What are you reading?

[Kkun]

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

[bigsleepj]

I'm reading Malory: The Life and Times of King Arthur's Chronicler by Christina Hardyment (known in the US as Malory: The Knight Who Became King Arthur's Chronicler), which is basically an attempted biography of the author of Le Morte D'Arthur. Given that very little is known about Sir Thomas Malory (except that he's apparently been jailed for robbery and, urm, R-rated crimes) the book is mostly conjecture, but it does accurately want to give an idea of the times he lived in, the historical climate, as well as describe the possible meanings of the charges that seems to have kept him in jail for the latter part of his life. Despite being rather voluminous I find it rather interesting with a great deal of information about medieval times, most of which is fascinating.

[Radical Dreamer]

Started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows todayyyy. Stoked. XD

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Started Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows todayyyy. Stoked. XD

Very good book! Word is, they've actually made the decision to split it in to two movies... of course they've said that for every movie.

[Kkun]

Very good book! Word is, they've actually made the decision to split it in to two movies... of course they've said that for every movie.

According to a quick search on the ever-informative IMDB.com, they are definitely splitting Deathly Hallows into two parts.

Also, I am reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

[rocklobster]

I am currently reading The Seventh Tower series. I am on book 4, Into Battle.

[uc pseudonym]

A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

Alright, I guess I'm doing the whole series, slowly but surely. ASoS will take me a little while, but after that there's only one more unless Martin actually gets the next book out soon. I'm enjoying them less now that the characters are too split up (it feels as though the story keeps losing momentum every time it jumps away from one storyline) but still much more than I did originally.

[ich1990]

“The New Manners and Customs of Bible Timesâ€

[Lengai]

I am currently reading The Seventh Tower series. I am on book 4, Into Battle.

Yessss. I love Garth Nix, and this series was probably my favorite thing that he wrote.

I'm about to start reading Sinner by Ted Dekker.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I just read...let's see..."Wise Blood," "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", "The River", and...I think there was one more...by Flannery O'Connor. Having heard a couple of her stories used as illustrations in sermons over the past couple weeks, and knowing her reputation for being a really good writer, I decided to hunker down and read some of her stuff. Here is my response after reading some of her stories:

WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!!!!

I find myself very confused. She's supposed to be Christian, but when you just look at her stories, she seems to be arguing for the opposite position. And her stories hardly have any structure at all! Things just seem to sort of happen, with no purpose or conclusion.

If anyone has some insight on Flannery O'Connor, I'd love to hear it.

[uc pseudonym]

If anyone has some insight on Flannery O'Connor, I'd love to hear it.

I'd be happy to attempt to help. There is a lot of literary fiction I think poorly of, but the symbolism and depth in Flannery O'Connor's stories really is there. Unfortunately, to find it you often need to be thinking about the story from the right angle, which isn't always apparent.

"The River" is a story primarily about grace and I think it makes the most sense viewed allegorically. Think of the child as representative of a Christian, who hears about grace and then is struck by how meaningless the world itself is and gives up the material (not as a literal kid who drowns himself).

I haven't read "A Good Man is Hard to Find" so I can't help you with that one. If I recall this is supposed to be one of her more controversial stories. You can probably find literary commentary in various places, which can be illuminating.

Wise Blood is a novel, so I can't offer anything as simply as the others. I would say the central theme is of a man in religious crisis. He wants to give up religion but he is still very religious, leading him to things like the Church of Christ Without Christ. Other characters represent different ways of dealing with religion, most of them hypocritical (the "blind" preacher), superficial (the zoo-keeper guy), or outright fraud (the guy who creates the second church). It is a dark book with a few moments of hope, not meant to be an example of healthy faith.

Hopefully that helps somewhat. I personally have mixed feelings about O'Connor and I rarely like the messages that she presents. But if you set aside your own judgment and try to read the stories according to her view of the world, they can be interesting to think about. Just reassurance that they're carefully crafted, not collections of meaningless events.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords by George RR Martin

Alright, I guess I'm doing the whole series, slowly but surely. ASoS will take me a little while, but after that there's only one more unless Martin actually gets the next book out soon. I'm enjoying them less now that the characters are too split up (it feels as though the story keeps losing momentum every time it jumps away from one storyline) but still much more than I did originally.

