math aside, how could you not like something like that? 9/10

[Kkun]

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Exactly the same applies to Douglass's biography. It is tragic to read of someone who was so obviously brilliant having his soul crushed by the institution of slavery. I was also struck by how important this text would have been at the time instead of now, when most of us view slavery as an anachronism that exists only in history classes.

That's probably one of my favorite pieces of writing. One aspect of it that grabbed me was the way in which he learned to communicate. I think that is actually quite relevant to our modern era because so many people fail to understand how powerful and fundamental the ability to articulate oneself through language is. The quote that has always stuck with me is in chapter 7 when Douglass writes "They [Catholic emancipation writings] gave tongue to interesting thoughts of my own soul, which had frequently flashed through my mind, and died away for want of utterance." I remember being awed by the fact that here was this mind, not anywhere near deficient like the pro-slavery rhetoric of the day contended, held captive within itself because Douglass didn't possess the language to adequately express himself. That made me want to go reread it...

but right now I'm reading Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49.

[Ante Bellum]

The Fellowship of the Ring.
So typical, but so good...

[Phantom_Sorano]

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I'm going through the Five Love Languages books right now....

[Lilac#18]

Currently reading Shade by John B. Olson.

[Robin Firedrake]

Oh I'm reading a ton now that I get my library card! Just got through seven books and three manga in 9 days... Heh heh heh...

[bigsleepj]

I'm reading the palm of your hand.

Oooh, to who are you going to leave your iPod again?



Seriously, recently I haven't been reading a lot, seeing how I can't afford most books I want to read, so I've been scrounging some left-over paperbacks of my brother. I picked up a book called Midnight Falcon by David Gemmell, a British author of heroic fantasy. I thought it was going to be your normal Conan the Barbarian wannabe book but was pleasantly surprised not only by Gemmells description of action (of which there wasn't a lot, actually) but also by the depth and thought he invests in his characters.

The plot is about the illgetimate son of a king swearing revenge on his father for various reasons, only to fall in love with a woman who is murdered before his eyes by a strange cult. Being a man of simple motives he swears revenge on the killer too and begins a long journey to the city of Stone where he will meet his fate. Or, actually, that's what you'd think halfway through.

Although you can draw comparisons to Ridley Scott's movie Gladiator (and to be fair to both the book came out while the movie was far into post-production, so all comparisons are coincidental) as well as Ben-Hur, the author chose to defuse the plot as well as the direction it was going 250 pages from the end in order to weave a complex tale of a family torn apart by a man's inability to truly take responsibility for his sins. Although essentially a light read I was amazed and genuinely surprised by what the author did with the novel, more or less throwing out the plot to delve into the minds of his characters. I usually considered Gemmell to be the author of hardhearted "macho" novels filled with blood and guts, and although there is a lot in the novel that would fit that description the story is actually about more than revenge and action. Still, it does rather end abruptly without any real resolution...

[uc pseudonym]

I have been neglecting this thread for a while and I'm sure it's not worth going through the backlog. Quite a bit of Thoreau and Emerson, neither of whom I like, though for different reasons. However, I will note that I am half-way through:

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

At the beginning I enjoyed it greatly, but some aspects are wearing on me. Most of all, Dostoevsky does a good job capturing a manic ranting mode, which is fitting for some characters... except he seems to use it all the time. According to some biographers he never had much use for editing, and it shows.

That having been said, I'm enjoying the randomly theological conversations contained within. Not so much the actual plot, which I am finding less than involving.

[Htom Sirveaux]

I went to a book sale at the library across the street yesterday. So right now I'm reading Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow.
Other books I bought were Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games, Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and Franz Kafka's The Trial.

[Heronwing]

I just finished Warriors: Sunrise by Erin Hunter.

[Lady Kenshin]

Just finished Dean Koontz's Fear Nothing. Quite suspenseful.

[ich1990]

“Kiss” by Ted Dekker and Erin Healy

Dekker is a hard man to keep up with; In fact, he will/has released seven novels in 2009 alone. This prodigious output is partially due to the fact that Dekker has started to co-author a smattering of novels with lesser known writers. The idea is that Dekker can show them the ropes and help them with publicity and Dekker's publisher can create more best-selling books. “Kiss” is the first of these new co-authored books.

Erin Healy's influence on this book is strongly felt. Instead of being a thriller, this book fits into the mystery/suspense genre. Instead of plot twists, there is.....romance (or, more accurately, serial infatuation). Portions of the book are even written in first person. As a book, there wasn't a whole lot wrong with “Kiss”, but there wasn't a whole going for it either. Aside from it being outside of my genre preferences, it was, well, slow. For a book with Dekker's name on it, it was actually pretty darn boring.

I would recommend “Kiss” as a starter book to give to sensitive parents who can't handle thrillers. Aside from that, I can only warn Dekker fans that this work is highly experimental and shouldn't be read with any preconceived notions. If you are just starting to read Dekker or Christian thrillers in general, skip this and pick up “Adam”. 7/10