MAN I love this series! I just finished the newest book a couple months back and found a note from the author at the end: You may be wondering when the next book is coming out. Well, no worries! A Dance of Dragons is due for January 2005!"
ME: -_-;

[RFC]

Finally finished all the books currently available in the Inheritance Cycle. Yep, all three.
Me at the end --> huh? I feel sleep...

So I think my next stop is the next Star War book or Inkheart.

[rocklobster]

Now reading Gone by Michael Grant.

[ShiroiHikari]

Recently read Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger; now slowly working my way through Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, and Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

[Sheol777]

Recently read Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger....

It is taking me forever to read this. I really can't get into it.
Does it ever have a plot hook or a point? What is your opinion of it?

[Htom Sirveaux]

Part I of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, Inferno.

[ich1990]

“The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One” edited by Robert Silverberg

I have almost always found science fiction to be mentally engaging and thoroughly imaginative in a way that puts most other genres to shame. The stories included in this anthology are no exception. From adventurous microbes, to time traveling doctor's tools, to insanity inducing starlight, this collection is positively saturated with creativity.

This volume contains twenty-six stories in 560 pages. Thirteen of the stories rank among the best science fiction I have ever read. Four failed to be interesting. The other nine were good, just not great. Altogether that makes this a very solid short story anthology, although I expected a little better considering these are supposed to be the best science fiction writings pre-1964.

For people who have little knowledge of (or time for) science fiction, this collection would make an excellent introduction to the many facets of the genre. A few of the stories even border on horror, which is done very well (think Lovecraft, not slasher). If you don't want to read all of this volume, my recommendation is to read “Mimsy Were the Borogroves”, “Surface Tension”, “It's a Good Life”, and “Flowers for Algernon” then see if you aren't as drawn in as I was. 8/10



“The Wolves in the Walls” by Neil Gaiman and Dave Mckean

The duo who created the highly lauded (and quite mature) Sandman comic series join together again to make a....... children's book? Yes, and it is, of course, fantastic. Although primarily written for children, portions of “The Wolves...” are menacing in a way that would make Naoki Urasawa proud. The art suits the story: perfect, chaotic, and dark.

I highly recommend this story to people of all ages, although parents should probably read it before giving it to young children. Many other reviewers have likened “The Wolves...” to “Coraline” albeit for a younger audience. I hope their comparisons are accurate, because that would make “Coraline” a very good book. 10/10

[Technomancer]

Between Human and Machine: Feedback, Control, and Computing Before Cybernetics by David A. Mindell

An excellent book that delves into the history of automatic computing in the period between WWI and the end of WWII. Much of the book is based on original research, and covers important material that has not been given good coverage by other writers. I'd definitely recommend this book if you're interested in the subject.

[mysngoeshere56]

Finished "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".

[rocklobster]

just started Firesong, the final book in the Wind on Fire triology.

[Radical Dreamer]

Started Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card the other day! It's really good so far, I'm excited to read more. XD

As far as my list is concerned:

Les Miserables (pg. 335)
Macbeth
The Harry Potter Series (complete)
Animal Farm
The Great Gatsby
The Princess Bride (pg. 240)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Ender's Game (pg. 56)
The Bell Jar

[Maokun]

Finished "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader".

My fav book of the series by far and one of my most treasured childhood memories. I'm literally frightened that they will not honor it sufficientyl with the movie.

Anyway, I recently finished my entry into Jane Austen's little universe with Sense and Sensibility and I have to say it was quite satisfactory. I laughed a lot, loved the loveable characters, hated the hateable characters and learnt a lot about finesse in the use of the english language. I will definitely read more by her in the future, but for now it is time to switch to something more lighthearted and more importantly, more fantastic, so I picked the "Time Travellers or Gideon the Cutpurse", the first book in the Gideon trilogies. I've never heard of this author but I have an unhealthy bias for time travelling, plus the cover is quite alluring (something that I have to say, has come and bitten me back before) so here's hoping it will be good.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Hopefully that helps somewhat. I personally have mixed feelings about O'Connor and I rarely like the messages that she presents. But if you set aside your own judgment and try to read the stories according to her view of the world, they can be interesting to think about. Just reassurance that they're carefully crafted, not collections of meaningless events.

Thanks! I also asked my dad about it, since he's the kind of person who's studied this sort of thing and likes to delve through the deeper meanings of stories. I think I have a better picture of what O'Connor was trying to do in the stories of hers that I read, but I still don't think I'm very fond of her style. I don't mind subtlety, but I wish she put in a few more-obvious hints. Either that, or I'm just too obtuse or fast to notice them for what they are.

Started Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card the other day! It's really good so far, I'm excited to read more. XD

Ender's Game is really good]The Bell Jar[/QUOTE]
OOOH!!!! The Bell Jar is really good! For style, anyway, which if you ask me is the only reason to read it. You might want to skim some parts, though; it gets a little R-rated at times. And it's also extremely depressing, so watch out. If you're into this kind of thing, and if it's available, I'd recommend the audio book version; the lady who reads it conveys the feeling of the book perfectly.


I'm finishing up all the stray books I've got lying around, including Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I also finished Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, and all I can say is, "I can't believe I actually read all that pile of tripe!" Seriously, Paolini had some potential back in Eragon, but by now almost all of that is lost in the mire of his horrible attempts at high fantasy. It's not even vaguely interesting anymore. The only reason I'd read the last book would be for Elva and cameo appearances of Angela :/ And then only if I didn't have to pay anything for it.

I'm also trying to get back into The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, after putting it aside for a month or two. I'd almost succeeded, since Perrin was doing exciting things, but then the next chapter was about Rand and I lost that interest very quickly.

...I really want to read something new that I actually like for once

[ich1990]

[quote="the_wolfs_howl (post: 1329673)"]Ender's Game is really good]

I liked Ender's Game as well and followed it up by reading Speaker for the Dead and Xenocide. Both are good science fiction stories but have a totally different theme, setting, and feel than the first book. Depending on what you liked about Ender's Game they could very easily be disappointing.

I can't speak for any of the others in the series, but you may want to try Ender's Shadow, which is apparently set during the the first novel and is told from the viewpoint of Bean. I haven't read it, but it sounds promising.

[rocklobster]

I will be starting Hunger, the next book in the Gone series.

[Maokun]

Im slowly reading "The Medici Effect". An amazing book on how creativity and innovation works and how one could improve it.

[Technomancer]

I've just finished Gordon Dahlquist's "Glass Books of the Dream Eaters". I found it to be very tedious.

[ich1990]

“Infidel” by Ted Dekker

This is the second book in the “Books of History” series of young adult novels. The good news is that this volume is substantially better than the first. It has more intensity, better dialogue, more battles, improved plot, and more synergy with the “Circle Trilogy” which is set in the same universe. The bad news is that the quality is still below that which I could recommend. The dialogue has its awkward moments, usually when one character is trying to insult another. Also, the plot is a bit repetitive, with characters constantly getting captured and broken out of jail.

Oddly enough, the biggest draw to this series (for me at least) is the protagonist's personality, which is an odd mix of Machiavellian selfishness and emotional reliance; the main character is willing to sacrifice his friends, comrades, and way of life --usually in creative fashion-- to get what he wants, but he bases his desires completely on his fluctuating emotions, even when he knows those emotions are being manipulated.

The main character's personality is an interesting combination, one that even Dekker doesn't seem to have complete control over. In fact, as I read the story it feels like Dekker is rushing around after the main character trying to add logical undercurrents to the dramatically displayed emotionalism. His efforts don't always work. If nothing else makes the book interesting, that does. 6/10

[rocklobster]

Guardian of the Spirit book 1 by Nahoko Uehashi.